The Great Wedding Hullabaloo and No Luna, Not the Chin
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The Great Wedding Hullabaloo and No Luna, Not the Chin
“Oops.”
Roseluck struggled to keep the valuable item on her back from falling when she bumped into another pony. "Sorry bout that," Roseluck said, "I was just- Derpy? Oh hello. Is Time Turner in, my clock really needs a fix up. Wait, why are you closing up it's only three in the afternoon?"
Ditzy Doo shook her head, and put the last of the locks on 'The Clock Work' shop. It sat near the edge of Ponyville and was the only timepiece shop in town. Time Turner run it in his spare time, although no one really knew what else he did.
"Sorry, but Mr. Turner isn't in today. He had to leave. Something about family business." She spared Roseluck a smile and made to walk past her.
"He'll back soon won't he? No one works clocks like that stallion." She wondered why Ditzy seemed sadder than normal, even if it was just a bit.
"No not really, well in a way. You know what? I could have a look at it if you want." The wall eyed mare offered.
Roseluck set the clock down to give the other mare a look, "Well, it's the strangest thing. The little one never moves you see, not since my great grandfather bought this clock."
'I guess you could call it a grandfather clock.' "That is weird."
"I know right, but the longer one moves just fine."
Ditzy shook her head, "No I mean why would you wait so long to get it fixed?"
"I know you're gonna laugh, but it's actually a family thing. It's supposed to be tribute to some god or something." Then she rolled her eyes, "I don't really get it, but you know, tradition."
"I see." She didn't really, and no that wasn't a pun, "So what's the problem it doesn't seem any different to me."
"That's just it, everything is the same except one little detail. The short hand moved! And I know what you're thinking I probably imagined it but nope, because it moved by one whole hour." Roseluck pointed to the clock, "See it used to be-
-ten?"
"Yeah but now it's eleven," Roseluck blinked then gave a surprised laugh, "Woah pretty quick on the uptake there filly. When did you get all smarty pants?" Ditzy gave a tired sigh.
"Just alot of running."
........................................................................................................................................................................................................................
In a different time and space
A filly sat on her bed, and stared into the night sky. "Hello moon," she whispered, "How are you today? Do you remember that thing I asked for? Is today the day?"
"Geronimo..," it whispered back.
The filly beamed- the moon had never replied before -and replied, "Yes, Geronimo, moon!"
The Tardis flew through the air aflame, and a grey pony held onto the console for dear life; White smoke trailed the machine's path as the exhaust fans worked to keep it cool. "Geronimo!"
She made to continue speaking to the moon in what she thought was its own strange language, before she caught sight of a strange object flying across the sky.
With all the effort his hooves could muster, The Doctor pulled on a lever and his Tardis blinked away with a wheezing cranking sound.
"A shooting star?!" She exclaimed. With energy, she stood on her bed and reared her head back, fore hooves wobbling in the air, "I command you to land here, ha!" She waited with baited breath, but the shooting star seemed to burn out miles away, taking her enthusiasm along with it.
For a long while her home was quiet, and then with the loudest bang she had heard in her short life- here she shrieked -an object crashed onto the lawn, smoking and all.
"HELLO?" She called out from the safety of her window.
"..." But recieved no response.
Within the first ten minutes of the strange object's crash, all ten of which she'd used to build up her courage, the filly stood infront of the object. The blue filly looked left and right, up and down the strange cube then gave it a hesitant poke. The part of the cube facing upwards flew open with a hiss and then smoke, lots of it, exited the box and from the fumes a grey earth pony pulled himself out.
"Hello!" He exclaimed with enthusiasm no pony should have, "Are you my mummy?" Then sneezed yellow smoke.
She blinked once, then twice as the other clearly mad pony frowned, "No, no, that's not how introductions go." He pulled at his mane to get a better look until he was cross eyed, "Blimey, and I'm still not ginger. Oh hello there! And who are you colorful-horse-with-large-intelligent-eyes-that seem to be studying me?"
"I'm Luna. I'm the princess!"
"Well, Woona the princess, the princess, meaning there's only one of you. Sorry a princess called Luna all by her lonesome? Now why does that strike me as odd? Anyway." He leapt down from his box, and approached the filly who only stared in wonder, "Tell me Luny Princess, is there anything here that frightens you? Anything out of the ordinary?" Then paused, belching more yellow gas, as a thought occurred to him, "Well, aside from me."
She stared, and took several steps back.
"Now don't give me that look. Yes, I am quite mad, but I'm the mad pony with a box.That means I'm good!" Then he did a silly little jiggle with his front hooves that sent him crashing to the ground. "I'm sure my reputation precedes me."
Of course all she heard was a muffled gurgle, and she concluded in her mind that this pony was just as harmless as he was mad so she laughed. She laughed at his sweaty grey coat, messy black hair, and strangely shaped muzzle. The Doctor struggled to his hooves, and gave a laugh of his own.
"Did the moon send you?" She asked.
He was visibly surprised, "Wha- I mean, well, why would the moon send anyone anywhere. Last I checked it was a rock caught in this planet's gravity. Then again, a couple hundred years is a long time for things like moons, and comets, and...gravity, er...," She was visibly annoyed now, though he didn't know why. Ponies seemed to get that way when he spoke. The stallion reached for his neck and wished for something he could actually pull on; He had the strangest urge to pull something right now.
"So you aren't here to help me?"
"Help you? With what? Do you need help?"
"The insect ponies from outer space."
