The Lonely Gods of Equestria

Chapters

Day and Night
Time and Space
Landing
First Contact
A Long-Awaited Talk
A Peculiar Discussion
Meeting the Doctor
Fifth Circle
Ungodly Surprises
Progress
Parting Words
Returning To The Start

Day and Night

THE LONELY GODS OF EQUESTRIA

by Deadpony

Princess Luna started working on the sky, as she did every night since her return. While her sister had been able to raise both the sun and the moon during Luna's 'absence', the night she brought forth would be somewhat bland; as the stars didn't seem to shine as brightly as they should. It was a fact: Celestia never could weave the tapestry of the cosmos, just as Luna couldn't bring light to the world. It was like fitting a circular item within a square hole: the circle would fit but it wouldn't fill the entire space, making the shape incomplete and unnatural.

And so, after the sun had set and the moon had been raised, Luna worked on her night. She would keep constellations aligned, maintain the moon's trajectory and occasionally throw in a shooting star to shake things up. When she was sure that the moon would stay on its path, she gave a content huff and turned around. As usual, nopony was there.

Even though she was used to it, it wasn't a nice feeling to know that most ponies enjoyed the day more than the night. Even though she was very grateful to those who appreciated the night the way she did, she felt as though her work could use a little more praise. And then some.

"What's the point of doing my best to create a beautiful sky every night if there's no one around to see it?" she said aloud.

As expected, nopony replied. This only made her sadder, as she craved for company. Being stuck on the moon for a thousand years didn't help one's social skills, and she was often seen talking to herself. This was a habit she had picked up on the cold rock, in order to keep what little sanity she had left alive.

And whether she lived in the olden days or the modern world, when she did encounter somepony, they would either be too formal or too afraid to see her for what she was: a pony like the rest. 'Give them time and they will get used to you' Celestia would say. But Luna had waited so very long; lifetimes for the average pony, and she was so very tired of waiting.

"Then again...regular ponies wouldn't survive 5 seconds on the moon," she muttered.

She would look at the issue from any angle possible, and still see only one outcome: she was different. Regular ponies did not possess both the ability to fly and use magic. Regular ponies did not live to see their best friend's great-great-grandchild attend the Grand Galloping Gala. Regular ponies would lose their mind if they saw what she had seen during her life. Still, it was nice to pretend.

She looked around her room, as if there was anything else to look at other than furniture and other pointless material possessions. No, what she wanted was something immaterial, yet so precious: friendship, maybe even love. She would give anything just to have somepony pat her on the back and say "good job", as they gazed upon her creation. And then they would cuddle, he would breathe in the scent of her mane, and she would let his hoof travel all over her-

She shook her head quickly, dismissing any other inappropriate thoughts that usually left her hot and bothered.

"I need to get out of here, now," she grumbled.

Spreading her wings, she took off into the sky and stared at nothing in particular, wandering around with nothing to do.

She enjoyed being in the castle, as it was her home and the only place she got to socialise with the few ponies that were up at night. Still, living on the moon had left her used to wide open spaces, and claustrophobia was an issue that reoccurred from time to time in her daily life. Even that thought annoyed her.

"I can't even step into my own bathroom without leaving the door open," she muttered,"And that expression, 'daily life', what is the deal with that? Can't anypony say 'nightly life'? Of course they can't, since the majority of them are asleep at the time!"

She stopped flying for a moment, and calmed herself down. It was that kind of attitude that landed her on the moon in the first place. She decided to land on a hill in order to sort out her thoughts. When she still couldn't find peace, she decided that the answer wasn't going to be found in her head, but out of it.

"Thinking outside the box, as they now say," she chuckled.

Her eyes searched the landscape until they found the quiet little town of Ponyville. She smiled at the sight: it was the only place outside of the castle where she could be herself, like a home away from home. She took off once again, and flew towards another hill that overlooked her objective. She landed, and gazed upon the quiet town.

It was, as expected, still and peaceful. The only sources of light were coming from street lanterns and a few houses, including the great tree that was the Ponyville Library. Luna smiled once more: rain or shine, day or night, Twilight Sparkle would be working, earning the title of Princess Celestia's Protégé.

Luna decided to observe, and made herself invisible. Although it was a very difficult spell to master, she and her sister were more than capable of doing so. She quietly flew up to the balcony and looked through the window. There she was, the little purple unicorn, amidst a sea of parchments and books, taking notes about various subjects.

Even though she was an alicorn and the embodiment of the night, she was impressed by her sister's protégé. Twilight Sparkle, along with her friends, had been able to rid the world of Nightmare Moon: a form given to Luna by a very powerful and ancient entity, older than the princess herself. And it didn't stop there: from defeating the embodiment of chaos to guiding Cerberus itself back to the gates of Tartarus, that little unicorn always prevailed.

Luna realised she was staring, and snapped out of her trance. Watching the young mare work hard in order to earn Celestia's approval made Luna want an apprentice of her own, to whom she could teach everything there was to know about the stars, the moon, and the rest of the world. All of that, and so much more. However, the student could teach the master the simpler things in life. Friendship, his or her regular life, how to deal with feelings, and many other simple yet important notions.

An owl hooted loudly and startled both Twilight and Luna, almost ending the invisibility spell she had cast on herself. The creature seemed to be able to sense her presence, and was flying towards the balcony. This time, Luna was impressed with the ability animals had to sense things ponies couldn't. Even though they couldn't talk, animals had a lot to say.

"What is it, Owlicious? Do you want to go outside?" asked Twilight.

"Well, I think it's time to go now," whispered Luna.

And with that, she teleported herself back to her hill and gave a little laugh. The small thrill of getting caught was a fuzzy feeling that left her giddy. Her mind brought her back to the subject of having an apprentice. She would teach him and he would teach her, and they would grow closer.

"In every single sense of the word if I get kinky," she giggled.

If not, they would still form a bond as strong as the one Celestia and Twilight shared. They could even be friends at some point, and they would-

She paused, and a wave of sadness swept over her. She was going to think about growing old with him, until she realised she would be attending his funeral in the end. Even though alicorns were gifted with powers and longevity, Luna saw this as a curse. She wanted to grow old, to live a regular life full of friendship, love, sorrow, anything and everything that came with being normal. She curled into a ball and started shaking. She didn't want to die, but she wanted this life to end.

"I knew I would find you here."

Luna bolted up, wings flared and horn prepared to fire, until she realised who had spoken. Princess Celestia stood there, unfazed by her sister's attitude. Under the moonlight, Celestia's coat gave a soft glow that could be compared to the one coming from the moon, and her multicoloured mane seemed to float even slower than usual. The only thing that didn't change was her eyes: eyes that had seen so much, maybe too much, and that could go from soft and kind to deadly and terrifying in an instant. Eyes that Luna shared.

"What if I did not want to be found?" muttered Luna, lying down on the grass.

"I'm sure that's true," replied Celestia, sitting down next to her.

They sat there, enjoying their surroundings, until Luna spoke up.

"How did you know I would be here? More importantly, why are you here?" Luna asked, genuinely curious.

For a moment Celestia stayed silent until she spoke again, her eyes never leaving the landscape.

"Do you remember the time before Ponyville was built down there?"

Luna blinked at the strange remark, then nodded. Celestia kept talking, but didn't look at her sister.

"Canterlot was starting to grow, and our little ponies started exploring the world that we had created. Even before Canterlot was built this land existed; with forests, fields and mountains going as far as the eye could see. It was at that time we came here when we were upset, although you came here more than I did."

Luna stared at her sister, who didn't budge.

"Very well, that answers how, but not why," she replied.

This time Celestia looked at her sister, who saw that those eyes were tired. Not because of the lack of sleep, but for the same reason Luna's eyes looked weary.

"We both know why, Luna," said Celestia, her gentle tone carrying a hint of sadness.

Luna was about to object, until she remembered what they were. The embodiments of day and night, two sides of the same coin, sisters. This rule applied to siblings of all species: although they were two different people, their thoughts were similar. That notion annoyed her.

"No, you do not Celestia. Everypony loves your precious daylight, everypony loves you. But what about me? I raise the moon and actually work on the sky. And what do I get? No 'thank you', no praise, nothing. I am just like you, and yet some ponies STILL fear me even after all this time!" Luna shouted, her voice growing louder and louder.

Celestia remained stoic, which infuriated Luna even more. She was about to use the Royal Canterlot Voice when Celestia stood up and opened her wings. She looked at her sister with the same tired expression before smiling.

"I know what you need. Come with me," and with that, she flew away.

Luna stood there, slightly confused, before she decided to follow her sibling. She took off and caught up to her. They flew in silence, Luna wondering what her sister had planned while Celestia kept staring ahead. After a while, Celestia flew down and landed next to a lake outside of Ponyville. Luna followed and looked around, only to see the regular surroundings. The grass moved like water as the wind blew gently; and the middle of the lake glowed, reflecting the round moon's glow. Luna failed to see what the point of this was.

"Why are we here?" she asked dryly.

Celestia didn't answer, but instead stood perfectly still.

"Celestia, I swear to you, if you do not answer me right now-"

"Be quiet, stand still and listen," said Celestia with a serene tone.

Luna was befuddled, but complied. She stood still, and looked around. She could hear the wind blowing, the rustling of the trees as they moved with the breeze and the gentle sound the grass made as it swayed. A flock of bats flew above the lake, and an owl hooted occasionally. They stood still for a moment until Celestia spoke gently.

"What do you hear?"

Luna looked at her sister, then replied cautiously.

"The wind, the grass, the animals and the trees?"

"Good. And apart from that?"

"...Nothing?"

"Exactly."

"...What?"

Celestia turned to face her sibling, a peaceful expression on her face.

"What you hear is nature expressing itself. During the day our little ponies come here to enjoy themselves. Although the sounds they make is cheerful and endearing, it blots out the sound of nature. Therefore, it is only at night that you can hear nature uninterrupted."

Luna thought about this, then nodded.

"Alright, that is understandable. But what do you mean by 'apart from that' ?"

"That is pure silence, which is paradoxically one of the most beautiful sounds in the world."

She paused in order for those words to sink in, then continued.

"As I have said, ponies blot out the noise of nature, which expresses itself at night. But even if there were no ponies or animals, what would you hear? Nothing, and that is when you would listen to silence. Silence is there only when nothing else is around, as the world was so very long ago. So what I am trying to tell you is that your night brings the world back to its former state, which is a lot more peaceful than my day. In conclusion, your night brings peace to an agitated world." Meanwhile, the bats had hung themselves upside down on Luna's wings, while the owl had perched itself on her extended foreleg.

"Moreover, there are beings that cannot enjoy my day but live only for the night. And if they could talk, I am sure they would thank you."

Luna looked at the creatures that had gathered on her and smiled. Even though they would never say anything, she felt their love for her. She then heard faint sounds coming from the other side of the lake.

"And then there are those who can talk, and enjoy the peace that you bring," said Celestia, the amusement clear in her voice.

Luna was confused, until she actually looked to the other side of the side and listened to the sounds. It then became clear that there were two ponies there, enjoying themselves (in every single sense of the word) so much that they were unaware of the two alicorns.

"Well, well, well. It appears so," replied Luna with a smirk.

Celestia laughed softly, then continued.

"Indeed. But this happens to be another example of how the night is beneficial. See, these ponies could 'enjoy each other's company' in broad daylight, but they would risk getting caught. Some might enjoy the thrill, but most do not. It is only at night, under the glowing moon and with the soothing sounds of nature that they can love each other in the open and have some privacy. Therefore, your night brings intimacy and allows ponies to benefit from it."

"I suppose that's true..." said Luna.

"Well, we should get going. There is something else I want to show you."

Luna thanked the animals, sending them back into the night and took off with her sister towards Ponyville. They flew in silence, until an upbeat song reached them. They both flew towards the sound, then landed on the rooftop of a house. Across from where they stood Sugarcube Corner, the town's bakery, was holding a party.

"Why not change into regular ponies for once and blend in?" asked Luna.

"I take it you are familiar with Pinkie Pie, the Element of Laughter?" replied Celestia.

"Yes, and...?"

"Apparently, she literally knows everypony in town, so we would be revealed instantly."

"What about invisibility?"

"Well, from what I have heard, she is quite the peculiar pony, and she could detect us. I still have to figure out how, but my theory is that she is so connected with her Element that she might be drawing magic from it. It is actually quite intriguing. However, since we won't stay here for long, I suppose invisibility is the best option."

"Fine..." mumbled Luna.

The alicorns cast their spells and peeked through the window. The party was in full swing, with what appeared to be all of the town's residents enjoying themselves: animated discussions, eating, drinking, dancing, the whole package. The alicorns couldn't help but smile at their subjects and the unstoppable energy that Pinkie Pie was showing, jumping around with a one-pony-orchestra gear strapped to her blaring polka music.

