An Appointment with The Doctor
An Appointment with The Doctor
My name is Ditzy Doo and that grey mare over there is my sister Derpy. We’re twins and most people have a hard time telling us apart. Well, at least until they look us in the eyes. You see, my sister’s eyes are a bit off. It’s been that way since birth. It makes her excessively clumsy, but at least she has an excuse. I’m a bit more coordinated than my sister, but not by much. Derpy works as a mailmare and I work on the weather team. The hours are about the same, so we get to spend a lot of time together. Our favorite thing is to get muffins from Sugarcube Corner and have a picnic in the park. After the picnic we like playing bubbles. That’s how Derpy got her cutie mark. We’d each take turns running with a bubble wand and whoever had the least bubbles hit the ground would win. Despite her vision problems, Derpy never let a bubble hit the ground. Derpy’s like that. Sometimes she’ll have difficulty walking or flying straight and other times she could give Rainbow Dash a run for her bits. My cutie mark is similar to my sister’s, but I got mine for a different reason. You see, I really like to snorkel. It’s an odd hobby for a Pegasus pony, but I’ve always really liked it. I’m a clumsy flier; I don’t even move the clouds at work. But when I’m in the water, I feel in total control. I always thought I should have been a sea pony, but they’re only myths from a long time ago.
Today was Derpy’s turn to pick up the muffins for our picnic. She always brings the most interesting flavor, probably because she lets Pinkie Pie experiment with her order. I don’t mind. The muffins are always delicious. I lay out our old picnic blanket and begin to look through and old picture book while I wait.
“Ditzy! Ditzy, I’m here!” Derpy shouts, trotting up to me. Her saddle bags are bulging and she seems more excited than usual. She’s running too fast and stumbles. I get up to help her, but she’s already recovered and is by my side quickly. “Ditzy! You’ll never believe what I saw,” Derpy is panting and buzzing with excitement. “I was on my way here and I heard this crash. Boom!” She got up on her hind legs, waving her front legs in the air for emphasis. “So, I looked and this box was crashing into trees. I followed it and you’ll never guess where it is,” she’s staring at me with anticipation.
I’m not sure I want to mess around with a mysterious box that’s been crashing into trees, but Derpy is so excited and I just can’t tell her no. “Where is it?” I ask hoping she’ll say it flew away into space never to be seen again.
“Follow me, I’ll show you,” she says, leaving before she finishes her sentence.
I struggle to keep up with her. She alternates between flying and running. She stops near the Everfree Forest. “It’s right in there,” she points to the forest with her hoof. She looks at me looking for encouragement. I want to tell her that this has gone on long enough. That we can’t go into the forest. But the look on her face stops me. I take the lead into the forest. She doesn’t know where the box landed in the forest, but she saw it crash into it from above. She flies up and looks for broken branches to give us a clue where to look. I’m about to call off the search when I see it. A small shaft of light causes some odd silver lettering to shine in the darkness.
“Derpy. Derpy, come here,” I call as quietly as possible.
“Did you find it Ditzy?” she shouts.
“Derpy, keep your voice down. Yes, I found it.” I gesture to the blue box ahead. Derpy begins to bounce up and down. She’s waiting for me to lead the way. I’m not sure why, I almost always do as she suggests. We walk cautiously towards the blue box. I reach my hoof out to touch the box when a door at the top opens with a loud clang. A brown pony pops out of the opening in the top of the box. “Well, that felt different,” he says to no one in particular. “Oh look ponies,” he says, looking at Derpy and me. Derpy is vibrating with excitement and her smile is so big it looks painful. The brown pony looks away and begins to speak rapidly. I don’t understand anything he is saying, but whatever it is must be important because he is ignoring both of us and keeps disappearing back into the box.
“Excuse me,” Derpy says, snapping both the brown pony and myself out of our own thoughts.
“Did you…did you just talk?” The brown pony pulls himself out of the box and is staring at Derpy like she’s some sort of alien. “Well, that’s fantastic. I mean, I’ve never heard of an equine talking. Well, I mean I’ve heard of equine like creatures talking.” He keeps on in this manner, his voice becoming so low I strain to hear him.
“We’re not just ponies, we’re Pegasus ponies,” I’m not sure why I say it, probably to stop his incessant talking.
“Yeah. See?” Derpy bounces up and down spreading her wings.
The brown pony begins to laugh. “Amazing.” He steps up to Derpy to inspect her wings.
“So, are there any other species here that talk?” he looks over the both of us intently.
“Yeah, the sheep, and the cows, and the dragons…”Derpy begins to list.
“Did you say dragons?” The brown pony throws his head back and laughs, stomping his hooves. “This place is spectacular.”
