Dr Whooves and the Classical Moon

Chapters

Part One: Screams In The Night.
Part Two: A Wooden Performance.
Part Three: Can’t See the Wood for the Trees.
Part Four: The Dark in the Wood.
Part Five: Two Hearts Are Better Than One.
Part Six: Mad or Mad Genius.
Part Seven: A Flaming Melody.
Part Eight: A Doctor For My Cello.

Part One: Screams In The Night.

DR WHOOVES AND THE CLASSICAL MOON.

Part One: Screams In The Night.

Octavia’s breath was ragged as she ran flat out for the first time since she was a filly; just ahead of her was a stallion that seemed to know exactly where he was going and that was headlong into trouble.

The aforementioned Octavia had been up until the sudden arrival of a large blue box practicing with her cello onstage at the newly built Canterlot opera house.

She’d been playing late into the night in preparation of her first major solo performance booked for the next day, where she would reveal her first professional composition.

All of Canterlot’s upper class would be in attendance as the young mare that had spent years honing her craft and was considered a prodigy by her peer’s preformed her piece.

The mare had a grey coat black mane white collar and pink bow-tie, an octave shaped cutie mark and purple eyes, she was considered extremely pretty and many young suitors had tried and failed to make an impact on her or tear her away from her beloved instrument...

Her instrument that now lay crushed beneath the blue box on the stage, the box that when she had stepped from the stage into the wings to get a drink had magically appeared in a gust of wind with a wheezing coughing sound that filled the empty opera hall.

Upon chastising the stallion that appeared from the door on the front of the blue box the young mare and the stallion were stopped from any further interaction by a most bloodcurdling scream emanating from deep within the maze like set of corridors and storage rooms that were behind the stage.

Without hesitating the stallion had expected her to either stay put or to follow him and find the source of the disturbance.

Now Octavia was born into a wealthy family who had instilled in her all the required airs and graces manners and beliefs that came with their position in society, and she was not in the habit of having ‘adventures’ or following strange stallions into dark and foreboding places, however after hearing such a sound sitting by oneself in a moderately lit huge empty room wasn’t her cup of tea either.

So she had given him her hoof and run into the dark with him and now as he slowed down then cantered to a stop she finally caught up, breathing heavily she leaned against the wall next to her, like all the other walls in all the corridors they had run down it was painted a drab green and white striped pattern with oak colored doors every forty hooves or so with matching skirting boards and oak floorboards.

Octavia watched the stallion as he clenched a metal tube that he had fished out from inside his jacket with his teeth, tapping it with his hoof it extended itself; he began moving his head back and forth as the tube sprang into life.

The tip of this strange metal object glowed bright blue and was emitting a shrill pulsing sound that Octavia had never heard before and as it increased in intensity the stallion grunted and snapping it shut stowed it back inside his suit jacket.

“Come on it’s this way…”

“W-Wait… J-Just wait… Before I go any further I demand to know who you are sir and what was that contraption you were waving about… Is that your wand? Are you some sort of stage magician?”

The stallion gave her a look of confusion before he twigged what she was on about; he turned to face her and attempted to explain.

“Sorry about the whole landing on your double bass thingy, it’s just I was in Ponyville and I meant to jump forward a few years to catch up with some friends…”

The way he said ‘friends’ sounded wistful to Octavia who regardless interrupted angrily out of habit at the mere mention her cello was a lowly double bass.

“I will have you know that the instrument you call a ‘double bass’ was in fact a priceless one of a kind cello by the finest crafts pony of his generation! And your childish trick box destroyed it!”

The stallion was taken aback by the commanding tone of the youthful mare that stood upright quivering with rage as she berated him tears welling in her eyes in response to the loss.

“And what dear sir do you mean by ‘in Ponyville’? I have never heard of such a place, and what by her majesty Celestia did you mean by ‘jump forward a few years’ are you some kind of lunatic?”

“Ah yes… Well that might be a bit…”

(Remembering he’d landed in the wrong time the Doctor realized Ponyville wouldn’t have been founded for at least another century or so…)

“I am waiting!”

“…Hard to explain you see, it’s all gone a bit wrong… Listen I’d love to stop and chat but the scream…? ”

Octavia remembered the whole reason she was alone with this stallion and uncertain in the dimly lit passages which way to turn she reluctantly relented and asked the next thing on her mind.

“So did your ‘wand’ tell you which way that scream came from?”

“It’s not a wand it’s a sonic screwdriver… A bit ahead of your time I’m afraid… But never mind that, it’s picking up some sort of residual energy in that direction.”

He pointed a hoof towards yet another identical corridor not far away from where they were stood.

“Did you say a sonic screwdriver? Preposterous you’re speaking in riddles and nonsense… Now if this is some kind of joke some pony is playing on me then I want to know now.”

“Sorry I forgot to ask your name…”

“Hmph… My name is Miss Octavia Melody… And yours…?”

The stallion puffed out his chest and with a dramatic look and tone of voice he addressed Octavia his blue eyes alight with fire.

“Oh I’m afraid it’s no joke… My names the Doctor I come from Gallophrey I am nine hun…”

*AIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!*

The scream cut short the Doctor mid sentence as he and Octavia jumped at the sound only this one was much closer and sounded even more desperate than before.

“Shall we?”

The Doctor asked the mare as she hastily nodded her heart thumping as the shock wore off and the adrenaline rushed back into her system and she took off after the stallion once again.

Part Two: A Wooden Performance.

Terror, not fear not anxiety, but sheer terror was what the beast inspired in Octavia’s heart as she rounded another corner into yet another bland uninspired corridor deep in the bowels of the newly built Canterlot opera house.

The beast was the size of one of those huge stallions that worked the farm land around Canterlot, Octavia’s father owned numerous acres of land and she had seen them during vacations when she was a filly.

