Doctor Whooves - The Series: Episode One - The Pinkie Conundrum

Chapters

Prologue: Out of Element
Ch. 1: Standing Still
Ch. 2: Reports, Apple Crisps, and Jelly Fillies
Ch. 3: Old, Sad Eyes
Ch. 4: All of Time and Space
Epilogue: The Adventure of a Lifetime
Announcement/Revision

Prologue: Out of Element

Books and Branches Library
Ponyville, Everfree Province of Equestria
4th of Summer, 1001 C.R. (Celestia’s Reign), 8:25 a.m.

Dawn had only barely broken over the town of Ponyville, but already the Books and Branches Library was a scene of action and a flurry of motion on the inside.

“And don’t forget that every book that's checked out has to be signed for with a hoofprint. No exceptions,” Twilight Sparkle explained for what was perhaps the third time that day as several scrolls were lifted by magic from their resting place on her nightstand and set into the open satchel on her bed, quickly followed by several books and a large bottle of ink that came flying from all over the small loft.

Seated next to the satchel, the small, tired-looking purple and green baby dragon shook his head, rolling his eyes impatiently. “Come on, Twi, can you pretend to have a little faith in me here? I mean, it’s not like I’ve never done this before. Besides, the only books that ever get checked out are usually cookbooks.”

“Spike!” Twilight admonished the dragon as she consulted her checklist, wanting to make absolutely sure that she didn’t forget to pack anything. “Every time I go away for a little while, I always come back to find out that somepony has taken several, irreplaceable pieces of the library’s collection and sold them to the bookstore!”

“You’re exaggerating, Twilight.” Spike shook his head, his tone more than slightly huffy. “That only happened once, and even then it was just one of Snips and Snails’ stupid get-bits-quick schemes. And Ms. Ream at the bookstore knew it was a library book the moment she saw it. The index card inside the cover was kind of a giveaway. You should know better than to take something like that seriously.”

Twilight sighed, setting the checklist down as she shook her head, her nerves getting the better of her for a moment as she rubbed the bridge of her snout with one hoof.

“I know, I know. Look, it’s just… Considering what I’ve been through the last few days, I really need to get caught up with my reports to the Princess and what I have to report needs to really be done in person this time. Besides, it’s not just the library I’m worried about.”

“What do you mean, Twi?” Spike raised one eye ridge curiously. What in the hay could possibly be more important to Twilight Sparkle than the Ponyville library’s upkeep during her absence?

“I also need you to look after our ‘guest.’ Keep him occupied and try to keep him out of trouble.”

“Who? The Do--”

In an instant, Twilight was right in front of Spike, her hoof pressed to his mouth and silencing him mid-word.

“Shhhhhhh! Don’t…” Twilight hushed the dragon softly, looking over her shoulder as if she expected the brown stallion to be standing right there. “He’s still sleeping downstairs. ‘Clockwork’ needs to try and relax and stay in Ponyville for today at least. Show him the sights, recommend some good books, something like that. I should be back by tomorrow.”

“Is that why you’re up so early? Why don’t you just tell him that you’re going?”

“Oh, is somebody going somewhere?”

The voice that came behind Twilight, with it’s odd, flourishing accent, was completely unmistakable to the purple unicorn pony, who didn’t even have to turn to recognize that her attempt to leave quietly had failed.

“Yes, somepony is.” Twilight set her hoof against her face a moment before steeling herself with a resolved huff, closing the satchel before her and lifting it up to her flank where it was strapped and hung at one side for easy access. “Good morning, Doctor. I’m afraid I’m in a bit of a rush. I have an appointment with the Princess in Canterlot this afternoon and--”

“Oh, we’re going to Canterlot today, are we?” the Doctor interrupted with a large smile. He was already dressed in the brown suit and tie that Rarity had designed several variations of for him, an hourglass lapel set into the collar. “I’ll fire up the TARDIS and we can head on over in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. Wait, you do have lambs here, right? I guess two shakes of your tail will do. Or one shake of yours and one shake of mine. Anyhow, Canterlot! It really did look fantastic the last time I was there, but I didn't have much of a chance to appreciate it, what with the Raggedy Mares and all milling about.”

“Raggedy what-now?” Spike inquired curiously, only to be cut off by Twilight’s slight glare, indicating it was not something she wanted brought up.

“Doctor…”

“I'm still trying to determine how you ponies managed that level of architectural sophistication without heavy machinery. Those buttresses alone must have taken a lifetime to set in place with hooves, even with magical aid.”

“Doctor…”

“Do they have tours of the Royal Palace? Because I’m sure that would be particularly enlightening. And it would be nice to meet Princess Celestia and Luna again for the first time.”

“Doctor!”

“Errr… Yes, Twilight?” The Doctor had to cock his head to the side slightly, tapping on one ear due to the sudden jump in his companion’s decibel level.

Setting herself up solidly and taking a breath, the young mare squared off with the nine hundred year old stallion. “I’m sorry, but you’re not coming along this time,” she explained quickly.

“What? But it’s a royal audience, and a chance to--”

“Doctor, I have a duty to the Princess and I think it would be a good idea if I informed her about everything that happened personally... and alone. I'm sure that she'll be interested in meeting you later, but there are certain ways to go about doing that. Suddenly appearing in her antechamber and crashing on her doorstep in a big blue box is not one of them.”

“But…”

On the floor below, there was a sudden clopping sound as a set of hooves beat heavily on the door, interrupting the Doctor just long enough for Twilight to prevent his argument.

“You said it yourself: The TARDIS needs a rest, Doctor,” Twilight stated, trotting past him and down the stairs. “You still haven’t even seen much of Ponyville or introduced yourself around town to anypony. So why not just slow down for a moment and take in the local scene? Just for a couple of days. I’ll stay the night in Canterlot and be back tomorrow.”

“Slow down?” The Doctor was absolutely aghast as he started to follow Twilight down the stairs. “But it could be dangerous. I should accompany you -- just to be safe, of course.”

“Come on, Doctor. I’m just going to Canterlot. It’s the safest place in Equestria, and it’s only for a day,” Twilight explained as she opened the door, the Doctor coming up behind her quickly.

“Well, yes, I’m sure. But surely an escort wouldn’t go amiss.” The Doctor stopped in mid-stride as he saw the two large pegasus ponies in the doorway. Both wearing golden armor that fit around their wings, their coats were a stark, bright white color that could only be possible through a complete and thorough bleaching. Unlike most every other pony he had met thus far in this strange and fantastical world of Equestria, these heavily muscled soldiers had no tattoo-like markings on their flanks, and their stern eyes spoke of heavy discipline.

“See? Royal escort. I’ll be perfectly safe, ‘Clockwork.’” Twilight turned a bit, a smile on her face as she moved out, flanked like a VIP on either side by the large winged ponies.

“I… Well, it’s just that…” The Doctor was at a slight loss for words as he watched the purple unicorn pull herself up into a carriage, the two winged ponies moving to the front and hitching themselves in. “Should you need me…?”

“I’ll let you know, don’t worry. See you tomorrow, Doctor.”

The Doctor stood in the doorway as the carriage took off, still more than slightly stunned as he watched the purple unicorn pony wave goodbye to him from the back of the carriage, the winged guard ponies making a direct line for the towers of the mountainside city that could be seen in the distance.

There he stood, unsure for a moment what to do next, when he heard the sound of something clearing its throat down next to his legs.

“So… you up for board game?” Spike asked timidly, grinning wide.

—————————————————————————————

*Opening Theme*

Featuring:
The Doctor
Twilight Sparkle
and
Pinkie Pie

Guest Starring:
Applejack
Rainbow Dash
Rarity
Fluttershy
and
Spike the Dragon

Doctor Whooves: The Series
“The Pinkie Conundrum”

Ch. 1: Standing Still

Chapter 1: Standing Still

Town Square Cafe
Ponyville
9:17 a.m.

It was the beginning of a beautiful day outside as the cafe was quickly filling with colts and fillies looking to grab a quick bite to eat before getting started on their day. By the time Spike arrived with the Doctor in tow, there was only one outdoor spot left, and they both quickly took their seats on two piles of hay stacked next to the mushroom-shaped table.

The Doctor had been quiet since Twilight had left a short time ago in spite of Spike’s attempts to make conversation, instead simply nodding and following the dragon to get something for breakfast.

“Come on, it’s just for one day,” Spike tried cheerfully as he set a chessboard onto the table and began to set up the pieces, noting the downtrodden expression in the Doctor’s eyes. “You can relax and take a trip around Ponyville. There are all sorts of shops and stuff to see.”

“Yes, yes, I’m sure it’s a very nice town and all, but…” The Doctor looked about at the gathered ponies, all happily going about their business, wrapped up in their silly lives and trivial problems. “Anything could happen at any time, and if I wasn't there, I couldn’t… I mean--”

“Doc, it’s okay. Twilight and I used to live in Canterlot. It’s just an hour away by royal carriage. Jeez, I didn’t think you were that wrapped up.”

“Wrapped up?” The Doctor looked up in a bit of confusion.

“Yeah, you know; lassoed.”

“Not sure that I follow…”

“Tied and hitched to the post…? Come on, do I have to spell it out for you?”

Realization dawned on the Doctor. “Wait, you think she… and that I am… Oh, nononoNO…” The Doctor shook his head vigorously, quick to correct the small reptile’s mistaken insight. “No, Twilight and I are strictly… That is to say, she's a sweet girl but… No. While I do care about her well-being, I am not--”

“Yeah, uh-huh. Sure.” Spike smirked knowingly, a gesture that made the Doctor’s denials feel all the more useless. “Anyway, I don't have a problem with it.”

“There is nothing for you to have a problem with,” the stallion assured him.

“It’s okay, Doc. I know how it is when it’s all one-sided like that. It's the same way with me and Rarity; she doesn’t see it, either.”

“Excuse me, sir?”

“Spike, I most certainly do not have any romantic intentions for Twilight Sparkle!” the Doctor exclaimed, perhaps a bit louder than he would have liked and drawing the attention not only of the stiff, snooty-looking waiter pony that had come up to their table, but a few other patrons at the next table as well. Several fillies amongst them turned away with a sudden case of the giggles, and animatedly restarted their conversations, the Doctor was sure, with the addition of some hot-off-the-presses gossip.

