The Plastic Paradigmby achilles1371ChaptersThe Giant MonkeyRoyal TreatmentWhite NoiseThe Giant Monkey Meanwhile, the final few mannequin/wax figures were being moved into place. There were figures of many important ponies of past and present, from Equestria and beyond, even a almost perfect rendition of Frank Sineightra stood with a smile on his muzzle and a fedora perched on his head. The place would eventually hold as many as one hundred famous faces but for now about eighty percent of them were occupied by new fashion, including a few designs from Rarity herself. All in all, the crew were running ahead of schedule, despite being slightly understaffed. Some of the workers and designers had failed to turn up. This didn't really concern them, things were going smooth without them. However, if they had found out what had happened to them then of course they would be worrying. Where were they? Well for one unlucky mare the answer was in Canterlot, attempting to make her way to work. Her name was Shimmer Star, she was a mannequin maker and helped with the design behind the new figures that would be used at the museum . Her coat was aqua and her mane was cloud white, extremely smooth and almost drifted like an actual cloud when she moved. Her Cutie Mark was a star with smaller ones around it, all of them a bright gold. She made her way along the cobbled streets, not a care in the world, but something didn't feel quite right. Maybe it was the lack of sentient life on the streets. Or the eerie, cold breeze that swept through occasionally or maybe even the figures that stood motionless in alleys, just out of her view. She began to notice and eventually approached one of the figures, finding it to be a wax figure, one of the ones she designed. "Huh? Alright, I KNOW I'm late for work, but you Stallions aren't funny...Seriously, come out!" she exclaimed, her voice sounding more on edge. Her breathing picked up as Shimmer Star backed away from the lone mannequin, against what she thought was a wall, until it moved. A second mannequin that she had bumped into reach its hoof towards her throat and Shimmer Star let out a blood curdling scream, which nopony heard. Back at the Library the Doctor was still waiting at the door patiently, not a bit of concern on his face even though he had been waiting for 15 minutes. "Hello? Anypony home?" he called, the response being a loud crash from inside and a shattering of glass. The Doctor needed no further invitation, he flung the door open and dashed in; to find himself facing, probably, the world largest monkey, attempting to climb one of the bookshelves. "BLIMEY!" Shouted the Doctor, scanning the room quickly, finding Twilight sweating and trying to read a book rather quickly. The monkey seemed content with climbing the bookcase, taking no heed to the Doctor's sudden outburst. Realizing this he trotted slowly over to her. "So, you would be Twilight Sparkle, yes?" he asked softly. Twilight almost had a heart attack and jumped a few feet off the ground upon hearing the Doctor's voice. "AAAAAH!" she screamed, the noise spooking the enormous monkey, causing him to fall from the shelf he was on, landing on the floor with a loud crash, sending both Twilight and the Doctor into the air. Standing up after the crash she turned to face the mysterious pony who had entered the Library, despite the 'KEEP OUT' sign she had placed on the door, perhaps it had fallen off. Bit of an aloof air to him, judging by the way he is constantly darting his eyes about in such a manner, I guess he's from the palace...Maybe he is here to check on my progress on behalf of the Princess! thought Twilight as she picked up the book in hoof and passed it to the Doctor, who had returned to examining the rather large monkey that had decided the bookshelves were safe again. "Can I help you?" she asked, making sure that the Doctor could hear her. "Hmm? Oh yes that's right, I'm the Doctor by the way, very nice to meet you miss Twilight is it?" he said, trying to remember whilst squinting one eye. Twilight blinked in surprise and looked at him, she hadn't even told him her name yet, maybe it had something to do with the fact she was, apart from Spike, the only pony that lived in the Library. "Yes, Twilight Sparkle to be precise, and who are you? You said you're a doctor, but Doctor Who?" she questioned quizzically. The Doctor rolled his eyes and smiled at the same time, not an easy feat and definitely not a pretty spectacle. "Smith, Colt Smith. Just got here from the palace actually and I need to ask a favour. I need to see any scientific equipment you might have, for documentation and safety of course." he said dryly, a now more business like tone present in his voice as he produced, seemingly out of nowhere, a flip open black wallet with a single piece of blank, white paper. Of course the paper was blank, but to anyone looking at it, it would be a particular alias, person, title or job descriptor, whatever they wanted to see for the paper was not ordinary, but psychic. "I see..." she commented, reading what she could see on the paper. Well, he's telling the truth, I hope I don't get in trouble for the sizing mistake on the monkey... The Doctor continued to look about the place, scanning the now empty bookshelves and occasionally picking one up off the floor and reading the title. "Neighkola Tesla huh? Sounds promising, now about your equipment? I am sure we can deal with the monkey later." Twilight nodded and gestured towards the basement stairs. It was surprisingly well lit, scientific apparatus of all shapes and sizes lined the shelves and dotted the tables. Bunsen Burners puffed their flames gently while test tubes above them in racks boiled and bubbled, the Doctor half expected to find a cadaver strapped to a table, ready for the perfect lightning storm. Twilight stood in the centre of the room, turning her head every now and then, following the Doctor's progress through the room as he excitedly trotted about the room, muttering about everything in front of his face at any given time. "Awww, you've got one of these, I had one, lost it, can't remember where though, such a drag. Oh! you've got two of these! I've only ever seen one, how did you get two? Nevermind, hmmm...Nothing I can use right now, maybe with a little inspection." He continued like this for another few minutes, occasionally tapping a beaker or flicking through a book, most of them research notes on various experiments; the covers worn but not old, many scratches, burns and stains on a few of the early pages and not a single page left untouched by ink. Then the unexpected happened, the Doctor grabbed a bunch of random items and plonked them on a workbench with a heavy thud, sending Twilight out of the light daydream she had been having, something about a cafe in Canterlot. "H-hey! What are you doing?" she questioned, a panic rising in her voice as she dashed over to the grey and blue workbench on the other side of the candlelit room. The Doctor ignored her, sorting out bits and bobs as he began to disassemble various items and roughly clonk them together, briefly using a Bunsen Burner to weld a few pieces here and there. All Twilight Sparkle could do was watch in almost abject horror as he swiftly destroyed important apparatus and reformed it into a thing, something, she just didn't know what. It was another 10 minutes or so before another word was said, but finally the strange device had been completed. "Well, not the model I was hoping for, but the best I could manage with these sort of things." He half said to himself, half to the mare next to him. The device in question was about the length of a pen and a half, a silver rod made of some sort of metal. On the end of it was a red circle, with similar coloured rod connecting the centre to the outer circle; sort of like a tiny, red fan. "Hmmf, Mark III.II, not the best but I was missing a energy converter to be able to get the Mark IV." he muttered to himself, slipping the device into his 'pocket', the almost trandescental area that allows ponies to hold items on their person without bags or holding it. "Now miss Sparkle, you were saying something?" asked the Doctor, back to his usual self. "Y-you, y-you c-can't, you just, b-but!" she stuttered, unable to form full sentences as her work from almost 6 years had just been miniaturized into some unknown device that he had just hidden from her. She tried to grab him, ending up sailing right past the strange colt as he began to make his way upstairs. "Hey! Come back here, I need that!" she called after him, with no success. She HAD expected him to make off with his ill gotten gains, make a run for it so to speak. But no, the Doctor stood right outside the Library, the device in hoof and a strange whirring sound coming from it. He held it to his ear and shook it; looking rather dissapointed. Turning to face her the Doctor looked her in the eyes. "Twilight, can I call you that? Anyway, I need to get to the palace, can you help me?" he asked quietly, removing the facade once and for all. "Also, I told a bit of a fib, my name isn't Colt Smith, it's the Doctor, just the Doctor and I need to get to the palace for very important reasons...So can you help?" he asked pleadingly. She had suspected as much about the name, it was just too plain for such a flamboyant personality. But not being from the palace, indicated by the request to be escorted there by any means meant that the ID she had shown him must have been a fake, or at least not his. "It's okay if