Chapters Doctor Whooves (The Doctor in Equestria)
The Doctor heaved a sigh as the door of the TARDIS creaked noisily behind him. It was the goodbyes he hated the most, parting ways with those who he had grown so close to. It was almost impossible to not be filled with regret and a lingering desire for the adventures to continue, to extend their grand travels. To never have to say goodbye.
A shudder passed through him and he groaned aloud. The process underway was, though useful, not one without it's drawbacks. The one at the forefront of his thoughts right now was the pain he was feeling. He hurt in places only regeneration could bring him pain. The feeling was one that you had to experience to describe, the best he had come close to once was when he described it to one of his companions. "It's a bit like swallowing dry toast without chewing first." This, he had thought then and still believed now to be a fairly accurate description of the sensation. It was like that, but in all the veins and passageways in his body. The raw, powerful energy coursing through every route, canal, nook, and/or cranny in his body. It's golden glow a painful visual reminder of it's flow. He had almost grown used to it. Almost. You never could quite get used to the sensation if acquiring a new, well, everything. New face, new skin, new hair, new feet, and, ugh, new teeth. He knew it never helped to anticipate the exact moment when the transformation would climax, but couldn't help but physically and mentally tense up in preparation for the new persona.
Another pulse. Strange. It didn't usually come in waves that harsh, at least not until the end, when the regeneration piqued. That wave, as would be expected, hurt a lot. "Oww!" He shouted aloud, voicing his discomfort at the anomaly. This was not okay, something was wrong, and that distressed him. Was he dying? As in, DYING dying? No. Not right now. He wasn't ready, there was still so much to do. Planets to save, galaxies to liberate. Things he still wished he could have said and done. He ran his fingers through his hair frantically at the thought of these few moments being his final ones. He was scared, though, strangely, he didn't mind. He was almost at peace, almost... happy.
Yet another burst of energy, this time causing him to actually heave his body, though not at his own will. Oh wow! That hurt a lot more than the previous. It felt like he was exploding, only a little bit at a time. The pain was enormous. Almost enough that he couldn't even express it vocally. Almost. "BLOODY HELL!!!" How very British. But it was the only thing he could think to say. It was like an overload of the senses so immense, that only the simplest curses could describe it. The feeling that there was something under his skin gained a new relevance, as it seemed to be popping out of him rather than crawling just below the surface.
A flash of golden energy, enough to blind most people, throwing him forward onto the TARDIS console. He could feel it. The overload of energy as his cells all tried to replace, replicate, and regenerate. As another small explosion burst from with in, he could swear he saw a connection of the energy between the console and himself. A shift of his eyebrow was all he could manage before the next onslaught brought any and all speculations within his mind to a screeching halt. This time, there was no mistaking it, there was definitely a transfer of the energy in his body to the console of the TARDIS. Not desiring to hurt her, he attempt to pull himself away, only for yet another shock-wave to pulse through him and consequently through the TARDIS. This time, he could see sparks dancing and skirting about the various interfaces on the panelings. The TARDIS began to shake violently, the raw power within him visible in just about every inch of the TARDIS. Little bits of it zipping to and fro at random intervals at random spots. The TARDIS shook and protested like it never had before. Something clearly disturbing the natural flight patterns and navigational objectives.
As the TARDIS began to erupt into a violent fit of shaking and noise, so too did The Doctor erupt with energy, feeling his body shift and alter in ways not experienced to him ever before, the process so painful that he could not willingly move a single muscle in his body. Not even to open his mouth to scream. He could feel organs shift dramatically, appendages adapt and rearrange, his neck growing... wait, growing? Yes, definitely growing. He was still conscious, though through every second prayed to every God he'd ever heard of to please either kill him, or at the very least make him unconscious so he did not have to bear the excruciating pain of this unnatural shift in his shape.
He could feel every agonizing development, though he could not even begin to imagine what he must look like. His fingers were absorbed into his palms, they themselves twisting and shrinking back into his arms, which in turn receded into his shoulders. His feet doing likewise, knees twisting and rotating into incredibly uncomfortable angles. His spine going perpendicular to his neck and the rest of his torso following suit. His ears seemed to be stretched and pulled till they were atop his head, his head itself growing in strange spots (such as something strange which he could not describe happening with his mouth), it's overall mass increasing, his eyes were hurting from the inside as they too grew with the rest of his head.
When all was said and done, the transformation complete and the TARDIS at rest, only then was he granted the sweet relief which he determined must be death.
Doctor Whooves (The Doctor in Equestria)
The Doctor shivered on the floor of the TARDIS, exhausted tears sliding out of his eyes. Is this what death is like? Death, decidedly, stinks. Slowly, The Doctor managed to regain feeling. Slowly, painfully, he forced his eyelids to part, opening until the interior of the TARDIS was plainly visible. So this was the new TARDIS? It looks... ugh, never mind what the TARDIS looks like, the update can be evaluated later. Right now, a splitting headache was to be dealt with. The Doctor groaned a pain-filled groan, and reached up to the console to pull himself up.
"AH!" The Doctor immediately recoiled, pulling his new appendage inward, then, remembering it's appearance, tried to distance himself as far as possible from it. It was a marvel to look at. It was not a hand, but rather, some sort of hoof. It was a strange sensation, being in control of an entirely new body part. The Doctor began to inspect his other hoof. Then his other other hoof. And lastly his other other other hoof. "Now this is surreal." The Doctor propped himself up on all fours, struggling to maintain balance. "I... don't know how to walk." He attempted to try his right hoof first, ultimately falling forward and to the right a bit. Regaining posture, he attempted again this time succeeding in placing one hoof forward in an awkward stance. Next he brought out his left fore hoof, overextending himself and slowly sliding down on to his belly. Mumbling to himself he once again got standing. Right front, right back. Left front, left back. This he continued until he could walk at a level of satisfactory ease, doing a few laps around the new console to prove to himself that he could manage, and to work any kinks in the system.
Having navigated his way to the wardrobe, he examined himself in the mirror. This was just weird. All kinds of it. He noted his features. A chestnut coat, gentle on the eyes. Deep brown hair, no, mane, spiked in a rather stylish fashion. Eyes that were a rather nice shade of blue, and... what is that? He brought his rear center-stage to examine something on his flank. What was it? It appeared to be an hourglass, but why? He shook his head of it, determined that he'd discover it's purpose at a later point in time. He then turned to his wardrobe, "What do equines wear?" He strolled around the room until he decided that it would be unfitting if he wore clothes, it'd be strange. As he was about to leave he noticed something in the bin. A collar, it looked like, perhaps torn from the original shirt. Picking it up between his hooves he lifted it over his head and onto his neck. He laughed at it a little bit and then thought a little deeper. An idea clearly sparking he rushed off and returned with a red tie, fixing it (though with extreme difficulty) around his neck. "There," he spoke to no one in particular "it almost looks sensible." He smiled a smug look of satisfaction and trotted out through the corridors and into the main room once again. Eagerly, he pushed open the loud doors to his travel capsule and basked in the sunlight that flooded his face. With a wide grin across his face, The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, and into the village of Ponyville.
Doctor Whooves (The Doctor in Equestria)
The first thing the The Doctor noticed was the colors. All these tiny horses of just about any color imaginable, with hair, err, mane-styles of all sorts. The next thing he noticed were the wings. Yes, strange as it was, most of the tiny horses here didn't even stir when another tiny horse flew above them. This place was wonderful! And this was all in the first fifteen seconds of exiting the TARDIS. Rarely did he come across something he knew next to nothing about. Then he noticed possibly his favorite part yet. There were unicorns! Living, breathing, actual unicorns! The Doctor breathed in the fresh air and started on his way, the TARDIS closing behind him.
His smile faltered for only a moment after an intense growl from within his abdomen. "Oh right, nearly forgot about that bit. Right, let's see if these other tiny equines can talk." After a moment of carefully observing his selection, he decided on a well-dressed pony (apparently they DO wear clothes) with slicked back hair. He approached the individual, who appeared to have bags of money on his flank, smiled and asked "Excuse me sir, if you are actually able to communicate with me, I would love to know where I can get something to eat." The other horse chuckled and turned, "I'm no stranger to a Trottingham accent sir, the nearest eating establishment would be Sugarcube Corner, just over in that direction, my good pony." After gesturing towards the bakery, the "pony" continued on his way, doing whatever it was that ponies with money on their hides do. The Doctor smiled and thanked him, then went in the direction that the other pony pointed. "Did he say "Trottingham"? Heh. Heheh. That's funny, it's like Nottingham, isn't it? But for ponies. That's adorable! I can tell already that this is going to be fun."
Eventually arriving in front of the large pink building which he assumed was the bakery (due to the food-like appearance of the whole building) he gratefully stepped inside, ready to put something inside of his raging stomach. He observed his new environment, curious as he was about this new world. It was a typical set-up, dining area to the right, a set of stairs in the back, and the counter directly ahead. He noticed a stand-up sign and immediately smiled, a devious plan already hatching. The sign read "Royal Guard Eats Free!". This was just what The Doctor needed, something that would grant him easy access without too much scheming. Not that he didn't like scheming, just that he was really hungry and wasn't quite up to the energy and thought that a good scheme demanded. This sign though, it practically gave him all that he needed, and it was a good job too, he was working up quite an appetite exploring this new, fascinating world.