Memories of happy summer days in her youth and the peace that came with it ran through her mind as it struggled to make sense of what she was seeing.

The thing before her seemed to be made up of pieces of wood of all shapes and sizes, all haphazardly arranged into forming what looked to her at least like a giant wolf…

Eyes, never mind the size of the body, the legs made of long shards of wood ending with large chunks that made up the paws or the snapping jaws with rusty nails for teeth or even the ears stood to attention, it was the eyes that bore into her soul, the deep black pits surrounding a red pupil that took in all around them.

As the creature stomped towards her she tried to move but was rooted to the spot, she could feel her body tense up stricken with fear as it approached her, its jaws only inches away when they opened with a scraping sound as the rusty metal parted.

Octavia shut her eyes tight as she waited for the attack but instead slammed her hooves against her ears as the world around her was torn asunder by the most horrific high pitched sound she’d ever heard.

The beast reared back as the sound assailed its ears, the pitch was so high that it felt pain, a feeling it was unused to and unable to ignore, forced backwards away from the new prey it turned and fled into one of the many identical corridors lit dimly with lamps.

The Doctor waited for as long as he dared before he stopped the noise being emitted from his sonic screwdriver; luckily he’d stuffed two handkerchiefs into his ears so when he removed them he only had a slight ringing in them.

Unfortunately Octavia wasn’t so lucky and as she ventured to open her eyes she saw that the danger had passed but as she removed her hooves from her ears the deafening buzzing sound remained.

Tapping her ears didn’t work and neither did shaking her head vigorously, staring at the Doctor open mouthed she began to panic since her greatest nightmare was being deaf; a lifetime unable to hear music would be the death of her.

Seeing her start to hyperventilate the Doctor tried in vain to communicate with her that the effect would be only temporary but despite knowing thousands of different dialects and sign languages he failed miserably to impress this upon her.

Eventually he left her to her misery as she sat crying on the hard oak floor and so he trotted over to where the beast had been stood when they stumbled upon it.

As the Doctor inspected the grisly remains of what looked like it had once been a pony he wished he was anywhere else at that moment, the horror was by no means the worst he’d witnessed but the small frame and long mane denoted a youngish mare probably no older than the mare behind him.

With eyes that had looked upon countless wonders and endless destruction he studied the details as impassively as he could manage before turning to Octavia who had gotten to her hooves and drawn level with him still shaking her head and tapping her ear with a hoof.

Octavia looked down at the scene and then to the Doctor who tried gently to lead her away as the scene proved too much and she fainted clear away.

It was at this point a pair of royal guards followed by a very old and unhealthy looking stallion dressed in an evening jacket with a big grey mustache and gold edged monocle emerged from yet another one of the seemingly endless corridors only a dozen hooves away from the pair.

It didn’t take a genius to see that the Doctor with Octavia unconscious in his hooves and the mutilated remains a short distance away had some serious explaining to do, so the guards sprang onto action and after forcing the protesting Doctor to the floor kept him pinned as the older stallion caught up with them.

“Dear goddess! What have you done? Oh my poor dear…”

The older stallion gasped at the pitiful sight of the corpse and upon turning to Octavia who had been dropped to the floor by the scuffle immediately bent down to revive her.

“Guards keep that demon restrained, Miss Melody… Oh… Miss Melody… Can you hear me?”

Since the loss of her hearing she most definitely couldn’t but as she was shaken awake by the older stallion her immediate reaction was to strike out and the result was to catch the older stallion clean on the jaw pole axing him backwards into his own unconsciousness.

Her vision blurry and her head still buzzing from the deafness she struggled to her hooves finally focusing on the Doctor buried beneath the two guards.

Octavia tried to regain a measure of composure and attempted to calmly ask them to release him although why eluded her since she still had no reason to trust him.

“WOULD YOU BE SO KIND AS TO RELEASE THAT STALLION BEFORE YOU SUFFOCATE HIM?”

Even the Doctor winced at the volume and tone of the young mare as her voice drastically over compensated for the loss of hearing, the guards ingrained in their very psyche to respond to the correct tone of voice associated with one of clearly higher social standing jumped up automatically snapping to attention.

“THANK YOU!”

Octavia bellowed with a voice that would shame a Valkyrie.

The Doctor slowly made it to his hooves and after brushing down his crumpled suit jacket grinned from ear to ear at Octavia who just sniffed her nose in the air as befit her social standing, followed by a dismissive sound meant to be light and ladylike but her volume control made it deep and gruff which caused the assembled stallions to wince.

As the quiet hallway echoed with her voice the only sounds to be heard after was the ragged breathing of the guards who had obviously been running flat out prior to their appearance.

Octavia summed up the situation around her and after casting a nervous glance at the remains of the mare she pointed a hoof first at the guards then at the older stallion still unconscious on the floor.

“PICK HIM UP AND THEN LET US FIND SOMEWHERE WE CAN REVIVE HIM AND SORT THIS ALL OUT…”

When one of the guards motioned towards the corpse and then the Doctor, Octavia answered with her booming voice filled with command.

“SOME PONY WILL HAVE TO RETURN LATER FOR… …THE BODY… AS FOR YOU…”

The mare turned to the Doctor who tried to say something but was immediately drowned out as she closed the gap and almost nose to nose gave him in no uncertain terms her next words.

“YOU WILL ACCOMPANY US AND UNDO WHAT EVER YOU DID TO ME! NOT TO MENTION EXPLAIN HOW YOU DROVE OFF THAT… THING…”

As the guards retrieved the fallen stallion Octavia began to head in the general direction she believed the stage to be with them in tow, the Doctor shrugged as he followed them muttering only to himself about what had just occurred…

Eventually it seemed clear that Octavia had lost her bearings during the rush as the group turned yet another corner into yet another familiar looking corridor.