I shoot a look at my sister, this pony is strange and I’m not sure how to deal with him.
“So, what should I call you two?” The brown pony asks.
“I’m Ditzy Doo and this is my sister Derpy Hooves,” I respond. “And you are?”
“Hooves, that’s great,” he giggles. “I’m The Doctor.”
“A doctor, that’s not what you’re cutie mark looks like,” Derpy says pointing to his flank.
“My what?” The Doctor inquired.
“Everypony when they find their super, special talent gets a cutie mark on their flank,” I respond in my most matter-of-fact tone. “Your cutie mark seems to be an hourglass.”
“I believe you’re mistaken. I don’t have a flank; therefore, I don’t have a cutie mark.”
“Everypony, except young fillies and foals, has a cutie mark. You’re no exception. Also, what do you mean you don’t have a flank?” I ask.
“Well, I’m sort of a human. I’m humanoid at least. And humans do not have flanks.”
“What’s a hummin?” I ask. I am beginning to worry that the crash may have caused some sort of brain damage.
“I am, at least in appearance, a human,” he drags out the last word to show me how to say it.
“No you’re not,” Derpy interrupts, “you’re an Earth pony.”
“Miss-Derpy, was it?-I believe you are mistaken,” The Doctor says, “I am not a pony of any sort.”
“Follow us, we’ll show you,” Derpy says, gesturing for The Doctor to follow her.
She is faster than us and we hurry to keep up. “Do you know where she is leading us?” he asks me.
“Haven’t a clue. But wherever it is, I’m sure it’s important,” I respond.
“I must ask, do many ponies have eyes like your sister’s?” The Doctor questioned.
“No, Derpy is the only one I know of,” I respond. Most ponies in town don’t ask about Derpy’s eyes, but when we meet with a rare visitor I am typically asked to explain why Derpy’s eyes look in two different directions. I am glad that The Doctor doesn’t press any further. I hate talking about Derpy’s eyes.
Derpy stops outside of Carousel Boutique. “Rarity has a lot of mirrors. We’ll pretend we’re buying Ditzy a new dress and you can look at yourself in the mirrors,” Derpy explains.
Before either of us can object Derpy enters the boutique. “Derpy, Ditzy, darlings, what brings you two here?” Rarity states with her trademark charm. “Oh, who is this fine young stallion?” Rarity bats her eyes at The Doctor.
“John Smith,” The Doctor responds.
“What an unusual name,” Rarity is a bit confused.
I lean in close to The Doctor, “What kind of name is that?”
“I use it everywhere I go. It’s one of the most common names in the universe.”
“What universe?” I turn from him, “My friend was just joking. His name is Doctor…” I stop. That’s still a strange name for a pony, especially one with an hourglass cutie mark.
“Whooves. His name is Doctor Whooves,” Derpy says breaking the silence. I giggle. He had laughed at Derpy’s name, so it strikes me as funny that he now shares it.
“Oh, well,” Rarity sounds a bit put out by our odd behavior, “what can I do for you?”
“We need a new dress for Ditzy,” Derpy says browsing the racks of clothes. She stumbles over a particularly long piece and sends the whole thing crashing to the ground.
“Why don’t you let me find the perfect outfit for your sister,” Rarity says, quickly picking up the mess Derpy has made.
While Rarity shows me various outfits that she says will “look simply divine” on me, I watch The Doctor out of the corner of my eye. He keeps turning around while looking at himself in the mirror. Derpy flutters beside him. His looks move from joy and fascination to sadness and loss. I tell Rarity I will take the blue and white saddle. I grab and top hat from a nearby shelf and place it on The Doctor’s head. “It looks good on you,” I tell him. “We’ll take this too,” I shout to Rarity.
“I must say, I didn’t think ponies wore clothes,” The Doctor says as we leave the shop.
“Normally we don’t, but we will on certain occasions,” I reply.
“Do you want to see the town square?” Derpy asks.
“Yes, wonderful. Let’s go,” The Doctor says walking out in front of us.
“He’s an odd pony,” I whisper to Derpy.
“He’s funny,” she responds.
We catch up to The Doctor, who has stopped in the middle of the road. “It occurs to me that I do not know where town square is,” The Doctor tells us.
We lead The Doctor to the town square. “Look, it’s Rainbow Dash,” Derpy points to the rainbow maned pony in the distance. We can see that she is lounging in a cloud, but is gesturing like she is talking to another pony. Suddenly, she shoots through the sky, clearing clouds as she goes. I wonder to myself why she is suddenly so interested in doing her job.
