Once in a Blue Moon

Chapters

Ch. 2: A Tale of Two Ponies
Ch. 3: That Which Remains
Ch. 4: A Pale Horse
Interlude: Luna on the Moon, Year 27
Ch. 6: Between Light and Dark
Ch. 7: If a Tree Falls in the Forest...
Ch. 8: ...Does It Cast a Shadow?
Ch. 9: Through a Mirror Darkly
Ch. 10: Solar Flare
Ch. 11: Tenebris Venit
Ch. 12: Aphelion
Ch. 1: An Unexpected House Call
Ch. 5: Lighter Than a Feather, Heavier Than a Mountain

Ch. 2: A Tale of Two Ponies

Chapter Two: A Tale of Two Ponies

Everfree Forest: Day 1, Year 0 of Celestia's Reign

Celestia did not know what to make of this strange colt who had literally appeared out of thin air. He had a manner about him that made her instinctively want to trust him, but for him to just show up with his blue box and make grand statements about undoing what she had done was just too much for her to believe. She told him as much.

“Celestia, this is very very important. I need you to tell me everything, start to finish.” He had pulled out that curious metal rod which he called a sonic screwdriver, and was currently clicking it on and off around her horn.

Not knowing what else to do, she told him. She spoke of the birth of herself and her younger sister to the alicorn race. She told him of their parents' roles as Sun Priest and Moon Priestess, spoke of how she and her sister had to learn how to control the movements of the Sun and Moon, and how the alicorns had brought the gifts of sentience to the lesser ponies of the land and carefully guided them to a better future, giving each sub-race their own strengths and weaknesses to counterbalance each other and more effectively work together: Endurance and strength for the earth pony, wings, keen senses, and agility for the pegasi, and horns to control the arcane for the unicorns. This was the easy part for her.

The harder half of it were the events leading up to the confrontation last night, although it seemed less difficult than she had feared. Perhaps it was because the Doctor seemed more mature and wise than any of the other ponies she knew, or more likely, it was because he was a stranger; he was someone totally unconnected with the realm and her rule and with an objective viewpoint that seemed unlikely to judge.

Besides, it was hard to have an earnest conversation with other ponies when they had a tendency to fall to their knees and call you a sun goddess, and the Doctor certainly did not seem to be the type to do that.

“After Luna and I learned how to control night and day, we tried to each do our best with our respective domains,” she murmured, casting her gaze around the ruins of her home. “I would make certain that the Sun rose and that it followed its intended seasonal tilt, while Luna would raise the Moon and ensure that the night sky was filled with stars and constellations, to spark the dreams of our charges. Unfortunately,” she sighed, “That didn't seem to be good enough for her, after awhile.”

“Wait, I'm a bit confused, Celestia. You raise the Sun and Moon, you say? That's impossible. Well! Not impossible, exceedingly improbable. Well, all right, very bloody difficult if you ask me, and I once used the output of a dying star just to make a phone call.” The brown earth pony clicked his screwdriver on and off a few times more, then peered at the readings set into its side. “Although...” he drawled with a hint of that manic curiosity he had shown several times during the conversation, “It's actually possible, here. You're not just in a room soaked with artron energy, you're actually generating and manipulating it with that lovely horn of yours. In fact,” he said firmly, standing up and walking around, gesturing with his head to encompass everything around him, “Your entire planet is brimming with it! I've never seen anything like that before. How do you manage it, I wonder?”

The princess breathed a silent thanks to the Powers and the Elements for the reprieve from the painful subject of her sister. “Well, we didn't really have to bother with it, at first. Not until the Chaos War. Not until Discord.”

“Discord, eh? That doesn't sound very harmonious.” At his reply, Celestia shook her head. “No, he wasn't. He was a draconequus, a mingled creature representing the major races of Equestria and the lands beyond who ruled here for thousands of years. An immortal, like the alicorns, with eternity before and behind him.” Offering the Doctor a faint, sad smile, she added, “And as you say, eternity is a very long time. He was the First Immortal... and he was the first of us to go mad, using his magic to render the entire world into chaos.”

“Chaos, you say? Go on.”

“Imagine if you will, Doctor, a world where rabbits chase wolves with legs longer than a pony is tall, where buffalo perform intricate ballets in the town square. A world where you can't tell if it's going to rain water, chocolate milk, burning acid, or blood, and where night and day can change between the two in a matter of seconds, over and over. Where none of the angles make sense, and the landscape can change from familiar to something that should. Not. Be.” She shivered with the memory. “I personally couldn't eat anything that even looked like tentacles or gingerbread for decades afterward. Once Discord was defeated, some of the natural laws of the world no longer worked the way they should, so Luna and I had to step in just to keep the world turning.”

Pursing his lips in a low whistle, the Doctor looked a bit nonplussed. “Blimey,” he murmured finally. “So, if this chap was going around completely sticking it up the nose of the natural order of things, how did you beat him?”

Standing, Celestia walked over to a set of stone spheres laying on the floor. “With these, the Elements of Harmony. The same tools I used to defeat Nightmare Moon and banish her, last night.”

Pulling his screwdriver out again, the Doctor started running it over each of the six globes, his face giving away his growing consternation. Finally, he stood back and looked at Celestia in amazement. “Do you have any idea what these are, my dear lady?” Not waiting for a reply, he continued, “These are the parts of an empathically-activated multi-spectral artron harmonic wave generator. I haven't seen anything like this since...” he trailed off, another chill running down Celestia's spine as his eyes went someplace very dark and very far away. “...Since my own people went away.”

Celestia frowned, and asked quietly, stepping toward him. “Your people? Are you... A-are there any more Time Lords, Doctor?” Giving her a look totally devoid of emotion for a moment, he replied, “Not anymore.” His face spread into a roguish grin. “BUT! This gives me an idea of what you did to your sister, and how we can reverse it. Go on, I need to know more. Tell me what happened to her.”

Steeling herself, Celestia settled back down on her haunches and folded her wings around her as if warding off a chill. “We defeated Discord, and were proclaimed rulers of Equestria after we got the whole Sun and Moon business sorted out, and for a time we were happy. We would come up with ideas and concepts to make the ponies' lives better, and Luna would slip them into the dreams of those with a chance of carrying them out while I took care of the day-to-day details of keeping the world running properly.” Smiling sadly, she murmured, “Lulu was always the dreamer, while I was the more practical of the two of us. We didn't interact much with the ponies directly in those days, preferring to quietly nudge them along the right path from afar – we didn't want them to become too dependent on us for everything. They called us the Goddesses, and I think in time we came to see ourselves as such. Perhaps... perhaps it would have been better had we lived among them. Maybe then Luna wouldn't have been so lonely. Maybe I wouldn't have been so arrogant.”

The Doctor listened, his brown eyes soft and compassionate, nothing like the dark pools they had been only moments before. Taking another steadying breath, the princess continued, “About the time Julius Canter came to power, Luna started to grow disdainful of our charges. You see, while we did our best to make the world a safe place for the ponies, Discord's actions and the dispersal of his power by the Elements spawned a host of monster races. Some, like the dragons, can be reasoned with. Give them a hoard and a cave to take a nap in for a century or so and they are generally amiable, if aloof. Others, like the griffins, occasionally had to be dealt with forcefully, but still, accords could be reached. More often than not, though, they turned out to be mindless beasts that were either indifferent to the ponies, like the Ursas, or actively hostile like manticores, hydra, and cockatrice.

“You can imagine, I think, how Luna felt when our beloved ponies would barricade their homes at night and set fire to just about anything to hold back the darkness.”

Nodding slowly, the Doctor murmured, “Oh, yes. There she is, she goes to all this trouble to make a better world, and everyone shuns her half of the work because they fear the dark. It's not uncommon, many races have that issue.”

Celestia nodded slowly, eyes prickling faintly as she continued, “And so she grew envious of the day, because the ponies would work and play in the Sun, but when the Moon came out, they hid and slept and feared the night. In my pride, my arrogance, I assumed she was just being petulant at first. By the time I realized it might be the Madness taking her after so many years, it was too late: her jealousy and frustration and anger transformed her into Nightmare Moon, and she held back the Sun for two straight weeks while I tried to find a way to reason with her...” Closing her eyes, she finally let her tears go, hearing the Doctor shift a bit uncomfortably at the sight. “And when that didn't work, I had to either kill her, or send her away, and I couldn't bring myself to slay my own sister.”

Putting a forehoof on Celestia's shoulders, the Doctor held her close as she cried, murmuring, “There, there, Celestia... refraining from killing someone is never, ever a bad thing, not if you have any other choice in the matter. This 'Madness' though... you seemed to imply that it was something catching. Was it?”

Looking up at the strange pony, Celestia nodded, her eyes red. “It was. It started with Discord, then spread to the rest of the immortals. Luna and I as the youngest thought it was just the weight of so many years pressing down on them. One by one, the rest of the alicorns fell: Caprica, the Twins, Saggitarron, all of them succumbed to jealousy, anger, bloodlust, pride, and eventually, all of them had to be put down for the good of the world, or they ended themselves once they realized they were slipping.” she pursed her lips and shook her head. “All of us knew the road Discord had gone down, and none of us were eager to follow.” Snorting, she added in an acrid tone totally unbecoming a princess, “Hay and horse-apples, he was the only one who merely succumbed to outright boredom. At least when he went off his feed, nopony intentionally got hurt.”

“One by one, you said? Just one at a time, never more than that?” the alicorn mare turned her head to find the Doctor staring at her intently, something in his eyes that she found indescribably heartening... and unknowably frightening. At her nod, he said, just above a whisper, “...Then I think I know what happened to your sister, Celestia, and if I'm right, then we have a very big problem.”

Ch. 3: That Which Remains

Chapter Three: That Which Remains

Crypt of the Immortals, Everfree Castle: Year 0, Day 1 of Celestia's Reign

As she and the Doctor cantered down the staircase into the crypts below the royal castle, Celestia inquired, “I don't understand, Doctor. Why do you need to examine the remains of the other Immortals?”

Casting a glance back at the princess, the chestnut stallion replied, “Well, from your comment that this went from one Immortal to the next, it sounded rather like a disease. You can find out a lot about diseases from studying those that they kill, although I do have to admit, it's a bit macabre.” He glanced around as they entered the crypt, adding, “And the décor doesn't help one bit.”

The princess had to concede the point. The vast underground hall showed signs of decay and disuse, with crumbled mortar and stone, mold on some of the damper walls, and half the arcane light-globes completely out. The rest glowed weakly, their enchantments not having been refreshed in centuries. Near the midpoint of the crypt, the ceiling had collapsed, leaving a hole to the upper level and smashing one of the sarcophagi open. An alicorn skull with scant bits of flesh still clinging to it leered at her from inside with blank sockets, its horn pointing almost accusingly at the mare.

Dust swirled about their hooves as it was disturbed for the first time in decades, causing a rat to chitter indignantly in a corner. The wind from the storm filtered down through the hole, carrying a low, hollow keening sound with it, as if the castle were mourning the ancient dead that surrounded them.

None of this did anything good for the princess' mood. Still hurting physically and emotionally, still baffled by the strange pony who had dropped out of nowhere into her life, she felt herself beginning to doubt whether he could do as he claimed and bring her sister back to her, whole and sane.

At the moment, he was staring between the broken sarcophagus and its still-sealed neighbor. Through the crystalline lid, the body of an alicorn could be seen, still largely intact. “It looks like this one's just resting,” he murmured, looking at the skeleton nearby. “But that one's almost fully decayed.”

Nodding as she came up alongside him, the princess replied softly, “Preservation spells in the sarcophagi. This was intended to be a memorial to those that came before us, but after it was just myself and Luna, it got entirely too depressing to be down here.” Giving him a sidelong look, she added, “As someone else who is also the last of his kind, I'm sure you can understand why we did not want to linger here much, and the common ponies don't even know this place exists anymore. Discord's madness turned the Everfree Forest into a place of chaos and mortal danger, and nopony comes out now.” A wry smirk touched her lips. “We kept the name the same out of a sense of irony.”

Crouching down near the skeleton, the Doctor had pulled out his screwdriver and was running it over the bones slowly, the buzzing noise changing in pitch and oscillation as he neared the skeletal horn of the alicorn. “Who was this one?”

Celestia blinked. “Why are you even interested?” Looking back over his shoulder at her, the Doctor replied, “Because I'm nine hundred plus years old and I still haven't found out absolutely everything about the universe yet.” Shrugging a shoulder, he continued, “I know the big things, the big things are easy to remember: stars are born, eventually run out of fuel, and either collapse or go nova. A nebula with a charge ratio proportionally higher than three hundred parts per million will fry a stardrive every time if you fly through it. But those are just facts, things to clutter my big old brain with – I'm more interested in the people that make those facts into something wonderful, each and every day, every corner of the cosmos. Because without those souls, Celestia, all the facts and figures in the universe mean absolutely nothing.” At a chirp from his screwdriver, he let out a low sigh. “Which is precisely what I am getting from the skeleton of your relative, here.” Getting to his hooves, he gave the princess a somber look. “I realize this may be an odd question and certainly a disturbing one, but can we open up one of the sealed caskets? If I'm to understand what's become of your sister, it could be very important.”

Celestia hesitated. She trusted the Doctor, but some instinct within her screamed at her to stop. That voice was crushed by reasoning, and by guilt and shame over letting Luna deteriorate as much as she had. Nodding, she leaned down, lighting her horn and touching it to the lid of a casket labeled with the name Tartarus. The lid glowed, and slowly slid aside revealing a smoke-gray alicorn with a mane that looked like flames, and a jagged hole in his chest from when he fell, two centuries before. “This one. He was the last of us to fall, so if you're looking for some kind of infection, he should have the most recent signs.”

Nodding and gently touching her shoulder with a hoof, the Doctor murmured a quiet thank you and got to work, his screwdriver buzzing and chirping over the body of Celestia's eldest brother. Having little else to do, she settled down onto her knees, tears brimming in her eyes as she thought back to the fight, able to recall every detail.

The curse of the immortal is to remember everything.

“Tartarus, I don't want to fight you. WE don't want to fight you, either of us! Stand down while you can!” Celestia's horn flared, lighting with a layer of overglow as she readied every combat spell she knew, casting her white coat into pink. Her horn was answered by a blue glow from her side, looking like a distant star gone mad as Luna did likewise.
“Tartarus is no more, you foals. You have crossed me for the last time, and yet, as you are my dear sisters, I feel I can be merciful in my victory. Kneel before Perdition Blaze, and you may yet live.” The gray alicorn's coat had shaded to black, his mane and tail a shifting mass of fire that scorched anything it brushed. His eyes, though... his eyes were the worst part of it all. Normally a gentle golden hue, they had become sullen red coals, sunken into his face as if they had burned their way in. That same hellfire felt as if it were burning into Celestia's soul as he gazed at her, lips twisting in a mockery of a smile. “After all, we're all one big happy family, aren't we? Well... not so big, any more. Certainly not happy, either. It's very simple, dear sister of mine: Join me, or die.”
Celestia stood her ground as she felt his will pressing in on hers; Tartarus' magic had always been bent more toward the mental and emotional than the physical realm. With a spark from her horn, she sheathed herself in a psychic barrier, blocking out the images of torment and fire and horror that the thing that was once her big brother threw at her mind to break it. Planting her forehooves in a spread stance, she pawed at the ground and snorted, lowering her horn. “...No.”
“Well then, what about little Lulu? What say you, baby sister? Are you going to stay with Celestia as always, let her guide your will, as always? You have a choice, you know.”
Luna gave her sister an unreadable look, and stepped forward to join Perdition Blaze's side. “If it means none of us have to die, brother, then I'll do whatever you ask.” She bowed her head submissively as Blaze turned a gloating smile upon Celestia.
“Well, well, well. Two out of three isn't bad, but I feel like going for the full collector's set. Last chance, Celly-Belly. Are you going to join us, or will you continue to cling to the hope that you can make this world any better than it is right up until I tear it all down to start anew?”
Celestia closed her eyes and lowered her head, whispering, “I yield.” Blaze tilted his head and stepped forward, his smile taking on a decidedly smug taint. “You what?”
Louder, the alabaster mare murmured, “I yield.” Cocking a hoof to his ear, Blaze cantered closer. “You yield? To what do you yield, dear sister?
Looking up and fixing him with a glare, Celestia smirked. “Nothing. I was just distracting you to let Luna get behind you.” Whirling in place, Blaze turned to face Luna, then stiffen in shock as the midnight blue alicorn's horn pierced his chest and released the spell held within it. Arcs of arcane energy crackled over his body, finally gathering in his head and building force until they exploded out of his eyes, mouth, and horn in a brilliant flare of eldritch light. As Luna backed off, the fire in his mane and tail faded, his coat returning to its normal charcoal gray as he staggered to his knees, and fell to his side.
As the light died in his eyes, Tartarus whispered, “Th-Thank you... sisters.”

Celestia emerged from the memory trance, the old feelings of horror and guilt sweeping up out of the past to overtake her again. As the Doctor continued his examinations with a look of growing worry, she leaned over the edge of the casket and lightly kissed Tartarus' forehead, tears running off her face and onto his. “I'm sorry, brother. I miss you.”