“WHAT THE IN THE NAME OF THE SUN…”

Octavia exclaimed loudly as she stomped a hoof on the floor the guards looking equally lost as the older stallion draped between the pair groaned softly stirring slightly.

One of the guards caught Octavia’s attention and motioned at the now reviving stallion, realizing they were well and truly lost Octavia cast her eyes up and down the corridor finally deciding to open one of the doors that dotted the walls on every corridor they had traveled.

The first was a store room filled to the rafters with boxes the next a bare and empty room with no furnishings, after opening several such doors leading to equally sparse options Octavia finally found what looked like dressing room of sorts with lamps that were fixed to the walls and strangest of all were already lit…

Beckoning the rest to follow her in Octavia pointed the guards to the other end of the room where a small sofa sat against the wall, a large vanity table and dresser adorned the left wall and the right had a small bed next to a large double wardrobe.

The Doctor calmly sat on the end of the bed as the guards lightly placed the stallion down on the sofa and proceeded to sit on their haunches as Octavia closed the door and made her way to the sofa.

As she reached it however a loud scraping sound came from outside in the hallway, at first it sounded far away as if the other end of the corridor but as it grew closer the doctor frantically waved his hooves to the others to remain silent.

Catching on the guards stayed quiet but after cocking her head and giving a questioning look at the Doctor the still deaf Octavia eventually grasped his meaning, confused and frightened watched the door oblivious to the horrifying sound coming from outside.

Even the Doctor was alarmed by the sound and together the four were lost in their own fears as the sound reached level with the door, the two guards and Octavia were visibly shaking as a shadow appeared under the door…

Part Three: Can’t See the Wood for the Trees.

Over what seemed like minutes the sound continued on, its shadow no longer creeping under the door as it moved off and down the corridor in the end disappearing altogether as the three conscious stallions breathed out in unison.

Octavia however screamed loudly as the Doctor approached her and placed a hoof on her shoulder, since her hearing loss meant she couldn’t hear the sound had gone she’d stayed fixated on the door to the point she hadn’t paid attention to the others.

Beating at him with her forelegs she howled in frustration and fell to the floor sobbing again as she lost all composure and hid her face in her hooves, the situation getting the better of her.

The Doctor unhurt by the flailing hooves stood for a moment before a stroke of genius hit him, rummaging around in his pockets he produced a small bag with the words Canterlot gag shop written on it and proceeded to prod Octavia until she responded and sat up tears still flooding down her cheeks as she tried to stop sobbing.

The Doctor then sat in front of her and gently poured some of the bags powdered contents onto the flat of one of his hooves and before Octavia could react he blew the powder in her face!

At first Octavia was stunned as the powdered blast of air hit her in the face but as seconds passed and she breathed in, it had the desired affect and she suddenly began to build up to a explosive sneeze…

“AH… AHHH…”

What happened next was that the Doctor lurched forward surprising the two guards as much as the young mare as he placed his hooves on either side of her nose.

Any pony who has ever done so knows holding your nose when sneezing causes your ears to pop, and pop they did as Octavia saw stars as the sensation blew out her eardrums once more, only this time as she tried to regain her breath she realized her hearing was quickly returning albeit with a certain amount of ringing still going on.

The resulting slap across the Doctors face made her feel somewhat better but as he massaged his cheek a hurt look on his face, she diverted her attention to the now stirring stallion on the sofa and the two guards who were attempting to bring him around having decided it was best not to let her see they had been laughing at the comical scene as it played out.

Standing over the now recovering and awake stallion she helped him into a sitting position and sat back as he found his voice.

“Where am I? Miss Melody???”

The stallion looked around the room upon seeing the guards and the now sullen looking Doctor his memories returned and he addressed Octavia in a panicked voice.

“Miss Melody are you hurt? Guards why is that ruffian not restrained? Arrest him this instant!”

“Director Society… Its OK he is with me... I guess… We’re in one of the rooms backstage.”

“But the mare… Casting Call… She… And you were in his arms…”

The stallion flustered as he remembered the scene before his blackout, turning once again to the Doctor he spoke in a more commanding tone.

“And who sir might you be? And exactly what were the pair of you doing backstage… Well?”

The Doctor still put out by the slap and immediately suspicious of the nervous way the stallions eyes darted about and the sweat beading on his brow, stood up to his full height and responded with a question of his own.

“Mores the point what were you doing backstage at this late hour… And why are they here?”

Octavia butted in with a polite cough.

“What did you call yourself again…?”

“The Doctor”

“Doctor who exactly? What is your name?”

“Doctor, just the Doctor if you please...”

“Well Doctor… This is the Director of the Canterlot Opera house, High Society!”

“Nice to meet you, now answer my question, why are you and they here?”

Suddenly it seemed the collar of High Society’s jacket was very tight as he adjusted it nervously as he began to mumble then trailed off as both Octavia and the Doctor fixed him with suspicious stares.

Using her social bearing to her advantage Octavia directed the question towards the guards who had backed off slightly and were still eying the Doctor but made it clear in their expressions that they were just as suspicious of the other stallion on the sofa.

The guards stood to attention and the shorter one of the pair cleared his throat before explaining…

“This afternoon her Majesty Princess Celestia gave us orders to attend to the needs of Director Society and assist him in locating one Miss Casting Call who had gone missing in this building as of yesterday… There was no mention of anything that could make a sound like we just heard miss…
Or do that to that young mare...”

“Well now we know where she ended up…”

The other guard mumbled this as High Society continued to look uncomfortable under the stare of Octavia as she spoke loudly, her hearing yet to fully recover.

“I saw you earlier this evening and you made no such mention of a missing mare… Explain yourself… Now if you please!”

“I was just trying to avoid interrupting your preparations for tomorrow… No need to worry you by telling you about the missing ponies.”

“I am shocked! A mare goes missing yet it doesn’t seem to occur to you to tell me as I am practicing ALONE at night in the very same building…!”