In a corner, the other Elements of Harmony could be seen chatting about anything and everything. Fluttershy was, by nature, a little shy but remained open to any conversation, an impressive feat given her timid personnality. Rainbow Dash was holding her face between her hooves, and the words 'so awesome' could be heard. Applejack was laughing heartily while Rarity was having a private discussion with Aloe and Vera in fluent prench about some new facial product. Twilight, Zecora and Cherilee were, on the other hand, having a discussion about different kinds of literature.

"I wish I could join them..." sighed Luna, a little envy showing in her tone.

"I know Luna, and so do I," replied Celestia, using a wing to draw her younger sister in for a hug, "But for now, we have to let our little ponies unwind from the work they did during the day. Whether you are bucking apples trees in the field or teaching foals about Math, everypony gets to enjoy the night, free from the work they did during the day. Some ponies look forward to the night, not just for entertainment but for practical reasons.

"Take Twilight Sparkle for example: I gave her an assignment concerning astrology, and she was telling me the other day how mesmerizing the night sky was. And some workers, like construction ponies, can only work at night as to not disturb the flow of work that comes with daytime. To summarize: your night brings joy, peace, intimacy, and its own line of work for ponies."

By then, Luna was blinking away happy tears as she remembered the full extent of her realm.

"Thank you for doing this, Tia," croaked Luna, leaning into the hug.

The two deities remained there, watching their subjects enjoy the festivities; until Pinkie Pie stopped, watching the pair with a twitching tail and blinking rapidly.

Immediately, the two alicorns teleported themselves back to their hill.

"How does she do that?" asked Luna, bewildered by the pink pony's powers of perception.

"I still do not know, but it is impressive," giggled Celestia.

The two stood there, looking down upon their realm, until Celestia spoke up.

"Feeling better?"

"Much," nodded Luna.

"Good, then let's go back home," said Celestia, preparing to fly.

"Not until we deal with the issue bothering us," replied Luna, suddenly getting serious.

Celestia paused, then folded her wings.

"Great minds do think alike, don't they?"

"We do," her sister agreed.

They lay on the grass, Celestia watching the stars while Luna gazed down at the town.

"I wish we were more like Cadence," said Luna.

Celestia raised an eyebrow at this, genuinely surprised for once.

"How so?"

"Look at her: she is young, she is an alicorn and the leader of the Crystal Empire. While all of that is nice, I envy her for the fact that she ages like a regular pony, and will live out the rest of her life alongside her husband. I wish I could do that..." she said, longingly.

Celestia remained silent for a moment, then replied.

"I know, Luna, I know. There are times when I wish I could age too. But I have learned a long time ago that desire is never fulfilled, and it is pointless to pretend otherwise. Look at food: we get hungry, eat, then later want some more, we eat again, etc. Or living in your time: Twilight Sparkle once told me that she wished she had lived during the Reneighssance, when knowledge and discoveries were spreading all over Equestria. But the fact is she is living in this day and age, and wanting to live anywhere and/or anytime else distracts you from enjoying the times you live in. The point is if you wish for something impossible, you will forever be unsatisfied. So rather than doing that, you should enjoy what you have to the fullest, even if what we have isn't as perfect as our little ponies think it is."

Luna listened to her, and after a moment she sighed.

"I suppose you are right."

"I'm glad to hear that," replied Celestia with a smile.

They stood there, simply basking in the moment, until Celestia spoke up.

"Besides, even though we are demigods, that does not stop us from having physical relations," she smirked.

Luna laughed sincerely, loving the fact that her sister could go from deep and philosophical to casual and laid back in a moment.

"True, true. Incidentally, another reason why I envy Cadence."

"Oh yes, Shining Armor is a fine stallion."

"Quite."

"Indeed."

Again, the comfortable silence came back.

It was Celestia's turn to laugh at that, a sound Luna enjoyed hearing since her sister never gave more than a giggle in front of anypony else.

"Celestia."

"Yes?"

"If the next embodiment of whatever power just happens to be a male alicorn, he is mine," she grinned.

"Deal," replied Celestia after giving a hearty laugh, a sound Luna enjoyed hearing since her sister never gave more than a giggle in front of anypony else.

They enjoyed this sisterly moment, until Luna said in a sad tone.

"We are a bit lonely, aren't we?"

Celestia said nothing for a moment, then replied in the same tone.

"In a way, I suppose."

As they lay there in the grass, looking at the cosmos displayed in all of its glory, the same question repated itself in Luna's mind.

Is there anypony like us out there?

************

As it turns out, through galaxies and asteroid belts, past planets and nebulas, in the far reaches of space, another lonely god lived in a little blue box.

My God, bananas are good. he thought to himself.

Time and Space

Silence reigned in the deep reaches of space.

Even though the universe never stopped changing, there were some parts of it where nothing seemed to happen. Those were the places where the Doctor went to meditate.

He sat there, on the threshold of his TARDIS, gazing down upon a galaxy while chewing on a banana. Under normal circumstances he would have laughed at the peculiar situation. But then again, normal circumstances varied according to an individual's life, and the Doctor was far from normal. And yet, when he would look at his reflection in the mirror, he would see a lean man with carefully combed hair, wearing a grey tweed jacket over a striped white shirt and dark grey trousers fitted with suspenders, walking around with black shoes and a blue bow-tie.

"Bow-ties are cool," he smirked, tugging at his prized possession.

His grey eyes, however, were his most distinctive trait. They were old eyes; eyes that had seen too much and burned with a powerful fire, eyes that could stare into one's very soul and leave them disturbed for some time. He was kind most of the time, but his eyes could drill a hole into someone's mind if he was angered.

Looking down upon the spiral of light, he basked in the magnificence of it all. In that galaxy, there were planets. In those planets, all sorts of events would unfold that could bring about the destruction of millions of life forms. In another one of those planets, at the same very time, hundreds of creatures would celebrate and be happy. Each and every one of these beings would live a different life, all of them unique in their own way, and the process would continue forever.

And there were billions of galaxies throughout the universe. While in one of them a sun imploded, a baby was born at the same time in another. But the Doctor did not ponder upon the details for too long. Right now, all he wanted to do was enjoy the pretty lights and his banana. Because bananas are delicious.

"Banana..." he said, as he stared at the fruit in great concentration and with much wisdom.

Inevitably, that thought alone brought him back to thinking about the universe. Bananas were from a planet called Earth, which was populated by beings known as humans. The Doctor was very fond of them. It was admittedly difficult for him not to be since they looked like him, and vice versa, but he liked them for more than just looks. They were both fascinating and repulsive, admirable and pitiful, brilliant and stupid. All of that, and so much more. They had managed to outgrow their planet and travel the universe, only to enslave other beings and exploit whatever resources they could get their hands on. And yet, he still thought highly of them. Plus they grew bananas, so that was always nice.

The Doctor then thought about himself, and how all the civilizations he had visited saw him. Some would run away as soon as they saw him while others would run towards him, begging for his good graces. Some hated him with a passion while others, such as humans, saw him as a god.

He was a one of the Time Lords: the oldest and mightiest race in the universe, who observed the cosmos and maintained Time's integrity. In fact, he was the only one of his kind left in the universe. A great war, which had raged across hundreds of galaxies, ended at the cost of his and the enemy's existence, leaving him alone with the burden to keep an eye on Time itself. He had acquired many names throughout his lives: The Oncoming Storm; The Destroyer Of Worlds; Raggedy Man; The Dark One; and many more. So many names, yet his real one was a mystery to all but himself.

Am I a god? he wondered.

There was a saying on Earth that claimed 'God was merciful'. While the Doctor was generally kind-hearted, he had proven there was darkness within him. He had created and destroyed, brought help to those who needed it and inflicted punishment upon those who deserved it. He didn't see himself as a god, but his existence alone proved otherwise. He had faced the impossible, went to Hell and back - sometimes quite literally - stared into the eyes of the Devil itself, and committed genocide on several occasions. All of that and so much more, thanks to a tool and a little blue box.

So there he was: an almighty being who could travel through space and time, gazing down upon worlds while savouring a fruit.

However, the main reason explaining why he didn't consider himself as a god was the immensity of the universe. He had seen everything, been to the end of the universe, witnessed the Big Bang - and even caused it at some point - and he still had so much left to discover. In a constantly changing universe and with a time-travelling space ship, each day was something new to experience. And that is why he lived, to see what tomorrow would bring.

He yawned, the low temperatures of space finally getting to him. Almighty being or not, he wasn't above fatigue and boredom. Plus he had finished his banana. He got up, looked down one last time at the galaxy, then at the scenery.

"Is there anybody like me out there?" he called out to the stars.

As expected, no one answered. But sometimes, it was nice to pretend that he wasn't the last of the Time Lords. With a sigh, he closed the door of his ship and made his way to the controls. The TARDIS was, on the outside, a phone box. On the inside, however, a whole ship was humming with activity, complete with stairs, corridors, and all sorts of rooms.

The relatively small entrance led to a staircase that would lead to a platform with a glass floor, showing another level underneath consisting mostly of wires, cables and circuits. Rising from the lower level to the ceiling, and standing in the middle of the glass platform, a large glass cylinder gave a soft blue glow. It was surrounded by metal panels covered with buttons, levers, switches, knobs, things, gizmos, stuff, and a scanner. Within the cylinder, a glass rod could be seen moving up and down, giving a soft rasping noise that the Doctor never got tired of hearing. This was only the control room, and it had doors that lead to other areas of the ship. This ship was so large that even the Doctor found new rooms from time to time.

He yawned again, but although his body was tired, his mind tried to fight the sleepiness. The Doctor had recently lost two of his travelling companions due to inevitable and tragic events; and he missed them dearly, just as he missed all his other companions. However sleep brought dreams and nightmares, reminding him of what he had lost and what he had gone through. Time Lords didn't need to rest very often, but the Doctor had stayed up for as long as he could, trying to avoid the dreams. He had stayed up for two months so far, but he was getting very tired, and it was time to sleep.

He gave a small sigh and went around the panels, pressing buttons and flipping switches until the humming noise coming from the TARDIS grew fainter and the ship went to sleep. He had been somewhat selfish by making the TARDIS stay active for the past two months. Ships didn't need to sleep, but the TARDIS was so much more than just a ship. He went up a staircase and walked towards him room. It was a spacious yet simple room, with a large desk covered with books and tools located to the right of a well kept bed, which was surrounded by bookshelves. Since he rarely went to his room, he never felt the need to clean it much. And so, he got into some pyjamas and crawled into bed.

"Goodnight sexy," he called out to the room.

A low woosh could be heard throughout the ship, which could be compared to a content sigh from the TARDIS. He smiled, and gazed at the ceiling. He though about his ship, his one true companion among so many others, and he found some joy knowing that through thick and thin, the TARDIS had remained his quiet yet faithful ally.

Still, it would be nice to have an actual conversation with someone like me. he thought wistfully.

Dismissing any other negative thoughts, the Doctor drifted off to sleep, soothed by the low hum of the TARDIS. He didn't dream that night.

************

The Doctor woke up, feeling surprisingly content. Today was another day, which meant another adventure. But first, a banana and getting dressed. Strolling down the stairs, he arrived to the control room and skipped over to the console, going through his routine in order to wake up the TARDIS.

"Good morning, honey. How did you sleep?" he called out.

The TARDIS answered with a blurry beep.

"Right, still sleeping. Sorry," he whispered.

It dawned on him that he was talking to his ship. While he would usually never pay attention to his ramblings, he realised just how alone he was and how weird he must have seemed to his companions.

"What to do today, what to do? Gazzotti is always fun, or I could go visit the Ood. And why am I talking to myself? I must be losing my mind...".

He stood perfectly still for a moment, slowly chewing his banana, then shrugged.

"Right, we'll see to that later. So, the Ood, stay focused."

He slowly walked over to the scanner and activated it. The screen displayed space coordinates, dates, energy levels, their current position and other readings. He stood there, staring at the screen the way humans stare into their fridge in the morning to get their brain working.

"Come on, universe. Give me a sign..."

...*GONG*...*GONG*...*GONG*...

The Doctor's eyes went wide at the sound of a bell, ringing throughout the room. That was the sound of the cloister bell: an alarm that rarely manifested itself. Then again, the only time when that alarm sounded was when a TARDIS and its crew were in danger, and there weren't many things that could endanger a TARDIS. Whatever the danger was, it was something big.

Suddenly, the whole place was shrouded in red light, snapping the Doctor out of his trance. He looked at the screen, several readings going wild and energy levels rising. A hologram of himself appeared next to him, called the voice interface. It was one of the many security features of the TARDIS, and it spoke with his voice, but bereft of any emotion.

WARNING.

UNKNOWN SPACE-TIME DISTURBANCE LOCATED IN THE AREA.

ENGAGE EMERGENCY PROCEDURES IMMEDIATELY.

