Two of the creatures stepped forward. One of them had the common courtesy to pull a torch out of his backpack. The other one seemed to be the superior officer, going by his larger, more elaborately decorated chain and plate armor made of some unknown material. It glowed and the light shifted, the energy apparently pulsing throughout the surface of the armor.

They were similar to the folkloric Chinese dragons in general appearance. The head appeared similar to that of a lion, however unlike the myths he'd heard of, these creatures' limbs were actually of a dignified size... mostly. Their bodies were about thrice his size and five times his length. They had scales ranging from chrome to pearl white, their manes were flowing like fire... or plasma. You know, the actual aggregation state of fire. The stuff that 99% of the bloody universe is made of? What do they teach you in school...

The Doctor was impressed. He certainly didn't read anything about Chinese dragons in the library.

The superior among them addressed the stallion, with a very oriental accent, and a slight, electric echo. Possibly Japanese.

"Are you him? The one called 'The Doctor'?"

The Doctor found no reason to shy away now. He'd seen bigger. "That would be me, yes. And who might you be?"

"We are agents of the Organized Defense Initiative Network, branched in our great city of Fortune Holds. We have been sent to apprehend you, forcefully in necessary.

"...That being said, I would like to express how grateful I am for your decision to come out willingly."

Tactful. The Doctor appreciated it. He smiled a little wider. "...Well, yeah. To be fair, I'd very much prefer to leave the others out of this... I'm thankful that you've embedded your warnings into the sound waves of thunders, rather than just barge in, tie me down and drag me out... As authorities often seem to take liberty of doing.

"Anyway, it really was a lovely method of communication. Psychic Morse Code, perfect for use from within noisy storms and the such. Ugh...
Why exactly were you sent to apprehend me?"

"We know who you are, Doctor. As I've said, we were sent to take you in, in response to the threat you present."

"...Could you elaborate? No, wait, I remember. It's about that prophecy, isn't it?"

"You've learned of it?"

"...Yeah. A hermit told me yesterday."

The officer's head tilted and sagged, his eyebrow raising. "Well. Did this hermit also explain how you're supposed to be responsible for a calamity at a global scale?"

"Yes, yes, I know. Ridiculous, isn't it?"

The drake took half a step forward. "Ridiculous as it may seem, you've been called to attend a discussion in its regard."

"Understandable. I wouldn't allow my entire race to be threatened by the existence of just one person if I were in charge either... Who is in charge, again?"

"That would be, the leaders of the very world you're endangering. All of them."

"...All of them?"

"All of them." the officer nodded.

All the leaders.

"Oh. Well..." The Time Lord glanced around to the other drakes present before looking away, eyebrows raised lazily. "I didn't even need to do anything yet and I'm already this world's most wanted. Go me."

A few chuckles in the background, then the lizard started again, holding down a chuckle himself. "Yes... If you would please put this on, we can be on our way." He gestured to his subordinate, which produced a small talisman from his pack.

The Doc obliged, not wanting to keep the leaders of the world waiting... Though it would be a lie if he were to say that he didn't take a look back to the house first.

The lizard sent a charge through the small bauble, after which it started glowing and pulsing with energy, floating away from the stallion's neck. The wearer later realized that he was starting to float similarly, as some sort of static shroud would creep out and enveloped him. The phenomenon culminated to a short flash, then he was gone. Leaving nothing but the talisman behind still floating on its own.

Which proceeded to dart off high into the sky, then shoot off into the distance. Followed by the draconic creatures at their own similar pace.

As they arrived, they left. In a flash of lightning.

Within the impossible star traveling through the sky at enough speed to easily shatter Einstein’s good composure, the Doctor was uneasy. He was self aware, and aware of the time and space that passed him by. And it was quite bothersome, since both of those things had always presented an awful itch that kept him running around, keeping himself distracted so he wouldn't go insane.

Inside the gem, his consciousness was meant to be locked and his body frozen. Yet, it takes more than this kind of basic stasis to take full hold of a Time Lord. His mind prevailed, thankfully just enough for him to realize just how dangerous it would be to fight the stasis in the first place. It was only there to keep him alive through traveling a quarter’s way across the planet, in a few seconds.

Teleportation was one thing. Being transferred instantly across untold distances, that was tricky. Since beaming someone as a radio signal provided multiple gross issues, the only feasible way to teleport was by punching a hole through reality. Which was a component of time travel, with or without a capsule.

