Lightning Charger's First Adventure
It was a warm, sunny day in Ponyville. Ponies were out and about, enjoying the weather, shopping for fruits, and just going about their business. That being said, it was dark and rainy in the Everfree Forest. A dark grey Pegasus with a scarlet mane and tail twitched his wings. He was a slow waker, always had been, always would be. The cloud he commonly used as a bed, secured with a weight potion that the kind Zebra in the hut had given him. he had had many ponies be nice to him, over the course of his life. Ever since his parents, both members of the Royal Canterlot Guard, had perished when he was just a foal. He had been sad for a while, but the other Pegasi had been very supportive of him, and had helped him to move on. He still was sad about it, but not to the extent that he would do nothing and just sit on the ground and mourn endlessly. He stood up, and looked around. He noted the weather, wind direction, and finally which way he had slept (This often affected how fast his wings would wake up. Today his feathers seemed unkempt.). He flapped softly. His wings barely moved. "Pins and needles. I hate that.," he said to himself. So he trotted about, on his way to Ponyville to the market in order to buy breakfast. He checked the tree hollow where he always hid his saddle bag and bit purse. He had even had help from a local unicorn to build a pulley system that helps him to put his saddle bag on. So, equipped with his bits, and an empty bag, ready to be filled with apples, or pastries, or maybe even something entirely different. He had always loved openly walking into the market street, seeing everypony's smiling face with this or that decorating their booth. But he really loved flying into Canterlot and asking the princess if he could use the telescope. She always smiled warmly and nodded her head. He had gained his cutie mark by flying into the night, and seeing the millions of stars in the sky. The amazement he had felt caused him to reach Rainbow Dash-level speeds, granting him a shooting star cutie mark. He had never forgotten that, and ever since he had often talked with Luna about the stars, both of them enjoying the conversation until midnight, when they both became too exhausted to stay awake, and then he would stay in one of the guest towers. He had always been friends with the princesses, never really sure why, but always accepting a friendly conversation. He was a kind pony, and had always been good at making friends. He had been training to be a Royal Pegasus Guard. He was fully qualified, and had great discipline, but wasn't nearly as serious as most of the rest of the Guard. He always had a friendly conversation with passerby who were safe when he was on guard, and was specifically assigned to Ponyville, seeing as that's where his parents had been assigned to. He also visited friends of his family in Ponyville. Generally, he was a friendly pony, always happy to make friends or have a nice talk. He never realized his life could change so drastically in one day. But it happened, and he couldn't imagine his life any other way.
Lightning Charger's First Adventure
As Lightning Charger trotted out of the forest, he enjoyed the feeling of sunlight falling on his coat. He set about locating the path he always took, and continued on. Birds were singing in the trees, squirrels were running about between the trees, chittering and collecting nuts. Fish swam in abundance in the ponds, and numerous, vibrant flowers decorated each side of the path with enough room for the grass patches. He saw a local farmer/friend of his, Carrot Top. he waved to her, but she seemed to be busy talking with a rather dapper-looking stallion wearing a brilliant red bowtie. "...You can't just expect me to jump in the TARDIS at a moment's notice! I've got a life in farming you know!...yes, yes, I know! Daleks! Relax, Doctor! I'm sure somepony else can help you!" He had overheard her quietly yelling at him. The Doctor, as Lightning Charger was guessing his name was, looked at her sheepishly, then seemed to be deep in thought. When he spoke, Lightning Charger recognized a strange, foreign accent. "Well, you know how she is! She always has to have time to adapt to new ones. You know, the first week, she barely did a thing I said for her to do...." He trailed off as he noticed Lightning Charger. "Oi! 