He rolled his eyes a bit. Perhaps he was still shaken up from the thought that he had, for the first time in a good long while, been the one sat back and told to "wait" in an unfamiliar situation with little idea of how to interact with the environment. He supposed this must be how his companions tended to feel most of the time. It was a refreshing perspective, but not something that he wanted to get used to.

“I’ll have the hashed oats with some garnets on the side,” Spike told the waiter plainly, snapping the Doctor out of his quiet musings.

“Mr. Spike, you know that we don't--”

“Yeah, yeah...” The dragon sighed, crestfallen. “You don’t serve gemstones. Fine, just hashed oats.”

The Doctor had not even had a chance to open the menu yet, and as he attempted to do so, ended up dropping the laminated pamphlet into the mud as he again found his hooves to be truly clumsy tools.

“Trouble, sir?” the waiter asked, an air of impatience about him.

“Where?” The Doctor turned around in his seat, alert for anything that might be a threat.

“Uh, Doc? He means your menu.”

“Oh, right.” The Doctor looked sheepish for a moment then looked to the ground, thinking it best not to bother trying to pick up the fallen menu, given how it had gotten there in the first place. “How about a fruit salad, then? Extra bananas, please. Bananas are good.”

“Very good, sir.” The waiter nodded.

“Oh, wait! And no pears, I still hate pears!” the Doctor added hastily to the retreating waiter, before bringing a hoof to his chin in thought. "At least, I think I do... Well, I wouldn't want to risk it in any case.”

“You really gotta learn how to hold things properly,” Spike commented as the Doctor sat back down, hopping off his own haystack and retrieving the menu. “What were you where you came from, again? And how did you get by without knowing how to use your hooves?”

“Time Lord. Although really, that's more a species and a title than an occupation. But honestly, Spike, I don’t feel like reminiscing about the past just now. Not my past, in any case.” The Doctor shook his head, looking at the chessboard that Spike had set up. White and red pieces not unlike the game he knew were placed in the familiar positions, but all of them appeared to be horse-shaped, instead of just the knights. Still, assuming the rules were the same, the Doctor reached over the table with his snout and carefully took a piece in his teeth, moving a pawn up two spaces.

“How about I move your pieces for you?” Spike offered, noting the Doctor’s still somewhat unfamiliar method of moving around. “And why are you being so moody? I get that it’s a drag Twi left town, but it’s nothing strange. Are you telling me that your friends back home never had their own stuff to take care of?”

“Most of the time, Spike -- knight to rook-three -- my friends and companions tended to tag along with me as long as they could. Part of the appeal of traveling in the TARDIS is that we can always keep going. The discovery, the excitement, the adventure that never stops. After all, when you have a time machine, you can skip all of the boring days.”

Spike countered the move after a moment of thought. “But you gotta slow down eventually. You know, relax. Take a vacation. I mean, after that whole thing with the Weeping Pegasi, I think I’ve had enough adventure for a little while.”

The Doctor smirked and shook his headt. “I have a different definition of ‘vacation’ than most, Spike -- bishop to knight-five -- I call it ‘being stranded.’”

“So, what? You never stop? Don’t you ever want to rest? Smell the flowers? Take a break? Besides, I thought that your box-machine-thing needed to recharge.”

“No, I don’t. And yes, it does -- knight takes your queen, checkmate in four moves -- which is also strange. She’s been acting sluggish ever since I came here, and my last outing with Twilight strained her almost to her limit.” The Doctor sighed as Spike tried to recoup the loss of his queen so early in the game. “I know Twilight means well and she wants to make sure things are straight. But I'm simply not cut out for sitting on piles of hay playing chess when there is a whole new universe full of mysteries waiting to be cracked open and challenges begging to be overcome.”

The Doctor seemed to lighten up for a moment as Spike tentatively moved a piece forward. “Say, my good dragon. How would you like to--”

“Oh, nuh-uh! No way! Nope!” Spike shook his head forcefully and animated his refusal with his arms as well. “You said the box needed to rest and Twilight said you needed to take some time to get used to all of this before you go running all over the place. I mean, seriously, you can’t even hold a menu, Doc.”

His enthusiasm sufficiently punctured for the moment, the Doctor sighed again. “TARDIS… It’s not a box, it’s a TARDIS… Queen to rook-four, checkmate in three moves. And don’t be such a stick in the mud, Spike -- pawn to rook-3, checkmate in two moves. As riveting as this game is, I simply need more excitement in my day.”

As the Doctor spoke, the very will of the multiverse appeared to appeal to this simple statement, as was evidenced by the sudden appearance of something bubbly, bouncy…

…and pink.

“Hiya, Spike!” Pinkie Pie appeared from under the mushroom table suddenly, sending the dragon gasping from shock and rolling him off of the hay pile he had been sitting on with an exclamation of surprise. She then turned to the Doctor, a carrot in one hoof that she took a bite out of with ease. “Ehhh… What’s up, Doc?”

Even as the Doctor tried to wrap his infinite mind around how Pinkie was even holding the carrot with one hoof, the pink earth pony grinned and giggled sweetly. “I’ve always wanted to say that.”

“...Good morning, Miss Pie.” The Doctor’s expression widened a bit as he observed her a moment longer, while Spike pulled himself up off the ground. “Pinkie, iif you don’t mind my asking… Why are you wearing…?”

“Oh, the umbrella hat?” Pinkie motioned to the rainbow-colored hat that had been fitted around her ears, holding a flume umbrella over her extremely well-fluffed mane. “I know I put this on for some reason… What was it?”

Spike’s eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as he watched her, his pupils dilated to pinpoints. “Twitchy tail…” he uttered quietly.

“Oh, that’s right!” Pinkie turned to the side, keeping herself upright and on her hind legs in a particularly unequine fashion as she showed off her rump, and brought attention to the pink mass of curly hair that was her tail. It was twitching and spasming wildly. “It’s been doing this all morning.”

“My word, perhaps you should see a medical practitioner about that, Pinkie.”

“TWITCHY TAIL! DUCK AND COVER! EVERYPONY, TWITCHY TAIL!” Spike cried out loudly, rushing away and diving for the entrance to the cafe’s indoor seating. Before the Doctor could inquire, many of the other patrons had already looked in his direction, similar expressions of horror coming over their faces in a panicked frenzy.

In a matter of a few seconds and several stomped up dust clouds later, there wasn’t a pony in sight except for Pinkie Pie and the Doctor.

He blinked for a moment before looking to the pink pony that moved to Spike’s seat. “So, how's your day going, Doctor?”

“I am going to regret asking this, I'm sure, but why the reaction to your tail, Miss Pie? Is it contagious?”

“Oh, don’t be silly.” The pink pony smiled cutely as she waved a hoof. “It just means something's going to fall from the sky.”

“Something is going to fall out of the sky?” The Doctor raised a brow curiously, trying very hard not to laugh. “That’s it? Just ‘something’? Dare I ask what?”

“I dunno…” Pinkie shrugged.

*SPLAT*

“But I'm guessing it’s that.”

The Doctor had barely felt the impact of the fruit as a juicy, ripe apple hit him square on the head, splitting apart and sending bits of juice and broken up apple down his mane and face.

————————
Just outside Ponyville
At that exact moment

“Apple Bloom!” Applejack stomped a hoof furiously as the three filly ponies turned to look at her with large, innocent smiles, while attempting to hide a large makeshift rubber band cannon behind their collective backs. With her applecart hitched up, the orange-colored farm-pony had been en route to her usual spot at the marketplace when she heard the distinct giggling of three fillies that were up to no good, causing her to investigate. She found the self-proclaimed Cutie Mark Crusaders letting loose a projectile high into the air, judging from the small pile of fruits on the ground next to them that their ammunition was some of Sweet Apple Acres’ own stock. “What in the wide, wide world of Equis do y'all think yer doin’!?”

“Uhhhh... Trying to earn a cutie mark for slingshot targeting?” Apple Bloom gave her sister a large grin, attempting to use her youthful charm to wriggle out of a scolding before she turned to look down at her flank, her expression disappointed when she saw it was still blank. "Anything yet...?"

Scootaloo shook her head with a sigh “You would think we could get some credit for distance at least. That probably came down near Town Square.”

“Dangnabbit! Go on, get outta here and stop wastin’ perfectly good apples!” Applejack snapped at the trio, perhaps a bit more strongly than they deserved, but her patience was already a bit testy after the disastrous Bloom Festival a couple of days back.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders did not hesitate to follow the instruction, quickly gathering and climbing on board their primary form of transportation: a wagon hitched to Scootaloo’s scooter, and racing away from the agitated cowpony.

“Well, that was a bust. So, what’s next on the list?” Sweetie Belle asked as Applejack started off again towards town with her applecart in tow.

“Next up is Cutie Mark Crusaders critter wrangling!” Scootaloo shouted with enthusiasm.

"Yeah!" the three fillies shouted together, pumping their tiny hooves into the air.

————————
Town Square
Ponyville

“Ooooooohh, applesauce!” Pinkie Pie was next to the Doctor faster than even he could react and gave him less than a fraction of a second to brace himself before she gave him a long lick across the cheek, cleaning away a swath of the broken apple fragments and juice. He merely stood stunned for a moment as Pinkie savored the flavor.

“...Well, I would think that probably counts as first base,” the Doctor noted, his voice even despite his horrified tone. “I don’t think this could get any more awkward if I tried…”

“Check.”

The Doctor shook his head suddenly and snapped back to reality as Pinkie moved a chess piece on Spike’s side of the board.

Wait... That couldn’t be right.

“How did you… Hold on, pawn to… No, I can’t do that…” The Doctor was reeling slightly as he looked over the board.
How had he not noticed that? Spike should have easily noticed the gap in his defenses there.

His curiosity suddenly piqued, the stallion carefully used a hoof to make the only move he could, moving a pawn to block the attacking bishop. If Pinkie saw what he now saw, however…

“Checkmate.” Pinkie grinned happily, putting Spike’s other bishop into place as the Doctor looked on in shock.

