It was dark and stormy on this Equestrian night. Everypony was preparing for a good night’s sleep, all except for three ponies in Ponyville…
“Button, time for bed!”, Elaina Mash stated as she walked into her son’s room, watching him play on his video games as he normally does. “In a few minutes, Mom! I need to beat this level!”, the young colt said. His mother smiled gently and said, “Alright then, but once you are done, straight to bed mister.” He nodded as his mother left his bedroom. However, on the other side, another pony was also dealing with sleeping issues. “Come on, Lyra, time for bed!”, Bon-Bon said to the mint green mare who was plucking a few strings to her favorite harp. “Just a couple more minutes, Bon-Bon. I gotta finish practicing or Ms. Octavia is going to be cross with me!”, Lyra stated with a frantic look on her face. Bon-Bon shrugged her shoulders as she left Lyra to herself. Lyra sighed softly as she continued to practice on her harp, not noticing a bright light within the sky.
Meanwhile, high above the sky….
A loud explosion rang out from within the TARDIS as it ripped itself apart from within. The Doctor groaned loudly as she clinged to the floor of the TARDIS from the outside, previously being thrown out of it. “I said behave, old girl! Easy!”, the Doctor said, activating her sonic screwdriver to flip a switch on the console, the TARDIS immediately lurching as it threw the time lord back inside. She sighed softly, but was immediately thrown into a nearby wall as the TARDIS flew uncontrollably among the sky. As this occurred, the young colt had finished his video game and was just about to crawl into his bed, but suddenly a loud boom was heard in the distance. Button walked over to his bedroom window and saw smoke rising in the distance and immediately bolted to his mother’s room and knocked on the door. “Mom! Mom, wake up! I think the Professor blew something up again!”, he exclaimed, Button blinked as no reply came from within his mother’s room. He opened the door quietly as he peeked into his mother’s room, hearing soft snores coming from the bed. He shrugged as he went back into his room and picked up his beanie and a flashlight and ran out of the front door to the source of the smoke.
Meanwhile….
“What was that?!”, Lyra exclaimed, hearing the loud noise as well. She clicked her teeth as a string from her harp snapped. “That’s not good. I gotta repair that as soon as possible. …That’s strange. Bon-Bon isn’t a very heavy sleeper, so that noise should’ve woke her up.”, Lyra thought to herself. She looked out the window towards the pillar of smoke and said, “I should go and check that out and make sure nopony was hurt.” With that, Lyra slipped into a robe and walked out the door, using her horn as a flashlight as she headed towards the source of the smoke. At the same time, Button walked through some bushes as he came closer and closer to the source of the smoke. “Perhaps over here?”, he said softly, only to turn around as he heard a branch snap. He smiled softly as he saw Lyra walk up behind and say, “Easy with that flashlight, kiddo. Shouldn’t you be asleep, Button?”
“Hi, Lyra. Sorry, my video game kept me up just a little while longer than I expected. Then, I heard this huge explosion before I went to bed. I had come to check it out, thinking it was the Skyfires working on something again.”, Button said, only to get a small giggle from Lyra. “Something tells me you came to see Strawberry more than anything else, Button!”, Lyra said. Button blushed heavily when she said that. “I haven’t the slightest idea what you are talking about, Lyra!”, Button exclaimed, pointing his flashlight towards the smoke. “So, you going to come along to find out what’s happening?”, he stated, holding his hand out. Lyra smiled as she took his hand and the two of them walked towards the smoke.
A few minutes had passed, Button and Lyra finally getting to the source of the smoke. Their eyes were disbelieved at what they had found…
“Whoa. That is one giant crater. Prof. Skyfire certainly did a number on this place!”, Lyra said. Button shook his head and said, “I don’t think it was the Professor this time, Lyra. Take a look at that, there’s something down there.” Lyra squinted her eyes towards the center of the crater and then saw exactly what the young colt saw as well: a navy blue box, about the size of two fully grown ponies lying down on its side, the source of the smoke billowing out from it. “What do you think it is?”, Button asked softly. Lyra shook her head as she and the young colt walked cautiously down into the crater towards the box. Lyra walked up closer to the box and ran a hand on it gently, jumping back slightly as the doors opened up on it, a grappling hook landing next to her, attaching to a hook. A loud groan was heard from within as two gray hands grabbed onto the base of the box, the head of a mare appeared from within. The mare panted slightly as she looked at Button and Lyra and said, “Do either of you happen to have any carrots?”
Button raised an eyebrow when the mare said that. “Carrots?”, he replied, the mare nodding her head and saying, “That’s all I can think of right now. I think I am having a craving! That’s new, never had cravings before.” Button and Lyra looked at each other with a confused face as the mare pulled herself out of the box and said, “Well, that’s quite the mess! Sorry if I woke you two up from your sleep. Just had a bit of a hiccup with the old girl here.” Button walked up to the box and said, “What is this thing?” The mare looked at Button and said, “It’s a Police box. But enough about that, where is everypony else? That explosion couldn’t have just attracted you two!” Lyra’s eyes widened when the mare said that. She looked all around them and noticed that she was right: where was everypony else? “That is peculiar. Ponyville’s a pretty small town. That should’ve had at least half of the citizens searching for the source of that explosion, so why is it just me and Button?”, Lyra asked.
The gray mare was about to speak again, but she coughed loudly as she fell to her knees in pain. “Are you alright?!”, Button asked with a worried tone. “No no, it’s fine.”, the mare said, coughing up a puff of gold smoke. “What in Celestia are you, lady?”, Lyra asked, confused when she saw the mare’s hands glowing the same shade of gold. “No idea. Still cooking. So, something is definitely wrong here. If that explosion was as loud as you claimed, more ponies should’ve investigated the noise. So, let us investigate this problem together! My name is the Doctor, and you two are?”, the Doctor said, standing to her hooves and quickly walking over to Lyra and Button. “My name is Lyra Heartstrings, and this is Button Mash.”, Lyra said. The Doctor smiled as she said, “Excellent! Lyra, Button, let’s be on our way!” The two equines nodded but looked at the Doctor confusingly as she walked in the opposite direction, walking right into a nearby rock. She yelped as she fell over on her back and winced as she put a hand to her head. “Are you alright?”, Button asked.
“It’s fine, early days. Steering is a bit off. So, which of you live closest to here?”, the Doctor asked. Button raised his hand as the Time Lord said, “Very well, we’ll start at your place, young one!”
