Today is another ordinary day for me in the Doctor's 'blue box'. Well, actually, an ordinary day is going on some sort of adventure and fighting the forces of evil or whatever. Today is more of a... a friendly day. Yeah, that's what I'll call it. But anyways, after having faced off against what the Doctor called a 'Cthulhu', it was well worth time for a rest from the scary peril and danger and confusing stuff about time and space, and instead enjoy the peace of Equestria in the modern times. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the Doctor's adventures as his assistant, but they've mostly been a bit, strenuous at times. I just always look forward to a break after a thrilling adventure.
Inside the Tardis on this cold winter evening, the Doctor and I are resting by the heavy equipment of the Tardis's massive inside. It creates a lot of heat to make the Tardis work and it's a favourite place of mine when I'm bored. Just thinking about its warmth brushing across my fur and heating my body makes me cozy. Between the two of us is a small picnic blanket laid out onto the floor with muffins and blocks of butter on top of small paper plates. One by one, these items are disappearing from the blanket and are consumed by the the both of us while we are talking with each other, you know, socializing and such. By the way, I made the muffins, and they are delicious.
"...and so I said..." the Doctor speaks with a mouth full of butter, "...'Said the actress to the bishop.'." He then starts to roll over in a laughing fit over what he just said, nearly choking on his butter. The Doctor was previously telling me about some funny thing that happened when he was in his home universe. However, the way he said it and some of the big words he used confused me more than usual. He sees my confused face, and how both of my eyes aren't facing him like normal when one of them do.
I then simply reply as I see his laughter fading away, "I don't get it." He usually likes a direct answer.
"Don't you get it? Surely this world has to have some version of showgirls-I mean mares."
"I don't think so." The Doctor has always been fairly oblivious to the cultural norms of my world, or even history of Equestria if he hasn't traveled back in time to experience the events firsthoof. I have been trying to teach him the ways, but a cross-eyed pegasus doesn't usually make the best teacher for a time traveling alien-person-thing. I proceed to take a bite out of one of my remaining muffins as I prepare for another one of the Doctor's rants. I can automatically tell when they're coming at this point after spending so much time with him. The twitch in his ears, the expansion of his chest, and the cute way he sets up his next, they've all become pretty clear signs.
"But it has to be. If the only alteration to this universe in comparison to mine is that all hominids are now equines and magic exists, then surely there must be unfaithful stallions and mares with low public esteem. There are still the same desires of satisfaction of intimate pre-reproductive activities in a social environment with a civilization like Equestria."
"Nope." I answer with my mouth still filled with muffin.
"Pity, you guys are always missing out on all of the fun stuff." Really? If anything, I feel more pity towards my partner. There are a lot of cool and interesting things that the Doctor has no idea about, and I want to share those things with him. However, due to the frequency of our adventures, such time for just seeing the world has never been available. I can't just tell him to stop going on adventures, he'd either be too stubborn or it would break his feelings. And I certainly don't want the latter to happen. I'm going to have to be creative to get his attention.
"You know, there are a lot of fun things here as well."
"Oh, well, of course there are. The manticores, the ancient beings of chaos, the equine versions of my home universe's enemies scattered across planets and time. Perhaps we should go travel back in time, way back, perhaps someplace with dinosaurs, if there are any anyways." Drat. I gotta keep him in the present. I don't want to deal with whatever a 'dinosaur' is, especially if it has anything to do with the Cthulhu thing. I'm already getting bad memories of those touchy tentacles again. Bleh...
"How about we go someplace today, as in right outside the Tardis, in the present?" I give a little smile to the Doctor to help seal the deal. It doesn't work though...
"Perhaps, but I don't really think there's that much compared to the rich lore and history back then."
"There's some good lore today."
"Like what?" I finally got a lead. He likes lore and stuff like that, legends of old. And even more luckily, I know a few tales that the Doctor would love to look into in the present.
"The Aurora Borealis is one of them. It is said that every one thousand years, a series of colourful lights magically lights the night sky. Tonight is one of those nights, if we hurry, we could see them!"
"This world has the Aurora Borealis as well?" Hooked. "Fascinating! We must see them." Lined. "We should travel back to the Ice Age, where there's less pollution. Hopefully we don't come across too many sabre-tooth tigers and mammoths." Snapped. Is the Doctor afraid of modern times or something? Is it too safe? Do we really need to surround ourselves with sabre-tigers to enjoy a night? I'm going to have to try something else, something only available to this time.