'Allo! Who are you? I'm the Doctor." He called out. Carrot Top turned around, flustered, and managed a smile and a wave. "Hello, Lightning Charger. I was just talking with an old..." She looked at him distastefully,"...Friend of mine. He was just going through Ponyville looking for an assistant.", she added after a while. "Great name, Lightning Charger! That is wonderful, absolutely. Never met a Lightning Charger before, simply amazing. Well, here's my offer, to make this short: Would you like to see the stars, planets not seen for thousands of years from now, universes right next to this one, parallel worlds? Would you like, *pausing for breath* to be my assistant?" He stared hopefully at him. Lightning Charger sat on his flank and blinked. It was too much to comprehend after just waking up. He considered it, and it just seemed too great a responsibility. "Okay. I'll do it. First, though, breakfast. Then, I tell the princess of my absence. Then we get started." Lightning Charger said, after carefully considering it. Later, at Sugarcube Corner, the Doctor and Lightning Charger were eating Jammie Dodgers and muffins. The Doctor was rambling on about something involving the "Silence", and "Cybermen", and even something called "Homo reptilia". Lightning Charger was focusing mainly on the kind local ponies talking happily over breakfast, some still waking up. Just that moment, a particular purple Unicorn and Dragon trotted in. Lightning Charger walked up to her. "Hey, Twilight. I was wondering if Spike could take a letter?" He asked politely. She smiled at him. "Sure. Spike? Can you help Lightning Charger send a letter to the Princess?" Spike stretched his arms and yawned. "Sure thing. What's it about?" he asked. "Just say it's from me and that I'm going to be in a different location for a while. Let's just say I'm helping the Doctor." He replied, polite, but serious. "...Doctor...Signed, Lightning Charger. Okay! All set." And with that, Spike let a small spurt of green-purple flame curl out of his mouth and wrap itself around the letter. Lightning Charger thanked him, left bits on his table to pay for their breakfast, said goodbye to Twilight and Spike, then whirled around for the Doctor. He realized he had already left. He cantered outside, surveying the area around him carefully. He saw the Doctor sitting outside of a wooden blue box, a huge grin on his muzzle. "Hey, wanna see the TARDIS?"
Lightning Charger's First Adventure
Lightning Charger couldn't believe any of what was happening. He had stepped inside of the blue box, the TARDIS, as the Doctor called it. It was fairly large, about the size of Princess Luna standing on her hindhooves and spreading her forehooves. But, upon entering the box, Lightning Charger found himself staring at an impossibly large space.
The room was very metallic, with wires running around the ceiling and floor, connected to a main console area, covered in switches and levers and buttons. It was wonderful! "It's smaller on the outside..." Lightning Charger said, half-murmuring, half-talking to the Doctor.
"You know, you lot always say 'It's bigger on the inside!'. It's a bit refreshing to hear something different," the Doctor said, leaning against the console.
"So, I've got a problem. A big, two-pony problem. You see, an army of extremely hateful alien killing machines, called Daleks, and an army of emotionless robot soldiers, called cyberponies, have collided, in the past, and have created total chaos on Earth. Eventually, though, I fixed it," the Doctor said, twirling a metal stick with a light on the end on his hoof. "But that has nothing to do with this. What my problem is, is Changelings."
Lightning Charger was surprised. Bewildered, actually. He had no idea how Changelings could be a problem, seeing as they were banished to the far corners of Equestria.
He stared quizzically at the Doctor, but was startled out of position by a loud, very sudden banging on the TARDIS's door. The Doctor cautiously trotted over to the door, and pulled it open. He heaved a sigh of relief. It was Carrot Top.
"Doctor, I've made up my mind. I'm coming with you. Don't say anything, don't even smile at my sudden change of heart. I already know how stupid I seem," Carrot Top said briskly and seriously as she walked past the Doctor.
"Okay, um, I've got a question," Lightning Charger declared, "Just how exactly are Changelings a problem? They were banished, and most of 'em were destroyed, so how are we going to fight something that can't be a problem?"
"Well, glad you asked," a grin on his face. "I'll explain later." He jumped into action, throwing levers and pressing buttons. The TARDIS made an unbearable grating noise, and they were off.