“Celestia?” The mare kept her eyes closed and shook her head. She didn't want to deal with this strange stallion right now. She just wanted to sit and remember her family the way they used to be, but a light nudge at her shoulder wouldn't let her do so. “Celestia, I need you to listen to me very closely. Are you listening?”

Voice grating, she growled, “Great Maker damn it all, Doctor, can I just have a bucking moment here?” A moment of silence followed, and she felt some relief before the Time Lord said very quietly, “I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry, but I don't think we have a moment. I know you're hurting, I know this is hard for you, but I need you to do something very, very important for me.”

Sighing, she opened her eyes and looked at him, then paused in shock as she saw a strange glow of what she could only think of as “un-light” building around her brother's corpse. Answering glows came from the neighboring crypts, growing in intensity until finally, with a bright flare, they died, sinking into the bodies.

That's when she heard the scraping noises of dozens of sarcophagi sliding open. Eyes wide in alarm, she looked at the Doctor, a soft “...What?!” escaping her lips.

“RUN!!!”

Ch. 4: A Pale Horse

Chapter Four: A Pale Horse

EverFree Castle: Year 0, Day 1 of Celestia's Reign

“RUN!!!” That word, despite Celestia's long life and intelligence and wisdom, kicked her square in the equine instincts as she wheeled on her hooves back to the stairs, the Doctor close behind. She could see the carefully preserved hooves of friends and relatives long-dead reaching for her as they clambered out of their sarcophagi, a sight which drew icicles down her spine even as her heart pounded in her chest.

Just a few pony-lengths more, and we'll make it! She thundered toward the doors, stumbling once when sweet, kind Auntie Nova tried to take a bite out of her flank. Oh Great Maker buck me in the ear! This is like one of those weird tales out of Zebrica! She kicked her favorite aunt square in the jaw, sending the dead mare sprawling back into her coffin as she resumed her race to the doors, those lovely, exquisite doors...

...which were closing, glowing with that same un-light and the faint hum that heralded magic by horn! She barely skidded to a stop as the doors slammed shut, the Doctor plowing into her flanks, giving her another jolt. She whipped her head around to glare at him as he jumped back with a shouted, “SORRY!” and scrambled around him to run his screwdriver over the door seams.

She turned, planting her hooves and lowering her horn into the classic defensive stance, watching the undead ponies shambling toward them, moving stiffly at first, then more fluidly, each and everypony's eyes glowing with that midnight-violet deadlight, faint hints of sparks like stars glimmering around them. “Doctor...?”

“Wrrrmphing omf it!” he mumbled around the tool as he frantically buzzed it over the door, then spat it into his pocket in disgust. “Augh! Wood! Again with the wood! Celestia, take a letter if you would: If we survive this, modify the sonic screwdriver to deal with WOOD!”

She muttered, “What do I look like, your bloody scribe?” As the staggering remains of her loved ones approached, part of her mind gibbered in panic, but another was strangely quiet... then: “Celesssssstiaaaaaa... Join ussss....”
Oh, buck no, they did NOT just do that! The whispers in her mind were insidious, telling her that she didn't have to be lonely. She didn't have to suffer on her own, she didn't have to shoulder the weight of the world on her back. All she had to do was just stand down, and let them touch her. Let them caress her and hold her as they once did, and they could be a family again... Shaking her head and snorting, she lit her horn, a pink shield sphere popping into being around her and the Doctor.

Celly-Belly, we miss you, said the thing that was once her brother, We just want to be a family again. We can laugh together, we can play, we can do all the things we did before... and when you are with us, we can go forth and feed...
She had a horrible notion as to what was on the menu. As hooves and teeth started to batter against her shield, she felt as if her horn were a straw that magic was sucked through. She was expending power at a far greater rate than usual! She poured more magic into the barrier, her horn's glow acquiring an outer nimbus, then a third layer of arcane glow, sparks and spears of light foretelling of magical burnout. “Doctor, I can't keep this up long!”

Pointing a hoof at the hole in the ceiling, the Doctor shouted, “What's up there? A way out?” Visibly sweating, Celestia nodded. “The old chapel, I think!” Focusing more power into her horn, she said in a strained voice, “Please run for it when you see the boom, Time Lord.”

“...The what?” was all the time the Doctor had for as Celestia's horn erupted in a flare of light that pushed into the shield, detonating it and sending out a shockwave that knocked the lich-ponies rump-over-teakettle. “GO!”she shrieked, running for the hole and clambering up the ramp formed by the collapsed floor above, the Doctor just ahead of her.

As they climbed up, she could already hear the noisome things in the crypt below getting to their hooves, wings stiff with disuse flapping experimentally. She tried to focus her magic, but got only a blinding, stabbing headache in response. “...I can't collapse it!”

“That's quite all right, because I can! Wood trumps sonic, sonic trumps stone, stone trumps zombie ponies!” He aimed his screwdriver at a broken support column and triggered it. A reverberating sound filled the air, making Celestia's brain rattle around in her skull until the column and part of the ceiling above it collapsed into the hole, blocking the undead equines. “Hah! Lovely acoustics in here, my compliments to the architect!” the Doctor exclaimed, “Assuming, of course, you know, he or she's not one of the ponies we just buried under a couple tons of rock.” Giving the princess a manic grin, he started for the hallway. “Come along, Princess! It won't take them long to dig themselves out.”

Shaking her head, more out of bafflement than anything, she couldn't think of anything but to follow. “Doctor, do you always treat immortal, magically-endowed royals like this?”

Grinning at her again as they trotted toward the great hall, he replied, “Remind me to tell you about Good Queen Bess. Lovely monarch, stern but fair, and she lived up to her moniker on our wedding night!”

“Come along, and get those Element things, Celestia. We need to get you inside and isolated from this continuum for a moment.” The chestnut pony trotted to his blue box, fishing a key out of his coat pocket and turning it in the lock. Celestia's magic had recovered enough to let her levitate the Elements of Harmony along behind her as she stared quizzically at him. “Ah, Doctor... there's no way we're both going to fit in th--”

She stopped just inside the threshold and stared, the crystal spheres of the Elements wobbling a bit as she lost focus. This is impossible. This cannot be. This thing cannot, just cannot be bigger on the inside, she thought, That's it. I've gone completely and quietly mad. The Curse of the Immortals has finally gotten me, and I've gone so far 'round the bend I'm just sitting down to have a nice cup of tea with myself and then go watch some of those strapping young farm stallions at work. Maybe we'll meet myself again while we're there.

Shaking from nose to tail, she gingerly stepped inside as the door shut behind her, sinking to her knees. The Doctor was raving about something and poking around a large central console with a crystal column going from it to the ceiling, the console looking like a junk explosion in a glue factory, with various doodads stuck seemingly at random around it. The room itself was bigger than her private quarters, with lights inset into the walls in hexagonal sconces, hilighting the green glow from the console that washed over the oddly soothing curved pillars surrounding it.

Finally, the Time Lord noticed his companion's state of shock and trotted over to her, kneeling down to look her in the eyes. “Celestia, it's all right. We're safe in here. The planet could crack like an egg or turn into molten custard outside, and we would be perfectly fine. Well...” He jerked his head at the console, “She'd be a mite peevish with me for a spell, but she'd get over it, and would never, ever mean us harm.” He paused. “Well... except that one time, but it was all right once I promised to never, ever, ever spill the 'Shiva Hot' curry from New New New Bangalore on the time rotor ever again.”

Swallowing, Celestia looked around and back to the Doctor, her pupils shrunk down to pinpoints. “This place, it's...”

“Bigger on the inside?”

“...yes.”

“...I never get tired of hearing that one. This my ship, Celestia. She's my home, and right now, she's letting us throw off the scent of those things down in the basement.” Helping her to her hooves, he leaped up to the console, one forehoof yanking down on a large lever. With a THOOM
officially had enough. “What in the Pony Hell of the Eternally Filthy Stables could be so aggressive as to turn the corpses of my loved ones into howling abominations bent on eating other ponies?!?”

Carefully pointing her horn away from his throat with a hoof, he murmured, “Atrtronic empathivores.” Seeing her look of consternation, he explained quickly, “What you call magic is actually energy, artron energy. It's all around us, all the time, and it suffuses the whole of time and space. When travelling through the Time Vortex, it's not uncommon to pick up a few here and there. Look,” he said, pacing back and forth as the mare slowly untensed, “Ever have a really good mood that was just terribly infectious, like everyone who crossed your path couldn't help but be as happy as you are? Or a positively awful funk that you couldn't get rid of, and that dragged everyone else down with you? Most of the time, people put it down to peer pressure, or just the general vibe, or even just being a sympathetic sort, and usually it is... but sometimes, sometimes it's the empathivores, lurking where people gather.”

Reaching up to swivel a display monitor around, he punched a few buttons with his hooves, bringing up a scan of the planet. “See, most of the time, they're fairly rare except in heavily populated areas, and they just soak up the emotion, stimulating it in others, spreading what is usually a fairly benign and sometimes beneficial contagion. But this lot – they've become something far, far worse. They're directed. They're focused on negative emotion, and they're very, very hungry. Those things down in your basement weren't your loved ones, Celestia; they were the starving remnants of the things that murdered your people, and tried to eat you...”

“...And now,” he sighed, “they've got your sister... and being immortal, well...”

Celestia's ears flattened as she made the connection. “They could keep her alive and angry for a very long time.”

Nodding, the Doctor tapped the moon on the display. “I'm afraid so... and there are a lot more of them than there should be, here. I suspect it's because of the artron field surrounding this planet. See, artron energy is related to life-force, and to the Time Vortex. The stronger in life a planet is, the stronger the energy field surrounding it and its inhabitants. More artron energy, the more likely it is you're going to get empathivores. I suspect Discord was involved, somehow, but I'm not certain how just yet.

“Point being, Celestia, getting your sister back is going to be more difficult than I thought. We're going to have to be very, very careful about this, because if I'm right, and I sincerely hope I'm not, your entire planet is in danger.”

Interlude: Luna on the Moon, Year 27

INTERLUDE: Luna on the Moon

The Moon: Day 38, Year 27 of Celestia's Reign

Luna was bored.

Inside her head, Nightmare Moon seethed and howled and cajoled and ranted and raved, trying to get the young alicorn to push at the walls of her prison, but Luna was having none of it. She'd been trying for the last twenty-someodd years, to no avail.

Or perhaps she was inside Nightmare Moon's head. She honestly wasn't sure anymore... all she knew was, she had been banished here just for the oh-so-horrible crime of wanting to be praised for her work by someone other than her uppity, control-freak sister.

Of course SHE'D say it's good. Not like she has anyone else to take care of the night sky properly. I mean, look at that! She's got Orion's belt up so high it's like he's trying to choke himself with it!

She was hurt, she was still furious with the ponies of Equestria for shunning her night, but more than anything else right now, she was bored. She didn't even have an abacus with her to distract her with calculations. There was nothing to do but sit here, psychically and physically locked to the Moon, and stare out at the sky. It was the same tonight as it had been for the previous 9,527 nights, and she'd counted every one of them. She expected no different.

Which was why she was entirely surprised on both sides of her mind to find a blue box standing in the middle of one of the larger craters. “Police Box,” she wondered, No way 'Tia got a space program going that fast – we hadn't even discussed it! It certainly looks like one of her inelegant designs, though... totally not aerodynamic enough, and no means of propulsion unless you're using one hell of a telekinesis spell.

Curious, she let her awareness drift closer to the box, inspecting it from all sides, and was surprised again when the dust around it suddenly pushed outward, and a chestnut brown earth pony with an hourglass cutie mark, wearing a blue suit jacket, white collared shirt, and red tie stepped out. He pulled a set of eyeglasses out of a pocket and slipped them over his nose, turning his head as if looking for something. Good thing I haven't made myself visible. I want to watch this fellow before I--

He was looking straight at her. “Oh, hello! You must be Luna. I'm the Doctor, and it's my understanding that you're in need of a checkup, so I thought I'd drop in, make a bit of a house call. I must say though, it's rather rude to be standing there behind a perception filter when someone comes to visit you.”

Dropping the cloak around herself, Luna opened her mouth to speak just before she felt herself shoved aside by Nightmare Moon, starfield mane and tail shimmering to life as the invisibility spell collapsed. The Doctor regarded her calmly as she fixed him with a slit-pupiled glare, growling, “Who dares?!”

“Ah, I think we've already covered that. I'm the Doctor, and I'm here to visit Luna, so it would be quite nice if you would let her speak to me for a moment.”

Smirking, the Nightmare circled the Doctor and his box slowly. “I'm sorry, Doctor, but I'm afraid little Luna isn't here to talk to you right now. Besides, I don't think she even wants to. You know how I know that? Because I'm her.”

Shaking his head, his cheerful demeanor slipping a bit, “No, you're not. You see, I know exactly what you are, and I'm not here to speak to a collection of parasites. I'm here to speak to the poor mare you've possessed. Now, let me speak to Luna, or else.”

Nightmare Moon was stunned. “You're kidding. You're kidding, right?” She stepped closer, getting right up in the earth pony's face. “All right, medicine pony, I'll call your bluff. 'Or else' what?”

A slow smile spread across the Doctor's features as he said in a low, level tone, “Or else I will be very cross, because I won't be able to tell her how much her sister loves and misses her.”

LET ME SPEAK TO HIM! The command rang in Nightmare Moon's mind loud enough to make her wince visibly.

“No. We don't need Celestia or her pity,” the last word was laced with almost palpable disdain, “She wants to banish us, fine. We'll be back. It's only a matter of time before the stars are right, Doctor.”

Pacing back and forth, the Doctor nodded, “Oh, yes... you're probably right about that. After all, the standing harmonic wave that's keeping you here is unstable, and it's got to run out sometime, but I did take a few minutes to study it on my way here, and it's going to take longer than you think.”

“Nonsense! I could break out of here right now if I wanted to.”

Turning his head over his shoulder to look at her, the Doctor clucked his tongue reproachfully. “Oh, see, now you're lying to me. I hate it when people lie to me, Nightmare Moon. It makes me very cross, and when I get cross, it just ruins my entire day, and I go 'round making other people cross, and the next thing you know I'm getting myself involved in all sorts of events that I really ought to leave alone, and then it's just a bunch of screaming and running before I finally get it all sorted out, and I can't stand the screaming,” he gave her a wink, “I do rather like the running, though. Keeps one fit as a fiddle!”

Nightmare Moon was at a loss for words. She could not for the life of her figure out if this colt was messing with her, had a death-wish, or was just plain mad. Was he actually threatening her? And how did he know to call her bluff? Meanwhile, the little pony in her head was cheering him on, sensing the Nightmare's unease, and that was just annoying.

“You're mad, you know that?”

The chestnut stallion grinned at her wide enough to almost make his jaw fall off. “As a March hare, milady. All the same, you really should consider letting Luna go her own way, or as I said, it's all going to end in screaming. Well, for you, at least. The same harmonic wave that's keeping me tied to this area is dampening your powers, so unless you plan to just beat me senseless with your hooves, I'm just going to keep talking until I get to talk to her. I mean, really, it's not like you can't listen in.” He lifted a forehoof, gesturing around the stark lunar landscape, “And it's like there's anybody – I mean, anypony else to listen in and accuse of you of being a sensitive and merciful tyrant, so what can it hurt?”

Please... let me hear what he has to say, said the little pony in the Nightmare's skull. What can it hurt? I'm still mad at 'Tia, but if she's come to her senses, I need to know – and with just each other to talk to, we're both going to go crazy, Nightmare Moon... if we haven't already, considering that I'm basically talking to myself, here.

The Mare in the Moon considered for a moment, then nodded, “Very well, Doctor. Say your piece, then leave, and do not return.” She withdrew, and as her starfield mane and pitch-black coat faded to Luna's midnight blue, the Doctor smiled.

“Hello, Luna.”

“Hello, Doctor. You said my sister had something to say to me?”

Pulling an envelope out of his pocket, he offered it to her. “Yes. In fact, she was very concerned that you should get the words straight from her, so she wrote them down.”

Horn lighting, she took the envelope in her telekinetic grip and opened it, pulling out the parchment and reading it.

My dearest Luna,

It's feels like it's only been one day since our fight. You know the one I'm talking about. At first, I despaired over what I had done, and I feared being the only one of our family to survive the madness that has taken the rest of them away from us, pony by pony. A curious thing happened, though – I met a stallion with a box, and though I suspect he's quite mad, I also feel he has our best interests at heart. I ask you to listen to him, to fight the sickness in your mind that is Nightmare Moon, and to give me another chance to prove that I can be the sister you deserve.
We've both lost so much over the millenia, I don't want to lose you too. I can't let you come back, however I might wish to do so – the Doctor says that even trying would cause so great a catastrophe that you likely wouldn't have a home to return to, and all we've tried and worked so hard to build would be lost in an instant. You're my baby sister and I love you, but I cannot allow that to happen – not even for you.
I know you're hurting. I am, too. I wish we could have talked more, before you felt pushed to do the unthinkable. I wish that we had never come to this.
I wish I had my sister back.
I cannot ever forgive Nightmare Moon for what she tried to do. Too many of our little ponies died from exposure, accident, and misguided actions. I can, however, do my best to forgive you, Lulu.
I miss you. I love you. Come back to me when you are ready. The Doctor will help us.

