Doctor Whooves and Assistant(s)
LunaStarr Rising
Part I - U2107
I
The late summer sun beat down on the workshop. Lunaris looked at the weather calendar and sighed. There was not a rain shower expected for another three days. She opened the windows on the top floor of the newly built three-story building, one of the largest buildings in Ponyville. The air outside was only slightly less hot than inside. But it was fresh air and welcomed just the same. She wondered if it would be a good idea to install some kind of air conditioning, at least in the offices.
She walked downstairs to the work floor. The first and second stories were combined and created a large empty room with assorted tables and half-completed works from herself and other ponies. In one corner of the beige painted room was what looked like a sculpture of Princess Celestia, only it was missing a head and tail. Those parts were still being made and on one of the desks. When done, the head and tail would move and a recorded voice would be heard. At least that's what Cogsmith said would happen. So far, all it has done was smoke when activated and make a horrible screeching noise.
Similar to the noise that she started to hear as she opened the barn-style doors on the side of the building.
The noise seemed to be coming from just outside of the workshop. At first she saw nothing at its source, but soon a blue... something, about the size of a wardrobe or a small shed, started fading into existence. She could read the words "POLICE CALL BOX" on a plaque atop a double doors on what she would only guess is the front of this shed. After it "solidified," she could smell smoke.
The doors swung open and two ponies rushed out amidst black smoke that smelled of oil and burnt breads.
"Fresh air!" A brown stallion said between coughs and gasps. "Mother of Celestia, fresh air." He dug into the pockets of the brown coat he was wearing and brought out a metal... wand looking thing with a green gem on tip of it. It gave off a hum and glowed for a few moments as he pointed it at the shed. soon the sounds of fans could be heard and the smoke billowing from the shed was beginning to thin.
"I'm sorry," A female grey pegasus said, holding a tin pan of what Lunaris could only assume was supposed to be muffins. "I just don't know what went--" the last of her sentence was lost in her own fits of coughing.
Lunaris stood there, watching these scene unfold in front of her workshop. She recognized the mare as one of the postal workers. In fact, she recognized them both from her first day in Ponyville. "Derpy? Doctor?"
Both of them finally noticed they had an audience. "Oh, Miss Starchilde." The Doctor was trying to be as nonchalant as possible, as if she didn't just witness him gasping for air. "Fancy meeting you here." Derpy offered a wave, dropping the tray of burnt lumps.
"Um... I work here." Lunaris slowly replied.
The sound of the fans died off. She walked up to it in stunned silence. First she pushed on the side. It felt like a wood, but wouldn't budge one bit. The Doctor and Derpy moved to the side, allowing her to peer inside. The room was almost as large as her workshop, with a raised platform and some kind of glass or plastic tube in the center, surrounded by panels loaded with buttons and switches and levers.
"I-it's..." Lunaris started
The Doctor's eyes lit up in anticipation for one of his favorite lines anyone ever has to say.
"It's air conditioned!" Lunaris sighed and laid down on the metal floor, letting the welcoming cool wash over her.
"That... wasn't expected." Derpy said the stunned (and somewhat disappointed) looking Doctor.
II
"So this..." Lunaris started.
"TARDIS." Derpy said
"TARDIS, is some kind of spaceship?" Lunaris was looking wide-eyed at all the... the stuff inside. She resisted the urge to go about pressing random buttons or flipping random switches.
"Space and Time. Anywhere, anywhen, and any way you can imagine." The Doctor added. "The dawn of the universe, or the last star's light fading, any any point in between."
"Sounds fun." Lunaris said. She paused for a moment, thinking. The she smiled. "I should grab my things."
"Oh wait a tick," The Doctor said. "This was just a quick tour of the TARDIS. I didn't say anything about going on a trip."
"Oh come on, you can't just leave a girl hanging." Lunaris protested. "How you going to bring out a bottle and not let me grab a cup? At least a shot!"
"I don't know if I like your analogy," The Doctor half mumbled. He looked over to Derpy, expecting her to side up with him, but instead she was standing along side Lunaris with a similar look of anticipation and excitement. "Okay, fine. But one trip, okay? Just one quick trip, no adventures, and back before dinner."
Lunaris glomped on to him and bounced back, squeeing with excitement. "I'll be back in just a second."
"And no alcohol, Miss Starchilde."
"Killjoy."