you don't want to come with me, I prefer to have some to talk to while I work, it helps me focus, or ramble..." He fiddled with his tie as he began to walk in the direction he assumed would be the quickest way to the palace. "Also, this tie really itches, I can't remember why I picked it really..." he mumbled to himself, hoping that Twilight was following him. He was not to be dissapointed, Twilight was a few feet behind, not wanting to get any closer to this stranger than strange character that had come from almost nowhere, destroyed her work and now possessed a tool she thought to be a work of fiction. She wanted to get to the bottom of him and discover everything about him, and that strange device of his. That was the plan, or at least the idea, but it didn't help her that he decided to sing on the way to the train station. "Oh, I am the very model of a Modern Major-General, I've information, vegetable, animal and mineral. I know the kings of England and I quote the fights historical, from Marathon to Waterloo in order catergorical...I'm very well acquainted too, with matters mathematical, I understand equations both the simple and quadratical. Come on twilight, join in!" he exclaimed. The walk to the train station took an agonizing fifteen minutes, for the Doctor had stopped multiple times, taking the device and using it briefly, each time ending in the same dissapointment from the first. "Doctor, if that IS your name, what are you doing exactly?" she asked, confused as all can be as she caught up to him, peering slightly over his shoulder. "Hm? Oh yes! Umm, put simply I am trying to get a lock on the TARDIS, but with this older model of Sonic Screwdriver I don't think I'll be able to, no....Do you know anyone that might have some Bazoolium?" he asked hopefully, his eyes once again full of wonder. "Bazoolium?" Twilight asked back, not the faintest idea what sort of a item it was. The Doctor frowned and continued on his way, no longer stopping to use his Sonic Screwdriver. The two managed to reach the train station without much trouble, except for the Doctor's constant asking about the goings on in Ponyville and Canterlot, of which Twilight knew little, having to work on various spells and keep a Library in order was not an easy task. Normally the task would have been vastly easier, thanks to her friend and travel companion Spike. Had the little purple and green dragon been present and not on a holiday then he would have most likely been the Doctor's main curious focus and things would have most likely been just a little more chaotic. Royal TreatmentThe train ride to Canterlot was almost agonizing for Twilight, with the chestnut Stallion next to her constantly asking her questions about pony anatomy, apparently the Doctor hadn't payed much attention to the fact he was one. "Anyway, I was wondering, how do you use these 'pockets'?" he asked, gesturing to a spot on his side where he produced the Sonic Screwdriver from seemingly nowhere. Pockets where a part of pony anatomy that nopony knew much about, they simply existed and assisted ponies like human pockets on clothing. "They seem to be Dimensionally Transcendental, but they still weigh down the user, therefore there is no sort of anti-gravity system or spacious pocket dimension...It's simply fascinating to look at this sort of thing!" The Doctor laughed and repeatedly put away and took out his screwdriver, staring in wonder like a child at every time he did it. "Oh hang on, I completely forgot; have you ever been to the Royal Palace before? I mean, it's roughly my first time, well my first time, the other me's have gone there before but somehow I've forgotten and I'd really not like to get lost there so...?" Twilgiht blinked, having almost fallen asleep, ignoring the Doctor's questions. "Hmm? Oh yeah, I've been there a lot of times, I know my way around, you won't get lost...Hold up, what do you mean 'other you's' that doesn't make any sense, there can't be anymore you's except from being from another time...W-wait, time travel is scientifically impossible!" she mumbled. The Doctor raised an eyebrow, "Says the magical Unicorn, also, I really like the little stalls they had in Ponyville, so many tasty treats!" he chuckled joyfully, slyly changing the subject. She groaned aloud and punched him on the shoulder. "You made us take an extra half hour, what were you exactly doing running off like that?" she growled at him like an angry mother. He pouted, looking a little sorry. "Uhhh yeah, sorry about that; but they had Blueberry Muffins! I love Muffins!" he said, his enthusiasm coming back in a hearts beat. The Doctor looked out the window, sighing as he looked to the moon. "I've been across the stars in that brilliant little box. And in about three seconds I jumped out when she needed me the most, either this is guilt I'm feeling or I really shouldn't have had that last muffin..." he said glumly, lying down on the seat opposite Twilight. He passed out almost immediately, much to her surprise as she also felt the embrace of sleep sneaking up behind her. That night Twilight had the most terrible dream. In front of her stood a blue box, a red, pulsing light atop it and an eerie orange glow came from the small windows on top of the double doors. A roaring wind could be heard from inside as the windows shattered, sending a small burst of flames out of them for a second before the ground was stripped from under her and Twilight found herself in a blue and red tunnel of strange mist and fire, strangely burning hot and freezing cold at the same time...Time...That word kept whispering itself in her ear, never getting louder and never vanishing altogether. Twilight woke with a start, almost falling off the seat she was laying on. It was the middle of the night and the moon hung in the sky towards the horizon slightly, casting moonlight on just about everything. It was almost hypnotizing but something was nagging at her mind as she slowly forgot the dream she just had. As the train moved she could see dew sparkling on the grass, the moving train causing it to look like the rolling and sparkling sea. The Doctor was sleeping like a log, he even had the colour scheme to match, chestnut and dark brown with that green tie. Twilight had a mental giggle at the comparison before trying to go back to sleep, praying to Celestia that she wouldn't have another dream; and that she might provide some answers about this 'Doctor', since he seemed somewhat apprehensive about giving any. Eventually the morning came and by the time Twilight woke the Doctor was already pacing, muttering about this and that. Shortly he turned to face Twilight and spoke. "Three days left...We need to get to the Palace as soon as we can, your Princess might be the only one who can save her..." She blinked, looking at him. "Her? Who's she?" she asked, trying not to sound offended in anyway, which for some reason, she was. The Doctor stared at her expectantly, as if he expected her to be the one who knew what he was thinking. Eventually he broke the stare and went back to pacing, a tiny hint of pink in his cheeks. "S-sexy is the one I care about the most in the universe, she's the only one of her kind and I love her to bits, which happens to be more often than not. She's trapped in a terrible yet amazing place and your Princess is the only one who can save her." Twilight was taken aback by that comment, she didn't expect anyone to fall for that madman, sure he looked pretty good but she was certain he was missing a few screws under the hood, to use a car analogy that someone would appreciate. Ten minutes passed and the train slowly pulled into the Canterlot station. The Doctor almost got off the train before it stopped and Twilight had a hard time keeping up as he galloped at full tilt towards the Royal Palace. He even didn't bother politely stopping for the guards at the door, on he went, barreling through the main doors, Twilight in hot pursuit and behind her, at least five, somewhat angry guards. The impromptu group just about thundered through to the main room of the Palace, the Throne Room, where atop a small flight of stairs was Princess Celestia herself, sitting on her throne. The first look across her face was one of bemusement, having just witnessed a single pony enter her throne room at a rather dangerous speed. The next was confusion, followed by a minor amount of happiness, seeing her star pupil enter a few seconds after. And of course, even more confusion as a gaggle of her guards rushed in as well. Whomever this Stallion was, he was important. "Twilight, who is this young Stallion with you? He is important I hope." she asked calmly. Twilight stepped forward slightly, an unconscious habit she had developed when speaking to the Princess. "Yes Princess Celestia, this Stallion has sought an audience with you, he needs your help desperately." Celestia looked to him, then back to her student, then back to the Doctor. "Very well, speak. I have all day, and frankly; I've been bored out of my wits..." she said with a heavy sigh. The Doctor grinned and opened his mouth to speak. "Thank you your majesty and also, Twilight Sparkle I did not say I was desperate! Anyway, so about that, good to see you again Princess, I really wished this could be under more pleasant circumstances but I really need your help..." "You've met me before? When?" she asked, highly confused and intrigued at the same time. The Doctor let out a light chuckle before continuing. "Oh you've met me loads of times Celestia, new face, voice