After a peculiar incident, the Doctor finds himself stranded in the kingdom of Equestria. As he tries to leave this colourful new world, he will discover creatures that aren't that different from him. Could the result of a freak accident be the start of something bigger?
The cover art is done by the good man Arby Works, and I'd like to thank my brother Wisher for his help. My first fanfic so don't be gentle, feel free to comment and I will reply.
REMEMBER that this story may change from time to time, but only in small ways unless I take another direction completely.
Princess Luna started working on the sky, as she did every night since her return. While her sister had been able to raise both the sun and the moon during Luna's 'absence', the night she brought forth would be somewhat bland; as the stars didn't seem to shine as brightly as they should. It was a fact: Celestia never could weave the tapestry of the cosmos, just as Luna couldn't bring light to the world. It was like fitting a circular item within a square hole: the circle would fit but it wouldn't fill the entire space, making the shape incomplete and unnatural.
And so, after the sun had set and the moon had been raised, Luna worked on her night. She would keep constellations aligned, maintain the moon's trajectory and occasionally throw in a shooting star to shake things up. When she was sure that the moon would stay on its path, she gave a content huff and turned around. As usual, nopony was there.
Even though she was used to it, it wasn't a nice feeling to know that most ponies enjoyed the day more than the night. Even though she was very grateful to those who appreciated the night the way she did, she felt as though her work could use a little more praise. And then some.
"What's the point of doing my best to create a beautiful sky every night if there's no one around to see it?" she said aloud.
As expected, nopony replied. This only made her sadder, as she craved for company. Being stuck on the moon for a thousand years didn't help one's social skills, and she was often seen talking to herself. This was a habit she had picked up on the cold rock, in order to keep what little sanity she had left alive.
And whether she lived in the olden days or the modern world, when she did encounter somepony, they would either be too formal or too afraid to see her for what she was: a pony like the rest. 'Give them time and they will get used to you' Celestia would say. But Luna had waited so very long; lifetimes for the average pony, and she was so very tired of waiting.
"Then again...regular ponies wouldn't survive 5 seconds on the moon," she muttered.
She would look at the issue from any angle possible, and still see only one outcome: she was different. Regular ponies did not possess both the ability to fly and use magic. Regular ponies did not live to see their best friend's great-great-grandchild attend the Grand Galloping Gala. Regular ponies would lose their mind if they saw what she had seen during her life. Still, it was nice to pretend.
She looked around her room, as if there was anything else to look at other than furniture and other pointless material possessions. No, what she wanted was something immaterial, yet so precious: friendship, maybe even love. She would give anything just to have somepony pat her on the back and say "good job", as they gazed upon her creation. And then they would cuddle, he would breathe in the scent of her mane, and she would let his hoof travel all over her-
She shook her head quickly, dismissing any other inappropriate thoughts that usually left her hot and bothered.
"I need to get out of here, now," she grumbled.
Spreading her wings, she took off into the sky and stared at nothing in particular, wandering around with nothing to do. She enjoyed being in the castle, as it was her home and the only place she got to socialise with the few ponies that were up at night. Still, living on the moon had left her used to wide open spaces, and claustrophobia was an issue that reoccurred from time to time in her daily life. Even that thought annoyed her.
"I can't even step into my own bathroom without leaving the door open," she muttered,"And that expression, 'daily life', what is the deal with that? Can't anypony say 'nightly life'? Of course they can't, since the majority of them are asleep at the time!"
She stopped flying for a moment, and calmed herself down. It was that kind of attitude that landed her on the moon in the first place. She decided to land on a hill in order to sort out her thoughts. When she still couldn't find peace, she decided that the answer wasn't going to be found in her head, but out of it.
"Thinking outside the box, as they now say," she chuckled.
Her eyes searched the landscape until they found the quiet little town of Ponyville. She smiled at the sight: it was the only place outside of the castle where she could be herself, like a home away from home. She took off once again, and flew towards another hill that overlooked her objective. She landed, and gazed upon the quiet town.
It was, as expected, still and peaceful. The only sources of light were coming from street lanterns and a few houses, including the great tree that was the Ponyville Library. Luna smiled once more: rain or shine, day or night, Twilight Sparkle would be working, earning the title of Princess Celestia's Protégé. Luna decided to observe, and made herself invisible. Although it was a very difficult spell to master, she and her sister were more than capable of doing so. She quietly flew up to the balcony and looked through the window. There she was, the little purple unicorn, amidst a sea of parchments and books, taking notes about various subjects.
Even though she was an alicorn and the embodiment of the night, she was impressed by her sister's protégé. Twilight Sparkle, along with her friends, had been able to rid the world of Nightmare Moon: a form given to Luna by a very powerful and ancient entity, older than the princess herself. And it didn't stop there: from defeating the embodiment of chaos to guiding Cerberus itself back to the gates of Tartarus, that little unicorn always prevailed.
Luna realised she was staring, and snapped out of her trance. Watching the young mare work hard in order to earn Celestia's approval made Luna want an apprentice of her own, to whom she could teach everything there was to know about the stars, the moon, and the rest of the world. All of that, and so much more. However, the student could teach the master the simpler things in life. Friendship, his or her regular life, how to deal with feelings, and many other simple yet important notions.
An owl hooted loudly and startled both Twilight and Luna, almost ending the invisibility spell she had cast on herself. The creature seemed to be able to sense her presence, and was flying towards the balcony. This time, Luna was impressed with the ability animals had to sense things ponies couldn't. Even though they couldn't talk, animals had a lot to say.
"What is it, Owlicious? Do you want to go outside?" asked Twilight.
"Well, I think it's time to go now," whispered Luna.
And with that, she teleported herself back to her hill and gave a little laugh. The small thrill of getting caught was a fuzzy feeling that left her giddy. Her mind brought her back to the subject of having an apprentice. She would teach him and he would teach her, and they would grow closer.
"In every single sense of the word if I get kinky," she giggled.
If not, they would still form a bond as strong as the one Celestia and Twilight shared. They could even be friends at some point, and they would-
She paused, and a wave of sadness swept over her. She was going to think about growing old with him, until she realised she would be attending his funeral in the end. Even though alicorns were gifted with powers and longevity, Luna saw this as a curse. She wanted to grow old, to live a regular life full of friendship, love, sorrow, anything and everything that came with being normal. She curled into a ball and started shaking. She didn't want to die, but she wanted this life to end.
"I knew I would find you here."
Luna bolted up, wings flared and horn prepared to fire, until she realised who had spoken. Princess Celestia stood there, unfazed by her sister's attitude. Under the moonlight, Celestia's coat gave a soft glow that could be compared to the one coming from the moon, and her multicoloured mane seemed to float even slower than usual. The only thing that didn't change was her eyes: eyes that had seen so much, maybe too much, and that could go from soft and kind to deadly and terrifying in an instant. Eyes that Luna shared.
"What if I did not want to be found?" muttered Luna, lying down on the grass.
"I'm sure that's true," replied Celestia, sitting down next to her.
They sat there, enjoying their surroundings, until Luna spoke up.
"How did you know I would be here? More importantly, why are you here?" Luna asked, genuinely curious.
For a moment Celestia stayed silent until she spoke again, her eyes never leaving the landscape.
"Do you remember the time before Ponyville was built down there?"
Luna blinked at the strange remark, then nodded. Celestia kept talking, but didn't look at her sister.
"Canterlot was starting to grow, and our little ponies started exploring the world that we had created. Even before Canterlot was built this land existed; with forests, fields and mountains going as far as the eye could see. It was at that time we came here when we were upset, although you came here more than I did."
Luna stared at her sister, who didn't budge.
"Very well, that answers how, but not why," she replied.
This time Celestia looked at her sister, who saw that those eyes were tired. Not because of the lack of sleep, but for the same reason Luna's eyes looked weary.
"We both know why, Luna," said Celestia, her gentle tone carrying a hint of sadness.
Luna was about to object, until she remembered what they were. The embodiments of day and night, two sides of the same coin, sisters. This rule applied to siblings of all species: although they were two different people, their thoughts were similar. That notion annoyed her.
"No, you do not Celestia. Everypony loves your precious daylight, everypony loves you. But what about me? I raise the moon and actually work on the sky. And what do I get? No 'thank you', no praise, nothing. I am just like you, and yet some ponies STILL fear me even after all this time!" Luna shouted, her voice growing louder and louder.
Celestia remained stoic, which infuriated Luna even more. She was about to use the Royal Canterlot Voice when Celestia stood up and opened her wings. She looked at her sister with the same tired expression before smiling.
"I know what you need. Come with me," and with that, she flew away.
Luna stood there, slightly confused, before she decided to follow her sibling. She took off and caught up to her. They flew in silence, Luna wondering what her sister had planned while Celestia kept staring ahead. After a while, Celestia flew down and landed next to a lake outside of Ponyville. Luna followed and looked around, only to see the regular surroundings. The grass moved like water as the wind blew gently; and the middle of the lake glowed, reflecting the round moon's glow. Luna failed to see what the point of this was.
"Why are we here?" she asked dryly.
Celestia didn't answer, but instead stood perfectly still.
"Celestia, I swear to you, if you do not answer me right now-"
"Be quiet, stand still and listen," said Celestia with a serene tone.
Luna was befuddled, but complied. She stood still, and looked around. She could hear the wind blowing, the rustling of the trees as they moved with the breeze and the gentle sound the grass made as it swayed. A flock of bats flew above the lake, and an owl hooted occasionally. They stood still for a moment until Celestia spoke gently.
"What do you hear?"
Luna looked at her sister, then replied cautiously.
"The wind, the grass, the animals and the trees?"
"Good. And apart from that?"
"...Nothing?"
"Exactly."
"...What?"
Celestia turned to face her sibling, a peaceful expression on her face.
"What you hear is nature expressing itself. During the day our little ponies come here to enjoy themselves. Although the sounds they make is cheerful and endearing, it blots out the sound of nature. Therefore, it is only at night that you can hear nature uninterrupted."
Luna thought about this, then nodded.
"Alright, that is understandable. But what do you mean by 'apart from that' ?"
"That is pure silence, which is paradoxically one of the most beautiful sounds in the world."
She paused in order for those words to sink in, then continued.
"As I have said, ponies blot out the noise of nature, which expresses itself at night. But even if there were no ponies or animals, what would you hear? Nothing, and that is when you would listen to silence. Silence is there only when nothing else is around, as the world was so very long ago. So what I am trying to tell you is that your night brings the world back to its former state, which is a lot more peaceful than my day. In conclusion, your night brings peace to an agitated world." Meanwhile, the bats had hung themselves upside down on Luna's wings, while the owl had perched itself on her extended foreleg.
"Moreover, there are beings that cannot enjoy my day but live only for the night. And if they could talk, I am sure they would thank you."
Luna looked at the creatures that had gathered on her and smiled. Even though they would never say anything, she felt their love for her. She then heard faint sounds coming from the other side of the lake.
"And then there are those who can talk, and enjoy the peace that you bring," said Celestia, the amusement clear in her voice.
Luna was confused, until she actually looked to the other side of the side and listened to the sounds. It then became clear that there were two ponies there, enjoying themselves (in every single sense of the word) so much that they were unaware of the two alicorns.
"Well, well, well. It appears so," replied Luna with a smirk.
Celestia laughed softly, then continued.
"Indeed. But this happens to be another example of how the night is beneficial. See, these ponies could 'enjoy each other's company' in broad daylight, but they would risk getting caught. Some might enjoy the thrill, but most do not. It is only at night, under the glowing moon and with the soothing sounds of nature that they can love each other in the open and have some privacy. Therefore, your night brings intimacy and allows ponies to benefit from it."
"I suppose that's true..." said Luna.
"Well, we should get going. There is something else I want to show you."
Luna thanked the animals, sending them back into the night and took off with her sister towards Ponyville. They flew in silence, until an upbeat song reached them. They both flew towards the sound, then landed on the rooftop of a house. Across from where they stood Sugarcube Corner, the town's bakery, was holding a party.
"Why not change into regular ponies for once and blend in?" asked Luna.
"I take it you are familiar with Pinkie Pie, the Element of Laughter?" replied Celestia.
"Yes, and...?"
"Apparently, she literally knows everypony in town, so we would be revealed instantly."
"What about invisibility?"
"Well, from what I have heard, she is quite the peculiar pony, and she could detect us. I still have to figure out how, but my theory is that she is so connected with her Element that she might be drawing magic from it. It is actually quite intriguing. However, since we won't stay here for long, I suppose invisibility is the best option."
"Fine..." mumbled Luna.
The alicorns cast their spells and peeked through the window. The party was in full swing, with what appeared to be all of the town's residents enjoying themselves: animated discussions, eating, drinking, dancing, the whole package. The alicorns couldn't help but smile at their subjects and the unstoppable energy that Pinkie Pie was showing, jumping around with a one-pony-orchestra gear strapped to her blaring polka music.
In a corner, the other Elements of Harmony could be seen chatting about anything and everything. Fluttershy was, by nature, a little shy but remained open to any conversation, an impressive feat given her timid personnality. Rainbow Dash was holding her face between her hooves, and the words 'so awesome' could be heard. Applejack was laughing heartily while Rarity was having a private discussion with Aloe and Vera in fluent prench about some new facial product. Twilight, Zecora and Cherilee were, on the other hand, having a discussion about different kinds of literature.
"I wish I could join them..." sighed Luna, a little envy showing in her tone.
"I know Luna, and so do I," replied Celestia, using a wing to draw her younger sister in for a hug, "But for now, we have to let our little ponies unwind from the work they did during the day. Whether you are bucking apples trees in the field or teaching foals about Math, everypony gets to enjoy the night, free from the work they did during the day. Some ponies look forward to the night, not just for entertainment but for practical reasons. "Take Twilight Sparkle for example: I gave her an assignment concerning astrology, and she was telling me the other day how mesmerizing the night sky was. And some workers, like construction ponies, can only work at night as to not disturb the flow of work that comes with daytime. To summarize: your night brings joy, peace, intimacy, and its own line of work for ponies."
By then, Luna was blinking away happy tears as she remembered the full extent of her realm.
"Thank you for doing this, Tia," croaked Luna, leaning into the hug.
The two deities remained there, watching their subjects enjoy the festivities; until Pinkie Pie stopped, watching the pair with a twitching tail and blinking rapidly.
Immediately, the two alicorns teleported themselves back to their hill.
"How does she do that?" asked Luna, bewildered by the pink pony's powers of perception.
"I still do not know, but it is impressive," giggled Celestia.
The two stood there, looking down upon their realm, until Celestia spoke up.
"Feeling better?"
"Much," nodded Luna.
"Good, then let's go back home," said Celestia, preparing to fly.
"Not until we deal with the issue bothering us," replied Luna, suddenly getting serious.
Celestia paused, then folded her wings.
"Great minds do think alike, don't they?"
"We do," her sister agreed.
They lay on the grass, Celestia watching the stars while Luna gazed down at the town.
"I wish we were more like Cadence," said Luna.
Celestia raised an eyebrow at this, genuinely surprised for once.
"How so?"
"Look at her: she is young, she is an alicorn and the leader of the Crystal Empire. While all of that is nice, I envy her for the fact that she ages like a regular pony, and will live out the rest of her life alongside her husband. I wish I could do that..." she said, longingly.
Celestia remained silent for a moment, then replied.
"I know, Luna, I know. There are times when I wish I could age too. But I have learned a long time ago that desire is never fulfilled, and it is pointless to pretend otherwise. Look at food: we get hungry, eat, then later want some more, we eat again, etc. Or living in your time: Twilight Sparkle once told me that she wished she had lived during the Reneighssance, when knowledge and discoveries were spreading all over Equestria. But the fact is she is living in this day and age, and wanting to live anywhere and/or anytime else distracts you from enjoying the times you live in. The point is if you wish for something impossible, you will forever be unsatisfied. So rather than doing that, you should enjoy what you have to the fullest, even if what we have isn't as perfect as our little ponies think it is."
Luna listened to her, and after a moment she sighed.
"I suppose you are right."
"I'm glad to hear that," replied Celestia with a smile.
They stood there, simply basking in the moment, until Celestia spoke up.
"Besides, even though we are demigods, that does not stop us from having physical relations," she smirked.
Luna laughed sincerely, loving the fact that her sister could go from deep and philosophical to casual and laid back in a moment.
"True, true. Incidentally, another reason why I envy Cadence."
"Oh yes, Shining Armor is a fine stallion."
"Quite."
"Indeed."
Again, the comfortable silence came back.
"Celestia."
"Yes?"
"If the next embodiment of whatever power just happens to be a male alicorn, he is mine," she grinned.
"Deal," replied Celestia after giving a hearty laugh, a sound Luna enjoyed hearing since her sister never gave more than a giggle in front of anypony else.
They enjoyed this sisterly moment, until Luna said in a sad tone.
"We are a bit lonely, aren't we?"
Celestia said nothing for a moment, then replied in the same tone.
"In a way, I suppose."
As they lay there in the grass, looking at the cosmos displayed in all of its glory, the same question repated itself in Luna's mind.
Is there anypony like us out there?
************
As it turns out, through galaxies and asteroid belts, past planets and nebulas, in the far reaches of space, another lonely god lived in a little blue box.
Silence reigned in the deep reaches of space. Even though the universe never stopped changing, there were some parts of it where nothing seemed to happen. Those were the places where the Doctor went to meditate.
He sat there, on the threshold of his TARDIS, gazing down upon a galaxy while chewing on a banana. Under normal circumstances he would have laughed at the peculiar situation. But then again, normal circumstances varied according to an individual's life, and the Doctor was far from normal. And yet, when he would look at his reflection in the mirror, he would see a lean man with carefully combed hair, wearing a grey tweed jacket over a striped white shirt and dark grey trousers fitted with suspenders, walking around with black shoes and a blue bow-tie.
"Bow-ties are cool," he smirked, tugging at his prized possession.
His grey eyes, however, were his most distinctive trait. They were old eyes; eyes that had seen too much and burned with a powerful fire, eyes that could stare into one's very soul and leave them disturbed for some time. He was kind most of the time, but his eyes could drill a hole into someone's mind if he was angered.
Looking down upon the spiral of light, he basked in the magnificence of it all. In that galaxy, there were planets. In those planets, all sorts of events would unfold that could bring about the destruction of millions of life forms. In another one of those planets, at the same very time, hundreds of creatures would celebrate and be happy. Each and every one of these beings would live a different life, all of them unique in their own way, and the process would continue forever.
And there were billions of galaxies throughout the universe. While in one of them a sun imploded, a baby was born at the same time in another. But the Doctor did not ponder upon the details for too long. Right now, all he wanted to do was enjoy the pretty lights and his banana. Because bananas are delicious.
"Banana..." he said, as he stared at the fruit in great concentration and with much wisdom.
Inevitably, that thought alone brought him back to thinking about the universe. Bananas were from a planet called Earth, which was populated by beings known as humans. The Doctor was very fond of them. It was admittedly difficult for him not to be since they looked like him, and vice versa, but he liked them for more than just looks. They were both fascinating and repulsive, admirable and pitiful, brilliant and stupid. All of that, and so much more. They had managed to outgrow their planet and travel the universe, only to enslave other beings and exploit whatever resources they could get their hands on. And yet, he still thought highly of them. Plus they grew bananas, so that was always nice.
The Doctor then thought about himself, and how all the civilizations he had visited saw him. Some would run away as soon as they saw him while others would run towards him, begging for his good graces. Some hated him with a passion while others, such as humans, saw him as a god.
He was a one of the Time Lords: the oldest and mightiest race in the universe, who observed the cosmos and maintained Time's integrity. In fact, he was the only one of his kind left in the universe. A great war, which had raged across hundreds of galaxies, ended at the cost of his and the enemy's existence, leaving him alone with the burden to keep an eye on Time itself. He had acquired many names throughout his lives: The Oncoming Storm; The Destroyer Of Worlds; Raggedy Man; The Dark One; and many more. So many names, yet his real one was a mystery to all but himself.
Am I a god? he wondered.
There was a saying on Earth that claimed 'God was merciful'. While the Doctor was generally kind-hearted, he had proven there was darkness within him. He had created and destroyed, brought help to those who needed it and inflicted punishment upon those who deserved it. He didn't see himself as a god, but his existence alone proved otherwise. He had faced the impossible, went to Hell and back - sometimes quite literally - stared into the eyes of the Devil itself, and committed genocide on several occasions. All of that and so much more, thanks to a tool and a little blue box.
So there he was: an almighty being who could travel through space and time, gazing down upon worlds while savouring a fruit.
However, the main reason explaining why he didn't consider himself as a god was the immensity of the universe. He had seen everything, been to the end of the universe, witnessed the Big Bang - and even caused it at some point - and he still had so much left to discover. In a constantly changing universe and with a time-travelling space ship, each day was something new to experience. And that is why he lived, to see what tomorrow would bring.
He yawned, the low temperatures of space finally getting to him. Almighty being or not, he wasn't above fatigue and boredom. Plus he had finished his banana. He got up, looked down one last time at the galaxy, then at the scenery.
"Is there anybody like me out there?" he called out to the stars.
As expected, no one answered. But sometimes, it was nice to pretend that he wasn't the last of the Time Lords. With a sigh, he closed the door of his ship and made his way to the controls. The TARDIS was, on the outside, a phone box. On the inside, however, a whole ship was humming with activity, complete with stairs, corridors, and all sorts of rooms.
The relatively small entrance led to a staircase that would lead to a platform with a glass floor, showing another level underneath consisting mostly of wires, cables and circuits. Rising from the lower level to the ceiling, and standing in the middle of the glass platform, a large glass cylinder gave a soft blue glow. It was surrounded by metal panels covered with buttons, levers, switches, knobs, things, gizmos, stuff, and a scanner. Within the cylinder, a glass rod could be seen moving up and down, giving a soft rasping noise that the Doctor never got tired of hearing. This was only the control room, and it had doors that lead to other areas of the ship. This ship was so large that even the Doctor found new rooms from time to time.
He yawned again, but although his body was tired, his mind tried to fight the sleepiness. The Doctor had recently lost two of his travelling companions due to inevitable and tragic events; and he missed them dearly, just as he missed all his other companions. However sleep brought dreams and nightmares, reminding him of what he had lost and what he had gone through. Time Lords didn't need to rest very often, but the Doctor had stayed up for as long as he could, trying to avoid the dreams. He had stayed up for two months so far, but he was getting very tired, and it was time to sleep.
He gave a small sigh and went around the panels, pressing buttons and flipping switches until the humming noise coming from the TARDIS grew fainter and the ship went to sleep. He had been somewhat selfish by making the TARDIS stay active for the past two months. Ships didn't need to sleep, but the TARDIS was so much more than just a ship. He went up a staircase and walked towards him room. It was a spacious yet simple room, with a large desk covered with books and tools located to the right of a well kept bed, which was surrounded by bookshelves. Since he rarely went to his room, he never felt the need to clean it much. And so, he got into some pyjamas and crawled into bed.
"Goodnight sexy," he called out to the room.
A low woosh could be heard throughout the ship, which could be compared to a content sigh from the TARDIS. He smiled, and gazed at the ceiling. He though about his ship, his one true companion among so many others, and he found some joy knowing that through thick and thin, the TARDIS had remained his quiet yet faithful ally.
Still, it would be nice to have an actual conversation with someone like me. he thought wistfully.
Dismissing any other negative thoughts, the Doctor drifted off to sleep, soothed by the low hum of the TARDIS. He didn't dream that night.
************
The Doctor woke up, feeling surprisingly content. Today was another day, which meant another adventure. But first, a banana and getting dressed. Strolling down the stairs, he arrived to the control room and skipped over to the console, going through his routine in order to wake up the TARDIS.
"Good morning, honey. How did you sleep?" he called out.
The TARDIS answered with a blurry beep.
"Right, still sleeping. Sorry," he whispered.
It dawned on him that he was talking to his ship. While he would usually never pay attention to his ramblings, he realised just how alone he was and how weird he must have seemed to his companions.
"What to do today, what to do? Gazzotti is always fun, or I could go visit the Ood. And why am I talking to myself? I must be losing my mind...".
