Chapter 1: A New Companion
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Hooves ran over the ground, thudding loudly as the rain just wet the sound. A crying mare ran towards her home, eyes blurred and sad while the sound of a screaming stallion came from behind her.
“Oh DITZYYYYYYY~! Why are you running from me, lassie?! Don’t you trust your bloody DOCTORRRR~!?”
She whimpered and picked up speed, her grayish blue coat getting all dirty and sweaty, her mane all tangled and messy with twigs and such sticking out everywhere. How could he even call himself her Doctor when all he ever did was try to hurt her anymore? She just wanted her Doctor back…
“L-Leave me alone! You’re not my Doctor! You can’t be him!”
She heard psychotic laughter and more tears filled her eyes. He was so lost in whatever happened to him, he was so far gone, he…
“Oh, Ditzy, you dumb mare! I’m still your Doctor, just a better version! The one that realizes you are nothing but a useless, bloody twat! Now come to your precious Doctor and accept your capture already, damn it!”
Derpy continued to gallop, her house certainly not too far off. She wouldn’t outrun him there. She wished she could fly, oh, it would be so easy if she could...But he had damaged her wings when he hit her the first time she tried to fly off. She had to find somebody. Her mind reeled as she thought, searching for someone, something. Just anything that could save her from the thing her Doctor became.
She picked up her pace to maximum speed, running into thick foliage in the woods. Feeling something prick at her skin, she slowed slightly, hearing the muffled, enraged yell of the stallion she once knew.
“Ditzy, you mutt, get back here! When I find you after causing all this racket, I will beat your bloody skull in!”
Her tears ran thicker, knowing if he caught her this time, it wouldn’t just be a beating or two. It might actually be death. This was a game of cat and mouse, a hide and seek game she definitely did not want to play. This wasn’t fair.
A hut she recognized all too well came into view and she held in a yelp of happiness, dashing into the doors and closing them behind her. She barricaded the room before she had a chance to see who was in there with her.
“Child, what happened to you?! You look like a mess! What is the thing to have caused this distress?!”
Derpy cried out and closed the shutters and the open sign Zecora had, making sure no light could be seen as she ran around frantically, lighting up a candle or two and setting them down safely.
The adrenaline dispersed and she fell on her hind end, sobbing silently. Zecora came closer, looking worried and somewhat scared. She reached out a hoof to touch Derpy who looked up at her. The zebra backed up a hoof at the purely terrified expression, a dark sadness lurking in her eyes. The pain so strong in the happy, bubbly mares’ eyes caused Zecora to hold back a gasp.
“Oh dear, I see, one you loved has harmed you. Your feelings were strong, I know this is true. But there’s something amiss, a terror in your eyes. Child, speak to me, what caused you to cry…?”
Derpy whispered just loud enough for Zecora to hear.
“He’s not my Doctor anymore, Zecora...I need something to heal my wings, to get out of here...I’ll lead him away from your hut so he doesn’t hurt you when I fly off, okay…?”
That was when the zebra began to inspect the mare’s battered body. There were patches of her coat that were ripped and bleeding and there were patches with a dull color, but her wings were chipped near the base, with a piece of bone revealed. Just adding onto the countless, disgusting amount of wounds was a small hourglass that looked to be burnt onto her neck. Her eyes darkened at the recognition. That was a brand from a hot iron. This ‘Doctor’ man seemed to be terrible news. Zecora quickly ran around her hut, not sure how far off this stallion was, trying to prepare a healing potion for the damaged-beyond-compare mare.
As she mixed the ingredients together in her cauldron-like pot, she wrapped a brown blanket around the shivering mare. She felt terrible she wouldn’t be able to help with the wounds and only the wings but she did not have the ingredients to make her more than the amount required for her wings.
The zebra finished the mix and grabbed a cloth, emptying a slight amount as the rest faded into water, as if she pulled the potion essences into the vial. She grabbed a second piece of cloth for the gray-blue mare to bite into. She had a fearful, childish look in her eyes. Like a child afraid of the monster in her closet.
The worst part was she wasn’t afraid of the monster in her closet. She was afraid of the demon her loved one had become.
Biting into the cloth, she cried out silently at the potion going into her wounded wings. It hurt and felt like her bone was just yanked and pulled. Within seconds it disappeared, leaving Derpy to stand on shaky legs and nod to Zecora. Peeking outside the shutters, she dabbed her wounds. The Doctor was no where to be seen, but she could hear him.
She went to leave but arms wrapped around her and a voice whispered, torn between letting the mare leave and forcing her to stay in case he caught her.
“Be careful, young mare, I’ll...let you be on your way. Follow the path ahead to the left, do not let yourself be lead astray.”
Derpy smiled faintly before opening the door and slamming it behind her and she ran. Zecora sat in silence at the exit and let a tear fall.
“I sense this mare will have many more troubles ahead, but I fear worse for the images in my head. I suppose I’ll have to trust the stallion inside my visions, the one who may save this mare’s damaged image.”
--
The stallion wasn’t far behind but Derpy saw a clearing come up ahead where she could take off. She heard odd noises and pushed harder, thinking it might be Ponyville. With a strong push to her speed, she kicked up dust, causing the male behind her to cough and curse her once again.
The mare gained speed and pushed off again, running into the clearing with closed eyes from the force she was using. As she opened them, not hearing anything behind her, she turned her head to look and collided into something.