and everything this time, the whole kit and caboodle so to speak; even the teeth, didn't like the new teeth... Anyway I really need your help, do you still have any of my old stuff? Or did you throw everything out of that old and dusty basement like I asked twenty years ago...Now that I think about it honestly have no idea why I would ask you to do that, I think it had something to do with the decor....But never mind, new face, new personality so if you have any of my things I would really like them back, please?" he asked, pouting a little as he finished. Celestia looked at him, changing faces, a new voice? A shape-changer and yet not a changeling, only Star Scroll knew how to do such magic, but perhaps this is not magic... "Doc.Tor" she spat out slowly, almost as if it were an insult. "Why have you come back here, I told you that you had been banished from the Palace and never to return..." The Doctor laughed sheepishly, "Weeeell about that...Slight problem, my Ship crashed, well is still crashing and I need some of my things to save it..." he said, a hoof rubbing the back of his neck, which he found rather soothing. The following silence was deafening and extremely awkward as Princess Celestia thought about her verdict. There were so many things she could do, banish him again; help him, give him access to "The Basement" or even have him executed, all the while the Doctor and Twilight stood side by side, watching her ponder, guards raised their spears to his throat for some reason. The Doctor flailed his front hooves in the air, gesturing towards the Princess. "Now that's not very nice, I only just arrived and I'm going to be executed? What happened to the fair and happy ruler Princess Celestia I knew eh?" The "Fair and Happy Ruler" waved her hoof dismissively, "To the dungeon with him, may you rot for eternity and a half." She stated bluntly. The guards grabbed the Doctor and slowly dragged him away as he muttered to himself. Twilight caught the last part "...And now I'm going to die in a dungeon...In Canterlot!" he said pitifully. Twilight herself looked anxiously between her teacher and the colt she had met barely a day ago that had knowledge far beyond her comprehension that she could learn from as he was slowly being dragged away. She began to panic and Celestia took heed of her worry. "Dearest Twilight, is something the matter?" she asked earnestly. The purple mare swallowed, before nodding and speaking aloud. "He needs things to save someone very close to him, and though it is none of my business what you should do to him, if he cannot save a very important mare in three days, she will die a most horrible death!" she rushed out, yet making every syllable clear as crystal. The guards froze and turned the Doctor to face Celestia and Twilight. "Weeeeell, that and the catastrophic failure of my ship, the engine of which consists of a star in constant state of decay that, if unable to stop decaying would explode rather violently and wipe out all existence in a fiery blossom of death...In fact it's probably already happening, can you feel the heat?" he asked evilly, a drop of sweat rolling down the Princesses cheek from fear, adding to to it without realization. The guards had let go of the Doctor without realizing and Celestia cleared her throat to speak. "V-very well Doctor. I shall allow you access to your equipment, on the premise that you retrieve your ship, I do this not out of love or compassion, but as of need to save Equestria." She stood from her throne, descending the tiny set of stairs and walking down a corridor, Twilight and the Doctor in tow. "You've had this place redecorated!" the Doctor said absent-mindedly as they almost trotted. "I don't like it..." The trio proceeded quickly along almost endless halls and corridors, making their way into an empty room. "Wasn't there supposed to be a staircase here? And two armed guards, well I'm glad they're gone, the armed guards of course; never liked them...." Both Twilight and Princess Celestia ignored his rambling as the Princess walked up to a wall and it dissapeared entirely, revealing a winding staircase that proceeded to become darker the further down one went. Twilight followed her teacher down the stairs in wonder, the Doctor following behind smiling just a little. The stairs led them to a pitch black room; Celestia's horn glowed for a second before torches lined along the walls lit up and Twilight saw something out of one of her fantasies. The room was rather large, yet compact, lots of dividing walls and desks, workbenches, most of them covered with designs or strange devices; it was like Twilight's laboratory, only twice, if not three times as big. Celestia stood by the door as Twilight slowly walked up to the first workbench she saw, it had a book on it that almost whispered to her, opening it the first thing she saw was a creature. It looked strange, it almost floated, wearing a sort of black lab coat and curious silver and blue headset. from the waist down was most likely a shielded propulsion system. The creature bound in this contraption looked evil, sick and quite possibly, mad. This page also had only one word on it, written in brilliant, blood red cursive was a name: DAVROS. White NoiseTwilight Sparkle looked at the page with both fear and curiosity, her hoof tenderly reaching under to turn the page when another hoof stopped her softly. "No, sorry Twilight, some things should never be learned about." The Doctor said, shutting the book and picking it up. He carried it over to a workbench, covered in random odds and ends, advanced technology and some ancient artifacts were sprawled across the blue and silver surface. The Doctor shuffled through them, tossing some over his shoulder and putting others to the side. Twilight felt her heart die a little when one particular artifact, a stone tablet, covered in pre-history dragon-script was tossed with some amount of gleeful abandon, sailing across the room till it shattered into hundreds of pieces on the floor. "It was essentially a grocery list, used by a small alien repair service, don't get too excited, all the Dragon-script tablets that are important are somewhere else entirely." he said matter-of-factually. Little by little, the clutter on the workbench slowly dissipated until only a few bits and bobs remained. Among them was an egg timer, a strange triangular device, covered in wiring, a model replica of the statue of liberty; which the Doctor kept giggling at. "S-so, what exactly is this going to do?" Twilight asked nervously, peering over his shoulder. The Doctor whipped around, skilfully avoiding Twilight and taking a step back. "Nothing really," he said almost sheepishly, "I was hoping I would find a Navari Transceiver amongst all this, which is the only component I need to call the TARDIS, but unfortunately the most I can do with this is build a Class 5 Industrial hairdryer, or a Quantum Bomb, both of which would cook the planet to a crisp..." he sighed out. Celestia had had enough, she turned quickly and began to walk out of the room. "Well, I give you till sundown, I am going to prepare for the Wax Museum opening, it IS tonight." she said importantly as she proceeded up the stairs. The moment she was out of earshot the two began to burst out in giggles and laughter. "Sh-she must really hate you! I've never seen her this grumpy!" Twilight said between bursts of laughter. The Doctor managed to get to his hooves, "Hate? Oh she despises me, I almost burnt down the palace in one of my very early escapades, I almost set Luna free on the moon...The list goes on and on, despite the good I do for Equestria she seems to cop most of the bad stuff that happens," he caught his breath, smiling from ear to ear. The pair regained their balance, getting the last of the laughs out of their system. "H-hang on, what's that noise?" he asked, head darting about. "What noise?" Twilight asked, following him slowly before hearing a dull static, occasionally spiking to a higher pitch for a split second, before returning. "Ooooh, that hurt..." she groaned, her movements starting to become sluggish. It was like a buzzing of a hundred tiny voices, all inside her head and talking, about...Things. Just things, descriptions of buildings, locations and ponies, many of which she recognized instantly, others took a little longer, all the while a sound would spike, sending a blinding, hot rush of pain through her skull, like something was angry or confused. The Doctor found it just a mere nuisance, trying to find it's source and not in the least bit worried about the sound hurting him. "Where, where, where, where, where...THERE!" he exclaimed, bolting to a small, old fashioned radio that was still going; the frequency dial missing and a large amount of wires and circuitry protruding from it. He looked back for a second to find Twilight on the floor, her hooves over her ears. "Ohhh, I am so sorry, Equine hearing is irritated by this frequency.." he looked back and grabbed a screwdriver from a workbench, working it into where the frequency dial on the radio used to be, moving it in circles slowly. Slowly the pain went away, the voices stayed, but the static and the high pitched noises that made her ears hurt had gone and she could stand again. "Wh-what WAS that?" she asked, looking at the inanimate object with a hatred that could have turned it's heart, if it had one, to stone. The Doctor looked back to the radio, taking out a pair of glasses, putting them on quickly and taking a closer look. "Hmmm..." Twilight