Approaching the counter, he cleared his throat to alert the counter-maid of his presence. The blue pony with a large swirl on top of her head nearly gave The Doctor a laugh, new as he was to the whole "tiny horse" bit. He managed to suppress a laugh and was about to ask for something to eat when he realized he didn't know what he wanted to eat. He didn't know what he even liked, though he hoped that he didn't like pears, a previous incarnation of himself had seriously disliked pears, and he was not EVER going to get over his irrational hate of that fruit. Thinking quickly, witty as he was, The Doctor merely said "Can I get what everyone else likes?" The pony at the opposing end of the counter gave him a curious look, but merely shook her head and called out behind her into the kitchen. "Pinkie Pie! Can we get some of your cupcakes please?!" She then turned to the stranger and informed him. "That'll be twelve bits, please." The Doctor chuckled a bit then said "I'm, uh, actually a member of the Royal Guard" The blue mare opposite him was clearly NOT convinced as she gave him a look that quite obviously said "Really? I'm supposed to buy that?". The Doctor sighed and bent his head down, "Fine, I'll prove it to you". Reaching into his tie pocket with his mouth he retrieved a small black wallet and dropped it, open, onto the counter in front of her. It clearly stated that he was not only a member of the Royal Guard, but a Captain at that!
She immediately looked sheepish, and felt very foolish. "My apologies, Captain. I'll be sure to hurry your cupcakes." The Doctor smiled a friendly smile as the mare turned and shouted into the kitchen. "PINKIE PIE! HURRY UP WITH THOSE CUPCAKES!" "I told you Mrs. Cake..." Mrs. Cake nearly jumped over the counter top as Pinkie Pie appeared seemingly out of nowhere, behind her "...that I'm missing my lucky baking spoon! I normally keep it in a hidden spot in the cupboard underneath the back left pot, but I can't find anywhere!" Mrs. Cake sighed, clearly used to the antics of this spazzy pink pony. "Well then, Pinkie Pie, you'll just have to use one of our other baking spoons." "Oh! I already did!" Pinkie Pie lifted up a tray of freshly baked cupcakes. These, too, had apparently materialized from nothing. Pinkie then placed the tray on the counter and gave a massive smile to The Doctor, who couldn't help but have a small, friendly chuckle escape his new horsey mouth. "Thank you, Ms. Pie, I'm sure these are going to be absolutely fantastic!" He then bent down and picked the tray up in his teeth, and carried them over to an empty table near the door. He then saw the ever-crazy pink mare start searching under, over, and around anything that might hide that trusty spoon.
The Doctor let out an expectant sigh as he carefully unwrapped one of the cupcakes, careful so that he didn't smash the entire confection. After, completing his task of unwrapping said cupcakes, he picked the wrapper up with his teeth and tossed into the bin, which was conveniently close, due to his choice in seating. He neatly devoured the cupcake viciously, greedily consuming every morsel, not allowing there to be a single survivor. Pinkie was continuing her search, lifting entire tables, ponies and all. A rather impressive feat of strength, he noted to himself. He then gently pushed down the sides of the wrapper of his next victim, much preferring the cupcake virgin, sans wrapper. After removing it from the cover and protection of it's sheltering wrapper, he lifted the wrapper up with his teeth, and turned to gently place it in... nothing. It floated down unto the ground where the trash bin used to be, making The Doctor a hardened, littering criminal. He stared perplexedly at the empty space, curious if what he was seeing was real. After confirming to himself that it had, in fact, disappeared, he smiled, ready for the adventure that this world was already offering him. He quickly consumed his cupcake and removed himself from his chair, intent on finding out what happened to the trash bin.
As The Doctor reached into his tie pocket, pulling out a certain useful tool, he realized he had no idea how he was supposed to hold it. After a moments contemplation, he decided his teeth would just have to do. Removing the sonic screwdriver from his tie pocket, he clicked the device a couple times, setting the frequency. "Watcha doin'?". The Doctor didn't even flinch as the pink pony stared over his shoulder, watching the blue light blanket the small area that it was able to reach. "M attmptng t fnd ut wht tok te trsh bn". Pinkie nodded knowingly, "Any ideas what it might be?". After placing the screwdriver into his tie, The Doctor lifted his head and turned to Pinkie "Oh, I have a few theories, naturally, but nothing solid yet. I've detected a quantum disturbance in the area of where the bin used to stand. And now I'm going to go find the origin of said disturbance and I'm going to deal with it.". Pinkie gasped "Oooo, that sounds really detective-y. Are you a detective?"
The Doctor was leaving Sugarcube Corner, post-haste, when he realized a certain lightish-red pony was bounding after him, hopping upwards of three feet at a time. He quickly rushed to his blue box, parked conveniently nearby, between two buildings. "Ooo. What's that?" Pinkie Pie tilted her head slightly, obviously curious about the blue box. The Doctor smiled as he turned to the pink pony "It's a police box, for policy things."
Needless to say, The Doctor was dumbfounded. How had this seemingly air-headed pony seen through his ruse? Only the most intelligent... unless... no, it was probably just a fluke. He did, however, like that she had at least recognized how the trick worked, it was way ahead of her time, let-alone intelligence level. "Well, I'm going to go now. Into my police box. See you later!"
"Woah! It's bigger on the inside!" The Doctor smiled, he always loved that part. "Yeah, and you know what else? It travels, too!" Pinkie Pie looked to be in awe "Really? Where are we going to go?" The Doctor didn't even have to think. "Wherever the thing that took your trash bin is. Because THAT'S adventure!" The Doctor walked up to the console and looked back at the still amazed Pinkie Pie. "Would you mind helping me fly this?" Pinkie could only somehow smile wider.
"FLICK THAT LEVER". Pinkie zipped to the location of indicated lever and performed the action ordered of her. "LEE-VUR FLICKED!" "EXCELLENT! PREPARE FOR RE-MATERIALIZATION SEQUENCE!" This was his favorite part. The big knife switch that ended all the button-pushing, lever flicking, dial spinning. The feeling of it was always exhilarating, sending a rush through his body, and now he got to do it as a pony! Reaching to it, he got his hoof behind it, and pushed it forward, the sound of the TARDIS teleporting climaxing.
VWORP VWORP BDEEEeeew BDEEEeeew. As the TARDIS materialized in it's new location, The Doctor laughed excitedly and turned to Pinkie Pie. "Shall we see where this baddie is hiding?" Pinkie giggle and followed The Doctor as they headed out of the TARDIS. "Okay, I'll be honest. I have absolutely no clue where we are." "Oh oh, I know!" Pinkie raised her hoof in the air and started waggling it expectantly, waiting to be called on. The Doctor only smiled at the behaviour and played along. "Yes Ms. Pie, you know the answer?"
"Ow." The Doctor pulled himself up onto his legs, lightly shaking his head, trying to clear the imaginary fog in his head. "You know what?" He said, picking up the sonic screwdriver, "I think I'll just use my mouth. Thr! See? T wrks fne!" He then perked his head up, the device having clearly detected something. Placing the screwdriver once again into his tie he bolted off, shouting to Pinkie Pie over his shoulder "Come on, Pinkie! This way!". The Doctor zipped around the corner and up the front steps, past the guards who clearly weren't ready for him and were unable to stop him in time. "Excuse me, gentlemen! Just passing through, won't be a moment!". The guards gave each other a brief glance to confirm to each other that what they just saw did, in fact, happen, then immediately gave chase after the mad stallion. The Doctor was nearing the disturbance when he was halted by two guards, just in front of the room that contained the threat. Soon, he was surrounded on all sides and had spears pointed threateningly at him. There was no getting out of this one.
"Hello, Doctor. It is nice to see you again.". The guards lowered their spears slightly, unsure whether they were supposed to take him into custody, or greet him. "It is okay, my little ponies. He has the right to be anywhere at anytime. He has saved us more times than you could know." The guards lowered their spears and returned to their posts, the two guarding the entryway staying in place. The Doctor turned to see his saviour. What he observed took him a second to register. She (he assumed it was a she because of the voice and overall appearance) was tall... really tall. She was a shade of pink so light, that most others would mistake it for white. She had both wings AND a horn (which was kind of cheating if you think about it) and had a crown and gold boots. She had the mark of the sun on her rear, but what was most impressive was the hair. It flowed even without the slightest draft. The colors of a beautiful sunrise OR sunset, it was hard to say it was anything other than beautiful.
"Umm, hello. I'm sorry, who are you?". The Princess was confused for a moment, but then a look of realization dawned on her. "I'm sorry, Doctor, I did not realize this was your first time meeting me. Time is strange, and this is not my first time meeting you. I am Princess Celestia, harbinger of the day. Bringer of the sun.". The Doctor nodded knowingly, this not being his first time with first but not first meetings. "Yes, well, if you know me, then you know what I am here about.". The Princess nodded "Yes, you have access to anywhere in the castle. If you require any aid, do not hesitate to summon me, I should be in the kitchen for, uh, lunch. Yes, lunch.". The Doctor smiled, "You should try cupcakes, they're really good! Ooo! I bet I'd like cake. You should try cake, indulge yourself!". Princess Celestia gave a nervous laugh, "Yes, perhaps I will, one day. Farewell, Doctor." "Right, seeya!". The Doctor ran into the other room, ready to deal with the problem.
