//------------------------------// // Ice Skating on Koorharn // Story: The Amazing Adventures of Spitfire and the Doctor // by Lucky Seven //------------------------------// The Amazing Adventures of Spitfire and the Doctor Ice Skating On Koorharn Edited by MissytheAngle & DustyPwny “What’s happening?!” It felt as if the entire universe was shaking, yet the Doctor only laughed at Spitfire’s question. “We’re landing,” he replied as the TARDIS smacked into something with a thud. “There we are. That wasn’t so bad, was it?” He joked, earning a glare from Spitfire. “Right then, off we go.” Slamming open the doors, the Doctor peered outside and began taking in their surroundings. “Huh, this doesn’t seem right.” “What’s wrong, Doctor? Aside from your piloting skills, that is.” Spitfire poked her head out, trying to see what the Doctor was. “Well,” he explained, “We were supposed to have arrived on the planet Koorharn. But it seems like we’re still on your planet,” he surmised, stepping out of the TARDIS and into the sunlight. “What’s it called, by the way?” “It doesn’t really have a name,” she replied, following him out. “Your planet doesn’t have a name? Well that’s odd.” “We just call the land we live in Equestria,” she shrugged. “But where are we?” With a better look at their surroundings, it finally hit her. “Wait a second… we were just here! B-but the road is gone, and--” She paused. There didn’t seem to be too many differences aside from that. “What the hay is going on?” “Well, it’s about time we went and found out!” exclaimed the Doctor, running off in a random direction. Spitfire let out a sigh and hovered close behind. Shockingly though, it wasn’t too long before they came across a pony tilling some land. Slowing to a walk, the Doctor motioned for Spitfire to stay quiet while he talked. “Excuse me, sir,” the Doctor grabbed the farm pony’s attention, “might I ask what year it is?” The pony didn’t respond, simply gaping at the sight of the Doctor, who let out a frustrated sigh. “Yes, I know. Bipedal, ape-like, I look odd. Can you please tell me the year? Oh, and the day, if it’s not too much of a bother.” “June fifth, five hundred eleven, sir,” the pony drawled out. Satisfied with the pony’s answer, the Doctor turned around, only to notice something was wrong. Spitfire looked... haunted. “Spitfire, what’s wrong?” “June fifth, five hundred eleven,” she repeated. “Yeah? What’s wrong, Spitfire?” “Tomorrow is the worst day in the history of Equestria,” she responded vaguely. “Why’s that?” he asked. “Discord comes to power...” “Okay, so this ‘Discord’ fellow. You say he’s going to come to power tomorrow?” The Doctor asked for clarification, following Spitfire though a very primitive Ponyville. The town didn’t look too different from what she had remembered, but there were certainly fewer ponies. In fact, some buildings were still being built at the moment, most likely due to the increasing migration to Ponyville in the five hundreds. Spitfire chuckled inwardly at that. School had finally come in handy for once! “That’s what they told us in school, at least. Supposedly, he rises up and overthrows the King and Queen.” “And how long does he remain in power?” he questioned, to which Spitfire shrugged. “Nopony knows. Supposedly, he destroyed every bit of evidence surrounding his first rule right before he was imprisoned in stone,” she explained as she weaved in between ponies, the Doctor following close behind. “The legend goes that he ruled for hundreds of years before Celestia and Luna put a stop to him.” “Imprisoned in stone, eh? That sounds terrifying,” the Doctor said, inwardly feeling sorrow for any creature that had to go through such a fate, no matter how horrible. For a few minutes, the two walked in silence, but the Doctor began noticing something. “Spitfire, why are there no pegasi here?” Looking around, Spitfire realized that he was right. There were no pegasi. Not even any unicorns. Just a bunch of earth ponies. “Huh, you’re right. And why haven’t any of them reacted to seeing you?” “It’s beginning...” the Doctor mumbled, too quiet for Spitfire to comprehend. “What, Doctor?” Grabbing Spitfire and pulling her closer, the Doctor leaned down and whispered in her ear. “You said he makes ponies crazy? I think he’s here, and his influence is affecting them.” “So what you’re saying is...” “Something terrible is going down through the entire town,” he stated matter-of-factly. “We need to move, Spitfire. Do you know of any place we might be safe?” “But I don’t--” “Now!” “Uh, the Ponyville Library? It’s been there for almost two thousand years,” she recalled, suddenly scared of this new, serious Doctor. “Great, lead the way!” he exclaimed. Spitfire gave a mock salute and did