The TARDIS buzzed with activity, the glass rod pumping up and down rapidly. The Doctor ran around the control panels, doing everything he could to stabilize the ship and engage the autopilot. When he was sure that the ship was ready, he ran over to the entrance and threw the doors open. Far below the TARDIS a large spiral had appeared, swirling with black, red and dark orange colours. Inside, blue smoke seemed to float around and small bolts of lightning flew across from time to time. It was as if a maelstrom had appeared in space, except nothing in the area could have created it, which meant it had literally appeared out of nowhere.

“Impossible...” he muttered.

The Doctor had encountered several space-time disturbances in his travels: black holes, wormholes, time fields, and all sorts of distortions and anomalies. He was nothing short of an expert, but this thing was foreign to him. In all of his adventures through time and space, he had never seen anything quite like this. And yet, it seemed familiar to him for some unknown reason.

How can I recognise this if I haven't-

The TARDIS lurched suddenly, almost sending the Doctor plummeting to his doom. Hanging on for dear life, he realised that his ship had been caught by an invisible force and was heading towards the maelstrom. While he didn't know what the maelstrom could do, it could lead to what the Time Lords called the Void, which was the emptiness between universes. It was a dead space: no time or space, light or sound, nothing whatsoever; and more importantly, no exit. It was known to some as the Howling, while others called it Hell. Or it could destroy him and the TARDIS as soon as they touched it.

“See, this is what I get for sleeping,” he groaned.

He slammed the doors shut and all but threw himself at the controls, desperately trying to fly away from the catastrophe that was raging below him. He ran around the panels pressing buttons, flipping switches, pulling levers and spinning wheels, doing anything and everything he could to survive. And that still didn't stop the TARDIS from being pulled into the swirling abyss.

“This is not good, this is very very bad!” he screamed, realising his efforts were futile.

The energy from the maelstrom was applying massive pressure on the TARDIS, and it groaned under the effort to remain whole. Sparks erupted from the control panel, the large glass cylinder was cracking, and flames erupted from various places as power cables snapped. On the screen, readings were going wild while machinery failed, and the TARDIS seemed to be screaming in pain.

In the midst of all the chaos, the Doctor was running around, his mind working at full speed. According to his calculations, he had minutes before reaching the event horizon: the surface of a black hole marking the point of no return. Once he reached that limit, he was doomed. That thing below didn't look like a black hole, but the Doctor supposed it behaved like one. He screamed in frustration.

“What good are you if you can’t even find the energy to-”

He was interrupted by another seizure, because of the TARDIS desperately trying to avoid the swirling mass of colours. That shock, however, was exactly what the Doctor needed to clear his mind and find the solution.

The TARDIS was powered by Vortex energy, which was energy found in the dimension through which all time travellers passed: the Time Vortex. It was the raw power of the universe, and could rival the power of billions of suns. It might even rival the power of the maelstrom. He could expel the energy from its container, and use it to create a power that would cancel out the maelstrom. However this was a life-threatening risk, as opposing the two massive powers could have devastating repercussions.

The Doctor had been through some rough situations with his TARDIS, but none of them had been like this one. By emptying the power from his TARDIS, assuming he managed to escape the maelstrom, it would leave his ship without any energy or defences. And even if he managed to make the maelstrom disappear, it would take a long time for the TARDlS to draw any energy possible from their surroundings, leaving him completely vulnerable to everything and anything. The whole ship would fail in an instant, and he would die. But between certain death and a very slim chance of survival, he chose the best option.

Alrighty then, let's take that thing down.

The Doctor ran around his control panel, preparing to stop the catastrophe that was going to unleash itself upon the universe. The TARDIS gave a low humming noise that grew louder and louder as the Doctor engaged the ultimate procedure. The voice interface reappeared.

WARNING. VORTEX ENERGY IS ESCAPING FROM THE CONTAINMENT CHAMBER. ATTEND TO THIS PROBLEM IMMEDIATELY.

All the Doctor had to do was press one final button, and the Vortex energy would be expelled from the TARDIS. He took a deep breath, then pressed the button. A hiss could be heard among the various noises caused by the imploding TARDIS. The Doctor was ready to continue his own rescue when the hissing stopped, and a message appeared on the scanner.

WARNING. A SYSTEM MALFUNCTION HAS INTERRUPTED THE VORTEX ENERGY RELEASE PROCEDURE. MANUAL ACTION IS REQUIRED.

"Oh, come on!" shouted the Doctor.

Frustrated by the fact that things kept getting worse, he ran over to one of his control panels and assessed the situation. Said panel had been rising from its frame before stopping abruptly, but the objective was still there. Underneath the panel, a heavenly light could be seen. It was of the purest white, and seemed to seep from the opening like mist. The Doctor averted his gaze, for the Vortex energy was fascinating, the way a moth found a light bulb hypnotizing.

"Right, so...manual action. Here we go."

He steadied himself, then grabbed the end of the panel and threw it open. The Vortex energy exploded out of its container and the Doctor was thrown onto his back by its power. It lingered in the air, like a cloud of glowing sand, then sped out towards the entrance. The ship's doors opened, letting the Vortex energy fly out into space, then slammed themselves shut. The Doctor got up, grabbed the large scanner connected to the hexagonal control panel and set the screen to show the area surrounding the TARDIS.

The maelstrom seemed to have grown bigger, and had "chewed" the surrounding area, getting closer and closer to the galaxy he was contemplating before. The Vortex energy materialised around the TARDIS like a golden cloud, wrapping the ship in a cocoon of pure energy. The Doctor watched as his TARDIS was sucked into the abyss.

The interior of the ship had stopped blowing up, either because the ship had managed to contain the damage or because everything was already damaged. The lights started fading out, and the air grew colder and colder until the Doctor could see the fog made by his breathing. For a moment, everything stood still.

Suddenly, the entire ship started to vibrate. The vibrations became stronger and stronger until they became full blown quakes, as the TARDIS had arrived to the event horizon. Outside, the Time Vortex fought against the might of the maelstrom. The ship shook as if having a seizure, and the area around it seemed to twist itself in bizarre shapes. The Doctor had calculated that the Vortex Energy and the maelstrom would act as opposing magnets and simply cancel each other out. However, the ship was still being pulled in. The Doctor had mixed feelings of apprehension, until he looked at the scanner and paled. The Vortex Energy was slowly fading, and the ball of energy that surrounded the TARDIS was getting thinner and smaller.

The Doctor realised this was the most violent ordeal he and his ship had ever faced, and that it might be the last. He ran over to the chair that was located on the platform and grabbed the nearby handrail, bracing himself for the fall. This wasn't what he lived for, but it was one of the risks that came with adventure.

"Hold on, sexy..." he called out to his ship, "it's going to be one hell of a ride!"

A few seconds later, the Vortex Energy dissipated and the TARDIS simply fell. It flew around inside the maelstrom a few times, as if it were a tree caught in a tornado, then dropped down into the darkness, spinning like a top at an impossible speed.

Landing

The Doctor was stuck to his seat by the force of acceleration that the TARDIS was generating. He was aware of the maelstrom outside, and he could feel the TARDIS spinning among the dark colours and the smoke. From time to time, a bolt of lightning would make the ship shake, and he would bounce in his seat without falling out of it. He was yelling from the pain and laughing because of the shaking and bouncing of his ship. The noise and destruction had returned and the whole place was in absolute chaos, with severed cables and bits of machinery flying around. That didn't stop him from staying focused.

If this keeps getting worse I'm going to throw up.

I wonder how fast we're going.

Blimey this hurts.

I guess this is how being in a washing machine feels like.

I hope I'll be able to save my ship.

Are we there yet?

With a lot of effort, he managed to pull himself to the control panels and grabbed the scanner. It seemed the ship had some energy left - probably drawn from some emergency chamber - because the console was the only thing left working, which allowed him to see his surroundings. Outside, he saw nothing but red, black and orange swirling around. For a moment he thought he saw something else in the storm, but he quickly forgot about it as a particularly violent tremor threw him back into his seat. He was still worried, as the TARDIS was not built for this kind of environment and would not be able to survive if they stayed in the maelstrom for much longer.

The chaos seemed to go on forever until the ship slowly stopped spinning. Slowly, the light of the console grew stronger, the shaking became mild vibrations, and the explosions ceased - except from some sparks that flew out of different parts of the control room.

I'm...alive. Even after all this, I'm still alive.

He gave a shaky laugh, and looked at the ceiling. The voice interface reappeared next to him, but the hologram was twisted and the sound system seemed to have taken quite a lot of damage, since it spoke with the same emotionless voice but blurrier.

WARNING. IMMMMPAAAAACT IMMINENT. BRRRRRAAAAAACE YOURSELF-ELF-ELF.

Even though he was going through one hell of an ordeal, the Doctor was curious as to where he was. He managed to grab the scanner, and called out to the ship.

"Show me where I am! I want a visual of the area outside!"

It took a moment but the image slowly focused, as requested, and he was taken by surprise by what he was seeing. He had emerged from the maelstrom, which seemed to have disappeared after he had fallen out, and into familiar territory. The stars were still there, little white dots on the black canvas of the universe, and he seemed to be hurtling towards Earth. Far away from his ship the blue planet was there, with small patches of green showing the land on which humans lived. However, two things puzzled him. First of all, something seemed different about the planet: the land masses weren't shaped the right way and seemed to be larger. Moreover, the colours didn't fit with any of his memories.

Perhaps the power that threw us through space was great enough to send us through time as well? Is this Earth at another time? The past maybe. Jurassic era? Those were the days.

Even with that analysis, the Doctor was still unconvinced. It didn't look or feel the way it should, and it was unlikely that Earth had acquired more land in the future. The second reason was that he seemed to be much too far from the planet to cause an alarm, so what was he heading for? Then the projection showed his true impact target: the moon. The TARDIS was going to crash into the moon.

The Doctor was dreading this for several reasons. He would, first of all, crash several times until the TARDIS could set up a stable gravity. When that was over, he would have to find a way to fix his ship and stay stranded for an undetermined amount of time on the rock. Finally, he would be bored. The Doctor didn't react well to boredom.

I'll worry about that later. Right now, I need to focus on crashing.

He jumped back to his seat, closed his eyes and braced himself, his body ready for the last part of his ordeal. Suddenly his eyes snapped back open as he remembered something: the Vortex Energy was gone, and that he was still flying through space at millions of miles per hour. The good news was that he wouldn't crash into the moon. The bad news was that he would keep going, as the speed would be too great to allow the ship to stop. And he had no defences left.

"Oh, perfect..." he groaned.

Seconds after he realised this, the entire place shook wildly as the TARDIS bounced off the moon, and headed for the planet below. Even though it seemed impossible the exterior of the TARDIS had survived the impact, but it had received even more damage: the windows of the big blue box shattered and flames erupted out from them, starting to burn the outside of the ship.

Even though the inside of the TARDIS was shaking like balls in a bingo machine and imploding as if fireworks had been set off, the Doctor had adapted to his chaotic environment and was back at the controls, trying to make his crash landing a little more bearable. But try as he might, nothing was responding, and sparks kept flying out of the console. Still, amidst all the explosions and despite his current predicament, he realised he had gone through this before, during his previous regeneration. Back then he and his ship seemed doomed, and even though the previous situation wasn't as critical, he had pulled through. He felt relieved, knowing that he would prevail once more.

I'll get through this. Probably. Maybe.

Then, excitement rushed through him: THIS is what he lived for. The adventure, the thrill of discovery, and the challenge of going into the unknown. Because of the sense of déjà-vu and the rush of adrenaline, he ran around the control panel, laughing madly the whole time. After making the final touches, he threw himself on his chair and threw his head back. Taking a deep breath, he shouted at the ceiling.

"GERONIMO!"

************

On the planet below Princess Luna gave a shudder, as if something had crawled up her back. Her sister noticed this and raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?" she asked in a worried tone.

Luna didn't move for a moment, then replied slowly.

"I'm not sure how to explain it...but something...hit the moon?"

Celestia stared at her with wide eyes. That was peculiar, even by her standards.

"What does that mean?"

Luna was about to answer when something caught her eye. Up above, a bright shooting star was sailing through the sky. She quickly rose to her hooves, spreading her wings in case she needed to fly away.

"What is it Luna?" asked Celestia, somewhat agitated by her sister's behaviour.

Luna stared at the star and replied.

"That shooting star..."

Celestia was puzzled. She thought that Luna was the last pony that would be startled by a shooting star.

"Yes, what about it?"

"I didn't summon it."

A small 'boom' was heard, and the ground shook slightly. Celestia's eyes widened, and she too stood tall.

"We need to investigate this. Something is coming."

The two alicorns took off, and followed the path of the mysterious star.

************

A massive 'boom' echoed throughout the TARDIS, which shook violently once more. The Doctor clutched his chair and the handrail, preparing himself for what the sound announced.

