The Doctor Versus the Night
The 26th Cycle of Autumn, Year 3521 ARH
Dear Princess Celestia,
No matter what I do, it seems that I'm destined for absurdity to find me. Then again, perhaps it's not me. I've never had this sort of problem when I was in Canterlot. Perhaps Ponyville is some sort of beacon for the unusual, or maybe it's been near me all along and I've just been too busy sticking my nose into books to notice. I don't know. What I do know is that my break from oddities since the Changeling Invasion in Canterlot has come an end today in the form of a strange blue box.
You see, I was in the Everfree Forest picking viper weed and dragon root for my newest hobby, herbology, when I saw it. From seemingly nowhere it appeared before me, smoke rising from its roof. By this I do not mean I was looking down and then looked up and saw it as if it flew there when I was not looking, I mean it literally appeared before my eyes out of thin air. I've never heard of any sort of teleportation spell that could move something that large, and even if there was, I don't think the occupant could have done it, and you'll soon see why.
The box itself was about twenty-five hooves tall and about twelve by twelve hooves wide. After a second, the door swung open and out of it staggered a brown Earth pony, a colt. His features weren't unusual save for his clothing. I thought bow-ties and fez caps had gone out of style years ago. I'm glad I found him and not Rarity. I do have to admit his suit was pretty nice looking, though.
Before I could ask him who he was, he collapsed onto the forest floor before me. I quickly made my way to his side and found him to be fine for the most part. Still, to be sure I opted to bring him to Ponyville hospital. Before doing so, my curiosity overcame the best of me and I decided to take a peak inside his strange box. However, despite the fact that it was very bright outside, the interior of it failed to illuminate. Only darkness gazed back at me when I gazed inside. Shrugging it off, I decided against performing an illumination spell and carried the pony back to town.
As odd as he was already, the curiosities of this pony did not end at his strange teleportation device. At the hospital, the doctors reported he was going to be fine... and also that he had two hearts. Yes, two hearts. I've never heard such a thing, but if I didn't see his strange means of transportation I might have just labeled it as the doctors did, a medical anomaly. However, I think there's more to him than that. He's currently resting there though I intend to visit in the morning. I know you're busy with royal matters, but I thought it would be prudent to report this oddity to you. Please get back to me as soon as possible.
Your loving student,
Twilight Sparkle.
To my loyal student,
Don't ever think there isn't something worthy of my attention if it comes from your quill. The anomaly that now resides in Everfree was more than worth reporting, and its occupant even moreso. As it so happens, I believe I may know the identity of this strange colt you have referred to. We have met before. I will personally pay the hospital for his charges and meet you there the next cycle. Please try to delay him from leaving if he has recovered by then, though by no means should you attempt to hold him against his will.
Your loving mentor,
Celestia of Nitor
Princess Celestia walked through the halls of Ponyville hospital, the doctors and nurses of it taken in awe at her surprise morning visit, bowing as she walked past. At her side was Twilight, who enthused about this and that as they went, Celestia listening somewhat intently, though it appeared her mind was on other things. Eventually, they turned into a private suite where a brown Earth pony slept peacefully. Celestia walked to his bedside, smiling warmly at him.
"Hello again, old friend," she whispered. "So this is the time when you finally arrive? Fitting it would be at a crossroads."
Twilight glanced back at her, her face riddled with confusion. "Princess? I don't understand. Who is this?"
"An old friend. The Doctor."
The lavendar pony's look did not fade. "Doctor? Doctor who?"
Celestia smirked slightly at this. "Now that is the question."
Twilight stared blankly at her royal majesty. "Wah?"
The 57th Cycle of Autumn, Year 3521 ARH
One Month Later
"Today is the day, Twilight!" the Doctor said excitedly, quickly woofing down a waffle afterwards. In Twilight's kitchen he sat with its respected mare enjoying an early morning's breakfast.
"You say that every day," Twilight groaned.
"Yes, but today I really mean it!" the Doctor exclaimed. "I think I've finally figured out how to fix the TARDIS' power supply!" Finishing with his waffles, a muffin was next to meet his stomach's unsatisfied gaze. "I have to say, I had thought being a vegetarian for even a week was going to kill me. However this food is just so... so good!" To mark his point, he took a large bite of it, his mouth chewing the chunk like a machine before he swallowed it in one large gulp.
Twilight smiled at this. "You should try the Cakes' cupcakes. Pinkie really knows her stuff." She then pondered for a second. "You know, why don't you take a day off from your time machine and come hang out with me for once? We can visit Sugarcube for lunch."
"What?! But I'm this close to finishing repairs!" the bow-tie wearing colt protested. "There's just so much I want to see! An entire new, and very unique might I add, universe to explore!"
"And yet you've barely explored what's outside the front door," Twilight remarked. It was a true statement. The Doctor's strange mode of transportation had crashed into Everfree nearly a month ago and Twilight had taken in its strange occupant on the request of Princess Celestia, who for some reason claimed to 'know' him. Celestia had given her a bit of background on him, including the tiny little detail that he could travel through time without magic. And without limits.
He could travel through time without limits and without magic.
Twilight's jaw nearly dropped when she told her that.
It didn't matter though, she didn't mind housing the strange colt even if he was just a regular strange colt and not a 'Time Lord' since he seemed friendly enough. His only problem was he had a one-tracked mind. Twilight frowned. "I swear, you've been here for almost a month and yet I don't think I've ever seen you talk with anyone beside myself and Spike."
"B-But...," the Doctor stuttered.
