Doctor Whooves - The Dark Side of the Moon

Chapters

1 - From Humble Beginnings
Fuuuuutuuure
When the clock tower tolls
Nibiru
Count the shadows
Storage
The Vashta Nerada
Run
Home, Not So Sweet Home
Questions and Answers
Goodbyes

1 - From Humble Beginnings

"..To the moon!"

Those were the last words she had heard her sister say, then she was standing on a dark, barren, gray landscape, moments before she had been a few mere yards before her sister.
Princess Luna sunk down into the light, airy moon dust. She had been defeated, her beautiful night was lost. she began to tear up.
...but wait, what was this?

she immediately stood up, looking around at the sky above her. even in her punishment, celestia had been merciful. the twinkling stars and shining planets, stretching forever in all directions. her beautiful night sky filled every corner of the heavens, stretching further than it ever had on earth.
Earth.
there it was, suspended in the night sky like a puppet on a string, lit up on one half.
everything clicked.

It was selfish of her to make ponies live in perpetual night, and it was childish. it was always night somewhere, and always day somewhere else. why should one last longer? she was merely upset because no one appreciated her night. the hues of light, the beautiful twinkling dance of the stars, why could they not see that?
but now she understood, ponies were creatures of the daylight, and the night was not for appreciation, the night was for protection. all the ponies above and below rested safe and sound, the night holding them in a somewhat cold, but safe embrace.

why had she not realized this sooner? she had just been trying to be like her sister, she had made the wonderful daytime, warm and free, full of things to do and see, but the night could not be like this, the night was made for a different purpose.

she sunk lower into the dust, wishing she could die from lack of oxygen, but Celestia had thought of that too. she could see the faint magical bubble surrounding her for several feet in every direction, created to follow her wherever she went.

luna sighed in defeat, then shut her eyes tight, as bitter tears welled up.

suddenly, a strange sound filled the emptiness, it was as if space was whistling, and a blue box faded into view, appearing out of nothingness.

the box opened, and out stepped an earth pony with light brown fur, a dark brown spikey mane, and a little green tie with a white collar around his neck. a nice touch. his cutie mark was an hourglass.

"Princess Luna, I presume?" he asked with an enthusiastic smile.

"Wh-who are you?" she asked. this pony had just dropped out of the sky, but he was not a unicorn, he was a regular old earth pony, nothing special. but how did he get here?

"I'm The Doctor," he answered, bowing his head, "And I'm here to bring you home.

"Doctor Who?" she asked, not believing her eyes or ears.

"No, it's just The Doctor," he chuckled.

Luna just stared, shocked into silence, what on and off earth was going on?

"A certain pony princess requested I come fetch you, she feels terrible about sending you here, and instructed me to bring you back."

"b-but I've only been here a few minutes!" Luna protested, "my sentence was one thousand years!"

The Doctor knocked on his blue box, "Time machine," he said simply, "I believe we can drop you off just a few hours short of a thousand years from now."

Things began clicking in Luna's mind, this pony-The Doctor-had come here to cut her sentence short, somehow, with his blue box. and he was sent by Celestia! she began tearing up again, this time from happiness. she was being forgiven, she was being given a second chance.

"but of course," The Doctor said, "We don't HAVE to go straight home first thing."

"What do you mean?" Luna asked, wiping her eyes.

"the TARDIS," he said, knocking on his box again, "Can travel anywhere in all of Time And Relative Dimension In Space." he stood back to admire it, "Every star, planet, every and anywhere there ever was or will be," he looked back at Luna and winked, "Where would you like to go?"

Luna let out a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob, she just couldn't take it all in, "that box is way too small, We'll never both fit!"

The doctor said nothing, he simply opened the door and slipped inside, gesturing for her to follow.

Luna slowly stood up, walking towards the box-TARDIS. she took a peek inside, and gasped as she encountered a room much larger than the outside of the box allowed.

she looked around in wonder, and the Doctor turned around and leaned against a large machine in the middle of the room.

"Its..." Luna started

The Doctor moved his brow up and down quickly, he was having fun freaking Luna out.

Luna immediately stepped out. to make sure the box was the size it advertised, she walked a lap around it, then peeked back inside to see the same impossibly large room.

"Its..." she repeated.

"Yes?" The Doctor asked.

"Smaller on the outside."

The Doctor made a face as if that wasn't the response he had been expecting. he opened his mouth, then shook his head and turned to the machine, "So, Princess-"

"You can just call me Luna," she interrupted, stepping further inside the impossible box and shutting the door behind her.

"Luna," he continued, "Where would you like to go?"
she opened her mouth, but no words came out. she didn't have any idea where she wanted to go! "what are my options again?"

"Anywhere, anywhen, in all of time and space," The Doctor said with ease.

"Oh," Luna responded, "Is that it, then?"

The Doctor let out a chuckle, "I'd offer another universe, but that's beyond the TARDIS's capabilities."

"Who are you?" Luna asked. this was certainly no ordinary earth pony.

"I'm The Doctor," he responded, "well, I was last I checked."

Luna just smiled obliviously, she had no idea what was going on, and she probably never would, but she just decided to go with it.

"right, then," the Doctor said suddenly, "how about we go, say, five thousand years into the future? now that's a good era for ponies." he suddenly began pressing buttons and flipping switches as the TARDIS began whirring and humming as it came to life. "Hold on to something!" he warned, then flipped a final switch, and the whole room jerked to one side, then shook violently. Luna clutched to a decorative column for dear life. "Did you take a test to pilot this thing?!" she called out.

"Of course!" The Doctor responded, one hind hoof held against a bar as he clutched to the machine, hooves flying over the controls, "I failed!"

the room stopped shaking, settling with a final hiss.

The Doctor took a breath of relief, then turned to Luna with a big, goofy smile, "made it!" he said triumphantly.

Luna let go of the column, "that's it, then?"

The Doctor nodded towards the door of the TARDIS, "see for yourself."

Fuuuuutuuure

Luna eyed The Doctor curiously, then turned towards the door. opening it and peeking out, she was met with another foreign landscape, albeit slightly more impressive.

massive looming towers and spires of all shapes and sizes rose from the horizon, stretching as far out as the eye could see. Luna just smiled with an open mouth as she took in all the beauty of the futuristic society. the dark, metallic look of the glassy buildings was sharply contrasted by the beautiful orange glow of the two suns-TWO suns?-behind the city. "It's..." Luna started, speechless.

"New New Equestria," The Doctor explained. Luna turned her head back to see him admiring the city, "In the citadel of the capital city."

"It's amazing!" Luna exclaimed, "I've never seen anything like it!"

"Nah, you haven't seen anything yet!" The Doctor said dismissively, turning back to his control board, "I'm taking you to the heart of it all."

Luna ducked back inside and closed the door, "There's more?" she asked disbelievingly.

"So much more," The Doctor promised, pulling the final lever.

One heart-stopping TARDIS ride later, they found themselves outside the most impressive building of them all: a massive spire which pierced an enormous sectioned glass globe. Luna leaned back until she fell over gawking at it, she had never seen anything as breath-taking as this, not even the canterlot castle could top this! heck, this trampled the canterlot castle into the dust.

