Adventures in the TARDIS

“Up there,” Feather Wind announces as he points up a giant mountain with snow cresting the top. “The Blue Ice Lily grows at the top of that mountain.” He looks back at Daring Do behind him as she approaches then stops behind him while gazing up at the giant mountain in wonder. “At least, that is the location the wind spirits say a flower grows which matches your description. According to them, the flower doesn't have that particular name.”

Daring's light purple eyes shift from looking at the top of the mountain ahead of them to the small sky-blue wizard as she asks him, “In that case, what is the name of these particular flowers?”

“Um . . . that's hard to describe,” Feather answers with a slight wince. “The 'name' they give is more like an energetic song, I guess? A frequency that speaks more of the spirit of the flowers. When the wind speaks of it, the melody of its name evokes a strong feeling of purity.”

“Purity, huh?” asks Doctor Kelly with a matter of fact expression. She spits out her empty lollipop stem to a hoof then flicks it away. From her white coat pocket, she floats up another lollipop that has a purple color and sticks it in her mouth. At that point she says, “At least symbolically, it seems we're on the right track, then. Anything that signifies 'purity' sounds like our best lead so far.” She then looks at Daring Do over the rim of her floating holographic lens. “I hope it has occurred to you that the flower you seek might be a cure for more than the affliction you wish to cure. There could be a dozen others it could help with. We also need to make sure we gather enough to cure everypony that is afflicted. Just how many is it anyway? You can give an approximate number if . . .” She trails off when she notices Derpy giving her the stink eye, to which Doctor Kelly asks the gray pegasus, “What?”

Deepening her frown, Derpy complains, “This place has been nothing but hospitable to all of us, and you just flick a lollipop stem on the ground and litter?! That's rude! Pick that up this instant!”

“Pick what up, Derpy?” Doctor Kelly counters while wearing a subtle, cunning grin. “Point to the lollipop stem right now . . . if you can.”

“Of course I can! It's right there!” Derpy insists as she points to empty ground before looking directly at the spot. When she does, though, a surprised exclamation symbol appears above her head for a split second along with a startled sound effect. Derpy then brings her face a lot closer to the spot she points at as one eye scans the spot mere inches from it while her left eye remains aiming lazily cornerwise up. “Bah-but . . . it was right there! I saw it! I really did!”

“What you saw was magical energy condensed and coalesced to simulate the form of a lollipop and lollipop stem temporarily. When that magical energy gets exhausted, it dissipates back into its default state,” Doctor Kelly explains in a lecture tone.

“Fascinating!” Derpy marvels as she lifts her head back up and looks at Doctor Kelly with her right eye. “So these things naturally clean themselves up, eh? Well,” Derpy closes her eyes as her expression lifts in delight, “in that case, I'll take a lemon flavor then!”

“You got it,” Doctor Kelly accepts then proceeds to float a yellow lollipop to Derpy. Floating in front of the yellow, messy mane pegasus, Derpy snaps her mouth forward to envelop the lollipop and closes her eyes again as she gives a delighted squee. “Anypony else want one?” Doctor Kelly then offers to everyone else.

“Maybe later,” Feather Wind says back to the Magi.

“If the flower we seek is up there, there are some factors we need to consider,” Stern Wing says as she gives an appraising eye to the peak of the giant mountain ahead of them. “I mean, just look at it! It seems pretty cold up there, but I know Feather Wind has a spell to help with that.” She looks at her small blue friend. “Higher altitudes are almost always cold and Feather has a small body, so he devised a spell that could help him, and us too if he casts it at us, a way to keep us warm up there.” Stern Wing then looks at Daring Do beside her who also looks back up at the taller and broader pegasus. “But you said that the flower tends to grow where oxygen is thinner too. If what we seek is indeed up there, then what we'll also find is thinner oxygen as well. However,” Stern Wing looks among the rest as she adds, “it is a well-known fact that pegasi generally happen to be more adept and flying at altitudes with thinner oxygen, at least potentially. Since I am the largest and strongest among us, I could just fly on up there and-”

“Bad idea,” Feather Wind interrupts with a shake of his head. When he says that, he wins Stern Wing's undivided attention. Feather Wind goes on to explain, “It's not just cold up there. Winds are very strong up there too.” He looks up at the mountain. “It has something to do with the temperature, air pressure, and the shape of the mountain.”