didn't like that Hmmm, that Hmmm sounded like a mother's Hmmm, either condescending or dangerous. "C-Come on Doctor, dazzle me with Science, don't say Hmmm." He walked in circles around the radio thing, taking in every detail he could, making calculations and decisions behind the glasses and a furrowed brow. "Weeeeeeell, I think...No it can't be that, it doesn't need a potato peeler...Hmm- sorry, forgot about the sound thing..." he stared at it for another half an hour and Twilight had almost fallen asleep on top of a pile of various books. The Doctor had not moved from his spot, staring at the radio with a hoof on his chin. It was another minute before anything else happened; The Doctor sprang up in the air, whipping his glasses away in a swift motion before yelling. "I'm so STUPID! There it was, staring me in the face, clear as day and I missed it!" Twilight hurriedly blinked herself awake at the noise, trying to sluggishly stand on all four hooves. "Missed what?" she mumbled out, walking over slowly. By now it was almost sunset, Celestia would be coming to eject them from "The Basement". "Hey Doctor?" she asked, glancing over to the door. "What is this place, I've never seen it before, I'd never even heard of The Basement, so what exactly IS it?" The Doctor shrugged, "Back when I was younger, this place used to be a sort of research facility. They would bring in damaged alien technology and reverse engineer it. I was here as the Scientific Adviser, but really I was only here to make sure you Ponies didn't get anything too dangerous or get too ahead of yourselves." He smiled and turned back to the radio; "Now this thing! It is brilliant really! What it is is a signal booster, it sends an amplified signal on a specific frequency to boost the range of the original emitter...But what it amplifies it for, I have no idea..." And, as if on cue, Celestia came down the steps, wearing a splendid, cream colored dress with a rainbow trail and a sun shaped jewel around the waist. "Ah there you two are. Dear Twilight, you look tired, you should go to your room in the palace and rest; I would like a private chat with the Doctor as well." she said calmly, casting a not-as-vicious glance at the Chestnut colt. Twilight Sparkle nodded and proceeded slowly up the steps to the actual palace. The Doctor was busy re-examining the radio, starting to take it apart. "I can't let this place stay Celestia, there is too much stuff here and I don't want you turning Twilight into the next Scientific Adviser..." he said bluntly, not even looking up at her. Before the Princess could do anything in the form of a reply the radio tuned into a station somehow that was playing: I Want To Break Free by QUEEN. "Oh yes! I love this song!' the Doctor said cheerily, bobbing his head to the sound. "You have changed Doctor, you are a completely different pony since we first met, all those aliens you defended Equestria from, all the while tagging along somepony with for the 'fun'. You were old back then, when you were young, and now you are old, but your face is young; that is quite the interesting scenario..." she paused in the middle of her impromptu speech. "You cannot take her with you. You cannot take Twilight with you, I know when she finds out what your ship can truly do then I fear she will want to leave, but I must have you refuse her, I do not wish to lose her like you lost the others..." The Doctor winced a little at the last comment, finally looking up from the radio. "Celestia...Don't mention them...I'm trying to be kind at the moment, I really am, but if you keep this up...I don't know what I might do..." he said, looking back to the radio. "Bingo!" the Doctor exclaimed, pulling out a wire that then sparked before the radio died. "Problem one solved...Now to problem two, which would have been easier to do before fixing problem one...." "What is 'Problem One'?" Celestia asked, trotting slowly around the debris that the Doctor had flung onto the floor during his cleanout of "The Basement". He shrugged, trotting about as he mentally ran through a few ideas and plans. "Oh you know, this and that. Found a signal transmitter over there, that radio. Not sure where it was coming from, Problem One was finding out where the transmission is transmitting from...Also, who in the hay named this place The Basement? That's the worst name I've ever heard of!" The Doctor rolled his eyes, not even waiting for an answer before hurrying out of the room, leaving prints in the dust on the floor as he left. Princess Celestia stood there, baffled at the Doctor's sudden change of mood. As far as she was aware he was a male of his species, and although she didn't know much about it she was fairly certain that he was not supposed to be doing that. She galloped after him, only to find him upstairs, swinging from a wall mounted banner, giggling like a foal. "Doctor!" she called almost angrily. "I demand you get down form there at once!" The response was far from mature, punctuated or civilized. The Doctor stuck his tongue out and made foal like noises at her as he continued to swing, despite two guards attempting to steady the banner and get him down. "Doctor I implore you! Now is not the time for such antics!" Suddenly the Doctor froze, his eyes dilated and he fell from the banner, landing on the floor and did not move for about a minute. Eventually he stood, struggling to get on all fours. "Ow...Psychic Link to the TARDIS has been damaged...Geez that hurt...Any more damage could make me go mad... Well, madder anyway." The chestnut colt blinked rapidly, managing to stand properly. "You mean to tell me that your sudden outburst was not of your own actions?" the Princess asked curiously. "Of course not! What, do you think I would do something like that?" the Doctor asked semi-seriously. The following awkward silence produced a pout to creep across his face. "Oh...Anyway! What was I going to say...Right, my invitation to the Wax Museum opening!" He exclaimed, smiling broadly. Princess Celestia blinked rather confusedly. "What do you mean Doctor? Last I checked you had not been given one, would you like me to have one made?" He simply smiled and shook his head. "Shouldn't need to, I already have one." he said as he reached to his pockets. After a few moments he began furiously padding himself down before hitting his forehead with a hoof. "Oh so stupid! I left my coat with Rarity! Celestia," he called as he ran off I'll be back, postpone the opening for a day!" he only just shouted as he ran out, mentally running calculations. Another trip back to Ponyville and a trip back when I have my stuff...That's at least another day..I'm going to cut it close... Meanwhile, Twilight had barely gotten a wink of sleep, despite the castle walls being thick and plentiful she could still hear everything the Doctor said as he pranced about downstairs like an idiot. She turned and tossed, flipping herself over on the bed before looking about with a huff. There wasn't much new in her room, she hadn't needed to change it much. The essential pile of books she insisted on having at all times changed every month or so as she read from it when she was in the palace. She lazily picked up the book on the top of the pile and glanced at the cover. The Time Machine by Horse.G. Wells, she snorted. "If only that were possible..." Eventually her mind turned to the nightmare she had the day before. She didn't know what the box was, what it did, or why she saw it. But it exploded in front of her, quite violently too. What did it mean? She had been told to be wary of her dreams but this particular one made no sense to her, at least at the moment, perhaps things would become clearer on the future...The future, if only she get there quicker... She shook her head, clearing the thought of time travel form her head for now and decided to continue evaluating any changes made to her room in her absence in the castle. Her vintage posters on the walls had not changed, nor had the contents of her chest of possessions. But there was now a changing veil, the rather elephant in the room that she had ignored on purpose to find more subtle changes first. It was an oriental style veil, a picture of a bonsai garden with a small stream and pagoda, most of which was blurred by the shadows of a changing mannequin, most likely wearing the dress Rarity had picked out for her for the Opening party tonight, or as she would later find out, the next night, thanks to the Doctor's insistence of postponing it. She trotted slowly around the veil to find the snow white mannequin almost staring at her, that familiar whispering of voices that invaded her head previously came back all at once, barking in her head. "N-no...N-not again..." She whimpered, a tiny bit of blood trickling from her nose as she slowly and painfully passed out. Meanwhile, on board the still crashing TARDIS things were getting out of hand. The Dimensional Configurator, which controlled and managed the seemingly infinite amount of rooms about The Ship had been heavily damaged, and some of the interiors were seeping into the console room. Well, by seeping we mean slowly breaking in, pillars and sharp objects from various room pierced through the almost golden dome of a ceiling, a white pillar and a section of a previous console fell through a gap and landed on a chair/couch hybrid, destroying it instantly. The flames continued to rise as the screaming of the TARDIS' engines filled the air, the crackling from the fire only just audible over the cacophony of sounds the Time Machine produced.