“Is it… Is it safe to come out now?” Spike had returned, tentatively sticking his head out the cafe's doors.

Pinkie checked behind her for a moment, then smiled with her usual enthusiasm. “Yep, all done twitching.” She reached up, peeling off the umbrella hat with ease and slinging it into the air before cheerfully bouncing away, her every movement making a definite "poing" sound.

Spike let out a relieved sigh as the Doctor gaped at the chessboard in disbelief. “Whew, that was close. Uh... Hey, Doc, you got a little something in your mane.”

“...How did she…?”

“Whoa. Huh, I guess I win.” Spike smirked happily as he looked at where his chess pieces were in relation to the Doctor's. “Hey, what do ya say to two out of--”

“Excuse me, Spike. I need to take a closer look at this.” The Doctor heaved himself off of the haystack, his expression one of concern as he got to all fours and galloped off at top speed after the bouncing pink mare.

“Oh, uh, okay.” Spike sat a moment longer, trying to think of whether he should go stop him as the waiter pony came out with their two dishes. Not one to waste food, Spike turned the Doctor's abandoned bowl of fruit salad up and swallowed most of it in a wide gulp.

He regretted it immediately, as the pears were sour.

————————

Moving at full gallop, the Doctor followed the pink pony out of the town square. If there was one major advantage to this new regeneration, he figured this was it. Not only was he much faster and more stable in a straight run -- something that he found himself doing far more often than he would like -- he was able to do so for much longer periods without running out of breath and could change gears much more quickly.

Slowing to a trot as he came up alongside Pinkie Pie, he watched her springing, bouncing motion a bit more closely, curious as to how her frame could withstand the shock and recoil of each landing.

“Pinkie?”

“Oh! Hello, Doctor,” Pinkie replied bubbly, greeting him with such enthusiasm that an onlooker might have thought they had not been sitting together only moments ago.

“How did you do that? With the apple? Precognitive ability? And with the chess game? I may not be at my best, but the last time I lost a game of chess, it was with a robot dog capable of several billion calculations per second.”

“You have a dog? What kind? Does it talk? Can I see it?” Pinkie giggled, halting her forward momentum instantly but still bouncing in place as the Doctor turned in mid-stride to come to a stop himself.

“Now, hold on, there. I asked first!” The Doctor couldn’t help but smile as the pink pony kept bouncing. With the exception of Twilight Sparkle, the Doctor had spent more time with Pinkie Pie than any other pony in Ponyville, and he had to say she was really starting to grow on him. Between her boundless energy and manic personality, she had a definite spark of life and enthusiasm that he couldn’t help but admire.

He was slightly concerned as to her mental stability, but that was something that could wait for the time being.

“Oh, I get it! Q&A! Wanna play? Huh-huh-huh?”

“Q&A?”

“Yeah! Question and Answer, duuuh. You ask a question, then I do, then you do, then I do, then you do, then I do, then you do!. I mean, you probably have sooo many questions! Twilight’s really, really smart, but she really should get out more. She spends so much time reading but when somepony asks her something about anything that’s going on she has no idea. Like this one time, we were cleaning up the library when Rainbow Dash came crashing in… SWOOP! CRASH! And then Fluttershy was all, ‘You rock, woo-hoo!’” Pinkie punctuated her story with a lively reenactment, throwing herself down on the "crash" and doing a spot-on impersonation of Fluttershy for a few moments before the Doctor decided to stop her, fearing she might pass out from lack of breath.

“Pinkie. Pinkie. Alright, I get the idea. I’ll play along,” the Doctor said, nodding. “I’ll go first. How did--”

“Pinkie Sense.”

The Doctor paused. He was not accustomed to being interrupted. And less so to such a quick pickup of his intents. “Pinkie Sense?”

“Ah-ah-ah! It’s Question and Answer, not Pinkie Answers. My turn to ask a question.” Pinkie smiled, poking a hoof at the Doctor as they stood at the side of the street. She had stopped bouncing and moving at last and the other ponies that were going along their daily business seemed quite content to ignore the two of them as they spoke.

“Alright, fair enough. I suppose I need to ask for more details next, but go ahead.” The Doctor grinned broadly in anticipation.

“Why are you so sad?”

The Doctor’s smile faded instantly. Pinkie’s attitude and very body language had changed in a nanosecond, her bubbly happiness replaced with a look of concern and empathy that might have melted both of his hearts had it not been accompanied by such an unexpected query.

“I’m not sad,” he denied quickly, forcing his smile to stay.

“Ummm, yes you are, Doctor. You think you can cover it up with a smile and a wave, but it shows in your eyes. All the time.”

For a brief moment, less than a second, the Doctor’s deep blue eyes were locked on Pinkie’s own, and she cringed at what she saw.

He looked away.

“I’ll… have to pass on that one. For now, at least, Pinkie,” the Doctor faltered slightly, but quickly recomposed himself.

“Okey-dokey.” Pinkie Pie perked up almost instantly, the bubbly nature of her tone already returned. “But I’ll hold you to it later. Your turn.”

“Alright, so tell me: What is a Pinkie Sense and how does it work?”

“Well, it’s kinda like…” Pinkie started, but then cut off as her ears suddenly and sporadically started smacking down onto her face and to the side of her head wildly. “Uh-oh. Pinkie Sense kicking in… Ears flopping,” she stated calmly. The Doctor then noticed how she suddenly took a good two steps back away from him.

“What? More falling fruit?”

Pinkie got a sly look in her eyes. “How about I explain it during your bath?”

“During my--”

“GANGWAY EVERYPONY!” a shrill voice came accompanied by the squeal of tires, a revving engine sound, and a blur of orange, magenta, and blue zipping past them.

*KA-BUMP*
*SPLAT*

As the scooter-riding pony passed at high speed, a slight bump in the road sent a large can from her wagon flying over Pinkie Pie and landing squarely in front of the Doctor, the lid bursting open as a bright red substance exploded upwards and onto his face, clothes, and coat. Licking his lips, the Doctor identified the offending substance immediately: tomato sauce.

“Oh! Sorry, Pinkie. And, uhhh... Mister. It’s an emergency! Critter wrangling, skunk, need tomato sauce, gotta go!” The orange-furred filly turned and made a circle around the two to apologize quickly before zipping off again.

In spite of the situation, the Doctor just shook his head. It seemed this universe had a real sense of humor.

“Actually, a mixture of baking soda and peroxide would work better..." he remarked candidly as he swept some of the sauce off of his muzzle with one hoof. "Well now, isn't this just lovely."

"Don't worry, Doc. I'll take care of it," Pinkie assured him. "Come with me to Sugarcube Corner and you can use my bathroom. I'll have you squeaky clean in a jiffy!"

Correction: It seemed this universe had a twisted sense of humor.

————————
Sugarcube Corner
Ponyville
10:45 a.m.

*SPLASH*

As warm, soapy water was dumped over his head, the Doctor’s mane fell into his eyes and obscured his vision for a moment before he felt a soft scrub-brush running down the back of his neck.

“You do realize that in some cultures, this would be considered quite awkward?” the Doctor mused. Pinkie had been kind enough to offer him the use of her washtub, but he wasn’t sure at what point he had agreed to letting her scrub his fur clean.

“So, it works like this,” Pinkie ignored his comment, holding the brush with both hooves as she managed to clean the red sauce and leftover bits of apple out of his mane. “I get these little feelings that tell me when something's about to happen. Like when my ears are a' floppin', it means somepony is gonna get splattered with stuff. Usually it’s mud, but I guess it works for tomato sauce too. And when my knee gets pinchy, it means there's something really scary and dangerous around. That’s how I knew those pegasus statues were scary before they started moving.”

“I see...” The Doctor was intrigued as Pinkie set the brush aside. “Precognitive awareness manifested as physical irregularities… And this happens often?”

“It’s pretty much random. Some days it happens a bunch of times and sometimes I’ll go a week without so much as a twitch. I think I've figured out what most of 'em mean, though. Like when my tail is twitchy, things will fall from the sky. If my nose is itchy, then it means there's a swarm of angry bees approaching. And when my shoulder’s achy, it means--”

“There’s an alligator in the tub.”

Pinkie's eyes went wide as she gasped in amazement. “That's right! How did you know that? Are you reading my mind!? Oh, oh! Can you tell what I’m thinking now!?”

“No, Pinkie. I try not to make a habit of that sort of thing. And what I mean is there is an actual alligator in the tub.” The Doctor lifted his foreleg to reveal a small, green reptile latched onto his knee with a tight grip in its mouth. Despite this, however, he didn't feel any pain. “Actually, that may be inaccurate. Judging from the snout and the bright green colorings, it may actually be a crocodile. And I do think he’s trying to eat me. Doing a pretty poor job of it, though.”

“Oh, you silly! That’s my pet alligator, Gummy. He’s fine; he’s got no teeth.” Pinky reached over and tapped the top of the creature’s head, making him let go of the Doctor and jump up out of the tub onto the pink pony’s back. “Anyways, sometimes it’s small stuff like that. Sometimes it’s a bunch of stuff happening all at once. But I don’t have any control over it.”

“That’s quite a gift you have, Pinkie,” the Doctor remarked as he pulled himself out of the tub before shaking himself dry like a dog would. He didn’t know why, but it always felt good to do that, like a cathartic release.

His outfit had been all but ruined for now, so it seemed he would just have to go au natural until he managed to get back to the library to change. While he always felt naked without pockets, he did find it quite liberating that the locals could go about in naught but their fur coats and it was considered completely normal and casual.

Still, just to be safe, he edged his sonic screwdriver out of his coat pocket with his teeth and flipped it up in the air, managing to catch it (with some difficulty) behind his ear for safe keeping.

“In any case, I believe it’s your turn for a question.” Having already started charting a pattern, the Doctor braced himself for another probing personal query.

“Would you like a tour of my place?”

The chestnut stallion let go of a held breath as he deflated. “Oh, I'd be delight--URK!”

Before the words had left his mouth, the Doctor was grabbed and dragged along for a tour at breakneck speed.