The Doctor finally pulled Luna back into her hooves, saying, "the outside's great, but wouldn't you like to see the inside today?" and he lead her inside.

they were greeted by a perky mare dressed in a bright blue uniform. she smiled and said, "Good afternoon, may I help you?"

"yes," The Doctor said quickly, flashing her a slip of paper, "This is, eh, the princess of the third tri-galactic empire in the saggitarius sector, and I'm her ambassador. we're here for the Congress meeting?"

The mare squinted at the paper, then nodded approvingly, "the Congress hall is that way," she said, gesturing with her tail.

The Doctor nodded gratiously at her, then lead Luna away towards a side hallway.

Luna waited until they were away from the mare until asking, "so you just happen to carry that ID around in your pocket?"

The Doctor chuckled, shaking his head. he pulled the slip out and showed it to her, "this is psychic paper, it says whatever you want it to say. fools weak minded species."

"But I can see it," Luna objected, pointing at the slip, "Princess and ambassador, it says,"

The Doctor looked at her, pocketed the slip, and kept walking.

Luna paused for a moment, thinking, then with a start, objected, "Oi!"

The Doctor started laughing.

Luna rolled her eyes, then thought of something else, "You said, 'all weak-minded species', you mean animals?"

"You're going to learn very soon, Luna," The Doctor said, looking at her, "there are many more forms of intelligent life than ponies."

"You mean, like...aliens?" Luna asked apprehensively.

"well, to you, I suppose," The Doctor stopped before a door, pulling the psychic paper out and holding it up to a small lens in the wall. a strange light shone out, traced his body, then the door opened.

Luna thought of something else, "...Are you an alien?"

The Doctor said nothing, but he winked at Luna. he stepped inside the door. Luna, after a moment's thought, followed him.

When the clock tower tolls

"The Congress of the Tri-Galactic Empire, capitol planet Kepler 22-b," The Doctor explained, gesturing to the grand hall they had entered, "This is where all the big-whizzes and ponies in charge come to discuss matters of galactic importance."

Luna marveled at the congress hall. it was designed like the old parliamentary building back at Canterlot, but on a massive scale. She saw things she had never seen before, creatures of all shapes and sizes dressed in the same uniform, seated all around the head bench before them. "That must be where the King and Queen sit, then?" Luna asked, gesturing to the bench in question.

"No, no kings, no queens," The Doctor explained, "just the Congress."

Luna was befuddled, "What do you mean, how can you run an empire without a king or queen?"

"You'd be surprised," The Doctor said, turning back to face he, "It's called Democracy." and he walked up to some form of creature Luna had never seen before. it looked like a pony, somewhat, yet it had no mane or tail, and several tentacles spilling out of it's face. "What is that thing?" she asked apprehensively.

"Luna," The Doctor quickly chastised, "Don't be rude. It's an Ood. they were once used as slaves, but..." The Doctor paused, cleared his throat, and said, "Certain...developments occurred, and they've gained quite a lot of stature in the Empire." he turned to the 'Ood' in question and said nicely, "'scuse me, uh, hi, we're not actually supposed to be at this meeting but, can you slip us in anyway?"

"Just flash him your psychic paper like you did the receptionist," Luna suggested obviously.

"no, no, can't do that," The Doctor said, winking at Luna, "The Ood are too smart for that."

The Ood nodded and said, "I'm sorry sir, but that would be against the rules," in a nice, pleasant voice.

"You can make an exception for me," The Doctor implored, "I'm 'Doctor, Friend'."

The Ood paused, then said, "Doctor, friend," and he turned away so he wasn't looking at them.

The Doctor nodded, thanked the Ood, then turned back to Luna and said, "He's giving us a chance to slip by, come on!"

Luna nodded and followed, and they quickly found themselves a seat on the court floor. Luna gave the Doctor a curious look, then asked, "So that's your name, then? 'Friend'?"

"No, of course not," The Doctor said, "What kind of name is 'Friend'? No, that's just how I'm known to the Ood. All Ood, actually. now be quiet, Congress is starting."

And he was right, slowly but surely the remaining Congress seats filled with various alien lifeforms, though luckily a regular old pony sat next to Luna and The Doctor. she admired Luna's appearance and said, "I've never seen an Alicorn before, I thought they were extinct."

"Extinct?!" Luna repeated apprehensively. she was shushed by the Doctor, "Well what does she mean 'extinct'?"

"Shh!" The Doctor repeated, "It's starting! you, as a princess, should be able to appreciate a good parliament meeting."

Luna gave up trying to talk to him and instead muttered, "Not as much as YOU can, apparently."

The pony next to her chuckled at her joke, "There's not really that much to see, all these meetings are the same."

"figures," Luna said, "He offers to show me all of time and space and the first place he brings me is a courtroom."

The pony chuckled again, then held out her hoof, "I'm Rose."

The Doctor's head immediately turned their way, "Rose what?"

Rose, startled, answered hesitantly, "R-rose bud?"

"...oh," The Doctor said with a tinge of despair, turning back to the meeting.

Luna ignored the strange occurrence, the took Rose's hoof in her own, "Luna, charmed to meet you." they shook hooves, then Luna asked, "So you're the ambassador of a whole planet, that's amazing! were you elected or something?"

Rose smiled nervously, "well, yes and no, see, my special talent is law," she explained, flashing her balancing scales cutie mark, "So, technically, yes I was elected, but it wasn't exactly fair for the others. and actually, this is my first meeting, I'm really excited, I spent all night last night watching old meetings in preparation." she wore a big, bright, enthusiastic smile while she said this.

Luna smiled, she had been to plently parliament meetings herself-not on a galactic scale, of course, but still-so she said, "You'll do fine, I'm sure of it."

Rose smiled in gratitude, and on que, the Ood who had let them in rose and read from a script, "All rise for the Empirical salute."

They rose and saluted while a short song played, then seated again. an old, mint green furred pony on the head bench with a long white beard fidgeted with a strange piece of technology, "it would appear our favorite dragon ambassador is late once more, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to start the meeting without him." he picked up some papers, clapped them straight, then read, "first order of business-"

he was cut off as the doors to the congress hall clicked opened, and glided not-so smoothly on their squeaky hinges until it was fully ajar. there stood a small, pony sized purple dragon, wearing a ripped up, disheveled suit and breathing heavily. he was bruised and bloody.

"Good God, man! what happened to you?" asked the pony at the head bench, staring in disbelief.

"I...I came..." The dragon panted, "I came...to warn you..." he rose a quivering claw and pointed out the far window, where a massive clock tower stood in the distance, it read the time 10:59. "It comes..." the dragon panted.

"what comes? spit it out!" the head pony demanded.

"when the clock tower tolls 12, it comes," he said, shaking like a bowl of jelly in an earthquake.

"for the last time, what is it?!" the head pony demanded.

"Nibiru..." the dragon whispered, then collapsed.

the doors slammed shut, the lights clicked off, and the congress was left alone in the dark.

Nibiru

"Doctor?" Luna was confused, she had no idea what had just happened. Some Dragon came in with a strange, foreign warning, collapsed, and the lights shut off. Almost immediately panic had broken out, and Luna was scared. she just knew that she had to find The Doctor, he'd know what to do, "Doctor! Where are you?"

"Right here!" grunted a voice to her left. a strange high pitched noise started, a blue light shone from where the voice had come from, and the lights flickered back on.

