Chapters The sky was growing dark, and the clouds began to swirl unnaturally. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and lightning flashed through the torrent created in the sky. Through these clouds crashed a wooden box painted blue and marked with graffiti. The craft spiraled out of control and swerved through the air while making a high pitched groaning noise.
It dipped low to the ground, raking itself through the wet mud and tumbling over a small hill before attempting to rise back into the air. The TARDIS didn’t make it high enough to stop itself from crashing through the edge of a forest, and it was whipped and slammed by thick wooden branches before it rose back above the treetops on it’s way into the air.
It seemed to be making a promising flight back into the atmosphere, but before the box could clear the cloud coverage a bolt of lightning struck at it’s side, sending it crashing back to earth and causing it to tumble to a stop with the door facing the ground.
The light on the top flashed, and the TARDIS slowly phased out, only to materialize right-side up once again, albeit scraped and tattered-looking and spattered with mud on all sides. The doors flung open, releasing a column of smoke as the Doctor tumbled out, waving the flaps of his leather jacket in an attempt to clear the smoke away while hiding his snout under the v-neck collar of a red jumper.
A pegasus flew out over his head, coughing and covering her eyes as the stinging smoke flowed around her. She landed on the wet grass of the meadow, taking deep breaths of fresh air. Derpy let her head sink into the grass, burying her face from the acrid smoke.
“Hey, easy girl, it’s all right. You’ll be ok, right?” she heard the Doctor say. She lifted her snout out of the grass to reply.
“I’ll be alright Doctor,” she replied, craning her neck to make eye contact. She found the Doctor hugging the outside of the TARDIS, rubbing his hooves against the wood as if to soothe the time machine.
She rolled her eyes, and swung herself back onto her hooves, moving to close the door. She and the Doctor had been soaring through a far-away nebula in the distant past, only for the TARDIS to be ripped through time and space forcefully and hurled onto the surface of this planet.
A planet that looked a lot like Equestria.
“Doctor, where... erm, when are we?” she asked. The Doctor opened the TARDIS doors again, and dashed inside. From the TARDIS came the sound of a fire extinguisher, and some kind of energy crackling. Derpy noticed the smoke beginning to clear up as the Doctor poked his grinning face outside the door to talk to her.
“A few thousand years in your past. This is before Celestia, before Discord, possibly before the pony tribes joined to form Equestria itself. This is a pre-classical era, a time of conquest, empires, great stone castles and....”
A sharp roaring sound pierced through the air from the edge of the forest. Trees began to sway and timbers snapped. Something large moved through the forest coverage, and emerged into the grassy meadow. It was large, reddish with black patched, and scaly. It had strong, muscular legs, small two-clawed forelimbs and a colossal head lined with sharp teeth and a squarish jaw. The creature stared at the blue box and the two standing outside of it, eyes narrowing.
“Tyrannosaurs? Are you sure you have the right time era, Doctor?”
The Doctor grinned up at the Tyrannosaurus Rex as the lumbering beast tentatively sniffed the air. The great red beast moved its snout from side to side and took a slow step forward, blinking slowly and smelling the air around it some more.
“Aren’t you beautiful! ” remarked the Doctor, “Look at her, Derpy! She’s an adult female Tyrannosaurus Rex, Late Cretaceous era.”
“Beautiful?!” Derpy whispered harshly, hiding around the corner edge of the TARDIS, “Doctor, that’s terrifying! We need to get out of here before it eats us whole!”
“Oh, don’t be daft,” the Doctor shot back, “Look at her! She’s as confused and lost as we are.”
He called out to the colossal Dinosaur in a sappy voice similar to how one would talk to a dog.
“What’s the matter girl? What are you doing so far from home, huh?”
The T. Rex lowered it’s head to look at the Doctor, shifting it sideways to bring an eye down to his level. The humongous yellow eye swiveled about to glance at the Doctor, at Derpy hiding on the side of the TARDIS, and the unusual appearance of the beaten-up blue box itself. The dinosaur’s gaze went back to the Doctor once again, and its pupil dilated to a huge size.
“That’s not good. Huge pupils, rush of adrenaline.”
“What’s that, Doctor?!” Derpy whispered.
“Run, NOW!” he called out, dashing to the side and tumbling into the mud as the Dinosaur cried out with a deafening roar and made a swipe for him. Derpy shot through the air like a bullet, quickly putting as much aerial distance between herself and the jaws of the dinosaur as possible. The Doctor clambered up onto his hooves and dashed towards the forest. Behind him, the ground vibrated with every step the Tyrannosaur took, and the sounds grew louder in his ears.
He made it to the edge of the trees, and had to leap over the overgrown bushes and brambles that grew up there. The outermost tree coverage was sparse, but if he could make it into the thicket the lumbering creature would have a harder time grabbing him.
Wood cracked and splintered behind him, and entire trees began to shake and sway. Birds soared out from their nests in the treetops, and the Doctor slid down a muddy embankment, crashing into a pulsing brook. The Tyrannosaur roared and burst through the tree coverage, jaws outstretched and ready to snatch up the Doctor. The beast’s jaws made the grab, but struck only mud and gravel as the Doctor ducked and rolled out of the way. He had escaped by mere centimeters.
The Tyrannosaur began to glow in wavy light that grew in intensity, so much that the Doctor had to shield his own eyes from it. With a brilliant flash, the dinosaur vanished entirely, leaving only broken tree limbs and a Time Lord with racing hearts in its wake.
The Doctor made his way out into the clearing once again, and was joined by Derpy, who remained hovering above him. He took off towards the TARDIS, seemingly forgetting about the dinosaur entirely for a moment when he saw that his time machine lay on its side in the mud.
“Tyrannosaur knocked it over,” he said quickly, “Are you alright?”
“Yeah...” Derpy wheezed, “Just a little winded. You?”
“I’m absolutely fantastic, thanks for asking,” he replied with a smile, “First things first, the TARDIS.”
“Aren’t you worried about the dinosaur?!” Derpy exclaimed, landing at his side.
“The dino mystery can wait,” replied the Doctor, “here, you get at that end...”
Derpy got at the top end of the TARDIS with the Doctor, and together they lifted at the part where the top was attached to the wooden sides. Derpy grunted and pushed to raise her side, and the Doctor threw his shoulder up and into the edge, and together they righted the TARDIS again.
“Look, it’s all covered in mud,” she said with a frown. The side that had been facing the ground was completely brown with dirt and mud, and had clusters of twigs and grass clippings stuck to it. A third voice came from behind the two, causing both the Doctor and Derpy to jump in surprise.
“Let me help,” the voice said. It belonged to a tall unicorn stallion with a brick colored coat and a flowing mane of red. He wore an odd-looking robe embroidered with stars, and a misshapen pointed hat with an absurdly large brim that was lined with bells.
The unicorn bowed his head and a blast of water shot forth like a fire hose, dousing the side of the TARDIS and causing the mud to run off the side, revealing the blue wood beneath. This particular side of the TARDIS was graffitied with white paint that formed the words “Bad Wolf”, the same graffiti the two time travelers had seen in 30th Century canterlot.
The Doctor, who had been taken aback by the sudden appearance of the red unicorn now looked angry, and his jaw stiffened. This was the first he had seen of the graffiti, despite it having been there for several day’s worth of time travel.
“I’ve got a right mind to go back to New Canterlot this instant and find that paint-happy chav and-”
“Doctor!” Derpy yelled out, motioning with her wing to the bemused stallion standing by. The Doctor grumbled.
“Sorry,” he apologized, “Say... I know who you are! You’re fantastic !
The reddish unicorn raised his eyebrows and lifted the floppy brim of his hat to make proper eye contact with the Doctor. The unicorn had no beard, and he looked to be middle aged.
“You know of me?” he replied, “I’m surprised at the compliment from an Earth pony such as yourself. Most of your kind holds nothing but contempt for us unicorns, and sadly the same is true for my race.” The stallion removed his hat, and shook his mane out of his face.
“You’re Starswirl the Bearded- well, the not-so-bearded at the moment! The most accomplished wizard of the pre-classical era!” raved the Doctor, shaking hooves with the wizard enthusiastically, “You’re brilliant, you are! Completely and utterly brilliant. Derpy, this is Starswirl the Not-Quite-Bearded.”
Starswirl narrowed his eyebrows and took a step back, his cape billowing around him in the wind. He glanced from the Doctor to Derpy, and then back to the Doctor in a confused manner.
“You’re not time travelers, are you?” he muttered, aghast, “Please tell me you’re not....”
“Beardy I’ve got some bad news for you,” replied the Doctor with a smirk.
“Wait a second!” interrupted Derpy, “Doesn’t anypony care about, I don’t know, the huge meat-eating dinosaur that was here and then just vanished into thin air?!”
“Tell you what, Doctor, Derpy,” Starswirl said, “I’ve got a bit of explaining to do. Why don’t you follow me to my abode?”
On the side of a rocky mountainous outcrop rested a castle made of stone, and a small village stretching away from the castle and toward a streambed. Starswirl and the Doctor walked along a cobblestone path through the village square that led toward the castle, while Derpy flew behind them. Lightning crackled in the distance and the clouds grew dark, heralding the oncoming storm.
