Chapter One - Cybermen and Shooting Stars
Equestria’s Silver War: Chapter 1 – Cybermen and Shooting Stars (Written, edited and Proofread by Ben Morrisey)
Stardate: 54242.7 (Tuesday, October 10th, 2000 – 10pm, Approx. Ten years before Friendship is Magic First Aired)
Location: High Orbit above planet Sol 3 “Earth”
A long time ago, high above a Planet named Sol 3, known to its inhabitants as Earth, a lone Starship cruises through the seemingly endless expanse of Space. This Ship is not crewed by any living beings however, its inhabitants are Cybermen. Originally from the planet Mondas -Earth’s long-lost ‘Twin’ Planet- they were once living creatures like you or I, but their once powerful and intelligent race began dying from an unknown viral condition, which was causing their Lifespans to contract, each generation’s bodies being weaker than the last. Seeking to save their race from utter extinction, the Mondasians began surgically altering their bodies, implanting life support systems, and encasing themselves in thick armour. However, the process was extremely painful, which put the people off having the surgery, to the point where some Mondasians preferred death over the ‘Cure’. To rectify this problem, Mondasian scientists developed a device called an Emotional Inhibitor. As the name may imply, this device connects to and shuts down most of the emotional centres in the brain, so although a Cyberman may feel pain, it won’t react to it.
The original Cybermen were almost grotesque to look at, having large, exposed support systems mounted to their torsos, hardly any armour plating, and still possessing organic limbs. They have improved upon their designs a thousandfold since then, further upgrading themselves – always for increased efficiency rather than aesthetics. Cyber weaponry has also evolved over the years, at an alarming rate. Some basic weaponry has even been integrated into their basic systems, whether that be built into the wrist, head or chest unit. However, some models have been seen with large, handheld weaponry. More recent models even have an artificial Nervous System connected to the still functioning Brain inside the Helmet, to allow for even sharper reaction times. Some of the most recent Cybermen have even been retrofitted with Flight capabilities! All of this has rendered the Cybermen almost unstoppable. However, even some of their oldest weaknesses still apply to this day. Certain strong solvents can play havoc and even dissolve a Cyberman’s internal mechanisms. Gold can also be used against a Cyberman. Being non-corrodible, powdered or liquid Gold plates the creature’s breathing apparatus, in effect suffocating them. Thus making a weapon developed in the Future, the Glitter Gun, very effective. Cybermen can also be susceptible to extreme effects of gravity. A strong gravitational pull on a Cyberman can immobilise and even crush it!
Since becoming the new race of Cybermen, they have become of the opinion that they have found the cure to discrimination and wars, by making every living thing in the Universe like them. Eliminating gender, creed and beliefs. By arriving on a planet and offering the inhabitants what they now affectionately call ‘Upgrades’. In a sense, the Cybermen are only seeking Universal peace. Even if what they call peace is simply a distorted view of conformity. If the people of a planet should resist however, the Cybermen are more than capable of force, possessing their highly powerful weaponry and using just their sheer numbers, they can force the people to ‘Upgrade’. However, on some occasions, the Cybermen have even eliminated entire Races because they were deemed ‘Unsuitable’ for the Upgrade process.
We now join the Cybermen, in their most recent incarnation, as they make plans to ‘Upgrade’ the seemingly Equine lifeforms of this ‘Earth’, starting with the most powerful city. Reports from orbital observation have confirmed this City’s name as ‘Canterlot’, and is on a continent known to its inhabitants as ’Equestria’...
***
Deep within the Cyberman ship, inside one of the Engine rooms, behind a high stack of storage crates… a bright blue light appears, pulsating gently, seemingly from nowhere. Suddenly, an elephantine wheezing, groaning noise like grinding metal could be heard, as the blue light began to form a shape, lightning flowing over its form. Still pulsating, the light was now was taking the shape of what looked like a large blue wooden Box, somehow becoming more solid the longer it was there. Now, to those of you who haven’t realised yet, this wasn’t just a blue box with a fancy light show. No, as you may have figured out, this ‘Box’ is a TARDIS, known under the acronym of ‘Time And Relative Dimension In Space’. It is an impossibly powerful craft, built on the planet Gallifrey and housing a vast, futuristic interior. This is due to its interior and exterior existing in separate dimensions. Despite looking like it was from the future though, this particular TARDIS is actually quite old, being a Type 40, mark 3 Time capsule. It was already close to being a museum piece when its Time Lord owner stole it from the repair yards of the Capitol. The Time Lord I am referring to of course, is The Doctor. A renegade Time Lord, who just wanted to explore the never ending realms of Time and Space, but ended up saving people and planets from a whole array of monsters and alien menaces. Most notably a race calling themselves The Daleks.
The Time Lord council became angered by The Doctor’s actions, calling him out on breaking their rule of ‘No interference’ on Alien worlds. You see, The Time Lords are an awesomely powerful race, and potentially the only ones to completely master Time Travel. Their physical appearance is not so different to the people of Earth, being seemingly Equine. Their rule of ‘No interference’ means they will not travel in Time and then alter events, in any way. Something The Doctor can unfortunately not avoid doing sometimes. Declaring him a renegade, the Time Lords banished The Doctor from his Homeworld. To remain a traveller of the Vortex until the day he dies, which he has done several times now…
Time Lords have the unique ability where, when they die, they can re-write every cell in their body and bring themselves back to life, in a new body, Through a process called ‘Regeneration’. However, they can only perform this process a total of twelve times, allowing for a sum total of Thirteen lives, where each persona can by as different as the last. The Doctor is now on his tenth life, having regenerated nine times over the eons. About ten years ago in fact, The Doctor was the supposed sole survivor of an event known as ‘The Time War’. A hellish skirmish between the Time Lords and the Daleks, who seeked Universal domination. In the final battle, there had been a cataclysmic explosion that appeared to wipe out both the Time Lords, The Daleks, and the planet Gallifrey as well. Seemingly leaving The Doctor as the last of his kind.
He has since come to peace with this, and we now join him as he investigates the Cyberman ship, finding out how they have been navigating the galaxy so efficiently recently…
***
The loud wheezing, groaning noise came to a stop, as the TARDIS fully materialised with a soft thump. The door on the wooden box creaked open inward, and out stepped The Doctor, dressed in the favoured clothing of this Regeneration. Black shoes, trousers, a green jumper and T-shirt and a Black leather jacket. He was a Pony of reasonable height, not being overly tall, but not too short either. He has Light Brown fur with a darker brown mane, cut so short you could quite easily mistake him for being bald at a distance! His Tail, the same Color of his mane, was an average length, coming down the just above his knees. His grey-blue Eyes shined within an expression of shrewd confidence. To all intents and purposes though, he struck you as the type of Pony who was perfectly normal, but also Somepony you wouldn’t want to mess with…
Taking a quick look around himself, The Doctor turned around and shut the TARDIS door, locking it with the key he kept on a necklace, usually tucked in his shirt. “Quite the setup” he muttered under his breath as He walked over to the Engine room’s main bulkhead, marvelling at the ginormous Fusion Engines around him, and the humongous pistons tasked with constantly pumping gas into them to keep them running. He reached the Bulkhead and looked at the keypad. Its screen was glowing a bright Red, the door had been locked.
“A code? Screw that.” He breathed, grinning and pulling out a small metal Rod called a Sonic Screwdriver from his jacket pocket. This device was quite incredible, utilizing Soundwaves, it was able to unlock almost any lock, perform scans and even light fires! It can also screw in screws, hence its name. The Doctor pointed the Screwdriver at the Keypad and pushed the button on its body. Its head lit up with a Red light, accompanied by a whirring, buzzing noise. The Keypad then changed from Red to Green with a small beep. The door locks clicked, and the door slid open with a mechanical hiss.
