Prologue - A New Adventure Begins
And so he fell, straight from the sky. The man in brown suit fell, breaking the roof of the Naismith Mansion, the shards of glass sinking into his skin, as he bleeded on the floor. Those injuries were far too great for any human to stand. But he was no human, he was a timelord, the fall itself could have killed anyone else, but he wasn't anyone else, he was The Doctor. He held in his hand a small, dark gray object. An object he never thought he would hold again in his life. A gun. He tried pointing it at the man in front of him, but the pain was far too great, and he simply lost strenght.
The Lord President of the Timelords, dressed in red and gold, known as Rassilon, smiled, and adressed the two timelords in front of him.
'My Lord Doctor...' He said to the man in brown suit. '...and Lord Master...' He said to the man in the black hoodie. 'We are gathered for the end.'
'Listen to me... You can't.' The Doctor struggled to get up, but failed.
'It's a fitting paradox, that our salvation comes at the hands of our most infamous child.' Rassilon said.
'Oh, he's not saving you... Don't you realise what he's doing?' The Doctor asked, still too injured to rise to his feet.
'Hey! No! Hey! That's Mine!' Hushed the Master. 'Look around you,' The Master said, now adressing the timelord president. 'I've transplanted myself into evey single human being, but who wants a mongrel little species like them? Because now I can transplant myself into every single timelord.' He smiled maniacally. 'Oh, yes, Mr. President, sir, standing there all noble and resplandant, and decrepit. Think how much better you're gonna look... AS ME!' The mad timelord said.
Rassilon barely reacted, simply pulling out his gauntlet, known as the Hand of Omega, as it shone a blue-ish glow, and every single Master on earth, save for the original, turned into their original human counterparts.
'No! No! No! Stop it! No! No! No! No!' He shouted in disbelief. Yet another plan fooled.
'On your knees, mankind' Said Rassilon to all humans present in the room.
All obeyed, as Rassilon gave his determined look.
'Oh, that's fine, that's good! Because you said salvation! I still saved you! Don't forget that!' The Master tried in desperation to convince the high council.
'The approach begins.' Rassilon said.
'Approach of what?' Asked the Master.
'Something is returning, don't you ever listen?!' The Doctor said through clenched teeth. 'That was the prophecy, not someone, something!' The timelord on the floor said.
'What is it?' Asked the Master.
'They're not just bringing back the species. It's Gallifrey!' The Doctor said, as he stared into the Master's eyes. 'Right here, right now!'
All emergency warnings were set. Every human in the room fleeing from the chaos. The gigantic red planet, bigger than Earth itself floating just above everyone. All they could do was stand and watch, without hope of survival, seeing that if such a planet fell, Earth would be entirely destroyed. The Master finally realised what the Doctor meant. Gallifrey was returning.
'Haha... I... I did this... I GOT THE CREDIT! I'm on your side!' The Master said, with an unsure smile.
The chaos continued, more and more people escaping, one lonely man entering the room, saving a scientist trapped in a booth. The people in the towns fleeing their homes, unsure of what to do. Chaos and confusion everywhere, as a timelord started to speak.
'But... this is fantastic, isn't it? The timelords restored!' The Master proudly said.
'You weren't there.' Retorted the Doctor. 'In the final days of the war, you never saw what was born... But if the timelock's broken then everything's coming through. Not just the Daleks, but the Skaro Degratations, the Horde of Travesties, the Nightmare Child, the Could-have-been King, with his army of Meanwhiles and Never-weres. The war turning to hell! And that's what you opened... Right above the Earth... Hell is descending!' The Doctor finished.
'My kind of world.' The Master said, without a second thought.
'Just listen!' The Doctor insisted. 'Because even the timelords can't survive that!' He stated.
'We will initiate the final sanction,' Started rassilon' the end of time will come, at my hand. The rupture will continue until it rips the Time Vortex apart!' Rassilon said, confidently.
'That's suicide.' The Master commented.
'We will ascend...' Said Rassilon, extending his arms.'... to becoming creatures of consciousness alone. Free of these bodies, free of time, of cause and effect, while creation itself ceases to be.' Rassilon finished.
'You see now?' The Doctor looked at the Master. 'That's what they were planning, in the final days of the war. I had to stop them.' Said the Doctor.
'Then... Take me with you, Lord President.' The Master extended his arms. 'Let me ascend into glory!' He kneeled in front of Rassilon.
