Chapters Of Scotch, Gender-Switching, Doctors and What Have You
"Is everypony ready?" Twilight smiled as she gathered her friends in her living room.
"Uh, not really." Rainbow Dash protested.
Twilight frowned. "What? Why not?"
The cyan pony replied. "You don't have the best track record with your magic spells. What if we end up as a member of the Barnacle Battlefront in a high school in the afterlife, fighting against a god or goddess who may or may not exist, because we had terrible lives, but never realizing that it was your spell that sent us there in the first place?"
Twilight paused. "Wha-? I don't even- Anyway, I'm not that bad! I've only made like three mistakes with my magic as long as I've been in Ponyville! Remember that time your special talents got all switched around? Who fixed that mess?"
Rainbow Dash retorted with a question. "And who CAUSED that mess?
"Technically, it was Starswirl the Bearded's spell. But... I did cast it, so... touche. But, we must do the spell I have planned for today. It was Luna's favorite, and I want to honor her. Too bad she died at the last Summer Sun Celebration. Hey, you and Pinkie were there. What happened?"
Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash looked to each other nervously, then Dash answered. "Nothing really, we were walking to your library when we found Luna dead. We were shocked, really. We didn't know what to say."
They both sighed in relief as Twilight replied. "Oh. Oh well. On that note, let's get into position. Oh, and about that afterlife thing, the Barnacle Battlefront would be renamed VERY quickly. It would probably be called the Afterlife Battlefront. Anyway, let's go!"
Twilight's horn began to glow with magic, then Rarity asked, "What is exactly does this spell do, darling?"
Twilight paused. "... I have no idea! But I'm SURE I won't tear any wonky holes in any fabric of space and time! ...Maybe."
They all began to protest, shouting things like, "WHAT?!? YOU CAN'T DO THIS! I'M NOT GOING THROUGH WITH THIS! THIS IS INSANE! STOP IT-"
Then, there was a blindingly white flash, stopping their protests short.
_______________________________________________________________________
"Oof..." Duskshine groaned. "What a trip..."
Just then, Butterscotch replied. "Um... Twilight... Your voice is deeper... and you look different-" Then, he gasped. "My voice is deeper too!"
"What... did you do?!?" Rainbow Blitz growled.
"Oh dear..." Duskshine examined himself. "I do believe I changed us into colts! Whoops."
Bubble Berry spoke breathlessly. "But if we're colts, then we're not mares. And if we're not mares, then we must be colts! But can colts bake cakes?" He gasped. "What if I can never bake cakes again? How can I throw parties without cakes? I can't be a party pony if I can't throw a party! And I can't throw a party without cakes! But- HGFHHFGDSHG!" Applejack tackled him and stuck his hoof in Berry's mouth.
"Easy ther' sugarcube. Everything is going to be fine." He looked to Duskshine. "We're goin' to be fine, right Twilight?"
Rainbow Blitz interrupted. "Are you sure that we're colts? Don't you have to check-"
"NO." Duskshine cut off the rest of that sentence. "No. No. No. I have taken enough Anatomy to know we most certainly do not have to check THERE. Let's see. Judging by our body shape... Uh-huh... and the sound of our voice... Fluttershy, can you sing a few notes for me?"
"Um... okay..." Butterscotch shyly said, then began singing. "La, LA, Laaaa."
"Hmm. Just like I suspected." Duskshine concluded. "We are definitely colts."
"Well," Rainbow Blitz replied, irritated. "change us back."
"Um... About that..." Duskshine nervously laughed. "I kinda don't know how."
"So, you mean to tell us," Elusive started, "that your little spell backfired, turned us into colts, sent us to the center of town, and you cannot fix us. This is the Worst. Possible. Thing." As if just realizing where they were, they all examined their surroundings, seeing that they were indeed in the center of town.
Duskshine sighed. "I guess we need Celestia to fix us. Well, let's go to Cantor-"
"SPECIAL DELIVERY FOR MR. DUSKSHINE!" A gray pegasus colt with a blonde mane and eyes that looked in different directions flew over to Duskshine.
He replied. "I guess that's me." He took the paper that the mail pony handed to him. "Hey, what's your name? ... And what's wrong with your eyes?"
The gray pegasus responded. "My name is Derp. Derp Hooves. And what's wrong with my eyes?" Derp frowned as his eyes continued to go in speparate directions.
"Uh... Nothing! Nothing! Hehe..." Duskshine laughed nervously again.
