Chapters Chapter Two: Three's Company
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Chapter Three: New Faces, Old Foes
“Another day, another world!” the Doctor declared, tone exuberant as he bounded out of the TARDIS. As soon as they’d entered the time machine, he’d announced that he had the perfect place in mind for their next visit, and barely given either companion time to respond before taking off.sure the ones here are much nicer!”are they?”
*o*o*o*o*
“...Maybe they’re just in their houses?” Derpy suggested nervously.
The Doctor grinned. “Hello! I’m the Doctor, and these are my assistants, Derpy Hooves and Tick Tock. Now, what’s your name?”
*o*o*o*o*
The mare was waiting for them at what appeared to be a den of some kind. As they entered, however, she pulled a chain, revealing that the back wall of the den was fake. She waved them all through and, with one last wary glance, followed, closing the door behind her. Beckoning the trio, she headed off into the tunnel.everywhere : lounging on ledges, bathing one another, casually chatting, or even just sitting by themselves.unauthorized trip, I may add.”r ’s. It would have sounded quite pretty, if not so cold and distant.
When she spoke again, her voice was gentler. “I know you wish to find her, but I am afraid that, after a week and a half, it is likely far too late for her. I am sorry.”
*o*o*o*o*
“Here we are.” Pride Leader stopped outside of a depression in the rock. Inside, a white pony with black stripes was working. For a moment, the Doctor almost mistook the pony in question for a zebra before realizing what the pattern really was - an albino tiger.
*o*o*o*o*
“Remind me again why we’re doing this?” Tick Tock demanded, having finally caught up to Derpy. “We don’t know our way around this planet, and the foal probably has an adult with them.”
“Hey!” Derpy quickly trotted up to the foal, who looked up at her. She seemed startled for a moment at the sight of a non-cat-pony, but there was no mistaking the kindness in the mare’s wall-eyed gaze. “What’s the matter? Are you lost?”
*o*o*o*o*
Oak Leaf started at a pony entering his workspace, but a quick glance at Pride Leader assured him there was nothing to worry about. Shuffling through his papers, he answered, “Not much, I’m afraid. Any time we try to send somepony out there to see what’s going on, they don’t come back, or if they do, they’re… changed. All we know is that they call themselves…”Cyberponies .”
Chapter Four: Control Alt Delete
“Cyberponies? ”lot of danger if those things find them!”
*o*o*o*o*
There were a lot of things to worry about right then. After all, the Cyberponies were marching them to not even Celestia could know where, to do goodness knows what to them. The filly who’d gotten the two into this mess in the first place was walking alongside the two older ponies, silently crying in fear. And weighing very heavily on all three ponies’ minds was the knowledge that, no matter what lay ahead, it likely spelled death for all three.
This did not escape the Cyberponies’ notice. The one bringing up the rear of the group gave him an unpleasant shove when he began to fall behind. “KEEP UP.”
*o*o*o*o*
The Doctor’s expression was grim as he pulled on the leather armor Pride Leader had given him. He’d told her, and Oak Leaf as well, that things were far too dangerous to send anypony else in, and that he would handle the Cyberponies alone. Pride Leader had argued for a long time, but finally conceded so long as he agreed to take some protective equipment along with him.you get hurt?”
*o*o*o*o*
“WE HAVE LOCATED OFFWORLD INTRUDERS IN THESE TUNNELS.”
After regarding the assembled ponies for a moment, the Cyber Leader turned its empty gaze to the Cyberponies who had brought them. “YOU HAVE BROUGHT ME A SPECIMEN UNSUITABLE FOR UPGRADING AND TWO DEFECTIVE UNITS.”Run! ”
*o*o*o*o*
The sonic screwdriver’s sound echoed off the walls of the tunnel. The Doctor examined the readout closely. “Certainly seems they came this way…”things … have my sister. And I’m getting her back. You can’t leave me behind on this one.”better ,” answered Rainforest Rose mock-threateningly. “Oh,” she added, almost as an afterthought, “Rainforest Rose is kind of a mouthful. You can just call me Rose.” With that, she bounded off ahead, completely missing the pang of sadness that flashed through the Doctor’s eyes… and the confusion that followed it.
