SurprisesView OnlineThe Fall of GallophreySurprisesDerpy Hooves had never flown this fast in her entire life, mainly because of her lazy eye. If she went too fast everything just blurred together and she would be face first into a tree before she could blink, but right now that wasn’t going to happen. The day had started like any other: she had woken up, had her breakfast and then set off to deliver the mail. Making her slow but steady way through Ponyville, she had finished her rounds by lunchtime and was about to head home when she spied the backside of a familiar brown stallion sticking out from under a cart in the market square. Landing softly, she cantered up to the stall, and said, ‘’Hi, Doctor!’’ There was a loud bang, followed by a string of curses from under the cart. Extracting himself from underneath, the pony known as Doctor Whooves, or simply The Doctor, rubbed the spot where his forehead had contacted the axle. In his teeth he held a whirring silver wand with a glowing blue gemstone at its tip. Derpy immediately recognised his famous ‘’sonic screwdriver’’. ‘’You could have knocked’’, he said. ‘’It’s less painful.’’ ‘’Sorry, but I saw your new stall and I had to come check it out.’’ The Doctor’s expression brightened as he forgot the throbbing pain in his forehead and promptly took his place behind the cart. ‘’Well then, allow me to be the first to welcome you to Timey Wimey Timepieces.’’ Derpy raised an eyebrow. ‘’Timey Wimey?’’ ‘’Well, I’ve never had to have a business before so it’s a work in progress’’, he said sheepishly. ‘’But these clocks will keep whatever time you wish for as accurate as you want! Observe.’’ He promptly produced several clocks from behind the counter, each one as nonsensical as its creator. ‘’This one,’’ he began, indicating an elaborate silver wall clock with five hands, ‘’will tell you what time important events will occur, for example, right now it’s telling me that your daughter will be joining us in three...two...one.’’ The clock chimed and the pair looked around as, perhaps predictably, nothing happened. ‘’Maybe I got the calibrations wrong’’, he mused, moments before a tiny unicorn filly with a blonde mane snuck up behind him. ‘Boo!’’ she yelled. ‘’GAH!!’’ cried The Doctor, falling over his own hooves in surprise. Derpy could only lean against the cart laughing as her daughter stood over the stallion and gave a cheeky grin. ‘’Were you surprised?’’ she said in her tiny voice. ‘’Very,’’ replied the irritated stallion. ‘’No one’s managed to sneak up on me like that in over nine hundred years.’’ ‘’That’s children for you Doctor’’, replied Derpy as she gave the filly a warm hug. ‘’They can surprise anyone.’’ ‘’Apparently so’’, was the indignant reply. ‘’Shouldn’t she be in school?’’ ‘’Its Saturday,’’ said Dinky with a smile. ‘’No school today, so I decided to see what you were doing.’’ ‘’Well Dinky,’’ answered Derpy. ‘’ The Doctor was showing me his new business.’’ ‘’Ooooooooo, is it battling monsters and aliens like in the stories he always tells us?’’ ‘’Nothing quite so exciting I’m afraid’’, replied the colt as he took another clock from the counter; this one was bronze and had the star constellations engraved into the face. ‘’I’m selling clocks now, but not the usual kind. Oh no, far too boring. These clocks can tell time, space, age, place, dates and even events. This one for instance can tell us when there is a massive surge in magical energy, but it needs some more work. So far, it’s just a fancy paperweight.’’ ‘’So if there was a surge in magic what would it do?’’ asked Derpy as she stared at the clock. Before anyone could answer, the clock’s hands began to spin uncontrollably before they abruptly stopped on the number twelve. It then gave a chime similar to a grandfather clock before spitting out a line of paper. ‘’It would do something like that’’, said the Doctor as he retrieved the paper. Running his eyes over the numbers he frowned. “Well, that can’t be right...’’ ‘’What can’t be right?’’ asked Derpy, peering at the line of code from over the cart. ‘’This says that we can expect a large amount of chaotic magic. Not just any large amount, mind you, but a universally altering amount of magic. But only one being in the universe could give off that amount of power, and if that were the case then my other...’’ He was cut off as another sound boomed ominously from inside the cart. In a flash the Doctor had ripped open the cart’s door and was frantically searching amongst his stock. ‘’No, it can’t be, it mustn’t be, it has to be a glitch, it’s got to be a glitch.’’ ‘’Doctor...’’, said Derpy as uncertainty crept into her heart. She was cut off as he pulled something large and heavy from inside the cart and dropped it onto the counter. This clock wasn’t like the others. Whereas they showed the whimsy of The Doctor’s character, this one seemed to be almost evil. It was a dark oak, varnished until it was almost completely black, and carved into the shape of... a serpent? The body was definitely serpentine, but serpents didn't have mismatched horn's; its head was also more like a pony. Whatever it was, the creature was coiled around the clock and wore a wicked grin on its face. Derpy was sure its gemstone eyes were boring into her mind. Both of the clocks hands were spinning wildly and it was booming like church bells on a Sunday. The Doctor stared at it, horror dawning on his features as he slowly backed away from the cart and moved as close to the grey Pegasus as he could. ‘’Listen to me, because our lives may well depend on it’’, he whispered in a tone that Derpy recognised all too well; even Dinky knew to listen when he was like this. ‘’We need to get to my house, but I need a few things first. So, here’s the plan: Derpy, could you please get me as many metal coat hangers as you can find, and an old TV antenna if possible? I’ll take Dinky with me and get things ready.’’ ‘’What?! No!’’ exclaimed Derpy, ‘’Doctor, if this is dangerous we need to stay together.’’ ‘’I know that, but if we don’t do this right we will all be in grave danger. This has taken me completely by surprise (Huh, three times in one day, who knew?), and I need time to sort out a solution. Please, do this for me.’’ ‘’I don’t know’’, she replied, bringing a hoof to cover her lazy eye. Gently, The Doctor moved it away. ‘’You can do this,’’ he said, ‘’we have complete faith in you.’’ Derpy felt her daughter wrap her hooves around her. ‘’You can do it mummy.’’ Taking a deep breath she steeled herself. ‘’Alright. I can do this.’’ The Doctor smiled. ‘’Well then, there’s only one thing to say: ALLONS-Y!’’ ******* Within minutes of them parting, the sky had opened, although she wasn’t expecting chocolate rain of all things. Racing home, she had done as instructed and gathered as many coat hangers as she could and was now attempting to reach The Doctor’s cottage ahead of whatever was changing the landscape behind her. Ponyville was a mess; the roads had become soap, homes were floating off into the sky, and clouds had even become feral; three had attempted to eat her before she even made it to the Everfree Forest. Racing between the trees she tried not to think about what could have befallen The Doctor and Dinky, given what she had gone through already it was conceivable that anything could have happened to them. Swerving to the right she narrowly avoided colliding with a large tree, she had to focus, and getting distracted here could mean the end. Squaring both eyes straight ahead she rocketed through the tightly packed trees with skill that would have made Rainbow Dash jealous, erupting from the tree line and into the clearing where The Doctor made his home. The cottage was almost invisible to those who didn’t know what to look for, the Doctor had put it down to something called a ‘’perception filter’’. The roof was covered in a multitude of antennae and satellite dishes which jutted skyward at odd angles, thick cables snaked through windows and along walls, connecting the household’s many appliances to whatever powered them and a rose garden ran parallel to the path up to the front door which was painted a deep blue. Currently the door was open and Derpy could see her daughter waving from to her from it. Ignoring the mess in the living room, she rocketed inside and down the cellar stairs where she stopped dead. The Doctor’s basement was a mess of metals, papers, gems and technology. Usually they were to do with whatever experiment or project he was working on that week, but the back wall was always kept clear. Against it was a deep blue phone box, formerly used by police ponies until radios had become standard issue. Along the top were the words, POLICE PONY CALL BOX. This was the Doctor’s famous TARDIS. Once it had carried him through time and space, but now it was little more than an empty shell, its interior always dark, always silent as the grave. Nevertheless, the Time Colt refused to get rid of it. She was far too special to him. The Doctor came running out of the time machine’s darkened interior, a large ring of cables around his neck. ‘’I’ve got what you asked for, but I couldn’t find a TV antenna and whatever is changing Equestria is right behind me.’’ she panted ‘’Don’t worry, I found an old one in my bits box, hang everything you have from the antenna on my roof.’’ He tossed her some metallic tape. ‘’This should ensure a good connection.’’ Taking a deep breath the Pegasus flew back out the door and up to the roof. She could see the magic getting closer as trees started to change into candy canes. In minutes she had finished her task and flew back inside, the cables she had seen wrapped around the Doctor were now plugged into the rooftop's control box and snaked their way downstairs through the TARDIS door. Inside, The Doctor had ripped panels from the central console and was frantically attempting to re-wire his beloved time machine. ‘’Come on, old girl, you never failed me before and sweet Celestia you will not fail me now’’, he muttered frantically as his sonic screwdriver whirred around a set of cables he had wired to the salvaged TV antenna. A few more whirrs and clicks from the screwdriver and he was done. Grabbing the antenna in his teeth he galloped upstairs to where Dinky had been standing watch at the front door. The wave of magic was very close now, with animals fleeing in droves before it. Setting it the antenna on the floor, the Doctor turned to mother and daughter. ‘’Now here’s where I need your help. I can save us from that,’’ (he waved a hoof out the door) ‘’but I need a spark of magic, and Dinky is the only unicorn here.’’ Derpy pulled her daughter close. ‘’Will she be alright?’’ ‘’I promise she will be fine,’’ said the Doctor. ‘’Pinkie Pie swear,’’ replied Derpy. ‘’Cross my heart and hope to fly stick a cupcake in my eye’’, he replied going through the motions. Apparently satisfied, Derpy let her daughter go to the stallion. ‘’Keep watch’’, he said and Derpy turned to the door, one eye on her daughter. Setting up the antenna, The Doctor turned to the unicorn filly. ‘’Now Dinky, I need you to cast a spell. Anything will do, but I need a spark of magic, just a spark.’’ ‘’I don’t know Doctor,’’ said Dinky, ‘’I’ve never been good at magic. I always make a mess.’’ ‘’That doesn’t matter here, just focus on the object in front of you and cast a spell. If it fails, even better: We could use the extra magic. Please Dinky, we need your help.’’ With a glance to her mother, who nodded confidently, Dinky began to cast a sparking spell, her tiny face screwed up in concentration as she tried to focus the magic into her horn. It glowed dimly as the magic built. Concentrating hard she drew more magic until she felt like her horn was on fire. Opening her eyes she sighted on the antenna and released the spell. The explosion blew out all the ground floor windows and kicked up enough dust to blanket the Buffalo plains from one end to the other. Coughing and spluttering, Derpy pulled herself to her daughter, who was cowering at what she had done. ‘’I’m sorry mummy,’’ she whispered as Derpy pulled her close. ‘’Sorry... sorry, that was brilliant!’’ quipped The Doctor as he popped up from behind his overturned sofa. Staggering over to the door, he looked outside. ‘’You did it Dinky! You did it! Take a look out there!’’ Cautiously, Derpy and her daughter peered outside. The Doctor’s cottage was now surrounded by chaotic magic. Trees were turning into anything from lamp posts to gingerbread and some had even gotten up and walked away entirely. But it never went beyond the front gate; from the front door to the end of the garden everything was completely normal. Slowly stepping outside they noticed a magical bubble was encasing the cottage, emanating from the multitude of antenna on the roof. ‘’It worked!’’ The Doctor was practically bouncing around the garden in glee. ‘’It worked, it worked, it worked! Well, of course, I knew it would work, well, hoped it would work but still, it worked, it worked, it worked!” ‘’What worked?’’ asked Derpy, finally finding her voice. ‘’Well, the TARDIS is equipped with a powerful anti magic shield. It protects her when she’s surfing the currents of the time vortex. I just connected it to my home and then used Dinky's spell magic to jump start the circuit, not bad for a few minutes’’, he said with a touch of pride. It took a few seconds for Derpy's mind to process what he had just said. When it finally caught up she blinked a few times before speaking. ‘’So you saved us from that chaotic magic?’’ ‘’Yup.’’ ‘’But now what?’’ The Doctor paused. ‘’I don’t know, but we need to find the source of this magic and put a stop to it.’’ ‘’Oh, it would be you spoiling my fun, now wouldn’t it, Doctor?’’ A third voice entered the conversation from beyond the bubble, The Doctor froze. Slowly turning his gaze upwards his eyes met a pair of mismatched pupils. Derpy had to stop herself from screaming. It was the monster from the clock. ‘’Hello Discord.’’ Author's Note I wrote this ages ago but never finished the story, at the request of a fan of my other Doctor Whooves fiction I am going to endeavour to finish this story and hopefully use it as a way to set up my next idea for Doctor Whooves
Doctor Off BalanceView OnlineThe Fall of GallophreyDoctor Off BalanceDerpy protectively held her daughter while she struggled to contain her own rising panic. Floating above her was a creature that could only exist in the deepest parts of a deranged pony’s nightmare. Like the statue on the clock it had a serpentine body and mismatched horns, one resembled an antler while the other was closer to a unicorn’s horn. Its forelegs ended in both an eagle’s claw and lions paw and while one back leg resembled a dragon the other was clearly a pony’s hoof. A serpentine tail snaked behind and a set of mismatched wings, which looked too small to be doing so, held it aloft. It looked like someone had taken the leftovers from creation and cobbled together...something. The creature, which the Doctor had called Discord, was currently staring at him from beyond the protective bubble that encompassed the house and garden. ‘’That's it?’’ said an incredulous Discord ‘’no, ‘how have you been?’ or ‘it’s been a while?’, honestly Doctor I remember when you could talk the hind leg off a donkey, and I know a thing about talking legs off...well just about anything.’’ Snaking his serpentine form down the bubble Discord settled at the garden gate where a table and chairs had sprouted like flowers. ‘’That’s better, we can have a civilised conversation now.’’ He snapped his clawed fingers and a tea set materialised on the table top, then started to pour itself. Sitting down Discord shifted his back a few times, rubbing his neck in discomfort. ‘’Hold on for just a second.’’ Derpy's eyes boggled as he lifted his head clean off his neck and span it like a top. ‘’Oh YEAH that felt good’’ he said, reattaching it. ‘’I guess it’s true what they say: two thousand years will give you such a crick in the neck!’’ The Doctor remained silent. ‘’You know I thought your kind had all died Doctor, but then again it makes sense that in the only spot that defies my chaos I would find you. I thought that I was the only one that could do things normal ponies perceive as ‘impossible’’. He finished making a literal set of air quotations that promptly exploded into confetti. ‘’But enough about that’’ he continued, drinking his cup and casually throwing away the tea, ‘’I see your doing well for yourself even have a new companion.’’ Derpy froze as his gaze settled on her and Dinky. ‘’Oh I’m sorry companions...word of advice my dear!’’ he yelled ‘’I’d get away from him as soon as you can, unless you want the filly to end up as an orphan!’’ Derpy gave The Doctor a fearful look. ‘’You did tell her about the others didn’t you?’’ said Discord with an evil smirk. ‘’About the foals you orphaned and the mothers you left childless? How about the friends you betrayed or the times you didn’t run quite fast enough?’’ ‘’What do you want?’’ snapped the Doctor, Discord had struck a nerve. ‘’He speaks, and straight to the point as ever, you're never any fun when you have your serious face on Doctor. As for what I want don’t you remember? He swept a claw dramatically over the warped landscape behind him. ‘’Chaos! Glorious, unrestricted, uninhibited, absolute CHAOS!’’ ‘’I remember... ‘’ replied The Doctor coldly ‘’I also remember that I stopped you.’’ ‘’Ah, but last time you had two Alicorns and The Elements of Harmony to help, and I’m already dealing with one of those.’’ The stallion tensed. ‘’What have you done?’’ ‘’Nothing you won’t find out about in your own indubitable manner, now if you’ll excuse me’’ he pulled out an oversized pocket watch. ‘’ I have chaos to spread and a friendship to destroy.’’ Casually tossing the watch over his shoulder he made to leave before pausing. ‘’By the way Doctor I’ve left some old friends to make sure you stay inside your overgrown snowglobe, Ta tah.’’ With a wave and a flash of light he was gone. Silence reigned as Derpy collected her thoughts, once she had regained the ability of coherent thought she led her daughter over to The Doctor. ‘’Doctor...what was that thing?’’ The stallion sighed heavily and hung his head. ‘’It was my past finally catching up to me.’’ Derpy cocked her head in confusion as he turned to face her. ‘’His name is Discord and he’s a draconequus, a living embodiment of chaos and disharmony, he and I have a very long and complicated history.’’ ‘’So he’s one of those things you fought...back then?’’ she asked ‘’Yes I’m afraid so. We met a more than once as he had his claw in just about anything that could cause chaos and suffering to others. In fact it’s because of him that I made so many foes.’’ ‘’So...when he said old friends?’’ ‘’He could have pulled literally any one of thousands of monsters, demons, aliens, robots and just about anything in between and plonked them out there.’’ He finished by indicating the forest, if it could even still be called that. While the pair were talking Dinky kept a hoof wrapped around her mother’s foreleg. She had felt her tense when that monster had talked to them and then calm down after it left, but she didn’t truly believe it was gone. In his stories The Doctor had always told her how the bad guy was never really far away from the scene of the crime and while she didn’t doubt his word that they were safe inside the shield, that didn’t make her any less nervous about the madness going on beyond it. She stopped and blinked, had she just seen something moving out there? Dinky stared out into the forest; she could have sworn there was something there a moment ago. She blinked. There it was just a bit to the right this time. She blinked again. There it was again, this time it was a bit closer. In fact whenever she took her eyes off it for a second the thing moved. ‘’Mummy’’ She tugged urgently at Derpy’s leg. ‘’I think there’s somepony out there.’’ Looking up, Derpy and The Doctor were met by a strange sight. Sitting just outside the bubble, apparently unaffected by the chaos, was a statue of an Alicorn. It was nothing remarkable and appeared to be carved from plain stone. It wore a long sweeping dress, almost like a funeral gown, and stood with its head hung low in its hooves. Like it was weeping ‘’Get in the house!’’ barked The Doctor. When he didn’t hear hooves he turned to see them paralysed at his outburst. ‘’NOW!’’ he yelled, and they bolted for the door. Snapping his head back to the statue he saw it was now right up against the shield, but it was no longer weeping. It had recoiled from the shield and cradled one hoof protectively, almost like it had been injured. Its face was also exposed, a howl of anguish was frozen on its features. Galloping inside The Doctor slammed the door and locked it before sliding in a deadbolt and securing it with a padlock. He then produced his Sonic Screwdriver and ran it down the height of the door, creating a cacophony of clicks as yet more locks slid into place. Satisfied they were secure for the moment he moved to one of the broken windows and peered out at the statue. It was still there only now it was scowling in their direction. Worse two more had appeared at its side and he was sure that there were even more in the trees just waiting to emerge. But at least they couldn’t penetrate the anti-magic shield They were safe, but they were also trapped. Of all the creatures in Tartarus why did Discord have to use them? He was brought back to reality by a gentle hoof on his shoulder. Turning he saw Derpy looking at him with a worried expression. ‘’Doctor, what are we going to do?’’ she said For once he didn’t have answer. Xxxxxx It was nightfall, or at least this was the third nightfall in about twenty minutes. Ever since Discord had left his chaos had apparently managed to spread to both the sun and moon, which worried all three ponies no end as it meant something could have happened to the Princesses. Ever since The Doctor had ordered them inside he had secluded himself in the basement, stating that he ‘’needed time to think’’. This left both Derpy and Dinky confused beyond measure, The Doctor was a stallion of action and he rarely stopped to think or plan, apparently choosing to improvise as he went. That wasn’t to say he was incapable of planning, when he did stop to plan what he came up with was nothing short of genius (he had once figured out how to organise Pinkie Pies surprise birthday party without her finding out) but this time he seemed genuinely unsure, like his conversation with Discord had set him off balance. Right now though Derpy couldn’t dwell on that, given the stallion’s reaction to that statue she had decided on taking extra precautions. After a search of the house she had managed to find some wooden boards and a toolbox in one of the bedrooms and had nailed them down over every window she could find. The Pegasus mare was currently finishing a final sweep of the house. In addition to securing the windows she and Dinky had pushed the sofa in front of the front door and boarded up the back door. Finally satisfied they were safe she slumped exhausted to the floor. Dinky snuggled up against her. ‘’Mummy, I’m scared.’’ ‘’Don’t worry muffin’’ she said, wrapping her hooves around her ‘’ we’re safe in here.’’ Dinky shivered a little in her mother’s embrace, she was clearly unconvinced, so Derpy decided she would need some extra reassurance. ‘’Sweetie’’ she said, giving Dinky and affectionate squeeze ‘’don’t be scared, you remember those stories The Doctor likes to tell you?’’ Her daughter nodded ‘’What does he do in those stories?’’ ‘’He fights evil monsters.’’ ‘’And did he always beat those monsters?’’ ‘’Yes...yes he did.’’ Dinky was sounding a little less scared; she now just had to bring home the message. Gently extracting herself from her daughters embrace she got up. ‘’How about we see if we can help.’’ Descending the basement stairs the pair found the stallion in question slumped face first onto his work bench. What they didn’t know was once he was out of sight of the two ponies The Doctor had something of a mental breakdown managing to trash everything that wasn’t nailed down, as well as a few things that were. Thankfully he had soundproofed the basement after Zecora had complained his experiments made too much noise, so the pair were oblivious that the mess was even more severe than usual. Mother and daughter shared a mischievous look as they came up alongside him. Derpy took a few seconds to look the sleeping stallion over before inhaling a lungful of air. ‘’BOO!’’ The Doctor awoke with a yelp, causing his stool to tip over backwards in a mass of flailing hooves. Landing in a pile of discarded technology he groaned as Dinky’s laughter echoed off the walls. Looking up he saw Derpy smiling down at him. ‘’You know I will get you both back for this eventually.’’ He moaned as she helped him up. ‘’Sorry Doctor but Dinky was just wondering what your plan was for saving the day.’’ She replied, indicating the still giggling unicorn filly. The stallion caught the hidden meaning behind her words. ‘’Ah...yes saving the day.’’ He said, clearing his throat. ‘’Well first things first, we need to get past those statues out there. Now I’ve dealt with them before so I know what to do.’’ He trotted confidently over to his workbench and lifted a colourful ray gun from the tabletop. ‘’As you may have guessed’’ he said turning to Dinky ‘’they are not natural, but they are still made of stone. I am modifying this gun to make a high pitched sound that will literally shake them apart, a bit like before when you shattered all my windows.’’ Dinky scuffed her hoof in embarrassment. ‘’Once we get past them we make a beeline for Ponyville. From there we’re going to have to wing it, after all I do all my best work on the fly.’’ He finished with a cheeky grin towards the pair. Derpy gave a snort of laughter while Dinky trotted up to The Doctor and gave him a hug, which he returned in kind. ‘’See muffin, you have no reason to be scared.’’ Said Derpy The Doctor ran an affectionate hoof through Dinky’s mane. ‘’Don’t worry my dear, I have everything in hoof. We shall be out of here in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.’’ He gave a warm smile, which Dinky returned before it morphed into a small yawn. ‘’Why don’t you have a nap while I finish here. I’ll let you use my bed in the TARDIS, it’s the most comfortable bed in the universe, made from the first clouds of the very first sunrise.’’ ‘’Then you'll save the day?’’ Dinky asked ‘’Of course my dear, after all I’m The Doctor.’’ As they talked The Doctor led Dinky into the TARDIS, Derpy waited a few moments before the stallion re-emerged. ‘’She dropped off as soon as he head hit the pillow.’’ He said latching the door. ‘’She’s had an exciting day.’’ Replied Derpy ‘’No arguments from me.’’ There were a few moments of awkward silence. ‘’Are you okay?’’ she finally asked The Doctor looked at her, and for the first time she saw just how tired he looked. It was like every one of his thousand or so years of life now weighed him down. ‘’No...no I’m not okay.’’ he sighed ‘’I have been caught off guard by one of, if not THE worst creature that existence ever spawned! I have no TARDIS, no backup and worst of all no plan! This isn’t even a real ray gun it’s a hair dryer!’’ He finished by throwing the aforementioned object across the room into one of the piles of junk before slumping down by the TARDIS door. Derpy cautiously sat down by his side and laid a comforting hoof over his shoulders. She had never seen The Doctor like this before; he always had an infectious grin on his face and wherever he went there was an air of confidence that made those around him feel like they could touch the stars. But now that air was gone, Discord had popped it like a balloon. She had to restore it. ‘’You said you beat him once...’’ she began. ‘’Yes, but you heard Discord’’ he moaned, cutting her off‘’ I had the Elements of Harmony and Two Alicorns on my side, without them I don’t stand a...’’ She stuffed a hoof into his mouth, silencing him. ‘’But you BEAT him didn’t you?’’ she pressed He nodded, Derpy removed her hoof. ‘’How did you beat him?’’ she asked ‘’it might help you think if you can remember the way you did it before.’’ ‘’I told you without...’’ ‘’It doesn’t matter!’’ it was her turn to cut him off ‘’you are The Doctor! You are the pony that single hoofedly stopped legions of Cybercolts from turning Equestrian into a silver nightmare, you are the stallion that saved an entire civilisation of Sea Ponies from be devoured by the Smooze, you are the colt that defeated a rogue cult of Nightmare worshippers with nothing but a toothbrush, duct tape and a banana peel!’’ She was muzzle to muzzle with him now, and she thought he looked a little intimidated by her sudden outburst. ‘’You are the stallion that gave a filly help when nightmares stopped her from sleeping, who kept her in the home that she needed when others tried to take her away, who helped a mother find that despite all the heartache she’s had, she can still love somepony!’’ She blushed at the last statement, but she couldn’t stop now. Taking a deep breath she brought it home. ‘’You are the impossible colt and whatever is out there you can and will beat it because YOU. ARE. THE DOCTOR!’’ Derpy took a few deep breaths; her little pep talk had been a bit more intense than she had thought. The Doctor was staring at her in awe, his mouth moving silently as he tried to articulate a sentence. ‘’You're cute when you’re mad.’’ That was it, that simple stupid phrase broke the silence and caused her to giggle, then they both began to chuckle, until finally the two ponies just couldn’t help it and broke down into fits of laughter. When the laughter had subsided The Doctor took a deep breath and sat back against the TARDIS with a sigh, Derpy's head resting on his shoulder. ‘’Your right. I am the impossible colt, and I will beat Discord no matter what.’’ She smiled, he sounded more like his old self. ‘’But I just can’t think HOW to do it, it’s like my brain has seized up.’’ She looked at him again. ‘’Like I said, how did you beat him before? Maybe if you talk about it you might get some ideas.’’ The Doctor met her gaze, and she saw a little sadness in his eyes. ‘’If I tell you how I did it last time, it’s not just a tale of me beating the bad guy. This is my most painful memory and I don’t think I can re-live what I had to do to beat him.’’ ‘’Doctor...I understand if this is painful for you, but I keep telling you that you don’t have to face your problems alone.’’ She took his hoof in her own and gave it an affectionate squeeze. Steeling himself The Doctor took a deep breath. ‘’Very well then, let me tell you a tale then Derpy. Let me tell of about the fall of Gallopfrey.’’ Author's Note Have you ever looked at something and thought ''I cant believe I wrote that''. I say this because I re-did most of Chapter 2 which is why it took longer than it should have to publish. I want to also thank my proof reader and I apologise for Google Docs loosing the copy I sent you. So if you see any grammatical errors it's because I had to use the pre-read copy on my hard drive. Finally next chapter is where we get to Gallopfrey and see how it all went wrong. Now that's over any comments and constructive criticisms are welcome.
