Doctor Whooves: The Sentaurans

Doctor Whooves: The Sentaurans

Chapter 1: Back to the Future?

by Neorenamon

This story takes place after the events of Doctor Whooves, the Re-Imagination.  I give credit to both Doctor Who and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic for the characters and the rights to the same.

...

The Doctor awoke with a mighty yawn and stretch.  He hadn't expected to spend a whole week as the guest of Miss Rarity, but Romana became so... excited when she talked fashion and design with the tailor unicorn.  While most of the work was modifications of what he remembered from Gallifrey, the ponies all over Ponyville were moved when they saw them.  The odd part, at least to the Doctor, was while dress in Gallifrey proper was almost unisex, it was only the mares who were thrilled to put on the Ritz and extravagance of the Time Lord.  The Doctor himself dressed in a far simpler fashion because that was who he was: Not pretentious.  He could tell by the four pony mannequins and their outfits they had moved into his room because they just couldn't store them anywhere else.

“DOCTOR!” called a filly's voice from outside, “DOCTOR!”  He was shaken from his thoughts by the call, so he went to the window and opened it.  “Y'ALL PROMISED US LESSONS TODAY!” called the filly he knew as Apple Bloom.  Next to her were her companions, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

“Lessons?” asked a nearby mare.

He leaned his head further out the window to see Twilight Sparkle and her dragon assistant Spike walking up the street towards them.  Judging by the amount of paper spilling from her saddlebags, it was time to get more paper so she could make long lists about various things she had to do, like getting more paper for example.

“Uh, yeah!” said Apple Bloom as she tried to make up an excuse, “He all is teaching us about...”

“CLOUDS!” shouted Scootaloo.

Sweetie Belle nodded sagely.

Glancing up at the Doctor, she said, “Wow, I thought I was the only one in Ponyville who cared about how clouds were made.  Even Rainbow Dash doesn't care, and she works with them for a living.”  She paused to think before asking, “I know I haven't been around all that long, so forgive me if this sounds strange, but who are?..”

“He all is the Doctor!” offered Apple Bloom.

“But he can't be the Doctor,” replied Twilight, “Ponyville already has...”

“He is a Doctor of Science,” sniffed Sweetie Belle.

“What is Science?”

“An alternate form of magic where he comes from,” offered Scootaloo.

“TWILIGHT!” shrieked a voice from the front door.  The overly dramatic voice could belong to none other than Miss Rarity.  The shriek made Twilight, the fillies, and a few nearby ponies jump.  “THIS! SIMPLY! WILL! NOT! DO!”

Twilight raced to the door as she asked, “What's wrong?!”

“You desperately need one of our new cloaks,” said another voice he recognized as Romana's.

“You almost cause a panic because I NEED A CLOAK?!” She shouted as she looked in disbelief at her friend and fellow unicorn.

“You see,” gloated Rarity, “I already have the magic book worm agreeing with me.”

“Magic book worm?” asked Spike innocently, “You must be confused.  Twillie is obviously a unicorn of considerable magical skill.”

“That's just a saying, Spike,” sighed Twilight.  She then looked at the strange unicorn mare standing behind Rarity, and asked, “and who might you be?”

“I'm Romanadvoratrelundar,” she said quietly, “Rarity's new design partner.”

“Design partner?”

“Oh yes,” gasp Rarity, “She has some simply stunning designs you simply have to see!”

“Actually, it's Romana,” said the Doctor as he made his way past the mares and out the front door.

“DOCTOR!” hissed Romana, “Either call me Romanadvoratrelundar or Fred!”

“Exactly, my dear Romana.”

Romana hissed at the Doctor's back.  He made his way out the door and past Twilight.

“Come on, Doc!” shouted Apple Bloom, “We all is ready to learn us something!”

“Insufferable... *muttermuttergrumblegripe*”

Twilight entered after the Doctor had left.  As the Doctor and the Junior Assistant Time Lords in Training withdrew towards the White Tail Woods, he could hear the violet unicorn gasp, “Oh my, this is stuff fit for Princess Celestia herself!”

“Well we certainly plan to gift some of the clothes to the Princess.  Whatever she likes.”

They could hear the voices trailing off behind them as they headed towards the White Tail Woods and where the Doctor had locked and left the TARDIS.  Since he had already taken the path into Ponyville in the first place, it was foal's play to backtrack.

“So what are we all gonna do, Doc?” asked Apple Bloom.

“I thought it would be nice to take another trip through time,” he replied evenly.

“AWESOME!” shouted Scootaloo.

“But where are we going?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“Well since we've already been a thousand years in the past,” he mused, “I thought it might be equally educational to see what things will be like one thousand years from now.”

“Won't that affect the future?”