*o*o*o*o*
Three left turns, two rights, and one accidental split-up and regrouping later, Derpy, Tick Tock, and their charge were thoroughly lost in the twisting complex of tunnels running through the planet. The expression on the foal’s face told Derpy that she didn’t know where they were, either. Hopefully, that meant the Cyberponies wouldn’t be able to find them, either.have saved a life, though,” Derpy answered quietly, gaze fixed on the small kitten-foal huddled in the corner.Three .” On three, he gave a sharp tug, and with a pop, the wing snapped back into place.never wrong!”no wandering off! ”
The few seconds of stunned silence were shattered by a child’s wail. “SIS!”
*o*o*o*o*
Derpy stood quietly on the TARDIS floor. The Doctor had ushered the other two off of the planet immediately, and left a “surprise” in the Cyberponies’ base on the planet - a new and improved version of one of Tick Tock’s bombs, which he had perfected after the fight. He had also hardly spoken since the Cyberpony got to Rainforest Rose.
Author's Note
So, as you may have noticed, I've been experimenting lately with my art style for this fanfic... Please feel free to leave feedback or tips in the comments! I'd also like to know: are you okay with the more stylistic art, or would you prefer I play it closer to canon? Next update will be up soon, and I hope to hear from you all then!
View Online
Chapter Five: Loose Threads in the Fabric of Spacetime
Author's Note
So I start my senior year of high school in two days... I'll be trying to stick to my usual update schedule, but a few chapters may need to go up temporarily illustration-free. (Side note - does anyone actually care for the illustrations?) At any rate, please enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Five: Loose Threads in the Fabric of Spacetime
“Doctor, what’s happening?” Derpy cried out, falling against the metal railing. A shot of pain coursed through her wing - while it had mostly recovered from the Cyberponies’ abuse, the muscles were still a bit sore. She quickly wrapped her forelegs around the railing as the floor bucked beneath her.
*o*o*o*o*
“So I wonder when, exactly, we are,” Tick Tock commented as they reached Ponyville proper.
*o*o*o*o*
Derpy knocked on the front door of the tree-building. After a moment, the door swung open, a small purple dragon holding the handle. “Hi, Ditzy Doo!” he said cheerfully when he spotted her. “Who’s your new friend?”
Twilight smiled sheepishly, fluffing her wings. “Heh, yeah. It’s a… pretty new development.”Fort Neighers.”The History of Time-Based Magic, by Jasmine Flower. Try to have it back within two weeks, all right?”
*o*o*o*o*
Once outside the library, Derpy headed over to a bench near the main thoroughfare. Tick Tock watched silently as she climbed up on the bench before following suit. He settled the book between them, flipping open the cover. “So, any idea what, exactly, we’re looking for, here?”In the seventh year of Celestia’s reign, her royal advisor, Star Swirl the Bearded, began research into the field of time magic, hoping to find a way to stop Discord’s reign from occurring before he could ever take control. Star Swirl’s first attempt at creating a time-travel spell was very unstable and began to create holes throughout all of time. He eventually managed to kill the spell and destroyed all of his research in order to prevent such an occurrence repeating itself. The story is only known as a cautionary tale to the curious magical experimenter, to justify time magic’s status as a forbidden kind.
Blushing, Derpy quickly reared her head back, her vision going spotty as her eyes shifted further out to the sides, as they were apt to do when she was startled. When she focused again, she found Tick Tock’s gaze fixed on the pages, a faint blush showing through his orange fur. “Y-Yes, time magic is a technically forbidden subject, as it can be very dangerous when handled improperly. There’s a reason I spend several months researching before even attempting to cast the spell for my time bomb. Regardless, I think we may have found what we needed.”
*o*o*o*o*
“Well, there you two are!” the Doctor exclaimed as his companions re-entered the TARDIS. “I was about to come looking for you!”enormous … thing. It looked almost like a tear in fabric, except there was nothing around it. Inside this tear, there was an odd sort of throbbing black and blue light, twirling and flashing between both colors in odd intervals. All in all, it was a very unnatural and very frightening sight.may have triggered it to close, taking anything nearby with it.”Tick Tock! ”Stop! ”
The urgency in her voice made her freeze, but his concentration was broken. The spell holding him in place flickered out, and with a yelp, Tick Tock was pulled forward, off his hooves, and tumbled into the Time Vortex.No! ” Derpy screamed. She attempted to lunge forward, only to be abruptly stopped. The Doctor had caught her tail in his teeth and was stopping her from approaching the rip, a clear warning in his eyes. Don’t.