Slowly but surely, the mint furred pony on the head bench restored order with his gavel, quieting the panicking Congress. "Order, Order! Order in the Congress hall!"

Luna turned to see The Doctor pocket a strange looking cylindrical tool. he then leapt out of his seat and dashed across the Congress floor towards the dragon's body. he knelt down and began checking vital signs. the mint furred head pony joined him, demanding, "Excuse me, but who are you?"

The Doctor flashed his psychic paper, "relax, I'm The Doctor and I'm here to help." the head pony hesitated at the paper, then nodded and stood idly by as The Doctor worked. Luna joined him on the congress floor, inspecting the body, along with Rose Bud, the young Congress mare.

The Doctor got back up to his hooves, staring in astonishment, "He's dead..." he whispered. he immediately turned towards the head pony, "Who was this dragon?"

The head pony was startled at the sudden questioning, but answered, "Well, he was the ambassador of Midnight, a small dragon inhabited planet in the second sector of the empire."

The Doctor nodded, "Right, small dragon settlement founded in 4067," he looked back at the body, "this wasn't supposed to happen..." he whispered under his breath.

"What do you mean?" Luna asked, snapping out of her shock.

"I've been at this meeting before," The Doctor explained, "This meeting, I've seen it many times before, but this never happened before..." he pulled his forehoof through his mane thoughtfully, "What's different? what caused this?"

"What do you mean you've been here before? who are you?" the head pony demanded.

"I'm a time traveler," The Doctor explained abruptly, turning towards him, "This meeting is the meeting where the Congress decides to intervene in the war on Skaro. one of my favorite days of this era."

"The dragon..." Rose Bud said suddenly, "he said something about 'Nibiru'..."

"What's Nibiru?" Luna asked, trying to get involved.

"It's an old doomsday myth," The Doctor explained dismissively, "giant planet that supposedly crashes into another, ending all life thereupon." The doctor knelt down next to the body again, "I thought it was just a myth, but..." he jumped back up and turned towards the head pony, "Check your radars, find out if there is anything out of the ordinary coming this way."

The head pony nodded, then headed towards the Congress hall doors. he ran right into them. after a moment of stunned pain, he tried to pull the doors open by force, but they didn't budge. after a moment of exertion, he gave up and headed back, "The doors are jammed, I can't get through!"

"Right, then," The Doctor nodded, "we'll have to find our own way out." he turned to the small crowd of Luna, Rose, and the head pony and said, "Come with me." he turned away and began dashing across the hall, yelling to the Ood as he passed, "Ood, you're in charge, keep the Congress calm and try to get the doors open!"

The Ood nodded, then began fiddling with a piece of technology.

Luna, Rose, and the head pony dashed after him. they caught up with him at an inconspicuous wall. The Doctor began knocking on it in various places, holding his ear up to it.

Luna turned towards the mint green furred pony. "And who are you then?"

The head pony looked up at Luna, "I'm Truman, the chairman of the Congress."

Luna nodded, "So you're in charge of these meetings?"

"I WAS," He said, "until this bloke shows up," nodding towards The Doctor, "Who is he?"

"He's The Doctor," Luna explained simply, "or so I'm told, he won't tell me anything else."

Truman eyed the Doctor suspiciously. he finished knocking on the wall and said, "oh, yes!" he pulled out his strange tool again and pointed it at the wall, flicking it on. a section of the wall immediately flipped open with a hiss, revealing a hidden passage.

"amazing!" Luna marveled.

"Unbelievable!" Rose said with wide eyes.

"Only I knew about that passage..." Truman said quietly, turning to the Doctor, "You're impossible!"

"Not impossible," he objected, "just a bit unlikely." and he dashed into the passage, the three ponies followed close behind.

he lead them through winding tunnels of wires and blinking lights, arguing with Truman at every intersection, until finally they surfaced outside the Congress hall, "There we go, out of the hall, safe and sound!"

"after an hour of wandering," Luna muttered under her breath, eliciting another giggle from Rosebud, while Truman rolled his eyes.

"Now then, we need to get to the Radar room," The Doctor instructed, turning towards Truman, "Which way?"

Truman, finally able to lead, smiled and said, "this way," dashing off down the corridor. he lead them this way and that, up stairs and elevators until finally they arrived at the highest point in the Congress building. The Doctor lead the charge into the radar room, where they were immediately stopped by some guards, "excuse me, you don't have the authority to be in here!" they objected.

"It's alright," Truman said, walking in after him, "He's with me."

The guard nodded hesitantly and let the four ponies in. The Doctor and Truman took their places at the radar control boards, while Rosebud and Luna stood off to the side.

"What do you know about that pony, 'The Doctor'?" Rosebud asked Luna, "Who is he, really?"

"I don't know, I've only met him today," Luna explained, "I'm not even sure he's a pony!"

"But you trust him?" Rosebud questioned.

Luna hesitated, "well, it's not like I have a choice," she chuckled, "he's the one who brought me here."

Rosebud smiled, "I think it's a bit more than that.

Luna smiled, but said nothing.

At the control board, The Doctor and Truman were searching, flipping various switches and pushing any number of buttons, "I just don't get it, there's nothing there!" The Doctor said disbelievingly, "no sort of parameter shows anything out of the ordinary."

"Doctor..." Truman said quietly, looking up at the screen, "What time did that dragon say Nibiru would arrive?"

The Doctor looked up at a nearby clock. it read 11:59.

He looked back down at the control board, flipped a switch, and the radar screen faded away, becoming just an ordinary window. outside the Clock tower shone in the light of the two suns overhead, and a massive ball of black nothingness hovereved in the sky.

"What is that..." Luna asked quietly, slowly panicking, "Doctor what is that?!"

"Nibiru..." The Doctor said quietly.

"But this doesn't make any sense!" Truman objected, returning to the radar screen, "It's not showing up on the radar!"

"Truman," The Doctor said, "Set your parameters to scan for life."

Truman looked at him, then warily flipped a switch.

Nibiru registered with a loud pinging noise.

"What in the..." Rosebud said quietly, eyes full of fear.

"Doctor, what is going on?!" Luna demanded.

"Nibiru," The Doctor explained, "It's not a planet...it's alive!"

The Clock tower tolled noon.

Count the shadows

Luna watched in horror as the massive black planetoid object neared the planet's surface. it struck it's first tower, then suddenly collapsed upon itself, spilling shadows all over the surface of the planet, settling and then slowly fading from view.

Rosebud made a confused face, "Well that was a bit anticlimactic,"

"Doctor," Truman said quietly, "Do you have any idea what that was?"

"There's only one thing in the universe that fits the bill," The Doctor said, "Only one organism that accumulates in vast swarms, capable of traversing light years within the hour, whose presence interferes with technology, like the lights shutting off, or the door getting stuck." The Doctor paused dramatically, looking down on the surface of the planet apprehensively, "The Vashta Nerada."

"The what?" Luna asked.

"But that's impossible," Truman said.

"I know," The Doctor responded, "The Vashta Nerada live in forests, sticking to the shadows, not accumulating in such a massive swarm, and definitely not travelling across space! I don't get it! Why are they here?" He demanded no one in particular. snapping out of his funk, he stood back up straight and said, "Right then, I've got a plan. Now, I don't know why they're here, they were never here before, but I can fix this, and make it so it never happened. I just need to get to my TARDIS."

