Galactic Harmony

Galactic Harmony

Octavia Melody was running. She was always running in these types of dreams though the environment changed constantly. She ran through grand cloisters with the sound of bells constantly ringing in her ears and clattering through her brain, or across a field of red glass that sprung up like grass cutting her hooves when she moved or atop enormous, grand cliffs perched precariously above white raging waters. Throughout it all two things never changed, wherever she went she was always running and she always ran to the music.

In every dream she would find herself running as fast as her hooves could carry her. Every step would feel like slogging through mud, but she’d continued to run until she was breathless, and until her lungs felt like fire; and in every dream the loud panicked strains of her cello would follow her. ‘It’ would follow her.

It was colorless and transparent, but like an all-consuming storm cloud constantly billowed behind her gaining closer and closer as the music of the cello shot through her heart. Even worse it seemed to be conscious, following her no matter which way she darted or where she sprinted and no matter how much she tried to block it out the music stayed with her.

The dream always ended the same way, Octavia would collapse onto the ground and just as she could feel the cold wisps of black smoke licking at her, it would pull back. She would take a deep breath in relief before the scream of another pony would pierce her ears.

“Vinyl?” she would ask panicked. It was at this point that Octavia Melody always woke up.

The mares’ eyes slowly creaked open. It appeared that this latest dream was no exception. The moon still shone brightly outside as a warm comforting Ponyville breeze drifted through her open window. Rolling over in her bed she slammed it shut in annoyance.

She found it odd, almost frighteningly so that these dreams no longer scared her, how they had become so routine. Was she really so callus? Shaking off the thought she closed her eyes again in an attempt to go back to sleep. She rolled over and lay there. Then rolled again. After shifting position for the eighth time she let out an angry huff, scratched her bed hair, hauled herself out of bed and walked towards the hallway.

“Filth, abject filth,” she grumbled to herself upon passing the door of her roommate. She paused and dared to look inside the un-natural disaster area that was the living quarters of Vinyl Scratch. Octavia sighed as she spied the empty bed. “Probably out on another one of her late night composing excursions.”

It wasn’t uncommon for Vinyl to be ‘taken by the muse’ as Octavia liked to put it and disappear for days on end only to resurface with a new song that would somehow be deemed genius by the common culture. Octavia only wished her own composition could be half as successful but for now she’d have to be content performing the work of other ponies at dinner parties as whatnot.

Of course she couldn’t be angry with Vinyl, despite the mares constant jabs and name calling which usually involved some horrible pun about cellos. Vinyl may have her rough edges but the duo had always encouraged each other with their music. They’d been best friends ever since that one memorable and physically painful day in music class.

Octavia shook her head, slowly backing away from the room, the overpowering smell of cheap hair gel and stale cheese crackers must have been making her nostalgic. She walked past the photos on the wall containing similar fun or painful memories and descended into the kitchen, letting out a yawn while reaching for her glass when suddenly…there was a knock at the door.

She stiffened at the sound, as most sane people would do upon hearing a knock at the door at approximately three in the morning. Its okay, she tried to convince herself. Vinyl’s probably just locked herself out, again. Of course when that happened the hyperactive DJ would usually just slip through the second floor window her brain rationalized to late as Octavia felt her hoof turning the handle.

She pulled the door open cautiously and peered into the moonlit night. There standing before her was a single earth pony. He carried himself with an air of humility, a perfectly ordinary yet elegant look. He wouldn’t have looked out of place in Canterlot, but then again he wouldn’t have looked out of place in well…anywhere.

“Hello, I am the Doctor,” he greeted cordially. “I’m going to have to ask you to run. You’re in very grave danger I’m afraid.”

Octavia blinked, mouth open hung agape as the pony let himself in with nothing more than a tip of his hat. As he brushed she was able to get a better look at him.  A beige vest outlined in red with nary a wrinkle on it, a similarly colored hat with a bold red stripe running around it and…good Celestia was that…celery? Despite the oddities of his clothes his light sandy brown coat and amiable blue eyes made him seem like a perfectly ordinary gentlecolt. Of course nothing in his dress or demeanor explained why he’d barged into her house.

“Hold on a minute, danger?” she asked suddenly.

“Yes, mortal and imminent.” He answered non-chalantly looking around.

Crossing the threshold into the living room he did a quick scan before making towards the stairs. Octavia blinked before finally coming to her senses. She turned and sprinted after him, half a million things running through her head.

