The Return of Doctor Whooves

Ponyville Memorial Gardens

'Well I heard there was a secret chord

That Starswirl played and it pleased the Lord."

Storm clouds rumbled as the sky became a thick greyish mass, seemingly reflecting the mood of everypony present. You know, it's a cliché in movies or TV when somepony or someone dies that the weather changes to reflect the mood of everypony present. Of course, often times funerals take place on the nicest of days, when the air is warm and the sky bright and sunny, or when it's freezing cold and snow is falling on the ground. But today, that cliché was in full force. Rain began to fall over the funeral procession as four Royal Guards carried a brown and gold casket with a black shroud and a symbol of green fire draped over it down the dirt pathway, which was beginning to turn to mud from the rain drops falling.

"But you don't really care for music, do you?

Well it goes like this:"

The procession slowly preceded down the pathway, the guards flanked by their Captain on one side and Princess Celestia on the other. Shining was in full dress uniform, wearing a black suit and matching tie while Princess Celestia wore a black dress that covered everything, even her Cutie Mark, although even she doubted that a rising sun would lift anypony's spirits today. All over Ponyville, black flags hung from flag poles and the Town Hall's own flag pole, which normally displayed Ponyville's emblem of a seed bursting from the ground and sprouting leaves to symbolize how the small town had grown from a tiny hamlet to a bustling village was today a purple flag with a green flaming scroll raised at half mast. It was a national day of mourning, even if the creature in question was never a national hero, both Celestia and Luna, out of respect declared him to be a creature to be held in as high regard as one for his courage to stand up to the Nightmare, and for all the help he'd given his caretaker over the many years she'd raised him.

"The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift

The baffled wizard composing Hallelujah"

Twilight, with a tear dripping from her eyes and a black veil over her face watched as the casket was lowered into the ground where It would lay forevermore. Her son, dead before he even reached the prime of his life, and who did she have to thank? One of her own friends, possessed by the Nightmare! Rarity! She was at this funeral as well, although why the Tartarus she had the nerve to show her face was anypony's guess. There she stood, by a tree draped in black sobbing into a handkerchief heavily as if she actually cared about Spike! If she had cared, she wouldn't have turned him into dust in the damn fist place! Rarity wasn't the only one Twilight was furious with. The Doctor was there as well, the one who should have seen this coming in the first place and he could have prevented it!

"Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah..."

Twilight snarled when she saw R.I.F.T as well. They were there too, with Target holding her hat to her chest in mourning and not wearing her usual sunglasses allowing her cool blue eyes to be seen and her husband stood by her side with a wing wrapped around her in a comforting manner, tears trickling from his eyes. Galaxy Swirls stood as well, out of armor and wearing a red cape and what looked to be silver armor. The armor of nobility, although as far as she knew Galaxy had never said a word about being a noble. Then again, he never said much on his past to begin with. As far as Twilight knew, only Luna knew of it and she wasn't telling a soul.

"Well your faith was strong but you needed proof

You saw her bathing on the roof."

"Somepony's going to pay for this. No, make that somePONIES!" Twilight snarled and left the funeral in tears, unable to watch anymore or even listen to Celestia's speech. The Doctor noticed, and so did Rainbow and Rarity.

"S-She's not even going to stay for the speech?" Rainbow asked in shock and Rarity sniffled before managing to muster up a reply.

"W-Well, to be fair... Spike was like a son to her. Tartarus, he was like a son to all of us!" Rarity sobbed while inwardly the Doctor was cursing himself.

"Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya

She tied you to her kitchen chair."

"Damn it! I should have prevented this! I'm the Doctor, and so I try to save ponies if and when I can, and yet I couldn't even save the life of a young drake who's close to one of my dearest friends!" He snarled mentally at himself only to get a strong rebuke back from his previous self.

"You can't save everypony. I've learned that. If we were given the ability to choose who lives and who dies, that'd make us a monster." Ten (The Doctor couldn't be sure which one of them it was) remarked. "To be honest, we already surpassed that status when we blew up our own home planet. HE was right you know, when he said it. When he said those words. Doctor No More."