Twilight's frown subsided. "My friends would just love to meet you! I mean actually talk to you, that is. You're outgoing, funny, and eccentric, and I don't care what Rarity says your bow-tie looks fine. They've been trying to throw a welcome to Ponyville party for you since you came here! But everytime I have to say 'nope, he'll probably be too busy with his TARDIS for that.'"
The hour-glass sporting colt smirked at that. "Say now, I do other things besides repairing the TARDIS all day!"
The lavender pony rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you read history books. I swear sometimes you remind me of my old self. Always learning but never learning what's most important!"
The Doctor sighed, throwing Twilight a smile. "You're right, you're right. I should take a bit of time off. I'm just not used to being around one place for any extended period." His smile then turned mischievous. "How about this? When I'm done repairs maybe we can spend a bit of time together."
Twilight's eyes widened at this. Though the Doctor hadn't mentioned many things about his own universe, he did mention that he often traveled with those he called his 'companions'. "W-Wah? Oh no. I have too much work to do here to go off being one of your assistants."
The Doctor smirked slightly. "Twilight, you're not thinking of it the right way."
Twilight paused, squinting in confusion for a second. Finally, she let out an embaressed laugh. "Oh, of course! Time travel." She could travel with doctor for a year as she perceived it and simply pop right back to the spot where she left a second later.
The Doctor smiled. "Now you've got it! So, do you want to?"
To say Twilight was enthusiastic about the prospect was an understatement. She bounced in the air squealing like a filly who had just gotten her cutie-mark. "Of course! I've always wanted to do something like this! Time travelling magic is just so hard to use and so limited..."
The Doctor raised his eyebrows at this. "I nearly forgot you could do that!" He paused for a second, an excited smile crossing his face, before blasting, "I love this planet!" He then squinted, quriking his head towards the door. "Right then, off to the TARDIS! Today is the day! Allons-y!" he exclaimed, gobbled down his muffin, stood up, and walked towards the treehouse's backdoor.
"Today's the day," Twilight conceded, rolling her eyes slightly.
Before he exited, however, the Doctor paused, turning towards Twilight with an uncharacteristically serious expression on his face. "Twilight, before I go...." He paused a second, gathering his thoughts before saying, "The TARDIS brought me here for a reason. Have you heard of anything... unusual happening lately?"
Twilight shook her head. "Other than an Earth pony falling out of the sky in a time machine, not really. That's actually pretty unusual for this town, that being there's nothing else weird happening."
The Doctor quirked an eyebrow, a hint of concern on his features. "Oh, has something happened recently?"
Twilight threw him an exasperated chuckle. "Where do I begin? Between Discord, Nightmare Moon, Parasprites-"
"Hold it right there," the Doctor interrupted. "Did you just say Nightmare Moon?"
Twilight squinted in curiosity. What could the Doctor be interested in Nightmare Moon for? "Yes. Just recently she was released from her prison. She tried to bring about eternal night, though my friends and I were able to stop her."
The Doctor smirked. "I knew there was something special about you. That horn of yours, you can use it more decently than anyone can't you?"
Twilight smiled. "I do what I can, but I didn't use magic to defeat Nightmare Moon." She paused, rethinking something. A bit of a nostalgic smile crept across her lips. "Well I did, but it wasn't my own magic."
"Right, the Elements of Harmony," the time traveler said, nodding. "They were used against Nightmare Moon in the distant past, weren't they?"
Twilight nodded. "They were. Princess Celestia and five great ponies of her time, all good friends, banded together and used them to banish Nightmare Moon to our celestial neighbor. There, Princess Luna came to regret her decision to merge with the spirit that had caused her to turn into such a vile creature, Caligo of Nox. She then began an internal battle with it, weakening the creature. When she returned, the Elements were more than enough to free her from its grasp."
The Doctor brought a hoof to his chin, squinting slightly with a strange smile. "Interesting," he said calmly. "And the spirit was only freed, correct? It wasn't completely destroyed? And this was in... Everfree, right?"
Twilight nodded before raising an eyebrow. "Doctor? What's gotten you so interested in this?"
"Oh nothing, nothing. Parasitical aliens are common where I come from," he stated, definitely not trying to not look inconspicuous or anything.
Twilight shook her head. "But she's not an alien, she's a spirit, and not like normal spirits of deceased ponies. She was a spirit who existed before Equstria, before the Great Planes themselves. These spirits are very rare and very powerful."
"So the stories say," the Doctor said slowly. "These other spirits, the ones of fallen ponies. Is there any way to communicate with them?"
Twilight shook her head with a slight chuckle. "Not unless you believe that ghosts walk the world. They exist in the spirit realm."
The Doctor nodded again, and without warning, his expression changed back to its normal chipper state. "Whelp, back to the TARDIS than! With it I can find out just how different this place is from home."
Twilight sighed. "Just try not to stay up too late this time, OK?"
The Doctor threw her a quick salute. "For you? Anything, my lavender friend!"
It was a beautiful day out, really. The sun shined brightly against the Doctor's newly acquired fur as he made his way towards the forest. He had never been in any other form except for humanoid, so being a pony had taken him some getting used to. Apparently, he had been graced with the form of an Earth pony, which meant he had to pretty much manipulate everything with his mouth. It could be a bit of a pain sometimes, but he had gotten used to it.
He continued onward, avoiding the curious glances of the ponies within town. He sighed inwardly. Apparently being anti-social was somewhat of an oddity here. It wasn't as if he didn't want to talk with them, he just wanted to fix his TARDIS. He was a traveler at heart, living a simple life for too long was just too odd for him.