She fell to the ground and panted, eyes closed in fear from the galloping coming from not far behind her. She was doomed, he was going to kill her. She was going to die.
“No...There’s...Koschei…”
Derpy flinched at the stunned voice from behind her, but as she heard him approaching, a body walking in front of her, sounding amused.
“Doctor, what are you doing chasing mares who clearly don’t want you to seduce them? If you really want a mare, you have to treat them nicely, not chase them through-!”
The stallion she heard speaking paused, making a soft sound before his toned changed to a more serious tone. He sounded both disappointed and a tad furious.
“I see you’ve decided to start beating and abusing your companions. You truly have gone downhill, Doctor.”
The Doctor sounded visibly ticked off and some other weird emotion she couldn’t work out. She decided to open her eyes to see a stallion with a blue coat standing in front of her, shielding her from the Doctor’s angry, searching eyes.
“Oi, shut up! Like you can talk, Inky isn’t around anymore! Remember what happened to her?!”
“Doctor, I suggest you shut your mouth. Inky was a good assistant. She had a mental illness, so shut your bloody trap. Then again, at least my assistant isn’t running wildly away from me. Though, I have to admit, you are quite the fool.”
“Oh, am I now, sir Great and Powerful?”
“Yes, you are. This mare looks absolutely stunning.”
Derpy nearly flinched when she felt herself behind lifted to her hooves and suddenly tucked into a warm body. She relaxed against the comfort, hearing something like a sound of appreciation as the stallion nuzzled her ear. The mare heard a sound of rage and movement before the stallion holding her spoke smoothly.
“Freeze, Doctor.”
She heard the sound of struggling but no movement. She inhaled slightly and exhaled with a slightly happy sigh at the smell of something similar to caramel. It wasn’t exactly, but it was just as sweet. Derpy heard laughter and tilted her head back. The Doctor faded away slightly as she looked up to meet the half lidded eyes of an amused, bright yellow eyed stallion. He was absolutely…
“Why hello there.”
Handsome.
“You get your grubby hands off of my- that dirty thing!”
Glancing over at the Doctor, he looked positively pissed. Derpy shivered and moved more towards the comforting warmth of the stallion, only enraging the grey coat stallion she once knew. Upon doing so, the stallion holding her chuckled more and held her more tightly.
“Dirty thing? Well, I suppose she is a bit scraped up right now because of you. Thing, on the other hand, no. Marvelous being, perhaps, quite. In fact, Doctor, I think I’m already getting rather fond of this old companion of yours. Now, let me see you, dear.”
She was pushed back slightly towards the Doctor who fussed again. Derpy whimpered and looked back before looking with large, scared eyes at the Doctor behind her. The blue coat stallion in front of her immediately shook his head.
“No, no, dear. I won’t hand you to that rude colt there. No worries. Tell me your name, if you will, hm?”
Derpy swallowed and her voice came out slightly raspy from the screaming and running, not to mention crying.
“M-My name...I’m Ditzy Doo...Just...call me Derpy…”
Seeing the tears rise in the mare’s eyes, he made a slight noise and pulled out some weird device that looked like the Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver. He ran it over all her wounds and frowned as he healed the injuries on her face. Tilting her head up, he noticed the brand that was still raw on the mare’s neck and frowned, his eyebrows furrowing deeply. Not once had he ever seen a Time Lord place their symbol upon their companion, which meant…
‘Hot irons…?’
Some sort of anger coursed through him at the idea of the poor mare being marked.
“I…”
Pausing in his speech, he approached the colt in front of him with his head bowed, shaking in presumable anger.
“I am strongly disappointed in you, Doctor. It appears that you do not deserve a companion, not one so cute and innocent especially. I think it’s about time I take this mare off of your hooves.”
He moved back towards Derpy, holding out a hoof for her. She glanced between it and the Doctor with his head held down. It was a simple decision. He healed her and took care of her, this stallion, she technically owed him her life. Taking his hoof in her own, he gave her a smile and she gave him a weak one back, tears still formed in her eyes.
“I will be taking your companion as my own. I hope you learn, after this meeting between us, that you should never, ever take your companion for granted, Doctor. Or abuse them as you have. You bloody branded the poor mare! Branded, Turner. I will be taking her away from your demented mind and into the safety of my hooves.”
Derpy shivered as the Doctor raised his head, eyes wide. He seemed to be shocked as he froze still. The mare was touched lightly on her now healed shoulder and a comforting smile was given as the blue stallion directed her to his own TARDIS. She hesitated but followed, pausing at the door. She turned back to see the Doctor in tears, a sign he was still there glimmered in his eyes.
“D-Derpy...please, don’t…”
She put her head down before looking back, her resolve about to crumble.
“I’m...sorry, Doctor...But you’re not yourself anymore...And…”
She paused and let a tear fall. The Doctor shuddered, the pain Derpy turned to strength evident in her golden eyes.
“I’m not your companion anymore…!”
The mare turned and let a tear fall, the doors closing. She fell back against them, sobbing quietly again as she heard the Doctor screaming and banging on the doors.
“Derpy! Please, don’t leave me again! Please, come back Derpy! I-I need you! I can’t...I can’t live without you, Ditzy!”
The whirring sound signaled their leaving.
“I’m sorry Doctor…”
“DITZYYYY!”