“It seems unlikely,” he replied, “I'm not even sure Princess Celestia would still be alive in another thousand years.  Besides, we shouldn't be there too long.  But since Romana isn't coming with...”

“She certainly does seem to enjoy doing fashionable things with big sister.”

“Well yes, that did take me just a little by surprise,” admitted the Doctor.

“With their fancy new duds, I'm sure they'll be the hit of the Grand Galloping Gala.”

“I take it that is also something important?”

“Well, it's very very important to Rarity.  She starts talking about it a whole year in advance, and she's been going on about it for several months now.”

“Ah,” he replied, “I see.”

“I think we's close to where y'all left the TARDIS,” observed Apple Bloom.

“I do believe you're right about that,” said the Doctor as he looked about.  “In fact, we should already be seeing it.  Where might it be?”

“Well could someone haul it off?” asked Scootaloo.

“I suppose it's happened before, but why would anyone around here want to move it?”

“Well, dirty Diamond Dogs might have taken it because it looked like it was worth stealing, but I think we're pretty far away from their territory.”

“Territory?”

“Yes, they live around mining areas that are rich with gems.”

“Hey Doc,” said Apple Bloom, who had just wandered aside to a clump of brush.

“Yes Apple Bloom?” he asked back.

“I don't recall seein this here brush before,” she replied, “and it looks like someone tore it out of the ground from somewhere else just to move it over here.”

“Let me take a look at that,” he replied as he went over to it.

“Well the mess of foliage does appear to be larger than the TARDIS,” observed Sweetie Belle.

Using his magic and his horn, the foliage began to float away from the debris until flashes of blue could be seen underneath.

“You're right!” said the Doctor with a smile, “Someone did try to hide it!”  He continued to remove the cover as he observed, “It should take but a moment to clear this all away.”

“Maybe y'all should move this here TARDIS behind Rarity's place, now that y'all know where it is.”

“That's a very astute observation,” he replied.

“Well,” she replied as she scratched the ground with her hoof, “I know I's not as learned as you an all, but...”

“No no,” interrupted the Doctor, “being astute is good.  Very good.”

Apple Bloom smiled.  After a few moments, the TARDIS was nearly cleared, and the door was now fully accessible.

“I wonder who all done this?”

“Since all they did was try and hide the TARDIS,” he answered, “Then worrying about that will come later.  I'm not bringing it back here anyways.”  Unlocking the door, he guided the three fillies in before he entered himself.

The three fillies were once again amazed by the interior of the TARDIS and it's control room.  Each time they saw it, they beheld amazing details that they hadn't seen anywhere else before.  But the Doctor seemed to ignore it all as he positioned himself in front of the controls.  He was getting quite good at moving things with his horn that he didn't even have to be within hoof reach to make any of the controls operate.

“There we go,” he said, “One thousand years in the future.  I'm targeting the ruined castle where Twilight and her friends recovered the Elements of Harmony.  So unless there's an objection?”

“I'ma good ta go,” said Apple Bloom.  The other two nodded in agreement with her.

The central column began to rise and fall as its signature sound told all that they had slipped into the time stream.  It only seemed a moment before it slowed, and then stopped all together.

“Well,” he replied, “Here we are.  Let's open the view port and see what there is to see, shall we?”

“SWEET!” chirped Scootaloo.

They all collectively gasp by what they saw through the view port, as the castle ruins appeared to have been replaced by a shiny new castle made of prismatic crystals.  There was also a drawbridge, and a broad and winding road that seemed to head back in the direction of Ponyville.

“It's beautiful,” gasp Sweetie Belle.

“Y'all is right about that,” agreed Apple Bloom.

“Hey Doc,” said Scootaloo, “Who are those stallions coming out to greet us?  They look like they're wearing crystal armor, and those sure as hay look like spears they're carrying.”

Lowering the view from the view port, they all noticed that a good hundred such armored ponies were streaming out of the castle gates in their direction.  Not only did their armor appear to be made of crystal, but even their hides seemed to shine like crystal.

“Well let's go out and see what they want,” suggested the Doctor, then turning to the others, “You stay in the doorway.  If things get ugly, close the door and don't worry about me.”

“But Doc,” moaned Apple Bloom, “We all just can't...”

“Yes you can,” he replied, “Your safety comes first!  Who knows what Romana and Rarity would do to me if I came back with any of you injured!”

She gulped and nodded as the Doctor went over to the door.  He opened the door to hear one of the guards calling, “INTRUDER!  Step out and state your business with the Princess!”

“I'm not an intruder,” he assured them as he stepped out, “I'm the Doctor!”

“PRINCESS!” shouted all of the guards almost as one, and they all suddenly knelt down in the direction of the TARDIS.

“While I'm really flattered that you think...”