"Your what?" Rosebud asked, snapping out of her shock as well.

"It's, like, my ship, my time machine," The Doctor explained quickly, "I left it parked down at the bottom of the Congress tower, if I can get to it, I can fix this, all of it."

"So we have to get to the bottom of the tower," Truman inferred, looking back apprehensively at the door to the radar room, "All the way down to the ground floor, passing through hallways and corridors that are probably infested with Vashta Nerada by now."

"Yup," The Doctor confirmed, "Or...we could do this instead," and he proceeded to pick up a large object that was placed nearby and threw it through the window, causing it to shatter on impact. he turned back to Truman and said, "You're got a pair of wings, haven't you?"

Truman started with a jolt as he realized he did in fact have wings, "Oh yeah," he said, looking back at his wings, "I do have those, haven't I?"

"Carry Rosebud down to the ground, and Luna," The Doctor instructed, turning towards Luna, "You carry me."

"Alright," Luna nodded, flapping her wings once to get airborne. after a moment of awkward flapping, they were all out in mid air, slowly flying down to the ground several hundreds of feet below.

"Doctor," Luna started, "What exactly are the Vashta Nerada?"

"Yeah," Rosebud agreed, clutching tightly to Truman's legs, "I've never heard of anything like that."

The Doctor paused to gather his thoughts, then said, "Almost every species in the universe has an irrational fear of the dark. Except...it's not irrational. The Vashta Nerada are swarms of creatures that live in the shadows, devouring every and any other form of life that crosses their swarm."

"You mean...they EAT ponies?" Luna confirmed apprehensively.

"Not just ponies," The Doctor corrected, "almost every form of intelligent life. but I don't have a shred of any idea what they're doing here, they usually live in forests. well," The Doctor corrected himself, "One time I found a swarm living in a Library, but this...this is different."

With that last ominous note, they reached the ground safely. "Right then," The Doctor said quickly, steadying himself, "I left my TARDIS over here," and he dashed off towards the front of the Congress building. Luna and the rest of them followed.

The Doctor rounded a corner, only to be met with an empty lot, "No, no, no, no, no!" He said, dashing this way and that, searching for his blue box, "It's not here! what could have-" he stopped, fell to his knees, and clutched his head in despair, "Oh, how could I have been so stupid!"

"Doctor, what's wrong?" Luna asked, getting scared.

"Truman," The Doctor said, "Can you please tell me what happens when a state of emergency is invoked on the citadel?"

Truman thought for a moment, then said, "Uh, a sweep is made for any foreign objects, and if any are found, they're taken into storage."

The Doctor nodded with a sigh, "They took my TARDIS!" he explained, "That's just great!"

"What do we do now?" Rosebud asked.

"We have to go back inside," The Doctor explained, getting back up on all fours, "and find the TARDIS in storage." he turned towards the massive building once more, which was now eerily silent.

"W-we have to go...back in there?" Luna confirmed apprehensively.

"there's no other way," The Doctor nodded, "Its our only hope. but," he turned towards the small group that was now huddled together, scared out of their mind, "before we do that, listen to me, and listen good. when we go inside, you must stay out of the shadows. the Vashta Nerada could not be in every shadow, but in any of them. If the Vashta Nerada are trying to take you, you'll know, because you'll have two shadows. so, remember, stay in the light...and count the shadows."

Storage

With one final heave, the front doors to the Congress building were opened. inside it was eerily quiet and dark, only a few lights scattered around the lobby were lit. "Right then," The Doctor said, "the Vaas Nerada can't stand light, so all we have to do is stay somewhere lit."

"I can use my magic to light up the room," Luna suggested.

The Doctor shook his head, "That wouldn't work. it has to be natural light, like the sun, or a flashlight."

"I've got a flashlight," Truman said, pulling one out of his bags, "I always carry one around, just in case."

"Well that's convenient," The Doctor said gratefully, taking the light and handing it to Luna, "Keep this flashlight pointed at us at all costs, use your magic to carry it if you have to." Luna nodded and took the flashlight with her magic, flipping it on and holding it overhead. The Doctor nodded, then said, "The rest of you, stay in the circle of light, and move carefully."

Truman and Rosebud nodded understandingly, then the four carefully stepped inside the building. the doors slammed shut behind them.

The Doctor sighed, then said, "Well, it looks like we've no choice but to press on," he turned to Truman, "which way is storage?"

Truman thought for a moment, then said, "It would be that way, down a corridor and through a door to the left," gesturing across the dark room.

"Right then," The Doctor nodded, "let's go," and the four began walking across the lobby, their steps echoing loudly across the silent room.

They passed by the desk where they had been greeted by the cheerful receptionist. "Doctor," Luna said with a quiver in her voice.

"Ignore it," The Doctor said solemnly, looking back to see the skeleton of the pony who had been sitting there, greeting all the ponies who came into the congress building. "All we have to do is get to the TARDIS, and this whole mess will never have occurred.

"You keep saying that," Truman challenged, "But what does it mean? it would appear to me that you haven't gotten any plan at all!"

"Truman!" Rosebud said, shocked, "How dare you! it's because of this pony that we're all still alive! how can you say that?"

"It's because of this pony that we're in this mess to begin with!" Truman pointed out, "He said it himself, he's a time traveler and he's been here before and this didn't happen, I can only assume it's happening now because of something he did!" He looked The Doctor in the eye and said, "Who are you, really?"

The Doctor looked Truman in the eye and said smoothly, "I'm The Doctor, I'm a Timelord from the planet Gallifrey, in the constellation Kasterborous. I'm 909 years old, and I'm the pony who's going to save your lives and the lives of all the billions of people the Vashta Nerada just devoured. You got a problem with that?"

Truman looked at him hesitantly, "N-no."

The Doctor nodded, "Well then," he said, "Allons-y!" and they dashed off through the shadowy corridors.

The travelled through the hallways, staying right inside the small circle of light provided by the flashlight held aloft with Luna's magic. finally, they reached a large door labeled 'Storage', and with a bit of horsepower, they got it open and continued down the corridor.

After a bit of walking, they reached a small room where four corridors intersected. The Doctor immediately went into action, "Luna, put the flashlight up there and light up this whole room," Luna nodded and did so, and soon they could spread out a bit in the small room. The Doctor surveyed the three different passages they could take, then turned to Truman and asked "Alright, Truman, which way?"

"How should I know?" Truman asked, "I didn't bring your TARDIS or whatever down here."

The Doctor sighed, thought for a moment, then said, "Oh yes!" and he pulled out his strange cylindrical tool again, "My Sonic Screwdriver can detect the TARDIS from here," he explained, and then pointed it at each of the hallways in question, listening carefully to the high pitched sound emitted by the tool.

"Doctor..." Rosebud said nervously.

The Doctor ignored her, "Okay, yes, the TARDIS is down this hallway."

"Doctor," Rosebud said a bit stronger

"We have to go down this hallway," He said, then turned back towards the three other ponies, "Okay, Luna, you-"

"Doctor," Rosebud interrupted, "I have two shadows."

The Doctor stopped. he turned around and saw two shadows extending from the hooves of Rosebud. Luna and Truman took a step backwards, away from her.