"She broke your throne and she cut your hair

And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah."

This last comment was made out of pure shame, as if the Tenth Doctor had finally accepted his sins and was just awaiting judgement for them when it came. He knew where he was going, and it wasn't to the place in the sky. To be honest, all of the Doctors past War held these feelings inwardly, they just never admitted it, not even to themselves in private. They didn't deserve the title of the Doctor, the man who helped people, they'd broken the promise they made when they took the name. And now at last they'd finally accepted it. Just then, the Doctor was shaken out of his internal musings by Rainbow.

"Baby, I've been here before, I've seen this room and I've walked this floor.

I used to live alone before I knew ya..."

AN: End Hallelujah here

"Hey, maybe we should see if she's alright." Twilight's marefriend suggested and Rarity sniffled again and nodded in agreement.

"Y-Yes, I think that would be best dearies." She agreed and the Doctor nodded.

"Yes, right after the funeral's over. After that. I played a part in Spike's demise and I should be here to give him his last respects, ironic as it sounds." The Doctor stated, and Rainbow laid a hoof on his shoulder.

"There was no way you could have known what was going down in Canterlot. You can't be in two places at once!" Rainbow exclaimed. The rain was pouring now and Shining barked orders to his guards to give the 21 Gun Salute as up above, the Wonderbolts flew above them as a tribute to the drake who would now never fly.

"But that's just it! I can! I'm the Doctor, I could have warned a previous self of mine, damn the rules about crossing personal timelines as nopony can ever tell them to me as I make them, and I would have broken those rules many times over to avert this and to go and deal with the Nightmare Spirit personally, or at least make sure she was properly locked up!" The Doctor exclaimed in fury with himself and said nothing more on the matter.

The Golden Oaks Library

Twilight choked back a sob as she held a portrait of Spike in her hooves. In it, the young drake was smiling and grinning at her as if everything was alright with the world. And now it wasn't. It would never be. What kind of world did she live in, Twilight asked herself, if she had to bury her own child? Her own damn child and attend his funeral!?! For a brief moment, she became lost in her memories.

"I hurt myself today, to see if I still feel."

"Twilight, he just wants to take your order."

"Okay. Imagine me with a nice long Fu Manchu-type beard. Or maybe a goatee..."

"AAAHAHAHAHAHAA!! This is hilarious! Look at all of you! We got Hairity, Rainbow Crash, Spittie Pie, Apple-tini, Flutterguy, and...

Uh...eh...I got nothin'. Twilight Sparkle, I mean seriously, I can't even work with that..."

"You know, Pinkie, these two ponies have a bit of a grudge match they're trying to settle, trying to prove who's the most athletic."

"Yes! And "grudge" rhymes with "fudge"!"

"Yes, it... does? What?"

"And I like fudge. But if I eat too much fudge, I get a pudge and then I can't budge."

"So... no fudge?"

"Aw, no thanks. I had a big breakfast."

"Hey, Pony Joe. Another donut."

"Don't you think you've had enough?"

"Another donut! Extra sprinkles!"

"Arrrgh...I've been holding that quill so long, I've got a claw cramp! Good thing we don't have anything to report to Princess Celestia this week. I don't think I could write another word!"

"I focused on the pain, the only thing that's real..."

Just then, as if to distract Twilight from her own internal musings, there was a soft rap on the door.

"T-Twilight?" Rarity's distinct voice asked. Twilight growled. Rarity had a lot of nerve to show up right now. "M-May we come in?"

Twilight didn't open the door.

"Twilight, please! We need to talk to you!" Rainbow yelled from behind the door, and this time Twilight did open it and her eyes narrowed in pure rage and fury when she saw the two objects of her hatred, the Doctor and Rarity standing there.

"Get out." Twilight growled, her horn already crackling with magical energy.

"No Twi, we need to talk." Rainbow said firmly, with no room in her voice for argument.

"I said get out Rainbow, you don't want to be here for this." Twilight growled, and sent a small magical blast at Rainbow's hooves making her yelp and take a step back in fright. She'd never seen Twilight like this, not even after losing her aunt. Something was definitely wrong.

