Tired and other stories (A collection of the Doctor and Ditzy Doo Short Stories)

Tired

A Doctor and Ditzy Doo Story

I feel the abrupt landing of the Tardis, and slowly wander out.  Wander, it’s such a brilliant word.  I do remember Rose saying that we were wanderers.  Intergalactic hitchhikers much like how Douglas Adams envisioned his characters.  The difference is I don’t have a travel guide helping me.  Still, lovely sentiment though.  ‘Don’t Panic’ brilliant.  Maybe I should have said that more often.

I open the door to a castle draped in a red sky.  Slowly I walk back into the Tardis and lift Ditzy.  She’s not heavy, not really, although it seems that our last little adventure caused a bit of my regeneration energy to give me wings.  Strange thing ‘bout that is that I have these bloody things, but I can’t fly.  Ditzy said she’d show me, but then…  I force the thought from my head.  We escaped, we’re fine, and she’s going to be fine.

I feel Ditzy resting on my back, covering my less than useful wings, and I walk out into the castle.  There’s no guards.  I find that odd since these ponies have been nothing, if not devout, in protecting the princesses.  Although I’ve never known any creature to need protecting less, and perhaps more, than these two do.

I approach each door and push them open.  Each time I step through I can taste air that is trying to turn stale, and I wonder exactly what has happened.  Finally, I find the room I was looking for. I press against the door and it opens to reveal four Alicorns sitting instead of two.  I study them, but decide that now isn’t the time to worry.

“Doctor, you grace us with your presence,” Luna says.

“Is… Is that Ditzy Doo?” one of them asks.

I look at her and recognize her.  Twilight Sparkle, the librarian at Ponyville, quite intelligent, well read, and very hard headed.

“Yes, it is.  She… She needs help,” I say.

I feel her float off of my back.  I watch as Luna lays her near them and a different Alicorn I don’t know walks toward her and has a pink aura surround my friend.  No, Dizty has become more than that.  I had swore that I would never feel that way about anyone again. Not after Rose, not after so many…  Still, it happened.  She found her way into my hearts.

The pain is spreading through me.  I can feel it even now.  Our last trip, through space and time had landed us near beings I didn’t expect to see here.  Beings that shouldn’t have been here.  Instead I faced my oldest, and most powerful enemies.  Ditzy had saved us both.  Somehow she talked to the Tardis, actually talked to the old girl and got her to give Ditzy the power to help me.

It wasn’t so unlike what Rose had done for me, but Rose had forced the Tardis to give her the power.  Ditzy had asked, and explained that she wanted to save me, she wanted to save everypony.  I could feel the tremmers starting.  Golden light surrounding my new body.

“I… I don’t want to go,” I say in a shaky voice.

Celestia watches me, stands from where she had been sitting and walks toward where I stand.  The pain grows every second and finally I feel it escaping as the golden aura of my regeneration begins to cover me completely.  I let out a shrill scream.  It hurts so much worse than it has before.  Maybe it was because I had partly used some of my regeneration beforehand.  The larger Alicorn steps back as I glow, and then I feel it.  The fire is spreading through me.  This is my last regeneration.  There will be no more after this.

“DITZY!” I scream.

All four of them look at me, and I can only imagine what they see.  I had seen it once, long ago on Gallifrey.  My old teacher and friend had underwent his last regeneration.  It had been powerful enough to destroy one of the dorm rooms in the learning center.  I didn’t want to look to see what was happening though.  I wanted to see Ditzy.  I needed to see her.  The fire burned hotter and I felt the very stones under me glowing red with heat.

Everything began going black around me.  I couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, couldn’t feel, no, I could feel. I could feel my legs.

“Legs, good… They work… Hair...” I look up to see bangs hanging off.

“Wait, I’m a girl?!” I shout.

I look under me and breathe a sigh of relief.

“Not a girl, whoo… Still not a ginger though,” I say.

I raise my hooves up and feel something poking off of my head.

“Unicorn?!  I’m a unicorn!” I shout excitedly.

So excitedly that my wings, the very wings I had gained last time, the wings that were still part of me, spread out.  I look back at them in surprise.