Derp spoke again, "Well, it was nice meeting you guys! It really is too bad Prince Lunith died at the last Summer Sun Celebration. See you guys later!"
"He looked familiar..." Rainbow Blitz pondered.
Duskshine gasped. "Girls- or guys, I should say- look here." He showed them the paper he had received, which happened to be a poster. "It says, 'Prince Astralus cordially invites you to the Midsummer's Eve Ball. It will be held at the Old Castle in the heart of the Everfree Forest.' It has a picture of Celestia. But, look a little closer."
"What's the big deal?" Rainbow Blitz ranted. "It's just a picture of the Princess."
"Hold on..." Elusive gave the poster a closer look. "As a pony that has an eye for fashion, I can see the slightest, small details of things most ponies do not. And from what you have told us, dear Twilight, it seems that Celestia has also become a colt, this Astralus of sorts."
"Exactly." Duskshine stated. "I fear that we not only changed genders, but we leaped dimensions entirely."
Berry gasped. "WOAH! I can be a party pony in more than one dimension! Oh, but how do we get back to our dimension? The ponies there are going to miss my parties if we can't get back! But then I can't be a party pony if ponies can't go to my party! Who am I if I'm not a party pon- JHGSDIJGJDFHGHDGHDFKJ!"
Applejack stuffed his hoof back into Bubble Berry's mouth and sighed. "This is goin' to become a regular thing, ain't it? But she,-or he- has a point Twilight. If indeed we are in a different di-mention, how are we gonna get back?"
Duskshine thought for a moment. "I guess... I guess we try the same way I originally planned. With Celestia's,- or, I guess I should say Astralus'- help. I mean, I was invited to this Midsummer's Eve Ball. Surely he would have to be there."
"But..." Butterscotch squeaked. "...isn't the Everfree forest... dangerous?"
"Indeed." Elusive added. "Did we not almost die twice the last time we visited?"
Duskshine examined the poster again. "It says that there will be an escort. So, I'm sure it will be safe enough."
"Yeah," Rainbow Blitz rebutted. "safe enough until we're nearly killed again."
Duskshine replied, irritated. "We don't have any other choice, so shut up. Let's go."
He began walking towards the Everfree Forest as Rainbow Blitz rolled his eyes and followed, along with the other colts.
Nothing interesting happened until they actually reached the entrance the forest when they met a strange pony. The interaction was... interesting, to say the least.
As they approached the entrance, the pony stumbled over to Butterscotch and pointed. "YOU."
"M-me?" He responded.
The pony continued. "I know- hic!- I know you. You gots the- hic!- You gots the scotch-uh. Hic!"
"I- I'm sorry... I don't know what that is..." Butterscotch replied.
"You name is being- hic!- BuTTeRScoTcH-UH! Hic! I don't care if you put- Hic!- butter in the scotch, just give it to meh! Hehe. Butterfly stars are eating your butt. Give me the SCOTCH!" He spun around and collasped.
"But..." Butterscotch began to quiver. "... I don't know what that is..." He began to sob.
Rainbow Blitz interrupted. "Look dude. Obviously you've had one too many. Leave our friend alone. She- I mean- HE doesn't know what you're talking about, and you're kinda being a jerk."
The drunk pony yelled. "SHADDAP! I KNOW he's got the scotch! He's gotta be- Hic!- hiding it somewhere. Until he- Hic!- I'm gonna chop down all these trees! Hic!"
Butterscotch gasped. "Oh no... the little animals' homes..."
The drunk pony staggered towards the nearest tree as Butterscotch covered his face with his hooves. The pony started punching the tree, not even very hard, and was far from actually cutting it down. Butterscotch uncovered his face and wore a questioning look on his face.
The drunk pony then wrapped one of his arms around the tree, slid to the ground and started singing very badly. "KUMBIYAH, MY LORD! KUMBIYAH! HE'S GOT SCOTCH, MY LORD! KUMBIYAH! HE WON'T GIVE ME SCOTCH! KUMBIYAH!"
He continued the awful singing until Duskshine and his friends just backed away slowly. Once out of earshot, Duskshine sighed. "... I have no words to describe what just happened. Hey, where's Pinkie?"
They looked around and, to be sure, Bubble Berry was not with them. They looked around until Rainbow Blitz raged. "HOW DO WE KEEP MISSING STUFF LIKE THIS?!?"
