The Adventures of Trotter Grey

Everything

“No way, that’s impossible!”  Trotter gasped.  He galloped outside and circled the blue box.  “T-that, that, but I-I…what?  This is-is impossible!”  Trotter galloped back inside and stared at the Doctor.  At this point Trotter lost his ability to speak and just kept making the same mouth moment.  How?

“This is the TARDIS, my time traveling spaceship!”

“B-but, it’s bigger on the inside…that’s not possible.”

“Time Lord Technology, it’s always bigger on the inside!  So what do you think of my ship?”

“It’s, it’s so, ha.”  Trotter began laughing, “This is, ha ha ha hah, oh jeez, oh dear Luna, this is so wonderfully brilliant and crazy!  No words can describe, ha ha ha!”

“HAHA! Wonderful, I’m glad you like it!

How could it be though?  The outside of the TARDIS was just a blue police box, but the inside, the inside was completely amazing.  On the inside it was so much bigger and filled with wonderful devices and machines.  All along the walls were circular lights that lit up the TARDIS.  In the middle of the TARDIS was a large console full of levers, switches and buttons that flashed in a plethora of colors, as well as an assortment of miscellaneous household objects that seemed to be hooked up to the console. In the middle of console was a circular glass container that stretched to ceiling of the TARDIS.  Inside the glass container was a strangely shaped, bulb like object, whatever it was it looked completely amazing.  However, the floor of the TARDIS was somewhat less desirable.  It was copper colored, metal grate-like floor, something that could probably be found in a city or a metal building.  With every step the Doctor or Trotter took it would quickly be met with a loud clanking that seemed to echo.  Below the grate floor there seemed to be more devices and metal boxes with wires spreading a crossed the floor.  In the far end of the room a door with strange symbol sat leading to Celestia knows where.

“So!”  The Doctor said distracting the gapping Trotter from the incredible ship, “You should know that this ship can go anywhere in the universe at any point in time.  Anywhere you could ever want to go is right outside the door!  So I need to ask you a question!”

“What possible question could you have for me?!”   Trotter asked, “I should be the one asking questions!”

“Haha, alright alright, you can ask your questions afterwards.  My question to you is where do you want to go?  Another planet, back in time, forward in time, maybe a different dimension?  Anywhere and everywhere await you, Trotter Grey, all you need to do is ask!”

Trotter took a step back.  He opened his mouth and shook his head.  Anywhere and everywhere?  There definitely plenty of options.  He had always wanted to see how Equestria had started, though….the future of Equestria was just as alluring.  Then of course there was another planet!  Trotter smirked.  He knew his choice.

“I want to see something…something that has only happened once in all of the history of the universe!”

The Doctor grinned, “I knew I’d like you!  OKAY!”  The Doctor galloped over to the center console and started pressing buttons and pulling levers with his mouth and hooves.  “Something that has only happened once coming up!”  The Doctor let go of a switch and the entire hull of the ship began to shake rapidly.  The sound of a mechanical whooshing echoed all around the TARDIS.  It was a strange sound, but at the same time it was wonderful.

As the TARDIS shook Trotter lost his balance and fell flat on the floor.  Over the loud whooshing sound of the TARDIS he could hear the Doctor snicker at him.  He looked up at the Doctor who was still pulling switches and levers.  Surprisingly the Doctor had no trouble moving around the rattling ship.

“How do you-?!”  Trotter yelled over the whooshing sound.

“I’ve got loads of practice!”  The Doctor interrupted, “Nine hundred years to be exact!  Though I usually have some problems with where I want to go, huh…”

Trotter managed to force himself to somewhat steady, standing position.  He chuckled and grinned at the Doctor, “Hahaha, I think I’m getting the hang of thi-” The TARDIS let out another rapid shake making Trotter fall flat on his face, again.  Trotter let out a pained groan.  “I think I’m just gonna lay here till we get there if that’s alright.”

“Oh come on, Trotter Grey!  Live a little!  Don’t let me down now!”

Trotter let out another groan.  “Ugh, okay, I’ll try…”

Trotter tried to stand again.  This time however he managed a steadier stand.  “Okay.”  He whispered to himself.  He looked down at his shaking hooves and smiled.  “Okay…I think I got it.  Heh.”  He looked up at the Doctor who was just checking a pull down monitor.  “Hey Doctor!  Look at me!  I’m standing!”

“Ha, good for you, now try to get over here!”

“Um…alright?”

Trotter looked around the TARDIS for something to lean against.  The only thing he could find was hand rail that circled around the raised platform the center console sat upon.  Sadly Trotter found that was too far for him to reach without losing his balance.

Trotter shook his head.  He could do this.  He took one step forward.  Good.  He took another.  Still standing.  After his third step he managed to get into a steady walk toward the Doctor.  Finally, and very surprising to Trotter, he made it the Doctor who was chuckling at him.

“What’s funny?  What happened?”  Trotter asked.

“The TARDIS stopped a minute ago.”  The Doctor held back a smile as he watched Trotter’s mouth dropped open.