"Oh I see, the insect ponies." His smile was of a good-nature, "I'll tell you what kiddo: brush your teeth twice a day, listen to your parents always, and do your homework, and the bad ol'insect ponies will go away. Now run along now." She watched him walk away, chuckling to himself in an amused way that made her puff her cheeks in anger.
"Hey-
And then he turned, walked right in her face with a suddenness that made her bite her tongue-ow-and looked her in the eyes, his own eyes darting about searching for something she didn't know she had. "Oh I see," he murmured, then drew back and smiled in a way she'd eventually learn to hate, "You're serious."
"Well Princess Woona, I'm the Doctor. Today your knight without armor. Do everything I tell you, don't wonder off, and don't ask stupid questions. Now let's go." Belch.
She visibly recoiled, "What do you keep belching?"
"Er, you're abit young to learn time lord reproduction- well, it's not really that. You know what, let's just call it make everything better powder."
She gave him an appraising look, "And how much, 'make everything better powder' have you taken, sir?"
He took two steps, had a spasm, then collapsed. As the filly dragged him by tail into her home, she took care not to sniff in any of the 'happy powder'.
........................
Luna was regretting bringing the strange stallion into her home. He had woken the very minute she'd placed him on her couch, and started throwing all the furniture out one by one. He started with the couch saying it was too uncomfortable, and from there had tried every other piece of furniture, and found them unworthy.
Currently, he was struggling with a particularly large armchair, "So Luna, huff, tell me is there a reason you only have these unnecessarily large pieces of furniture in your home? They seem a mite big for you if you ask me."
"I never asked yo- not really. They've just been here for as long as I remember."
He stopped and gave her a look, "Oh? And no pictures, or paintings? A bright young filly like yourself must have some interesting drawings hanging around." She brightened up noticeably when he mentioned the pictures.
"I do," she exclaimed, "I have lots of pictures of my sister and me. Look they're...right...here." She blinked and adopted a bewildered expression as though she didn't understand her own words. "Actually thats very odd Doctor, I can't seem to remember where I placed them."
"Blimey, and I left my screwdriver in the Tardis." She gave him an odd look not seeing the relation between his screwdriver and her pictures.
The Doctor said nothing as he stood in the doorway staring outside, she joined him curiously wondering what he was staring at, only for him to spin in place. "Anyway, say that's quite a lot of furniture don't you think Luna, in fact, more than should've fit inside this room. Almost like this room is...bigger on the inside. Mind you I know my way around bigger on the inside."
There was an ominous silence, but he was off again before she could put in her two cents. "And stay out!" He cried as he tossed the last of the chairs out. "There we go, another dreadful decor definitely dealt with decisively-d." Luna looked around her empty hall, and facehoofed. She was sure this pony was equal parts moron and mad.
"Moron," she shrieked, "You've thrown away all my stuff except for those in my-
-bedroom? Yes, and we can't have that can we, off we go then." He finished happily. She ground her teeth together as she stomped up the stairs. "You're lucky my big sister didn't wake up, or she would've banished you," she swallowed, "to the MOON! That's what she says she'll do if I disturb her."
"She sounds like a real charmer that one. Now how old did you say you were again?"
"I didn't."
"Let's say hypothetically you did, how old would you be then?"
She scrunched up her muzzle in a show of childish effort, and said, "Eight? Yes eight."
"Hmm, you speak awfully well for an eight year old. You must be a clever little filly." The doctor smiled down at Luna, but she couldn't bare to look him in the face. She felt at the back of her mind that he wasn't happy behind his smile.
"So, Insect Ponies, never heard of those before." The Doctor ventured after a period of silence. She shivered in turn.
"They're evil. Evil. They Hide."
"Pardon, hide where?"
"Everywhere," she whispered, "and I think there's one in my room. I'd get my big sister to banish it but..." Again she blinked several times then simply stopped talking. The doctor saw his chance and took it.
"So where is she then, your sister? Never had a sibling before, but this strikes me as a sibling wibling thing. You know, monsters under the bed." He watched her face go through a variety of emotions then stop.
"In her room, always in her room."
They had been walking for a long time, in fact, the doctor couldn't tell when they'd left the stairs. It felt as though they had climbed several. The Doctor followed her with a smile which quickly left as they came to the corridor, which he noted had a single room. They stopped infront of the door.
"Your room?" he asked giving the door a good lick followed by a grim smile, "Wood of course, my enemy. Well then, lead they way little Woona." She barely spared the doctor a glance, mostly wondering why she had invited this strange pony into her home.
When they entered the room the doctor took note of two things: the large window and the bed. The bed was the only piece of furniture in the room and as he moved towards it the little filly stood in his path a determined expression on her face.
"Look, you have to promise me you won't toss this one out too."
The Doctor for his part had his eyes trained on the bed. The look in his eyes was unnerving to the filly. "I'm afraid I can't do that Luna, if anything has to go it's that bed." He pointed with a hoof and almost collapsed. "Still with the hooves doctor." He cursed.
Luna rolled her eyes, and pushed against him- a funny sight when you consider the size difference, "Alright Doctor I think that's enough for one night. You haven't helped me with the insect ponies, and I think you lied to me." She gazed into his eyes- that were still locked onto her bed why did that make her feel creeped out -and cried, "You weren't sent by the moon were you!"
He grimaced, but made no move to push past her, "Oh, you haven't even noticed it have you. Sweet little Luna, wishing on the moon for help, and I told you to go do your homework."
She paused, now creeped out, "What are you saying?"
The Doctor took her head in his hooves, and his green eyes that were goofy at first, now held dread and intelligence that simply weren't there before, "Where do little f-princesses live?"
