Doctor Whooves

Cracked Ice

And so we begin. I wrote this one while on vacation because i knew i would not be able to get the next real episode finished in time while on vacation. Plus, this art fueled idea refused to let go. So, enjoy!

The cool air of Corrhan, a drastic difference from the ship in the Toraji system, but a welcome change. Nightengale stepped through the Tardis doors into the snow, her boots crunching in the ice, and the breeze whipping at her thin jacket. She was cold, but it felt wonderful on her coat. The Doctor stepped out behind her, four ice skates hanging from a rope in his mmouth and another four on his back. He passed her a pair, she took it in her magic, and then took a deep breath of icy air.

It cooled the heat that had been left from the killer sun.

The cold bit right through his suit and over coat, but it felt fantastic. One will have no idea how good cold air feels until heat overwhelms you. ((an experience i have had in my place of residence)) He shook it off, and smiled at Gale. "Welcome to Corrhan, third planet from a yellow sun not too different from yours. Now, how about that ice skating?" With that, they set off into the snow.

"So," asked Gale, "can you actually ice skate?" He rolled his eyes in response, "Of course I can! I think."

"So, can you skate or not?" she repeated.

"I, can!" he insisted. "Nine hundred years and winter wrap up lessons, I think I can skate." Gale looked at him skeptically, but did not press any further. She remembered the shadow in his eyes after their narrow escape, she remembered he'd had another life form force its way into his mind and make itself at home. She sighed internally, remembering just how terrified he'd been. A moment later, she shook it off, they were OK now.

And, they were going ice skating. But, out of a habit that seemed to be forming rather rapidly, she asked: "You okay Doctor?" He nodded, but didn't say anything. She took it as a good enough and shed the worries and doubt from her mind.

They walked along through the snow for a few minutes more. They climbed over one more hill, the second since they had left the Tardis, and were shown a sight to beheld. Gale's jaw dropped in amazement, it was beautiful. The Doctor looked at her slyly and smiled. At the foot of the hill was a massive stretch of frozen water, like a river. The surface was swirled with glittering colors across the whole spectrum. The Doctor cleared his throat, "The minerals," he explained, "they're very colorful in this system."

Gale nodded eagerly and began exchanging her boots for skates. She tied them on and began to make her way down the hill. He followed her, albeit a bit slower. As she slid out onto the ice, he tied his skates and began picking his way down the hill after her. Gale looked over as he stepped on the ice, and bit back a laugh. The minute he actually put weight onto his skates, his hooves began sliding apart in either direction.

"Need a hoof?" she called, gliding by with ease.

"No!" he shouted back. "I am quite capable of skating on my own thanks!" He straightened up a bit, attempting to look dignified, "I just need a moment to-whoa!" One hoof crossed in front of the other, spinning the Time-Pony around in a circle and dropping him onto the ice. Gale chuckled and slid over, "Winter Wrap-Up?"
"Yes," he snapped, blowing a bit of ice powder off his nose. "Although, I may have been on the animal team." She smiled and activated her magic, using it to help him regain his balance. Once he was standing again, she took one of his hooves.
"What're you doing?" he asked cautiously.

"Teaching you how to properly skate," she replied, pushing off and pulling him in tow. He was a bit shaky at first, but the Doctor proved to be a quick learner. Soon enough, the two were racing across the ice and seeing who could spin the longest without falling flat on their belly.

At about twilight, when the sun had begun to set, a voice called out to them from the opposite shore. "Hey! You two! What do you think you're doing? It's almost nightfall!" The Doctor skid to a stop. Gale slid past him sideways. The voice belonged to a stallion in a parka, standing on a hill looking out at them.

"What's wrong with the ice at night?" the Doctor called back. Before the stallion had a chance to reply, a loud crack echoed around them. Gale grabbed the Doctor's shoulder, "Doctor! Look, over there!" He looked round, just in time to see massive cracks webbing their way through the ice towards them. On instinct, he turned to run, but his hooves slipped out from under him and he landed with a thud! on the ice. Gale helped him up and they skated full speed towards the shore.

The ice split behind them, eager to drop them into the freezing ice water below. They jumped onto the shore, narrowly missing a frozen death as the ice shattered behind them. Both Time-Pony and unicorn were panting for breath, the stallion who'd warned them watched idly. After a moment, he pulled back his hood, revealing an all white stallion with a light blue mane.

