Tales of the Lunar Consort: Volume X

6:45 A.M., 1529 East Mustang Road, Canterlot

Celestia's last act of her night had been to raise the Sun; she immediately fell asleep on her friend as she sent the star on it's path. Even so, Enoch lay there, partially crushed under the weight of the Princess as he waited for her to slip into the usual deep sleep. She always did when she drank even the slightest bit of alcohol.

He didn't have to wait long; the Solar Alicorn fell into deep, deep sleep in about ten minutes. Carefully, Enoch manouvered himself off the bed. Pressing a hoof down on the mattress to simulate his weight, he swung his rear hooves off the bed and lifted the forehoof off the bed, moving slowly so Celestia wouldn't wake. Free of the mattress, he straightened his his tie, refastened the buttons on his waistcoat and re-did his belt buckle(Celestia had gotten it almost entirely undone; for a drunk mare, her hooves and magic were quite steady). Kicking his shoes off, he quietly padded across the room to the closet and pulled another blanket down, taking ti to the bed and draping it over the prone Alicorn.

Picking up his shoes from his side, he trotted out of the room and closed the door silently. Letting his hooves fall on the floor softly, he walked down the hall and back to the sitting room. He dropped his shoes by the doorway, settled back in his chair by the fireplace, steepled his hooves and released a sigh. He remained there for perhaps a minute before realizing his hooves were shaking. He looked at them for a moment, mild surprise registering in his face, then jumped out of the chair and grabbed his violin and its bow from their stand by the fireplace. Frantically, he tuned the strings, plucking them until the right vibrations came from the instrument, then began to play. The first notes of Beethoofen's Fifth Symphony began to pour out of the instrument, before a breeze began to blow through his mane.

VWWWORP. VWWWORP. VWWWORP. DOON. The TARDIS materialized inside the sitting room.  Wow. He actually piloted her into the room? Successfully? Enoch thought. Before he could think anymore thoughts, the doors opened, revealing a raggedy Doctor.

"Enoch! I found the way back!" He shouted, stumbling over his hooves.

From his chair, Enoch only cast a confused look. "Back? Back where, my dear Doctor?" he asked.

"To Earth!" The Doctor's grin was wide enough to split his face.

Enoch's ears fell. "Earth? Oh. And you want me to go with you, I suppose?"

"What? Yes! Don't you want to go back?"

The blue stallion shook his head. "No. I don't."

The Doctor cast a confused look, an eyebrow rising.

"True enough, I was born on Earth. I remember it well."  Enoch said, setting the violin back on the stand and replacing the bow. "But now, Equestria is my home, where I've made my life. Besides, my family is long dead. I have no reason to go back." He paused. "We're old stallions, Doctor. Both of us." Enoch said sadly, putting a hoof on the Doctor's shoulder. "And we had some wonderful times, didn't we? Some crazy times, some mad times, and even some scary times too. The Rani. Omega. The Master. Brr." He shuddered at the memories.

"And I wouldn't trade those memories for anything. But just as everything has a beginning, everything also has an end. And it seems our companionship has come to an end. As must everything."

"But you don't have to go! I hate endings... Maybe I can keep the rift open so I can come back through..." The Doctor said, muttering to himself.

"No! Don't you dare." he blue stallion said sharply. "You've no idea what that could do. Besides, you're going back for Rose, no? For your love?"

The Doctor nodded.

"Then our companionship must end for your love to continue. Everything ends sometime. You know it as well as I. And my place is here."

With that, Enoch stepped forward and pulled the Doctor into an deep embrace. Not a bro-hug, but the farewell hug of two very old friends. He also pulled his TARDIS key out of his pocket and dropped it into the Doctor's. "Go..." he said, motioning that the TARDIS.

Slowly, the Doctor walked back into the machine and shut the doors. The TARDIS began her dematerialization, then faded from view.

"...Goodbye, my dear friend..." Enoch murmured. He spared a look at the violin, then pulled the blue bottle out of his pocket. He sat down in his chair, picked up his pipe from the table nest to it, pulled out a pouch, packed the bowl of the pipe with tobacco and bluegrass, and lit it, puffing on it, inhaling and savoring the flavor of the smoke as he reviewed the events of the day.

"First I fend off Blueblood at the station, then Celestia mentions Luna, then the Doctor has to leave... Ugh. I think I'll go to bed now. I don't wanna see anyone... anypony... else today. They might leave too..." He shook his head and burned the rest of the weed, dumping the ash in a small glass tray on the table. He slid the bottle back in his pocket and exited the sitting room, ascending the stairs in at the end of the hallway and turning left, into a guest room.