"In-in a castle, o-of c-course." She all but cried.
"And is this a castle?"
With ice in her chest she looked around, actually looked around for the first time in a long time and screamed, "Where am I??" The walls, the beautiful walls with dark and golden wallpapers were cracked and dirty with age, the rug was in tatters, and she couldn't even recall what color they were supposed to be. The floor was filthy with rats and all manner of insects scuttling about. And the window, the window...
"It's not a window, "she cried, "Its just a hole in the wall!"
"This isn't a castle Luna. It's a little two story house, and it's on its last legs." He shook his head and in a little voice asked, "Your sister Luna, where is she?" She didn't know, he didn't need to see her face to know she didn't. She couldn't know, whoever did this twisted her mind so bad she couldn't even tell she'd been living in a dump.
"Do you even have a sister? There's only a hall and one bedroom, not even a bathroom concerningly." The Doctor continued, "You couldn't have survived in here for as long as I think, but somehow you did. I noticed it when I first landed- well crashed. The building reeked of a possessive, all consuming force. How did you leave the building? Whatever did this must've wanted to know about my little blue box as much as you did. That's why you brought me into your home I imagine."
She could only stare, but the doctor was building momentum, and the only thoughts he could bear right now were his.
"From the feel of your energy, and the energy around the area, this place including the building must be at least several centuries old, but it's hard to tell without my sonic," he admitted, "whatever is keeping you here must be feeding off you through some physical way, and I concluded quite easily that it must be hidden among your furniture, the only actual possessions you have here."
She shook her head, "You're mad, stop talking!"
"I am mad," His jaw visibly clenched, "mad enough to lick your door, and confirm your psychic energy is so strongly linked to this place, you must've been here centuries without realizing it. I'm sorry Luna but your sister, she can't be alive. I don't even know how you survived this long."
Tears rolled down the filly's cheeks. But the Doctor saw none of this, no, the whole time he spoke, his eyes were locked
on
the
bed.
"Come out then, the only piece of furniture left is this bed. There's no where left for you to run. I hope you enjoyed my little game because now, you're cornered."
Luna flinched when the dark shape begun to take form, but the doctor hardly broke his strong gaze. You'd think he knew where it would materialize all along. Dark wisps of smoke pulled itself from the bed and formed a ponyesque shape, it seemed to the Doctor to have both wings and a horn, unlike he and Luna who had neither and a horn respectively.
"Doctor DOctor, clever Doctor," It hissed, slow and low, "Always Clever fRom one to eleven."
Eleven smiled, "You've been doing some digging up there I see, must've been while I was playing around with the rest of the furniture. Shows you not to trust a psychic fiend not to read your mind while you expose yourself to it." It hissed, "Good, then I'm only going to say this once, release this poor girl-colt-filly, or I'll have to stop you and you know you don't want that."
Luna, tear stricken, reeled back in shock from his bold words. The creature cocked its head to the side in a curious manner, and said, "Doctor DOctor, no screwdriver. Doctor Doctor, the runner, no more." It took a step forward.
"What do you, Oh." It clicked, "I get it, no running around till I come up with a hair brained scheme to end you, hm. Well too bad for you, because I'm not done regenerating, and the bloke I was before doesn't play nice when children are involved." He scratched his mane frantically as though in thought, "Guess what? Hah. You fell for it."
From his back, the filly watched him take a bold stance; Wings spread, the monster visibly recoiled. A shrill noise filled the air accompanied by a powerful blue glow, "The ol'screwdriver in the mane trick!"
"Lying Doctor, Doctor Doctor, no screwdriver." It hissed in panic.
"I always lie. Why don't you tell me a story I don't know!" With a click of his teeth, and a howl she'd never forget, the world around her dissolved, and the monster was no more.
"Doctor what's happening," she cried.
"Oh you know, dealt with psychic fiends before makes dealing with them so much easier, setting forty-six in fact. Wasn't so easy the first time round though. Interesting story I'll get to all that but first- run!"
"Wha-"
"Oh legs, beautiful legs, don't fail me now." He took her by the neck, and with a flick of his placed her on his back. Together they zoomed down the stairs, and out the door. Again it took forever, but they were just in time to watch the image of the miserable old house fade into that of an actual castle, surrounded on all sides buy large trees.
'Castle of the two pony sisters anyone.' He thought.
Luna stared at the place she had known to be home for who knows how long, and wondered when it had started being something else. When she turned to speak to the doctor he was all smiles and self loathing.
"Silly old Doctor, nine hundred and three and fumbling like a charger twice my age. How didn't I see it haha!" He looked at her as though he was seeing her for the first time. "Of course, little filly, called Luna, likes to talk to the moon, lives a long time and has a sister, brilliant! The hair, it threw me off, its not wavy and sparkly. And the wings, where'd they go?!"
She was so terribly confused, "Doctor, please what's going on?"
"She's alive luna, alive!"
"What are you-"
"Luna?!"
"Sister?"
They were hugging, just like that. Her sister had come running out the door, and Luna met her halfway without a second thought. Tears were shed, and stories exchanged of how they'd both lived in the same castle turned house for years, without seeing each other, with one of them having something more interesting to talk about: about the mad colt with the cube, and his impossible screwdriver. When she made to introduce him however he was gone, just as suddenly as he came but with less noise.
.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................
'Why had it looked so familiar?' He pulled a lever, and felt reality turn around him. He pressed a button, and was thrown to the side.
'"Sorry," Ditzy cried as she flew over the console, and pressed even more buttons.'