"Who are you?" he asked, "Why are you here?"

"We just came here to skate!" Gale said quickly. The Doctor glanced at her, then cleared his throat. "Ah, yes, we did just come here to ice skate," he said, standing and dusting snow off his coat. "Apologies if we were trespassing."

"You weren't," the stallion said gruffly.

"Brilliant!" the Doctor replied. "But, ah, might I inquire as to why the ice just cracked like that?"

"Nopony knows," he answered. "Also, you will not be able to cross the ice until dawn, I fear you are stuck on this side of the ice until then."

"Really?" asked Gale, getting to her hooves, "Where will we stay until morning? The Tardis is on the other side."

"The town I live in is not far from here," the stallion said. "There is an inn. You can stay there. Be wary, you will get stares, it has been some time since travelers came to Corrhan. Come." He motioned with a hoof, then turned and set off into the snow. The time travelers glanced at each other, and began hastily removing their skates. They trotted after him, catching up swiftly. The Doctor trotted to the stallion's side, "So, I noticed we hadn't been properly introduced, I'm the Doctor and that is my companion Nightengale."

"Arctic," he replied stiffly.
The Doctor nodded, "Alright then Mister Arctic, I'd like to thank you for saving our flanks back there. Now, if you don't mind me asking, I thought the lakes were rather popular in this system, what did you mean about nopony coming?"

"I meant what I said, travelers don't come for the lakes anymore," Arctic said. "It started when the ice killed somepony. It was a young unicorn filly, she'd gone out to play extra early. Somehow she slid out onto the lake, and by the time they'd heard her screams and gone to help, the ice was sealing itself back up. A few weeks later, it happened again to a couple. They went out for a romantic skate date. The mare only survived because the stallion had pushed her off the ice when it had started to crack. Since then, one other was taken. After that ponies stopped coming period."

"Makes sense, they wouldn't want to risk it anymore," the Doctor said, partially to himself. They walked in almost silence for a little while. Arctic lead them over the crest of a large hill, beneath the lights of town could be seen. The buildings were cut from stone, but looked new and comfortable to live in. Yellow street lamps lined a muddy paved road where blue Corrhan ponies trotted about. As NIghtengale looked at the town she thought, hey, maybe this won't be so bad after all. She shivered, goosebumps rising up on her skin. Since the sun had set and she'd forgotten her boots, she had been slowly getting colder and colder.

The Doctor noticed her shivering and set down his skates. He pulled off his overcoat and passed it to her. She took it gratefully and wrapped it around her shoulders, "W-won't you get c-cold?" Her teeth chattered as she spoke, she truly was freezing.

"Nah, I can handle it," the Doctor replied, picking up his skates again, "I've been through much colder." Arctic cleared his throat to get their attention, then motioned down to the town. They nodded and continued down the hill. Once they'd passed the town limits, something started to happen. A loud humming noise started to sound through the town. A moment later, a bright beam of golden-yellow light shot into the sky. It soared higher until reaching a certain height, it began fanning out over the town, creating a sort of dome. It touched down right behind the trio, seemingly trapping them in. However, nopony but they two seemed unnerved by the dome. Arctic pulled back his hood again, "The inn is this way. C'mon."

The temperature began to rise the longer the dome stayed down, allowing Gale to focus on something other than freezing. She looked around the town, noting that yes, ponies were staring at them. But she noticed something else, she seemed to be the only unicorn in town. Everypony else seemed to be an earth pony or pegasus. Interesting. But she didn't have long to ponder it, the Doctor tapped her on the shoulder. "Gale?"

"What Doctor?" she asked, choosing to think about it later.

"What is that shield made of? Can you use your magic to tell?" She nodded, "Of course." A note must be made that there are different kinds of magic. For instance, the magic generated inside a being such as a unicorn is called Natural magic. Magic that is harnessed in an amulet, wand, or machine is called Captured, for it must be generated by a living thing. THe energy that is created solely by a machine or device is called Metallic, for it is not naturally occurring magic. Most unicorns are taught at a very young age how to tell the difference between these energies using their own magic. This is what the Doctor was requesting of Gale.