“DOCTOR?!” called a mare's voice from above and behind him.  He spun about to see that a mare was perched on top of the TARDIS who looked somehow oddly familiar.  Perhaps it was the violet coat or perhaps it was just those violet eyes.  It must have been how she appeared larger than he remembered, plus the fact she was now sporting large feathered wings.  She was also wearing a clear crystal crown that seemed to be a diamond of one piece in construction.

“Twilight Sparkle?” he asked curiously.

“KNEEL BEFORE THE PRINCESS!” barked on of the guards.

When a few of the guards moved in closer in an apparent attempt to force the Doctor to kneel, the Princess shouted, “ENOUGH!”

“As the Princess wishes,” replied the guard as the other backed off and knelt again.

“I saw you in Ponyville a thousand years ago!” she exclaimed, “How could you be here now?”

Then the fillies piled out of the TARDIS just behind the Doctor.

“WAIT!” she cried, “Apple Bloom?  Scootaloo?  Sweetie Belle?  How could you be here now too?!  You look like you're all still fillies and blank flanks!”

“Cuz the Doctor is ALL a TIME LORD!” shouted Apple Bloom.

“Time Lord?” she asked as she cocked her head aside, “I thought Time Travel was just a theory.  A spell with huge limitations on it.  I know because I've had to use it a... few times... in the last thousand years or so.”

“Well, it's complicated, but Time Lords bypassed most of the limits on time travel by harnessing the power of a super-massive black hole.  I suppose it must exist in all alternate dimensions and realities, or it seems that the TARDIS would not work here.”

“Super massive black hole?” pondered Twilight.

“I don't know what that all means either,” muttered Apple Bloom.

“Well, you certainly look regal, your majesty,” said the Doctor as she knelt before the Princess.

“Thank you,” she replied, “and you look remarkably spry for someone one thousand years old.”

He giggles as he replies, “Actually, I'm only a few hundred years old.  One of the advantages of being a Time Lord.  If I play me regenerations right, I'm sure I'll be good for several hundred more years.”  Then he looked up at her and added, “Why don't you come down and visit?  Perhaps we can talk about what happened since I last saw you.”

“So I could go back in time and visit myself?” asked Twilight.

“Of course,” he replied, “But it's generally not wise to do so.”

“I see,” she replied as she mused, “I suppose I would be tempted to tell myself about the future in an attempt to prevent future disasters from happening.”

“Yes.  You would.  That would alter the Time Line and possibly bring in a whole new range of messes that would have to be dealt with, and they could well be much worse than the ones you were trying to avoid.  Now if you just wanted to come back and see your old self and your old friends, well then there should be no problem with that at all.”

“Now why would we all wanna go and do somethin like that?” asked another voice as she stepped around from behind the TARDIS.

“PRINCESS!” said the Guards as they knelt again.

“I keeps tellin ya that y'all don't has ta do that fer me!” she growled at the Guards.

Apple Bloom rushed over to the orange coated alicorn and said, “Big sister?!”  Like Princess Twilight, she was a shiny crystalline hide and a crown made of an orange crystal.  Even her trademark hat looked like it was made of a tan crystalline structure.

“Sugar cube?!” she replied as she laid her neck down over Apple Bloom's, “What you all doin here and still be a filly?!”

“The Doctor done brought us here!” she said as she hugged her big sister back.

“Sweetie Belle!” snapped another alicorn as she came about from the other side of the TARDIS, “You better have a very good reason why you're here when...”  They could plainly see her white hide and her dark violet mane and her violet eyes.  That and the fact she wore the most over the top gem encrusted cloak that any of them had ever seen before.  She paused to sniff.  “When...”  The alicorn known as Rarity couldn't seem to continue what she wanted to say.

“Since you all grew old and died more than 900 years ago,” finished Twilight.

The fillies gasp in surprise.

“Funny,” mused the Doctor, “I thought showing them a thousand years in the future would make sure we wouldn't see anyone we knew.  So how are Princess Celestia and Princess Luna doing?”

“They became one with the Universe when they had to stop the final betrayal of Discord,” sighed Twilight softly, “They left the rule of the Kingdom to the Mane Six.  All of the others were elevated to alicorn status as their last official act as Princesses of Equestria.”

“Discord?”

“I see,” she replied, “Then I guess you really were not around since the last time I saw you.”

“Well, I'm sure we'll deal with this Discord once we meet him.”

“But he has godlike powers,” warned Twilight.

“Yeah, well we all dealt with that Nightmare Moon too,” smirked Apple Bloom.

“What?” asked another voice overhead.  They all looked up to see the alicorn Princess Rainbow Dash hovering over the TARDIS.

“DASHIE?!” cried Scootaloo as she looked up.