"Ditzy, the blue one. The blue one! How do you always make the same mistake." He threw his hooves in the air, glared to his side, and realized he was alone, then glared at his hoof.
'I just don't know what went wrong.'
"She never did that mare." He laughed as he pressed the right one. 'The creature was more powerful than I thought,' thought Eleven as the Tardis translated his screwdriver's readings, "It didn't just shift our perceptions, it altered the reality although slightly. And if I'm right, which I must be, created two pocket dimensions side by side, a prison for each sister. Is it, truly gone?"
He was ashamed to say he was expecting an answer. Reaching into his pocket, he took out the remains of his screwdriver while taking note of his blue suit's less than stellar appearance, "I can't say much for the shade, but my screwdriver's definitely seen it's last kerfluffle. Kerfluffle? Do I say words like kerfluffle now? Brilliant."
There was a sharp sound from the console, and when he turned to look at what had come out, the green glow that accompanied it lit up his smile. "Isn't that just brilliant. I always know I can rely on you old girl."
The Doctor gave his new screwdriver an experimental flick.
........................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Later they would realize they were not fillies, but a young mares with ethereal manes with memories they'd forgotten, of leadership and strife. The nightmare had played more tricks than they thought.
.......................
A week later she heard a strange noise outside her castle window, like a wheezing cranking gear sound, and when she went down to investigate she found him there looking the same as he did seven days ago: just as wet, and raggedy, and ridiculous as he did the first night, standing by his blue box.
"Little Woona, not so little anymore are you?" He exclaimed. With the shade's influence gone, she looked more like her old self or future self, potato potato- bet u can't tell the difference. She was almost his height, a fact he noted as he barely had to smile down at her. He must've had a couple hundred years on her though.
She smiled, but the smile gave way to confusion, "And you're still the same as that night we met, Doctor. You must enjoy the raggedy look. Was it too hard to say goodbye before you departed?"
"Wha- departed? I've only been gone a minute. What do you mean departed?" He stammered.
"I'd think not, seven days since you reunited me with my sister makes a week."
"Oh, terribly sorry, It's the old girl here, just meant to take her for a quick spin get her ready for action. I meant to land just a minute after, give you time to get reacquainted with you sister. Could it be the engines again, I had to jump start them using quantum enfolding and a paper clip. I swear it wasn't even this bad when that space titanic crashed through the hull."
"You're doing it again doctor, losing me with your words." She approached him, but her attention was on his Tardis, "Ah yes, the shooting star you arrived in, I was wondering how you traveled in such a small object, it must get quite cramped?"
He smiled the same smile he'd given her that night, full of smugness and confidence and certainty, "I'd think not, " he replied, "Care for a peek?" He pushed the door open, slightly, enough that she had to open it further herself. She stuck her head in then out, in then out, looking more incredulous buy the second, and then she closed it.
"It's...
"Yes?"
"it's b...
"Yes?"
"It's bigger on the inside, but how?"
The Doctor ushered her inside with a push on her rump- she glared indignantly -grinning like a goof all the while, "It's called the Tardis: Time And Relative Dimension In Space. It can take you anywhere and everywhen in space." She was assaulted by the many lights and machine noises, devices and technology she had never even dreamed of. To her side, the Doctor whacked a mole on the console.
"This is amazing. Is it magic of some kind?"
He smiled, "'A Magic of some kind,' you know I like the sound of that."
"And you use this to travel through space, simply amazing."
"Mhmmm."
She gave him a look he had seen many times before, one he looked for whenever he revealed his Tardis. "You must see so many wonderful things, where did you even get this?" A pause, "Are you even a pony?"
He strode past her to rest his hooves on the center console, then said, "Those are a lot of questions, and you know what? Travel with me. I'll answer all your questions and you get to see the sights; Imagine, stars and supernova stretching as far as the eye could see, seas of cosmic soup bubbling forth new worlds, galaxies of ice and fire, planets of crystals. Crystals?!"
"And we'll have front row seats to all of them."
...I can't." She looked away.
"Oi. That kills the mood doesn't it." He sounded so subdued.
She shook her head, "I have responsibilities Doctor. My sister and I were trapped for centuries, our kingdom thought as dead till a week ago. It was only fortunate the blueblood lineage kept power in our absence. Even now we struggle to reclaim the throne."
"My sister will need me at her side, for the trials ahead, no matter how tempting your offer is I must decline." At this point she was all but out of the Tardis, giving its shiny console a bitter glance. The Doctor coughed.
"Did I mention it was a time machine? I forget to do that at times. You know, mention I have a time machine."
"A time machine, what do you mean?" She asked.
"Gone for months, back before lunch. That's my motto." He laughed as he spun in place. She blinked as he took her front hoof, and spun her around.
"You must be joking." Luna studied his face then gasped, "You're not." They laughed as they threw themselves around the control room.
And then they spoke for hours, planning their trips together as the Doctor and Luna. It was nightfall when she stood to leave. Before she left the princess felt she had to say something to him, not really knowing why. "I need to pack, and say goodbye. I'll meet you here after I raise the moon, that will give me my peace of mind on our travels."
He did his silly jiggle with his hooves, not falling flat on his face this time, "Geronimo Luna, Geronimo! I'll take her for a quick spin, and we'll be off."
She giggled, and stepped out of the Tardis. Sparing the doctor a final glance she said, "Don't keep me waiting Doctor. I'd hate to wait all night." With a wheeze and crank the machine was gone. She had packing to do.
'Doctor DOctor, silly old doctor, making promises he can't keep.' Behind her what remained of the shade followed knowing full well it would have to take subtler methods.
