Dr. Whooves- Parallel Complications

“Alright, stay calm Doctor, stay calm, think think think…”

The Doctor hurriedly paced back and forth, trying to sort out what had happened. He took slow, deep breaths, keeping himself as calm as possible while the impossible surrounded him.

“So Doctor, you landed on Earth, but everyone’s a pony, and you look like a pony too… so that means that clearly…” The Doctor stopped pacing. “I have absolutely no idea what’s going on.”

Moving to the console, the Doctor manipulated some controls, pushing buttons as best as he could with his hooves. He set up the TARDIS so that it would recharge some power, and he could make a more intense scan of his surroundings.

“Alright Doctor, you have no idea how all this happened, you can’t do anything with the TARDIS until she gets some power back, and you’ve been talking to yourself for twenty two minutes and thirty one seconds. Probably time to go outside, get some fresh air.”

The Doctor turned for the TARDIS doors, hundreds of questions pounding in his mind for answers. “I mean, ponies! Why ponies? This has got to be the most ridiculous day I’ve had in-“

“Hello!”

“AH!”

Upon opening the TARDIS door the Doctor was greeted by a pony, and out of shock he reared up and fell backwards, the door shutting again as he collapsed to the floor.

“Um, hello? Are you alright?” A muffled, female voice called out through the door. Her accent was similar to the Doctor’s, and she seemed to have genuine concern in her voice.

The Doctor slowed his breath back to normal, rolling over to pick himself up again. He was surprised by his seemingly nonexistent trouble with maneuvering on limbs never before used by him. He collected himself, then opened the door just enough to poke his head out.

“Hello,” the Doctor said. “How are you?”

Outside the door was a female pony, a warm smile yet slightly confused look on her face. Her body was a faded blue color, with eyes almost matching the shade, and a light, faded yellow mane and tail accompanied her. Her mane was long and mostly straight, with only a few natural curls in places, and her tail was just as simple, falling about a foot short of the ground.

“I was going to ask you the same question, are you alright?” the mare asked.

“Who, me? Perfectly fine, couldn’t be better,” the Doctor replied, nodding rapidly. “Just, you know, hanging out. In my box.”

The two stood there for a moment in silence. The Doctor looked this way and that, and Paige simply stared. She finally decided to speak again. “I had never seen this box before when walking this way, that’s why I came to see what it was, and then I heard you mumbling inside it.”

“Oh, well you’re a clever one, aren’t you?” the Doctor said, grinning at the mare in front of him.

“Clever?” the mare blushed. “I wouldn’t call myself very clever, what makes you say that?”

“Look around you,” the Doctor said, reaching a hoof out from behind the door. “There are a lot of ponies here, and yet none of them seem to care that there’s a blue box sitting here that’s never been here before. To them it’s just a thing, they walk by, say ‘that’s strange’, and move on. You, though… you’re curious.”

“I guess…” the mare shrugged, but did realize that she was the only one paying attention to the box, and didn’t know what to think about that.

“So, miss, would you mind telling me something? Is this planet Earth?” the Doctor asked.

The mare looked back at the Doctor. “You say that like there’s another option,” she replied.

“Yeah, sort of hit my head earlier… but this is Earth?”

“Well, yes,” she said. “You’re on the planet Earth, in the Kingdom of Equestria, and right now we’re in Southern London.”

“But London isn’t in Equestria, it’s… actually, what is Equestria?”

“Was that a big hit on the head?”

“Sort of, yeah…” Now the Doctor had another dozen things to mull over. “Anyways, would you like to come inside?”

“Inside your box?” The mare looked around both sides of the blue box, observing the size of the outside. “It’s a bit… small.”

“Nothing to worry about, plenty of room, but I’ve got things to do,” the Doctor said, talking faster and faster. “Tell you what. I’ll leave the door unlocked, and if you’re still curious, come on in.”

“But-“

The door shut, and the mare was left outside. She had no idea what just happened over the last several minutes, or what this strange pony could possibly be doing inside the box. She turned to move on with her day, but then looked back at the doors, hearing the sounds of metal clanking about. The sound carried more echo than it should have… for a box so small. Strange. After pausing for a few seconds, she shrugged, and stepped inside, astounded when she entered a large room.

