Running

by protractror

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Adventure, Discord, Crossover, Doctor Whooves
Length: 1897

Before the Princesses, Discord ruled unopposed over all of Equestria. Most of the time that is.

Before the Princesses, Discord ruled unopposed over all of Equestria. Most of the time that is, when a certain time traveler isn't interfering in in his own infuriating way.

Published 2012-05-31 19:44:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-05-31 19:44:01 UTC

Always Running

Running, she was always running. Nopony ever walked anymore; walking was for people who could afford to slow down. That luxury had been lost a long time ago now. Not everypony ran of course, most had just given up on moving entirely. The world nowadays was so draining and chaotic that eventually most ponies just realized the futility of trying to outrun it all. Ponies today just didn't walk, plodding when necessary and waiting when not. The waiting was the longest part, sometimes it took the entire useless day. Some waited for it to get better, most feared how it would get worst.

She never stopped running though. She wasn't anything important, nor was she special in any way. Her defiance wasn't seen as a glimmer of hope and her will was certainly not a light illuminating other's gloom. She was just faster than everyone else. Almost everyone else.

CRACK

A bolt of lightening came down right beside her, the force of the blast slamming hard into her side and propelling her to the dusty ground. That bolt could have hit her, in all honesty should have hit her. He was toying with her now, spurring her on. In an instant though she was back on her feet, running for her life yet again. She ran past fields, across roads and by the ponies working their days outside. No one lifted a hoof to help her, the fight long since taken from them. Instead they barely batted an eye.

Before he took over, the thought of a young filly, no older than six years, in peril being ignored would have been inconceivable. But that unpredictability was the only thing that could be counted on in Equestria anymore.

CRACK

This time the bolt landed behind her. She wanted to believe so badly that this was because she finally started outpacing him, but she knew better. He was just cruelly trying to give her hope. It seemed like he was the only one left nowadays that could even give hope nowadays. Unfortunately he always took it back, with interest.

CRACK

This time she could feel the heat hit her like a wall before the blast carried her off her hooves. For a second she was flying; a beautiful, free second. Then she landed and everything hurt. Taking a quick breath and feeling a sharp pain she realized that her run was over. She lay down, moving as little as possible beside the smoking crater of the final lightening bolt. The land around her was dead like so much of the Equestrian countryside recently, sprouting off a few scarce trees to show just how brown then land was. Up above the sky was as cloudy and grey as the dead ground. There was only one source of colour anymore, and he was walking slowly toward her.

"Oh that was the most fun I've had in weeks!" he said as he walked towards his quarry. He was about fifty yards out, his steps slow but deliberate. His twisting physique had the rare quality of being comical at times, but always intimidating. "People think that a bison dancing disco in a tutu is crazy, but really that's just a cheap joke," said the lord of Chaos himself, Discord. "Real chaos is backing a pony into a corner, because believe me when I say this, nopony ever does the same thing. I've been bucked, begged, bartered.Nobody ever runs anymore though. I guess it works better than anything else, but I've lived long enough to know the flaw in running." Discord was so close now, his light hoof steps sounding like thunder to the terrified filly. "You can't run forever."

Just as he was about to pick up the trembling little pony, a whirring noise permeated the gloom and the draconequis was propelled backwards. With a snap of his fingers he was turned around and looking to where the girl had been, but to his mild surprise the filly had been replaced by a bright blue box. A wry smile crossed his lips as he finally saw something worthy of his interest. Predictably by now for him, a brown coated earth pony emerged from the box.

"Poppycock." he said as he walked over to the immortal tyrant. "I've been running for longer than most ponies can conceive, and if were talking distance than I've done at least a few billion marathons by now and if anything I've got more fuel in the tank then when I've started. The name's the Doctor by the way."

"Yes, I remember" Discord said, sighing at the memory of the infuriating little pony with a fancy disappearing box. "You sure love dropping how old you are don't you?" he said with a chuckle. "You've lived longer than most, I'll give you that. But compared to me? You're barely a blink of the eye. I've been around since the beginning, back when all the universe consisted of was space and gas floating together."

"Oh, I remember that. Dreadfully boring if you don't mind me saying."

"Quiet, you're not that old. If you were than we would be on the same page. Instead you're off doing who-knows what in a tiny little closet while I rule all that I see. In fact, I've ruled longer than anyone else will ever live and I've been other things even longer. But even I've stopped running. Do you know why?"

"Because you're built like an overambitious snake?"