He stood perfectly still for a moment, slowly chewing his banana, then shrugged.
"Right, we'll see to that later. So, the Ood, stay focused."
He slowly walked over to the scanner and activated it. The screen displayed space coordinates, dates, energy levels, their current position and other readings. He stood there, staring at the screen the way humans stare into their fridge in the morning to get their brain working.
"Come on, universe. Give me a sign..."
...*GONG*...*GONG*...*GONG*...
The Doctor's eyes went wide at the sound of a bell, ringing throughout the room. That was the sound of the cloister bell: an alarm that rarely manifested itself. Then again, the only time when that alarm sounded was when a TARDIS and its crew were in danger, and there weren't many things that could endanger a TARDIS. Whatever the danger was, it was something big.
Suddenly, the whole place was shrouded in red light, snapping the Doctor out of his trance. He looked at the screen, several readings going wild and energy levels rising. A hologram of himself appeared next to him, called the voice interface. It was one of the many security features of the TARDIS, and it spoke with his voice, but bereft of any emotion.
WARNING. UNKNOWN SPACE-TIME DISTURBANCE LOCATED IN THE AREA. ENGAGE EMERGENCY PROCEDURES IMMEDIATELY.
The TARDIS buzzed with activity, the glass rod pumping up and down rapidly. The Doctor ran around the control panels, doing everything he could to stabilize the ship and engage the autopilot. When he was sure that the ship was ready, he ran over to the entrance and threw the doors open. Far below the TARDIS a large spiral had appeared, swirling with black, red and dark orange colours. Inside, blue smoke seemed to float around and small bolts of lightning flew across from time to time. It was as if a maelstrom had appeared in space, except nothing in the area could have created it, which meant it had literally appeared out of nowhere.
“Impossible...” he muttered.
The Doctor had encountered several space-time disturbances in his travels: black holes, wormholes, time fields, and all sorts of distortions and anomalies. He was nothing short of an expert, but this thing was foreign to him. In all of his adventures through time and space, he had never seen anything quite like this. And yet, it seemed familiar to him for some unknown reason.
How can I recognise this if I haven't-
The TARDIS lurched suddenly, almost sending the Doctor plummeting to his doom. Hanging on for dear life, he realised that his ship had been caught by an invisible force and was heading towards the maelstrom. While he didn't know what the maelstrom could do, it could lead to what the Time Lords called the Void, which was the emptiness between universes. It was a dead space: no time or space, light or sound, nothing whatsoever; and more importantly, no exit. It was known to some as the Howling, while others called it Hell. Or it could destroy him and the TARDIS as soon as they touched it.
“See, this is what I get for sleeping,” he groaned.
He slammed the doors shut and all but threw himself at the controls, desperately trying to fly away from the catastrophe that was raging below him. He ran around the panels pressing buttons, flipping switches, pulling levers and spinning wheels, doing anything and everything he could to survive. And that still didn't stop the TARDIS from being pulled into the swirling abyss.
“This is not good, this is very very bad!” he screamed, realising his efforts were futile.
The energy from the maelstrom was applying massive pressure on the TARDIS, and it groaned under the effort to remain whole. Sparks erupted from the control panel, the large glass cylinder was cracking, and flames erupted from various places as power cables snapped. On the screen, readings were going wild while machinery failed, and the TARDIS seemed to be screaming in pain.
In the midst of all the chaos, the Doctor was running around, his mind working at full speed. According to his calculations, he had minutes before reaching the event horizon: the surface of a black hole marking the point of no return. Once he reached that limit, he was doomed. That thing below didn't look like a black hole, but the Doctor supposed it behaved like one. He screamed in frustration.
“What good are you if you can’t even find the energy to-”
He was interrupted by another seizure, because of the TARDIS desperately trying to avoid the swirling mass of colours. That shock, however, was exactly what the Doctor needed to clear his mind and find the solution.
The TARDIS was powered by Vortex energy, which was energy found in the dimension through which all time travellers passed: the Time Vortex. It was the raw power of the universe, and could rival the power of billions of suns. It might even rival the power of the maelstrom. He could expel the energy from its container, and use it to create a power that would cancel out the maelstrom. However this was a life-threatening risk, as opposing the two massive powers could have devastating repercussions.
The Doctor had been through some rough situations with his TARDIS, but none of them had been like this one. By emptying the power from his TARDIS, assuming he managed to escape the maelstrom, it would leave his ship without any energy or defences. And even if he managed to make the maelstrom disappear, it would take a long time for the TARDlS to draw any energy possible from their surroundings, leaving him completely vulnerable to everything and anything. The whole ship would fail in an instant, and he would die. But between certain death and a very slim chance of survival, he chose the best option.
Alrighty then, let's take that thing down.
The Doctor ran around his control panel, preparing to stop the catastrophe that was going to unleash itself upon the universe. The TARDIS gave a low humming noise that grew louder and louder as the Doctor engaged the ultimate procedure. The voice interface reappeared.
WARNING. VORTEX ENERGY IS ESCAPING FROM THE CONTAINMENT CHAMBER. ATTEND TO THIS PROBLEM IMMEDIATELY.
All the Doctor had to do was press one final button, and the Vortex energy would be expelled from the TARDIS. He took a deep breath, then pressed the button. A hiss could be heard among the various noises caused by the imploding TARDIS. The Doctor was ready to continue his own rescue when the hissing stopped, and a message appeared on the scanner.
WARNING. A SYSTEM MALFUNCTION HAS INTERRUPTED THE VORTEX ENERGY RELEASE PROCEDURE. MANUAL ACTION IS REQUIRED.
"Oh, come on!" shouted the Doctor.
Frustrated by the fact that things kept getting worse, he ran over to one of his control panels and assessed the situation. Said panel had been rising from its frame before stopping abruptly, but the objective was still there. Underneath the panel, a heavenly light could be seen. It was of the purest white, and seemed to seep from the opening like mist. The Doctor averted his gaze, for the Vortex energy was fascinating, the way a moth found a light bulb hypnotizing.
"Right, so...manual action. Here we go."
He steadied himself, then grabbed the end of the panel and threw it open. The Vortex energy exploded out of its container and the Doctor was thrown onto his back by its power. It lingered in the air, like a cloud of glowing sand, then sped out towards the entrance. The ship's doors opened, letting the Vortex energy fly out into space, then slammed themselves shut. The Doctor got up, grabbed the large scanner connected to the hexagonal control panel and set the screen to show the area surrounding the TARDIS.
The maelstrom seemed to have grown bigger, and had "chewed" the surrounding area, getting closer and closer to the galaxy he was contemplating before. The Vortex energy materialised around the TARDIS like a golden cloud, wrapping the ship in a cocoon of pure energy. The Doctor watched as his TARDIS was sucked into the abyss.
The interior of the ship had stopped blowing up, either because the ship had managed to contain the damage or because everything was already damaged. The lights started fading out, and the air grew colder and colder until the Doctor could see the fog made by his breathing. For a moment, everything stood still.
Suddenly, the entire ship started to vibrate. The vibrations became stronger and stronger until they became full blown quakes, as the TARDIS had arrived to the event horizon. Outside, the Time Vortex fought against the might of the maelstrom. The ship shook as if having a seizure, and the area around it seemed to twist itself in bizarre shapes. The Doctor had calculated that the Vortex Energy and the maelstrom would act as opposing magnets and simply cancel each other out. However, the ship was still being pulled in. The Doctor had mixed feelings of apprehension, until he looked at the scanner and paled. The Vortex Energy was slowly fading, and the ball of energy that surrounded the TARDIS was getting thinner and smaller.
The Doctor realised this was the most violent ordeal he and his ship had ever faced, and that it might be the last. He ran over to the chair that was located on the platform and grabbed the nearby handrail, bracing himself for the fall. This wasn't what he lived for, but it was one of the risks that came with adventure.
"Hold on, sexy..." he called out to his ship, "it's going to be one hell of a ride!"
A few seconds later, the Vortex Energy dissipated and the TARDIS simply fell. It flew around inside the maelstrom a few times, as if it were a tree caught in a tornado, then dropped down into the darkness, spinning like a top at an impossible speed.
The Doctor was stuck to his seat by the force of acceleration that the TARDIS was generating. He was aware of the maelstrom outside, and he could feel the TARDIS spinning among the dark colours and the smoke. From time to time, a bolt of lightning would make the ship shake, and he would bounce in his seat without falling out of it. He was yelling from the pain and laughing because of the shaking and bouncing of his ship. The noise and destruction had returned and the whole place was in absolute chaos, with severed cables and bits of machinery flying around. That didn't stop him from staying focused.
If this keeps getting worse I'm going to throw up.
I wonder how fast we're going.
Blimey this hurts.
I guess this is how being in a washing machine feels like.
I hope I'll be able to save my ship.
Are we there yet?
With a lot of effort, he managed to pull himself to the control panels and grabbed the scanner. It seemed the ship had some energy left - probably drawn from some emergency chamber - because the console was the only thing left working, which allowed him to see his surroundings. Outside, he saw nothing but red, black and orange swirling around. For a moment he thought he saw something else in the storm, but he quickly forgot about it as a particularly violent tremor threw him back into his seat. He was still worried, as the TARDIS was not built for this kind of environment and would not be able to survive if they stayed in the maelstrom for much longer.
The chaos seemed to go on forever until the ship slowly stopped spinning. Slowly, the light of the console grew stronger, the shaking became mild vibrations, and the explosions ceased - except from some sparks that flew out of different parts of the control room.
I'm...alive. Even after all this, I'm still alive.
He gave a shaky laugh, and looked at the ceiling. The voice interface reappeared next to him, but the hologram was twisted and the sound system seemed to have taken quite a lot of damage, since it spoke with the same emotionless voice but blurrier.
Even though he was going through one hell of an ordeal, the Doctor was curious as to where he was. He managed to grab the scanner, and called out to the ship.
"Show me where I am! I want a visual of the area outside!"
It took a moment but the image slowly focused, as requested, and he was taken by surprise by what he was seeing. He had emerged from the maelstrom, which seemed to have disappeared after he had fallen out, and into familiar territory. The stars were still there, little white dots on the black canvas of the universe, and he seemed to be hurtling towards Earth. Far away from his ship the blue planet was there, with small patches of green showing the land on which humans lived. However, two things puzzled him. First of all, something seemed different about the planet: the land masses weren't shaped the right way and seemed to be larger. Moreover, the colours didn't fit with any of his memories.
Perhaps the power that threw us through space was great enough to send us through time as well? Is this Earth at another time? The past maybe. Jurassic era? Those were the days.
Even with that analysis, the Doctor was still unconvinced. It didn't look or feel the way it should, and it was unlikely that Earth had acquired more land in the future. The second reason was that he seemed to be much too far from the planet to cause an alarm, so what was he heading for? Then the projection showed his true impact target: the moon. The TARDIS was going to crash into the moon.
The Doctor was dreading this for several reasons. He would, first of all, crash several times until the TARDIS could set up a stable gravity. When that was over, he would have to find a way to fix his ship and stay stranded for an undetermined amount of time on the rock. Finally, he would be bored. The Doctor didn't react well to boredom.
I'll worry about that later. Right now, I need to focus on crashing.
He jumped back to his seat, closed his eyes and braced himself, his body ready for the last part of his ordeal. Suddenly his eyes snapped back open as he remembered something: the Vortex Energy was gone, and that he was still flying through space at millions of miles per hour. The good news was that he wouldn't crash into the moon. The bad news was that he would keep going, as the speed would be too great to allow the ship to stop. And he had no defences left.
"Oh, perfect..." he groaned.
Seconds after he realised this, the entire place shook wildly as the TARDIS bounced off the moon, and headed for the planet below. Even though it seemed impossible the exterior of the TARDIS had survived the impact, but it had received even more damage: the windows of the big blue box shattered and flames erupted out from them, starting to burn the outside of the ship.
Even though the inside of the TARDIS was shaking like balls in a bingo machine and imploding as if fireworks had been set off, the Doctor had adapted to his chaotic environment and was back at the controls, trying to make his crash landing a little more bearable. But try as he might, nothing was responding, and sparks kept flying out of the console. Still, amidst all the explosions and despite his current predicament, he realised he had gone through this before, during his previous regeneration. Back then he and his ship seemed doomed, and even though the previous situation wasn't as critical, he had pulled through. He felt relieved, knowing that he would prevail once more.
I'll get through this. Probably. Maybe.
Then, excitement rushed through him: THIS is what he lived for. The adventure, the thrill of discovery, and the challenge of going into the unknown. Because of the sense of déjà-vu and the rush of adrenaline, he ran around the control panel, laughing madly the whole time. After making the final touches, he threw himself on his chair and threw his head back. Taking a deep breath, he shouted at the ceiling.
"GERONIMO!"
************
On the planet below Princess Luna gave a shudder, as if something had crawled up her back. Her sister noticed this and raised an eyebrow.
"What is it?" she asked in a worried tone.
Luna didn't move for a moment, then replied slowly.
"I'm not sure how to explain it...but something...hit the moon?"
Celestia stared at her with wide eyes. That was peculiar, even by her standards.
"What does that mean?"
Luna was about to answer when something caught her eye. Up above, a bright shooting star was sailing through the sky. She quickly rose to her hooves, spreading her wings in case she needed to fly away.
"What is it Luna?" asked Celestia, somewhat agitated by her sister's behaviour.
Luna stared at the star and replied.
"That shooting star..."
Celestia was puzzled. She thought that Luna was the last pony that would be startled by a shooting star.
"Yes, what about it?"
"I didn't summon it."
A small 'boom' was heard, and the ground shook slightly. Celestia's eyes widened, and she too stood tall.
"We need to investigate this. Something is coming."
The two alicorns took off, and followed the path of the mysterious star.
************
A massive 'boom' echoed throughout the TARDIS, which shook violently once more. The Doctor clutched his chair and the handrail, preparing himself for what the sound announced.
And that is the TARDIS entering the planet's atmosphere. Also, the planet has an atmosphere, good to know. Almost there, and here comes the last part.
The last part of the ordeal was the 'landing'. His laughter had died down and he was increasingly worried, because this was the first time he had to land in such dangerous conditions. The Doctor took a deep breath, and exhaled. He thought he was ready, but that idea quickly went away as the big blue box smashed into the ground, and the interior collapsed. Anything that was left from the previous waves of destruction was destroyed, and the interior of the TARDIS shook with the force of an earthquake. The ship bounced forward several times, as a rock would on water, but its momentum wasn't slowed down.
The Doctor's chair was ripped off its base and smashed into the ceiling while he went flying. He was hurled against the wall and yelled out in pain as he landed back-first on the glass floor of the platform, which was the last thing it could take. He fell through a rain of glass shards and onto the floor below.
After what felt like hours, the ship had finally settled down. The walls had gashes in them, flames were burning all over the place, sparks erupted in random spurts from several different spots, debris littered the whole place, and the only thing that had survived the fall through space was the great glass pillar, along with the hexagonal panel that surrounded it. It was covered in cracks now, at the very edge of falling apart, and the control panels were destroyed.
The Doctor lay there, unmoving and breathing slowly among the glass shards, simply choosing to stay still for a moment. He could barely feel the burning room around him, he was exhausted, and any part of his body that he could still feel hurt atrociously.
"At least all this pain...proves that I'm alive. Also, I'm still talking to myself... so everything is perfectly normal. As normal as it gets anyway...and I can hear myself so that's convenient," he muttered.
The first thing to do after going trough a crash-landing is to check if anything is broken, which is exactly what the Doctor did.
"Hands and fingers: 1,2,3,4,5, check," he said, wiggling his digits.
"Which means that the arms..." he continued, raising his arms very slowly," ...are still working. Good."
He touched his head, inspecting every aspect.
"Hair, check. Skull, still in one piece. Nose, still there. Eyes, good. Mouth and teeth," he clicked his tongue once, "alright. Chin, still there? and just as big as before..." he grumbled, after checking his large jaw. He propped himself up on his elbows and looked down at his chest to examine himself. His clothes were ripped and burned in several places, but nothing seemed to be missing.
"Sight, check. The rest, check for now. Bow-tie...is still there, great," he chuckled, which made him cough roughly.
"...Lungs...check...again."
After confirming that the top half of his body was still working, he started working on the other half.
"...Other parts, still there, I hope. Legs..."
When he tried to move his legs, however, he couldn't do it. He couldn't feel them either. Dread slowly creeped through him.
"Oh, that's not good. That's not good...this is very bad..." he moaned, and shouted in anger.
There he was: the almighty Doctor, broken and stuck on the floor of his equally broken and damaged ship. That fact, among others, had a great impact on him, but the most depressing one was the realisation that he was completely alone. As selfish as it might sound, he wanted to have someone next to him to share the pain with. Moreover, the TARDIS showed no signs of life whatsoever. He was stranded with his thoughts, and he knew that if he didn't die soon they would slowly drive him crazier.
But just before he could think of anything, the sound of his front doors opening and footsteps startled him for several reasons. First off, there were creatures outside. Second, they were coming in. Third, they had opened the TARDIS' doors. That either meant that they were incredibly powerful and intelligent, or that the chances of repairing his ship were getting thinner by the minute.
His greatest shock came when what had entered appeared above him. They seemed to be two large horses, with wings and a horn. While they were both large creatures, one dwarfed the other. The tallest one was snow-white with rainbows flowing out of its head. The smaller one was a very dark navy blue, with darkness and stars coming out of its head. However, their features seemed to be softer and rounder than those of regular horses. At that moment, the Doctor was amazed and speechless; he wanted to laugh but couldn't, simply staring up at the two creatures.
The white one looked around, then down to where he had fallen. And, against all impossible odds, it spoke.
"Luna, look down there."
The Doctor was astonished, because the fact that it spoke could mean three things: the TARDIS was still working, they spoke English, or he had finally lost what was left of his sanity. Out of these possibilities, the latter seemed to be the most probable. He said the first thing that crossed his mind.
"...What?"
The dark one looked down, and gasped before replying.
"What is that?"
They spoke. They actually spoke. And one of them is called Luna, what a fantastic name.
"...What!?"
"And it speaks! Equestrian no less!"
"WH-"
Before he could say anything else, exhaustion got the better of him and he fell unconscious.
************
The royal sisters watched as the mysterious object crashed into a field, then skipped several times before forming a crater further away. For a moment they didn't move, until they agreed it was safe to find out what had landed. At the bottom of the crater lay what appeared to be a large blue wardrobe. It was covered in dirt and ash, and flames could be seen burning from the windows and on some parts of the exterior. They walked down the slope formed by the crater, and approached the box. It seemed to have two large doors, with small windows at the top and a slightly charred sign on it.
"Celestia? Do you have any idea what this might be?" asked Luna, in a slightly nervous voice.
When Celestia didn't answer she looked up, seeing her sister stare at something. Luna followed her sister's eyes, and found the most peculiar thing. Above the doors, a rectangular black panel read in white letters:
POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX
"No Luna, I don't have the faintest. This is definitely something new."
Luna was puzzled. If this came from beyond the stars, how could there be a sign written in Equestrian? And what was this 'police'?
She looked at the big blue box some more, and stood in front of the doors. Hesitantly, she laid a hoof on one of them. It swung inward with a creaking noise, revealing the inside. Luna was bewildered: she was staring at a very large room, filled with smoke, debris and fire. A glass pillar, with holes in several places, stood in the middle of a small platform surrounded by several broken metal panels. Although that room was peculiar, it was the fact that she was staring at a very large place in the first place that shocked her. How could such a large room fit in such a small box? This box was, for lack of a better term, impossible. She walked around the box once, stared at the room again, then went around the cabin a second time. She then turned to her sister, who had left the reconnaissance to her sibling.
"It seems to be bigger on-"
She was interrupted by a loud noise from the inside of the contraption, and immediately jumped next to her sister, wings flared and magic ready. Celestia, however, walked towards the entrance with a neutral expression.
"Celestia what are you doing? It might be dangerous!"
Celestia kept walking, but replied with a calm voice.
"Whatever 'it' is, we need to make sure it isn't hurt."
"Hurt? How could a box be hurt?"
Celestia stopped, then looked back at her sister.
"I don't know exactly what this is Luna, but this is not just a box. I sense...life within it. Moreover, there is something else in there, and it shouted out in pain. Therefore, we need to help it."
Luna stood there, confused by her sister's behaviour, then followed her older sibling, knowing that everything Celestia did was always thought through. And so, they entered the impossible box and observed their surroundings. The whole place seemed dead, apart from the fire that had spread throughout the room. Everything they saw was either burning or burnt, breaking or broken, and it was all too quiet, except for the crackling of the fire.
Celestia saw a small staircase that led to the platform and signalled Luna to follow, choosing to remain quiet until they could safely talk. They both walked up the steps, then stopped. What could once be identified as a floor was gone, bits of glass jutting out from the edges of the platform. After observing the large glass pillar, she looked down the hole and saw something peculiar. On a bed of shattered glass, a strange creature seemed to wriggling in discomfort. It was hairless, apart from some fur on what appeared to be its head. It wore strange clothing, albeit ripped and burnt, and seemed to be bipedal. If Celestia were to describe its general appearance, she would say it looked like a hairless minotaur. And said minotaur was staring at them.
"Luna, look down there."
The minotaur seemed to be bewildered, and - amazingly enough - it spoke.
"...What?"
Luna looked down, then gasped.
"What in Equestria is that?" she shouted, slightly panicked.
The creature spoke once more, astonishment clear in its voice.
"...What?!"
Luna was amazed at this point.
"And it speaks! Equestrian no less!"
"WH-"
The creature was about to reply before it shuddered, then stopped moving. The two sisters looked down on it, before Luna spoke up.
"Is it...dead?"
Celestia looked down at it for a moment, before replying.
"No. It just seems to have...fainted."
"...What should we do with it?"
Celestia closed her eyes to concentrate, then spoke.
"This box does not appear to be a threat. Rather, it doesn't seem to be able to threaten us or anything that comes in contact with it, for now. As for this creature, it is clearly wounded, and it doesn't seem to be a threat either. Again, for now. What I think we should do is bring it back to the castle. We can't bring it to a common hospital, since it would spread fear in the population, and we can't just leave it here. We do, however, need to secure this box. I need you to bring any night-guard available here and keep an eye on this place, while I bring this creature back to the castle."
Luna nodded, then went out of the room and flew towards Canterlot.
Celestia remained there for a moment, then used her magic to fire a beam of light at the console, which glowed for a few seconds before it went back to its former state. She then lifted the Doctor up off the floor and brought him in front of her. She stared at him for a moment, then smiled.
"So, you finally showed up. Just like you said you would. Let's get you home."
Placing the Doctor on her back, she left the TARDIS and took off towards the castle. A moment after she left, the lamp on top of the TARDIS glowed faintly, and the doors slammed shut. A clicking noise, and they were were locked. It did not move afterwards, not even when Luna returned with her guards. And, try as they might, it would stay locked until the Doctor returned.
The Doctor's eyes snapped open the moment he regained consciousness. They darted around the room, which was dark because of the purple shades covering the windows, but light could be seen behind the veil. He was lying in a large bed, complete with big white pillows and purple sheets. The room was rather large and had no furniture other than the bed, but simple enough to deem it cozy and give it a 'homey' kind of feeling. He tried to move, but found his wrists attached to the bedpost by thick silk ropes.
This could only mean one thing.
"River?" he called out.
He received no answer, which puzzled him greatly. He proceeded to look at the ceiling, which was high above him and as white as snow, while thinking about who or what had the idea of using silk ropes. Suddenly, he remembered what had happened to him: the maelstrom, the fall though space, the crash. What was that maelstrom, and what did it do to the TARDIS? He gave a little chuckle.
That made falling from a spaceship seem like tripping on a shoelace.
Then he remembered the most peculiar detail about his incident: the horses. Was he delirious after the crash, making his mind play tricks on him? It had done that before, after all. Or was it real? And if so, what had happened afterwards to have him tied up to a bed?
All right; that takes River out of the equation, surprisingly enough.