And that is the TARDIS entering the planet's atmosphere. Also, the planet has an atmosphere, good to know. Almost there, and here comes the last part.

The last part of the ordeal was the 'landing'. His laughter had died down and he was increasingly worried, because this was the first time he had to land in such dangerous conditions. The Doctor took a deep breath, and exhaled. He thought he was ready, but that idea quickly went away as the big blue box smashed into the ground, and the interior collapsed. Anything that was left from the previous waves of destruction was destroyed, and the interior of the TARDIS shook with the force of an earthquake. The ship bounced forward several times, as a rock would on water, but its momentum wasn't slowed down.

The Doctor's chair was ripped off its base and smashed into the ceiling while he went flying. He was hurled against the wall and yelled out in pain as he landed back-first on the glass floor of the platform, which was the last thing it could take. He fell through a rain of glass shards and onto the floor below.

After what felt like hours, the ship had finally settled down. The walls had gashes in them, flames were burning all over the place, sparks erupted in random spurts from several different spots, debris littered the whole place, and the only thing that had survived the fall through space was the great glass pillar, along with the hexagonal panel that surrounded it. It was shattered now, and the control panels were destroyed.

The Doctor lay there, unmoving and breathing slowly among the glass shards, simply choosing to stay still for a moment. He could barely feel the burning room around him, he was exhausted, and any part of his body that he could still feel hurt atrociously.

"At least all this pain...proves that I'm alive. Also, I'm still talking to myself... so everything is perfectly normal. As normal as it gets anyway...and I can hear myself so that's convenient," he muttered.

The first thing to do after going trough a crash-landing is to check if anything is broken, which is exactly what the Doctor did.

"Hands and fingers: 1,2,3,4,5, check," he said, wiggling his digits.

"Which means that the arms..." he continued, raising his arms very slowly," ...are still working. Good."

He touched his head, inspecting every aspect.

"Hair, check. Skull, still in one piece. Nose, still there. Eyes, good. Mouth and teeth," he clicked his tongue once, "alright. Chin, still there? and just as big as before..." he grumbled, after checking his large jaw. He propped himself up on his elbows and looked down at his chest to examine himself. His clothes were ripped and burned in several places, but nothing seemed to be missing.

"Sight, check. The rest, check for now. Bow-tie...is still there, great," he chuckled, which made him cough roughly.

"...Lungs...check...again."

After confirming that the top half of his body was still working, he started working on the other half.

"...Other parts, still there, I hope. Legs..."

When he tried to move his legs, however, he couldn't do it. He couldn't feel them either. Dread slowly creeped through him.

"Oh, that's not good. That's not good...this is very bad..." he moaned, and shouted in anger.

There he was: the almighty Doctor, broken and stuck on the floor of his equally broken and damaged ship. That fact, among others, had a great impact on him, but the most depressing one was the realisation that he was completely alone. As selfish as it might sound, he wanted to have someone next to him to share the pain with. Moreover, the TARDIS showed no signs of life whatsoever. He was stranded with his thoughts, and he knew that if he didn't die soon they would slowly drive him crazier.

But just before he could think of anything, the sound of his front doors opening and footsteps startled him for several reasons. First off, there were creatures outside. Second, they were coming in. Third, they had opened the TARDIS' doors. That either meant that they were incredibly powerful and intelligent, or that the chances of repairing his ship were getting thinner by the minute.

His greatest shock came when what had entered appeared above him. They seemed to be two large horses, with wings and a horn. While they were both large creatures, one dwarfed the other. The tallest one was snow-white with rainbows flowing out of its head. The smaller one was a very dark navy blue, with darkness and stars coming out of its head. However, their features seemed to be softer and rounder than those of regular horses. At that moment, the Doctor was amazed and speechless; he wanted to laugh but couldn't, simply staring up at the two creatures.

The white one looked around, then down to where he had fallen. And, against all impossible odds, it spoke.

"Luna, look down there."

The Doctor was astonished, because the fact that it spoke could mean three things: the TARDIS was still working, they spoke English, or he had finally lost what was left of his sanity. Out of these possibilities, the latter seemed to be the most probable. He said the first thing that crossed his mind.

"...What?"

The dark one looked down, and gasped before replying.

"What is that?"

They spoke. They actually spoke. And one of them is called Luna, what a fantastic name.

"...What!?"

"And it speaks! Equestrian no less!"

"WH-"

Before he could say anything else, exhaustion got the better of him and he fell unconscious.

************

The royal sisters watched as the mysterious object crashed into a field, then skipped several times before forming a crater further away. For a moment they didn't move, until they agreed it was safe to find out what had landed. At the bottom of the crater lay what appeared to be a large blue wardrobe. It was covered in dirt and ash, and flames could be seen burning from the windows and on some parts of the exterior. They walked down the slope formed by the crater, and approached the box. It seemed to have two large doors, with small windows at the top and a slightly charred sign on it.

"Celestia? Do you have any idea what this might be?" asked Luna, in a slightly nervous voice.

When Celestia didn't answer she looked up, seeing her sister stare at something. Luna followed her sister's eyes, and found the most peculiar thing. Above the doors, a rectangular black panel read in white letters:

POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX

"No Luna, I don't have the faintest. This is definitely something new."

Luna was puzzled. If this came from beyond the stars, how could there be a sign written in Equestrian? And what was this 'police'?

She looked at the big blue box some more, and stood in front of the doors. Hesitantly, she laid a hoof on one of them. It swung inward with a creaking noise, revealing the inside. Luna was bewildered: she was staring at a very large room, filled with smoke, debris and fire. A glass pillar, with holes in several places, stood in the middle of a small platform surrounded by several broken metal panels. Although that room was peculiar, it was the fact that she was staring at a very large place in the first place that shocked her. How could such a large room fit in such a small box? This box was, for lack of a better term, impossible. She walked around the box once, stared at the room again, then went around the cabin a second time. She then turned to her sister, who had left the reconnaissance to her sibling.

"It seems to be bigger on-"

She was interrupted by a loud noise from the inside of the contraption, and immediately jumped next to her sister, wings flared and magic ready. Celestia, however, walked towards the entrance with a neutral expression.

"Celestia what are you doing? It might be dangerous!"

Celestia kept walking, but replied with a calm voice.

"Whatever 'it' is, we need to make sure it isn't hurt."

"Hurt? How could a box be hurt?"

Celestia stopped, then looked back at her sister.

"I don't know exactly what this is Luna, but this is not just a box. I sense...life within it. Moreover, there is something else in there, and it shouted out in pain. Therefore, we need to help it."

Luna stood there, confused by her sister's behaviour, then followed her older sibling, knowing that everything Celestia did was always thought through. And so, they entered the impossible box and observed their surroundings. The whole place seemed dead, apart from the fire that had spread throughout the room. Everything they saw was either burning or burnt, breaking or broken, and it was all too quiet, except for the crackling of the fire.

Celestia saw a small staircase that led to the platform and signalled Luna to follow, choosing to remain quiet until they could safely talk. They both walked up the steps, then stopped. What could once be identified as a floor was gone, bits of glass jutting out from the edges of the platform. After observing the large glass pillar, she looked down the hole and saw something peculiar. On a bed of shattered glass, a strange creature seemed to wriggling in discomfort. It was hairless, apart from some fur on what appeared to be its head. It wore strange clothing, albeit ripped and burnt, and seemed to be bipedal. If Celestia were to describe its general appearance, she would say it looked like a hairless minotaur. And said minotaur was staring at them.

"Luna, look down there."

The minotaur seemed to be bewildered, and - amazingly enough - it spoke.

"...What?"

Luna looked down, then gasped.

"What in Equestria is that?" she shouted, slightly panicked.

The creature spoke once more, astonishment clear in its voice.

"...What?!"

Luna was amazed at this point.

"And it speaks! Equestrian no less!"

"WH-"

The creature was about to reply before it shuddered, then stopped moving. The two sisters looked down on it, before Luna spoke up.

"Is it...dead?"

Celestia looked down at it for a moment, before replying.

"No. It just seems to have...fainted."

"...What should we do with it?"

Celestia closed her eyes to concentrate, then spoke.

"This box does not appear to be a threat. Rather, it doesn't seem to be able to threaten us or anything that comes in contact with it, for now. As for this creature, it is clearly wounded, and it doesn't seem to be a threat either. Again, for now. What I think we should do is bring it back to the castle. We can't bring it to a common hospital, since it would spread fear in the population, and we can't just leave it here. We do, however, need to secure this box. I need you to bring any night-guard available here and keep an eye on this place, while I bring this creature back to the castle."

Luna nodded, then went out of the room and flew towards Canterlot.

Celestia remained there for a moment, then used her magic to fire a beam of light at the console, which glowed for a few seconds before it went back to its former state. She then lifted the Doctor up off the floor and brought him in front of her. She stared at him for a moment, then smiled.

"So, you finally showed up. Just like you said you would. Let's get you home."

Placing the Doctor on her back, she left the TARDIS and took off towards the castle. A moment after she left, the lamp on top of the TARDIS glowed faintly, and the doors slammed shut. A clicking noise, and they were were locked. It did not move afterwards, not even when Luna returned with her guards. And, try as they might, it would stay locked until the Doctor returned.

First Contact

The Doctor's eyes snapped open the moment he regained consciousness. They darted around the room, which was dark because of the purple shades covering the windows, but light could be seen behind the veil. He was lying in a large bed, complete with big white pillows and purple sheets. The room was rather large and had no furniture other than the bed, but simple enough to deem it cozy and give it a 'homey' kind of feeling. He tried to move, but found his wrists attached to the bedpost by thick silk ropes.

This could only mean one thing.

"River?" he called out.

He received no answer, which puzzled him greatly. He proceeded to look at the ceiling, which was high above him and as white as snow, while thinking about who or what had the idea of using silk ropes. Suddenly, he remembered what had happened to him: the maelstrom, the fall though space, the crash. What was that maelstrom, and what did it do to the TARDIS? He gave a little chuckle.

That made falling from a spaceship seem like tripping on a shoelace.

Then he remembered the most peculiar detail about his incident: the horses. Was he delirious after the crash, making his mind play tricks on him? It had done that before, after all. Or was it real? And if so, what had happened afterwards to have him tied up to a bed?

All right; that takes River out of the equation, surprisingly enough.

But if River wasn't involved, who or what had taken him here? And that made the Doctor even more curious as to finding out what situation he had gotten himself into. He also remembered the pain he had gone through, which made him look at his left hand.

It was immaculate, maybe even cleaner than before his predicament had even started. Then he noticed that his arm was bare and as pristine as his hand, which made him look to his right, only to find that his other arm was the same as its twin. With dread crawling into his mind, he slowly looked down to see that his fears were confirmed: no shirt, no jacket, no bow-tie, no nothing; only a bare chest, and the only thing that hid his lower half from view was the thin purple bed sheet.

Well, nevermind.

"RIVER!" cried the Doctor while struggling to free himself, "Where are you?!"

"QUIET!"

The booming voice made the Doctor stop moving, not from fear but from curiosity: where had the voice come from?

He only had to look at the foot of his bed to see a large crystal sphere, placed on a golden pedestal, which gave a soft blue glow. After looking at the sphere, he gave another look around the room to see if he could find something else before the voice came back. To his left he saw a small night stand, with a little white marble lamp and a red alarm clock. He then noticed some bookcases, and a desk that had some paper and a bottle of ink with a quill in it.

Suddenly the voice came back, but it wasn't as loud as before.

"Do you know why you are here?"

The Doctor took a few seconds to realize that the voice was actually coming from the sphere, and that the glow seemed to grow stronger when the voice manifested itself. He took a moment to think, then answered.

"I actually don't, which doesn't happen very often, but I'll try and guess."

"No you-"

"Hush now, I'm trying to give a witty answer," snapped the Doctor with a smirk. The sphere's glow softened.

"That's better. Now at first glance I'm in a very nice room, tied to a bed and only half naked, I hope. You are talking to me through a sphere, which suggests that you are a sentient being and not just a...very smart ball. Also I'm still alive, and I can see that I look pretty good which leads me to believe that you have healed me after my accident, for some reason."

The Doctor paused to let his explanation sink in, before the sphere replied.

"Continue..."

"You're really listening, that's good; you'd be surprised how often people don't listen. Anyway, I can think of some reasons as to why I'm still alive: you want to study me, you've made me your prisoner, or you want to eat me."

"...What?"

"Well yes: you healed and cleaned me, and put me in a nice room instead of just opening me up, while leaving a crystal ball or something to talk to me, and I guess observe me. It makes me think 'maybe they want to eat me?'. But you could have done that while I was unconscious; so maybe you only feed on thoughts and emotions, or maybe being in a conscious state makes me tastier, or both."