Lunaris ran out of the TARDIS as fast as her hooves could carry her. She turned around to look at the police box (now that she knew what it was supposed to be.) The weight of her actions was slowly being felt. She just opted to go on a trip in space. To see the stars up close, and in a box no larger than her closet on the outside. She paced herself up the stairs of the workshop to grab a coat she hadn't worn twice since spring. She stopped to look at herself in the mirror atop a dresser she had in her office. Violet eyes looked back at her dark blue face. Smooth features clashed with her sometimes stern looking eyes, which sometimes made her look like she was staring or glowering. Her mane was a burgundy red that was almost purple. She opened the top drawer of the dresser and brought out a gold circlet and rested just above her horn. After a quick brushing she was ready.
"I swear, Derpy, does 'just a second' mean something different to fillies?" The Doctor sighed, looking at the open door.
"Relax, Doctor, it's only been a few minutes." Derpy laughed.
"Give an inch, and they take a malm."
"A malm?" Derpy asked.
The answer to that question did not come, though, as Lunaris appeared at that time in the doorway of the TARDIS. She had combed back her hair and had a brass and silver circlet that wrapped around her horn, making it look almost like the horn was part of the circlet. Her saddle bags were plain beige canvas that showed signs of wear. Lunaris also had on a silver necklace with a moon and star shape dangling from the chain. "Okay, I'm ready."
"Very well then," The Doctor closed the door behind her. "Where shall we go? The plains of Tharsis? The shores of Zephyra III?."
"The Moon."
"The Moon..." The Doctor started. There was just a slight hint of disappointment. "The starting point of space exploration of many cultures and races. From observations with telescopes to those first cautious steps." The Doctor rushed to the console and started flipping switches and pressing buttons.
"He always this chatty?" Lunaris asked Derpy.
"Oooh... you have no idea." Derpy rolled her eyes.
Soon the rhythmic screeching sounds from the TARDIS as it entered the temporal vortex. Lunaris felt a prickling sense of excitement at what was about to happen. This Doctor promised her the Moon, now let's see how he delivers on this.
In Lunaris's office, stuffed in a bag seldom touched in the corner. A light pulsed grey and blue, grey and blue, in sync with the sounds of the TARDIS.
III
Sirens blared and lights turned red in the TARDIS. Sparks were flying from the console as screens flashed symbols that none but the Doctor could understand. Derpy had taken to the air to avoid being tossed around s the TARDIS jerked in every direction.
"Doctor!?" Lunaris called out, dodging a metal cylinder that almost crushed her. "Is this supposed to be happening!?"
"What do you think, Lunaris!?" The Doctor was flung from the console as the TARDIS lurched to the side. The gravity suddenly increased and Derpy came to a crash. The Doctor crawled his way to a red lever and with all his might forced it down. The TARDIS stopped moving and the sirens died down, but the lights were still pulsing red.
"Owie..." Derpy rubbed her rump where she landed hard on the ground. "Doctor, what happened?"
"Some kind of interference with her guidance controls." The Doctor was looking at the displays. "We should be fine in a few--" The displays all went black and the red lights turned off, replaced by a dull blue glow. "Or not."
"Where are we?" Lunaris was starting to worry. She was expecting... she wasn't even really sure anymore, but not this. Not to be tossed like a rag doll in a metal cage.
"I'm not sure, miss Starchilde." The Doctor pressed several buttons on the TARDIS, but no reaction. "She's put herself in hibernation mode. Wherever we are, we're going to be here for a while it seems."
"Shoulda brought rum..." Lunaris muttered. Both the Doctor and Derpy were looking right at her. "What?"
The Doctor opened the TARDIS doors. It looked like he landed on the roof a sky-scraper. He could see metal craft resembling carriages gliding through the sky above. The group walked over to the edge of the building. They must have been at least two dozen floors high judging by the windows below. Looking up there were a multitude of buildings that dwarfed the one they were on. and still more flying carriages raced along the skyline. Neon signs could be seen atop different buildings advertising all manner of food or drink or shops. Some appeared to be holographic from what they could see.
"Fascinating..." The Doctor trailed off. "We must be at some point in Equestria's future." He dug into his coat pocket and brought out the metal wand, a sonic screwdriver, as it was explained to Lunaris. "Hmm... an awful amount of magical radiation in the air. Nothing dangerous, but just... a lot of it."
"Um, guys?" Lunaris called out. from the other side of the roof. There was a small shed that opened to show a staircase. "Onwards and downwards, I guess."
The group began their decline. It turned out they were twenty-seven floors from the ground.