But if River wasn't involved, who or what had taken him here? And that made the Doctor even more curious as to finding out what situation he had gotten himself into. He also remembered the pain he had gone through, which made him look at his left hand.
It was immaculate, maybe even cleaner than before his predicament had even started. Then he noticed that his arm was bare and as pristine as his hand, which made him look to his right, only to find that his other arm was the same as its twin. With dread crawling into his mind, he slowly looked down to see that his fears were confirmed: no shirt, no jacket, no bow-tie, no nothing; only a bare chest, and the only thing that hid his lower half from view was the thin purple bed sheet.
Well, nevermind.
"RIVER!" cried the Doctor while struggling to free himself, "Where are you?!"
"QUIET!"
The booming voice made the Doctor stop moving, not from fear but from curiosity: where had the voice come from?
He only had to look at the foot of his bed to see a large crystal sphere, placed on a golden pedestal, which gave a soft blue glow. After looking at the sphere, he gave another look around the room to see if he could find something else before the voice came back. To his left he saw a small night stand, with a little white marble lamp and a red alarm clock. He then noticed some bookcases, and a desk that had some paper and a bottle of ink with a quill in it.
Suddenly the voice came back, but it wasn't as loud as before.
"Do you know why you are here?"
The Doctor took a few seconds to realize that the voice was actually coming from the sphere, and that the glow seemed to grow stronger when the voice manifested itself. He took a moment to think, then answered.
"I actually don't, which doesn't happen very often, but I'll try and guess."
"No you-"
"Hush now, I'm trying to give a witty answer," snapped the Doctor with a smirk. The sphere's glow softened.
"That's better. Now at first glance I'm in a very nice room, tied to a bed and only half naked, I hope. You are talking to me through a sphere, which suggests that you are a sentient being and not just a...very smart ball. Also I'm still alive, and I can see that I look pretty good which leads me to believe that you have healed me after my accident, for some reason."
The Doctor paused to let his explanation sink in, before the sphere replied.
"Continue..."
"You're really listening, that's good; you'd be surprised how often people don't listen. Anyway, I can think of some reasons as to why I'm still alive: you want to study me, you've made me your prisoner, or you want to eat me."
"...What?"
"Well yes: you healed and cleaned me, and put me in a nice room instead of just opening me up, while leaving a crystal ball or something to talk to me, and I guess observe me. It makes me think 'maybe they want to eat me?'. But you could have done that while I was unconscious; so maybe you only feed on thoughts and emotions, or maybe being in a conscious state makes me tastier, or both."
"And if that's the case," said the Doctor, while finding a straighter position in his bed and leaning forward as far as he could, "I should warn you now: you might find my thoughts hard to digest and I taste like broccoli; I know this for a fact."
The ball remained silent for a moment, then replied with what could be described as bewilderment.
"...How...what?"
"It's a long story about a crazy night. Please don't ask."
"We don't want to eat you!"
"Aha!" exclaimed the Doctor, "You said 'we' which means that you're not alone, wherever you are. You don't want to eat me, so maybe you want to study me. Unless..."
The Doctor's voice got less enthusiastic, and he seemed to be slightly annoyed.
"You need my help with something."
"Hey, you were in a sorry state when we got you in here so quit being cocky!"
Another noise seemed to come from the ball, and a faint 'sorry' could be heard.
"Then tell me why I'm here," said the Doctor in a neutral tone.
"We want to help you!"
The Doctor's eyes widened, and it took him a moment to reply.
"Really?"
"Yes, and- you know what, hold on."
"Wait, wait, wai-!"
The glow from the sphere died, and the Doctor was left alone with a lot of unanswered questions. For a moment nothing happened, then the sound of a door opening came from the Doctor's right. Suddenly his ropes started glowing blue, until they untied themselves and fell to the floor. The Doctor was so surprised that he let his arms drop to his side, and the reflex of rubbing his wrists only kicked in after a few seconds.
"Feeling better?" asked a familiar voice.
The Doctor recognised it as the voice behind the sphere.
"Yes, thank you very much," he said before turning around, "you are-"
The Doctor faced the origin of the voice, and went absolutely still.
Standing before him was a large...cartoon unicorn. It wore a Thracian helmet, with a fur of several shades of blues showing at the top. Its back and neck were covered with a gold and purple armour, and it wore a plate on its chest with a pink, six-pointed star engraved on it. The creature was white, had blue eyes, and the top of its head would reach the middle of the Doctor's chest if he were to face him; and judging by its appearance, the Doctor identified him as a male, until he could learn more about it.
"You don't need to be afraid, I'm not going to hurt you. I am-"
"Adorable..." muttered the Doctor.
The two looked at each other for a moment, until the unicorn spoke up.
"...What did you say?"
"You're adorable! Look at you!" exclaimed the Doctor, while pointing at the creature with a huge smile. "And you can talk! And you have a gorgeous armour! And you're a unicorn! And you...you...talk! Oh, this is hysterical!"
The unicorn stared at the Doctor, with his right eye twitching slightly.
"Anyway...my name is Shining Armor, and-"
"Shining Armor?! Are you serious?!" exclaimed the Doctor, with tears of laughter starting to show in his eyes.
"...Yes, I am. And if you don't want me to put those ropes back on you, I strongly suggest you stop laughing," said the unicorn with a very annoyed expression.
"Oh my God, you're getting mad. That makes you even cuter! Ahahaha-"
Before the Doctor could finish his sentence, the unicorn's horn started to glow as blue as the ball's light, and the ropes floated up to reattach the Doctor to the bedposts. He was so surprised by this that he immediately stopped laughing, and stared at the ropes.
"How did you do that?"
"Magic, of course," snorted the unicorn.
"All right I'm sorry, there's no need to be sarcastic," muttered the Doctor.
"Actually, it is magic. To be more precise, psychokinesis," said a new voice.
The Doctor looked around to see that another unicorn had walked in, except that this one was much different. Its fur was light blue, it had yellow eyes and black hair. It wore a pair of round glasses and a white lab coat, with a stethoscope hanging from its neck. The Doctor had the urge to start laughing again, but restrained himself in order to have a better start with this horse.
"That kind of spell is taught to us at a very young age, it's nothing major. And you're right, he is adorable," chuckled the unicorn.
"Hey, come on now," grumbled Shining Armor.
"Don't worry Armor, I'm just teasing you. And you can leave now, I'll deal with our patient."
"Sorry doctor, but I can't. For your security, I have to stay in here to protect you in case it tries anything funny," said Shining Armor, while narrowing his eyes at the Doctor.
"See, you are adorable," giggled the unicorn, "Fine, just stand aside and let me work."
Shining Armor gave a grunt, then turned to the Doctor.
"All right...you. This is doctor Life Support, and she's been treating you ever since you got here, so show some respect. Now, as I was saying: I'm Shining Armor, and-"
"Thank you, mister Armor, you may stand aside," said the doctor.
Shining Armor looked like he was about to yell, but instead chose to take a deep breath, untie the ropes with his magic, and stand aside. The other unicorn nodded, then approached the bed where the Doctor had put his back against the headboard.
"All right here's the deal: normally I would have to go through a whole bunch of medical stuff, and I would be talking to you through the ball. However, you've shown us that you're a smart creature and you don't look too dangerous, so I took a few liberties and we're going to skip some things but before we start, I'll let you ask a question or two."
The Doctor thought about it for a few seconds, then asked her.
"Where are my clothes?"
The doctor stared at the Doctor for a second, then started to laugh loudly.
"Oh, I like you already! But to answer your question, your clothes, as well as your other possessions, are being examined by several specialists. Don't worry though, you're not naked, we left the last piece of clothing on."
"My socks?"
"Ha! Good one, but no. I don't know what they're called, but they cover your hips. Anything else?"
"Yes, I do have another small question: why am I tied to a bed?"
Life Support took a few seconds to answer.
"To be honest, I'm not really sure. All I can tell you is that it's an order from above."
"Okay, one last question: where's my box?"
" That's classified." said Shining Armor.
"...Fine." muttered the Doctor.
"We'll talk about all that later though, because I need to talk to you about some things first," interrupted the medical pony, " So let's begin: I am a pony. What species are you?"
He was going to tell the truth, but paused just before doing so. He had no idea where he was, or what these 'ponies' wanted from him. He was cautious, and said what seemed like a good idea.
"...I can't remember, I'm sorry."
She gave a nod and scribbled some notes on the parchment.
"That's all right, I was expecting some memory loss. Next question: do you remember your name?"
The Doctor smirked, then replied.
"Yes I do. I'm the Doctor."
The doctor looked at him, then snorted.
"No you're not; I am, you're the patient."
"Well actually I am the Doctor, but I'm not a doctor. Actually I have some doctorates, but I'm not a doctor of medicine and all that. So I'm the Doctor, not an official doctor, and I'm also a patient. So there you go, doctor."
Life Support sighed, then smiled.
"All right then...Doctor," he nodded, and she continued, "Next up: this is the land of Equestria. Do you know where that is?"
The Doctor blinked twice, then replied.
"I don't."
"Okay. Now I could go on, but I want to progress slowly with you. I do have one last very important question: how do you feel?"
"Well...I feel great," started the Doctor, then started to frown,"...but my legs are a little numb. Actually, can you tell me how long I was asleep?"
"...A week."
"Oh. Well that explains it."
Life Support raised an eyebrow.
"How so?"
"Well if I don't use a part of my body for a while it starts to get...sleepy, to put it simply."
She looked at him for a bit, then continued.
"Actually, we need to talk about that. While you were asleep, we healed you - as you've seen - sliced you open and looked at your insides."
The Doctor's eyes widened, but Life Support smirked.
"Just kidding. We actually used magic to observe your body, both inside and out. Again, I'll elaborate later; but I want you to look at something."
Her horn started to glow a pale yellow, and some sheets of paper floated out of her pocket and towards the Doctor. He caught them in mid-air, and unfolded them. He was looking at an x-ray of his entire body.
"Oh...this is new and interesting," he mumbled.
"Not really. Now I can't tell what is supposed to be there and what isn't, but I do recognise an injury when I see one. Specifically, right here," said Life Support, pointing at one part of the sheet.
The Doctor looked at his skeleton from top to bottom and couldn't see what she was referring to, until he looked at the base of the spine, above the coccyx. The spinal cord was bent at an abnormal angle, and some cracks could be seen on the vertebrae. The Doctor had suspected this, but he was hoping it wasn't true.
"Do you know what this means?" she said, neutrally.
"...Yes, I do. This shows that my spine is damaged. I'm paralysed from the waist down."
"That's right. Now, we're going to try and repair it, but I can't promise you anything. Magic is a powerful thing, but it can't make miracles happen."
"A miracle..." said the Doctor, looking at his hand. He didn't say anything for a moment, then looked away from the ponies.
"Could I...have a moment alone, please?"
"Of course. Let's go, Captain Armor."
He nodded and followed her out, giving one last look at the Doctor before closing the door. The Doctor put the sheet on the night stand next to him, put his face in his hands, and shook as he cried.
Or at least that's what the crystal ball was showing to the ponies in the office. The Doctor was putting on a show, making it seem like he was broken and weak. But not the Doctor, never. If need be, he could be the greatest actor who ever lived. And so he sat there, pondering on his situation, and started planning his escape.
************
"Oh gosh, look at the poor thing..." muttered Life Support, putting a hoof on the crystal ball that was in her office. Standing next to her were Shining Armor and the princesses, who were observing the Doctor with interest.
"What do you expect? This thing falls into our world, looses some of its memories and finds out it can't walk anymore. How would you react?" said Shining Armor.
"Hey, respect the thing, captain Armor," she snapped.
Meanwhile, the celestial sisters were having their own private discussion. Unlike the other ponies, Celestia and Luna could communicate on a different level: through telepathy.
So what do you think about all of this, Celestia? asked Luna.
Celestia stood there, observing the Doctor with a stoic expression, then answered.
I don't know yet, but I can tell that this creature doesn't want to harm us. All we can do for now is observe.
Should we reveal ourselves?
Not yet. He has to get accustomed to our subjects before meeting us.
I see...wait, 'him' ?
From what we've seen, yes: I think this creature is a male.
Luna just looked at her sister for a moment, then shrugged.
I suppose...
"I think it would be best if we gave the Doctor some privacy," said Celestia, ending her private discussion.
"Thank you, your majesty," said Life Support with a smile.
"I was talking about our 'guest', doctor Life Support," giggled Celestia.
"Oh right, yes. I can tell this is going to be annoying."
"I'm sure it will."
Giving a short bow, they all left the room. But just before she left, Celestia looked at the orb and smiled.
"You were right, Doctor: you really can act when you want to," she chuckled. And with that, she left the office. Outside of the room, Luna was waiting.
"What were you doing in there?" she asked, somewhat suspicious.
"Oh, nothing bad. It's just that he's so...unique."
"I see...well, I have to start planning for tonight. I will see you later, sister."
Celestia smiled and gave a nod, and watched her sister leave for her quarters. When she was out of sight, Celestia's horn glowed, and she vanished in a bright white light. She reappeared in her chambers, and looked around to find that she was alone. Using her magic she levitated a large wooden flute, which had the symbol of the Sun engraved on it, out of a chest that she kept next to a large wooden closet. She sat on the large purple carpet that lay in her room, and started to play a simple melody.
Once she had finished, she wrote instructions on a parchment, and waited. A few seconds later, a large phoenix entered the room, cawing happily. She extended her foreleg, and gave the parchment to the phoenix.
"Could you go to the Research department and give them this? It's important," she asked the bird, who nodded once. "Thank you Philomena. Off you go," she said with a smile.
The phoenix spread its wings, and flew out the window. The alicorn gave a little sigh of relief, then levitated a notebook from the same chest. It was worn and slightly torn, but it was one of her most prized possessions. She opened it and went through the first few pages, then read its contents carefully.
"Ah, here we are: he's arrived, he's met them, and now...oh."
Celestia read a few pages, closed the book, and stared at it. It was somewhat small, with brown leather panels and thin yellow pages. On the front cover, the symbol of an hourglass had been stamped. She sighed, and set it aside.
"Nothing left to do but watch the events unfold," she muttered, levitating the book back into the wooden chest.
************
Another week later...
While healing magic did wonders in Equestria it could only go so far, which is why the Doctor was stuck in his bed for another week on the foreign planet. The medical team charged with working on him, along with doctor Life Support, were the only ponies that the Doctor had any contact with, and she was the only one he managed to have a conversation with. He had learned that progress had been made, but his spine was still as damaged as before. He had also learned a few other things about his hosts, but not much. When he tried to talk to them, namely to find out what had become of the TARDIS, excuses such as 'sorry, can't say' and 'that's classified' were common, and it was driving the Doctor mad.
Although they had taken away the ropes he was still confined to his room, left alone practically all the time except for a few visits from the staff, and he had become bored to tears. Seeing as how his future in Equestria was uncertain, the ponies had agreed to give him access to books while still keeping some information from him. After combing through many shelves of them, he was given around thirty books, which contained information that wasn't too confidential to reveal. He really tried reading them normally, but by the end of the second day he had read every single page. However some relief came in the form of sleep, which he needed more than ever after all the treatments and to fight off boredom.
But after a week, he had a plan. It was to be short lived, risky, and could fall apart at any moment, but it was a plan.
It started to come together when his clothes had been returned to him, on the third day. Apparently, orders from above had been given and the research on his possessions had been cancelled. He was allowed to have his clothes back, good as new, as well as his Sonic Screwdriver. They were deemed safe, even though they couldn't figure out how his screwdriver worked or how to get in the box. Ideas started floating around in the Doctor's head, and he began plotting.
On the fifth, he was told that after the past few days, he was considered intelligent and friendly enough to be taken out of his room but not outside. He was to be taken out of his room in the next two days, after some verifications and more medical examinations. That helped put the final pieces of his plan together.
And so, on the seventh day, the Doctor was ready to act.
************
The stretcher arrived in the Doctor's room, carried by two nurses. One was a unicorn, a dark blue stallion with a white mane, and the other was a pegasus, a pale yellow mare with a turquoise mane. It must be said that at this point, and thanks to the books, the Doctor knew a few things about these ponies and their vocabulary, and that there were three types of them: Earth Ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns. He was to be carried to a better room, and have a bit more freedom. The mare helped him get his trousers on, as well as his shoes, and he was placed on the stretcher.
"Wait, wait, wait, I remembered just one little thing," he told the nurses. They were about to leave the room, but decided to help him first.
"Yes, what is it?" asked the unicorn.
"Well, my species has a sort of ritual, you see, which we have to do every seven days. It's very important, and I would rather do it now before anything else changes."
"Very well then, proceed."
The Doctor started to wriggle his hands together, and gave the pegasus an apologetic look.
"Um...actually...I would rather not do this in front of...the mare. You know, this is...male stuff," he mumbled.
"All right...what is it?"
"Err...can I whisper it to you?"
"I suppose."
"Thank you. So, come closer."
The unicorn leaned forward, and so did the Doctor. When they were close enough, the Doctor spoke.
"I'm sorry about this."
"Wha-"
Before the stallion could reply, the Doctor quickly grabbed him around the neck, pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his interior pocket, and pointed it at the pony's horn. He then turned to the mare, and growled at her like a wild animal.
"Steady Hoof!" she cried.
"It's all right, I'm ok! Go get the guards!" he replied with a strained voice.
"Yeah, that's right, go get the guards! RUN, BEFORE I GOBBLE HIM UP!" yelled the Doctor.
She stood there for a few seconds, shaking and whimpering, before she ran out of the room to get help. The unicorn and the Doctor stayed on the stretcher, with the pony sitting on the Time Lord's lap while trying to break the chokehold.
"Uh-uh-uh, I wouldn't do that if I were you~" said the Doctor with a eerily happy voice. He tightened the hold slightly, and the stallion stopped struggling.
"What do you want from us?"
"Oh, you'll know soon enough. Yes indeed, you will. So your name is Steady Hoof, yeah?"
"...That's right."
"Steady Hoof...yes...there's a pretty little pony name..." whispered the Doctor, stroking the stallion's mane, "there's a pretty pony..."
While the stallion was mortified, the doors of their room burst open with Shining Armor and several other guards following him, all of them carrying pears or lowering their horns towards the two.
"Ah-ta-ta-ta! That's close enough, Shiny Helmet! Back off! Back off I say!" yelled the Doctor, waving his sonic around wildly.
"Let him go, Doctor! There's no need for this!"
"Yes there is! And I'm not 'the Doctor', my real name is...is...uh..." for a moment, the Doctor went completely still, until he went back to pointing his sonic to Steady Hoof's horn, "...Despair."
"...Despair?"
"THAT'S WHAT I SAID! Despair, the incarnation of loss and defeat!" yelled the Doctor, baring his teeth.
"...Very well, Despair. What do you want?"
"What do I want? Let's see...first of all I want you to tell me where my big blue box is. I want a safe escort to my box, and your riches, and a fez. All of it in that order."
"What are you-"
"Out of our way!"
Before the captain of the guard could finish his sentence, Princess Luna flew in the room. Great gusts of wind followed in her wake, and her eyes were glowing white. Outside, the sky grew darker around the castle. She stood there, with flared wings and a glowing horn.
"We demand that thou release the stallion, thou treacherous beast!" she boomed, her voice echoing throughout the room.
The Doctor was frozen, but still held his captive tight. He wasn't afraid, but he was curious. This pony stood a foot taller than any other pony he had seen, and she spoke in an older version of their dialect. Most likely a leader, based on her horn and wings, and yet he hadn't seen any other pony like her around. And that's when he remembered.
"It's you...yes, it's you! I saw you in the TARDIS, when I crashed! You're...Moona!"
The room went silent, and it took a lot of self-restraint for most of the guards - including their captain - to keep themselves from laughing, despite the hostage situation. That need quickly disappeared as the princess rose in the air, and the sound of thunder rumbled in the sky.
"Our name is princess Luna, and we order thee to unhoof him at once!"
"Oh please," chuckled the Doctor, "I've faced greater foes than you ponies, what makes you think you can do anything to me?"
"We will obliterate thee before we let thou hurt our subjects!"
"Ooh, you'll obliterate me, I'm so scared. Speaking of which, you might want to see this."
Using his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor aimed it at the lamp located on his night-stand. He pushed a button, and the tip of the device opened, with claw-like tips, to reveal a very small diode, which glowed green.
"Is everybody watching?" he asked, turning to the ponies, "because this is what's going to happen to Steady Hoof."
~BZZZZZ~
At first, nothing happened. Then, the lamp started shaking slightly, and cracks appeared in the marble font. As the buzzing noise grew louder, the lamp shook more and more, and the cracks grew wider. Suddenly, the lamp imploded and fell apart, with bits of marble falling to the floor. Everything went silent, as the ponies stared in awe and horror, until the Doctor pointed the Screwdriver back to Steady Hoof's horn.
"Right then. Your turn."
"STOP IT! STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!"
The sky outside went dark, and bolts of lightning flew across dark clouds that had gathered. All the guards raised their weapons or powered their horns, and Princess Luna's horn crackled with raw magic, which looked like small dark blue lightning bolts.
"Fine! You win, Despair! We'll get you what you want but just leave him alone!" shouted Shining Armor, who was getting nervous. He didn't show it however, for the hostage's sake.
"Good. But I don't think you understand," grinned the Doctor, who pressed the same button on his tool. The tip opened again, and the diode glowed green once more, "I need to live up to my name."
"You don't need to kill him!"
"Well, it's not like you're going to stop me!"
At this point Shining Armor was sweating. Murder was a rare threat in Equestria, and the authorities did not deal with it very often. This was actually his first time dealing with a threat of murder, and he felt lost.
"Please...save me..." whispered Steady Hoof, who was shaking from head to hoof.
"They're not going to save you, they're cowards," snickered the Doctor,"and they're going to give me what I want, then...they will despair."
~BZZZZZ~
"Help me!"
"DESPAIR!"
"ENOUGH!"
After concentrating and harnessing her magic, Princess Luna shot a bolt of raw, lethal magic at the Doctor, which hit him square in the chest. He was flung back, landing on the floor, and the Sonic Screwdriver landed on the floor before it could do any magic. Steady Hoof scrambled out of his grip, and ran towards the guards. Meanwhile, Princess Luna soared through the air and landed in front of the Doctor, smashing his Sonic Screwdriver with a foreleg. Using her magic, she blasted the Doctor again, and he writhed in pain for a full minute before going still. Everything stood still, with Luna panting and the guards surrounding the Doctor. Steady Hoof had been taken away, and the sky outside returned to normal. Luna looked down at the fallen enemy, then turned away.
"Take him away. We'll dispose of the body later."
The guards nodded, then started to pick up the Doctor. And then, something amazing happened: he started glowing. It was slow, but surely enough a bright yellow light shone on his face and hands. The guards just looked at him, until he opened his eyes.
"I'd step away if I were you."
They scrambled back and the rest pointed their spears at him, inches from his chest. A thin yellow mist started emanating from his body, swirling around in the air like floating sand, the same way blue mist came out of the princess' head. She quickly turned around, ready to hit him again, until he raised his hands.
"Sorry, sorry, it's okay. I just needed to provoke you into kick-starting the process. I'm not actually going to hurt anybody. Still, you really should stand back, and that goes for you too Luna."
They all stood still, amazed and confused, until they turned to Luna for orders. She just stared at the Doctor, wondering how he could have survived her attack, then lifted a foreleg.
"Do as he says."
They all backed up, giving the Doctor some space. The glow was getting stronger, and his breathing got heavier. Then, against all odds, he stood up.
"How...? Your spine..." asked Shining Armor.
"Was broken, yes," replied the Doctor, who was straightening his clothes out, "but nothing a little regeneration can't handle. You see, my body can fix itself if it sustains too much damage. It should have already happened, but my injury wasn't bad enough and you healed me, so I needed to trigger the process. And don't worry, I'm not Despair, that was just a quick trick to make myself look bad. I'm so sorry, I really am, but desperate times-"
He gave a sudden jolt, which made everypony ready to strike, until he lifted an index.
"It's fine, just going into the last stage. Oh blimey it's getting hot. It's gonna be a big one. Okay, okay, here it comes..."