She looked up at the vanishing shield, watching as it turned transparent to let the light of the moon in, and focused on the wavering light of it. Her brow furrowed in confusion. The Doctor cocked his head to the side, "What is it?"
"It feels Captured," she said, "But at the same time its... never mind." She shook her head, "I can't tell. Sorry." He nodded, a bit uneasy, before following Arctic into the inn.

It was nothing fancy, a few armchairs, a lamp, and a desk with another lamp on it. The desk itself must've been imported, it was wood and covered with papers. Behind it sat a young pegasus mare, she looked up from the guest book as they entered. She set her pen down and smiled.

"Hey Artie!" she chirped. "I see you found some friends. Find anything else out there?"

"Nope," he replied. She looked at Gale and the Doctor, her eyes widened in surprise momentarily. They glanced at each other nervously. She smiled again, "Well hi! I'm Icicle, the owner of this fine establishment. I'm gonna take a guess and say you two're going to need a room for the night."
"Uh, yeah," the Doctor replied, "That's pretty much it. Especially since we can't get back to our ship until tomorrow morning anyways."

"Sure thing," Icicle replied. "Can I get your names first?"

"Oh, yeah, ah I'm the Doctor."

"And I'm Nightengale."

"Perfect, thank you." She got up from behind the desk and trotted over to one of the two doors in the room, pulling it open to reveal a staircase. "C'mon, the rooms are up here. I'll show you up, you can pay tomorrow morning for the room."

"Are you sure that's alright?" asked Gale, "I mean, if we're going to cause a problem."
"You're not," Icicle said with a smile. "I'm glad to have any guests. Now come on!" She trotted up the stairs, Gale behind her, and the Doctor bringing up the rear. Arctic stayed in the lobby, he had other things to do. As they climbed the staircase, the Doctor decided to get some answers.

"So, Miss Icicle, could you tell us whet exactly that fancy shield thing is made of?" he asked.

"It's captured magic," she said simply, "we use it to pull up some heat from underground."

"I see, but uh, doesn't that pose the risk of cooling the core?" he continued. Gale noticed that Icicle seemed to bristle as he kept asking, like an irritated puffer fish. "It's only a magma pocket a few miles down," she said stiffly, throwing them a suspicious glance. "It won't do anything to the planet's core."

"Are you-"

"It won't! We've been doing it for generations!" Gale looked back at the Doctor, shocked by her sudden anger, he shrugged
Soon, they reached the second floor. Two doors sat on either side, lit by metal lamps hanging on the wall. Icicle went up to one of them and pushed it open, "Here you go. Room one, just call if there's a problem." She nodded to them then trotted past them back down the staircase.

The room was similar to the one they'd had to share back in Starswirlian Hoofdon, simple and comfy. Two armchairs with colorful coverings and cushions sat on either side of the room across from the bed. The bed itself was laden with at least three different blankets, but it would be warm. A lamp sat on the bedside table giving the room a nice orange glow. There was a large window against the one wall that did not have any furniture in front of it.

Nightengale dropped her skates by the door and flopped happily onto the bed, curling up in the warm blankets. And though it had not been her intention, she fell asleep very quickly. (Ice skating takes a lot out of you even if you have four hooves for balance.) The Doctor set his skates down next to hers and retrieved his coat from where she'd dropped it on the floor. He hung it up on the coat hanger, then went and sat on the windowsill.

He needed to figure out two things. One, how had the ice cracked on its own like that? He ran every single ice and cold related species through his mind but none could either survive in ice or under it or have the telekinetic capabilities to crack it like that from afar. And two, what was that shield? It may have been related tot he ice, but that was unlikely. If creatures that lived in the lava pocket they were using wanted it to stop, they'd never go hide in a frozen lake, that's polar opposites.

No pun intended.

And was Icicle even telling the truth back there? She had gotten a bit tight lipped when he'd kept asking.

There was a rustling sound behind him. The Doctor looked back, Gale was getting out of bed. But, it was still the middle of the night. He got to his hooves, watching her warily as she trotted to the doors. She pushed it open with a hoof rather than her magic and slowly trotted out, her movements jerky and mechanical. The Doctor ran and got his coat then followed her into the hallway.

