Great Wickering Stallions!

Doctor Whooves. The Doctor. Doc. Time Turner. Call him whatever you want, The Doctor was an enigma amongst most ponies that knew of him. Some believed that he wasn't from Equestria, but from another world entirely. Some believed that he was just a horologist, obsessed with the study of time. In truth, The Doctor didn't think he was either of these. He was just a pony.

This just a pony was on his way home, actually. Riding a train from Canterlot. He'd just attended a lovely seminar held by Princess Twilight herself. Said Princess now shared the train car with the Doctor, who stood and approached her in a manner casual enough to make nobles faint, had there been any to witness the act.

"Twilight, was it?" The Doctor asked as he took a seat across from the lavender alicorn.

"Yes?" The mare looked from the window to find a brown stallion with an hourglass cutie mark seated across from her. "Can I help you?"

"What? Oh no, no." The Doctor replied. "I was just headed home from your symposium on your new multiverse theory. It was absolutely lovely."

"Why, thank you." The mare smiled warmly. "Its always nice to meet a fellow scholar, Mister..." Twilight furrowed her brow as she realized she didn't know this stallion's name. This was made even more embarrassing by the fact that she knew she'd seen his face somewhere before.

"The Doctor, if you don't mind." The stallion replied without missing a beat. "I found your theories fascinating. You say that you were able to visit other versions of Equestria without affecting our own timeline?"

"Well, I don't know if that was exactly the case. My theory was based more on the idea that specific points of history were... key events. Certain things have to happen at a certain time or the future is altered. In some timelines these events didn't happen, or happened differently. This changes the way events proceed, altering the flow of each timeline accordingly."

"Like a fixed point in time."

"Well, I suppose that's one way of looking at things." Twilight tapped a hoof to her chin. "Have we met somewhere Mister The Doctor?"

"Just the Doctor, please." He chuckled lightly. "As for having met me before, I don't know. Maybe you've met me but I haven't met you. Perhaps I was in one of those alternate timelines?"

"Maybe." Twilight giggled lightly at the peculiar stallion.

The two spent the rest of the train ride talking, mostly about science and literature. Twilight was pleasantly surprised to find out that the Doctor lived in Ponyville. She thought she knew everypony in the quaint little town. Moreover, she was surprised that somepony as educated as the Doctor lived in such a small community, rather than somewhere known for it's scientific works like Canterlot or Whinnypeg. The two parted ways at the train station after Twilight made The Doctor promise to stop by for tea sometime.

~~~

Home sweet home. The Doctor loosened the green tie about his neck. Time now for some tea. Maybe a nice apple salad. I think I'll add walnuts- What's that?

The Doctor had been making his way through his home, which also doubled as a laboratory. Machines and contraptions of the stallion's own design were strewn about on tables, organized by some manner known only to himself. There was one contraption that he didn't recognize. Something not built by the stallion. And it was blinking.

Well, a light on it was blinking, to be more specific. The device was a simple black box. It's surface offered no indications of it's function, with no buttons or hinges or markings of any kind. The only thing on it was a small blue light, pulsing rhythmically.

"Well, hello there. Who are you?" The Doctor asked the box, as if the contraption would answer. He picked it up, the box easily held by one hoof. "I didn't make you. Did I? No..." The box was tilted about in the Doctors hooves as he tried to make heads or tails of the mystery he held.

"So if I didn't build you, where did you come from?" He scratched his mane with a free hoof. Thoughts of food and tea were long forgotten as the stallion slid onto his rolling work stool and placed the cube underneath a large swiveling magnifying glass.

There were no seams on the box. No panels to pop off to look inside. No welding marks along the edges. By all appearances, the cube seemed to have been made in a way that should theoretically have been impossible. A completely smooth cube. Even the blinking light seemed to cause no breaks in the perfect smoothness of the cube's surface.

"How curious. You, my friend, should not be here. Not at all..."

The Doctor pushed away from the desk, rolling across the room with the cube in hoof to a computer hooked up to a small circular plate. Placing the cube down upon it, he quickly typed away at a few keys until the circular plate hummed to life, illuminating the cube in a soft green glow. Numbers and letters scrolled across the monitor at breakneck speeds as the plate did it's work. Moments later, an image of the cube appeared on the monitor in a wire-frame recreation. The monitor then popped up a large red question mark, as if to ask 'what in Equestria is this supposed to be?'

"I don't know either," The Doctor told his computer. "But I can't wait to find out."

~~~

Three days and one meal later, The Doctor was no closer to solving the mystery of the cube. It was nightfall of day three. The brown stallion rubbed his eyes with his hooves before flopping forward onto his desk with an unceremonious thud.

"I don't get it. This is more complicated than bowling with all it's variables and complexities." The Doctor was staring at the cube. "It'd be so much easier if I had a colleague in Ponyville. Another brilliant mind to figure out-" Of course! He did have a colleague in Ponyville with a brilliant mind of her own! Twilight Sparkle! The Doctor threw on a blue blazer and pocketed the cube before going out into the cold winter night.