He started hopping up and down a bit, flexing his fingers and breathing quickly. He gave a sniff, and the glow became a bright light, with the mist flowing faster out of his hands and from his face. He turned to the guards, and put his hand on his chest.
"I'll look different, but it'll still be me. While I might be leaving, I'll come back as a new person, and I hope we can start being friends. I'll redeem myself, and I look forward to the things we can do together."
Meanwhile, Princess Celestia stood hidden, next to the room's door, looking at the scene undetected thanks to an invisibility spell. She stood there, watching the Doctor and her sister with a warm smile.
"But...what is your real name?" asked Luna, who was looking at the Time Lord in awe.
He turned to her, shrouded in golden light, and smirked.
"I am, and always will be, the Doctor."
The light coming from his body exploded outwards, and the mist became a beam of pure gold energy that shot out into the air. The shock made him throw his head back and stretch his limbs out. The ponies stepped back, blinded and anxious, but Luna stood rooted to the ground, amazed by the miracle that was happening in front of her. The burst of energy made the furniture in the room shake and the floor crack; and the stretcher, the bed, and the desk were thrown against the walls, where they smashed into several pieces.
Then, something went wrong: the Doctor started glowing red. The red colour was joined by dark orange and black, and small bolts of green lightning shot out of his fingertips. The Doctor panicked, and looked at his hands in fear. The bolts shot out, smashing the remaining furniture and hitting the walls, shattering several windows as well. Luna stared in horror at the Time Lord, unable to accept what she was seeing. Suddenly, Shining Armor stood in front of her and dragged her away.
"Princess! We have to get you out of here now!"
They stepped back towards the entrance, and the Doctor could only watch in horror as his entire regeneration process spiralled out of control. He realized that the colours were the same as the ones he had seen in the maelstrom, and he felt powerless. Suddenly, a surge of pain ran through his entire body and he yelled out, falling to his knees. He felt his insides twist, turn and churn; he felt his bones ache and stretch, and he thought of one last thing before darkness took over his mind.
It can't end, not like this!
The red light suddenly turned into a sphere, which swallowed the Doctor whole, and a blast of energy made the ponies fall to the ground. The remaining windows shattered, the furniture exploded, cracks ran through the floor and walls, and one last shout of pain echoed through the room before everything stopped. Slowly, the guards and their captain stood up, anxious and weary. The princess rose as well, nervous but ready to deal with the Doctor if she had to. They walked cautiously towards the remaining cloud of smoke, and gazed in shock and awe at what they saw.
On the cracked floor, with small bolts of green lightning coursing through his body, a brown stallion lay unconscious.
After taking a deep breath, Princess Celestia cancelled her spell. She took a distraught expression, breathed rapidly, and ran into the room.
"What happened here? Is Luna safe?"
Still staring at the stallion on the floor, she muttered her reply.
"I'm fine..."
Celestia gave a sigh of relief, placed a wing on her sister's back, then turned to Shining Armor.
"Take that thing away."
He nodded, put shackles on the unconscious pony and dragged him away.
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.
After Princess Luna stepped out of the bubble, she realized that she was smack dab in the middle of a burning forest. All around her, enormous trees were alight with flames, eating at the bark and the branches. When she turned around to flee the bubble had vanished, leaving her stranded in a fiery grave. She looked around, scared but determined to get herself out of this conundrum alive, before she saw that she had been wrong. The forest was not burning, and everything was fine.
She looked up to see that the trees went high into the sky, so high that she had to crane her neck to the fullest to try and see the top branches reaching out for the heavens. The trees themselves were orange, with thick trunks and long, sturdy branches, casting great big shadows around her. At the end of those branches were beautiful, thin silver leaves, which sparkled with a ghostly light. She saw that somewhere, high above, there had to be a sun lighting up the place and giving it this haunting beauty.
Slowly, the wind started picking up and leaves started falling from their branches. They fell slowly, like snow during a quiet winter night. She could only stare, transfixed by such beauty. One leaf actually landed on her muzzle, and a quick sneeze made it fall to the floor. When she looked down she had a little jump, as the grass beneath her hooves, which had a thin layer of frost on it, was as red as the richest of wines.
That small jump made her more aware of her surroundings, and she suddenly felt very small before these mighty trees. Where could she be, to see such extraordinary and fantastic sights? She had seen peculiar dreams before, but never like this one. She had to be in his dream, it was the only possible answer.
That's when the sound of music reached her ears, and she realized that the trees themselves were chanting. All along their branches, holes of different shapes and sizes created delicate sounds, like a mare softly singing with the wind flowing through them and out of different holes, giving the whole place a feeling of tranquillity and eeriness. As the wind got stronger, deep noises from the trees went high and low, which reminded her of violins and organs being played in tandem. Then, every time a leaf broke off from its branch, she could hear a single piano note ring out in the forest. It all went together perfectly, and she felt strangely sad and hollow while hearing this, but she found it beautiful nonetheless. It was a haunting beauty.
Then, as if they had a consciousness of their own, some leaves formed a cloud which floated in front of her, then flew towards a beaten path to her right. Both cautious and curious, she followed them. As she walked through the great forest, looking all around her to capture as much of this beauty as she could, she heard another melody flowing throughout the woods.
"Is that...a flute? It is. Curiouser and curiouser..."
She followed the silver cloud for a little while before the forest opened up to a tall hill, covered with icy red grass which gently swayed in the wind. The cloud suddenly flew ahead of her and vanished over the top. With an excitement and a fascination which she had rarely felt before, she rushed up the hill, and her jaw dropped at the sight before her.
She was standing over a massive valley, with vast fields of red and white grass which stretched out for miles and miles. Above her, a wide orange sky which seemed to stand impossibly high was cloudless, and a large white sun glowed dimly. Beneath that sun the valley was encircled by two massive black mountains, which wore brilliant white caps of the purest snow there was. What really made her catch her breath though was what stood in the distance, a beautiful object which made the whole area look like two giant hands holding an orb.
Said object was a humongous glass ball, which shone under the white sun and contained tall bronze spires in its centre. It appeared to be a city, as she could make out some smaller structures which surrounded the central spires and small dots that could be seen flying about within the glass dome. The view she was given was surreal, it brought a few tears to her eyes, it opened her mind to a whole new realm of possibilities, and yet it felt strangely familiar. And yet, in front of such a sight, words failed her.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
But the person next to her summed it up quite well.
Luna gave a small shriek of surprise, and was ready to obliterate whatever had sneaked up on her until she found the source of this realm, and she gave a pause. The blue wardrobe was there, looking much better than when she and her sister had found it, but the individual that stood next to it was something new.
Another minautor-like creature was sitting next to her, propping his back against his contraption and watching the scenery. He had a large mop of black hair on his head, and his face was somewhat wrinkled. He wore dark turquoise, square-patterned pants with a light blue button shirt. His ensemble was completed with a navy-blue bow-tie, a large black coat with a red napkin in the front pocket, and he held a recorder in his hands.
"Were you the one playing the flute...Doctor?"
"This is actually called a recorder, but yes; yes, that was me. Do you know how to play it?"
"Not personally, but I do enjoy listening to some of my subjects' performances. I enjoyed yours as well, and how you made the trees sing."
"I see...Oh wait, that was not my work, actually. What you heard is the Choir of the Gargantrees, and you are quite lucky to have heard it. I thought I had forgotten their chanting, but I am glad to see it's still in here," he said, tapping his skull with an index and giving a small smile. "Beautiful things, the Gargantrees. This recorder was actually carved out of one of them."
"But trees cannot sing."
"Well, these do," he replied with a grin.
They both fell silent, staring at the landscape below them.
"I was in the markets of the Lower Districts when I sensed your appearance, and I very rarely get visitors in my mind. I figured you must have strong psychic abilities, so I sent a signal of sorts for you and here we are. What do you think."
"It's...magnificent."
"It is, isn't it? This is my home world, and I'm glad to see you enjoy it," he said, while standing up and walking down the hill. He then turned to her, and made a hand gesture to follow him. She was still weary of him, but she walked with him nonetheless.
"What you're looking at is the Citadel of the Time Lords, located between the Mountains of Solace and Solitude of the Continent of Wild Endeavour. Not far from here are the Wastelands, and North of here you will find the Crevasse of Memories that Will Be. It's quite the sight, but you'll want to keep your distances from there for now. And if you look to the...South, or maybe South-East? Anyway, there you will find the Lune Forest, on the Continent of Absolute Beauty. I can't wait to show you that, the names are rather fitting," he finished, with a big smile on his face.
She turned towards that fabled place, seeing that the sky had gone light blue on the horizon and that it was getting darker.
"...Why are you telling me all this?"
"Like I said, visitors are so rare here and I do love this place; so I take the chance to show it to anyone who comes by. Now I have to ask you a very important question...would you like a Jelly Baby?”
She turned around and jumped back, gasping at the man who now towered over her.
He wore a large dark red coat with pale blue pants, a beige square-patterned vest, and a very long scarf which went from his feet to his neck, where it wrapped up in a large bundle. Atop of his wild and curly hair was a hat, and a wide grin split his face beneath big round eyes and a strong nose. He was handing her a white paper bag, filled with small, colourful gelatinous creatures.
“...Doctor? Is that you?”
“It would appear so. Now, Jelly Baby or no Jelly Baby?”
“Enough with the sugary infants! What is this madness?!”
“Oh calm down, everything is fine. He felt a bit nostalgic is all, so he went back to the TARDIS. You can go see him if you want to,” he said, pointing over his shoulder.
Luna took a step aside, and saw the little man from earlier sitting against his TARDIS, playing the recorder. He stared at the city, looking contemplative and slightly upset. Luna was befuddled for a moment, then glared up at the smiling, giant Doctor.
“How are you doing this, who are you both, and what are you?!”
“You like to shout a lot, don't you? To answer your question, I am a Time Lord. This planet is called Gallifrey. I am him, he is me, and we are all together in my little world.”
“We are not the same person, you big buffoon! That scarf is so big it makes you look like a child who raided his father's wardrobe!”
Luna realized they were standing around the blue box once more, yet she didn't recall moving an inch. Standing in front of her were the two 'Time Lords', one of them still staring at the Citadel while the other looked down at his friend with an amused expression.
“Well that recorder makes you look ridiculous.”
“It does not! Not many people can learn how to play this instrument, and those who do have some real talent.”
“Not many people play the recorder, because it is a silly instrument.”
“Enough!”
Luna couldn't stand all this squabbling, and had given the grass below her hooves a strong stomp with her front legs. The two men stared at her, one looking amused and the other looking bored.
“Explain yourselves this instant!”
“Look at what you've done, she's upset now.”
“I gathered as much. She has a bit of a temper though, doesn't she?”
“I like that,” he said, giving a small hoot with his recorder.
“So do I,” added the tall one, doing a very good Cheshire cat impression.
“Will you two fools behave? Honestly, I never thought I would grow to become so rude,” said a new, distinguished voice.
She whirled around to find a new man, looking at the two other men with a frown on his wrinkled face. He had short, combed-back white hair above his large forehead. He wore dark grey pants with another square pattern, and a pale yellow vest could be seen beneath a black coat that stopped at his knees.
“I suppose we've had our fun for now, my little friend,” he said, pocketing the sweets after popping one in his mouth.
“I agree, you big numpty. A good joke shouldn't go on for too long. We'll be in the TARDIS if you need us,” added the musician, storing his recorder in one of his coat pockets.
Luna was staring at the ludicrous men, wondering how deep their pockets went. They entered the blue box, the taller Time Lord holding the door for his companion. When Luna tried to look inside the jester shot her a fierce glare which made her step back, next to her 'saviour'. The door creaked shut, and a small click sealed it. They both gave a breath in relief, thankful that peace had returned to this beautiful field.
“I apologize for those two imbeciles. I know they annoy me as well,” said the old man, turning to face her.
“That's quite alright, Doctor. They remind me of my sister, in a bizarre way. But I would like to ask you a question, and I hope that you have the good sense to answer me honestly, unlike those two. What is all this?”
He looked at her - noticing she was smaller than him by a head or so - gave a small humph and grabbed his vest around the chest area.
“My answers will be as honest as I'll allow them to be. For now, I suppose I can tell you that those two were me, or will be me depending on when you are. As a Time Lord, I have the ability to regenerate when my life is nearing its end. I do not want to go into details, but I will tell you that it is a biological process akin to that of a caterpillar's metamorphosis, albeit much faster. It takes over my entire being, from my mind to every cell in my body. I retain only my memories, while everything else changes in one way or another.”
“But if you are the same person, why do you not see each other as such? You seem to consider them as...you, while they see each other as different people.”
He gave a small sigh, and placed a hand on the TARDIS.
“It depends on the new 'me' and their personality, but it also depends on their memories. The tall one was what you could call my fourth incarnation, while the smaller chap was my second form. Fourth has some memories that have made him somewhat distant from the others, even though we all share the same memories. We do here, at least, while these conflicting personalities have caused some difficulties in the real world.”
“What makes you think this is not real?”
“Because I know it is, and don't you dare make me think this is anything more than a fantasy,” he snapped, giving her a mean look.
“Well none of you seem to know I am a Princess, and that I deserve more respect than this.”
“Bah! You think being a princess makes you superior to me? I have faced emperors and rulers of entire galaxies and they were as misguided as you were!”
“I do not claim to be superior, but I am saying that as a Princess, I am a pony amongst others and deserve some common decency and a minimum of politeness! And you claim that I call myself superior, with your 'Time Lord' title?”
He looked down at her, as she met his gaze with her hooves planted firmly on the ground. They remained silent for a few seconds, before he chuckled and clasped his hands together.
“Time Lords are a species, but I digress. You're absolutely right, how rude of me. I apologize, Princess Luna, I was slightly angered by how curious you were and I lashed out. It's a nasty habit, but I am trying to get rid of it. Can you forgive me?”
“...Of course I can, and I apologize if I was being too intrusive. And I know you said it upset you, but why is curiosity such a bad thing? Does it happen often around you?”
“Curiosity is never a bad thing, but when it comes to who I am? Yes, and it happens more often than I'd like. But to answer your question, people have a tendency to ask me a lot of questions about myself, and sometimes that leads to unpleasant conclusions. And I have rarely been questioned this much about my identity in my own mind.”
She seemed slightly embarrassed by this, which was not something many people could make her feel, but he gave her a warm smile.
“But you were right: your ability to enter my subconscious was no reason for me to speak to you in such a way. Instead, I find myself rather curious about your powers. Are they related to your appearance?”
“You are correct. Just like my sister, my powers go further than the common unicorn or pegasus. However, unlike her, I am able to travel through the dreams of those in our realm and visit them. Right now, I am standing in my room seemingly asleep. My presence here is purely spiritual.”
“I see. Well then, Princess, I would love for us to have a pleasant conversation.”
“I concur. Should we step into your wardrobe?”
“This is no wardrobe, and no you may not. I do not want to appear secretive, but you and your sister – as well as anyone, really – are forbidden from entering the TARDIS without my express permission,” he said, with a deep frown.
Suddenly, the reality around them started to blur, and they both noticed that the hill around them was slowly fading away. Everywhere they looked the world went gray, the grass stopped moving along with the wind, and the horizon became dark.
"It seems as though you are waking up, Doctor. I suppose this is goodbye, then," she said, feeling strangely hollow after saying that.
"For now, yes, but you can always come back. Are you in any danger of fading out of existence right now?"
"No, since I am still anchored to the Dreamscape I will return there once you wake up."
"I see. Well then, Princess Luna, I shall see you next time. Perhaps we could visit the Lune Forest on your next visit," he said, giving a small bow.
"That would be very nice," she said, giving him a smile along with a bow of her own.
"May I ask one last thing of you? Such as releasing me from my cell?"
She fidgeted for a second, then gave him an apologetic look. The hill around them was gone, and all that was left was the TARDIS, standing in a circle of red grass around them in contrast with the darkness that had engulfed the imaginary realm.
"I'm afraid not, Doctor. You seem to be a reasonable individual, but I cannot say the same for your...current persona. But I will give it some thought, and maybe visit you in your cell if I can find the time to do so."
"Oh, they're always like that in the beginning, confused and grumpy. I know I was. Nevertheless, I understand your judgement. I look forward to your next visit," he said, giving her a small smile.
"Goodbye, Doctor."
And with that, he winked out of existence and she was left standing in the vast blue space that was the Dreamscape. She sighed, shaking her head before turning around and roaming her realm. She felt that this Doctor was going to be an interesting character to deal with.
"He may not be an alicorn, but still. Close enough," she said, skipping away with a giggle towards the next glowing bubble.
************
The Doctor woke up, gave a big yawn and licked his lips. He pondered upon his strange dream, and decided that he rather liked this Luna pony. A bit emotional, but she seemed to have a good head on her shoulders. He stared at his hoof, twisting it around to get a feel of the movement with a remorseful expression on his face. With a sigh he got up, looked around his cell, and smiled before trotting around.
If I'm going to be staying her for a bit, I might as well get comfortable.
He walked around for a bit, going in circles in order to get used to these hooves, until the door started opening. When it did, a guard entered his cell while carrying a tray of food in his mouth. He looked at the Doctor with a stoic face, while the Doctor smiled at him, before he set the tray on the pedestal and turned to leave.
"Hold on for a bit, please?" asked the prisoner.
The guard seemed to hesitate for a few seconds, before turning around and giving the Doctor a stern look.
"What is it?"
"Well, it's no fun eating alone, and I thought you might want to join me, if you're not too busy that is."
"...I'm under strict orders from her Majesties not to interact with you unless it is strictly necessary," he said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I can respect that. But the princesses aren't here, now are they?" replied the Doctor, grinning like an idiot.
The guard's mouth seemed to twitch for a second, and it took him a moment to sit next to the tray while the Doctor climbed up on his pedestal and extended a hoof.
"I'm the Doctor, by the way. What's your name?"
The guard stared at the hoof, before picking up an apple and chewing it slowly.
"Covert Shield."
"Nice to meet you, Covert Shield," said the Doctor, before he plucked another apple from the tray with his mouth and clumsily munched on it, making the guard chuckle for a second.
On the third day after the Doctor woke up, Princess Luna stepped out of the Dreamscape and into the Doctor's dreams, to find herself back on the hills of Gallifrey. The wind blew gently, the grass swayed like small waves, and the Doctor was there, standing next to his TARDIS. Even though he had told her not to enter his box, the thought of opening those doors felt like an itch she just couldn't get rid of. He stood there, appearing as her 'saviour' from his other identities.
"Hello there, Princess. How are things going out there?" asked the old Doctor, looking down at her with a smile.
"Oh, the usual. 'Nobles' asking for this and that, reviewing legislation, and generally being a Princess. And how are you faring with your situation?"
"Not so bad, actually. I can walk properly now, and I can trot too. I feel a bit heavier though, but that isn't an unwelcome change. I feel...solid. There's a better term, but enough about that. Shall we go?" he asked, extending a hand.
"Let's," she answered with a smile, extending a wing.
When they touched, they rose into the air and watched the world below spin on itself. When it stopped, they gently floated back down and landed on a vast field of blood-red sand. There was no wind, and although the sun shone brightly the heat was pleasant instead of crushing. They walked ahead, climbing a dune with no difficulty, and arrived to find an oasis surrounded with small red flowers.
"This, Princess Luna, is Salmara's Desert. I brought you here because I remember this single spot having a rather rare feature. You see, it rarely rains and my world is rather dry in general, so when I found this bed of Madevinia Aridosa sprouting near this patch of water after a rather fierce downpour, I couldn't help but feel marked by this sight. It's a really nice flower, but it doesn't live very long and is quickly taken for scientific experiments, so I wanted to enjoy this moment, and share it with you."
She turned to see that he had changed again. He was now a lean young man, who wore red trousers and had a gold poncho covering his arms and chest. His eyes were green with a hint of blue, and his hair was scruffy and brown. On his feet, he wore battered brown sandals whose straps climbed up until his knees.
"I was just a boy back then, but I was already quite the explorer," he said, giving a hearty laugh. "Go ahead, I'll just watch this for a bit."
She nodded , and gently flew over the oasis to look at the flowers. Her wings made some pollen rise from them, and a tiny rain of yellow specks fell down on the water, which made her giggle. The Doctor sat cross legged on the hills, holding his hands together and watching her with a fond smile. He felt as though he was starting to have a friend again, and it almost made him forget his troubles.
Later on, they flew over the Ocean of Bal Soon and stood at the top of Mount Perdition. They had long conversations, mostly consisting with him telling her about what they were seeing, although Luna would sometimes tell him of some sights in Equestria and a story or two of her own. When his sleep was almost over, they were back at the oasis, and watched on the hill as the sun went down.
"Princess?" asked the boy, still looking at the horizon.
"Yes?" she replied, doing the same.
"I don't mean to push you, but could I be released now? I'm getting bored of my cell, and I like to think we're friends, so...if that's okay with you, I mean," he said, scratching his arms.
She looked down at the ground, frowning, and put a hoof to her chin. After a few moments of heavy silence, she looked at him and smiled.
"Very well. I grant you my Royal Pardon, and I'll have the paperwork required for your release sent to my advisers shortly."
"Thank you! Thank you so much," he said, giving her a small bow.
Later on, she left with a smile and he woke up with a huge grin. Just then, Covert Shield walked in with a tray, just like in the past three days. But this time, he gave the Doctor a small smile, and sat with him on the pedestal to share a meal once more.
"Hello, Covert Shield. How are things going?"
"Oh, you know. The usual," he said, with a small frown.
"Oh, right. Sorry."
"No, no, it's fine. How's the 'training' going?" he said, taking a biscuit and nibbling on it.
"Much better, actually. I can almost gallop without falling on my face," said the Doctor, giving a sheepish smile.
They shared a small laugh, and kept eating with some small talk.
************
When Luna returned for another visit, on the fifth day, the Doctor had resumed his younger persona, and was sitting on top of his TARDIS. He waved at her as she walked up the hill, and jumped down to give her a hug, which surprised Luna greatly. He quickly let her go, and scratched his head with a blush.
"Oh sorry about that. I tend to get carried away when I look back at my youngest years."
"That's quite alright Doctor, it happens to me sometimes as well. Now, what do we do today?"
"I've got something special planned. Watch this," he said, with a boyish grin.
He tapped his foot twice, and the area around them faded out to reveal a busy marketplace. The TARDIS was gone, replaced with row upon row of stalls, which were overflowing with all sorts of goods: red and yellow tapestries, deep blue fruits of several shapes and sizes, pools of dark grey muck stored in large black cauldrons.
The people around her were all wearing robes with different shades of red, some of them - belonging to what seemed to be females – trailing down at their feet, which rested in delicate grey slippers, while the robes of the men seemed to be tunics ending at the knees and elbows, revealing long hairy legs and arms. Most of them wore brown shoes or sandals, which didn't click against the grey marble beneath their feet, and their gear was tied at the waist with a bright yellow silk belt. The place was alive with good spirits and chatter, with a child or two running around with small parrot-like birds perched on their shoulders or flying next to them.
Luna could see the merchants, who all had a silver coin stamped on the leather bracelets they wore around their wrist, bargaining with their customers in a friendly way, both of them trying to find a common ground. She could hear shouting, people declaring that a choir would be held in the South Amphitheater and that stasis cubes would be half-price for one hour only. The smell of sand, and food filled her nostrils, making her laugh and gaze in wonder at everything around her.
Then a small bowl stood in front of her eyes, and she looked back at the Doctor. He now appeared to be a tall, middle-aged man with shoulder-length brown hair, who wore a white dress shirt under a deep green coat and light grey trousers. In his other hand, he held a similar brown bowl.
“Princess Luna of Equestria. In the customs of my people I, the Doctor of Gallifrey, offer you a bowl of Mullberries in hopes of earning your company. Would you see me as a friend, and accompany me for a stroll?”
She looked at him with wide eyes, then gave him a smile and grabbed the cup with her magic.
“You are well met, Doctor, and I would be glad to join you for a stroll.”