Pocketing the Screwdriver, The Doctor continued his way down a gleaming white corridor, being more cautious this time. If the Cybermen were to spot him, he’d be shot on sight…
A little further down, he could suddenly hear the unmistakeable sound of metal footsteps on the metal Floor! Looking around frantically, The Doctor quickly spotted a ventilation shaft down by the ground. Pointing the Sonic Screwdriver at it, the bolts of the vent came loose. The Doctor swiftly knelt down and pulled the cover off, scrambled inside, and gently replaced the cover behind him, just as two Cybermen rounded the corner! The Doctor held his breath as the Cybermen clanked right on past him in his hiding spot, turning another corner further down the corridor. Sighing with relief, The Doctor began crawling down the ventilation shaft, being careful not to make too much noise while he was in the walls…
***
The vent was cramped, really cramped. The Doctor had to resign himself to crawling on his belly, his hands pulling him along the icy cold steel. After a while of this, The Doctor came across a grate directly underneath him. Peeking through the grating, The Doctor’s eyes widened at what he saw… A room crawling with Cybermen! They were all seated at some form of Computer terminal, occasionally raising their heads to look outside through the massive window at the end of the room that looked out to the vastness of space… or it would be vast, if there wasn’t a Planet in the way. The Doctor also noted all of them at consoles had Black and yellow striping up their arms. There also seemed to be something sitting hidden in the shadows at the back… With two armed guards on either side.
Suddenly, the figure in the shadows spoke up, a blue bar of light appearing through the darkness as it spoke.
“Sky Spies, Report.” The voice was deep, almost baritone, filled with Bass but devoid of emotion. Making the Doctor realise, if this is the bridge, then that one must be their Controller! A Cyber-Controller is arguably the most powerful Cyberman model you can come across, towering about a foot over any other. Sporting much thicker armour, extremely powerful in-built armaments, and Jump jets for fast mobility and Hovering. It also has a different helmet, being a high domed helmet, instead of the usual handle-eared design. The dome of the helmet contains the living brain, and is glass, meaning you can see the brain throb away, with cybernetic implants tweaking things here and there… the Cyber-Controller is also fitted with a hyper-intelligent super computer in its torso, called a Cyberplanner. This allows the Cyber-controller to make much more intelligent decisions than its subordinates at a faster pace. It is undisputedly in command of everything that happens within their ranks. In the field however, the Controller acts as an overseer, while Cyber-Leader Units (Defined by their black head handles) direct the troops on the ground. And if a Cyber-Controller should be destroyed, then a Cyber-Leader will be chosen to Upgrade and become the new Controller, where the previous Controller’s memories and experience will be downloaded into its replacement. Truly a force to be reckoned with. Only someone very brave, or just plain stupid would get in their way…
“Sky Spies report no disturbance on the Planet surface.” Piped up one of the Cybermen at the consoles, in an almost identical voice. The Blue bar of light appearing where a mouth would be on its face. “They do not appear to have detected us in orbit”.
“Excellent.” Replied the Controller, clenching its fist. “Inform the hangers they can begin preparations.” Waving its hand grandly as it spoke.
“At once, Controller” Boomed another. Pressing a few keys on its computer, the Cyberman then proceeded to speak into some form of microphone.
“All Cyber-Units in Hangar bays 1, 2 and 5, Prepare for Dropship launch.” The Cyberman’s voice rang out through the entire ship. At another press of a button, the message began repeating itself. The noise of the message rang through the vent shaft, reverberating horribly, setting The Doctor’s teeth on edge. He couldn’t stay here! He needed to hurry up and find what he was after…
Proceeding down the vents again, The Doctor came to a vertical shaft blocking his path. It was too far a gap to continue on the way he was going, and besides, he was looking for the Central navigation computer, which had to on the floor below the Bridge. The Doctor looked down… It was about a Ten foot drop.
“Ten feet. I could survive ten feet... Well then… Geronimo!” The Doctor said to himself. He lowered himself off the edge, fingertips just holding on… then let go!
CRASH!
With the loud banging noise of metal hitting metal, The Doctor fell through the grating on the ceiling and landed in a heap on the floor of the Server room. After a moment of groaning in pain, The Doctor jumped to his feet, quickly looking around and bringing out the Sonic Screwdriver again, just in case. But the room was… empty?
“Empty? Strange….” The Doctor said to thin air, before bending over double. “Argh… I’m getting too old for this sort of thing…!” He groaned, glaring up at the vent he’s just fallen through. Stretching out his back again, The Doctor fiddled with the Sonic Screwdriver for a moment the held it up vertically, almost like a flashlight, then pressed and held the button. It lit up again, whirring with a similar sound from before, but this time the sound was rising and falling in pitch every few seconds. This was the Screwdriver’s scanner function at work, trying to locate what The Doctor was looking for in this room…
After a few minutes of pointless roaming of the large, gleaming computer room, the scanner finally seemed to be pointing in the right direction, the rising and falling of the sound’s pitch becoming faster by the second. Speeding up his walking, The Doctor practically ran around the next corner. Right into a Cyberman! Gasping, The Doctor jumped back, preparing to run… The Cyberman did nothing! Not even a twitch. How odd. Leaning in, The Doctor inspected the seemingly inert Cyberman, tapping in smartly in the middle of the faceplate. There seemed to be no active systems on the whole thing.
“Just in stasis, that’s good.” The Doctor sighed in relief, patted the Cyberman on the shoulder, and looked around again.
And there it was, what all this effort had been for, hooked up to the Navigation Matrix. An Arc of the Cosmos. An ornate Gold and Scarlet Cylinder, it clashed horribly with the cold grey and blue of the Cyberman computer, making it impossible to miss. The Arc of the Cosmos was a navigational drive, created by Time Lord Engineers and installed into every TARDIS capsule. It contained the raw data of galactic co-ordinates for every known planet in the Universe, compressed into pure energy. With this, the Cybermen could find and navigate to any planet they wished, within a couple of hour’s relative time at most.
“Ah-ha. There you are.” Said The Doctor levelly. “Can’t let them keep you here like this.” He placed a hand on the Arc, feeling the ornate pattern under his fingertips.
“You’re coming home with me.” He told it confidently. Seeing as might well be the last Time Lord in existence, The Doctor thought he may as well take upon himself to look after this thing. Adjusting the Sonic Screwdriver yet again, The Doctor pressed the tip of the device to the wires connecting the Arc to the computer, and began cutting through them. Unbeknownst to The Doctor however, the Cyberman he had thought that was in stasis, was actually in fact in standby mode, as a secret guardian to the Arc. The moment The Doctor began fiddling with the wiring, its systems began to come back online…
***
The Doctor was about half way through cutting through the wires, when suddenly a cold metal hand grabbed him by the shoulder! Gripping hard, catching him by surprise and forcing him to drop the Sonic Screwdriver. The hand threw him roughly to the floor, making The Doctor gasp in pain.
“Unidentified Biological signature Detected.” A deep, monotone voice rang out as The Doctor fell. Looking up at his assailant, The Doctor saw the figure of the previously inert Cyberman towering over him. Interestingly, if movements were very sluggish as it turned to inspect the wiring to the Arc of the Cosmos, allowing The Doctor the swiftly retrieve his screwdriver. As he was getting to his feet, the Cyberman quickly rounded on him, raising its right arm, pointing its fist directly at The Doctor. With a mechanical whirring and a few clicks, a compartment on the back of the wrist opened, and out folded an Energy Blaster, primed and aiming right at The Doctor’s face!
“Intruder has tampered with navigational systems. You will Surrender or be Destroyed!” The barrel of the Gun began glowing a bright blue, charging power to fire…
The Doctor had a split-second to react. Without really thinking, he ducked and tackled the Cyberman before him, pushing it into a bank of computers. Its Blaster fired, sending a powerful shot straight into the opposite wall. As an explosion burst up from the bowels of the machinery, causing an alarm to begin blaring out from the walls, deafening The Doctor, a cool blue light flashing in the ceiling.
“My Cue to leave…” He told himself, reaching up and ripping the Arc of the Cosmos free of the remaining wires holding it in place. Sprinting over to the server room’s door, he bludgeoned the lock with the Arc. The Door slid open, only to reveal two more Cybermen standing on the other side!
“Ah. Sorry, wrong Door.” The Doctor said to them, grinning before spinning on his heel and sprinting in the opposite direction, ducking the subsequent Energy blasts that flew over his head.