"HEY!" That was Berry shouting. "OVER HERE, EVREYPONY! I FOUND SOMETHING STRANGE! BUT IT'S WONDERFUL! IT'S STRANGELY WONDERFUL!"
Duskshine and the others followed their friend's voice, only to see him smiling at a strange blue, wooden box with the words 'police box' written at the top. They all began gaping at it.
Applejack spoke up. "What in tarnation is that thing?"
Berry replied with a smile on his face. "I don't know, but I'm going to find out!"
He walked over to the door of the blue box and pushed. Oddly enough, it was open, and he walked in.
"Pinkie Pie!" Duskshine shouted.
Berry poked his head back outside the door with an excited smile bigger that was even bigger than before. "Twilight! It's bigger on the inside!"
Duskshine and the others hesitantly walked inside the strange box. Once inside, they were even more surprised to see that it indeed was bigger on the inside. Although, it was very dimly lit, with the only light source giving off light was a strange machine. Duskshine was the first to break the silence. "How is this possible? THIS ISN'T POSSIBLE!" Just then, the door to the box began to open slowly. "Quick everypony! Hide!" Duskshine shouted.
They all spread out. Duskshine and Butterscotch hid on a scaffolding that encompassed the walls of the 'box'. Rainbow Blitz and Applejack hid under the floor below the machine. Bubble Berry and Elusive hid behind a metal beam.
The door opened to reveal a creature staggering in. "What is that?" Butterscotch asked.
"Shh!" Duskshine shushed then whispered. "I think Celestia told me about that kind of creature once. If I remember correctly, she called it a human. Beyond that, I don't know the first thing about it. I'm sure Rarity is silently going ballistic about the way it is wearing that suit and trench coat together."
The human continued to stagger over to the strange machine and placed a small, glowing stone in an open panel. When he did that, the lights flashed on. He pressed many buttons and pulled a few leavers until the interior of the box shook like an earthquake. Then, the shaking stopped. The human looked at his hand which had begun to glow golden. A distraught expression washed over his face. "... I don't want to go..." He cried.
After he said that, his body exploded in golden light as he screamed. Butterscotch gasped, "We have to help him!" He unfurled his wings to jump from the scaffolding, but was stopped by Duskshine, who shook his head and said, "I don't think we can..."
They could see the human's features changing in the golden light. When the golden light faded, a light brown pony with a dark brown, gelled-back mane stood where the human had been, wearing the same things as the human.
Duskshine was shocked. He didn't know what to say. He flew down to the pony. "How did you do that?" He asked.
"What?" The brown pony asked.
Duskshine continued. "I mean, Celestia told me very little about humans, but I don't know of anything that can just change into something else without magic."
"...What?" The pony said again.
"And this box! It doesn't make sense!" Duskshine said.
"But- How did-" He continued.
"I've never seen anything like this! Everypony, you can come out now!" Duskshine called. They obeyed.
"...What?!" The pony was obviously at a loss for words.
"We need to show this to Celestia!" Duskshine exclaimed.
"WHAT?!?" The pony yelled.
Rainbow Blitz cut in. "Who are you anyway?"
"Oh that's easy!" The pony smiled. "I'm the Doctor."
Youtube Video
Of Scotch, Gender-Switching, Doctors and What Have You
Traveling with the Doctor
"Doctor who?" Elusive asked.
"Oh no, just, the Doctor." He smiled. "Now, first things first. How did you get on the TARDIS? At the moment, we are traveling in the middle of space and time- wait, did you just speak? Talking equines! Fantastic! That's not something you see everyday! And you also have both unicrorns and pegasi in your company along with regular equines! Absolutely fantastic!"
Bubble Berry replied, "Why of course we talk, silly! We are ponies after all!"
The Doctor exclaimed. "I have never seen talking ponies before! It's fascinating! And you," He pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver and scanned Duskshine. "you are some form of unicorn-pegasus hybrid. A unisus? No, pegacorn! No! A pegaunisiscorn!"
The Alicorn stood still as he was scanned and spoke. "That would be an alicorn. And what do mean you've never seen a talking pony? You are one!"
"Ha! I'm not a-" He examined himself for the first time since his regeneration. "Well! What do you know! Hooves! I have hooves! And a tail!" He spun around a few times to see his tail. "Ha! A mane! Brilliant! And these ears, I've had better. And... what's this?" He pushed his lower jaw out a little to see it. "Herbivore teeth. That's weird. Now, where were we? Ah yes! How did you get here?"