“You can’t go up there” she exclaimed, shouting the first thing that popped into the forefront of her mind! “Company really is more of Vinyl’s thing…”

“A long time friend I assume?” the stranger asked briefly glancing at the photos on the wall.

“W-what, of course, surely you’ve heard of her, that’s Vinyl, Vinyl Scratch.” She stopped herself mid sentence. This pony had barged his way into her house on vague pretenses of danger and started asking questions of her personal life. Why was she giving him the time of day? As she prepared a different course of action the stallion suddenly took a hard right into Vinyl’s room.

“Don’t!” Octavia demanded as she rushed up to the doorway. “Listen SIR, I don’t care who you are, I don’t care who you think you are, but if you persist on trespassing within my own home I will have no choice, but to call the authorities.” Once again, Octavia was forced to question the wisdom of her own words. In reality the first thing she should’ve done was fetched her neighbors as soon as this pony intruded in her house. She cursed Vinyl silently for convincing her to take the house on the edge of town.

“I’m sorry, I truly am,” the stallion replied breathlessly as he rummaged through the trash heap that was Vinyl’s floor. Octavia grimaced; she’d planned on tackling her roommate’s floor one of these days, but only with a biohazard suit and perhaps several members of the princess’ personal guard.

Octavia shook her head and stamped a foot on the ground in an attempt to gain control of the situation. Then, before she could utter a single word the stallion turned around with a raised eyebrow.

“This, Vinyl Scratch, where is she?” he questioned. Octavia glared at him, hoping that the audacity of his actions would speak for themselves. The look the stallion gave her was odd to say the least. He looked sad and sheepish yet he still held an air of confidence. “I ask because from what I’ve seen she doesn’t go anywhere without these does she?”

Octavia felt a chill wash over her as he held up a pair of sunglasses. Vinyl’s sunglasses, the same pair that she wore whenever she went out. There was no reason, at least no immediately conceivable reason why her roommate would ever leave the glasses behind. Her anger gave way to panic as she burst into the room to examine the glasses. She looked at the stallions face as if praying that this was all some hoax. Perhaps Vinyl had set the whole thing up as some sort of joke. The look on the strangers face shattered this hope; he wore the same sorrowful expression.

Octavia gritted her teeth. She knew the story behind the glasses, she’d given…Octavia stopped herself and glanced carefully up at the intruding stranger. She almost felt her hoof ball into a fist.

“Vinyl’s not just my roommate she’s also my friend, my best friend now tell me,” Octavia said quickly in a dangerously calm voice. “What’s going on?” The stallion looked at her carefully, almost biting his lip before before swiftly turning away and continuing to rummage through the room.

“This site is practically teeming with the after effects from a chronoton event, not that unusual for your anomaly of a sector mind you, I probably wouldn’t even have registered it if it weren’t for the sheer size of the Post Eventum isotopes. Something on this scale simply blew a fissure in the fabric of time itself then vanished leaving nothing but low grade francium and lots and lots of stray chronotons telesponders.”  Octavia gawked at the rapid-fire words emerging from his mouth before shaking her head and following him across the room.

“And that would mean?” she pressed angrily still gripping the glasses. Firmly she placed a hoof on his shoulder and spun him around. She looked him dead in the eyes are in commanding him to come up with a better explanation.

“Your friend was here and now she’s gone,” was all he offered, his voice finally descending into a huff, patience wearing thin.

“Vanished? Into thin air” she interrogated stamping her foot on the ground getting further into the stallions face. “This isn’t funny anymore, you’re going to tell me what’s really going on. Ponies don’t just disappear!”

“Well there’s a first time for everything, I’m afraid that in this case she really has simply vanished off of this plane of existence now please if you would be so accommodating as to leave this area immediately you are in danger here.”  The stranger pleaded sounding adamant yet desperate as he readjusted his celery. His formerly cordial appearance dropped for a much more stern, perhaps even dangerous countenance. His formerly calm and jovial eyes now seemed like fire as they bored into her. Nevertheless, once glance at the glasses in her hand was enough to convince Octavia to whether anything the stranger could throw at her.

“The only one in danger here is Vinyl and you in about five seconds if you don’t tell me what’s really going on here! What could I possibly be in danger from?” she said, her native Canterlot accent growing thicker by the second as her anger continued to rise.