Octavia blinked as her mind caught up and as the Doctor frowned along with the guards, so did she.

“Wait… You said ponies…”

High Society gulped as the four pairs of eyes fixed on him.

“No I didn’t…”

“Oh yes you did, just how many are we talking here?”

The Doctor closed the distance between them his tone growing colder by the second as he spoke to the Director.

“There’s a creature loose in these corridors, one that shouldn’t be here, in fact shouldn’t exist outside of the deepest darkest woods…”

“I-I Don’t know what you mean… A-And I resent the implication I had anything to do with it…”

“Perhaps gentle persuasion will help loosen your tongue? Arrest him! And do feel free to do so as you see fit!”

Octavia addressed the guards who promptly bore down on the stallion with cold eyes, dragging him from the sofa they pinned him to the floor roughly and after producing a pair of cuffs restrained him.

“W-Wait you can’t do this… Do you know who I am? How dare you! I’m the Director of this opera house… Appointed by Celestia herself… I’m High Society! How dare you restrain me in such a manner on the behest of this lowly mare?”

“I BEG YOUR PARDON!!!”

Octavia leaned in close to his face as her anger got the better of her and she spoke in a harsh and cutting reply.

“You may be called High Society… However I AM HIGH SOCIETY!!! Guards you may beat him till he starts talking!”

The Doctor watched quietly as the all too willing guards raised their hooves in anticipation of a little old fashion police brutality to get a confession (not uncommon in any age… Or place… Or time…)

“WAIT! P-Please it’s not my fault I didn’t know… I just…”

The four pairs of eyes watched as High Society squirmed on the floor until the shortest guard raised his hoof menacingly and he resumed talking.

“…It started when they were still building the place… I didn’t believe them I should have listened…”

What followed made the four exchange worried looks, very worried indeed…

Part Four: The Dark in the Wood.

Three ponies and the Doctor listened as High Society recanted his tale, the older stallion that lay cuffed on the floor spoke in a frightened tone and his frequent pleas of innocence fell on deaf ears as the tale was told.

One Year Earlier:

Canterlot was a busy place at the best of times but the area around the construction of a new opera house was bustling with ponies and carts laden with materials of all kinds, the roof and the exterior walls were all finished as were most of the internal walls and floors of the grand building.

However the work had slowly ground to a halt as High Society soon found out as the stallion in charge of the work had explained to him the reason.

“What do you mean you’re out of wood! How can you be out of WOOD?”

“We ran out finishing the first and second floors, we don’t have enough to do the backstage area…”

“Well go and get some wood to finish it off you incompetent fool, we’re already behind schedule and the furnishing is due to arrive any time now and I don’t want it all lying around to be stolen or exposed to the elements!”

“But sir there was a forest fire in the north and the lumberjacks say our next shipment can’t be replaced for weeks!”

“So get it from somewhere else damn your impudence, I will have you fired and by Celestia I promise you won’t so much as find a scrap of work in the whole of Equestria ever again!.”

“The only construction supplier in the whole of Canterlot who has any wood say’s he can’t sell us any because weird things have been happening in his storehouse… He said it’s the wood… He thinks it’s cursed… He said the lumberjacks who felled the trees the wood came from abandoned their logging site in the Everfree forest after some of them disappeared…”

“I don’t give a hoot for his silly superstitions or that of simple country folk, wood is just wood now go and get it, steal it if you have to but get that wood… AND GET ON WITH IT!”

Six Months Later:

High Society was sat in his office at the newly finished opera house and as he settled back into his chair behind a very elaborate desk he mentally clapped himself on the back for a job well done, the opening night had been a success, princess Celestia herself had spoken highly of his achievements in the papers and he himself had been the toast of the city.

The loud sudden knocking at his office door stirred him from his reverie and as he called out for the knocker to come in he was faced with a heavily set red faced stallion who wheezed as he approached the desk.

High Society gave the janitor a reproachful look before addressing him coldly.

“Yes what is it, I’m busy.”

To highlight his point High Society shuffled some of the papers on his desk for effect; the other stallion however ignored this and spoke in a common tone tipping the brim of his cloth cap as he spoke.

“Begging your pardon sir… But it’s one of the staff… The cloak room mare Brass Lock…”

“Well… What about her…?”

“She was backstage… And well she’s gone missing sir.”

High Society dropped the papers he was shuffling and exploded angrily at the other stallion that shrank back in fear.

“HOW MANY TIMES MUST I REPEAT MYSELF! THAT AREA IS OFF LIMITS TO ALL!”

“But sir the musicians are up in hooves at having to prepare for shows in the auditorium… And the girl well she only went back there because she needed something from the supply cupboards.”

“I DON’T CARE WHAT THE REASON WAS! AND I CERTAINLY DON’T CARE ABOUT WHAT THOSE STUCK UP STRING PLUCKERS THINK, THIS IS MY OPERA HOUSE AND WHAT I SAY GOES! DO YOU HEAR ME?”

“But what do we do about Brass Lock? The rest of the staff won’t go back there to look and neither will I but some ponies bound to come looking for her eventually…”

“Well if they do we’ll tell them she had a sudden change of heart and moved far away…”

“But…”

“Do as I say or I will have you thrown from here and then how will you pay your rent? Isn’t it you that is forever complaining times are hard?”

The janitor mumbled and just nodded as he slunk from the room, probably better not to mention the sounds he’d heard in the main hall… A sound like the scraping of wood and metal…
Back in the present:

Octavia had listened intently to High Society as he spoke and as the tale unfolded she lost her patience with him.

“Did you just say you told him to cover it up?”

“I had no choice… If word got out I’d be ruined and this place along with it!”

“So where is this janitor now? I haven’t seen any pony of that description around here, and I have been practicing here on and off for weeks!”