Some of the villagers were beginning to clear up their storefronts and vacate the streets, while others were using their magic to break down spare branches and tree limbs that might be broken off once the storm hit. A passing mare shot Derpy a dirty look, and lifted her chin up, refusing to make eye contact.
“This is Unicornia, home of the Royal Unicorn Tribe,” Starswirl said, not looking back, “I apologize in advance for my fellow unicorns, the peace is always in flux and outside visitors are scarce.”
At that moment, a young filly accosted Starswirl himself, planting her hooves in front of him in the center of the street. She was a lightly built filly with an ivory coat, and she had a silvery mane. Her cutie mark was that of platinum-pressed jewelry, similar to the kind she wore in a fancy robe trailing over her back.
“Why do you bring strangers into my father’s land?” she asked of the wizard in her high-pitched filly’s voice. For one so young, she had adopted an air of authority and her tone had the obvious sounds of irritation.
“Your highness, your father permits me visitors from the other tribes if necessary as part of my duties as the Royal Warlock. These are my visitors, and I must see them to shelter before the pegasi let the storm begin.”
“They cannot be allowed inside the king’s castle!” the filly snarled, “You may keep them in the hovel you use for gardening, but they cannot enter the stone walls.”
“Excuse me,” Derpy interjected, landing and getting into the filly’s face, “Who died and made you queen, exactly? Why can’t we go into the castle, if it’s the best shelter from the storm?”
“Why don’t you ask your own tribe, Pegasus brute!” shot back the young princess, “I’ll have you know that I am Platinum, daughter of the Unicorn King. I should have you banished from the village for your remarks.”
“Your Highness, we are travelers,” the Doctor implored, “We don’t represent any of the tribes, but we are friends-”
“Acquaintances,” corrected Starswirl with a quick glare.
“....acquaintances of this wizard, and we need sanctuary from the storm to perform our work.”
“A travelling Earth pony?” Platinum remarked with a smirk, “What do you harvest, acorns?”
The filly looked back toward the wizard, who bowed his head respectfully.
“I will notify my father of your request,” she said with a sly grin. She didn’t mean it, and everypony could tell. Starswirl closed his eyes, shaking his head. He lifted his head, and his red horn flashed with magic energy, swirling about him and vanishing in an instant along with Starswirl himself.
Platinum stood in front of the two time travelers, trying to strike an authoritative pose despite her small size. The Doctor snorted, and a smile came over his face while he watched the filly.
“You dare laugh at me, earth peasant!?” she asserted, glaring up at the Doctor angrily.
“Sit down, child. You’re making a fool of yourself,” he said, watching the horrified expression on the young princess’ face.
Starswirl reappeared in a flash of red light before the three gathered, and addressed the princess outright.
“Your father orders you into his study at once, and warns you not to interfere in my affairs in my affairs again, Your Highness,” he said. Starswirl ignored the enraged foal as she galloped back toward the castle gates, and instead addressed the Doctor and Derpy.
“I can’t say I’m impressed with the king’s daughter. I don’t know what I’m going to do when she takes command,” he said, “Doctor, Derpy, you two may come with me to my study within the castle. As the king’s warlock I know how to pluck a few strings here and there.”
“Fantastic.”
****
Derpy lay down in front of a warm hearth in the center of Starswirl’s study, while the wizard and the Doctor conversed. She was very much interested, but preferred to rest from the past few days of intensity. It occurred to her that less than a week ago in her memory was not to happen for thousands of years. It was quite a different feeling than traveling to the future.
“So, what you’re saying is that you’re an... alien being from another planet?” Starswirl muttered, plopping himself down onto a large feather pillow at the far end of a squat table. the table in his study was a scholarly mess of parchment star charts, half-open spellbooks and scribbled notes in the margins.
“I am,” the Doctor replied simply. His nose was buried in a book containing some of Starswirl’s notes
“What planet?” asked the wizard pony, “Perhaps tonight after the storm when the sky clears I can show you a new invention of mine. It’s called a ‘telescope’, and I plan on using it to gaze into the stars.”
“Won’t see anything if I told you where to look.”
Starswirl frowned. His expression showed an understanding for what the Doctor was implying, and he opened his mouth to say something, perhaps out of sympathy. The Doctor wasn’t looking at him, and so spoke first.
“Were you trying to bring a dinosaur to the present day?” he asked, lifting his gaze from the book full of notes.
“No,” Starswirl admitted, “I was trying to send myself back an hour, to test my new time spell. I guess I have a few wrinkles to iron out though, huh? What did you call that thing, anyways?”
“Ah,” said the Doctor, “Haven’t found out about dinosaurs yet, have you? Well, that was an animal that used to live on this planet up until about... oh, about sixty five million years ago.”
“The fact that I brought one of those back here to the present time,” began the wizard, “is that significant?”
“Yeah,” the Doctor said, “It’s a message for you to hold off on using your time spells. Save them for something important. Say Beardy, what kind of magic have you written so far?”
The wizard’s eyes twinkled, and he stood up to retrieve a book from a shelf near the glowing hearth, levitating it with his magic hold while flipping through the pages.
“I’ve a modest collection of spells, perhaps fifteen or so.”
“Hold on,” Derpy interrupted, raising her head from the floor, “How can you write magic? I thought Unicorns can only do a few things related to their cutie mark.”
The Doctor opened his mouth to answer his companion, but was cut off by Starswirl.
“If you don’t mind Doctor, I’d like to field this one,” he said, “Firstly Derpy, you need to understand that ‘magic’ is a blanket term we ponies use to describe a naturally occurring chemical phenomenon. You could say that ‘magic’ is simply another state of matter, as varied and as malleable as any other.
“All ponies possess some form of natural magic matter within themselves, but it expresses itself differently. Earth ponies for instance have superb physical ability. Pegasi have heightened senses, reflexes, and agility. Unicorns are able to expel magic through their horns, and are able to shape it to an extent. It’s also connected and bonded to a pony’s emotions, and controlled by them.”
“Alright,” said Derpy, “But that doesn’t answer my question.”
“Cutie marks are how the magic matter a pony generates manifests itself, and this goes for all three races. Most have it backwards, you see; they think the special talent determines the type of magic a pony expresses but in reality the type of magic a pony expresses determines their cutie mark.”
“So.... we’re born with our cutie marks already determined?” Derpy asked, scratching her mane. That didn’t make any sense at all. What was the point of trying to earn one’s cutie mark if it was bound to happen all along?
“In a way, yes,” Starswirl said in a conclusive manner, “Cutie marks are a thing of destiny. The important thing is that you don’t know what that destiny is until you’ve properly earned that cutie mark. It has the potential to be anything, anything at all. The whole point of growing up is narrowing all of those possibilities down until you find what you’ve gotten.”
“That’s interesting,” said the blonde pegasus, “but you still didn’t answer my original question. How come you can write new magic, but other unicorns can’t?”
Starswirl grinned, while the Doctor simply shook his head. It took Derpy a moment before the realization struck her.
“Oh, your cutie mark is magic creation, then?”
“Yes m’am, Starswirl the Red, the King’s warlock and spell-drafter.”
The Doctor snorted to himself as Starswirl repeated his current name, causing both Derpy and the wizard to shoot him a dirty look.
“Oi, I’m entitled a good interrupted laugh every now and then, Starswirl the Red. ”
A glass window shattered suddenly and violently as a block of ice smashed its way into the room, colliding with the stone hearth and breaking apart into smaller chunks of ice. Wild winds blew in through the broken window, scattering chunks of broken glass in their wake and allowing the steady pounding of the raindrops to enter the wizard’s study.
Lightning crashed, followed by the rumble of thunder. The wind whipped and whipped outside the castle walls with increasing chill, blowing cold air throughout the study. Flakes of snow and ice zipped in through the damaged window as well, just as Starswirl brought his horn to bear on the window. He chanted something under his breath and cast a spell to seal the window closed with a glowing magic membrane.
Derpy whistled to herself in the relative quiet of the now-muffled storm. The Doctor, on the other hoof, seemed concerned.
“What time of year is it, Beardy?”
“Doctor, you shall not call me Beardy, I haven’t a beard at all!”
“What time of year?” insisted the Doctor. Starswirl licked his lips.
“Middle of summer, I believe. What’s the matter, Doctor?” he asked, “A thunderstorm turning into a blizzard isn’t that uncommon. We had one like this just over a week ago.”
“That’s even more concerning,” the Doctor replied, looking through the glowing membrane into the darkness of the thunderstorm-turned-blizzard. Starswirl rose, joining him to gaze outside.
“It can’t be that bad,” interjected Derpy, unable to see out from behind the other two, “Maybe the pegasi tribe is just upset? Maybe this is their revenge?”
“No,” said the Doctor, “Even the Pegasi know not to mess with temperature. Too much freeze would kill the crops the Earth Ponies grow, which would destroy their source of food.”