This was not that kind of travel. It was something he never really experienced until now. Somehow, he got stashed away inside the talisman. Kept safe so he could get transported to a homing device he knew was pulling him away. He was broken down at a subatomic level by that static field earlier, then converted into a kind of energy he could not recognize and stashed away, the talisman acting as a battery. It was insane...

…Well, maybe not really insane, if you thought about it. Just unheard of. It was just another use for magic, a concept which was making the Doctor all fidgety as a kid before Christmas. At least he would, if he wasn't feeling like he was going insane because he couldn't take his attention away from his... issues. They should've warned him. He had no choice but to shut down the part of him that felt this discomfort, and just give in. Which would've been okay in his own timeline, but here, it was just... wrong.

When he finally got released, after the eternity that was an entire minute, it took him a little while until he could get a proper hold of his senses. He was greeted by the same draconic commander from before, a mixture of no-nonsense and humor in his expression.

The area he woke up in seemed to be what would happen if a docking area were crossed with a Chinese monastery, then taken apart and redecorated by an interior designer obsessed with taking Feng Shui just a little bit further.

There were multiple noteworthy elements to point out. The actual structure he was in was a massive oblate spheroid shape (or maybe just a rounded out cylinder with convex sides) with several floors. The floor he was on seemed to be along a quarter's way from the bottom, a ceiling mirroring it around thirty stories high above. The two surfaces were made of an unusual kind of stone, which would pulse upon touch like a plasma screen, similarly to the draconic officer's armor. Said stone would continue along the convex walls in sharp triangles, then interrupt and be replaced with transparent crystal, which made up most of the walls, as well as most of the stairways and interior balconies built along said walls.

On said balcony floors were several containers of varying sizes, stored apparently. He looked over to two noteworthy crystal pylons within the room(I'll get to those in a moment) which other draconic creatures were either busily maintaining some sort of ritual, or harnessing smaller shards from and loading them into the previously mentioned containers. The Time Lord even saw a couple of the drakes throw the crystals into their mouths and chewing them. This must be their agriculture, apparently.

Now, regarding why the place looked like a Feng Shui monastery, the entire floor the Doctor was on was one big Yin Yang symbol. He was just resting on the benches along a large pagoda running like a support pillar through the middle of the large spheroid (it was like a saucer building from our world, only with rounded walls. Because they can.). On the half of the floor he was on, there were base colors of dark blue and black decorated light blue and silver. There were also phoenix pictures and statues along the stone of the walls, crawling along the stone of the ceiling over to the pillars along the edge of the first balcony floor, at the tips of the triangles-shaped stone sections mentioned earlier, which happened to continue along respective balcony floors. There was also a large crystal pylon (yes, like the ones from Starcraft) in the middle of the coldly-colored area, heavily decorated with depictions of the fiery bird.

The other half of the room was decorated noticeably differently. It turned out the halves complemented each other, as to be expected. Here, the colors were gold and red finishings over brown and black. The statues and depictions along the walls, pillars and the area's own pylon, were those of snake-like serpents...

It was something the Doctor found noteworthy to consider. In Chinese folklore, the Yin Yang were designed to symbolize two halves of the whole. The dark and the light respectively. However, each side had a designated creature of myth associated. Supposedly, the Fenghuang, or Phoenix, was considered of Yin (dark) (and complements) and the dragon was Yang.(*) And honestly, those serpents along the walls were anything but dragons... Then again, the Phoenix was considered to be originally inspired from the Egyptian Bennu, which so happened to be chased by the serpent Aapep. Similarly, in Norse, there were a certain pair of wolves that chased after the moon and sun respectively...

The Doctor decided to stop before his head exploded. It wasn't like his sanity had recently taken a blow or anything. He just settled for attracting the attention of the two officers left to guard him until he woke up. But by the time he finally got to doing so, however, they seemed to have already called for their superior via their psychically-enhanced hypersonic growl... or whatever the Doctor said they typically used to communicate.

As it stood, their captain just arrived in a flash of lightning.

“Oh, good, you’re awake. We were worried you might've suffered side effects from our magic.”(**)

"No kidding... I'd take time travel without a capsule over that any day."

…He could go on and on expressing his many reasons for disapproval, but there was something waaaay more interesting he needed to pay attention to.

Previously he only paid attention to the interior of the busy building he was in. Now, he took a passing glance out the crystal windows. As soon as he did, he got to his feet and hurried over for a better look.

He traveled to the home of their wondrous race, and the sight was breathtaking.

Pearl clouds high above and below, with great quicksilver buildings emerging as spires, sometimes joining into pillars. Where two such structures were to meet, instead they split outward and formed either spheres like Christmas globes or spheroids like the one he was in, finished with semitransparent crystal along the middle letting in light from the now setting sun. Also like the walls of the building he was in.

