This is a work of fan fiction. My Little Pony is owned by Hasbro, Doctor Who is owned by the BBC and Artica Lagopus is owned by Shawntae Howard. All other references are copyrighted to me.
Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.
Thousands of tiny stars of light rose from all over the landscape of Equestria. From her balcony, Princess Luna smiled softly watching the thousands of wishes head towards the heavens. Second only to Nightmare Night, Luna loved Wish Night most of all. Once known as the Night of a Thousand Wishes, it was now known simply as Wish Night; a very special night when ponies lifted their deepest hearts' desires.
Luna knew not where the wishes went, nor whether they were answered, but very special ones she would give a boost with her magic. Enraptured with the lights, she nearly missed a small pale blue one. In her life, she had watched many wishes. Most wishes were a silvery white color. Occasionally a gold one soared through the sky, those were exceptionally special and usually selfless wishes. The strange wish moved slowly and wobbled. Using her magic, Luna drew the odd wish to her. She touched the tiny orb with the tip of her horn and gasped.
Applejack sat on the ground before a pair of tombstones. One read Pear Butter, the other read BrightMac. Sniffling, she rubbed her eyes with her foreleg. "Ah just want to see mah parents again." She whimpered.
Luna's eyes popped open and she frowned, a sharp pain stabbing her heart. She heard her bedroom door open and Celestia's voice called in. "I'm going to bed dear sister. See you in the morning."
"Tia! Wait a moment!" Luna called over her shoulder, turning and entering her chambers, bringing the tiny wish with her. "Come and look at this."
The elder alicorn walked in, and smiled at the light spectacle over her sister's shoulder. "Ah, I had forgotten it's Wish Night." Glancing at her sister, she inclined her head. "What is it Luna?"
"Have you ever seen a wish like this Tia? I know I haven't. Even when trapped on the moon, I saw many wishes and never saw one like it." The tiny blue orb danced over to Celestia and the elder took it in her own golden glow.
Studying the orb for a moment, Celestia shook her head. "I can't say that I have Luna. Have you looked at it? What's the wish?"
"You'll need to look for yourself. I really can't explain what happens when I look at it." Celestia nodded and touched the tip of her horn to the little wish, closing her eyes. Moments later a shiver rippled through her and her eyes popped open. "Did you suddenly remember mother and father?" Luna wondered, taking the wish back.
Celestia slowly nodded, "I did, yes. That's a strange wish. Luna, do you have the feeling we should give it a good boost?"
"I do sister. That's why I asked you to come in. While my own magic would be sufficient to get it to the heavens, I cannot help feeling that we should do this together."
"I agree Luna, come let's go out onto your balcony." Following her sister, Celestia stepped out onto the balcony and gazed across the landscape. Most of the wishes had gone but there were a few stray ones still rising. Turning to face her sister, she leaned in and touched her horn to Luna's.
The combined glow of magic caused the tiny wish to begin glowing more strongly. It changed from blue to silvery-white, to gold to a brilliant red before shooting up into the sky whizzing at incredible speeds. "Wherever you're going." Luna whispered. "Get there safely." Looking up at her sister, she smiled. "Thank you Tia."
Celestia leaned in and embraced Luna. "You're quite welcome Luna dear. Now, I really must get to bed."
"Of course, sleep well and pleasant dreams."
Far out in space the brilliant red wish, now boosted by alicorn magic, hurtled past planets, stars, suns, galaxies until it was nothing more than a blazing red streak.
*************************************
Lounging in his recliner, Chance turned a page of the book in his lap. Off to the side, at the base of a small waterfall, Artica idly made ice trails in the koi pool. Moments later a brilliant red light streaked through the control room and slammed into his chest. The force of the light knocked him and his recliner backwards and he backwards somersaulted out of his recliner to land face first on the floor. "Ow!" He groaned.
Leaping to her feet, Artica dashed over to him. "Chance, are you alright?" She cried worriedly. "What happened?"
Letting out a groan, the young man lifted his head. "I have no idea Artica." He grimaced, tenderly feeling his head. "Something just caught me right in the hearts." Taking Artica's hand, he gingerly pulled himself to his feet, swaying slightly until he got his bearings.
Artica watched him rest a hand on the left side of his chest and then the right side of his chest before he gave her a reassuring smile. "How're you feeling Chance?"
"Like I got run over by a dump truck. Fortunately both hearts are still beating, but I've still got a burning pain in my...OH!" He pulled a small leather case out of his breast pocket and opened it. "Ah, message on the psychic paper. That's a pretty strong message."
Taking the offered case Artica winced at the acrid smell. The edges of the paper were burnt to a crisp and a message, in red, flashed across the front. "I just want to see my parents again."
"Strange," Chance murmured retrieving the case from her. "Usually the Doctor gets these sort of messages. I wonder why it sought out me?" Stretching and blinking, Chance shook his head attempting to clear his thoughts. "I've never seen a message written in red before." He glanced at the vixen beside him. "Did you see anything Artica?"
"Yeah, a streak of red light passed through the TARDIS' doors before shooting across the room and sending you for a loop." She looked over at the door. "In fact, the red streak is still there, faint but still there."