As if on cue, there was a terrifying howl from the hall. There, at the entrance stood a terrifyingly large creature in a mattered black and white coat of fur. A pair of glowing eyes stared down at the pair before, with one long bellow it burst into the room, taking the better part of the doorway with it.

The strange stallion sprung into action knocking Octavia out of the way and rolling to the side of the creature’s deadly charge. The mare grimaced as the creature collided with Vinyl’s shelf of personalized records. Of if only her roommate were here this creature would have hell to pay.

“Like a Yeti! Now run!” the stallion demanded shoving her towards the monster shaped hole in the wall.

“A Yeti?” Octavia screamed over the howl of the creature. “What do you mean a Yeti? You’ve seen one of these things before?”

“A robot army posing as Yeti’s under the control of an Astral Being bent on conquering the planet, but yes I have faced these things before!” he replied as they blitzed down the stairs. “Mind you they were a mite smaller last time!”

“This is insane,” Octavia continued as the two burst towards the door.

“Well I won’t argue with you!” the stallion replied suddenly scrambling to a halt before doing a full one-eighty and making for the fireplace. Procuring a lighter from his vest he began to flick it desperately.

The Yeti emerged from the staircase, eyes still wild with rage. It raised its arms above its head and bellowed as the stallion redoubled his efforts to get a fire started.

The fireplace didn’t roar to life so much as it sputtered. At first only a lick of flame was visible before it gradually started to consume the log. Quickly the stranger fished it out of the fireplace with his teeth and defiantly waved it at the creature. The Yeti bellowed once again, pulling back and nursing its singed fur. Just as stallion began to circle back around the Yeti and towards the door the creature snapped to attention, its eyes locking back onto him.

“I think you just made it angrier,” Octavia stammered still wide-eyed at the situation that was playing out before her.

“Yes, thank you for that astute observation,” the stallion remarked somewhat snidely with the burning log still in his mouth. Beads of clear sweat dripped down his muzzle as the duo backed out of the house. He grimaced as he suddenly dropped the log onto the ground, turned his head and spat.

“That’s hot,” he muttered as he spat at the ground once again. Octavia quickly scooped up the make shift torch and waved it at the monster.

“I’m guessing that’s why we have hooves,” the line came out extremely blunt. Despite herself, the stranger in her house, her missing best friend and the terrifying creature before her it all seemed…almost normal. She shook off the feeling as instinct forced her to ask the next question on her mind “So what now?”

“Well,” the stallion began with a sheepish look, “the chronoton radiation is highly unstable and fades after a certain amount of time.”

“So…” Octavia gawked again as she tried to make sense of the scientific jargon. “It will disappear on its own?”

“Technically yes,” the stallion nodded while keeping his eyes on the cautiously advancing Yeti. “The same thing that displaced it will return it to its proper place, but the mass of energy here means that the problem is…” As soon as the Yeti had appeared it vanished. In the blink of an eye another creature stood before them. It was largely, frighteningly large and green.

The torch fell from Octavia’s hand as she looked up at a hard shell in front of her. A long pointed hard shell of a creature that drove itself into the ground. She looked a little higher when it suddenly dawned on her; it was just a leg, one of ten. Steam emitted from the creatures underbelly as she stated trembling.

“When I say run, run,” the stallion muttered to her. A distinct clicking sound pierced the air. “Run!” With a scream Octavia and the stallion turned around and bolted as fast as their legs would carry them.

“And what’s this now?” Octavia asked. It was a rhetorical question, but the strange pony answered it anyway.

“Cancri DiArthropod otherwise known as the tropical scorpion! I once encountered their very distant cousins whilst adventuring on the planet of Metebelis 3!”

“Spectacular! Your must be so proud!” Octavia shrieked as the pair continued to flee the rapidly advancing scorpion. “Where are we running to?”

“Make for the TARDIS!”

“The what?” Octavia yelled, giving him a look that was usually reserved for Vinyl after her roommate’s late night ice cream binges.

“That blue box,” the stallion nodded to the edge of the woods. Octavia glanced in the direction blowing her black bed hair out of her eyes as she continued to run. Sure enough there stood a stocky blue contianer.

“And what good will that do us?” Octavia demanded.

“Trust me, she’s sturdier than she looks!” he replied using his teeth to pull a key out of his vest. The two screeched to a halt as the stallion slid the key into the hole delicately, almost to delicately for Octavia’s taste.