"No," he let a tiny laugh escape his lips before looking down upon him with all the anger of a vengeful god. "because I don't need too anymore!" he said as energy literally flowed through him into the box. It was stopped before it hit the box by a shield, shimmering as it deflected Discord's might. The Doctor flinched, but the box held. Discord just snorted and turned around, bored by the new comer's shield.

"I wish that shield wasn't there, you wouldn't have died. All that I would have done was turn you into a stethoscope and the box into my new megaphone. It would have been wonderfully fun, and I guess a tad ironic but I guess you'll never get to see it now." As Discord paced, the ground h stepped on sprung to life in a hundred different ways. One foot step shot out the colours of the rainbow, another spawned bunnies which ran off in every direction and so on.

"Why do you even come back here anyways?" Discord said, turning to face his constantly reappearing pain in the neck. "Your box can take you so far away that I wouldn't even care what you do. But if you set your hoof one step outside of this box you love so much, For an all powerful traveler I bet you couldn't even make it three paces before I catch you. Oh I can't even imagine what I could do. Maybe something with lead, or better yet, helium!"

Just then the box disappeared, reappearing behind the unamused Draconequis. Turning around with a strained sigh he was annoyed to see the Doctor had the same smug smile as always. "True, I can't really leave this box, but I wouldn't say it's as planted as it looks. This old girl might be grown, but it doesn't have any roots keeping it back. Faster than you could ever go, and I know that for a fact."

"Oh we'll see about that." he said, measuring up the stallion. "I want the girl. She belongs to me."

"I thought we already went over this. Big shield stronger than hand-claw. Remember?" he said as the shield flickered visibly on cue.

"You're box is strong, yes. Give me two minutes with it though? You honestly can't think anything you have would do anything more than delay me. I'm not just chaotic, I am chaos. I'm the alpha and omega baby!" Discord said as fireworks went off behind him from his own will.Nopony paid them much attention, local or not.

"Alpha maybe, but there's more to life than chaos."

"Yes, why don't you go meet up with the embodiment of order? I'm sure he'd love to help you. Maybe honour will pitch in, ooh and then justice will join in and you could all come and teach me a lesson." A cruel laugh escaped his lips, just as fake as it was loud. "No, those forces don't exist here. This is the realm of chaos, a land where life comes from a giant exploding ball of fire, and takes it form in creatures as unpredictable as they are weak. This is where Chaos lives my friend. Any other deity like me would be nothing more than a rock here, to stiff and inflexible to exist."

"Rocks, got it."

"Shut up. I'm bored of you already.. Give me the girl or run away like you always do."

"Oh I'll leave, don't worry about that." the Doctor said as he stepped back, closing the door of his box. "I can't stand what you've done with the place. Why do I never meet anyone who has any appreciation of pastels?" However, before he closed the door fully he stopped, the mirth in his face draining away as he looked at the tyrant. "But I hope you know, I'm not running away."

"Hah, I've seen you eight times now and every time I've caught you you just talked until I made you run you lonely old coward."

"Eight times? I'll have to remember that. Eight, odd number. Well, I guess even technically-"

Remember?" Discord said, cutting off the ramble. "You can remember now! Do you have the lifespan of a dragon and the memory of a goldfish?"

"No, I have a time machine and I've never met you. However, I think I'll be seeing a lot of you today. Just remember one thing about me though." He said as he finally closed the door. "I am never running away. I'm running right towards you." Then the door closed, the box disappeared and Discord could only try and laugh.

Back inside the Tardis, the Filly was just beginning to get up. After finding herself in what looked like a dream after being hit by the lightening, she had passed out from a mix of shock and exertion. Slowly waking up she could hear two voices arguing about her, one terrifyingly familiar and one oddly foreign. Now the foreign one was still talking, but he seemed less tense now.

"People say I talk too much,"he said more or less to himself," but I've never given my enemy a map to my destruction before at least. Well, at least not more than twice. Anyhoot, we've got a good seven trips left to beat this semi-demi-god, and I can't imagine not giving you one. Anything you need my dear?"

"I haven't seen my sister in two days. I'm really scared." She said, honestly. The way he spoke tok all of her fear and hesitation away.

"Perfect. First we find your sister, get six or so god rocks and Whammo. The Doctor and..."

"Luna"

"The Doctor and Luna, saving Equestria. And I guess your sister. History will remember this day Luna., just you wait."

The humming sound was back, but this time it came from behind him. Perplexed, Discord turned around, and the rest was history.