Your sister,
Celestia

PS: Auntie Nova rose out of her crypt and tried to eat me. You would have loved it – it was just like those ghost stories from Zebrica we used to tell each other on our camp-outs. I'm not surprised, though; Mother always said she was a biter when she was a filly.

Luna re-read the letter twice more, before looking up at the Doctor in bewilderment and awe. “She... forgives me?”

Nodding slowly, he replied, “Yes, Luna. She does. It's my hope we can find some way to return you home, but it's going to take time, and that's as it should be, perhaps.” At an oddly insistent chiming from inside the box, he murmured, “Look at the time... Huh. Funny phrase, that. I look at time all the time, and there's never enough of it, no matter how much there is. I have to go.”

Luna could already feel the Nightmare's awareness stirring within her, eager to take over and crush this little insect before her. “Will you be back? Even after what I – what she said?”

Favoring the midnight-blue alicorn with a smile, the Doctor replied, “Oh yes. I was never really one for following the rules.” With that, he opened the door to the box and slipped inside, closing it behind him. With a quiet thump and a low grinding, wheezing sound, the light atop the box began to blink on and off with the seconds as the box faded from view, leaving only a mark in the dust to show it was ever there.

Luna read the letter again, quietly ignoring the annoyed muttering from Nightmare Moon inside her mind just long enough to finish reading, close her eyes, and bury it under a rock for safe-keeping. As she let the Mare in the Moon take over again though, she noticed one thing and felt another:

She noticed that the Mare in the Moon was not feeling as coldly confident as she once had, and she felt something she hadn't felt in over twenty-five years...

...She felt hope.

Canterlot, Equestria: Day 38, Year 27 of Celestia's Reign

At the first telltale rush of wind in her throne room, Celestia ordered her guards and attendants to leave her and seal the doors behind them. By the time they had exited, a familiar sound echoed through the great hall of the royal palace at Canterlot, and she trotted over to where the TARDIS was materializing.

The door opened, and the Doctor stepped out, brushing a bit of moon dust off his jacket. She looked at him with hopeful eyes, and he nodded. “It's done. The seed has been planted.” He gave her a mildly reproachful look. “You'd best have meant everything you said in that letter. The way her eyes lit up when she read it, if anything in it turns out to be false, she's going to relapse – possibly beyond recovery, if we can't purge the empathivores from her before she does.”

Smiling sadly, the princess replied, “Oh yes, Doctor. I meant every word. Do you think they took the bait?”

“We can hope. Now, what was this about a cult and some dangerous artifacts?”

Ch. 6: Between Light and Dark

Chapter Six: Between Light and Dark

Canterlot, Equestria: Day 39, Year 27 of Celestia's Reign

The Doctor was concerned as he listened to Celestia detail all that had happened in the last twenty-seven years. Between attacks from the griffon tribes as they sensed a possible weakness after Nightmare Moon's assault, and internal issues with Equestrian fiefdoms still loyal to alicorns long dead, the Sun Princess had more than enough on her hooves. Now, she spoke of cults springing up, monsters from the EverFree Forest becoming more aggressive, and worst of all, ponies disappearing without a trace, some during broad daylight.

“The Brothers of the Sun were the worst. Somehow, they actually managed to build a small temple and were holding sacrificial rituals! Blood sacrifices! To me, Doctor! Great Maker buck me up the rump with a ray of moonshine, I never wanted that!” She's getting better at the cursing, he noted, although she had waited until they had gotten to her private chambers before letting out the torrent of emotion and profanity her initially calm report had devolved into. Must be a royal thing. They have to bottle it up that it just sits there in their minds and gets more and more creative and oh sweet fancy Rassilon, did she really have to give me that mental image?!

“Celestia,” he murmured, trying to stem the tide of tirade as the princess unleashed twenty-seven years of pent-up worry on him. “Celestia...” Oh marvelous. Now she's ranting about the court nobles and gelding as a capital punishment to insure that stupidity doesn't become a breedable genetic trait.

He fished his screwdriver out of his pocket and set it to 'Earsplitting Shriek,' triggering a short burst that made the princess' teeth itch from the look on her face. She stared at him, mouth agape, then blushed furiously, one hoof shuffling as she murmured, “Sorry... I suppose I did go on a bit, didn't I?” Sighing quietly as she sat down on a cushion, “It's just that before, Luna and I ruled from afar, if at all. Most of this governmental nonsense was taken care of by the rest of the family, and the nobles after the last of them died. So, now that I'm taking a more direct hoof in matters, the nobles are trying to buck the throne, and it's frustrating.” Her blush deepened as she added, “In one case, I mean that in the carnal sense as well. Idiot apparently thought he could charm his way to the throne.”

“I understand, Celestia, but you must realize that this is what every ruler, in every part of the universe has dealt with since time began. You think this is rough,” he added with a wink, “You should've sat in on some of the Council of Time Lords' sessions back on Gallifrey.”

Cocking her head curiously, she asked, “...Bad?”

“Picture a week-long argument between accountants, revenue agents, librarians, and bored aristocrats, and that's just to decide on what to have for lunch.”

The alicorn's face wrinkled. “...Ugh.” A knock on the door interrupted whatever she was going to say next. Putting on her 'princess face,' she called to acknowledge the knock and a white pegasus pony in golden armor with a cutie mark of a twin-turreted castle stepped in and bowed on one knee. “Princess,” he murmured respectfully.

“Rise and report, Bastion.”

Taking off his helmet and shaking out his stone-gray mane, Bastion took a sidelong glance at the Doctor and looked back to Celestia. “I beg your pardon, Your Majesty, but this is a potentially sensitive matter of importance to the integrity of the Realm.”

Smiling indulgently as she let the 'princess face' drop, Celestia replied, “The Doctor is my most trusted advisor, Bastion,” She stuck her tongue out at the Time Lord, “When he bothers to show up, and don't think we're not talking about that later. Doctor, this is Bastion, the captain of the Guard. He was one of the young colts present when you dropped me off all those years ago, and has been by my side ever since. Anything that can be said to me can be said in front of either of you. Now, Captain,” she concluded, a hint of the royal tone creeping back into her voice, “Report.”

“Highness, we have had some alarming reports out near the Everfree Forest. Three families have gone missing, each a mother, father, a colt, and a filly. What's strange though is that each family is of a different race; one was a unicorn family that had just moved in. Another was a family of pegasi who had been assigned to handle weather concerns, and the third was one of the founding families of Ponyton... the Apples, if I recall correctly.”

Rubbing her forehead with a hoof, Celestia sighed quietly. “What's been the local response?”

“Mum, they're about two hairs short of boarding up all the windows and doors and hiding in their root cellars. I had several of my fastest scouts fan out across the local area, and there have been three similar incidents across the Realm in the past month.”

“Three more incidents of three families each just vanishing, and this is the first I hear of it?”

“This was the first time it wasn't put down to migration, malnourishment, or marauders, Mum. Still, I understand and recognize my failure, Your Highness, and will accept any punishment you give.” The guardpony kneeled on the floor in front of his princess, head bowed and sword held out to her across his hooves.

“Oh, do get up Bastion, you'll chafe your knees like that, and you'll look very silly dropping your sword on your head. There's been so bloody much going on lately that even I haven't been able to keep track of it...” she blinked over at the Time Lord who was no longer standing where had had been, but instead was wandering around, looking at the walls, the floor, the ceiling, and muttering to himself.

The Doctor was frowning. Celestia knew that look, and it wasn't a happy one, nor one that boded well for whoever was ultimately on the other end of it. “Doctor?” she asked, “What are you thinking?” He didn't respond immediately as he went to the bookshelves that lined one wall of her private rooms. “What are you looking for?”

“I need a text on ancient Equestrian rituals. The kidnappings are entirely too symmetrical.”

Bastion blinked slowly. “Surely it's just a coincidence or the product of whatever diseased mind has done this, Doctor!”

“Celestia, be a dear and tell the good Captain what I told you about coincidences.”

Barely suppressing a chuckle as she highlighted the correct volumes with her magic, she told Bastion, “He doesn't believe in any coincidence bigger than a breadbox.” Her face fell as it clicked and whipped her head around to face the Time Lord. “You're not saying...?”

“I'm saying that unless they're very very young, a pony is larger than a breadbox. I'm saying that having twelve ponies kidnapped by the same person does not make sense. I'm saying that the number twelve has a nearly religious significance in many cultures, including my own. Twelve regenerations we Time Lords get, twelve hours in a day, twelve hours in a night – well, if you're on Earth Standard Time, and since you and your sister kept the Day and Night on a fairly tight schedule, I would say that we're dealing with at least twelve very naughty ponies.

“I'm saying, dear Celestia,” he said as he slammed a book down in front of the princess and her guard, open to a particular page, “That you've got another cult to deal with.”

Celestia looked at the ritual detailed on the pages, and paled. There were two rings of twelve positions, one inner and one outer. The instructions called for one ritual at each phase of the moon, and one death each hour. The outer ring of innocents to represent the hours of the Day, then the inner ring of acolytes to represent the hours of the Night. A scrawl of quill-writing at the bottom named it 'The Rite of Light and Darkness.' In the center of the circle was marked a place for an artifact of some kind: 'The Scales of the Maker'.

Going to a map of Equestria, the Doctor asked, “Captain Bastion, was there any indication of where these families were taken?”

Walking over to join the odd chestnut stallion, Bastion mused, “There were some tracks leading toward the EverFree Forest, but we lost them before we got too deep. The other incidents took place in Hoofington, Neigh York, and Fillydelphia. All the local constables found were the bones, twenty-four sets apiece, placed in forests nearby and completely stripped of flesh.”

“This book says that four rituals have to be completed,” remarked the Doctor, “One for each phase of the Moon. It's meant to 'balance the Light of the Sun and the Shadow of the Moon for all time.' The only time I know of when those two celestial bodies cancel each other out effectively is an eclipse.”

Celestia started at the chestnut stallion and murmured softly, “Doctor... the new Moon is tomorrow. Remember how I said Luna and I raised the sun and moon? We don't raise them so much as give everything a nudge to keep it all moving as it should.” She glanced up at the sky, as if checking something, “And if I were to keep those bodies on their regular courses, an eclipse would be scheduled. I can't just change that, though – it would disrupt tides and weather all over Equestria!”

“Then we'd best get to the EverFree Forest before it's too late.”

Castle Ruins, EverFree Forest: Day 39, Year 27 of Celestia's Reign

The acolyte paused in his approach to the ritual chamber. Beyond the doorway, he could see the sacrificial altars, with the sacrifices already shackled onto them, bound and gagged on their backs. The unicorns in the group had been fitted with horn-sheathes wrought from cold iron to still their magic, the pegasi's wings similarly bound with cold iron straps.

The Father and the Mother noted his approach, beckoning him forth. “What is it, child?”

Looking nervously at the knives they were anointing, he stammered, “I bring news from the forest. Royal Guards have been spotted making flights over the area, as if searching for something, and they have been asking questions in Ponyton.”

Father Sun and Mother Moon looked at each other silently before turning their attention back to the colt before them. “It is of no matter,” said the Mother, “We are well-hidden, and the creatures of the forest provide us with a modicum of cover from assault.” She chuckled darkly, “And I dare anypony to be brave enough to get past the Hunting Shadows.”

“But, Mother? What of the Princess? Surely she will not let this stand.. and there is another report as well: One of Celestia's advisors has returned, an earth pony with a blue box.”

Giving the acolyte a stern but gentle smile, Father Sun replied, “Let the Princess come, my son. For that matter, let her advisor come as well. It will please the Lord to see them taste the bitter fruit of their pride, before their fall.

“Let them come. We will be ready for them.”

Ch. 7: If a Tree Falls in the Forest...

Chapter Seven: If a Tree Falls in the Forest...

EverFree Forest: Day 40, Year 27 of Celestia's Reign

“I still don't understand why we can't just use the TARDIS to get where we're going, Doctor,” Celestia said as she, Bastion, and a detachment of eleven royal guards – six unicorns and five pegasi – filed out of the blue box as the doors opened. The chestnut stallion glanced up as he locked the TARDIS behind him and smiled with faint amusement at the slightly unnerved glances the guards were giving his beloved transport.

“It's very simple, Celestia. Well, all right, not that simple. Well, okay, it's actually somewhat complicated. I've explained that the magic used here is made of artron energy, yes?”

The princess nodded while Bastion circled around the box, trying to figure out how it was bigger on the inside. “Yes, I remember that. You said it came from life force and was related to something you called the 'Time Vortex.'”

“Right, well, the TARDIS flies through the Vortex to get where it's going, and artron energy is a sort of background radiation in the Vortex. It's also a fuel source for the TARDIS, actually rather vital to several critical functions, but the old girl doesn't like the energy surrounding the forest.”

Bastion looked up from his examination of the timeship and remarked, “Doctor, you speak of this TARDIS as if it were alive.”

Raising his eyebrows as he looked out over the forest, the Time Lord replied, “Well, that's because she is. TARDISes aren't built, good Captain Bastion, they're grown, and the wild energy suffusing the forest here makes her... well, queasy. It's like she doesn't quite like the taste of it around these parts, like it's been in the fridge too long and has gone off.”

What the Doctor did not mention however, was the increasing concern he had regarding Equestria's very existence and how he had gotten here. Too much is similar. The constellations, the city names – Neigh York instead of New York, or even New New York, or New New New New New New New New York? One moon to one star? That's more uncommon than most astronomers think, actually. Then there were the problems with the TARDIS' travel coordinate system, with points in time and space superimposing themselves on each other or looping back to still other destinations. He put it out of his mind for the moment, shrugged his shoulders, and started walking into the woods. “Come along, Princess,” he said in a tone far more light than he actually felt.

Bastion muttered to Celestia, “...What is a 'fridge?'” as the Doctor started toward the forest, the captain and princess falling in alongside him as the guards fanned out in a protective detail. The captain pointed a forehoof to a set of tracks in the dirt along the path. “These are the only sign we found. As you can see, they do not stay on the path, but instead go into the forest on a straight line.” He indicated flattened grass and broken bushes leading into the deeper parts of the forest.

The princess manifested a map out of her personal storage with her horn, and used her magic to mark an X on it. “That's us. The line goes south-southeast in a relatively straight line...” Another glow of her horn sent a red line across the map, and a scowl appeared on her features. “...Right to the old castle.”

Nonchalantly, the Doctor remarked, “Not a surprise. It's practically the biggest nexus of artron energy or magic or whatever you want to call it in the entire forest,” he knelt down next to the trail, peering at it closely. “and someone has drawn us a line straight to it.”

It was Bastion's turn to scowl. “Do you think it's a trap, Doctor?”

Turning his head and smiling at the guard captain with another one of those devil-may-care grins, the Time Lord replied, “Oh, it's most certainly a trap. That's half the fun!”

Some time later, the Doctor was up ahead, occasionally pointing his screwdriver at things and generally scaring the birds away with the sounds it made. Bastion remained by Celestia's side, looking about as pensive as a Royal Guard would ever let himself look – which meant that inside he was practically screaming. This did not escape Celestia's notice, and she leaned her head down slightly to murmur to him, “Something on your mind, Bast?”

The pegasus hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Highness, are you certain we can trust this Doctor? He seems like a madpony, and that box of his is simply unbelievable. Plus, you say he's your most trusted advisor, and yet I have never seen him around Canterlot before.”

Celestia sighed quietly. “Bastion, what I am about to tell you is under a Crown seal. Speak of it to anypony without my express permission and despite our long friendship, I'll be forced to do something unfortunate to you.”

Bastion thought about that for a moment, and nodded formally. “Your word is law, my liege.”

“Twenty-seven years ago, the Doctor saved my life in more ways than one. He found me after I had just banished Nightmare Moon, and with his help, we discovered that my sister's illness was not the product of her own mind, but the result of some external force.”

Bastion's ears flicked back against his skull as the implications hit him. “But Celestia, that means that--”

Nodding sadly, the princess responded, “Yes. Discord, the Alicorn Wars, all of it was due to this same influence. He's promised to help bring Luna back and purge her of the taint, which is still very much alive in the old castle. He called it an 'empathivore,' and it even had the ability to animate my dead relatives long after their deaths. My own favorite great-aunt tried to take a bite out of my flank.” She looked toward the Doctor with a faint smile. “He saved me from that. He took a spoiled princess who was feeling sorry for herself and convinced her to be who she should be, and saved me from myself in the process.

Grunting quietly Bastion chuckled, “It sounds like something out of an old mare's tale, 'Tia, and he sure doesn't seem like the handsome prince type. I'm still not sure if I believe it, but I've never known you to be false. I suppose if you trust him,” he looked forward to where the Doctor had stopped, ears and head flicking back and forth wildly, “then I will as well. With your permission however, I will inform the guards what we may be up against.”

Celestia nodded assent, then trotted up to the Doctor as Bastion peeled off to speak to his stallions. “You look like something's got your tail in a twist, Doctor.”

“Yes...” he drawled quietly, “Celestia, there are a couple of things that have been bothering me. First, what is with the marks on everyone's flanks?”