The Doctor entered the throne room and approached his enemy. His enemy, because it threatened the life of innocent, peaceful creatures. He approached the main throne and cleared his throat "Ahem, hello. I'm The Doctor, you may not know me, but that's fine, I'm not here to talk about me. However, I DO want to talk about you, I want to talk about what YOU are doing. You see, you may not know it, but you're threatening the lives of innocent, peaceful creatures, and that's not okay with me. You see, I know that if you keep up what you're doing, this world goes away, and that's not okay with me. I'll tell you what IS okay, Article Fifty-Seven of the Shadow Proclamation prohibits the destruction of a Level Five planet, you are breaking inter-galactic law, and I am here to see to it that this activity is ceased." What responded was what sounded like a series of hisses and wheezy inhalations. The Doctor, however, was able to understand it, and communicated thoroughly. "Ah, so that's what you are? I'm afraid that doesn't matter to me, however. You either find a new home and leave this place, or feel the wrath of someone who's dealt with this kind of stuff waaaaay too long to be patient about it anymore. The Lapidem Vivum are not permitted to feed here, I'm certain of it. No race in their right mind would give that kind of authority to something that only eats, and eats, and eats. Now. Make your choice, you make everyone happy, and go feed on an uninhabited planet OR, and this one is probably against your benefit,... you mess with The Doctor. What will it be?". Another series of frightening inhalations and "s" sounds. "Why should you be afraid of me? I can think of a number of reasons. One, I'm a Time Lord, the LAST of the Time Lords, as a matter of fact. I saw the fall of Gallifrey, and I saw the noble race and their enemies turn to dust. Two, I'm not afraid of you, because I know that you have a weakness, and I know that once I put everything together, you won't be able to stop me. Three, I'm The Doctor. Four, and this is the one that you should be most afraid... I have a Pinkie Pie"
As the words left The Doctor's mouth, Pinkie Pie exploded from behind the throne, a slurry of confetti and balloons following behind her, and she brought down a giant net on top of the throne, much to the detesting of the creature contained within. "I got it, Doctor!". The Doctor smiled "Excellent, thank you, Ms. Pie. Oh, please do be careful not to hurt it.". The Doctor walked up to the throne. "Now, where's everyone else?" Pinkie Pie looked at The Doctor somewhat confusedly, "What do you mean, we got it. Didn't we?" "Yes, the one assigned to your home town..."
The Lapidum Vivum began to speak in it's eerie way. "!you were so foolish to try and stop mE .now you will be the first living things to be consumeD". Pinkie Pie looked at The Doctor worriedly, clearly begging for him to do something. But rather, he spoke to it. "This is your last chance! If you refuse to comply then you will be terminated!"
VWORP. VWORP. BDEEEeeew. BDEEEeeew... The TARDIS door swung open with an incredibly loud creak and The Doctor and Pinkie Pie stepped outside of it, laughing together. "Pinkie Pie, you were absolutely fantastic. I especially thought the confetti was a nice touch.". He began laughing again, rejoicing with Pinkie Pie in their victory. After the revelry had died down a bit, Pinkie Pie spoke up, "Well, Doctor. I gotta go, seeya!". Pinkie Pie started to bounce away when The Doctor started to say something. "Umm, Pinkie Pie, could you wait a moment?". Pinkie froze mid-air and turned around, also while mid-air, then fell towards him "Okie Dokie Loki! What's up?". The Doctor appeared nervous at first, but then regained his confidence. "Pinkie Pie, I was thinking. I'm new here, still need to get the lingo down, need to familiarize myself with the place, and I still don't think I've got this whole pony bit down. Fact of the matter is. I need a tour guide. Pinkie Pie, how would you like to be my companion?". Pinkie Pie took only a moment to answer, and when she did, her answer was clear. "I'm sorry Doctor, but no. I think you're really fun and I bet you have lots of fun, but I have friends here, and they're what's most important to me. I hope that's okay with you.". The Doctor nodded, though not without looking completely and utterly bummed. "I understand Pinkie Pie. Perhaps we'll be able to adventure again someday."
CRRRRREEEEEEEEEAAAK. SLAM. The Doctor walked up to the TARDIS console slowly and depressed. He sighed as he sat down and looked at the TARDIS console, unsure of what to do next. Setting the TARDIS to appear in a random location at a random time, he gripped the knife switch as best as one could with a hoof. A refreshing sigh came out and a new smile found his face as he prepped for his next adventure. "Allons-y!"
Doctor Whooves (The Doctor in Equestria)
Great And Powerful Problems
The TARDIS was shaking crazily, having had it's destination randomized, and now traveled through space and time to an unknown where, at an unknown when. The Doctor sat inside, riding the chaotic ride, smiling and laughing all the way through. He could not resist the urge to start pressing buttons which he probably shouldn't have been pressing anyways. The beeps and boops of each press alerting that the arbitrary presses had consequences. The Doctor stumbled a bit as the TARDIS launched itself forward, indicating that it was nearing the end of it's journey.
A griffon walked out of the tavern he had just been performing in, his lute strapped to his back in order to prevent it's loss while in flight. He lifted up the small bag of coins he had just collected, and smiled humbly at the jingle that was the fruit of his labour. Bard was not a popular profession in the slums of Leodon, and he was working his hardest to survive on the meager salary that it provided him. He could easily migrate to another profession, one which payed far better, but the griffons that lived in this part of town needed the two minutes of joy that he could bring with a love ballad, or a tribute to some great warrior, long forgotten with time. He turned left to head towards his flat, having known the way to and from the tavern and his flat for at least four years now. Familiar as he was with the route, he knew all shortcuts along the way. Turning into an alley that no sane citizen of Leodon would turn down, he strutted down with confidence, long since having abolished any fear of ghosts or supernatural beings. Nearing mid point of the alleyway, he began to hear some sort of insane cackling, like some madgrif that had escaped the asylum. Turning to meet the owner of the wicked laugh, he fell into a world of black, knowing no feeling, no smell, no sensation of any kind, save for the foreboding presence of a dark and wicked force.
The tavern was alive as much as it usual was, the normal hustle and bustle of midday, it wasn't late enough for the drunkards to come about, so the air was lighthearted and fun. The only air of unease was the absence of the bard, who'd performed here rain or shine everyday for the last four years. Aside from that, everything was as happy as one could be living in the slums of an industrial Leodon. What did cause a moment of silence and a slight stir, was when a peculiar sound emanated from outside the tavern doors, though was eventually attributed to the machinery hard at work in the city that was so alive around them. What did stun the entire pub was the next visitor to walk in through those same doors, causing the entire place to cease all activity and draw attention to the one new visitor. A pony.
VWORP VWORP BDEEEeeew BDEEEeeew. The TARDIS became still as it landed at its next stop. The Doctor stumbled outside and coughed several times, the smile coming back to his face. "Now this is like a proper London! Hmm, smog is too heavy to be anything to modern, but not quite heavy enough to be Nineteen-Fifties. If I had to guess, maybe somewhere between the late Seventeen Hundreds to the early Eighteen Hundreds. Ah! We're in the industrial revolution!". The Doctor looked back at the TARDIS and sighed slightly. "I. I am in the industrial revolution. Right, time to get my bearings. I'm still a bit hungry though, might stop by a pub for a moment for a spot to eat. Hmm, where would I put a pub in an industrialized London?". The Doctor stepped out of the alleyway where the TARDIS had materialized. Checking the street up and down, he spotted a tavern not far off from where he had popped up. "Well, that's convenient. I think maybe I'll order cupcakes!"
The Doctor trotted up to the establishment, pushing the door open with his hoof and walking in expecting people to be either fighting, or having a grand time. The latter of which they were doing, right until his face was seen entering through the door. The whole pub went silent and everyone stared at him, almost as if they were in a movie fond of using played-out scenarios. He inhaled deeply and trotted up to the bar-counter, pretending not to be disturbed by the death glares he was getting on all sides. "A few things, my good sir," The Doctor spoke to the griffon at the other end of the counter "First of all, I'm awful hungry. I don't suppose you serve cupcakes here?". This was rewarded with a chorus of laughter from all those in attendance here. "Thought not. Secondly, you're griffons?!?!" The griffon next to him gave him a look that was one full of condescension, making The Doctor almost feel stupid. "You're trying to tell me," the lion eagle spoke "that you came to Leodon, and didn't expect to see griffons?". The bar rumbled with laughter as the irony of the situation sunk in. "I'm sorry," The Doctor apologized "I'm new to these parts, and I just didn't quite know what to expect." The griffon shook his head again at this. "New? You sound fresh out of Trottingham! Why, you my be a pony, but your obviously from somewhere in Great Grifland. So, why were you surprised to see griffons?". The Doctor shook his head, wanting to get away from the topic, knowing anything he said would just dig the hole deeper. "Anyway, you haven't got cupcakes. Got it. What do you have?". The griffon tending the counter rolled his eyes, and spoke to The Doctor seriously. "If you don't want a drink, you might as well get. So, what'll it be?"
The Doctor sighed. "Fine, some ale'll do, if you got it.". The griffon gave him a sort of look, not expecting him to actually order a drink. After a short moment, the griffon sighed. "You're one strange stranger. You know that?". The Doctor tilted his head in a way that implied he understood. "You wouldn't even know the half of it, friend.". As he spoke another griffon walked into the establishment, giving The Doctor a curious look as he neared the bar, but dismissing it as unimportant. However, he did find one odd-thing-out important, and he voiced it to the tender "Oi, Stone Claw, where's the bard?". Stone Claw looked backed over his shoulder, answering the query "Never showed up. Strange, ain't it? Never thought I'd see the day that grif wouldn't show, he was nicer than most the blokes that came 'round here, too. Hope he's alright.". The Doctor overheard the conversation and decided to add in his own two-sense. "A bard? Those still exist in this time period?". Stone Claw chuckled a bit, "Yeah, a bard is an odd job these days, but he was the one that'd pull it off and there's not a single griffon that I know that'd raise a claw against him, friendly chap as he was."