........................................................................................................................................................................................................................
The Doctor held on for dear life as he tumbled through space and time. He only let go when the console told him he'd arrived at his destination. "Equestria, yes, Celestia and Luna's Castle, yes, day time? I kept her waiting didn't I. Not exactly as planned, but hey two out of three always good, always good. Especially with the old girl throwing her tantrums." He flipped a switch and reminded himself there was no one else with him, not yet at least.
"Ahhh. Nothing quite like pre pony-killing Everfree air. Oh dear." He exclaimed as he exited the Tardis-
-right into the business end of a spear.
"Hold! Name and reason for materializing in this restricted space." Came a harsh voice behind the harsher looking piece of metal. A quick look around told the time pony he was not in the Everfree castle and yes he was indeed being accosted by a guard pony with golden armor.
"One second my good pony." He ignored the guard's furious yells as he slammed the door shut. He gave the console a good few whacks, but it still said he was in Celestia and Luna's Castle. "Blasted thing must be broken." He muttered. The guard paused his banging as the doctor popped his head out, and held a paper to his face, "I'm the Doctor and as you can see I'm supposed to be here? Now er, if you could remind me where here is, I'm not sure I made it to the right place you see."
The guard gave him a funny look, but withdrew his weapon, "You're in Canterlot castle, sir, in the gardens. I'm not sure someone of your position should be here though."
'Canterlot!?' Eleven smiled bitterly,'I really should've known better. Celestia and Luna's Castle is ambiguous for a time and space machine isn't it.' The Doctor took a good eyeful of Discord's statue and did his best to ignore the pit forming in his stomach, "And what is my position exactly, I mean, I know it but I like hearing others say it."
"Why, the royal wedding planner of course."
"What."
"For Princess Cadence's wedding?"
"Yes that." The doctor replied, but his eyes were wide and absent because he was in thought, so he missed the guard's suspicious look.
"I see, well then, what do you think of that new song are you part of her majesty chrysalis's invasion?."
'So that's where the shade went, clever old thing.' He got a good eyeful of Nightmare Moon's statue, "Well not so clever since it got vaporized by the elements of harmony, and excuse me was that changeling?" The doctor's eyes snapped back into focus a little too late. All he saw was the butt end of the spear and his world went dark. His only thoughts?
A thousand years at least. Things like this wouldn't happen if I was ginger.
........................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Ditzy drank slowly from her tea cup simply enjoying the silence in her home. She glanced to her right, at her clock, and held onto her tea cup just a little tighter. It was a habit, for around this time, when dinky was yet from school and everything was nice and calm, her house would shake and rattle, noise would fill the air as the doctor came by to pick her up.
Not today though, and probably not for a while.
But someday.
Till then however.
"Mama mama!" She was getting her domestic on.
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
Temperature- 35 degrees, enclosed location or open hot area
Fairly humid, no moving air- maybe underground
Glare in eyes, spread, probably reflections- Not normal rocks then, crystals?
Restrains- 0, must be trapped then.
Eleven opened his eyes.
"Nailed it. I love it when I do that." The Doctor woke up to blue crystalline walls and the echoing of his own voice. In spite of the light, inky darkness was all he could see in his farthest vision, and he could see pretty far. Meaning- not a cave, tunnel. "Crystal Tunnels? Mind you crystals are harder than your average rock, so! What poor sod had to dig this?"
He shook his head. Wrong question- tunnel, how long, how deep. He placed a hoof in his mouth then held the salivary appendage to the air while thinking. Exit- Thataway. Whoever trapped him mustn't have known who they were dealing with.
He took a step forward, and tripped. Looking down, he found he had slipped on a loose piece of his tattered blue vest. With a mournful sigh, he shimmied out of it and let it fall to the ground while placing his new screwdriver in his mane. Passing the vest one more glance, he begun to walk towards the source of the breeze he'd felt. The only article of clothing he had left was his red tie, and it had seen far better days. He considered dropping it, but stopped. Not now.
"Oi, fancy a last trip mate?" He smiled at a voice only he could hear, "One more adventure then. We'll call it, the Doctor and tie, catchy eh."
And with a swagger he'd learnt to associate with this new body the doctor was off, towards the source of the breeze he'd felt, and thus the exit. "Riddle me this," he couldn't help but raise his voice as though he had an audience, "What do you get when you cross Changelings, a Royal wedding, and a TimeCharger." He hummed as though thinking over his own question.
"I'll tell you what...oh." Ditzy wasn't here. "Silly me, old and regenerating, can't seem to think straight now." 'She loved a good riddle that silly mare'. The TimeCharger shook his new much too girly hair out of his eyes.
'I shouldn't have left her behind.' He lamented. But he really hadn't any other choice. Considering the force of his regeneration had shattered almost everything in the control room, and sent him crashing millennia into the past, he knew he'd made the safest choice at least.
Feeling a literal chill on his spine, he stopped. "Oh hello. The source of the breeze I presume. And where there's air, there's..." The Doctor stared up at the ceiling, where there was supposed to be rock was a wooden door. He pressed his ear against it to be sure.
"...This day is going to be perfect...."
He blinked. "Sound?"
...........
The carpet shifted, and moved with the force of some unseen creature struggling to break free. With a final heave the carpet was thrown to the side, and a door hidden underneath it opened. He'd gotten lucky, most ponies wouldn't have seen the trap door at all, much less felt a draft coming from it. But lucky was the last thing he felt.The Doctor, sweaty and panting, pulled himself out. "Ponies...and ladders...why?! You don't even have claws! WHY would you purposefully torture yourselves."