Bubble Berry answered as the Doctor began scanning again. "We just walked in. Just a push and, here we are!"
The Doctor groaned, "I told Donna to lock the door before she left! I told her!" Then, he paused, as a sad expression washed over his face. "...I'm sorry... I am so sorry..."
Duskshine spoke up. "I have so many questions... I guess I'll start with what is a TARDIS, and why are you apologizing?"
The Doctor replied. "TARDIS stands for 'Time And Relative Dimension In Space'. It's a time machine."
Bubble Berry's eyes grew wide and shimmered. "A TIME TRAVELER!"
Duskshine interjected. "But that's impossible! What are you?!? It takes immense amount of magic to break the walls of time and space!"
The Doctor smiled. "It's not impossible, just very unlikely!" Then he frowned. "I am a Timelord of the planet Gallifrey in the constellation Kasterborous. The last of the Timelords, in fact..." He paused.
"Does that mean... you're all alone?" Berry asked. The Doctor remained silent.
"So, you can travel across time and between dimensions?" Duskshine asked, breaking the silence.
The Doctor solemnly replied. "Just across time. The secrets of traveling dimensions died with my people. We were never meant to cross dimensions. Only a few times such as this has there been a power flux in the time vortex sending the TARDIS off course into a different dimension. Once we leave a parallel dimension, there's no going back... I am so sorry... I never did catch your names by the way."
Duskshine smiled. "We were not meant to be in that dimension anyway! I used a magic spell that didn't go so well. My name is Twilight Sparkle."
The Doctor looked at his Sonic Screwdriver. "Hmm. How long ago did you use the spell? And, according to these readings, your name is not Twilight Sparkle."
Duskshine replied. "I don't know, about... thirty minutes ago, why? And what do mean I am not Twilight Sparkle?"
"OF COURSE!" The Doctor yelled. "Why didn't I see this before?!? Your spell mixed with the power of the time vortex, which sent both you and the TARDIS here! It makes so much sense! As for your names, from these readings," he pointed his Sonic Screwdriver from one pony to the next, saying, "you are Duskshine, Bubble Berry, Elusive, Rainbow Blitz, Butterscotch, and Applejack."
Duskshine looked worried. "How can that be? Did we do more than just traveling to another dimension? Did it change who we are?"
"I don't know." The Doctor replied. "I'm sure it will be fine. WELL... I'm sure it will work out in due time."
Berry gasped. "I just had an idea! Doctor, you can travel across all time and all worlds, right?
He replied. "As long as it's not time locked, yes."
Berry walked over and whispered something in the Timelord's ear.
"Well, I don't see why not!" The Doctor shouted. He leaped to the controls of the TARDIS, pushing levers and pressing buttons until the machine made a strange sound and everything began shaking. When it stopped, the Doctor motioned at the door and smiled. Berry grabbed Rainbow Blitz and and said, "Come on Dashie!"
"Where are we going?" The cyan colt squirmed.
"To greet an old friend!" Berry exclaimed as they opened the door of the TARDIS. When they did, they found they were in a hospital room with a human with purple hair lying in the hospital bed.
The human looked at the two ponies that had just left the blue box with an expression of confusion, then a smile spread across her face. "PINKIE PIE! RAINBOW DASH!"
"Is that you, Rika?" Bubble Berry asked.
"Yes! It's me! Rika Furude! I was in Ponyville just a few months ago, remember?" Rika answered.
"It is you!" Berry smiled as he and Rainbow Blitz walked over and hugged their friend.
"You look and sound really different." Rika commented. "Almost as if you became males in the time I was gone. And what is that blue box?"
"Yeah, those are long stories." Berry started.
Blitz interrupted. "It was Twilight's fault. But that's not important. How have you been? Did you ever find that 'happiness' you were looking for?"
Rika looked at her lap. "Not yet. I have already died three more times... I fear my power to be reborn is running out... But seeing you two has given me hope. This time is different! I know it! I WILL defeat fate! But, how is Twilight Sparkle? I was in her body, so I know of nothing after Nightmare Moon impaled my shoulder."
Berry smiled. "I hope it goes well. And yes, she- or he- is okay. You caused quite a ruckus back in Ponyville when you killed Nightmare Moon, you kno-"
There was gasp. Berry and Blitz turned to see Duskshine with a distraught expression on his face standing in the TARDIS doorway with the Doctor.