just that. As she turned around and took to the air, the Doctor stayed close behind, weaving in and out of the many ponies in the streets. “You know, you’re lucky you can fly!” At that, Spitfire merely turned around and smirked for a second before turning back. … and slamming right into a tree. Stopping in his tracks, the Doctor chuckled. “Ooh… maybe not so lucky.” After a few seconds, Spitfire began slowly sliding down the tree, and eventually came to a rest at the bottom. Rubbing her head, she looked up to see the Doctor looming over her, a hand extended towards her. Extending her hoof, she felt him take hold of it and pull her up. “Thanks.” “No trouble. Now, is this the library?” he asked, taking notice of a sign next to the door. It was written in a strange language, the likes of which he had never seen before. ‘That’s strange, the TARDIS wasn’t able to translate this…’ he mentally noted. “Yeah, this is definitely it,” she confirmed, looking up at the familiar branches of the tree. “Let’s go in, shall we?” asked the Doctor in rhetoric, going to open the door, only to find it locked. “Guess it’s closed,” Spitfire said, stating the obvious. “Yeah well, that’s never stopped me,” replied the Doctor, taking out a little silver object with a blue tip. Spitfire didn’t have much time to wonder what he was doing before he put it up to the door and it began glowing. She heard the familiar click of the door unlocking, and the Doctor pushed it open, stepping inside. Spitfire gaped for a second at the technology the Doctor possessed, but eventually walked in after him. “Good thing this lock was made of metal.” “What's that thing called?” she whispered, hoping nopony was in the library at the moment. “Sonic Screwdriver,” he stated simply. “Well, what can it do?” she pushed on. “Oh, lots of things,” he began, “but... it looks like we’re not alone,” he finished, pointing in front of him. What Spitfire saw made her gasp. A white filly with a pink mane, and the sun for a cutie mark. “Oh my gosh, it’s Celestia!” The filly whirled around, now aware that she was being watched. “Who are you?” “Well, there goes the element of surprise,” the Doctor said, causing Spitfire to blush embarrassedly. “I’m the Doctor, and this is Spitfire.” “What are you doing in my home?” the filly questioned. “Alright, I need you to listen very carefully,” the Doctor began, to which the filly nodded, “Someone is going to come tomorrow. Someone bad. He’s already beginning to affect everyone.” “A-a bad guy?!” the filly yelped out. In a jiffy, the Doctor was kneeling next to her, holding her shoulders. “Celestia, I need you to keep calm. Can you do that for me?” Slowly nodding, she smiled. “Okay, mister.” “Alright, good. Now, I need you to stay in this house. Do not, under any circumstances, leave. Do you understand?” Nodding again, Celestia responded, “Yes, sir.” “Oh, stop it with the ‘sir’ and ‘mister’ nonsense. Just call me ‘Doctor’, alright?” Celestia simply smiled, and the Doctor turned back to Spitfire. “Now, how did you know her name, Spitfire? She’s obviously important, but why?” “Doctor, she’s the princess of Equestria in my time,” she explained, the Doctor’s eyes widening as she did. That just didn’t sound right. Was she the one who would defeat him? Not only that, but the fact that she lived for so long after made even less sense. “But that’s impossible! No equine has ever lived for more than sixty two years, and you’re telling me that she lives for one thousand five hundred?” “Yes!” Spitfire exclaimed, unable to understand why the Doctor didn’t believe her. “Ahem,” came the sound of Celestia clearing her throat, shutting the two up instantly. “I’m gonna be princess?” Sighing and looking down at Spitfire, the Doctor scolded her. “Now look what you’ve done.” “Me, you’re the one who yelled!” she retorted. “BE QUIET!” screamed Celestia, causing the two to stop what they were doing and cover their ears. The first known use of the Royal Canterlot voice, and it was used on the Doctor of all people. After a few seconds, they regained their hearing, and Celestia began speaking again. “I’m a princess?” “Apparently so,” confirmed the Doctor, “but we can’t focus on that right now. Right now, we need to learn more about the monster that’s coming.” “He’s more than a monster, Doctor,” said Spitfire, grabbing their attention. “He’s more powerful than you can even comprehend.” “Well, his name is ‘Discord’, so one can assume he’s most likely a god, or near to being one. His powers reside in the unbelievable, the things that shouldn’t be able to happen. Which means that he’s capable of doing literally anything,” he guessed, causing Spitfire to gape in shock. “Oh, so I was right, then?” “Spot on, actually,” she mumbled