Besides, he had so much to see and do. A whole new universe, one he knew next to little about. The ponies seemed to not know much about their world either, nor the bigger sphere around it, at least from what he inferred from the books in his host's library. Their knowledge of it was primitive as best. They truly believed their world was flat, and there were absolutely no theories to the contrary. However, he was residing on a planet where two immortal ponies who everyone claimed could raise the sun and the moon.
At first he thought it was a farce, two aliens claiming to be deities and taking advantage of the ignorant locals, but then he began to read about Nightmare Moon, and how it was documented extensively that she brought eternal darkness to Equestria for nearly five months while a massive war was fought. And then were newer accounts of Nightmare Moon's latest treachery which involved her extending the night to an unnatural length. Finally, there was the fact that the sun and the moon seemed to be raised at an unnatural speed before his very eyes, and set at an unnatural speed as well.
Bah, simple planetary rotation control. Any advanced species could whip that up, he had said to himself.
However, that wasn't the only thing very unusual about this place. He has occasionally observed the winged ponies, Pegasi, moving clouds about. It seemed they were an organic weather control of some sort.
Meh, some sort of biological enhancements or natural ability. It had to be explainable, he said. Then again, in his own universe in all his travels he had never seen anything like it.
There was also the Unicorn's magic, another peculier thing. At first he thought it was just energy of some sort. However upon careful analysis he couldn't tell exactly what it was. It seemed to be able to create matter out of nowhere, as Twilight demonstrated when she grew a mustache on the Doctor's face as a joke. He had to admit, it would have looked dashing with his fez.... if Twilight hadn't destroyed it previously. Really, was it out of style everywhere at every time? He should have traveled somewhere where they were cool back in his home universe. His eyes widened at his own thought. What was he thinking?! They were cool any time, damn it! Anyway, it didn't seem this magic had simply converted into the mustache, he found no evidence of that. It was as if it had beckoned matter to spawn.
Spawning matter out of nowhere wasn't impossible even in his own universe, but he still found it to be a very odd natural ability. What troubled him is that he didn't have any clue how this 'magic' of theres worked, which was with him being the Doctor, very strange.
Bleh! It was just advanced natural abilities. It wasn't 'magic.' He could understand it with time.
But then there were the dragons and all sorts of mythological creatures scattered about. It was like he was in a fairy-tale world. Was this all some sort of mad illusion created by one of his enemies or something of the sort? It wouldn't be the first time it had happened to him. But there was always the possibility he was truly in some sort of magical world where things worked differently from his home universe. Perhaps the princesses really did raise the sun and moon with raw internal abilities, as impossible as that sounded. Perhaps there were many things about this world that were simply unexplainable.
He sighed, shrugging off the thought. He just hoped that if this universe's fundamental laws of physics weren't so completely different from his own that the TARDIS wouldn't be able easily compensate. He knew it would work eventually, because apparently Princess Celestia had met a future version of him in the past at some point (time travel was confusing). He just didn't know how easy it would be to tweak it for this universe.
At times, he just wished he could go back home. He missed Amy, Rory (the Roman), and River Song. However, even if he knew a way his curiosity of this new land was getting the best of him. He had traveled his universe so much that he knew it in and out to a certain extent, but here was an entire new universe and its history ready to be explored. He didn't want to leave as badly as he thought he should have.
Also, the people, er ponies, here were really nice.
No really, they were bloody nice. Humans were all around decent a lot of times, but ponies... they were just little balls of joy, especially the pink one he had run into once or twice. Everyone around was as social as if this were Woodstock (something of a crappy concert, but the people were interesting), and they seemed to go out of their ways to make life better for others around themselves. Naturally, there didn't seem to be much if any crime, and he had barely seen any police ponies in town. For an early industrial society it was absolutely remarkable how much harmony these creatures seemed to have with not only each other, but with nature, the animals around them, and even the soil they stood on. Plus, they all looked absolutely adorable, even himself. He cringed at the thought of his former companions cooing over him.
He made a note to make this planet his central base of operations, just as he had done with Earth in his universe. He was already planning on taking the unicorn, Twilight, with him. He might as well go a step further.
Speaking of the purple pony, the Doctor saw everything within her that he saw in the best of his companions. She was smart, curious, caring, and rational. Plus, she had one thing his other companions didn't. She had magic. And that was really cool. Not as cool as his fez and bow-tie, but still pretty cool. She did seem a little... high-strung, a very orderly pony, but that was alright. He just hoped she'd mind the mess that was the TARDIS' control room.
He continued walking, and along the way heard someone shout, "Hey everypony! There's an awesome sale down at Sugarcube Corner!"
And then there were the puns. Good lord, there were so many puns being said by everypony...
A beat.
His eyes widened. Good lord, now he was saying them too! He was catching punititis!
Punititis. Terrible pun. The ponies were clearly better at making them. He was going to need to step up his game. Before he could come up with some cool pony puns, a voice interrupted him from behind.
"Hey, Doc!"
The Doctor quickly spun around to meet the origin of said voice. Flying high above the ground was none other than one of Twilight's friends, Rainbow Smash or something along those lines. Ponies had such weird names. It was like something a gay wrestler would call himself. Then again, he did call himself 'The Doctor.'
"Oh, hello there!" the Doctor said to the self proclaimed 'fastest flier in Equestria', indicating in his tone that he had other matters to attend to.
The blue pony cocked her head curiously at him. "Watchu up to?"
"Oh just going on a walk into the forest. Have to keep up with exercise and all that!" Again, he glanced towards Everfree somewhat uregently, hoping she'd get the message that he didn't want to talk.