"What did you say your city is called again?"

"Fortune Holds."

It stretched on for miles, cutting off into a drop to what he assumed was the Sky's Mirror ocean. The sun's light poured and flooded everything, but it didn't blind. The crystal walls weren't entirely transparent, it seemed, as it was thicker and more opaque on the side of the sunset. On the other half of the city, opposite to the sun halted in its setting, the town appeared more colorful. There were crystals decorating throughout the city, emanating faintly colored light. And on the eastern horizon was the moon, similarly frozen in its effort to rise.

Fortune Holds, the cloud keep that bordered between night and day, Yin and Yang. In a world where twilight does not exist. Only balance without compromise.

“…Incredible.” the Doc cast awestruck.

“You think so?" the drake answered. "You should come for the Aurora Festivals.”

“Tell me about your people.” the Time Lord was practically ready to beg to learn more. His entire life he dedicated to seeing as much of the Universe as possible, and seeing this would've been a wonder even for someone who didn't share his passions.

The drake chuckled. "I suppose we have a little time to waste before we arrive to the meeting hall. What would you like to know?"

"Everything. How you made this place, your culture, your history..."

"That would take all day." the lizard teased, eliciting a pleading look from the stallion. He chuckled. "I suppose we could stall a little."

"Yay." was the Time Lord's silent reply.

There were a number of interesting things that he'd learned. The gist of it was, Fortune Holds was only the capital of these draconic creatures. There were other smaller settlements over the ocean, each with its own "agriculture" system. Two other noteworthy ones were placed strategically not far away. Apparently, their decisions in location were largely dependent on local precipitation, which was uniquely enhanced here magically.

Most of their culture was marginally borrowed from the kingdoms to the west, a conglomeration called the Mosaic Kingdoms. A mass of different races living in close proximity, intertwining peacefully... mostly. Creatures of varying magical power and civility, apparently the local ponies had their work cut out for them keeping harmony among the many, very different creatures. Supposedly the Monkey Clan would always pick fights with the Tiger Tribe, the wide-spread Foxes would always pursue some form of agenda, and the Naga Kingdom would always find something to complain about. The Pandarians(***) were nice, though.

Luckily for the local ponies, the Loong dragons were willing to lend a claw whenever the hammer would need dropping. By the way, supposedly the Storm Drakes had some familial relation to the local Loong dragons.

There were many different variations of the draconic race. The Equestrian Firecrown Dragon, the Continental Mountain Drake, the Sea Serpents and River Guardians, the Deep Drakes, the Plains Drakes, even the rare Sand Dragons. There were even tales of Ancient Ones, sleeping deep within mountain mazes, active volcanoes and frozen seas. It was even considered that some of them used their magic to change shape and hide among the local populace.

The Doctor paid attention with baited breath. There was so much he didn't know about this world still! He'd heard of some of the dragon types in Twilight's books, but there were certainly no mentions of Naga or Tigers. Equestria was so unbelievably sheltered...

He was being escorted down a hallway, spiraling upwards through a fortress, made of livestone™, inside a cloud. A storm cloud fortress. Need I say more?

The stone, seeming alive and all, would light up as anyone stepped on it. So, no need for lighting. But they set up the lights anyway, which were the same fluorescent crystals as the ones outside on the night side.

It would also seem that they didn't need windows beyond a few sections of transparent crystal. At this altitude, windows would only leave a vicious draft inside, which the Doctor was lucky enough to notice they did not hinder the drakes in their lightning form. However, there was the matter of air pressure and temperature, slight discomforts which the Doctor had no issue dealing with.

"...Is something wrong?" the drake stopped his storytelling to ask, noticing the stallion shake and grin disturbingly.

The Doc was holding a hoof to his stomach, convulsing from sheer joy before he finally started to laugh maniacally, making the other two officers accompanying him and the captain more than uncomfortable.

"Sorry, sorry. It's just that, I just keep thinking about how absolutely brilliant you folk are! I mean look at all of what you did! Look at you! I've never seen anything like you!"

"..Thanks." the leader proclaimed.

“Mind giving me your name? I mean, at least one of you."

“Well, I believe I can just continue to speak for everyone else. My title is Shusei.”

“Shusei. Nice name… Really nice.”

“Definitely better than the Doctor.” Shusei joked.

“Oi! Don't dis the name...” the stallion returned in good fun.

“From what intelligence we could gather, that’s the only name you’ve ever been called, has it?”