The Doctor and Princess Luna walked through the Lower Districts, with him telling her everything he knew about anything she asked him. He told her of the Time Toddlers and Time Ladies, of the different types of Amphitheaters and Arenas; he offered her cool Mullberries and spicy orange Karatine bread, and showed her many statues and monuments, including the Arch of Time and the statue of Omega. When they were done visiting the Lower District, he walked with her on the Continent of Endless Philosphy, comparing their respective works of art and literature, and enjoying themselves whenever they found out that their worlds shared something in common.
When her visit was over and he was done with his physical exercises, the doors of his cell opened and Covert Shield walked in with their tray. Just like before, they sat down and enjoyed a meal, talking about this and that, about how he was liking his body and how Covert Shield was doing, when another topic was brought up.
"So when am I getting out of here?" asked the Doctor, struggling to hold a glass of water.
"Soon, I imagine. With all the visits Princess Luna has given you, you should be out of this hole in no time."
The Doctor paused at that, and watched the guard with a frozen smile.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, as soon as Princess Luna gives you her pardon, you'll be free. I mean Princess Celestia has given you the Royal Pardon, so all you need now is Princess Luna's."
"...Interesting. Can you tell me more about it?" asked the Doctor, setting the glass down on the tray. Covert Shield watched him with an eyebrow raised, then shrugged.
"I suppose I could..."
************
When Princess Luna returned to his dream world, on the seventh day after his awakening, the Doctor was standing there with a new appearance. Now they were back where they had met, watching the landscape, and he was sitting next to her in the shape of a tall, lean man with spiky hair and a large brown coat. They chatted for a bit, and he asked Luna about the way she said 'thee' and 'thou' sometimes. She told him it was a tradition from long ago, and that she had difficulties letting it go.
"And that's how you used to talk, way back when?" asked the Doctor.
"Indeed, and I rather miss it. I tend to lapse back into that way of speech whenever I'm angry or sad, but I am making some efforts. Now," she said, standing up, "it seems you still have some sleep left, so where should we go next?"
"Don't you have other ponies to go see?"
"Oh, they're fine. Now then, where to?"
He looked at her with a small frown for a few seconds, then smiled and stood up.
"Well," he said, rubbing his right ear, "I think it's about time I showed you the Lune Forest. What do you think, Princess?"
"That sounds lovely!"
"Alright then, allons-y!"
Once more, the world around them shifted and warped until they were gone. They were now standing in the clearing of a dark blue forest, where the trees were at their normal size - by Luna's standards - and where the grass was a milky white. There was no wind, just them and a wide open sky high above, glistening with thousands and thousands of stars.
************
Back in Equestria, Princess Celestia was enjoying a slice of banana cake along with a cup of tea, going over some law proposals that needed her approval to be passed. She had spent a relatively nice day, going through a surprisingly nice meeting with the Minautor Kingdom's ambassador and finally getting her nephew to spend some time with the staff, in order for everyone to be on good terms. Before going to bed, she had planned on asking Luna about giving the Doctor the other half of his Royal Pardon and started working on these legislation papers.
She was about to tackle a Changeling Cohabitation proposal, which were suspiciously getting more common, before she noticed that the cover of one of her most private books was glowing. The hourglass on the cover was shining white, and slowly spun in its container. She dropped the scroll and waited for the process to finish, both anxious and excited.
************
"There we go, the Lune Forest, lovely. Named that way because this planet's sun shines here only once a year, but it is beautiful when that happens and I'll probably make it pop up, but later. For now, I thought you might enjoy the night setting. How do you like it?"
She took a moment to look around before answering. The grass felt as soft as cotton, and everything was a dark shade of blue. The trees were all huddled together, making the forest look denser than it actually was, and to anyone else it might have seemed like a spooky forest one would find in a fairy tail. But Luna, knowing the dark like few others did, felt right at home.
"It's beautiful. It's absolutely marvellous," she said quietly, looking up at the sky. When she turned back to look at him, he was staring at her with a small frown on his face.
"Doctor? Is something the matter?"
He shivered once, as though he had been snapped out of a daze, before grinning and stuffing his hands in the pockets of his trousers.
"Right, sorry I just...zoned out for a second there. Yeah...Let's take a walk."
And with that, he turned around and walked briskly into the forest, making her trot next to him in order to keep up. She felt as though something was preoccupying him, and she decided to help him.
"Doctor? Did something happen out there?"
"No, why do you ask?" he said, not looking at her.
"I don't know you seem...agitated."
"Oh right, yes. Well, to be honest, I'm starting to feel a bit cooped up in my cell. How long did you say it would take for me to be released?"
"Ah...the paperwork is still being processed, but it should be done soon."
"I see...and what about my TARDIS? Is it still there?"
"Indeed it is, and still as persistent, but I've given up on trying to open it. I don't know what's inside, or how it remains shut, but I've decided I should...leave it be."
"...Then why are you trying to open it?"
She stopped abruptly, and looked up to see that he had stopped, and was now standing still a few steps behind. He was staring at her with a cold look, and he spoke with no emotion in his voice.
"What..what do you mean? I am standing still back in the castle, I've told you this before," she said, trying to put on her poker face.
"Oh yeah, you're in the castle, I don't doubt that, but I'm talking about here and now. You're a copycat, a psychic duplicate if I'm not mistaken. It's almost flawless, I'll give you that, but that won't work on me any more. Right now, you're trying to open my TARDIS, which is still on the hills, and that thing you're doing with your horn won't work."
Back on the hills of the mountains of Solice and Solitude, Princess Luna gasped and withdrew her head. She had sent an illusion to go along with the Doctor in order to distract him, while she inspected the big blue box. She felt bad about tricking him, but after five months and a week's worth of effort, she was infuriated with the blasted thing. Nothing worked, absolutely nothing, and the TARDIS remained so still she felt as though it was taunting her. After much meditation and planning, she decided to open it from the inside, which meant going through the Doctor.
"And you know what? I asked a guard when I was going to be released when they brought my food in. And the thing about me is that I'm very persuasive and charming and dashing and all that, so it didn't take long for him to tell me about the Royal Pardon and its procedure. Oh, Covert Shield, I can't thank you enough," he said, shaking his head. "Nice bloke, he's having mare problems these days, and he found a confident in yours truly a few days ago. And so you can imagine my surprise when he told me that I would be free the moment you gave me your pardon, and that we could go out for a mug of cider sometime."
While he was talking, he started slowly walking towards her, step by step, and his footsteps echoed throughout the woods.
"Effective the moment you and your sister declare it, a prisoner may be released and cleared of all charges when he receives the Royal Pardon. And what's great about it is that there's no. Paperwork. Required."
During his tirade, the Princess slowly backed away as he started marching towards her. He was hunched over, and she felt as though a dragon was closing in on her and about to blow a torrent of fire upon her. But then again, a dragon would be less terrifying. After he spat those last words out, he was towering over her cowering form, stuck against a wall of trees which had formed around them.
"So then I thought 'why am I still here if she gave me her pardon? Why does she still visit me?' And that's when I made the connection. I'm still in my cell, you're still visiting me, and my TARDIS is still closed. The only thing keeping me in my cell is your stupid curiosity and your fixation on finding out what's inside. These past few days, the only reason why you visited me was to get access to my sanctuary, to the last safe place I have left. What else could it be? If I were free, I would leave with my box and you would never figure it out, and you just couldn't stand that, couldn't you? COULDN'T YOU?!"
She flinched, and hot tears started stinging her eyes.
"And you know what?!" he said, raising his head above his head. Luna didn't run, simply bracing herself for the oncoming blow.
"Boop," he said, as he poked her muzzle.
As he bopped her nose, they found themselves back to the TARDIS. The fake Luna faded away, and the real Princess Luna stared at the Doctor, who was gazing at the spot where the illusion used to be.
"You know what? That's fine. You've been too kind to me, so it's only fair you get what you deserve. You want to know what's in the TARDIS? You want to know my secrets? Go ahead," he said in a quiet voice, turning his back on her. And with that, he faded out of existence.
She was astonished by his behaviour. Was she forgiven? Was he really fine with her snooping around his mind? She blinked once, and found herself standing in front of the TARDIS. She looked it up and down, and saw that the door was ever so slightly ajar. She lifted a shaky hoof, put it against the door, and gave a gentle push to find something she wasn't expecting at all.
It was empty.
She stared into the box for a few seconds, paralysed by confusion and befuddled. She looked at its ceiling, sides and floor, and found nothing.
...That's it? That's what all the secrecy was about? An empty box?!
She was about to stomp away when she found a piece of paper attached to the inside of the door. She ripped it off, and cocked her head to the side after seeing the message.
ITS TIME YOU MET THE REAL ME >:)
She was perplexed, until a fierce shiver ran up her back and a wave of heat blew behind her. She suddenly found herself crushed by fear and sadness, and tears started flowing from her eyes as her entire body shook like a leaf. Very, very slowly, she turned around and screamed at the sight before her.
A tall, pale man was standing right there with his arms crossed. He had almost no hair, a strong nose, and a face like the devil. He glared at her, clad in a large black leather coat with black jeans and a buttoned-up red shirt. Around him, the field started burning. The sky, peaceful and cloudy, exploded with hundreds and hundreds of explosions of all sorts of colours, and the sky went as black as coal. Gigantic metal disks and ugly machines flew overhead, and the giant glass ball was shattered, leaving a large column of smoke to rise out of it. Great booming sounds could be heard from every direction, and the ground shook. In the distance, the Lune Forest burned to a crisp.
"Hello, Luna. I'm the Doctor."
Before she could summon a portal to the Dreamscape, he grabbed her horn and stuck his forehead against hers, forcing them to lock eyes. His glowed like gold, and for a few seconds Luna felt at peace. That is, until the memories showed up. Shouting in pain and confusion, Princess Luna fell to her knees, clutching her head as the Doctor's life flashed in her mind. She saw his pain, his sadness, his fears, and they came crashing down in her head.
All around her, the eleven Doctors looked down at the alicorn with stoic faces.
"Oh dear, she's not doing so well is she?" asked Seven with no concern in his voice, readjusting his hat.
"No she isn't, that's the point. This is what she gets for betraying our trust," said Nine, straightening out his jacket.
"Do you think we should take her somewhere? What about the Wastelands, or the Death Zone?" suggested Ten, scratching his head.
"We leave her. Since she's so curious, let her explore Gallifrey. Whether she survives or not is no longer my concern. Now, off you pop, back into the TARDIS," said Eleven. None of them made a comment as to how his skin had become as grey as ash.
"Pity," said One, cleaning his monocle, "she seemed so nice."
"Shut up, Junior."
One by one, they broke the circle, stepping back into the glowing depths of the TARDIS before closing the doors.
And now he's falling, and dying and there go his friends. It hurts, why did they go? Don't leave, I'm sorry Ace, enough. So much PAIN, let go, it hurts, it burns, WHY?
Luna was left to burn among the fields of Gallifrey, reliving the torments that the Doctor had gone through with no one to help her. That is, until the doors of the TARDIS opened, and a man stepped out to stand over her.
************
The glass orb which kept the hourglass sealed opened up, and a small trail of golden sand flew out of the container and vanished.
Princess Celestia picked the book up carefully, and started to read its new content. She had always loved seeing these updates, ever since the book 'came to life' five months ago. But as she read through it, a frown started appearing on her face. Then, as she read the final lines of the page, she slammed it shut and threw it on her desk. Just then, a Lunar guard entered her room in a panic, and stopped to salute her being speaking out in a hurried voice.
“Your Majesty! We have just found your sister in her room, and she refuses to wake up to attend the Nocturnal Council! Doctor Life Support is saying she has slipped into a coma and her vitals are dropping, and that we had to contact you. What are your orders?”
When she turned around, the guard had to muster every bit of courage he had not to flee at the sight before him. Princess Celestia, who always seemed so composed and pleasant, now wore a deep frown on her face. Her eyes were glowing, and her hair was flowing faster than before, with blue, white, and orange colours dancing in her mane like a blinding fire.
“Tell the Council that the meeting is cancelled, and have a guard standing by my sister's side at all times. Do NOT leave her side for any reason. Tell Life Support she may use any means necessary to keep Luna alive. Now, go."
He gave her a nod, and ran out of her room on shaky legs. When he was gone, tears fell from her eyes.
“No. Not again. Never again.”
She walked towards a window and flew out, heading for the barren and desolate regions known as the Badlands, home of the prison called Tartarus. She burst through the front gates, marched past Cerberus - who was cowering in his niche as she went past - and flew down the depths of the hellish complex until she reached the Doctor's cell, which was standing on a rocky cliff above the abyss. She blasted the massive metal gates open with a flick of her horn and stepped inside, the ground beneath her hooves scorched and black. There slept the grey stallion, sleeping in his makeshift bed with a frown on his face. She grabbed him by the neck and slapped him hard, which made him jolt awake and stare at her for a few seconds before grinning.
"Oh no, the pony princess is here to punish me, I'm so scared. Funny," he said, scratching his ear, " I never thought I'd say that."
"Bring her back. Now."
"...No."
With a snarl she hurled him out of his cell, making him bounce and slide on the ground before stopping mere inches of the cliff's end, leaving him bruised and breathless. He shook his head, and looked up to her pointing her horn at him, which was glowing and crackling with blinding-white magic.
"Do not push me, Doctor. I will do whatever it takes to get my sister back, and I will not have someone like you stand in my way.
He gazed into her eyes with a hard look, before coughing a few times and clearing his throat.
"You know what? Go ahead. She's still in here, after all."
"...What?" she asked, confused.
"Go ahead. The link will be broken and she'll go back to the Dreamscape."
"But she'll still be tormented. Heal her, now!
"You know what? No. She humiliated me by breaking my trust. You have nothing to threaten me with."
"I could kill you right now!"
"And I wouldn't care!"
She glared at him, ready to deal with him and return to the castle to take of Luna herself, before his eyes widened. A thought rang loud in his head, and his coat turned back to brown.
No more.
And with that, he fell unconscious.
************
Eleven woke up to find himself being dragged on scorched ground, and dropped on his face. He grunted, then looked up to see something quite unexpected. On the burnt hills of Gallifrey, a single circle of red grass remained intact. In that circle, Princess Luna was asleep, and an old ragged man knelt next to her.
"Oh, it's you. What are you doing here?" asked Eleven, giving him a cold look. The old man said nothing, looking at Eleven with disappointment, before he spoke loud and clear.
"Never cruel or cowardly, eh? That was a nice thought, at the time."
"You have no right to put that on me. No right at all," growled Eleven.
"And yet, you've inflicted more punishment on this creature than anyone else in...how long has been, centuries?" asked the old man, walking up to the other Doctor.
"We're not too far from three-hundred and ninety years now."
"Oh, well that's commendable. You managed to keep our promise for all that time before...this," said the War Doctor, giving his hand a twirl.
"We are not the same person."
"Look at it any way you want, but you have no right to inflict so much pain on this poor girl. Let her go, now," he said, giving his counterpart a dark look.
They stared at each other for a while, neither of them moving. All around them, the world kept burning and explosions could be heard in the distance.
"And why should I do that?"
"Because we've caused enough suffering. And, if you truly don't care any more, why don't you just let her go and be done with it?"
Eleven blinked, surprised to see the old warrior looking sorry for him. Then, he made a decision.
"I suppose it's time to stop, isn't it?" he said, giving a sad chuckle. He slowly walked over to the Princess, and touched her forehead with an index. She opened her eyes, sobbing, and looked up at the Doctor.
"Now before you say anything, I have to tell you that this is probably the last time we'll be talking to each other. Right now, your sister is about to kill me, and I'm going to let her. You lied to me,and you blatantly disobeyed me in order to invade my privacy, which was the last sanctuary I had. But you also showed me kindness, and I needed that. It felt...nice, like in the good old days. I just want to know one last thing: are you sorry?"
"Yes..." she croaked.
"Then you're forgiven," he said, giving her a small smile. And with that, she faded out of existence. Eleven sighed, turned to face the War Doctor, and frowned.
"You're an embarrassment to all of us, you know that?"
"Perhaps. But I like to think that for once, I'm not the only one who broke that promise," said the old man, with his hands crossed behind his back.
Eleven glared at him, then laughed, and closed his eyes.
************
The Doctor woke up on the dusty ground of the cliff, and looked at the angry princess with tired eyes.
"There. She should be doing better now."
Princess Celestia blinked, and her features slowly faded back into her usual calm demeanour.
"You better not be lying."
"Oh, I'm done with lying. I'm done with everything, really. Just go."
She looked down at him for a bit, then spread her wings and flew away. He watched her go, smiled, and dragged himself back to his broken cell, waiting for the end to come. Meanwhile, Celestia flew as fast as she could back at the castle. Once she arrived, she rushed through the corridors and burst into her sister's room. She was sitting on her bed, surrounded by the medical staff and her guards, and panting heavily.
"Luna! Thank goodness you're alright! How do you feel?"
She took a few seconds to answer, taking deep breaths before looking at her sister and replying.
"I am well, sister, but I need to speak with the Doctor as possible."
On the planet Trifecta, the storm entered its third week.
Acidic rain and toxic clouds, engineered by the Dalek ships above, were complimented by thunderbolts which struck targets at leisure. The lightning strikes had been programmed to hit with pinpoint accuracy any target they deemed a threat. Above the planet, at a safe distance from the artificial storm, the Daleks were busy monitoring ships on the planet, which were wreaking chaos across the globe.
“Report! How is the planet's population disposal progressing?” asked one of them, approaching another at the helm of the ship.
“Scans indicate that 63% of the population has been harvested or exterminated.”
“Increase the speed of our operations! The ships must return to battle as quickly as possible.”
“I obey!”
It opened the communications network to get a visual on the main planet-side ship, which linked all the other ships on the planet together, and was met with the sound of howling wind, thunder, and explosions. He could only hear his fellow soldiers screaming, and the ship they were on imploding in all sorts of places.
“Report! What is happening?!”
Another Dalek appeared on screen, looking as frantic as a Dalek could look, and spoke in a broken voice.
The damaged Dalek was about to answer when the sound of an exploding door was heard, and bits of another Dalek rained down on the one on screen. It fired, along with its shipmates, on the intruders off-screen and they were met with red blasts. The Daleks on the mothership kept screaming for status reports, and the exchange of laser beams continued. One of them had apparently hit the video circuit, because the screen suddenly frizzled out, leaving only the sounds of carnage to echo across the room.
Enraged and confused, the Daleks attempted to fix it until a sickening, warbled scream boomed through the room, and the damaged Dalek spoke his last words.
“I...AM...AFRAAAAIIIII-!”
A snapping noise, followed by the sounds of circuits breaking and wires being torn and stretched were heard, and the room went silent, except for the sound of the storm which raged outside. The Daleks stood still, feeling something which had been foreign to their species for many a century: fear.
Faint sounds of talking could be heard, and a whirring noise emerged. It grew louder and louder, until every speaker on the ship relayed the sound. The Daleks tried to block it out, only to find that their communication network was locked. And then, the voice of the devil reached their audio sensors.
“I assume you're trying to block this ship's communications from up there, but you'll find this to be a pointless attempt to silence me. My soldiers and I have hacked into your entire system, and it will remain open until I have finished speaking. “At first, I thought I would be content after I had destroyed all your ships. But then I discovered what you've been doing with this world's population. Dalek shells, sent out to capture more Trifectians and destroy all they can. I have to admit, I'm always surprised at how you monsters find new ways of being revolting.”
The whirring sound resurfaced, and a booming noise could be heard in the background. Afterwards, the image on screen reappeared only to show a Dalek ship falling, engulfed in flames and covered with smaller explosions. The screen then shifted, and a face appeared. And that face terrified the Daleks of the mothership's control room.
It was an old man, covered in ash and whose face was splattered with Dalek fluids. But those fluids could not hide his face, carved by cold fury and pierced with dark eyes.
“That is the first of the ships I will destroy. As I speak, my fellow soldiers are tearing their way through the smaller ships around us, and so on and so forth. I have seized control of the storm, and I intend on raining fire and hell on every single trace of Dalek left on this planet. And after I've torn out the eyestalk of your last soldier...I will turn my attention to the skies. In other words, Daleks, I hope you have every ship at your disposal ready to fight or flee. Either way...I'm coming for you next.”
And with that the Doctor left, and the storm was the only sound left on the ship. The two Daleks present engaged a red-alert procedure, mobilizing every means they had to stop the monster that was about to meet them. On the planet, Dalek ships either fell or turned on each other, and the Doctor remained silent through it all.
************
A single Dalek returned to Skaro later on, and it was sent to the asylum shortly afterwards. The Daleks had scanned its memory core, and were horrified by the data they had found. The incarcerated Dalek, driven mad by what he had seen, kept repeating the same words over and over from the second he materialized in the Dalek War Temple to the moment he was thrown into the insane hell hole that served as their asylum.
“The storm is coming...the oncoming stoooooooooorm...the stormmmmmm...the oncoming storm...”
************
The two princesses of Equestria flew towards the Badlands in silence, the eldest glancing at her younger sibling from time to time only to find her staring ahead with an unreadable expression. Princess Celestia had rarely been stumped when it came to reading people, which is why she was both impressed and worried about how still Luna looked. Whatever had happened with the Doctor, it must have been bad.
They landed on the dusty orange ground, staring at the rock which jutted out of the earth like a massive spike and the gates which had been built in; or rather used to be. They were staring at a scorched hole, with twisted metal bars that had been fitted in curled up or blown off. Around the entrance of Tartarus, fragments of metal and rock lay strewn about, either burning or melting. As they walked towards the exploded entrance, Luna could see the deadbolts and locks and chains that kept the place sealed, and the runes carved in them had stopped glowing. When Luna looked down, she saw large hoofprints burnt into the ground.
“When was the last time you went off like this?” asked Luna, not looking back.
“Good question. I think it was...nine-hundred and twen- no, wait...yes, that's it: three-hundred and eighty years ago. Although this was a lot more tame.”
“Twas during the Griffon Invasion, yes?”
“Yes it was. I still regret what I did that day...a lot less, but still.”
“I regret I wasn't there to finish them.”
Celestia stared at her sister with wide eyes. Where did that come from? she asked herself, horrified to see her sister entertain such ideas. And then Luna turned around, and gave her sister a small hug.
“Thank you for you concern.”
“...It's nothing. I was just afraid of losing you again,” replied Celestia. She started shivering, and it wasn't because Luna was naturally cool to the touch. Something had changed in Luna after that encounter, and she was determined to find out what that was.
They walked in the prison, which was as dark and stuffy as it had been for hundreds and hundreds of years. Apart from bits of burning rocks, the remnants of the gate, and the soft light coming from Celestia's coat, they could hardly see the edge of the abyss in front of them. The only way down was with a large metal platform, lowered and raised with a series of gears and chains, and it could go through all nine levels of the prison before hanging above a very deep pit. The guards whispered among themselves that it was bottomless. Others claimed there was something down there, waiting. Either way, no one was sure.
“I'll raise the elevator, you check on the guard,” said Luna, casting a spell to get the platform moving.
“The guard? What guard?”
Instead of answering Luna simply pointed to the left, and Celestia was saddened by what she saw. Cowering in the corner and whimpering softly, the mighty Cerberus had tucked his three head beneath his paws, and his entire form was shaking like a leaf. When she approached the hound it started yapping and pawing at the ground in front of it, trying to dig a tunnel as fast as it could while laying on its belly.
“Shh, shh, shh. Relax, Cerberus, I'm me again. I'm sorry...shh, shh, shh...” she whispered, her chest tight with pity and regret. How bad must she have looked to frighten the beast that guarded Tartarus?
Slowly but surely, the massive dog calmed down, but remained wary and terrified until she softly lay a hoof on him. It was only then that he raised his head, and Celestia could almost see the relief in their eyes as he realized his master was back. She patted him on the heads and hummed a soft tune, scratching his neck and his ears until she heard the platform approaching. After leaving a small glowing ball of solar magic in front of him, she went to join her sister who was still standing there, focused on the task at hand.
When the platform reached them, they heard a wheezing noise. It came from a guard, who was laying on that platform and clutching his spear tightly, pointing it at those he thought to be intruders. When he saw them open the gate of the platform, he struggled to stand, and he only stayed that way thanks to his weapon.
