In the Shadows

[EchotheWolf]

Fluttershy rushed in, reacting to Jack's screams. "Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness!" She leaped out of the window, positioned for a nose dive. She was straining to go faster. She had already broken her limits, but she almost had him! She reached a hoof out for Raggedy, her face scrunched up in pain.

[pudding]

Raggedy stared up at Fluttershy as she approached. While normally a Time Lord could easily withstand such a fall, he was deliberately turned around so his spine would take most of the damage instead of landing safely on his feet. He wouldn't die but he would regenerate. So as Fluttershy approached, he raised a hoof and slapped her hoof away from him to prevent her from stopping him. This was it. He wouldn't be the Doctor anymore. That title had been snatched away from him. He would be someone else.

There was a loud crack as Raggedy hit the floor. Welcoming in the regeneration, his body began to glow with golden energy that exploded upwards at Fluttershy like the flames of a fire.

[EchotheWolf]

Fluttershy had almost reached him when he slapped her hoof away. It hurt a lot, so she instinctively held her hoof to her chest. Then, she saw him hit the ground. "NO!" If anything could shock her now, it would be the explosion and the strange golden energy that threw her backwards, back into the room with Jack, the blast having rendered her unconscious.

 

(Wait... does the energy hitting Fluttershy do anything besides knock her out?)

[pudding]

((I don't know. You can do what you want with it.))

 

Jack quickly ran over to Fluttershy when she was thrown into the room, followed by a blast of golden energy. He ran over to Fluttershy and looked at her before rushing to the window. By the time he got there, there was nopony in sight. He stared out the window briefly then ran back to Fluttershy and prodded her gently. "Fluttershy?" he asked, staring at her. "Fluttershy, are you alright?"

 

Hooves stomped through the forest below Canterlot as a form passed through the trees. Shakey legs made it hard to move but the willpower to move pushed the pony onward until it found a stream running through the forest. Stopping short, the pony collapsed on the bank of the stream and stared down at its reflection. Amber eyes blinked back up at the pony before the pony smiled, revealing sharp teeth.

"Oh," the pony said. "I couldn't have hoped for anything more than this." He had turned into a she. And her blue coat and blonde mane didn't even remotely resemble her past regeneration or the Doctor. Ha~ Looking at her flank, she noticed her cutie mark was still an hour glass. Hmm, that would have to be changed. Not through magic, no. But simple paints should work to help change the mark and make it less identifiable. Or, better yet, add something. She wasn't the Doctor anymore. She hated him. And who hated the Doctor more than anyone else? He had perished on Gallopfrey so she would bring him back. "Say hello to your Master, Doctor," she said before lowering her head. Revenge could come later. For now, she had to sleep off the regeneration energy.

[EchotheWolf]

Fluttershy let out a groan, roused from her sleep. "I... I feel... different." She tried, and fIled, to get to her hooves. "What happened? Is... is Raggedy alright?" She had little strength, but she'd get it back, she was sure. But then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something quite different. "Oh my!" She rubbed her eyes, windering if she was just seeing things. No matter what she tried, it was still there. Her Cutie mark-once three pink butterflies-had changed into an hourglass!

[pudding]

Jack followed her gaze to Fluttershy's flank. Wait... that hourglass hadn't been there before. Jack looked at his own rear and the constellation on it then looked at Fluttershy. "I thought our butt tattoos didn't change," he said as he prodded the hourglass. "Raggedy is gone. I've got no idea where's he's gone but he's not here anymore. I don't know what's wrong with him..." he let out a sigh then turned his attention back to Fluttershy's bottom. "But seriously, why is this different?" he asked, deliberately touching her cutie mark again.

[EchotheWolf]

( Jack's lucky that Fluttershy loves him. If it was, say, Rarity's flank he was touching, she might file a sexual harassment report. )

 

Fluttershy looked surprised as well. "Butt... tattoos? Oh, you mean Cutie Marks! Well, they don't normally change. It's never happened before..." She thought back to the blast. "Maybe that odd golden energy?"

[pudding]

Jack stared at her then took a hesitant step back. "Gold energy?" He asked, his ears flattening against his head. "Aww, did you get hit by Raggedy's regeneration energy?" He shook his head from side to side then looked at Fluttershy again. "Love... I think we should go back to Ponyville and try to track down Doctor Whooves. Raggedy is most likely to go there as well and we need to ask a Time Lord about this. Just tell me if you get any headaches or anything, alright? Anything odd or out of the ordinary."

[EchotheWolf]

"O-okay. Wh-what's Regeneration Energy?" She blushed lightly at him calling her his love, then seemed to go pale. "Is it... is it dangerous?" She trusted Jack with her life, and was sure he'd tell her the truth.

[pudding]

"Time Lords use regeneration energy to change themselves. All their cells die and regrow all at once. They use it to escape death. The golden discharge coming of their bodies is that energy being released all at once. Its very painful for them, or so I've been told." He spread out his wings and approached the window, casting a glance downwards. Nothing in sight. He'd have to either find Doctor Whooves then or stop the Raggedy Doctor before he got to his TARDIS. "I don't know if it is dangerous. The Doctor always warned people to get back when he regenerates so I'm not sure what it does. But Doctor Whooves should know. As would Raggedy if he could find him..." he sighed then flapped out of the window, looking back at Fluttershy. "Do you need me to carry you back? We've got to go really fast since I'm worried what your tattoo changing means."