A few minutes passed by as the trio left the TARDIS behind to return to town. The Doctor was indeed right: it was like a ghost town in POnyville, not a single being was stirring at all. As Button opened the door to his home, the Doctor immediately walked towards Button’s kitchen, ransacking the entire room…
“What are you doing?!”, Button exclaimed as the Doctor chomped into a carrot, spitting out immediately. “What is this thing?! It’s horrible!”, the Doctor exclaimed. “It’s a carrot.”, Button replied. “Carrots are rubbish, I hate them!”, the mare exclaimed, tossing the carrot into a nearby trashcan. “Didn’t you just say you loved carrots a few seconds ago?”, Lyra stated with a confused face. “Sorry, it’s a new mouth, so the rules are new as well. Everything tastes wrong! Why are you just standing there, Button? It’s your house and I need food!”, the Doctor said, sitting down in a chair. Button shrugged slightly as he went to the refrigerator and retrieved the milk, fixing the Doctor a bowl of cereal. “Ah, cereal. Now this is the way to go,”, the Doctor said, eating a few pieces of the cereal, only to immediately run to the trashcan and spit it out. She groaned and said, “Sorry, no. Never again. How about doughnuts? I like doughnuts. Do you have doughnuts?” Button and Lyra looked at each other as he continued to give the strange mare different varieties of foods, each one either getting thrown outside or spat back at the young colt. He sighed as he looked into his last cabinet and said, “We have pears. Would you like one?”
“PEARS?! Even in a new regeneration, pears are still awful! Wait, that’s it! I know what I need!”, the Doctor said, looking in Button’s refrigerator. “What I need is….Strawberries and zap Apple jam!”, she said with a smile, sitting down at the table. She chuckled happily as she ate a few of the strawberries dipped in the jam, nodding in content. She then said, “So, young one. You said your name is Button Mash, right? I take it your mother is home?” Button nodded as he replied, “Yes she is. She’s asleep right now, at least, I think she is. With all the noise that has been going on down here as well as the….I guess, your crash landing?” The doctor then looked at the young colt with concern and said, “Then where is she?”
Button and Lyra’s eyes widened when the Doctor said that. Button looked immediately to the stairs and said, “That is strange. Mom? Mom, are you awake?” Silence was heard in reply and Button looked at Lyra with a look of worry. “That’s not right. Mom always replies if I call her.”, the young colt said. The Doctor popped her last strawberry into her mouth, then immediately bolted upstairs. She looked at the doors and walked into the master bedroom, seeing Button’s mother fast asleep in her bed. Lyra and Button entered the room cautiously and Lyra immediately said, “She really is asleep. That isn’t possible, is it?” The Doctor frowned as she removed her sonic screwdriver from her pocket and ran it over the young mare. She then peeled back her eyelid and said, “Green eyes. Button, what is your mother’s name?” The young colt said, “Elaina. Her name’s Elaina. I don’t understand, Doctor. What’s wrong with her? Why won’t she wake up?” The Doctor sat on the edge of the bed and said, “It’s not just her, Button. I am guessing at least 75% of all Equus is suffering from the same symptom. Your mother is trapped within a dream-like coma. She won’t wake up, not from any sort of stimulus. I’m pretty certain that we are the only three that is still awake.”
“Is there anything that you can do to help her, Doctor? Please, she’s my mom.”, Button said worryingly. The Doctor kneeled down in front of the young colt and rubbed his shoulders gently. She smiled and said, “I’ll save her, Button Mash. I’ll save her and everypony else as well.” Button smiled gently, then the Doctor said, “First things first, we need to figure out if everypony in town is suffering from the same symptoms. I need the two of you to check every house, every building where someone could be living at.” Lyra raised an eyebrow when the Doctor said that. “What will you do then?”, she asked. “I don’t know. Still cooking. Need to let my own mind do the talking!”, the Doctor replied, bolting out the door. Button and Lyra looked at each, shrugging their shoulders as they did as they were told.
As the equine duo scoured across Ponyville to find any source of anypony else being awake, the Doctor returned to her TARDIS, still surprised to see it smoking and on its side.….
“Oh. Well, we cannot have that, now can we?”, the Doctor said as she picked up the rope she used to climb out, tying it immediately to her. She opened the doors to the TARDIS and said, “Whoa, that’s a bit of a mess. Extractor fans, on!” She was surprised when the TARDIS activated exhaust fans within it, removing the smoke from the main console room. “Oh, so that actually works! Geronimo!”, she exclaimed as she jumped down into the TARDIS, dangling over the console. “Alright, first things first: getting you right-side up!”, she stated, flipping a few switches. With a rumble, the TARDIS engines groaned and squealed as it dematerialized and rematerialized in the same spot, standing right-side up. The Doctor grinned as she untied the rope around her and went down one of the hallways to search for supplies. “Alright, let’s see here…..Sonic Screwdriver, check. Weird thingamajig that goes ding if it detects an alien presence within sleep, check! And one Time Lord to look absolutely clever, check! Now, let’s see if this thing still works!”, she stated, looking at the machine she carried as she walked out of the TARDIS, locking it behind her and returning back to Ponyville.
Meanwhile…
“Any luck, Lyra?”, Button asked as the two of them came together in front of his home. “No such luck. Everypony on the other side of town is completely out cold. Even the train station is shut down. How about you?”, Lyra stated. Button shook his head and said, “Same with me. I even checked the castle and both Princess Twilight and Spike are asleep! Whatever that is doing this must be super strong!” Lyra frowned slightly when the Doctor ran up behind Button and said, “Not to worry, we’ll soon have some sort of idea on what we are dealing with thanks to this handy gadget I got from a fellow human in the year 5000 Alpha-1. I almost thought that it was a piece of worthless metal. How wrong was I!”
Button looked at the machine and said, “What is it?” The Doctor looked at Button and said, “No idea. It doesn’t have a name. Think I’ll call it the Sleeper, seems appropriate. It detects parasites and alien lifeforms that attach to others during their sleep. Anyway, come on. No time to lose!” Lyra immediately gasped and said, “Wait, Doctor, the door is!”, before getting a loud yelp from the Doctor as she fell back from hitting her head on a closed door. “Ow!”, the Doctor exclaimed. “Sorry, the door’s closed. Didn’t you see it?” The Doctor groaned and said, “That was an oak wood door. That hurt, but on the plus side, that helped. A quick bump to the head to get the engines upstairs fully functioning.” The Doctor immediately stood to her hooves and used her Sonic Screwdriver on the doorknob, frowning as it sparked and fizzed in her hand. “What happened to you? Did you get damaged in the crash landing?”, she said softly to the Sonic as she keep fiddling with it, the door springing wide open as she bolted upstairs to Elaina’s room. Button and Lyra followed as the Doctor walked over to Elaina’s bed quietly as she held The Sleeper in her hands. She connected what seemed to be a headset to Elaina’s head and fiddled with a few switches on the device and said, “Now, let’s just see if I can get a reading here. With any luck, this will shed some light on our predicament here.”