"Exercise!? That's awesome! But... why do it in Everfree? It's dangerous to go alone. You should take me!" she beamed, flying down towards the Doctor.
The Doctor squinted at her curiously. "You want to... exercise with me? But I thought you did wing training or something along those lines."
"Yeah, but lately I've been working these legs of mine!" She made a rather weak muscle with one of them. "Common, it'll be safer with the two of us! Like I said, it's dangerous in there. There's all kinds of horrible things that could eat you up! Giant snakes! Giant bears! Giant snakebears! Some even say that Nightmare Moon still haunnnnntsss theeeessee wooooooooods," she said all creepy like.
The Doctor sweat-dropped. "I think I'll be alright. Really." Not the first time he had heard of this ghost story, though.
"Awww common, please!" She then made puppy-dog eyes. Oh damn it. The Doctor hated the puppy-dog eyes. He was never resistant to doing whatever Twilight wanted when she gave him them, except if it involved not fixing the TARDIS of course. Why did the ponies have to be so damned cute?
Time for a desperate plan. The Doctor quickly pointed a hoof towards the distance behind Rainbow Smash. "Hey look over there, a Wonderous Bolt!"
Rainbow Smash blinked. "A wah?"
The Doctor facepalmed internally for getting it wrong. "Er, I mean A WONDERBOLT!"
The young flier's eyes lit up like a christmas tree at that. "What!? Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!" In a flash, she had spun about and was gazing into the distant. In the meantime, the Doctor booked it. "Hey I don't see any...." she then turned about. The Doctor was gone. "Agh! How could I fall for that?!"
A few minutes later and the brown pony had made it to the edge of the Everfree forest. He had to admit, he had been in plenty of forests before, but this was probably one of the creepiest. The ponies seemed think there was something unnatural about it, and Twilight was constantly worrying about him going in alone every day. The trees seemed as old as life itself and the deeper woods chirped with the sounds of an infinite amount of mythical and dangerous animals. To top it off it just didn't... feel right. Like it wasn't supposed to be in this world. Luckily, he didn't need to go in too far, and it wasn't like he was completely alone. Something had been keeping him company the last week or two, and he was beginning to have an idea who it was. Very fitting that it would call these creepy old woods its home.
After a bit of a trek he had made it the TARDIS. He knocked his trust sonic screwdriver out of his saddle-bag, gripped it with his mouth and switched on the small light on the side of it (don't ask how that's possible). In he went to the dark interior before he finally reached the power source of his beloved machine. It was a unique device, it drawing its energy from the quantum vacuum, and this was the first time it had ever been broken. He believed the trip from his universe to this one had taxed it to its extreme. He didn't even know how it had gotten here, as far as he knew the doors of the multi-verse were closed, but the TARDIS being the TARDIS had found a way.
And so he got to work, fiddling with this and testing ideas he had on how to fix it he came up with the previous night at the treehouse. However, it wasn't long before the Doctor's newest 'companion' payed him a visit.
"Hello, Doctor," it whispered from seemingly nowhere. It was a clearly female voice, deep and filled with strength and confidence."Am I interrupting you?"
"Nono, you're fine," the Doctor said, not even bothering to look for the origin of the voice. "A little company never hurt anyone."
As the Doctor spoke, a trail of black mist began to enter the TARDIS from its open door. It soon formed into a black wisp that hovered behind the Time Lord. He knew it wouldn't be too long before she got here, and now it was time to find out the true identity of the self-entitled 'spirit of the forest.'
"Are you making progress with your machine?" it asked.
The Doctor sighed. "I thought today would be the day."
"Do not fret," it spoke. "You'll figure it out soon. You're the Doctor, after all."
"I wish I had as much confidence in myself as you do," he said, finally turning to meet the wisp.
"Well, from what you've told me you've been through some amazing things."
The Doctor waved a hoof dismissively. "Luck is what got me through most of it."
"Ever so humble," she said in an amused tone.
The Doctor chuckled at this. Right, now that the introductions were done it was to start prying her with questions. "You flatter me. So, how have you been? What do spirits even do all day, anyway?"
"Oh this and that. I mainly just guard and fertilize the woods."
"Very interesting. I'd like to see that kind of process sometime. How is it done?"
"Magically, of course."
"Would you mind showing me? I've heard from a few ponies that woodland spirits can hatch a seed and grow a plant in under ten seconds flat."
A pause followed that. "You've heard wrong."
OK, this line of questioning wasn't working. Time for a different approach. With that in mind, a second later the Doctor let loose another sigh.
"What's the matter, Doctor?" the spirit asked, drawing closer to him.
"It's just..." A hint of a coy smirk morphed on his face. "I promised Twilight I'd take her to see some of her people's history. I suppose that will need to wait now, though."
The voice paused for a second. "Twilight? As in... Twilight Sparkle?"
A beat.
The Doctor's smirk widened a bit. "I sense a bit of... agitation in your voice."
Another moment of pause followed before the wisp spoke again. "It's nothing," she said dismissively.
"Oh I think it's something," the brown colt taunted. He then began to circle about the wisp, eyeing it curiously. "Who are you, really?"
"Oh, just a lonely forest spirit looking for a friend...." it said in a sing-song tone.
"A spirit who happens to inhabit the same forest Nightmare Moon was expelled from her host at, a forest spirit who happens to have a grudge against Twilight. And spirits are supposedly very rare..." The Doctor could practically feel the creature glaring at him at that.
"I'm not Nightmare Moon," it said slowly.
"No, you're not. Nightmare Moon was the creature that was born when you possessed Princess Luna," the Doctor said. "You, however, are known as Caligo of Nox."