“Sounds like something out of a Hearth’s Warming Eve pageant,” Derpy offhoofedly said. The Doctor wheeled about on his back hooves, pointing to Starswirl suddenly and causing the red unicorn to start.
“How many apprentices do you have? One, two?” the Doctor asked. Starswirl blinked, lowering his gaze and then looking back towards the Doctor. He tilted his head.
“Just the one, Somber Shadows. He’s talented, that one. Figured out how to use crystals and gemstones as a means to store magic energy.”
“That’s your only apprentice?” the Doctor asked for a final time.
“Yes.”
The Doctor remained silent for a moment, and soon Starswirl began idling about his study to return books to their proper places. Derpy stood at the Doctor’s side, watching the snow swirl outside violently amid the lightning bolts and the dark clouds.
“What’s the matter, Doctor?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder to make sure that Starswirl was out of earshot by the bookshelves.
“The blizzards, Derpy. Think of your culture’s stories about Hearth’s Warming Eve. Who were those ponies, not the leaders, the assistants...”
“Clover the Clever, Private Pansy, and Smart Cookie I think. Lyra played Clover when we performed the pageant back in our school days,” answered Derpy.
“How did Clover the Clever know about the wind and snow?”
Derpy was quick to reply. After all, she had memorized lines for the part of Private Pansy, she had sat through practice going over that scene countless times.
“Starswirl the Bearded was her mentor and he.... told her.... about the Windigoes causing the storm. That’s.... wait, something’s not right, isn’t it Doctor? ‘Cause he just said that....”
“Things are happening before they’re supposed to,” the Doctor said, “That can’t be good.”
The Doctor saw Starswirl glancing towards him and Derpy out of the corner of his eye. He turned about once again, replacing his concerned expression with a toothy grin.
“I don’t know about you, but I fancy a stroll. What do you say Starswirl, care to show us around the castle?”
Derpy looked at herself in the mirror, rubbing her horn tenderly with a hoof. Her Pegasus wings had vanished under Starswirl’s spell, only to be replaced by a grayish horn protruding from her forehead. She glanced over to see the Doctor’s smirking face glowing in the magic of Starswirl’s spell, as a blue horn sprouted up from his own skull.
“Not bad,” he remarked, “Considering Time Lords have neither horn nor wing.”
“Can I use this to perform... magic?” Derpy asked, poking at her horn. Starswirl shook his head, packing his spellbook away.
“No,” he said, “I’ve yet to finish any kind of true morphism spell. This is just for looks. In time, I want to make one that’ll work for real . An Omniomorphic spell, can’t you imagine?!”
“That sounds great,” the Doctor said. He threw open the doors of Starswirl’s study, opening them up to the corridors of the castle beyond.
“First things first, we need to find out where that snow storm is coming from,” he said, “I know we’d like to think it’s windigoes, but that’s not enough. We should poke around a bit, I say. The Princess already knows about Derpy and I being non-unicorn, so avoid her like the plague.”
“That’s not funny,” Starswirl scoffed.
****
The Doctor walked through the torchlit stone corridors at a brisk pace, leaving Starswirl and Derpy trotting behind him in his wake. He seemed to be taking the addition of a horn in stride, but to Derpy it was completely unnerving. She kept trying to move her wings to feel that they were there, but received no signal from her body. It was like losing a sense.
The two time travelers and the wizard wound up in a two-storied stone hall, where empty dishes and tablecloths flew left and right via telekinesis. Several long wooden tables stretched out the entire length of the great hall, and a musician played the harp in the background beneath a candlelit chandelier.
“Excuse me,” Derpy asked a passing mare. The pony held a water pot aloft in her magic grasp, but set it down as Derpy asked her a question.
“I’m a visitor, can you tell me who’s in charge of raising the moon at night after this dreadful storm is through?”
“I’ll find out,” the simple mare replied, “Miss.....”
“Derpy,” Derpy replied with a nod. The simple mare cocked her head, looking confused.
“Derpy the.....” her voice trailed off, as if she expected Derpy to fill in the blank.
“Derpy the... um.... Hooved,” replied the gray ex-pegasus. Bowing her head, the simple mare rushed off to find the answer for Derpy. The gray pony eyed Starswirl, imploring him for an explanation.
“The three tribes do things differently when it come to names,” Starswirl explained, “Unicorns use adjectives with the word ‘the’. Starswirl the Red . Derpy the Hooved .”
“Doctor the Fantastic?” suggested the Doctor, beaming. Derpy shook her head disapprovingly.
“The Pegasi use ranks or titles all the time in casual speech. You never would use just your given names, it’s always “Commander” this and “Corporal” that,” Starswirl explained, “And they use lineage in formal introductions. I’d be ‘Sir Starswirl of Unicornia’, the ‘sir’ indicating my position as one of the King’s trusted advisors. The Earth ponies use simpler given names, with the leaders using titles.”
The simple mare returned, speaking to Derpy.
“Miss Derpy the Hooved, the Lunar Guild are currently in session. I can direct you to their chamber, but do not enter until the door is opened from the inside.”
“Thank you,” Derpy said, following the mare.
The Doctor moved to intercept her, stopping Derpy from following the mare. He had a confused expression over his face, and Derpy looked up at him curiously.
“The moon? What’s the moon got to do with any of this?” he asked rhetorically, “What we really need to do is check with the pegasi, they’re in charge of the weather itself.”
Outside, the snow had begun to pile up. The howling wind intensified. Starswirl approached the clear glass panes of the window and peered out to see the soggy piles of sleet that covered bushes and trees outside the castle walls, growing larger as the gale continued.
From across the hall trotted a grayish stallion aged in his late teen years. He had a black mane that poofed up in the back, and wore a crimson cape with ragged edges. He had a very tattered quality about him. This stallion approached Starswirl directly, eyeing the Doctor and Derpy cautiously.
“Master, who are these strange ponies? I must admit, I’ve never laid eyes on either before now,” he said. Starswirl raised a hoof, allowing the two to introduce themselves to his pupil.
“I’m Doctor the Fantastic, this is Derpy the Hooved, my companion. You are...?”
“Somber Shadows the Pure.... you’re called ‘the Fantastic’, really?” he replied.
“I thought it was a good name!” the Doctor scoffed.
“Doctor, Derpy, allow me a moment to speak to my pupil,” Starswirl asked. Somber Shadows joined him near the wall, his head bent low as Starswirl explained the situation in a whisper. The stallion shot a glance back at the two, eyes widening and jaw agape.
“I’ve always wanted to meet somepony-”
“Someone,” the Doctor corrected.
“- someone who was a time traveller,” Somber Shadows remarked, “If you don’t mind me asking, Why here?”
“What?”
“Why here,” continued the stallion, “Here in this desolate land of warring tribes and tentative alliances to ward off starvation? If I were a time traveler, I’d go somewhere posh and splendorous, where the buildings are made of glittering crystal. You understand me, right?”
An uncomfortable smile crossed the Doctor’s face.
“Your master Starswirl has been dabbling in time manipulation, that interference brought me here from the far future.”
Somber Shadows blinked, shook his head, and blinked again. He stared at the Doctor blankly, and then exchanged glances with Starswirl.
“If this happens in your past, then why didn’t you know about the interference with time all along?” asked Somber Shadows. He sounded skeptic and possibly a bit irritated. From the look on his face Derpy could tell he wasn’t a big fan of the Doctor already.
“Time’s not a straight line, it’s bendable, twistable. Like clay,” the Doctor said, “Listen, are you gonna ask questions all day? C’mon, there’s important work to be done! We need to get up to the pegasus.”
Derpy brushed the Doctor’s jacket with a leg, bringing the time lord’s gaze to meet her face. She shook her head.
“Fly up there in the middle of a storm? Are you mad?” she said.
“Well,” mused the Doctor, “I guess I am a bit mad, but I was actually planning on using the TARDIS. Beardy, Rippy coat, you two should come with us.”
“What, now you’re ordering us around?” Somber Shadows blurted angrily. His eyes widened when he realized what he had said, for he quickly clapped a hoof to his mouth.
“Oh lighten up,” the Doctor replied, “It’s only an invitation.”
Starswirl nodded, walking towards the Doctor’s side and regarding his student briefly.
“You have to control that angst within you. Anger is fuel for chaos, the venom in the bloodstream of all that is orderly. You would do wise to practice self control.”
Somber Shadows grudgingly followed the Doctor, Derpy, and Starswirl. He didn’t like this odd stallion. He seemed bouncy and happy, but the pupil of Starswirl was perceptive enough to see past the Doctor’s exterior and glimpse the troubled and haunted soul within. Though he knew little about the circumstances that had damaged this being, he found himself distrusting the Doctor for it.
“If anyone knows about the weather it’s the Pegasi,” the Doctor said, “They can tell us whether the snowstorm is their accidental work or if they had no control over it.”
“What if they don’t?” Starswirl asked, following behind the timelord.
“Then there is something malevolent out there in the storm, something living.”