They exited the building which turned out to be part of an apartment complex. They found the streets devoid of any carriages or coaches, except for a few locations along the road where they would swoop down and pick up a pony before jutting back up to the air. A type of taxi service, Lunaris figured.
She noticed a couple of unicorns walking past wearing a metal headband like her own, wrapping around their horns. It seemed their horns were gilded, which struck her as odd. She knew of fillies polishing their horns, but not having them inlaid with gold. She turned around to see another pony walking across the street. The teal colored pony nodded to her before continuing on his way. A shadow fell over her and she looked up to see a pegaus come to a land a few feet in front of here before going into the apartment building they just exited.
"Wait a minute..." Lunaris started. "That was an alicorn!" Lunaris was sure if it. That pegaus had a horn with the same metallic glint that the unicorn couple had.
"Maybe not." Derpy said. "Look."
It was then that Lunaris noticed what was wrong with the picture. Every pony on the street was either a unicorn or what looked like an alicorn. When she seriously looked at several of their wings, she noticed they had brass fastenings at their base, going right under their saddles.
"They're synthetic." Both Lunaris and the Doctor said at the same time.
"I've never seen anything like them." Derpy was awestruck.
"I have." Lunaris said. "I invented them."
IV
"Well, to be specific, I was designing a prototype." Lunaris said before taking a drink of a fortified cider. They finally conceded and found a pub a few blocks away. Derpy was eating a plate of blueberry mini muffins and the Doctor had ordered a bizarre combination of breaded fish sticks and plain custard. "You see, I have a theory that the same magic that make pegasi able to walk on clouds and fly exists in everypony. It just needs something to channel it through to work. It's why I’m studying heredity and arcane magics."
"So that's why the move to Ponyville?" Derpy commented.
"Right. The two books I need are located in Canterlot's restricted wing of the library and also in the municipal library run by a Miss Twilight Sparkle."
"And the wings?" The Doctor asked. "what about those?"
"At a glance they seem to be simply metal or ceramic prostheses. They're a medium for the magic to flow through. The ability exists within most of us, in our blood." Lunaris paused to take a drink. "Like myself; my grandmother was a pegasus who married a unicorn. My mama was a unicorn who married an earth pony and I'm a unicorn, but I have pegasus and earth pony blood in me too. Most of us are genetically mixed like this to some degree."
"So in similar theory, an earth pony or a pegasus could use unicorn magic?"
"With the right medium yeah--oh damn." Lunaris realized what was bothering here this whole time. Every unicorn she had seen had that gold metal around their horns, or a metal band with their horn in the middle.
"Exactly, Miss Starchilde." The Doctor said. "I noticed that first. Every unicorn we've seen so far is a fake..." A server came by to pick up the emptied plates and to bring Lunaris her second drink. "I wonder how those things work. I wonder where I can get one..."
"There's a shop over across the street." The server commented. "They have all the latest models and plans." She gave him a business card. "Mention us and you get a 5% discount on your first month's service." She gave a wink to the Doctor before continuing with her other tables.
"A store? Service? These things are treated like bloody cell phones!?"
"Cell phones?" Derpy asked.
"I'll explain later." The Doctor got up from the bench. "For now, if we could tear Lunaris from her drink, we should pay this shop a visit."
The store in question had a sign reading "Magus U-Horns." They figured that "U-Horn" was the name they gave to the devices. And sure enough, when they walked in, it reminded the Doctor of a cell phone store from before coming to Equestria. There were horns of different shapes, sizes, and colors. Some marked with "optimum range," or "kid friendly," and "free with contract." On one wall were a series of circlets or tiaras that were used to mount these u-horns to be used.
"Hello. Welcome to Magus." A friendly enough looking pony walked to them. She had a pale blue coat and silver white hair. Her jacket covered her cutie mark. "Are you looking for a new line of service or an upgrade."
"Oh just browsing for right now." The Doctor responded.
"Okay then, just let us know if you need anything." The sales rep moved on to her next customer.
The Doctor and Derpy were looking at all the horns on display. Derpy went as far as to try on a grey colored horn with a simple silver circlet. She walked over to a nearby mirror to look at herself. "Alicorn Princess Derpy Hooves." She spread her wings and bowed to herself before erupting in a fit of giggles.
The Doctor took his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and waved it over Derpy's head. "Alicorn indeed. It can't tell where you end and the horn begins. Try doing something with it."