Chapter Six: When You're Gone
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Intermission One: Tick Tock's Goggles
Author's Note
Welcome to the first intermission chapter! These chapters will herald the end of an arc. They are short, un-illustrated, and simply share headcanons that may or may not come into play in the story. Please enjoy!
Intermission One: Tick Tock's Goggles
“Lightwing!”
*o*o*o*o*
“Another explosion? Really?”genius .”no way the monsters will win.”humiliating their whole family!this -”
*o*o*o*o*
In the end, it turned out that Tick Tock had not damaged his eye at all - merely gotten a gash above it. Nurse Shamrock had offered him some of their limited supply of anesthetic, but Tick Tock had refused, claiming that “it wouldn’t matter”. And he was right - even as she was putting eleven stitches above his eye, in some of the thinnest skin of his face, he never once flinched.
*o*o*o*o*
The next evening, Tick Tock dragged himself out of bed - a lengthy process even on the best of days, when he had a day full of tinkering to look forward too. Already his mind was ticking, churning out new ideas. In his short life, he’d experienced no greater torment than being unable to create the things he thought up. His father knew this, which is why being grounded from his workshop was rare.
Chapter Seven: Interplanetary War
The night was calm. Peaceful. Small creatures rustled through the foliage of the forest as a nighttime bird began a beautiful aria. Aside from these animal sounds, the scene was quiet.VWORP! VWORP! VWORP!
“Completely fascinating,” Tick Tock whispered beside her, prompting a smile out of the mare. She was quickly becoming accustomed to hearing that word.
*o*o*o*o*
The mare led them through the thick forest, hacking aside underbrush in their way with some sort of weird metal tool. Derpy had never seen anything like it before in her life, though Tick Tock and the Doctor both recognized it as a “machete”.
A war zone. Like Neighers. Derpy had been in more than enough war zones for one lifetime.
*o*o*o*o*
“So.”happened to get past our defenses and land on this planet with nopony noticing?”careful eye on the sky. We have to, after all. This is a planet at war.”had killed before.are Kaygawans?” Tick Tock asked. His voice lacked curiosity. He wasn’t intrigued to learn - he wanted to know what they were up against. It was a startling change.bombed our innocent colony! We were forced to counterstrike.”lost their lives with the bombing?”had to be a misunderstanding somewhere if they were at war.
*o*o*o*o*
It was decided that their arrival on Kaygawa would seem far less suspicious if they were to arrive in the TARDIS, rather than a Yoskuateran spacecraft, so the trio departed from the base they had been brought to, making their way towards their ship.not an accident. We may not be able to resolve this without conflict.”my ship!”
The Doctor shrank back slightly. “Oh, dear…”
Chapter Eight: Gone Too Far
Okay, so that could have gone better.help! ”
Derpy sat quietly further back, watching with a forlorn expression. She hadn’t wanted to consider that she might be wrong, but it looked like she didn’t have a choice.my ship - the one we used to get to this planet! We’re not here to fight, we’re here to help make peace! And if you’d let me go back to my TARDIS, I could show you-”
“I wouldn’t recommend continuing to argue, Doctor,” Tick Tock interrupted. “It’s clear that this… being isn’t going to listen.”
“In my universe, they were ,” the Doctor answered bitterly, shooting one last glare over his shoulder at the guard as he turned to face them. “Looks like things are different here.”
*o*o*o*o*
She cracked open the door just slightly, peering through. The pony-like thing was sitting at a desk, muttering to himself as he wrote something on a piece of parchment. His movements were harsh and erratic - he probably had terrible penmanship. She strained to hear what he was saying.
*o*o*o*o*
Derpy felt like she could barely breathe. What if he noticed that she’d stolen the parchment? What if he found her before Tick Tock or the Doctor did? What if -Tartarus made you think wandering off like that was a good idea? You-”
“That’s enough, Tick Tock,” the Doctor interrupted sharply. Tick Tock’s expression shifted into one of surprise as he glanced at the Doctor, and with a shake of his mane, he fell silent.