“I thought you might be curious enough!” the Doctor shouted from the other side of the room. He was back to pacing, fumbling through scraps of metal.

The mare looked around, flinching at the occasional sparks. “Is it supposed to have sparks and metal everywhere?” she asked.

“Not usually, no, it’s normally a lot nicer in here, I promise,” the Doctor said. “By the way, what was your name?”

“Oh, I’m Paige. Paige Turner,” she replied.

The Doctor walked up to Paige, giving her a smile. “Well hello Paige, I’m the Doctor. I’d shake your hand but that’s a bit impossible at the moment.” He turned away from Paige, resuming his search in the scrap metal. “Now what I need to find is my sonic screwdriver.”

“A sonic what?”

“A sonic screwdriver. It’s this little stick looking thing with a light on it that makes interesting noises. Trust me, it’s much more useful than the way I just described it. Do you see anything around the- hold on. Something’s not right.” The Doctor turned towards Paige again. He walked up to her, staring into her eyes. Paige smiled at first, but then wasn’t sure what to say. The Doctor leaned in his head closer to hers, and she took a step back, a blush coming over her face.

“Bigger on the inside. Did you notice?” the Doctor asked.

Paige backed up a bit more. “Well, yes. But-“

“So many have walked in here, and been shocked, but you don’t even seem to be phased by it.”

“Well, it’s amazing, really, and it would be great for storage, but I thought it was just some sort of magic spell that was set up.”

“Magic?” the Doctor backed away again, and Paige relaxed. “I’ve dealt with magic, usually just a scam to impress lower level species. Is there a lot of magic around these parts?”

“Well, from unicorns, yes- are you sure you’re alright?” You seriously have no idea what magic is?”

“Unicor- hold on.” The Doctor turned back towards Paige, and his eyes bulged. “You’ve got wings!”

“Well… yes. I’m a pegasus,” Paige replied. She flexed her wings a bit, stretching them out.

“But that’s brilliant!” the Doctor exclaimed, bubbling up with excitement. “A talking pony with wings, this gets more and more interesting! And now you’re telling me that there are unicorns? Ponies with horns, strange abilities?”

“Yes, I’m telling you because you seem to have no idea. Do you need to go the hospital?”

“No don’t worry, bump on the head, happens all the time… ah! Sonic screwdriver!” The Doctor discovered his sonic screwdriver in the corner of the room, just peeking out over a sheet of metal. He ran over to it, and when he reached out for it, kicked it a small distance away from him.

“Oh. Hooves. Right. I think I need… to sit down for a moment.” The Doctor sat on the floor, everything jumbling about in his head becoming a bit too much.

Paige cautiously walked towards the Doctor. “I’ve asked this a couple times already, but… are you alright?”

“To be honest, I’m not sure,” the Doctor replied, speaking more softly now. He raised his front hooves, examining them. “It’s just, I’ve got hooves. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Paige now saw genuine confusion on the Doctor’s face. She sat down as well, keeping back a bit from the Doctor out of nervousness, looking at the mysterious colt in front of her. “Astounded by wings, no idea what magic is, confused by hooves… who are you?”

“I… I’m honestly not sure…”

Paige frowned. She had no idea why she felt sad for this random pony she had never met, but there was something different about him. “Well, let’s find out together,” Paige said, putting on a warm smile. She wanted to at least try helping. “You said you were the Doctor, yes? Do you have a name?”

“No, just the Doctor.”

“You sure about that?”

“It sounds strange, but yes.”

“Alright then, Doctor,” Paige decided to leave that question as is and worry about it later. “You seem a bit old to not have a cutie mark yet.”

“A what?”

“So you also don’t know what a cutie mark is, right,” Paige took a deep breath. “A cutie mark is something you get when you discover your special talent.”

“Paige, that sounds like a children’s story,” the Doctor said.

“But it’s true. Look, I’ve got one.” Paige turned a bit to reveal the side of her hind leg, and the Doctor’s eyes came across what looked like a picture, like the other ones he had seen before when he scanned the landscape outside. A large book, opened up to the middle page, but with no words on it.

“So what, you get some sort off tattoo when you discover your talent?” the Doctor asked.