Button crossed his fingers as the machine beeped a few times and a few blinking lights went off on the headset, hoping that his mother was ok. Finally, with a loud ding, the Doctor said, “Ah-ha, results! Let’s see what we have here….oh. Oh dear, that’s not good. That’s not very good at all.” Lyra’s eyes widened when she asked, “What? What is it, Doctor?” The Doctor directed the screen to the two equines and said, “I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like this before. I don’t really like it when I come across something that I know nothing about, either.” Button tilted his head at the creature he saw on the screen and said, “Isn’t that a Dremure?” Lyra rolled her eyes when Button said that, only for the Doctor to ask, “What’s a Dremure?” Lyra immediately stated, “It’s just a child’s fairytale, Doctor. The Dremures are supposed to be mystical creatures that exist within the dream world. They live off of bad dreams and are only supposed to give everypony good dreams. It was always said that they are shapeshifting entities that always changed shape depending on who was having a specific dream, however the form of a centaur was always how they were depicted. A centaur with green eyes so pure they looked like emeralds, long flowing manes mixed with silver and gold, light blue fur with patches of white that looked like clouds and a smile that warmed you to the very center of your being. They are the very epitome of peace, love, and happiness.”
The Doctor looked at the screen and said, “This creature looks nothing like that description. I know the face of evil too well, and this screams it. But, I can say this for certain: this is no fairytale. Whatever this thing is feeding off the dreams of Button’s mother as well as everypony that may have fallen into slumber and it needs to be stopped. NOW. But how do we even begin on stopping an entity that exists in a dream world?” Button crossed his arms, then snapped his fingers and said, “What if we ask for Princess Luna to help us? She is the princess of the night AND she does take care of everypony’s dreams while we sleep.” Lyra smiled and said, “That’s a great idea, kid! Princess Luna can easily help out with this predicament. But there’s a problem: the train station is closed. My guess is that the stationmaster and the train engineer is also caught in this spell.” The Doctor laughed and said, “That’s not a problem! We can take the TARDIS!” At that, the gray mare ran out the door and downstairs. Button and Lyra looked at each other with a confused look and immediately followed after the mare, realizing that she was heading back to the strange blue box within the crater.
“Doctor, exactly what is this thing anyway?”, Lyra said, looking at the box. “It’s directly in the center of this crater and it doesn’t seem to have a single scratch or burn on it!”, she said. The Doctor grumbled as she continued to fiddle with the lock and said, “Come on, not now! This is not the time for this to happen! She won’t let me in, still repairing. Now we have no method of transport to get to Canterlot!” The Doctor sighed as she leaned on the doors of the TARDIS and said, “There is no possible way to get to the capital now. The train is shut down, my….ride is incapable of flight at the moment. If only there was another possible way to get to Canterlot ASAP, this wouldn’t be a problem!” The Doctor grunted as she bumped her head on the door of the TARDIS in thought. Button scratched his head gently until his eyes widened in surprise and said, “Actually, I think I may know of one way we can get to Canterlot pretty quickly. Follow me!”, Button said, running back into town. Lyra ran after the young colt as the Doctor hopped to her hooves and gave quick pursuit.
As time passed by, The Doctor finally caught up with the two equines only to come across a place she didn’t expect to see so soon after her regeneration…
“Wait, this is Prof. Skyfire’s home! How is this going to help us?”, the Doctor said as she coughed up more gold smoke from her mouth. Button raised an eyebrow when the Doctor said that. “You know Strawberry’s dad? Wait, not important right now. What is important is not the house itself, but what’s underneath it. The Professor has been working on some sort of underground tunnel system that branches out all the way to all sides of Equestria. Right now, he’s only made it to Canterlot, but that’s exactly what we need right now! Now, where is that key?”, the young colt said as he looked around under a few stones near the door. “Ha! Who needs a key when you have a Sonic Screwdriver? Let me at that lock!”, the Doctor said as she pulled out her Sonic from her pocket and fiddled with it again, opening the door with an audible click. “Never fails!”, the Doctor said before the Sonic burst into sparks once again, exploding in her hand. She dropped it immediately as it sizzled across the cool ground. “No! No, not now! This is just great! No TARDIS, no Sonic, what next?!”, the Doctor said. “Now’s not the time, Doctor! Let’s move!”, Lyra said as she walked inside alongside Button, the Doctor sighing as she left the Sonic Screwdriver behind.
As the Doctor walked in, Button closed the doors as he looked around for a flashlight. Finally, he found exactly what he was looking for and flipped on the light, pointing it over to the couch to spot a sleeping Prodigy Skyfire. His ears twitched as he heard some light snores from upstairs and said, “Prodigy, Arty, and Strawberry are out like a light. Quickly, follow me.” The Doctor nodded as she and Lyra followed the young colt to a door. He turned the knob and opened the door, showing a flight of stairs that go straight underground. “Down here we’ll find exactly what we need.”, the young colt said as he walked down the stairs, the other two following him down to come to a very large room. Button looked around as he saw a large switch on the wall and pulled on it, getting a few sparks as a bunch of lights flooded the room, showcasing a few tunnels, three in total. Button ran over to the tunnel in the middle and hopped into what looked like a golf cart with railcar wheels instead of normal wheels. “Here, hop on!”, Button stated as he sat down at the wheel of the contraption. Lyra sat down beside the young colt as the Doctor climbed on the back as the colt turned the machine on, the three moving rather quickly down the rails to their next destination. “Why, I can’t believe it! It’s a subway system! The Professor is making a subway system underneath his very home!”, the Doctor exclaimed in astonishment. ‘That side of him is starting to bleed out even more. I just hope I can help him before it’s too late’, the Time Lord thought as Button said, “The Professor has been working on this transport system for a few years now. He hopes it can help out other ponies get to places a lot quicker than the normal train station or using magic or wings to get from place to place. Once it is finished, he plans on cutting off his access to these tunnels then fill everything with concrete, that way, the dirt doesn’t cave in on anyone!”
“The Professor is always thinking up some crazy ideas, but this one is beyond anything I have seen him do before! By the way, Button, how soon will we be in canterlot going this way?”, Lyra asked. “It should only take us a few more minutes! This last turn should be our exit!”, Button stated as he took a turn to the right, the light of the moon flooding the exit of the tunnel as the three came to a stop on the outskirts of the city. With that, the three of us made our way to the castle.
As the three of us made it to the castle, we found it rather easy to get inside with everypony being asleep. However, as we got inside…
“Alright, you two, keep your voice down while we go in here. We are entering the very heart of Equestria, so who knows what may be awaiting us inside?”, the Doctor said as he pushed the door to the castle open slightly, only to notice that most of the lights were indeed on inside the castle. “Somepony must be awake for all the lights to be on, Doctor!”, Button said. “You’re right, my young friend. Let us go and find this somepony!”, the Doctor said, walking inside immediately, only for her attention to catch a reflective mirror, seeing a strange mare staring back at her. “Well, that’s just rubbish. Who is that supposed to be?”, she asked. Lyra looked at the reflection and raised a curious eyebrow as she said, “That’s you, Doctor!” The Doctor looked at herself and said, “Are you sure about that? Doesn’t look like me.” Button looked back at the Doctor from the top of the stairs and said, “Will you two hurry it up already!?” The Doctor’s eyes widened and said, “I refuse to meet whoever it is that is still awake here looking all raggedy! What we need is a quick pit-stop, right there!”