out, still in shock at the Doctor’s seemingly endless amount of good traits. Not only was he a time traveler who helped save what he had called ‘people’, but he was a genius to boot. “Alright, now,” the Doctor turned back to Celestia. “Where are your parents?” Upon hearing his question, Celestia teared up a bit, and the Doctor already knew what was wrong. Kneeling down, he hugged her close, rubbing her back for comfort. “There, there. It’s okay. But I need you to stay focused, alright, Celestia?” Celestia gave a little nod, and the Doctor pulled away from her, standing back up as she wiped away her tears. “Yes, Doctor.” “Alright, so! Do you know of anything we can use to stop him, Spitfire?” he asked, turning to face the golden mare. Spitfire’s response was swift and absolute. “The Elements of Harmony.” “The what now?” The Doctor bore a baffled expression. Spitfire groaned, unprepared for having to explain what the elements were, and how they worked. “Uh, well, they’re supposed to be like, the six elements of friendship.” To put it simply, this was one of the few times that the Doctor actually couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Care to elaborate? What are these ‘elements’?” “Oh! Well, the elements are kindness, laughter, generosity, honesty, loyalty, and magic.” “Magic,” he stated bluntly. “Magic is an element of friendship?” “Magic is supposed to be friendship, or something like that. I honestly don’t get it.” “Wait, wait, so let me try and understand this,” he said, gesturing his hands forwards to stop her from talking. “You’re saying that we need to gather these ‘Elements of Harmony’, and use them to stop Discord?” “Actually,” she began responding, “we won’t be the ones using them.” “Then who?” Slowly, Spitfire rose a hoof up and pointed next to the Doctor, right at Celestia. “She will. Well, she and her sister.” “M-my sister?” “Yes, but we don’t have time to talk to her as well. You tell her that we’ll be back, alright?” Celestia nodded her head vigorously, and the Doctor turned around and began walking with a newfound determination, right out the door which they had neglected to close upon entering. Seeing the Doctor so confident was good news to Spitfire, considering what they were going up against, and she quickly followed behind him, shutting the door in her wake. “Doctor, where are we going?” “To find the Elements of Harmony, and stop Discord, of course.” “But we don’t even know where to look!” she argued. “That may be the case for me, but you know exactly where they are. Now think, where were they originally found?” “Um… I think it was in… the Everfree Forest!” she yelled triumphantly, realizing school had paid off twice in one day. “Okay, but where is this forest?” he asked, needing clarification before they went on their journey. “Just South of here, let’s go!” she yelled, taking to the air, the Doctor following close behind. “So, what kind of creatures inhabit this forest?” the Doctor asked as they reached the edge of the treeline. It was best to know exactly what to expect instead of rushing in headlong with no idea. “Well, before Discord got to it, it was just a normal forest. There were no monsters or anything, if that’s what you’re wondering,” she explained, making the Doctor chuckle. “And I thought this would be a challenge. Let’s go, Spitfire,” he called back to her, already having started walking into the forest. Doing as he said, she took to the air and caught up with him. Deciding that she was tired of flying, she dropped to the ground and trotted by his side. “So, Doctor, why’d you come to Equestria in the first place?” “Well, I was meaning to go to Koorharn, the place I said I would take you, but something happened with the TARDIS,” he explained, only serving to raise even more questions. “What was wrong with it?” Spitfire asked, genuinely interested in the Doctor’s funny blue phone box. “I’m not sure, actually. She’s been acting up lately, taking me to places I’m not trying to go to.” “Well,” Spitfire began with a smile, “I’m happy it took you to Equestria. I mean, what other pony can say they’ve gone back in time and stopped Discord?” “Well, don’t be so sure of that just yet, Spitfire. We still need to find the Elements of Harmony.” With that, the two stayed silent for a few minutes until they came to a fork in the path. “Alright, Spitfire, you know the forest, so which path do we take?” the Doctor questioned her, needing her knowledge of the Everfree once again. Spitfire, though, had absolutely no idea which path to take. She didn’t want to disappoint him, though, let alone come off as too cowardly to go in a stupid forest. “Um, right? I think?” “Not much else to go on, so that’ll have to do.” So they went right, continuing