“No, it appears, it’s part of you,” Paige replied. “I’m good with books. I’ve always loved them. Now I work at the library in town.”

“It appears? That’s… I don’t know how to explain that…”

“No two cutie marks are the same, even though ponies have similar talents,” Paige explained. “It’s something that makes everypony unique.”

“I’m sorry, what did you say? About being unique?”

“Um… that a cutie mark is what makes everypony unique?”

The Doctor fell into a fit of laughter for a moment, but quickly stopped himself, clearing his throat. He almost bubbled up again, but maintained control of himself. “Sorry, just… didn’t expect to ever hear the word ‘everypony’ in my life.”

“You are rather strange, do you know that?”

“Believe me, yes,” the Doctor replied with a grin. A thought struck him. “Paige, have you ever found it strange that your talent is with books and your name sounds like turning the page of a book?”

“Sometimes that happens, sometimes it doesn’t, depends on the pony,” Paige said. “Most ponies say our cutie marks are fate, they’re who we are.”

“Now magic you might be able to make me believe, but I typically don’t do well with accepting fate,” the Doctor said, grinning once more. A long, low tone emitted from the TARDIS console, and the Doctor jumped up. “Enough power to figure out where I really am, perfect!”

The Doctor rushed for the console, but when a jet of sparks shot out from the monitor, the readings he was about to check blinked out. He would need his sonic screwdriver for a quick fix. He backtracked, finding his screwdriver on the floor. “Now… how am I going to get that over there?”

“You could… pick it up,” Paige said, the solution obvious to her.

“With what?”

“With your mouth.”

“With my mouth? That’s ridiculous, why-“ the Doctor looked down, finding hooves there again. “Right. Why not then.”

The Doctor lowered his head, awkwardly biting down on his sonic screwdriver. He lifted his head again and moved towards the console, staring at the monitor. Tilting his head, placing his front hooves up on the paneling, the Doctor just barely managed to get the screwdriver in the right place. He bit down a bit harder, activating it. After a few seconds, the monitor buzzed on.

“Perfect!” the Doctor shouted. Forgetting that the sonic screwdriver was in his mouth, he jumped when it hit the floor. “Anyways…” he looked back at the screen, taking in all the data it was giving him. “But that’s…” the Doctor looked closer to be sure. “I’m on a parallel universe!”

“A parallel… such a thing only exists in books,” Paige said, still on the other side of the room, unsure of what the Doctor was looking at.

“But if I landed in a parallel universe, how is the TARDIS alive at all?” the Doctor said, thinking out loud. “And if I’m on a parallel version of Earth where the planet is inhabited by talking ponies, this isn’t a universe close by in the dimensions like Rose’s, I’ve gone… impossibly far… agh, more and more questions, no answers.” The Doctor scratched his head with a hoof, deciding what to do next. “Paige,” he said as he turned around, planting his hooves on the floor again. “I need some time to not think and stop going crazy for a bit, is there a place we could go? Just sight see a bit while I gather myself more? Just pretend like I’m a baby who has no idea about anything in the world, except for the fact that I can speak English perfectly.”

“Um… sure?” Paige said, standing up. Her entire schedule for the day had officially been changed by a random pony in a box.

“Perfect.” The Doctor moved to the other side of the console and struggled to push several more buttons. “I don’t know how you’re still working old girl, but since you are I may as well put you on a regeneration cycle,” he said quietly, then returned to where Paige could see him. “Now then, where to?” he said, leaning down and picking up his sonic screwdriver with his mouth once more.

***

And so the Doctor and Paige began walking through the streets of Southern London, looking at this and that. Paige tucked the Doctor’s screwdriver underneath a wing so he’d be capable of talking. She grew more and more intrigued by the Doctor, noticing the wonder on his face as they walked through what was typically Paige’s route to work every day. Luckily, she had the day off, so she wasn’t going to get in trouble at the library due to a random stallion that she couldn’t seem to get herself to walk away from. She was too curious about who he was.