"Nor am I Caligo."
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Oh don't try lying to me. That won't get you anywhere. I suppose it was the only way you could get Princess Luna to meld with you, though. She obviously didn't know what kind of contract she was signing. What a poor thing, her mind twisted by envy to the point where she couldn't think straight. A perfect time for you to take advantage of her."
The wisp kept silent.
"Tell me, how did it feel to be defeated by the power of friendship of all things? Were you laughed at at the spirit water cooler after that?"
"Shut up!" it growled. "I simply underestimated the young mare. Had I been trying instead of just toying with her the entire time..."
The Doctor smiled smugly. "Ahhh, and now the truth is revealed. Now to just figure out what you'd want with little old me. It's obvious you're not here for small talk... perhaps you were attracted by the temporal energies emitted by the TARDIS?" He paused for a second, contemplating something. "Or perhaps you were just curious as to what this box was doing lying about, and once you learned a bit about me you wanted to learn a bit more.... but why?"
Caligo kept silent once again.
If the Doctor had fingers, he'd be snapping them. "Of course! You wanted to get close enough to me to attempt to meld just like you did with Luna, or perhaps you just wanted a ride? You were very close to winning that war years ago as you probably know, or maybe you just wanted to go back in time more recently? Just one little push would be all it would take. You obviously resent what happened, and you can't just let it go, can you? If only you had done this and that... I don't know what the temporal rules are like in this universe but that could be a bit dangerous, you know."
"I know much about the rules of time here, Doctor. I could teach you them if you allow me to travel with you." It paused, before adding in a playful tone, "I won't bite."
"Well, I don't see what choice I have. It seems like you could sit in here all you like and there's nothing I can do to stop you. However, if you do, I warn you that I won't be leaving."
"Nonsense, you're far too complex of a colt to be spending your life with these simple little ponies," it scoffed. "You'll have to leave eventually."
The Doctor shrugged. "Well, I don't know. It is rather nice here. Beautiful town really, beautiful country, beautiful world. So much for me to learn even without the TARDIS' help." He then smirked again. "Or maybe I could just get my friend Twilight to contact her mentor and tell her you're here? There must be something she could do about you."
"She can't do anything," the creature said, its tone growing more and more annoyed.
"Oh I'm pretty sure she can. You sure you want to test that theory after what you did to her sister? I'd be a bit peeved if I were her."
A moment of silence followed as the Doctor and wisp stared at each other. Finally, the wisp chuckled. "Oh you are good! A worthy adversary compared to that purple foal of a Unicorn. Well played, Doctor. I'll leave you to your repairs." With that, it began to deform into a trail of mist and floated towards the door.
"Don't let the door hit you on the bum on the way out," the Doctor called over his shoulder as he turned back to the power source and continued to tweak it with his sonic screwdriver. "Oh, and don't try clinging onto the TARDIS when we get a move on. It may have worked for Jack, but Jack is Jack. Stowaways aren't handled nicely by the time vortex. And the TARDIS' sensors will be able to pick you up when they're back online so don't try hiding anywhere."
"I will find a way, Doctor," it growled.
"Yep, yep, keep thinking that," he said before the whir of the power source could be heard. Soon after, the lights of the TARDIS blared to life. He had finally done it. An idea had formed in his head as he spoke with Caligo, and it seemed to have worked. Time and space were now open to him once again. The Doctor grinned at this. "Because today is the day! Lord, why am I so brilliant?"
He then paused, thinking for a moment.
"Wait, did she just replace fool with foal?!" The Doctor let out a dramatic gasp. "Oh lord, puns control this universe! WHY DO I LOVE IT HERE SO MUCH??!!!"
The Doctor Versus the Night
"SURPRISE!"
With that, lights blared to life inside the library revealing party decorations and nearly fifty mares and stallions, the same mares and stallions he'd been avoiding for nearly a month. He had just gotten back from the TARDIS to tell Twilight the news. He did not expect this....
Awkwarrrrrd....
"Well- woah- wow!" he stuttered, not really knowing what to say. Sure, the Doctor had crashed many parties in his time, Rory and Amy's wedding guests could attest to that, but he had never had a party thrown in his honor. Ever. "You really didn't have to my fine equine friends-"
"What?! Everypony deserves a party when they move to Ponyville!" the familiar pink pony who he'd seen occasionally hopping around town beamed while rushing over towards him. "And now you can finally have one and make lots of new friends! You've been so busy with your TARDIC that Twilight told me you couldn't have one but then Rainbow Dash said you had gotten the power back online in your TARDIC and I was so- mph mph mhp mph mphhhhh!"
Rainbow Dash (apparently not Rainbow Smash) had ended Pinkie's barrage of her tightly contained thoughts with a hoof. "That's supposed to be a secret..." she whispered. And it was TARDIS.... TARDIS! Really, how easy was that to forget?
The Doctor refrained from throwing her a somewhat thankful glance to spare the sugar-filled pony's feelings, instead opting to throw her an annoyed one with a raised eyebrow. "Have you been spying on me?"
Around him he could hear the curious murmurs of ponies. "What's a TARDIC?" "Who is this pony, really?" "Does he know how sexy he looks with that bow tie?"
Alright, he may have made the last thing up. But he was sure they were all thinking it.
Rainbow Dash simpered, placing nervous hoof behind her mane. "Well uh... I was just checking up on you occasionally actually. Twilight asked me to keep an eye on you... soooo yeah, I've kind of been spying on you the last few days or so."