It had been in fact true, but even though the TARDIS had stopped shaking Trotter’s legs had not.  He let out a sigh and dropped to the floor.

“Doctor….”  He moaned, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because it was funny and you looked so happy, how could I ruin that?”  The Doctor jumped over Trotter and galloped to the door they entered from.  “Now come on!  Outside this door is something that’ll only happen once.  It has been voted by many planets that this is one of the most beautiful moments in all of history!”

Trotter quickly got up from the floor and hurried over to the doors.  “So what is it?!”

The Doctor smirked and opened the door of the TARDIS.  If Trotter didn’t know any better he would have said that his jaw hit the ground.  Outside the door was a beautiful, bright green and blue planet.  All around the planet were swirls of white clouds.  Never before had Trotter or anypony else he knew seen a planet from this angle.  Even more than that was the stars.  He had never seen stars like this before.  The shinning balls of light illuminated the empty blackness.  They seemed to move, almost dance across the sky.

“Doctor…”  Trotter whispered, “This is so-”

“Just wait for it!”

“Wait for-”

Just as the words left his mouth the sky lit up with an explosion of a crimson red light.  The stars in sky seem to come to together to form letters.  The letters became words and the words became a question.

Will you marry me?

“I would like to say at this time,” The Doctor started, “I am not proposing to you.  A pony down there at that planet is moving the stars to propose to his love.”

A tear began to form in Trotter’s eye, “Heh, that’s a way to do I guess.  It’d be embarrassing if she said no.”

“She didn’t, but just keep watching.  It gets so much better!”

“How could it-”

There was another flash of light.  An explosion of color erupted from behind the proposal.  Every color Trotter could have thought of was there.  Blue, yellow, red, green, purple, orange!  All of these colors in so many different shades, they were all there.  And then it hit Trotter.  Somepony, some regular pony did this.  The love they had for their special somepony.  He knew why this was such a beautiful moment.  Trotter spent a long time admiring this, enjoying this moment.

Trotter looked over to the Doctor.  “Thank you for this, Doctor, thank you so much.”

“It was my pleasure, so…”  The Doctor started back for the control console, “Will you be coming with me?”

It was Trotter’s turn to laugh now.  “Hahaha, how is that even a question?!”

“HAHA!  Wonderful.”  The Doctor made his way to a lever.  He took hold the lever, “Well then, we have a lot to see, Trotter!  ALLONS-Y!”

****

And so my friend Trotter spent the next month traveling the universe with the Doctor, going on adventures, facing dangerous and wonderful creatures from other planets, seeing all of time and space.  There were many times in between the adventures when he had returned to Ponyville to get a slice of real life and relax.  He quickly made friends with the kind locals and spent the rest of his free time with them, that or doing odds and ends all around Ponyville for bits.  It was during these times when my companions and I watched him closest.  He needed time to grow, time to mature, to forget the dreams and nightmares he had, but now, I finally think he is ready.  But we’ll see…we’ll see if his life should continue.

****

“Excuse me?”

Trotter stopped.  He searched the street for whoever called him.  All around him the ponies of Ponyville trotted along, talking and laughing.  The voice that had called him sounded young, definitely a colt, but where was he?

Trotter felt a tug at his hind leg.  Trotter turned around and found a small colt looking up at him with two big tear filled eyes.  The colt had a shiny black mane, a dark blue coat, and two big yellow eyes.  He was very young, maybe seven or eight and he had yet to receive his cutie mark.

“Excuse me, Mister?”  The colt said in sad voice.  Tears began to run down his face.  “I-I’ve l-lost my s-sister!  Could y-you help me?”

Trotter lowered himself to the same level as the colt and gave him a soft smile.  “Of course I can help you.”  Trotter spoke in quiet soothing voice, “What’s your name?  Where did you last see your sister?”

“M-my name is…”  The colt began to sniffle, “My name is-is G-Golden Gaze.  My friends j-just call me Gazer.”

“Alright Gazer, what about your sis?  Where did you see her last?”

“She, um, she s-said she was going to the E-Everfree Forest.”

Trotter’s heart sank.  He had fought terrifying creatures with the Doctor, had dinner with Fluttershy and Discord, he had even restocked the entire basement supply of Twilight’s library.  None of his experiences in the last month compared with the Everfree Forest.  He had gone through the forest on three separate occasions to drop of supplies to Zecora.  On all three occasions at least four things tried to kill him.

“T-The Everfree?”  Trotter stuttered, “Why is there?”

Gazer began to sob, “S-she’s l-l-looking for my d-dad.”  Gazer collapsed into a fit of tears.  All around the two of them ponies began to take notice of the crying colt.

“Hey now!  You gotta chin up, we’ll find them both!”  Trotter said this more so trying to convince himself rather than Gazer, “Come on, I’ve been there a few times.  If we work together we’ll find them in no time!”

Light looked up at Trotter and gave him an uneasy smile, “Okay...”