“So ponies made all this? All these buildings?” the Doctor asked. He felt like he was in any other town. It wasn’t as modern as the 21st century Earth he knew, but the fact that all this had been done with just hooves, and whatever magic Paige spoke of, was quite impressive. On top of that ponies walked around as if this was nothing strange, for to them it wasn’t. The Doctor stood in a brand new experience, where suddenly ponies weren’t just wild animals, and all the ponies around him just called this their day to day life.

“Yes, earth ponies do most of the work usually, and then unicorns help with any complex portion of the structure,” Paige explained. Until she had a better idea of who the Doctor was, she planned to do exactly as he said: pretend like he was a baby that could speak and understand English perfectly. “Each type of pony has natural talents in different areas. Earth ponies are very strong, pegasi can fly of course, making them lighter and faster, and unicorns are skilled with more artistic and complex endeavors. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t earth ponies who can play the cello or unicorns who rely on their physical strength. All the types of ponies can do whatever they put their mind too.”

The Doctor felt like a filled up sponge, trying to soak in more and more of the environment around him but having trouble doing so. The road they walked on was perfectly laid cobblestone, and short, two story buildings lined both sides of the road, built in close proximity to each other. A bulky, grey “earth pony” as Paige had named them came strolling by with a cart full of grapes behind him, nodding his head and saying hello to ponies as he passed by. The stallion stopped near the Doctor and Paige, and gave a wave with a front hoof.

“Hullo, there!” the grey stallion said happily. His accent was thicker than Paige’s, but still carried the same English sounding tones. “Ya know, I can never remember everypony’s names, but I’m always good with faces. Can’t say I’ve ever seen you around, sir.”

“Well, yes, hello there,” the Doctor replied, nodding in reply. “I am new actually, quite new. Those grapes look delicious.”

“Would you care for some? I’m making a delivery but I always carry plenty extra for folks who want to buy some on my way to a drop off.”

“Why not. How much?” the Doctor asked.

“Just 3 bits for a pound.”

The Doctor’s ears flattened when he realized he didn’t know how the monetary system worked here, nor did he even have any money. “Hmm, bits…” he said slowly. He subtly nudged Paige with a hind hoof so the stallion couldn’t see, and Paige finally realized why the Doctor was stalling.

“Oh, actually, he is very new, like he said, I just got back from picking him up from… where he’s from,” Paige said. “Neither of us have bits on us, only foreign money. But hey, these would make a great snack for work. Could you stop by the library tomorrow? I’d love to buy some.”

“Sure thing, miss!” the stallion said, slowly getting the cart moving again. “You two have a good day!”

When the stallion trotted off, Paige turned to the Doctor. “Bits are little gold coins, the most current monetary system for Equestria.”

“Gotcha.”

The two continued on, casually walking down the road. “So how long have ponies been around?” the Doctor asked.

“Nopony knows for sure,” Paige replied. “Written history began a few thousand years ago.”

“Wow, quite a lot of development, in such a short time,” the Doctor commented. “That’s quite remarkable.”

Every time the Doctor asked a question, Paige formed another question about him. She had never been more confused in her life. And yet… she wasn’t walking away, leaving the Doctor be like other ponies might. He correctly guessed one thing about her spot on; she was curious.

The Doctor looked to his right, seeing a lovely looking flower shop. The building was a vibrant red and bouquets of various flowers stood in vases on a large windowsill. A small sign on the door read “Closed for lunch. Will open again at 1.” A mare inside the building walked up to the door, and caught the Doctor’s eye.

“Oh Paige, wait, is that a unicorn?” The Doctor noticed a small horn protruding from the mare’s head, just out past her bushy mane. It certainly looked like unicorns he had seen in fiction, but never in all his time in the universe had he seen a legitimate unicorn.

“Why, yes, that is a unicorn,” Paige replied, bringing her eyes to where the Doctor was looking.

The mare looked up at the sign on the door, and her horn began to glow. The Doctor stopped walking completely at this point, mesmerized. Soon after, the sign on the door grew the same aura around the mare’s horn, and began floating off of the door, without the mare lifting a hoof. “Well… now that’s incredible…” the Doctor went through all the physics in his mind, finding many things similar to that ability, but nothing that could exactly explain what he just saw.

“Yes, as I said every type of pony has its advantages, but every now and then I do think it would be lovely to be a unicorn,” Paige said, letting her own thoughts wander. “Then again, I love my wings. I don’t think I’d ask for a change.”