The princess looked a little embarassed. “In the old days of the Alicorn Lords, they were serf marks. Everypony has a special talent, and depending on what your cutie mark was when it appeared, you were assigned to the fields, or the kitchens, and so forth. Luna and I didn't get ours until we found out only we could keep the world turning as it should. Now,” she sighed, “I'm trying to put them to better use. I've been keeping records of the marks as they appear, and trying to correlate them to the ponies they belong to in an effort to find the six you say we need.”

“I see,” said the Doctor, still looking around. “Very good. And second, why has it gotten so suddenly quiet?”

Celestia looked around in surprise. She hadn't noticed, but the entire forest had gone silent, even the birds. As Celestia looked around, she saw a small cloud of dust rising behind them, which soon turned out to be a stampede of small forest creatures, enough to make the ground vibrate beneath her hooves. The guards did their best to avoid being run over, Bastion staggering a bit as a rabbit leaped over him, landed on his head, and used him as a springboard to continue fleeing. The wave of animals dispersed as they fled into the forest, the vibration from their tiny feet fading.

Or was it?

Thoom.
Thoom.
THOOM.
THOOM.
“Doctor?!”

As a massive, star-speckled paw appeared on the trail behind them, sending trees flying, the Time Lord's only response was, “RUN!”
As the fourteen ponies fled deeper into the forest, the Ursa Major gave chase for awhile, then stopped, standing stock-still for a few moments more before a cloud of purplish-black smoke erupted from its mouth and a shine of un-light faded from its eyes. Shaking its head in confusion, the titanic star-bear turned around and headed back to its den for a nap.

The kept running until they were certain the Ursa had been left far behind, finally stopping for breath in a small copse of trees. The trail they had been following had been left behind as well, and only a little sunlight shone through a clearing in the treetops above.

“I'll say this, Doctor,” huffed Bastion as he took off his helmet and shook sweat out of his mane, “We could use a runner like you in the Guard, if only as an instructor.”

“Oh yes,” replied the chestnut pony, “I do rather like the running. Keeps one fit for when you really have to run!” He looked around and muttered, “Damn!” under his breath. “I say, Celestia, that map of yours wouldn't happen to have any idea where we are, would it?”

Shaking her head as she settled onto her knees to catch her breath, the princess replied, “I'm sorry, Doctor, it doesn't. I was only illustrating that which I could sense. I can tell you where the Sun is, but-”

“But without some kind of bearing, it's useless,” finished the captain. Pointing a hoof at one of the pegasi, he ordered, “Redmane, go up there and see if you can spot the trail again, or at least the old castle.” Saluting, the crimson-maned pegasus rose up through the treetops and spun in place slowly, holding a hoof over his eyes to block the sunlight.

Something was bothering the Doctor. “I'm missing something...” he murmured to himself as he looked around, circling the small clearing as he paced in thought. Distantly, he heard Redmane call down to Bastion that the Ursa Major had broken off pursuit and was heading away from them.

“Captain, it looks like the Ursa carved out a path we can follow back to the trail,” added the guardpony.

“Good job, Redmane. Come on down and form up, and we'll get moving again in a minute.”

That's when the Doctor saw the bare skeletons of numerous forest critters, scattered around the borders of the clearing on an arc away from the Ursa's track. That's when it clicked. “DON'T!”

His cry came too late, however, as a crash of metal and a hollow clatter made everypony in the clearing turn to stare at the source of the noise. Laying in the shadow cast by one of the trees was Redmane's armor, as well as what remained of him: bones, completely stripped of flesh. The pegasus' skull looked out at the group in a rictus grin.

“Sweet fancy Luna!” cried out one of the unicorn guard, a break in discipline that normally would have Bastion tearing a strip off his hide, but the captain said nothing as he stared at the bones of his lieutenant, completely stunned.

“I need everypony to listen to me very, very closely if you want to live,” said the Doctor with quiet urgency, “Get in the light. Stay in the light, and do not cross each others' shadows, not even for an instant.” He pulled out his screwdriver and started circling the group, carefully stepping over their shadows as they complied, the device buzzing with varying tones as he pointed it at the shadows around them, staring intently with a look that made even Bastion feel intimidated.

“Doctor? What is it?” asked Celestia from within the knot of guards. “What in the pony hell happened?” added Bastion.

Sighing quietly as his screwdriver emitted a harsh buzzing noise, “The Vashta Nerada. They live in shadows and dark places, attaching themselves to their prey and stripping them bare. They're everywhere across the universe. Some call them the Shadows that Eat, or the Dark That Strips the Flesh, or any one of a million other names. I've encountered them before. Barely got out with my life, and... a lot of people died. We saved many more, but I couldn't save all of them.” His eyes were haunted as he looked at the princess and her captain and said with finality, “This is the trap we were talking about earlier. Rather elegant, I must say. Aside from your unique skeletal structure Princess, no one would think twice about bones in a forest that's reportedly haunted and full of wild magic.”

“While that is all very interesting, Doctor,” grated Bastion, “How do we get out of this?”

Fiddling with the settings on his screwdriver with his tongue, the Doctor replied, “We don't. They're all around us... but I may be able to repel them with this.” He aimed the device at a patch of shadow and triggered it. A low buzzing sound that seemed to vibrate into the very bones came from it, and the shadow quivered, visibly, before melting aside. A quiet hiss whispered through the trees, like a betrayed spectre's howl, causing the Time Lord to raise his head and pause. “Oh, dear. I do believe I've made them angry. We should get moving. No telling how long this is going to work before they get peevish enough to stop caring about the noise.”

They struck out in the direction that the late Redmane had indicated, the entire party silent. The only sounds were the clop of their hooves on the forest floor, the nerve-grating sound of the Doctor's device, and the soft sibilant hiss of the shadows as they circled the group, probing for a weak point. Despite the foliage thinning slightly, the darkness around them seemed to grow thicker with every step. Bastion stayed closed to Celestia, the both of them flanking the Doctor as the remaining guards formed a perimeter to the rear and sides. Glancing up at the sky, the Time Lord murmured drily, “I don't suppose you could stop the sun from setting until we get back to main trail, Princess? It's going to be dark, soon.”

Bastion bristled slightly at the Doctor's somewhat insouciant tone, but held himself back at a look from Celestia. “Unfortunately no, Doctor. As much trouble as we are in, if I held the sun up beyond its time, it would at the very least cause panic among my subjects. Ponies could be hurt, and if I have the power to prevent that, I will.”

“Very admirable, Celestia, but if you get eaten by the Vashta Nerada, Equestria will have much bigger problems. Still, we're almost there, and so far this seems to be working-” He paused, stopping in his tracks and looking back. “...well. Weren't there more guards?”

Bastion whirled in place, looking at the security detail and taking a headcount. “We're missing somepony. Aegis, report!”

There was no reply for several moments, then emerging from the hissing shadows on their backtrail came the figure of a unicorn, wrapped in shadow. Faint sparks beneath the dark layer revealed a horn covered in overglow and the wild eyes of the aforementioned Aegis. A trail of living shadow remained fastened to him from the forest behind, rippling slightly as stammered, “C-Captain Bastion. I-I'm sorry, sir. They s-snuck right up on me. I can't get free!” His pupils shrank to pinpoints as he flicked his ears wildly. “Oh Great Maker, they're whispering to me!”

Bastion lurched forward, only to be stopped as the Doctor ran in front, shouldering him back. “Don't! Don't touch him! Don't touch him, don't touch his shadow!” Relenting, he added softly, “I'm sorry, Bastion. I'm so, so sorry, but once they latch on they do not let go for anything. If you touch him, you'll be taken too, and we need you.” He cocked an eyebrow and nodded toward the princess, who was staring in barely concealed horror. “SHE needs you.”

Snorting softly a few more times before closing his eyes, Bastion growled, “You fight dirty, medicine man.” He looked to Aegis and murmured, “I'll make sure your family is taken care of.”

The trapped unicorn guard nodded, then looked at the Doctor. “They're still talking to me, sir. They want to talk.”

Bastion flicked his ears in confusion. “Well then, I'll hear what they have to say.”

Shaking his head, Aegis replied, “N-No sir, you don't understand. They want to talk to the Princess,” he nodded his head at the chestnut stallion, “and to the Doctor.

“And Doctor... they asked for you by name.”

Ch. 8: ...Does It Cast a Shadow?

Chapter Eight: ...Does it Cast a Shadow?

Elsewhere, Elsewhen...

He hurt. He hurt so very, very badly, but at least he had accomplished what he wanted to do before his time came at last. He had seen everyone he wanted to see, even if they didn't see him, and had put some things right that he felt responsible for. At the end of the day, what more could he ask of himself?

He knew the answer to that one, at least; he could ask for more time, but he was fairly certain he wouldn't get it. The wounds, physical and emotional, were too deep. For a moment he actually considered ending it right there just to get it over with, be done with all he had done and all he was ever going to do and let everyone and everything else just go hang.

He couldn't do that, though, he just couldn't. It went against everything that made him who he was. Either way, he was going to the next life, but before he went, there was one last task to finish, one last thing to set right for someone he knew very well. He got shakily to his feet, patted the console of his ship fondly, and reached for the controls.

As the ship's engines growled to life, a light marked [RECORDING] lit up on the console.

EverFree Forest: Day 40, Year 27 of Celestia's Reign

“...What.”

That was all the Doctor could think to say, so he said it again. “...What?” As he stared at the shadow-covered unicorn before him, the poor fellow rolling his eyes in fear, the Doctor's mind again could only produce another, “...What!”

Snorting faintly, Celestia stepped forward, alongside the baffled Time Lord. “Aegis... I'm sorry. I'll make certain your family is provided for,” Her tone carried both the authority of a ruler and the sorrow of one who knows that loss is inevitable. “Please let them speak.”

Nodding, Aegis cancelled his shield spell, the shadows wrapping themselves around him like a bodysuit, until all that remained was the black silhouette of a unicorn. A moment later, a voice comprised of many voices, low, sibilant, and utterly indifferent, sounded in the woods. “We know you, Lightbringer. We have watched you from afar. Your light burns us, but this is the way of things. These are our forests, and we still feed.”

Turning its gaze to the Doctor, the shadow pony added, “We know you as well, Lonely God,” as the Time Lord's expression shifted from bafflement to regret tinged with anger, the Vashta Nerada continued, “You are the Oncoming Storm, the One That Changes All. Your name is written in the rocks, in the trees, and on the skin of this world. You are known to us, Last Scion of Gallifrey. “

Regaining his mental footing, the Doctor retorted, “Yes, very well, you know who I am, you know what I am, and you know what the Daleks called me after they suddenly got religion through the bloody Cult of Skaro. What do you want?”

“To warn you.”

“Why? You lot do nothing but eat and eat and eat. I was able to reason with another swarm at the Library, but--”

“Yes. We remember this through those who came before us.”

The Doctor blinked. “...What.”

Sighing loudly, Celestia interrupted, “Don't start that again.” She gave the shadow pony a level glare. “You've eaten two of my most trusted guards and loyal servants. I even considered them friends. You say my light burns you?” She lowered her head, her horn glinting as she started to focus her magic. “You've got one chance to make this an interesting conversation, or you have no idea how bad it's going to burn.”

“You seek to stop the Nightbringers, the Infected, the Empty Ones. We approve of this.”

“Why?” asked Bastion, stepping forward on Celestia's other side, “You thrive in the dark, or so that madpony says. I'd think you'd like it if the sun never rose again.”

“Simple biology and ecology, Captain,” murmured the Doctor, looking thoughtful, “Sure, the Vashta Nerada don't like the daylight, but everything they eat thrives on it. Take away the sun, and crops will fail, the animals eating those crops will die – including ponies, mind you – and then the creatures that eat those animals will starve... and that's if the half of the planet Equestria is on doesn't freeze to death first while the other half fries like an egg.”

“Yes,” intoned the shadow pony, “This is why we will not hinder you, now that we know you. The Empty Ones bring us meat, we thought to appease us, but it is already dead flesh. Some of it is tainted. Many of our swarm have died. This is why we will help you if you can. We feed. We spawn. We survive.”

“Survival instinct, then? Is that all? Because really, I have a hard time believing you.”

“It is forbidden to harm the Maker.”

“The Maker? Who is the Maker?”

The shadow pony fell silent, refusing to answer as it stared at them. After a moment, it replied, “You will know in time. We have one last warning, Lonely God, for you alone...”

“...Do not stare into the eyes that do not see, lest you see yourself within them.” As the sun started to sink into the west, the shadow pony flicked an ear. “We go. We hunt. We feed.” With that, the shadows fled back into the forest, leaving the stripped skeleton of Aegis to clatter to the ground. It was perhaps only a trick of Celestia's imagination that had her thinking that the empty eye sockets were staring at her accusingly.

“What in the seven blue-balled gelded pony hells was that

Celestia closed her eyes and tried to close her ears as her two most trusted friends bickered loudly. Kneeling down next to Aegis' remains, she lightly touched her horn to them, causing them to sink into the ground. We are buried where we fall, in service of the Princess, was the Guard's motto, and she could think of no better honor than taking care of the details herself. Plucking an apple out of their supplies, she bit into it deeply and extracted the seeds with reverent care before planting them in the ground as well. And as we fall, another rises up to replace us. Focusing her magic, she gently encouraged the seeds, until a strong sapling sprouted from the ground, growing to a respectable height before she released the spell. As she did so, she heard the Doctor and Bastion still arguing, and it awoke within her a spark of anger akin to nothing she had felt in a very long time.

“--spoken to in that manner!”

“Really? Then what sort of manner would you like me to speak in, Pig Latin? Perhaps some Judoon? Go bo sho no do ko fo ko...”

“Babbling nonsense from a whelp who wouldn't know sense if it bit him on the bollocks!”

“Whelp! I'll have you know, I am over nine hundred years old, and I do not have to talk to you if I don't wan--”

“ENOUGH!” The sound of an immortal alicorn in full fury boomed through the forest, startling birds out of the trees en masse, knocking every pony in earshot to his or her knees, and making the trees nearest to the source lean away from the sheer concussive force of her voice. Where Celestia stood, now stood a Goddess, coat shining with barely-hidden flames, eyes blazing with the full pitiless heat of the sun, and tri-colored mane licking around her like the corona of an angry star. She advanced on the squabbling pair of ponies, head held high as she looked down her muzzle at them both.

Her voice held an odd echo as she scolded the pair, “We are in the EverFree Forest, on our way to dismantle a cult that right this very moment is preparing to slaughter a dozen of Our subjects. We have lost two of our own number, one of whom I personally just buried – a duty that should have fallen on his commander,” she added, turning her glare on Bastion, who at least had the grace to look abashed, “And you two have the poor grace and temerity to sit there and squabble like foals arguing over who poked who first?” She leaned down, almost nose to nose with the Time Lord, and hissed, “Doctor, you may well be almost a millennium old, but I am at least three times that age, and I have an angry little pony in my head that is shouting for me to show you just how much magic I know. I. WIN. Are We clear on this subject?”

The Time Lord nodded mutely, as Celestia's anger faded to somewhat less preternatural levels, her appearance returning to normal. “Well, then,” she said with a satisfied smile. “Let's be about it, shall we? And yes, you are going to explain yourself on the way.”

“Spoilers,” murmured the Doctor some time later as they continued through the forest, guided by the lights from several unicorn horns. “Spoilers wreck everything. Too much foreknowledge, knowing too much about your own future, is a bad thing.”

Brow furrowed, Celestia replied quietly, “I'm not certain what you mean, Doctor. Surely if you know something bad is going to happen, it's good to prevent it?”

“Are you familiar with chaos theory at all?”

“...I knew Discord fairly well before he went mad. Does that count?”

“Not precisely. Small changes have vast consequences. The humans even had a name for it: The Butterfly Effect. A butterfly flaps its wings in London, and halfway across the world, Japan gets a hurricane out of season.”

Nodding slowly, the princess remarked, “So if you knew exactly why those things were so eager to help you before you find out for yourself...”

“It would drastically change the future. Not could, would.” Looking around him, the Doctor continued, “You think Discord doing this to a whole forest was bad, think about what could happen with a time paradox walking the hills and valleys of Equestria. At best, things would be very confusing and there'd be a lot of screaming and running about and probably someone would get killed. At worst, the paradox would naturally try to resolve itself, not be able to, and wind up accelerating the heat-death of the universe by a factor of thirty-seven hojillion. You know magic, Celestia, and I am not contesting that point, but I know time travel. You have to be careful with both, but only one of them can make certain your entire world never existed.” With that last comment, he lapsed in a sullen silence.

“What did they mean, 'Lonely God' and 'Last Scion,' Doctor?” Bastion moved closer, his interest piqued.

Taking a deep breath and shooting the guard captain a look that spoke volumes, the Time Lord replied, “I am – was – originally from a planet called Gallifrey. It was beautiful, with the silver trees reflecting the orange sky, and fields of red grass as far as the eye could see. Inside the Citadel, towers that almost touched the sky rose gracefully. We were powerful and wise, or so we thought, and to be fair we tried to keep order in the Universe. We held to a strict policy of non-interference, observation only. There were those who didn't quite agree with that however, and I was one of them.

“In a way, some of it was my fault. If I hadn't run off with the TARDIS when I was in my first regeneration, looking for a way to keep the decadence of Time Lord society from swallowing my grand-daughter whole, we might have survived it all in the end. But perhaps it best we didn't, because at the end, we became worse than the monsters we told ourselves we were fighting.