The Giant Monkey Meanwhile, the final few mannequin/wax figures were being moved into place. There were figures of many important ponies of past and present, from Equestria and beyond, even a almost perfect rendition of Frank Sineightra stood with a smile on his muzzle and a fedora perched on his head. The place would eventually hold as many as one hundred famous faces but for now about eighty percent of them were occupied by new fashion, including a few designs from Rarity herself. All in all, the crew were running ahead of schedule, despite being slightly understaffed. Some of the workers and designers had failed to turn up. This didn't really concern them, things were going smooth without them. However, if they had found out what had happened to them then of course they would be worrying. Where were they? Well for one unlucky mare the answer was in Canterlot, attempting to make her way to work. Her name was Shimmer Star, she was a mannequin maker and helped with the design behind the new figures that would be used at the museum . Her coat was aqua and her mane was cloud white, extremely smooth and almost drifted like an actual cloud when she moved. Her Cutie Mark was a star with smaller ones around it, all of them a bright gold. She made her way along the cobbled streets, not a care in the world, but something didn't feel quite right. Maybe it was the lack of sentient life on the streets. Or the eerie, cold breeze that swept through occasionally or maybe even the figures that stood motionless in alleys, just out of her view. She began to notice and eventually approached one of the figures, finding it to be a wax figure, one of the ones she designed. "Huh? Alright, I KNOW I'm late for work, but you Stallions aren't funny...Seriously, come out!" she exclaimed, her voice sounding more on edge. Her breathing picked up as Shimmer Star backed away from the lone mannequin, against what she thought was a wall, until it moved. A second mannequin that she had bumped into reach its hoof towards her throat and Shimmer Star let out a blood curdling scream, which nopony heard. Back at the Library the Doctor was still waiting at the door patiently, not a bit of concern on his face even though he had been waiting for 15 minutes. "Hello? Anypony home?" he called, the response being a loud crash from inside and a shattering of glass. The Doctor needed no further invitation, he flung the door open and dashed in; to find himself facing, probably, the world largest monkey, attempting to climb one of the bookshelves. "BLIMEY!" Shouted the Doctor, scanning the room quickly, finding Twilight sweating and trying to read a book rather quickly. The monkey seemed content with climbing the bookcase, taking no heed to the Doctor's sudden outburst. Realizing this he trotted slowly over to her. "So, you would be Twilight Sparkle, yes?" he asked softly. Twilight almost had a heart attack and jumped a few feet off the ground upon hearing the Doctor's voice. "AAAAAH!" she screamed, the noise spooking the enormous monkey, causing him to fall from the shelf he was on, landing on the floor with a loud crash, sending both Twilight and the Doctor into the air. Standing up after the crash she turned to face the mysterious pony who had entered the Library, despite the 'KEEP OUT' sign she had placed on the door, perhaps it had fallen off. Bit of an aloof air to him, judging by the way he is constantly darting his eyes about in such a manner, I guess he's from the palace...Maybe he is here to check on my progress on behalf of the Princess! thought Twilight as she picked up the book in hoof and passed it to the Doctor, who had returned to examining the rather large monkey that had decided the bookshelves were safe again. "Can I help you?" she asked, making sure that the Doctor could hear her. "Hmm? Oh yes that's right, I'm the Doctor by the way, very nice to meet you miss Twilight is it?" he said, trying to remember whilst squinting one eye. Twilight blinked in surprise and looked at him, she hadn't even told him her name yet, maybe it had something to do with the fact she was, apart from Spike, the only pony that lived in the Library. "Yes, Twilight Sparkle to be precise, and who are you? You said you're a doctor, but Doctor Who?" she questioned quizzically. The Doctor rolled his eyes and smiled at the same time, not an easy feat and definitely not a pretty spectacle. "Smith, Colt Smith. Just got here from the palace actually and I need to ask a favour. I need to see any scientific equipment you might have, for documentation and safety of course." he said dryly, a now more business like tone present in his voice as he produced, seemingly out of nowhere, a flip open black wallet with a single piece of blank, white paper. Of course the paper was blank, but to anyone looking at it, it would be a particular alias, person, title or job descriptor, whatever they wanted to see for the paper was not ordinary, but psychic. "I see..." she commented, reading what she could see on the paper. Well, he's telling the truth, I hope I don't get in trouble for the sizing mistake on the monkey... The Doctor continued to look about the place, scanning the now empty bookshelves and occasionally picking one up off the floor and reading the title. "Neighkola Tesla huh? Sounds promising, now about your equipment? I am sure we can deal with the monkey later." Twilight nodded and gestured towards the basement stairs. It was surprisingly well lit, scientific apparatus of all shapes and sizes lined the shelves and dotted the tables. Bunsen Burners puffed their flames gently while test tubes above them in racks boiled and bubbled, the Doctor half expected to find a cadaver strapped to a table, ready for the perfect lightning storm. Twilight stood in the centre of the room, turning her head every now and then, following the Doctor's progress through the room as he excitedly trotted about the room, muttering about everything in front of his face at any given time. "Awww, you've got one of these, I had one, lost it, can't remember where though, such a drag. Oh! you've got two of these! I've only ever seen one, how did you get two? Nevermind, hmmm...Nothing I can use right now, maybe with a little inspection." He continued like this for another few minutes, occasionally tapping a beaker or flicking through a book, most of them research notes on various experiments; the covers worn but not old, many scratches, burns and stains on a few of the early pages and not a single page left untouched by ink. Then the unexpected happened, the Doctor grabbed a bunch of random items and plonked them on a workbench with a heavy thud, sending Twilight out of the light daydream she had been having, something about a cafe in Canterlot. "H-hey! What are you doing?" she questioned, a panic rising in her voice as she dashed over to the grey and blue workbench on the other side of the candlelit room. The Doctor ignored her, sorting out bits and bobs as he began to disassemble various items and roughly clonk them together, briefly using a Bunsen Burner to weld a few pieces here and there. All Twilight Sparkle could do was watch in almost abject horror as he swiftly destroyed important apparatus and reformed it into a thing, something, she just didn't know what. It was another 10 minutes or so before another word was said, but finally the strange device had been completed. "Well, not the model I was hoping for, but the best I could manage with these sort of things." He half said to himself, half to the mare next to him. The device in question was about the length of a pen and a half, a silver rod made of some sort of metal. On the end of it was a red circle, with similar coloured rod connecting the centre to the outer circle; sort of like a tiny, red fan. "Hmmf, Mark III.II, not the best but I was missing a energy converter to be able to get the Mark IV." he muttered to himself, slipping the device into his 'pocket', the almost trandescental area that allows ponies to hold items on their person without bags or holding it. "Now miss Sparkle, you were saying something?" asked the Doctor, back to his usual self. "Y-you, y-you c-can't, you just, b-but!" she stuttered, unable to form full sentences as her work from almost 6 years had just been miniaturized into some unknown device that he had just hidden from her. She tried to grab him, ending up sailing right past the strange colt as he began to make his way upstairs. "Hey! Come back here, I need that!" she called after him, with no success. She HAD expected him to make off with his ill gotten gains, make a run for it so to speak. But no, the Doctor stood right outside the Library, the device in hoof and a strange whirring sound coming from it. He held it to his ear and shook it; looking rather dissapointed. Turning to face her the Doctor looked her in the eyes. "Twilight, can I call you that? Anyway, I need to get to the palace, can you help me?" he asked quietly, removing the facade once and for all. "Also, I told a bit of a fib, my name isn't Colt Smith, it's the Doctor, just the Doctor and I need to get to the palace for very important reasons...So can you help?" he asked pleadingly. She had suspected as much about the name, it was just too plain for such a flamboyant personality. But not being from the palace, indicated by the request to be escorted there by any means meant that the ID she had shown him must have been a fake, or at least not his. "It's okay if you don't want to come with me, I prefer to