Bursting out into an empty corridor, The Doctor rammed the Arc into his jacket pocket as he ran, so he wouldn’t drop it. More and more Cybermen were appearing around corners, attempting to grab him, Blast him, hell, anything to try and stop him! The Doctor ducked, dived and stepped aside of everything they threw at him, darting around corners and being generally unpredictable. And all the while, the voice of the Cyber-Controller rang out through the loudspeakers…
“The Intruder has stolen the Time Lord Navigational Drive! Do not allow him to escape, eliminate him at all costs!” Tearing around another corner, The Doctor was finally headed in the direction of the stern of the Ship, the Engine room, his TARDIS, and Escape. Speeding up once more, The Doctor dashed to the Engine room’s door, thankfully still open from earlier. Running past the huge Engines that powered the Ship, The Doctor slowed down, glancing over his shoulder. Big mistake. A whole battalion of Cybermen were on his tail! All firing in his direction! Diving behind a large piston, The Doctor gasped, catching his breath.
The firing had stopped. The Doctor raised his head slightly, to peek over top of the piston…
“There! Fire!”
Ducking back down again quickly to save his head from being blown off, The Doctor took cover again, sheltering from the now constant pounding of his hiding spot, Every shot hitting the piston with a loud echoing clang. The Doctor had noticed however, that two of the group were now moving around to flank him. Looking around, he spied them sneaking near the wall, trying not to be noticed. Looking the other way, The Doctor saw his way out, in the form of a battered, Blue Wooden Telephone box. The TARDIS! Looking back again, the two Cybermen were starting to close in, raising their weapons. It was now or never!
Diving to his feet, The Doctor sprinted toward the TARDIS, shots now barely missing him, he could feel the heat off of every one… He raised one of his hands, and clicked his fingers. The TARDIS doors swung open, awaiting his entrance… But that one action had made him slow down, just for a second, but that was all one of the Cybermen needed to line him up perfectly, and pull its trigger…
Pain beyond Pain tore through The Doctor’s body as the Energy blast hit him right between his shoulder blades, forcing him down to his knees. Yelling out in agony, he started crawling toward the TARDIS, desperately scrambling from the firepower smacking the floor around him. One stray shot collided with a machine just behind him, causing an explosion that knocked The Doctor flying! Thankfully right through the open doors of his trusty Time Capsule. As soon as he crashed down on the floor inside the TARDIS, it slammed the doors shut behind him, protecting him from any further attack. Lying flat on his back, The Doctor was now panting frantically, the pain of being shot still sending shockwaves through his body. Groaning with the agony of it all, The Doctor pulled himself to his feet, using the railings next to him for support. He then shakily limped to the TARDIS console, walked to a specific lever, and yanked down on the Relative Dimensional Stabiliser.
“The sooner I’m out of here, the better” He thought, as the Central Column of the Time Rotor began rising and falling…
Outside the TARDIS, the Cybermen had stopped firing at the box. Instead they were crowded around it, as if waiting for The Doctor to come out again. Then, before their Optic sensors, the lantern atop the roof of the TARDIS began flashing blue, accompanied by that same elephantine wheezing, groaning noise from before. They began shooting at it again as it seemingly faded from existence in front of them. But they knew better, they had met Time Lords before, after all. Pressing two fingers to its ‘Ear’ the Cyber-leader present contacted the Bridge via its inbuilt Comm-link system.
“The intruder has escaped, Controller” It told Its Superior, waiting for a response.
“Escaped?” The Cyber-Controller replied, sounding borderline angered. “Illogical. You had him cornered!
“He escaped in a large blue box, which dematerialised before our optics, Controller” Said the Cyber-Leader.
“A Dematerialising Blue Box?” The Controller paused, searching the Cyberplanner’s databanks… “Archived information matches that description to a renegade Time Lord, known as ‘The Doctor’ who has interfered with us before.” The Cyber-Controller informed his subordinate, sounding almost perturbed. “But that is not possible. All of the Time Lords were eliminated in the last great Time War!”
“It would appear that this ‘Doctor’ survived, Controller.” The Cyber-Leader replied.
“Indeed. And now he has escaped with the Arc of the Cosmos…”
“He was hit by one of our units. He will be severely injured, he will not escape far.”
“I Concur. We shall wait for him to re-appear… Crew! Begin scanning the local system for Artron energy signatures!” Boomed the Controller.
“Full Spectrum Scanners activated!” responded three Cybermen at once.
“And as for you and your unit, Commander, you may return to your preparations in the hangars.” Said the Controller down its Comm-link once more.
“Very well Controller, we will comply.” The Cyber-Leader replied, cutting its Comm-link and motioning for Its troops to follow it from the engine room.
***
Meanwhile, aboard the TARDIS…
The Doctor has successfully escaped into the Vortex, the mysterious void that TARDISes can fly through to traverse Time and Space… However, the flight was rather rough, even by the usual standards. The Doctor was in agony. He’d dumped his jacket on the seat to one side of the room, and was now stumbling around the console, pressing all of the wrong buttons to keep the capsule stable…
Suddenly, a burst of what appeared to be golden flame shot from The Doctor’s hand! It lingered for just a moment, but the damage was done. In the shock of the burst of Regeneration energy flying from him, The Doctor had slammed into the Emergency landing switch, locking up the Time Rotor and forcing the TARDIS to materialise instantaneously. The place he was materialising to however, just unfortunately had to be about 250 metres in front of the Cyberman Ship. Perfectly within scanner and weapons range…
Aboard the Cybership…
“Controller!” Spoke up one of the Cybermen at its terminal. “Artron energy Signature detected. Approximately Three Hundred Metres ahead of our current position.”
“Excellent, The Doctor is falling prey to his injuries…” Boomed the Cyber-Controller. “Lock all primary weapons onto his TARDIS, Obliterate It!”
“Controller, what of The Time Lord device in his possession?” asked another Cyberman.
“It is of no consequence!” The Controller replied. “The Planet below will provide us with sufficient resources for the time being. Now, do as I have ordered!”
“As you Command, Controller.” Answered the Cyberman. “Particle Combustion Cannons locking on… Firing in Twenty Seconds…”
Back on the TARDIS…
The Doctor clambered back to his feet, he had collapsed to the floor after the TARDIS had been thrown violently from the Vortex. Leaning on the Console for support, he reached over and pulled the small Scanner Screen over to himself. What he saw next made him groan in exasperation. The Cyberman Ship, still there, and not all that far away! “Damn Dimensional travel.” The Doctor grumbled. “Sometimes you never go as far as you’d like…”
“Firing in Fifteen Seconds…”
The Doctor peered closer at the image on his Screen. “Hang on…” he muttered… “Is it… Glowing?!” He asked thin air. Indeed the Cybership was glowing, a bright Red in fact. But only in certain places. And the glow wasn’t just pretty lights either, it was the glow of the Cannons on-board charging to capacity! The Doctor knew this of course, and realised what they must be targeting. Him! “Oh No…” He muttered under his Breath.
“Firing in Ten Seconds”
Scrambling around the Console again, The Doctor slammed down on a Blue Switch to activate the TARDIS’ Shields. The Shields came online… Then immediately went off again, draining the Power and plunging the Room into darkness.
“No, no, no, no!” Yelled The Doctor, aiming a Kick at the Console. “What’ve you done that for?!” He shouted at the Machine, frantically pressing buttons and switches, trying to get something to work.
“Firing in Five…”
As The Doctor reached for another switch, there was once again a sudden burst of what appeared to be Golden Flames, this time from both hands! Appearing for only a second again, but this time the burst of Regeneration Energy had sparked more of a reaction from The Doctor. “Not Now!” He roared. “I don’t have time for this NOW!
“Four”
The sudden shock had pushed The Doctor to his knees once more. Almost crawling back to the Console, he plucked a mallet from a hook on the Console’s underside…
“Three”
The Doctor limped back over to the Shield Controls…
”Two”
The Doctor raised his trusty mallet over the Shield switch...
“One. Particle Combustion Cannons Firing.” The Cyberman at the Weapons Terminal had finished its Countdown. Outside the Ship, a fiery torrent of burning bright red lasers burst forth from the Cannons protruding from the front of the Craft.