Button raised a curious eyebrow as the Doctor ran into the first door, Lyra and he following the mare into the room to see it was nothing but a giant walk-in closet. The Doctor rummaged through all the clothes as Lyra said, “The fate of the world is at stake, and you’re stealing clothes?” The Doctor looked back at Lyra and said, “Sue me if it makes you feel better. This kind of thing is normal to me.” As the Doctor undressed, Button laughed as Lyra immediately covered the young colt’s eyes. A few minutes passed and the Doctor said, “Perfect! Let’s be on our way!” Button raised an eyebrow at the outfit the Doctor was wearing which consisted of a brown skirt, a white button-up shirt, a red fez, and a matching red bowtie along with a matching brown jacket on her shoulders as if it was a cape. “You look silly.”, he stated. “More like awesome!”, the Doctor said, readjusting her bowtie as she ran out the room, Lyra and the young colt following her as she made her way to their destination: Princess Luna’s bedroom. The Doctor opened the door wide as they saw Luna groaning in pain, her horn glowing wildly. “Princess Luna! What’s going on!?”, Lyra said. She opened her eyes slightly as she looked at the three strangers, her attention immediately landing on the Doctor. “Y-Ye….ye are the Doctor, aren’t ye? My sister has told me stories about ye and your adventures. We thank thee for thou’s services to Equestria. Is it possible ye already know of what is occurring now?”
The Doctor shook her head and said, “Perhaps you can fill us in a little more. All we truly know is that everypony is plagued with a never-ending sleep.” Luna groaned as she said, “Well, it’s the Dremures. The Dremures are a collection of entities that work alongside me to regulate good dreams as well as bad. Unfortunately, one Dremure by the name of Caius regulated the many nightmares of most of us princesses. And he….well, he absorbed my Tantabus.” The Doctor raised an eyebrow as she asked, “What’s a Tantabus?”
As Luna told the story about her Tantabus, the Doctor was shocked on how much she has missed since she was last on Equestria. She couldn’t believe that the timespan of events that occurred while she regenerated was so quick here. At least she knew what they were all dealing with now…
“Alright, now that we know what we’re dealing with, all that is needed to be done now is to separate the Tantabus from the Dremure. Your Majesty, is that even possible?”, the Doctor asked. Luna shook her head and said, “Unless if we can catch Caius and keep him constrained long enough to separate the Tantabus from him, then perhaps. Why, do ye have any ideas, Doctor?” Button and Lyra looked at the Doctor as she fiddled with her bowtie slightly and said, “Well, only way to catch a dremure is within the world of dreams. So, let’s go into the dream world and meet with our nightmarish friend, shall we?” Luna nodded and said, “If that be your wish, we shall assist in every way we can. But be warned: with each pony that sleeps, the dremure grows stronger in power. Be ever vigilant.” The Doctor as Button stated, “Hold on! I’m going too! This dremure has my mother trapped in this never-ending sleep, so I want to help.” Lyra stood straight as she said, “If the kid is going, then so I am. No way am I going to sit by while this is all happening.” Luna nodded as her horn glowed slightly, a bright flash consuming the three ponies as they fell into a pile on the floor fast asleep. Luna panted heavily as she said, “Good luck, you three. I shall wait until the opportune moment.
A few minutes later….
The Doctor groaned as she sat up and shook her head slightly, picking up her nearby fez as she placed it back on her head and said, “That definitely did not feel pretty. Lyra, Button, wake up. We’ve got work to do.” She looked to her left as she saw the other two ponies stir, finally sitting upright as Button said, “Where are we?” Lyra looked around as she saw a field full of flowers, sniffing the air as a sweet scent filled her nostrils. “This place is so peaceful, it can only be the dream world, kid.” The Doctor stood to her hooves and said, “Yes well, do be on your guard. Dreams are definitely good, but they can quickly turn bizarre quickly. As Princess Luna said, we must forever be vigilant as we walk among here.” Button and Lyra finally stood to their hooves as Button asked, “Alright then, so which way do we go? This field is massive!” Lyra looked dead ahead of her, “Well, if I was a dremure being controlled by a nightmare entity that is corrupting my very being, I’d be in the creepiest looking place in this world.” The Doctor and Button raised an eyebrow as they looked in the direction Lyra was staring at to see a giant black vortex of clouds in the far distance. The Doctor smiled slightly as she said, “Yes, that’ll definitely be the post we are looking for. Very well then!” The Doctor began to ran towards the area, only for Button to say, “Doctor, there’s no way we can run all the way there and make it in time! There has to be a faster way of getting there!” The Doctor stopped as she scratched her head and said, “You know what, you’re absolutely right, young child. What we need is a method of transportation! Fortunately, I have that covered!”
“How do you have it covered?”, Lyra asked. The Doctor laughed as she said, “Have you two already forgotten where we are? We are in the dream world, where anything can happen! So, hang on to your pants. Things are about to get wild.” Lyra and Button looked at each other as the Doctor took her TARDIS key out of her coat pocket and she said, “Please let this work.” She tapped on the key slightly as she waited patiently as a loud grinding noise was heard. She laughed as the TARDIS materialized in front of her, Lyra’s eyes widening as she said, “It’s that blue box again!” The Doctor placed the key into the lock as she said, “Not precisely. As I said, we’re in the dream world, so whatever we desire can easily be created with the power of our minds. Come inside!” Button raised an eyebrow as the Doctor vanished within the box, following her immediately as his voice said, “NO WAY!” He ran back out as he walked around the entire box and said, “But that can’t be! There’s no way that the real box back home is the same way as this one!” Lyra looked at Button in confusion as he walked back in, She shrugged as she walked into the box, her mind being blown from what she saw.
The Doctor opened her arms wide as she said, “Welcome to the TARDIS, Ms. Lyra. So, what do you think? I’ve heard it all.” Lyra’s eyes blinked furiously as she looked all around her and said, “I-It’s….bigger. It’s bigger on the inside! This thing has its own world inside of it!” Button came out from a nearby corridor with a slice of pie and said, “It has way more than just this! It even has its own swimming pool!” The Doctor chuckled softly as she snapped her fingers, the doors closing behind her. The console of the TARDIS beeped as a Sonic Screwdriver materialized near the Doctor. “Oh lovely, a new one!”, the Doctor said, pressing a button on the screwdriver as it hummed slightly, a green light glowed brightly at the tip. “Even if it is fake, this will definitely come in handy! So, what are we waiting for? Caius is not that far away! GERONIMO!”, the Doctor exclaimed as she pulled a lever on the console, the TARDIS roaring to life as it lifted off from its position, flying quickly towards the vortex. Button and Lyra grabbed onto a nearby railing as the spaceship rocked back and forth as Lyra said, “It’s a bit of a bumpy ride!” The Doctor grinned as she said, “I know! It’s part of the fun!” Button laughed as he said, “I like it! Let’s get this taken care of and save everypony!” The Doctor nodded as the trio headed for their destination.
As the trio rapidly traveled to their destination, a sense of unease washed over them. What was in store for them in this peculiar world and exactly what were they about to confront? Their questions were about to be answered as the TARDIS finally came to a landing….