The door slammed open before The Doctor could further any of his questions. Through the door came a griffin with a lute strapped to his back. "Did you miss me, whelps?". The customers shared a look of confusion before the new visitor took up his instrument and presented himself. "I am The Great and Talented Iron Wing!" The bartender leaned up to The Doctor and whispered so that only he could hear. "That's him, but something off. He's not the performer we all know and love, something is terribly wrong.".
What proceeded to be sung by the bard in question was the most boastful, conceded, and self-centered song that The Doctor had ever heard (And he'd heard the planetary anthem of Golonius 17!). According to the tales that The Doctor had heard about this well-loved musician, which were admittedly limited, this was all wrong. Fortunately for everygrif at the scene, The Doctor was all about wrong. Immediately following the piece, the crowd present booed, hissed, and displayed any and all form of displeasure that they could muster. The performer smiled and bowed, "Oh, you're all jealous of my talent. It's alright, I love you nonetheless!". This obviously was not a crowd-pleasing move, and the rumble of annoyance became more like a roar of anger. It was strange, though. The Doctor noticed that rather than be put down, the bard was enjoying it. That's odd. It's almost like he's... ah, I get it. What is up with this universe and it's villains having eating problems? . Blatantly ignoring the crowd, The Doctor walked right up to Iron Wing, and said possibly the most powerful thing of anyone there that evening.
"Bravo! I say, encore! Erm, jolly good show.". The thunderous anger of everygrif there immediately stopped, opting to be baffled at this already strange stranger, who just became a bit stranger. Uh... what other compliments do I know? . "Carry on! Oh lovely, absolutely grand! Jyrvaline!". The Doctor awkwardly smacked his hooves together, attempting to clap for the lute player. Iron Wing did something that looked like an almost gag, and gave The Doctor one of the nastiest looks you'd ever seen. But then the singer resumed to bask in the hate that all those present silently felt towards him.
The bartender, Stone Claw, made his way to The Doctor and asked him why he was acting in this manner, The Doctor said "Just trust me if you want to help your friend. You are right, something is wrong with him, and cheering him on is the only way through it, just support him.". Stone Claw nodded and joined The Doctor in the revelry. "Well done. Err, uh, very good job!" having earned some looks from those around, he addressed them, "Come on, it wasn't that bad, really.". Almost everygrif looked stupefied until one off to the side spoke up "I thought so, too. I quite liked it actually.". Eventually, the whole bar was thundering with applause for him, some having caught on, while others were going with the flow. Iron Wing stood for a moment, vomited, and then dropped harshly to the hardwood floor, unconscious.
A wisp of red smoke left the griffon's mouth and darted out the door. While the customers and Stone Claw attempted to tend to the collapsed entertainer, The Doctor followed the wisp as quickly as he could. Bursting from the door, he saw the smoke trail down the street a bit and turn left between some buildings. Wait! That was were the TARDIS was parked! Following after the red entity, The Doctor rounded the corner just in time to see a wormhole closing up. Did it just use excess radiation from the TARDIS to travel through time and space? I think... it did! Stone Claw appeared in the pass behind him. We need your help, you knew how to get whatever that was out of him, maybe now you can fix him up.
The Doctor stood over the body of a certain bard, examining him and scanning him with a curious piece he called his "sonic screwdriver". After around about a minute, he lifted his head and tucked away the screwdriver.
Inside the TARDIS, The Doctor went about saving the next innocent, his life never stopping or pausing. He set the TARDIS console to follow the last disturbance that was near to it, and launched the TARDIS into yet another fit of shaking and noise-making. As the TARDIS rattled and lurched through the time stream, The Doctor could feel the aura that the creature he pursued was emitting. Pure anger and hate. It was all he felt. Not his own emotions, no, it felt more like a large mass of people, all feeling unhappy with an individual. A single entity. One someone. "Wow, that thing really feeds off of hate. REAL hate. It's nasty habit of making all the inhabitants of this world unhappy aside, it's killing innocent creatures, and THAT has to stop. Ugh, right, umm. I'll just push this." A light flashed and then quickly disappeared, "Ah! There we go, all set.". The Doctor threw the switch and the TARDIS lurched forward, following it's target out of the vortex.
The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS and was immediately reassured with the sight of kind, non-judgmental ponies. He did, surprisingly, recognize his location as well, though he wasn't sure if he'd heard it's name before. What played out before him frightened him somewhat, though. "Behold the GREAT and POWERFUL..." there was a pause for dramatic effect "...TRIXIE!". As she smiled with the presentation of her name, The Doctor caught a red gleam in her eye. The Doctor knew that he wasn't wrong in his assumptions now. Trixie's stand was laid out in the street in front of the castle, back to the castle, with fireworks and all manner of effects smashed on in a smorgasbord of razzle dazzle. Before Trixie could even draw in a crowd though, The Doctor was on her stage and warning her of the danger she was in. Unfortunately, the crowd saw a heckler stopping a performance before it could begin. And he was heavily booed and hissed, clearly unhappy that he was stopping somepony from making a living.
What the parasite saw was a lot of hate, heaps of it. Unfortunately, it couldn't consume a single morsel of it. All of it was directed towards that annoying pony that had stopped it from that previous buffet of hate. Now it knew what to do, it could take out two birds with one stone. It smiled inwardly as it leaped from one host to the next, transplanting itself into the earth pony and preparing to murder him. Teach him a lesson about interfering with it's feeding.
The crowd was aghast as they saw a trail of red tinted mist violently pull itself out of the blue mare, who in turn dropped to the stage unconscious, large purple hat gently floating down on top of her. The air-like entity then launched itself into the body of the heckler, who began twitching and convulsing. Everypony was immediately frightened and scared, what are they supposed to do? Somepony called the guard while the rest just watched in horror.
The Doctor felt the parasite enter, painfully aware of every inch of it insert itself into his nostrils. He felt it moving around in his brain, trying to find a kill spot. It began attacking, unsuccessfully for the most part, The Doctor's mind. For a moment, it seemed like The Doctor faltered in his concentration, which it saw as a sign of it's progress, and began exerting itself. The Doctor seemed to be constantly almost losing, but always rebounding right before the moment of his demise. The thing realized, this was no ordinary host .After several seconds, it questioned him (which was strange, as it felt like the voice was coming from inside his own head) "What are you?" The Doctor managed a smile through the uncontrollable jolting of his body and voiced aloud. "I'm The Doctor.". He mentally eviscerated the parasite, his mind being far greater than that of the parasite's. As soon as he did so, he felt extremely feint. He did all he could manage while in his light-headed state, first checking Trixie to make sure she would live (She would. The parasite, it seemed, had not been in long enough to do too much damage) and immediately stumbled into the blue box that had been his steed. Once inside, the grated floor immediately caught him, lulling him to sleep.
When Strong Spear arrived on scene of the incident, it was chaos. He had begun to question several ponies, but all told him of this insane story about a red something going from the street performer into some heckler, who began seizing but then said "I'm the doctor" and ran away. Also the performer had collapsed, but was still alive. The part that almost made him laugh was what this "doctor" stallion had run into; a big, blue box. That is, it almost made him laugh until he actually saw it. It was most definitely strange. After several questioning and a thorough examination of the outside of the box (they had been unsuccessful in attempts to get it open) Strong Spear brought his findings to his Commanding Officer, who nodded and appeared pretty interested throughout the entirety of his report. At the end, the Captain smiled and reassured the soldier, "The stallion you've described to me is of no importance, the princesses are highly aware of his presence and have no desire to see him in custody.". Strong Spear found it curious, but wisely did not question his superior.
Trixie had been revived and the crowd began to go in places to view her performance (all feeling pretty bad about whatever it was that just happened). She began her show, opening with the line of "Now, Canterlot, you can see the grace and might of THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!". However, her show was once again interrupted as the whole of the crowd (and even Trixie) turned their head to see whatever was making that horrible racket. They all saw the blue box fading in and out, fading in less and less, all while making a loud sound, like somepony ripping a pair of trousers, or dragging a key along a piano string. As it faded out, the entire block was distinctly aware of the TARDIS signature take-off sound. VWORP! VWORP! BDEEEeeew. BDEEEeeew. After a moment of staring where the box had used to be, the crowd turned to Trixie. Who took only one tardy second to realized that the attention had shifted to her. After a few milliseconds of thinking, she announced "Only the first of many wonderful tricks performed by the great Trixie!"
Doctor Whooves (The Doctor in Equestria)
Octavia was preparing in the concert hall, first to arrive as always. Frederick Horshoepin would arrive soon, followed by Concerto, and Beauty Brass somewhat later. With a sigh she balanced herself on her hind legs, a position she had managed to become comfortable with through years of playing. Her cello balanced delicately in one hoof, bow in the other, she drew the bow across the strings on the cello and let the note resonate. The beautifully perfect note carried it's sole vibration throughout every seat and up into every balcony in the hall. Inhaling, she once again summoned noise from her instrument, letting it wash over every surface that was unobstructed. After the last note died out, she prepared herself again, this time to play the piece that her quartet was going to be performing at their next gala or concert, which ever came first. Reaching the fifth measure, she heard a door outside open and close. Odd, she thought Frederick doesn't usually show up for another fifteen minutes. Carrying on through the slight disturbance outside, she had barely begun measure fourteen when a horrible noise erupted from behind the stage, sending shivers down her spine. The noise of a house key being dragged up and down a piano string. In all likelihood, it was Beauty Brass, who had reveled in the knowledge that Octavia despised any instrument making a noise it was not intended to. She had been pranking Octavia at irregular intervals, starting first by somehow making a clarinet sound like a trumpet, and most recently by plucking the strings on Concerto's violin as though it were a guitar. Now she was messing with Frederick's piano. Oh boy, if that mare touched her cello, Celestia know's that there'd be Tartarus to pay. "Beauty Brass!" Octavia shouted to the curtain "Frederick is going to kill you when he finds out you've been assaulting his piano!"