'You are diseased. Be it a disease of our own making... No more...' Rassilon said, as he prepared the Hand of Omega for one more attack.
Suddenly a clicking sound could be heard. All timelords looked at the Doctor, standing on his feet, holding a gun at the Lord President. He had his finger on the trigger, and wasn't seeming to hesistate.
'Choose your enemy well. We are many, the Master is but one.' Said Rassilon.
'But he's the President! Kill him and Gallifrey could be yours!' Argued the Master.
But his argument seemed pointless, as the Doctor turned around, and pointed his gun at the mad timelord.
'He is to blame, not me!' The Master seemed despaired.
A few seconds passed, but the Doctor still pointed the gun at the Master.
'Oh. The link is inside my head, kill me... the link gets broken, they go back...' Said the Master, in understanding.
A few more seconds passed, and the gun still didn't fire a shot.
'You never would, you coward.' Said the Master, clenching his teeth.
A few seconds later, still, the trigger wasn't pressed.
'Go on then, do it!' Said the Master.
A few more seconds went by, as the Doctor was caressing the trigger, and the Master almost imperceptably shook his head in fear. Finally, the Doctor turned around again, and pointed his gun at Rassilon.
'Exactly! It's not just me, it's him! He's the link, kill him!' Said the Master.
'The final act of your life is murder, but of which one of us?' Asked Rassilon.
As a few more seconds passed, unnoticed by everyone else in the room, one of the timelords alongside Rassilon uncovered her face. Everyone, except The Doctor. After seeing this, he knew he just couldn't kill, not in front of his own mother, so he turned again, seemingly pointing the at the Master.
The Master simply sighed, as he waited for the Doctor to fire.
'Get out of the way.' Was all the timelord with the gun said.
Smiling, the Master jumped to the left, as the Doctor shot the computer behind him, as it exploded sending fire to part of the room.
'The link is broken! Back into the Time War, Rassilon! Back into hell!' The Doctor shouted above the sound of explosions.
'Gallifrey falls!' A voice could be heard saying, seemingly out of nowhere. 'Gallifrey falls!' It repeated.
'You die with me, Doctor!' Shouted Rassilon, in anger.
'I know.' The Doctor said.
As Rassilon pointed the Hand of Omega, the Doctor prepared to his death.
'Get out of the way.' Someone said behind him.
As the Doctor looked in surprise, the Master used his energy beams, made out of his own life force, and shot Rassilon.
'YOU DID THIS TO ME! ALL OF MY LIFE!' The Master said, and shot Rassilon again. 'YOU MADE ME!' He shouted, and shot again. 'ONE!' And he shot again. 'TWO!' And he shot again. 'THREE!' And he shot again. 'FOUR!' And he shot one last time.
Rassilon then knelt in pain, as the entire room had so much light in it, nothing could be seen. Meanwhile, as suddenly as it appeared, Gallifrey was leaving the Earth sky, going back into the timelock, into the ends of existance.
...
THE DOCTOR'S P.O.V.
Prehaps... A timelord lives too long.
That's what I kept thinking, as I stumbled my way through the snowy floor, and towards the door of the T.A.R.D.I.S.
I had stopped Rassilon, I had stopped the Master, helped my friends around, now it was finally time to collect my "reward". I couldn't just stand there and watch Wilfred die, no matter how much I felt it was unfair, in the end, it doesn't matter. I am the Doctor, I save lives. Today was just a reminder of it.
Even if this old me died, a new one would come, a new Doctor. He would find himself where I was lost, as he always does, as I always do, as they always did.
Still, I can come to terms with my death, but the pain, it's just too unbearable. As I fell on my knees, over the cold floor I suddenly heard a song. A song that seemed to be always there, that I may have never realised, that I may have never cared, but always, always there.
I looked to my side, and saw him. An old friend. Good old Ood Sigma. I'm not sure how he got there, prehaps it's an hallucination, prehaps it's a coincidence, but I'd say it is just a telepathic link. Anyway, I saw the little white orb glow in his hand, as he spoke.
'We will sing to you, Doctor. The universe will sing you to your sleep.' He said.
And so I could hear the song. Clearer than ever. Vale decem...
I got up, and painfully walked trying to reach the door of the T.A.R.D.I.S.
'This song is ending, but the story never ends.' He said, at last, as I entered those doors I were used to walk through for so long.
