Chapters All's Fair in Love and War
The Doctor rushed to his TARDIS as fast as his hooves could carry him. Something horrible had happened – and it was his job to fix it. But it meant facing something that he was hoping he’d never have to face.
He slammed through the doors of his home. Derpy looked up at him with a startled expression, her bad eye drifting off elsewhere. He was panting heavily, and she gave him a confused look, “Something wrong, Doctor?”
He bit his lip. He had no choice now but to explain what happened. He sat his companion down on the couch, and held her hoof in his. “Listen… I have some very grave news, love.”
She cocked her head, she didn’t like where this was going. Based on the look in his eye. She knew this was serious “W-what is it?”
“There’s been a temporal tear. It’s a sort of… rip in the time-space fabric. I have to go fix it - or else. It could mean the end of the universe, as we know it. It’s very complicated to explain, but I have to leave as soon as possible. I’m going to have to go… for a very long time.”
Derpy’s ears dropped. “What do you mean?”
He swallowed, “You see, my dear, time is relative, so when I’m near the temporal tear, every hour that passes for me could be years for you.”
“Is it dangerous, a-are you going to be okay?”
“I don’t know, Derpy.”
Her eyes welled up with tears. He quickly got up and went to his nightstand, opening the bottom drawer. Derpy cocked her head, “W-what are you doing?”
He pulled out a long necklace with a key on the end of it. He walked over to his companion, holding it up in front of him, “Here,” He placed it around her neck, “I made this for you. It’s the one and only other key to the TARDIS. I’ve kept it for a situation exactly like this. I want you to have it.” Derpy held the key in her hoof, it was just like any other key, but had a particularly unique glint to it. The Doctor leaned down and added, “It also opens a certain special box. You know the one. The one I never let you looked in. It has special surprise for you.”
The pegasus jumped up and hugged him. And for a moment, they were both smiling. But he pulled away form her, and began to get off the couch and walk away towards the blue phone booth. Derpy’s eyes widened and she hopped out of her seat, running towards him, “Wait!”
He turned and stopped her, putting a hoof on her shoulder, “I have to leave now… I’m so sorry.” The Doctor reached out and pulled her into a strong embrace. He felt the young mare’s tears fall onto his fur. He gently wiped them away with his hoof. “No, please, don’t cry…”
“Take me with you!” The Doctor was taken aback by this, “I’ve proven to you I can be useful, haven’t I? Why can’t I help?”
The stallion looked away form her, trying to hide the tears welling up in his eyes. “No, Derpy. You can’t come. I’m sorry, it’s just that –“
“What? It’s just what?”
“I can’t possibly stand to see you hurt!”
Derpy recoiled at his sudden outburst. He couldn’t help it now; the tears were starting escaping his eyes. He grimaced, “I’m sorry. It’s just too dangerous. If I took you and you got hurt – or even killed – I would never forgive myself.”
Derpy looked down and they sat in silence for several long moments, “Will you come back?”
“…” The Doctor refused to make eye contact with his dear companion.
She took a step forward, lifting up his chin with her hoof, “I love you…”
“I love you too.”
All's Fair in Love and War
The sound of a trumpet rang through the halls of bunker. Grey’s eyes cracked open. The sun shone in through the thin lines on the walls that were a pitiful excuse for windows. Their only real purpose was to let air in. She sighed and stared at the ceiling. It was plain and a vaguely beige color, just liked most of the bunker.
Standing up off the cot, she stretched her stiff joints and wings. She brushed the dirt off her fur, and viewed herself in the cracked and dulled mirror. She straightened her short blonde mane. Her orange-yellow eye had lost its glint long ago, and she stared expressionless at her own reflection.
With a quiet sigh, she donned her purple armor, straightening her askew eye patch. She cracked a small smile; she always liked the way she looked in the Royal Guard attire. But she moved on from her reflection, making extra sure to tuck away her necklace before exiting her room.
Grey walked down the halls, heading towards the dining hall. Everypony she passed by greeted her with a salute and a respectful, “General.” She returned their acknowledgements with a nod and whatever that particular pony’s rank was.
She reached the dining hall, getting a plateful of what they called “breakfast”. Chopped carrots, beans, and kale. Fantastic. She took her share and sat down at a table in a corner, alone, just like usual.
She took her time to observe the other Lunar Soldiers. They were in varying levels of armor, some fully covered, others choosing to eat slightly less encumbered. She could tell that each day was wearing them down more and more. Being on the Day Battalion was much more difficult than fighting at night, and it was clearly taking its toll on them. She somewhat envied the bat ponies that got to battle with Luna under the night sky. However, she couldn’t complain much, she did choose this position after all. She thought it better to help the struggling Day Battalion to gain the upper hoof.