A Conclave of TimeView OnlineThe Fall of GallophreyA Conclave of TimeGallopfrey: 2000 Years Ago. The call had gone out across all of time and space. To the past, present, and future, throughout the universe and beyond it rang out across the entirety of creation. Many would hear it and dismiss it as background noise, the sound of a bird singing or a stone falling. Others would pick up on its subtleties but would never understand what they had heard; to them it could have been the most beautiful and terrifying sound in the world. A sound that would inspire some to greatness while dooming others to madness. But to those few who understood, to those who could see past the overlying cacophony of noise it meant only one thing. The Time Colts were gathering. From across the galaxy they came, each converging on single point in time and space. Some would be early and have to wait while others would arrive on time and ready to begin. Only one would be late and they could not start until he was present. Xxxxxxxxxxx Nestled in the valley between the mountains of Solice and Solitude, the Citadel of the Time Colts was a magnificent sight. A gigantic dome of flawless crystal protected it from the snow that whirled around in the winds of the valley. Inside the spires of multiple buildings towered over one another in a conical fashion, thousands of cathedrals of flawless bronze shone in the sunlight as the dome refracting it into a spectrum of colour. At its centre a single tower speared its way through the dome into the sky, at its tip was a shimmering rainbow of light that seemed to pierce the heavens themselves. Ordinarily the streets would have been full of Time Colts and their retainers going about their business. The shops would have been open, the sellers hawking their wares to anypony that trotted by in an effort to outdo each other on the best price. The restaurants and cafes would have been hosting thousands of guests; each gossiping about the next greatest thing to come out of Gallopfreys famed Time Academy. Today however the shops and cafes were closed, the streets were silent and anypony on them was galloping as fast as they could to one building in particular. That is if they managed to navigate the rather unusual obstacle course that had appeared in the streets. Time Colt Conclaves were very rare, with most day to day decisions were handled by Parliament or the Lord President himself if it was important enough. When a full Conclave was called thousands of Time Colts would be in attendance, but a consequence of their rarity was that no one had proposed they extend the parking area around the central spire. It also didn’t help that each Time Colt had varying tastes in their TARDIS. The more professional amongst them simply dropped their time machines disguise upon arrival, leaving them as simple silver booths that looked only big enough for one pony to stand in. The vast majority of them however preferred to keep their disguises on so they could identify them, this resulted in the streets being filled with all manner of objects and vehicles. There were simple ones such as cupboards, carriages, large clocks and even an old pipe organ. Then there were those with a bit more ‘’whimsy’’, a steam train, a buffalo tepee, an airship and a pegasus’s cloud home. Finally there were those that were clearly conceived by either madponies or during a drunken bet, a giant glowing crystal, a treadmill with electrodes on the side, a silver ponyless carriage with strange machines attached to the back, one was even a music stage with the instruments set up for the headline act (Wyld Stallions if the posters were to be believed). Yet in amongst this mish mash of machines there was just enough space for one more. It arrived with the groaning and creaking of ages as it gently pushed aside the walls of the time vortex and re-joined reality. Slotting neatly into a perfect rectangle of space that others had somehow avoided, the blue police box settled into silence. The doors opened with a squeak as a lone stallion emerged. His coat was a pale blue colour while his mane was a mass of brown curls; his cutie mark was an hourglass, representing his talent of time. He wore a white shirt and a grey waistcoat with a grey cravat around his neck. Reaching back into the box he produced a black suit jacket from inside before setting off. He had barely made it a few steps when he was pulled around a corner and into a crushing bear hug. ‘’Ha harr! I knew ye would come Doctor me old sea dog!’’ ‘’Happy to see you too my dear Corsair’’ wheezed The Doctor as he struggled against the affectionate death grip. ‘’But if you would be so kind as to let go of me before I suffocate it would be appreciated.’’ ‘’Arr, but can ya blame me Doctor? I haven’t seen ye for a dogs age.’’ Released from his friends grasp, The Doctor adjusted his cravat as he took in the other Time Colts appearance. The Corsair was a large, muscle bound stallion with a lime green coat and black mane done into dreadlocks. He had an active interest in pirates and nearly everything about him reflected this, around his head was a red and white striped bandanna while a loose fitting shirt hung about his chest. A black patch covered his left eye and strapped across his body was a selection of swords, knives and flintlock pistols. Much like The Doctor, his cutie mark depicted an hourglass, except he’d had a serpent tattooed around it in a spiral. The Doctor also noted that his clothes were charred and slightly smoking. ‘’Couldn’t you have least cleaned yourself up? This is a rather important meeting after all, I mean good heavens haven’t you heard of soap?’’ ‘’Course I’ve heard o soap Doctor, I eats a bar a week whether I needs it or not. Had even scrubbed me clothes but I ran into some trouble on the way over. ’’ The Doctor raised an eyebrow. ‘’Would that be the same trouble that followed you after you had an affair with the Seapony Queen? The same trouble that left you at the bottom of the sea in a steel coffin?’’ ‘’Aye that be the one.’’ The Doctor rubbed his temples in frustration. ‘’You’re lucky I found you, you know that? If you would just stop womanising you might actually be able to not get into trouble in the first place.’’ ‘’Maybe, but I got needs matey. These women aren’t satisfied by their lot and I just happen to need what they want, so we come to a mutual understanding.’’ He said with a cheeky grin. ‘’You do realise that nearly every time we meet it’s because you managed to get into trouble with some married ruler and you need me to bail you out YET AGAIN! .’’ Taking a few deep breaths, The Doctor composed himself. ‘’Honestly I don’t know why I put up with you sometimes.’’ ‘’Because your life would be boring without me.’’ Replied The Corsair with a wink. With an annoyed groan, The Doctor began rapidly trotting towards the citadels central spire. The Corsair trotted alongside him, chatting away in what was a very one sided conversation. Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx The present ‘’Hold on a second.’’ Interrupted Derpy. ‘’You’re the nicest, most sociable stallion I’ve ever met. Why were you such a jerk to this guy?’’ The Doctor sighed. ‘’It has to do with a Time Colts ability to regenerate. I have lived over twelve thousand years and in that time I have been no less than nine different stallions.’’ ‘’You’ve explained this to me before.’’ Replied Derpy ‘’but you never said it affected your personality.’’ ‘’To be honest it’s not something I like to talk about. Whenever a Time Colt regenerates the magic in our body burns right into our brains, which can make us behave erratically for a while. This is because our brain has effectively been rewired. Some core personality traits remain consistent and our memories are unaffected, but once our behaviour stabilises we are practically a completely different pony.’’ ‘’So what you’re saying is that if you regenerate...’’ He gave her a sad smile. ‘’Then the pony you know now might as well be dead.’’ There was silence as this revelation sank in. ‘’But we’re getting off topic.’’ said The Doctor. ‘’As I was saying, The Corsair and I were approaching the central spire... Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Gallopfrey The two Time Colts now stood before the spires gigantic double doors. The Doctor was about to knock when they opened with a slow, resounding creak from their hinges to reveal three figures. The first two were a set of bronze automation ponies, their clockwork mechanisms ticking away like a pair of grandfather clocks, but the third figure interested the Doctor the most. The stallion before them had a grey coat with a short cut mane and tail and a short beard around his muzzle. He was wearing a set of formal crimson robes with gold trim and wore a superior expression on his face. ‘’My Lord Doctor’’ he greeted icily. ‘’My Lord Master’’ replied The Doctor with the same degree of warmth. ‘’You’re late’’ said The Master. ‘’But now that you are here we can finally start, if you would please follow me.’’ He turned on his hooves and strode through the doors, the two automatons never leaving his side. ‘’I thought he was still in prison?’’ whispered The Doctor. ‘’I should know, I’m the one that put him there.’’ ‘’That ye did Doctor, but he’s on parole for good behaviour and even if he deserves a good keel haul, the terms mean he can legally attend this meeting.’’ ‘’Well, no good can come from that.’’ Quietly following The Master and his guards, they eventually emerged into the spires grand hall. The hall had been constructed with magic similar to that which made up their TARDIS technology; this made it possible to house the thousands who would be attending the conclave. Seats carpeted the floor, while galleries rose upwards until they were lost from sight; several platforms even hovered around the hall to pick up the stragglers. In the centre of the room hovered a great sphere that appeared to be made of liquid mercury, its surface ripped and shifted every few moments as shapes and images briefly formed before sinking back below the surface. Seated behind a raised table of white marble facing the hall were the twelve High Lords of Gallopfrey, those whose knowledge and experience made them invaluable to their entire civilisation. Taking the prime seat on the table was a pony in an ornate, golden crested helmet, which completely enclosed his face. He was resting one hoof on the table, revealing a gauntlet that crackled and spat with barely contained power. Gesturing to a pair of vacant seats, the Master took his leave while The Doctor and Corsair waited for everything to begin. Standing up, the helmeted stallion raised his armoured hoof and the chamber fell silent. Circling around the council table he strode towards the front of the stage, where a plinth rose up for him to stand on. Above him the sphere shifted and bubbled until a likeness of his metal helmet took shape. ‘’I Omega, call this conclave of Time Colts to order!’’ His voice, magically projected around the chamber, sounded beautiful and cold like the endless depths of space. ‘’Under the Rules of Time set down by the very first Council, this conclave has been called by our Lord President to discuss a pressing issue that he believes could affect the very fabric of time itself.’’ The Doctor felt himself grow uneasy as Omega’s gaze lingered on him; clearly he didn’t think this was a pressing issue. But he wouldn’t have had to pull rank if they had listened to him in the first place. Waving his gauntleted hoof towards the sphere Omegas image disappeared and was replaced with several others; green fields that warped into a checkerboard, trees that suddenly sprang to life and ran away, chocolate rain from cotton candy clouds, and finally scenes of ponies being used as playthings. Some were turned into living pins for a giant bowling alley, others found themselves turned into ducks at a shooting gallery, and these were just the lucky ones. The orb shifted and displayed ponies whose bodies and personalities had been warped and twisted into cruel parodies of themselves while overshadowing it all was a serpentine form, giggling and laughing like a spoiled child. ‘’As many of you are aware the being known as Discord has ruled the mortals since he defeated the three pony tribes of Equis over a thousand years ago. It is the belief of our Lord President that his chaos has stretched the mortals to breaking point and that soon he will look for other ways to amuse himself, which could pose a threat to the very fabric of time. He believes that we must end our isolation and secrecy so we can lend aid to the mortals that still fight this creature. I therefore open the floor to him so we can hear his case.’’ As he went back to his seat, The Doctor stood up. It was time to speak and hope that the council listened to what he had to say. Moving to the podium he cleared his throat as the gaze of every Time Colt in the room fell on him, above the sphere shifted once again and The Doctors face appeared on its surface. ‘’Esteemed Colts and Mares we are a powerful race, one that has risen far above the others on Equis. Before the three tribes of ponykind ever existed we were creating fire from our hooftips, while the Griffins warred with the Minotaur’s we were creating advanced medicines and science far beyond anything they could even conceive. We have shown the world that we are not only intelligent but resourceful to the point that we harnessed the Light of Harmony itself.’’ He paused to allow his little bit of ego stroking take effect. ‘’However, while we have become the masters of time and space, and taken our place as the dominant power of Equis, we are not as unassailable as we might think.’’ The sphere above shifted once again to show Discords chaos and suffering. ‘’Discord is a being created from the very thing that we oppose. His brand of chaos has caused untold suffering to every civilisation on the planet and what makes it worse, is that he is doing it all simply because he finds it amusing. No one is safe from that type of madness.’’ The sphere shifted again to show a shining silver city floating on the ocean. ‘’Marelantis. Here was a kingdom that rivalled our own, a city of technological progress the likes of which shall not be seen on this world again for thousands of years. They thought themselves safe from any threat, until Discord turned his gaze in their direction.’’ The scene changed, the city crumbled as volcanic eruptions burned through the streets, spewing what looked like red hot fudge onto its inhabitants. Many tried to run, but found their hooves stuck fast as their bodies turned to taffy. As the city’s foundation began to crumble the sea bubbled and swirled before turning into chocolate milk, which Discord supped from with a straw as he watched the city die a horribly sweet death. The silence in the hall could have been cut with a knife. The Time Colts knew of the destruction of Marelantis, but they had simply dismissed it as the mortals toying with things they did not understand. The Doctor resumed speaking. ‘’But Marelantis was not the only civilisation that Discord found pleasure in destroying. Paradise Estate, Avalon, Gryphalla, Flutter Valley, the list not only goes on, it gets bigger the longer we sit here content in our secrecy. Do you think that a being like that will simply stop when he has destroyed the last civilisation on Equis?’’ He firmly pointed a hoof at the frozen image of Discord on the sphere. ‘’When he has nothing left to destroy he will look for something else to amuse himself. Make no mistake he will find us eventually and then we shall suffer the same fate as those we refused to help. Then he will look to the stars for more beings to toy with and when he is finished with them he will turn his attention to the very fabric of time itself, where he will inevitably find that he is finally playing with a power that eclipses his own moments before all of reality and existence implode around him.’’ The spheres image shifted back to The Doctors face as a few worried mutters broke out among the crowd, he waited patiently for them to die down before he continued. ‘’However, that is a worst case scenario; right now we have a chance to stop him. As I have stated, we harnessed the Light of Harmony during the early years of this world’s existence. The sphere shifted once more and displayed the shining light from atop the Time Colts Citadel. ‘’This light is the very opposite of Discords power; hope and warmth radiate in its wake, bringing others together while he drives them apart. It is this light that can defeat him for good.’’ He swept his gaze over the room; this was the part that he knew they wouldn’t like. ‘’I have studied the light and its effects for years and believe it can be harnessed into a powerful weapon that can be used against Discord.’’ The spheres image shifted once again to display five gemstones in a star formation around a sixth, much larger one. ‘’However it will require two things, the first I believe will be easy to find. The technology we use to harness the light also dilutes its power, so a being, or beings, must be found that can contain the six elements of harmony within their very soul. I have already scoured this world and believe I have found suitable candidates in the kingdom of Elysium.’’ ‘’The second thing that is needed is the Light itself. Defeating a being like Discord will require an immense amount of power-‘’ ‘’How much power?’’ The Doctor turned to the source of the interruption, an elderly mare in the front row. ‘’Well’’ she said. ‘’How much power will it require?’’ He took a deep breath. ‘’I believe that nothing less than the full power of the Light will defeat Discord.’’ The chamber exploded into uproar as objections and arguments flew at him in droves. Cries of ‘’lunacy’’ and ‘’suicide’’ were screamed by some of the more vocal individuals, while the plan was deemed as ‘’the end of our civilisation’’ by one of the more dramatic mares as she swooned in the front row. The Doctor remained silent; he suspected this would be their reaction. The chaos ended abruptly when Omega slammed his gauntleted hoof down onto the council table so hard it turned the marble underneath to powder. ‘’ORDER!’’ He boomed, and the hall was silenced. ‘’This behaviour is unacceptable! We are Time Colts! Not some half bred mortals from the backwaters of the mainland!’’ He turned to The Doctor. ‘’You have made your case Doctor now please make room for the next speaker.’’ With a bow The Doctor left the podium and returned to his seat. ‘’Well...that got rowdier than Tortuga during happy hour’’ said The Corsair as The Doctor sat down. ‘’I expected that much from them, but I’m hoping my little speech will sway a few of the more open minded individuals.’’ He looked back up at the stage and saw Omega was staring daggers at him through his helmet. ‘’I thank The Doctor for opening this debate with is usual flair’’ he said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm. ‘’Now that he has made his case, we invite another to speak for the opposite party.’’ The Doctor spied movement off to the opposite edge of the stage and was unsurprised to see that the council had gotten the only individual that could match him to give the counter argument. He braced himself for the worst as The Master stepped up to the podium. Author's Note I would like to state that I have never seen much of the classic Dr Who so please don't judge me too harshly for any creative liberties I have taken. Bear in mind this is not meant to be a direct imitation of The Doctor but rather an imagining of how ''Doctor Whooves'' and his universe would fit in with the world of MLP, think of it as a alternative universe if you will.