He followed her all the way outside, where the temperature had risen to a comfortable warmth. The ground had thawed, leaving things a bit muddy. But Gale didn't seem to notice or care she just kept walking towards the outskirts of the town. The Doctor began to speed up, galloping after her calling her name. She didn't respond. He galloped in front of her, grabbing her shoulders before she walked right out of town. Her eyes were glowing an eerie blue color, one brighter than her own magic.

"Nightengale!" he cried, shaking her. She yelped in surprise and the glow vanished, leaving her regular old blue eyes.

"What the- Doctor?" she said, confused. "How did we get out here?" He didn't answer, and instead wrapped her in a hug. "Are you alright?" She nodded, "Doctor, I'm fine. Are you alright?" He looked her in the eye and nodded slowly.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

"Doctor, I swear, I'm fine," Gale insisted. He didn't look so sure, "We should go back to the inn?" she continued. He nodded again, "Yeah," and they started back towards the building. If you had asked Gale right then what she was thinking, she was worried about the Doctor. Something had happened and he wasn't telling her. They were supposed to trust each other, yet he won't tell her what happened to her to get out there.

Once they'd returned to their room, the Doctor made sure to lock the door this time, for reasons he still would not share. Gale returned to her spot under the covers, bu watched the Doctor curiously. He kept glancing over at her, something like concern in his eyes.

The night seemed to go on forever, but soon they'd both fallen asleep. Sunlight streamed in through the window when the Doctor woke up. He yawned and looked out the window, it had begun to snow lightly. The shield must've gone down. He got to his hooves and stretched, already the smells of breakfast were wafting through the door. Gale still seemed sound asleep in her cover cucoon, but when he opened the door to go downstairs she stirred.

"G'mornin Doctor," he heard her say sleepily before yawning.

"Morning Nightengale, you sleep alright?" he replied.

"As alright as I could be," Gale said. He nodded, "Come downstairs whenever." And trotted out the door. He went downstairs and found Icicle waiting by the other door in the lobby, one that presumably led to a dining room. She smiled as he approached, "Hiya Doctor!"

"Hello Icicle," he replied with a smile.

"How was your room? Was everything okay?" she asked eagerly.

"Yeah, it guess it was."

"Where's Gale?" she continued.

"Right here!" said pony called, trotting down the stairs. Icicle looked momentarily shocked, but it vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.

"No chance we could get breakfast is there?" asked Gale cheerfully.

"Of course," Icicle said, "What kind of bed and breakfast would we be with hungry ponies?" She motioned with a hoof to the doorway into a small dining room. It was a nice dining room if a bit small. It had a few tables lined up against a room length window. On the opposite side of the room was a long table with fruits, jams, toasts, and other breakfast commodities. The duo got themselves something to eat and went to a seat by the window.

Midway through the meal, the Doctor cleared his throat, "Can you remember anything from last night before you woke up?"

"Nothing," she replied. "I think I was just sleep walking."

"You're eyes were glowing," he reminded her.

"Magic overload?" she suggested.

"You have to be awake for that."

"You sure about that Doctor?" she asked. "Because, from what I can tell, you aren't a magic expert." She sighed, "Anyways, I want to get out of here. How soon do you think we can leave?"

"As soon as you're ready to go, we just have to skate across, find your boots, and we can go," he said. She nodded and stood, "Good, I want off this planet." She trotted away, leaving the Doctor with a half finished cup of tea. He stood and followed her, she was right, they should get out of there as soon as possible.

After getting their ice skates from the room, and paying Icicle with whatever bits the Doctor could find after searching through his pockets, they trotted outside. Arctic was surprisingly waiting for them.

"I thought you might like a guide back to the lake," he said.

"I think that'd be quite generous of you Mister Arctic," the Doctor said. Gale mumbled something similar, and they set off into the snow. As they walked, the Doctor worried about Gale still being effected by this thing, but it didn't seem like she was. At least, not until they reached the lake.
While they sat on the shore, the Doctor and Nightengale tying on their skates, and Arctic chatting with the Time-Pony about other worlds, she happened to look out onto the ice. Something so innocent should not have caused a problem, but it got Gale to her hooves. The Doctor and Arctic stopped short, she was mesmerized by something on the ice.