[EchotheWolf]

Fluttershy bit her lip. "W-we should hurry, then." She tried to take a calming breath, but almost started hyperventalating. "Yes, please! I-I can't move!" She was starting to slightly panic. Really painful...

[TSparkle123]

((Heh, sorry I disappeared again, guys! So, recap/anything my charries can do?))

[EchotheWolf]

(Well, Raggedy just basically killed himself. He jumped out of the castle from the hole Celestia made. Fluttershy tried to save him, but his Regeneration Energy exploded, forcing itself into Fluttershy. Now, they're going to try to find Doctor Whooves. Also, Fluttershy's Cutie Mark changed into an Hourglass.)

[TSparkle123]

((Alrighty then!))

 

Doctor Whooves jolted back to reality from a rather long daydream. He blinked a couple times and looked over at Vinyl. "So, um, what were we doing again? I sort of... spaced out," he giggled a little. Heh, spaced out.

 

((>.< So much thought put into such a tiny post...))

[pudding]

((Raggedy also regenerated into a girl and decided to abandon the name Doctor for the name Master since she hates Doctor Whooves. She sees Doctor Whooves as the pony that took her name from her so she gave it up to take the name Master instead.))

 

Jack's eyes widened as he quickly scooped Fluttershy up and zoomed out the window. He moved quickly, allowing them to reach Ponyville within minutes. But those were minutes wasted. "Doctor!" Jacked yelled as he hovered over the buildings. He glanced down at Fluttershy in concern then flew around Ponyville nervously. "Doc, where are you?!?"

[TSparkle123]

The Doctor looked up as he heard Jack calling his name. It seemed he'd gotten a hang of the flying thing. Good to know. "I'm here, Jack," he called back. "What's up? Aside from you, of course."

 

((JAFIH HGISGHKN POST WHY YOU SO SHORT))

Edited June 4, 2013 by TSparkle123

[pudding]

Jack quickly landed next to the Doctor and set Fluttershy on the ground in front of him. "The Raggedy Doctor jumped off a balcony in Canterlot and Fluttershy went after him. She took a full regeneration energy blast to the fact and how her butt tattoo is all weird. What's wrong with her, Doc?" he looked down at the yellow and pink pony in concern and motioned to the hourglass on her flank.

[EchotheWolf]

Vinyl face-hoofed. "We were.. you know... going to ask around town about our missing daughters?" She jumped backwards as another pony seemed to land from nowhere. "Holy Celestia! 'Shy!" She internally face-hoofed as she heard the phrase 'butt-tattoo.' She didn't know much about regeneration energy, except it could be very dangerous.

 

Fluttershy raised her head, looking... sleepy.

[pudding]

Jack looked at Fluttershy in concern and bowed his head down so he could nudge her, trying to keep her awake. "Come on, Doctor. I know you can fix her. Tell me what happened to her!"

 

The newly self-proclaimed Master gnashed her teeth together in anger as she reached the edge of the Everfree forest. Stupid ponies, thinking they were all safe in their homes. They weren't important. But the Doctor, how he fancied them. That could absolutely be used her her advantage. But first, to the paint shop. She had to cover up her cutie mark, prevent the Doctor from seeing she was a Time Lord.

[TSparkle123]

The Doctor felt a little stupid when Vinyl reminded him what they were doing. Of course! He almost face-hoofed himself, but his mind was drawn away by Jack. Strange! Very strange! He'd never heard of any creature taking a blast from regeneration energy before. And her Cutie Mark changing was an even stranger concept. He looked at Fluttershy's flank to see the hourglass cutie mark in place of the old butterfly one. Oh, how beautifully odd! He began to pace around the pegasus, smiling a little. "I have absolutely no idea what has happened to her!" he said happily. "Isn't it wonderful?"

[pudding]

"No!" Jack replied almost immediately. "I don't know what's wrong with her but you always warned everyone not to get close to Time Lords when they regenerated. I'm really worried about her, Doc. Can you do something? Or help us find Raggedy in case he can explain?"

[EchotheWolf]

Fluttershy's eyes widened. "It's w-wonderful?!" She looked from Jack, to The Doctor, and back to Jack.

 

"He's right. You said-about two years ago when you were regenerating-that I needed to get back, or I may die. And 'Shy over here took a full blast, at full speed to boot!"

[pudding]

Jack looked over at Vinyl in alarm then looked at Fluttershy. "She better not die," he said with a huff. "I won't let her. So tell me what's wrong with her before we have two immortal ponies running around."

 

 

[TSparkle123]

The Doctor nodded and cleared his throat. "Apologies, I let my curiosity get the better of me again. In all honesty, I have no clue, Jack. The blast might have altered her DNA in some way and made her, in essence, a Gallifrey- er Gallopfreyan. I don't know if it's killing her, though. As far as I know, it should be. Heck, she should already be dead, but she's not. That makes her odds much better," he said, more to himself than to Jack. He wasn't interested in letting her die, either. He'd already seen to many innocent lives end because he didn't know what to do. Fluttershy wasn't going to die, and she wasn't going to become immortal, like Jack, either. That was all the Doctor knew right now. "It might be a good idea to get a second opinion from Raggedy, but not with me around. He... I don't think he likes me much. Doesn't matter, though. It's better if we stay apart anyway."

[EchotheWolf]

Fluttershy had been able to catch her breath enough to stand up-with Jack's support-to face the two other ponies. She leaned her head onto Jack's neck. "What a relief..." She would have died already, if she was meant to. Silently, she thanked Celestia. "But... what's a 'Gallopfreyan?"