The room had clothes and mannequins, and clothes on mannequins. A single bed was in the corner confusing him as to whether it was a dressing room, or bedroom. He had missed who ever had been singing by a good few minutes it seemed. "Well hello beautiful, and I'm not talking about the hair."
He sauntered up to the mirror, and gave his own reflection bedroom eyes, "Oh stop it you'll make me blush. I'm sure you say that to all the two heart ponies fresh from regeneration you see. " He licked his hoof and passed it through his mane in an effort to make it less of a mess. "There we go. Drat." His screwdriver had fallen, but as he bent to pick it he saw the most glorious thing he'd laid eyes on in nine hundred years of time and space.
A red bow tie.
"Ditzy look, can you believe these ponies. This beauty was just sitting there, on the floor, completely unloved."
'"Doctor! This isn't the time to be vain!"'
"Just a minute. I can't very well stop the changelings looking like a homeless pony can I." 'Never mind she isn't actually here.' "Like I said, what do you get when you cross Changelings and a royal wedding." He paused, "Well, a really bad acronym I suppose, or you know, a fixed point. You could get that too. Anyway! If I'm going to a wedding I have to look the part."
'"But we'll get caught for sure. I mean don't you have to get invited to these kind of things?"'
He pointed his nose to the air in the snottiest manner he could think of, "Of course I was. I'm the 'Royal wedding planner' remember?" 'Now I only have to look the part.' A second later he was dressed in a tux, undershirt and bow tie. All courtesy of the mannequins. He didn't take the Top hat however. 'Couldn't well leave the poor thing naked could I.' "Something's not right though hmmm." Just there in the corner of his eye he saw it, a single discarded mannequin wrapped in a tweed jacket.
"Now we're cooking. Oh Yes."
........
The door was thrown open.
"Wait till the ladies get a load of me!" The Doctor strolled out dressed in a tweed jacket- with his screwdriver tucked safely inside, white undershirt and red bow-tie. Maybe an odd fashion choice, but perfect for him. He was sure he could pull it off.
"Aaaaaaahhhhh." said the mare who run into him and floored them both.
He was honestly offended, and not just because she was kicking him in the face in her efforts to keep running. "Oi, it's not that bad." he assured her.
"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh."
"No really see, bowties are cool-" Kick in the face.
"AAAAAAHHHHH." She screamed directly at his bow-tie. With a final kick she was off to who knows where. With his head out of his ass the Doctor realized she wasn't the only one screaming her head off. All around him ponies and changelings screamed, whether in fear or rage he didn't now.
But he knew what the chaos of a battlefield looked like, and he seemed knee deep in it. The doctor was off like a rocket in space- unhindered, for those of us who are slow -in search of the important ponies/changelings. In this case he needed to get to the wedding, or you know, what's left of it. So much for the wedding planner approach.
"But this doesn't make any sense," He muttered to himself as he swerved past a flying changeling, "The Canterlot wedding is a fixed point in time, I shouldn't be here by all accounts." He flew through the castle as a grey-in-tweed blur. The grey pony maneuvered the hallways like he'd lived here himself till an epiphany hit him. "Unless, UNLESS!" He run to the nearest window.
And there went those six mares, out the wedding hall, and off to retrieve the elements of harmony like the brilliant mares they were. They wouldn't succeed but that wasn't the point.
"Unless, Chrysalis is defeated no matter what happens." Meaning-??? "There's something else, something I'm missing. Something that involves me. Of course, I must be part of the fixed point!" But what, what? He froze...then facehoofed, "Of course!" Then facehoofed again, "I saw it it, but I missed it, I saw it but I missed it!" The Doctor looked back from where he came, a shadow of himself moving backwards in time, "What did I see, I saw..
Chaos, Ponies and changelings dancing a dangerous game of war.
Bodies flying left and right.
Two solar guard ponies, fiercely guarding the princess's chambers.
The doctor blinked. It took him a minute to backtrack, but here he was staring down the two guards. They stared back, "Can you see the future Luna," he whispered to himself, "because 1000 years is a helluva record."
"So, Insect Ponies, never heard of those before."
"They're evil. Evil. They Hide."
"Pardon, hide where?"
"Everywhere." She whispered, "And I think there's one in my room.
The Doctor did some mental calculations and nodded, "Five minutes, no pressure."
........................................................................................................................................................................................................................
She was flying, and it was night time, as it was in most of her dreams. Not with the miniature wings she had now, but the full wingspan she possessed when she was once equal to her sister's size. She was truly one with her sky at this point, unlike her sister who gave the sky light, she painted everything in the night with her magic.
Not that she made the stars, those were there already, no she simply manipulated how the light could be perceived by pony eyes. Some days she made the night blue with gloomy clouds, sometimes black with little white points, other times a mix.
But that was neither here nor there. It was just her, and her night today. No one else. Folding her wings, she landed on the moon, and gave it a loving caress.
"It's been too long since we last spoke hasn't it?"
"You remembered!"
She woke with a start, especially because a hoof pressed itself against her mouth. A half-thought caught her attacker in her magic, the other half stopped her from brutally slamming them against the wall. Repeatedly.
"Sorry, sorry, thought you were awake. Honest mistake." The Doctor whispered in panic.
"You're-
"I'm the Doctor, surprise, yes I'm in your room, yes I'm late, No I wasn't reading your mind you sleep talk, nasty habit by the way, now please don't say anything because there are changelings under your bed and we really don't want to wake them!" He hissed.