"Okay," The Doctor said slowly, "Rosebud, Don't move. not a muscle." he slowly walked around her shadows, inspecting them. he used his sonic screwdriver on them, rattling it back and forth and thinking hard.

"I'm scared, Doctor," Rosebud said, her voice quivering.

"Rosebud," The Doctor said reassuringly, "Very slowly, close your eyes." he instructed.
Rosebud did so, trembling.

"Now open them again." The Doctor instructed.

Rosebud did so, but here eyes had changed. they were now dark and full of shadows, with deep dark circles beneath them. her second shadow vanished.

Luna gasped, "What's happened to her?"

"It's the Vashta Nerada," The Doctor explained, "They wouldn't dare try to take her body while she was in the light, so they took over her mind."

"What do we do? How do we save her?" Truman demanded warily.

"Well," The Doctor said, "We've got to question the Vashta Nerada."

The Vashta Nerada

The Doctor slowly approached Rosebud-or what was left of her-and said, "Rosebud, can you hear me?"

Rosebud did not respond, she only stared daggers at The Doctor with her dark, shadow filled eyes.

"You feel that body?" The Doctor asked, "The body you took over? Use it, talk to me, tell me why you are here."
Rosebud continued to say nothing.

"The Vashta Nerada are solitary creatures; they find a forest, they stay there," The Doctor said, "But you, you came here today, why? Tell me why." He demanded. when Rosebud continued to say nothing, The Doctor became aggressive and yelled, "You and your swarm just devoured billions of creatures on this planet, and I am not happy with you, now you will tell me why you are here!" The Doctor paused, but Rosebud said nothing, The Doctor turned away angrily and spoke to himself, "I've been to this day before and I don't recall the planet falling to a swarm of man eating shadows. What's different?" The Doctor's head snapped back in realization, "Oh..."

"What, what is it?" Luna asked, feeling scared.

The Doctor turned around, "It's you. you're here, you're what's different! This, all of this happened because you're here, but why?"

"So it's her fault!" Truman challenged.

"No, no, it's not her fault," The Doctor immediately corrected, "If anything, it's my fault, I'm the one who brought her here." He looked back at Rosebud, "So you're here for Luna, why?"

Rosebud said nothing.

The Doctor turned towards Luna, "Luna, Try talking to it."

"What, me?!" Luna confirmed.

"I don't know why, but they're here because of you," The Doctor pointed out, "Maybe they'll listen to you."

Luna gulped, but slowly approached Rosebud, "H-hello," she greeted, scared out of her mind, "So you're here for me, then?"

Rosebud just looked at Luna, staring into her very soul.

"Try asking it why it's here," The Doctor instructed.

Luna nodded, cleared her throat, then said, "WHO ARE YOU AND WHY-"

"Luna!" The Doctor interrupted, covering his ears, "What the heck?!"

"I-I was using the royal canterlot voice!" Luna explained, "should I not have done that?"

"I think your regular voice will be fine, thanks," The Doctor said, cleaning out his ears.

Luna nodded, then cleared her throat again, "Who are you, and why have you come here?"

Rosebud paused, then opened her mouth and said in a dark voice, "We are the Vashta Nerada."

"We know that," The Doctor interjected, "But why are you here?"

"We are the Vashta Nerada," Rosebud repeated.

The Doctor turned to Luna, "Tell it to answer my questions,"

Luna nodded and demanded cautiously, "You will answer all questions put forth to you."

Rosebud said nothing, but nodded slightly.

The Doctor nodded enthusiastically, "Now we're getting somewhere!" He approached Rosebud again and demanded, "Now tell me, why are you here?"

Rosebud paused, then said slowly, "We are here for Luna."

"yes, yes, I get that," The Doctor dismissed, "but why?"

"We are here for Luna," She repeated, but then did something surprising: she bowed to Luna.

"What?" Luna said, surprised just as much as The Doctor was.

"Oh, yes, of course!" The Doctor said, "Now I don't know the whole story, but these Vashta Nerada are under your control, but very slightly. but if that were true, you would be able to control them completely." The Doctor had another epiphany, "Unless..."

He approached Rosebud again and demanded, "Who are you?"

"We are the Vashta Nerada," Rosebud repeated.

"I'm not talking to you," The Doctor responded, "I'm talking to the thing controlling you."

"What?" Truman asked, not sure he heard correctly.

"There's something controlling the Vashta Nerada," The Doctor explained, "but the control is incomplete, for some reason, Luna's presence is interfering with the psychic signal," He turned back to Rosebud and said angrily, "Now I'm not going to say this again: who are you and what do you want?"

Rosebud paused again, then said in a different voice, "They shunned me, they cast me out, I will destroy them, I will destroy them all!"

"Okay," The Doctor said quickly, placing his forehooves on Rosebud's forehead, "That's enough of that." he closed his eyes, Rosebud closed hers, and with a gasp, Rosebud opened her eyes again. she was back to normal.

Rosebud collapsed into The Doctor's arms, sobbing out of fear. The Doctor reassured her, patting her on the back and speaking calmly.

"How did you do that?" Truman said, blown away.

"The Vashta Nerada had taken over her mind," The Doctor explained, "I simply gave her control again."

"incredible," Luna said, and then she spotted a stray shadow escape from Rosebud's body and skitter out of the circle of light.

Truman, now fully convinced The Doctor knew what he was doing, said, "Which way to the TARDIS?"

Rosebud stopped crying, and The Doctor let her go. she stood up shakily, and Luna wrapped a wing around her protectively. The Doctor rose, and with a steely look in his eyes, said, "This way."

The four walked down the shadowy corridor, protected by the small flashlight.

Run

The four ponies walked through the shadowy corridors in silence, all of them off-put from the recent events, and alone with their thoughts. Rosebud was the first to break the silence, as she asked a question that was gnawing at her, "Doctor,"

The Doctor turned towards her as they walked, "Yes?"

"We're trying to find your, uh, TARDIS, right?" Rosebud asked.

"That's correct," The Doctor said, climbling over a fallen section of pipe.

"And it's a time machine?" Rosebud confirmed.

"Not just a time machine," The Doctor explained, "The TARDIS can travel all throughout Time And Relative Dimension In Space: That's what TARDIS stands for."

"So what exactly do you plan on doing once we find it?" Rosebud asked.

The Doctor hesitated, "Well, I'm going to go back, find out what made the Vashta Nerada come here, and stop it. If I succeed, then none of this will ever have happened," He looked back at Rosebud, "You'll never have met me, none of those ponies will have died, it would simply have been any normal Congress day."

"But what'll happen to me?" Rosebud asked finally, "Me, here now? Will I just cease to exist or something?"

The Doctor turned back towards her, "I don't know," He answered honestly, "Paradoxes are serious business, If I succeed, then, for all known uses and purposes, this will be the day that never was, it'll never be recognized by the TARDIS. But as for you continuing to exist in this universe..." The Doctor paused.

Rosebud gulped as her worst fears became slightly more real, "Would you take me with you?"

The Doctor looked at her, "What?"

"Would you take me with you, in your TARDIS?" Rosebud begged, eyes full of fear, "I-I don't want to die here."

The Doctor thought for a moment, glanced at Luna and Truman, then back at her and nodded, "Yes."