“Until now. There’s still time for people to start calling me different things. Before I arrived on this plane of existence, I used to be called plenty of things. Prick, Brit, Cheek Bones, Get-Off-My-Planet... I'm only waiting to hear what I'll be called around here. So far, people seem to like calling me Doc...”

“I take it you don't appreciate that much?”

"It's like calling a police officer a cop. Which is short for copper, a slang started because of what their badges were made of. It's not necessarily rude, it's just denying the honorary title... Sorry if I'm rambling."

“No issue, we've still a small ways ahead of us."

"While we still had time, there were a few more pressing questions I had." the Doctor asked him.

"I will answer whatever I am allowed to. There is still such a thing as state secrecy.”

"I wouldn't have it any other way. First thing I wanted to ask was... What can you tell me about the Last War?"

The captain remained silent for a short while. It was a gravid silence, as one would offer their respects. "...I am not one to answer such a question. And I would advise against asking such things very lightly. No one enjoys remembering it..."

"I can tell. There wasn't anything on it in the local library in the town I've been staying so far. I can only assume that it didn't make it into history class for a reason."

“History is preserved so we may learn from it. About the Last War, we didn’t have anything to learn. Especially not Equestria.”

“I see…”

After a while of walking, he started feeling more and more nauseous. He knew it was neither the change in air pressure nor goosebumps. He reminded himself that he was dealing with telepathic creatures. He could recognize when someone was trying to forcefully read his mind.
And this wasn't that either.

Sure, these particular kinds of architecture have always managed to creep him out. Too gothic. Then again, maybe Time Lords are allergic to livestone?

Whatever it was, it went away before long.

Finally, they were faced with what seemed like the entrance to the courtroom. Two grand doors decorated by symmetrically-styled lines.

“Well then, here we are. Hope you're ready.” Shusei encouraged.

“I'm not worried. It's only bargaining for my life.” He made it sound like it was just Tuesday... and technically, it was.

There it was again. The nauseating feeling he had. Something coming from behind those doors.

There didn’t seem to be any keyholes present, or handles. Instead, there were the complex decorations. Two guards stationed in front, complete with glowing armor and spears decorated in a similar fashion.

They placed their claws over two symmetrically-placed spirals on the doors. The lines and styles started to shine with power, progressing to the outer edges, then the doors slid open to the sides.

“Just what is there that you can’t do with your claws?... That didn’t come out right either.”

The air coming from inside was riddled with the many invisible colors of weariness and reverence. These were no psychic abilities, the leaders of this world present phenomenal power still unknown to him.

The room was an amphitheater, and they were meant to look down on him. No issue, he just swaggered forward, to the center of the stage. All of the creatures looking over to him seemed torn from fairytales. On one side, there was a gryphon sporting a mayoral outfit and his entourage. Another had an old zebra mare dressed in all manner of exuberant attire. Opposite side was some a kind of humanoid dog, gray and hunched, but intimidating for the many scars he has and the coldness in his one eye.

There were four seats left unoccupied, including the front-most one. It would seem that he was not the only person left to join.

"Sorry, did I keep you all waiting?"

Smug bastard. If only there was someone to force him down in a kneeling position..

Oh, look. One of Shusei's subordinates took that initiative. But only because the judge had arrived in the hall. Which happened to also be the head of the state of Fortune Holds. He was accompanied by a couple other drakes in heavy armor, followed afterwards by the last attendant left to join the proceeding, accompanied by Her own steadfast pony centurions.

Author's Notes:

(*) Yes, they associated the Dark with a creature that symbolized the sun. I have no idea either. Supposedly it has something to do with complementation.
Don't try to think too much about it, however. It gets worse.

(**) The only reason they used this system to transport him was because of its convenience. Kind of like unicorn magic. It has multiple miscellaneous uses based on alchemy and base matter manipulation. It was only coincidental that they fed off the residual matter produced during their rituals. Regarding how they managed to bring the Doctor here in the first place, it was kind of how the huon matter inside Donna brought her to the Tardis. Pencil in a cup.

Currently, they were aware that the Doctor was a Time Lord, which was why the good captain had set for the infirmary in case he was affected somehow. The other officers were either dismissed or sent to report in first, since they didn't appear to be needed anymore.

Also, the way they brought the Doctor back out of his light gem was by eating said gem then blowing him out, similar to how Spike blows out letters. If you want, you can think of how the Primordial Serpents would swallow your character in Dark Souls then spit him out somewhere else. It's nothing like that, but it's hilarious to remember how they did it.

(***) Totally no relation to the Pandarens. Honest.