“Your Majesties...are you...well?”
“Never mind us, soldier. What happened?” asked Luna, helping him stand with a wing.
“I'm not sure...I remember checking the gate when a...fireball or...something blew up the gates. I think I fell down three or four levels before the landing knocked me out. I woke up about ten minutes ago, and I was going to go check on the prisoner when the platform started moving.”
“I see. What level is he on?”
“Level five, Your Highness.”
“Take us there.”
They waited as he aligned the correct runes in a stone tablet at the back of the elevator, and when they clicked in place the gates were shut and the platform traveled down, with only the sounds of gears turning and the coughing guard to hear. When they arrived, the doors opened and the guard hobbled forward.
“He hasn't moved from his cell...since you left. I'm actually...a bit worried about him.”
“Do not worry, your friend is fine. Where are your fellow guards?”
“They did what the warden told them to, they all went to his office; after securing the entire complex of course.”
“I see. What is your name, good knight?”
“Covert Shield, my Princess.”
“We applaud your professionalism, Covert Shield.”
And with that she bopped him on the horn with her hoof, making him fall to the ground.
“What are you doing?!” shouted Celestia, bewildered by her sibling's actions.
“Oh do not worry, Celestia. We hath simply put him to sleep with a recovery spell, he will be well. Now then, I have business with the Doctor. You should go to the guards along with this one,” she said, nodding to the unicorn whom was glowing a soft blue color. Celestia looked down at her sister to find a hard, cold look. Not violent, simply cold.
“Luna, what has gotten into you?”
"...Nothing. Now go,” she said, while walking towards the exploded doors. Celestia looked at her sister, then sighed and activated the platform to lower themselves down, to the ninth level of Tartarus.
Luna stepped into the cell, past the battered metal doors, to find the Doctor sitting on his pedestal with his chin resting on his chest. The Princess walked up to him, and lifted his chin with a hoof.
“Ah, right. Internal psychic recovery...how did I know that? No matter.”
She proceeded to sit down in front of him, closed her eyes, and let her conscience drift back to her realm.
************
When she entered the Doctor's mind, she was surprised to find herself in a rather strange room. Not strange by dream standards, which she knew very well, but 'generally strange things' standards. She was standing in a rather messy room, with a series of what appeared to be white panels covered with buttons and switches standing to her left, surrounding a glass case of sorts, which pumped up and down. It stood roughly at the same height as she was, and she felt as though she had seen this place before.
The walls had several round...things plastered across them, emitting a soft white light, which contrasted with the jungle of wires dangling overhead. The floor grate, which clinked when she took a step, felt fitting when she looked at the few lockers and chests which stood against the walls of the room. And that's when it clicked.
Is this...the TARDIS he spoke of?
She took a few steps to look around, and found the doors. With a shaky hoof she pulled them open, and was shocked by the sight which greeted her. She was back on the hill, it seemed, although she never would have recognized it in this state. The grass was gone, the earth beneath was scorched, and far way on the horizon, the citadel stood broken. The mountains were either leveled or cracked or blown off in several places, and the sky was a deeper orange than before. In the distance, the forest of the Gargantrees had been reduced to ash.
Is this what happened to Gallifrey? Because of the war?
“I hope that satisfies your curiosity.”
Luna jumped from fright and yelped, whirling around to find an old man leaning against the door frame of a battle-scarred TARDIS. In his hand, he held a small glowing ball where several lights flashed. Before closing his hand, which made the sphere fade away, she heard a scream. That scream was something she remembered, but had never heard in her life.
“Was that...Trifecta?”
He looked at her, and she was shocked by how sad and tired, yet imposing he looked. His short gray hair was messy and stuck out, he wore a damaged, weathered-gold chest plate beneath a rugged brown leather coat, and his deep red pants were as dusty as his battered black boots.
“So that's what he did; he forced his memories upon you, and not the good ones I presume. I understand what he did, but I still think it was wrong,” he sighed.
“I don't want these memories, Doctor. They burn in my mind, and I can tell they have changed who I am. My own sister looks at me with fear in her eyes, and I feel empty. Why, Doctor? Why would you do-”
“If what you say is true, then you should remember that I am not the Doctor. Although some of my soldiers called me the Medic, if you can remember that. It was nice,” he chuckled, scratching his beard. “As for why he did it, I don't know. He was rather strange after the war, which is partly my fault I suppose, but that was not something I ever expected him to do. And I don't think he would answer you if you asked,” he finished, pointing to her right.
She looked there, down the the hill, and saw that two figures were sitting near the end of it, at the border of the late forest. One was the Doctor who had crashed into her life, and the other was the one who lay asleep before her in the conscious world. They appeared to be talking, and laughing at the same time.
“They appear to get along quite well. What do you think they're talking about?” she asked the War Doctor, who now stood next to her with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his big coat. He took a moment to reply, still looking down at himself – or them, if you'd prefer.
“I have no idea, but I suppose our clown is laughing at his ponified persona. I still don't completely understand why he refused to let you in the TARDIS; you seem to be a lovely person.”
“That machine has withstood my efforts to open it for weeks, so I was angry and curious. But I suppose I broke his trust by trying to sneak in, and thank you,”she said with a smile, blushing slightly at his compliment. “Where art thou brothers?”
“Oh, they went for a walk. It's not often they have the displeasure of seeing Gallifrey like this, so they tend to try and rediscover it when that happens. I guess that leaves me in charge, for now. That's a nice feeling,” he sighed, feeling content.
They sat there for a while, looking at the world around them, before he broke the silence.
“As you've gathered by now, I'm quite old and silly. I suppose that's why he punished you the way he did, but that's no excuse. On behalf of my future selves, I apologize.”
She looked at him, and was saddened to see how empty he looked as he stared into the void.
“No Doctor, it is I who is at fault. I suppose my centuries of existence have not gotten the best of my curiosity yet.”
“You're...immortal?” he asked, looking at her with wide eyes. “But how? You look so young, how is that possible?”
“...I'd rather not talk about it, if you don't mind,” she said, closing her eyes as a headache started growing within her. He was about to press her, but he restrained himself, knowing he had acted quite rudely enough already.
“How do I not know this? Did you never tell my counterparts before?”
“I'd lie or change the subject whenever that threatened to come up. I didn't want to be seen as something strange to you, or a threat,” she said, turning to face him. “But now that I know we are both cursed and blessed with immortality, I'd like to thank you, Doctor. Thank you for being the proof that there are other beings like my sister and I out there,” she finished, giving him a warm smile.
He smiled as well, and it looked both heartwarming and as if a crack had split a rocky surface.
“Well, I'm not immortal; but I do know how it feels to live for too long. Although I suppose you know how I feel, don't you?”
“...Yes. Not entirely, but I do know the gist of your life. And I do not wish to know what you lived through anymore. I know you can fix that, so do it,” she growled, suddenly angered by the Doctor. This one she liked, the other she hated, and the others either pleased or confused her. How could one person be so complicated? And yet he looked at her, unfazed by her anger.
“No.”
She stared at him, thrown off by his answer.
“No?”
"Yes. Just...no.”
“WHY?!” she shouted, giving a strong stomp.
“Because if you forget everything that happened, you will repeat your mistake again. I do not wish for you to be hurt any longer. And I could take away your memories of our encounters, but I was under the impression you enjoyed my company. Or at least, I hope you did.”
She calmed down after that, and thought about it. It was true: even though she thought he was a charming man and very intelligent, she also knew there was a dark side to him, which disgusted and frightened her so much she felt like hitting him. But in the end, he was a good man, and she did want to spend more time with him.
How can I prevent myself from doing what I did? I can't simply have him tell me what happened, that might push me away or simply feel like a lie. What could be the right words...
And then she remembered the war, and the moon, and her eyes widened in horror. She knew what he could tell her, the words strong enough to stop herself from trying his patience and testing his character by going through his secrets. She hesitated before talking, ashamed of what she was going to say but knowing she had wronged him, and that it had to be done.
“And what if I told you something that would make me understand, after I forget all this? Something you could tell me when I come back, proof that I should stop thinking about trying to sneak into your TARDIS?”
He turned to her, his eyebrows raised.
“I suppose that if you did that, we could meet again under better circumstances. Let's hear it.”
“Very well,” she said, rubbing her hooves together because of how nervous and horrible she felt, “but you have to know I regret this, and what I'm going to tell you. Please, do not hate me for what I did, and do not tell another soul of this.”
He nodded, and she took a deep breath. She told him a story. A story of what happened on the moon, many years ago, and what she had done there. When she was done, he looked up to see him frown and scratch his beard.
“Very well, princess. I shall repeat the words."
"...What, that's it? Thou aren't...angered, or anything?" she asked, dumbfounded.
"Well, it would be quite hypocritical of me to judge you. But understand this: had you told this to any other of my counterparts, they would have turned on you so quick it would have made your hair spin. Although I do like your hair," he chuckled. She laughed nervously, creeped out by his nonchalant attitude.
"What you did...is inexcusable. And I would have stopped you with no remorse, had we met under any other circumstances. But I suppose that given the facts you have told me, I cannot hold you responsible for your crimes," he sighed, and held out his hand. "For what it's worth, I forgive you, as a fellow immortal. Of sorts."
She smiled, and placed her hoof in his hand.
************
They regained consciousness at the same time, and smiled at each other. She stepped towards him, and lowered her head. It was at that moment Celestia entered the cell.
"Luna? What's going on?" she asked, ready to jump in if the Doctor made a single wrong move.
"I'm alright, sister. The Doctor and I had a talk, and he is going to remove some of my memories. Don't worry," she added, sensing the fear and anger radiating from her sister as soon as she said that," just my visits to his dreams."
She looked at him, gave him a single nod, and he placed his hooves on either side of her head.
"Oh, and before I forget. Tell me I gave you my Royal Pardon after giving me the message."
"I will, Luna. Oh?! Look at that!" exclaimed the Doctor, letting her go.
"My voice has changed! What is this? Aaah, Ooooh, mi mi mi mi faaaa, bananaaaaa. Unconstitutional. Polygons. Raghmagorn. How about that," he laughed, "a hybrid accent! Grand! A bit of British, and some American! Oh wait, that's a tiny drawback. Oh well. A hint of Colonial? Nevermind, I'll figure it out later," he said, putting his hooves back on her head. Before he closed his eyes, she put a hoof to his and stared into his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Doctor."
"It's alright, I forgive you."
"Not that. I'm sorry about the war, Doctor. I'm sorry you had to live through that."
He looked at her in shock for a second or two, then gave her the first sincere smile since his arrival.
"I...well, thanks."
"Friends?"
"...Friends," he replied, grinning.
He then closed his eyes, and Celestia saw that both their eyes were glowing underneath their eyelids. Luna trembled a bit, and he gritted his teeth. A few seconds later, she collapsed into his forelegs and he shook his head. The Doctor looked up, and saw Celestia smiling down on them.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing. It's just been a while since I've seen Luna in the arms of another stallion. Also, I like the accent," she giggled.
"Har har har, very witty," he said, blushing slightly, "and yes, I think I like it too. It sounds...exotic, yeah?"
"It certainly does," she replied, placing her sister on her back. After they walked out of the cell, and Celestia had set the glyphs into place, she turned to him while the platform rose to the surface.
"When you said you wouldn't care if I dropped you...what exactly did you mean?"
"...I meant I wasn't supposed to be here," he said, scratching his foreleg.
"Well you did crash into our planet, and no one expected you to...regenerate, was that it?" she asked, as they walked towards the exit. On the side, Cerberus stirred in his sleep.
"Well that's the thing; I wasn't supposed to regenerate."
"Really? Do tell," she said, as they stepped out of the prison.
"It's complicated, now what is that?! This is new and interesting," he said, gesturing at the shard, "I was in an underground complex protected by some guards in the middle of the desert and...what used to be a solid gate," he finished, titling his head sideways to look at the wreckage.
"Tartarus is the only prison in Equestria, Doctor, and we aim to keep it strong."
"...Tartarus, huh? How about that," he said while looking at a broken lock, then turned to her to see her horn glowing. "What are you doing?"
"Preparing our teleportation back to the castle. Luna and I need to rest, and you could use some sprucing up," she said, looking down at the shaggy-looking pony.
"Teleportation?! Oh, that is glorious! But wait, wait, wait," he shouted, waving his forelegs - which was a bit of an effort. "Before we do that, could we just...take a walk? It's a nice night, and I feel like walking."
She looked at him with a sad expression, then smiled softly.
"I don't see why not."
"Alrighty then!"
So the Doctor and the princesses took a walk, in a barren orange desert under a star speckled sky. A few minutes later, they were gone in a flash of golden light.
The Doctor, along with the Princess, materialized in the empty throne room in a flash of golden light, making the Doctor fall flat on his face while clutching his stomach.
"Oooooh boy...this body needs to adapt to teleportation again...I can tell this is going to be a pain," he groaned, rolling over to face the ceiling.
"I can imagine. This happens from time to time in my kingdom; earth ponies or pegasi being teleported is never easy for anypony, apparently," giggled Celestia, looking down at him.
"Yeah, but this feels like, like...going through puberty again...that's it," he said, waving a hoof towards her face. "Oh boy, just...gimme a second...okay, we're good to go."
"Very well, but answer me this: what is the next step for you?"
"Well," he said, rubbing the ground with a hoof, "I suppose I'll have to talk with Luna here before I go back to my TARDIS. How's it doing, by the way?"
"Apparently, from what my sister has told me, just fine. Still unmoved, still closed."
"That's my girl," he said, grinning. "I suppose I'll wake her up tomorrow."
"Very well then, let's go," she said, turning towards the doors.
"Wait," said the Doctor, standing still and looking at her with a frown. "I think it's time I got some explanations here. You pick me out of the wreckage of an object that has fallen from the stars, then you heal me, then you toss me in jail once I regenerate - which is fair when you think about it, but nevermind - and then you leave me to rot in jail, only to threaten to throw me down the pit of Tartarus and then return me here. "Now that is not the strangest part of all this. The weird thing is you're so casual about this. I know how it is, treating strange events with strange actions, that's the Doctorian method - yes, that's now a term - but this is something else. No, this...is you knowing a lot more than you should. What's going on? How did you know about what I was doing in my cell? Who are you and what are you trying to pull?"
She looked down at him, meeting his glare, and answered with a smirk.
"All in good time Doctor, all in good time. I promise you will know, but for now my lips are sealed. Now come with me," she replied, walking to the doors. The Doctor stood there, puzzled, then followed her.
They walked silently through the castle, their hoofsteps muffled by the carpet beneath their hooves. He would look up to her from time to time, only to find her focused on the path before her. After traversing several corridors, they stopped in front of a plain blue door.
"This is your previous room, completely repaired. We'll get you cleaned up in the morning and then you can be on your way. Good night, Doctor."
"Hold on," said the Doctor, placing a hoof on her foreleg. She looked down at it, surprised. Hardly anypony even touched her these days. It felt nice. "I just wanted to say thanks for...everything you've done for me."
"Really? Even the imprisonment and the death threat?"
"Hey, that was a bit of a wake-up call for me. Really, just...thanks," he smiled, awkwardly scratching his mane.
"You're quite welcome. Now go rest up, you have a big day tomorrow," she replied, with a pleasant smile.
"Okay, mom," he chuckled, entering the room and closing the door behind him.
She stared at the blue door with a sad smile, then shook her head and walked towards her sister's room. She tucked her little sister in, and made her way towards her own chambers. When she entered the room, she noticed that her book was glowing again. She rushed towards it, and waited for the process to finish. When it was finished, the hourglass container clicked open again and more sand flew out, only to vanish into thin air.
She picked it up carefully, and opened it, only to look at the book with a puzzled expression.
It's never done that before...oh well. I'm sure it'll be clear soon enough.
She placed the book down, and went to her bed, placing her royal attire down on the nightstand next to her bed, and snuggling into the massive round mattress.
************
When Princess Luna stepped out of the orange sphere, she found herself in the middle of a strange room. It was so outlandish, in fact, that she couldn't properly describe it. All she knew is that the whole place was glowing orange, the walls were covered in circles, and that the pillar she stood next to was covered in junk.
"Phobos. Night Terrors. The Nocturi."
Luna spun around so fast she almost felt her neck snap. Or twist fast enough so that it would be sore in the morning. Standing at the top of some stairs, an old man with shaggy clothes looked at her with a stoic expression. Her wide eyes were fixed on him, with her jaw actually dropping down.
"I've never told anyone about that. How did you know?"
"You told me about them. In a part of your life you will never remember, you told me to say those words so that you would immediately stop thinking about your plans. And yes, I do know what you're planning."
"...I see. Very well, I trust myself enough to know that I wouldn't have revealed such facts if the circumstances didn't call for them."
"I'm glad to see you understand," he nodded, with a small smile. "How far back do you remember our encounters?"
"We've met in your dreams before?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.
"Oh dear, back to square one. That will be quite annoying."
"Well then, it's a good thing it's not your problem. I think it's time you left."
Luna was so shocked when she heard the voice right behind her that she didn't even scream. She just coughed, sputtered, and turned around to find that the creature that had fallen from the sky was sitting on a couch, glaring at the older man with his arms crossed.
"I suppose it is. I hope we have the chance to meet again someday, Princess Luna," he said, giving a small bow before turning around and walking down a small corridor, only to vanish in the shadows. The alicorn raised an eyebrow at Eleven, who mimicked her move.
"What was that about?"
"That's a personal matter. Quite literally, actually," he chuckled, standing up, "but nevermind him. The fact is I do know what you're actually thinking, and I dealt with you accordingly. Well not really, actually, I went so far over the line that I couldn't even see it, and I ended up in a dark place. I'm not exactly sure where, really," he pondered, walking around the console as he talked. "But that's in the past now, isn't it? I think it's time I left as well."
And as he went round and round the console, his entire appearance changed drastically. His hair went from wild and brown to white and smooth, and he wore a very long scarf, which looked ridiculous with his multi-coloured vest. He stopped for a moment, then looked down at his feet to find some black trousers with shoes that even the Princess, who didn't see their purpose, found them quite fashionable.
"Ha, look at that; even I'm having difficulties knowing what's ahead. But that's okay. I feel like this is the right time to go. Even the best of things have to end, as does everything. It's nice to know that everything starts over again, though, isn't it?" he asked her, with slightly moist eyes. She simply stared at him, unsure how to reply, but nodded nonetheless.
"Exactly. Anyway, moving on," he said, stopping behind the glass pillar.
"It's time found out what I can do," said the brown pony, stepping out from behind the pillar. At this point, Luna simply sat down on the couch, befuddled.
"What? But? Doctor, I've seen millions of dreams in my lifetime, but this is by far one of the strangest. Why are you a pony? Why not remain a...what do you call yourself?"
"A Time Lord, Luna. And yes, I suppose I could call Chiny back, but look at me. I'm brand new, and I've got a whole world to meet before I can start visiting others again. It's time the universe saw a whole new face," he grinned, walking towards the doors. "And it's really about time. So, Luna, let me introduce myself! I'm the Doctor."
And with that, he yanked the doors open, leaving Luna to fly out after him to find out just what she was dealing with.
************
Although they spent many, many hours in his dreams simply visiting his world and talking, reality reared its ugly head in the picture and they eventually woke up. After a quick breakfast, he was told to meet the princesses in the gardens. And there they were, standing in front of a large purple hot-air balloon, which had an eclipse made of the finest of threads stitched on it. Once he looked at hem, he took a few steps forwards to stop in front of the open door, staring at the velvet red seats.
"Are you alright, Doctor?" asked Luna, putting a hoof on his shoulder. He blinked, then shook his head and looked at her.
"Yes, I'm alright, it's just...I'm not really sure what to do. I mean, I now what to do next, but I'm not really sure how to go about it. I mean, look at me. I'm a little horsey!" he laughed, flailing his hooves around.
"You're a pony, Doctor, not a 'horsey'. And I'm sure you'll do just fine. Now let's go check on your box," said Celestia, climbing into the aircraft.
I hope you're right.
With a storm of thoughts raging in his head, the Doctor climbed aboard and watched the princess ignite the flame, making the balloon swell before their platform rose with it. He looked around and below, seeing beautiful landscapes far off in the distance and nothing but rich and colourful fields down below. If he hadn't been so focused on the sights and on fighting his sudden fear of heights, he would have noticed Luna looking at him with remorse in her eyes. Only Celestia noticed.
"So Doctor, what do you plan on doing once we reach your box?" she asked, hoping to get something out of him.
"Well for starters I'll look around, see what's really changed, then get used to my new home and fly off. Same as usual, really," he replied, not noticing the signs of pain growing on Luna's face. Celestia shook her head at his blindness.
"But surely you'll come back and visit us, won't you?"
"Oh, absolutely, of course!" he said, turning to face them. "I mean, I'll have to start looking here to find out how I'm going to change back into my usual body."
Even though Luna nodded with a smile, she felt a tiny part of her die inside. And the strangest thing was she didn't even know why this was bothering her so much. They eventually landed near the crash site, where a circle of guards stood around the large blue box, looking as blue as ever.
"Hello boys! Thanks for cleaning her up for me!" called the Doctor, walking up to the guards with a big smile. They remained still, before bowing down in front of him. "Um...thanks, but there's no need for that, really. You can get up," he coughed, pawing at the ground beneath his hooves. Behind him, Luna facehoofed with a grin while Celestia laughed quietly.
"Rise, my knights. Thank you for guarding the box."
They rose to their hooves, then stepped aside to let the Doctor pass. After nodding to the sisters, he slowly walked towards his TARDIS. Only he felt...uncomfortable. It didn't look or feel right. When he would walk up to those doors, he would usually feel a tingly sensation in his hands, a sign that he would be safe soon. But on this occasion, he felt...nothing.
Probably this pony body not responding to the TARDIS. Strange. I'm really going to have to get this fixed.
He put his hoof against the door, and felt it shudder slightly. The door gave a bit, and steam flew out of the sign overhead.
Please don't go...
The Doctor's eyes went wide open upon 'hearing' this, and he whirled around to stare at Luna. He was so surprised to hear her voice in his head that he didn't see the door simply give away, making him fall flat on his back into an empty, dusty console room. He merely stared at the dark ceiling above him, struggling to comprehend how he could have heard Luna's voice in his head and how the TARDIS was like this. A heavy silence reigned over the area.
He jumped to his hooves, and looked around the console room. Instead of seeing a brand new, colourful entrance, he saw only destruction and ruin. The design was the same, nothing had changed, except for the fact that the fires had stopped. The entire place was dark, dirty, broken and devoid of any life whatsoever.
No. No. No no no no no no no NO!
He ran around the place, breathing heavily and sweating profusely. He then ran out of the TARDIS and stood before the princesses and the guards.
"What happened?! What did you do to my TARDIS?! LUNA!" he yelled, glaring at them all. The guards were strangely unnerved by this pony, grasping their spears a little tighter.
"I-I...we didn't do anything to it! We took you out of the box, then I returned, and my guards and I have been observing this machine ever since, but we haven't harmed it in any way at all!" she shouted. She tried to meet his gaze, but her attitude was hanging on a thread and she couldn't wait to stop pretending to look tough.
"Celestia?! What. Happened?!"
"I have nothing to add," she replied, meeting his gaze coolly. He couldn't see it, but she herself was troubled by this turn of events. This wasn't what she had planned.
"Useless! The lot of you!" he shouted, running back into his TARDIS. When the guards tried to follow him, Celestia raised her wing and shook her head, stopping them in their tracks.
The Doctor looked at the panels, trying to see any sign of salvageable object that could fix the TARDIS. Even one of those glowing power nodes would do for now. But nothing. That is, until he saw something...pink, on the monitor. It was so out of place, so unlikely, that he froze and stared at it for a few seconds.
What the hell?
He went to pick it up, and the moment he touched the screen, the entire ship groaned. It literally cried out, and the sound of metal cables stretching and snapping rang out throughout the entire room. The floor started shaking, and the Doctor felt afraid in his own home. Dust fell from the ceiling, and the glass pillar was glowing a bright yellow, almost golden.
I have no idea what is going on. This is not normal at all.