What happened next made absolutely no sense to Octavia. Bursting forth from the doors was certainly NOT who she had expected to enter. A small troupe of ponies wearing strange grey and blue armour that came up to their chins (which seemed weird up until the point when you realized they had either no necks, or the shortest necks she'd ever seen). They were marched in formation passing the chairs and approaching the stage, though they were still relatively far away. As they passed each row, Octavia realized that the beings inside the armour were incredibly short, standing barely above the height of a filly. There was some strange device strapped across the front of each soldier (any other description would not suit them as she could think of no other term to place on the things she was looking at). Marching on either side of the middle portion of seats, and approaching down the row, the ponies never broke formation, choosing uniformity over any other approach. Just when she was just about overwhelmed, a stallion with a light brown coat and tie on approached her from behind, his hoofsteps had been so quiet that she had not heard him coming.
"Listen, I can help you out of this situation, I promise. But you have to trust me, do you understand?" It was crazy, everything around her and the only thing she could register at the moment was Fancy that, he has a Griffish accent, just like me. , though she managed to dumbly nod her head. The stallion spoke up again "Do you trust me?" This time sound found it's way out of her throat and she said something that kind of sounded like "Uh-huh", though she wasn't too sure. "Excellent, now follow me, quickly!" The light brown stallion took her by the hoof and hurriedly led her behind the curtain, stopping in front of a large blue box and turning to her. "Okay, you're gonna be confused for a moment, and that's okay, but we really don't have time to talk. I promise you, I'll explain everything I can when it's safe." Those words being said he opened the doors and pushed her inside, where she was confronted by the strangest bit yet. "Huzzuh-wuh?" Wow, Octavia, that was incredibly un-lady-like of you. The stallion laughed a little at that, then threw a lever, the piano-string noise making it's grand re-appearance. And after a bout of shaking and incredible noise, all was still. Octavia had not moved a centimeter, eye twitching and mouth agape as she still tried to process what in the hoof just happened.
"Nice bow-tie." The Doctor was trying to make conversation, though was awkwardly failing at it. After all, how does one pick up from "Hey, follow me and I'll stuff you into my box"? She had not changed for four minutes, opting to stand there awe-struck and utterly confused rather than to make an attempt at intelligent conversation. She probably doesn't trust herself to open her mouth and not making gurgling sounds. That sounds kind of mean though, I'm rather rude this time round, huh? Eventually Octavia managed to say something, though before she had said it she had carefully and precisely sounded out every bit in her head, saying it over and over again, so as not to mess any of it up. "What?" The Doctor smiled, his visitor finally having opened up. "Ah! I said I like your bow-tie!" She shook her head. "No. I mean, 'What?'" The Doctor nodded, "Mhmm, that's okay. Perfectly natural. Actually, that's a perfectly acceptable and normal question. And I'm glad you asked it! 'Fraid I'm gonna have to ask you to narrow it down a bit though." Octavia swallowed hard, nodding slowly, preparing to meet his request "The box. It's..." she sort of trailed off, not finishing the sentence. The Doctor nodded anxiously, ever aware of his most favourite of phrases. "Go on. It's what?" "It's," she started again, still utterly confused by everything, "bigger. On the inside." The Doctor nodded excitedly. "Yeah, it is! Isn't it great?!" Octavia almost looked like she was raising an eyebrow, but was clearly so out of it that it could have just been a twitch, "I... suppose." The Doctor cleared his throat, "So, next question."
"Those ponies," Octavia started, "who... what are they?"was at rehearsal!"
Ugh, there's the piano string again. That madstallion should really fix whatever is making that noise. Also I could do without all the shaking, it's a bit over dramatic. "Aright we're here." The two stepped out of the TARDIS and headed out onto the stage. "Now, where is here, exactly?" Octavia was searching for any signs of her ensemble, when she answered his question. "We are in the concert hall of Canterlot." The Doctor looked kind of surprised. "Seriously? What is up with this city that so many are trying to get here? It's actually kind of ridiculous!" Octavia shrugged at the brown stallion, not quite sure what exactly he meant. Also, what is his name? "Um, pardon. But I don't believe I remember you're name." The brown time traveler smiled, "Oh, that'd be because ya didn't ask! I'm The Doctor, and you would be the ever-lovely..." "Octavia," The grey mare smiled, "and thank you." The Doctor nodded and re-oriented himself so that he was facing at the seating. "So, I assume that we are headed wherever the military are?" The Doctor nodded, "Or more likely, it will be the military will be headed wherever they are. Seeing as you've not even achieved interstellar travel, they probably wound up here on accident. We can just explain to them that you are a non-warring race, though are highly capable of defending yourselves, and on a good day, they'll take their leave." Octavia kind of gave him a funny look, "On a good day? What happens on a bad day?" "On a bad day," The Doctor replied, "they'll wipe out your entire race and any others they find on this planet." The Doctor shrugged and continued down the stairs and on towards the exit of the hall.
Princess Celestia sat on her throne staring at the massive pane window on the far side of the room. She wasn't really looking at anything, her eyes were on a sort of break, as her ears worked overtime to cover the shift. Echoing through the halls of the palace, filling her highness with anxiety and (though she'd barely even admit it to herself) fear, were the most uniform, synchronous hoof-falls she'd ever heard, highly trained, and never interrupted, save for the occasional grunt or "Halt!" by the royal guardsponies. She sat, patiently, cooly, the only ways she'd carried herself for the past thousand years or so. She would turn into her essential form, should it be the only way to defend her ponies, but she would rather avoid war, rather take the diplomatic approach, rather wait for him.
The Doctor was not at all happy when the first sight that greeted him at the palace was that of a set of unconscious guards. Rather than try to seize him (which seemed to be an ever-popular decision on their part) they were lying, motionless, on either side of the entrance to the castle. "Oh my Celestia..." Octavia was covering her mouth with a hoof, biting back tears of fear. All of this was so new to her, and what terrifying way for everything to have been introduced. "Dear me," The Doctor began, "I think we've found them, Octavia, and hopefully in time." The Doctor turned his head towards Octavia giving her a reassuring smile that made her want to confront, rather than flee, the invaders. The Doctor bolted into the castle, and without hesitation, Octavia followed closely, feeling *(she was sure) just as confident as that wacky stallion right in front of her.
"A left, then a right, then straight up the middle..." The Doctor was shouting directions as they rounded turns, narrating every step of the way. "How do you know where you're going? And also how do you know they won't beat us there? We were gone for quite some time!" The Doctor laughed, glad that this one was inquisitive as well as wise. "1: I've been here before, and I don't forget things often, so I may know where to go! B: They're likely doing a sweep of the entire castle as a single unit, not knowing enough about your military to know what would be a safe number to divide and conquer in. If they've already done that, then hopefully we'll manage to catch them in the throne room! Also, we've only been gone for a minute!" Octavia maintained a steady pace behing the chestnut earth pony, but had to think hard for a moment, then shouted ahead, "Pull the other three!" The Doctor laughed at that, ordering his assistant, "Come on!" He lowered his head and put on a hard sprint, Octavia following suit and staying close.
As the armoured troupe of ponies entered the throne room, the guard on the inside right attempted to halt them, and was butted to the side with one of their weapons. Seeing this, his fellow guard lowered his spear at the assault and was immediately blasted in the chest, sending him backwards and a light trail of smoke accompanying him. Princess Celestia swallowed hard, but otherwise did not react. The troupe formed the Perfect Quadrilateral in front of Her Serene Highness, The Wise Princess Celestia. She, maintaining the air of omnipotence, blinked slowly as she lowered her head to level her eyes at them. The kindness and hatred simultaneously felt in that stare could have been enough to kill a small mammal, but the unit stayed otherwise pillar-like. That is when one stepped forward. "So you have declared war on our species?"
"Buahaha! Yep! Oh sure. *gasp* Definitely, that's why they were ready for you! *gasp*" In through the entrance they had just made passage through, struggled a spikey-maned Time Lord that a certain Princess Celestia was all too glad to see. Gasping for air, he held out a hoof to indicate that he needed a minute. When he was finished, he spoke again, "So let me get this straight," The Doctor started, approaching whom he assumed was the commanding officer, "you think, they declared war on you? Well I'll be damned if that isn't the silliest thing I've ever heard!" The stout pony maintained the look of discipline as he replied to the statement. "Not think, know. We received a declaration of war from the coordinates of this exact point, on this exact planet." The Doctor nodded. "Is that so? Well honestly, I don't even think that's possible for them." This was when the alien turned to face The Doctor. "Anypony, anywhere, can start a war, civilian." The Doctor made a mildy-amused-slash-slightly-impressed-though-not-really frown, and nodded his head. "True enough, yeah. But they can't really do that when they haven't evEN INVENTED DIGITAL COMMUNICATION!!!!" The Doctor paused, and sighed with a smile. "What I meant is, they wouldn't even have the capability to contact you, let alone declare interstellar war."