“Is it possible to have both?”

“Let’s… not go to fast with all this explaining.”

The Doctor looked down as he heard his stomach grumble. He had likely been knocked out for at least eight hours. “How about some food then? That is, if you don’t mind paying… I feel terrible that I don’t have any money…”

Paige wasn’t going to let her curiosity about the Doctor stop just because she’d have to spend some extra money. “Not a problem. Let’s eat.”

***

Paige set down the Doctor’s screwdriver on his side of the table they chose, then sat down outside a café with him. She shook her head. “I come across a pony that is clearly either mad or suffering massive memory loss, doesn’t even have a clue what pegasi or unicorns are, and now I’m buying him lunch,” she said, dumbfounded by the way her day progressed.

“Ponies sitting in chairs,” the Doctor chuckled under his breath, looking at other ponies so he could figure out how they sat in chairs in the first place. With a bit of fumbling, he copied what the other ponies did, and relaxed. “Do you know why you’re buying me lunch Paige?” he asked.

“Because I’m mad too?” she replied, laughing.

“No, because you’re curious,” the Doctor said. “First the blue box, then me. You are just as confused by me as I am by you, and your curiosity has you wanting to know answers.”

“I guess you’re right,” Paige said, smiling. “As mad as you are, you don’t look dangerous.”

“Well that’s good, I don’t like looking dangerous,” the Doctor replied. “I wasn’t sure how I looked to others.”

“Have you never talked to anypony before? That would explain a lot of this actually.”

“Well, I’m talking to you, aren’t I?” The Doctor laughed. He glanced around at the other tables, seeing various salads and sandwiches. He assumed right away that he wouldn’t be getting any meat, these ponies had to be vegetarians. “So, what do ponies usually eat, anyways?”

“Well, we have a lot of fruits and vegetables, grain, flowers, sweets…” Paige paused to unfold the napkin in front of her when she noticed that the food she had ordered for the two of them was almost here. “I guess that’s it, really, though come on, you have to at least know what you like to eat, you’re clearly not starving.”

“I suppose you’re right, I do enjoy a good meal. Speaking of which, here’s lunch!”

A waiter brought over two plates on a cart, and used his teeth on the edge of each plate to set them on the table. Both plates held two slices of bread, with several flowers in between. The Doctor and Paige both thanked the Doctor, then turned back to their food. The Doctor stared at his plate, a bit nervous. In all his travels across the universe, he had eaten some seriously strange items, but he always hesitated at new food.

“What is this?” the Doctor asked.

“Daisy sandwich,” Paige replied, leaning in and taking a bite.

“I’m not sure whether to be disgusted by the food or intrigued by the level of culture you ponies seem to have.” The Doctor bowed his head slowly, taking the smallest possible bite out of his sandwich. He jerked his head up, chewing slowly before swallowing. Joy suddenly appeared on his face. “Have flowers always tasted this good?”

“Yes, Paige said. “Yet another thing you seem to not know. You’re not allowed to say you enjoy a good meal if you’ve never made flowers a part of your diet.”

“I’m new to all this, as you have seen,” the Doctor replied. He leaned in to take another bite, but stopped, his eyes catching. “What was that?”

“What was what?”

“The water in your glass just shook,” the Doctor said, looking at her glass.

“Are you sure you didn’t just bump the table a bit?”

“Yes… and now I hear something…” the Doctor looked around, his instincts taking over. Something was wrong, something was out of place, and the warning light in his head that had developed over all his travels was going off, telling him that something didn’t fit.

“Doctor, you’ve been confused ever since I met you,” Paige said. The Doctor ignored her, looking around, then stopped searching when he looked up. “I feel like your bump on the head has made you lose just about all your memory temporarily, and now it’s causing you to panic a bit.” Paige’s concern was growing, and she leaned in a bit on the table. “Everything is ok-“

“Paige…”

“I think you should just calm down and enjoy your sandwich.”

“Paige. Up. Sky. Look.”