“But if you come with me, you could calm the winds?” Stern Wing suggests. “No pony I know can influence the winds better than you, and for a unicorn, you're well-adept at high altitudes as well.”

Feather Wind winces as he looks back at Stern Wing and says, “This isn't Equestria. Weather patterns here have a mind of their own. I might be able to influence the weather here a little, but that's like asking a flowing river to halt or reverse its course. That would be a constant struggle if it's possible at all.”

“Hmm,” Stern Wing gives the mountain another appraising eye. “Can we at least fly closer to the top safely?”

When Stern Wing asks him that, Feather Wind is silent for a while as he looks back up the top of the mountain. Seconds later he closes his eyes as he breathes in deep. He listens to the message of the wind after using his talent to ask it a question. About half a minute later a small breeze blows on him which makes his puffy, cloud-like white mane jiggle a bit. He then pops his eyes open as he says, “Yes . . . kind of. The wind varies, but I'd say it is safe about sixty percent of the way up the mountain. After that it gets more unpredictable and generally stronger.” He looks up at Stern Wing. “If I'm there, I may be able to calm and guide the winds more, but I think we'd be pushing even my limits once we go past the eighty percent mark.”

“Eighty percent really helps,” Stern Wing commends in an impressed tone. “That could probably shave about a week's worth of climbing off right there.”

“I'm not willing to send the two of you off to danger like that by yourselves,” Daring says with a disapproving frown. “If anypony is going off on a task like that alone, it's me.” Daring gives a firm nod. “I have plenty of experience climbing mountains and I even brought some equipment specializing in that task.”

“Yeah, but . . . why?” Derpy asks Daring in confusion. “You're a pegasus. You've always been one and a pretty good flier, so I heard. Because of that, it doesn't seem necessary for you to gather rock climbing experience.”

“I did that ever since I was a foal!” Daring reports to Derpy in minor delight. After that a fond smile sinks into her lips as she says, “It was something I did with my late and great grandfather. Sometimes we climbed mountains just for fun.” She grins at Derpy. “You know, I actually mentioned something like that to him back then, and he said, 'We're climbing this anyway because it is good exercise, it is a valuable experience, and sometimes we can't fly up every obstacle for one reason or another. Maybe the weather is too strong and chaotic, or perhaps our wings could be injured.' Believe me, I've had my fair share of the latter experience to verify that possibility.”

Stern Wing lifts a brown hoof to signal she wants to gather attention now. When she has it, she says, “Be that as it may, icicle winds and thin oxygen may not be the only problems up there. We already encountered a potentially hostile reality bender in this time so I'm not comfortable sending anypony up there alone.” Stern Wing focuses a determined and stubborn gaze at Daring Do as she goes on to say, “The Doctor may have put you in charge, and to a point I respect that decision, but if you're asking me to remain behind while you try to fly off to the top of that mountain alone for who-knows-how-long then no thank you. I insist to accompony you at the very least and that's final!” Stern Wing insists with a stubborn stomp of a hoof for further emphasis on the word “final”.

Daring Do sighs as her look transfers from Stern Wing to the rest of the group as she asks, “Do all the rest of you feel that way too?”

“Absolutely,” Feather Wind immediately agrees. “When it comes to the capabilities of this creature of chaos, we can't take anything for granted even if it is a weaker form of draconequus than the one you know.” Feather half shrugs as he adds, “Depending what this creature does with that power, potentially it wouldn't take much to injure or kill us. In that case, our odds of survival are better if we stick together.”

“I also agree,” Derpy chimes in.

“And I'd like to go for other reasons too,” Doctor Kelly puts in. “There's no guarantee that the mountain has enough samples of the flower to cure all the afflicted in your time. A better strategy would be to cultivate more. To do that, we need to know the right conditions to pull that off. If I go up there, I can scan the flowers in several ways. That kind of information could be helpful in growing them again closer to all of your native timelines.”

“That includes magical energy too, right?” Feather Wind checks with Doctor Kelly. “I ask because I get a strong feeling that is one of the major factors in growing this particular flower. I don't know for sure why it is extinct in our time, but I do know the magic of our native time isn't as strong as this area and era. Areas like this might still exist somewhere closer to our native time but we'd have to be more selective in that case.”