“A-Actually he went missing only a couple of weeks later… They found his cap… Torn to shreds but no sign of him…”

“And you covered that up as well I’m sure…”

“No pony gave a damn not even his wife… She just took his last wage packet and left no questions asked, said she couldn’t care less, she was quite rude about him in fact…”

High Society felt about two inches tall under the scrutiny of those around him and in a pitiful voice he added.

“I put a bit extra in his wages… You know… To soften the loss…”

The Doctor spoke next his expression said it all.

“And the mare Brass Lock did any pony come looking for her?”

“Just her boyfriend but when he wasn’t satisfied with my explanation he swore he would get to the bottom of it all and stormed out… I thought he would give up eventually but that night some pony broke into the place by smashing a window…”

“And then???”

“Well he never reported her disappearance and I haven’t seen him since so I guess he must have come looking for her…”

“What made you make the backstage off limits in the first place, what happened to cause that?”

“That was because the night guard went missing…”

“Oh is that all… Nothing important then…”

The sarcasm dripped from Octavia as she became even more worked up at the way High Society showed his lack of compassion for the welfare of others, his next statement made her explode in a fit of rage.

“…And the ticket mare who went backstage on a dare… My assistant who got curious… Oh and that stupid stallion who replaced the janitor…”

As the Doctor and the two guards restrained Octavia from beating High Society to death in her anger they were interrupted by the scraping sound returning from outside the door.

Octavia who was hearing the sound for the first time froze momentarily before locking eyes with the Doctor, with a brief glance and a nod she let him know her intentions and as he grasped her meaning the guards followed suit and followed her lead.

By this point High Society had lost it and was incoherently babbling about trustees and Celestia and the future performances he had planned for the opera, as the noise drew level with the door all concerned realized there wasn’t a chance of not being discovered this time as the shadow once more appeared underneath it…

Scrabbling sounds as if giant paws were attacking the door began as the four ponies exchanged horrified looks, the thing outside began hurling itself against the door which began to splinter and then caved in as High Society struggled to get to his haunches his forelegs still cuffed behind him, his screams rent the night as the creature bursting through the door bore down on him as it’s jaws widened…

Part Five: Two Hearts Are Better Than One.

It wasn’t the horrifying screams or the sound of crunching bone or even the wet sound of blood splashing on surfaces that made the Doctor uncomfortable as he tried to breathe quietly; it was the mare that was crammed in the small cupboard with him that made him blush.

Octavia was pressed almost nose to nose with the Doctor their bodies pressed together in ways that she’d never imagined letting a stallion close enough to try, but as the alternative was somewhat less appealing they both put their awkwardness to the back of their minds.

That was until she scrunched up her eyes swore softly and lent forward pressing her lips against his as she let all pomp and circumstance go out the window kissing him passionately and forcefully.

Despite muffled noises of protest from the Doctor Octavia continued until she ran out breath but before she could start again the Doctor drew her attention as quickly as possible to the sounds coming from the room outside.

The sound of eating had died down followed by what could only be described as the dragging of a large lump of meat across floorboards and out the door only then did they eventually dare to exit the close and stuffy interior of their hiding place.

Ignoring the huge puddle of blood in the middle of the room with the large streaks leading out the door (and incidentally the blood covering every other surface of the room) the Doctor braved the doorway and looking both ways down the corridor outside confirmed the beast was gone.

Before Octavia could even draw the breath to speak the Doctor more than a little flustered by the situation came bounding over to her and chastised her royally.

“Don’t ever do that again you hear me! I’m old enough to be your father… Well actually several times over… But that’s neither here or there… I don’t do the whole… The whole…”

“The whole what Doctor?”

“You know the thing you just did… …In there… I don’t do it you hear! It’s not me… …And certainly not with one like you!”

“And just what does that mean exactly one like me? Are you one of those who like other stallions?”

“I never said that… It’s just I’m old and from far away and you’re… You’re a different species… Sort of…”

The Doctor trailed off again as he realized that last one might need a better explanation…

“I only did it because I thought I was about to DIE! I’ve never kissed a pony before and I was damned if I was going to die without at least experiencing it once… Hold on? Different species wait??? Are you saying you’re something in disguise?”

“Don’t be silly I’m not a Zygon.”

“You’re not a…”

“Um… Best just forget that last part…”

“Gladly… Well Doctor who isn’t a pony, is that the reason you have such a strong heart beat?”

“I’m sorry what?”

Octavia blushed at the memory but straightened up as she motioned with a hoof at the cupboard.

“In there… I could feel your chest against mine… (Octavia was as red as the floor at this point) Your heartbeat was so strong!”

“I have two hearts.”

“Poppycock”

The Doctor drew closer stopping only inches from Octavia who on cue lifted her foreleg and gingerly pressed her hoof against his chest all the while blushing like a school filly despite the absurdity of it all and the urgency of the situation at hoof.

At first Octavia didn’t react but as she placed her hoof on the other side of his chest her eyes widened and she stepped back in shock.”

“You have hearts! Two… I mean… You really have two hearts… W-Who or what are you?”

“Like I said I’m the Doctor, if you come with me I promise I will get you out of here safely.”

“And how do we do that? That thing is still out there?”

“Ah ha well…”

The long pause that followed was deafening in its silence as the Doctor desperately tried to come up with one of his brilliant nothing can possibly go wrong schemes.

“You don’t have clue do you…”

“Nope”

“Great that’s just great, the night before my grand unveiling and I’m stuck in the bowels of this opera house with a giant murderous beast and a pony that’s not a pony but has two hearts and no plan…”

“Pretty much”

Octavia sighed deeply.

“How about we just run for it?”

“Won’t work”

“Why not pray tell?”

Octavia’s sarcastic tone irked the Doctor somewhat.