Rosebud let out a breath of relief, "Thank you, Doctor."

The Doctor looked at Truman, "And what about you? Will you come with me?"

Truman said nothing for a moment, then shrugged, "Why not?"

The Doctor smiled and nodded, and the four continued to walk in silence.

Luna then broke the silence, "Doctor, You said you were a, what was it, Timelord?"

The Doctor did not turn around, "Yes."

"Well, when all this mess is cleared up," Luna began, slowly forming a small hope for the future, "Would you take me to your home planet next? I'd love to see where you come from"

The Doctor stopped walking, "no, we can't do that."

Luna was confused, "Why not? You think I'll fancy another Timelord besides you?" She joked, causing Rosebud to giggle.

The Doctor turned around. His face was solemn. Rosebud stopped laughing, "I can't ever go back to Gallifrey. Not ever." and he whisked around and continued walking.

Luna was puzzled, "Why?" she asked insensitively.

The Doctor sighed, "There was a war," He began, "Between the Timelords, and a race of beings known as the Daleks." He looked up into the sky as he remembered, "But it wasn't any normal war, this war was fought throughout all of time and space. The Last Great Time War."

"What happened?" Rosebud asked, full of curiosity.

"Something," The Doctor said after a moment of silence, "Gallifrey burned, and the Daleks were destroyed." He turned around and looked them all in the eye, "I'm the last of the Timelords."

The three ponies were silent. Truman placed a hoof supportively on The Doctor's shoulder.

The Doctor smiled, turned around and continued walking, and said, "They used to call it the shining world of the seven systems. The skies were burnt orange, and the Citadel was enclosed in a mighty glass dome, shining under the twin suns. beyond that, the mountains go on forever; slopes of deep red grass capped in snow."

"It sounds beautiful," Rosebud said in awe.

"And it was," The Doctor agreed. " on the continent of Wild Endeavor, between the mountains of Solace and Solitude, there stood the Citadel of the Timelords, the oldest and most mighty race in the universe. You should have seen it, The second sun would rise in the south, and the mountains would shine. the leaves of the trees were silver, and when they caught the light in the morning it looked like a forest on fire."

Luna was in awe at his description, picturing the beautiful planet in her mind.

"That old planet's gone now. my family, my friends, even that orange sky. All I've got now is me, my TARDIS, and nothing but time." The Doctor said.

"You've been through more than I gave you credit for, Doctor," Truman said suddenly, "I was too quick to judge you."

The Doctor smiled, "It's quite alright, but thank you." Suddenly, his sonic screwdriver 'ding'ed. he pulled it out and said with a renewed vigor, "enough story time, the TARDIS is close, come on!" and the four ponies continued down the corridor with a renewed speed.

They rounded a corner, and there at the end of a brightly lit hallway was the TARDIS, standing there solemnly in all it's glory. "Yes!" The Doctor cheered.

The lights flickered once and shut off with a pop.

"No!" The Doctor yelled angrily. they were now trapped under one lone light hanging overhead, the dark hallway staring them in the face.

"At least we've still got the-"

The flashlight bulb popped and went out.

"Flashlight..." Luna finished, feeling defeated. she dropped the now-worthless piece of technology.

"No, no, no, no, no!" The Doctor ranted, "We were so close!"

Truman suddenly said, "You said that if you succeed, this whole day will never have happened?"

"Yes, that was the plan," The Doctor confirmed, "But I don't see how we-"

"Doctor," Truman interrupted, "I recognize this section of Storage. There's a cable box nearby, I know."

"That's great," The Doctor said, "But how are he going to-..." He stopped, looking at Truman, "No..."

Truman nodded.

"You better not," The Doctor warned, walking closer towards Truman.

"Godspeed," Truman said solemnly, then spun on his heel and dashed into the shadows.

"Truman!" The Doctor yelled, dashing after him, but stopping short of the shadows.

There was a moment of eerie silence, but then the lights of the hallway flickered back on.

Luna cheered, "He did it!"

The Doctor looked back into the shadows, "Good job, Truman, now come on back!"

There was no answer.

"...Truman?" Rosebud asked, her voice quivering.

The Doctor's head hung low.

The lights flickered.

The Doctor's head snapped back up, "We have to go, now!" and he began running towards the TARDIS.

Rosebud ran after him, but Luna hung back, staring into the shadows that Truman had disappeared into.

"Luna!" The Doctor yelled, having reached the TARDIS, "Come on, Run!"

"But Truman-" Luna protested.

"We'll save him, we'll save all of them! Come on!" The Doctor ordered. Rosebud dove into the TARDIS after him.

Luna began running. the lights flickered more violently.

"Come on, Luna, run! RUN!" The Doctor ordered.

Luna was running at top speed, the lights were wobbling violently, she was so close.

The lights shut off. Luna dove into the TARDIS.

The Doctor went to her side, "Are you okay? Did they get you?"

Luna, panting from the sudden exertion, rose slowly and said, "I think I'm okay."

The Doctor said nothing, "Luna." he said slowly, "You've got two shadows.

Luna looked down. her vision clouded, she couldn't see.

The TARDIS jolted to the right, alarms went off, sirens blared, and everything began to spin.

Home, Not So Sweet Home

The Doctor ran to the controls, trying to gain control over the wildly panicking TARDIS. Rosebud clung for her life to one of the decorative columns, too scared to question how the big room fit in the small box. Luna was completely still, and here eyes were full of shadow. The Vashta Nerada had gotten to her, taken over her mind just like they had Rosebud.

The Doctor ignored that for now, trying to control his TARDIS. it was travelling through time at a dangerously fast rate, heading to some place, but where?

The Doctor looked back up at Luna, the shadows had spread over her whole body. "Of Course!" The Doctor said to himself, "This was it's plan! Whatever was controlling the Vashta Nerada, it's getting stronger! It's completely taken over Luna, and now it's bringing Luna back towards the source of the signal!"

The TARDIS finally stopped travelling with one final jolt. The Doctor looked up at the pony who had once been Luna, and watched as she pushed the doors open, looking back only to say, "The Night shall last forever," and she jumped out.

The Doctor finally managed to get his TARDIS under control, landing it some ways away in a small forest clearing.

Rosebud let go of the column, panting, "What was that?" she said breathlessly.

"The Vashta Nerada," The Doctor said, "Or, what was controlling them. it completely took over Luna, and now it's running rampant wherever we just landed."

"What'll we do, Doctor?" Rosebud asked.

"Well, firstly we've got to find out where we are," The Doctor instructed, "Maybe that'll give us a clue as to why it brought us here." and he got up and headed for the door, "Come on, now! no time to waste!"

The Doctor and Rosebud stepped outside to find a very different world than the one which they had left. The Doctor surveyed their surroundings, "Let's see, Victorian era buildings, doesn't seem like technology plays that much of a role in society, we must be back on Equestria, around...the 1800s, I presume."

"Incredible!" Rosebud said in awe, "I've seen places like this in my history books! but I'm actually here!" She turned towards The Doctor, "You really ARE a time traveler!"

"You had doubts?" The Doctor asked surprisingly.

"This is incredible!" Rosebud said, ignoring his question. she tapped the shoulder of some nearby pony and asked, "Excuse me, what year is it?"

"What?" the pony asked, not sure they'd heard right.