Upon entering the T.A.R.D.I.S., I took off my coat, and looked at my hand. A mixture of sadness and relief. I wasn't going to die, not as a whole. It's time to just... regenerate.
The song still echoed in my mind. Even more now that I was in the T.A.R.D.I.S., due to it's telepathic fields.
...Vale, Vale, Vale, Vale, Vale, Vale, Vale, Vale, Vale, Vale...
'I don't wanna go...' Those were my last words.
I could feel the golden light engulfing my body, as everything started to fade.
There was nothing I could see, only feel. Feel the energy of my regeneration destroy everything in it's wake. Through my multiple adventures on Earth, once or twice a human asked me if I wanted to get high. I don't need any more chemicals, timelords already have regeneration, and that's enough.
Time seemed to pass by, unnoticed by me. I stood there, screaming while I died, again. Suddenly, something happend. Something that hasn't happend to me for a long time during my regenerations. I fainted.
...
When I woke up, I saw the console room completely wrecked, some flames here and there, some destroyed pillars, and a LOT of emergency signals.
First thing I noticed, my mind was intact, no personality change, as if I was basically just the same Doctor. Second thing I noticed, I was the same Doctor, since my voice didn't change as well. Third thing I noticed, I was the same Doctor, except I had hooves.
When I realised that, all my systems went into overdrive.
'I'm a horse! Wait! No... Wait... How could this have happend?' I questioned.
It took me a while to learn how to properly walk on all fours, but eventually I reached the main console.
'Status report, please.' I asked.
'Status report : All systems damaged. Destruction rate of 87%. Curent location : Unknown. Current time : Unknown. Needig repairs, emergency landing engaged.' She said.
'Why did we get here?' I asked.
'High temporal anomalies detected outside this universe. Investigation required. Regeneration damage triggered course setting.' She answered.
'But I thought the course was already set, and not to be changed.' I said
'The course was not changed.' She answered.
'Then how are we here?' I asked.
'The course was changed.'
'You mean to tell me that my timeline was split in two, one which I'm here, and one which I'm not?' I asked.
'Correct' She confirmed.
'Okay, next question. Why am I a horse?' I asked.
'Correction : Pony. Reason : Dimension unstable, form change necessary for procceeding.' She answered.
'So, you used my regeneration energy to turn me into a pony?' I asked.
'Incorrect. You did.' She corrected.
'Oh, so my regeneration energy did this alone, okay. Update me when you have exact information of where we are.' I told her.
'Information update. Location : Planet E-1983-MLP-FIM-2010, A.K.A. Equis, Equestria Country, Canterlot Castle - Canterlot | Time period : 3142 ADB.'
'Oh, okay then. A castle you say?' I commented.
I decided to go outside, but first I picked up my Sonic Screwdriver from the floor. It appeared to be undamaged. Good. I put it on my pocket. Now that I realize, my clothes! They have become pony shaped and sized. Interesting.
'Hey, big girl. I'll be out for a while, so you can go and heal in the meanwhile. See you later!' I said, as I trotted out, and closed the doors behind me.
I watched her, as she de-materialised, with that memorable sound of her.
Vworp Vworp Vworp Vworp...
I turned around to explore the place, but barely had time to react, as a spear almost flew into my face. Luckily, my time with the vikings taught me a few things, and so I evaded it easily, and looked at the attacker. It was a blue pony, with a yellow mane, dressed in a golden armor.
'What are throwing that for? You can hurt someone like that, you know.' I told him.
'Who are you?' Said a voice from behind me.
I looked behind me, and saw another pony in golden armor, this one had white fur, and blue mane.
'Ah, Captain Shining Armor! I belive myself to have caught an intruder. Thankfully he was quite a noisy one.' The other guard said.
'Good enough. So, intruder, who are you?' Shining Armor asked.
'Hello. I'm the Doctor.' I said, turning towards him, and extending my hoof.
He didn't seem willing to talk.
'Do you know where are you? What is happening right now?' He asked me, with a stern look.
'No idea.' I answered sincerely. 'But that's not something uncommon, so I guess this is the part you take me to your leader?' I said.
'So you are the funny type, huh, "Doctor".' The yellow maned pony commented.
'You seem to be disbelieving of my name.' I commented.
'Your name? What kind of name is "Doctor"?' Asked Shining Armor.
'What kind of name is Shining Armor?' I retorted him.
'Do you know who are you talking to?! Any idea?! This is Shining Armor, commander of the royal guard of Princess Celestia! He will teach you some manners.' The one behind me spoke.