"Gale?" he asked worriedly. Her eyes began to glow blue again, and she stepped onto the ice. In a moment, she was skating away from them. The Doctor scrambled to his hooves, "Nightengale no!" He finished his final skate and hurried out after her. He shouted back to Arctic: "Go get help!" Cracks were already beginning to split through the ice towards Gale.

The Doctor skated as fast as he possibly could, a spray of ice flying up behind him as he skated. The cracks were forming a ring around her, almost like a platform. The Doctor jumped over the splits just as it separated completely from the ice. He landed on the bobbing platform and grabbed Gale, but she wouldn't budge.

He only had a moment for a quick breath before it plunged into the water, dragging them down. They should've been flung off but some force kept them glued to the ice chunk as they were pulled through the frigid water. The Doctor kept his hooves wrapped around Gale, trying to save whatever body heat they had, but it was gone. The cold water was far colder than anything else, it froze him right to the core. Things began to get fuzzy as the platform reached its destination, bursting through what seemed like a bubble, but was a frozen cave. Where they'd burst through froze quickly behind them.

The platform smacked into the ground, throwing the half frozen Time-Pony off and sending him skidding across the ground. Nightengale was literally frozen to the spot, a layer of ice covering her coat. The Doctor was almost frozen, his clothes were soaked with ice cold water and frost was beginning to form in his hair. Slowly, he got to his hooves, which were shaking and shivering, and began trying to take off his overcoat. He draped it across his back, and looked around the cave.

The walls were made of a smooth white stone, frost dusted the ground. But, standing around the room in a perfect circle, were frozen unicorns. There were thirty in total, Gale being the thirtieth, and twenty-five of them were blues and whites. They must've been Corrhan natives, making the last five, the kidnapped ponies! Every single one of them was a unicorn. Of the last five, there were two stallions, a red one and an orange one, a small white filly with a purple mane, and a mare with a purple coat and striped white mane.

A loud hissing drew the Doctor's attention away from the frozen victims and up to the ceiling. That's where a massive centipede like creature was clinging to the ceiling. It's back was a pattern of yellow and black scales and it was watching him hungrily. The Time-Pony gasped, "Wha-what the h-hell?" he muttered, shivering violently.

I should ask the same of you, the collective voice of every frozen pony in the room said. It was using their voices as its own!

"Wh-what are y-you?" demanded the Doctor. "Why're y-you u-using these uni-nicorns?"

Curious one, it said, why so many questions? Why have you come here to my palace?

"Y-you answer questions w-with more," he countered. "Let m-my friend go! These p-ponies aren-not yours to c-cont-trol!"

"You're friend has joined a higher rank," a cold voice said. "So have the others. Do not bother." The Doctor looked back, and saw Icicle and Arctic standing in the mouth of a tunnel cut into the rock. Both were dressed in dark robes, ceremonial it seemed. Icicle smiled, "You see Doctor, on this world, unicorns welcome the chance to feed the Worm. They are trained and offered to ones like it all over our planet for the betterment of their towns.

"It gives us warmth that otherwise would never come. The Worms protect us from the snows storms, in return for magic, which they use for food," she continued. "But it has been long since a unicorn has been born here."

"Oh? Re-really?" the Doctor said sarcastically. "Could it be because, possibly, you completely removed them from society to feed these things?" The Worm growled, "Oh, sorry. But, just tell me when this gave you the right to foalnap and force unicorns into doing this. Tell me when it gave you permission to choose their fates!"

"The Elders warned us of this long ago," she snapped. "Sometimes sacrifices must be made to protect more lives."

"And you get to choose who makes that sacrifice?" he snapped. "These ponies had lives that didn't even relate to your 'Worm', that filly over there hasn't even gotten her cutie mark yet! You had no right to foalnap them."

"We had a need Doctor," Icicle said coldly, "And our need surpasses their wants."

"Who decided that? Your Elders?"

"Actually, yes."

"Well, did you ever consort an actual member in power? One who might have some say in this?"

"No, why? You can't be saying you are."

"I am, if you want to get technical about it, I am a Lord of Time, I think that gives me some say in this."
He pulled out his sonic screwdriver, "And I say, this, ends, now." He raised it towards the ceiling and activated it. The Worm roared in pain, the spell it used to control the unicorns breaking. The ice shattered from their skin, and their eyes lost that blue glow. The unicorns who'd been trained, the ones who wanted this, immediately were controlled again. But the ones who'd been foalnapped remained free.