"And if that's the case," said the Doctor, while finding a straighter position in his bed and leaning forward as far as he could, "I should warn you now: you might find my thoughts hard to digest and I taste like broccoli; I know this for a fact."

The ball remained silent for a moment, then replied with what could be described as bewilderment.

"...How...what?"

"It's a long story about a crazy night. Please don't ask."

"We don't want to eat you!"

"Aha!" exclaimed the Doctor, "You said 'we' which means that you're not alone, wherever you are. You don't want to eat me, so maybe you want to study me. Unless..."

The Doctor's voice got less enthusiastic, and he seemed to be slightly annoyed.

"You need my help with something."

"Hey, you were in a sorry state when we got you in here so quit being cocky!"

Another noise seemed to come from the ball, and a faint 'sorry' could be heard.

"Then tell me why I'm here," said the Doctor in a neutral tone.

"We want to help you!"

The Doctor's eyes widened, and it took him a moment to reply.

"Really?"

"Yes, and- you know what, hold on."

"Wait, wait, wai-!"

The glow from the sphere died, and the Doctor was left alone with a lot of unanswered questions. For a moment nothing happened, then the sound of a door opening came from the Doctor's right. Suddenly his ropes started glowing blue, until they untied themselves and fell to the floor. The Doctor was so surprised that he let his arms drop to his side, and the reflex of rubbing his wrists only kicked in after a few seconds.

"Feeling better?" asked a familiar voice.

The Doctor recognised it as the voice behind the sphere.

"Yes, thank you very much," he said before turning around, "you are-"

The Doctor faced the origin of the voice, and went absolutely still.

Standing before him was a large...cartoon unicorn. It wore a Thracian helmet, with a fur of several shades of blues showing at the top. Its back and neck were covered with a gold and purple armour, and it wore a plate on its chest with a pink, six-pointed star engraved on it. The creature was white, had blue eyes, and the top of its head would reach the middle of the Doctor's chest if he were to face him; and judging by its appearance, the Doctor identified him as a male, until he could learn more about it.

"You don't need to be afraid, I'm not going to hurt you. I am-"

"Adorable..." muttered the Doctor.

The two looked at each other for a moment, until the unicorn spoke up.

"...What did you say?"

"You're adorable! Look at you!" exclaimed the Doctor, while pointing at the creature with a huge smile. "And you can talk! And you have a gorgeous armour! And you're a unicorn! And you...you...talk! Oh, this is hysterical!"

The unicorn stared at the Doctor, with his right eye twitching slightly.

"Anyway...my name is Shining Armor, and-"

"Shining Armor?! Are you serious?!" exclaimed the Doctor, with tears of laughter starting to show in his eyes.

"...Yes, I am. And if you don't want me to put those ropes back on you, I strongly suggest you stop laughing," said the unicorn with a very annoyed expression.

"Oh my God, you're getting mad. That makes you even cuter! Ahahaha-"

Before the Doctor could finish his sentence, the unicorn's horn started to glow as blue as the ball's light, and the ropes floated up to reattach the Doctor to the bedposts. He was so surprised by this that he immediately stopped laughing, and stared at the ropes.

"How did you do that?"

"Magic, of course," snorted the unicorn.

"All right I'm sorry, there's no need to be sarcastic," muttered the Doctor.

"Actually, it is magic. To be more precise, psychokinesis," said a new voice.

The Doctor looked around to see that another unicorn had walked in, except that this one was much different. Its fur was light blue, it had yellow eyes and black hair. It wore a pair of round glasses and a white lab coat, with a stethoscope hanging from its neck. The Doctor had the urge to start laughing again, but restrained himself in order to have a better start with this horse.

"That kind of spell is taught to us at a very young age, it's nothing major. And you're right, he is adorable," chuckled the unicorn.

"Hey, come on now," grumbled Shining Armor.

"Don't worry Armor, I'm just teasing you. And you can leave now, I'll deal with our patient."

"Sorry doctor, but I can't. For your security, I have to stay in here to protect you in case it tries anything funny," said Shining Armor, while narrowing his eyes at the Doctor.

"See, you are adorable," giggled the unicorn, "Fine, just stand aside and let me work."

Shining Armor gave a grunt, then turned to the Doctor.

"All right...you. This is doctor Life Support, and she's been treating you ever since you got here, so show some respect. Now, as I was saying: I'm Shining Armor, and-"

"Thank you, mister Armor, you may stand aside," said the doctor.

Shining Armor looked like he was about to yell, but instead chose to take a deep breath, untie the ropes with his magic, and stand aside. The other unicorn nodded, then approached the bed where the Doctor had put his back against the headboard.

"All right here's the deal: normally I would have to go through a whole bunch of medical stuff, and I would be talking to you through the ball. However, you've shown us that you're a smart creature and you don't look too dangerous, so I took a few liberties and we're going to skip some things but before we start, I'll let you ask a question or two."

The Doctor thought about it for a few seconds, then asked her.

"Where are my clothes?"

The doctor stared at the Doctor for a second, then started to laugh loudly.

"Oh, I like you already! But to answer your question, your clothes, as well as your other possessions, are being examined by several specialists. Don't worry though, you're not naked, we left the last piece of clothing on."

"My socks?"

"Ha! Good one, but no. I don't know what they're called, but they cover your hips. Anything else?"

"Yes, I do have another small question: why am I tied to a bed?"

Life Support took a few seconds to answer.

"To be honest, I'm not really sure. All I can tell you is that it's an order from above."

"Okay, one last question: where's my box?"

" That's classified." said Shining Armor.

"...Fine." muttered the Doctor.

"We'll talk about all that later though, because I need to talk to you about some things first," interrupted the medical pony, " So let's begin: I am a pony. What species are you?"

He was going to tell the truth, but paused just before doing so. He had no idea where he was, or what these 'ponies' wanted from him. He was cautious, and said what seemed like a good idea.

"...I can't remember, I'm sorry."

She gave a nod and scribbled some notes on the parchment.

"That's all right, I was expecting some memory loss. Next question: do you remember your name?"

The Doctor smirked, then replied.

"Yes I do. I'm the Doctor."

The doctor looked at him, then snorted.

"No you're not; I am, you're the patient."

"Well actually I am the Doctor, but I'm not a doctor. Actually I have some doctorates, but I'm not a doctor of medicine and all that. So I'm the Doctor, not an official doctor, and I'm also a patient. So there you go, doctor."

Life Support sighed, then smiled.

"All right then...Doctor," he nodded, and she continued, "Next up: this is the land of Equestria. Do you know where that is?"

The Doctor blinked twice, then replied.

"I don't."

"Okay. Now I could go on, but I want to progress slowly with you. I do have one last very important question: how do you feel?"

"Well...I feel great," started the Doctor, then started to frown,"...but my legs are a little numb. Actually, can you tell me how long I was asleep?"

"...A week."

"Oh. Well that explains it."

Life Support raised an eyebrow.

"How so?"

"Well if I don't use a part of my body for a while it starts to get...sleepy, to put it simply."

She looked at him for a bit, then continued.

"Actually, we need to talk about that. While you were asleep, we healed you - as you've seen - sliced you open and looked at your insides."

The Doctor's eyes widened, but Life Support smirked.

"Just kidding. We actually used magic to observe your body, both inside and out. Again, I'll elaborate later; but I want you to look at something."

Her horn started to glow a pale yellow, and some sheets of paper floated out of her pocket and towards the Doctor. He caught them in mid-air, and unfolded them. He was looking at an x-ray of his entire body.

"Oh...this is new and interesting," he mumbled.

"Not really. Now I can't tell what is supposed to be there and what isn't, but I do recognise an injury when I see one. Specifically, right here," said Life Support, pointing at one part of the sheet.

The Doctor looked at his skeleton from top to bottom and couldn't see what she was referring to, until he looked at the base of the spine, above the coccyx. The spinal cord was bent at an abnormal angle, and some cracks could be seen on the vertebrae. The Doctor had suspected this, but he was hoping it wasn't true.

"Do you know what this means?" she said, neutrally.

"...Yes, I do. This shows that my spine is damaged. I'm paralysed from the waist down."

"That's right. Now, we're going to try and repair it, but I can't promise you anything. Magic is a powerful thing, but it can't make miracles happen."

"A miracle..." said the Doctor, looking at his hand. He didn't say anything for a moment, then looked away from the ponies.

"Could I...have a moment alone, please?"

"Of course. Let's go, Captain Armor."

He nodded and followed her out, giving one last look at the Doctor before closing the door. The Doctor put the sheet on the night stand next to him, put his face in his hands, and shook as he cried.

Or at least that's what the crystal ball was showing to the ponies in the office. The Doctor was putting on a show, making it seem like he was broken and weak. But not the Doctor, never. If need be, he could be the greatest actor who ever lived. And so he sat there, pondering on his situation, and started planning his escape.

************

"Oh gosh, look at the poor thing..." muttered Life Support, putting a hoof on the crystal ball that was in her office. Standing next to her were Shining Armor and the princesses, who were observing the Doctor with interest.

"What do you expect? This thing falls into our world, looses some of its memories and finds out it can't walk anymore. How would you react?" said Shining Armor.

"Hey, respect the thing, captain Armor," she snapped.

Meanwhile, the celestial sisters were having their own private discussion. Unlike the other ponies, Celestia and Luna could communicate on a different level: through telepathy.

So what do you think about all of this, Celestia? asked Luna.

Celestia stood there, observing the Doctor with a stoic expression, then answered.

I don't know yet, but I can tell that this creature doesn't want to harm us. All we can do for now is observe.

Should we reveal ourselves?

Not yet. He has to get accustomed to our subjects before meeting us.

I see...wait, 'him' ?

From what we've seen, yes: I think this creature is a male.

Luna just looked at her sister for a moment, then shrugged.

I suppose...

"I think it would be best if we gave the Doctor some privacy," said Celestia, ending her private discussion.

"Thank you, your majesty," said Life Support with a smile.

"I was talking about our 'guest', doctor Life Support," giggled Celestia.

"Oh right, yes. I can tell this is going to be annoying."

"I'm sure it will."

Giving a short bow, they all left the room. But just before she left, Celestia looked at the orb and smiled.

"You were right, Doctor: you really can act when you want to," she chuckled. And with that, she left the office. Outside of the room, Luna was waiting.

"What were you doing in there?" she asked, somewhat suspicious.

"Oh, nothing bad. It's just that he's so...unique."

"I see...well, I have to start planning for tonight. I will see you later, sister."

Celestia smiled and gave a nod, and watched her sister leave for her quarters. When she was out of sight, Celestia's horn glowed, and she vanished in a bright white light. She reappeared in her chambers, and looked around to find that she was alone. Using her magic she levitated a large wooden flute, which had the symbol of the Sun engraved on it, out of a chest that she kept next to a large wooden closet. She sat on the large purple carpet that lay in her room, and started to play a simple melody.

Once she had finished, she wrote instructions on a parchment, and waited. A few seconds later, a large phoenix entered the room, cawing happily. She extended her foreleg, and gave the parchment to the phoenix.

"Could you go to the Research department and give them this? It's important," she asked the bird, who nodded once. "Thank you Philomena. Off you go," she said with a smile.

The phoenix spread its wings, and flew out the window. The alicorn gave a little sigh of relief, then levitated a notebook from the same chest. It was worn and slightly torn, but it was one of her most prized possessions. She opened it and went through the first few pages, then read its contents carefully.

"Ah, here we are: he's arrived, he's met them, and now...oh."

Celestia read a few pages, closed the book, and stared at it. It was somewhat small, with brown leather panels and thin yellow pages. On the front cover, the symbol of an hourglass had been stamped. She sighed, and set it aside.

"Nothing left to do but watch the events unfold," she muttered, levitating the book back into the wooden chest.

************

Another week later...

While healing magic did wonders in Equestria it could only go so far, which is why the Doctor was stuck in his bed for another week on the foreign planet. The medical team charged with working on him, along with doctor Life Support, were the only ponies that the Doctor had any contact with, and she was the only one he managed to have a conversation with.

He had learned that progress had been made, but his spine was still as damaged as before. He had also learned a few other things about his hosts, but not much. When he tried to talk to them, namely to find out what had become of the TARDIS, excuses such as 'sorry, can't say' and 'that's classified' were common, and it was driving the Doctor mad.

Although they had taken away the ropes he was still confined to his room, left alone practically all the time except for a few visits from the staff, and he had become bored to tears. Seeing as how his future in Equestria was uncertain, the ponies had agreed to give him access to books while still keeping some information from him. After combing through many shelves of them, he was given around thirty books, which contained information that wasn't too confidential to reveal. He really tried reading them normally, but by the end of the second day he had read every single page. However some relief came in the form of sleep, which he needed more than ever after all the treatments and to fight off boredom.