'Calm down, Golden Spear, I shall take him to Princess Celestia herself, she will know what to do with him.' Shining Armor said.
'Oh, good. So now is the part you take me to your leader.' I said.
...
It took us both a while, but eventually, we reached the throne room.
'Princess Celestia.' Shining armor knelt before his leader. 'We bring this pony, he calls himself "The Doctor". We belive him to be an intruder, what should we do to him?' He asked.
'Let me talk to him, let's see what he knows.' Said Princess Celestia.
'Yes, ma'am' Said Shining.
'Oh, and... Could you give us some privacity aswell?' Asked Princess Celestia.
The guards nodded and left the room. Celestia then looked at me, and motioned me to move forward.
'Hello, I'm the Doctor.' I extended my hoof.
'Princess Celestia.' She greeted me. 'May I ask where are you from?' She said.
'Well... Let's just say, from far away. Very, very, far away.' I answered.
'Go on, you can trust me. I'm older than I look.' She assured.
'Interesting, that would make the two of us.' I said.
She smiled. '...and I've seen many ponies during my lifetime. You aren't like any of them.' She said.
'Do you want a more believable explanation, or do you want to know the truth.' I asked her.
'The truth, please, Doctor.' She said.
'Okay, long story short. I am what could be called an alien. I'm a timelord, from the planet Gallifrey, located on the constellation of Kasteboros.' I said.
'Kasteboros? Never heard of it.' She commented.
'That's probably because it's not from this universe. And even then, it's not like you can locate my planet anymore.' I said.
'Why is that?' She asked.
'My home planet and people were destroyed during a war called the Time War, where we fought against an alien race called the Daleks.' I answered grimly.
'Daleks?' She questioned.
'They're basically heartless creatures hellbent on world domination, and destroying any and everything that is not them. They were created by a genius scientist, named Davros, who went mad with power, but was eventually killed by his own creations... Several times...' I explained.
'So, these "Daleks". Did they invade your planet?' She asked.
'Kinda. A few hundred years ago, I was sent to the planet Skaro, to prevent the Daleks from ever being created. I failed, but they seem to have held it against us timelords, so, once they developed time travel technology, they declared war upon us.' I explained.
'So, did your species have time travel technology?' Asked the Princess. 'I know, it may sound silly, but I thought timelord was just a title.
'I get it. Well, not only were we the first species in the universe to develop time travel, we can also feel the timelines, see everything that is, was, and could ever be. It's just part of our nature.' I said.
'So, the Daleks fought against your kind, right?' She asked.
'Right.' I confirmed.
'What happend next?' She asked.
I took a deep breath before answering. 'Hell was released. In the final days, the war became but a bad joke of life. The horrors... The Nightmare Child, the Could-have-been-king, The Moment...' I took another deep breath.
'Doctor, are you okay?' She asked me.
'Yes. You see... After about 400 years of war, anyone would be driven mad. The Moment was what ended it all. It was a weapon, developed by the timelords, but the interface was so sophisticated, it developed a consciousness of it's own. Who would be foolish enough to use a weapon with the capacity to judge?' I paused for a bit. 'Still, someone had to do it. It was either them or the rest of the universe... In the end, I was the only survivor, or so I thought, since there were many Dalek survivors, who still lurk around my universe.'
'That's... Sad to hear...' Said the princess.
She was shocked to say the least.
'Nah, that's okay. If another timelord had survived, that would be a real problem.' I said, smiling.
She saw straight through my fake smile. 'There was another one, right?' She asked.
I nodded. 'A childhood friend of mine, called The Master, who eventually became my arch-enemy, survived, by hiding into the end of the universe itself, and took control of a planet I held dear. He eventually died, but was brought back to life. In the end, the other timelords, under the control of Rassilon manipulated the Master, driving him mad, so they could survive the time war, at the cost of destroying the entire rest of the universe.
'How... How can a leader do that to one of his own?' She was incredulous.
'I know how you feel. Anyway, the two of us joined forces and stopped him, but in the end I was dying.
'Dying?' She asked.
'It's not really a big deal, not for us. You see, my species has this ability, we call it "Regeneration", it allows us to be reborn after we die, but in a new body. Like a phoenix. In the middle of my latest regeneration, I had my timeline split in two, and this me you see is the half that was transformed into a pony, and reached Equestria.' I finished.