“Get the guards out of the cupboard and I’ll explain…”

Octavia moved to the other cupboard and tapped on the door before opening it revealing the two guards who awkwardly extricated themselves and waited patiently for the aforementioned explanation.

Since they had heard every word of the other two’s conversation they were both pretty sure it wasn’t in their best interests to say anything that might make the situation any more bizarre than it already was.

Octavia however had a feeling as she tried desperately to ignore the bloody room she was in that the bizarre could be the least of her worries as she once again focused on the strange stallion.

The Doctor took a deep breath and spoke in his most serious tone reserved for only the direst of circumstances as he summed up the situation.

“High Society told us everything we needed to know, this entire backstage area was built with wood from the Everfree forest, now in that wood lives many terrible creatures one kind in particular which goes by the name Timberwolf.”

The guards and Octavia all looked at each other then back to the Doctor before Octavia piped up.”

“Timberwolves are just fairy tales for young foals? They’re myths you tell around a campfire?”

“Do you know why campfires exist?”

Octavia cocked her head to the side.

“I-I…”

The Doctor slowed his speech down and spoke in almost a whisper as he carried on.

“The reason campfires exist is when your ancestors ventured out of their caves they found fire very useful at night to keep warm, to light the way and first and foremost to keep the Timberwolves away.”

“Over the years their numbers dwindled as you got better at hunting them, eventually there remained only a few left, hidden in the shadows, dark energy condensed into wood with a feral mind and a never ending hunger.”

“When they harvested the trees in the Everfree they must have brought back wood tainted with that energy, get enough of that energy in one place and it congregates, pools into one being and then it forms itself a body from the wood or pliable materials around it.”

Spellbound the three ponies listened in complete silence as the Doctor continued on.

“At the moment we can’t escape because the Timberwolf has warped the entire backstage area with its energy, we could run for miles and never find our way out, it’s how they hunt their prey without risk of escape but only an Alpha Timberwolf could manage to affect such a large area at one time.”

“Also it knew we were here, there’s no way it could have missed us in the cupboards, my guess it’s saving us for later…”

The taller of the guards spoke out at that last comment.

“But why did we bother to hide? If it knew we were here?”

“Because like I said it was probably saving us for later, if we had remained in the room in plain sight it would have just killed us right there and then, after all it’s a creature of instinct.”

“Oh…”

“So Doctor how then do we escape if it can keep us going in circles forever?”

“We’re going to capture it, subdue it and then hopefully we can break its hold on the backstage area.”

“So it’s not messing with our minds but the very world around us?”

“That’s the gist of it I’m afraid.”

“Perfect… Well as long as you don’t expect me fight it… I’ll help… What?”

Octavia saw the twitch in the Doctors eye and immediately grew suspicious.

“What exactly are you thinking?”

The Doctor gave her his best most convincing smile before he relented and with a sharp intake of breath while moving his head from side to side told her.

“We’ll need someone to be bait…”

Octavia hung her head.

“Like I said… Perfect, just perfect...”

Part Six: Mad or Mad Genius.

Creaking slightly the mass of wood and heavy objects swayed from left to right as it hung from the ceiling above Octavia, bound together and held up by a rudimentary rope and pulley system devised by the Doctor who was at that moment busy checking the results of his work.

Impatient and more than a little worried at his plan the young musician fiddled with her bow-tie in an effort to distract herself from her rapidly approaching moment in the spotlight, she smiled ironically at that thought given all her effort until today to get to perform her first solo work in the biggest opera house in the world.

A small tear escaped and slid down her muzzle as she remembered all the horrible things she’d seen and heard that night.

Looking at the Doctor she began to ponder who or what he really was, he frightened her but also he intrigued her, his cryptic words and mannerisms were baffling and him having two hearts was beyond her comprehension but still she found herself feeling curious to find out.

Now Octavia was hardly impulsive yet she had followed him into this nightmare not knowing where she would end up and to her surprise she realized she didn’t care.

Perhaps the loss of her prized instrument had released something in her she wondered, for years she had given her all to it but in the end it had been smashed and her dreams with it…

…What now then…?

It was then Octavia decided that come what may she would find her answers, ‘IF’ she survived the night of course and the Doctor she had a strange feeling would be how she did that…

Feeling like he was being watched the Doctor turned and flashed a nervous smile at Octavia who seemed to be studying him intensely, for the Doctor not privy to her inner most thoughts remembered the incident in the cupboard and blushed quickly returning to his preparations as he tried to put it to the back of his mind.

All the while off to one side of the almost empty room they had chosen for this task the two guards were laid out exhausted from helping the Doctor gather all the materials needed and lugging them to this room.

The pair was observing the odd looks the other two were giving each other and the strange silence that had descended upon the room, once again convincing the guards to champion the idea of being as quiet as possible.

It wasn’t long before the ‘elaborate’ trap was ready and the Doctor wiping sweat from his brow sat back and congratulated himself on a job well done, if he said so himself.

“Doctor,”

“Yes?”

“It’s a bit basic isn’t it?”

“Ooo... Every pony has to be a critic! I’ll have you know this works all the time!”

“So now we wait?”

“Yep… Pretty much…”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Fire away.”

“What happens after? After this I mean… What are you going to do? Actually mores the point, what is it you do, do?”

“Well …I travel through time and space in my big blue box.”

Octavia’s eyebrow twitched as she debated whether to laugh or ignore his silly evasion to her quite serious question, she decided to play along.

“A-And what do you do in time and space apart from destroy priceless instruments and drag young unsuspecting mares along as you chase after monsters?”

Although serious sounding Octavia’s words which she meant humorously left the Doctor speechless for a moment as he considered them.

“That’s… It… Pretty much, Well that and getting to see all the wonders of this universe at any point in time I choose!”

“And you do this alone Doctor?”

“Yes… No… Well yes at the moment but I was supposed to see a friend of mine… Quick trip to somewhere…”

“An old flame perhaps?”