“I don’t mean to rush you,” she said stomping her hooves in an agitated fashion casting an anxious look back at the rapidly approaching scorpion. The door suddenly creaked open as the stallion shoved her into the box before throwing it shut behind them.

“Light?” Octavia’s asked. Why was it light inside a completely enclosed container in the middle of the night? She looked up from the floor before her eyes went wide. Instead of a cramped, dark, stuffy box she’d suddenly found herself in a nicely lit spacious room. Suddenly she seemed content to simply sit on the floor, speechless. The stallion paid her no mind though, he was already at work furiously fidgeting with levers and buttons.

“I’ve managed to lock onto the chronoton mass surrounding the creature. Hang on, I’m taking us and that thing to higher ground.” The stallion gasped as he tried to operate his machinery while capturing his breath.

“Lock onto it? Why in Equestria would you lock back onto it?” Octavia just about screamed. As soon as the words came out of her mouth she knew there was going to be a response. This stupid stallion and his stupid hat, strutting around with his celery and beige colored everything. The answer was so obvious and so simple she practically answered along with him word for word.

“Well it’s either take it with us or leave it free down there to rampage around your little hamlet of a village constantly shifting in and out of more confused and probably quite angry creatures. Somehow I doubt that the locals would find that to capital.” Ok, so maybe it wouldn’t have been word for word. The stallion slid around the side of the controls efficiently as he pressed another series of buttons. There was a great growl from the depths of the machine. It was a noise that reminded Octavia of some other foreign beast in the heart of the Everfree Forest.

“Radiations messing with the controls,” the stallion mumbled to himself looking at a chart of readouts as he slowly began to whistle. He looked over at her and with an almost commanding voice said “We’ll have to do this the old fashioned way, open the door and see where we are.” Swiftly, Octavia moved and shoved the door open unsure of what to expect but completely assured that it wouldn’t be normal.

“T-this is Canterlot Castle, v-very high up,” Octavia squeaked. Heights, she hated heights. There was a sudden ear splitting squealing as Octavia looked up to see the Scorpion hovering in mid air. Suddenly, she began to feel a little dizzy.

Perfect, just perfect. Here she was again, flying over the capital of Equestria in an enchanted blue box with a delusional mad-pony who seemed to believe that this was just another day at work.

Yes, this was a dream, definitely another one of her crazy dreams that she would no doubt wake up from just as soon as that insufferable cloud bothered to grab her by the legs again. Yes, she’d wake up with Vinyl standing over her and laughing about her crazy sleeping habits. Octavia felt herself falling into a daze as her hooves gradually started to slip towards the door.

“Miss!” the stallion sounded concerned. “Just hang on, blast it, sorry old girl.” He apologized to the machine as he slammed his hoof down onto a large button before scrambling after Octavia. He yanked the shaking mare away from the door and rolled to the side as the box began to fall.

The machine spiraled through the air as a firm slap to the face from the stallion brought Octavia around. One quick glance out of what she could see of the door made her wish she’d stayed in her trance. The rapidly approaching concrete balcony may provide a roadblock for this insufferable contraption, but she doubted that it would faze the scorpion very much.

Then it happened again. As quickly as it had appeared, the scorpion vanished. In its place was another creature almost as tall as the Yeti but much longer. It resembled a large fish with a set of great teeth. A pair of beady eyes stared out at the machine from beneath its black leather skin. A horrible rasp emerged from its throat just as it collided with the balcony. Dust and bits of concrete flew everywhere as the pair tried to recover from the sudden shock.

With some struggle the creature arose and started making for the box.

“Oh and what is this?” Octavia cried, sounding more annoyed than anything else. “An animal comprised of several undersea monsters whose genes have been spliced together by a long forgotten race to create a weapon for the purpose of helping them incite nuclear war?”

“How do you know that?” the stallions wheeled to face her, his countenance being one of bewilderment and confusion. Octavia blinked, then blinked again. Violently she shook her head.

“I-I…I,” she stammered. It had been the oddest sensation, almost as if something had gripped her by the throat and forced her to spit out the words. The creature let out another sound but this time it came as more of a guttural rasp.