****
The time lord and ponies ran with struggle through the crashes of lightning and the driving sleet and ice. The sky was blackish violet and dark clouds convulsed and shifted. The ground beneath them had turned from dusty dirt to a runny mud puddle, one that each of them had to trudge through in order to get to the forest by the edge of the clearing. The Doctor was nearly up to his hips in the muddy water, coming out the other side and onto the cold ice-covered grass.
Derpy, who was back to her regular wings, tried to fly over the puddle without success. A bolt of lightning struck nearby, lighting the sky up and causing a deafening sound. The startled pegasus fell flat on her face in the mud, but the Doctor lent her a hoof to drag her out.
“The TARDIS should be just around this clump of trees!” yelled the Doctor over the howling winds, “We’re almost there!”
In the clearing sat a blue police box with glowing windows that stood out amongst the sleet. The box was still beaten-up looking, and some of the scuff marks and mud from the original crash still was visible on the corners and sides. The graffiti on the side that read ‘Bad Wolf’ was faintly visible in the dim light from the windows.
The Doctor was the first to reach the TARDIS, and after unlocking the door sprang inside with youthful enthusiasm that could not be met by any of the other drenched, beleaguered ponies. Starswirl and Somber Shadows were the last to enter, and their expressions of shock were subverted by their wet and filthy condition.
“A machine that’s bigger on the inside?” Starswirl breathed, sitting himself down on the floor of the TARDIS, “This is incredible! What form of magic is this? Minaturization?”
“No, it’s dimensionally transcendental. It’s like being in a separate dimension. I suppose it is being in a separate dimension,” answered the Doctor.
“The Earth Ponies have a machine that can travel in time, and is bigger on the inside,” Somber Shadows remarked in wonder, “How long have they had this?”
“That’s irrelevant if it can travel in time,” Starswirl said.
“Actually, I’m not an Earth Pony,” the Doctor said. He stood next to Derpy near the TARDIS console, the blue light shining onto his face.
“I’m a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. Last of my race. Oh, we look like ponies on the outside, but so do many other alien species. Equinoids or Equine-like bodies are very common in alien species,” the Doctor said, “But I’m going on about unimportant stuff. Now, what’s really important is the pegasus tribe. If I’m not mistaken, a unicorn’s bones are too dense and too heavy for walking on clouds. So are the bones of a Time Lord.”
“There’s not a spell for making Unicorns able to walk on clouds,” Somber Shadows remarked. He leaned against one of the coral-like pillars, occasionally staring at the tall ceiling and the bronze walls that were lined with hexagonal roundels.
“Not yet,” corrected his teacher.
The Doctor was the first to step out onto the freezing clouds, jacketless and with wings poking out from his fur just behind the end of his v-necked jumper. Behind him were Starswirl and Somber Shadows, both wearing jackets to hide their lack of wings. It turned out that Starswirl could not get make a horn invisible and create illusionary wings at the same time, so they had to alter their resources. Somber Shadows wore a reddish cape over his back anyways, tattered as it was. Starswirl was now hatless, but wore the Doctor’s leather coat.
“That’s a nice jacket,” noted the wizard’s student, “What’s it made out of?”
“You’re happier not knowing,” remarked the Doctor. He glanced behind him, seeing Derpy close the TARDIS doors.
The wind continued to blow with incredible force, and up in the sky where they were was like being in hurricane force winds, with the occasional chunk of frozen sleet pelting one in the side. A quick look through squinting eyes revealed no pegasi out and about, nor were any flying overhead through the sky to guide the storm. They had all hunkered down inside their buildings to ride out the blizzard of ice.
“Get under cover!” the Doctor yelled over the sound of a thunderclap.
“Doctor, over here!” a voice cried out. Derpy had found the threshold to a large looking structure with lights coming from the interior. The Doctor and the magicians followed her voice to the steps, entering.
The inside was dirty and crowded with wet pegasi, having escaped the torrential storm. A small fire burned in the hearth, around which a commander of sorts tended the fire. There had to be at least fifty pegasi crowded into a single structure, leaving no room to maneuver deeper into the building and forcing the unicorns, Derpy, and the Doctor to remain at the outskirts of the group.
“Who are you and where have you all been?” one pegasi asked, “All fliers were supposed to be ordered under cover when the sleet got out of hoof.”
He addressed the Doctor mainly, and had the appearance of a young officer. The Doctor tried to remember what Starswirl had said earlier about pegasi and introductions. Something about titles and rank.
“Captain Time Turner of TARDIS,” the Doctor blurted out, flipping open his slip of psychic paper to appease the officer. The stallion narrowed his eyes and looked at the psychic paper carefully. He was either suspicious, or had very poor eyesight.
“My apologies Captain,” he replied, “It’s an honor to talk to one of the elites.”
The Doctor grinned, watching the stallion begin to turn away and head back into the crowd of pegasi. He went to reach for him, as he wanted to ask questions. When he could not reach to tap the stallion on the shoulder, he instead asked a blue-coated mare standing to his side. She appeared to be in her forties, and had a heavyset jaw.
“Excuse me, er...”
“Private Sapphire,” she responded, “What were you saying?”
“You lot have an issue with the blizzard outside? Mind telling me how it all started?”
The mare went on to explain how it had happened every now and then that their weather would suddenly turn sour without cause, even when the pegasi were trying to control it. Sporadic downpours, chills, and snow interrupted the normal cycle of weather the pegasi had promised to uphold in exchange for food grown by the Earth ponies. There were whisperings that it may have been caused by unusual creatures, but nopony knew for sure.
“They’re gettin’ mighty untrusting of us down there.The unicorns think it’s our fault the weather’s gone haywire, but we’re as confused as them,” she explained, “Don’t you know all this?”
“Course not,” the Doctor replied with a flick of a hoof, “Look at me, totally clueless. If you don’t mind another clueless question, how have things been getting along between the tribes?”
Out of the corner of his eye, the Doctor noticed Somber Shadows beginning to lose interest and drift. The teenage unicorn had struck up a conversation with a pegasus stallion, and the Doctor could only hope he was asking the right questions.
“Is this some kind of public opinion poll from the higher officers, Captain?” asked the mare, bowing her head down and looking worried.
“Uhhh, yes,” the Doctor said quickly, “There’s not a right or wrong, some of us just want to know how the civilians feel. Completely anonymous, in fact I’ve already forgotten your name, look at that. I’m clueless, remember?
“Well,” she responded, leaning her head in closely to speak soft, “In my opinion, this temporary peace can’t last. Whenever the races mix, there’s always tension. Ponies point hooves at each other over the most trivial things, and with this change in weather.....”
“You’re worried that the unusual storms could break that peace?”
“Yeah.”
Somber Shadows cried out suddenly, being pushed back forcefully by the stallion. The stallion who pushed him seemed to have a jovial expression. Such kind of comrade-shoving and playful faux fighting must have been pretty commonplace, as even then another pair of armored soldiers rammed each other in another section of the building, laughing as they did so.
Somber Shadows did not laugh. Failing to understand the playfulness behind the blow, his face grew contorted, and he snarled at the other stallion.
“Don’t push me around!” the disguised unicorn growled, “I don’t like that one bit!”
Lightning crashed in the background, and a fresh gust of wind brought a flurry of snow up. The half melted sleet chunks from earlier were now snowflakes that whipped by with the wind, matching in ferocity to the temper of the stallion.
“C’mon soldier, show some backbone! You too chicken for jousting?” taunted the pegasus.
“I told you to LEAVE. ME. ALONE!” shouted the unicorn. A flash of purplish magic blasted from Somber Shadow’s horn, which faded back into view. The magic struck the pegasus across his body, causing the pony to cry out with an agonized wail. The magic crackled over him like lightning residue.
“SOMBER SHADOWS, THAT IS ENOUGH!” bellowed Starswirl, levitating the student . The storm crashed around them, and the other pegasi stared at what had happened, utterly shocked. The shocked expressions melted, solidifying into ones of anger upon seeing the two unicorns: the master and his apprentice.
“Doctor,” Derpy slowly asked, “What should we do?”
The Doctor sighed, glancing to the mob of pegasi and the wizards standing like statues. They would be set upon by the mob for snooping around and injuring one of their fellow tribesponies, for sure.
“Get in the TARDIS,” he quietly warned, “Run!”
The TARDIS materialized outside a small village with a run-down look about it. The buildings were squat and unclean, and carts had been abandoned in the middle of the streets by the inhabitants as they hunkered down inside their meager accommodations. Several large craters and holes were found across the ground, and several buildings themselves were caved in, or else reduced to rubble.
It looked like a war-torn village, yet there had not been any war between the tribes.
The door was flung open forcefully and suddenly, and Somber Shadows found himself thrown down onto the snow-covered ground. The teenage wizard groaned, and his master exited the TARDIS second with a scowl.
The student shrieked, and rose up to swing a hoof at Starswirl. A magic field pinned him back down against the ground. Derpy and the Doctor exited the TARDIS hastily.
“Both of you, just stop!” Derpy pleaded, flying over the fighting pair.
“You could have destroyed ALL of the diplomatic progress the King and I have been building up for decades, do you know that?!” Starswirl growled, “All because somepony hurt your pride? That’s pathetic, if not irresponsible. I should never have taken you in as my....”