“No… What is it with you musicians? First you kiss me, and then you ask about my past loves… Next you’ll be asking to come with me!”

Octavia was somewhat bothered at how he appeared totally serious in what he was saying, and his cheeky demeanor made it hard for her to read his face for any hint of a lie?

“I said no such thing!”

“Oh… But you were thinking it…?”

Octavia huffed, enough was enough; all this talk had gotten her nowhere and worst of all she couldn’t understand why deep down she had a nagging feeling he really was telling the truth! Or he really believed he was in which case she was right and he really was a complete lunatic…

“Certainly not… If I believed you and what you say I still would never go gallivanting off into ‘time and space’ with a complete stranger… Preposterous rubbish anyway, whatever or whoever you are, you are mad sir! And I shall have nothing more to do with you after this evening is through! If that thing doesn’t finish us first so there! …Doctor…”

Upon the use of his name Octavia ladled on the sarcasm in her voice before turning away from him closing her eyes and sniffing loudly in a derisive manner.

The Doctor was a little taken aback as he scratched the back of his head for something to say but instead he just breathed out loudly and looked around comically while swinging his forelegs back and forth and tapping his hooves together.

A sound which quickly annoyed Octavia forcing her to abandon her aloof stance as she stared at him fuming, his foal like grin the picture of feigned innocence.

“You are unbelievable… a mad pony you know that.”

“Yep, mad pony with a box.”

“That you travel through time and space in.”

“Uh-huh.”

“If we survive you will prove it to me!”

“Hold on, so you do want to come with me!”

“Certainly not, I am no adventure pony, I merely thought… (Octavia took a moment to think before it struck her!) That if you can travel through time and space… You can replace my broken cello with one from the original maker himself!”

“Oh, right then…”

At first the Doctor seemed crestfallen but then he had an idea too…

“If I do will you join me on a trip to the future? …To collect my friend then right back again?”

“I already told you no, I have a performance tomorrow that if you can bring me a cello and we survive tonight I am damn well going to play!”

Octavia was confused, tired sore all over and most of all really, really confused.

She felt herself going along with the absurd things he was saying as if she believed them herself, even starting to sound out loud like he did…

The Doctor smiled at Octavia as she suddenly felt like an idiot sat in the middle of the room next to a lunatic, with of course a giant wolf made of wood with nails for teeth bearing down on them…

“I am going to die…”

“You’re not going to die.”

“Why not…? What makes you so sure of yourself?”

“Because I’m the Doctor… I am nine hundred years old from the planet… Mmmph…!”

Octavia who had placed her hoof over his mouth as he began to monologue pointed with her other towards the door through which the giant frame of the Timberwolf could be seen coming into view as it drew level with the door…

As Octavia removed her hoof the Doctor paused before uttering,

“Odd I didn’t hear it coming… Ah well never mind… Ready?”

“N-No!”

The Timberwolf snarled…

“Y-Yes… YES!”

“Both of them scrambled to move as the beast lunged through the door and made right for them…”

Part Seven: A Flaming Melody.

Two things happened as the Timberwolf closed the distance on the pair of ponies stood in plain sight, first the guards who’d remained unnoticed hastily yanked the rope next to them followed by Octavia and the Doctor leaping out of the way as the trap along with the Timberwolf’s jaws snapped shut.

Expecting the pair to scatter the Timberwolf moved accordingly and as it opened its jaws to strike the mare whose scent it remembered from their first encounter, it registered the danger too late and as it craned its neck upwards the giant ball of scrap landed squarely forcing it flat to the ground with a surprised and frightened howl.

As it failed to pull itself free burdened by the oppressive weight, the ponies had surrounded it, the Doctor gave the Guards a reluctant nod as his morals raged inside.

The taller of the two guards produced a match which he struck and with a side glance to his comrade threw it on the pile, a pile previously doused with lamp oil…

Echoing with terrified howls and screams of rage the walls of the room danced with shadows as the fire took hold, it was now that Octavia broke her terrified silence and voiced her main concern…

“Doctor? Can I ask you something?”

“Of course… Ask away…”

“That’s starting to burn quite fiercely…”

“Uh Huh, that’s what happens with wood and fire, I didn’t realize I’d gone that far back in time...”

Ignoring his cave pony reference Octavia sniffed and in an annoyed tone her nose in the air she continued.

“Of course Doctor, fire burn wood, I’m glad you pointed that out since we’re in a building made out of tons of the stuff and that fire is starting to spread.”

The Doctor followed the direction Octavia began pointing with her hoof and noted that the varnish around the fire was peeling and the floorboards underneath were indeed starting to catch alight.

“Guess we’d better get moving then, well… Shall we?”

The Doctor motioned to the door as the four of them hastily exited the room. Closing the door behind them it barely muted the howls coming from inside as three pairs of eyes turned to the Doctor as he dusted his suit jacket and smugly sat basking in the brilliance of his plan.
Octavia also sat and crossed her foreleg’s as she gave the Doctor a withering glance and motioned to the corridor around her.

“How do we get back to the stage and out of here? Aren’t we in some kind of magical spell?”

“Yep and I imagine it should all be returning to normal any moment…”

Quite a few minutes later the Doctor was pacing up and down as he frowned deeply, his thoughts were interrupted however when an all too familiar scraping sound reached their ears.

In terror the three ponies and Doctor peered down the corridor that led towards the noise and from another corridor about halfway down emerged an even more grotesque formation of wood and metal dragging a mutilated hind leg that was the source of the horrifying sound…

“!!!OF COURSE!!! That’s why we didn’t hear it approach…”

The Doctor turned to the trio of terrified ponies and at top speed explained.

“Don’t you see? When we first saw the one we just set fire to, we saw it! (Motioning to the aghast Octavia) But when we encountered it the second and third times we didn’t see it…”

The three nodded as they looked past at the rapidly approaching beast which despite its disability was gaining a lot of ground.

