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A Doctor's Farewell

by Songbrony

Chapter 1: Mercel

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"Where are you going?" my mom called out. "You just got back!"

"I know mom, but I need to go. He's waiting for me." I shouted back to her.

"Who?" she asked. "You better not be running off with that man again!"

"Stop worrying! He's really smart. He knows what he's doing." I explained to her. She didnt approve of who I was traveling with.

"Everywhere you two go, there's danger! You know how many nights I spend worrying about you? About wether or not you'll be coming home or not?" she said.

"I'll be fine. The Doctor protects me and I protect him." I pointed out. "Besides, I feel special when I'm with him. Here...I'm treated differently than everypony else, just because of my eyes and I'm slightly clumsier than others." I explained. "But out there," I said pointing to the stars, "I see so much of pain and suffering that I can help fix. Here I can't do anything. Why would I stay back?"

"For me. For your mother." she said. "I love you. Please don't go with him. I don't know what could happen!"

"Mom I'm going." I said sternly. "I'm a grown mare and can make my own decisions." I walked over to her and gave her a hug. "I'll be back for Hearts Warming, I promise." I let her go and walked over to the TARDIS. The Doctor stood outside waiting.

"Mother giving you a hard time again?" he asked.

"No more than usual. She says you're dangerous."

"And am I?" he asked.

"Only around Daleks. Don't think I've forgotten what you did above Gilease 7." I said. We went to Gilease 7 for a short little get away and while we sitting on the beach next to the sea of gold, we were attacked by the Daleks. It was a fairly easy win for us. They wanted the gold for some transportation device. All we needed to do was have the Docter re-triangulate the modules coordinates, and they got sent back to the center of the sun. Of course, I was stuck in their captive and being threatened constantly and shot at by them, but we made it out unscathed.

"Oi, that's not my fault. How was I supposed to know the Emperor's Elite Dalek Guard would be looking for gold on that particular planet?" he said.

"Maybe by the fact they had a sea of GOLD?" I said, putting emphasis on the word gold.

"Hey it was a beautiful sight and you loved it."

I chuckled. "Yes I did." We walked into the TARDIS as my mom ran up to it.

"Nope. Sorry, only room for two." he said as he slammed the doors closed on her. He flipped a switch and off we went to some distant planet.

"Was it really necessary to slam them in her face?" I said as I put my saddlebag down.

"I don't find traveling with your mother to be a fond experience." he said. I rolled my eyes. Neither of them really cared for the other, but it didnt bother me too much. My mom did get a bit snippy when things didnt go her way, and the Doctor was almost as stubborn as she is when she's bartering.

"So where are we off to next?" I asked as I looked at the scanner.

"How about Barceluna?" he asked.

"The city or the planet?" I asked sarcastically.

"Don't get sarcastic with me. There's only enough sarcasm in this TARDIS for one, and that's me." he said with a smile.

"Lets go to the planet. I've been to the city already with you and Cyberman invasions aren't fond experiences for me." I said, copying his comment to my mom.

"At least they make sense in how they work. Your mother is like Pandora's Box! You never what you're gonna get on a Friday." he said.

"Oh shut it." I said, laughing. He smiled as he punched in the coordinates and pulled a lever. After some jerks and twerks, we landed.

"Now just outside is a place filled with dogs with no noses. The sky is a bright blue with a magnificent two sun formation." he said. "Go on, take a look." he said motioning to the door.

I ran out and gasped when I saw the scenery around me. The grassy plains were a beautiful green and in the distance I saw a mountain side that stretched as far as I could see. There was a giant city on the side of the mountain that reminded me of Canterlot. It glistened in the light that the two suns produced. I turned to the Doctor as he stepped out and gave a wide smile.

"Beautiful isn't it? The year 2183, the golden years of the Mercel Empire. Economic success is at an all time high and there has been world peace for the past 50 years." he explained.

"Wow." That was all I could get out. It was the most beautiful place I'd ever seen out of all the places I've been.

"Magnificent isn't it?" he asked. "Well come on! Lets go meet the ponies of Mercel!" he exclaimed and ran across the plains to the city. I flew into the sky and followed him to the tall mountains. The air here was light, crisp, and carried me to the city.

When we arrived, I was amazed by the architecture. It was as beautiful as the buildings in Canterlot. "Mercel architecture, derived from Homo Sapiens in 2089." he said.

"Homo Sapiens?" I asked, landing next to him.

"Basically hairless apes. But they are absolutely brilliant!" he said with a smile.