*o*o*o*o*
The doors clanged open, and immediately there was the sound of arrows flying into the air. A green shield enveloped the intruders, stopping the arrows in their flight paths. “Move!” yelled the Earth pony, and the three immediately charged forward. Anypony standing in their path found themselves pushed back by the green bubble surrounding the three. As soon as they reached the TARDIS, the shape immediately shifted, becoming a slanted plane that left them open to attack. Tick Tock and the Doctor stood by these, fending off attacks from the enemies without, while Derpy fumbled with the lock to open up the TARDIS.you , at least, must see it!”
*o*o*o*o*
The three ponies had expected to exit the TARDIS and have to find their way back to the Yoskuateran base, trekking all the way across the forest and following a half-remembered path.your troops on our homeworld!”you’re going to be the one losing credibility!”your fault! ” Teeth bared in a snarl, he sprang at Derpy, who screamed and tried to scramble back.Monsters don’t think. Monsters can’t be reasoned with. Monsters won’t stop until you or they are dead. not how we do things,” the Doctor hissed. He looked as though he would continue, but a whimper caught both stallion’s attention. Derpy was frozen in an expression of shock, eyes fixed on the crumpled body on the floor. Green blood speckled her entire front.
“Ditzy…” the Doctor murmured, reaching out a hoof. She automatically flinched away from the touch, head turning towards them.
Chapter Nine: Taking a Breather
When they got back to the TARDIS, the Doctor yelled at Tick Tock the way the unicorn hadn’t been yelled at in a long time. Not since Neighers. A lot of things were beginning to resemble Neighers to him lately, and he wasn’t sure he liked it.
It hurt for her to look at him that way. He just pretended he couldn’t see it, directing his gaze to the floor.greatest pleasure planet around! Gorgeous resorts, tropical jungles filled with adventures, and - my personal favorite - tons of ancient ruins filled with all kinds of crazy artifacts! Doesn’t that sound amazing ?”
*o*o*o*o*
The planet was beautiful, better than it had even seemed on the screen. The weather was sunny and warm, with a cool breeze blowing. All over the planet were creatures from all kinds of different planets, with brilliant colors and extra limbs and all sorts of oddities you never saw in Equestria.
She bumped into him mistakenly. With a squeak, she scrambled back, eyes wide and totally unfocused. “S-Sorry!”
*o*o*o*o*
True to the Doctor’s word, the jungle was filled with all sorts of adventures, though they were far toned down from their usual ones. No sooner had they entered the jungle to look around than their tour guide disappeared to investigate a “mysterious sound”. After ten minutes passed and she had not returned, the other ponies grew nervous, but Tick Tock had almost immediately spotted the cameras hidden in the branches - this was a part of the experience.could have traveled through the branches, and I found claw marks! Something went that way.”Don’t lie to him, Ditzy. wasn’t a monster!” For the first time since they left Yoskuatera, Derpy met Tick Tock’s eyes, and he was surprised by the fire in her own. “He was - okay, so he wasn’t quite a pony, but he thought like one! He could’ve changed!”let him live . He wanted to kill him, but he realized that it was wrong .”
Tick Tock blinked at Derpy, trying to figure out how to respond. Then the Doctor called from up ahead, “Guys, come look at this!” and without a moment’s hesitation, Derpy turned and cantered after him. With a sigh, Tick Tock hung his head and followed. For once, his soldier’s senses failed him… and he didn’t realize that the three were being watched.
Chapter Ten: Along For the Ride
“Finally!” The Doctor rounded on his companions as they finally caught up to him in the middle of the forest. He chose to ignore the upset looks on their faces and the way neither would even look in the other’s general direction. “We’d best get going, before the trail goes cold!” Turning again, he quickly headed off, the other two following silently in his hoofsteps.enormous war broke out. We called it the Last Great Time War.”All life, no matter how seemingly stupid or insignificant, is so incredibly important . And I refuse to squander that.”
“I can see why Derpy would help you with that,” Tick Tock admitted. “But… why me?”