But after a week, he had a plan. It was to be short lived, risky, and could fall apart at any moment, but it was a plan.

It started to come together when his clothes had been returned to him, on the third day. Apparently, orders from above had been given and the research on his possessions had been cancelled. He was allowed to have his clothes back, good as new, as well as his Sonic Screwdriver. They were deemed safe, even though they couldn't figure out how his screwdriver worked or how to get in the box. Ideas started floating around in the Doctor's head, and he began plotting.

On the fifth, he was told that after the past few days, he was considered intelligent and friendly enough to be taken out of his room but not outside. He was to be taken out of his room in the next two days, after some verifications and more medical examinations. That helped put the final pieces of his plan together.

And so, on the seventh day, the Doctor was ready to act.

************

The stretcher arrived in the Doctor's room, carried by two nurses. One was a unicorn, a dark blue stallion with a white mane, and the other was a pegasus, a pale yellow mare with a turquoise mane. It must be said that at this point, and thanks to the books, the Doctor knew a few things about these ponies and their vocabulary, and that there were three types of them: Earth Ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns. He was to be carried to a better room, and have a bit more freedom. The mare helped him get his trousers on, as well as his shoes, and he was placed on the stretcher.

"Wait, wait, wait, I remembered just one little thing," he told the nurses. They were about to leave the room, but decided to help him first.

"Yes, what is it?" asked the unicorn.

"Well, my species has a sort of ritual, you see, which we have to do every seven days. It's very important, and I would rather do it now before anything else changes."

"Very well then, proceed."

The Doctor started to wriggle his hands together, and gave the pegasus an apologetic look.

"Um...actually...I would rather not do this in front of...the mare. You know, this is...male stuff," he mumbled.

"All right...what is it?"

"Err...can I whisper it to you?"

"I suppose."

"Thank you. So, come closer."

The unicorn leaned forward, and so did the Doctor. When they were close enough, the Doctor spoke.

"I'm sorry about this."

"Wha-"

Before the stallion could reply, the Doctor quickly grabbed him around the neck, pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his interior pocket, and pointed it at the pony's horn. He then turned to the mare, and growled at her like a wild animal.

"Steady Hoof!" she cried.

"It's all right, I'm ok! Go get the guards!" he replied with a strained voice.

"Yeah, that's right, go get the guards! RUN, BEFORE I GOBBLE HIM UP!" yelled the Doctor.

She stood there for a few seconds, shaking and whimpering, before she ran out of the room to get help. The unicorn and the Doctor stayed on the stretcher, with the pony sitting on the Time Lord's lap while trying to break the chokehold.

"Uh-uh-uh, I wouldn't do that if I were you~" said the Doctor with a eerily happy voice. He tightened the hold slightly, and the stallion stopped struggling.

"What do you want from us?"

"Oh, you'll know soon enough. Yes indeed, you will. So your name is Steady Hoof, yeah?"

"...That's right."

"Steady Hoof...yes...there's a pretty little pony name..." whispered the Doctor, stroking the stallion's mane, "there's a pretty pony..."

While the stallion was mortified, the doors of their room burst open with Shining Armor and several other guards following him, all of them carrying pears or lowering their horns towards the two.

"Ah-ta-ta-ta! That's close enough, Shiny Helmet! Back off! Back off I say!" yelled the Doctor, waving his sonic around wildly.

"Let him go, Doctor! There's no need for this!"

"Yes there is! And I'm not 'the Doctor', my real name is...is...uh..." for a moment, the Doctor went completely still, until he went back to pointing his sonic to Steady Hoof's horn, "...Despair."

"...Despair?"

"THAT'S WHAT I SAID! Despair, the incarnation of loss and defeat!" yelled the Doctor, baring his teeth.

"...Very well, Despair. What do you want?"

"What do I want? Let's see...first of all I want you to tell me where my big blue box is. I want a safe escort to my box, and your riches, and a fez. All of it in that order."

"What are you-"

"Out of our way!"

Before the captain of the guard could finish his sentence, Princess Luna flew in the room. Great gusts of wind followed in her wake, and her eyes were glowing white. Outside, the sky grew darker around the castle. She stood there, with flared wings and a glowing horn.

"We demand that thou release the stallion, thou treacherous beast!" she boomed, her voice echoing throughout the room.

The Doctor was frozen, but still held his captive tight. He wasn't afraid, but he was curious. This pony stood a foot taller than any other pony he had seen, and she spoke in an older version of their dialect. Most likely a leader, based on her horn and wings, and yet he hadn't seen any other pony like her around. And that's when he remembered.

"It's you...yes, it's you! I saw you in the TARDIS, when I crashed! You're...Moona!"

The room went silent, and it took a lot of self-restraint for most of the guards - including their captain - to keep themselves from laughing, despite the hostage situation. That need quickly disappeared as the princess rose in the air, and the sound of thunder rumbled in the sky.

"Our name is princess Luna, and we order thee to unhoof him at once!"

"Oh please," chuckled the Doctor, "I've faced greater foes than you ponies, what makes you think you can do anything to me?"

"We will obliterate thee before we let thou hurt our subjects!"

"Ooh, you'll obliterate me, I'm so scared. Speaking of which, you might want to see this."

Using his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor aimed it at the lamp located on his night-stand. He pushed a button, and the tip of the device opened, with claw-like tips, to reveal a very small diode, which glowed green.

"Is everybody watching?" he asked, turning to the ponies, "because this is what's going to happen to Steady Hoof."

~BZZZZZ~

At first, nothing happened. Then, the lamp started shaking slightly, and cracks appeared in the marble font. As the buzzing noise grew louder, the lamp shook more and more, and the cracks grew wider. Suddenly, the lamp imploded and fell apart, with bits of marble falling to the floor. Everything went silent, as the ponies stared in awe and horror, until the Doctor pointed the Screwdriver back to Steady Hoof's horn.

"Right then. Your turn."

"STOP IT! STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!"

The sky outside went dark, and bolts of lightning flew across dark clouds that had gathered. All the guards raised their weapons or powered their horns, and Princess Luna's horn crackled with raw magic, which looked like small dark blue lightning bolts.

"Fine! You win, Despair! We'll get you what you want but just leave him alone!" shouted Shining Armor, who was getting nervous. He didn't show it however, for the hostage's sake.

"Good. But I don't think you understand," grinned the Doctor, who pressed the same button on his tool. The tip opened again, and the diode glowed green once more, "I need to live up to my name."

"You don't need to kill him!"

"Well, it's not like you're going to stop me!"

At this point Shining Armor was sweating. Murder was a rare threat in Equestria, and the authorities did not deal with it very often. This was actually his first time dealing with a threat of murder, and he felt lost.

"Please...save me..." whispered Steady Hoof, who was shaking from head to hoof.

"They're not going to save you, they're cowards," snickered the Doctor,"and they're going to give me what I want, then...they will despair."

~BZZZZZ~

"Help me!"

"DESPAIR!"

"ENOUGH!"

After concentrating and harnessing her magic, Princess Luna shot a bolt of raw, lethal magic at the Doctor, which hit him square in the chest. He was flung back, landing on the floor, and the Sonic Screwdriver landed on the floor before it could do any magic. Steady Hoof scrambled out of his grip, and ran towards the guards. Meanwhile, Princess Luna soared through the air and landed in front of the Doctor, smashing his Sonic Screwdriver with a foreleg. Using her magic, she blasted the Doctor again, and he writhed in pain for a full minute before going still. Everything stood still, with Luna panting and the guards surrounding the Doctor. Steady Hoof had been taken away, and the sky outside returned to normal. Luna looked down at the fallen enemy, then turned away.

"Take him away. We'll dispose of the body later."

The guards nodded, then started to pick up the Doctor. And then, something amazing happened: he started glowing. It was slow, but surely enough a bright yellow light shone on his face and hands. The guards just looked at him, until he opened his eyes.

"I'd step away if I were you."

They scrambled back and the rest pointed their spears at him, inches from his chest. A thin yellow mist started emanating from his body, swirling around in the air like floating sand, the same way blue mist came out of the princess' head. She quickly turned around, ready to hit him again, until he raised his hands.

"Sorry, sorry, it's okay. I just needed to provoke you into kick-starting the process. I'm not actually going to hurt anybody. Still, you really should stand back, and that goes for you too Luna."

They all stood still, amazed and confused, until they turned to Luna for orders. She just stared at the Doctor, wondering how he could have survived her attack, then lifted a foreleg.

"Do as he says."

They all backed up, giving the Doctor some space. The glow was getting stronger, and his breathing got heavier. Then, against all odds, he stood up.

"How...? Your spine..." asked Shining Armor.

"Was broken, yes," replied the Doctor, who was straightening his clothes out, "but nothing a little regeneration can't handle. You see, my body can fix itself if it sustains too much damage. It should have already happened, but my injury wasn't bad enough and you healed me, so I needed to trigger the process. And don't worry, I'm not Despair, that was just a quick trick to make myself look bad. I'm so sorry, I really am, but desperate times-"

He gave a sudden jolt, which made everypony ready to strike, until he lifted an index.

"It's fine, just going into the last stage. Oh blimey it's getting hot. It's gonna be a big one. Okay, okay, here it comes..."

He started hopping up and down a bit, flexing his fingers and breathing quickly. He gave a sniff, and the glow became a bright light, with the mist flowing faster out of his hands and from his face. He turned to the guards, and put his hand on his chest.

"I'll look different, but it'll still be me. While I might be leaving, I'll come back as a new person, and I hope we can start being friends. I'll redeem myself, and I look forward to the things we can do together."

Meanwhile, Princess Celestia stood hidden, next to the room's door, looking at the scene undetected thanks to an invisibility spell. She stood there, watching the Doctor and her sister with a warm smile.

"But...what is your real name?" asked Luna, who was looking at the Time Lord in awe.

He turned to her, shrouded in golden light, and smirked.

"I am, and always will be, the Doctor."

The light coming from his body exploded outwards, and the mist became a beam of pure gold energy that shot out into the air. The shock made him throw his head back and stretch his limbs out. The ponies stepped back, blinded and anxious, but Luna stood rooted to the ground, amazed by the miracle that was happening in front of her. The burst of energy made the furniture in the room shake and the floor crack; and the stretcher, the bed, and the desk were thrown against the walls, where they smashed into several pieces.

Then, something went wrong: the Doctor started glowing red. The red colour was joined by dark orange and black, and small bolts of green lightning shot out of his fingertips. The Doctor panicked, and looked at his hands in fear. The bolts shot out, smashing the remaining furniture and hitting the walls, shattering several windows as well. Luna stared in horror at the Time Lord, unable to accept what she was seeing. Suddenly, Shining Armor stood in front of her and dragged her away.

"Princess! We have to get you out of here now!"

They stepped back towards the entrance, and the Doctor could only watch in horror as his entire regeneration process spiralled out of control. He realized that the colours were the same as the ones he had seen in the maelstrom, and he felt powerless. Suddenly, a surge of pain ran through his entire body and he yelled out, falling to his knees. He felt his insides twist, turn and churn; he felt his bones ache and stretch, and he thought of one last thing before darkness took over his mind.

It can't end, not like this!

The red light suddenly turned into a sphere, which swallowed the Doctor whole, and a blast of energy made the ponies fall to the ground. The remaining windows shattered, the furniture exploded, cracks ran through the floor and walls, and one last shout of pain echoed through the room before everything stopped. Slowly, the guards and their captain stood up, anxious and weary. The princess rose as well, nervous but ready to deal with the Doctor if she had to. They walked cautiously towards the remaining cloud of smoke, and gazed in shock and awe at what they saw.

On the cracked floor, with small bolts of green lightning coursing through his body, a brown stallion lay unconscious.

After taking a deep breath, Princess Celestia cancelled her spell. She took a distraught expression, breathed rapidly, and ran into the room.

"What happened here? Is Luna safe?"

Still staring at the stallion on the floor, she muttered her reply.

"I'm fine..."

Celestia gave a sigh of relief, placed a wing on her sister's back, then turned to Shining Armor.

"Take that thing away."

He nodded, put shackles on the unconscious pony and dragged him away.

A Long-Awaited Talk

As consciousness returned to the Doctor, several feelings hit him like a runaway train: he felt heavy, as if he had been fitted with a heavy suit of armor, and he was hungry. Not peckish, not in the mood for nibbles, but a full-blown untamed hunger attacked him and he groaned rather loudly. He felt weary, like a man who is done with a series of chores with require him to walk to all sorts of places. He felt numb in some places, but it was to be expected after such an intense regeneration, and he had difficulties moving his legs.

I thought the regeneration would have taken care of that...oh. Oh, wow, I've regenerated, haven't I? I have. Let's savour this one.