“Alicorn… This is new…” I say.

I hear the castle shaking, and soon I can hear bits of it falling.

“Truly, things are never dull when you arrive doctor,” Luna remarks.

“Ditzy… is she?” I ask.

The other Alicorn nods and smiles softly.

“She is sleeping.  It does me so much good to see love again.  It has been far too long,” she says.

“What… What do you mean?” I ask.

“We are all that is left Doctor.  We are immortals with the duty to see the world to its bitter end,” Celestia says.

“But there are other worlds out there, surely the ponies have explored…” I begin.

Luna smiles and looks at me.

“There are some, A few live in my palace on the moon, and a few others have long since left even further out, but Equestria is dying,” she says.

I look at them trying to grasp this.  I had known that Earth, the very planet I loved, the planet that I had come to accept as a second home, would one day die. Destroyed because no one was willing to pay for its upkeep, but I had never thought the same fate would befall this world.  This world was full of magic, real magic, and I had believed that magic would keep it alive.  Seeing my confusion Luna walked toward me.

“All things end Doctor.  All planets, all universes, and even you one day will end.  Our day grows closer each passing minute.  We have long since accepted this, and we rejoice in it.  We’ve done all we could for our little ponies. We’ve kept them safe, kept them happy, helped them live out their lives in peace.  This is simply us being allowed our rest,” she says.

I nod and hear some mummering.  I watch as a gray Pegasus slowly stands up, looks around her and bows before Celestia and Luna.

“Rise my little pony, there is no reason for formality,” Celestia says.

Even now, with the world ending I can’t help but notice how caring Celestia’s voice sounds.  It’s soothing, like a mother’s voice.

Ditzy turns around and sees me.

“Doctor?” she asks.

“It’s me,” I say.

She smiles brightly and flies into me.  We tumble and she lands on top of me.  Her muzzle pressed against my own.  It was brought on by an accident, but it doesn’t change the fact that this feels wonderful.  I see Ditzy blush, pull back and squirm.

“I…  I… I didn’t mean to… although I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t enjoy it,” she says.

I rub her mane and smile.  Before I can say a word a rather large stone falls behind us and smashes through the floor.

“Time to go!” I say.

She hops up and I do the same.  I look back at the princesses who bow toward me.  I do the same back to them and soon find myself racing toward the tardis.  I swear, I should take to parking it closer.  We rush into it, and outside I can hear the sound of the castle falling apart.

“I didn’t do that right?” Ditzy asks.

“No, it was my fault this time,” I reply.

She smiles and soon the wheezing sound of the Tardis indicates that we are finally leaving.  I let out a very relieved sigh and within moments we’ve disappeared.  I feel light headed, a side effect to the regeneration, and it means I will have to sleep.  Ditzy seems to sense this, and she leads me toward the bed.  I still remember Rose being so distrustful of my transformed state, but Ditzy simply accepts it.  I expect her tuck me in, and then leave me to my own devices, but instead she crawls into the bed with me.  I lay down with my back toward her, and feel her hug against me.  Somehow, still haven’t gotten the hang of picking things up with a hoof yet, she grabs the blanket and pulls it up around us.

“Ditzy, are you sure you want to share a bed?” I ask.

“Of course silly… I mean we’ve kissed, and that means you’re my coltfriend!  Coltfriends and fillyfriends share beds, hugs, cuddles…  Muffins… I’ll share my muffins if you want one… Even my banana nut muffin…” she says.

“What about English muffins?” I ask.

“EWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!  Gross!  I hate those things!” she exclaims.

“Even with butter?  They are soooo good with butter,” I say.

“Would pairs be better with butter?” she asks.

“No, pairs are rubbish,” I reply.

“I feel the same about, ew, English Muffins,” she says.

She pulls me closer to her.

“But, I won’t stop you from eating them if you want.  Just stay with me, okay?” she asks.

I nod and feel myself drifting off to sleep.  Daleks, regeneration, End of Equestria, and now sleeping next to a girl, a mare, I’ve come to love dearly.  It’s been a very busy day, and I find myself to be very tired.