"Have you met them?" I asked curiously.

"Oh yes. Saved them multiple times from utter destruction." he bragged. "Goodness it's beautiful here."

"Doctor, why aren't there any other Pegasus or Unicorns here?" I asked. Since arriving I've only seen Earth Ponies.

"In 2085 there was a genocide against all non-Earth Ponies led by Dul-Hild. He believed that Pegasi and Unicorns were always trying to be better than the Earth Ponies. He was an amazing speaker and had no problem getting ponies to believe what he was saying. He led a genocide against four-billion ponies, and wiped every single one off the face of the planet." he explained.

I had only read about genocides. Most that happened back home were millennium before Equestria was founded and occurred overseas, like in the Griffon Kingdom or the Changeling homeland. "Which reminds me," he said as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed at my wings, "we need to hide your wings from them. We don't want to cause a stir amongst the civilians here."

"What did you do?" I asked as I looked at my wings.

"Just a slight change in lighting. The other ponies will think you to be an Earth Pony as long as you don't start flying around." he said.

I looked at the giant castle that stood on the mountain side. "So who rules this place now?"

"Queen Samantha. Her brother is the General of the military, but he doesn't do much. Ever since their family took power 100 years ago, there hasn't been any war to fight. The only reason for the military is for order in case of natural disasters." he explained.

"100 years of peace doesn't sound long compared to Equestria." I said.

"Well Equestria is one of the few places in the Universe where the rulers have the ability to handle all major conflicts with diplomacy. But also remember that Equestria has it's own share of battles. Not necessarily wars, but skirmishes that Celestia and Luna have been unable to avoid." he explained cooly.

A group of armored ponies suddenly ran up to us, spears raised. "Halt! State your name and home sector!" the lead guard shouted.

"Well I guess they don't find me too welcoming." he whispered to me. "I'm John Smith from the Nev-Two sector. This is my friend Ditzy Doo, aslo from Nev-Two." he said. "And you are?"

"I am George, General of the Mercel military. I have orders to take you up to the Queen's castle immediately. Your friend will have to stay here." he said.

"Sorry but where I go she goes." he said quickly.

"Oh it's alright! I want to look around for something to get my mom." I said. "It looks like you have business to attend to with royalty anyway. Just meet me at the fountain when you're done." I told him.

"Are you sure? You don't this place yet." he said.

"I'll be fine. I won't get lost as long as I stay within sight of the fountain. Don't worry about me alright?"

"Alright then." he said and turned back to George. "Take me to your leader." he said with a grin.

"Great. A guest with a sense of humor." he said sarcastically.

"Oh, what's life without a few jokes here and there?" the Doctor said as they walked toward the castle. I looked around me for anything that resembled a shop of some kind. Most of the shops around here were grocery places. I walked up to one of the ponies and asked where the nearest shop was.

"Down the road to the left." he said, pointing in that direction. "You new here?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm visiting with a friend of mine." I said.

"Well be careful. Strange things have been happening here." he said.

"What strange things?" I asked. Usually I would have just been passed him along and not worried about it. But after traveling with the Doctor, my curiosity gets in the way a lot.

"Can't you feel it?" he asked. "There's an uneasiness in the air. Usually there would be hundreds of ponies lining in these streets, but now a days there's only a fraction of them that are brave enough to come shopping."

"Why would they be afraid to shop?"

"Rumors say that the Queen's brother is attempting to gain the throne. He's not a very popular pony amongst the civilians and nopony was afraid to state that. But only recently have those who spoke out against him started to disappear. Sometimes a stallion will go missing, or a mare, or entire families. Even children who know what's happening, but don't know when to stay quiet." he said.

"Why are they disappearing now? If they've been speaking their mind about him for awhile, why is he acting now on it?"

He looked around him for anypony who might be listening. "Because he wants the throne. He wants approval of him to increase, and approval of the Queen to diminish. Everypony knows that it's him who's behind the disappearances, but without any evidence, the Council can't do anything against him." he explained.

"The Council?" I asked.

"The Council holds the judicial power here in Mercel. It's a way to make sure that the Queen or King doesn't have full power over everypony. They determine punishments for Hojis, those who plan a coup against the Queen." he said. "If you are ever labeled a Hoji, you will never have any place here. It's the most dishonorable act here, even worse than killing your own family."

"Why's that?" I asked.

"Because it means that you are willing to destabilize an entire government and cause a panic that could end countless lives. When you murder your family, it's only a few ponies of close relation. But against a government, that could end millions of pony's lives." he explained.