Derpy looked at a pamphlet laying on a counter and tried to levitate it. The pamphlet continued to lay on the counter. "I don't get it. I don't feel anything. Is magic supposed to feel like something?"
"Try like this." Lunaris started. "Look at the paper. imagine what it would feel like in your hoof, the texture of it, the weight of it. Think about how you would lift it but without moving your hooves." A faint glow emanated from the horn on Derpy's head. "Great. Now feel in the back of your mind for... something, like a light that is just out of sight or a sound that is just faint enough to sense but not hear." The glow enveloped the pamphlet. The Doctor continued his exam of both of them. "Okay, now pick up the paper."
The pamphlet slowly lifted from the table. "I did it!" Derpy squealed in excitement. "Oh wow this is so-- ACK!" Derpy winced and for a brief moment, the horn flashed bright. In response, the paper ignited and fell to the ground as ash.
The salespony rushed over. "That model may be a bit too advanced for a novice such as yourself." She said. The calm demeanor in her voice sounded very strained. She picked up a smaller horn that was a neon green color. It looked like a child's toy. "This one is more designed for younger fillies and novices."
"That's... okay." Derpy blushed. "I think I'm fine without one." Derpy removed the horn and placed it back on the display.
Everyone in the store grew quiet and began to move away from the group. The salespony had walked behind the counter to talk to a different representative. None of the three companions seemed to notice.
"Aww..." Lunaris gave Derpy a reassuring hug. "Don't feel bad. When I first started to learn how to use magic, it took me a month to be able to do something that small, and I was born with this." She said, tapping on her horn.
The sales pony walked behind the counters to talk to one of the other workers. Several of the shoppers in the store had left with concerned looks.
The Doctor examined the horn by itself. "And now it's just a piece of silver again. Wait, there's something else..."
The Doctor continued his examination as three rather large stallions dressed in black with gold wands crossed on each side of their flank came into the store. One stood by the door and the other two walked over to Lunaris. They pushed Derpy aside, ignoring her protests.
"Hey there, just a moment!" The Doctor approached the two stallions when one of them pushed him aside with a blast of magic. The Doctor collapsed in a heap in the corner of the store.
Their horns were jet black, as were the circlets holding them. One of the two stallions who had gone to Lunaris pushed her horn. As expected, it didn't move. Lunaris tried to back away but was quickly grabbed by the second stallion. "Hey, let me go!" Her horn started to glow as she prepared to free herself by force. The first stallion quickly put a red cap over her horn, which caused the glow to stop. Lunaris screamed in terror. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!? LET ME GO!"
The two stallions ignored her shouts. One of them had pulled a hair from her mane and placed it in a rectangular looking device. "Unregistered. Biologic unicorn. Stallion." His voice was emotionless, his tone cold, as though describing the color of a rock.
"I'M. A. MARE!" Lunaris shouted in protest.
"U2107 Registered." The stallion said. The one holding Lunaris then levitated her a few inches from the ground and the three of them started to leave. Lunaris continued to cry and scream.
"Where are you taking her?" Derpy pleaded with them. Still, they were ignored. "Please, we didn't do anything. What's going on?" She looked to the salesponies and to the customers. Each diverted their eyes when Derpy's fell on them. She fled the store in time to see a black shuttle with the same golden wands crossed hover away into the sky. Derpy pursued as best as she could but could not keep up. In seconds it had vanished among the traffic in the late evening sky.
The Doctor had regained consciousness and stumbled out of the store. His own inquires as to where they had taken Lunaris had gone just as unanswered. He met up with Derpy following her path.
"This was supposed to be a quick trip to the moon and back home in time for supper." The Doctor said. He brought out his sonic screwdriver and moved it slowly from side to side. The hum changed tunes as he pointed it north, towards the center of the city. "I put a homing beacon on her before we left. Better safe than sorry." He sighed. "But she's not safe right now. I am so, so sorry Lunaris Starchilde."
"What are we going to do, Doctor?" Derpy asked.
The Doctor brought out the grey u-horn from the shop that he had placed in his pockets. "We're going back to the TARDIS to plan. They have taken one of my Companions. And believe me, Miss Hooves, I will make them pay for this."
Author's Note
Okay, so time for author's notes. So I guess I'll start with saying that this story is inspired by Doctor Whooves and Assistant, which is done (wonderfully) by BDR of Ponies With Pockets Productions. This story was originally going to be part 2 of another story that would introduce Lunaris and her first encounters with Derpy and the Doctor, but y'know, wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey (which is why she already knows them.)