The Doctor didn't open his eyes yet; he wanted to go through this awakening slowly, since his last few ones had been somewhat rushed and brutal. He chose to start by slowly rotating his arms, as it was all he could do for now. He found himself unable to move his fingers, toes, or other parts, as he was once again tied to a wall by his wrists; and not with soft velvet ropes, no, but with thick metal chains. And, as if the situation couldn't get stranger, he was blindfolded.

Is this some sort of sick reoccurring joke these ponies are pulling on me?

After reminding himself that his bitter thoughts wouldn't help him out of this one, he chose to calm down and think rationally, in order to get a hold of what he was feeling. Just like before, he felt heavier, and ravenous, ready to tackle an entire buffet table if he had to. With carrots and cauliflower, apples, little sugar cubes, roses, and hay, and fresh grass with flowers.

...Hay and roses. I actually want hay. I've never even eaten hay before. What the hell is going on?

He also felt as though something was stuck on his coccyx. Whatever it was, it felt long and fuzzy.

...Oh boy. Oh no, no, no...What did they do to me?

As panic started crawling through him like a cold hand, he heard some noises in front of him. There were muffled voices, which were soon followed by clicks, clangs, the sliding of metal bars, the rattling of chains and the sound of gears turning.

This continued for a minute, with a soft humming noise and a whooshing sound filling the room. Then, the shriek of an old and massive metal door pushed open. And then...nothing. The Doctor guessed that whatever had opened his cell - because he knew by now that he was no longer a guest – was watching him, which is why he chose to stay still.

The sound of footsteps, soft and poised, reached him. He remained still, slowly breathing in the smell of clay, earth and metal, until honey and vanilla joined in. Then the great metal door shut itself, and silence remained. Nothing moved for some time, until a soft but commanding voice rang throughout the room.

“How are you feeling, Doctor?”

The Doctor was taken by surprise, because that isn't the first thing you're asked when you're blindfolded in such a tightly locked cell. Nevertheless, he nodded.

“I realize that this might be an unusual question, but I need to know. Do you feel alright?”

“...I'm hungry, and a bit tired, but yeah. Oh, and look and that, new voice! And deep too, nice! Although my jaw feels a bit...weird. So does my whole body actually.”

Princess Celestia had to restrain herself, because seeing the Doctor scrunching up his muzzle several times and wiggle around was very amusing. But she stood tall, and kept talking.

“Yes, I can see why. Now Doctor, I want you to listen to me, because this is important. I am going to show you what you look like now, and I know you'll want to examine yourself, but I am keeping you restrained until you calm yourself. Are we clear?”

“...Sure. Just one thing, real quick: what's poking me in the back?”

She did not answer. All the Doctor heard was a sigh before the blindfold was taken off. He opened his eyes slowly, and gazed in horror at the sight in front of him.

That sight...was him. Kneeling, with dirty brown fur and chained appendages, a thin pony stared back at him from a large mirror. He saw that this pony had a long brown mane...and a tail. He saw that pony stare back at him with big blue eyes, and that he was the pony chained to the wall by its forelegs. He took several deep breaths and started shaking.

That's...oh, that's me, I'm not...I can't...I-I have a tail...Oh Gods, no...nonononononononoNO!

“NO! THAT'S NOT ME! NO, NO, NO! AAAAGH!”

He tugged at his chains, trying to stand up only to pathetically fall back down. He kept screaming, trying to flex fingers and toes that were no longer there, kicking his back hooves at the ground to try and stand up over and over again. He looked all over himself, and saw that he did have a real tail. Everything hurt, everything felt heavy and wrong, and he was so hungry!

The whole time, Celestia stared at the distressed Doctor with a stoic mask for a face. That is, until something unsettling happened.

As the Doctor kept struggling and yelling, his fur became slightly grayer and his hair went a tad blacker. He then turned to Celestia, looking angrier than any pony she had ever seen.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!” he yelled, his voice twisted and deeper than before.

She did not answer, and the Doctor actually tried to bite his restraints off. Celestia frowned, unsure of what would happen next.

Eventually he calmed down, and bowed his head to stare at the dusty orange ground and the stony black pedestal that he was kneeling on, not caring for the strain on his arms. He just stared, slowly getting a hold of the thoughts swirling in his head. Eventually, he looked back at the mirror to see the weary pony looking back.

He was still brown all over, but he seemed a bit too skinny and his hair was a bit too long compared to the few stallions he had seen. The cell he was in was actually a small, dusty cave with long orange rocks for walls. His chains were black as night, and thick.

“Feeling better?”

“...Yes.”

“Any comments?”

“...I'm naked.”

Celestia could only laugh at that comment, which made the Doctor feel uneasy. Usually he was the one who knew everything about what was going on, but he knew she was not as clueless as the others.

“Yes you are, and so am I.”

This made the Doctor feel very self-conscious all of a sudden, and he tried to make himself as small as possible while turning his reddening face towards the floor.

“You will get used to it, trust me. Either way, I'm sorry to tell you that your clothes have been damaged beyond repair, and that your device did not survive the blast you created. I want to know what that was, and why you tried to make it happen.”

He stared at her, a hard look on his face.

“That's fine, I was planning on getting a new attire anyway and I'll fix the Sonic problem later. Okay, so, I acted as though I was going to kill that pony so that I could provoke someone into triggering my regeneration in order to heal my legs - which seems to have worked by the way - but I wasn't actually going to hurt it. As for my regeneration, it's...huh. How to put it...” he said, while knocking his hooves together, before pointing one of them at Celestia.

“Do you have lizards here?”

“We do.”

“Do you know what happens when they lose their tail?”

“It grows back.”

“Exactly. Now imagine that, but everywhere. I'll have to look into the lizards here, and other animals while I'm at it,” he concluded, spreading his arms as far as they would go. And then, he concentrated, folding his arms back into his chest.

“But as for what that was...I don't actually know. All I can tell you is that my regeneration went wrong. I'm not supposed to be one of you...pony people,” he finished, twirling a hoof in her direction.

“I'll have you know my 'pony people' are nothing to be ashamed of, and that I am an alicorn. My name is Princess Celestia. You have already met my sister, Luna. And while you are under my jurisdiction, you will show some respect for me and my subjects.”

“Right, sorry...that wasn't very polite of me. Alright, I guess I'll tell you the details of my regeneration later.”

“What makes you think there will be a later?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

He leaned forward as much as he could, and gave a knowing smile.

“Because from what I've gathered you're not the most aggressive species I've encountered, because the only reason I'm here is for appearances, and because I know that you know a lot more than you let on. But more importantly, I know for a fact that one way or another, I'm getting out of here.”

She merely stared at him for a few seconds, before sighing and giving him a smile.

“I feel I'm going to like this new version of you, Doctor.”

“I can't say the same.”

“You are right about some of these things, but I cannot stay here any longer. My guards will worry if I spend too much time in this place. Your restraints will unlock themselves in a few moments, and I'll leave the mirror here so you can get a good look at yourself. Also-”

~GROOOOOOWWW~

Before she could continue, a deep gurgling noise came from the Doctor's belly, and he gave her a sheepish smile. Giving a small giggle, she went back to talking.

“I'll send some food for you here, which is an exception given the circumstances. For your safety, I strongly suggest that you stop thinking about escaping. As for your release...that will be entirely up to you.”

And with that, she turned around and knocked on the door three times, which started the series of clicks and clangs which would open the door.

“Wait!”

She turned to him, with a small frown on her face.

“Yes?”

“You were there...the night I crashed, you were there with you sister, Luna, yeah? What did you do to my ship after that?” he asked, glaring at her.

She remained silent for a few seconds, the door opening slowly.

“Tell me!...Please!” he shouted, straining to stand straight and lean towards her.

“...We did not touch it. We took you out, I brought you back to the castle while my sister went to get some troops there, but she tells me that the doors were shut and that they have been unable to move or open it.”

He relaxed, and gave a small relieved laugh.

“Thank goodness, I was afraid I'd lost her...how long has it been since then?”

As the door opened and she stepped out, she gave him a sorry look before replying.

“Five months, starting tomorrow.”

The Doctor's eyes widened, and he struggled once more.

“No! I was not asleep for that long! You're LYING! Tell me what you've done right NOW!”

Celestia only shook her head, and left as the massive door shut itself. What she didn't see is that the more it closed, the more the Doctor's appearance did change, going darker than before.

“NO! Come back here! Where is my TARDIS?! CELESTIAAAAAA!”

She did not look back, she did not reply, and the Doctor was left to scream and thrash around in his cell. She looked back at the massive door, which bore the insignia of a large hourglass. She took a few steps back towards it, and rested her forehead against it.

She closed her eyes as her lower lip trembled, and green smoke rose from beneath her eyelids with a single tear from each one of them. She grabbed her chest, gritting her teeth as an all too familiar tightness set its clutches there once more. Then she took a deep breath, wiped away the smoke and the tears, and walked away.

************

Time meant nothing to the Doctor at the moment, so he did not know how much timed had passed before the door swung open again. He did not look up as a guard came in pushing a tray, covered by a white sheet, with food on it. They left shortly after. A minute later, his restraints simply broke, making him fall flat on his face and forcing a grunt out of him.

He lay there, slowly breathing in the smell of clay and sandy rock, before he decided it was time to eat. He shot up, dashed over to the table, and went wild. There was water, juice, and flowers, what appeared to be fries, potatoes, hay, and sugar, fruits and tomatoes, and bread and butter.

But the Doctor did not care. He was hungry. He merely took anything that looked edible and stuffed it in his mouth, chewing and drinking everything he could. Even when the food was gone he threw the blanket off the table, sending some cutlery and utensils flying off into a corner of the room. He started chewing it, ripping shreds off and munching them with a fierce determination to feed. He took the napkins, and added them to his consuming spree.

He had almost finished eating half of the sheet before he caught some movements from his left. He looked up, and stared back at a pony with dishevelled hair, wild eyes, and bits of food covering his muzzle. The Doctor stopped chewing, and looked around him. The table had been flipped over, food and plates laid all over the floor, and his hooves were dirty from the dust and his carelessness.

His whole body shook slightly, and he slowly walked over to the large mirror. He stared at himself for a long time, then rose his arm and touched his reflection's hoof. He stared into those eyes, and a horrible truth hit him.

I'm the animal.

With a cry of rage and anguish, he ran over to the torch above his pedestal and yanked it off the wall, before throwing it with all his strength at the mirror. It shattered into hundreds of pieces, and the flame went out.

He stood there, panting and exhausted, in a cell darker than before because of his blind fury. He decided that that was enough for a while. He dragged himself towards what was left of the sheet, picked it up, and stumbled towards his pedestal. Making a shabby-looking bed, he curled up on the soft cover and closed his eyes.

Before exhaustion took hold of him he wept silently, clutching his tail and concentrating on how grateful he was to have a somewhat comfortable bed after behaving in such a horrible way, both towards himself and towards the princess. He felt ashamed of acting the way he did, and allowing some ridiculous thoughts go through his head.

But then again, that is how lost souls tend to act.

************

As the Princess of the Night walked through the Dreamscape, watching several bubbles of different colors float around, a bright orange sphere shone in the distance. She was taken aback, as such an appearance had never manifested itself before. She watched it with growing curiosity, her head cocked to the side.

"I wonder..."

She then waited, as the space around her shifted and warped to get her closer to the bright orange bubble. The closer she got, the more she could see how large it actually was, almost as big as her. The she could only stare in awe at the globe of light. It felt ancient and powerful, older than anything she had ever encountered in this realm. From the events that had happened recently, she came to the conclusion it could only be him.

"I think it is time you and I had a talk..."

A Peculiar Discussion

After Princess Luna stepped out of the bubble, she realized that she was smack dab in the middle of a burning forest. All around her, enormous trees were alight with flames, eating at the bark and the branches. When she turned around to flee the bubble had vanished, leaving her stranded in a fiery grave. She looked around, scared but determined to get herself out of this conundrum alive, before she saw that she had been wrong. The forest was not burning, and everything was fine.

She looked up to see that the trees went high into the sky, so high that she had to crane her neck to the fullest to try and see the top branches reaching out for the heavens. The trees themselves were orange, with thick trunks and long, sturdy branches, casting great big shadows around her. At the end of those branches were beautiful, thin silver leaves, which sparkled with a ghostly light. She saw that somewhere, high above, there had to be a sun lighting up the place and giving it this haunting beauty.

Slowly, the wind started picking up and leaves started falling from their branches. They fell slowly, like snow during a quiet winter night. She could only stare, transfixed by such beauty. One leaf actually landed on her muzzle, and a quick sneeze made it fall to the floor. When she looked down she had a little jump, as the grass beneath her hooves, which had a thin layer of frost on it, was as red as the richest of wines.

That small jump made her more aware of her surroundings, and she suddenly felt very small before these mighty trees. Where could she be, to see such extraordinary and fantastic sights? She had seen peculiar dreams before, but never like this one. She had to be in his dream, it was the only possible answer.