“Well, we’re here. Let’s just see what we are dealing with, shall we?”, the Doctor said as she walked over to the doors, Lyra and Button following in quick pursuit. The Doctor immediately opened the doors as the three of them were standing directly in front of what appeared to be a massive labyrinth that appeared to have endless twists and turns. Directly in the middle, they could vaguely make out the outline of a giant castle similar to Canterlot castle, just on par of the creepy variety. “Well, that definitely screams out NIGHTMARE when you look at it. Well then, shall we be off?”, the Doctor stated. “We have to go through….that? How can you be so sure we won’t get lost in there?”, Lyra said nervously, looking at the entrance of the labyrinth. The Doctor pulled her Sonic Screwdriver from her skirt and pressed a button on it and said, “My Sonic shall lead us down the right path, that’s how!” She pointed the Sonic at the entrance of the labyrinth, her eyes widened as the Sonic blinked and flickered rapidly. “High energy readings, very high ones. Button, Lyra, keep your guard up. This Labyrinth definitely is a dangerous one!”, the Doctor stated.
“But Doctor, it’s just a maze. And let’s not forget, we’re in the dream world. It’s not like anything can hurt us here!”, Button replied. “No, you’re wrong, Button. Very wrong indeed. Where we are right now, we are in the midst of the dremure’s nightmare. Anything held within that labyrinth must be considered very dangerous and VERY lethal.” Button’s eyes widened when the Doctor said that. “Maybe I should, you know, stay close to Lyra. She’ll need a big strong stallion to protect her, ya know?” The Doctor smiled softly as Lyra took Button’s hand and said, “Come on, follow me. And remember, don’t wander off.”
With that being said, the two ponies followed the Time Lord into the Labyrinth. To explain the interior of the Labyrinth was, in short, treacherous. One moment, everything was fine, but Button definitely could swear there was a pack of timberwolves following them. Another moment, there could’ve been a giant man-eating buttered pear stalking their path. Lyra and Button thought of that one as a bit peculiar since the Doctor seemed to fear the buttered pear a lot. Another time, Lyra saw a statue in the shape of a Pegasus, but the Doctor insisted that she should keep her eyes on that statue AT ALL TIMES, but it immediately turned into a puddle of water the moment she did. In a word, the inside of the Labyrinth was on a scale of one to insanity in a matter of seconds. Finally, after what seemed to be hours, the three ponies finally found their way to the center of the labyrinth to find….
“Whoa. This castle is massive, now that we are closer to it. Even Canterlot Castle seems tiny compared to it!”, Lyra stated. The Doctor nodded as she said, “It sure is, but us just standing here and admiring this Nightmarish place is not going to help all the ponies in Equestria. So, let’s go find ourselves a Dremure, shall we?” Lyra and Button nodded as the three walked to the front door and pushed on the giant doors, the doors creaking loudly as they opened wide. The three immediately walked in and looked around, seeing all the many doors leading up to another set of giant doors at the top of a flight of stairs. As they looked around, the doors slammed shut behind them, the Doctor immediately running to the doors and tugged on them, but to no avail, they would not open. She frowned and said, “We’re trapped inside. We can only move forward from here.” Lyra immediately got worried when the Doctor said that, but then Button looked at the stairs and said, “that must be the spot! Come on, you guys!” The Doctor’s eyes widened as she said, “Wait, Button stop!” Button looked back at the Doctor when she said that, only to stop immediately when a giant hole appeared before him. He flailed wildly as he restrained himself to fall, Lyra and the Doctor immediately dragging the young colt back from the hole. Button screamed as he said, “Where did this giant hole come from?! I could’ve fallen in!” The Doctor looked at the hole and said, “I was trying to warn you, but this castle is quite possibly part of the Dremure’s nightmare too, and possibly way more dangerous than the labyrinth that surrounds it. Even moving forward is a risk factor now.”
“Then how do we move forward, Doctor? We can’t just stay here!”, Lyra stated. The Doctor crossed her arms and thought silently, then said, “What if we don’t need to move forward, but back?” Button and Lyra looked at the Doctor and said, “Come again?” The Doctor walked over to the doors and tapped around them slightly and said, “Remember, we are in a dream world. Nothing is as it seems. So maybe, if we are lucky, and I mean very very lucky….ah-ha, found it!” Button stood to his hooves as he said, “Found what?” The Doctor pulled out her Sonic once again and ran it across a section of the door and said, “There’s another door built into this one! Alright then, let’s see where it takes us!” With a push of her hand, the smaller door she stood in front of opened wide, the three equines immediately taking the exit to find themselves once again in a field of flowers once again, a giant white couch in the middle of the field as a giant centaur-like creature was sprawled on top of it fast asleep.
“Button, is that it?”, The Doctor asked, the young colt nodding his head as he said, “It’s just how my mom has always described it. That is indeed a dremure.” The Doctor nodded as she looked at the creature and said, “Ok, so we’ve gotten this far. Now what do I do?” Lyra frowned as she said, “You mean you don’t have a plan on what to do next?!” The Doctor grinned as she said, “You know what I say about plans?” Lyra shook her head and said, “No, what?” The Doctor smiled as she replied, “I don’t have any! But right now, we are at the very heart of the nightmare, yet look around us: it’s peaceful. The calm in the eye of the storm, as it were. Which means, this Dremure has at least some control over the Tantabus since, as we can see, this place hasn’t been corrupted yet.” Button was immediately about to reply, but then a soft but low voice said, “A Tantabus, you say? Is that why I am confined in this area? Princess Luna’s mischievous pet decided to latch onto me. That is not a good thing, not good at all.” Button’s eyes widened as he immediately pointed behind the Doctor, the Time Lord turning to see the Dremure staring down at the three of them.
“Oh, sorry! We didn’t mean to wake you! Well, actually we did. You see, the Tantabus inside of you is causing some major damage on the outside world. We’ve been sent here by Princess Luna to retrieve it.”. The Doctor stated as the Dremure sat upright and looked down at the three equines, its attention squarely looking down at the Doctor as he breathed heavily. “You….are not of this world. Even more so, not of the universe outside this world either.”, the Dremure stated. “Yes, I know, but I did put a lot of work protecting it and that thing is ruining that hard work. So, may I come up, mister….name?”, The Doctor asked as the Dremure wheezed softly before saying, “Caius. My name is Caius. I am lord of this dominion. Please, can you truly help me?” The Doctor cracked her knuckles as she said, “I don’t know. But I am going to try my best.” Caous frowned slightly, but lowered himself down as he placed a hand on the ground for the Doctor to stand on, lifting the Time Lord up towards his shoulder. The Doctor placed both her hands on each side of her as she tried to keep her balance, using some of Caius’ mane to look around for the Tantabus, finally finding it on the back of his neck, the black blob morphing and shifting with the beat of Caius’ own heart. “Ok, Doctor. Removing a nightmare from a dream entity…..how hard can this be?”, the Doctor said softly to herself as she reached into her pocket and frowned as she immediately remembered that she didn’t have her Sonic Screwdriver anymore.