The Doctor sighed, giving Twilight an annoyed look, "Thanks for your concern..." He then took a glance around the library. The ponies here truly were truly kind creatures. Though it was reasonable to say that his connection to Twilight had gotten him this party, apparently it was commonplace for the pink pony to hold welcome parties for every random stranger who had just taken up residence in town. He took a deep breath. If only he weren't such a traveler... this would truly be a nice place to live. So innocent and pure, so.... warm. And now he'd be asked to mingle with a bunch of ponies he'd probably never see again, only from the shadows. Sometimes things just weren't fair. But whatever, he'd make the best of it.
With a smirk, he turned to pink pony. "Have any good tunes?"
Her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree at that, "Do you know who you're talking to?!" (He really didn't) Like a lightning bolt, the pink pony somehow seemed to teleport across the room to the record player. Soon the sounds of an extremely catchy tune filled the treehouse. Really, he knew he was going to be humming it in the TARDIS the next few weeks or so.
And so the party began. The Doctor may have been a bit of socially awkward, but he knew how to fun. He was soon dancing along with pretty much everyone else, and actually found it a bit easier to do in pony form. Still, he couldn't help but garner a few chuckles, being a bit better at it still meant goofy in the Doctor's case. It was whatever though, they didn't mean to hurt his feelings. Everything about the party was in good cheer. And he wasn't alone, Twilight seemed to be a bit... inexperienced at it as well. Probably because she didn't really spend much of her time at social settings either.
As the night drew on the Doctor was surprised he didn't get any more questions about the TARDIS. An intriguing young brown stallion heading into the woods every day to work on a mysterious project? Who wouldn't be curious. Luckily, it seemed the ponies realized he wanted to keep it at that, a secret, and stayed away from the subject. The pink one and Rainbow Sma-Dash seemed to know, but now that the pink one knew to keep a lid on it and since Rainbow Sma-Dash was apparently the Element of Loyalty, he assumed the beans would remain from being spilled for the most part.
Eventually, when he was at the punch-bowl, the pink one walked up to him. "How are you liking the party, Doctor?"
He threw her a smile a smile. "Loving it, really. I'm not much of a party animal but... I just feel so relaxed here."
She smiled back to him, though her smile seemed to have a hint of thanks to it. "So... you're not mad at me?"
"Of course not," the Doctor chuckled. "You didn't know to keep it a secret. If I got angry at everyone for every simple mistake they made I wouldn't have any friends."
The pink one's smile widened. "So, does that mean we're friends!?" she squealed.
The Doctor nodded. "Of course we are!"
He could have swore the pony was going to hit the cieling when she bounced into the air. "Yayyyyyy!"
The Doctor's eyes widened at this. This pony REALLY loved having friends. He knew saying that would make her day but... wow. In any other place he might call that a flaw of a personality trait to hinge ones happiness so much on what others think of you, but here... perhaps it wasn't a flaw. Perhaps it was a way to sustain eternal happiness. There didn't seem to be any ponies who would outright reject her. Even Rainbow Dash, a pony who he thought would get annoyed easily at someone like her, was on good terms. Hell, they were even best friends.
They were the keepers of some sort of powerful weapon. He couldn't help but smirk at this. Celestia was one clever horse for putting all six of its wielders together oh-so-subtly and then make them study friendship so their bonds would grow even tighter. The tighter the bonds, the more potent the weaponized friendship could be. Very clever indeed. He would have to meet this Celestia one day. Of course, that was his cynical side talking. She may have also sincerely wanted her pupil to make some friends, as bonds and companionship truly could be the key road to happiness. The Doctor, unfortunately (or fortunately depending on who asks) had taken the road less traveled. Sure his companions were close to him, but he never considered them 'friends.' He considered them their mentor and guide. And in turn, they provided him with praise and ego. He wouldn't call it selfish, as it was a mutual trade, but he wouldn't call it friendship either.
He sighed at this. Maybe he should settle down here... maybe divide his time half-and-half between the travels and learning a bit about this 'magic of friendship'. It wouldn't erase the pain of his past, but it may...
No.
No, that just wasn't him. He needed to move on. He would be leaving tomorrow to explore this new universe and perhaps find a way back to his own eventually. It may have been the road less traveled, but it was something he was born to do. Something he had to do. His life wasn't one lived to achieve happiness. He was the Doctor. His role was to stabilize the universe any way he can, to heal the wounds that often came to it. And he was sure this universe would need healing somewhere at sometime as well.
Eventually, the party came to a close around midnight. Rather early for a party, but he supposed many of the ponies had work in the morning. He had chatted with a great deal of them, and found them to all have simply marvelous personalities. He would regret doing this. Making bonds would make it harder to leave....
Eventually, he made his way to the door of the basement he'd been staying at. However, before he opened it he heard Twilight call,
"Can we talk a second, Doctor?"
The Doctor smile, lifting his hoof off the handle, before turning to the purple Unicorn. "Hello again, Twilight."
"Are you... are you sure you want to leave tomorrow?" she asked, rubbing a hoof on the ground. "My friends really like you, you know, and you made Pinkie happy by accepting her apology (ahhh, so that was her name. Pinkie of all things. Interesting to be named after a color and finger.) Everyone else liked you too... we would be happy if you stayed, and I wouldn't mind you bunking here another month."
The Doctor sighed, throwing Twilight a solemn smile. "I'm sorry, Twilight, but that just isn't me." He then turned a bit more chipper, "Is it you a bit, though? Do you still want to travel with me?"
Twilight nodded. "As long as we can be back a second after we leave, I don't see why not."
The Doctor grinned. "You know there could be a lot of danger waiting for us out there though, right?"