“Well, I live and work right here at Sugarcube Corner, so I can always go downstairs and do some baking whenever the mood hits me," the party pony explained, launching right into things. "This is my bathroom, but you knew that already, and in here is the main living room. I don’t know why they call it that since I don’t do much living in it, but sometimes I throw small parties up here. Maybe I should call it a 'living-it-up room.' This is my party table and my sofa and over there are my cookbooks and that’s my bed and this is my Treasure Wall.”

The pink pony's flat was a one-room studio setup; small and cozy in the Doctor’s eyes, the entire living area was less than half the size of the TARDIS’ control room. Obviously it had been an expansion built on top of the confectionery within the last few years -- probably specifically for Pinkie. The Doctor nodded as the pink pony led him on the short-lived grand tour of the circular room, indulging her this moment to share. Until they reached the "Treasure Wall."

A bulletin cork-board hanging on the surface was filled with pictures of Pinkie and various ponies from around Ponyville, and had several shelves surrounding it, the objects that adorned them obviously of great sentimental value to the pink pony. A deflated balloon sat next to a framed portrait of what must have been a very young Pinkie Pie, her hair flat and straight rather than the curly mess of a mane she now sported, with four sour-looking, dark-coated ponies that must have been her family on a desolate-looking farm. Next to and down the line from a stack of "party albums" was a cupcake that had been bronzed, a yellow foam #1 finger, and an old-timey photo (reminiscent of late nineteenth century Earth) of Pinkie in a strange lacy getup, the aptly named Rainbow Dash, and an unidentified creature that looked vaguely like a young buffalo.

Right in the center shelf was a framed picture that was identical to one that Twilight kept on her own desk. One of herself, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and the orange pony he had heard referred to as Applejack but had yet to be introduced face to face with.

But what really took the Doctor’s attention was the object that lay next to that picture.

“Pinkie, what is that?” The Doctor pointed with one hoof as he looked over the object with an odd mix of fascination and trepidation.

“Hmm? Oh, that’s my necklace. I got that the day we saved Equestria from that Nightmare Moon meanie. Do you like it?”

Through his eyes, the eyes of a Time Lord, what might have been seen as a piece of simple jewelry to most -- granted, an impeccably and expertly crafted one -- shone with an internal radiance invisible to normal sight. Glowing with energy akin to a small sun, the brilliant golden necklace was adorned with a single blue gem in the shape of an inflated balloon. But as beautiful as it was, it also stirred something deep within the Time Lord’s soul that he did not expect.

Awe.

He dared not touch it.

Flipping his sonic screwdriver from its resting place behind his ear and catching it in his mouth (with great difficulty) the Doctor set his trusty device to scan the area for radiation and energy signatures, taking a sample before spitting the screwdriver into both hooves to check the readings while he balanced precariously on his hind legs.

“The workmanship is extraordinary. No, absolutely flawless! Is that a sapphire? No, the shine is wrong… Blue opal? Fabergé himself couldn’t have done better,” the Doctor stated on a tangent, trying to keep himself contained as he double-checked his readings.

The sonic screwdriver detected nothing. No energy signatures. No trace auras. No radiation. Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary coming from the necklace at all.

“What’s a Fabergé?” Pinkie asked curiously.

“Oh, he was a jeweler. Rather good one, at that. Earth, late nineteenth, early twentieth century. He made the Fabergé Eggs.”

“Oh, so he was a chicken?”

“What? No, I--” The Doctor finally stopped and looked away from the necklace, something that he had passed over before now catching his attention. The sonic screwdriver clattered to the floor as he went back to all fours. “Is that a… foam finger?”

“Oh, yeah! I got that in Cloudsdale on the day Rainbow Dash won the Best Young Fliers Competition. It was great! She did this crazy SWISH-SWISH-SWISH and then Rarity’s wings went all POOF and then Rainbow Dash went neeeeeeeeeaaaah BOOOOM! And then--”

“That… is a foam… finger…”

“Ya-huh!”

“A human finger… for a human hand… made of foam.”

“With a big number one on it.”

“And this doesn’t strike you at all as strange?”

“What’s a human?”

The Doctor’s mouth hung agape for a few moments as he tried to comprehend how what he was seeing was possible when his intimate understanding of non-linear time mechanics was failing him. Finally giving up with a sigh, he leaned down and tried to retrieve his screwdriver from the floor. He was having some trouble getting his snout down to pick it up with his teeth, fumbling a bit as his large face prevented him from getting a grip on the smooth metal. As if oblivious to his difficulty, Pinkie Pie started talking again.

“Is that what you used to have instead of hooves? Wow, weeeeird. I mean, griffins have talons, dragons have claws, and wolves have paws, but still, it’s kinda freaky when you think about it. How would you know which of those things to move?” Pinkie filled in the silence, holding up a hoof as if trying to contemplate what fingers would feel like.

“Well, I was rather partial to the thumbs myself. Useful for holding things. Not like these... confounded…” The Doctor stomped his forehoof in frustration as he dropped his sonic screwdriver to the floor with a clatter yet again. “…hooves. Alright, I have got to ask: How do you--”

Pinkie moved next to him, stomping hard on the floor at the very tip of the sonic screwdriver to send it flipping upwards, and snatched it out of the air with a well-timed bite before deftly taking it in one hoof, balanced perfectly, and setting it back behind the stallion’s ear.

“We manage.”

“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?” The Doctor smirked. “And that answers my question, so I guess that means it’s your turn. So what would you like to know?”

Pinkie’s face scrunched up a bit in thought as she brought one hoof to her chin, pondering a good query for a moment before looking to the Doctor. “Would you like a jelly filly?”

The Doctor’s enthusiasm sank as, in his mind, multiple red flags were thrown out and a thousand memories long since past stirred. “D…did you just say ‘jelly baby’?”

“What? No, jelly filly. Mr. Cake just finished his latest experiment with them this morning and they should be set by now. He says this is the treat that will put Sugarcube Corner on the map! I’m not sure which map, but come on! I’ll show you.” Pinkie exited the room at top speed, faster than the Doctor could follow.

There were many things that the Doctor was willing to accept about this new world. He could accept that ponies could talk and that magic was in charge here. He could accept that a baby dragon could eat gemstones and that Pinkie had an innate precognitive ability.

But this was more than coincidence.

“You can’t possibly know about that…” the Doctor uttered as he slowly paced towards the door, so distracted by this turn of events that he didn’t even bother to check his sonic screwdriver for the new scan it had taken moments ago, when it had analyzed the new biological life-form it had come into contact with.

Nor did he notice that the device had been pushed beyond its limits, shutting down and resetting itself purely from the strain of doing so.

Ch. 2: Reports, Apple Crisps, and Jelly Fillies

Chapter 2: Reports, Apple Crisps, and Jelly Fillies

Canterlot Palace
Canterlot, Royal Province of Equestria
12:05 p.m.

Canterlot Palace was considered by many of the world’s premier scholars and historians to be the crowning achievement of Equestria’s already brilliant history of architectural dominance. With beautiful gilded spire towers housing Canterlot’s Academy of Magic and the simple fact that it was the home of the beloved Princess Celestia, many ponies who walked the halls of the castle were awestruck by its sheer size and magnificence.

Twilight Sparkle, however, stared at the floor, lost in thought as she walked down the winding hallways that were adorned with beautifully rendered stained glass windows. It had been months since she had been here last, the night of the Grand Galloping Gala, and judging by the glares she had gotten from a few of the nobleponies that had been moving around at the front gate, the actions of her friends had been neither forgotten nor forgiven.

However, she was far more concerned with what she was going to say now that she had arrived.

Applejack wouldn’t have had a problem with it, of course, as honesty was quite literally her prime virtue. But Applejack hadn’t seen the things that Twilight had seen. She hadn’t been shown a future where her own actions had not only put the whole of Equestria in peril, but had destroyed her friends, her home, her mentor, and even the natural order of the heavens, all in the blind pursuit of power. Applejack wasn’t the one who had to live with the knowledge of what she might have become, had it not been for the help of that fantastic, impossible, terrifying pony.

Applejack hadn’t been the one who had met the Doctor.

Wrapped up as she was in this line of thought, Twilight didn’t realize that she had already arrived until her horn impacted the main doors that led to the Sun Princess’ throne room. The two pegasus guards at each side remaining steadfast and unmoving, recognized the purple unicorn as having free access to their matriarch’s attention.

Twilight took a deep breath to steady herself before closing her eyes, her horn glowing as she reached out with her magic and nudged the heavy golden door open.

Immediately dominating the room, surrounded by larger-than-life windows that depicted some of the most pivotal moments in Equestrian history, sat Celestia herself, her rainbow-like mane flowing like a living pastel light while her brilliant white coat shone in the sun coming down from the domed glass ceiling. But one thing out of place on the Princess was her expression; one of sour disdain and irritation that marred her usually pleasant disposition.

Several ponies were kneeling before the throne. Regal, noble ponies that Twilight recognized on sight from her days at the Academy and from the Gala, but had never been formally introduced to. Nobles that made up Celestia’s Council.

“…would not bring this to your attention except out of concern for…” One noble, a white pony with an outlandishly proper tone and a monocle over one eye stopped in mid-sentence as he turned over his shoulder, looking back at the small purple-coated mare. “What is the meaning of this!? Servants are not supposed to be allowed into the throne room during a Council--”

Celestia looked up to the door, her expression and mood lifting almost immediately as a more familiar smile graced her muzzle upon realizing who had entered. “Twilight Sparkle! My faithful student!”

“Princess, I am so sorry. I must be early. I didn’t realize you were in the middle of something.” Twilight knelt down on her forehooves respectfully, not wanting to seem overly familiar with the Princess in front of her councilors. Also, it gave her a moment to compose herself as the Princess’ words made her stomach turn.

Her most faithful student, she called her. What would she think when she learned of what Twilight might have become in a few short decades had she not seen it herself and sworn to stop it before it could start?

“Not at all, Twilight. I always have time for you,” Celestia assured her warmingly, walking down from her throne while the four councilponies stood.