The Doctor spoke. "I think we need to go..."
"What's wrong?" Rika asked, confused.
Berry answered. "Dunno."
Rika's face drowned with sadness. "...Will I see you again?"
Berry looked down. "...Dunno."
He and Rainbow Blitz began walking towards the TARDIS.
"Pinkie, Rainbow," Rika breathed.
"Yeah?" They turned and replied in unison.
"I never got to thank you for believing in me so... thank you." Rika said.
The colts nodded and walked into the TARDIS and shut the doors. Silence filled the room.
"Now," the Doctor broke the silence, "let's put you all back in your world, shall we?"
As he started pulling levers and pressing buttons, Duskshine exploded. "HOW COULD YOU?!? You said nothing happened that day! You said you found her dead!"
"Twilight..." Rainbow Blitz started.
"NO!" Duskshine yelled. "Not only was Luna killed, but it was done with someone in MY body! How did she even get in my body anyway?!?"
Berry tried to console her. "I don't know, but Rika had to kill her! Nightmare Moon took over Luna again and she was going to try to retake Equestria! You have to believe me!"
"How can I?" Duskshine seethed.
Rainbow Blitz placed a hoof on his shoulder. "We were both there. We saw it."
"But you LIED to our faces!" Duskshine fumed.
The Doctor interjected. "Don't be so hard on them, Duskshine. They were only trying to protect those they cared about."
The TARDIS shook violently. When it stopped, Duskshine calmed down and sighed. "I guess I can't say anything more. What choice do I have but to believe you? Now, Doctor, you never did explain how you became a pony."
He replied. "Regeneration. A little trick Timelords use to cheat death. Usually I'm a humanoid after regenerating, but I guess this is new. Hmm. Nine hundred years old and still finding surprises. Now," he flipped a lever, and something cracked. "What?!? Nonono!" He paused to look at the machinery. "Well. That's not good..."
"What happened?" Duskshine asked.
The Doctor replied, "It seems when I brought us back to this dimension, it took A LOT of power. We are now stuck one thousand years in your land's- Equestria, was it called?- past, at least for the time being while the TARDIS rests."
Duskshine's eyes widened. "That's when Discord invaded for the first time and Celestia and Luna began ruling!"
The Doctor's eyes lit up. "Fantastic! Sounds fun. Well, what are you waiting for? Allons-Y!" He said as he grabbed his trench coat and ran out of the TARDIS. Duskshine and his friends just stood still with confusion on their faces. The Doctor peeked his head back into the TARDIS and said, "It's french. For 'Let's go'."
They all said "OOHHHH!" and followed the Timelord.
Of Scotch, Gender-Switching, Doctors and What Have You
They all walked outside the TARDIS to see they had landed in Ponyville. One thousand years in Ponyville's past, but Ponyville nonetheless. "I recognize this!" Duskshine exclaimed. "History books say that this was the day Celestia and Luna defeated Discord- DUCK!"
They all ducked just as what seemed to be a bolt of magic flew over their heads and into a tree. When it made contact, the tree withered into nothing. As they stood up, Bubble Berry came to a sudden realization. "Doctor, did you say you were nine HUNDRED years old?!"
The Doctor replied. "Yes, but is that important at the moment? A laser beam of death just flew over our heads! It seems we're in a warzone! DUCK! AGAIN!"
They did as he said, only to see the magic bolts coming from both ends of town.
"Well," the Doctor stood up. "Let's investigate! Allons-!"
Duskshine pulled him back down. "Are you stupid?! Did you see what that bolt did to that tree? As long as we stay here and duck, we'll be safe!"
The Doctor refuted, "Oh, but what kind of fun is that?"
Duskshine retorted, "The kind that keeps us aliv-"
A voice cut off the rest of his sentence. "Discord! For your crimes against the whole of Equestria, you will surrender!"
"That's Celestia!" Duskshine exclaimed as the holder off the voice walked over to where the Doctor and company were ducking, followed by a pony who was as dark as the night.
The one presumed to be Discord casually strode to meet Celestia. "Oh but Tia, where is the fun in that? Oh never mind! I have a friend that I would like you to meet! He just fell out of the sky, and I HAD to take him home! Come on out Bilbo! I named him Bilbo, by the way."
The Doctor's face flushed with fear as 'Bilbo' rolled around the corner and said, "Exterminate!"