"Well, it isn't exactly my middle name but I think it'll be worth it," Twilight chuckled
"It will be. Trust me. You're going to have a wonderful few months," the Doctor said, before turning the handle of his door and making the way down to the cellar. "Pack for winter, summer, spring, the whole four seasons! You'll never know what kind of planet we may end up on."
Twilight blinked at that. Wait, they were going to other planets? How was that- eh nevermind.
The Doctor Versus the Night
"Toothbrush," Spike said sternly.
"Check!" Twilight replied.
"Box of cupcakes."
"Check!"
"Volumes 1-10 of The Complete History of Equestria."
"Check!"
"Checklist and quills."
"Check and check!"
"Checker board - wait wah?" Spike raised an eyebrow.
"Check." Twilight then shrugged. "The Doctor says it takes a bit of time to time travel."
Spike's eyebrows raised. "Uhh.... I can't be the only one confused by that."
Twilight sighed. "We'll be travelling through something called the time vortex, and it takes a bit of time to arrive in another point in time."
Spike's face went deadpan. "Words are fun, aren't they?"
Twilight grinned sheepishly.
"Righto! Are you all packed and ready my lavender friend?" The Doctor said, swinging open the door of the library with a cheery grin.
Twilight through him a silly salute complete with smile, standing near a few suitcases and a cooler filled with various necessities. "Ready as ever, Doctor!"
He nodded and then turned towards the purple dragon near her. "Are you sure you don't want to come along? Plenty of room in the TARDIS."
Spike through an appreciative smile at that. "Thanks, Doctor, but isn't often I get to house sit." He then rubbed his hands together evily.
Twilight threw him a smirk. "We'll be taking the tub of icecream with us, Spike."
"What?! NOOOOOO!" Spike cried.
Twilight shrugged. "The Doctor really likes the taste."
Spike threw the last Time Lord a look that screamed, 'expect reprisals in the near future.'
The Doctor sweatdropped while simpering.
Twilight then coughed politely to break the tension. "Doctor, you never did mention why we can't arrive EXACTLY back before we left."
The Doctor shrugged. "It seems the differences of this universe's time matrix are so drastic that the TARDIS' navigational sensors and propulsion systems can't account for the change in variables."
Twilight nodded. Spike threw him a confused look.
"Wibbly wobbly timey-wimy stuff," The Doctor added.
Spike nodded with an 'ah' of total complete understanding, most definitely.
"Anyway, to the TARDIS!" Doctor announced, leading Twilight to the door. Twilight lifted her suitcases and ice-chest towards her with telekinesis.
"Bye Spike, take good care of the place!" Twilight said cheerfully. Spike threw her a hurt look which she guessed was due to a lack of ice cream in his near future. "I bought you a smaller tub of ice cream in the big one's place! It's the special 'Dragon's Delight' the Cake's make just for you."
"T-The one with blue gems in it?" Spike said, his eyes widening like a foal's on Heart Warming Eve's morning.
Twilight nodded with a smile.
Spike nearly collapsed with joy. With a tear in his eyes he looked upon Twilight and sobbed happily, "T-Thank you."
With that, the two made their way outside, Twilight in a happy motor-mouth spasm with the Doctor nodding absent-mindedly.
"So I was thinking that we should visit Ancient Canterlot first. Oooooh, maybe then we can visit Prance during its Industrial Revolution. Maybe Ancient Zebrica after that, nobody knows how those pyramids-"
She was stopped when she caught herself from nearly running into Rarity.
"Twilight, dearest, I can't believe you weren't going to stop by and say goodbye before your big time-travelling escapade!" Rarity said dramatically.
"I-uh... we'll only be gone for a few days," Twilight simpered.
"A few days to see Equestria's history!" Rainbow Dash said. "Even I think that's kind of cool, and I'm totally no egghead."
Applejack grinned at that. "Is that why you seem to go through a Daring Do novel a day?"
"Hey!" Rainbow Dash said, turning towards her and obviously desperately trying to think of a good comeback. Unable to do so, the ever-so-riviting "Shut up!" was used as a desperate last-minute replacement.
Applejack chuckled.
"D-Doctor," Fluttershy squeaked. "You'll take good care of Twilight, won't you?"
The Doctor smiled at the shy pony. "She'll be back as good as a new."
"Do you PINKIE-PROMISE?!" Pinkie beamed, leaping in front of the Doctor with a single scrutinizing open eye.
The Doctor sweatdropped for the millionth time. "Er-Yes. I Pinkie promise."
Rarity was next to speak. "Doctor, dearest. Before you go, I have a gift for you." She levitated a dark green bow-tie out of her saddlebag, obviously meant to replace his purple one. "I believe this will look a bit better with your brown suit."
The Doctor nodded with a thankful and slightly impressed smile before accepting the gift. Twilight was glad he noticed her friend's nack for detail. She hoped one day he would come to appreciate all of their strengths and invite them aboard his TARDIS to journey through time.
"If you want, you're all welcome to see us off," Twilight invited, the Doctor throwing her a slightly precarious look at that.
"Totally!"
"Sounds good to me."
"Ooooh! Ooooh! Can we? Can we!?'
And with that, the seven made their way away from the Treehouse.
Spike, in the meantime, had gotten into the freezer. He smiled upon the gem-filled icecream with the eyes of a madman, dragon... whatever.
"It's mine!" He cackled, an ecstasy-filled grin filling his face. "My ooownnnn..." he oozed, beginning to stroke it affectionately, "The preciiiousss..."
The ice cream tub sweatdropped, despite the impossibilities of that statement.