The TARDIS’ alarms began blaring, warning the inhabitant aboard of the impending Firepower. With an almost primal Cry, The Doctor slammed his Mallet down on the Shield Switch, causing a short circuit and forcing the system to function. Outside The TARDIS, what looked like a translucent bubble had formed around the Blue Box floating in the Vacuum. But The Doctor hadn’t been quick enough! Although the Shield was now blocking all incoming fire, one shot had still managed to get through! Which was more than enough to blow a sizeable hole in the TARDIS’ outer shell!
With an enormous explosion, a section of the wall of The TARDIS fell outward to the void of Space. The Console began erupting with smaller explosions, having been caught in the blast as well. The Doctor was thrown back from the force of the blast rebounding into and over one of the railings by the Console. Plunging to the ground, The Doctor crashed to the floor, knocked out cold instantly. As his body laid there, a strange Golden energy began pulsating all over him… The Doctor was Regenerating!
Fire was pouring out from the TARDIS, the Flames casting a dull orange glow in the blackness of Space. The Box then began sinking, falling toward the planet below. The Cybermen watched all this happen from the bridge of their Ship.
“A Successful hit.” Remarked the Cyber-Controller. Now standing up, its Arms folded.
“Suggestion. Dispatch a scouting party to investigate the Time Capsule’s Wreckage, Controller.” Piped up one of the Cybermen at its terminal.
“It is highly unlikely the Time Lord will survive the crash…” Replied the Controller “But a Logical idea Regardless. We will watch and see where he falls. Then deploy Scouts to that Location.”
“Acknowledged Controller. Alerting Hangar bays now.”
***
On Board the TARDIS, fires raged throughout the Console, explosions bursting forth from every angle. The Ship was going down, and there was nothing The Doctor could do… His unconscious form was now glowing furiously with that same golden energy from before, becoming more and more intense as changes began appearing over his body…
For starters, he was becoming somewhat taller, his torso slimming out a fair bit and growing broader shoulders. His hands became narrower, with longer, slender fingers. His Mane was lengthening, growing thicker than before, alongside some longer sideburns on his now thinner, younger face. He was also gaining a slightly longer Muzzle. His Tail became slightly longer too, the few grey hairs that had been present fading away…
The Energy glow surrounding The Doctor’s body reached its apex, and with a shower of golden sparks, The Doctor bolted upright! Gasping for air, his new, brighter Blue Eyes glancing around manically. Flinching away from an Explosion close to him, the new Doctor pulled himself to his feet.
“Right. C’mon think. Slower, slower… Concentrate on one thing. One thing… Oh! New Voice… not important right now…” The Doctor looked himself up and down, trying to focus…
“LEGS! I’ve still got legs!” He suddenly exclaimed, grasping one around the thigh. “Good, love the legs. Hands, still there, good. Arms, longer. Body, not bad… Nose? Eh, I’ve had worse. Hair. Blimey! I’m practically a girl!” He tugged at his new mane ruefully, pulling a few strands in front of his eyes. “It’s brown… again. Why couldn’t I have been ginger?! I’ve never been ginger!” Grimacing and blowing his mane out of his eyes, The Doctor looked around himself.
“What’s going on?” he asked thin air, nonchalantly watching the flames curling around the room, and the explosions emanating from every corner…
Suddenly, one of these explosions erupted right behind the pondering Time Lord, sending him crashing into the Console!
“Oh, right!” He gasped. “I’m… Crashing, HA!” He began laughing, almost maniacally, as he straightened up and began pressing, pulling and slamming as many controls as he could, trying to bring the Time Capsule around from its freefall. Practically skipping his way around the console, The Doctor was laughing and pressing random buttons, joyfully unaware of the impending doom from crashing…
“Hahaha! Brilliant!” Cheered the Doctor, gripping the side of the Console firmly as the TARDIS lurched, falling further into Earth’s atmosphere…
***
Stardate: 54242.9 (Wednesday, 11th October 2000 – 12am, Approx.)
Location: A hill beside Lavender Lake, Ponyville, Equestria, Earth.
As the Moon and Stars shone over Equestria, their light casting a Silvery-white glow over the streets and buildings. Two young Adult Mares –one a Deep shade of Purple, Wearing a Pale Yellow Shirt, a Pink Mini-skirt and Purple Athletic Sneakers. The other, a light Blue, Clad in a Blue V-neck Sweater, White ruffled shirt, a light Grey skirt and Similar Blue Sneakers. They were settling themselves down on a windswept Hillock overlooking Lavender Lake, having decided to have a Night out and perhaps do a bit of Stargazing.
The Purple mare placed down the Wicker hamper she had been carrying. Her name was Berry Punch, an Earth Pony, Ponyville’s resident Vintner (A Winemaker) and on occasion, the town drunk. Her companion on the other hand, was a Unicorn by the name of Colgate. Colgate was Ponyville’s most popular Dentist. There didn’t seem to be a Dental problem she couldn’t fix! She and Berry Punch had been close friends for years, and more recently they’ve even started a relationship together! As the couple sat down, Colgate couldn’t help but marvel at the shining Planet in the sky.
“Oh my… Berry, it’s simply beautiful!” Colgate exclaimed, beaming over at her Marefriend.
“I knew you’d like it, Hun.” Replied Berry. “It’s been a while since we’ve done anything like this…”
“I know… Reminds me a little of when we first met. D’you remember it Berry?”
“I sure do honey. One of the best nights of my life…”
***
When Colgate had first arrived in Ponyville, fresh from the Phillydelphia Dentist’s college seven years ago, nobody really seemed to want to get to know her. Apparently, the Dentist she was filling the position of, Dr. Glide, who was retiring, had been very popular, and Colgate had some big shoes to fill…
After Colgate’s first week on the job in Ponyville, the reluctant and sometimes downright rude patients she had been obligated to work with had nearly pushed the Unicorn to her wit’s end. Wearily striding into the Rusted Horseshoe, Ponyville’s main bar, Colgate ordered a whole bottle of Red Wine and a Glass, then she flumped down at a table in the far corner of the Pub, poured herself a generous measure of the heady fluid, and drank it down almost in one gulp. Sighing out of sheer exhaustion, Colgate placed her glass back on the polished wooden surface, and poured out another potentially unhealthy measure of wine. But this time she sipped at the drink, taking a moment to look around the room and take in her surroundings…
It was your typical Friday night bar scene: A bunch of rowdy Colts on the other side of the room were yelling and cheering at the Hoofball game being played on the small, flickering Television set. A little ways away from them, some older Stallions were engaged in a game of darts, thankfully they were a lot quieter than the Hoofball fanatics, although their booth was fairly smoky… Then there was the large group of giggling Fillies over by the Jukebox, chattering incessantly about something or other that was completely irrelevant. But what caught Colgate’s eye was the deep purple furred pony sitting at the bar. She was also drinking the Red Wine, seemingly the only other pony in the room to be doing so. Taking a swig from the bottle she was holding, the purple Pony suddenly looked round and met Colgate’s gaze. The Unicorn hadn’t realised she’d been staring! Quickly looking away from the other mare’s eyes, Colgate nervously focused her gaze down at the glass of wine in her hands…
Then, without warning, the Purple pony was sitting across the table from her, looking her straight in eye!
“Oh! H-Hello. I-I hope I didn’t offend you, o-or anything, I w-was just y-y’know, looking around…” Colgate stuttered out, avoiding the other pony’s gaze, taken aback by the mare’s sudden appearance.
“It’s not a problem, Hun.” Replied the stranger, her voice slightly slurred by the amount of Alcohol in her system. “I was just amazed Somepony but me was drinking the Wine. Whaddaya think of it? Name’s Berry Punch, by the way, I’m the pony who makes that stuff…”
“Oh, really?” said Colgate. “Well then, Miss Punch, I must say your Wine is very good! Arguably the best I’ve had in a long time…”
“Glad to hear it kiddo!” beamed Berry. “But just call me Berry, everyone else does! …Y’know, I never did catch your name…” She said, with a lopsided grin.
“Oh! How rude of me!” exclaimed Colgate. “I am Dr. Colgate Minuette. I’m the new Dental Surgeon in Ponyville.”