That's when the sound of music reached her ears, and she realized that the trees themselves were chanting. All along their branches, holes of different shapes and sizes created delicate sounds, like a mare softly singing with the wind flowing through them and out of different holes, giving the whole place a feeling of tranquillity and eeriness.

As the wind got stronger, deep noises from the trees went high and low, which reminded her of violins and organs being played in tandem. Then, every time a leaf broke off from its branch, she could hear a single piano note ring out in the forest. It all went together perfectly, and she felt strangely sad and hollow while hearing this, but she found it beautiful nonetheless. It was a haunting beauty.

Then, as if they had a consciousness of their own, some leaves formed a cloud which floated in front of her, then flew towards a beaten path to her right. Both cautious and curious, she followed them. As she walked through the great forest, looking all around her to capture as much of this beauty as she could, she heard another melody flowing throughout the woods.

"Is that...a flute? It is. Curiouser and curiouser..."

She followed the silver cloud for a little while before the forest opened up to a tall hill, covered with icy red grass which gently swayed in the wind. The cloud suddenly flew ahead of her and vanished over the top. With an excitement and a fascination which she had rarely felt before, she rushed up the hill, and her jaw dropped at the sight before her.

She was standing over a massive valley, with vast fields of red and white grass which stretched out for miles and miles. Above her, a wide orange sky which seemed to stand impossibly high was cloudless, and a large white sun glowed dimly. Beneath that sun the valley was encircled by two massive black mountains, which wore brilliant white caps of the purest snow there was. What really made her catch her breath though was what stood in the distance, a beautiful object which made the whole area look like two giant hands holding an orb.

Said object was a humongous glass ball, which shone under the white sun and contained tall bronze spires in its centre. It appeared to be a city, as she could make out some smaller structures which surrounded the central spires and small dots that could be seen flying about within the glass dome. The view she was given was surreal, it brought a few tears to her eyes, it opened her mind to a whole new realm of possibilities, and yet it felt strangely familiar. And yet, in front of such a sight, words failed her.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

But the person next to her summed it up quite well.

Luna gave a small shriek of surprise, and was ready to obliterate whatever had sneaked up on her until she found the source of this realm, and she gave a pause. The blue wardrobe was there, looking much better than when she and her sister had found it, but the individual that stood next to it was something new.

Another minautor-like creature was sitting next to her, propping his back against his contraption and watching the scenery. He had a large mop of black hair on his head, and his face was somewhat wrinkled. He wore dark turquoise, square-patterned pants with a light blue button shirt. His ensemble was completed with a navy-blue bow-tie, a large black coat with a red napkin in the front pocket, and he held a recorder in his hands.

"Were you the one playing the flute...Doctor?"

"This is actually called a recorder, but yes; yes, that was me. Do you know how to play it?"

"Not personally, but I do enjoy listening to some of my subjects' performances. I enjoyed yours as well, and how you made the trees sing."

"I see...Oh wait, that was not my work, actually. What you heard is the Choir of the Gargantrees, and you are quite lucky to have heard it. I thought I had forgotten their chanting, but I am glad to see it's still in here," he said, tapping his skull with an index and giving a small smile. "Beautiful things, the Gargantrees. This recorder was actually carved out of one of them."

"But trees cannot sing."

"Well, these do," he replied with a grin.

They both fell silent, staring at the landscape below them.

"I was in the markets of the Lower Districts when I sensed your appearance, and I very rarely get visitors in my mind. I figured you must have strong psychic abilities, so I sent a signal of sorts for you and here we are. What do you think."

"It's...magnificent."

"It is, isn't it? This is my home world, and I'm glad to see you enjoy it," he said, while standing up and walking down the hill. He then turned to her, and made a hand gesture to follow him. She was still weary of him, but she walked with him nonetheless.

"What you're looking at is the Citadel of the Time Lords, located between the Mountains of Solace and Solitude of the Continent of Wild Endeavour. Not far from here are the Wastelands, and North of here you will find the Crevasse of Memories that Will Be. It's quite the sight, but you'll want to keep your distances from there for now. And if you look to the...South, or maybe South-East? Anyway, there you will find the Lune Forest, on the Continent of Absolute Beauty. I can't wait to show you that, the names are rather fitting," he finished, with a big smile on his face.

She turned towards that fabled place, seeing that the sky had gone light blue on the horizon and that it was getting darker.

"...Why are you telling me all this?"

"Like I said, visitors are so rare here and I do love this place; so I take the chance to show it to anyone who comes by. Now I have to ask you a very important question...would you like a Jelly Baby?”

She turned around and jumped back, gasping at the man who now towered over her.

He wore a large dark red coat with pale blue pants, a beige square-patterned vest, and a very long scarf which went from his feet to his neck, where it wrapped up in a large bundle. Atop of his wild and curly hair was a hat, and a wide grin split his face beneath big round eyes and a strong nose. He was handing her a white paper bag, filled with small, colourful gelatinous creatures.

“...Doctor? Is that you?”

“It would appear so. Now, Jelly Baby or no Jelly Baby?”

“Enough with the sugary infants! What is this madness?!”

“Oh calm down, everything is fine. He felt a bit nostalgic is all, so he went back to the TARDIS. You can go see him if you want to,” he said, pointing over his shoulder.

Luna took a step aside, and saw the little man from earlier sitting against his TARDIS, playing the recorder. He stared at the city, looking contemplative and slightly upset. Luna was befuddled for a moment, then glared up at the smiling, giant Doctor.

“How are you doing this, who are you both, and what are you?!”

“You like to shout a lot, don't you? To answer your question, I am a Time Lord. This planet is called Gallifrey. I am him, he is me, and we are all together in my little world.”

“We are not the same person, you big buffoon! That scarf is so big it makes you look like a child who raided his father's wardrobe!”

Luna realized they were standing around the blue box once more, yet she didn't recall moving an inch. Standing in front of her were the two 'Time Lords', one of them still staring at the Citadel while the other looked down at his friend with an amused expression.

“Well that recorder makes you look ridiculous.”

“It does not! Not many people can learn how to play this instrument, and those who do have some real talent.”

“Not many people play the recorder, because it is a silly instrument.”

“Enough!”

Luna couldn't stand all this squabbling, and had given the grass below her hooves a strong stomp with her front legs. The two men stared at her, one looking amused and the other looking bored.

“Explain yourselves this instant!”

“Look at what you've done, she's upset now.”

“I gathered as much. She has a bit of a temper though, doesn't she?”

“I like that,” he said, giving a small hoot with his recorder.

“So do I,” added the tall one, doing a very good Cheshire cat impression.

“Will you two fools behave? Honestly, I never thought I would grow to become so rude,” said a new, distinguished voice.

She whirled around to find a new man, looking at the two other men with a frown on his wrinkled face. He had short, combed-back white hair above his large forehead. He wore dark grey pants with another square pattern, and a pale yellow vest could be seen beneath a black coat that stopped at his knees.

“I suppose we've had our fun for now, my little friend,” he said, pocketing the sweets after popping one in his mouth.

“I agree, you big numpty. A good joke shouldn't go on for too long. We'll be in the TARDIS if you need us,” added the musician, storing his recorder in one of his coat pockets.

Luna was staring at the ludicrous men, wondering how deep their pockets went. They entered the blue box, the taller Time Lord holding the door for his companion. When Luna tried to look inside the jester shot her a fierce glare which made her step back, next to her 'saviour'. The door creaked shut, and a small click sealed it. They both gave a breath in relief, thankful that peace had returned to this beautiful field.

“I apologize for those two imbeciles. I know they annoy me as well,” said the old man, turning to face her.

“That's quite alright, Doctor. They remind me of my sister, in a bizarre way. But I would like to ask you a question, and I hope that you have the good sense to answer me honestly, unlike those two. What is all this?”

He looked at her - noticing she was smaller than him by a head or so - gave a small humph and grabbed his vest around the chest area.

“My answers will be as honest as I'll allow them to be. For now, I suppose I can tell you that those two were me, or will be me depending on when you are. As a Time Lord, I have the ability to regenerate when my life is nearing its end. I do not want to go into details, but I will tell you that it is a biological process akin to that of a caterpillar's metamorphosis, albeit much faster. It takes over my entire being, from my mind to every cell in my body. I retain only my memories, while everything else changes in one way or another.”

“But if you are the same person, why do you not see each other as such? You seem to consider them as...you, while they see each other as different people.”

He gave a small sigh, and placed a hand on the TARDIS.

“It depends on the new 'me' and their personality, but it also depends on their memories. The tall one was what you could call my fourth incarnation, while the smaller chap was my second form. Fourth has some memories that have made him somewhat distant from the others, even though we all share the same memories. We do here, at least, while these conflicting personalities have caused some difficulties in the real world.”

“What makes you think this is not real?”

“Because I know it is, and don't you dare make me think this is anything more than a fantasy,” he snapped, giving her a mean look.

“Well none of you seem to know I am a Princess, and that I deserve more respect than this.”

“Bah! You think being a princess makes you superior to me? I have faced emperors and rulers of entire galaxies and they were as misguided as you were!”

“I do not claim to be superior, but I am saying that as a Princess, I am a pony amongst others and deserve some common decency and a minimum of politeness! And you claim that I call myself superior, with your 'Time Lord' title?”

He looked down at her, as she met his gaze with her hooves planted firmly on the ground. They remained silent for a few seconds, before he chuckled and clasped his hands together.

“Time Lords are a species, but I digress. You're absolutely right, how rude of me. I apologize, Princess Luna, I was slightly angered by how curious you were and I lashed out. It's a nasty habit, but I am trying to get rid of it. Can you forgive me?”

“...Of course I can, and I apologize if I was being too intrusive. And I know you said it upset you, but why is curiosity such a bad thing? Does it happen often around you?”

“Curiosity is never a bad thing, but when it comes to who I am? Yes, and it happens more often than I'd like. But to answer your question, people have a tendency to ask me a lot of questions about myself, and sometimes that leads to unpleasant conclusions. And I have rarely been questioned this much about my identity in my own mind.”

She seemed slightly embarrassed by this, which was not something many people could make her feel, but he gave her a warm smile.

“But you were right: your ability to enter my subconscious was no reason for me to speak to you in such a way. Instead, I find myself rather curious about your powers. Are they related to your appearance?”

“You are correct. Just like my sister, my powers go further than the common unicorn or pegasus. However, unlike her, I am able to travel through the dreams of those in our realm and visit them. Right now, I am standing in my room seemingly asleep. My presence here is purely spiritual.”

“I see. Well then, Princess, I would love for us to have a pleasant conversation.”

“I concur. Should we step into your wardrobe?”

“This is no wardrobe, and no you may not. I do not want to appear secretive, but you and your sister – as well as anyone, really – are forbidden from entering the TARDIS without my express permission,” he said, with a deep frown.

Suddenly, the reality around them started to blur, and they both noticed that the hill around them was slowly fading away. Everywhere they looked the world went gray, the grass stopped moving along with the wind, and the horizon became dark.

"It seems as though you are waking up, Doctor. I suppose this is goodbye, then," she said, feeling strangely hollow after saying that.

"For now, yes, but you can always come back. Are you in any danger of fading out of existence right now?"

"No, since I am still anchored to the Dreamscape I will return there once you wake up."

"I see. Well then, Princess Luna, I shall see you next time. Perhaps we could visit the Lune Forest on your next visit," he said, giving a small bow.

"That would be very nice," she said, giving him a smile along with a bow of her own.

"May I ask one last thing of you? Such as releasing me from my cell?"

She fidgeted for a second, then gave him an apologetic look. The hill around them was gone, and all that was left was the TARDIS, standing in a circle of red grass around them in contrast with the darkness that had engulfed the imaginary realm.

"I'm afraid not, Doctor. You seem to be a reasonable individual, but I cannot say the same for your...current persona. But I will give it some thought, and maybe visit you in your cell if I can find the time to do so."

"Oh, they're always like that in the beginning, confused and grumpy. I know I was. Nevertheless, I understand your judgement. I look forward to your next visit," he said, giving her a small smile.

"Goodbye, Doctor."

And with that, he winked out of existence and she was left standing in the vast blue space that was the Dreamscape. She sighed, shaking her head before turning around and roaming her realm. She felt that this Doctor was going to be an interesting character to deal with.

"He may not be an alicorn, but still. Close enough," she said, skipping away with a giggle towards the next glowing bubble.

************

The Doctor woke up, gave a big yawn and licked his lips. He pondered upon his strange dream, and decided that he rather liked this Luna pony. A bit emotional, but she seemed to have a good head on her shoulders. He stared at his hoof, twisting it around to get a feel of the movement with a remorseful expression on his face. With a sigh he got up, looked around his cell, and smiled before trotting around.

If I'm going to be staying her for a bit, I might as well get comfortable.

Meeting the Doctor