“Oh ponyfeathers, how could I forget,” I slap my hoof to my face. “Derpy, I forgot tomorrow is the Summer Sun Celebration.”
“Oh, yeah,” Derpy responds. “It should be really fun.”
“What is the Summer Sun Celebration?” The Doctor asks, still looking in Rainbow Dash’s direction.
“The Summer Sun Celebration is the longest day of the year. Ponies come from all over to watch Princess Celestia raise the sun. This year it’s being held here in Ponyville,” I answer.
“Did you say that this princess raises the sun?” The Doctor looks at me incredulously.
“Well, yes,” his confusion baffles me.
“She also lowers it and raises the moon at night,” Derpy says excitedly.
“But, that’s not how things work!” The Doctor exclaims.
“How does it work?” I ask.
“Well, the earth rotates around the sun and the moon rotates around the earth. Because of this…”he began to speak rapidly, using words I had never heard of before.
“Are you from Equestria?” Derpy asks.
“No,” The Doctor looks to the sky, “I’m from, well, it doesn’t matter, because it’s not there anymore.”
Derpy and I stare at him, unsure what to say next. Luckily, before the silence became too uncomfortable, Pinkie Pie bounces towards us. “Derpy! Ditzy! Pony I don’t know!” she calls to us. “Wait, another pony I haven’t met before?” she skids to a stop. “I was going to just throw a party for that new pony, Twilight Sparkle, but now it will have to be for her and for this pony,” Pinkie says to no one in particular.
“I am The Doctor. And there is no reason for you to throw me a party.”
“But you’re new, and you need to make lots and lots of friends,” Pinkie semi-pouts.
“Oh, no, it’s fine really,” The Doctor tries to thwarts Pinkie’s plans. Derpy and I know it is useless.
“Well, I guess it’s okay because you’re already friends with Derpy and Ditzy and you can make plenty of friends at the party for Twilight,” she says quickly. “Oh yeah, that’s why I came here. I’m throwing a party for a pony named Twilight Sparkle. She’s new in town and she needs to make friends.”
“We’ll be there,” Derpy responds.
“Yes, where is it?” I ask.
“At the library tree. See you there,” she says, bouncing away.
“What a strange pony,” The Doctor stares after Pinkie Pie. “Well, I must be going.”
The Doctor turns to leave, but Derpy blocks his way. “Why do you have to go?” she asks forlornly.
“Well, there are…things…things I must do,” The Doctor stammers. Derpy’s eyes are pleading. She may not be able to focus directly on one thing, but when she looks at you with those eyes it is almost impossible to say no.
“At least stay for the Summer Sun Celebration,” she begs.
“I guess I could stay. But only until this princess raise the sun. I still find that preposterous,” he begins to mumble again.
We show him some of the shops around town. He is amused by out diet, but finds it highly satisfying. Finally, we gather at the library tree for the party Pinkie Pie has set up. We wait inside the library and Pinkie tries to introduce The Doctor to other ponies. He is personable, but distant. Derpy quickly finds people to whom she can speak. She’s very sociable and easy to love. I look around the room at the shelves stacked with books. I love books. My mother is a writer and every night, before we went to bed, she would tell us a story. Some were written in books and others she came up with on her own. I partially wonder if I could find a book that would tell me about The Doctor. There is something off about him. He’s not unlikeable, but he’s just so different from every other pony.
“Oh, guys here,” Pinkie squeals. “Is everypony ready for the surprise?” We all murmur our assent and Pinkie shuts off the lights.
We hear voices outside the door. As the new pony enters a small shaft of light enters the room.
“Huh, rude much,” I hear some boy say.
“Sorry Spike, but I have to convince the princess that Nightmare Moon is coming and we’re running out of time,” I assume the voice belongs to Twilight Sparkle. “I just need to be alone so I can study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time. Now where’s the light?”
Somepony turns on the lights and every pony in the room shouts, “Surprise!”
“Surprise!” Pinkie shouts again to Twilight. “Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie and threw this party just for you. Were you surprised? Were ya? Were ya? Huh, huh, huh?”
I’m close enough to hear Twilight’s reply. “Very surprised. Libraries are supposed to be quiet. “
Pinkie brushes off Twilight’s concern, “That’s silly. What kind of welcome party would it be if it were quiet? I mean duh, boooring. You see, I saw you when you first got here, remember…” I’m no longer able to hear the conversation, but I can tell Pinkie is saying a lot. Twilight seems to be trying to ignore her and is getting a drink. There is a small commotion and Twilight explodes. I hear someone mention hot sauce and assume that she must have accidentally imbibed some.