"Doctor!" He looked back and smiled, Gale was galloping towards them. Her eyes widened when she saw the two ponies in the robes, then it turned to an expression of anger.
She looked Icicle dead in the eye, "Next time you give somepony a room, don't hand them over to a magic hungry grub if you want them to ever come back." Neither answered, Arctic was looking at the others who'd been freed, Icicle was glaring at the time travelers.

"How many others?" asked the Doctor. "How many other ponies have been kidnapped to feed your worms?"

"None," she snapped. "We were the only ones who haven't had any unicorns. We would've died and now we will because of you!"

"Why can't you make a union with another town? Move there?" he asked.

"I-we, we must stay loyal!" she shouted.

"Why?" he asked again.

"We, I don't, it'll kill us!" she said, sounding scared. "It's only happened once, one town didn't give their's what it wanted and it destroyed everything and everypony!" The Doctor looked around the room, where twenty five unicorns stood at the ready to serve their purpose. He looked back at Icicle and Arctic, "I think I know how to stop this. But we need to leave now. The twenty five trained unicorns will support it long enough to evacuate your town and move to another, you'll most likely be safe there."
The two looked at each other.

"We'll do it," said Arctic.

"What?" gasped Icicle.

"We can't stay much longer, get the others and we'll leave," he continued.

"You can't be serious!" cried Icicle. Then, a roar shook the room. Every free pony looked up at the Worm, Traitors! You choose this impudent stallion over me? You shall pay!

"RUN!" yelled the Doctor. Everypony made a mad dash for the tunnel, the Worm dropped down from its place on the ceiling, landing on the frosted ground with a THUD! Just as Gale finally made it into the tunnel the Worm smashed its giant head into the opening. But it was too big, it couldn't fit and chase after them. They stopped for a moment to catch their breath, it roared at them again. The filly screamed and took off down the tunnel in fear.

"No! Wait that's the wrong way!" shouted Arctic, chasing after her. There was a collective groan, but Arctic came swiftly back with the filly hiding under his robe.

"So, you know the way out?" asked the orange stallion.

"He'd better," the red one said.

"Do you?" asked the Doctor. Arctic nodded, "As does Icicle, but, I'll show you the way if she's still undecided."

"Lead on," the Time-Pony said. Arctic nodded, and after a bit of coaxing to get the filly out from under his robe, they set off into the tunnels. Icicle stayed behind, still unsure where her loyalties lay. The tunnels themselves were not as dark or grim like what was expected, they were lit with bright torches hung on the walls. Soon, the light changed from the orange torches to a mix of that and sunlight. They were out, or at least, in the opening.

None of them really wanted to go out into the snow, after all they were just frozen. But then, the unicorn mare (who was not Nightengale) made a snowball in her magic and threw it at the orange stallion. Soon, they, the red stallion, and the filly had started a snowball fight.

"You think you guy will be alright?" asked Gale, looking at Arctic worriedly.

"We've been through worse," he replied. "I've heard tales about life before the Worms came, they somehow made it then. We can do it again. Maybe someday ponies will come back for the lakes, and with them, bring something new to this world." The Doctor smiled widely, "Now that's more like it. You know, You and Icicle, if she comes round, might actually change this world."

Arctic nodded, then looked at the ponies playing in the snow. "What'll happen to them?"

"Oh, I'll take them home, it'll be like they never went missing," he replied. "And, if you want, we could drop you somewhere else as well. There's plenty of room." Arctic shook his head, "No, I need to fix this before it happens again. Perhaps someday Doctor, if you visit again."

"I'm sure I will," the Time-Pony replied.

"Doctor, shouldn't we be off? These skates are starting to get uncomfortable," Gale said, holding up a hoof. In all the craziness, they had forgotten their own ice skates, on their hooves still. The Doctor chuckled, "I guess you're right Gale. It is about time we left. Got a lot of ponies to get home, can't keep 'em waiting!"

To be continued in, Equine Nature...

ME: Hallo everyone! I hope you enjoyed our very first special of season three, I worked pretty hard on it. If you have any comments on how I can make my original pieces better, please leave a message in the review section below.

Doctor: thanks for reading everypony! I must say, despite being half frozen it was fun!

ME: right, well, until next time!