“Right, no Sonic. Fortunately, we’re in a dream world, so I can just materialize one in my hands like so!”, The Doctor said as she looked at her hands, the Sonic Screwdriver from earlier reforming in her hands. “Pardon me, Caius. This may hurt a bit.”, the Doctor stated as she pointed the Sonic at the black blob, the blob giving off a loud screamlike sort of sound as the Doctor did so, Caius yelled in pain as the blob grew even larger on his back. “Doctor’s its hurting him!”, Lyra exclaimed from below, the Doctor switching the Sonic off as she said, “Not good, not good at all.” Button yelled as he said, “Sorry, but what’s not good?!” The Doctor looked over Caius’ shoulder as he said, “This thing is giving off a certain energy reading, but I can’t tell what it means. Best guess, this thing is only latched to Caius here because it sensed how powerful he is. Caius, do you have any idea why the Tantabus was attracted to you now of all times?” Caius wheezed as he said, “As a dremure, it is my duty to bring about sweet dreams to everyone on the outside realm. But recently, there has been one nightmare that cannot be controlled properly.”
“A nightmare? Of what?”, the Doctor asked. “A being….known as the Living Paradox.”, Caius stated, a look of shock appeared on the Doctor’s face. “Again? The Living Paradox again? Even now, that entity is still following me.”, the Doctor said softly, her face growing colder with concern. “Doctor! Doctor!”, a voice yelled out, the Doctor’s attention returning down to Button and Lyra down below. “Sorry, where was I? Oh yes, the Tantabus! Now, removing it is the easy part. The problem is luring it back. You see, the Tantabus feeds off of nightmares, so it needs an incredibly powerful one in order to get lured away from here.” Button raised an eyebrow and said, “Which means?” The Doctor frowned as she pointed her Sonic at the Sleeper, the Tantabus giving off an audible roar as Caius yelled loudly, the machine detaching the two from each other as the black blob shifted into the form of an alicorn, the being staring at the Doctor with malicious intent. “WE RUN!”, the Doctor said, sliding down from Caius’ arm and landing next to Button and Lyra, the Time Lord pushing the two back towards the door out of Caius’ domain.
“You!? It’s chasing you now?!”, Lyra exclaimed as the Doctor shut the door behind her. “Less talking, more running! The farther we get from here, the better!”, the Doctor exclaimed as the three ran towards the front door of the castle. “I don’t get it! What did you do?!”, Button exclaimed as the door behind them rattled violently, the Tantabus roared loudly from the other side as it tried to break the door down. “Trust me, it’s hard to explain! We need to get back to the TARDIS and get back to that field of flowers as soon as possible!”, the Doctor exclaimed as the three ponies ran from the door outside of the castle, immediately running to the TARDIS. The three looked back as the castle’s front doors exploded off their hinges as the Tantabus stood at the top of the stairs, roaring loudly again as its form shifted again into a peculiarly familiar one to Lyra and Button. “D-D-Doctor! It turned into Nightmare Moon!”, Lyra exclaimed. “Yes, I can see that! Inside now!”, the Doctor exclaimed as she pushed the unicorn into the spaceship, the Tantabus charging quickly behind them as the Time Lord closed the doors shut behind her. She immediately ran over to the console and flicked a few switches on it, hearing a loud slamming noise at the door. “Doctor, will that hold against that thing?”, Button asked. “Yes, of course it will, Button!”, the Doctor replied, messing a bunch more switches and dials on the TARDIS console. “Are you lying?”, Button asked. The Doctor went silent when Button asked that, pulling one final switch as the TARDIS engines roared to life, the oh-so familiar grinding of the gears filling the three equines ears as a cold voice said, “Fools! You’ll never escape me! I will chase you three down to the ends of this realm and feast upon you for all eternity!”
“That’s it. We’re dead! We are so dead!”, Lyra said in a panicked voice. “No, I promised I would save your friends and family, and that is exactly what I plan to do. All we need is to just lure the Tantabus away from Caius and then we can direct it to another energy source.”, the Doctor exclaimed as the TARDIS came to a stop. “Right, everyone out!”, the equine stated as Lyra said, “Are you mad?! We’re going to get ourselves killed if we go out there!” The Doctor looked at Button and Lyra and said, “Trust me. We won’t die. I promise.” Button looked at Lyra, then back at the Doctor as he nodded and said, “Alright, Doctor, I’ll trust you. What do we do?” The Doctor smiled as she said, “Open a path for the princess to get here. Think as hard as you can to give her our location. I’ll stall for time.” Button nodded as the Doctor sighed and walked out of the TARDIS, stepping into the field of flowers as she looked up to see that the entire sky was pitch black. “Well, come on then! The Doctor will see you now!”, the mare stated.
As she said that, a pillar of dark light fell from the sky, the Tantabus remerging in front of the Time Lord as it took on the form of Nightmare Moon once again and said, “I can smell it. Such raw energy. You shouldn’t be here, yet you are. Your nightmare is going to be a delectable one to feast upon.” The Doctor chuckled and said, “Yes, yes, I am guessing you have had your fill on plenty of nightmares, but never one quite like the nightmare of the Living Paradox, eh?” Nightmare Moon grinned cruelly as she said, “It is a nightmare like no other. Always re-occurring, and always so full of energy. The sadness, the anger, the pain, it pleased me more and more until I grew strong enough to break free from Princess Luna’s control once more!” The Doctor raised an eyebrow as she said, “But you’re harming an innocent while you are feeding off of this nightmare! And this nightmare is not one to mess with.” The alicorn looked at the Doctor and said, “Same could be said about yours, Time Lord.” The Doctor’s eyes widened when Nightmare Moon said that, the alicorn immediately stating, “Ah, so you didn’t know? Princess Luna’s control of the dream realm knows no boundaries, including that TARDIS of yours. I have seen your hearts and your mind, Lady of Gallifrey and your lies will come to haunt you.”
The Doctor went silent again as Nightmare Moon stated, “He doesn’t believe you, Doctor. He can see it in your eyes and know that you are holding something back. Even as we speak, I can sense the mind of the Professor and there is nothing but endless questions and no answers in sight. How would he react if he knew that his very existence was in the balance?” The Doctor raised an eyebrow as she stated, “His very existence? What do you mean?” Nightmare Moon tilted her head as she said, “The re-occurring nightmare of the Living Paradox and the Professor’s connection with the being whose soul inhabits his body? Don’t you know what it means?” As the Doctor was about to reply, the TARDIS doors opened wide as Princess Luna ran out from within, firing a beam of magic at Nightmare Moon, the entity losing its form as the Tantabus roared loudly again. “That’s enough out of you! Now come back to me at once, Tantabus!”, Luna stated. Nightmare Moon reformed once more as she said, “I felt that! How is that possible?!” The Doctor grinned as she said, “It’s because you were lured away from the Dremure! Despite you feeding off the energy of the Living Paradox’s nightmare, you were also feeding off from him at the same time. Cut you off from your power supply, therefore you get weaker!” Nightmare Moon yelled loudly as she slowly started losing her form, her yell turning into a demonic shriek as Luna continued blasting it with her magic. As time passed, Luna reduced the Tantabus back down to a small black orb. The alicorn walked over to the orb and her horn glowed slightly as the orb was levitated in front of her face. “Never again will you escape from me. Now, back home you go.”, Luna stated as the orb was absorbed into her body.