"The needle tears a hole, the old familiar stain. Try to kill it all away, but I remember everything..."

"Twilight... For the record..." The Doctor began slowly, tears trickling out of his green eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I should have been there."

At this, Twilight's emotions finally boiled over and she began to shout and scream at them, magical energy flying everywhere as books lifted themselves off the shelves and flew every which way and the floor began to crack under the sheer magical output Twilight was throwing out.

"What have I become? My sweetest friend..."

"THAT'S DAMN WELL RIGHT! YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE DOCTOR, IF YOU EVEN DESERVE THE TITLE!" Twilight roared, her voice output reaching The Royal Canterlot Voice levels of volume. "I TRUSTED YOU, AND YOU TOOK THAT TRUST AND THREW IT AWAY LIKE AN OLD STUFFED TOY! SPIKE WAS MY SON AND YOU LET HIM DIE ALL BECAUSE OF SOME DAMNED DEMONS, WHO COULD HAVE BEEN DEALT WITH AT ANY TIME YOU VERY WELL LIKED!"

"The Doctor..." Twilight snarled bitterly. "The Stallion who makes ponies better. That was your promise wasn't it? Well, you've certainly done a good job in upholding THAT."

As the Doctor hung his head in shame and Rainbow gaped at Twilight's audacity, Rarity, now shivering with terror spoke up.

"Everypony I know, goes away in the end."

"Y-You shouldn't blame him, he had no way of kn-"

Now Twilight reeled on her.

"DON'T SPROUT THAT SHIT AT ME RARITY!" Twilight roared. "YOU WERE TOO DAMN WEAK TO FIGHT OFF THE NIGHTMARE, AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED! YOU KILLED HIM, THE ONE WHO WAS ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU, THE ONE WHO LOVED YOU AND YOU SNUFFED HIM OUT LIKE A LIGHT!"

"Twilight, you're not acting like yourself. You need to think rationally. I know you're in pain and grief, but you know perfectly well how powerful the Nightmare is. We've all seen it's temptation and what it did to Luna, an ALICORN for crying out loud!" Rainbow countered.

"And you can have it all, my empire of dirt. I will let you down, I will make you hurt..."

"Twilight... Please, it wasn't our fault!" The Doctor pleaded, feeling grief for the death of the young drake. He may not have knew him well, but even he knew how important Spike was to Twilight.

"NO!" Twilight suddenly shouted. "BUCK YOU, Doctor, and you as well Rarity! It's your fault that my son's dead, and nothing on this planet can bring him back!"

"I wear this crown of thorns, upon my liar's chair. Full of broken thoughts, I cannot repair."

With that, Twilight ran out of the room crying as Rarity put her face into her hooves and sobbed. Twilight was right, it was HER own fault that she let herself get possessed by that demonic brute known as Nightmare Moon and killed her Spikey-Boo. And now, she'd lost her chance, perhaps forever, to tell the mare she loved how she truly felt. Yes, that's right. Rarity was in love with Twilight as well. She didn't know how, why or when exactly it started, but she couldn't deny it. Then, all three ponies felt themselves soundly flung out of the Golden Oaks and onto the street with the door to the library locking itself behind them and the Doctor hung his head in shame and openly wept.

"I... I suppose they all leave in the end. A-And... it breaks both my hearts." He whispered and walked all the way to the TARDIS, locking the door behind him where he held both Twilight and Shining's keys to it in one of his hooves and flung them both away in rage. He then kicked and screamed at the TARDIS's central console, making it emit sparks with each hit of rage and grief before his energy finally spent, he flung off his tweed jacket and loosened his bow-tie and let it drop to the floor.

"Beneath the stains of time, the feelings disappear. You are somepony else, I am still right here."

Meanwhile, in Canterlot Castle, Princess Celestia had locked herself away in her chambers and had flung away her royal regalia and was openly sobbing as well, casting aside her carefully crafted mask and letting all of her sorrow for the dragon who she had considered a grandson flow. A great loss had happened today, and the after affects would be felt in the days to come. That, everypony knew.

"What have I become? My sweetest friend... Everypony I know, just goes away in the end."

END