have some to talk to while I work, it helps me focus, or ramble..." He fiddled with his tie as he began to walk in the direction he assumed would be the quickest way to the palace. "Also, this tie really itches, I can't remember why I picked it really..." he mumbled to himself, hoping that Twilight was following him. He was not to be dissapointed, Twilight was a few feet behind, not wanting to get any closer to this stranger than strange character that had come from almost nowhere, destroyed her work and now possessed a tool she thought to be a work of fiction. She wanted to get to the bottom of him and discover everything about him, and that strange device of his. That was the plan, or at least the idea, but it didn't help her that he decided to sing on the way to the train station. "Oh, I am the very model of a Modern Major-General, I've information, vegetable, animal and mineral. I know the kings of England and I quote the fights historical, from Marathon to Waterloo in order catergorical...I'm very well acquainted too, with matters mathematical, I understand equations both the simple and quadratical. Come on twilight, join in!" he exclaimed. The walk to the train station took an agonizing fifteen minutes, for the Doctor had stopped multiple times, taking the device and using it briefly, each time ending in the same dissapointment from the first. "Doctor, if that IS your name, what are you doing exactly?" she asked, confused as all can be as she caught up to him, peering slightly over his shoulder. "Hm? Oh yes! Umm, put simply I am trying to get a lock on the TARDIS, but with this older model of Sonic Screwdriver I don't think I'll be able to, no....Do you know anyone that might have some Bazoolium?" he asked hopefully, his eyes once again full of wonder. "Bazoolium?" Twilight asked back, not the faintest idea what sort of a item it was. The Doctor frowned and continued on his way, no longer stopping to use his Sonic Screwdriver. The two managed to reach the train station without much trouble, except for the Doctor's constant asking about the goings on in Ponyville and Canterlot, of which Twilight knew little, having to work on various spells and keep a Library in order was not an easy task. Normally the task would have been vastly easier, thanks to her friend and travel companion Spike. Had the little purple and green dragon been present and not on a holiday then he would have most likely been the Doctor's main curious focus and things would have most likely been just a little more chaotic.
Royal TreatmentThe train ride to Canterlot was almost agonizing for Twilight, with the chestnut Stallion next to her constantly asking her questions about pony anatomy, apparently the Doctor hadn't payed much attention to the fact he was one. "Anyway, I was wondering, how do you use these 'pockets'?" he asked, gesturing to a spot on his side where he produced the Sonic Screwdriver from seemingly nowhere. Pockets where a part of pony anatomy that nopony knew much about, they simply existed and assisted ponies like human pockets on clothing. "They seem to be Dimensionally Transcendental, but they still weigh down the user, therefore there is no sort of anti-gravity system or spacious pocket dimension...It's simply fascinating to look at this sort of thing!" The Doctor laughed and repeatedly put away and took out his screwdriver, staring in wonder like a child at every time he did it. "Oh hang on, I completely forgot; have you ever been to the Royal Palace before? I mean, it's roughly my first time, well my first time, the other me's have gone there before but somehow I've forgotten and I'd really not like to get lost there so...?" Twilgiht blinked, having almost fallen asleep, ignoring the Doctor's questions. "Hmm? Oh yeah, I've been there a lot of times, I know my way around, you won't get lost...Hold up, what do you mean 'other you's' that doesn't make any sense, there can't be anymore you's except from being from another time...W-wait, time travel is scientifically impossible!" she mumbled. The Doctor raised an eyebrow, "Says the magical Unicorn, also, I really like the little stalls they had in Ponyville, so many tasty treats!" he chuckled joyfully, slyly changing the subject. She groaned aloud and punched him on the shoulder. "You made us take an extra half hour, what were you exactly doing running off like that?" she growled at him like an angry mother. He pouted, looking a little sorry. "Uhhh yeah, sorry about that; but they had Blueberry Muffins! I love Muffins!" he said, his enthusiasm coming back in a hearts beat. The Doctor looked out the window, sighing as he looked to the moon. "I've been across the stars in that brilliant little box. And in about three seconds I jumped out when she needed me the most, either this is guilt I'm feeling or I really shouldn't have had that last muffin..." he said glumly, lying down on the seat opposite Twilight. He passed out almost immediately, much to her surprise as she also felt the embrace of sleep sneaking up behind her. That night Twilight had the most terrible dream. In front of her stood a blue box, a red, pulsing light atop it and an eerie orange glow came from the small windows on top of the double doors. A roaring wind could be heard from inside as the windows shattered, sending a small burst of flames out of them for a second before the ground was stripped from under her and Twilight found herself in a blue and red tunnel of strange mist and fire, strangely burning hot and freezing cold at the same time...Time...That word kept whispering itself in her ear, never getting louder and never vanishing altogether. Twilight woke with a start, almost falling off the seat she was laying on. It was the middle of the night and the moon hung in the sky towards the horizon slightly, casting moonlight on just about everything. It was almost hypnotizing but something was nagging at her mind as she slowly forgot the dream she just had. As the train moved she could see dew sparkling on the grass, the moving train causing it to look like the rolling and sparkling sea. The Doctor was sleeping like a log, he even had the colour scheme to match, chestnut and dark brown with that green tie. Twilight had a mental giggle at the comparison before trying to go back to sleep, praying to Celestia that she wouldn't have another dream; and that she might provide some answers about this 'Doctor', since he seemed somewhat apprehensive about giving any. Eventually the morning came and by the time Twilight woke the Doctor was already pacing, muttering about this and that. Shortly he turned to face Twilight and spoke. "Three days left...We need to get to the Palace as soon as we can, your Princess might be the only one who can save her..." She blinked, looking at him. "Her? Who's she?" she asked, trying not to sound offended in anyway, which for some reason, she was. The Doctor stared at her expectantly, as if he expected her to be the one who knew what he was thinking. Eventually he broke the stare and went back to pacing, a tiny hint of pink in his cheeks. "S-sexy is the one I care about the most in the universe, she's the only one of her kind and I love her to bits, which happens to be more often than not. She's trapped in a terrible yet amazing place and your Princess is the only one who can save her." Twilight was taken aback by that comment, she didn't expect anyone to fall for that madman, sure he looked pretty good but she was certain he was missing a few screws under the hood, to use a car analogy that someone would appreciate. Ten minutes passed and the train slowly pulled into the Canterlot station. The Doctor almost got off the train before it stopped and Twilight had a hard time keeping up as he galloped at full tilt towards the Royal Palace. He even didn't bother politely stopping for the guards at the door, on he went, barreling through the main doors, Twilight in hot pursuit and behind her, at least five, somewhat angry guards. The impromptu group just about thundered through to the main room of the Palace, the Throne Room, where atop a small flight of stairs was Princess Celestia herself, sitting on her throne. The first look across her face was one of bemusement, having just witnessed a single pony enter her throne room at a rather dangerous speed. The next was confusion, followed by a minor amount of happiness, seeing her star pupil enter a few seconds after. And of course, even more confusion as a gaggle of her guards rushed in as well. Whomever this Stallion was, he was important. "Twilight, who is this young Stallion with you? He is important I hope." she asked calmly. Twilight stepped forward slightly, an unconscious habit she had developed when speaking to the Princess. "Yes Princess Celestia, this Stallion has sought an audience with you, he needs your help desperately." Celestia looked to him, then back to her student, then back to the Doctor. "Very well, speak. I have all day, and frankly; I've been bored out of my wits..." she said with a heavy sigh. The Doctor grinned and opened his mouth to speak. "Thank you your majesty and also, Twilight Sparkle I did not say I was desperate! Anyway, so about that, good to see you again Princess, I really wished this could be under more pleasant circumstances but I really need your help..." "You've met me before? When?" she asked, highly confused and intrigued at the same time. The Doctor let out a light chuckle before continuing. "Oh you've met me loads of times Celestia, new face, voice and everything this time, the whole kit