“The answer to your question is yes,” Doctor Kelly assures Feather Wind. “Even I can feel the presence of magic and decipher it keenly enough to invent an entire language around it. My instruments can do it more precisely, though. If I bring my droids, they can give us exact number figures. That may end up being vital information in this case. With that information, we can be selective in an educated way.”

“The flower would need time to grow, too,” Feather Wind realizes. “As such, if we secure at least one sample of it, I suggest we don't take it to your time period at all,” he says as he looks at Daring Do. “Instead of that, we aim a century or two behind your time. Once there, we look for an ideal spot to plant it. If possible, it could be even better if some kind of sentient and benevolent force was there to protect and further cultivate the flowers.”

Suddenly Feather Wind widens his eyes as if he just realizes something. After that he closes his eyes as if either listening for something or being deep in thought.

“What?” Stern Wing asks Feather Wind after twelve seconds.

“I just got a suggestion from Crystal Sage,” Feather Wind answers as he opens his eyes. “You know . . . the pony in this Crystal?”

Stern Wing nods as she says, “Yeah. I'm aware of him, and oh . . . by the way, have you been taking some time to gather all this positive energy in this area? It seems unusually abundant here so it could be useful for your project.”

“I have some, but that's hard to do while we're moving,” Feather Wind reports. “I'm still new in attuning myself to this Crystal so it takes all of my concentration. As such, I can't be doing anything else during those moments. Not yet, at any rate.”

“Noted,” says Daring Do before she asks, “And what did he say? Where should we plant the flowers in the future?”

“The Frozen North in Equestria,” Feather Wind answers Daring while also looking at her. “That kind of environment is already ideal for a flower accustomed to high altitude, icy climates, thin oxygen, and abundant magic that is as pure as white snow. The Crystal Mountains of the Frozen North also have lots of magical crystals growing inside and around it. If necessary, maybe I can charge some of those crystals and enchant it to be especially conducive for the magic these flowers need. If I have Crystal Sage's help with that project, we'd be virtually ensured to succeed provided we are given enough information that we need to enchant those crystals with,” he says as he swings his face and gazes at Doctor Kelly. “So your scans definitely could come in hoofy. It might even be vital for this project.”

“And if we plant the flowers up there a couple of centuries back, I can mark it on a map,” Daring Do says with a thoughtful expression as she rubs the bottom of her chin with a left hoof. “The Blue Ice Lilly is thought to be extinct in our time, but I've got to admit that much of the Crystal Mountains of the Frozen North is still uncharted and unexplored. If I have the only map of its location in the world, and even I'm skipping two centuries ahead with it, then it is less likely any other creature will disturb them before we are ready to cultivate them.”

“The Yaks are up there, among other creatures,” Feather Wind reminds the group but Daring in particular. “But there are some areas that even they wouldn't dare to tread, possibly because they'd be unable to access it without flying or weather control.”

“Or there's another strategy we could use,” Doctor Kelly brings up. “What if we could recruit the Yaks to guard the flowers? Maybe even attend them. Maybe they could be bound to a sacred promise to keep these flowers from being known until the right ponies show up to collect them. In exchange, we let them keep some of the flowers for their own purposes. Who is going to say no to a powerful and helpful medicinal flower that could help cure any affliction?”

“From what I saw, the Yaks are pretty stubborn and thick-headed,” Daring Do mentions while still holding a thoughtful pose. “But that could also be a good thing. If they make a promise, it can sink into a cultural tradition they'd pass on. As long as the promise they make is useful to us, they could actually become an advantage to us.”

Daring Do's hoof sinks back to the ground as she gives her companions a more serious expression as she adds, “But to get their cooperation, it is essential to win their trust and respect.”

“Got any ideas how we can do that?” Derpy checks with Daring with an innocent and curious blink of her walleyes at Daring.

“Actually, yes. I got a few I could try,” Daring concurs. “There are some mythical and mystical objects among their tribe that I know they deeply revere. Tradition is very important to the Yaks and that also means taking care of that which is sacred to them. In my time, the objects I'm thinking of they already have, but if we time travel back a few centuries, we could establish ourselves as the heroes that got them those objects in the first place. That'll be yet another story they'll pass on through the generations. Then, when we get back to my native time as well as Derpy's, we could meet up with the Yaks again who owe us a favor by then, and the Yaks shall not allow themselves to forget their debts. They take such things very seriously.”