The Doctor yelled, "Everyone! Back away! DO IT NOW!"
"What's wrong?" Duskshine asked.
"That... that is a creature bred for war. It is a Dalek. It only wishes to destroy any and all things that are not Dalek. Especially me. It's only instinct is to kill. It feels no emotion, no remorse."
"Oh," Butterscotch spoke. "it can't be that bad! I'm sure all it needs is a little kindness!" He went and touched Bilbo's outer shell. "OW!" He cried, for the outer shell of a Dalek burns all who touch it. It left a red hoof mark from where he touched.
"THE DOCTOR!" The Dalek said. "I have finally found the Doctor! The Doctor must be Exterminated! And any who travel with him!"
The Doctor responded quickly, hoping to buy some time. "WAIT! Wait! Before you exterminate all of us, please humor me and answer something. How did you- on second thought, you seem to always survive, so I give up asking. But how did you find me? And how many are you?" He asked.
The Dalek answered. "A dimensional rupture in the space-time continuum allowed me to track you to this spot."
"The jump from the parallel reality! OF COURSE!" The Doctor exclaimed. "Now, how many are you?"
Bilbo paused and lowered his eyestalk. "... I am the last of the Dalek."
The Doctor stood up and smiled. "Oh-ho-ho! Isn't this just brilliant! The last of the Daleks before the last of the Timelords! And I know, that under that emotionless flesh and steel one emotion still remains when you see me. And it's fear. You fear me."
"I must obey orders! I must Exterminate the Doctor!" The Dalek aimed it's arm at the Doctor.
"BUT WHY!" The Doctor shouted. "All the Daleks are dead! What is the point of it anymore?!? You HAVE no orders!"
Bilbo paused. "...Then order me to die."
The Doctor denied. "...No. I WILL NOT commit a genocide by killing the last of the Daleks. If you look genocide up in a dictionary, you will see a picture of me and a caption that says 'Over My Dead Body'. There's another way. There's always another way."
Discord yawned. "This is becoming dreadfully boring. Bilbo, dispose of one of the Princesses."
"Exterminate!" The Dalek replied. He shot a beam from his hand and straight into the princess that looked like the night. She screamed in agony as she glowed green and her skeleton could be seen for a split second as she collasped.
"LUNA!" Celestia yelled as she rushed to her sister's side.
"Dear sister..." Luna breathed. "...forgive him..."
"Everthing is going to be all right. Hang in there sister." Celestia's horn glowed. There was a bright light, and when it dispersed, Luna was gone. Celestia turned to Discord, filled with unbridled rage. "YOU! Not only have you murdered my subjects, you have taken my only sister away! Oh, but she will be fine! I sent her to the moon! She draws power from it! It may take one thousand years, but she will be okay!" Tears started falling from her face as her horn glowed. "YOU... WILL... DIE..." She held Discord in place with her magic.
"NO!" The Doctor stopped her. "There's another way! There's always another way!"
Discord yawned again. "Bilbo? Would you kindly finish them?"
"Exterminate!" But the Dalek didn't fire. "What is this feeling? Why can I not Exterminate them? Daleks do not 'feel' emotion. What is happening? Explain! Explain!"
The Doctor smiled. "I see what happened. When Butterscotch touched you, he infused his DNA with yours. Now, you physically can't, because it happened to be fused with the DNA with the kindest creature I have ever met." Butterscotch blushed.
"In other words," Duskshine added. "You are learning the magic of friendship!"
"This cannot be!" The Dalek said. "Daleks cannot learn this 'friendship'!"
Discord looked unamused. "Well, how can I take over Equestia with something that won't fight? Bilbo, I am terribly sorry to say this, but, your services are no longer needed... Kill yourself."
"NO!" The Doctor yelled. But it was too late. The Dalek ended it's own life with an explosion. The Doctor was speechless. He turned to Discord and started running. Celestia pinned Discord to the ground with her magic. The Doctor reared up on his hind hooves in order to deliver a blow that would surely end the draconequus' life.
But instead, he lowered himself and spoke in a thunderous tone. "I cannot and will not end your life, because that is not the man, or colt, I am. I never would. And you," he turned to the Princess. "you make sure you build this kingdom on the concept of one that never would. If you do not," he threatened. "the fury of a Timelord is a terrifying thing." He turned toward Duskshine and his friends and spoke to them as he walked towards the TARDIS. "Let's go."