Button and Lyra walked over to the Doctor and Princess Luna, the young colt looked around as he asked, “Is that it? Did that fix everypony back home?” Luna nodded as she stated, “With any luck, everypony should be back to normal, young colt.” The Doctor nodded as she stated, “Yes, indeed. We should return to Ponyville as soon as possible to check out the damage. Now…..how do we go about doing that anyway?” Luna chuckled as her eyes glowed bright white, her horn flashing brightly, consuming the four equines in a bright light. Button groaned as his eyes fluttered open, trying to focus on his surrounding area as he found himself back in his room. ‘But this is….Princess Luna brought us back here?”, Button thought as he stood to his hooves. “Doctor, Lyra, Princess Luna brought us back to my place!”, Button exclaimed as he looked around, finding that he was all alone. “Doctor? Lyra?”, Button asked out loud, his bedroom door opening wide as his mother ran into the room and hugged him tightly. “Mom, you’re crushing me!”, Button exclaimed, hearing his mother sniffle softly.
“You’re ok! I thought the worst had happened to you!”, Elaina stated. She looked at her son as she said, “What were doing with Princess Luna? You should’ve been asleep!” Button tilted his head in confusion and said, “How do you know that I was with Princess Luna, Mom?” Elaina looked at her son and said, “Wait….what am I saying? I must be even more tired than I thought. Sorry about that, Button. I just had a really bad nightmare and I was trapped in some sort of coma and there was this ridiculous equine that called herself the Doctor and this…..weird creature called a Dremure. It’s funny, it seemed so real. Lyra and Princess Luna was there too!” Button broke out in sweat in shock at what his mother said that. ‘She actually saw all of that?! Unbelievable! But if that’s the case, then where is the Doctor and Lyra?’, Button thought.
What Button didn’t realize was that Princess Luna had actually done the exact same thing for Lyra as well, Lyra getting a shock from her friend Bon-Bon as she told her about her adventure in vivid detail. As for the Doctor….
“Doctor. Doctor. Doctor, wake up.”, Luna stated. The Doctor groaned as she shook her head slightly, looking around as she found herself within the throne room of Canterlot Castle alongside Princess Luna. “Ooph, that was a very weird experience. Where are Button and Lyra?”, the Doctor asked as she stood back to her hooves. “I have sent them back to their own homes. Now, Doctor, we have much to discuss.”, Luna stated as she walked over to her throne and sat down, the Doctor looking at her with a serious look on her face. “So Doctor, tell me: what do you know about the Living Paradox? And no lies, please. It is quite known that the Doctor is an avid liar.”, Luna asked. The Doctor frowned when Luna asked that. She looked up at the ceiling as she said, “Quite a bit, actually. And none of it is any good. We could be here for a while.” Luna nodded as the Doctor began her story about the Living Paradox. As time passed, Luna was in shock over the Doctor’s story about the Living Paradox and her theory over it all. When the Doctor stopped, Luna shook her head in worry. “If what you say is true, our world is very much in danger.”
The Doctor frowned as she said, “No. No, this world is protected, even more so since I am here. I swear to you, this problem shall be solved….just as soon as the solution presents itself.” Luna was silent when the Doctor said that, but then the Doctor groaned as she reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out the TARDIS key, it glowing brightly in her hands. The Doctor grinned widely as she looked at Luna and said, “Sorry, Your Majesty, but I must be on my way! We’ll meet again, count on it.” Luna stood to her hooves and said, “Just one more question, Doctor, and you may go.” The Doctor looked at Luna and said, “Yes, what is it?” Luna stood to her hooves as her eyes locked directly into the Doctor’s and said, “How is it that you, a Time Lord, is here in Equestria?” The Doctor’s eyes widened when Luna asked that. “I…I don’t know. I really hate not knowing stuff. It’s rather strange, to be honest. I definitely need to figure that problem out as well. Anyway, I must be off. Have a pleasant morning, Your Majesty.”, the Doctor stated as she ran out of the throne room, leaving Luna by herself. She sat back down in her throne as a voice stated, “She has no idea, does she?” Luna looked out of the corner of her eye to see a mare standing nearby her. “Her very existence in this universe is wrong, including your own. The Living Paradox is warping everything around us and she has yet to question how it is that she is here.”, Luna stated.
The mare laughed as she said, “That’s how the Doctor is: a bit slow to catch up with the obvious. She will realize why she is here and everything will fall into place once more, for her journey shall once again lead her to Trenzalore.” Luna frowned as she said, “How can you be so sure about this?” The moon light glowed brightly into the room as the mare was in full view, her hand clutching a blue diary. She smiled as she said, “Now now, sweetie. As I always say, spoilers.”
Meanwhile, the Doctor ran and ran as fast as she could, returning to the underground passage that connected Canterlot back to Prodigy’s backyard. She continued running until she returned to the crater that the TARDIS sat….
“Alright, old girl. What do you have to show to me this time?”, the Doctor stated as she placed the key into the lock and opened the doors wide, the engines of the TARDIS humming softly from within. The Doctor’s eyes glistened in glee at the sight of her newly repaired TARDIS and she walked inside, closing the doors behind her, the TARDIS roaring to life as it vanished from the spot it once sat.
A few days later….
Button walked down the stairs to the kitchen and found his mother downstairs making breakfast. Button sat down as Elaina placed a plate of pancakes in front of the young colt. He nibbled at his food as he thought, ‘Where did the Doctor go? Her TARDIS wasn’t where it was those nights ago. She just left without saying good-bye. Maybe….maybe she left our planet again?”, Button thought silently. Elaina looked at Button and said, “Button, are you alright? You’re barely eating.” Button smiled softly as he looked at his mother and said, “I’m fine. You haven’t had any more of those nightmares, have you?” Elaina sighed softly and nodded and said, “Yes yes, I am much better than I was before. I guess a good night’s sleep is all I need. Now, eat your breakfast before it gets cold.” Button nodded as he returned to his pancakes, his mind still on the Doctor.