“Picture a war, Captain,” the Doctor said, looking up at her with distant eyes, “that not only never ends, but never can end because it spans not only space but time. Whole worlds, winked out of existence by Infinite Improbability Fields, creatures that would shatter your sanity like the Nightmare Child, or the Could've Been King and his army of Meanwhiles and Never-Weres. The Horde of Travesties, beings that never should have existed had we and the Daleks not plucked them from the streams of probability that wind through the Time Vortex to unleash them upon each other.” He shook his head sadly, “I'm the Last Scion because I'm the last Time Lord.”

Bastion, his voice sympathetic for once, asked quietly, “What happened to the rest of them, Doctor?”

The Time Lord glanced back over to the guard captain and gave him a look that hit him with every last inch and second of time and space between Equestria and Gallifrey. “I happened. I was desperate for a way to end the war, end the suffering, but by the time I broke free of the madness myself it was too late. I used a doomsday device called the Moment to seal everything and everyone involved with the war away in an unbreakable bubble, never to be seen again.” He grunted quietly, “At least I thought it was unbreakable. One of the Daleks proved me wrong on that count. They call me the 'Oncoming Storm,' because where I go, calamity follows... at least for them, it did. So, I wander. I make friends, I do the impossible, or at least highly improbable, occasionally pick up a companion although they never stay, and do what I can to make the Universe a better place to live in.”

“I see,” murmured Celestia as she digested what she had just heard. “I can also see why you didn't want to talk about most of it. It must have been terribly painful for you.”

Nodding slowly, the Doctor replied, “It was. But you know, it's good to get all this off my chest for the first time in awhile. I... made some bad decisions recently, and it brought me a little too close to some things I really would not rather examine too closely. 'He who fights monsters,' and all that.”

“'He who fights monsters' what, Doctor?” asked Bastion.

“Oh, it's a quote from a fellow named Nietzsche I knew a while back: 'He who fights monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. If you gaze for too long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.' Bloody good thinker, but a bit too macho, if you ask me. I--” He stopped short, eyes wide open. “No. No, no, no, NO, NO, NO, NO!” Not pausing to explain, he bolted off into the forest toward the castle ruins, heedless of the rest of the group.

“Doctor!” shouted the Princess. As he kept running, she nodded at Bastion. “Follow that stallion! Bring him to heel, unharmed!”

The princess, her Captain, and her guards all stormed off into the night after the panicking chestnut stallion.

Ch. 9: Through a Mirror Darkly

Chapter Nine: Through a Mirror Darkly

Elsewhere, Elsewhen...

“...I don't know exactly where or when you are – the interference between here and there makes it bloody difficult to get any exact readings. I'm not even sure of what you are now, really. For all I know you could still be yourself, or myself, or an intelligent cactus, or a talking pony – no, scratch that last one, that's awfully silly and it didn't even work that well on Mr. Ed. 1950's, terrible time for animal actors in Hollywood, terrible time.

“As I was saying, I don't know what, where, or when, but I do know how. They... they escaped the Time Lock, if only ever so briefly, but it still had side effects. The President had this absolutely crackers plan, if you don't remember, about becoming beings of pure thought, well let me tell you this much: from the way they were carrying on while they were on Earth, they would not be beings of pure happy thoughts... and you are what you eat.

“The problem is... they brought the entire planet back for a time as well, and I'm not totally one hundred percent certain beyond all absolute shadow of a doubt that some of them, at least, didn't carry off the ascendant portion of the Final Sanction before Koschei and I managed to stuff them back in the box.

“Oh. Right. You don't know about that, do you? He came back, but he wasn't... whole. He went down fighting, though, and went back into the Time Lock with the rest of them. When I'm trying to feel good about myself for not realizing the source of his madness sooner, I tell myself it's what he wanted.” He had to stop, fingers clutching the console with a white-knuckled grip as he doubled over, groaning loudly. Taking a moment to get his breath back, he continued.

“Oh, right, there's that, too. Even if you do find a way back – which I do not advise, by the way, likely be the Gallagher concert all over again – it won't be me you see. Remember that silly Ood thing with the knocking four times? It was Wilfred. Imagine that, Wilfred Mott, loyal old soldier... and such an endearing idiot that he got himself locked in a Vinvocci radiation container, and I had to absorb the radiation to get him out. So, at least you get to keep wearing your face for a while longer. Me, I hope I'm ginger next go'round.

“Back to the whole Time-Lock-broken, dead-planet-appearing-in-the-sky, hell-paradox thing. It looks like it had some definite side effects. There are now... cracks, in space-time. I'm not sure if it's a result of what Rassilon did or a side effect of the Time Lock being disrupted or if it's from the paradox I nearly caused with Bowie Base One or something from further down the inverse causality chain, but the long story short is, you – and I mean you/you, not me/you or you/me – are a direct result of us running over one of these cracks. As near as I can work out, the interaction between the crack and the TARDIS' engines caused a schisming/spawning effect, creating a whole bubble universe. There certainly would've been enough energy for a Big Bang, or maybe a Baby Bang, or a Moderately-Sized Bang With Just A Little More Boom On the Side.

“Grraargh! Focus! FOCUS! Listen, I don't have a lot of time left. I can send this one transmission, but I doubt you'll be able to send one back so listen closely, because this is very important, and I cannot repeat myself – remember what I said about Gallagher? Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to come back or rejoin that universe to this one in any way, shape, or form. Their energetic resonances won't settle out for another few billion years, and until that happens, any attempt at crossover is going to have very, very bad results.

“At best, you'd pop back into this universe, cause a horrific time-melting paradox when you eventually sought me out – because that's what I'd do – and the new universe would just get reabsorbed back into this one, likely causing more than a few rifts along the way. Worst case scenario, the new universe starts trying to expand into this one, eats everything, then has a case of cosmic bulimia and everybody in both universes dies.” He paused again to get his emotions back under control.

“Listen, about the dying thing. I'll regenerate. It's what we do, after all. At least... at least I got to see her again. Before she knew me at all, but still... There was so much more to do, so much more to see, and now it's all going to happen to someone else.

“I don't have any regrets. I want you to know that, and you shouldn't either. What's done is done, and in the end, I think it turned out all right. Even so, though...

“...I don't want to go.”

[END RECORDING]
[WARNING! EXPLOSION IN MAIN CONTROL ROOM! MULTIPLE EXPLOSIONS DETECTED! FIRE IN MAIN CONTROL ROOM! FIRE IN ALL COMPARTMENTS!]
[DAMAGE LEVEL CRITICAL!]
[BEGIN AUTO-LANDING SEQUENCE, DESTINATION: EARTH.]
[BEGIN AUTO-REPAIR/REGENERATION. LOCKOUT PROTOCOLS ENABLED ONCE PASSENGERS DISEMBARK.]
[EMERGENCY TRANSMIT, PRIORITY ONE – TARDIS IN DANGER]
“...GERONIMO!”

Castle Ruins, EverFree Forest: Day 40, Year 27 of Celestia's Reign
Eclipse T-Minus One Hour...

He ran.

He'd been running for so very long, longer than just this sprint through a forest corrupted by wild energy and haunted with ghosts centuries old. He'd been running as long as he could remember, as long as his hearts had quivered in his chest at his first gaze into the Untempered Schism. He sometimes even forgot what it was he was running from, it had been so long.

Now, he wasn't certain if he was still running away, or if he had finally completed the circuit. His memory ran laps as he ran through the trees, desperately hoping and hopelessly terrified of what he might find at his destination.

...Do not stare into the eyes that do not see, lest you find yourself within them...

“These are the parts of an empathically-activated multi-spectral atrton harmonic wave generator. I haven't seen anything like this since... since my own people went away.”

“Your people? Are you.. A-are there any more Time Lords, Doctor?”
“...Not anymore.”
...you are not alone...
“You the doctor or the janitor?”
“I don't know. Sounds like me, the maintenance man of the Universe.”
...you are not alone...
“I thought you'd died. I waited for you and you never came back, and I thought you must have died.”
“I lived. Everyone else died.”
“What do you mean?
“Everyone died, Sarah.”
...You Are Not Alone...
“But your planet burned...”
“That's just it! Don't you see, Donna, can't you understand? If I could go back and save them, then I would, but I can't. I can never go back. I can't. I just can't.”
“Just someone. Please. Not the whole town. Just save someone.”
...You Are Not Alone...
“For a long time, I thought I was just a survivor, but I'm not. I'm the winner, that's who I am. The Time Lord Victorious.”
“And there's no one to stop you.”
“No.”
“This is wrong, Doctor. I don't care who you are. The Time Lord Victorious is WRONG.”
...YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

Panting heavily, he stopped as he reached the clearing that surrounded the ruins of the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. The shadows seemed watchful, almost menacing at times given what he now knew. The sunlight waned, the moon already nearing the setting star and casting eerie, stark shapes on the mountains in the distance as the eclipse approached.

Turning an ear to the sound of approaching wingbeats and hoofsteps, the Doctor turned around just in time to be tackled to the ground in a tangle of wings and hooves as Bastion and one of the faster pegasi slammed into him, the other guards holding him down as he struggled against them.

One last set of hoofsteps came near, moving at a more sedate pace, accompanied by a flicker of multicolored mane and tail. “Keep him restrained, but let him see Us, so that we might converse,” murmured a voice that while soft still held regal steel in its timbre.

The Doctor openly glared up at Celestia as she glared back down her muzzle at him. Flecks of foam dotting the corners of his mouth, he demanded, “Let me go, Celestia! I know what's in there and you are NOT equipped to handle them!”

“Really?” replied the princess calmly as she quirked an eyebrow upward, settling down to her knees before the crazed chestnut stallion. “Why dost thou not inform Us of thine knowledge, so that We may make a similarly informed decision on the subject, Doctor?” Bastion facehoofed off to the side, recognizing the almost serene Old Equestrian speech as a clear sign of his lady's short fuse. Then again, he mused, You could accuse a priest of being a filthy foal-bucker in Old Equestrian and it would sound like you were asking if they'd like more tea.
Closing his eyes and gritting his teeth, the Doctor exhaled slowly. “Fine. Remember how I said there weren't any more Time Lords? I don't know how, I don't know why, but I suspect that whatever's taken over your sister is more than just a bunch of parasites that got together, held an election, and voted in sentience for themselves.” He glanced at the guards, then back to the princess. “...Do you mind?”

Nodding to Bastion, Celestia murmured, “Release him... but do not hesitate to bring him back if he bolts again.” Turning back to the Time Lord, she murmured, “Continue.”

“There was a war. The final war. The only war, through all of space and time. I've mentioned it before, but in the end, it was clear we were on the losing side. Before the war, we were a peaceful sort, content to observe history, make corrections when the time streams went all cross and knotty, and generally keep to ourselves. Then the Daleks came.”

“Pray, Doctor, tell Us what is this 'Dalek' of which you speak?”

“Imagine a being so consumed with hate that it cannot feel any other emotion. So utterly paranoid and xenophobic that it can barely stand to be with its own kind. Then wrap that pitiful, limbless mass in nigh-impenetrable armor, give it a weapon that fires beams of pure death, put a bunch of it and its kind on ships, and send them out into the universe with one mission: Exterminate all life that isn't Dalek.” shaking his head slowly, The Doctor murmured, “I used to hate them. Now, if anything I pity them, because that hollow life is all they know, all they'll allow themselves to know, when they could be so much more.

“But let me tell you, they were in full-on extermination mode when it came to us. We were losing, so our President and his Council devised a plan: The Final Sanction. Part of it involved ending time, to ultimately defeat all foes, now and forever, as if they never existed, because they wouldn't not have never existed.” He frowned slightly. “Blimey, bit of verb salad, there.”

Celestia cocked her head, arching an eyebrow again. “But, wouldst that not have slain your kin as well?”

“Oh, it would have. So they came up with the even more cracked part of a crackpot plan: Ascend into beings of pure thought, because really, thought is about the only thing that can exist outside of the normal time-streams. No idea how they would've managed it. I didn't give them that chance. I sealed them away while Gallifrey was burning, Celestia. I blotted out whole star systems as if they'd never been there, sentenced countless innocent lives to a perpetual, endlessly-repeating Hell.”

“And would you do it again, had you the chance? Had you no other option, would you burn this world as well if it meant saving countless others?”

With no hesitation, the Doctor nodded. “Yes. Yes, I would.”

Celestia got to her hooves and said to the guard captain, “Bastion, the Doctor is to be unrestrained. If what he says is true and his kin have been released from their prison, there is every chance that they will attempt here what they failed to do there.” At the guard's protesting look, she added, “This is not a request, Captain. His tale falls into place with histories you know nothing about, and I will have no argument on this point. He needs to be free to do what he needs to do to stop this menace.”

Hesitating just a moment short of disrespect, Bastion bowed and nodded. “As you command, Your Majesty.” He gestured curtly to the guards, who stepped away from the Time Lord and resumed their posts.

Turning back to the Doctor, Celestia lowered her voice and gave him a steady look. “Can you still do it, Doctor? Do you believe you can still save my sister?”

“I don't know, Celestia. If I'm right – and I seriously hope I am not – then your sister is host to who knows how many insane little Time Lords in her head, telling her what to do. It may be they can only influence a living mind, instead of openly controlling it. That may be the meaning of the warning the Vashta Nerada gave me – if they're still inhabiting corpses, there's nobody home to hold them off, which only makes them infinitely more dangerous.

“I honestly do not know, but...” The Doctor looked over his shoulder at the castle, the moon, and the sun. “I can promise you I will try.”

Ch. 10: Solar Flare

Chapter Ten: Solar Flare

As they entered the castle ruins, the party paused, taken aback by the lurid light filtering in through the shattered windows from the waxing eclipse. Frowning as he trotted around the entry hall, looking at the angles, the Doctor asked, “Celestia, where would be the best place to see the setting sun in the castle?”

Thinking a moment, the princess replied, “That would be the old chapel. In the ancient religion, the west was seen as the direction of worship and rest for the departed, since we all return to the Great Maker.”

“And how long until the eclipse reaches full?”

Consulting her internal clock, Celestia said, “About forty minutes.”

“Then we'd best get a move on, hadn't we?” With that, he trotted down the corridor to the chapel, princess and guards following in his wake. As they neared the double doors, they could hear a low, sonorous chanting, as the air fairly itched with magic. Around them, the shadows seemed to whisper among themselves, waiting to see what the monarch and her companions would do. “Blast!” said the Time Lord as he tried the handle.

Giving him a smirk, Celestia murmured, “Wood trumps sonic?” At his nod, she motioned him behind her as her horn started to glow. “Let me try mine.”

WHAM! The doors didn't so much open as shatter, sending splinters and kindling flying into the room beyond, bowling over several of the acolytes standing in the altar circle. As the group entered the room, horns, weapons and screwdriver at the ready, the smell of death hit them like a wave from the eight bodies on the slabs with neat, almost surgical incisions over their necks where their arteries and veins had been severed. A series of channels and tubes strung between the altars led to the central dais, wherein lay a sarcophagus, much like the ones from the crypt.

Exactly like the ones from the crypt.

Exactly like Tartarus'.

Celestia stared for a moment, then charged into the room with a yell summoned from centuries of pain and sorrow. Around her, the air sizzled as the unicorn cultists flung magical bolts at the guards, the armored unicorns returning fire as their pegasi brethren swooped down to harass the robed ponies from above. Even the Doctor entered the fray, sonic screwdriver buzzing as he aimed it at a cultist, causing her horn to feed back into her nervous system, dropping her into a twitching heap. Nearby, Bastion flew up to the roof and kicked off a support beam, planting both hooves into the spine of another cultist with a sound like wet celery snapping. For her part, Celestia didn’t even bother with magic or finesse, merely using her superior size and strength to trample any red robes she saw.

Finally, the melee was done with, the surviving guards using hooves and horns to keep what few cultists were still conscious suppressed. On the four unstained altars, a family of earth ponies stared at the carnage around them wide-eyed. Gesturing to them with her horn, Celestia murmured absently, “Captain Bastion, be a dear and release those poor ponies, would you?” She walked slowly over to the sarcophagus on the central dais, looking down through the crystalline lid at the still form of her brother. As she looked, she noticed that several tubes carrying the blood of the dead sacrifices had been fed inside the coffin, her brother’s chest punctured to permit them entry. A low, slow, and hot anger began to burn in her chest at this desecration, smouldering at first, then catching and igniting into an indomitable rage.

The Doctor stood by her side, murmuring, “I'm sorry, Celestia. I'm so, so very sorry. I had no idea, I really didn't.” She ignored his apologetic tone, his attempt to soothe as she stepped forward slowly, a low hum building from her horn as three thousand years of hard-won restraint started to slip. Her mane shifted spectrum from the shades of an aurora to the color of a dawning, terrible day as her eyes started to glow white, her baleful gaze causing cultist and guard alike to pause and tremble. All too soon, the commotion in the chamber died, the only sound that of the angered Sun Goddess' hooves as they hissed against the stone floor, leaving a trail of smoking hoof-prints in her wake as she approached Bastion. Finally, her voice devoid of compassion and emotion, she spoke.

“Are these the leaders, Guard Captain?”