“Princess, I must protest this interruption,” the monocled pony started, obviously more than slightly insulted at the diversion of the Princess’ attention. “There are more important matters that must be discussed involving--”

“Your protest is noted and this meeting is concluded. I thank you all for your thoughts and will take your recommendations into consideration.” The Princess nodded, her playful, mischievous tone surfacing as the prim and proper ponies looked at one another cautiously before starting towards the door, each one glaring at Twilight as they passed, but saying nothing.

Pausing the longest to look her over was the white-coated noble, his monocle giving the impression that one of his eyes was far larger than the other and looking straight into her. Now flank to flank, she could see his cutie mark, exposed where his fancy suit cut off near his rump to show a regal-looking three-pointed golden crown with a star topping the central point.

Without a word, he continued on as well and the door slowly closed behind him.

Celestia sighed as she approached Twilight, the alicorn now alone with the young unicorn. “Politics can be so tedious sometimes. I’m glad you came in when you did. I don’t know if I could have kept going for another…” the Princess confided as Twilight dropped her formal pretense, galloping forward and affectionately craning her neck up against Celestia’s front in a more loving sort of greeting.

Although she didn’t flinch away from this, Celestia couldn’t hide her surprise when she noted that Twilight's large, magenta eyes were brimming with tears. “Oh, dear... Twilight, what's wrong?”

Now that she was here, Twilight was overwhelmed.

Where should she begin? What would she say? Ever since the night before, she had been going over the events of the past few days, planning exactly what she would say as if she were giving a report to a class back in the Academy. But now that the time was upon her, everything came rushing back clear as day and as intense as if she had just experienced it afresh.

The blue box that crashed into the library, the terrifying statues that had come after her and her friends, the monstrous Reaper creature that had upset all of Ponyville, and the horrible future that she had seen. The future that she created.

“I was… I just…” Twilight choked on her words and fought to control herself as Princess Celestia watched, concern in her eyes. Before anything else could be said, the Princess of the Sun immediately came up and sat next to her beloved pupil, extending one of her magnificent wings to cover the unicorn and draw her close.

“Shhhh… It's alright. Just breathe. Calm yourself,” Celestia told her soothingly as she waited for Twilight to regain some measure of her composure. “Now, what is the matter, Twilight? Why did you want to come see me?”

“Princess, I… met somepony new in Ponyville a few… I can’t believe it’s only been a few days. Not even that long," Twilight tried to explain as she wiped one of her forelegs across her eyes and leaned in closer against the Princess' chest. "In the library… he… well, he crashed into it. In a box. A big… flying… blue box…"

"A... blue box?" Celestia asked slowly, and hesitantly.

"Oh, ponyfeathers, I know I must sound insane, but it's true! Inside it was this crazy, impossible stallion… He… he calls himself the Doctor and…”

There was a click of hooves as Celestia withdrew a half-step, causing Twilight to pause as she looked up to see that her mentor’s expression was quickly recovering from a moment of shock. “The Doctor!?”

Twilight nodded, now more unsure than ever at the surprised tone that Celestia had taken. There was something there she had not expected to hear at all.

Recognition.

It was a few seconds later that Celestia’s expression softened, her eyes filled with concern and compassion as she led Twilight off to the side of the throne. Her horn glowed a pale yellow as a soft blanket and several pillows were conjured effortlessly out of thin air and placed on the floor.

Laying down on them, Celestia motioned for Twilight to sit across from her, which the young unicorn did without hesitation.

“Twilight...” Celestia bowed her head, her tone patient, soft, and understanding. “Start from the beginning… Tell me everything.”

————————
Ponyville Square Market
Ponyville
At that exact moment

Applejack stood in her usual place next to her stall as the market day began. Though she honestly felt more at home in the fields, the lackluster sales at the Bloom Festival had been a hard hit for Sweet Apple Acres’ already rocky season start. Winter Wrap Up was a season past and the new crops were just beginning to bud. That meant the last remaining stock of the previous season was either being set into preserves or dried out for apple crisps, so these sales would have to sustain the Apple Family until midsummer when the early bucking season would start to replenish their stock with baby crab apples and other summer fruits.

Still, she wasn’t going to let the slow start of the season get her down. Tilting her hat back and putting on a friendly grin, the farm pony got right out to selling, emphasizing her trademark vocal twang to garner the attention of passersby.

“Come one, come all, everypony! Right here be the finest apple crisps this side of Equestria, and the freshest winter stock available! Last chance fer that farm fresh taste till next season’s harvest! With the personal guarantee of yours truly, an honest apple fer an honest two bits! Oh, very good mornin' to you, ma’am. Apple crisp? Well, y'all remember me when you change yer mind. Ya know what they say, ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away!’”

“But if the Doctor is cute, bugger the fruit,” came a new tone that came moving up towards AJ’s stand.

Turning to the potential customer, Applejack’s smile soured slightly at what she considered a bit of an insult to her family’s pride crop, and then turned to surprise when she noted the familiar purple unicorn moving alongside the stranger, a brown earth pony in a front-suit and red bow-tie. In his front breast pocket, what looked like a large fountain pen was clipped into place, its shiny top piece shimmering different colors in the midday sun.

“Oh. Mornin', Twi. Wasn’t expectin' to see you ‘round this mornin’. Didn’t you have somethin' ta do with the Princess today?”

“Yes, I did. I mean... I do,” Twilight stammered for a moment, catching herself as Applejack looked over to the strange companion that was at her flank. Although she had the strangest sense she had seen him before, Applejack realized with a shock that she really didn’t know who this particular pony was.

“Whooaaa nelly. Who’s this, Twi? A friend a’ yours?” Her smile went cross again. “Who doesn’t care fer apples, apparently.”

“Oh, yeah, that was kind of rude,” Twilight answered, nudging her companion’s flank.

“Was it? I wasn’t trying for rude, honestly. The local sensitivity to snark and wit is far greater than what I'm used to. Sorry, still trying to get the hang of things here. I thought it was leaning more towards ‘pithy,’ myself.” The newcomer’s lifting accent gave him the impression of being educated, but quite out of touch with reality, which hardly endeared him to the orange mare.

“Applejack, I know you’re busy, so I won’t take up too much of your time," the unicorn explained quickly. "But I need you to get the other girls together and meet me on top of Stargazer Ridge later tonight around midnight.”

“Stargazer Ridge?” Applejack tilted her head slightly in confusion at the request. She was more than familiar with the area just outside of Ponyville where they had all sat back to watch the Centennial Starfall a few weeks back. “Why? Ah ain’t heard ‘bout no meteor showers or anythin’ big ta be lookin’ up at tonight.”

“Oh, I must say, I love that accent. That’s just brilliant.” The brown earth pony grinned a bit at Applejack; a friendly, but somewhat goofy expression.

“Ack-cent? Ah ain’t got no cotton-pickin’ ack-cent!” Applejack protested a bit before Twilight stepped between the two earth ponies.

“AJ, stay with me here. I can’t tell you about it right now, but it’s really important business… for the Princess.”

The Doctor watched as the farm pony’s expression changed dramatically at this news; from suspicious, to understanding compliance. “Oh... If that's the case, y'all know Ah’ll be there with the others in tow,” Applejack stated proudly.

“I knew I could depend on you, AJ.” Twilight nodded once to her friend.

“Oh, and how much for one of those apples?” the stranger asked suddenly, pointing to one of the few remaining winter-ripe varieties that were sitting on the stand.

“Two bits, Mister…?”

“Doctor.”

“Mister Doctor?”

“No, just… Doctor.” He turned his head to Twilight, curious. “Two bits? Is that a lot of money here? I’ve always been rather vague about money.”

Applejack’s concerned expression returned as Twilight rolled her eyes slightly, but didn’t hesitate to reach back into her saddlebag to produce two of the golden coins. Though she normally offered a discount to her friends, Applejack didn’t turn down the money as she offered the apple to the brown earth pony.

Only to watch him drop it to the ground like a newborn colt.

“Blasted… infernal… clumsy... hooves…” One of the Doctor's hind legs stomped the dirt in frustration.

“Oh, right! Sorry, I keep forgetting. Here, try this.” Twilight craned her neck down, her horn aglow for a moment as Applejack recognized the look and concentration of Twilight’s magical ability. A sharp whistling sound accompanied the soft glow around the brown pony’s right hoof.

“Okay, try it now.” Twilight smiled, watching as the Doctor brought his hoof down and brought it back up, the apple remaining in place.

Judging by his expression, the earth pony looked as if the simple act were something miraculous. For Applejack, this meeting was getting stranger by the minute.

“Adhesion Spell. That should help until you get used to them,” Twilight assured the brown pony as he rolled the apple on his hoof a moment.

“Ooohh, I get it. Clever. You increased the ambient friction in relation with the keratin in my hoof so that it’s harder for things to slide off. That’s brilliant! Useful thing, magic. Really wish you'd thought of that earlier, though. It would have saved a lot of dropping things,” he responded, still grinning widely at the thought.

“Twilight, what the hay is he talkin’ about?” Applejack questioned.

“I have no idea. Most of what he says doesn’t make sense at first… Just nod when he stops for breath. Anyways, I'll see you later tonight, then.” Twilight shrugged as the brown earth pony, with a bit of difficulty, broke the fruit in half and set one half down in front of Applejack.

“Bring that with you tonight,” he said with a smile. “I promise, you won’t regret it.”

As Twilight bid her friend goodbye and suddenly nudged this strange new pony along, Applejack tilted her head in complete bafflement.

What in Equestria was going on?

In any case, just to humor him, she swept the apple half into her saddlebag and got back to work. After all, these apples weren’t going to sell themselves.

————————
Sugarcube Corner
Ponyville
A short time earlier

In the kitchen area of Sugarcube Corner, the Doctor was not walking around town with Twilight, but rather had just caught up to Pinkie as she carefully extracted a sheet pan covered in small orange candies from a cooling rack. Their shape was different, looking like small ponies laying down to sleep, but the moment he took one and set it in his mouth, there was no mistaking the exact texture and flavor of his one-time favorite sweet.