and caboodle so to speak; even the teeth, didn't like the new teeth... Anyway I really need your help, do you still have any of my old stuff? Or did you throw everything out of that old and dusty basement like I asked twenty years ago...Now that I think about it honestly have no idea why I would ask you to do that, I think it had something to do with the decor....But never mind, new face, new personality so if you have any of my things I would really like them back, please?" he asked, pouting a little as he finished. Celestia looked at him, changing faces, a new voice? A shape-changer and yet not a changeling, only Star Scroll knew how to do such magic, but perhaps this is not magic... "Doc.Tor" she spat out slowly, almost as if it were an insult. "Why have you come back here, I told you that you had been banished from the Palace and never to return..." The Doctor laughed sheepishly, "Weeeell about that...Slight problem, my Ship crashed, well is still crashing and I need some of my things to save it..." he said, a hoof rubbing the back of his neck, which he found rather soothing. The following silence was deafening and extremely awkward as Princess Celestia thought about her verdict. There were so many things she could do, banish him again; help him, give him access to "The Basement" or even have him executed, all the while the Doctor and Twilight stood side by side, watching her ponder, guards raised their spears to his throat for some reason. The Doctor flailed his front hooves in the air, gesturing towards the Princess. "Now that's not very nice, I only just arrived and I'm going to be executed? What happened to the fair and happy ruler Princess Celestia I knew eh?" The "Fair and Happy Ruler" waved her hoof dismissively, "To the dungeon with him, may you rot for eternity and a half." She stated bluntly. The guards grabbed the Doctor and slowly dragged him away as he muttered to himself. Twilight caught the last part "...And now I'm going to die in a dungeon...In Canterlot!" he said pitifully. Twilight herself looked anxiously between her teacher and the colt she had met barely a day ago that had knowledge far beyond her comprehension that she could learn from as he was slowly being dragged away. She began to panic and Celestia took heed of her worry. "Dearest Twilight, is something the matter?" she asked earnestly. The purple mare swallowed, before nodding and speaking aloud. "He needs things to save someone very close to him, and though it is none of my business what you should do to him, if he cannot save a very important mare in three days, she will die a most horrible death!" she rushed out, yet making every syllable clear as crystal. The guards froze and turned the Doctor to face Celestia and Twilight. "Weeeeell, that and the catastrophic failure of my ship, the engine of which consists of a star in constant state of decay that, if unable to stop decaying would explode rather violently and wipe out all existence in a fiery blossom of death...In fact it's probably already happening, can you feel the heat?" he asked evilly, a drop of sweat rolling down the Princesses cheek from fear, adding to to it without realization. The guards had let go of the Doctor without realizing and Celestia cleared her throat to speak. "V-very well Doctor. I shall allow you access to your equipment, on the premise that you retrieve your ship, I do this not out of love or compassion, but as of need to save Equestria." She stood from her throne, descending the tiny set of stairs and walking down a corridor, Twilight and the Doctor in tow. "You've had this place redecorated!" the Doctor said absent-mindedly as they almost trotted. "I don't like it..." The trio proceeded quickly along almost endless halls and corridors, making their way into an empty room. "Wasn't there supposed to be a staircase here? And two armed guards, well I'm glad they're gone, the armed guards of course; never liked them...." Both Twilight and Princess Celestia ignored his rambling as the Princess walked up to a wall and it dissapeared entirely, revealing a winding staircase that proceeded to become darker the further down one went. Twilight followed her teacher down the stairs in wonder, the Doctor following behind smiling just a little. The stairs led them to a pitch black room; Celestia's horn glowed for a second before torches lined along the walls lit up and Twilight saw something out of one of her fantasies. The room was rather large, yet compact, lots of dividing walls and desks, workbenches, most of them covered with designs or strange devices; it was like Twilight's laboratory, only twice, if not three times as big. Celestia stood by the door as Twilight slowly walked up to the first workbench she saw, it had a book on it that almost whispered to her, opening it the first thing she saw was a creature. It looked strange, it almost floated, wearing a sort of black lab coat and curious silver and blue headset. from the waist down was most likely a shielded propulsion system. The creature bound in this contraption looked evil, sick and quite possibly, mad. This page also had only one word on it, written in brilliant, blood red cursive was a name: DAVROS.
White NoiseTwilight Sparkle looked at the page with both fear and curiosity, her hoof tenderly reaching under to turn the page when another hoof stopped her softly. "No, sorry Twilight, some things should never be learned about." The Doctor said, shutting the book and picking it up. He carried it over to a workbench, covered in random odds and ends, advanced technology and some ancient artifacts were sprawled across the blue and silver surface. The Doctor shuffled through them, tossing some over his shoulder and putting others to the side. Twilight felt her heart die a little when one particular artifact, a stone tablet, covered in pre-history dragon-script was tossed with some amount of gleeful abandon, sailing across the room till it shattered into hundreds of pieces on the floor. "It was essentially a grocery list, used by a small alien repair service, don't get too excited, all the Dragon-script tablets that are important are somewhere else entirely." he said matter-of-factually. Little by little, the clutter on the workbench slowly dissipated until only a few bits and bobs remained. Among them was an egg timer, a strange triangular device, covered in wiring, a model replica of the statue of liberty; which the Doctor kept giggling at. "S-so, what exactly is this going to do?" Twilight asked nervously, peering over his shoulder. The Doctor whipped around, skilfully avoiding Twilight and taking a step back. "Nothing really," he said almost sheepishly, "I was hoping I would find a Navari Transceiver amongst all this, which is the only component I need to call the TARDIS, but unfortunately the most I can do with this is build a Class 5 Industrial hairdryer, or a Quantum Bomb, both of which would cook the planet to a crisp..." he sighed out. Celestia had had enough, she turned quickly and began to walk out of the room. "Well, I give you till sundown, I am going to prepare for the Wax Museum opening, it IS tonight." she said importantly as she proceeded up the stairs. The moment she was out of earshot the two began to burst out in giggles and laughter. "Sh-she must really hate you! I've never seen her this grumpy!" Twilight said between bursts of laughter. The Doctor managed to get to his hooves, "Hate? Oh she despises me, I almost burnt down the palace in one of my very early escapades, I almost set Luna free on the moon...The list goes on and on, despite the good I do for Equestria she seems to cop most of the bad stuff that happens," he caught his breath, smiling from ear to ear. The pair regained their balance, getting the last of the laughs out of their system. "H-hang on, what's that noise?" he asked, head darting about. "What noise?" Twilight asked, following him slowly before hearing a dull static, occasionally spiking to a higher pitch for a split second, before returning. "Ooooh, that hurt..." she groaned, her movements starting to become sluggish. It was like a buzzing of a hundred tiny voices, all inside her head and talking, about...Things. Just things, descriptions of buildings, locations and ponies, many of which she recognized instantly, others took a little longer, all the while a sound would spike, sending a blinding, hot rush of pain through her skull, like something was angry or confused. The Doctor found it just a mere nuisance, trying to find it's source and not in the least bit worried about the sound hurting him. "Where, where, where, where, where...THERE!" he exclaimed, bolting to a small, old fashioned radio that was still going; the frequency dial missing and a large amount of wires and circuitry protruding from it. He looked back for a second to find Twilight on the floor, her hooves over her ears. "Ohhh, I am so sorry, Equine hearing is irritated by this frequency.." he looked back and grabbed a screwdriver from a workbench, working it into where the frequency dial on the radio used to be, moving it in circles slowly. Slowly the pain went away, the voices stayed, but the static and the high pitched noises that made her ears hurt had gone and she could stand again. "Wh-what WAS that?" she asked, looking at the inanimate object with a hatred that could have turned it's heart, if it had one, to stone. The Doctor looked back to the radio, taking out a pair of glasses, putting them on quickly and taking a closer look. "Hmmm..." Twilight didn't like that Hmmm, that Hmmm