Everfree forest was its usual Everfree self, filled with the noise of a thousand animals and uncontrollable weather that for some reason made the ponies feel unnerved. The Doctor shrugged at this. He supposed they must have never gotten out of their home nation much where the weather did whatever the heck it wanted, much like on... well some planets really in his home universe, it depended on if they were advanced enough to have weather control technology.
"So long everyon- pony!" the Doctor said, correcting himself quickly, waving to the five ponies who had gathered outside the TARDIS, him and Twilight standing in front of its door.
"Bye Doctor! Bye Twilight! By TARDIC!" Pinkie said waving ecstatically.
It was TARDIS. TARDIS! TARDIS! AGGGGGGGH.
"Er Pinkie, it's TARDIS," Twilight said with a sheepish grin, noticing the Doctor's somewhat-perfectionist induced anguish he was poorly attempting to hide.
"Oooooh! Bye TARDIS!"
The Doctor smiled at that. Yes! She was learning. She was actually learning! Today was a beautiful day. A wondrous magical filled day filled with a working TARDIS and crazy time-travelling shenanigans.
Hm. Shenanigans. He really liked that word.
"Don't get into too many shenanigans out there, will ya?" Applejack said. The Doctor knew what she was really trying to say, 'please don't fuck- er damnit 'buck' with history.'
He then blinked.
Wait, did she just say shenanigans?!
YEEEAHHHHH!
"Yeah! You're not going to screw up history, right?" Rainbow Dash said nervously.
"No! Of course not," the Doctor reassured her.
He was totally lying.
"Definitely not. I'm sure the Doctor knows what he's doing," Twilight added.
She was probably totally lying too.
"You uh, know what you're doing, right?" She whispered to him.
"Yup yup, I'm a knowing machine!" The Doctor said, pulling on the door to the TARDIS only to find it was met to be pushed inward.
He knew that. Definitely.
The entire group of ponies looked at him incredulously. Yes, even Pinkie Pie.
"Well uhhhhh," he said, backing into his time travelling box. "See you all in a few days!"
Twilight smiled with a nervous chuckle before following him inside. "Uhhhh... bye everypony!" The door slammed shut.
Applejack turned to Rarity, a deadpan look on her face. "We're all going to end up looking like seaponies in a few days, aren't we?"
Rarity nodded. "Oh most definitely."
"I want to be a seapony!" Fluttershy squeaked.
The group watched in awe as the TARDIS whirred to life, flashed in and out of existence, and then disappeared entirely. A few feet away another entity watched as well. Caligo of Nox looked upon the TARDIS with a hint of envy and disdain. However, as soon as it left she felt a new presence nearby. It wasn't the Doctor but it was... similar.
A flash of light emanated from deep within Everfree. A Earth pony, a brown male with a short brown mane and a sword for a cutie mark wearing golden battle armor, a red-mane beauty with a tan Pegasus for a smiling apple for a cutie mark, and a female tan Unicorn with curly orange hair and a... well a gun for a cutie mark appeared out of nowhere. Immediately after appearing, all three's eyes widened so large that it would appear they were no longer on their faces.
"Wah-!"
"What the-"
"Oh blood hell..."
"Where did these ponies coming from?!" all three exclaimed in unison, looking upon each other before saying, again together, "Wait, I'm a pony?!" They then looked upon themselves with horror. "Oh for the love of god!"
After a moment of losing their minds to what had transpired, all three began to calm down.
The Earth pony turned to the Unicorn. "Uhhh... I'm guessing you're River Song?"
"And is that you, Rory?" The Pegasus asked the Earth pony.
"Amy?!" Rory managed to gasp. He then turned to River Song, an annoyed expression on his face. "Uhhh, River Song, any explanation to why we're talking ponies?"
River Song did the pony equivalent of a shrug. "I'm not sure. I've changed forms before but... well, this is just ridiculous. She then brought a hoof up to examine it curiously.
"You're sure that that rift was well.. an interdimensional rift and not some sort of Dalek ponification... thing?" Rory asked.
River Song narrowed her eye in annoyance. "Yes, I'm sure it was an interdimensional rift."
Rory opened his mouth again-
"Yes, I'm sure the Doctor came here."
He then turned back towards Amy, examining her wings. "Amy... you have uh... wings!"
Amy's eyes widened as she turned about to look at them. "Woah! That's really bloody weird." She then proceeded to flap them with a bemused smirk on her face.
Rory then opened his mouth yet again-
"No Rory, I don't know why I get wings and you're stuck without them."
How the bloody hell did she know he was going to say that?! Why did all women have to have psychic powers? Well, at least he seemed to have his cool Roman Centurion armor on... only it had been... ponified?
Rory then turned back towards River Song, "Is that a... horn on your head?"
River Song blinked before moving a hoof up to it. "Well, isn't that strange." She then squinted in curiosity before moving a hoof towards her hind quarters. She sighed in relief as her hoof touched the familiar holster of the plasma pistol she always carried about.
"So wait... if we were turned into ponies when coming here that means..."
"The Doctor's a pony too?!" Amy finished. She then burst into laughter, with Rory and Riversong joining her. "Oh lord, if I could have seen the look on his face! I can't wait to see what he looks like!"
"If we can find him," Rory noted, gazing about his surroundings. "These forests look pretty vast and I'm feeling a bit...." He then yawned, feeling a bit dizzy afterward.
Amy yawned as well. "I'm feeling it too..."
All three collapsed onto the forest floor. Caligo, curious as to their presence made their way over to them, River Song being of particular interest to her. She felt... like the Doctor, though not completely like him. There was definitely something special about this one, and she was definitely going to find out what.