“Oh! Hold that thought,” the stallion said pushing her back as the creature advanced. The rough fins of the creature did their best to push it forward and for a while it succeeded, but as the creature continued to rasp then gasp they slowly ground to a halt. Unceremoniously, it flopped onto its side, mouth gaping wide open. The stallion brushed off his hooves looking quite pleased with himself. “You see good things do come to those who wait.”

With that he dashed to the control panel and removed a piece of siding. Quickly, he attempted to pull out an important looking hose, again with his teeth. Octavia wasn’t sure what to make of this stallion, if he was either brilliant or simply had a string of enormously good luck that had kept him alive.

She trotted over to the panel, snagged the valve with her hoof and gave it a firm yank. The valve disconnected with relative ease. Carefully she handed it and the hose connected to it to the stallion with a morose face. He tipped his hat in a very gentlecoltly fashion before rushing out the door and towards the creature.

Without another word he jammed it onto the creatures face and rushed back to the control panel, pressed a few buttons and fell back onto his hindquarters in exhaustion.

“Was this your plan?” Octavia asked, her frustration and anger all bubbling back up. “Just keep running away until it turns into a big fish?”

“Well statistically speaking the chronotons had to release a creature unsuited to a temperate environment at some point so in a manner of speaking…yes. Then all I had to do was get a direct link to the creature with the TARDIS to transform these extra chronotons into harmless matter. The real problem was simply keeping the creature occupied so that no bystanders were hurt.”

“What about Vinyl,” Octavia asked as the stallions countenance suddenly turned serious. “Wasn’t she an innocent bystander?”

“Something has ahold of her, something very powerful,” the stallion tipped his hat upwards as he looked towards the night sky “But I’ll do my best to find your friend Miss, I swear it.” With that he looked back at her with a smile, the fish creature finally disappearing.

“Well this has been a pleasure, but I must be off.”

“What? Oh no, no, no. If Vinyl’s in trouble I’m coming along with you.” Octavia said stamping her hoof on the ground before giving him a softer look. “Please, she’s my best friend, I can’t just sit around knowing that something like…whatever attacked up tonight might have her.”

“Miss I admire your determination and I do enjoy the company of others, but I don’t even known what happened to here. I will not put you in unnecessary danger.” The stallion sighed with a kind smile.

“The same kind of unnecessary danger I was in when you told me to take a look out of the doors of your box?” Octavia asked bluntly. The stallion suddenly looked incredibly sheepish.

“Well you see I am used to having…help,” he offered carefully.

“Or the same kind of danger I was in when you aimed for this balcony with a twenty toned scorpion in tow?”

“Well you see I really had no…”

“Or that Yeti,” Octavia cut in crossing her forelegs. The stallion sputtered as if trying to come up with a suitable response. “Besides you know absolutely nothing about my roommate, how do you expect to figure out who kidnapped her with extra information?” He cast a quick glance at the mare and her raised eyebrow before letting out an exasperated tsk.

“Oh alright but…” he gave in, shaking his head “Never mind, welcome aboard.”

“Right now?” Octavia asked looking around, suddenly apprehensive about the whole business. The noise of the TARDIS colliding with the balcony had sent echoes throughout the city. She glanced over the smooth purple railing looking at the multiple ponies that had been awakened by the noise. Feeling a bit dizzy from the height she looked back towards the mysterious stranger.

“No time like the present,” was the only reply. Just as the stallion had turned around to go back into the TARDIS he paused back with a raised eyebrow, “I’m sorry, I don’t believe I caught your name.”

“Octavia…Melody, Octavia Melody, and…I’m afraid your name has escaped my mind?” the mare offered with an unsure smile.

“Ah, yes well I am the Doctor, pleased to meet you.” The stallion nodded walking through the open door. In the distance Octavia was sure she could hear the metal clanking on guards horseshoes on the smooth tiled floors.

“Vinyl,” was the only word she mumbled out loud, but inside her mind she was burning up. I’m coming for you, I will find you and I will save you. Just hold on. She glanced up at the moon as if swearing on a celestial body sealed her promise in stone.

“Miss Melody?” the self-styled Doctor asked poking his head out of the TARDIS.

“Let’s go!” she shouted firmly, rushing in before quickly adding, “beats staying here and getting arrested at least.

“Arrested…” The Doctor asked more to himself as the clopping of hooves drew closer. “Ah yes, of course. Please make yourself comfortable Miss Melody, we are off!” With that the doors slammed shut as another growl came from deep within the TARDIS before it vanished into the night.