*o*o*o*o*
“Not good, not good, not good!” The Doctor was frantic, pacing back and forth across the clearing. “She could be anywhere - how are we going to find her in a dense rainforest on an alien planet?!”outside of his skin. The other, oddly enough, appeared to be an average Crystal Pony. Their two fillies were… an strange sight to behold.
“Are you searching for the creatures that have been abducting tour guides?” the skeletal pony asked, stopping as his husband herded their children behind him as though afraid the two stallions would hurt them.
*o*o*o*o*
Her eyes opened to find green light filtering through the branches overhead. Was it just her, or were they woven?
*o*o*o*o*
They’d been running for nearly two solid minutes. The fillies were both being carried by their rapidly-tiring fathers, and even the Doctor was starting to feel the air burn his lungs as he sucked it in. He thought the first one to slow (after the fillies, of course) would have been Tick Tock, but the other stallion gave no outwards signs of fatigue - only determination. He might have been fighting with her before, but nothing was going to stop Tick Tock from getting Derpy back now.
There was no sign of any of the tour guides, or of Derpy, but this was unmistakably where the feathers had led.are still alive !” Turning to the creature with her, she explained (presumably in a different language) what was happening.anything , to make this right.
*o*o*o*o*
Derpy watched as Rose Hip chatted animatedly with a group of ponies from the nearby resort, the Doctor at her side as they attempted to explain what they’d discovered. Any other day, it would have brought a smile to her lips.begin to make up for what happened, but… I swear, it was a mistake I will do my best to never repeat again. After all,” and he flicked his ears in an anxious version of his usual smile substitute, “if the Doctor can do it, so can I.”
*o*o*o*o*
It wasn’t until they were back on the TARDIS that Tick Tock realized. Watching Derpy head towards her room, he asked, “Hey, Doctor? You never answered my question before. I see how Derpy can help you, but what about me?”
Chapter Twelve: Soldier's Mercy
“Oh no,” Derpy whispered, eyes wide as she stared at the image before her. “Oh, no, no, no.”We can’t hear you. We don’t know.
*o*o*o*o*
“Keleth!”saw that mirror!”
*o*o*o*o*
There was no light. No landscape. No markers to tell where he was. He’d lost sight of the glass hours ago. Or had it only been ten minutes? His time sense, usually impeccable, was all mixed up now. Time didn’t seem to pass in this place, not really anyway. It was almost like the TARDIS, but it felt far more sinister.
*o*o*o*o*
When the doors rattled open, darkness loomed. Jot blinked uneasily. “I thought we left the lights on in here…?”click of a chain being pulled and the lights flickered on.
*o*o*o*o*
Jot examined the spot against the wall where the mirror had previously leaned. He appeared to be searching for cracks in the wall, or any other sign of what may have become of the instrument. Tick Tock, meanwhile, was pacing, rhythmically clicking his tongue while he tried to work out what kind of trickery had gone into these occurrences.
*o*o*o*o*
“You’re insane!”The laws of time are mine, and they will obey me! ” “One day it would drop out of the sky and tear down your world. ” “Good men don’t need rules. ”Stay away from my assistants! ”was that?” the Doctor asked in disbelief.
*o*o*o*o*
“Wow.”
Chapter One: The Best Night Ever
Author's Note
All right, so first off, disclaimers.here.
One final note - yes, I know the art is subpar. This is my first experience with digital art, so I'm still trying to figure out how to use the program. Any tips would be appreciated. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter One: The Best Night Ever
The TARDIS whirred quietly, a gentle hum filling the air. The time-traveling trio had gone out on another adventure. While these “adventures” (or misadventures, as she liked to think) were fairly frequent, there was often a lot of down time between, so that the companions could rest and the Doctor could get his mind together after whatever carnage had occurred that time. Thus, the TARDIS did not always have much time to herself. She loved her silly little thief, and she was okay with the other two, as well, but she needed her private time as much as the next sentient being. With those three out and about, she was gladly taking the time to relax.
Derpy screamed as she caught sight of a barrage of encroaching arrows following them through the door. Catching sight of where she was looking, Tick Tock whirled, shouting, “Incoming!” His horn lit up with a green glow, and suddenly every arrow in the TARDIS froze in midair. Then, with a burst of light, they were turned around and flung right back at their assailants. The last arrow shot through the door just before the Doctor slammed it shut.