Daring Do widens her eyes as she realizes something else then gets thoughtful again as she goes on to say, “Come to think of it, that might already be true. The first time I visited the Yaks, they already respected me for some reason. Prince Rutherford, the current leader of the Yaks in my time, even called me an honorary Yak in his village and he further emphasized that was a rare honor he bestowed upon a non-yak. At the time, I thought his attitude was because he respected me as a rugged adventurer. Perhaps he even heard of some of my tales somehow.” Daring shrugs. “I'll admit that he did have a personal request for me on behalf of his village, which in turn helps to explain why he tried to butter me up when we first met, but the fact remains that it was unusual he trusted me so much on our first meeting. Maybe this is why!” Daring looks across the group in delight. “Not only will I help his ancestors get a hold of the Blue Ice Lily in the first place, but I might have helped them with some other task at the time. I may have already proven my worth to Prince Rutherford in the distant past so he knew to trust me with this other task in his time.”

“That very well could be,” Feather Wind agrees. “The Doctor already said that a future that will occur has already happened in the perspective of some other timeline. If you're right, all we have to do is close the gap of this causality loop by actually doing whatever it is that will get us famous among the Yaks. Helping to plant the Ice Blue Lillies in the first place probably would already win us some social points in their books. After all, a miracle cure like that might have come in hoofy for them multiple times.”

“I'll make sure they don't sell it or advertise that they have it, though,” Daring Do vows. “If information like that was more public in my time, then I already met more than my fair share of ponies who would abuse this information for selfish and/or corrupt purposes.” Daring stomps a hoof. “This flower was thought to be extinct in our time for a good reason. The only tribe who knew about it was sworn to keep their mouths shut about it until their sacred heroes return to collect on an old debt.”

“In that case, our course is relatively clear,” Doctor Kelly proclaims. “We can worry about the details of the next adventure later. For now, let's get our hooves on the Ice Blue Lily in this time.”

“To do that, you want us all to travel together?” Daring Do double checks with her group.

Feather Wind smiles in delight as he says in a chipper way, “Actually, yeah. That sounds fun, and we don't need to rush as we do so. We got a time machine on our hooves as soon as the Doctor returns so we can take our time with this challenge.”

“I'd recommend that anyway if we're doing this together,” Daring says as she looks up the mountain. “There are some decent challenges to a task like that, and this mountain is particularly large. It should take us at least a week.”

“Be that as it may, harmonic energy is particularly thick in this era,” Feather Wind reminds. “I'm not saying there won't be a challenge, but that said, it may be safer than it usually is. Plus, I bet you anything there will be many scenic spots along the way up there. This time seems designed to be naturally idealistic in every possible way, so the odds are actually good that whatever is the best case scenario for a task like this, so shall it be. I can already promise you that the elemental spirits I've been speaking to are unusually friendly here compared to most other times and places.”

“Hostile draconequus notwithstanding, that is,” Stern Wing reminds the group in a grim tone but then her expression shifts to curious as she says, “I wonder what the plural version of 'draconequus' would be. Um . . . draconequii maybe?” Stern Wing asks with an innocent shrug. One by one, the others copied that shrug.

After Derpy shrugs, though (and she is the last of the bunch to do so), she adds, “Based on what I can tell, if you were to ask Discord that question directly, I think he would give you some random, nonsense answer. He seems fond of everything not making sense.”

“Like the plural version of 'draconequus' being a 'toaster',” Stern Wing half jokes with an amused smirk.

“Probably,” Derpy kind of agrees before she squeals in delight, stands up on her hind legs, and whirls her forelegs excitedly as she says, “Anyway, climbing this mountain together actually sounds kind of fun now!” She lands on all four of her legs again as she continues to say, “If the journey is going to be especially idealistic all along the way, then I'm looking forward to it.” She tilts her head slightly to her right. “Besides, pretty much all of us here can float or fly in some way or another so we do have a backup strategy just in case we fall. We also got two unicorns here to catch us.”

“Or more like one unicorn and a Magi, but point taken,” Doctor Kelly partially agrees.

“I've got some climbing gear too,” Daring Do reminds. “That might actually be enough for us, but just in case, it's nice to know we have several other layers of backup strategies.”

Daring Do pops some cricks in her neck by twisting it left, then right, then straightens it again as she says, “But since I am the most experienced climber here, you'll be listening and following my careful instruction as we proceed. Is that clear? I want to make sure everypony here survives my watch.”