"Oh! In a few days, there's going to be a live theatre performance of 'The Tragedy of Queen Chrysalis', it's apparently going to be the one and only full scale showing of it. Even one of the descendants of the characters in the play is going to star in it. That sounds fun right?"
"What's it about?"
"Well, a long, long time ago, there was this island known as Trihearth. And on this island were three kingdoms that lived together, and a whole bunch of stuff happened between them. Romance, tragedy, some action, spells and magic, witches, giant monsters, you'll love it."
"And you're saying this is all a live performance?"
"The best in production I've heard, and really expensive. These producers are really going all out on this, accurate to every detail. Oh! And the princesses! The princesses are going to be there! We should go, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity!"
"Hmm..." Come on Doctor, there's no way you can bail on this.
"When does this supposedly take place?"
"I don't know, about five hundred years ago I think."
"Well we have a time machine don't we? We can simply just hop back five hundred years, see what happened ourselves, and then travel back here and see the play."
"But-but, spoilers."
"Bah, interpretations of past events always hold some form of bias. We can go right now after our picnic." At this point, my head is buried in my hooves out of sheer frustration of the Doctor. I just want to do something safe, but no, the Doctor must have it so there's some high level of danger and something deadly behind every corner. It isn't exciting, it's suicide! If this is what the Doctor's home world was like, I'm glad I'm not in it. Alright, I just need to calm down and take a moment to think. Eventually, I do calm down, and try one more time to convince him.
"Hey, Doctor." Alright, this is it. I have to think of something that'll work.
"Yes Derpy?" It has to be interesting, very interesting, like a mystery. It needs to be dark, the Doctor likes dark and danger, a decent adrenaline rush for him.
"There is another thing I we could do after this." It has to be looked into today. There can't be anyway for the Doctor to avoid my time and finally get a good look at my world as I always knew it. Perhaps a tale that place at an unknown time.
"What is it?" Just at that moment, I get it. My mind finds the perfect tale to tell him, one that a few ponies know.
"Have you ever heard of 'The Four Knights Tale'?"
"Not that I recall." Yes! He doesn't know about it from his home world. As my mental me is cheering and dancing in victory, I clear my throat and tell him the story in a calm and ominous voice to fit the story's mood.
"Once upon a time, in a faraway land beyond Equestria, there were four knights. They were brave, strong, and loyal to their kingdom and king. They defended their land from all whom invaded and that wished ill will to its ponies. One fateful day however, in the cover of night, Death himself snuck into the kingdom, invaded the castle, and robbed it of the life of the king's daughter. Devastated, the king sent out the four knights to retrieve the lost soul of his daughter.
At the break of the next dawn, the four knights immediately set out and searched high and low, across mountains, rivers, valleys, and even oceans, looking for Death and the princess. It took six days and six nights, but they eventually found Death in the form of a massive magic dragon in a cloak, hiding in a cave with the soul of the princess at his side. They battled Death, never giving up despite what injuries they've sustained. Death himself was shocked of their willingness to continue fighting on with, it almost frightened him.
Finally, after a long and furious battle that lasted for more than a day, the four knights defeated Death upon twilight, and cornered him in the cave. However, Death was crafty, and new how to deal with those that tried to fight him. Pretending to congratulate the four, not only did Death offer them the princess's soul without resistance, but also one wish from each in which he will grant with his powerful magic.
The first knight, the youngest of the four, therefore being the most foalish, wished for riches beyond measure as well as to marry the princess. Death granted that wish and in the blink of an eye, a wagon filled with gold appeared before the first knight. The first knight was content and left with the princess's soul in tow.
The second knight, the strongest of the four, wanting to humiliate Death even further beyond just strength, wished for the power to bring back loved ones. Death granted that wish as he offered a small black diamond that he held beneath his cloak. Death offered this crystal to the knight, claiming it will bring back one life that he has taken. The second knight was content and left.
The third knight, the only mare of the four, knew that Death was cunning, and tried to be smart with her wish. She wished for a creature that would protect her from Death. Death granted that wish as he promised her that the beast she desires shall come in a fortnight, drawing a knife and crossing it over his black heart for good measure. The third knight was content and left.