Meanwhile, over at Lyra and Bon-Bon’s home, Lyra too was thinking of the Doctor. She plucked a couple of chords on her harp nonchalantly as Bon-Bon said, “Lyra, are you alright? You haven’t been playing your harp for a while now.” Lyra looked over at Bon-Bon and said, “Sorry, just got my mind on something else at the moment.” Bon-Bon frowned slightly, but shrugged her shoulders and returned to work on a new candy concoction. As Lyra continued to pluck away at her harp, her attention finally returned as an oh-so familiar grinding sound was heard. At the same time, Button heard the same noise, dropping his fork in shock. “Was that?”, Button exclaimed, the griding noise getting louder and louder. “What in the name of Celestia is that noise? Is Prof. Skyfire working on a new experiment or something?”, Elaina stated before Button hopped out of his chair and ran out the door quickly. “Button Mash, get back here!”, Elaina exclaimed, running after her son. Button ran faster and faster, coming across Lyra along the way. “Did you hear it too, Lyra?!”, Button exclaimed. Lyra panted heavily as she said, “Yes, yes I sure did! She must’ve come back!” Button nodded as they ran into a couple of nearby bushes, Elaina and Bon-Bon following in close pursuit.
The two equines continued to run through the many bushes, hearing their loved ones coming closer and closer behind them. Finally, Button and Lyra found themselves at the TARDIS crash site once more, the TARDIS sitting in the middle of the crater once again, the Doctor wiping down the box with a handkerchief….
“Button, Lyra! Sorry for disappearing like that! The TARDIS finally repaired itself, and it was just too tempting to give it a test run.”, the Doctor stated. “You came back!”, Button exclaimed. “Of course I came back, you cannot get rid of me that easily.”, the Doctor exclaimed as Button and Lyra walked up to the Time Lord. The Doctor looked behind the two equines as she said, “Oh, it looks like we have some guests. Hello there!” Button and Lyra looked behind them as they saw Elaina and Bon-Bon standing behind them in shock. “I-It’s you. You’re that pony from my nightmare. But you can’t be real.”, Elaina stated. “I assure you, I am quite real. I am the Doctor. I’m friends with your son, Elaina. And you must be Lyra’s friend Bon-Bon! It’s a pleasure to see that all our hard work was able to save you two as well as everypony on the planet.”, the Doctor stated. “Whoa, so like, that dream wasn’t a dream at all? And you two kept it a secret?”, Bon-Bon asked. “We’re sorry, but we had to. I think it would’ve been too much of a shock if you two knew.”, Lyra replied. Elaina knelt down to her son and said, “So, you did all of that to save us, Button?” Button nodded as he said, “I had to, Mom. You’re my mom, after all. I had to do it to help you.” The Doctor smiled as she said, “Your son is quite the brave young colt, Elaina.”
Elaina nodded as she said, “He sure is.” Button smiled, but then looked at the Doctor and asked, “But, why did you come back, Doctor? You have your TARDIS back, so why?” The Doctor smiled as she said, “Well, you two know about the TARDIS now, so I figured you might enjoy it.” Lyra tilted her head as she said, “Enjoy what?” The Doctor replied, “All of time and space at our disposal and we can always be back in time for tea, so what do you say?” Button’s eyes widened as he said, “Are you asking us to go traveling with you in the TARDIS?” The Doctor nodded as she said, “That’s if you want to, of course.” Button’s eyes flashed with excitement as he said, “Of course I do!” Elaina hugged Button close to her as she said, “You can’t! I won’t let you!” Button frowned as he replied, “Please, Mom! Let me go with the Doctor. I promise everything will be alright!” Bon-Bon looked at Lyra as she asked, “Are you wanting to go with her, Lyra?” Lyra crossed her arms as she said, “The idea of traveling through time and space truly is a remarkable idea. And all the many sights that I could see would be too much to pass up. So I have to say yes, I have to go.” Lyra then turned her attention to Elaina and said, “Ms. Elaina, if I may, please let Button go with us. I promise I’ll take care of him.”
“But….but he’s my son.”, Elaina stated, before Button said, “Please, Mom? Please?” Elaina frowned and sighed as she looked at the Doctor and said, “Doctor, I only know you through my dream, and I cannot say I fully trust you. Can you promise to me that you can bring my son back unharmed?” The Doctor nodded as she said, “I swear to you, ma’am, your son won’t be hurt. Cross my hearts.” Elaina was silent once the Doctor said that, but she finally sighed as she said, “Just make sure to call me EVERY NIGHT, ok Button?” Button nodded as he replied, “Of course!” The Doctor laughed as she said, “Well then, you two best go and gather your things. Meet me back here as soon as you are ready!” Button and Lyra nodded in agreement as the Doctor went back inside the TARDIS.
With that, the four equines went their separate ways. As the Doctor prepared the TARDIS for its new occupants, Lyra and Button collected the things that figured they would need for their travels. An hour later, the two said their goodbyes to their loved ones and returned to the crash site….
Button walked up to the doors of the TARDIS alongside Lyra and looked at her as he said, “Ready?” Lyra nodded as she took the young colt’s hand as she said, “Let’s do this, kid.” Button grinned as he knocked on the TARDIS door, the door opening with a slight click. The two equines walked in, the Doctor smiling as she leaned against the TARDIS console and said, “Again, welcome to the TARDIS. We’ve already been through the whole bigger on the inside bit, so I’ll let you just look at our lovely home away from home in awe.” Button chuckled as he said, “The inside of the real TARDIS looks exactly like the one from the dream world!” The Doctor smiled as she said, “I liked the way that one looked, so I kept it.” As she said that, the TARDIS beeped as a Sonic Screwdriver rose from a slot on the console. “Oh finally, a new one! Lovely.”, the Doctor stated as she took the Sonic from the TARDIS and activated, the light glowing a bright green. “So, you two! All of time and space, where shall we start?”, the Doctor asked.
“Doctor, I am still in awe over this miraculous contraption. I mean, earlier I would’ve believed that you were just a mad pony in a box since we were in the dream world and all.”, Lyra stated as she walked up to the console. “Now Lyra, you have to realize something and something exceptionally important. Both you and Button need to realize this right now because what you are about to learn may save your life someday.” Button and Lyra looked at the Doctor with a confused look on their face as she said, “I am DEFINITELY a mad pony in a box.” Button and Lyra chuckled in reply as the Doctor laughed and fiddled with a few switches as she said, “So long, Ponyville! Hello, EVERYTHING!” With those words, the Doctor pulled one final lever, the TARDIS lurching violently as the engines roared to life, the TARDIS dematerializing from its resting spot. As the sound filled the air, both Bon-Bon and Elaina looked out their windows as the sound died down, making silent wishes for the duo’s safe return.
Meanwhile….
The area was silent as the wind blowed gently throughout Ponyville. As time passed, Prodigy Skyfire walked down the streets as they came up to an object giving off a small flash of light on the ground. Prodigy picked up the object, recognizing it as the Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver, or at least, what was left of it as he said, “This is…..Doctor, please come back soon.” As he looked up to the sky, he pocketed the Sonic Screwdriver’s remains in his labcoat as he pulled out his journal once more, silently thinking to himself on how to repair the futuristic device as he walked for home.
And so, the Doctor’s travels begin once again with new companions on a quest for adventure. Where they will end up, no one really knows. Be ever vigilant, brave travelers of time and space. Danger is always around every coner…..