*o*o*o*o*
Canterlot. The thirtieth of the Strawberry Moon month, in the year 997 of Celestia’s reign. The Doctor was examining the blue doors of the TARDIS, which had withstood the battering it had taken, but had cracked in a few places as a result. Meanwhile, Derpy and Tick Tock had gone to a nearby café for lunch.
*o*o*o*o*
“...so, what do you think?”
Sure enough, the clothing seemed to have mostly changed to accommodate for the equine form of the passengers on the ship, and there was a lot of it. Two sets of stairs led upwards and downwards to an entirely different story from the one they’d entered on, making it difficult to understand at a glance just how expansive the wardrobe was.
She’d just begun, however, when she began to hear strange sounds from outside the room. With confusion clouding her face, she emerged from the doorway to find the Doctor and Tick Tock standing out in the hallway.wearing ?”
*o*o*o*o*
The Doctor paced impatiently in the console room of the TARDIS. “What is taking that mare so long?” he complained.
The Doctor snapped out of it first. A grin lit up his face as he declared, “Derpy Hooves, you are looking beautiful today!”
*o*o*o*o*
Derpy had always heard stories of the Gala. She’d been told time and time again about the beauty of the event, the high-class ponies, the ever-watchful gaze of the princess. But there was nothing quite like seeing it with her own two eyes.
*o*o*o*o*
Several minutes later, Derpy finally managed to get away from the crowds. While she enjoyed making friends as much as the next pony, she couldn’t help but feel a wave of relief to have an opportunity to get back to her other friends.
Straightening, he smiled at her blush and continued in the same warm, friendly tone, “Now, I hope I’m not being too forward, but I saw you over here and couldn’t help but wonder… why isn’t a beautiful mare such as yourself dancing?”
Once they were close enough to converse privately, Derpy blurted out the first question to come to mind: “So how do you time travel if it isn’t your special talent?”
Top Hat pulled Derpy to her hooves. “Run!”
Chapter Eleven: Equestria Again
As soon as the blue doors opened this time, a cold breeze blew through, bits of snow swirling about the interior.
*o*o*o*o*
Tick Tock swung the doors open and stopped, eyes on the winter clothing. "Oh, right. I'd almost forgotten." He sighed, flicking his ears back in annoyance. "His scarves are all weird and huge."
*o*o*o*o*
When they emerged, Derpy had paired her scarf with a white beanie to keep her head warm, as well as a set of green boots with white fluff. Tick Tock, meanwhile, had shifted his goggles from their usual spot around his neck to perched on his head, just over his horn, in order to make room for a brown checkered scarf of his own, with much more durable-looking brown boots.
*o*o*o*o*
Ponies of all three races bustled past, hurrying to get out of the cold temperatures and back inside the warmth of their houses. A few shot odd looks at the TARDIS, parked at the edge of a side alley, before simply scurrying on, and Derpy could have sworn she heard one mutter, “Not my circus, not my monkeys.” Stifling a snort of laughter, she turned her gaze to her two friends.
*o*o*o*o*
“Oh, no! Windigoes!” exclaimed “Smart Cookie”. “That must be what caused the blizzards!”
*o*o*o*o*
A little more bluffing and a quick flash of the psychic paper later, they were backstage. The Doctor was bouncing in excitement. “Dragons! Fully grown ones, a whole community! Oh, this is going to be amazing!”too much, okay, Doctor?” she said. “From what I understand, the ponies here tend to blame the dragon community for a lot of things.”
*o*o*o*o*
“Hey, Keleth!”Fourth Warehouse .”days later… they were not the same.”
*o*o*o*o*
“Utterly ridiculous,” the Doctor was still muttering under his breath as he pushed open the doors to the warehouse. “These ghost stories are far too frequent to be real-”
Intermission Two: The Doctor's Memories
The familiar low, vibrating hum echoed through the TARDIS, the only thing interrupting the blessed silence. For the moment, peace reigned aboard the ship. This time, however, the occupants were not away. The companions were sleeping and, in a rare event, her wayward thief was unconscious in his room as well. The TARDIS cherished these few moments - times when she never had to fear for her time traveler’s safety, but was allowed to keep the soothing quiet she usually only got when nopony was aboard.