-late."Her look of confusion melted into one of rage, "Guards, Guards!"
"How can I be of service?"
The both paused, and watched a shadow stand upright- as in leave the goddamn 2D plane and became 3D -before it melted into the shape of a changeling the doctor barely recognized. "Chrysalis?" '30 seconds'
The queen shook it's head in a hauntingly slow motion, "Call me Cocoon, my little pony."
"What are you beast?" Luna barked, "How did you find your way into my chambers- I mean room. Curse you modern day slang." She made to stand but found herself frozen, her mouth the only thing she could move. "What trickery is this, I can't move." She struggled against some unseen force even as the doctor shook his head at the futility of her actions. All the while the new queen moved back and forth simply observing them as he did her.
Then the doctor spoke.
"Look at you, aren't you beautiful. I mean, split the gene sideways and add an extra chromosome? Oh, you'd think from pony DNA that would wreck havoc on the evolutionary chain, and cause all kinds of badness, but you would be so wrong."
Both mares had a look of wat on their faces.
The Doctor spun in the air, and swam towards Luna, "That's all a Mindling is after all, just a changeling with an extra chromosome, and silly shaped DNA. Of course the real change is in the name isn't it. Where changelings trick you into thinking their someone their not, you lot just straight up take over....," he pointed to Luna, "a pony's head."
"You know of us." The queen chirped in amusement, still dancing back and forth. '2 minutes 30 seconds'
"Or in this case, the part of her brain that controls her body and magic. By the way I'm not stupid mate, you can't hypnotize anyone while their aware, we both know that that's why you hid here in Luna's room, and waited till she was asleep to hijack her mind. But it seems I caught you halfway done and with your pants down, innuendo aside." She stopped dancing, looking more amused by the second. "You can let me down now Luna."
With a disgruntled whine Luna shook her head, "My magic isn't responding. But how? Why?"
"I was afraid of that. Okay so not halfway done." The Doctor admitted not looking very worried at all. He was whisked towards the queen until he was just a few feet away from her.
"But how?" The queen mocked, her eyes locked on Luna's, "You seem to have all the answers, my little clever pony, take a guess?"
"Well, it only makes sense doesn't it. Why invade Canterlot with only one changeling queen if one of you can barely take on one alicorn, seems like a rubbish idea if you ask me."
"Invasion?!" Luna cried.
"Didn't I mention that? Sorry we're being invaded. Try to keep up. Right, so! You lot, sit down and think, 'Well we have to get rid of one so what do we do?' It doesn't take much to find out one princess nods off during the day, the other at night and from there it's just a matter of 'when's the wedding taking place' to decide who's who."
Cocoon nodded, "We couldn't have her waking up after all."
"And that's where you come in. Go on."
She smiled, and was it was scary, "Coaxing someone into deep sleep is child's play for a mindling, much less a queen like myself."
"And? Come on then, you haven't said anything juicy yet. Unless you're trying to be a bore, you aren't a bore are you. I hate bores."
"Ohhhh, you're quick aren't you? I suppose the next step was giving my sister queen a little boost in magic power courtesy of our princess of the night herself, a little concentration needed, but child's play-once again-for a queen such as myself." She bowed." You could say I brought this whole show to a close by myself. No applause needed." '4 minutes 10 seconds. Stall.'
"You could say that."
"Pardon?"
He coughed, "You shouldn't have let me say that."
The two mares traded confused glances.
Not mine belongs to bbc orhcestra
"Oh you know, just that, you really shouldn't have let me talk so much. That's the problem with you baddies, never finishing me off before I start to flap my gums. See, any second now, those wonderful ponies out there are going to kick you, your sister, and all your little lings, right out of Canterlot! And you know what? They'll do it with the power of love. Love between an alicorn you thought was out of the game, and a stallion you tried to play like a fiddle. See Luna the universe does support irony."
Cocoon's laughter filled the air as she threw her head back, "You talk big, colt. And how will your friends overcome Chrysalis hmmm. They'll be caught in between her own might and dear Luna's magic." She violently threw the Doctor against the wall to prove her point.
'Go time.' He moaned, "They would, If you'd been concentrating on sending her any magic for the last five minutes." Her horn lit up in an attempt to restart the channel but it was too late. The pink energy field passed through them all in a flash, she wasn't harmed, but she could feel it in the magic, in the air. They had failed.
"Why wasn't I...affected?" She murmmed.
"Split Chromosome, atomic in size, big difference." The time pony stood on shaky legs and grinned, "Not a Changeling."
The Mindling was visibly grinding her teeth, "I should kill you!" She pointed to Luna, who couldn't even speak now apparently, "And her, I still have her magic, I could kill every last one of you in this city. Celestia is down, and no one else is strong enough."
"No."
"And you will stop me, yes?"
"Good you understand. Then I don't even have to say it, fly away with your tail between your legs, and we'll call it a draw."
"Who.Are.You.to tell ME. what to do?"
"Take a look then, come on, I'm giving you permission. I won't even fight you. You want to know, why you should run when I tell you to run, why you stop when I tell you to pack your bags?" He shook his head, "It's all up here baby."
With a cry of rage she shot him with her magic- he screamed -and orbs of memories seem to fly out of him then back. The Doctor, through the pain couldn't help but recognize his own memories.
Daleks, an infinite number fell down on Equestria ready to destroy everything.
"O-oh there have been so-o many."
Exterminate!
"Don't think you're the first to threaten me with death and don't think you'll be the l-last."
Cybercolts by the dozen marched down the streets of Trottingham.