Paige looked in the same direction the Doctor was, and gasped. Descending from the clouds was a large, circular ship, shaped like a fat disc. It was a dark grey, composed of some sort of metal. Paige slowly leaned back again, her jaw dropping. “That’s a… is that a…”

“That’s an alien ship…” the Doctor said, slowly getting out of his chair. Ponies in the street began looking up, and the scene around them slowly turned into one of chaos. Ponies running this way and that, everyone scrambling away from what they were doing, screams emitting from all the ponies that had taken notice. “And judging by the look of the weaponry on the bottom of that ship, I think it’s time to run.”

***

“Seriously Paige, time to run!” the Doctor yelled, grabbing his sonic screwdriver and taking off.

Paige didn’t hesitate any longer. The Doctor was the only one who was giving her any direction in this time of fear, so she just ran, not even thinking about it.

“Where are we going?” Paige shouted.

“We need somewhere safe, somewhere to stop and think,” the Doctor mumbled through his grip on his screwdriver.

“The library I work at! It’s not far!”

The Doctor let Paige take the lead, and both fought for breath as they ran through the streets of London. Paige made a sharp turn, and the Doctor stayed behind, both of them now headed straight for the library.

Ponies yet aware of the ship outside looked up as the library door swung open and smacked in to the wall, followed by the Doctor and Paige dashing inside. The two skidded to a halt in front of an empty table, and the Doctor spat his screwdriver out.

“Aliens…” Paige managed to get out as she caught her breath, both her and the Doctor heaving. “I mean… aliens! So it’s all real!”

“Yes, aliens, it’s all real, now we need to-“

“Shhh!”

The Doctor and Paige turned their heads, wide eyed. They found an angry looking librarian, shaking her head at the two of them. They froze for a moment, realizing that the screams outside weren’t coming through the walls of the building. No one around them knew what was going on. Very slowly, they turned back towards each other.

“We just got hushed by the librarian,” Paige said, now whispering. “There is a flying saucer outside, an actual flying saucer, and we just got hushed by the librarian!”

“Well, we were talking a bit loud,” the Doctor replied.

“Nopony in here has any idea, no idea that aliens are real, and you’re concerned that we were disturbing the quiet?”

“I love a good library. Well, not a dark one, but this one’s lovely.”

“What are we going to do?” Paige asked, her panic slowly growing.

“Right, aliens,” the Doctor said, getting his mind back on track. “Look Paige, if no one in here knows that there’s an alien ship out there yet, then that means it hasn’t started attacking, which would make a lot more noise based on the weapons I saw, which means we have a chance to do something. I’ve got no TARDIS but I’ve got my sonic screwdriver, can we get to the roof of this building?”

“Um… yes, but what are we going to do?”

“Just get us there, I think I saw the ship moving this way, and I have half a plan.”

“What’s half a plan?”

“It’s a plan that’s only halfway done; I’ll work out the rest later.” The Doctor picked up his sonic screwdriver again. “Come on,” he mumbled.

Paige quietly led the Doctor to a door off to the side in the library, which opened to a set of stairs. The pair began climbing, heading for the top as fast as they could.

The Doctor and Paige were greeted by sunlight once again when they reached the roof, and Paige froze in fear seeing the alien ship at eye level, only a short distance away from the roof. Most of the ship consisted of just parts, but the center definitely had room for a crew of at least four. The Doctor dropped his sonic screwdriver.

“I have no idea what it is, but this looks like just a scout ship. I know I wouldn’t want to work, eat and sleep in that small of a space,” the Doctor said.

“Doctor, is that thing going to shoot at us?”

“I don’t think so,” he replied. “I don’t think anyone in there is looking at us, they’d have made a movement by now.” The Doctor took a deep breath. “Alright, time to jump.”

“You’re going to get on board?!” Paige yelled.

“I need to see what they’re doing here, and if it’s bad, I’m going to stop them,” the Doctor said, turning to Paige. “Come with me if you like.”

“I can’t!” Paige replied. “I mean, those are aliens! They could kill you!”

“Yeah, they could.” The Doctor turned back to the ship, taking another deep breath. “I’m really getting tired of dropping and picking this thing up again,” he said as he bowed to get his sonic screwdriver.