“Sooooo, whatcha think?” Pinkie gave the Doctor an appraising look, pleading for approval as she set the dish down, apparently completely unwitting of the implications that were rocketing though the Doctor’s head at that very moment. “Mr. Cake came up with them just a few days ago. Kinda like chewy sugar on the inside, but hard enough on the outside that you can carry them around in a bag and they don’t stick together. He’s hoping they’re gonna be really big sellers because nopony’s ever made anything like them before. Dunno why he wants to call them jelly fillies because I kinda wanted to call ’em gummies. You know, after my pet alligator Gummy? Also, don't you think it feels a little weird making them look like little fillies? Reminds me of this really creepy scary dream I had one time where--”

“Pinkie Pie,” the Doctor interrupted the hyperactive pony, stomping one hoof for a moment. As amusing as her high-speed, sugar-fueled speech normally was, his concerns were beginning to wear on his patience. “They’re good. Really, they are, but this is starting to get…”

Pinkie drew back a little at the agitation in his voice as he foresaw the beginnings of a trembling lip and teary eyes. The stallion took a deep breath in order to dispel his frustration.

“You’re beginning to strain what I can believe, Pinkie.”

“I am?” Pinkie cocked her head to the side.

“They're perfect, almost exactly like I remember.”

“They are?”

“Which shouldn’t be possible! I am from an entirely different universe. The likelihood of the spontaneous production of a sweet that I’ve known and encountered for years being all of the sudden put right in front of me in this place is--”

“So they aren’t new?” the party pony spoke up, looking crestfallen.

“My dear Pinkie Pie, I don’t mean… Well, they are new here, but…” The Doctor shook his head again. He was woefully out of his element here, and most alien to him was the idea that he seemed to care about this fact. It seemed his latest incarnation was somewhat more sensitive to such things than his past few lives.

In the time it took him to take a breath, the Doctor found himself recoiling as a paper bag was suddenly in pushed front of him, filled with the little sweets.

“On the house.” Pinkie grinned, turning a bit as she looked around. “Let me get you a saddlebag.”

“Oh, thank you. But, why?” The Doctor tried to take hold of the bag before it fell off his hooves and sent the candies skittering all over the floor.

“Because they reminded you of home. Awww, don’t worry, I’ll sweep that up.” Pinkie disappeared off to the side again as the Doctor found himself looking at his hooves in irritation.

“If I ever get back to my home universe, I’m never taking thumbs for granted again,” he remarked under his breath. Pinkie returned a moment later, a broom somehow held firmly in her hooves as she demonstrated a dexterity that the Doctor could only watch in awe, cleaning the floor quickly.

“There we go, all done. And just in time for lunch!” She vanished in an instant, darting at high speed to a side table where a three-layer cake with strawberry frosting casually sat. Putting her forehooves up on the table, she smiled to the Doctor. “Best part about living in a bakery: Desert for every meal!”

In a single fluid motion, Pinkie’s mouth unhinged in a manner that would have made any serpent jealous as her tongue, much larger than it should have been, slipped out under the cake and then retracted, taking the entire thing with it in an instant as it went down the pony’s throat and to her belly with only a slight jostle.

“MY WORD!” The Doctor acted quickly, rushing forward and catching Pinkie’s mouth before she closed it, and easily able to look down her throat as everything had distended.

“How did you do that!? That cake was larger than your midsection! No living creature should be capable of that level of biological elasticity! All of that mass, without even chewing? Where did the cake go!?” the Doctor asked frantically, his curiosity again piqued after witnessing what could only be described as a biological and spacial impossibility right before his eyes.

“Uuuhhhhh... Aiee-gaht-et.” Pinkie remained still, having trouble talking as the Doctor leaned forward a bit more, holding the top of her mouth open with one hoof as he tried to get a more in-depth look “Heh-haatt hickles!”

The Doctor was now leaning forward, almost up to his midsection as he realized he had no light source and could not actually see any further down the pony’s gullet. But before he could stop himself, he said something he never expected to say in a surprised tone.

“It’s… bigger on the inside…”

Then there was a sudden ring of a bell as the kitchen door opened.

“Hey, Pinkie Pie? You in here? I’m trying to find the Doctor. Is he still with… with…” Spike the dragon had seen a great many strange things in his admittedly short reptilian life. But as he walked into the kitchen of Sugarcube Corner, something he never once imagined he'd see caused his eyes to widen dramatically as he was struck absolutely speechless: the Doctor’s flank and hind legs hanging out of Pinkie Pie’s mouth as she looked up and over the stallion’s back, waving with one hoof.

“Hai, Hhikke!”

Spike’s eye twitched once as he continued to stare, making a few small, astounded noises before falling backwards in a dead faint.

“Hike? You want to go for a walk? Hmm? Wait, Spike? Oh! Spike!” The Doctor saw the young dragon falling to the floor and withdrew to help, his mane only slightly matted as he turned and rushed to the dragon’s side. Pinkie’s mouth closed with a slight pop as the pony rubbed her sore jaw a bit.

“Ouch… You know, you even taste sad.”

“That must have been quite a scene to walk in on. Spike? Are you alright? Spike?” The Doctor ignored Pinkie's comment and prodded the purple dragon, who seemed to have been completely thrown off by the sight.

“Awwww, is he okay? Maybe we should take him to a doctor. Oh, wait, never mind. Already got one."

“Yes, you do.” The Doctor nodded before turning back to Pinkie. “He’ll be fine. To be honest, I’m more worried about you. Could you open your mouth again, Pinkie?”

“Hmm? Oh, sure. Agggghhhhhhh.” The mare complied with the Time Pony's request.

It seemed normal now, rather than the huge, gaping maw that he might well have been able to walk into a few moments ago. Pinkie’s mouth had stopped as it was expected to at her jaw’s width.

“But it was just…”

“Awwww, no popsicle stick? I thought doctors liked to use the popsicle stick.”

The Doctor stood there a moment, trying to wrap his formidable mind around what he had witnessed a few moments earlier, the awkward silence broken as Pinkie strode past him without a care and heaved Spike up off the floor. It wasn’t until he felt the weight suddenly press onto his back that the Doctor snapped out of his internal ruminations, turning to look over his shoulder and seeing that the unconscious dragon had been set down on it. His attention broken for the moment, he took interest in the strange feeling that came with suddenly being reminded of his new equine body’s nature.

“Oh, wow, look at that. A pony Time Lord, being ridden by a baby dragon. Heh, who would believe this one?” The Doctor shifted his shoulders a bit and took a few steps, amazed at how well Spike stayed in place as he paced around the kitchen. “I really thought this would feel more awkward, like a piggyback ride, but he barely weighs anything, does he? Not like when I tried to carry Twilight; she just would not stay in place.”

The Doctor paused in his trot for a moment as a thought occurred to him.

"Well, this is unfortunate. I just completely jumped subjects of interest there, didn't I? Oh, dear, this incarnation seems to be rather easily distracted. Don't think I've ever been that before... I hope I don't have some form of pony ADD. That would really be very bad, all things considered.

“Piggyback?” Pinkie cocked her head to one side inquisitively, her mind obviously stuck at an earlier place in the Doctor's self-directed revelations.

“Err, never mind. Perhaps it would be best to just get our reptilian friend here back to the library so he can sleep off his shock. I need to check the TARDIS in any case; see if she’s managed to recharge.”

“Oh, oh, oh! My turn! My turn!” Pinkie bounced in place for a moment, her bubbly enthusiasm banishing all other concerns as she resumed her game. “I showed you my room, can I see your flying magical dimensional house box?”

“But you’ve seen it already. You fell into the pool, remember?”

“But I didn’t get a grand tour, did I?”

“We were rather busy that day...” the Doctor reasoned, shifting his shoulders again uncomfortably as the pink pony continued to inexplicably bounce in place with all of the carefree joy of a child on Christmas Day.

He considered cutting out right there, excusing himself and making a dash for the exit to the relative normalcy of the TARDIS so that he could take a chance to collect himself and better find his footing... Or was it hoofing? Since his most recent regeneration, the Doctor had noticed quite a few irregularities beyond the fact that it was the first non-humanoid form he had acquired. Among them the fact that this incarnation was surprisingly patient with these ponies; far more so than most of his past lives had been with the average human.

Now that he was settling down and was out of any real danger, he was finding out more and more about his newest set of habits and personality quirks, a rather confusing enough time without Pinkie around to constantly throw new twists on him.

But then again, he always got a kick out of showing his beloved TARDIS to anybody that might be interested.

“Weeeeell, seeing as how I am a bit stuck today, I would be delighted to show you around the wonders of the single most advanced piece of temporal technology in the known universe.”

“Okay, will we do that before or after we see your blue box?”

The Doctor tried to come up with a response for a few moments, but merely shook his head as he gave an amused smile. “Alright, my dear, shall we?”

He never could pass up an opportunity to show off. In this at least, he had not changed in the slightest.

————————
Canterlot Palace, Throne Room
Canterlot
3:00 p.m.

It rarely rained in Canterlot.

Most attributed it to the fact that the Noble House of Pegasus indulged Princess Celestia, allowing her to always keep an eye on the heavenly bodies that she moved across the skies. But those who studied weather production and regional distribution knew better.

There was no Weather Patrol in Canterlot because no living pegasus pony could overcome the sheer magical aura of the Princess, which turned the weather to her own desires with only a thought or an emotion. And as all measures were taken to keep her happy and content, the sun often shone proudly by day and the moon lovingly by night upon the spires of Canterlot Palace. It was the same reason Canterlot had been specifically placed on such a sturdy, rocky mountain, so that there would be no farmers or others that would have to be tended to by weather maintenance. Even the Royal Gardens were irrigated by a natural spring, maintained through clever agricultural tricks rather than precipitation as the rest of Equestria was.

But now, it was raining; a soft, gentle rain that was just enough to drive many of the nobles and locals indoors as they pondered what could have upset their beloved Princess so.