"WHAT?!?!" This was pretty much the agreed on sentiment of everypony present. "Oh no you don't! I'll not be having you enslave any of the inhabitants of this planet while I have any say in it!" "And WHO are you to have a say in it, hmm, Doctor?" Octavia was the one to prose the question, rather than the Pontaran. Upon hearing the name 'Doctor', however, several of the soldiers twitched. Ever so slightly, but enough to be detected. "I'm glad you asked, my dear Octavia! Why, it would seem, that our friends the Son... Pontarans here recognize it! But I won't trouble them to tell you, I'll just relieve that burden from them and tell you aaaaall about me. Ahem. I am The Doctor, saviour of 479 recognized planets and 7345 affiliated worlds. I'm the last of the noble Time Lord race and a damn good detective. I also dabble in law, response to those in duress, and... execution. Now these fine fellows here haven't really done anything illegal, so they're off the hook for the most part. But sometimes I adhere to my own code, before I do any sort of law. I'm gonna tell you fellows straight," The Doctor turned to the Pontarans, whom he'd really been talking to the whole time. "if you touch a hair on the head of the youngest male, to one on the head of the oldest female, I will not hesitate to do any number of punishments to your unit, including and especially, stripping the lot of you of any sort of military status you have, or will ever, earn. Do I make myself clear?"
"We will make our leave, Doctor, but do not think that this event is forgotten. The Pontarans will be back when this race is prepared, for to defeat them now would bring no honor to any of us."
The Doctor sighed a heavy sigh of relief through his nostrils. Wow! Did I really defeat the Sontarans without conflict? As the Pontarans began to exit through the door opposite the on they entered, Straight Shot awoke from his knowledge-less state and saw the enemy with their back to him. Knowing this would be his only chance, he heaved his spear straight into the back of one of strange ponies nearly non-existent neck, who crumpled instantly. A new stallion turned to him and shouted, "NO, YOU FOOL! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Straight Shot was slightly confused by this, and this distraction cost him. He was drilled in the chest by a heavy laser, throwing him back against the wall. Luckily, the charms on his armour protected him from bolt magic (Wards were a standard part of any good military's armour) though he felt like he never wanted to move again. He rose to his hooves and saw a contingency of guards flooding in through the arch to his right, and the unwelcome visitors firing magic from their weapons. There was a war waging in the throne room.
Octavia, The Doctor, and Celestia were taking cover behind the massive throne (The Doctor had had to convince the princess to abandon her post). The Doctor looked at Celestia with a great sadness. "Yours are going to lose. There's no way they can win. It's not a matter of training, it's a matter of culture. They eat, sleep, and drink war. War is their ONLY art ." Octavia turned to him with a jerk and almost excitedly said, "You're sure? They've never been introduced to any of the arts?" The Doctor was still concerned, but liked that she had an idea, "No, or at least, not as we know arts." Octavia nodded. "That is all I needed to hear. Doctor, watch the princess please, I will return post-haste." And with that, the grey mare launched off of her hooves and out the throne room through the side of the royal guards, who had been to distracted by the gunfire to even notice her.
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The throne room was still filled with echoes of blasts and screams and war cries even long after Octavia had fled. Neither side wanted the other to gain this spot, it being significant as the first ground of battle in what would likely be a long war. Neither side, however, was prepared for what they all heard. Even The Doctor was somewhat awed. Blanketing the battle was the sound of one, long, beauteous cello note.
Octavia hadn't brought music, she hadn't thought to. What she played, was her heart and soul. She poured into this impromptu arrangement all the excitement, fear, surprise, discovery, and loveliness of all that had transpired since little over an hour ago. It was staccato, then just as quickly legato. Her head seemed to indicate the positioning of the imaginary notes, bobbing soulfully along to the arrangement. Whole notes and eight notes, magically combined in a magnificent composition that effectively ceased all of the fighting in the room. Twenty minutes of heart and soul. Never resting for longer than was necessary, and when she had been out of events for that day, she just ended the piece, yet not without the grace that the entire solo had consisted of.
After an hour of talks of peace and promise of future war, the Pontarans left. The Doctor was satisfied, as no ponies were enslaved, few were killed, and an entire race had found the beauty of music. Still, even thinking about Octavia's solo gave him chills, and he was excited to get back to the TARDIS.
Back at the TARDIS, The Doctor stood outside it's doors. He smiled as he chatted with Octavia. When at last the conversation had died down, he took a deep breath. "Octavia, today you showed me that threats and declaration of law are not the only mediums of confrontation, but that the magic of music holds it's own power. Would you do me the honor of having someone as magnificent as yourself accompany me on my journeys?" Octavia smiled and almost giggled, nodding excitedly. "Yes please! If, um, it's not too much trouble." The Doctor threw open the doors, "Trouble? I AM trouble! Come on in!"
Doctor Whooves (The Doctor in Equestria)
"So! Choose anywhere you want to go. Any place, any time." The Doctor beamed at his shiny, new companion. She looked stunned at first. Then flabbergasted. Finally she settled on befuddled. Poor, poor, Octavia the musically gifted pony was befuddled. And rightly so, I should say! Who, if anyone, knows how to answer THAT question? "I, uh, I don't know. I figured you were in the middle of something and I sort of interrupted." The Doctor laughed, though not with malice, but glee. "Technically, I interrupted you to save your life." Octavia sort of blushed, though she didn't know why, she wasn't too embarrassed by that whole series of events. "Oh yeah, thank you for that. I'm not sure if I had thanked you." The Doctor tilted his head back thoughtfully. "You know? I don't think you did. But that's alright, it was a sort of life threatening situation. ALSO, you repaid me with that absolutely magnificent impromptu piece you strung together in that throne room! How DID you do that?" Octavia's blush deepened. And she tried to look confident, though she knew she missed it by a mile, easy. "I, I..." She took a breath. "I was just so confused. And awed. And mystified, and, and. I was just so full of emotion, I just put it out there." The Doctor smiled an easy smile. "Well it was brilliant. So, where did you want to go? Anywhere in space and time, just say the word and we can go there." Octavia, looked confused once more. She still had no idea where to go. "I'm sorry, Doctor. I don't even know which way I want to go in time." The Doctor nodded patiently, fully understanding the struggle of a first-timer. He sighed kindly, "That's fine, she'll know where to take us. She has a knack for this part." "She?" Octavia queried. "She." The Doctor confirmed. He then turned to the console and began flipping switches and pressing buttons. When he had decided he had enough of the arbitration, he threw the big switch and the TARDIS rocked noisily, smiling inwardly to herself. She just couldn't wait to show them the place she had thought of.
When the TARDIS' door had creaked open loudly, Octavia had stepped out into the streets of a familiar town, though it was different from when she had left it. Manehattan was a bustle of eighteenth century-esque life. Or, at least, this was how The Doctor saw it. Octavia saw classical majesty. Her childhood hometown looked different, but she saw that it hadn't REALLY changed much. "It's... Manehattan. This is where I grew up. But, why?" The Doctor observed a paper posted on the brick wall next to where the TARDIS had set down. "Well, I think I have a pretty good idea. You in the mood for real classical music? As in, premier performance?" Octavia did something she'd never thought she'd do in all her dignified life. She squealed. It was a squeal of pure excitement and it made The Doctor smile the widest he had since Pinkie had told him that one joke about the dragon and the magic fish.
It was a fairly cold day in the city of Manehattan, but The Doctor refused to stop having wonderful tricks up his sleeve. He had taken Octavia back into the TARDIS when she had shivered. She kept reminding him that she had forgotten, or rather wasn't give the time, to pack a a jacket. The Doctor smiled excitedly, a sign which Octavia had learned to both fear and love. "Alright, Doctor. What is it? You can stop grinning wider than a fool and just show me, if you like." The Doctor was not at all hurt by her words, but nodded energetically, quickly leading her down long, winding corridors of the TARDIS, until eventually the arrived at what she figured was probably their destination. Being lead inside the room, Octavia found herself staring at the vast amounts of apparel in the room. The Doctor too was excited... Until he remembered just which types of creatures the clothing would and would not fit. "Umm, Sexy..." Octavia turned and was fully prepared to bonk him upside the head with her hoof, when she realized he was staring at the ceiling. "... would you mind doing me a favour? Could you put this room in a back-up save file and load a new on based on data gathered about anatomy and fashion trends of this world. Just this world for now, though. We don't want to be here all day. Thank you!"
When he was finished speaking he looked at Octavia. "She asked if we could please leave the room so that she could perform specified requests." He ushered her out the door, and it immediately locked up behind them. She turned to him, not sure what to do. "Well, how long will it take?" The Doctor shrugged. "Never know. It could take fifteen minutes, or it could take an hour." Octavia nodded, then turned to him again. "So, umm, what should we do?" The Doctor turned to her, staring at her blankly for a moment, then snapping to, answering her question. "Oh, umm, there's a pool!" Octavia appeared to enjoy this idea. "Really?! Can we..." WHOOSH! The door in front of them rushed open, revealing a brand new array of clothes that might actually fit the two adventurers. The Doctor smiled at Octavia "Another time, perhaps." With a wink, he lead her into the fresh new wardrobe.