Ponyville's streets were empty. Many were probably nestled by a cozy fire, wrapped in blankets as a gentle snow fell from the sky. It was this serenity that drew The Doctor to Ponyville. The peace and quiet were perfect for him, allowing the stallion to conduct his research without bother. Or at least, that's what he'd thought. After a spirit of Chaos changing reality, giant centaur attack, bugbear attack, parasprite infestation, and various other attacks, infestations, and general interruptions The Doctor had long since abandoned his idea of Ponyville being peaceful. Still, it was nice to enjoy the illusion of peace on nights like tonight.

Twilight's castle was a sight to behold. A gigantic crystalline structure that towered over Ponyville. The structure resembled a tree, it's tall spires reaching skyward like branches. The Doctor always paused as it came into view. He felt it necessary if one was to genuinely appreciate the castle's splendor. He'd been inside it once before, actually. The day it had appeared in Ponyville. The inside was even more spectacular, and somehow gave the illusion of being larger on the inside than the outside.

The Doctor stopped at the ornate double doors of the castle. On the one hoof, he wanted nothing more than to figure out the mysteries of the cube nestled in his blazer's pocket. On the other hoof, though, he'd had a track record of mysterious objects threatening to endanger the lives of everypony around him. It was a difficult conundrum. Finally, he opted for satisfying his curiosity. There was no immediate danger from the cube. He'd spent three days in it's company so far with no incidents. He knocked.

The Doctor waited in the cold for some time before there was any answer. Finally, a small purple dragon answered.

"Uh... Can I help you?" The dragon asked. Spike was his name, and nearly every time The Doctor had seen the diminutive reptile, he'd been in the company of Twilight Sparkle.

The Doctor casually brushed past Spike and entered the castle.

"Yes, actually. I was looking to speak with-"

"Twilight?!" The dragon called with panic rising in his voice.

"Yes! Exactly! If you could point me in the right direction?" The Doctor interrupted.

Spike wasn't sure how to handle situations like this. In fact, he didn't think there was anypony in Equestria who would try barging into a princess' castle. The poor dragon pointed a claw down the long entry hall of the castle.

"She's in the library."

"Excellent! Thank you." The stallion trotted off, leaving behind a very confused dragon.

Twilight Sparkle was in the library, working on yet another fun research project. She was currently nose deep into a fascinating book on Haycart's Theory of Transdimensional Ley Lines. She was also surrounded be a fort-like wall of books. This is why when a pony that was essentially a stranger casually strolled into her library, Twilight Sparkle remained blissfully unaware of his presence. Until she heard his voice over her shoulder.

"Haycart... Nice chap. A bit dry for my tastes though. Really should have worked on adding more pictures. Everyone loves pictures."

"Gah!" Twilight nearly jumped out of her skin as she cried out in surprise. Whirling around, she found The Doctor in front of her. "I didn't hear you come in! I, um, what can I do for you... Doctor was it?" The mare stammered as she regained her composure. She was silently grateful that she hadn't been caught sleeping, drooling on some poor book.

"Well, I was wondering, thinking really, that maybe you'd like to help me with a bit of a mystery." The Doctor began. "I have in my possession a very peculiar box, well, more of a cube, really. This cube shouldn't be able to exist in how perfect it is. Seeing as how you're the smartest mare I've come into contact with in the last week or so, and that whenever something shouldn't exist in Equestria magic is involved and you're also the most magical mare I've met in the last week or so, I thought maybe you'd like to take a look."

"Okay." Twilight replied, still trying to mentally translate the rapid words of The Doctor. "May I see this cube?"

"Ah yes, of course." The Doctor procured the cube from his pocket. The blue pulsing light continued it's pulsing, oblivious to it's change in surroundings.

Twilight Sparkle magically levitated the cube close, inspecting it from all sides as it rotated in the air. She quickly came to the same conclusions as The Doctor. The cube was definitely magical in origins, but she'd never come across anything like it in her studies. She furrowed her brow in concentration.

"I don't get it." She stated after a few moments of inspecting the object. "Does it do anything?"

"It blinks."

"It... blinks. That's it?"

"So far. If it's any consolation, it's a blue light." The Doctor pointed out, as if that was at all significant.

"So its a mysterious box-" Twilight began.

"Cube"

"So its a mysterious cube with seemingly no purpose than to have a blue light and it seems like something that shouldn't exist? Are you sure its not just a nightlight or something?" Twilight asked, passing the cube back to the Doctor. "Maybe its just a thing?" She offered.

"See, that's what I thought at first. But the thing is, I didn't build it and I found it in my home. I didn't buy it either. Its just this curious little box with a blue... light..." The Doctor tapered off. "No... It couldn't be. Could it?" The Doctor stared at the tiny box in his hoof with a look that was either amusement or a stroke. Twilight couldn't tell which.

"Do you happen to have a screwdriver?"

Twilight Sparkle magically rummaged through the drawers at her desk before floating a screwdriver to the stallion.