Inside the throne room, Twilight Sparkle had been speaking aloud almost nonstop for over two hours already, the Princess dismissing all appointments and visitors in favor of quietly listening to her pupil’s tale of harrowing danger, fantastical wonder, and futuristic intrigue. She remained calm and impassive as Twilight found herself unable to stop, the words flowing like water burst from a dam as she revealed what she had learned of the Doctor, the defeat of the Weeping Pegasi, the Paradox Monster that had come into being in Ponyville, and the dusk-shrouded future that she and the Doctor had fought to set right.

Through it all, Princess Celestia’s concerned expression never changed. Not once did she question the validity of her student’s impossible tale. No accusation of fantasy or falsehood was made. In fact, she did not speak at all.

As she drew her tale to a close, Twilight wondered if perhaps the Princess thought she had gone mad.

“When we came back… everything was just as we left it. The monster was gone, my friends were all my friends again, and they all have no idea what could've… What I could've done to them. What I did do to them... Spike… Rainbow Dash… Pinkie Pie...” Twilight lowered her head, her throat feeling hoarse after speaking for so long. “Part of me wants to just forget it all ever happened. Wants for that pony to just jump back into his blue box and leave. But…”

“One should never wish for ignorance, Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia said softly, presenting her gentle, motherly nature.

Twilight looked to her mentor fearfully, unsure what to expect. “You… believe me... don’t you, Princess?”

Celestia did not hesitate in her response. “Of course I do, Twilight. And I think that you have been very brave in your actions.”

“My actions? Brave? But… I… Princess, I did all of those terrible things. I twisted the world, destroyed the day and night, betrayed you and my friends...” Twilight suddenly found herself almost on the verge of tears again in admitting this.

“No, Twilight. You did not do those things.” Celestia shook her head, her tone proud and affirming. “The Twilight Sparkle I know stood by her friends despite their distrust and hardships. The Twilight Sparkle I know saw the wrong in the actions committed by another, horrible, dark-minded pony, and did what she could to undo them.”

The Princess leaned closer, a slight smile on her face as she lowered her tone.

“The Twilight Sparkle I know has gone out of her way, doing everything she can, no matter what the possible cost, to make sure that those terrible things never happen at all. And that, my faithful student, is perhaps the bravest thing that anypony could ever have aspired to do.”

Twilight reeled at this praise as the Princess pulled herself back, her expression lightened as she gave her student a moment to collect herself.

“I'm curious... What do you think of the Doctor, Twilight?” she asked after a while.

“What do I think? I think he's crazy!” Twilight admitted openly, her quiet timidness forgotten momentarily as a sudden burst of outrage accompanied her answer. “He always talks at a full gallop, and never lets on to what he’s thinking. He acts like a complete foal sometimes, and then out of nowhere, pulls a plan or some incredible antic that manages to get him out of a fire by the skin of his teeth.”

The Princess smiled as Twilight ranted the opinion she had been holding back for days out of courtesy. “He’s arrogant. He’s foalish. Absolutely incorrigible, and… and…” Twilight found herself deflating, unable to deny what she said next. “…he’s amazing.”

“I am sure he is.” Celestia nodded, her voice strangely restrained, as if she had an omnipotent knowing that shouldn’t fall completely on the young unicorn. “And right now, Twilight Sparkle, that arrogant, foalish, amazing pony needs something very important.”

Twilight looked up to her mentor, the beautiful and wise Princess of Equestria, with the same curious, puzzled expression that Celestia had seen the day that a startled, powerful young unicorn filly, who had caused untold damage to the observation tower while transforming several tenured professors into various inanimate objects and exploding the growth of a hatchling dragon, had found her special talent.

“He needs friends.”

The look on Twilight’s face softened in realization. She had heard the Princess say this before… the morning before the Summer Sun Celebration last year, when she had first gone to Ponyville.

A day, not unlike when the Doctor first arrived, when the course her life was completely and irreversibly changed.

“Twilight, in addition to your reports on the Magic of Friendship… I have a new assignment for you.”

Ch. 3: Old, Sad Eyes

Chapter 3: Old, Sad Eyes

Mane Street
Ponyville
12:28 p.m.

The Doctor trotted alongside Pinkie Pie, or at least tried to, as the bouncing pink ball of energy constantly seemed to be distracted by this or that. Rushing off to one side of the road to inspect an odd-looking bug. Gasping in awe and moving to say hello to a trio of mares who were standing around a vegetable stand as if she remembered she had forgotten to say good morning.

When she rushed off to give proper attention to a lopsided bush filled with newly blooming yellow flowers, the Doctor’s newly extended patience was reaching its end.

“Good lords, Pinkie, do you ever stop moving?” the Doctor asked incredulously, shifting his haunches a bit to make sure that Spike remained in place and didn’t go falling off onto the dirt.

“You’re one to talk,” Pinkie responded pleasantly, prodding a bloom that had yet to open.

The Doctor recoiled a bit at this accusation. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“That’s what you and Spike were talking about this morning, isn’t it? You have a chance to sit down and relax and the only thing you want to do is go rushing back to your box and fly away. You haven’t even had a chance to enjoy what Ponyville has to offer yet.” The pony prodded the still-closed bloom for a few more moments, looking it over curiously.

“That’s not… entirely accurate,” the Doctor protested. “It’s a nice place, to be sure. In fact, it's quite lovely. Very… quiet. Serene. Quaint, even…” The Time Lord fought to keep the displeasure out of his voice as Pinkie’s topic began to move towards a nerve.

“Have you seen Sweet Apple Acres yet?”

“Sweet Apple…?”

“That’s where Applejack lives. It’s the biggest orchard this side of Hoofington! It's got hills that are just covered in apple trees,” Pinkie cut the Doctor off as she explained. “Or how about Rainbow’s cloud house?”

“Cloud house?” The Doctor found his ability to believe what the pink pony was telling him strained yet again. “You mean ‘clubhouse,’ don’t you?”

“No, cloud house. Rainbow's always making changes and improving it; moving the clouds around to make it more and more pretty and showing off her artistic side. She's even got a rainbowfall running down the side. You do know that pegasus ponies can walk on clouds, right?”

“Well, I…”

“Have you seen the Everfree Forest?”

“As a matter of fact--”

“Or enjoyed a day at the spa? Lotus and Aloe always have the best foams and bubbles.”

“That’s not the sort of--”

“Did you know that we just finished fixing this place up from a parasprite infestation? Or that you completely missed the Spring Bloom Festival? Not that it was exactly at its best with that nasty thing in the toyshop.”

“Now, hold on a moment, Pinkie. I didn’t mean to say that it was--”

“So you barely take a glance around the town, and say it’s nice. Quaint, even. You mean it’s ‘boring,’ right? That’s what you wanna say?”

Unsure where the conversation had turned around on him, the Doctor found himself taking a step back, trying to respond. “Well, I just meant that--”

“If you take the time to look for more than the most obvious, outlandish sorts of things, Doctor -- those dangerous, scary kinds of things -- then you could see there’s so much more to a place like this. If you… If you would slow down a little; enjoy the moment rather than rushing off for the next adventure you could… You could…”

Pinkie’s agitated expression lightened up with an almost audible "ding" as she smiled, then leaned closer, a soft melody filling the air a moment before she burst into song.

“You could laugh aloud for hours,
Stop and smell all of these flowers,
Come roll around with meeee! Whee!”

The Doctor gaped in shock as Pinkie suddenly drove into her lyrics, complete with seemingly rehearsed choreography, stopping to sniff at the blooms in mid-verse and then diving to the grass along the side of the street to roll around.

“Pinkie... What in the name of sanity are you doing?”

“You could party and be merry,
Life is just as sweet as cherries,
If you only would belieeeeve!”

“Wait, do you hear that? I hear music! Hold on, I know that tune… Is... is that The Wizard of Oz?”

“I could show you all the ponies,
Fillies, mares and all the bronies,
We’ll make their day compleeeete!"

“Is that an MP3? Or, perhaps a small CD?” the Doctor started, then realized almost too late that, as he spoke, his words were following the rhythm of the song playing in his ears. “Why am I speaking in verse?”

Pinkie, however, didn’t miss a beat, incorporating a slight dancing routine to her tune.

"Oh, I~ could show you why~
There’s more here than you can see~
Out beyond the edge of Twilight’s door~
It’s waiting here, if you’ll belieeeeve!"

“Pinkie, really, how are you doing this? Can you even hear me?” The Doctor was beginning to grow concerned as he recognized the song nearing its end.

“My dear Doctor, you’re mistaken,
You have not been forsaken,
In this brand new world you’re in.

Don’t just stand around debating,
You’ve got all new friends a-waiting,
If you only would belieeeeve!”

The music ended right on cue and Pinkie straightened up, chest heaving and grinning wildly at the Doctor’s bewildered expression.

Looking around, the Doctor saw that there were several ponies continuing to mill about, completely unfazed by the sudden burst of musical accompaniment that had just taken place. “What… just… happened?”

“I dunno.” Pinkie shrugged slightly, drawing an awkward glance from the Time Lord. “I just do that sometimes.”

The Doctor shook his head in his own sense of disbelief. “Wait, so you’re telling me... what? All of that was just spontaneous?”

“Yep! Nice tune, though. I gotta jot that one down for later. Now, where were we…? Oh, right, TO THE LIBRARY!”

Bounding off again, Pinkie started to hum the tune of the song she had just completed performing, apparently on a whim, while the Doctor remained stuck in place for a moment, looking past where she had been standing…

...to the formerly closed-up, late-bloom that had opened apparently all by itself within the course of the last few seconds, easily the largest and most lovely of the flowers that Pinkie had stopped to smell a few moments before.

————————
Books and Branches Library
Ponyville
12:45 p.m.

With Spike set in the small basket that served as his bed up in Twilight’s loft, Pinkie and the Doctor moved down the steps to the basement of the Books and Branches Library of Ponyville.

For the better part of the day, the Doctor had been out of his element, moving around and trying to interact with individuals who were more than passingly familiar with him without the need for his usual talents and expertise. He had found himself stunned at various moments by the twists and turns of this world that were taken for granted as common knowledge by the local ponies. He noted that he still needed to read up on the natural variances of the world, such as the specific differences between the four species of pony he had encountered thus far -- namely, earth ponies, pegasi, unicorns, and alicorns -- as he had focused much more on the history and basic development that had occurred up to the current age. Pinkie, Twilight, and even Spike had had the "upper hoof" (as Twilight had termed it) on him all day.