"The year, the current year, what is it?" Rosebud asked.

"2005, why?" They answered.

Rosebud turned towards The Doctor with an enthusiastic smile and said, "2005!"

"Well, I was close," The Doctor said.

"Give or take 200 years," Rosebud teased.

"Now don't get sidetracked," The Doctor said, "Remember what we're here for." He tapped the shoulder of the pony who had given them the year and asked, "'scuse me, is there any, eh, important event that is to be taking place at this moment in time?"

The pony eyed him curiously, then said, "Well, uh, The Summer Sun Celebration is today, if that's what you mean."

"That must be it!" The Doctor inferred, "That must be what whatever's controlling Luna wanted to bring her here for," he said to Rosebud, then turned back to the pony, "would you take us to this celebration?"

The pony just looked at them, completely weirded-out, "S-sure," he said cautiously, then walked off, "Follow me."

The Doctor smiled, "Come along, Rosebud!" he said, following the pony.

The pony lead them towards a large building that must have been the town hall, "You're in luck," the pony said, "it looks like the celebration is starting right now."

"Thank you," The Doctor nodded to the pony, "Let's go, Rosebud!" and he walked inside.

"hey," the pony said, stopping him, "who are you?" they asked curiously.

"I'm The Doctor, and I was never here," The Doctor said mysteriously, walking into the Town hall.

they walked inside just as somepony was giving a short introductory speech up on the balcony, "..,ladies and gentlemen, Princess Celestia!" and she pulled open the curtain.

But there was nobody behind the curtain.

suddenly, a maniacal laughter filled the air, and Luna appeared out of the sky.

"So that's where she went," The Doctor mused.

"What do we do now?" Rosebud asked.

The Doctor thought for a moment, Luna was asking the crowd if anypony knew who she was. "I suppose we answer her question," He said, then took a breath to yell-

"You're Nightmare moon!" some purple unicorn said from the front of the crowd.

The Doctor was puzzled, "What?" he asked no one in particular.

but that seemed to be the answer that Luna was after, and after a short standoff, Luna flew away, proclaiming that the night would last forever.

Rosebud was just as puzzled, "What do we do now?"

The Doctor said, "That purple unicorn seems to know something," he watched as the unicorn in question ran out the doors, "We've got to find her and find out what she knows."

"Alright," Rosebud nodded, "Allons-y!" and she ran towards the door.

"That's my bit!" The Doctor complained, then ran after her, weaving his way through the wildly panicking crowd until they reached the door. The Doctor just managed to spot the unicorn they were after, and he said, "Rosebud, this way!" and they chased after her.

The unicorn lead them all they way to a large building which appeared to be a library. she ran inside and slammed the door behind her. Rosebud tried to open it, but it was locked. "What now?" She asked.

"This way," The Doctor said, and he lead her towards a window to the side where they could eavesdrop on her. she was rifling through the books, muttering something about 'Elements of Harmony'.

"The Elements..." The Doctor mused.

"What are the Elements?" Rosebud whispered.

"They're these...necklaces of sorts, they boost magical ability, and are frequently used to banish evildoers and such. quite frequently, actually," The Doctor explained quietly, "If they manage to find the Elements...they could blast Luna with magic powerful enough to short out the psychic signal controlling the Vashta Nerada, placing them back under Luna's control, thus stopping Nightmare Moon..." The Doctor quickly explained to himself, "They'd save billions of lives in the future not even knowing what they'd done..." he jumped up and said, "Right, then, we'll let them keep doing what they're doing,"

"What do we do?" Rosebud asked, getting back up herself.

The Doctor gave her a steely look, "I've got some questions for a certain Alicorn Princess."

Questions and Answers

Princess Celestia was in her castle, on her throne, quickly looking through various papers. She was well aware of the crisis occurring in Ponyville, but she had faith in her student, she knew that she wouldn't let her down. And Also, she had faith in a certain ages old pony who was doing his own to stop it.

"Princess Celestia, you look like you haven't changed a bit," The Doctor announced proudly, swaggering into the throne room like he owned the place, followed by a smaller, viridian mare.

Right on cue, Princess Celestia thought, "Doctor," She nodded, acknowledging his presence.

"Now that we've gotten the formalities out of the way," The Doctor said, "I've got some questions for you."

Princess Celestia nodded, "You have my attention."

"The Vashta Nerada, they listen to Luna. Well," The Doctor corrected himself, "They were supposed to, why?"

Princess Celestia sighed, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"That's a lie," The Doctor confronted, "Its as if Luna tried to tame them-" He stopped as he had an epiphany, "Oh...but she didn't tame them, YOU did."

Princess Celestia was silent.

"Yes, it makes sense now," The Doctor said, "YOU tried to tame the Vashta Nerada, so Luna could command them, making her magic much more powerful..." The Doctor paused as he thought, "but it didn't work, did it?"

Princess Celestia took her chance, "The Vashta Nerada turned on me and took over Luna's body. they tried to ravage the kingdom, they would have killed everyone! I did what I had to do."

The Doctor nodded, "Except, it wasn't the Vashta Nerada that took over Luna, was it?" He started nodding, "Yeah, yes! you didn't fail to tame the Vashta Nerada, you succeeded! Oh yeah, it worked! it worked TOO well, didn't it?"

Princess Celestia said nothing.

"It wasn't the Vashta Nerada that took over Luna, it was something else, something that took advantage of the newly tamed swarm, Nightmare Moon, wasn't it?" The Doctor asked, "Yes, Nightmare Moon took over the Vashta Nerada, in turn taking control of Luna, that's what happened, wasn't it?"

Princess Celestia sighed, "You're as clever as ever, Doctor."

"Oh, but I'm not done," The Doctor said, "I'm on a roll now."

Princess Celestia was puzzled, and slightly scared.

"Rosebud," The Doctor said, turning towards his companion, "Taming the Vashta Nerada was supposed to make Luna a much more powerful magician, that was the purpose of the experiment. But why would an Alicorn need to be more powerful?"

Rosebud shook her head, "I don't know,"

"I don't either," The Doctor said, turning back to face the princess, "Unless, she's not an Alicorn, is she?"

"Stop it," Princess Celestia demanded.

"That's it!" The Doctor said loudly, as it clicked in his mind, "You never had a sister, did you? You're the last of the Alicorns, and you alone were in charge of raising the sun and moon, every day and night, never a moment's rest." He held up a hoof to illustrate his next point, "You were tired and weak, you couldn't do it all on your own, so what do you do? You find the most powerful unicorn baby you can, take her from her parents, give her a set of wings, trick her into thinking she's an alicorn, and your sister, and you put her in charge of the night. a small job, really, perfect for her. it would give you a break, and you wouldn't seem so alone anymore."

"Stop it!" Princess Celestia demanded loudly, frantic.

"But even though she was the most powerful unicorn in Equestria, she wasn't powerful enough, was she?" The Doctor asked, "Raising the moon every night? child's play for any Alicorn, but it was still too hard of a job for Luna, isn't that right?"

Princess Celestia said nothing, but she was trembling.