Paige couldn’t describe what she felt now. Seeing this strange colt, this stranger out of nowhere, who seemed to know nothing about the ponies he was about to try and protect, act with such bravery… that was almost more amazing to her than the alien ship. This wasn’t any ordinary pony, or any ordinary circumstances. And despite the risk involved, Paige couldn’t help but think about how she’d never have a chance to do something like this again.

“I… I’m coming with you!”

“Curiosity!” the Doctor shouted, having to mumble again. “Makes everything more fun. Alright, jump!” The Doctor began running towards the edge of the roof, ready to jump on to the ship.

“Wait!” Paige shouted, trying to catch up to him.

The Doctor leapt, jumping in to the air with as much strength as he could muster. His eyes looked towards the ship, and he gasped in fear. He wasn’t going to make it.

“Umf!” The Doctor grunted as his chest hit the ship, and he used all the muscle strength he had to keep himself from falling. I would love some fingers right about now, he thought, struggling to apply enough pressure with his hooves to hang on.

“Doctor!” He heard Paige shout from behind him, and dearly hoped that she wouldn’t fall. However, rather than see Paige in front of her or hear her plummet, the Doctor became confused, feeling his body get lifted on to the ship.

“What?” the Doctor said, having to quickly bite down on the screwdriver again, having forgotten it was there. He suddenly found his entire body now safe on the ship.

Paige landed in front of the Doctor, looking down at him. “I’ve got wings, remember?” she said. “I could have carried you.”

The Doctor coughed, rising to sit on his butt and spitting the sonic screwdriver in to his front hooves. “That… is… brilliant!” he panted, beaming again.

“I guess it is,” Paige replied, unable to stop herself from laughing a bit.

“So Paige, still curious?”

“I’m terrified,” Paige began, shaking her head. “I am bloody terrified, and 5 minutes ago I was considering taking you to a hospital. But I’m the second pony to ever set hoof on an alien spaceship, and that’s… I don’t even know how that feels!”

“Oh, it’s even better actually, you’re the first pony to be on an alien spaceship.”

“What?”

A panel opened on the center section of a spaceship. Nothing came out, but noises could be heard from inside.

Paige turned. “They’re just going to let us in?”

“Well, if they’re smart then they’ll have noticed that no one on this planet knows alien life exists yet,” the Doctor said. “So I think they want to know who decided to just jump on to their ship. Can you hold this?” the Doctor held up the sonic screwdriver.

“Sure.” Paige flapped her wings to begin hovering in the air, and grabbed the sonic screwdriver with her front hooves.

The Doctor stared at Paige, not even sure how it was physically possible for a pony to fly. “That is brilliant,” he repeated, grinning. “Now, stay behind me, and be careful. Let’s go inside.”

The Doctor stood up, taking the lead as he headed for the open panel. Paige put the sonic screwdriver in her mouth so she could fold her wings and fit through. Trying to ignore the fear in the back of her mind, she followed.

Landing inside, the Doctor looked up, seeing five figures staring at them. The aliens were all green, and their skin appeared somewhat gelatinous. They wore black vests, and appeared pony like in body shape.

“Alien ponies,” the Doctor said. “Is it my birthday?”

“Ish neka dal?” One of the aliens asked.

“Oh right, TARDIS is regenerating, no translation,” the Doctor said softly, sighing. “I’m sorry, I don’t speak… alienponyinaparalleluniverse…ian.”

Paige then entered behind the Doctor, putting the sonic screwdriver in her mouth so she could walk on her hooves, and found herself with the same frozen expression as when she had first set eyes on the ship. She could barely believe that what was in front of her was real.

“Ish neka dal?” the alien said again, sounding more demanding.

“I really can’t answer you unless you can start speaking English, or Gallifreyan, or even horse, that would do,” the Doctor replied. The alien that had spoken turned to the one next to him, and nodded. The second alien pressed a button, and with a flash of light the Doctor and Paige found themselves somewhere new.

“Basic teleport,” the Doctor said, reorienting himself. “That’s interesting.”

The sonic screwdriver fell out of Paige’s mouth as her jaw dropped. “We’ve moved.”

“Yes.”

“We’ve actually moved.”

“Yes.”

“Where are we?” Paige’s voice trembled.

The Doctor looked about a bit. “I said that ship looked really small. We got teleported to the big one.”