“Stop it!” Derpy insisted, even as the snarling apprentice retorted.
“You’re as foolish as you are forgetful, master! The pegasi and earth ponies will never want to seek peace and you know...”
“Everypony stop talking!” the Doctor commanded. An uncomfortable silence fell over the four of them gathered, interrupted by only the crackling of lightning and the howling wind. Starswirl and Somber Shadows glared at one another, while Derpy placed herself at the Doctor’s side. The Doctor snatched his leather coat off from Starswirl, covering his now-wingless back and jumper.
“Right, whatever beef you two have with each other ends right now, or at least put it on hold,” he said, “The negativity only feeds the Windigoes and makes them stronger- strong enough to worsen the storm.”
“What’s a Windigo?” Starswirl asked in a subdued voice.
“Energy-like creature that feeds on chaos and disharmony. Hatred is their favorite though, they eat it right up. You arguin’ and fighting like that is like the cherry on top of the icing for them.”
“So you’ve known it was Windigoes all along?” Somber Shadows grunted from on the ground. Derpy lent him a hoof, allowing him to stand and wipe the snow off his backside and cape.
“I needed to be sure, and now I’m positive. Look around you at the storm. It was calmer when we set out, now it’s getting stronger, and the only thing that’s changed is you two at each other’s throats over a stupid battle of wills.”
“Doctor, I’m cold. Can I get a coat from the TARDIS?” Derpy asked.
“Yeah, in the wardrobe. D’you know where that is?” he asked.
“No.”
“First left, second right, third on the left, go straight ahead, under the stairs, past the bins, fifth door on your left. Got it?” instructed the Doctor.
“I think.”
“Meet us in that tavern over there, we’re going to talk to the locals,” the Doctor said, “You lot, keep yourselves contained. We still have work to be done.”
“Like what ?” Somber Shadows said, “You think the Earth Ponies have any good tips on beating the Windigoes?”
“Maybe, or they might be able to tell us where the oldest set of ruins are. Mind you, Windigoes love a set of ruins, some like to set up shop and live their lives out in a set of ruins.”
The moment the Doctor reached for the door of a nearby tavern, one of the buildings left completely whole and uncrushed. The wind nearly sheared the door off entirely. He and the two unicorns entered quickly, and it took two of them to close the door completely again against the force of the wind.
The inside of the tavern was dingy, and dimly lit. Like the pegasus buildings, this was crowded and cramped with ponies, but there was at least space to breathe and move about if one had to. The undisguised unicorns were receiving dirty looks from each corner, while others looked on curiously. Some whispered aside, and it was then that the Somber Shadows stood up on top of a wooden table to address the crowd.
“I need everypony’s attention!” the teenage stallion said calmly, “We three are looking for ruins, and we need direction!”
“What do you want, Unicorn?” a belligerent pony shouted. There were boos and catcalls from the crowd, and one pony tried to pull the table out from underneath Somber Shadows.
“We seek to save you- all of you- from a terrible fate! There are monsters out there that could spell doom for your crops, which-” Starswirl tried to say with a raised voice, but he was soon drowned out by increased booing. The Earth ponies weren’t having any of it. Exasperated, the Doctor took the table from Somber Shadows, standing on top of it and whistling loudly enough to draw attention to himself.
“That’s enough!” he called out, “He’s not lying! Look at me, no horn, no wings. Nothin’ to worry about, right? There are monsters out there, and they’re affecting the weather. We need to work togeth-”
“Just who are you supposed to be?” interrupted another earth pony, hitting a hoof off the Doctor’s leg. The Doctor’s jaw tightened, and his eyes narrowed.
“I. AM. TALKING!” he yelled, shoving the pony back. He glared at the remainder of the crowd, and continued.
“I’m the Doctor, and all that matters is that I’m here to help. We need to stop these creatures before they destroy the whole food supply, and to do that we need to know where the nearest set of your tribe’s ruins are.”
The crowd of ponies murmured amongst themselves for a moment, and one voice called out above the rest, the mare jumping up to be seen over the top of everypony’s head.
“Are you guys monster hunters?” she asked, “We have a very big problem right here in the village.”
“Yeah,” a tubby stallion behind the wooden bar cried out, “If he wants to know about the ruins so bad, make him get rid of the Land Serpent first!”
The tavern rung with a rousing affirmative cheer, and the Doctor’s face grew concerned.
“Land Serpent?”
“Big beastie, kind of like a great big worm,” one explained, “Eats just about anything, timber, metal, crops, dirt, animals. It’s been striking us for well over a month, on and off. Seen one before, monster hunter?”
The Doctor wrinkled his brow in thought. He looked meaningfully from Starswirl to Somber Shadows, and called them aside.
“I can try to find out what kind of animal they’re dealing with from the TARDIS computer,” he whispered.
“What’s a computer?” asked Somber Shadows.
“Big metal library with no pages,” the Doctor said, “I don’t feel good about this. The last major semi-carnivorous great land eels went extinct about a million years ago, there shouldn’t be any nowadays. This is all wrong, Windigoes before there should be, and an eel misplaced in time. Stay here, I’ll be right back.”
The Doctor left the tavern quickly, and the door rattled closed with the frigid winds. He popped his head back inside once more for a brief moment.
“Oh, and you lot better do some making up in the meantime. Say you’re sorry.”
****
As the Doctor walked through the berating winds and snow, he glanced at the state of the village once more. Instead of appearing war-torn, the problem of a serpentine monster eating things offered a decent explanation for holes that were to be found in the snow-covered ground, and the rubble in place of several building’s sides.
The Doctor’s heart sank as he reached the spot where the TARDIS had been moments before. Rather than a blue box, a freshly dug hole was in it’s place. The Doctor leaned over the edge of the hole, staring down into the blackness below. Had the TARDIS been swallowed up by the monster?
Derpy was in the TARDIS.
He backed up, eyes widening and looking about in all directions. He scanned the soil and all exposed ground, looking for some kind of clue. Finding none, he ran back in the direction of the tavern, yelling over the sound of the wind.
“STARSWIRL! WE HAVE A PROBLEM!”
The Doctor rounded a street corner, and without looking smashed into another pony, causing them both to fall onto the cold ground in a heap.
“Ouch, you ok?” he winced, closing his eyes and rubbing his front hooves against his temples. He had hit the other pony head-on with his skull.
“I’m fine Doctor, why were you shouting?” the voice responded. It belonged to Derpy, and for the moment the Doctor forgot about his injury and grasped the pony in a sudden embrace.
“You’re alright,” he wheezed, “Oh, fantastic ! You weren’t eaten after all! Why, this is marvelous!”
“Eaten?”
“What are you wearing?!” the Doctor said with a gasp. Derpy had thrown on an overcoat that seemed patched together out of various colors and patterns and materials without a single thought given to aesthetics. Derpy shrugged.
“Nevermind that, more important things,” he said, breaking into a sweat despite the snowstorm.
Starswirl and Somber Shadows emerged from the tavern, looking bewildered at Derpy’s coat and wondering what the Doctor had called them out for so urgently.
“Here’s the situation,” the Doctor said, “The TARDIS has been gobbled up by a gigantic serpentine eel, one that can burrow through the soil.”
“And the plan?” Derpy gasped. The Doctor shook his head.
“Haven’t thought of that yet.”
The ground rumbled beneath their hooves. Bumps began to appear through the middle of the road, shifting the snow-covered topsoil and collapsing down again as the serpent moved about below the top layers of ground. The bumps moved right past the ponies, only to swerve and come back once again afresh.
“Everypony get on top of something,” Somber Shadows warned, leaping on top of a broken barrel, “It’s classic hunting behavior. Like a shark patrolling the water.”
Starswirl positioned himself at the edge of a wooden cart loaded with now-frozen vegetables, the Doctor on a mound of snow, and Derpy tried to hover in the air. The strong wind was too much for the pegasus, and she could not remain in place, so she flew onto a rooftop and remained there.
The lump in the ground seemed to pause, and for a moment they thought that the creature itself had paused. The mound of pushed up soil collapsed in on itself, showing that the serpent had gone down deeper under the ground.
“Somber Shadows, you compared the creature to a shark, right?” Starswirl said. His student nodded.
“What do sharks do after diving down deeper?” The Doctor returned, looking down at the ground, horrified. He knew the answer.
In a fraction of a second, less time than it took for an eye to blink or for a startled pony to experience a sharp intake of breath, the mound the Doctor stood atop disappeared behind a reddish, rubbery wall. The creature was a gargantuan, scaly worm. Small clawed appendages lined its sides like the scales of a dragon or fish. The serpent had breached the soil, scooping the mound and the time lord in it’s great jaws and diving back down the way it came.
“Doctor!” cried Derpy, zipping down to the edge of the crater and staring down into the blackness beyond.
“Derpy, get away from there, that thing’s gonna come back!” Starswirl yelled.