“Oh, the new Dentist huh? How’s it been takin’ over from old Glide?”
“Dental Surgeon, yes. And, if I’ll be honest… it’s been a living hell.”
“What happened? Did a Kid bite ya or something?” Berry joked, chuckling.
“If only… It’s been a whole lot worse than that…” Colgate sighed, staring into her Wine glass, a glum expression on her face. “If Ponies aren’t missing their appointments on purpose because they ‘don’t know me’, or outright cancelling, they’re telling me whenever a tool isn’t in their mouth how much better Dr. Glide was, and how I’ll never be as good a Surgeon as him!” she sighed exasperatedly. “Are Ponies in this town always like this to newcomers?” She asked, looking up at Berry again.
“Well… I… no. Not really to be honest with ya.” Berry admitted, while Colgate’s face fell. “But don’t let it get to you Hun, they’ll get used to soon enough! Even if you have to ‘Accidentally’ pull out a Tooth!” Colgate looked Appalled at this, and all Berry could do was laugh.
They continued chatting idly about how rude some Ponies could be, and how the town was actually a nice place to be, when Ponies weren’t rude, that is. Colgate’s wine bottle was very nearly drained when suddenly, Berry looked around the room, then leaned in towards Colgate, speaking slightly quieter than before.
“Tell ya what, why don’t we ditch this joint and go get some Air? I could give you a tour of Ponyville, or I know a good spot to watch the stars...”
“That sounds like fun.” Colgate admitted, taking a deep breath. “Besides, I’m out of Wine, and it’s getting stuffy in here.”
“Well come on then!” Berry called, somehow already at the Pub’s door. Scrambling out her seat, Colgate dashed to the door, eager to follow her new friend…
***
The Rusted Horseshoe had been Stuffy, with traces of Smoke hanging around, but at least it had been warm! Ponyville that night was freezing! And Colgate just had to forget to wear a sweater! She started walking with Berry Punch, arms folded around herself, shivering. Berry noticed this, and stopped in her tracks. “Y’know, if it’s too cold out for you, we can always go back in…” She offered, motioning in the direction of the Pub they’d just left.
“No, no, I’m fine!” Colgate lied, rubbing her arms vigorously. “Let’s just get going. Where was this place you mentioned?”
“It’s just up that hill.” Berry grinned, pointing to the other end of the street. “It overlooks Lavender Lake!”
“Great! Then let’s go!” Colgate said smiling back, walking briskly in the direction indicated.
They walked together down the road, Berry pointing out various buildings as they went. From Sugarcube Corner, a Sweet Shop-Come-Bakery-Come-Café (“They do quite a lot there”), to the Library, which seemed to be built into a Tree… (“Don’t go there unless you have to, the Old Librarian’s a little… cuckoo, in his old age…”). The Town’s streetlamps casted a warm orange glow over them as they walked, bringing their features into a sharper relief. Berry turned her head to look over at the Blue Unicorn walking with her, having just pointed out where her own home was.
“And that’s where the magic happens!” She remarked, grinning yet again.
“That’s great, Berry!” Colgate gasped through chattering teeth, “This Town sure has a lot going on!”
“Aww, it’s alright…” Berry replied “A little dull sometimes to be perfectly honest…” Colgate giggled at this, then as Berry flashed her a trademark Grin, a strange thought hit Berry as looked on the laughing face of the other Mare. “Man, she’s a pretty young thing, where has she been my whole life?” Berry’s eyes went wide at this thought, and she stopped dead, shaking her head roughly. “No, don’t think that! You’ve only just met her for Pony’s sake!”
“Are you okay Berry?” Colgate asked, concerned.
“Huh? Oh, I’m fine. Just a sudden chill, is all.” Berry said, not looking her companion in the eye. She started walking again, and Colgate followed a moment after, shrugging off this random occurrence.
As they began trudging up the hill, the Wind began picking up, sending a chilly blast right into the faces of the two Mares. Berry was able to push on through the wave of Air, but Colgate hugged even tighter to herself, letting slip a very audible gasp of discomfort. Turning around, Berry Punch frowned at here thinner-clothed friend, and began unzipping her jacket. As Colgate looked back up after cowering from the wind, to her surprise, she found a jacket being wrapped around her shoulders! Looking around, she found Berry standing behind her, wearing a layer less than before.
“Oh Berry, you don’t need to give me this! I’m fine, really!” Colgate exclaimed, blushing and attempting to hand the jacket back.
“Naw, you take it!” Berry insisted, pushing Colgate’s hands away “Or you’re gonna freeze your tail off before we even get close to the top!”
Biting her lip, Colgate reluctantly put the jacket on properly, zipping it up for good measure. Dear Celestia it was warm in this! “Berry must have a really warm body… intriguing…” Colgate thought to herself, blushing again at the thought. “Oh Dear. Self-control, Colgate!” She mumbled a word of thanks, suddenly unable to look the other mare in the eye.
“You’re welcome” Berry said, smiling again “Now, come on!” She burst out, grabbing Colgate’s hand and running the rest of the way up the hill, practically pulling Colgate along with her!
They reached the top of the Hill, out of breath, cold, but exhilarated and laughing. As Colgate caught her breath, she looked over the crest of the hill, and her eyes were met with a truly beautiful sight. The Moon, that shining silver Orb with its strangely Horsehead-shaped Crater pattern, was hanging, perfectly framed in the Inky midnight Blue Sky, Stars glittering all around it, casting their mysterious glow down onto the Ponies on the ground. Colgate could only stare, agape, into the Moonlight, completely in awe of the view.
“Heh, you like it?” Berry asked her, with a grin that could put the Cheshire Cat to shame.
“Like it?” Colgate responded, unable to peel her eyes away from the spectacle. “It’s gorgeous! Simply gorgeous Berry!” She turned to her companion, beaming.
“Glad you like it!” Berry said, unable to stop grinning herself. “I sometimes like to come up and just stare out to the stars. Great for when you just wanna get away and – Huh?!” Berry was cut off from her speech by a pair of arms suddenly wrapping around her torso, a Blue and grey-maned head nuzzling into her chest, eyes closed and smiling contently. Berry gasped, shocked by Colgate’s sudden burst of affection, but smiled again after a moment and returned the Hug, wrapping her arms around the younger Mare.
“She really is warm” Thought Colgate. “How can one Pony still be this warm in this Cold?”
They stood there in their embrace for a few moments more, then Colgate pulled back, her hands resting slightly awkwardly on Berry’s shoulders, Berry’s hands loosely holding onto her waist.
“S-sorry about that.” She stammered, another blush forming on her face. “I don’t know quite what came over me… But this was so nice of you Berry! You’ve really cheered me up after this week, and you didn’t even have to! Because you’ve only just met me… and… --“
“Okay!” Berry exclaimed, interrupting Colgate’s rambling. “It’s fine… You’re really happy, and I’m happy you’re happy! Happy, happy, happy! She shouted, grinning widely at the shorter mare. Colgate smiled back, and the two stood in silence for a while, just staring into each other’s eyes. Berry’s deep Purple Hues meeting with Colgate’s bright Blue ones… suddenly both mares burst out laughing! And for the longest time, they couldn’t stop! Relinquishing their grip on one another, Colgate was bent double, gasping for breath, valiantly trying to regain composure, while Berry had flopped down on the nearby bench, resigning herself to ride out the laughing fit.
Catching her breath once more, Colgate plopped down on the bench next to her still chuckling friend, and said with a wide grin full of spotless, pearly white teeth;
“Oh, I’m so glad I met you, Miss Berry Punch!” She sighed, resting her head on her companions’ shoulder. Berry finally stopped laughing, wrapping her arm around her new friend’s shoulders.
“Glad I met ya too, Dr. Colgate Minuette!” They looked at each other, and burst out laughing again, although thankfully for not as long this time. Sighing with relief, a thought suddenly hit Colgate, and she glanced down at her watch, which was telling her it was almost Two o’clock in the morning!
“Oh Shit!” She gasped, eyes going wide, she immediately covered her mouth for swearing so loudly. This had taken Berry by surprise as well, who had been busy looking out at the night sky. Jumping and Clutching at her chest, Berry stared in horror at the Unicorn before her.