"The answer seemed obvious," The Doctor explained, "Tame the Vashta Nerada, put them under Luna's control. A whole swarm of invisible aliens solely under her command? She would have appeared to be the most powerful unicorn in existence! But then, Nightmare Moon came," The Doctor continued, "she took advantage of the tamed Vashta Nerada, took over Luna's body and mind, and tried to take over Equestria, all the while convincing the part of Luna that was left in her mind that it was so the night could last forever, so she could be in charge. So what do you do? Banish Luna to the moon and send me up there to clean up the mess."

Princess Celestia hung her head in shame.

"I succeeded, of course," The Doctor said, "All that's left to do now is blast Nightmare Moon with the Elements, and it'll all be over and done with. But..." The Doctor interjected, "I've got one more question for you,"

"What now?" The Princess asked, trying to keep from tearing up.

"Nightmare Moon took over Luna's body with a psychic signal emanating from this era of time," The Doctor explained, "So who is it, really?"

The Princess was silent. she shook her head.

The Doctor took a step closer, and asked forcefully, "Celestia, who is Nightmare Moon?"

Princess Celestia hung her head.

The Doctor took a step back, "alright, I see how it is," he turned around and began walking away, "If you ever feel like potentially saving lives, give me a call." and he walked away, gesturing for Rosebud to follow.

Rosebud looked back at the shamed princess once, then followed the Doctor.

"You're wrong about one thing, Doctor." Celestia said suddenly. The Doctor turned towards her curiously, and she said, "Luna is my sister."
The Doctor paused, then said, "Not in blood," and left the throne room.

Goodbyes

The Doctor and Rosebud ran back to the TARDIS, where The Doctor flew back towards Ponyville. Rosebud was quiet, "I can't believe it..." she muttered, "When Luna finds out, she'll be heartbroken!"

"She won't find out," The Doctor vowed, flipping one last lever. he turned towards Rosebud and said, "Sometimes a lie is kinder than the truth."

Rosebud dwelled on that for a moment, then said, "You care about her, don't you?"

The Doctor eyed her, "What do you mean?"

"She's not just a companion to you, is she?" Rosebud confronted, "If she was, you wouldn't be trying this hard to save her."

The Doctor was silent for a moment, "Well, I don't know about that, I try to save everyone," he said.

"Luna's not everyone," Rosebud pointed out, "is she?"

The Doctor looked at his controls, pressed a button, then said, "Let's just say..." He turned towards Rosebud, "I've seen her future, and it's my job to make sure she gets there."

Rosebud nodded knowingly, and was silent.

The Doctor finally landed the TARDIS, flipping one final switch and saying, "Right, then, Luna should be around here somewhere." he turned towards Rosebud and said, "Allons-y!"

The two stepped outside the TARDIS, and The Doctor explained quickly, "I didn't have time to make a precise lock-on, so Luna could be anywhere around here within a mile radius."

"Doctor," Rosebud said, "I think she's up there."

The Doctor looked where she was pointing, and saw a temple atop a tall mountain with light spilling out of it, bathing the forest all around in light. "Yeah, probably."

They made their way up the mountain just in time to see Nightmare Moon breathe her last, and with a flash of light, Luna was restored to her former appearance. She was surrounded by the six ponies who had been in Ponyville, along with Princess Celestia.

Out of the corner of her eye, Luna spotted The Doctor leaning against a column far away, next to Rosebud. she said something to the other ponies, and the six ponies began walking away. Luna and Celestia stayed back, and when they were all alone, The Doctor and Rosebud approached them.

Rosebud greeted Luna with a hug, and Celestia greeted The Doctor with a cold stare.

The Doctor smiled at Luna, ignoring Celestia, and said, "Look at you, all back to normal, everything's alright now."

Luna smiled, "Thank you, Doctor."

Celestia turned to Luna and said, "Luna, can I speak with you?"

they walked out of The Doctor's earshot, and Celestia said, "Luna, I'm glad you're safe and sound, really, I am. So come back to Canterlot with me, leave that awful Doctor behind."

Luna was shocked, "Awful?!"

"everywhere he goes, death and destruction follow in his wake!" Celestia said, "I'm just worried for you, don't go with him!"

Luna looked over her shoulder at The Doctor. he smiled and waved. Luna looked back at Celestia and said, "I'll be with you in a minute."

Celestia smiled, said, "You've made the right choice," and she walked out of the temple.

Luna walked towards The Doctor and said, "She's told me not to go with you."

The Doctor frowned, "I see." he lowered his head, "It's a shame, I had so many places I wanted to take you."
Luna said nothing.

"The Sapphire falls on Midnight? The King's Columns around Saggitarius? The broken forest on the moon of Auraborous?" The Doctor suggested, trying to entice her.

Again, Luna said nothing.

The Doctor sighed, "Well, that's a shame," he said, "I'm sorry you feel that way," he smiled encouragingly, "have a good life, Luna."

Luna did not respond.

The Doctor blinked twiced, "You're not going to listen to her, are you?"

Luna, with a smile, shook her head.

The Doctor smiled, "There's your sense of adventure!"

Luna started laughing, and so did Rosebud, "The 'broken forest of Auraborous', what?"

"Yeah, yeah," The Doctor said, feeling stupid, "I know."

"Well then," Luna said with a smile, "Allons-y!"

The Doctor said nothing, "Luna," he started quietly, "You've got two shadows."

Luna's eyes widened in fear, and she immediately looked down. it was true. she started to hyperventilate, "What do I do?"

"It's okay, it's okay," The Doctor reassured, "They're completely tame, fully under your control."

Luna's hyperventilating slowed, "okay, good." she said with a nervous smile.

"Destroy them." The Doctor ordered.

Luna's eyes widened again, "What?"

"This is where Nibiru came from, right here, right now," The Doctor explained, "if you don't destroy them now, then somewhen, somehow, Nightmare Moon will gain control of them, and they'll drift around in space for thousands of years, slowly accumulating until they're the size of a planet. then they'll detect your psychic signal once more, five thousand years in the future on New New Equestria and, remembering their old master, rush towards the planet, passing over a certain dragon colonial planet on their way there."

Luna was overwhelmed, "So..."

"So," The Doctor finished, "It's either them...or Truman."

Luna blinked, then nodded. focusing her magical energy, she let forth a blast. her second shadow vanished.

Rosebud started glowing. she looked down in wonder, then asked, "What's happening?"

"Time is being rewritten," The Doctor said, "The day that never was will never happen."

Rosebud thought for a moment as the glow spread over her whole body, "So I'm ceasing to exist?"

The Doctor said nothing.

Rosebud closed her eyes and smiled, "It's okay." she opened her eyes and looked at The Doctor and Luna in turn, "Thank you, Doctor, Luna," she said, tearing up, "it was fun." and with a blink, she was gone.

Luna blinked away tears, then turned towards the Doctor and asked, "Will travelling with you always be like this?"

"Not always," The Doctor said, "but on occasion." he looked at Luna, "Do you still want to come along?"

Luna smiled and nodded.

"Alright then," The Doctor said, "Allons-y!"

Princess Celestia was waiting outside the temple for Luna to come out. they would go back to Canterlot, and this whole mess would finally be over and done with.

Then, something in the sky caught her eye. she looked up and saw a little blue box soaring through the sky. The Princess sighed and closed her eyes. she didn't expect any differently.

It didn't matter, though, it WAS a time machine, after all, she'd be home before breakfast.

The Princess turned and walked away. it would be the longest night of her life.