“But it just ate him!” Derpy wailed, crouching down at the edge of the crater. She was trapped. With no Doctor and no TARDIS, she had no way of returning to her own time. She would be forced to live out the remainder of her life in this place, a society thousands of years in the past experiencing famine and strife. The pegasus was understandably distraught.
“Don’t make it two ponies, watch out!” called out Somber Shadows. The stallion leaped from his barrel over to a slightly taller stack of crates. The Doctor had been the closest to the soil, and he had been the first targeted. He didn’t want the same happening to him next.
Below Derpy, the ground rumbled. She darted up into the gale of the wind, being swept aside and taken away only moments before the creature breached the ground again, snapping empty jaws at the spot she had been only moments prior.
“Somber, stunning spell!” cried Starswirl, bowing his horn and blasting the great eel with magic. From the opposite side of the street, his student did the same with his own magic.
The beast shook, flailing it’s head into the air while bursts of magic zapped at it’s outer layers and rendered it immobile. The head slammed against the street with force that rattled buildings, and a slippery black tongue slid out of the toothless mouth and onto the snowy ground.
“Nice stunning,” Starswirl said, leaping down and walking around the side of the creature’s skull. He bent inwards, peering at the pupils of the serpent that were the size of his head.
Somber Shadows was on the other side of the eel, and galloped across the road to where Derpy had been swept. He helped the pegasus up, and she dusted the snow off from the garishly colored jacket.
“The Doctor’s still in there!” she exclaimed, motioning toward the eel, “We have to get him out!”
“What would you suggest, cutting it open?” Starswirl shouted over to the other side.
An accented voice called back in response, from behind Derpy.
“Actually, I was kinda hoping you lot would wait a few seconds before deciding.”
The Doctor walked out from the doors of the just-materialized TARDIS, covered from head to hoof in a greenish slime that stank. Derpy’s jaw dropped, and the pony reached out as if to hug him suddenly, but the time lord backed up.
“You don’t want to touch me,” he said, “Trust me, you really don’t. This smell of this digestive gunk will stay around for hours, no matter how much soap you use. I was crawling around inside there for at least five minutes before finding the TARDIS. Nasty business.”
“But... you were just gobbled up only a minute ago, let alone five,” Somber Shadows remarked. The Doctor grinned from ear to ear, and bounded into the TARDIS once more.
The blue box appeared to dematerialize amid it’s usual rumbling noises, but at the last second became a solid once again. The Doctor bounded out, sparkling clean and smelling of expensive bath soaps. His short-cut mane was even still dripping.
“Did I mention to you, Somber, that it also travels in time?” he smirked.
“You did, yeah,” the stallion mumbled. Derpy took her chance to give the Doctor a warm hug, and stood at his side.The Doctor shifted his attention to the creature, his toothy grin melting into a show of concern.
“Which brings me to the next problem. This can’t be here. According to the TARDIS archives, this particular species has been gone for at least 70 million years.”
He glanced at Starswirl, eyebrows narrowing. The wizard looked from the stunned eel to the Doctor, shifting uncomfortably.
“It got away before I could send it back, honest,” he fessed up, “It was an experiment that went awry, I admit it, and I’m sorry.”
“I think it’s the villagers that need to hear that apology,” stated the Doctor.
“You brought this here,” Somber Shadows scoffed angrily, “and you call me irresponsible?!”
“Easy boys,” the time lord shot between the two, “It’s not that hard. Send the creature back, apologize, and then we go to find the windigoes causing this bloody snowstorm. No more fighting, ok?”
“I’m just surprised, that’s all,” Somber Shadows said, “I would never have guessed my master would just neglect his own failure like that.”
Amid columns of stone architecture left abandoned among frozen northern wastes and spires of scraggly crystal outcrops reaching some fifty meters in places, the TARDIS materialized. About the time machine was a dark sky, and an unforgiving coldness. Whereas the snowstorm near the homes of the tribes was laid over an otherwise temperate climate, this place had been buried under the ice and snow for some time.
The Doctor was the first to emerge, swaggering out into the ice fields with a seeming ignorance for the frigid surroundings. Derpy flew out second, having replaced the rainbow eyesore of a jacket she had chosen earlier with a more insulating plaid wool overcoat. Somber Shadows and Starswirl exited the TARDIS last, both clad in their usual robes but wearing woolen leg warmers from the future over their hooves and forelegs. The Doctor had declined to tell them that they were actually mare’s apparel.
“This is about where they told us,” the Doctor announced. The wind did not whip past as ferociously as it had back in the village, and a glance to the sky did not reveal the telltale signs of glowing windigoes swirling the clouds.
“It looks as if the windigoes are all down south,” he said, “Which means nothing to stop us from taking a bit of a look-see.”
The trio of ponies led by a time lord split apart, tasked with examining their surroundings. Derpy went with the Doctor to examine the stone columns while Somber Shadows accompanied his mentor towards the base of the massive crystal spires.
“Interesting bit of history, this place,” the Doctor said, “One that I think explains why the windigoes like it so much.”
Derpy flew up and over his head, landing atop a stone pillar and brushing the accumulated snow off from the top. The pegasus stood erect, posing like a statue, and then glanced down to see if the Doctor approved. A grin was spread across his face, but he offered a tip.
“If you’re trying to be the Colossus, you’ve got to just stand on your hind legs only spread out across with a river going through the middle,” he said, “And be a stallion.”
Derpy flapped off from the top of the pedestal, landing next to the Doctor at the base.
“Mind you, I like what they did with the original far better than the reconstruction. Back then... well, a bit in the future actually- they didn’t have the kind of tools you lot will have by the 2020’s. Much more of an impressive feat making it by hoof.”
He withdrew the sonic screwdriver from his coat pocket, and held it with a single hoof. He ran the glowing blue end of it around the base of the stone pillar before holding it aloft, focusing on the side of the device.
“Just stone, though it’s remarkably old,” he announced. He moved on towards the next set of stone ruins still sticking out of the snow, which resembled a tower of unfinished stairs simply thrown in a heap to form a great mound.
“Doctor,” asked Derpy, “If these are really old ruins, then who lived here? And how did those Earth ponies know where this was?”
“To that last bit, probably legends handed down through the generations,” he answered. He repeated his earlier motion with the sonic, and declared that nothing unusual was to be found within the pile of stone steps.
“This society is Ancient. That’s not an adjective, that’s a proper noun,” he said, “The Ancients were around long before the ponies, and they existed in forms that could transcended the mortal flesh. It was the hub of art and culture in their day, some ten thousand years before now.”
“What happened?” asked Derpy.
“Well, the Ancients were very representational. They saw ideas as the most powerful tools, in a way they were abstract. I haven’t visited that particular era, but my guess is that they were introduced to one of the most basic ideas of them all.”
“And that is?”
“Hate,” the Doctor stated, “Hatred, Greed, and War. Imagine Hate itself being an actual thing, a being that lurks in the shadows and manipulates things, all the while remaining unseen. Can you imagine what it must have been like?”
“It sounds unnerving to me,” admitted Derpy.
“That’s what happened, I’ve looked up their history. Their biggest flaw was that they had to have a being representing every idea, and the negative ones took over and ultimately destroyed their civilization. That’s why the windigoes like this place so much, it’s like a feeding ground for them to fall back on. The well hasn't gone completely dry."
“But after ten thousand years?” Derpy said, “I doubt that whatever being that was so spiteful back then would still be around now.”
Their conversation was interrupted by Somber Shadow’s voice, which called out from over by the base of the crystal spires.
“Doctor! Derpy! come over here, Starswirl thinks he’s found something!”
****
At the base of the great crystal spire, Starswirl had melted the snow and ice down to reveal a smooth surface beneath, engraved with a circular indentation. Somber Shadows focused a burst of magic from his own horn to reflect off the crystals above, attempting to bounce his magic onto the circle and cause it to come loose.
“I think there is something underneath this circular indentation, Doctor,” Starswirl announced upon the time lord’s arrival.
“These crystals,” Somber Shadows began as he released his magic beam, “they’re extraordinary. The things are just packed with untapped energy. I only just figured out how to place magic energy into crystalline structures, and here it looks like the Ancients were doing the same thing centuries earlier!”
“Fantastic, good for you,” the Doctor said, clapping a hoof against Somber Shadow’s withers. He descended over the circle, withdrawing the glowing sonic screwdriver and running it about the engraved edge of the shape, taking it’s reading and examining it.
As the Doctor examined the circular indentation with his sonic screwdriver, the end of it lit up brighter and began whirring and warbling in a different pitch.
“Doctor, what is that thing?” asked Somber Shadows, peering over the time lord’s shoulders at the curious device.
“A screwdriver, it’s sonic,” the Doctor said, “only I modified it…. nearly beyond recognition. It does a lot more than just install cabinets. Like right now for instance; it says that there’s a vertical shaft right below this disc extending over 200 meters, and a significant power source at the bottom.”
The teenage stallion blinked. Starswirl bent down and rapped a hoof on the ground where he was standing, listening to the sound it made. He then stood in the center of the circle, rapping his hoof again. This time the sound was deeper.
“He’s right, it’s hollow underneath this… apprentice, help me to move this. Derpy, Doctor, you two should stand back.”