Thankfully, on this particular day, they were simply on guard duty. They were currently in a ceasefire with the Griffon Empire. So they could rest easy – for now. It won’t be long before the fighting commences once more.
After breakfast she went on with her tasks for the day. Normally she would be spending a good chunk of the day making battle plans or working on the schematics for new weapons. However, today, she could take the pleasure of doing much more simple tasks. Uniform check, doing PT with the rookies, and other such things that her subordinates would typically take care of. Heck, she even helped out with delivering letters. Although other ponies insisted that she not waste her time with something so mundane, she always loved to do it. It came naturally to her.
She was in a weapon storage unit organizing the recent delivery of supplies, when she overheard a conversation that two workers were having nearby. She enjoyed listening to the conversations of more average ponies. They were always somewhat more relaxed and pleasant than the ones she had with her peers.
“Did you hear what the search crew dragged in last night?”
“I’m assuming it’s another unknown causality.”
The stallion chuckled, “Nah. Wouldn’t be surprised, though. No, it’s some stallion that was found in the rubble of an old abandoned town. He calls himself ‘Doctor Whooves’ or something. “
Grey’s head swung around so fast that the force could’ve snapped a lesser ponies neck. She galloped down the isle where the stallion was talking with his friend. She leaned in uncomfortably close and frantically asked, “What did you just say?!”
The two ponies were startled and almost fell backwards at sudden interrogation, “W-what?”
“You heard me!” Grey put her hooves on the pony’s shoulders and shook him, her usually solemn eye filled with crazed emotion, “What were you just talking about?!”
The frightened stallion answered, “A pony was found in the wreckage of an old town!”
“What was his name, soldier? His name!”
“Doctor Whooves! I think, I-I don’t know for sure!”
Grey released her grip on the worker and took a step back, “Do you know where he is?”
“I don’t know. They said he was injured, so he might be in the hospital ward.”
Grey stared into the distance, her thoughts running wild, Is it true? No, it couldn’t possibly be. It must just be a stupid rumor, or a mistake in the name. It’ll probably just be another delusional, shell-shocked pony. Just like it always is.
She finally looked back at the two still trembling ponies. “Thank you. Please, uh, continue whatever you were doing.”
And with that she strode out of the room.
All's Fair in Love and War
Chapter 2: The Mystery Stallion
Grey paced back and forth outside Lieutenant Echo’s quarters. She was the one in charge of the search crew and the ponies or griffons that they find. Grey was deciding whether or not she actually wanted to see the stallion that they supposedly found. What if it wasn’t even true? How would she feel if it was a mistake? If it was true, and the Doctor was really here, would she be able to face him?
Finally she decided that the time was now or never, Why should I be afraid? I’m the goddamned general of Luna’s Royal Guard. I’m not afraid of anything.
She faced the door, and knocked on it, standing tall and confidently. The sun was starting to set now, so Echo should be awake and ready to go. Just as she had thought, the bat pony opened the door and greeted Grey with the usual salute and smile. Grey smiled in return and asked if she could come inside. “Of course,” Echo said, inviting Grey inside her quarters, “What brings you here tonight?”
Grey made herself comfortable and explained, “I heard that the search crew found a lone stallion while searching through the rubble of an abandoned town. Is this true?”
“That is indeed the case, General. The place we found him in used to be Ponyville. It was crazy; he seemed to not know anything. He didn’t know whom we were, what happened to Ponyville, or even that there was a war going on. He was running around panicking so we had to subdue him.”
“What does he look like? Do you know his name?”
“He’s a brown stallion with a darker brown mane, and was wearing a tie. I believe he called himself ‘The Doctor’.”
Grey’s mouth was dry and she felt like the world was spinning. It was the first time in years that she ever felt nervous about anything, “Where is he right now?”
Echo cocked her head, she was clearly curious as to why Grey cared about this seemingly random pony, “He’s in the recovery ward. He came in with some fairly critical injuries, but we healed them up just fine,” She raised and eyebrow at Grey, “Why does it concern you?”
Grey hesitated but kept her composure, “I think I know who he his. I’d like to see him.”
“If you insist, General,” Echo shrugged, “I’ll take you to him.”
Just as she said she would, Echo led Grey to the room of the pony in question. Echo explained to the nurses why they were there, because it was quite surprising to see such important ponies visiting strange ponies in the recovery ward. A nurse pony walked in first, “Hello there, sir. You have a visitor,” she said. She motioned for Grey and Echo to walk in.
Grey walked over to the cot and looked down at Doctor Whooves, for the first time 12 years.