sounded like a mother's Hmmm, either condescending or dangerous. "C-Come on Doctor, dazzle me with Science, don't say Hmmm." He walked in circles around the radio thing, taking in every detail he could, making calculations and decisions behind the glasses and a furrowed brow. "Weeeeeeell, I think...No it can't be that, it doesn't need a potato peeler...Hmm- sorry, forgot about the sound thing..." he stared at it for another half an hour and Twilight had almost fallen asleep on top of a pile of various books. The Doctor had not moved from his spot, staring at the radio with a hoof on his chin. It was another minute before anything else happened; The Doctor sprang up in the air, whipping his glasses away in a swift motion before yelling. "I'm so STUPID! There it was, staring me in the face, clear as day and I missed it!" Twilight hurriedly blinked herself awake at the noise, trying to sluggishly stand on all four hooves. "Missed what?" she mumbled out, walking over slowly. By now it was almost sunset, Celestia would be coming to eject them from "The Basement". "Hey Doctor?" she asked, glancing over to the door. "What is this place, I've never seen it before, I'd never even heard of The Basement, so what exactly IS it?" The Doctor shrugged, "Back when I was younger, this place used to be a sort of research facility. They would bring in damaged alien technology and reverse engineer it. I was here as the Scientific Adviser, but really I was only here to make sure you Ponies didn't get anything too dangerous or get too ahead of yourselves." He smiled and turned back to the radio; "Now this thing! It is brilliant really! What it is is a signal booster, it sends an amplified signal on a specific frequency to boost the range of the original emitter...But what it amplifies it for, I have no idea..." And, as if on cue, Celestia came down the steps, wearing a splendid, cream colored dress with a rainbow trail and a sun shaped jewel around the waist. "Ah there you two are. Dear Twilight, you look tired, you should go to your room in the palace and rest; I would like a private chat with the Doctor as well." she said calmly, casting a not-as-vicious glance at the Chestnut colt. Twilight Sparkle nodded and proceeded slowly up the steps to the actual palace. The Doctor was busy re-examining the radio, starting to take it apart. "I can't let this place stay Celestia, there is too much stuff here and I don't want you turning Twilight into the next Scientific Adviser..." he said bluntly, not even looking up at her. Before the Princess could do anything in the form of a reply the radio tuned into a station somehow that was playing: I Want To Break Free by QUEEN. "Oh yes! I love this song!' the Doctor said cheerily, bobbing his head to the sound. "You have changed Doctor, you are a completely different pony since we first met, all those aliens you defended Equestria from, all the while tagging along somepony with for the 'fun'. You were old back then, when you were young, and now you are old, but your face is young; that is quite the interesting scenario..." she paused in the middle of her impromptu speech. "You cannot take her with you. You cannot take Twilight with you, I know when she finds out what your ship can truly do then I fear she will want to leave, but I must have you refuse her, I do not wish to lose her like you lost the others..." The Doctor winced a little at the last comment, finally looking up from the radio. "Celestia...Don't mention them...I'm trying to be kind at the moment, I really am, but if you keep this up...I don't know what I might do..." he said, looking back to the radio. "Bingo!" the Doctor exclaimed, pulling out a wire that then sparked before the radio died. "Problem one solved...Now to problem two, which would have been easier to do before fixing problem one...." "What is 'Problem One'?" Celestia asked, trotting slowly around the debris that the Doctor had flung onto the floor during his cleanout of "The Basement". He shrugged, trotting about as he mentally ran through a few ideas and plans. "Oh you know, this and that. Found a signal transmitter over there, that radio. Not sure where it was coming from, Problem One was finding out where the transmission is transmitting from...Also, who in the hay named this place The Basement? That's the worst name I've ever heard of!" The Doctor rolled his eyes, not even waiting for an answer before hurrying out of the room, leaving prints in the dust on the floor as he left. Princess Celestia stood there, baffled at the Doctor's sudden change of mood. As far as she was aware he was a male of his species, and although she didn't know much about it she was fairly certain that he was not supposed to be doing that. She galloped after him, only to find him upstairs, swinging from a wall mounted banner, giggling like a foal. "Doctor!" she called almost angrily. "I demand you get down form there at once!" The response was far from mature, punctuated or civilized. The Doctor stuck his tongue out and made foal like noises at her as he continued to swing, despite two guards attempting to steady the banner and get him down. "Doctor I implore you! Now is not the time for such antics!" Suddenly the Doctor froze, his eyes dilated and he fell from the banner, landing on the floor and did not move for about a minute. Eventually he stood, struggling to get on all fours. "Ow...Psychic Link to the TARDIS has been damaged...Geez that hurt...Any more damage could make me go mad... Well, madder anyway." The chestnut colt blinked rapidly, managing to stand properly. "You mean to tell me that your sudden outburst was not of your own actions?" the Princess asked curiously. "Of course not! What, do you think I would do something like that?" the Doctor asked semi-seriously. The following awkward silence produced a pout to creep across his face. "Oh...Anyway! What was I going to say...Right, my invitation to the Wax Museum opening!" He exclaimed, smiling broadly. Princess Celestia blinked rather confusedly. "What do you mean Doctor? Last I checked you had not been given one, would you like me to have one made?" He simply smiled and shook his head. "Shouldn't need to, I already have one." he said as he reached to his pockets. After a few moments he began furiously padding himself down before hitting his forehead with a hoof. "Oh so stupid! I left my coat with Rarity! Celestia," he called as he ran off I'll be back, postpone the opening for a day!" he only just shouted as he ran out, mentally running calculations. Another trip back to Ponyville and a trip back when I have my stuff...That's at least another day..I'm going to cut it close... Meanwhile, Twilight had barely gotten a wink of sleep, despite the castle walls being thick and plentiful she could still hear everything the Doctor said as he pranced about downstairs like an idiot. She turned and tossed, flipping herself over on the bed before looking about with a huff. There wasn't much new in her room, she hadn't needed to change it much. The essential pile of books she insisted on having at all times changed every month or so as she read from it when she was in the palace. She lazily picked up the book on the top of the pile and glanced at the cover. The Time Machine by Horse.G. Wells, she snorted. "If only that were possible..." Eventually her mind turned to the nightmare she had the day before. She didn't know what the box was, what it did, or why she saw it. But it exploded in front of her, quite violently too. What did it mean? She had been told to be wary of her dreams but this particular one made no sense to her, at least at the moment, perhaps things would become clearer on the future...The future, if only she get there quicker... She shook her head, clearing the thought of time travel form her head for now and decided to continue evaluating any changes made to her room in her absence in the castle. Her vintage posters on the walls had not changed, nor had the contents of her chest of possessions. But there was now a changing veil, the rather elephant in the room that she had ignored on purpose to find more subtle changes first. It was an oriental style veil, a picture of a bonsai garden with a small stream and pagoda, most of which was blurred by the shadows of a changing mannequin, most likely wearing the dress Rarity had picked out for her for the Opening party tonight, or as she would later find out, the next night, thanks to the Doctor's insistence of postponing it. She trotted slowly around the veil to find the snow white mannequin almost staring at her, that familiar whispering of voices that invaded her head previously came back all at once, barking in her head. "N-no...N-not again..." She whimpered, a tiny bit of blood trickling from her nose as she slowly and painfully passed out. Meanwhile, on board the still crashing TARDIS things were getting out of hand. The Dimensional Configurator, which controlled and managed the seemingly infinite amount of rooms about The Ship had been heavily damaged, and some of the interiors were seeping into the console room. Well, by seeping we mean slowly breaking in, pillars and sharp objects from various room pierced through the almost golden dome of a ceiling, a white pillar and a section of a previous console fell through a gap and landed on a chair/couch hybrid, destroying it instantly. The flames continued to rise as the screaming of the TARDIS' engines filled the air, the crackling from the fire only just audible over the cacophony of sounds the Time Machine produced.