Derpy and the Doctor remained back near the pile of stair pieces, while Somber Shadows took position across from Starswirl at opposite ends of the circle. Each unicorn bent his horn down, touching the tip of it against the groove separating disc from stone. A multicolor blend of each unicorn’s magic enveloped the structure, and it began to rise up from its position. With concentrated effort, the pair maneuvered the heavy disc out from above the newly-revealed hole in the ground, placing it over a patch of snow-covered ground to their side.
Opening their eyes, the two unicorns found themselves at the edge of the hole, looking down into a black abyss extending deep into the earth below. The sides were jagged and cut out of the stone.
“How deep did you say this was, Doctor?” Somber Shadow asked with a bit of trepidation in his voice.
“Over 200 meters, about 276 to be exact.”
Starswirl smiled from beneath his large brimmed cap.
“You know, Doctor, “ he said, “I only just came up with that measurement system last month.”
Derpy hovered over the hole in the ground, and flapped her wings a bit slower to let herself sink down into it, until she was at the edge of the blackness. She looked up above her, and made a motion with her head. In response, Starswirl sent an orb of bright magic down, whizzing past Derpy an illuminating the shaft. It continued to fall, and fall, growing fainter and fainter the deeper it descended until it seemed swallowed up by the blackness below. Derpy’s ears drooped, and she flew back up to land herself aside the Doctor once more.
“That’s really far down,” she remarked.
“And with only one of us being a Pegasus, I don’t see how we’d manage to get down without steps. I wouldn’t want to take the TARDIS, either.”
“Why not?” asked Starswirl, frowning, “What’s down there?”
“A strange source of energy, one I’ve seen before. It’s like… a portal of some kind, but at the same time it also is dynamic. If I put it side by side with brainwaves, they’d match up.”
“Brainwaves, what are brainwaves?” Somber Shadows asked.
“That’s not important,” the Doctor said, “What it means is that whatever’s down there is alive, and most likely it’s in the form of an energy-based being. I don’t want to risk having it come inside the TARDIS, so we’ll have to walk.”
“How?” the other three asked, nearly in chorus.
“Look behind me, what do you see?” the Doctor said with a grin.
“A pile of stones?” suggested Starswirl.
“Nope, “ the Doctor said, “stairs .”
****
The Doctor and Derpy stepped carefully down, one step at a time as Starswirl and Somber Shadows worked together to construct the staircase. Because of the limiting diameter, they had chosen to construct a spiraling staircase by attaching the stone slabs to the wall via magic. Somber Shadows stood at the top of the hole, levitating stones from the pile and cutting them to size. He would then pass them to Starswirl, who attached the steps into the side of the wall.
This went on for quite awhile, the minutes turning into half-hours, and the half-hours dragging on tirelessly. Magical glows from Starswirl’s magic lit the way, allowing the Doctor and Derpy to see in front of them.
Upon reaching the bottom, the three were greeted by the sight of a simple wooden door, embedded into the side of the rock and crystal walls. Starswirl raised his head, shouting up to his student above with an echoing voice.
“Somber Shadows, that’s enough rock! We’re down at the bottom!” he yelled.
Derpy was the first to approach the door, reaching for it gingerly with one hoof to pull on the metal knocker.
“The other side of that thing is what’s giving off the huge readings,” the Doctor said, “I’d be careful.”
“What, is it going to explode?” Derpy asked.
“No,” the time lord answered, “But I don’t exactly know what it will do.”
“Defensive positions?” Starswirl suggested, “You on one side, I on the other? In case something jumps out?”
“Right,” the Doctor said, buckling his legs and clutching his screwdriver between his teeth.
Derpy opened up the door, which resulted in a blindingly bright flash of light. She had to squint, but as she stuck her head through the threshold she found herself inexplicably in Ponyville.
The Ponyville of the future, the one she had been in prior to meeting the Doctor. It seemed different, much quieter. The chirps of the birds were gone, the background noise of ponies going about their business was absent as well.
She recognized the nearest building as Sugarcube Corners, a pastry shop with garish decorations that was run by a newlywed couple. She cautiously trotted in through the front doors, expecting to find the face of Ms. Cake at the front desk over a display of her favorite chocolate chip muffins.
To her dismay, the case was empty, and nopony was to be found.
“Hello?” she called out, looking in to see if anypony was in the kitchen. Nopony responded, and she couldn’t see a sign of anypony being there.
Derpy left the bakery, slightly unnerved. She didn’t like being alone, and never had. She tried the library next, and upon entering the hollowed-out tree trunk found that it too was empty.
“Maybe the Librarian’s out on lunch break,” she said. A paranoia began to tug at the back of her mind, and as she explored the small town she continued to find places deserted, abandoned, and quiet. She flew over to town now, flying faster as her heart began to race.
“HELLO?!” the terrified pegasus cried out, landing on top of Carrot Top’s cottage, “CAN ANYPONY HEAR ME?! CARROT TOP? LYRA?! ANYPONY!!!!”
There was no reply. Derpy sunk down onto her haunches, burying her face in her hooves and beginning to sob. Why did the door lead here, to a ponyville devoid of life, of all of her friends and neighbors?
Then, she heard something. A faint voice cried out in return, seemingly far away.
“Derpy! Can you hear me?!” it said. Derpy recognized the voice, the strange accent.
“Doctor!” she yelled, “Where are you? I can hear you!”
She turned around, and found herself back at the bottom of the dark hole, with the Doctor looking at her oddly.
“Doctor, there you are!” she cried, jumping at the time lord and squeezing him tightly. She didn’t like what she had seen; being alone was one of her worst fears.
“What were you looking at?” he asked, “I tried talking to you, but you just stared at the blank wall, all silent-like. Then you started yelling, and I...”
“I was in Ponyville , Doctor!” she said, “It must be a time portal, it brought me to ponyville, except it was all empty....”
“Let me see,” he said, moving to stand in front of the door. The Doctor’s expression shifted as he stared at the rock wall beyond. Derpy saw some kind of crystal structure at the top begin to glow, and the Doctor continued to stare.
“No....” he said, “No, this can’t be.”
“Doctor, are you alright?” Starswirl asked.
“No,” the Doctor spoke, “I was.... I know.... NO! I WON'T DO IT! NO MORE!”
“Is that was I looked like?” Derpy asked, looking at the Doctor’s saddened, blank stare. She tapped him on the shoulder.
The time lord shook his head, his eyes returning to normal as he glanced at Derpy.
“What was it, Doctor?”
Sweat had begun to trickle down the Doctor’s forehead, and he sighed.
“I saw..." he paused. Derpy waited to hear what he would say next, but he never elaborated.
"This doorway isn’t a portal, it’s a mirror. A mirror that reflects the worst fears of the being that gazes into it.”
“Suppose you’re not afraid of anything?” asked Starswirl, “What then?”
Another voice called out, standing above the group on the stone steps. It belonged to a shadowy figure, clothed in the same ragged cape Somber Shadows had worn.
“Then it would reach down into the deepest depths of your soul, and find something. Some dark secret, a past deed, something one does not want to admit to themselves.”
“Are you alright Somber Shadows? you sound different,” Starswirl said, worried for his student.
“Alright? I feel better than I have for thousands of years!” the figure boasted. He leaped down the remaining stairs, staring Starswirl in the face. Somber Shadow had transformed, his mane becoming wavier, and his pupils had turned a solid crimson. The whites of his eyes phased in and out of a greenish tint. The monstrous unicorn grinned, revealing a pair of fangs beginning to show underneath his lip.
“For ten thousand years I have waited within that prison, waiting for that door to be opened. And now that I am back, none of the Ancients can re-imprison me. I am without equal.”
A sharper, upward-turned horn formed over the top of Somber Shadow’s and crackled with massive potential energy. Starswirl stood his ground, glaring at the being.
“Who are you, and why have you taken over my student- my friend’s body?” the wizard said with a stern face.
The Doctor motioned aside to Derpy as the two powerful unicorns faced off, and the scared pegasus leaned in to listen.
“This isn’t gonna be pretty, Derpy. I know what’s going to happen, this is a fixed point,” he said in a whisper.
“What’s going to happen?” she replied, glancing back to the crackling unicorn monster every other breath.
“Nevermind that, as soon as I say run, you run, er-fly. Up to the top, and back to the TARDIS.”
“And what about you?” she whispered.
The two unicorns encircled each other, glaring at the bottom of the dark pit. The features of the monstrous unicorn began to melt momentarily, then flash back even stronger and more defined, then melt again. For a moment, he appeared as Somber Shadows once more, looking utterly terrified and mouthing the words ‘help’. This was very fleeting, for the dark unicorn was back with another crackle of magic, and did not fade away again.
“I have taken his form as my own. It is fitting that I take one so young, yet so powerful, as his form was the physically strongest here. As for my name....”
“Your name is Hate,” the Doctor interjected, standing opposite both the unicorn and Starswirl to form a triangle, “Hate, Evil, Darkness, whatever moniker suits you. You’re the physical embodiment of negativity and hardship, and that’s why the Ancients imprisoned you.”