'I see... In your eyes... you look so young, but have seen so much...' She said.
'I get that a lot. I am 906 years old, so... Yes, I guess it is to be expected...' I said.
'906?' She asked.
'Yeah. But now there is a new mein that universe. I could use my time to learn about you all, if you let me stay here.
'Of course. In fact, someone should properly greet you to Equestria. I have a student, called Twilight Sparkle. She is very smart, but lacks social skills. Prehaps you should meet her, she could teach you all about equestrian history and culture.' She said.
'Oh, good.' I said.
Suddenly, a little green flame appeared in front of us, and materialized a letter. Princess Celestia read it and chuckled to herself. She wrote back a letter, and sent it with her magic. After that she adressed me.
'I warned her about you, she is in a library, not too far from here. Please remember though, be careful when going out in public. Ponies may find you too... unique.' She said.
'What do you mean?' I asked.
'You see... Have you seen any other pony around here, who has both wings and a horn?' She asked me.
'Besides you, no.' I said.
She just looked at me, before materializing a glass mirror in front of me, and pointing towards it. In fact, I had two wings and one horn.
'So, what's so special about this?' I asked her.
'In Equestria, you can find four types of ponies. Earth Ponies, who are phisically stronger, and more resistent. Pegasi, who are faster, can fly, and control the wheather. Unicorns, who aren't as strong as Earth Ponies and Pegasi, but can use magic. And Alicorns, who, like you and me, posses the ability of all three types at once.' She explained. 'We are the rarest kind, and usually the leaders. I've only met another pony beside me who was an alicorn.' She commented.
'Who?' I asked.
'Good heavens, look at the time, you'd better hurry! Don't worry, until you learn how to use your powers, I'll teleport you to Twilight's house. Bye!' She said.
Suddenly there was a bright flash of light, and I was standing outside a door. I could hear two entities discussing inside.
'What does she mean by "get some friends"? Can't she see we're busy? The whole world is in danger and she wants me to get "friends".' Said a female voice.
'Well, I know, but she is your mentor after all, so we'd better obey.' Said a younger, male voice.
'And who is this Doctor? Why is he so important she wants us to go with him?' She questioned again.
I decided to politely knock on the door, as to not disturb anyone's business.
'I'll get it.' Said the female voice.
A few seconds later, the door opened, and I could see a lavender colored unicorn, with a purple mane standing in the doorway.
'Who are you?' She asked.
'I am the Doctor. Princess Celestia sent me here. May I come in?' I asked.
'Oh, of course.' She replied, and allowed me in.
The inside wasn't so surprising, a few things here and there, some books, some decorations.
'The Princess said you aren't from around here, so I should teach you about Equestria.' She said.
'Thanks.' I said, sincerely.
'Well, anyway... wait...' Her eyes widened.
'Yes?' I asked.
'You... You're an alicorn.' She said.
'Oh, yes, that's what they called me. I don't really know what's so special about it though.' I commented.
'What planet are you from?' She asked sarcastically.
'Gallifrey.' I answered honestly.
'What? Who are you, really?' She asked. 'Nevermind, we can talk later, in a few hours we're leaving, so we'll be packing up soon. If you have any major doubts, you can ask me now.' She said.
'Nah, you can pack your things first. There is so much I want to know, it'll be faster this way.' I said. 'In fact, do you need any help?' I offered.
'Why would you ask that?' Questioned Twilight.
'Prehaps, he wants to be your f r i e n d.' Whispered the male voice from earlier.
I looked at the source of the voice, it was a little green and purple reptile. I extended my hoof and greeted him.
'Hello, I'm the Doctor.' I said.
'They call me Spike, Spike the dragon.' He answered.
'You two have finished? All right then, let's pack up.' She said.
'Alright.' Said Spike, as he went to get his things.
'And you, Doctor.' Twilight said, giving me a saddlebag full of books. 'Could you carry this for me, please?' She asked.
'I see no problem at all.' I said.
Yes, in fact, there was no problem at all. After such a series of unfortunate events, things finally start to seem to get better... Or so I thought...
Author's Note
Here's the first chapter of a new story. Hope you all liked it, please comment, and give me suggestions. This is going to be updated weekly, every sunday, so don't worry.
Btw. Now picture this. You're writing for about 2 hours, the chapter has alomost 3000 words, but suddenly you click ctrl + w by accident. Yep. I almost gave up on my life after this.