"Oh, but where is the fun in that?" Discord said as he shot a beam from his hands that hit the Doctor square in the back. The Doctor collasped.
Duskshine gasped as he and his friends rushed to the Timelord's side. "Doctor..." He breathed. "Doctor! Come on! Wake up, Doctor! ...I need my Doctor!" He glared at Discord and yelled. "What have you done?!?"
Discord smiled. "Well, I shot a beam from my hand. It hit that pony. AAND It should have killed him. Looks like it worked too! Multa Bene!"
Duskshine and friends look down on their time traveling friend in despair. Bubble Berry mourned. "I wanted to throw him a party..."
"That monster..." Elusive whispered.
"Doctor..." Rainbow Blitz silently said.
"He can't be dead, he just can't be!" Applejack stated.
Butterscotch, normally well-tempered, exploded as he walked towards Discord. "YOU MONSTER!" He continued to speak, but as he did, he began to glow and his voice became somewhat distorted, somewhat god-like. "How could you do that to the Doctor! He didn't do anything! He was just a lonely traveler! And even after sparing your life, you killed him!" He yelled out in frustration and his eyes oscillated with white light. The other colts had begun to do the same. They had also begun floating as waves of pure energy rotated among them.
Duskshine spoke as he floated. "For shedding the innocent blood of a traveler and our friend, YOU... WILL... PAY."
Discord looked scared. "Wha- what is that?"
Then, a wave of all colors exploded from the six ponies and enveloped Discord. He screamed as it washed over him. When it finished, Discord was nothing but stone. As the energy faded, the colts fell to earth with a thud.
Duskshine rubbed his head and said, "What a trip... Wait, what's this?" He saw something that wasn't there before the final attack. Six stones that held imprints of the colts' cutie marks sat in a pentagonal shape, with the one containing Duskshine's cutie mark in the dead center.
Celestia spoke to him. "Those stones were created through the immense amount of energy you created with that blast. And yet... Still a great energy is emanating from them. We must keep them safe, so that no evil may use them. I shall name them the... Elements of Harmony, because they were used to stop Discord, the opposite of Harmony."
Duskshine smiled. "Sounds good."
"Woah..." The Doctor sat up. "add 'getting hit by a magic beam' to the list of things that I do NOT want to do again. What did I miss?"
"DOCTOR!" The six colts shouted in unison.
"Well," The Doctor started. "how about we get you back in your time. Allons-Y!"
The six friends began laughing hysterically. "What?" The Timelord asked.
They continued to laugh. "What?" He asked again.
"You missed the most important part!" Berry said.
"WHAT?" The Doctor asked.
"We'll tell you all about it along the way." Rainbow Blitz said in between his laughter.
"...WHAT?" The Doctor asked as they all piled into the TARDIS.
Of Scotch, Gender-Switching, Doctors and What Have You
"Wow. Impressive." The Doctor remarked as Duskshine finished relaying the story. He walked over to the TARDIS' controls. "Alright, coordinates set for one thousand years into Equestria's future. That's the correct time, right?" Duskshine nodded. "Alright!" The Doctor exclaimed. "Allons-Y!" He pulled a lever and the TARDIS began shaking again. When it stopped, everyone had begun laughing. They seemed to enjoy the time-travelling process now. "Well," The Doctor said, "right out there is who you need to see if indeed you mixed up your genders. Hard to believe that's how this all started out, huh?"
Bubble Berry spoke, "Before we part ways, I want to throw a party for you! I always throw a party for my friends! I mean what kind of friend would I be if I didn't! There's be balloons, cake, cherry-chongas, chimi-cherrys, cupcakes, did I mention cakes? Oh and- KFDGHKSDGKJGJ!"
Applejack stuffed his hoof into Berry's mouth and laughed. "And here I was, worried that I wasn't goin' to have to do that again. But, Doctor, he has a point. Will ya come?"
"Oh no. Don't like sticking around in one place too long. I'm a traveler. I like being alone." The Doctor refuted.
"I don't think you do." Duskshine interrupted. "After nearly nine hundred years of traveling, I think you're lonely. You need a friend. Don't you have a companion? Someone to travel with? What about that Donna person you mentioned?"
The Doctor sighed. "I can't travel with anyone... I can't because they will all eventually DIE! I'm sick of death because it follows me wherever I go! And Donna... If she remember's me... she will die as well... That is why I have to travel alone."
Butterscotch squeaked. "We're you're friends! And we're not dead! Please have a party with us! You sound like you really need it!"