“Very informed,” Hate said, “But I don’t think the name suits me anymore. After all, every name is a promise, isn’t it Doctor ?”
The Doctor tensed, and his jaw tightened.
“I don’t think making a promise simply to hate everything is very becoming, isn’t it. Hate can only do so much.”
“Let my friend go, Hate!” Starswirl ordered, “That body is owned by a pony named Somber Shadows , a bright, intelligent young stallion with enormous potential.”
“A potential I am robbing him of as we speak!” taunted Hate, “Even now, Shadow’s life force fades. Hmmm, Shadows . I like the sound of it, for I appear as a shadowy figure, do I not?”
“STOP THIS!”
“...But ‘Shadow’ is simply not enough,” the unicorn said. He began to move about, a purplish smoke trailing from the remnants of Somber Shadow’s cape. The cape itself seemed to be eaten up by the smoke, becoming itself a hazy cape of dark magic that solidified itself back into a flowing red cape, but now one of kingly magnificence.
“I shall be royal, yes, KINGLY! LORD OF THE NORTH!” the figure cackled. The magic that had been crackling and snapping about him ceased, and he glared at Starswirl.
“You are a thing of the past, Starswirl. Aged, ancient like the ruins of the culture you stand amongst.”
A blueish cloud began to form above the group, and hazy creatures began to swirl about the staircase. The already chilly temperature plummeted as the windigoes set in, circling the group like a set of hungry wolves.
“How about a challenge?” suggested the wizard.
“What? You? Challenge me?”
“You pride yourself on your power, so prove it,” Starswirl said with a grin.
“A duel? We need stakes, and you have nothing to bargain with save your life. A life I would destroy regardless of your victory.”
“My life,” the Doctor piped up. Derpy speechlessly stared at him. Sombra shifted his gaze to the Doctor, grinning a fanged grin.
“Your lives?”
“Yes,” the Doctor said, “You win, I die.”
“Doctor you musn’t!” Derpy cried, darting to stand between the shadow king and the time lord.
“It’s the only way, Derpy!” he replied, pushing her aside, “If Sombra wins, I die. If Starswirl wins, then I go free. Do we have an accord?”
“Doctor, I can’t agree to this,” Starswirl said, “I can’t risk your life as well as my own.”
“Starswirl the Red, that is not your place to decide!” gloated Sombra, “Doctor, the terms are set, the duel is made. En Garde, Starswirl!”
The two met with a brilliant clash of magic, Sombra’s a dark colored with crackles of bright green, and Starswirl’s a bright scarlet. The two beams interconnected, canceling each other out with a bright flash.
Sombra reared back, floating himself in midair and commanding the darkness and shadow with his magic. As he beckoned, crystalline towers sprang up from the rock and stone.
Even as the crystals appeared, multiplying the evil unicorn’s power, Starswirl was quick to lash out and kick them, causing the crystals to shatter and burst around Sombra.
“Very good,” Sombra said, but how’s your age spell?”
The dark unicorn shot a blast of magic at Starswirl before the pony could counter, lifting him up and twisting. Starswirl writhed, screaming out and wincing as his body was assaulted and altered. The healthy red of his mane and coat drained and faded to a darker gray color, and a filthy beard sprouted from his chin. He screamed as if the hair growth was being violently pulled from his face, but then he was set down by Sombra.
“You see how I have made you old, decrepit, and near death?”
In Starswirl’s place sat a gray stallion, wrinkly and filthy-looking. He sat on the ground panting, struggling for breath. The ancient-looking wizard responded by enveloping himself in a bright white magic, floating above the ground and transforming himself. His wrinkled, old muscles strengthened, and regained a youthful appearance. His beard seemed bleached a solid white, and when he placed himself back onto the ground he had regained an intense youthly vigor.
“See how I have recovered my spry energy? You may have altered my appearance, Sombra, but you have not bested me. And, in the spirit of renaming I feel I should rename myself, in honor of my slain student. Henceforth, I shall be known as ‘Starswirl the Grey’.”
“Oh, come off it,” the Doctor muttered to himself.
Sombra growled, shooting at Starswirl again with a beam, which became intercepted once again. The two remained there, pouring more and more magic energy into their respective beams of magic just to hold the lock even.
“Now Derpy!” the Doctor cried. Derpy took off flying, zipping straight up and past the cold windigoes toward the opening. At Sombra’s command, the windigoes moved quicker, encircling the top of the hole and freezing it over with ice. Derpy remained close to the top, but trapped beneath a layer of ice and unable to escape.
Even so, the distraction of commanding the windigoes had cost Sombra the magic lock, and the full power of both beams send him sprawling against the wall. His guise began to fail, and the dark unicorn melted back into Somber Shadows.
“...aster....” he gasped and choked. Immediately, Starswirl bounded over, leaning above the dying form of his student.
“Somber Shadows, why?!” he cried, “Why you?”
“Do not mourn, master,” he uttered, “I will.... be at peace...”
“He.... Sombra.... he’s taken your body! How is that at peace?”
“...can wrench that from me, but my soul he cannot harm,” he sputtered. The dying pony sat up, looking at Starswirl and smiling.
“ naming yourself after your color is rubbish, Master...”
Starswirl found himself weakly smiling despite the streams flowing down his face and beard.
“....the door..... use the door! QUICKLY!”
Starswirl levitated the limp form of the unicorn, sending him towards the door even as Somber Shadows began to transform back into Sombra, this time permanently. As Sombra passed through the threshold he let out a bellowing cry, a cry that scattered the windogoes and shattered the ice cap they had created.
Starswirl and the Doctor both grabbed the door, which was being pushed open by the evil unicorn trying to prevent his imprisonment. The Doctor cried out, and slammed at the door with an energetic push simultaneously as Starswirl, forcing it closed with a thunderous crash of magic, followed by an echo and then, silence. Starswirl panted, blinking in the darkness. The Doctor was likewise winded, but helped the stallion to his hooves so they could both ascend the staircase slowly.
****
Inside the TARDIS, the three ponies were silent. Starswirl sat on the dingy old sofa the Doctor had placed inside the alien craft, and wiped his eyes.
“He died saving us, you know,” Derpy said, “Somber Shadows.”
“Yes, he committed the last of his life force into draining Sombra’s efforts to escape,” Starswirl said solemnly, “I can only wonder if he is truly trapped inside there, sealed away beneath the ice and snow.
“Until the door is opened again,” the Doctor said, “Which given the magic mirroring trick you placed on the crystal seems unlikely to happen anytime soon.”
Starswirl smiled.
“He said ‘Starswirl the Grey’ was no good. I’ve been thinking...”
“Yes?”
“Well,” the older unicorn said, “I’ve been thinking of changing it to ‘Starswirl the Bearded’. I think it has a nice ring to it, hm?”
“I think it sounds fantastic,” the Doctor beamed, “ absolutely fantastic .”
****
They landed outside the field where the Doctor and Derpy had initially crash landed, to see Starswirl off. It had regained its grassy appearance, as the windigoes had been scattered with the fall of Sombra. Starswirl the Bearded shook hooves with Derpy first, giving her a quick hug, and then saluted the Doctor.
“I have much work to be done, Doctor. What with the windigoes being scattered, I have to prepare the three nations. A peace must be brokered.”
“Any more students?” Derpy asked.
“Perhaps,” Starswirl said, “There are more very talented and very bright ponies out there, and I’ve been receiving correspondence from a young mare by the name of Clover. She heard of my work on a time spell, and was most intrigued.”
“Don’t get yourselves into trouble,” the Doctor said with a grin, “Time is tricky stuff.”
“And what of you, Doctor? Out to wander the cosmos again?” asked Starswirl.
“Yep,” he replied, “I keep moving, It’s a traveler’s duty to.”
“Next stop?” Starswirl asked curiously.
“He’s taking me home briefly, I have friends I want to visit for a day or two before we keep going off through time and space,” Derpy answered.
“I wish you both the best of luck,” the wizard said. He tipped his floppy cap to them, and turned to walk away. Derpy entered the TARDIS first and the Doctor second, about to close the doors when he was interrupted by Starswirl.
“Erm- Doctor?”
“Yeah?” the time lord responded, looking at him curiously.
“What’s a ‘Bad Wolf’?”
“Excuse me?”
“‘Bad Wolf’,” Starswirl said, pointing at the side of the TARDIS.
“Oh, that,” the Doctor said, “Nothing to worry about, just a bit of graffiti. I’m gonna paint over it as soon as we touch down.”
“Oh,” Starswirl said, looking down, “Alright then, thank you!”
“And thank you!” the Doctor called back to the retreating wizard, “You and your student saved the world today!”
Starswirl retreated toward the castle slowly, but halted as he heard a deep thumping. He turned his head, catching the cool breeze and watching the TARDIS begin to fade out of view entirely. The light on the top flashed bright blue, and the ship groaned with the sound of ancient engines. In a matter of a few seconds, the TARDIS had vanished entirely, leaving Starswirl alone in the middle of the grassy field.