Noticing the long red streak from the door to where his recliner stood, Chance approached it. Dipping the tip of his finger, a bit of the sparkling red substance came away. He sniffed it, before touching it to his tongue. It tingled his tongue slightly but possessed no other attributes. "Strange, Artica can you see if you can encase it in ice?"
Frowning, she stepped up to the beam. "I think so." She curled her hands about the beam and in moments ice slowly swirled and coalesced forming a small lump which radiated red light. Taking the lump she studied it before nodding with a satisfied smile. "Looks like it worked." She handed the lump to Chance.
Bounding up the three steps that led to the console table he tapped several button and a draw under the table popped open. He placed the lump of ice into the draw and closed it with a bump of his hip. Tapping button, he stared at a small screen on the console. "Hah! Found it, I think I can track it! Hang on!" Throwing several switches and entering information onto a keyboard he engaged the engines. In the corner of the room, the Time Rotor began moving up and down and low whirring grinding noise gradually rose in volume.
"Where are we going?" Artica wondered, slightly concerned by the manic grin on his face.
"We are going to make a wish come true, obviously!" He chuckled, rubbing his hands together. "I love a good challenge."
Artica watched him for a moment longer then returned to the waterfall, laying down beside the koi pool. She watched the fish lazily swim about, trailing her fingers through the water, letting them nibble her fingertips. "Chance, do you still have my water gun?"
Pausing, Chance turned to look at her a thoughtful look on his face. "Actually, yes. I do still have it." Walking to the opposite wall, he searched several storage lockers before giving an exclamation of delight. "Yes! I found it. Here!" He tossed the bracelet to her and she put it on her wrist, happy to have it back. "I tinkered with the inner dimensions. It used to hold about half a pint of water."
"How much does it hold now?" She wondered, touching the device. It felt no heavier than when she previously wore it.
He frowned in thought, "Hmmmm, about ten gallons." Artica's jaw dropped.
"T...T...Ten gallons? How's that even possible?"
Glancing about, Chance grinned. "You're inside a TARDIS and you're asking how that's possible. Dimensional engineering is something my people are exceptionally good at. It really wasn't too difficult to change the dimensions inside your water gun."
"Thanks Chance, that'll be a huge help."
*************************************
"Good morning Luna dear!" Celestia chirped happily, watching her sister drag herself into the dining room. "I made you pancakes!" A plate floated over and landed on the table.
Blinking, Luna stared at the stack of cakes, unseeing for a moment. Shaking her head, she smiled sleepily. "Oh, you made a pancake face that looks like me. Thank you Celestia." She leaned in, muzzle open, to take a bite when a strange noise interrupted her. A whirring-grinding noise filled the room and slowly, in the corner, what appeared to be a refrigerator materialized. Both princesses stared in shock. The door opened and a human bounded out, followed by what appeared to be a bipedal fox female.
"Artica, look...horses! Oh, I always wanted a horse. They don't have any on Gallifrey." He bounded over to Celestia and gently stroked her nose and patted her head. "Ohhhh, and not just a horse but a winged unicorn. How utterly adorable."
Shocked hardly began to describe Celestia's current mental status. To have a magic box appear randomly in her dining room was unheard of and the two creatures who emerged from the box were utterly ridiculous. However the petting and caresses delighted her so and it took several minutes before she gathered her wits enough to speak. "Good morning! I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage. Who're you and how did you get into my dining room?"
Chance lit up, grinning like a madman. "You talk! Talking horses, how utterly brilliant! Marvelous even!" He glanced over his shoulder at Artica. "Isn't that brilliant?"
Celestia watched the fox girl petting her sister who seemed to have dozed off under the vixen's gentle ministrations. "Alright, now that we have that established; could you please tell me who you are?"
"Terribly sorry, I do get a bit excited when I encounter new things. I'm the Gambler, but most people just call me Chance. This is my companion Artica Lagopus, she only recently started travelling with me."
Inclining her head, Celestia chuckled. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Princess Celestia, and my sleepy sister over there is Princess Luna we rule the land of Equestria together. So what has brought you to our peaceful land Chance?"
Reaching into his pocket, Chance withdrew the case and opened it. Celestia studied the message for a moment then shook her head. "That is a wish my sister and I encountered last night. I didn't think it would actually reach someone."
"Well it did!" Chance chuckled, "And I've come to grant it."
Shaking her head sadly, Celestia sighed. "I'm sorry Chance, but the one who made that wish...her parents are dead. They've been dead for years."
"Perfect, I love a challenge!"
Celestia blinked, she had not expected that response. She studied the strange man. He lounged comfortably in a chair, seemingly unperturbed by her being a princess. His eyes however, they looked old almost ancient. His eyes had seen much, his mouth kept a permanent half smirk and he appeared rather easy going. Looking deeper though, Celestia could see the power that he held in check. Whatever he was, he was no mere human. "Alright then, I'll arrange for you to meet her. Will that be acceptable?"
Nodding, Chance grinned. “Just fine Celest.”