Swallowing a lump, Bastion nodded. “Aye, my liege. They're the ones what are running this travesty.”

“How many of mine subjects hath they slain this day, Guard Captain?”
Oh, buck me running, she's going all Old Stable Wrath-of-the-Sun over this. Bastion shoved this thought aside and responded, “Eight here today, Majesty, and a further thirty-six elsewhere.”

“Forty-four.” said the Goddess, “Forty-four lives, ended by your hooves. Tell me, priest and priestess, by what are you called?”

Father Sun and Mother Moon quavered at the sight of Celestia's unbridled fury. The stallion replied, “F-Father S-Sun and M-Mother Moon, Highness.”

A low, dry chuckle erupted from the princess' throat. “'Father Sun' and 'Mother Moon?' Thine crimes are exceeded only by thine arrogance and presumption. To what purpose have you done this thing, Sun and Moon?”

“We were told... we were told by the spirits to restore the balance. The Goddess of the Night is no longer with us, so the world is tipped all to one side – your side. We were told that we had to restore that balance by removing your power from the world.”

“Tell Us, what spirits speakest thou of?”

The stallion swallowed, and replied, “The... They said they were the ghosts of your family, Your Majesty. That they were upset, that you had killed them, one by one, and taken their power for themselves. They said that the banishment of your sister was only the latest step in your plan to dominate the whole world, and that we had a duty to stop them.”

“I see. And the sarcophagus of Our brother?”
Mother Moon replied this time, “The ritual called for two foci – one to ground your body to the earth, the other to ground your power out to the sun.. and the earth focus had to be a relative, and well, ah... he was the closest one to the floor collapse?”

Celestia’s eyes narrowed. Even if the foolish mare believed every word, the princess had a few thousand years of magical study behind her and was not fooled for an instant. She knew a profane resurrection ritual when she saw one. She leaned in closer until they could feel the heat shimmering off her pelt. The guards wisely took a step back as Celestia's horn flared, pinning the pair to the wall. “And what of this magical focus, that thou wouldst seek to destroy Us with?” Shaking like a leaf in a stiff breeze, the mare pointed to a large crystal globe that the Doctor was examining with his screwdriver, frowning furiously. The cult mare replied in a shaking voice, “It i-isn’t m-meant to h-harm you, Princess. Only to r-restore the balance.”

Frowning, the Doctor glanced up, his eyes troubled. “As near as I can tell, this is something meant to suck in and channel artron energy -- magic -- and funnel it someplace else.” He tapped a hoof on the coffin beside him. “In here, given the way they’ve got this set up. To what purpose, I have no idea. Your brother’s dead, and generally speaking, unless you make Time your mare, there’s no getting ‘round that.”

Celestia put a hoof to her forehead, her white coat unmarred by the heat seething off of it. “So be it. There will be no trial. Thou hast admitted to thine crimes, and We are ready to render judgement.” At that, the Time Lord looked up in near-panic.

“Celestia... Celestia, don't do this. Please.”

“And what wouldst thou have Us do, Doctor? Release them? Spank their flanks, call them bad colts and fillies, and let them go to cause further mischief?”
“Well of course not, but --” Cutting him off with a wave of her hoof, the enraged Sun Goddess turned back to the cultists.

“Of the crime of murder, thou art guilty.”
“Celestia, don't. Do not do this.”

“Of the crime of conspiracy against the Throne, thou art guilty.”

“Celestia, DON'T!”

“Of the crime of royal desecration, thou art guilty.” She ignored the Time Lord's cries as she pulled magic into her horn, the glare from its tip soon rising to a blinding light. “Thine sentence shall now be rendered, passed, and executed. Thou art banished to the Sun, there to reside until the End of Time.” A faint but utterly chilling smile crossed her face. “And to burn.” With that, she loosed the spell building in her horn. As one, the cultists were enveloped in a white-hot glow that carried them out the window in a streak of sound and light and fury, around the moon, and into the setting sun, leaving naught but scorch marks on the walls behind them.

“What have you done?” said the Doctor into the silence that followed. Everypony around her stared at her as if she were some abomination to be feared, even faithful Bastion. It was his expression that did it. With a sound like a flame blowing out, the princess dropped to her knees and stopped glowing, tears flowing from her eyes as the full import of what she had just done hit her. “What have you done, Celestia?”

Looking at her hooves, she whispered, “I did it again.”

Ch. 11: Tenebris Venit

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Tenebris Venit

“...I did it again,” whispered Celestia, Princess, Steward of the Sun, Bringer of Light, and Ruler of All Equestria. She'd lost control again, and this time she didn't think she could justify it. Yes, the cultists were very bad little ponies, and yes, they had done very bad things, but did that merit banishing them to the Sun? After three thousand years of life, her ability to rationalize controversial actions was second to none, but she honestly didn't think she could do it, this time.

In her time, she had done horrible things to other living beings. The Alicorn Wars were a living nightmare of endless strife, mortal ponies, griffons, gnolls (often referred to as Diamond Dogs) and other creatures pitted against each other like toy soldiers in the bedroom of children who were not only powerful, but uncomprehending of the damage that power could do. She herself had inspired more than one 'holy crusade' against an alicorn who had decided to make a play for absolute power. Even knowing what she did now, that it wasn't some congenital insanity, didn't make it easier to live with and coupled with her recent battle with Luna, she found her heart heavier than ever. She'd tried to rise above all of it, to guide her little ponies into an age of compassion and tolerance, and for the last score and seven years, she thought she had done well despite the occasional setback. Now... now she wasn't so sure. She looked up at the Doctor and repeated, “I did it again, Doctor. I didn't want to, but--”

“But you did it again, eh?” interrupted the strange pony who had so recently come into her life and turned parts of it sideways, his tone laced with a mixture of barely-controlled fury and … pity? “Did what again, Celestia? Is this the first time you've thrown people into the Sun, Princess, or do you make a habit of it? Or perhaps a hobby? 'Oh, I'm bored, I think I'll find some ponies that annoy me and use them for stellar firewood!'” The chestnut stallion leaned down, looking her right in the eyes, “You have a responsibility to be better than that, Celestia,” he murmured into the empty silence surrounding her. Even Bastion, who normally would leap to her defense without hesitation, was but quietly watching. “As does anyone who has the kind of power that we do. I might not have a fancy bone sticking out of my forehead but I know the left-hand path. I've even taken some steps down it, and I've always hesitated just before crossing that final line, save for once... and even then, Time Itself gave me a second chance, one that I didn't deserve.” He straightened up, looking down upon the prostrated princess and murmured, “I pity you, because now you know, for certain, what it's like to step over that line. Sometimes we have to do things that we don't like, even some things that hurt ourselves or others. Terrible things that we have to live with and sleep with and shoulder on our backs every moment of every day thereafter, but there is a line, and you stepped right over it.” His expression softened somewhat as he continued, “That's something that no one should ever have to do, nor is it ever necessary, not even for the 'greater good,' and once you realize that you've stepped across that line, you lose a piece of yourself on the other side, even if you come back over it. That's a lesson that no one should ever have to learn, in an ideal world, and I'm sorry you had to do it like this, but... I'm disappointed in you for crossing it in the first place.”

Something inside Celestia snapped at his words, and she slowly rose to her hooves, fixing him with a stare. “And just who are you to judge me, Doctor? I sent fourteen ponies to the Sun, not to die, but as banishment. You sent entire races to eternal torment and damnation, if what you say is true!”

“I had no choice! You did!”

“They killed my subjects, and for all I know desecrated my brother's corpse!”

“Let's see, hmm, I think 'end the universe, exist as thought beings and erase all of time' sort of trumps that, don't you?”

Bastion sighed into his hoof and rubbed his snout, frowning as his eyes started to cross under his eyelids when the Princess and the Time Lord started trading insults. They fight like an old married couple. He opened his eyes again and looked at the four still-occupied altars, where a mare, a stallion, and their two foals were staring pop-eyed at the royal spectacle. Gesturing to his guards to get them untied, he murmured to the dark-purple, blonde-maned stallion, “My apologies, Ser...?”

“Black Amish Apple, Cap'n, and I thank ye kindly fer cuttin' us loose. This be me wife, Ambrosia, and our colt and filly, Belmac and Pixie Apple.” Black Amish rubbed his hooves and winced a bit as he sat up. “Ye kin call me B.A. if'n ya like, Cap'n. 'Tis a terrible business happened here today, just terrible. I don't have any idea what those ponies were about, but...” BA glanced at the bloodied altars with their grisly burdens, “I can tell you that they were right set 'pon it.”

Bastion nodded, replying, “We're not entirely sure what this was all about either. Some sort of ritual meant to either bring back Nightmare Moon or strike at the Princess Herself, by my best guess.”

Black Amish shuddered at the mention of the Nightmare. “Either one o'those would be a right awful thing t'occur by my reckon, Cap'n, an' while I'm sad for those who are lost, I can't tell ye how happy I am that you an' your troops arrived in the nick of time to save me an' mine – An' with the Princess in tow, no less!” He paused for a moment, and leaned in close to whisper, “Although I can't deny that seein' her in full wrath weren't somethin' to make my heart shiver.”

Bastion coughed quietly, remarking, “Yes, well... she takes the safety of her subjects very seriously. Perhaps a bit too seriously for her own good, sometimes.” Sighing a bit, “I really wish she hadn't come, to be honest. I dread the possible consequences from what just happened here.”

The farm pony nodded soberly. “Still, 'tis a good thing you've done tonight, even if you couldn't save all of us. The Apple clan will consider ye friend from here on, Cap'n.” As his wife and children were released by the other guards, they swarmed over him in a hug, then reluctantly let go as Bastion's corpsmare approached to check them for injuries. B.A. tilted his head at the alicorn and the Time Lord, whose argument had gotten even more strident, and inquired, “No disrespectin' meant t'her Royalness an' her friend there, but who stuck th' tree branches 'twixt their flanks?”

Chuckling softly, Bastion shook his head, “You should hear her at budget meetings. Unfortunately, my friend, I can't talk about it. Royal business, you understand.”

The plum earth pony straightened his shoulders and saluted the captain. “Ayup, I do. Master Sergeant Black Amish Apple, 3rd Battalion o' Her Majesty's Infantry, retired, sir.” At Bastion's querulous look, he shrugged, “I did me twenty an' got out t'look after th' Sweet Apple Farm when me dam an' sire passed it to me 'pon their deaths. Been here ever since, makin' a good life for me an'--” He broke off as the strange brown pony got in his personal space, clicking and humming some sort of strange device over him. “Pardon ser, but what in th' name of Celestia's unshorn fetlocks are ye doin'?”

“...I shaved today!”

BA lightly rapped the Doctor on the snout with a hoof, making the Time Lord yelp. “Ah din' have time for games, youngster. What mean you about my family? After today's events, I be in no mood for shenanigans.”

Rubbing his nose, the Doctor nodded slowly. “Quite right, quite right. Mister... Apple, was it? Mr. Apple, someone in your family, at some point in time, is going to do something very very important, and when the time comes, they're going to need to listen to what I have to say.” He grabbed B.A. by both shoulders, coming almost nose-to-nose with the farmer. “Tell your family to keep this secret and safe through the generations: Listen to the Doctor in the blue box.”

Seeming almost hypnotized if a bit perplexed, Black Amish nodded slowly. “Listen to the Doctor in the blue box.”

“Good.” He grinned at the farmer in his usual infectious manner and added, “And trust me, whoever he or she is, they are going to be brilliant!” He turned back to Celestia. “And as for you, Princess, I trust we've settled things?”

“...I still don't know what the hay a wah-full iron is, nor how you plan to spank me with it.”

“Not right now, there are foals present. Speaking of which, Bastion, you might want to escort the Apples out of here for the time being, because unless I'm very mistaken, the eclipse is happening in about two and a half minutes, and I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen. If the castle explodes, there's no way we'll all get away if we're rushing out the door, so do be a good chap and get the important ponies to safety, eh?”

Bastion blinked at the Time Lord until the Doctor mimed checking an invisible watch on his hoof and said, “One minute fifty-three,” then gestured to two of his unicorns. “Teleportation is approved for this. Get the civilians and the rest of the contingent out of here. B.A, I'll catch up with you at the farm later.”

The farmer smiled and nodded at bastion as a field of magic surrounded his family and the remaining guards. “Aye, I'll hold ye to that. We'll keep a spot at the table open for ye, Cap'n.” There was a blinding flash of light, then the Apples and their two guards were gone.

“Right, now that that's done, let's see what we're about here, eh?” The Doctor resumed probing the artifact, murmuring absently, “Why here, though, Celestia?”

Cocking an eyebrow as she stepped over to watch the Doctor work, “Pardon?”

“Why here? Yes, this is an important site to you and your family, but everything seems to come back here. Why?”

Eyeing the sky, the princess murmured, “I have no idea. Doctor, the eclipse is happening in less than a minute. Perhaps we should go?” Bastion trotted over and nodded vigorously, “Indeed! Doctor, I must insist for the safety of the Princess--”

“Too late.” murmured the Time Lord as the moon slid directly into place over the setting sun, filling the room with an eerie reddish light. The globe in the center of the ceremonial space started to glow with its own echoing hues and hummed faintly as the trio flinched away from it.

Nothing happened. The Doctor and his companions looked at the globe, looked at each other, then looked back at the globe.

“That's it, then?” asked Bastion, “It's just going to sit there and hum at us?”

“I have absolutely no idea, Captain. This is more of that magic nonsense you Equestrians go on about. Princess, what do you think?” The Doctor blinked at the silence, then looked at Celestia. “Princess?”

Celestia was staring at the globe, transfixed by its glow as an answering light began to shine in her eyes. “I hear them,” she whispered, “I hear them all. They're in such pain, Doctor... I have to help them.” She leaned forward, aiming her horn at the artifact. As the tip of her horn touched it, the globe's glow flowed out over the alicorn mare, enveloping her in a sparking field of magic.

“Oh, why does no one ever listen to me about not touching things?” moaned the Time Lord as he whipped out his screwdriver, pulsing it at the globe a few times and scowling at the results. “A deadlock seal? What?!”

Bastion growled, “So much for your fancy toys, Doctor. Let me demonstrate how we do it in downtown Canterlot!” He lunged forward, flapping his wings to turn around quickly as he planted his forehooves on the floor and bucked his rear legs at the artifact, only to be repelled by a pulse of energy from the globe, sending him flying across the room.

“Yes, I see how they do it in downtown Canterlot now, by not listening to the pony who says 'DON'T. TOUCH. ANYTHING.' Are you all right, Captain?”

“...That could have gone better.” He slowly got to his hooves, aided by his troops, and walked back over to the Princess, looking at her. Her mouth hanging open in a silent scream, Celestia's eyes were aglow with an unhealthy golden light, like sunspots seen up close, as her mane flickered back and forth between its usual tricolor wave and a frizzy pink mass, her tail following suit. Arcs of power ran down the length of her horn to the tip, leaping across the gap to the globe with an electrical SNAP each time one connected. Similar arcs played between the feathers of her fully extended wings, the appendages quivering with each jolt. Bastion circled the Princess slowly, and asked quietly, “What do we do?”

The Doctor stroked his chin with a hoof, musing, “I'm thinking about it. We can't touch Celestia or the artifact – there's too much energy playing about there. It almost looks like it's trying to suck all the magic out of her, but it has to go somewhere... but where?” The chestnut stallion looked around the room, then paused as his eyes lit on the sarcophagus, which had started glowing as well. “Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no...” As he murmured his litany of denial, the lid started to slide off to the side, a single charcoal hoof pushing it easily, followed by a mane made of gradually brightening flames topping a set of empty eyes that glowed with an unholy, sickly violet un-light, a similar glow coming off the figure's horn and wings as it sat up, lips regenerating to fullness as they peeled back from yellowed teeth in a smile made of pure malice and the nightmares of little foals.

“Hello, Doctor,” said Perdition Blaze, “It's been a long time... A very long time, indeed.”

Ch. 12: Aphelion

CHAPTER TWELVE: Aphelion

She was burning cold... or was it freezing hot? She honestly couldn't tell through the pain singing through every nerve of her body from hooves to horn. Strange as it was, it did sound like some sort of ethereal dirge, calling her magic out of her, slowly pulling the life force from her as it spiraled through her horn and into the artifact before her.

Princess Celestia, Steward of the Sun, Bringer of Light, and Ruler of Equestria had been trapped in some energy field after touching her horn to the crystal globe known as 'The Scales of the Maker' in some moldy old ritual book that her erstwhile advisor and friend the Doctor had found in her library. She didn't want to, but the thing sang to her, seductively, blocking out all her other senses until the moment of contact.

Now here she was, trapped in this sheath of blue and gold energy, the same shades that the royal sister's horns glowed when in use. She couldn't move. She couldn't speak, her mouth frozen in a silent scream... but she could see, and she could hear, and her heart froze in her chest as the long-dead body of her brother rose from its sarcophagus, smiled slowly and cruelly, and spoke these words:

“Hello, Doctor. It's been a long time... a very long time, indeed. How have you been?”

The voice wasn't Tartarus'. It didn't even belong to his sinister alter-ego, Perdition Blaze. Rather, there was a hollow, discordant note to it, as if it were one voice speaking for many, with echoes of the others in the pitch and timbre and inflection.