"I'll take that as a no." The Doctor replied. "Right then! I need to run home." He started trotting off towards the front door, picking up speed until he was at a full gallop.

"Wait!" Twilight was flying alongside the stallion. "You haven't told me what you found out! You can't just bring something like this to somepony and expect them to shrug it off when you leave without telling her what it is!" Twilight sounded mildly offended by The Doctor's actions.

"I need to get home!" The Doctor grinned. "I'll show you when I get there!"

The Doctor's home was just as cluttered as it was when he'd come home three days ago. Twilight was surprised anypony could find anything in the mess, least of all something as small as the cube. As she looked about at all the inventions and contraptions, the Doctor rummaged through a cardboard box buried in a cupboard.

"So... you're an inventor I take it?" Twilight asked.

"Actually, I'm more of a tinkerer, well, more of a traveller, well, a refugee would be more accurate. I'm a Time Lord." The Doctor replied, head still buried in said cardboard box.

"Is that some sort of noble title?" Twilight asked, having never heard the term.

"Aha! Found you. It's been far too long, my sweet girl." The Doctor cooed into the box before withdrawing a strange looking object. It looked like a metallic wand or something. The stallion was nuzzling the object he cradled in his hooves like it was his very special somepony or something. Twilight was almost embarrassed by the display. Or she would have been, if the sight didn't remind her of Smarty Pants, Twilight's old doll.

"All right! Stand back, please." The Doctor gripped the object in his teeth and pointed one end at the box. Twilight couldn't help but notice that the object had a blue light on the end of it as well. The metal wand object made a high-pitched noise for a moment before The Doctor pocketed it in his blazer.

"I don't- What is that?" Twilight asked as nothing happened.

"Sonic screwdriver! Time Lord technology. If I'm right, then something should happen any moment now..." There was a gleam in The Doctor's eyes.

After a few silent moments, a peculiar whirring noise filled the house. A large blue box seemed to slowly come into existence right before Twilight's eyes. The blue box seemed to fade in and out, slowly becoming clearer and more defined with each whir. After a few seconds, the noise stopped, leaving the blue box in the middle of the room.

"How-" Twilight started before The Doctor cut her off.

"Oh, I've missed you so much." The Doctor was hugging the box and, if Twilight wasn't mistaken, crying a bit. "But how are you here? Well, I know how, but I mean how."

"Doctor? What am I looking at?" Twilight asked, completely lost at this point.

"Twilight, meet the TARDIS." The Doctor gestured. "Time And Relative Dimension In Space."

"Okay." Twilight stared blankly. "What is it?"

"I just told you. It's a TARDIS." The Doctor acted as if this was all the explanation needed.

"But what is it?" Twilight stressed, hoping for a bit more of an explanation.

"Well, to put it simply, its a time machine." The stallion smirked. "Go ahead, take a look inside." He pushed open a door on the front of the box and gestured Twilight to enter.

Twilight hesitated a bit before finally assenting. She stepped inside the small box for a few seconds before backpedaling out again. Her face bore an expression of shock as she walked the outside of the box, poked her head back in, and walked around it again.

"It's bigger on the inside!" The Doctor simply grinned as the mare stated a fact he'd known for a very long time. "But that's not possible! This is impossible." She stated the latter sentence as if it were a fact that would prove itself to be true just by being said aloud. She tilted her head and looked at The Doctor. "How is this possible?"

"Time Lord technology. Built centuries ago by another race of ponies." The Doctor had a distant look on his face. "This particular one was mine before she was destroyed in my crash outside of Ponyville. I'd guess I've just stolen her from myself at some point. But, if she's here, she probably disappeared at some point I didn't notice. Or will notice. Or maybe I've stranded myself at some point in time."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I told you, the TARDIS is a time machine. capable of going anywhere and anywhen you want to go."

"But that's not possible." Twilight stated flatly. It was becoming a mantra at this point.

"But it is!" The Doctor said excitedly. "Here, step inside again. I'll give you a demonstration." He stepped inside, a slight bounce in his step. "Pick a place. Any place! Any time, too!"

Twilight hesitated at the door before walking back into a large round room. Up a couple of stairs was a large console that stretched towards the apex of the domed room. The bulk of this console was taken up by a glass cylinder with some sort of pump inside it.

"Well?" The stallion asked as he tinkered with the console, dashing around it in childlike mirth.

"Well what?" Twilight asked.

"Where to?"

"I don't know. I don't really believe this is a time machine, to be honest." Twilight looked about, a slight sense of vertigo creeping in as she stared upwards from the doorway.

"Right then. What's a really important event to you? Something that happened but didn't involve you directly?" The Doctor clopped his forehooves together once before answering his own question. "Nightmare Moon! You know the story of her defeat, yes?"

"But you just said to pick something I wasn't involved in."

"You weren't involved when she was banished to the moon." The stallion grinned before running about the console again, pulling switches and tweaking knobs as the pulsing sound from earlier reached Twilight's ears. The door shut itself as the box shook violently, knocking Twilight off her hooves. "Of we go! Haha!" Twilight heard over the din of the center console.