Suddenly he felt much lighter than usual, until he realized that he was in fact floating in the air because of a golden light. Before he could try and make sense of his situation, he was pulled out of the room and fell on the grassy floor outside. He heard the doors slam shut, and looked up to see the entire box shaking as if it was having a seizure. He watched in horror as the lamp at the top started glowing, and as the wind picked up around them. He ran to the doors, and hit them as hard as he could.
"STOP IT! STOP THAT RIGHT NOW! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME!"
The guards gathered around their princess and raised their spears, pointing them at the gray pony that was raging against the groaning box. The Doctor hit the TARDIS harder and harder, tears pouring out of his bloodshot eyes. The princesses tried to summon as many spells as they could to stabilize the machine, but they all faded within seconds.
"PLEASE!"
Then, suddenly, the groaning and shaking stopped, and both the TARDIS and the Doctor stayed still. A second later, a warbled groaning sound returned and the TARDIS simply sizzled out of existence, throwing a silent shockwave around it for miles. The Doctor was thrown back and hit his head against a tree, while the guards staggered back. The princesses flinched, their hair billowing around them as grass and dirt flew up.
The Doctor slowly opened his eyes to see several spears pointed at his face, and the princesses running behind them shouting orders he could have heard, were it not for the ringing noise in his skull. But he did not need to hear them to realize a disturbing truth.
The TARDIS never fixed itself. It died. It's gone. I could understand these creatures the whole time without it. I'm stuck.
He looked past the weapons to see Celestia gathering her guards around her, while Luna knelt by his side and took his head in her hooves, speaking to him urgently with blurred words. The brown pony looked her in the eyes and muttered words that puzzled her.
"Do I get to stop now? Is it over?"
The elder of the two sisters walked up to the pair, and lifted the Doctor's chin so that he could face her.
"Are you alright Doctor? Can you hear me?"
"...Yeah...I can hear you."
" Can you stand up?"
He only nodded, and got to his hooves with a bit of help from Luna. Once he was able to stand straight, he looked at Celestia with a frown.
"I also know you lied to me."
"What? What do you mean?"
"You said you haven't touched anything in my TARDIS, or outside of it. If that was the truth," he calmly said, lifting the palm of his hoof up to show them what he had found on the monitor, "you wouldn't have left a mess inside."
Confused at first, the sisters looked at each other with looks of surprise and anger when they saw the candy floss that stuck to the Doctor's hoof.
************
Down in the pits of Tartarus, way down in the deepest part of the ninth circle, Discord the draconequus was standing in his colourful office while staring at the pyramid of balls that lay on the green carpet below him. With one eye closed, he inched the cane ever so slightly forward once, twice, and was about to shoot the white ball into the mass when the door of the room slammed open.
"DISCORD! WE HAVE BUSINESS WITH- !
"Huuuushhhhh, Luna...this is serious," he called out, not keeping his eye off the prize.
He stood perfectly still for a few seconds, before he threw the cane down his gullet as the balls fell into holes that gave way beneath them. He summoned a bowling pin in each hand and in his tail's grasp, and started hitting the miniature ponies that popped out of the holes while a deep voice shouted FIGHT! Whack! And a little Celestia ducked back in her hole as her sister blew a raspberry next to her. The avatars of the Elements of Harmony, on the other hand, were popping up here and there, shouting gibberish at him in little high-pitched voices. He kept whacking away, until he got bored and flipped the pool table over to reveal the pinball machine that popped into existence in its place.
"Alright then, what can old Daddy D do for-"
"Stuff it, 'warden'. We've got to talk."
Discord slowly turned around to see a brown earth pony leaning against the door-frame of his office, with Celestia and Luna standing right behind with frowns on their face. He slithered forward with an eyebrow raised, then leaned down to look into the pony's eyes. He then grinned, and rubbed his hands together while chuckling.
"Well look at you, little pony. You're something new and interesting."
His cockiness marked the painful meeting between his face and a brown hoof.
"He punched me in the face! Do you know how long it's been since any creature has done that?!"
"I'm warning you, Discord!"
"In the face, Celestia!"
"I actually think this is quite amusing, albeit grotesque."
"Thank you!"
"Not now, Luna!"
While the two were bickering, Luna was rocking back and forth alongside a wooden pony. The rocking toy had blue eyes, its mane and coat different shades of brown, and a big smile on its face. Luna was simply swaying back and forth next to him, giggling silently.
"Oh, fine!" shouted the mad god, snapping his fingers, "I guess I have to be the adult here, again!"
Celestia's retort was cut short by a popping noise, which was drowned out by the raucous laughter that followed it. Turning around, she stared at the Doctor, who was rolling on the floor crying with laughter. Luna, on the other hand, looked creeped out, while Discord looked at the new guest with wide eyes.
"HA HA HA that's fantastic! This is definitely one of the best things I've been turned into! A rocking horse, that's brilliant! But in all seriousness," said the Doctor, rising to his hooves, "I'd like to speak with this clown alone."
"We're not leaving you alone with this...cretin," replied Luna, shooting the surprisingly quiet Discord a dirty look.
To this, the Doctor did not reply. Instead, he chose to look at Discord directly in the eyes. The deranged creature looked back at him, with an eyebrow raised and a tiny smirk. They stared at each other for a few seconds before the Doctor put on a similar grin.
"Whenever you're ready."
With a Cheshire smile, Discord snapped his fingers and the two alicorns flashed out of existence, finding themselves outside the room and very flustered. Before they could reach for the door, it molded itself into the rock, leaving only a solid door knob with a DON'T DISTURB sign hanging from it.
"What the? Why that little...obnoxious...Gah!" shouted Luna, stomping her forehooves down.
"I agree, he is a sly one. Let's get working on that door," said Celestia.
************
"There we go, much better. Finally time for the males to talk, am I right?" chuckled Discord, only to find the Doctor looking unamused. "Well aren't you bipolar."
"They've told me about you," said the Doctor, with a cold voice, "Spirit of Chaos. You've toyed with their subjects' lives many times, wreaking havoc and mayhem over the whole continent, blatantly stomped on the laws of physics and carelessly overthrown the balance of the world for decades, just for your personal entertainment. And yet, you haven't killed anyone. I have to ask: why?"
Discord sat in a couch, tugging at his goatee and looking at the ceiling, before he looked down at the little brown pony with an evil gleam in those big round yellow eyes and stated his defense in a deep voice.
"The aristocrats."
To this, the Doctor actually smirked, shaking his head in amusement.
"Also, killing? That's no fun. I may have been a bother to these ponies, but I'm not heartless, see?" he continued, opening his chest like he would open a coat to reveal a small blue heart, which was two sizes too small, thumping erratically on one side and slowly on the other. Still, the Doctor's only response was a raised eyebrow, and it was Discord's turn to be unamused.
"Okay, this is getting boring. Last time I did this three ponies had a heart attack," he grumbled, while the faint sound of a drum set was heard. "But then again, you're not a very normal pony are you?"
"Not really, no. And I find your antics amusing, don't get me wrong. It's just that I've crashed into this world, spent a lot of time here in a coma or bored out of my mind, and my only chance to get home is gone. But not before I found this," said the Doctor, pointing to the piece of cotton candy which had been brought to Discord's chambers. "I've been told by the princesses that you're the source of this sugary mush. Care to explain?"
Discord looked at the Doctor with a stoic expression, with his hands resting under his chin, and kept his gaze still for a few seconds before he gave his hoof a tap on the ground. From the stone emerged a large leather chair, in which the Doctor was pushed by an invisible force and brought to sit in front of the mad god. They simply looked at each other again, one frowning and the other pondering while resting a paw on his cheek, until the latter spoke.
"Do you know how magic manifests itself in ponies?"
The Doctor raised an eyebrow, considered if he should hit him again, then shook his head.
"Well I'll tell you how. With alicorns - like our dear friends outside - you can just feel it in the air around them, as you might have. Unicorns give off a very, almost invisible glow because of their proximity to the magic that flows in the air. Grace is how the pegasi are gifted, their magic found in their natural ability to fly and interact with clouds. And finally, there's you. Earth ponies will always feel a very faint thrum or pulse under their hooves, which shows how close they are to the ground. And then there's me."
He illustrated his point by snapping his fingers once more, sparks flying up until a tiny black flame rose from the tip of his thumb as if he were holding a lighter. This flame gave off no heat or cold and looked distorted, faint sounds of laughter and explosions and a constant humming noise coming out of it. The flame cast a shadow which darkened the draconequus' face, making him look a lot more menacing.
"Pure, unadultared, unfiltered chaos magic, my boy. I can bend the very fabric of reality around me with the snap of my fingers and send you to places unimagined by any creature on this planet. It's one of the most powerful form of magic known to ponykind, and yet it doesn't manifest itself unless I say so, and apart from my appearance. You may be wondering why I'm telling you all this," he continued, which got a nod out of the Doctor.
"The reason why I'm telling you this is to show you that every creature of this world has some form of magic that makes up a part of them. Except for you," he added, booping the pony's nose with his tail, "you don't give off anything at all. You're bland, almost absent, and I know you don't feel anything under those little hooves of yours. So why would I waste my precious magic on a creature that has none? The answer is I wouldn't. This piece of cotton candy may be born from my power, but I have no recollection of using it anywhere near you."
"In short, I have no idea who or what you are, and how this delicious ball of power got here," he concluded, popping the pink candy down his throat.
The Doctor remained silent, but in a different way this time. He felt deeply lost, and why wouldn't he? The only lead he had to the TARDIS's sudden disappearance led to nowhere. He was done.
"However," said Discord, sliding his body around the Doctor's chair and looking right at him, "you are the most interesting creature I've met in quite a while, and you might be a bit rude but you get me. You're intrigued by my power, and no one has shown this kind of attention to me in a while. So if you stay, feel free to come by here anytime. I can tell we're going to have lots of fun, you and I."
The Doctor looked at the crazed grin that had grown on Discord's face, and gave a tired smile. He extended his forehoof, which Discord bumped with his lion paw, surprised but delighted to find a kindred spirit in this strange new creature. The Doctor rose from his chair, and heard muffled shouts of annoyance coming from outside the wall where the door used to be.
"I might just do that. And one last thing: I've also been told that you've been reformed, which is mostly why I didn't let them come in. But are you really?"
The draconequus gave a hum in thought, then shot an evil grin at the Doctor.
"Who knows."
The Doctor's response disturbed Discord somewhat, although he didn't show it. The pony hair seemed to go a tiny bit darker, his eyes were a lighter blue, and his smile felt very, very familiar. There was a clicking noise, and the wall finally fell. The two sisters looked at the two oddities in the room, and were about to start asking questions when the Doctor walked towards them with a tired expression.
"We're done here. Let's get back to the castle," he muttered.
They watched him head for the elevator, and turned to talk to the warden when they jumped back at finding him to be right in front of them, grinning and coiling his entire body to block the entry. When he spoke, he gave off a malicious but serious feeling.
"Thinking time. Pleasure seeing you both, toodles," he said, wiggling his fingers in a mocking goodbye before the area flashed and the door was gone, leaving the sisters befuddled. When they reached the Doctor, they looked at him with caution in their minds.
"So what happened in there? Is he responsible for your situation?" asked Celestia.
He looked at them both, which made them feel even more uneasy, before he replied.
"I found something, but not exactly what I was hoping for. We'll talk more about it at the castle."
The sisters shared a quick thought, and simply nodded before activating the elevator, thus raising them out of the last circle of Tartarus. Before that level faded from view, the Doctor noticed a door engraved in the wall not too far from Discord's lair, upon which a symbol resembling a bio-hazard warning was engraved. He frowned upon seeing this, but did not speak.
************
That night, the Doctor was lying down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling with empty eyes. There were very rare instances when his mind was empty, but this was one of them. Not empty in the sense that he didn't have thoughts - he always had thoughts floating around - but empty as in the same words, repeating themselves over and over again in his mind, going round and round and never going on. He was physically, and mentally, stuck.
TARDIS is gone. I'm a pony now. No leads, no Screwdriver or psychic paper, nothing. Is this where I stop? I suppose that's not too bad, but what now? What now?
After a while, a knock came from the door. He didn't answer, which prompted the newcomer to let themselves in.
"Doctor, a word please."
The Doctor lazily waved a hoof in the air, beckoning her over. With his eyes stuck to the ceiling, he simply felt the weight of a new pony sitting on his bed, although he didn't need to move to recognise the shimmering hair floating at the edge of his vision.
"What do you want, Princess Celestia?"
A pause hung in the air before she answered.
"That's the first time you've called me by my title."
"Well I'm a pony now, so I guess that things are changing."
"Please don't call me Princess again."
He looked at her with an eyebrow raised, then looked back to the ceiling.
"I wish to talk to you about two things at the moment. The first being what you mentioned back in the Badlands, about you not meant to be here, regeneration and all if I'm not mistaken. What did you mean by that?"
The Doctor gave a sigh, and rose to sit next to her. They both sat there, one curled up like a leopard and the other looking like a grounded puppy, until he replied.
"Like I said, my regeneration process is like that of a lizard. A bit, sort of; anyway the idea is that there are self-regenerating cells in my body that trigger a complete...reconstruction of every cell in my body if I'm too close to death. I don't regain my appearance or personality completely, the only things really staying are my memories - and even that's unreliable - and I'm going off-track again. Point is, I can't regenerate forever. And I ran out. I'm allowed twelve retries, and then I die. I've lived for more than a millennium, almost a millennium and a half, but I can't live forever."
"I see. So, when you were in the hospital..."
"I was shocked, yes. I was never meant to be in that room in the first place. I should have died in the wreck that was my TARDIS. And then you saved me, but I was paralyzed. I was stuck, and I decided to end it all; that's why I goaded Luna into attacking me."
"But...you told me you couldn't come back. Why try to regenerate again?"
To this, he didn't answer. He simply stared at her with a flat expression until realization dawned on her face.
"Oh...you didn't know."
"There you go. When I started regenerating, I thought I would burn out like all dying Time Lords; because that's what we do in the end. Burn out like a dead sun. I never thought I'd become a pony. And now I'm lost. D'you know that I was actually grieving before I came here? I was purposeless, deluding myself at times, thinking I was okay and trying to get back into my old routines, but the fact is I was done. I was ready for anything to take me away."
Although disturbed by his comparison, Celestia draped a wing out to pull him into a hug. He didn't resist. They simply stayed like that, resting against the headboard with her arms around his chest and her head atop his, until she spoke up.
"I'd like to talk about the other issue now, and this may please you. I said you would be told everything in good time."
Her horn flared up, and the book she had deposited on the room's desk floated towards her, until it landed on the Doctor's outstretched hooves.
"Now I'd like for you not to open the book yet, and I'd have you hear what I have to say. This book was given to me a long time ago, and I was told it would manifest itself when the time was right. It did so recently, two days before you arrived, which is why Luna and I were the ones who found you. What this book contains...is...how to put it. Ah yes: events."
"...Events?" asked the Doctor, turning the book on itself several times.
"I cannot say for sure. I thought you might know something, since no one - not even Discord - has ever been able to tell me what this book represents. It emits very faint traces of magic, along with some other form of energy I haven't been able to identify, but I cannot divine its intent. Open it."
The Doctor did so, very slowly, and when he opened the book his jaw dropped open. There, below his eyes, these words were written:
The Doctor looks down at the contents of the book, befuddled by the words he reads. He then flips the pages back, seeing every major event of his stay described in small black letters. The Doctor reads of his discussion with the Devil, of his own redemption, of his nefarious deeds he committed from within his cell, a few visits he made alongside Princess Luna within his dreams, his imprisonment, botched regeneration, his stay in the castle. He then reads of the earliest event, the first, marking the start of his journey with Equestria.
The Doctor did exactly as the book said, reading how the events were described as if an invisible entity wrote the events at the same time they happened. He then reached the first page, and read the following words.
In the second year after the return of Princess Luna, the Doctor returns to Equestria near the town of Ponyville.
As soon as he read this, the Doctor dropped the book down, where it fell on the floor next to the bed. He felt dizzy, and had too many words that made no sense of his discovery.
"The words you first read appeared before I came to visit you. When I entered my chambers, the book was glowing. I read its contents and came here. I knew I could show you this now, as it was detailed in the book."
"Glowing?"
"Yes, now- "
But just before she could continue, a faint humming noise came from below them. Craning their necks, they watched in awe as the book emitted a golden glow from within its pages. When the Doctor went to reach for it, Celestia yanked his hoof away and shook her head. The hourglass spun in its casing, faster and faster, until it clicked open when the glow stopped, releasing some golden mist. Celestia willed it back towards them, and opened it so they could both read it.
The Doctor walks the earth.
"Hmm...interesting. What do you think- "
Celestia was interrupted once more as the Doctor jumped up, pressing his nose against her's and staring into her eyes.
"I will answer your questions soon but I have to know something right now, right this instant: how do you know me?"
She gently pushed him away, and cleared her throat before answering.
" A very long time ago, right after I had sent Nightmare Moon to her prison, I was approached by a brown Earth pony. He told me that even though I felt destroyed I should not despair, as my sister would return to me in good time, a thousand years to be exact. He told me my student would save her then, if I was at a specific place at a specific date and time. I wouldn't have believed his encouragement if he hadn't told me these coordinates - along with some other information - and left, but he didn't leave before saying a friend would come to her someday after her sister returned to her.
"He said that friend would be a strange one, falling from the sky with a strange appearance. I realized, on the night I saved you, that that pony was you. I took you to the castle, waiting for the book to give me further instructions, and it did. It's why I did not intervene when you pretended to be Despair, and how I knew what you were doing to my sister in Tartarus."
"Then why didn't you stop me before?"
"Ah, now that is a good question. Yesterday the book manifested itself again, but it did not have any new words for me. Furthermore, on the night you attacked my sister, the letters that warned me appeared while you acted. This book has revealed events to me in order at times, but it has shown some bouts of randomness, namely what I've just told you. Now what does this mean?"
The Doctor picked the book up while she spoke, and looked at it again from every angle.
"...This book feels old, and I can see it's damaged. But that doesn't matter, because this doesn't change what it is. This, Celestia, is a Chronolibri, or Chronobook if you prefer."
"...A Chronobook, you say. How do you know that?"
"I know so because this is a Time Lord item. You see, back in the very old days of my civilization, we tried to cheat the Time Vortex and sort of capture it within books built from the strongest trees of my planet, to predict the future and act upon it. You can guess that they didn't stay long, as they weren't very reliable at times and when they were, people quickly abused them. It put us in jeopardy for a while, and it would have done tons of damage if the higher ups didn't decide to have them destroyed. In my time there were still some, although I knew this through rumors about how they were hidden in certain places of my planet or in the lowest markets. But how did it get here?"
"I...don't really remember. My memories are blurred after so many years, but I know I came to possess it a long time ago."
"Right...okay. I think the damage is why the book is acting up at times..."
And with that, he dropped the book down on the bed, flopping back into Celestia's grasp. They stayed silent, letting one another process all this new information.
"So what will you do now?" she asked.
"That depends. Could I see the book again?" she gave him the book, and he quickly flipped through the most recent pages. "Yeah, see, I wasn't going crazy: there's no mention of my TARDIS anywhere. So I guess that until I find it, I have to walk through Equestria. And quite frankly, that's just fine with me. Moving on and all that," he declared, standing up and clasping his hooves together. "But first, I have to go pay a few visits. I'll come for you later. Also, Celestia?"
"Yes, Doctor?" asked the alicorn, still sitting on his bed.
"Thank you very much," he replied, giving a small bow and leaving the room. She looked at the door for a few seconds, took a deep breath, and snuggled into the bed a bit more.
Now what could I give them tonight...the Clover constellation? No, I made that one a week ago. How about the Unicorn's Stride? I haven't done that one in a while. But...bleh.
Bleh indeed. That was the thought that always came back after two hours of trying to focus on her work. An idea came, and then it went, and bleh returned. Luna dragged her hooves down her face, trying to figure out the exact reason why she couldn't focus. That stallion, the Doctor. Whenever she tried to think of a constellation, she would just go back to thinking about him and how he fell down from the stars. Why, how, where, who and what were questions that seemed to constantly float around him and whenever she tried to grasp them they faded like smoke, only to return instantly. No results, no progress, and therefore she felt like...bleh.
Oh confound it all, I'll just throw together a random set of stars up there, it's not like anyone actually watches them! Wait, no, that's not true. I guess I'll go with the Unicorn's Stride. Actually, I think I set that one up the night he arri- Gah, heavens above!
Her forehead met the desk of her room with a loud thunk, making scrolls fly up around her. She knew she looked ridiculous, especially with one of them dangling off her horn, but at least there was no one there to see her in such a state.
Always there, never completely grasped. He's almost like-
"This is neat stuff!"
"WOAH!"
Luna promptly fell off her chair while the Doctor looked down at a scroll on her desk. She scrambled up, quickly composing herself before she snatched the scroll he was watching and stuffing it, along with the others, into the desk's drawers. After locking them up, she frowned at him. The already wide grin on his face grew a bit.
"How did you get in here? These are my private chambers!"
"I know, I was surprised too! Your guards let me in when I asked; apparently you and your sister granted me unlimited access within the castle. Right?"
"But I didn't- "
Luna stopped herself, and slowly facehoofed. She could almost hear her sister whispering 'gotcha' in her ear.
"Very well...why didn't you knock?"
"I did, but when I came in your head met the desk. Anyway, what's with these constellations? They look great!"
"That's not important!" shouted Luna, cheeks reddening slightly, "what are you even doing here?!"
"I wanted to talk about the incident that occurred earlier today," replied the Doctor, looking at her with a calm expression.
At this, Luna promptly shut her mouth. She had to tread carefully now.
"I see...what part in particular?"
"The part where you spoke to my mind. Not a lot of people can do that."
"So you did hear me! I was wondering why you stared at me like that."
"Yeah, I did. This big brain of mine picks up stuff from time to time, although I didn't exactly expect to hear anyone else here."
They stood there for a few seconds, the Doctor simply looking at her while Luna felt - for some odd reason - slightly embarrassed. He finally broke the silence.
"You don't want me to leave, do you?"
Luna's eyes widened greatly, and she stammered in an attempt to counter his statement before giving up, and sitting back down with a hoof rubbing her forehead.
"Of course I don't want you to leave, Doctor. I mean...look at you: you literally fell from the sky, looking like one the strangest creatures I've met in my long, long life, inside a box that's impossibly large, and then proceeded - shortly after awakening from a small coma, might I add - to blow up and become an Earth pony. And then I had you wipe my memory for an apparently good reason, and now you just waltz in here like nothing's wrong even though your ship boomed out of existence and I can't figure you out and quite frankly you drive me crazy!"
While she was ranting on, she had risen back up and was quickly invaded his personal space until his back was against the doors. He blinked a few times, then waggled his eyebrows.
"Don't worry, I have that effect on a lot of people."
Princess Luna gawked at him, her face slowly reddening before she flashed out of existence and reappeared on her bed, yelling into a pillow while hitting the covers with her hooves. The Doctor watched, amused, until she calmed down. He then walked over to her and sat on the bed next to her.
"Feeling better?"
"..Much," came the muffled reply.
She rolled over, and looked up into his warm blue eyes before sighing and turning her gaze to the ceiling.
"Do you really want to know why, apart from the fact that it would be wrong to keep you in here? It's because I needed someone like you. Celestia and I were actually talking about our...status as princesses on the night you arrived. The truth is I felt lonely, and unappreciated. So many years gone by, and the only ones remaining by my side are her and - unfortunately - Discord. While I love her very, very much, she remains my older sister. I wanted a friend. "And now you're here. You are mad, and a bit rude, but I just feel so right in your presence. I haven't felt this comfortable with someone in eons, and I thought I could get a new, true friend after so long. And you were just going to go away? Of course I didn't want you to leave."
When she turned to look at him, he was simply staring at the ceiling, apparently content with listening to her. When he realized she wanted a reply, he rolled over to look into her own eyes and gave her a tired smile.