"So George is labeled a Hoji? If that's the case, why can't the Council do anything about him?"

"It's not the ponies of Mercel who label one as a Hoji, it's the Council itself. And without any evidence, nothing can be done to stop him." he said. "But I've said too much. Run along now and be careful."

"Alright, you too." I said and walked down the road to the where the pony said the shop was. I found it very odd that he claimed that the Queen's brother was trying to take over the throne. It was definitely an interesting way to try and take over, but it seemed to be working if what he said was true. There weren't many ponies running around now. I walked into the shop and started to look at the crystal figures they had.

I didn't have any money from this planet, but thanks to the Doctor, I had my own psychic paper. All I had to do was hold it up and show them that I was a bank manager and I'd be good. I found a crystal globe that had the fountain I saw earlier with water shooting from it. It was really pretty so I picked it up and went to the brown pony behind the desk. He had a poofy brown mane and was looking through a magazine. There was a mare in front of me that was getting really impatient. "You know, when there's a pony in line, generally you help them out and answer questions or check them out." she said.

He looked up from his magazine and glared at her. "And when a pony tries to shoplift, generally I don't help them out when they need it." he said cooly.

"You know how hard it is out there. Ever since the Queen passed that law, it's been too hard for most of us to get a job and get by." she said to him. "I've got kids. A family to feed. Please, let me just take this for them." she said as she held out a loaf of bread.

He sighed. "Fine. Just don't tell anypony I did this." There was a rustle outside and some shouting. "Quick, head behind this door and don't say a word." The mare did as he said and he locked the door behind him. He motioned for me to come up to the counter. Right as I did, armed guards came bursting in.

"Where is she?" one of them said.

"Who?" the brown maned pony asked.

"We received word that a traitor to the state had come through here."

"You mean a Hoji?" he asked. "No can't say I've seen one here. And even if I did, there's no way I'd do business with them. Vile abominations they are."

"Are you certain that you didn't see anypony...suspicious come through here?" the guard asked.

"Yes, I'm most certain. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm with a customer." he said as he turned to me.

"Be on the look out then. Sorry for the intrusion." the guard said before glaring at me and leaving.

The brown maned pony let out a sigh when the guard left. He walked over to the door behind him and opened it. "Thank you!" the mare exclaimed.

"Whatever, just get out before they come back. And if they find you near my shop, I'll say you came here and robbed me. Don't make me have to do that." he threatened.

The mare ran out and the brown pony turned to me. "Sorry about that." he said to me.

"What was all that about?" I asked.

"I take it you're not from here are you?" he said. I nodded my head. "Well, to make a long story short, the military is taking over and getting rid of anypony who talks out against them. Everypony is a Hoji if you talk against them." he explained.

"Why is the military taking over? I thought that the Mercel Empire had been at peace for 100 years?" I said.

"Technically we still are at peace. But it's a very tense peace. Ponies have started talking about rebelling against the military and fighting for the Queen. But if they do, they'll be slaughtered. The military is too strong and all we'll have is shop keepers with pitchforks while they have trained killers." he said dryly.

"But isn't there somepony who could help you?" I asked.

"None that are willing. Most that could be helpful are sided with the General."

"Oh." I said. There wasn't much for me to say. I didn't want to mention the Doctor because I might put him in danger, especially since he was with George right now heading for the Queen.

Oh no. I thought. I had completely forgot that the Doctor was with him. I needed to find him and tell him about what I've found out. "How do I get to the castle?" I asked.

"Why would you want to go to the castle?" he asked.

"Let's just say I've got a special friend who might be in danger." I said.

"Well if he's pissed off the wrong pony, then it may be too late for him. But the best way to get in is to get the attention of the guard. They'll take you in if you do something that's illegal." he said.

"Great. Thank you." I said as I ran out of the shop, leaving the item I had on the desk. What I had in mind wasn't really illegal, but it would definitely get the attention of the guard. I found a guard and ran up to him. "If I show you something, will you take me to the Queen?" I asked.

"What?" he asked, surprised that I had ran up to him. I jumped into the air and began to flap my wings. Whatever the Doctor had done to hide my wings was gone and the guard could see that I was really a Pegasus. His mouth dropped as I flew around him. I landed in front of him smiling. "What? But...How did..." he stammered.

"Take me to the Queen." I ordered. He nodded his head shocked and led me to the castle. I haven't even been here for an hour and yet I was on my way to save the Doctor. Story of my life.

Next Chapter: Mercel's Secret Estimated time remaining: 18 Minutes
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