Exiting the TARDIS, Octavia couldn't help adjust her big, poofy dress. As she fiddled with it, a dapper looking Doctor exited the big blue box behind her. "Well," the smartly dressed Doctor addressed a stunning Octavia, "shall we?" He extended gentlemen-like hoof towards his companion, offering her to take it up. She blushed and smiled, locking her own foreleg with his, and allowing him to lead her out of the alley. "Do you even know where we are headed?" Octavia asked as The Doctor led her down the bustling streets and in several circles. "No," he replied, "though when do I ever?" She giggled slightly at that, and gently tugged him, guiding him in the right direction. "So, you say you grew up here, but overhearing the conversations around us, I rarely detect a British accent. Why do you have yours?" Octavia drew in a deep breath. She sat down, forcing The Doctor to stop and sit down beside her. "It's really not that complicated, though it seems to baffle some ponies. My great grandparents moved here from Trottingham, the pony colony in Griffland, and they kept the dialect through the generations. I don't know why, they just did." The Doctor nodded, always interested in hearing about his companions. "Would your family have lived in Manhattan during this time period?" Octavia gasped, clearly worried about disrupting something in the time stream. "Don't worry," The Doctor comforted her, "as long as we don't get heavily involved with any of your family members, we shouldn't run into any problems. Now, are you ready to see a show?" The Doctor stood up, helping her up as well. Smiling to each other, they carried on in the direction of the auditorium.
"Now this is an auditorium. Quite the impressive seating!" Octavia couldn't help but grin. "Yes. Speaking of seating, where were we planning on occupying ourselves?" The Doctor merely smiled, "Why wherever you want, lovely Octavia. Seats are on me!" She gave him a quizzical look, asking for an explanation. The Doctor just smiled at her, "Well, why wouldn't they? I'm the Duke of France after all." She continued to stare at him and he sighed somewhat dejectedly. "I have psychic paper, it shows other ponies what I want them to see." She just continued to look at him like he was a dolt. "Alright," he said defeated, "what have I done wrong?" Octavia just looked at him. "What's France?"
Oh. Right. Ponies. Um, yeesh. What would be the pony name for France? Frolic? No. Dance? Naw. OH! Prance! That would make sense, I think! "Um, maybe I mean... Prance?" Octavia gave a laugh that didn't seem so much cheerful as like a light scoff. "Yes, Prance is a place. Sometimes, Doctor, you seem like the strangest pony in the world. Shall we find our seats?"
The Doctor sat patiently in his seat as Octavia took in her surroundings, barely containing her giddiness. She would periodically mumble something like "Fascinating!" or "I can't believe I'm really here." The Doctor, however, took to observing in a different way, ears perked up as he listened to the conversations going on about himself and his companion. He had hardly shown any recognition for when the audience became no more than hushed whispers as the music began to play. He continued listening intently, while Octavia allowed the music to lull her, leaving her in a contented, trance-like state. She had closed her eyes, letting the music paint a vivid scenario in her head, as she often did when enjoying music. The Doctor however, had gone from distant to wildly amused as a wide grin commandeered his new-ish pony face. He began to nudge at Octavia, attempting to gain her attention quietly as other patrons happily enjoyed the soothing melodies. It took quiet some prodding, as it appeared that Octavia had fallen asleep. As soon as she had been aroused, The Doctor began to share his findings with her. "Magnificent!" He said in a tone that sounded like a whisper, but couldn't entirely be considered one. "I wasn't aware that you ponies had already learned how to manipulate the wavelengths of instruments to resemble vocal resonance." Octavia blinked rapidly a few times, staring blankly at The Doctor. She shook her head clear of any fog and said "I'm sorry, we've done what." The Doctor sighed and rolled his eyes, already realizing that perhaps she was not as synonym-ally inclined as he would have preferred her to be. "You can make your instruments talk!" He exclaimed excitedly, grinning madly at a now bewildered Octavia.
"Um, no we can't." She replied, conceiving no other reply to the absurd assertion. The Doctor shook as head playfully, "Don't be foolish, I can hear the it in the music... Can't you?" Octavia paused as she began to listen intently to the vibrations carrying through the air. "Strange," she noted, "I hear them now, but I'm positive I wasn't even aware they existed until just now, when you pointed it out to me." The Doctor brought a hoof to his chin thoughtfully as he pondered this. "Hmm, do any of the other patrons hear it, do you think?" Octavia and he, for the first time since the arrangement had begun, observed their fellow theatre-goers. All had a glazed over expression, with a dumb smile on their face. Aside from each inherent uniqueness of every pony, none of their faces were in any way different. All had glassy eyes and a content smile, staring directly ahead with perfect posture. The Doctor looked around worriedly. Octavia spoke, "Doctor, I think it's the music, it's hypnotizing them." He was about to denounce this theory for all it's absurdity when he realized she may very well be right. Glancing around the room, he saw that even the musicians were gazing off into space, not even letting their eyes roll over their pages so as to follow along in the piece. He knew immediately what he needed to do. "Octavia," he apologized, "I'm so sorry that your first historical concert had to be interrupted like this."
"Wait," Octavia turned to him, "inter-" "OKAY EVERYBODY! " "Everypony ," Octavia corrected. "ER, YEAH, EVERYPONY. YOU SHOULD ALL CEASE TO BE LISTENING TO THIS MUSIC AS OF IMMEDIATELY. BELIEVE ME, IT IS IN YOUR BEST INTEREST TO AVOID THE BRAIN-WASHING THAT THIS MUSIC IS DOING TO YOU AT THIS VERY MOMENT. PLEASE STOP BEING HYPNOTIZED NOW. "
As The Doctor rambled on, more and more ponies came to, snapping out of their independent trances. Eventually all but a few were now glancing around questioningly, wondering where the past 15 minutes of their existence had gone. The Doctor continued as some of the ponies refused to snap out of their waking slumber. "I'M NOT KIDDING, YOU REALLY SHOULD STOP LISTENING TO THE MUSIC, IT'S BAD FOR YOUR SANITY... OR MORE YOUR INDEPENDENT FREE WILL, REALLY. " Before he could continue his eloquent words meant to inspire independent thought, about forty of the remaining hypnotized audiophiles stood up simultaneously, leaving their respective rows and head in down the aisles to the front, approaching the orchestra. As the mind-numbed ponies neared the orchestra, the performers stood up and too began to leave, many of them still playing. The Doctor realized quickly what was happening and rushed out of his own row and out into the aisles, where he darted towards the front, ready to ruin some zombifying instruments. As he made his mad dash, Octavia scooted slowly out of the row of seats, apologizing for both The Doctor and herself. Finally reaching the isle, she took off after him.
As The Doctor was about to reach the soothe-players that led the procession of zombified cattle (or really just ponies, I suppose) a pair of hypnotized ponies stepped into his heroic path, blocking him completely. As they continued staring directly ahead they absolutely blocked his path, mirroring each step and jump and dive, making it impossible to get around them. All he could do was struggle with the two unaware "body guards" as the march of kidnap-in-progress individuals made their way out in the night. When the music had faded to the point where it could no longer be heard, the two who had given The Doctor so much trouble right up until blinked slowly before collapsing to the ground. The Doctor quickly examined them, determining they were alive, then bolted through the stage door, looking around desperately as there was no sign of the little parade anywhere in sight. The Doctor sat on his haunches as he wore a puzzled expression. Octavia quickly followed him through the door, almost running into him upon her exit. As The Doctor sat there pondering, she spoke up. "So, what do we do?" "I suppose," he replied, "that we head back to the TARDIS and attempt to get our bearing from there.
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"So," Octavia began, looking over The Doctor's shoulder as he rifled through some things in a large chest, "what are we doing?" The Doctor just sighed as he threw different things over his shoulder. Strange devices, small and big, some with buttons and/or blinking lights. All things she had NO idea what they did. "Ah-ha! We were looking for this!" The Doctor proclaimed as he held aloft a device that actually resembled something Octavia vaguely recognized, though not that she had ever owned. It resembled a modern Griffish firearm, only with a clear bowl at the end of it. It looked, like a regular Griffish firearm, impractical for pony use as it's shape warranted the use of an apposable paw or talon. Another way it differed from a "gun" was that there where light orange-ish coils wrapped around it and several blinking lights across the top of it. "What is that?" Octavia queried. The Doctor smiled lovingly at the device in his hooves. "This? This is an Observation and Listening Device, with a few modifications, naturally. All I need now is a headset so that I can use them properly." He reached once again into the chest, but emerged far sooner this time. He brandish a black pair of over-ear headphones. Plugging them in, he shoved them over his large ears and larger head. "Alright," he straightened out, a grin growing over his muzzle. "Now let's find some missing persons, er, ponies." Octavia nodded in agreement as she quickly followed down the winding hallways and out the door of the TARDIS.
"Alright," The Doctor began, the duo outside the stage door of the concert hall, "the kidnappers' lair is likely to be somewhere near here, seeing as they'd want to be able to steal away with vast amounts of ponies and with little resistance. It's very likely they're not far from this very spot, so begin looking. Foot, er, hoofprints, um, accidentally discarded instruments. Anything that might point us in the right direction." Octavia nodded in comprehension and began searching the vicinity, while The Doctor adjusted the headphones over his ears. Once they sat comfortably, he began pointing this way and that with the listening device, searching for traces of the hypnotic tune. As he passed over Octavia with the end of the tool, she turned to him. "OVER HERE!" She shouted loudly, trying to make up for the difference and ear blockers. Unfortunately, The Doctor heard her all to well. Having had the tool turned up all the way in anticipation that it would not be easy to hear the instruments, he had failed to account for when his companion would alert him. "GAH!" He shouted, dropping the "gun" to hold his ears, which only effectively made another ring though the headset. "GAAAH!!!" He shouted again, yanking the headset off of his noggin. Ears splayed back he looked up at his ~~tormentor~~ companion. "Yes?" He yelled back feebly. Still feeling pain from the sense overload. "Oh, um, sorry. I just thought you might want to know that I found something!" The Doctor nodded pensively, then proceeding to shake his head in an attempt to trick the pain into being wiggled out of his cranium. Gathering up his things, he trotted over to meet the cellist.