“What’re trying to do? Give a Pony a heart attack?!” Berry exclaimed indignantly, raising an eyebrow at her companion.
“Oh, sorry Berry!” Colgate giggled, grinning sheepishly. “It’s just… I’ve got to be at work later, and I really should have been home hours ago…”
“It’s cool.” Berry replied, breathing easy again. “But y’know what they say, time flies when having fun!” She grinned, causing Colgate to giggle again.
“So yeah, I should be heading home now…” Colgate said, her smile fading slightly.
“If you like, I can walk you there.” Berry offered, seeing that her friend didn’t want to cut their time short.
“Sure. I need to give you your jacket back anyway!” Colgate replied, smile renewed on her lips…
When they reached Colgate’s home, a small apartment above the Dental Surgery, Colgate unzipped Berry’s jacket and pulled it off herself.
“Ah, here we go, this is me. Here’s your coat back!” Colgate said, smiling at the Earth Pony as she reached in her pocket for her Keys.
“Thanks.” The Purple Mare replied, taking the jacket and draping it over her forearm. “Well, I guess I should head home too…” She said, beginning to turn away.
“Tonight was brilliant Berry. Once again, Thank you.” The Unicorn said happily, leaning against the Doorframe.
“Like I said, no worries. I had Fun.” Berry responded, grinning once more.
“Yeah, me too. So… I guess I’ll see you around Town, or something?”
“Oh you’ll see me again all right, that’s for sure!” Berry exclaimed, winking at the Blue Unicorn.
Colgate giggled. “Okay then, I’ve got to get to bed. I’ll see you soon Berry.”
Berry Nodded. “Alright. G’night Hun!”
And so, Colgate went back into her apartment, and Berry punch returned home. What happened that night sparked a strong friendship that has thus far lasted seven years, and has even become a functional relationship between the two Mares! But I think you’ve had enough of the past for now… Let’s head back to the present day, shall we?
***
Present day…
Colgate and Berry Punch sighed, reminiscing back to that first night. When suddenly, their peaceful silence was interrupted by the sound of Berry’s stomach rumbling!
“Oof, I’m Marvin’ over here!” The Purple mare exclaimed with a random bit of Buckney rhyming slang. Colgate chuckled, having gotten used to her Marefriend’s quirks a long time ago.
“Here you go.” The Unicorn said, reaching into the hamper and holding out a Pasty.
“Thanks Babe.” The Earth Pony replied, taking the pastry and biting a large chunk out of it, devouring it with a look of supreme satisfaction.
While Berry demolished her pasty, Colgate foraged through the rest of the hamper, pulling out other picnic items like cupcakes and a flask of coffee. When suddenly, her hand knocked something… glass? They never took glass out with them, in case it broke. Grabbing the offending object, Colgate felt its cold, smooth shape, recognising it instantaneously. Sighing and Rolling her eyes, Colgate pulled out the Bottle of Red Wine Berry had stashed in the hamper.
“Berry, my love?” Colgate called, putting on her sweetest voice. “Care to explain this?” she asked, holding up the Bottle.
“What? Oh…” Berry looked over to the Unicorn, and blanched. “Uh, y’see Collie, I umm… didn’t know that was in there! And…”
“Uh-huh.” Colgate said evenly, her arms folded, eyes half-lidded and a wide smile on her lips. “So you’re saying this got in the basket, as if by Magic?” she asked, cocking an eyebrow at her companion.
“If it got there by Magic, then you must have put it there!” Berry replied quickly, sticking her tongue out at the Unicorn.
Colgate gasped, shocked by the quickness of Berry’s comeback.
“Damnit, Touché…” She relaxed again, and placed the Bottle down on the grass. “I suppose it’s a shame to let it go to waste…” The Unicorn said, pondering.
“Well, if you insist…” Replied the Earth Pony, unscrewing the top of the Wine bottle and taking a swig of the deep coloured liquid.
“Oh, you…” Colgate smiled, taking the bottle off her friend and drinking from it herself. “One of these days I’m going to lock that cellar and throw away the key!” She joked, laughing at the shocked expression on her Marefriend’s face.
They continued to eat, drink and talk for a while, until finally Colgate reached into her bag on the ground and pulled out her Notebook, a Quill with an ink bottle, and a pair of Binoculars. Twiddling with the dials on the Binoculars for a moment, she brought them to her eyes and looked up into the sky. Colgate was quite the Astrology fan, and liked to take some notes on the constellations she knew every now and then. Focusing her sight on one particular part of the sky, Colgate placed down her Binoculars, and loaded up her Quill with ink.
“Hmmm… Orion’s oddly dim tonight… maybe we’re just far off in orbit?” Colgate wondered, noting down the change from last time she had recorded the Constellation. Orion was usually quite a clear arrangement of Stars, easily visible to the naked eye. However, tonight it was a little harder to see it.
“I’m not sure either Hun.” Berry chipped in, looking up at the constellation through the Binoculars herself. Berry wasn’t overly interested, but still took a curiosity in it through Colgate.
“It must because the season’s changing?” She put forward, handing the Binoculars back.
“If anything it should be getting brighter as we head toward winter! It’s very strange indeed…” Colgate looked around again, focusing in almost the opposite direction.
“The Plough’s still perfectly normal, no change there…” she muttered, making a quick note. “And the North star? Looking just as bright as ever.” Colgate took a swig of Wine, looking around for anything else interesting in the Stars. Berry Punch yawned pointedly, and shuffled closer to Colgate. Colgate knew what she wanted, but she wasn’t getting it just yet…
After a few minutes more of looking at the far off Stars, and noting any changes in their appearance, Colgate finally dotted her last line and capped her ink bottle. Closing the notebook carefully so the ink wouldn’t smudge horribly, Colgate stowed the items away in her bag. As she reached for the Binoculars, Berry pounced and wrapped her arms around Colgate’s waist, gently running her hands down Colgate’s hips…
Caught by surprise, Colgate Let slip a soft moan, then relaxed back into Berry’s warm lap, letting Berry nuzzle into the nape of her neck.
“Mmmm… Berry…” The Unicorn cooed, placing her hands on Berry’s. She turned her head toward her Marefriend, and began to lean in to Kiss her…
When suddenly, out of nowhere, a large bright light appeared in the Sky! Gasping, Colgate bolted upright out of Berry’s lap, grabbing at the Binoculars on the ground. It looked like a Comet was falling through the Atmosphere! What luck!
“Oh Berry look, a Shooting Star!” Colgate nearly squealed, excitement beginning to get the better of her.
“Yeah…” Berry responded sullenly, glaring up at the light which had ruined the moment. Realizing how she sounded, Berry very quickly added; “I-I mean, that’s awesome Babe! How ‘bout you let me take a look while you note it down?” she asked, holding out her hand for the Binoculars.
“Good idea Berry! Here you go!” Colgate exclaimed, handing over the Binoculars and diving back into her bag. She nearly upset her Ink bottle as she eagerly scrawled down the date, time, and apparent size of the ‘Comet’.
Meanwhile, Berry was looking through the Binoculars at the object, an odd expression on her face. It was a mix of Confusion and Fear.
“What in Equestria?” she muttered. Hearing this, Colgate looked up.
“Berry, Honey what’s wrong?” Colgate asked, her face a mask of concern.
“I’m not sure Collie… maybe you should take a look…” Berry replied, not taking her eyes off the ‘Comet’.
“Berry, it’s just a Burning ball of Rock, what can there possibly be… What The-?!” Colgate exclaimed, having looked through, the Binoculars at the ‘Comet’ she could now see what It actually was…
“What. Is. That?!” She practically shouted, hardly daring to believe her eyes.
“I don’t know Hun, but’s that’s no Rock…” Berry said nervously.
“It’s a… Phone Box?!” Colgate exclaimed, agape. She had finally recognised the shape of the object, it appeared to be an old Police Telephone Box, they were once a common sight, but they were now retired across Equestria. And now she was seeing one, falling, no, plummeting from the Sky on Fire!