The Doctor looked to each colt's pleading eyes until he finally conceded. "Maybe I will. And maybe you all will. Just not like this."
The Doctor doubled over in pain. Duskshine reached out and said with worry in his voice. "Doctor? What do you mean? What's wrong?"
"GET BACK!" The Doctor yelled. Duskshine jumped back. The Timelord continued. "That magic bolt Discord shot me with really was supposed to kill me. But remember that trick? The one Timelords use to cheat death?"
"Regeneration..." Rainbow Blitz breathed.
"Yes." The Doctor replied. "I am going to live... but it means I'm going to change. And it means I'm not going to see any of you again. Well, not like this anyway. And before I go-"
"Don't say that!" Duskshine objected.
"Duskshine," The Doctor rebutted, "before I go, I want to say that you all were fantastic! Absolutely fanstastic! And you know what?" He smiled. "So was I."
He exploded in a golden light and his features changed. The colts had to cover their eyes. It was too dazzling for them.
When the light faded, the Doctor examined himself, seeing that he was humanoid again. "Ah, legs! Beautiful! Toes, fingers, lots of fingers, a nose, eyes, two of them, chin... I've had worse. Hair! What's this? Am I a girl?" His voice cracked. "NO. No, not a girl... AND STILL NOT GINGER! ...Now, about that party."
"YAY!" Berry yelled. "Party time!" He bounced out of the TARDIS followed by the five other colts. Duskshine was the last out, but as he was leaving he spoke. "Hey, you said the person I need to talk to to fix us is right out there, right?"
"Yep." The Doctor smiled. "And Duskshine,"
Duskshine turned to face him. "Yeah?"
The Doctor replied. "I'm proud of you. You could have killed him, but you didn't."
It was Duskshine's turn to smile. "Thank you. A wise colt once told me that there's always another way."
They both smiled as Duskshine walked out. After he did so, Duskshine found that he was in the presence of Celestia, who was staring out the window.
The princess spoke. "Hello Duskshine, or should I say Twilight Sparkle."
"You know?" He asked.
Celestia responded. "I pieced together the last piece of information when that blue box just now appeared. I started my assumptions when you and your friends disappeared three days ago. I know what must have happened. You used a magic spell that mixed with a flux in the time vortex, sending you to a dimension where you all became colts."
"So, can you fix us?" Duskshine asked.
Celestia frowned. "That may be a problem. Instead of using magic to get back, you traveled by that blue box. If you had used magic, you would have been changed instantly when returning. But you did not. It will not be easy, and it WILL take much time, but we will change you back. And one more thing. I forgive you for killing Luna."
Duskshine shuddered. "...You know that too?"
The monarch nodded. "Yes. But you had to stop Nightmare Moon once and for all. I can't help wondering if sending her to the moon on that day was the right choice..."
Duskshine consoled her. "You had to! Or she definitely would've died!"
Celestia sighed. "I can remember times when we were just fillies that I would be in my room, and Luna would be waiting there for me as well. Now, it makes me wonder... The older I get, will I come to terms with what I had to do? I see now that it has been far to long for the moments that we missed. Maybe I will get over it, but I never thought..." She paused as a tear ran down her cheek. "I never thought that it would still hurt like this..."
"You really did care for Luna, didn't you?" Duskshine asked.
"Yes." Celestia responded. "Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack,"
The three colts walked over from the side of the room and answered in unison, "Yes princess?"
"You three have younger sisters." Celestia started. "Give them all the love that you possibly can, because you never know how long you have them, and your sisters can be your best friends in the entire world."
"Yes, Princess." Elusive said.
"Of course!" Applejack exclaimed.
"But," Rainbow Blitz questioned, "I don't have a sister."
Celestia replied, "Maybe not by blood, but there is one filly who looks up to you as a sister."
"Who would that be-" He gasped. "Scootaloo..." Celestia nodded as Blitz smiled and stated. "I won't let you down, Princess!"
"How's that party coming along?" The Doctor said from the TARDIS entrance. "I'm dreadfully hungry!"
Duskshine smiled. "Well, come on then if you want a party! You crazy time-traveling alien!"
"Will there be fish fingers and custard?" The Doctor asked. "Oh! And dancing! I do love to dance!"
Duskshine walked towards the TARDIS and spoke. "Hmm. Never heard of that before. But I quite certain there will be dancing!"
THE END