The fourth knight, the wisest of the four, was the final one to remain in the cave with Death. Death knew of the final knight's intellect, and knew that the knight knew that Death has tricked his three allies. He confronted the lone stallion, asking him why he didn't warn his friends. The fourth knight stated that they deserved the fates Death has given them. This surprised Death. However, what surprised him even more was the final knight's wish to serve as his apprentice, and kill all who deserved an abrupt end. Under Death's command, the fourth knight would become a living harbinger of death and destruction, to be hated and feared by most, and the knight very well knew that. Hesitantly, Death granted that wish. The fourth knight was content and stayed.
With the princess's soul returned to her body, the three returning knights became heroes across the kingdom. A great ceremony was held, and all seemed right with the world. However, Death had planned for this to happen, and what came after.
The first knight married the princess, and with his vast amounts of gold and fame, he overshadowed his friends and any others that he didn't like in his impulsive mind. His gold rapidly depleted within the month, and so the knight became desperate and robbed from even the king. Everyone turned against the first knight that they once loved. He was cast out of the kingdom and died in the burning fires of the barren wastelands. And so Death took the first knight for his own, outsmarting him in the end.
The second knight traveled to a cemetery and looked upon the grave of his love who died before he had the chance to propose to her. He spun the black diamond thrice in hoof and summoned her, where she appeared to him as if she had never died. However, she turned mad as she no longer belonged, nor desired to stay in the mortal world. As hard as the knight tried to keep her happy and sane, his love killed herself out of insanity. Driven mad as well, he soon followed in her wake and killed himself to join her in death. And so Death took the second knight for his own, outsmarting him in the end.
The third knight waited for days and nights for her wish to be granted. However, during her time in waiting, she saw her friends die, and began to question her choice in making a deal with Death. She came to the conclusion that she has made a terrible mistake, and set out to sea to avoid the beast or hurting any of the innocent lives she cared for in the kingdom. When the end of the fortnight came though, she was greeted by the monster of her wish, a massive beast of the sea that transformed her into an immortal being with the power of the beast. However, for the cost of this protection from Death, she had to bring Death to others under the beast's orders and bare the appearance of a hideous hag. In fear of creating a grimmer deal if to come across Death again, the now hag followed the beast's command and brought death to many both innocent and guilty. But in time, there will be no more souls to rid of the living world, and she will eventually die, unable to keep her promise with the beast. And so Death took the third knight for his own, outsmarting her in the end.
As of the fourth knight, he became the most powerful force of Death's army and the world, and even befriended his master. In return for his loyalty and friendship, Death gave the knight many gifts, ranging from some of his own great powers, including agelessness, to weapons he fashioned from his indestructible cloak, including five blades, each able to down an entire army without dulling. The two worked together for many, many years, bringing death to millions across the world. However, Death eventually realized his mistake in giving these gifts. Now the fourth knight being practically Death's equal, the only way to kill him was to destroy every part of his body, all the way down to his soul, which would then become unobtainable to Death. And so Death never truly took the fourth knight for his own, nor will he ever in the future, and the knight outsmarted him in the end."
"..." The Doctor just stares at me for a few seconds, speechless, shocked maybe. Hopefully I didn't break him or something.
"Doctor?"
"...Well," he finally speaks, bringing instant relief to me. "That was a tad darker than I expected."
"It isn't really a common story in my time."
"I can see why."
"Nopony really knows what it means either."
"Any idea who any of the knights are, represent, or even if they're real?"
"Nope."
"Fascinating if they are..."
"They sure would."
"Hmmm..." As the Doctor enters his thinking position, his right ear twitches and his left ear flops for a brief second. He is really thinking hard about this, trying to solve this mystery. "Do you perhaps have any knowledge of this story beyond its text, the time, the place, the origin?"
"Sorry, I just got it from some old book in my attic."
"Perhaps we should look into it right now." Yes!
"Perhaps we should."
"If this story is only knowingly relevant now, our only chance of progress is to stay in this time.Perhaps some better information could be found in a different location as well. Sorry to say this, but for the moment, we won't be going on a time or space adventure."
"Oh, don't worry. I don't mind."
"Would you perhaps as well, educate me about this modern culture as well?"
Overzealous in triumph, I exclaim, "Yes!" before covering my mouth with my hoof. Oops. I'm just really happy to finally have the chance and explore the world I know and love with my best friend.
"Well you seem quite chipper about it. Onward and upward!"