"Sontarans, Weeping angels, Zygons, even the TimeChargers," he held unto the wall for support, gritting his teeth all the while, "The question you should be asking yourself is- ugh, what happened to them." Then the memories changed but she- Cocoon, didn't understand.
A curious old light blue stallion with a curled back white mane
A wise dark grey stallion with a black mane
An old but decisive light brown stallion with white curly hair
A sage known more for his scarf then anything else
A friendly yellow colt with blonde hair and bleached skin.
A bitter colt with an even more obnoxious color scheme of every color there ever was
An vicious brown colt with an umbrella
A lost purple stallion in a green suit
A war torn old stallion with a groovy beard
A stallion more soldier than adventurer with the shortest mane and biggest ears she'd seen
A wrathful brown colt
A
"Then there's me." She flinched when his face filled her vision, and the spell wore off. He stood confidently as though he had all the cards, and she was wasting her time even threatening him. "Hello, I'm the Doctor." She flinched at the mention of his name, and flinched again when he smiled. "Basically...
...run."
POP.
Luna rubbed the teleport dust from her eyes. She had never seen a teleport that overloaded, or that fast before. "Wait, Doctor I can move! "
He trotted up to her bed, and gave her a good look over, "Can you? Good. The last thing we need is a stiff alicorn, we have enough of those in the gardens."
She tilted her head in confusion.
"You know, the garden, with all the statues? The stiff statues, or don't u have those yet? Oh, I'm never making that joke again." They mutually nodded, right before she slapped/punched him. Hard. He hit the wall. The one 6 feet away.
"OW.Why??!"
"Over.a.1000.years."
"Wu uweady called the gwads on mwe!"
She scoffed, "A 1000 years?"
"Oooohhhhh."
"What even brought you here now of all times, or do you just like it when I'm distressed, and in need of help in my bed." She said with a straight face. He would've laughed but his face hurt so much, so with a shaky hoof he gave her his psychic paper.
"What is- Royal Wedding planner, "She deadpanned. "I can't even. Weren't you in space? How did she even get you as a Royal wedding planner? Nevermind, I'm mostly curious about how you intimidated her into leaving when she was all but ready to kill us!"
"Jus abwit of mwindfwukewy."
"What."
"Ah- She basically left her mind open in order to read mine, I just implanted the thought that I was the scariest thing in the room in her head. It helped she was already off her game and the rest is ah- histowey."
........................................................................................................................................................................................................................
The Doctor watched the the screen in the Tardis not quite understanding what he was looking at. Several hours had passed since Cocoon and Chrysalis's failed takeover attempt and there were many things about the day he simply couldn't put behind him. Not yet.
"Doctor!"
He jerked the screen to the side and assumed a casual pose as Luna poked her head inside. The strange look she gave him told him how successful he was.
"The dancing's about to start and you told me how much you love to dance at weddings."
"Just a minute, just putting the finishing touches on a couple of, er, things. I'll be there."
"Hurry up will you, you haven't even met my sister yet." She left, and just a minute after he followed. The screen he'd forgotten to turn off showed a young Luna, an older one, and a Changeling standing side by side and circled all over with equations only the Tardis could calculate right before it fizzled out.
He stepped off his vehicle just as pinkie told Twilight to drop the beat.
Love is in bloom
A beautiful Bride
And a handsome groom, two hearts becoming one-
The day was saved, and night had come. Everyone danced as Twilight Sparkle dropped the beat/sung. And none paid the awkwardly dancing grey pony any mind, because the crusaders and spike loved him enough to copy his dance. You know the one.
Also because Princess Luna vouched for him. He was the Royal Wedding planner after all.
Luna spared the TimeCharger a glance, a memory catching up to her even as she danced by her sister.
She was rather surprised to see two guard ponies outside her door when she and the Doctor walked/limped out. This surprise turned to anger and she was ready to give the two a good tongue lashing, and demotion on the spot.
"Don't bother, "her grey friend said, "They're just images, projections the queen used to keep anyone from barging in."
"They didn't deter you however." She inquired.
"Me, nah, no way." He sniffed, "Too obvious you see, she kept them up even while the invasion was going on. I saw right through it."
"How pray tell? They seem like fairly good constructs if i judge them myself."
The Doctor tilted his head in consideration, "Hm? Oh yeah they're perfect. They even last a while after she stops feeding them. I mean it even makes perfect sense: invasion happens, soldiers protect their leaders right. Pretty typical stuff.
"And?"
He gave her a funny look, "Well we're in Equestria, the only country whose leaders raise the bleeding sun and moon. Clever disguises, not so clever use." They walked in silence. All around them the city was recovering from the attack. Luna couldn't help the despair she felt knowing she'd contributed to it indirectly.
"Sorry by the way."
She looked into the Doctor's searching eyes.
"I was gone a thousand years. I didn't miss anything interesting did I."
She smiled weakly, "Nothing interesting."
He looked away while seemingly struggling with himself. Then he spoke, "Remember that conversation we had, long ago about things that can, and can't be changed." She looked away as well. "Sometimes...when those unchangeable things happen, time travelers like me get the boot from that particular time period. No interfering from us, no siree."
"A fixed point?"
"Yh."
The Doctor turned to see her smiling, and looking towards the moon. Was it bad she felt so relieved?
She smiled. At least her dancing was better than somepony's.
-A bond that cannot be undone, because...
Author's Note
Wohooo! Sweet little oneshot for the win. I hope I left you all with good mushy feelings, and a craving for more of my fics >;]. Remember kids, HYPE HYPE HYPE!