"Yes, Octavia?" He approached the grey mare, asking of her discovery. "I found something," she informed him, "It's a broach, and quite a lovely one, too. I doubt it was easily forgotten if somepony had accidentally dropped it." The Doctor nodded and continued to look around, looking for any more clues. All that were of note was the pile of boxes two metres behind them, and the rather large pile of rubbish with a manhole in front of it. The brick building the pile was supporting looked fresh, as though it were recently built, though it was not without a few signs of minor distress, such as cracks and discoloured splotches here and there. When at last he had searched the entirety of the ally Octavia had lead him to, he sighed and turned, ready to continue the search in the small, paved courtyard. "Wait!" Octavia commanded, to which The Doctor obliged, turning to meet her. "I think I know where the entrance may be!" She declared pointing at the pile of trash, or rather, just in front of it. The Doctor smiled a silly smile as he commended his traveling companion. "You know," he said, approaching the iron grate, "it's so cliche, it may just be the answer." Octavia and he stalked up to the 'probably-an-entrance-to-a-hidden-lair' examining it. Octavia then attempted to force it open, ultimately failing. "Ugh," she panted, "it won't budge." The Doctor smiled knowingly, already aware that he carried the key. "Nonsense," he held up his iconic tool, "you just have to give it the right incentive."
After sonic-ing the large metal lid out of the concrete, the two descended into the dark, a dull blue glow as their torch. After traveling several metres down the wretched smelling tunnel, the pair came across a large oak door. After trying the sonic screwdriver on the handle, The Doctor shook his head. "They're good locks. I can't do much here." Octavia shook her head. "Sometimes, Doctor, I really do believe you're thick. There are more than two ways to open a door." With those wise words, she spun around, lifted her hind legs, and exploded them out, splintering the steady door. "I... How?" It was The Doctor's turn to be awed. Octavia gave him a toothy grin, which was something that even The Doctor had already realized was not a common thing. "You could of done it too, we're Earth ponies. Natural strength." With a flick of her tail, she lead the way through the door-less door way. The Doctor just followed, shaking his head in good humour.
Longing notes reverberated through the hallways, easily indicating the direction the two were meant to go. Winding down the hallways they followed the eerie notes. Fully prepped to pounce on the pony charmer. Here we come, innocent ponies. We are going to rescue you, and no one, er, nopony, will have lost their life. I swear... Odd how Octavia so quickly resorted to smashing that door, though. Much more brutish than I would have expected from her. Oh well. Wow that melody is lovely, I can definitely see the appeal. How long are these hallways? Why is it so far? That music really is nice, though. Hmm. My hoof is starting to ache a bit from all this running... tee hee, my hoof. Boy! That music is really lovely. I am in love. Truly this is art. I must meet the artist. Because, wow! This music. This music. This. Music... THIS MUSIC. The Doctor shot his head up, and shook it violently, clearing his head of the fog the melody had set in place. He turned to see that he hadn't actually made it that far and that he and Octavia had been calmly walking towards it for some time. OCTAVIA! He shouted at his psyche. He then rushed up to his companion, who nonchalantly carried on, a stupid smile on her face. "SNAP OUT OF IT OCTAVIA!" He began to wave his hand frantically in front of her face. "YOU ARE BEING HYPNOTIZED! DO NOT CONTINUE LISTENING! PLEASE! STOP IT!"
Octavia said nothing, nor did she give any sign that his actions were registering. When at last they had come up to another large, wooden door, she complacently lifted a hoof to the knob, and calmly opened the door. Just as coolly as she had opened the door, she entered through it. The Doctor followed closely behind, not willing to leave a companion to just meander to her doom. Through the door, however, The Doctor realized what had inspired this wave of thoughtless drones. Standing at the front of a large room full of zombified ponies, were a group of pony shaped beings. All held the same general features. Large ears atop their head, though their face only displayed a large mouth, which itself only was filled with razor-sharp teeth. The rest of the body resembled that of a pony (save for the lack of a mane and tail) except that at the end of each's long, brown forelegs there was a set of long phalanges, each being used to strum, hold, or press the keys of an instrument being played. The music is trying to hypnotize you. Don't forget that, and you'll be fine.
"Ahhh!" The Doctor announced, loud enough to warrant the attention of the eerie beings, though not cease the music. "It makes sense now! The Fife are what's stealing ponies. That makes so much sense now! Oh no really it does! I'm just gonna ask you to... wait." The Doctor finally registered the large quantity of beings in the room. "You haven't eaten any, have you." It was worded like a question but spoken like a statement. "You're not here just to feed yourselves. You're planning on domination, not sustenance." As he finished his epiphany, two Pegasus ponies seized him from behind holding him by the forelegs so as to restrict movement. Bringing him to the front the winged equines presented him to the Fife. "Really," he spoke up as one of them approached him, "you don't want to eat me. Honestly, I've absorbed a lot of excess artron and I have to assume that radiation doesn't really leave a good taste." The Fife then began to pat him down with it's unsettling 'fingers'. "What? Oh. Yeah don't worry about me. I didn't really plan on anything to stop you with so I didn't bring a metronome or anyth..." He stopped as it drew his sonic screwdriver from his tie pocket. "Oh. That?" He struggled to come up with an excuse. "That, uh. That's just a door opener." Tossing it to the side, the Fife indicated to a pit where it wanted the two Pegasi to deposit him. "Oh no. It's alright really. You can just let me go. I won't try to STOP YOU! "
The Doctor flung his back hooves up into the faces of his restrainers, making a severely uncomfortable-sounding POP! resonate out from his front shoulder joints. The two recoiled and dropped him, another POP! exiting from his shoulders as The Doctor landed on all four, pausing and closing his eyes. ".....ow ....." The Doctor shot his eyes open and immediately flung himself at his screwdriver. Pouncing on it he picked it up with his teeth. Whipping around, he faced the Fife, all but two still playing their harmony. Those other two were approaching him menacingly, The Doctor seeing the snarl on their mouthfaces. Without hesitation, he clicked the sonic screwdriver on, causing the instruments to immediately start emitting horrific screeches and squeaks, rather than the harmonious lullaby they presented before. Almost as soon as the instruments went awry, the 'audience' snapped out of trance, many ponies uttering "UGH!"s and "WHAT IS THAT IMPETUOUS NOISE?!"s. When the vast majority had become aware of the Fife's presence, a general hush fell over the lot. After a moment or two of silence, screaming and hysteria broke out, everypony making a push to get through the exit and out of wherever the hoof it was that they were.
As many rushed towards the back and out the exit, Octavia struggled against them to get to the front. As soon as she was clear of the mass, she ran to meet The Doctor. Before she could get close enough to him, however, a Fife picked her up from behind, 'finger' curling around her muzzle. She had barely managed a scream before she was silenced, enough that The Doctor had heard and whirled around to see her, however. She didn't struggle much as the Fife expanded it's already massive mouth in order to accompany the presence of a full-grown pony. All she did was continually strike out with her back hooves, missing every time.
The Doctor fretted every nanosecond that he didn't know what to do. He then realized that she wasn't trying to kick free, rather than remind him of a brief lesson that he had been taught. With a realizing smirk, he reared up and bucked the Fife that had been encroaching on him from behind, teeth audibly being shattered. Before he made any progress on that particular Fife, however, he quickly closed the gap between him and the Fife that held Octavia captive, and kicked it (quite hard) in the back legs it was supporting itself on. Dropping the mare, it fell to all fours. Octavia didn't need much time for her reaction as she bucked it back into the band of Fife, then sprinting up the auditorium, pausing only to buck out posts that obviously supported the ceiling. The Doctor trailed closely behind her, sonic-ing the door locked as they exited and continued running down the tunnel and out into the streets and toward freedom.
After climbing out of the manhole and pausing to catch their breath, the two rose back up to high alert as the sound of a massive building crumbling behind them. Exiting out into the alleyway and into the pavement clearing they watched as the dust settled and the air cleared, remnants of the theatre barely existing. Octavia observed a sign that had fallen off of the structure when it had imploded. 'Sugarcube Hill Public Theater'. "Oh. My. Celestia." She dropped to her haunches, barely believing what she was reading. "I'm the saboteur who collapsed the historic Sugarcube Hill Theater. I did that. I can't believe it was me, but in the past. How?" The Doctor was more than happy to provide an explanation, but was halted before he had the opportunity to fill her in. He just pulled her to her hooves and led her out on to the street, fleeing the police, and sprinting back to the TARDIS.
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Slamming the TARDIS door behind him, The Doctor launched himself at the console, already messing with the panels. "And just what do you think you're doing?" Octavia chastised from behind him. He turned to face her, a mad grin prominent on his crazed and wild face. "I've still got some adrenaline left!" He informed her, "I want to GO, now." A large, toothy grin still on his muzzle, he turned and threw 'The Lever', launching the TARDIS into the Time Vortex as he laughed excitedly.