“Is that you, Scoots?!” she called back as she landed near her and hugged her with both forelegs, “I've missed you so much over these hundreds of years!”

“You missed me?” she asked back in confusion, “I didn't even know that you knew I existed.”

“But...” she replied.

“You better keep the details to yourself,” interrupted the Doctor, “We don't want to alter the future by telling Scootaloo things she shouldn't know about yet.”

“Oh,.. I guess so.”

Sweetie Belle looked about and asked, “I wonder where...”

About then, the whole area was creamed by several tons of lemon cream, meringue and graham cracker crust.  No one even heard anything coming towards them.  As the mess settled, they soon noticed that a violet bubble was protecting Twilight, but no one else.

“PINKIE PIE!” shrieked Princess Twilight from inside her bubble.

“Well that was different,” said the Doctor as he spat lemon cream out from his mouth and nose.

“I all swears that Pinkie Pie's gonna become jus like Discord if'n no one reins her in,” snorted Princess Applejack under her breath.

The three fillies were trying to shake all the sweet sticky goo from their hides along with everyone else that was present.  The sound of distant laughter slowly drifted to their ears, and soon some could must make out Princess Pinkie Pie rolling around on the ground from one of the corners of the crystalline castle where no one had seen her but a moment earlier.

“Okay, Princess Pinkamena Diane Pie!” snapped Twilight, “I think the joke is over!  You should clean up after yourself now!”

Pinkie came over rubbing the tears from her eyes as she slowly stopped laughing.  Rainbow Dash tackled her half way over so that they were both soon covered with the contents of the pie that they had hit them with.

“Taste the fruits of your labor!” she said with a sly grin as she kissed Pinkie Pie full on her lips.  The others looked for things more interesting to look at while the two of them carried on with their deep and passionate kiss.  Dash had pushed Pinkie over onto her back as they kissed so that she was very much on top of, and apparently in charge of, Pinkie Pie.

“Dashie,” said Applejack as she shuffled her hooves, “Should y'all be doin tha in front of the fillies?”

There seemed to be no response from either Rainbow or Pinkie.  The Doctor looked up as he mused, “Is that a flight of Dragons passing over head?”

They all glanced up (besides Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie), and Twilight announced, “Oh, that's the flight of Royal Crystal Dragons.  I'm sure Princess Fluttershy is training them in the art of flying as we speak.”  The last part seemed to be spoken with particular pride in her voice.

“Fluttershy is trainin Dragons?” asked Apple Bloom, “That all must be awesome!”

“Oh yes,” replied Twilight, “I took her a few hundred years to stop being afraid of any dragon larger than Spike, but now she's completely unafraid of them.”  She looked about at the way Rainbow and Pinkie were still carrying on, and shouted, “ANY TIME NOW, PINKIE PIE!”

Pinkie magically appeared next to Twilight.  “Okie dokie loki!” she called as all of the mess just magically disappeared from everyone and every place all around them.  Dash regained her feet and just calmly walked after Pinkie.

“Even I can't teach those dragons to fly any better,” mused Dash as she walked closer, “After all, those Dragons just aren't built for Sonic Rainbooms.  They certainly can't do the TRIPLE RAINBOOM like I can... oh wait, like NO ONE ELSE CAN!”

“And y'all ain't gonna let none of us ever forget that, will ya?”

“Of course not,” she smirked.

“Otherwise I'd have to remind her that she's still the only Princess who can't teleport anywhere in the world on a whim,” said Princess Twilight with her own smirk.

“Flying is so much cooler,” sniffed Princess Rainbow, “If I need to be teleported somewhere, I'm sure my sweet Pinkie Pie can handle that for me.”

“YEAH!” agreed Pinkie Pie.

“Well give our regards to Fluttershy,” said the Doctor, “I believe it's time to get my junior assistants back home.”

“I better scold you when you get home, Sweetie Belle,” added Rarity.

“You can't scold me for what you don't know,” she replied.

“Ah!  How could you be so smug?!”

“I take after you,” she smirked back.

“Well let's get back before someone does get punished,” mused the Doctor.  Dash and Pinkie got between Rarity and the others as they clambered back into the TARDIS.

“One way or another, you'll learn your lesson!” snarled Rarity as her diamond studded fainting couch appeared before her.  Neither bothered to stop her from 'fainting' onto the couch in her usual dramatic and overblown fashion.

The Doctor closed the door behind him, and then went to the controls.  After making the setting with his magic, he tripped the controls and the central column began to rise and fall.  Suddenly, a five-sided crystal light up on the TARDIS controls.

“Oh no,” said the Doctor.

“What it is?” asked Apple Bloom.

“We're being recalled to Gallifrey,” he grumbled, “I wonder what they want now?”

[to be continued]