Twilight disappears into her room and it seems as if she will not be coming out any time soon. I sit to on the outskirts of the party and have a small conversation with Fluttershy. Neither of us are particularly talented fliers. She is better than I am, but she chooses to live and work on the ground. The party begins to get louder and more rowdy. Fluttershy leaves to find an area that is slightly quieter. I wish her luck. I find The Doctor and Derpy speaking with Lyra and Bon Bon. “Ah, Ditzy, there you are,” The Doctor exclaims. “Where have you been? This party is wonderful. I’m glad I stayed.” The Doctor ushers me aside. “So, when do we see this princess who will raise the sun?” he questions.
“We won’t see her until she raises the sun at dawn,” I respond. “We’ve still got a couple of hours.”
“Who’s ready for ‘Pin the Tail on the Pony’?” Pinkie asks.
Derpy raises her hoof enthusiastically. I decide to join her. The Doctor does as well. Derpy chooses the yellow tail. Pinkie blindfolds her and spins her like a top. She repositions my sister and Derpy heads toward the board. Derpy places the tail on the pony’s face, which gives it the appearance of having a beard. Next, it is my turn. I pick up the green tail. Derpy blindfolds me and spins me rapidly. I feel her stop me and I stumble forward. I feel my nose hit the wall and I adjust hoping to get near the target. I remove the blindfold to find that I had placed the tail a little low and to the left, so it ended up on the pony’s belly. After me, it was time for The Doctor to try. He picks up the blue tail and I place the blindfold on his eyes. I spin him as hard as possible. For a minute I am unsure if he will ever stop. Eventually he does, and he trots up the board. He sticks his hooves out and traces them around the outside of the image. He pauses a moment, tapping something out on the floor. He brings he tail close to the board and makes some slight adjustments. When he pulls away we can all see that he has placed the pin in the perfect spot.
Everypony stomps their hooves against the ground to applaud his amazing skill. The Doctor takes a small bow, “It was nothing really. Oh, you’re all too kind.” The party continues on. More ponies play pin the tail on the pony while others start a conga line. The library reverberates with laughter, and the young dragon, Spike, is the center of attention. All too quickly we realize it is time to gather at town hall to see Princess Celestia raise the sun.
We end up about midway between the stage and the door. Derpy hovers above the crowd to get a good look. Fluttershy’s birds heralded the beginning of the ceremony. Mayor Mare takes the stage and the crowd becomes silent. “Fillies and gentlecolts,” she begins, “as mayor of Ponyville it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration. In just a few moments our town will witness the magic of the sunrise and celebrate this the longest day of the year. And now it is my great honor to introduce the ruler of our land. The very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day. The good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria. Princess Celestia!”
A spotlight shines on an empty balcony and the entire crowd gasps. There are murmurs and a small sense of panic fills the room. “Remain calm everypony,” the mayor soothes, “there must be a reasonable explanation.”
Somewhere towards the front of the crowd I can hear Pinkie Pie, “Oh, I love guessing games. Is she hiding?”
“She’s gone!” Rarity exclaims after find the princess missing. I fly up next to Derpy to get a better look at the situation.
“Ooooo she’s good,” I hear Pinkie below me.
There is a scream and a glittering blue fog begins to fill the balcony. It bursts open and a tall black pony with a mane made of the same fog stands above us. She addresses the crowd, “Oh my beloved subjects. It’s been so long since I’ve seen your precious sun loving faces.” The people below me are shaking with fear.
“What did you do with our princess?” Rainbow Dash shouts, but she is stopped by Applejack.
The terrifying pony laughs and questions, “Why, am I not royal enough for you? Don’t you know who I am?”
Pinkie pie seems oblivious to the terror of the situation as she says, “Oh, more guessing games. Hokey Smokes? How ‘bout Queen Meanie? No, black snooty, black snooty.”
The black mare laughs. Her voice is not loud, but it is clear and deep. “Does my crown no longer count since I’ve been imprisoned for a thousand years? Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?”
From below me a slightly familiar voice rings out, “I did and I know who you are. You’re the Mare in the Moon. Nightmare Moon.” I cannot believe it. I had heard legends of Nightmare Moon. We see her image every year on Nightmare Night, but I never thought she actually existed.
“Well, well, well, somepony who remembers me,” Nightmare Moon seems somewhat amused. “Then you also know why I’m here,” her voice has become harsher.
“You’re here to…to…” Twilight stammers.
Her laugh causes a feeling of heaviness in the pit of my stomach. Derpy and I flutter down beside The Doctor. “Remember this day little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth the night will last forever.” With these words she laughs again, her mane flowing upward and turning into a tornado, lightning striking about her.
I look to Derpy and then The Doctor. He shrugs as a small smile grows on his face. “Allons-y?”