The Time Lord circled the sarcophagus and frozen princess slowly, eyes fixed on the reanimated corpse-horse before him as his ears flicked in a mixture of alarm and curiosity, and his eyes hardened with anger as the undead Blaze's appearance began to mend, even as Celestia's started to deteriorate, her mane and tail losing their tricolor quality and resuming their natural pastel pink shade; that they also resumed their natural uncontrollable frizz only added insult to injury. “I've been better. I've survived worse. Just another day in the life,” drawled the Doctor in a low, slightly mocking tone, “How does it feel to be inhabiting a corpse?”

Dried and cracked lips peeled back from teeth in a rictus smile as they regenerated, Blaze replying amiably, “About as well as you might expect. It's also a bit crowded in here, but fortunately I'm a persuasive sort... much like yourself, I must say. But then, if you knew who I was, you could've guessed that yourself.” He gestured down at the coffin and smirked faintly. “Pardon my manners in not getting up. This body is still a little stiff from stasis, and the lady there's still got some life force to nibble on. I can't even really see much right now, but I think my eyesight is improving. To quote one of those silly human movies, I see a big light blur instead of a big dark blur. Even so, I know who you are, and where you are.”

“And just who are you, hmm? I mean, sure, you're the dominant personality, but there's got to be others. Do you hold committee meetings to determine who gets to move the arms and legs? Inquiry panels when you have to go to the bathroom?” Snorting softly, the Doctor snarked, “It's a wonder you can accomplish anything at all.”

Leaning over the lip of the casket, the dark alicorn gestured the Doctor closer. “Why don't you come closer and take a look? I promise you, no harm will come to you. Time Scout's honor.”

Muttering that there were no such things as Time Scouts, the Doctor stepped closer, looking into the undead alicorn's eyes.

No, thought Celestia, as she watched helplessly, barely able to focus through the pain of the artifact draining her magic, her very life's essence, away. Don't look into the eyes that cannot see, Doctor. Don't look!
As the Doctor looked closer into the black alicorn's eyes, his face started to contort with a dawning horror. Softly, he whispered, “No. It can't be.”

“Oh, yes,” purred Blaze, “It can be so. It is so. By quantum mechanics themselves, by observing it, you have just made it so much quieter in here now.”

“You're dead.”

“'Were dead.' That's the proper verb tense you're looking for Doctor. I was dead, and now I'm not. Or maybe I never was? It's not like you could've been entirely certain that the explosion killed me. It's not all that surprising if you think about it, considering how often you've cheated death yourself, how frequently you've flaunted justice. MY justice.” Giving the Time Lord another one of those horrible smirks as the cataracts began to fade from his eyes, the alicorn started laughing softly to himself, “How ironic it is that you should be the one to witness my resurrection.”

As the alicorn's eyes cleared, their appearance somehow closely mirroring the Doctor's own, he said in a level tone, “Now, Doctor. Tell me who I am. I want to hear you say it.”

In a voice just barely above a whisper, the Doctor replied, “Hello, Valeyard.”

The Valeyard smiled as he sat up a little, leaning forward over the lip of the coffin with his hooves crossed conversationally. “Hello, Doctor! Glad to see you're still as sharp as ever. Now!” he said, his tone and inflection and speech pattern sounding like a distorted version of the Doctor's own, and his mannerisms much like the Doctor's only devoid of any shred of compassion or empathy. “Normally I would play all sorts of intricate mind games to toy with you and your companions until your tiny little minds imploded from the sheer agony of it all, but we're short on time if I'm going to bring the rest back from that wretched little resort spot on the moon that Miss Pretty Pretty Princess here banished them to.” Banging on the lid of the sarcophagus to illustrate his point, he continued, “Once that's done, we gather the rest of what we need, push the 'reset' button on this pitiful and pathetic excuse for a reality, and bring back just enough of existence that we can monitor, manipulate, and mandate over a magnificently empty multiverse, and then, Doctor...” Valeyard slipped his counterpart a sly wink, “Then we Time Lords will finally be safe, and worthy of the name.”

“What's the point of being a god if you're just going to destroy everything? That's madness! That's Dalek thinking!” The Doctor pleaded.

The charcoal-black alicorn chuckled darkly, “Doctor, you do not understand. We do not want to destroy the universe any longer. The Daleks are gone, we have no need to! No, my little Time Lord... we want to remake it. No one will be left to threaten us,” he purred, “No one will be left to challenge us, and if we do permit life to evolve again, it will evolve to serve us. We shall be as gods.”

“Not any god I'd ever want to serve,” muttered Bastion from Celestia's side as he watched the two Time Lords banter. The princess took comfort in his presence, even without being able to reply in kind or even thank him for his consideration. It's getting cold, she thought as she realized she could barely feel her hooves underneath her any longer.

“Hold on a tick,” said the Doctor, jumping topics. “You said that by observing your presence in Tartarus' corpse that I made it so much quieter in there. Are you saying that the universe is suddenly...” He paled a little. “In flux?”

The Valeyard smiled nastily, and replied, “I don't know, Doctor. Am I? You truly haven't figured it out yet, have you?” As the princess' features started to thin down, he rose from the casket and stretched, joints popping. “Then I guess you really are still not quite as smart as you think. Let's make that your first test then, shall we? Well, second. Well, okay, third. You see, first, you have to survive, and then you have to get past me...” He turned and sounded a neighing cry toward the stairwell to the crypts below, a haunting sound that was answered in kind, “And my little undead ponies.” Stamping a hoof on the floor, his black face brightened. “Oh, and yes, you'll probably have to get the princess out of that energy field before it eats her alive. So, fourth, then.”

“Oh, that's the easy one!” crowed the Doctor, pacing back and forth as he clicked switches on his screwdriver with his tongue. “The globe is obviously some sort of parasympathetic artron converter, tuned to specific frequencies, those of the Princess and her sister, which in turn resemble the frequency patterns of the sun and the moon, but it only activates when both frequencies combined strike its surface.”

Nodding and smiling despite himself, the Valeyard lightly clopped his forehooves together. “Very good, Doctor. Now, share with the class how you intend to break the field, if you can't even touch or affect the artifact.”

“Same way as you do with any runaway power converter: You cut off the source. Bastion, GRAB HER!” With that, he aimed his screwdriver above the stained glass window behind which the sun and moon lowered toward the horizon together and triggered it, causing a shower of debris to fall in front of it, cutting off just enough of the light from outside that the Scales of the Maker flickered and went dark. At the Doctor's shouted command, Bastion nudged himself underneath the dazed princess with a muttered, “Pardon, Mum,” and bolted for the door, carrying her on his back.

Laughing, the Valeyard cried, “Very good! Very good indeed, Doctor! Now, how do you plan to defeat me?”

Scowling at his dark counterpart, the chestnut earth pony remarked, “One word: Polarity.” He thrust his screwdriver at the artifact on the pedestal, which began to glow again, this time fastening its field around the dark alicorn.

“No!” shouted the Valeyard as his features began to wither and decay. He stared pop-eyed as his muscles shrank, becoming naught but thin cords under his skin. His coat and mane fell out, dissolving into ash as his skin thinned and grayed to look like ancient parchment before cracking, his voice gurgling out one last cry before his bones settled to the floor. The empty eyesockets of the now quite dead alicorn flickered with violet un-light before winking out.

“And now, to make sure that no one, nowhere, and at no other time uses this again,” snarled the Doctor as howls sounded from below, “FEEDBACK!” He triggered the screwdriver a third time. The globe began to hum discordantly and glow with an unhealthy light, cracks appearing in its surface as he trotted over to Bastion and the princess, who waited for him in the hall.

“Quick, Celestia! We need to teleport out of here, now!” said the Time Lord with a note of panic in his voice.

“Doctor,” replied the princess, staring at him wide-eyed, “I can't! I can't feel my magic, not one spark of it!”

“I see,” mused the Doctor, “I see. Then with all due respect, Princess, Captain, I really think we should RUN!”

The trio raced through the corridors of the old palace, chunks of brick and mortar falling all around them as the ruins shook to their very foundation. It was a testament to the original builders that anything remained standing at all. Charging out into the courtyard, they galloped toward the bridge across the chasm surrounding the castle as it began to crumble, stone by stone.

“GO GO GO!” Shouted the Doctor as they neared the far end of the collapsing span, the Time Lord leading the way and face-planting in the shrubbery across the chasm. Behind him, Celestia and Bastion skidded to a halt as the last few stones between themselves and safety fell into the yawning abyss below. Celestia flapped her wings uselessly; the magical drain from the artifact seemed to have robbed her of flight.

“Princess, please forgive me. I mean no disrespect when I do this.” As Celestia shouted a wordless exclamation of confusion, Bastion whirled on his front hooves and bucked the alicorn as hard as he could across the gap, rump-over-teakettle. The Doctor had only just gotten to his hooves when he received a faceful of screaming white winged unicorn, collapsing back into the bushes underneath her, hooves flailing.

“Your Highness?”

“Yes, Doctor?”

“As lovely as it is to observe, could you please get your backside off my chest?”

“Certainly. And let us never speak of this again.”

“Agreed. Where's Bastion?”

“Right here,” came a voice from above. The guard captain gestured with head toward his wings. “Forgot about these, did you?”

As the earth pony and alicorn stood, the latter shakily, they grinned up at him. “We made it!” exclaimed the princess, while the Doctor just stared at the castle in the distance. “Doctor?”

“DUCK!”

KA-BOOM! The artifact within the castle finally gave way, blowing the roof clear off the old chapel, casting stones and other debris into the air.

Debris that, with an inequine howl, sprouted wings and arrowed down toward the trio.

“RUN!”

“You seem to say that a lot,” huffed Bastion as they dashed into the cover of the trees, long shadows cast everywhere as the sun and moon separated, the former setting slowly, as if waiting for something.

“I do a lot of running,” replied the Doctor. Glancing at the haggard-looking princess, he asked, “Celestia, can you lower the sun?”

“Not without resting, and certainly not without stopping. I can't even feel my horn right now, Doctor!”

“Blast! It'll have to do.” He glanced back at the undead alicorns gaining on them, and craned his neck for his screwdriver, chomping down on it to let out another of those discordant buzzes.

“What are you doing?!” shouted Bastion over the din, taking to the air to slap hooves over his ears.

“Calling for backup!” The forest seemed to grow darker around them, and from behind, they heard a sibilant hissing noise followed by the clatter of bones upon bones as the zombie ponies behind them suddenly lost their skin and muscle, stripped to the bone.

Seeing as they were no longer under pursuit, the trio stopped, catching their breath. Another soft hiss sounded through the forest, and one of the skeletons rose to its hooves, surrounded in a skin made of shadows. With eerily silent hoofsteps, it trotted over to them and waited, seeming to watch them curiously.

As the Doctor regained his wind, he looked up at the shadow-pony. “Lonely God,” it hissed, “You have done well. The Empty Ones in our forests are gone.” It turned its head to face Celestia. “You are not Empty, Lightbringer... but your heart is. Beware what you fill it with.”

Celestia stared for a long moment, then asked, “What do you mean?” The equine void did not deign to answer, instead turning back to the Doctor.

“You are not done, Lonely God. Empty Ones will return, and in greater number, though their number shall be one. You must defeat them, each in turn.”

Blinking in confusion and concern, the Time Lord asked, “How long do I have?”

“You have a thousand years to destroy the Empty Ones,” hissed the pony made of shadow, “Or to survive, we will feed upon all.” With that, the shadows dissipated, leaving the bones of the alicorn to drop to the forest floor.

Some time later, as the disheveled, haggard trio emerged from the forest near the Apple family farm, Celestia murmured, “Doctor, what did that thing mean? Fill my heart with what?”

“I'm not sure. The Vashta Nerada tend to be single-minded and cryptic like that. How are you feeling?”

Giving the Time Lord a wan smile, she replied, “I feel like my rump was pulled out through my horn.” Turning her eye to Bastion, she asked the same question of him.

“I'll be fine until you don't need me to be fine any more, Your Majesty,” replied the guard captain. “It's in the job description.” Looking ahead, he spied several figures on the path before them, gathered around the TARDIS. “We've got company.”

As they drew near, the shapes were revealed to be B.A. Apple and the remainder of Celestia's guard contingent. The latter snapped to attention, forming up around the princess as if made of clockwork, while the farm pony whistled low between his teeth, and asked, “You lot all right? I mean, Yer Majesticness, are ye an' your group well?” He sketched a salute and dropped to one knee before his sovereign.

Smiling, Celestia murmured, “Rise, Black Amish Apple. We thank you for your service, both past and current.” Her smile turning into a wry smirk, “And we are as well as can be expected, considering the circumstances.”

Looking a bit perplexed, B.A. asked, “An' if'n ye don't mind, what circumstances were those, Yer Worshipfulness?”

The Doctor cut in, “Well, we confronted an evil mastermind, got chased by a bunch of undead ponies, and oh yes, blew up part of an old castle.” Celestia nodded, while Bastion muttered, “That was mostly his doing.”

Rocking back on his hooves a bit, the farmer whistled again. “That explosion in the distances were yer doin'?” Shaking his head and grinning ruefully, “I pity the fools who mess with thee, ser Doctor.” Glancing at the sun, he continued, “If'n ye need a place t'rest before headin' back to Canterlot, my home is open t'ye an' yers, Yer Highness. 'Tis the least we can do for ye pullin' our manes out of the fire back there.”

Nodding to the rustic stallion, the princess replied wearily, “That would be most excellent, Sergeant.” Noticing his look of surprise, she winked. “And yes, I do remember the soldier who held off a dozen ponies during the famine food riots some years ago.”

B.A. stammered and flushed as he started to lead them toward the simple ranch house tucked into the corner of an apple orchard. Celestia, however, paused as she noticed the Doctor not following her. “Doctor, aren't you coming with us?”

The Time Lord paused, TARDIS key in mouth, and shook his head. “I need to... take a peek forward, and see if I can find the rest of the ponies we need. Plus, I want to check in on You-Know-Who and see if the bother down here affected her any.”

Giving him a disappointed look, the princess trotted over and hugged him with her forehooves. “You have Our undying gratitude, as always... but you had best come back quick.” Celestia smiled as she leaned down near the Doctor's ear and whispered, “Next time, you bring a saddle, I'll bring a riding crop, and I'll show you just how far royal gratitude can go.”

At this, the Doctor blinked at her helplessly for a moment, his mouth working silently as he blushed furiously, ears laid back against his skull. “Right. I'll. Um. Yes. Ah. That would be. Interesting? Um. Why don't I just? Ah. Get in the timey-wimey-shippy thing and go do my business, wot?”

The guards and the farmer could only stare as the sound of their monarch's laughter echoed over the grinding, wheezing noise of a departing blue box.

Ch. 1: An Unexpected House Call

CHAPTER ONE: An Unexpected House Call
Equestria: Day 1, Year 0 of Celestia’s Reign

Celestia awoke slowly and grudgingly to a grinding noise inside her head. Her body and mind still ached from the previous night’s final exertions, but they were nothing compared to the sullen soreness of her heart.

She’d done it. She’d banished her own baby sister to the Moon, Powers help her, she had done it and now, the morning after, she would have traded her favorite body parts to take it all back even though she knew it had to be done.

Her coat and mane were damp, and through the pounding in her skull she could hear the rumble of thunder and the hiss of heavy rainfall, coming through the holes that were blasted in the roof. Unwilling to open her eyes just yet, the alicorn mare stretched kinked muscles and stiff joints slowly, the grinding, wheezing static in her brain fading away with renewed blood flow.

That’s when she realized that the sound wasn’t in her head, but in the room with her. She opened her eyes, looking around the ruins of the throne room of the Palace of the Royal Pony Sisters in the Everfree Forest, taking in the holes blasted in the walls, stained glass windows blown outward by the sheer ferocity of the magic unleashed only hours before, and the hole in the roof, right where the moon had been in the night sky when Celestia used the Elements of Harmony to send Nightmare Moon -- her Luna -- to her prison.

She stopped as her eyes lit upon an incongruous sight. Sitting in the middle of the great hall was a blue wooden box, only large enough to fit one pony inside, perhaps two if they were feeling intimately cozy. Stenciled across the top and lit from within above the windows were the words, POLICE BOX, and a glass cylinder sat atop the entire contraption, blinking rhythmically then darkening as the noise the box made faded with a final THOOM.

She was still sitting on her haunches, staring wide-eyed, when the door opened and a chestnut earth pony with a wild shock of darker brown stepped out. His cutie mark was an hourglass, showing behind the blue pinstripe suit jacket he wore over a white shirt and red necktie. His odd appearance was complimented by the squarish spectacles on the end of his snout. “Blimey,” he murmured, “Where did you bring me this time, old girl?” He glanced down and added, “And why am I on four feet?” Looking back at his flank, his eyes widened. “And why am I half-naked?!” Turning around to get a better look, his gaze lit on Celestia and he stopped in mid-turn. “Oh! Hello! You’re on four feet and totally naked, I supposed that’s the custom around these parts, eh?” TIlting his head with a roguish grin, he added, “I suppose that’s all very well, I mean, it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve come across a culture like that although...” he drawled, “It’s the first time I’ve been a four-legged... horsey... thing.”