“Understood and agreed,” Feather Wind concurs.

“Yes Ma'am,” Stern Wing also accepts with a formal salute. That gesture was not even remotely sarcastic.

“You bet,” Derpy also agrees.

“You'll have my cooperation as well so long as you listen to my suggestions whenever I offer it,” Doctor Kelly compromises. “I promise I'll only offer them in a safe and timely manner.”

“You can all communicate with me using the wind if need be,” Feather reminds and informs the group. “There may be times when that ability could come in hoofy for the journey ahead.”

“I agree with your terms,” Daring says to Doctor Kelly. “In fact, if any of you have important suggestions to offer along the way, I'll listen. I still don't know much about your capabilities after all and it's always possible any of you might spot something important that I missed. I want to be informed of details like that at any moment when it is safe and important to do so. We're a team, after all.”

“It would be nice if we started acting like it too,” Stern Wing says with a slightly disproving look at Daring Do.

Daring Do frowns but also nods in acceptance at Stern Wing as she admits, “I admit, I might not have included you all as much as I should have, but working in teams is new for me and there are reasons I have trust issues. Being put in charge of a group was much more responsibility than I was expecting either.”

“If the Doctor trusted you, I'm sure he had good reasons,” Derpy says confidently.

“I've been a team player before in a professional sport,” Stern Wing informs the group and especially Daring Do. “That experience has taught me that is a skill each team needs to work on, but it is also important for each member of the team to be included and do something valuable for the team.”

“Professional sport, you say?” Daring Do asks Stern Wing curiously. “Which sport, if I may ask?”

“Puffball,” Stern Wing answers. “Have you ever played it or seen it? Typically only pegasi have the capability to play. Feather's a very unusual exception insofar as capability is concerned but he still hasn't played it. I don't know if it's still a thing in your time.” Stern Wing passes that same curious look to Derpy since she is also a pegasus from Stern's future.

“I heard of it, but that's about it,” Daring Do admits.

“Same with me,” Derpy concurs. “Maybe, while we make our way, you can teach us some of the rules.”

“I've also worked with a team before aside from us,” Feather Wind reports. “In my case it was the Wonderbolt recruits. I was the first unicorn to apply for the Academy . . . but there were several problems during my attendance so I had to eventually drop out.” He gives this group a serious expression. “I won't let any of you down, though. I promise.”

“Anyway,” Doctor Kelly announces after she takes a moment to pretend to clear her throat, “be that as it may, I did give a doctor's order not long ago that taking a vacation is a necessary respite after the tragedy we suffered on my first mission with this group. In accordance with that, the Doctor took us to Ponyville initially but that vacation got interrupted.”

“Sorry,” Daring Do apologizes as she shuffles a hoof a bit. “I didn't know any of that when I first approached you all.”

Doctor Kelly lifts a hoof to forestall any further apologies from Daring as the Magi goes on to say, “My point is if climbing this mountain ends up particularly ideal, I say we relax and have as much fun as we can during our climb. Exercise is also important. Far be it for me, as a medical professional, to say otherwise . . . but our mental and emotional health is important too. I'll probably be taking some pictures and holo recordings as we proceed as well, and Feather,” she regards the short wizard, “we'll be sure to give you plenty of time to absorb the ambient harmony feelings here in order to charge your Red Crystal too.”

“Sure. We can do that,” Daring agrees as she looks at Feather Wind. “Whenever we reach a safe stopping point and nothing else urgent is going on, we can give you the time you need to gather your energy. It's important to take plenty of breaks anyway whenever it is safe to do so. Our muscles can get plenty tired during the climb so we'll take some breaks in order to help with that. While you do that, that'll give me time to write down some notes in my diary.”

“Me too,” Feather Wind agrees. “If we take our time, not only can I gather useful energy for the crystal but I can also write prose and poems too.”

“Share it too when you feel ready to reveal it?” Derpy asks Feather Wind hopefully.

“Sure,” Feather says with an accepting nod. “Perhaps some of it.”

“Well then. I guess we have a plan,” Daring says as she takes a few bold steps closer to the mountain. “Everypony, prepare yourselves. It's time we ventured on.” She gives a daring grin as she adds, “Onwards and Upwards, as the Doctor is fond of saying.”