Withdrawing her eyes from the Binoculars, Colgate looked cautiously over at her Marefriend, a fearful look on her face. Berry returned her gaze, a similar expression on her features. Then they both together slowly looked down at the now empty bottle of Red wine, lying innocently on the Ground as the ‘Comet’ whipped over their heads, heading straight for Ponyville and making the strangest wheezing sound as it flew…
Of course, however, these two Mares weren’t Drunk and Hallucinating! No, as you may have realised by now, what they initially though was a Comet, or Meteorite, was in fact The Doctor’s TARDIS, falling through the Sky after just being shot down in space by the Cybership. Now, the last time we were with The Doctor, he had just Regenerated, and was having a blast pressing random buttons while crashing. Let’s catch up with him now, shall we?
***
Onboard the TARDIS…
Explosions burst forth from all angles, flames licking at the Centre Console at The TARDIS as it continued its freefall towards the surface of Earth. Entry into the Atmosphere had been rough, and the newly-regenerated Doctor was now hanging on for dear life to the railings near the now shuddering Doors as his craft rattled horribly around him. Since he had started crashing, The Doctor had managed to bring a few of The TARDIS’ systems back online. The Auto-repair circuits had managed to patch up the hole in wall, although it was a bit of a bodge job, loose bolts stuck out at random angles. The Doctor had also been able to bring online the Automatic Piloting Emergency Flight Pattern, the Time Rotor rising and falling at a tremendous pace, and making quite the racket. However, even the Time Capsule’s emergency systems were having trouble compensating for the already extensive damage to the Controls, and was still falling out of control.
The Doctor launched himself back toward the Console from his perch on the railings. Slamming into the rounded central unit, The Doctor began clawing his way further across the pitching and rolling vessel, gripping tightly to anything he could reach. The Doctor reached the far side of the Console, and reached for the Antigravity controls. Pressing firmly down on the Purple switch, the Antigravity Drives on the TARDIS’ outer shell fired up with a rumbling groan. With an almighty lurch, the TARDIS righted itself in mid-air, holding its Police Box form upright and spinning at a much gentler pace as the Capsule began to glide. Exhaling with relief, The Doctor flopped back on the Seat behind him as the Time Rotor came to a screeching halt, no longer needed to support the flight. Wiping his sweating Forehead with the back of his Hand. Relaxing slightly, he allowed the Antigravs to do their work. He was feeling a little Dizzy anyway. The Doctor leaned back, sitting back up straight when his hand knocked into something. Looking down, he saw that it was his Jacket, which had somehow not been thrown about in the madness of the crash. Reaching into the pockets, The Doctor pulled out the precious cargo that all this anguish and the cost of one of his lives had been for. The Arc of the Cosmos seemed undamaged, but it was hardly surprising, Time Lord engineering was hardwearing enough to survive the Time Winds of the Vortex, so a few knocks and bumps weren’t going to destroy this little thing!
The Doctor placed the Arc back into his jacket, and was about to get up and fetch a Fire Extinguisher, when something else came up. Without warning, the Antigravity controls had gained a short circuit, and with a torrent of sparks, the entire system collapsed in on itself! With yet another almighty lurch, the TARDIS began to tumble through the air again, its weight no longer being balanced by the Antigravs, and was now falling in earnest. Scrambling to grip the Console, The Doctor pulled the Scanner Screen back over to himself. Bringing up an Altimeter, he read that they were about Thirty Thousand feet above the ground. Enough Air for a Plane maybe, but an alien Time machine? No chance. He needed to launch this crate back into the Vortex, and fast!
Reaching back over for his jacket, The Doctor rummaged through the pockets yet again, and found what he was after; The Sonic Screwdriver! Kissing the tool affectionately, the Doctor then proceeded to rip the emission suppressor from the tip of it. Turning back to the Console, The Doctor flipping open a small round port just to one side of the Relative Dimensional Stabilizer. The Doctor’s plan was simple: Plug the Sonic Screwdriver into this port, using its battery power to ‘jump-start’ the TARDIS, then slam on the launch controls and escape into the Vortex before making a massive crater in the middle of the Town below. All in about a minute! Jamming the exposed emitter of the Screwdriver into the port, The Doctor flicked a couple of switches, causing a pulse to be transmitted from the Sonic Screwdriver into the very core of the Centre Console. Electricity sparked all over the machinery, the partially broken running lights flickering into life once more. Laughing triumphantly, The Doctor placed his hand on the Relative Dimensional Stabilizer, just as another alarm started blaring, warning the Time Lord of the impending ground, and how they were now falling across the Rubicon, the Point of no return. It was take off now, or Die!
With a slightly hoarse yell, The Doctor wrenched the lever down, slamming it down into it active position. With a tremendous rumble, the Rift engines began firing up again, forcing the Time Rotor to begin Rising and falling again, sparks flying from the grinding Metal as it generated the temporal energy to tear open a big enough passage to the Vortex. Laughing yet again, The Doctor began dancing around the Console, pressing switches and firing up more still salvageable systems as he went, finally coming full circle, The Doctor took up his preferred position at the flight controls, ready for the launch into the Vortex…
“Geronimo…” he muttered to himself as the TARDIS flew closer and closer to the ground…
***
Sparkler, a young Unicorn Filly of only 8, was having trouble sleeping. Tossing and Turning, she groaned and looked at the Alarm Clock next to her bed. 01:30 it read, making it the middle of the night. Sighing, Sparkler sat up and lifted her legs out of Bed, rubbing her Bright Purple Eyes… Standing up, the Lavender Filly put her Slippers and Dressing Gown on, and as quietly she could, opened her Bedroom door, careful not to let it creak and wake up the two older ponies in the house. Sparkler lived in a house on the Southern side of Ponyville, not too far from the River. She lived there with her Adoptive Mother, Ditzy Doo, a Grey Pegasus whom everyone called ‘Derpy’ due to her Crossed Eyes. They both Lived with Carrot Top, an Orange Earth Pony and a close friend of Ditzy’s, who acted as their Roommate/Landlord. Sparkler continued Downstairs, walking slowly to make sure the Stairs didn’t creak either. Reaching the ground floor, she tiptoed down the hallway into the kitchen. Proceeding to the Fridge, she opened it up, its interior light spilling over the Dark room. Sparkler pulled out a Bottle of Milk, grabbed a Glass from the cupboard on the opposite wall, and poured the cold white fluid into it. She put the Bottle back in the Fridge, closed it, and then raised the Glass to her Lips, taking a deep gulp of Milk. Sparkler had always loved the Taste of Milk, making it her favourite thing to drink. It would hopefully aid her body to rest as well, so she could finally get some sleep! After all, she had School in the Morning…
Downing the last of her Milk, Sparkler placed the empty glass on the side by the Sink, to be washed up later. Looking up, she caught her reflection in the dark window. There she saw a Little Lavender Unicorn staring back at her with bright purple Eyes, and a mussed up darker purple Mane, sticking out at odd angles. This was all normal, but what caught the Filly’s eye was the fact that her double in the glass seemed to have a white moustache! Leaning in, she chuckled as she realised that she had in fact gained a Milk ‘moustache’ on her Muzzle, after drinking the substance so deeply. Wiped it off with the sleeve of her Dressing Gown, she smiled at herself and snuck her way back upstairs, carefully closing her Bedroom door behind her. Letting loose a quiet yawn, The young Unicorn walked over to her Bedroom Window, and leaning on the Windowsill, looked out into the starry Night Sky. Sparkler enjoyed looking at the Sky at Night, it had a certain beauty to it that she couldn’t quite describe. She could just about see the Moon, glowing in the Air over on her Far Left, the rest of the Sky that she could see though, was filled with Stars. She had no idea where to start looking for any constellations! She stared into the Sky a while longer, soaking in the Night’s mysterious brilliance, and letting her body become more Tired before she went back to Bed. Yawning again, Sparkler gave in, and began turning around to go and lie down in her hopefully still warm Bed. When suddenly, a Bright Flash of Light in the sky on her far left caught her Eye!