Celestia just blinked as he finally rambled to a stop, and murmured, “Who... what... how?” She was too stunned to even prime defensive spells into her horn as she watched the strange, strange pony continue examining himself.

“Let’s see... that didn’t feel like a regeneration, but I suppose there’s a first time for everything.” He started patting himself all over with his forehooves, muttering, “Head, got that, only one of them... tch... still not a ginger. Pity. Eyes, two of them, oddly forward-facing for this kind of body, hands... no hands, but circular, semi-flexible hooves? That’s a new one!” He lowered his head to look under himself, tail switching back and forth. “Oh, a tail! I always wanted one of those! Let’s see, hooves for the back feet, and oh thank god that’s still there, don’t want to be like the Corsair and gender-switch unexpectedly WELL!” He proclaimed, favoring the Princess with another roguish grin. “Now that I’ve made sure everything’s where it’s supposed to be, I’ll answer your questions in the reverse order: What? Time Lord, although I suppose Time Pony might be more apropos. How? In this box here, it’s my TARDIS, Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. It’s how I get around the Universe. Who? That’s the easy one! I’m The Doctor.”

Celestia just blinked for a moment, trying to pull herself back together as she staggered to her hooves. “Doctor... who?”

“No, just the Doctor, although ‘Doctor Hooves’ might be a nice little pun, don’t you think? Blimey,” he murmured, peering at her over his glasses, “Are you all right, miss?”

Shaking her head, Celestia murmured, “I am about as far from ‘all right’ as it is possible to be and still be in Equestria, Doctor, but it’s none of your concern.”

Sniffing the air, the Doctor peered around. “Are you quite sure about that? Because I must say, me arriving here all ponified and you looking like you’ve just been through something totally horrible is a very large coincidence, and if there is one thing I absolutely do not believe in, it is any coincidence larger than a bread box.” He stepped around her, circling the alicorn slowly. “Plus, this place positively reeks of artron energy! I haven’t seen this much since the last time I tried to use the Eye of Harmony to make instant popcorn.” He noted Celestia’s shocked expression at the name and added, “I was really really hungry, and really REALLY bored. Never let a Time Lord get bored. No good can come of it.” Nosing into the pocket of his jacket, he fished out a small cylinder with a blue gem on one and and muttering something about lack of proper fingers, managed to get it into the corner of his mouth, biting down on a switch in the middle. With each bite, the gem lit up and a buzzing sound like a thousand hyperactive cicadas emanated from the device. “This place is absolutely soaked in artron residue. That must be what pulled me off course, triggered a transformation if not a full-on regeneration. No telling if it’s permanent or not.” He tucked the rod away and turned to Celestia. “I say, what happened here? It looks as if there was something very violent.” He trailed off as he saw tears start to trail down the alicorn’s cheeks. “...What’s the matter, miss?”

Barely holding back a sob, she lifted her gaze to meet his. “I am Princess Celestia, now the sole ruler of Equestria, Steward of the Sun, and now Regent of the Moon. As for what happened here... I did it. I didn’t want to, but I did.”

Stepping just a little closer, concern mixing with suspicion on his face, the Doctor murmured, “What, Celestia? What did you do?”

Celestia dropped to the floor, laying her head on her hooves. “...I took the Elements of Harmony, and sent my sister to the Moon, never to return.”

The Doctor just looked at her for a long moment, then murmured, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Catching the note in his voice, Celestia shook her head and replied, “She’s not dead, Doctor. She’s imprisoned, along with the monster that took her over from within... and I fear, more than anything else, that I will never see Luna again, not as anything other than Nightmare Moon.”

“Celestia, I want you to look at me. I know we’ve only just met, but I want you to listen as well, and trust me when I say that will do everything I can to bring your sister back.”

Confusion creasing her brow, the alicorn just stared at the madcolt with a box and asked, “Why? What can you do? I’m immortal, or as close as you can get to it, and so is she. Right now, I’m the most magically-endowed pony on the entire planet, and I probably couldn’t bring her back if I tried, not without bringing Nightmare Moon along with her, and I doubt that she’s going to change her mind anytime in the next few thousand years..” She narrowed her eyes, horn flaring to life as she studied him with senses both physical and magical, and what she saw made her eyes go stark wide, pupils shrinking to pinpoints. “Wh-what... What are you?”

The smile completely gone from his face, the Time Lord replied, “You say that your sister’s been taken by a monster, Celestia. I don’t know if this ‘Nightmare Moon’ has ever heard of me, but she will. Most people run from monsters, or fight them. Sometimes if they can’t do either of those, they join the monsters, well let me tell you something, my dear Princess; I’m the Doctor...”

“...and the monsters run from me.”

Ch. 5: Lighter Than a Feather, Heavier Than a Mountain

Chapter Five: Lighter Than a Feather, Heavier Than a Mountain

In the TARDIS: Day ?, Year ? Of Celestia's Reign

Celestia looked at herself in the mirror in what the Doctor referred to as the TARDIS' “guest bathroom,” which in reality was as large as a decent-sized bedroom. Her white coat stained with dirt and grime from the crypt, her pink mane disheveled and limp. Her horn lit, starting the water on the bathtub as she gave herself a once-over, noting feathers out of place on her wings and a small chip in her horn from the shield spell detonation earlier. No wonder my head hurts as bad as it does. At least it'll heal.

She waited until the tub was mostly full then turned the water off, gingerly sinking into the warmth and trying to relax. He had been rather adamant about getting herself cleaned up and presentable...

* * *

“We've got some time, Celestia. Why don't you get cleaned up?” inquired the Doctor as he fiddled with the TARDIS controls, which were connected to some utterly incomprehensible contraption holding the Elements of Harmony. The princess started awake at his question; the column was still rising and falling rhythmically in the center of the room, and the low wheezing sound it made had lulled her into a light doze on a couch incongruously mounted against the central dais' railing. “We're safe for now,” he added, “But I can't keep the old girl out of phase like this for too long. It's rough on the engines, and we're going to need her in working order to pull this off.”

What “this” was, she still had no idea. She said as much to the Time Lord, then asked, “I'd rather not wait to rescue Luna if we don't have to, Doctor. Why don't we just go to the Moon, use the Elements of Harmony to free her, then take her home?”

Clucking his tongue against his teeth, the chestnut stallion took a moment to compose his answer. “Because it's too dangerous, Celestia,” he murmured quietly, “The danger I spoke of was not entirely from the empathivores, it was also from you.”

The princess just blinked at him. “Me?” she asked, gob-smacked, “What in the Pony Hell of Poorly-Shod Prancing On Hot Coals are you talking about?” At his perplexed, “Pony Hell of what now?”, she added quietly, “Ponies have a lot of hells.”

“Interesting spiritual outlook you have there. Look, it's like this.” He sat down next to her, gesturing with his forehooves. “You're distraught over your sister, you're horrified by the animated corpses of your family recently trying to devour you, and I'd wager that you're feeling rather guilty about all of it, like it's your fault somehow but no one will tell you. Am I right?”

For such a strange pony, he was alarmingly insightful. She nodded slowly, “There's more to it, but yes.”

“Then by no means should I bring you to your sister until you've got your royal head straightened out, Your Highness. These things feed on negative emotion, and survive as artron energy. You're short on one right now, having drained yourself during the scrap, but overflowing with the former. If you set so much as one hoof on the Moon while they're in control of your sister, you're going to look like a five-star all-you-can-eat buffet to them. And even if you weren't,” he continued, gesturing for her to follow as he walked over to the Elements, “These are another problem entirely.”

Celestia looked at the device he had placed the Elements into. She recognized various bits: a colander, several mismatched and oversized coffee mugs holding an element each spaced evenly around the rim, and what looked like an egg-beater. Other parts were less identifiable, with glowing crystals, strange bits of metal, and a socket where the Doctor's screwdriver currently resided. He reached over and flipped a switch on the TARDIS console, and the Elements began glowing, each with their own color which streamed into the now-whirling egg-beater, as if it were stirring a rainbow.

“These are meant to respond to certain empathic wavelengths,” the Time Lord said quietly, as if afraid to disturb the Elemental crystals, “On their own and in unused hands – pardon, hooves – they are still quite powerful, but terribly unpredictable. Much like a TARDIS, they're meant to be handled by six operators; no more, no less. More than that,” he added, “They have to be possessed of certain emotional and personality traits to properly synchronize with the crystals, otherwise it won't work at all, or it'll go wild.”

He toggled another switch. “I'm feeding them a wave that is inverse to what they are supposed to use. You might want to stand back a bit.” The colors emitted by the Elements turned darker, appearing like distorted versions of their true selves, looking almost toxic. A low, discordant hum started to build from the device, rising in pitch until the egg-beater in the center abruptly turned to stone, smoking and hissing for a moment before it exploded into pieces no bigger than a pebble.

Despite herself, the princess jumped back at the sight, staring wide-eyed at the Doctor. He looked at her sadly and remarked in a gentle tone, “If you were to try and use these on Luna in your current state, the best that would happen to her is that she would be killed. The worst... it would set up an unstable standing wave of negatively-charged artron energy that, when it finally collapsed, would shatter the Moon, snuff out the Sun, and split your planet open like a watermelon struck with a sledgehammer – and that's only funny to watch if it's done by one comedian in particular, and if you're wearing a mackintosh in the front row.”

Not quite sure what to make of the mental image that inspired, the alicorn mare blinked and looked at the earth pony. “So what do we do, then?”

“Incorrect question, Your Highness! I am going to go lay the groundwork for figuring out just what we are going to do, while you are in the guest bathroom, making yourself presentable for your subjects.”

“...What.”

“Listen to me, Celestia. Your people need you. Right now, we're out of phase, between the seconds, and no time has passed outside since we hopped into the TARDIS and threw the switch, but we can't stay here forever. Time still passes for you and I just like it always does, but the longer you stay in temporal stasis, the greater chance there is that something awful is going to befall your country and your world, and I'm going to need a man-- no... a woman – no, a mare on the inside (I have got to get used to these equine terms!) I'm going to need a mare on the inside to help prepare for what we need to do. In order to do that,” he said, standing up and pointing a hoof at one of the side doors in the TARDIS control room, “You're going to need to look like the princess you are, because you're going to have to get in among your people and try to find the ponies we're going to need to use these!” He pointed at the Elements, then back at the door. “Guest bathroom's in there. Now, with all due respect to your royal pony-ness, get in there and clean yourself up before we land.”

* * *

He had a point, mused the princess, I do feel better now. She shook herself out of her reverie and rose from the tub, levitating a towel over to dry herself off. Looking herself over in the mirror again, she could see that she even looked a bit better. In the distance down the hall, she could hear the TARDIS' engine crescendo with a slight vibration through the floor, then settle down with the quiet THOOM that indicated the timeship had landed.

Staring at herself in the mirror, she focused her magic through her horn, wincing as the chip in the tip disrupted its spell matrix ever so slightly. With a soft twang and several puffs of displaced air, golden decorations appeared out of her personal storage spell, landing on the bath mat. She stepped into the golden shoes, carefully levitated the yoke of authority over her neck, and finally settled her crown on her brow, shaking her head slightly to let her pink mane fall over one side of her face after the headgear had settled. Well, this is about as regal as I ever get. Time to see if I make a good impression. Although this... she snorted, puffing a lock of pink out of her eye, This needs something done to it.

Squinting against the headache that was starting to thump at her brain again, she focused her horn and carefully wove a glamour about her mane and tail, turning them from straight, limp, pink frizziness into a flowing tri-colored mass of hair that seemed to sparkle in the light. Another tweak to the spell made the pastel colors flow with the solar winds, and a final push sent the enchantment into the crown, locking it there. There. That will not only make me look like the goddess they think me to be, but I can take it off and still mingle anonymously, as long as I take care to disguise my wings and cutie mark. I wonder if I could enchant a set of socks to do that? Or maybe a sweater-vest of some kind?

Opening the door to the bathroom with her horn, she trotted back to the TARDIS' control chamber and paused for effect at the top of the stairs, offering the Doctor a small smile as he looked up, dumbstruck. “Well? What do you think?”

She hadn't meant it to sound coy, but it clearly came across that way to the stallion. His sonic screwdriver dropped from his mouth, clattering on the grating around the console and shaking him out of his trance. “Oh! Um. Ah. Yes. Yes, that will do very well, Princess. Very regal. Love the hair, the solar wind effect is brilliant, goes with the whole sun thing on your, ah, erm, side? Hip? Flank? Not that I'm studying that too closely, of course, because that's not what I do. I am the Doctor, I don't play Doctor, after all, and --” He gave her another of those smart aleck grins that always seemed to say more than his words did. “I'm babbling, aren't I?”

Smirking, the alicorn stepped down to join him on the main platform. “Yes, but that's quite alright. It's been awhile since I had anyone babble at me that wasn't a relative of mine or someone who wasn't intimidated by my position.” She looked at the now-quiet time rotor, and twitched an ear uncomfortably. “Doctor, I have a question.”

At his nod, she continued, “You're obviously a pony of knowledge and wisdom and incredible power. You have this time-travelling box of yours. Why can't we just go back into the past, and stop this empathivore infection before it even started?”

“Time,” he replied after a moment, “is a set of fixed points that have to happen in the proper order. Time itself does everything it can to correct for that. Everything else can get all wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey, but those fixed points have to happen or else everything changes.” That dark, haunted look from their first conversation had returned to his eyes, echoed in his voice as he continued, “I was reminded sharply of that not too long ago when I tried to be someone that I should never, ever be. You're right – I do have great power, and terrible capacity. If I had succeeded, it would have changed millions of years of history in the blink of an eye, and the shockwave from that change would have wiped half the universe clean of life, killed billions – trillions, before they were ever even born.

“Discord's infection has happened. It has always happened, and it always will happen. Once I step into a timeline, I can only affect things going forward from my own personal timeline – sometimes it gets a bit complicated – I got thrown back in time forty years by a statue, once, and only managed to get back on track thanks to a girl I had met forty years later objective time, but only the day before subjective time.” Sighing a little, he sat on his haunches and looked up and off into nothing. “Since my people went away, a lot of the Laws of Time have gotten a bit... relaxed, but one remains inviolate: No one should ever cross their own timeline and change things. Normal people, it would affect only themselves, maybe blow out their sun from the localized time-rip, but someone like you or I doing that, well... we're back to the watermelon with the sledgehammer again.”

“I see,” replied Celestia softly, more than a little shaken. Suddenly, sitting next to the Time Lord and seeing the distances he had traveled and losses he had endured reflected in his eyes, she felt very, very small. “Well then, Doctor. What do we do now?”

“You are going to do your royal duty, go out there, and rule your people, as justly and fairly as possible. You're going to foster peace and harmony where you can, and stand fast against those who don't want to let you do so. You're going to create the kind of nation that will generate the ponies we need to stop this once and for all” His faraway look vanished in another one of those expansive smiles. “And you're going to go out there and raise the Sun, for it's a brand new day in Canterlot.”

“Canterlot?”

“You like that? I just came up with it.”

Chuckling softly, she murmured, “Canterlot... it works. You'll have to tell me where you got that name sometime, Doctor.” Looking at the door, she murmured, “And what will you be doing?”

His smile faltering slightly, he glanced up toward where the Moon would be sitting in the sky. “I'm going to be a good Doctor and go make a house call. Listen, Celestia... I don't know when I will be back. Something about this planet is throwing off the TARDIS' guidance systems, and her steering's a bit... iffy.”

“'Iffy?'”

“I could be back tomorrow, could be next week, or it could be a few decades from now. You have one other task: Keep the Elements hidden and safe, and whatever you do, do not use them! Your life and the lives of all the ponies in the world depend on it.” Suddenly, his face went from serious back to grinning. “Now that's something I never thought I'd say!”

Shaking her head and smiling despite the serious conversation, Celestia laughed, “Doctor, you are so... random!”

Still grinning, he drawled, “I know. Great fun, innit?”

* * *

The village atop the mountain did not have a name, for the tribes of ponies who lived there merely thought of it as home. They were mostly unicorns and pegasi, with a scattering of hardier breeds of earth ponies who were able to survive the harsh winters that the higher elevation brought. Since the Long Night had fallen across Equestria two weeks ago, it had been harsher still. Without the sun to warm the stone or to light their way, survival had become a touch-and-go prospect.

Suddenly, a strange wind blew as a keening, groaning sound filled the air, followed by the sound of a rock dropping a long way to the bottom of a ravine. From between two columns of stone that had been worn by wind and water to form a rough circle at just above pony-height, an alabaster figure of graceful proportion, broad wing, and long slender horn appeared, her mane flowing in an unseen wind. Curious ponies gathered around, frightened by the apparition, but hopeful that this meant some kind of positive change.

Spreading her wings and rearing up, framed in the circle with the East at her back, Celestia lit her horn and announced, “My little ponies, I am Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria. I have defeated Nightmare Moon and have come to live among you as I should have long ago. By the Powers and the Great Maker, I declare this to be a brand new day for all ponies...

“Let there be light!”

The sun rose, leaving the alicorn back-lit in the hollowed out stone columns.

The sound of the blue box departing was masked by the thunderous applause.

“HAIL CELESTIA!”

Canterlot, Equestria: Day 1, Year 0 of Celestia's Reign