“Like I said it would take a powerful alpha to create this trap … After all can’t have an Alpha without a Beta… I was kind of hoping I was wrong though.”

Octavia screamed as she raged at the Doctor.

“You never said anything about the possibility of there being another one! So what now? Do we run?”

The Doctor merely sat back and straightened up as he flashed the mare his most winning smile.

Past the grin Octavia watched as the Timberwolf bunched up and ignoring its leg pounced, its claws almost reached the Doctor as the screams in the room next to them ceased.

As the world around them began to spin and distort it began collapsing inwards at a point behind the Timberwolf which was suspended in mid air behind the doctor as if time had slowed down.

As with the rest of the surrounding corridors it was sucked backwards into the void before the assembled ponies blacked out due to the effects of the collapse.

Octavia felt as if she was as light as air as she passed out, her last sight was the triumph written across the face of the Doctor his eye’s alight with a fire she had never witnessed in a pony before, a burning door through which she could hear the thunder of a giant bell in what she could only describe as the sound of time itself bearing down on her as she slipped away.

Part Eight: A Doctor For My Cello.

Octavia awoke with a start as she opened her bleary eyes and in a panic tried to rise to her hooves but dizziness forced her onto her rump as her head spun, letting her brain settle down she took stock of her surroundings.

She was back on the stage in the Opera house, a few hooves away stood the two guards who showed visible relief at her awakening and just past them there stood the Doctor who was waving his screwdriver about as he noted its readings and with a sigh stashed it away before turning and repeating his earlier foalish grin he approached.

“Well that was close, you feeling better?”

The Doctor reached forward as he stopped in front of her and lifted her eye lid then the other before pulling her chin down and peering into her mouth as he said “Say Ah.”

Staring up from his position on the floor flat on his back the Doctor reflected on how he should really start paying more attention to the moods of these mares he spent time with since it was becoming a habit of being slapped, a lot…

“Not sure I deserved that…”

“Thank you…”

“Pardon…?”

“For not getting me killed I mean…”

“My pleasure… Hey you two, you need to get something to fight that fire with… Just let it burn a little longer hmmm?”

The Doctor motioned backstage as he explained.

“While you were out those two carried you here from the backstage, everything has returned to normal back there, that includes all of the rooms and corridors, and you should be able to find all the bodies and the other nasty stuff easily enough now it’s all shrunk back down.”

“Oh…”

Octavia regained her hooves and turned to the two guards as she realized she hadn’t asked their names?

“Thank you two, may I ask what do I call you?”

The taller of the two who had drawn smartly to attention when she addressed them smiled as he replied, his partner merely nodded as he too smiled.

“It’s Biggs Miss, and he’s Wedge, Biggs and Wedge Miss.”

“Well Biggs and Wedge, I thank both of you for all your help.”

The young mares smile and thanks made the pair blush as they puffed their chests proudly.

“I just wish I knew what we were going to report to her Majesty Celestia…”

Octavia nodded in agreement as she too wondered how she would explain the night’s events to any pony...

“Doctor what do you think about what they should say, I mean without sounding like mad ponies…?”

“HEY WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING???”

The Doctor hastily stopped mid step into the Tardis as he tried to look innocent.

“I don’t know… I don’t usually hang about for all that stuff… Paperwork and… Desks with stuff in them, a big red phone and my name on the door, not my thing really…?”

The lopsided look he got from her only deepened as he tried to explain what a phone was.

Closing the gap between them Octavia leaned in really close and before the Doctor, who was expecting to be hit got it wrong again she kissed him gently on the cheek and whispered softly in his ear.

“You were about to go and fetch my new Cello weren’t you?”

Gulping loudly the Doctor hastily fixed his tie needlessly as he nodded almost sincerely but not enough as Octavia resumed an icy tone as she realized he’d forgotten already their earlier conversation.

“You’re unbelievable… ”

“You could come with me to get it… Imagine seeing the birthplace of the music you’re so devoted to…”

“Are you really that lonely…”

“No… I just thought you might like to experience all of time and space before returning to your normal life.”

“Isn’t this the part where you tell me how wondrous it all is?”

“Yes”

“And how all that I think is impossible is real and very possible?”

“Yes”

“But in reality we will spend our time running from one situation to another constantly in danger.”

“That’s about the long and the short of it, yes.”

“You said you wanted to pick up a friend first, and then we go to get my new Cello… And straight back here so I can make my performance?”

The Doctor spared a millisecond on whether or not to inform the young mare his beloved Tardis wasn’t exactly the most reliable machine ever created, but it had always gotten him to where he needed to be, even if that was a bit off course from what he’d intended.

“I promise, Time Lords honor.”

“Time… Lord? You’re a Lord? That I don’t believe! You have the manners of a common trickster!”

Octavia knew she was insane but her curiosity was more than peaked and since she couldn’t help but trust this stranger and the madness he babbled constantly…

She… Octavia was going to do what she had never dreamed of, she was going on an adventure!

Giving a hearty wave and an elegant bow to the two guards she stepped forward.

Pushing past him she stopped dead only a few hoof steps into the interior of the Tardis having lost the power of speech, it took a moment for her to regain her voice and as she did the Doctor closed the door behind him as he smiled as he prepared for his favorite part, explaining how it all worked!

Bigg’s and Wedge were rooted to the spot as the light atop the box began to slowly flash as a wheezing sound followed by the air swirling around them as the box faded from sight.

“I still don’t know what we are supposed to tell her Majesty…”

Wedge nodded at Biggs as the pair moved off to find some kind of fire fighting implements to deal with the fire backstage, from which smoke was beginning to curl across the now empty stage.

THE END

DR WHOOVES WILL RETURN IN…

DR WHOOVES AND THE LOST COMPANION