"Well...I'm not leaving now. At least, I'm not leaving this planet. The truth is I'm stuck here and I have no idea where my ship's gone. The only option I have have left is to go out there and explore. If it's not out here, then...I guess this is more about self-exploration than anything else, but I still need to leave. Although..."
He gently took one of her hooves into his own, and she silently held her breath in anticipation. She wasn't exactly sure why, but she couldn't be bothered to care.
"...You can still come see me in my dreams, right?" he concluded, giving her a warm smile.
"..If you'll allow me," she replied, with a shy smile.
"Of course."
And with that, he patted her hoof once and rose from the bed. He was about to walk out when she called his name in a soft voice. He turned to see her watching him with half-lidded eyes, clutching the bedsheets around her chest.
"Would you like to stay with me for a moment, Doctor? It's been quite a while since I've enjoyed some company during the night."
The Doctor simply stared, and the more his face reddened, the louder she laughed. She then got up, and walked over to the desk to pull out the same scrolls she had previously locked away.
"Not in that way, but don't worry. I have that effect on some people as well. Now would you like to join me so that I may tell you about the constellations I was working on?"
He took a moment to reply.
"I, um..yes, I suppose I can stay tonight...to keep you entertained. No wait, I mean..stars! Yes, sure!"
As he awkwardly shuffled over to her side, she shook her head in amusement while hiding her smirk. He might have made her feel like a young mare again with his wit, but she could play that game just as well. She felt as though she was going to have quite a lot of fun with this silly stallion.
************
After two days of preparations and a few goodbyes, along with some apologies, the Doctor was ready to go.
He stood outside the gates of the castle, watching the sun rise over the mountain that held the town of Canterlot - Ha! - and lighting this side of the world. He watched as golden crops and rich fields of all sorts of colors were caught in the wave of pinkish light, all the way over there, where mountains in the far distance marked a natural barrier from another part of the world.
It seems I have quite a lot of work ahead of me...
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
The Doctor turned to face the two sisters, who were walking down a flight of stairs to see him off. Celestia held in her magical hold a pair of saddlebags, while Luna held a white box with purple stripes in hers. Celestia stepped forward first, and set the bags down before his hooves.
"You'll find in these saddlebags a few choice items: some currency; a map of Equestria; and some food, as well as other items that might be useful in time. Also, you might find these bags to be quite peculiar."
When she motioned for him to open, he flipped one open with his muzzle and stuck a hoof in to find that they were, in fact...
"Bigger on the inside! Look at that! That's amazing, I've never seen this kind of stuff outside the TARDIS; how did you manage that?!"
"Oh Doctor, this kind of magic has been around for quite a while. A friend of mine, in the old days, engineered this spell a few centuries ago - although I'm not exactly sure when," said Celestia, looking off in the distance with a smile.
"Strange, I'd thought he'd be more surprised..." mumbled Luna, before stepping forward as well. "I- We, I mean! Also wanted to give you this."
She deposited the box in front of him and opened the lid so that he could see its contents. On a pure white coat, a red waistcoat and a matching red tie were slightly covered by an equally white shirt.
"Oh, wow...thank you! I mean, I can't even...how can I repay- "
"No, no, no, Doctor. This is a gift from us to you, and we won't have you paying for it. Now hold still, we wish to see if this works..."
With a flick of her horn, the clothes popped out of existence and onto the Doctor's person. Before he could speak, she held a hoof up to his face.
"Wait for it..."
After a few seconds, the coat's color faded into brown. It felt solid but not too heavy, and not too warm nor too thin, and he was grateful for the deep front, side, and inside pockets. He gawked at it, spinning on himself a few times to fully absorb all these new things that were being thrown at him. Luna clapped her hooves with a laugh while Celestia laughed quietly, before speaking up.
"It seems it was a success. We commissioned this coat from a friend of ours in a nearby town, and I have to say she did an amazing job considering the short amount of time we had to push on her. We'll have to thank her properly," she added, turning to look at Luna and motioning for her to talk to him, which she slowly did.
"Does it please you?" she asked, with a small voice.
He turned to her, and gave her an honest and wide smile.
"'We' love it! I felt useless without pockets!"
With a roll of her eyes and an amused smile, Luna continued.
"I've been meditating on the issue, and I have to ask you...did I act on my...curiosity, for your ship?"
"..You did," said the Doctor with a raised eyebrow, the tiniest shade of grey crawling up his coat.
"I see, and that's why I can't...of course," she sighed, looking aside. "Am I still forgiven?"
He stood still for a few seconds, before slowly pulling her in for a hug.
"Always and completely, Luna."
With a shaky sigh of relief, she returned the hug. The coat he wore melted from brown to dark blue, and its default color only returned after they broke apart. Celestia cleared her throat and walked up to him.
"I'm sure you've gathered by now that the coat will change colors depending on some things, such as emotions or proximity to certain environments or persons. I doubted you would like a single color for your new apparel, so we thought of this. Anyway, I believe it's time for you to be on your way," she concluded, resting a forehoof on his shoulder. "Travel safely, my friend, and never hesitate to drop by."
He placed his hoof on her own, and looked up to her with moist eyes.
"I will, for both of you. Thank you very, very much."
But before he fully turned to start his journey, he faced her once more and asked her, with some uncertainty, a question she was very rarely asked.
"I've been talking to Luna, and I've been feeling to ask...are you lonely, sometimes?"
She blinked slowly, twice, before running a hoof through her hair while she watched the great mountain above them.
"From time to time...but I've learned to deal with it, and ever since I have my sister back I find myself forgetting it more and more often. But to answer your question, Doctor, I do...sometimes...feel quite lonely."
She sighed deeply, then faced him with a smile so familiarly worn it made his chest hurt.
"But that's a discussion we can have some other time. I suggest you avoid delaying your departure any further."
He looked at her for a few seconds, then nodded and walked away. Celestia returned to her sister's side, and they hugged each others side, watching the small but powerful being trotting down the road into the town, which was already starting to fill up with early birds. They felt a tad empty after he left, but they knew, deep down in their minds, that he would return to them; and Celestia knew he would return before he knew it.
************
The Doctor walked through the town, heading for the train station the sisters had told him of. He took his time though, looking around to quickly study the ponies around him, some customs and habits, and the town's layout. As he noticed that there were a lot less inhabitants than he expected, he heard a low but deep laugh coming from one of his chest pockets.
"Ah, mon ami, l'amour is in ze air!"
From that pocket jumped out a small version of Discord, who was wearing a white shirt with horizontal black stripes and a red beret while munching on a baguette. This little fiend landed on the Doctor's shoulder, and rested his back against the stallion's neck while holding his hands together.
"What are you talking about, Discord?" asked the Doctor, his coat slowly turning dark grey.
"Oh please, it reeks like Prench cheese. L'amewr between you and the little princess? Ha!" laughed the draconequus, spreading the stinky, milky cheese on a slice of bread. He then snapped his fingers, and popped up on top of the Doctor's head.
"There's none of that. We're just friends."
"Yes, yes, of course you are, either way," groaned Discord, rubbing his forehead with his talon,"it looks like you're off to start your big old adventure? Are you nervous, excited, both? Or hungry, maybe sick? Whose shirts do you wear?! The public has a right to know!"
At this point the Doctor had stopped, and was looking at the little creature - whom had summoned a pair of glasses, a loose tie and microphone from thin air - with annoyance written all over his face. He rubbed the side of his face, sighed, and decided to humor him.
"Why are you here, and what do you want, Discord?"
"That's an excellent question, my strange friend," muttered Discord, holding his chin in his hand," what are any of us doing anywhere? What is our purpose in life? Heavy stuff we're dealing with here. But in all seriousness, I've decided to join you on your little quest."
"...Really?" asked the Doctor, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, really!" he shouted, growing to his regular size and grabbing the stallion in a side-hug. "It'll be our own road movie! I can see it now: explosions, plots, romance, and adventure all over! I mean how could I leave my bestest new buddy in the world all alone, with no one by his side? And, in all honesty..."
The Doctor looked up to see Discord staring far away, with unfocused eyes and a tired expression on his face.
"I feel as though you're the only person who really understands me. So now, I have a true friend with whom I can break free of the prison that is loneliness and- PWAHAHAHA! I CAN'T DO IT!"
Discord took flight, holding his sides and pointing at the stallion while laughing hysterically and floating in mid-air.
"Goodness gracious, that was too perfect! Can you believe some people actually feed this kind of garbage to others, and that those others eat it up like candy?! It's madness! Delicious, beautiful, hysterical madness!"
The Doctor looked unamused by the spirit's antics, and looked around to find that no pony around them was paying them any attention.
"Before you ask, I set up a spell so that we could have this little chat in private; and while I might not really be joining you I did want to have a few words," said Discord, sitting on a red sofa that had risen from the ground behind him. "I maintain that you are very worthy of my time, little pony, and as such I will probably pop by every now and then. Or maybe not. Who knows? Either way, you've got a long road ahead of you, so have fun!"
The spirit snapped his fingers, and was about to swan dive into a chocolate bucket when the Doctor called for him to wait, resulting in his body to freeze in mid-air.
"Yes, what is it now? I've got places to make and people to mess with, so tick tock," he huffed, crossing his arms.
"Who are you, really? Because I've read about you recently and while there are many theories, I can't seem to get any clear information on you. And quite frankly, I can't figure out your game here, and that doesn't amuse me at all," replied the Doctor, walking right up to the draconequus.
"You can't seem to get a fix on me, eh? How about that..."
With a dark chuckle, he slowly floated down to his feet and snapped his fingers. With a thundering snap the entire area, perhaps even the entire world, came to a standstill. Every pony froze, the birds stood perfectly still, and everything was silent except for the sinister laughing that echoed in the air. He looked unusually tall, making him lean down quite a bit to look at the Doctor - who was starting to feel nervous - dead in the eyes.
"You want to know who I am? What I am? What tricks I have up my sleeves and what runs around in this beautiful head of mine? Well I don't, really."
The Doctor blinked, caught off-guard by this strange twist of events, which prompted Discord to continue.
"I've been around the block quite a bit, you know. In fact, I've been around hundreds of thousands of blocks; I've seen just about everything this world and some others have to offer and watched from above many, many beings desperately looking for a meaning in life and reading books about self-discovery and getting in touch with yourself. And watching them inspired me, because it was so, very...very pathetic and dull. I know who I am, but not what nor why, when, how and where I came to be - heck, I don't even know exactly what I'm doing at times - and quite frankly, I don't feel the need to find out. I have no idea if I'm immortal, so I try not to waste any of the time I may or may not have. And besides, who wants to live forever anyway?"
"I am forever untamed, powerful, and at the top of my chaotic game, so why I should waste even the smallest amount of time to figure out things while I could be having fun? My goal in life is to do whatever I want, and I'll be damned if I have to be tied down by anything or anyone, even myself. Long story short: I am who I am right in front in front of you, and what games I play are my business. The real question is, what do you think about me?"
While the Doctor thought of an answer, Discord suddenly pulled out a heart-shaped watch from his chest.
"Oh and would you look at that? It clearly says on this contraption that I'm bored. Now you go on and do your soul searching thing and I'll do my thing, alright? Alright!"
And after throwing the grotesque watch down his hatch, Discord jumped into a blinding white circle of light that had emerged from above him. His talon reached out, and the Doctor his voice for the last time in quite a while.
"And do try to have some fun! Ciao!"
He snapped his fingers, which zipped back into the shrinking hole in the surface of reality, and the area came back to life. The ponies resumed their walks, some of them glancing at the strange looking stallion who was staring in the air at nothing, and the sun continued its journey across the sky. The Doctor then shook his head, noticing that he could see his breath in the air. It seemed that in all the time he had spent here, he just realized that the world had moved on unhindered, and that the colder seasons were approaching. He rolled his shoulders, enjoying the feel of clothes and bags dancing along his back, and smiled a little.
"Alright then, world. Here comes the Doctor."
While he resumed his walk out of the town, he didn't notice that the show the spirit had put on was a hollow act, as he was simply watching him from a nearby cloud. He felt strangely empty, watching the curious creature leave, and felt the disturbingly strong need to visit Fluttershy. He then frowned, and a growl rose up his throat.
"Friendship, they said...oh, give me a break already."
He then clapped his hands once and vanished with a loud snap, and the ponies on the ground jumped a little, as if a large door had been violently slammed shut nearby.
The Doctor's hooves drummed against the seat of the train as it sped down the snowy tracks and through the storm. It had, through a Royal Order, reserved just for him and ordered to travel with haste to Ponyville from Canterlot. The trip apparently lasted roughly an hour, but to him it felt painfully longer than that. After all, every minute he spent getting closer to the TARDIS was one he wished could go faster.
He had just finished going through quite the ordeal in a faraway town when he had received a message from Princess Celestia, the scroll containing a glowing key. He could hardly believe it: against all odds, and with no clue of its presence anywhere, the TARDIS had simply reappeared not too far from where he had originally landed.
Finally, I finally found it...can't this train go any faster?!
He fretted, and walked around the only other car that the train possessed. He tugged at his coat, his tail whipping around, and opened the door to the front of the train, where the three stallion were hard at work in order to keep the train on its course.
"Excuse me, gents!" he shouted, hoping they could hear them above the furious roar of the wheels, "how soon will we be there?!"
"It'll be roughly nine and a half PM when we arrive, sir, so I'd give it about forty more minutes! Maybe a bit more if the storm gets worse!" replied the engineer, shoveling more coal into the furnace.
The Doctor watched him work for a few seconds, cursing the bad weather under his breath. He suddenly had an idea, and made a few quick calculations and observations before approaching him. In the small room, the furnace stood at the bottom right underneath a network of pipes which were connected to other parts of the train. He dug into his inner right pocket, blew on the object he had retrieved and tapped the other stallion on the shoulder.
"What?!"
"Stand back!" shouted the Doctor, before throwing something glowing into the fire which went from orange to blue, and the entire train seemed to shake a tad harder. "Mana crystal, should help save some of that coal, but feed the fire every few seconds, alright?! Also get some steam in those pipes before the front window becomes useless! Can you do that?!"
"Uh...yeah, sure!"
"There's a good stallion! Driver!" The Doctor yelled before walking up to the driver, whose post was located at the top left hand-side of the room, and facing him.
"Maintain you course but go a bit easy on her if you don't want this thing to crash into a wall! Taskmaster!" he said, turning to the stallion who stood by the window on the right, "can you check on the wheels real quick?!"
The taskmaster, who stared at the strange guest for a few seconds, shook his head before securing his goggles on his head as well as his safety mask before climbing out of the window and hanging on to the ladder fixed next to it. In the fierce storm, the wheels were now glowing an electric blue, and seemed to spin slower although the train was positively thrumming with energy. It seemed as though they were gliding on the tracks instead of struggling through them, and he carried that thought back into the compartment.
"They're glowing! What in Tartarus did you do?!"
"Ask the engineer, but no need to worry your beautiful train is fine!" he laughed, before turning back to the driver. "Now then, when did you say we would get there?"
"...Ah, yes! Well, with what you did..." he replied, before checking the dials and pulling on a few levers, "we've only got ten minutes to go!"
"Grand! Listen I'm heading back into my car, give a shout if you need me!"
And with that, the Doctor walked out of the compartment and slammed the door behind him. The staff looked at each other, dumbfounded and feeling like foals, before looking back at the re-opening door.
"Sorry, just wanted to say thank you and great job. Toodles!"
The door closed, and the three stallions felt - Celestia knows why - very proud of themselves when they went back to work. Meanwhile, the Doctor slumped back in his seat and stared out the window. Through the storm, and above the slight blue glow coming from the bottom of the window, he could make out a few houses and street lights. He was close.
Look at that. All this time, and I couldn't see the obvious. The doors, the train, the clothes, and so many other things. It feels good to be back...sort of.
He then went back to drumming his hooves, content in knowing the improved train was on its way home.
************
The train came to a smooth halt at the Ponyville train station, which was peaceful now that the storm had calmed down a few minutes ago, and the glow of the wheels went out in a second. The Doctor stepped out of the steaming train, made sure his battered saddlebags were well attached, and knocked on the front car's door to reveal the taskmaster. He reached into his outer left pocket, and pulled out a heavy leather bag.
"Thanks a bunch, gents. Here's a few bits for tinkering with your train, and a few extra to get yourselves a coffee".
"At this time of the night?"
"Or hot chocolate, whatever tickles your fancy. Anyways, I'm off. Have a good night and take good care of this magnificent beast, you hear me? Take it easy," he said, before walking off.
"Yessir! Have a good night too!" laughed the taskmaster, waving goodbye.
The Doctor walked around town, guided only by the street's lights and the glow from the key within the parchment. According to the letter, the TARDIS had simply appeared in front of Ponyville's clock tower, and a single day had passed before he arrived. The locals had been told to stay away from it, and they had, as space-time related problems and accidents were the last thing our Doctor would need. He turned a street corner and froze.
Further down the street, under the dark yellow light of a lamp post, the TARDIS stood intact. The light bulb on the top shone every few seconds, but no wheezing noise was heard. After staring for a few seconds, the Doctor slowly walked towards it. The world seemed to have gone completely silent, save for the noise of his hooves crunching in the snow and a very gentle wind blowing past his ears. Once he stood in front of the TARDIS - still as blue, and a tad taller - he gave a shaky laugh and put a hoof on the front doors.
"Look at you...you managed to get even taller. But you're still so very beautiful." Then, as strange as he looked, he hugged the box. "I'm glad you're back."
"Aaaaw, look at that. You're adorable, you know that?"
The Doctor didn't need to turn around to see who had arrived, but he did, and looked up to see his friend floating above him, with his legs crossed and his arms tucked in a hoodie that matched his various body parts.
"Hello, Discord. What brings you here?"
"Why, this little beauty, of course," he chuckled, landing to wrap an arm around the box. "Yes, this box has caused such a magic disturbance that I just had to see what the fuss was about. And what a box it is. Looks so simple, and yet it remains...enticing."
"Yeah, she's a gem alright."
"In other news, I was expecting you to be mad at me for what happened last time. No remarks, passing comments, thoughts? No?"
"Oh, I got tired of being mad at you after a while. It got too boring to my liking," the Doctor replied, resting his back against the TARDIS and crossing his forehooves.
"There, now you're getting it! So I guess we're done here; you're heading up, up and over the stars again. Well, it's been fun, send me a postcard! Ciao!"
With a pop and a flash of white light, Discord vanished. The Doctor looked up, down, and around him until he felt one of his pockets get heavier.
"Unless," mused Discord, whose head had popped out of said pocket,"you're doubting yourself..."
"Of course I'm not!" barked the Doctor, pulling Discord out of his pocket, "getting out of here was the plan from the start!"
"Indeed it was. Good times," replied Discord, nonchalantly inspecting his claws while his back rested against the lamp post.
The two stared at each other, one with a big ol' grin splitting his face in half while the other smiled knowingly. To them, under the street light and the TARDIS, it felt as though they were the only beings on the planet. Or rather there was no need for anyone else to share this quiet, snowy moment with, until the draconequus cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, and look at that. Company."
The Doctor followed his gaze to find that there was indeed a newcomer to their new sanctuary; an alicorn, wearing a red scarf and furry green ear muffs, trotted up to them with a scroll held by her magic.
"Hello...Time Turner, if I'm not mistaken, and to you too Discord. Nice hoodie," said Twilight Sparkle, smiling up at Discord.
"Oh I know, and I absolutely love it! I have to say it was a stroke of genius on her part," replied Discord, pulling the hood over his head to emphasize how well his horns slid through the fabric. The Doctor silently chuckled.
"I'm glad to hear that! Anyway, I'm here on behalf of Princess Celestia," she continued, unrolling the scroll to read from it, "who wanted me to be here at this exact time so I could greet you and show you where you'll be staying. Are you ready to go?"
Ah, Celestia. Always playing the long game.
Staying? How could she assume...?
Banishing that thought, the Doctor was about to reply when a thunk came from the TARDIS, and the Doctor shot up to investigate. The noise came from the box's instructions panel, and a soft blinking light could be seen coming from behind it. Very slowly, he opened the panel to find a small device resting on top of a rotary dial phone. He gently took it in his hooves, observing it from every single angle.The device, at first glance, was a small gray metal rod. It fit just right in his hoof, but did not go further, so that the only thing that could be seen out of his grasp was a small yellow sapphire, which glowed every few seconds.
Studying the rod, his hoof found the leather feel of a mouth grip. Biting down on it, the rod extended with a snap and the crystal glowed brightly with no interruption. Rolling it around with his jaw, he bit down with more force and that sound, that whirring noise he hadn't heard for three whole years, rang clearly in the dark winter night. Bringing his hooves together to close his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor rested his head against the door and gave it an affectionate pat, his eyes misty with tears.
The two others watched him: one with curiosity, the other with understanding, but they both did so silently, almost in awe. The Doctor then rubbed his nose with a sleeve, straightened out his coat and turned to face Twilight.
"Lead the way."
"WELL!" said Discord, loudly, clapping his hands once, "I guess this is my cue to exit. Are we still on for Friday, Twilight?"
"Yes, yes, don't worry about it," she giggled.
"Great! As for you, Doctor. Or do you prefer Time Turner? Either way, I'll be seeing you soon."
And with that, he teleported far away from the two, leaving Twilight perplexed.
"Doctor? But I thought that-"
"It's complicated, and quite frankly I am way too tired to go any further than that so could we simply go to this place you mentioned?"
"..Sure, I mean yes, of course. Follow me."
The two walked the the streets of Ponyville, the only sounds to be heard being the crunching of hooves in the snow and the slows gusts of wind. While the Doctor looked around when he wasn't fiddling with his screwdriver, Twilight would sneak a few looks at him, from top to bottom, and jump from thought to thought, ranging from remarks to questions she couldn't ask. There was something about him she couldn't put her hoof on, an air about him that made her want to ask tons of questions but not annoy him as well. She eventually decided that, as Celestia had mentioned, he was a friend of hers, she would have to approach him carefully for now.
Roughly fifteen minutes after they left the TARDIS, they arrived in front of a small house not too far from the library. The Doctor was not interested in its appearance, content with letting Twilight describe it for him. He simply nodded every now and then, until she held up a set of keys.
"And that's about it, really. Princess Celestia had this set up for you by the time of your arrival, and she told me that you shouldn't hesitate to come to me if you needed anything. So there you are, I guess," she finished, handing him the keys with a slow gesture.
He thanked her, and turned the key in the lock until the telltale click of an opening lock was heard, and he smiled a bit at the sound. The door swung in ever so slightly, and he pushed it open in without really caring for his new, very temporary environment. He sighed contently, then turned to face Twilight, who was feeling more and more uncomfortable in his presence.
"Thank you very much, miss..."
"Sparkle. Twilight. I mean- Twilight Sparkle, that's me," she said, laughing sheepishly.
Smooth, Twilight. Way to go.
"Twilight Sparkle. Huh. Nice name," he said, with a smile. "Since I'll go check on my TARDIS tomorrow, I suppose I'll retire to my bed right now, and wish you a good night."
"Wait!" she blurted, as he was about to close the door. "I'm sorry if I'm bugging you, I just really want to know something...the scroll I have here describes you as an Earth pony, but I look at you and-"
He interrupted her with a raised hoof.
"Like I said, I am very tired. And the story behind this," he continued, gesturing to the horn on his forehead, "is a long one. Which I will gladly tell you over some coffee tomorrow. Until then, I hope you have a good night."
And with that he closed the door. Although he was very cold with her, Twilight Sparkle walked back home with very warm cheeks and a small, shy smile, both of which she couldn't really explain on the moment. As for the Doctor, things happened through a fog of sorts. When he snapped out of it, he was staring at the ceiling of a spacious, almost empty room. His coat hung from a chair that faced his new desk, not too far from the door, and the only thing that stood out apart from the closet was a night stand on which he had dropped his screwdriver.
He rubbed his horn in thought, thinking back on the events that had led up to this new addition. He then yawned, and pulled the covers up to his chin, turning to face a nearby window. The snow had become denser, and the wind had stopped.
Yeah, tomorrow...
His head was devoid of any further thought, and he kept watching the snow slowly drift down from the black sky until the moment he fell asleep.