Dashing back to the Window, she whipped her head in the Direction of the light, brushing a few strands of her Mane out of her Eyes. Said Eyes Widened as she gasped in Awe, seeing what looked like a Comet burning its way across the Sky over Ponyville! Unable to take her Eyes away, Sparkler watched as the burning ball of Light came closer to her home. As it came closer, Sparkler was able to make out a Shape in amidst the glow. She had always wondered if what some Ponies called ‘Shooting Stars’ were actually Stars… Staring intently at the object, it didn’t look very Star-shaped, it didn’t even look like a rock like Some Ponies said it should! In fact, it looked kind of like… a Box?! She watched this ‘Box’ with utter confusion as it soared by, a Blue light on its roof flashing brightly, the whole thing making a Weird wheezing, grinding noise as it Flew… Then all of a sudden, The Box became engulfed in what could only be described as a deep Blue ‘Vortex’ like Tunnel in Mid-air! The Box and the weird Tunnel thing hung there in the Sky for a few moments more, then both Disappeared before Sparkler’s eyes, Dematerialising in a blinding flash of Light, just as the Grinding noise reached a Crescendo. Staring open Mouthed in Shock at the Spot where the Flying Box had just been, Sparkler blinked a few times, then shut her mouth, looking back out the window and all around, to see if Anypony else had seen what she just had. There wasn’t a Soul outside, and no lights seemed to be on in any other of the Houses. Scratching her ear in confusion, she thought to herself: “Was there something in that Milk? Or am I just Dreaming?” shaking her head vigorously, the Unicorn turned her back on the Window, eager to get to Bed.
Kicking off her Slippers, Sparkler was just untying her Dressing Gown when suddenly, she heard a strange noise from behind her. Her ears perked up at the sound of it, and turning around she looked to find the source of the noise. Seeing nothing in her room, she assumed the Noise must be coming from outside, and made her way back over to the Window to find the culprit. What she saw made her Jaw drop all over again…
***
Back on the TARDIS, The Doctor had managed to pilot the Time capsule back into the Vortex before it could have a close encounter with the Ground. Gasping with relief, the Time Lord relaxed against the Controls, patting the Console affectionately.
“Well Done, old Girl…” He muttered softly to the Machine. Straightening up and stretching his back out, The Doctor surveyed the wrecked Control Room.
“Right then, let’s get this place cleaned up!” He said, reaching down to pick up a piece of debris from the Floor…
Suddenly, out of the Blue, an Alarm started Blaring!
“Oh what is it now?!” The Doctor shouted, yanking the Scanner Screen over to himself. “Can’t you see I’m busy? I mean, what more could possible go wrong!?” He said exasperatedly, throwing his arms up and reading the Gallifreyan text on the screen. Speaking out loud, he read:
“Temporal Engine influx… yada yada yada… landing in last previous known co-ordinates…” He read the warning twice over, and sighing yet again, thought to himself: “Fine. Fair enough. I suppose a place to set down for repairs isn’t so bad…” And watching as several of the TARDIS’ controls moved of their own accord, preparing the Capsule for Materialisation, The Doctor flumped back on the Seat with his jacket, and prepared for the landing…
***
Sparkler watched Agape, as a Bright Blue light pulsed in Mid-air in her back garden, the same loud Wheezing, groaning noise from before ringing in the Air. The young Unicorn could only stare, as the Blue light began to make a large, rectangular shape, somehow becoming more solid the longer it was there, Lighting dancing over its Form. Before her Eyes, a Battered Blue Police Phone Box appeared in the air above her garden with a soft thump. A Blue lantern flashing on its roof, hovering over the Greenhouse…
Inside the TARDIS, The Doctor looked at the Scanner and noticed that the Capsule was parking in Mid-air. Merely thinking it was odd, the Time Lord went back to spraying Flames with the Fire Extinguisher in his hands. The he remembered, with an Icy chill running down his Spine… The Antigravs didn’t work! The TARDIS would drop like a Stone! Sprinting back to the Console, The Doctor threw himself at the Controls. But it was already too late for that! The Doctor yelled out as the whole room lurched sideways with an almighty Crash, sending him falling down a Corridor leading out of the Control room…
Sparkler was staring at the Box, when suddenly, without warning, it dropped out of the Sky! With an incredibly loud crash, the Box toppled to the Ground, crushing the Greenhouse underneath it, sending Glass and Carrots everywhere! The Filly couldn’t help but let out a small Scream as she jumped back from the Window. Lights flicked on upstairs outside her room, and Sparkler clearly heard a voice say “What the hay?” The others were awake! Not overly surprising, really…
On the Upstairs landing, Ditzy Doo and Carrot Top emerged from their Bedrooms, Carrot Top clad in a Nightgown, Ditzy just in a Shirt and her underwear. The two almost bumped into each other, then looked on another in the Eye.
“Did you hear something outside?” Carrot Top asked, whispering to the Golden-eyed Pegasus.
“Outside? I just thought it might’ve just been Sparky downstairs. You know how she sneaks down sometimes…” Ditzy whispered back, a puzzled expression on her Face.
“Either way, maybe we should check it out…” Carrot Top breathed, a small expression of worry playing on her features.
Suddenly, the Door to one side of them swung open, and to their surprise, Sparkler burst out, for some reason already in her Dressing Gown!
“Sparkler!” Ditzy exclaimed. “What the-?”
“No time Mom!” Sparkler interrupted. “You’ve gotta come see this, both of you!”
“See what?” Carrot Top asked.
“I’m not sure…” The little Unicorn admitted, hopping from Hoof to Hoof. “But this Big Blue Flying Box just Crash-landed in the garden! Come on!”
Sparkler grabbed the Older Mares by the hand, and pulled them Downstairs as they shared a look utmost Confusion.
Bursting out of the Back Door, Sparkler ran across the lawn, Ditzy and Carrot Top in tow. As they reached the crashed TARDIS, lying on its back in a Crater, smoking pouring out of it, the two mares let out a shocked gasp.
“What in the Name of Celestia is that?!” Ditzy exclaimed, staring in Awe at the Box lying on the ground.
“Forget about what it is, It’s Crushed my Greenhouse!” Carrot Top yelled, pointing at the wreckage underneath the TARDIS.
As the two Mares had this exchange, Sparkler had inched closer to the Box, curious to know just what it was. As she got within Six feet of it however, the Doors on the front of it suddenly swung inward! Gasping, Sparkler was pulled back from it by her Mother. The trio watched in suspense as smoke billowed out from the Box. Then without warning, something flew out from the inside! As it landed with a strangely loud clang, the Ponies looked down at the ground at the object, hardly able to believe what they saw.
It was a Black Leather Jacket?!
Eyes wide, the three of them looked back to the Box, all of a sudden hearing a distinctly male Voice grunting and groaning inside. Then, to their combined horror, a wet Brown-furred Hand shot out from the Depths! Clad in a torn green sleeve, the Arm gripped to the edge of the Box, swiftly followed by another that was holding a strange looking Metal Rod. Then suddenly, the Head of a young Stallion popped up! His face was completely soaked, and his Mane Extremely messy. Climbing up out of the Box, Gasping and Coughing as he did so, the Stranger hoisted himself up and over the Edge. Then promptly toppled to the Ground, landing Face-first.
After a moment of his face being stuck in the Dirt, the Stranger quickly sat upright! Shaking his head like a Wet dog, He looked up and saw the Three Ponies watching him. Blinking Twice, he suddenly pointed at Sparkler, and spoke.
“I’m Hungry. Got anything to eat?”
Sparkler could only stare, completely speechless.
Then the Stranger noticed his left hand, which was inches from a carrot, which had been launched from the Greenhouse in the Crash.
“Oooohhh… A Carrot!” He grinned, Biting into it and Chewing noisily. Then he addressed the Girls thickly through his Mouthful of Carrot.
“’Ello! A’hm the Dochter… I fink…” He cleared his throat, then looked around. “Ah. Did I land on something?”
He looked back to them, Grinning sheepishly up at their Incredulous Faces…
To be Continued…
Author's Note
Well, there you have It! After three months in the works, the First Chapter of my First ever Doctor Whooves Story has 'Landed'!...
I hope you all enjoy reading this, admittedly rather long chapter... Did you catch all the references? Please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below... Constructive Criticism is appreciated.
'Til the Next one! - Ben
Chapter one - Cybermen and Shooting Stars. Wordcount: 12260