on their journey. It didn’t take long for Spitfire to speak up again, a few concerns crossing her mind. “So, Doctor, once we get the elements, don’t you think Discord will be on to us?” “I wouldn’t worry about it. He’s probably scared to death of them.” “What do you mean?” she questioned. “They haven’t even been discovered yet, so how would he know about them?” “Well, he’s a creature of pure chaos, which would mean that he doesn’t have to follow the same rules as everyone else. He probably already knows about Celestia and her sister, as well.” “But that’s--” “Unfair?” he supplied, earning a nod from Spitfire. “I agree, but hey, we already know who loses in the end,” he cracked a goofy smile. “That’s true, but it’s still unfair,” she replied with a harumph. “You know what’s unfair? You being born a ginger while I’m stuck with this brown hair,” he stated. “Being ginger isn’t that awesome,” she replied nonchalantly. “Oh, yes it is.” “Yeah...” She replied with a cocky grin. At that, the two laughed. Laughter that died off as they came upon their first obstacle. A bridge that, while it looked stable, could likely collapse if too much weight was placed on it. He'd seen enough rope bridges to know that. “Alright, we’ll have to cross it carefully if we want to--” he began, turning to look at his companion. But when he looked, she was already gone, having flown across the canyon, much to his chagrin. “Talk about unfair...” Slowly, the Doctor turned back to the bridge and lowered a foot down onto the first plank. Instantly, the plank fell into the water below, causing him to jump back. After a few seconds, he went to try again, but felt himself being lifted into the air. Looking up, he saw that Spitfire had grabbed him, and was flying him across the canyon. Realization hit him like a brick. He was over a hundred and fifty pounds, and this pegasus was carrying him like it was nothing. Just how strong was she? But before he delved too deep into his thoughts, he felt his feet touch down and Spitfire released him. “Yes, well. Thank you.” “No problem. Now come on, I can see something up ahead!” she yelled back, having already left him in the dust before he even realized it. Again. Letting out a sigh, he began walking forwards. “I can already tell adventuring with her is going to be quite the experience,” he said, a chuckle escaping at the end. After trekking forward for a few more minutes, he came upon a large stone structure. It looked to be only a few years old, and and it had a large stained glass dome on the top. ‘No doubt the Elements are in there,’ he thought to himself. That was when he noticed Spitfire was already standing at the door, watching him look over the structure. “You gonna ogle that thing all day, or are you gonna come inside?” The Doctor elected the second choice and quickly made his way inside the structure, Spitfire getting behind him as soon as he passed her. “Alright, Spitfire, I need to be very clear. Don’t. Touch. Anything. There could be traps for all we know.” “Why would there be traps?” she asked. “Always expect the worst in places like this,” he replied, waving his sonic screwdriver around at the walls. The Doctor led them through every room of the structure, the buzzing of the screwdriver echoing throughout. It seemed as if each room was just one large circle, and they were all interconnected by one enormous one in the middle. So, obviously, the goal was to get there. But the question was, how? “Doctor, I think I found something,” Spitfire called out. He walked up to her and looked at what she was pointing at. “A bunch of levers,” he said simply, turning to look at a large door on the adjacent side of the room. “And they most likely control that door.” “It looks like a puzzle, Doctor. We'll need to solve it before we can get the elements.” “I don't need to solve a puzzle,” he replied, taking out his sonic screwdriver and pointing it at the large door, “I'm the Doctor.” With that, the sonic screwdriver glowed blue and the door lowered, allowing the two to pass by. They did just that, and as soon as Spitfire crossed the threshold, the door shut behind her. “So what now, Doctor?” “Now,” he looked around a bit as he spoke, “we’re in the room that the Elements are most likely kept hidden in.” The two wasted no time examining the room they were now confined to. It was a large circle, with just a few statues and a bookshelf on each side. Nothing too impressive, but hey, chambers made exclusively for keeping immensely powerful artifacts hidden away didn’t need to be pretty. They just needed to be big enough to hold the artifacts. After examining the room, the Doctor looked up and pointed at the stained glass ceiling, causing Spitfire to look up as well. “Those stone spheres painted onto the glass, are those the Elements?” he questioned, looking down to Spitfire for the answer. “Yeah, that’s definitely them,” she responded with a nod. “Great, then it’s time we started looking around,” he said with a smile. “Yeah, but where do we start looking?” she wondered. The room they were in was small, and it was unlikely the Elements were there if they weren’t already in plain sight. “See these pedestals?” he asked, motioning to the six scattered around the room. She nodded, surprised she hadn’t noticed them upon entering, “I think we need to lower them.” “But there’s no levers or anything. How do we do it?” “I’m not quite sure. Then again, I never do quite know what I’m getting myself into. Let’s just scour every inch of the room.” Spitfire had no reason to argue, and the two began searching. Spitfire took to one side and began searching everything in sight. The bookshelves, the statues, even under the rug in front of the bookshelf, but she couldn’t find anything. The Doctor wasn’t having much luck, either. No matter where he looked, nothing was to be found except dust. But just as he was about to stop searching and go check on Spitfire, he took notice of a strange looking book in the bookshelf on his side. It was brown, but with a golden trim on the spine, and was larger than any of the other books. Taking it out of the bookshelf to examine it, he took a moment to stare at the golden horse head on the front. “I think I found something,” he called to Spitfire as he opened the book to the first page. But instead of seeing words, as expected in a book, each page was inhabited by nothing more than pictures. He felt a gust of air as Spitfire landed next to him. “What’s up, Doctor?” “Well, I think I found a book that shouldn’t exist yet,” he explained, not taking his eyes off of the book. As he continued leafing through the pages, he made a variety of faces that Spitfire had to stifle her laughter at. “Very curious.” “What makes you say that?” “Well, it tells the tale of how Celestia banished her sister to the moon. At least, I think it does.” “What? Let me see that!” she yelled out, yanking the book from the Doctor’s grasp and looking at it. To her shock, she saw that he was correct. The images in the book were the same as the ones on the stained glass in Canterlot Castle’s throne room. “I think we’ve stumbled upon an ancient prophecy, Spitfire.” Spitfire nodded dumbly, unable to tear her gaze away from the book. So she missed seeing the Doctor take out his sonic screwdriver and open the door that they had used to enter the room. However, the noise of it opening broke her out of her stupor, and she began questioning the Doctor. “What are you doing, Doctor? We can’t just leave.” Unbeknownst to her, the Doctor had no intention of leaving, and simply walked over to the levers from before. He pushed them all down one by one, and the room Spitfire was in began to shake. “That’s it!” he yelled out in glee. “The levers were for the pedestals!” “That’s great, now get in here!” Spitfire yelled at him, having taken to the air to avoid falling over due to the room’s shaking. “I think I’ll wait for them to lower, actually!” he yelled back. ‘Well,’ he thought, ‘this is it.’ After a few more seconds, the room ceased its shaking, and he crossed the threshold, stepping back into it. Looking up, he noticed Spitfire, and she looked like she had seen a ghost. “Nice of you to finally join the fun, Doctor,” she said with a scowl. “Had fun, did you?” he asked in rhetoric. At that, Spitfire flew down, and punched him playfully on the shoulder. “That’s for leaving me in the room of death.” “Well, it all worked out in the end. We’re about to have the Elements, after all!” he exclaimed, giddy at the thought. As the pedestals continued lowering, the Doctor looked down at Spitfire, smiling the whole time. “I told you we'd find them!” “I never doubted you, Doctor. In fact, this was pretty fun. You know, for a possibly life threatening adventure.” The Doctor chortled at that. He hadn't expected it, but Spitfire had proved a great companion to this point. After a few seconds, he looked back to the pedestals to see that they had finished lowering. Inspecting them closely, he noticed one sphere shaped stone adorned the top of each. Taking a chance, he reached out to grab one. But as soon as his hand touched it, it disappeared in a flash of light, with the other five following suit. Unsure what was happening, he turned around to Spitfire for answers. But it wasn't Spitfire he was looking at. He was looking into the last set of eyes he wanted to at the moment. Still, he grinned, confident that everything would turn out fine. “Pleasure to meet you, Discord.” To be continued...