But as he carefully navigated the steps down to the basement, the pink, candy-making pony in tow, he felt far more comfortable than he had since early that morning.

There, sitting up straight and tall in the center of the basement, stood the focal point of the Doctor’s life: A wooden, blue-painted, unassuming box with small windows and a light fixture mounted on its top, which contained inside it a universe of wonder in and of itself.

“And here she is. Isn’t she lovely?” the Doctor remarked proudly. “A Type-40 TARDIS, one of Gallifrey’s finest. And here’s hoping, all rested up and ready to go. What say you, Pinkie? Want to take a little trip? Care to visit the Moon?”

“The Moon!? You really mean it!?” Pinkie bounced up excitedly.

“Of course. Just a quick trip to stretch her legs out, so to speak. Now...” The Doctor strode up in front of the box, looking it over in an admiring fashion. “Let’s see if this trick still works... Remember what I said a few days ago, right after we met and fell down the trapdoor?”

Pinkie tilted her head to the side a bit. “That you missed your sleeves and that you’re rubbish without pockets?”

The Doctor’s huffed slightly, both amused at what she chose to remember, and surprised that she had remembered it at all. “No. That I can normally open the door with a snap of my fingers. But seeing as that's not going to happen again anytime soon, let’s try...”

Looking towards the TARDIS with a determined expression, the Doctor raised one hoof slightly as he glared into the blue wooden box, his face lined with concentration.

*Clip-Clop-Clip*

A simple, clipping three count on the ground, and the doors of the TARDIS swung wide open.

“Oooooooh...”

The Doctor smiled, basking in Pinkie’s impressed noise. “Yup, I still got it. Now, let’s see what she’s got in store for us.” The brown stallion rushed in, seeming far more excited now than he had been all day. A genuine, giddy, heart-pounding excitement that Pinkie found much more appealing than his earlier seriousness.

Trotting behind him, she made it less than three steps before nearly crashing into the Doctor’s rump.

“Oh… look at you… Ohhhhh! Look at you!” The Doctor looked around, absolutely amazed as he took it all in. Pinkie followed his lead, also marveling at the changes.

“It’s… all different. It didn’t look anything like this the other day.”

As always, it was bigger on the inside, but now it was even larger than before -- if only by a bit. The flashing, blinking lights and the retro techno color scheme along the walls were gone, replaced with a glowing, light sky-blue surface that conveyed a fanciful, outdoorsy feel. The roundels that typically adorned them had shifted higher towards the ceiling, and now emitted a soft white light that gave the room a sunny ambiance. The raised stairs, walkways, and metal railings were also gone, giving the floor around the control station a surprising degree of open space. As for the control station itself, it was, as before, sitting on a solid, transparent platform above a mass of exposed circuitry and wires that gave the illusion of being in constant motion. But now, they seemed to form almost vine-like connections of lights and wire, giving it a more organic look with softer colors.

Although she was hardly familiar with the controls of the TARDIS, Pinkie was able to tell that the buttons and levers had shifted around from before; several hoof-shaped panels, a set of levers that looked like they were designed to be grabbed by the mouth and pulled down, and a brace piece was set up to push against with a shoulder or flank along one corner to turn another mechanism.

Where there had once been two staircases on opposite sides of the room -- one of which Pinkie had gone zipping through on her last visit -- there was now a single staircase, made at the proper length and angle for pony legs to easily navigate, that led to a completely different direction than before that must have contained the rest of the rooms inside the TARDIS.

One thing that had not changed was the central glass column, which still sported the bulb-like fixtures moving up and down inside of it. But now, instead of glowing green and orange, it was adorned on three sides by decorative ponyshoes. Too large for any real pony Pinkie knew -- except maybe Big Macintosh -- they were each studded with two dark buttons, each one of a different color. Almost as if it noticed her looking at it, one of the buttons suddenly lit up a lovely shade of pink.

“She’s changed the desktop theme again… No, she just didn’t change the template, she customized an entirely new one.” The Doctor looked around, surprised by the alteration and with a slight squealing giddiness to his voice as he pranced around, taking it all in with excitement. “My word… she’s gone native on me. Look at that! It’s a little horseshoe. And these controls… Oh, this is going to be interesting. Set up for hooves and mouthpieces and everything! I was wondering how I was going to turn the axis rotators without thumbs. That’s my TARDIS, always one step ahead! Makes sense, though. After all, I doubt she wants to end up back in the eighties again because I can’t keep my hooves on the right buttons.”

“'She'?” Pinkie asked inquisitively.

“Oh, why, of course. The TARDIS isn’t just a machine, you know. TARDISes are not built, they're grown. And she is very much alive, with a living, beating heart and a personality all her own,” the Doctor responded happily, moving around the center console and leaning into it with his flank as he set his hoof up to run along the edge.

Pinkie giggled a bit at the scene, causing the Doctor to look up at her. “Would you like a moment alone with your time machine, Doctor?”

“No… not at the moment. It’s always better to travel with a friend now, isn’t it?” the Doctor returned with a smile.

“Are you saying we're friends now, Doc?” Pinkie gave him a sideways look, keeping her smile, but leaving the question hanging.

“Of course we are,” the Doctor responded offhoofedly, turning the TARDIS' scanner display towards him and setting his forehooves onto the console. “Now, let me just check these readouts and see if…”

The Doctor’s smile faded slowly as he looked over the monitor, while Pinkie was unable to see exactly what it was he was looking at.

“That… shouldn’t be possible.” The Time Pony's amusement dropped like a stone.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“She’s been resting ever since Twilight and I came back the day before yesterday, and everything is functional, but... her energy stores are almost completely gone.” The Doctor’s tone turned more worried as he looked over and pressed a set of enlarged, hoof-sized buttons. “Where are my brainy-specs when I need them?”

“Maybe she’s hungry?” Pinkie offered, unsure what to do as the Doctor moved around the console.

“The TARDIS does need to eat, but she feeds on aurtron energy; power from the universe itself. Well, in my home universe she does, anyways. I was worried at first that this universe wouldn’t be compatible. That it would be like diesel in a petrol… Oh, wait, that metaphor doesn’t apply here does it? Hmm." The stallion brought a hoof to his chin as Pinkie merely looked at him, confused. "Oh! Oh, I know! It would be like feeding a pony gemstones. It might be good for Spike and dragons like him, but you couldn’t get by on them, am I right?”

“Okay, I get that… So she doesn’t like our world, then?” Pinkie gasped as she came to a horrifying conclusion. “She’s not going to starve is she!? I can go get things from the bakery!”

“No, she’s getting energy from somewhere, but she’s being picky… very picky. She had enough fuel leftover from my home universe to run for a while, but now that’s all out. Must be why she was all over the place the last few trips.”

“You mean when it… Oh, sorry… she crashed into Fluttershy’s cottage and Mr. Tinker’s toyshop?”

“Precisely. Granted, those were both accidents, but the fact that she’s still functioning means that she’s getting new energy from somewhere… and…” The Doctor paused, his eyes glued to the monitor. “And what's this…? Hello...” He looked a bit closer. “Seven percent… Nine percent... There we go, that-a-girl. Now, where are you getting it from?”

The Doctor took a step back and nodded, obviously relieved as he looked about. “I’m sorry to say, Pinkie, it looks like I’m going to have to give you a rain-check on that trip to the Moon. The TARDIS will be fine, it looks like, but it will take some time to get to a stable fuel level. In the meantime, I’ve got to figure out what she’s using for power.”

“That’s okay. Do you still wanna show me around, though?”

The Doctor smirked, looking up to Pinkie with a large smile again across his features. “Sure, it’ll be the first time for me too, after all. Let’s go exploring, shall we?”

As his good humor seemed to return with the relief that the TARDIS was safely, if a bit slowly, recharging itself, the Doctor and Pinkie Pie moved to the stairs, easily trotting up them and further into the interior.

So distracted was the Doctor by the drastic change in the TARDIS’ look and the strange turn of events concerning his time machine’s design and layout, that he had forgotten to close the doors behind him.

————————

Pinkie Pie and the Doctor half-walked, half-waddled out of the newly discovered arboretum that had formed on the TARDIS, both laughing at each other’s antics, which had led to the two of them ending up in the pond that had been fitted at the center, and soaking them both to the point that Pinkie’s fluffy, curly hair was drenched and flat on her head, showing just how long it was when it wasn’t in its usual "puffed" state.

“She’s really gone all out with the nature settings, hasn’t she?" the Doctor asked, tilting his head to the side in an attempt to drain the water from his ear. "I didn’t even know she could manufacture treeborgs like that. And the little waterfall is a nice touch.”

“You know what we need to get for that pond?” Pinkie asked.

“A guardrail to keep pink ponies from pushing unsuspecting Time Lords into it?”

“No, silly! We need some fish! They sell the prettiest kinds of fish in Ponyville at Miss Pond’s shop.”

Knowing full well that the TARDIS was capable of cleaning up inside of itself, the Doctor shook himself dry, Pinkie following suit a moment later and her hair exploding with a loud "poof" as it seemed to air dry instantly.

“That's a wonderful idea, Pinkie. This room would certainly benefit from a few homey touches, along with all of those extra bedrooms and the kitchen. I mean, a kitchen? She’s never stocked more than few cupboards in here before. You’d think that she was expecting a whole lot of company from all of the spare bedrooms she’s got set up in here... Anyways, let's see what's beyond the next door, shall we?”

Over the last couple of hours, Pinkie Pie and the Doctor had enjoyed exploring the new TARDIS, which, the Doctor had come to realize, was easily twice the size of its older format. Fit with multiple bedrooms; a library that seemed to be almost an exact replica of the Books and Branches; full, working kitchens; the pool; a gymnasium that came equipped for a whole set of equestrian sports; an arboretum with a large, manageable garden inside; a Treasure Room of his own (in which he had spent a good deal of time regaling Pinkie with a few stories of his more… appealing adventures); and his little-used Wardrobe Room -- even though, given his current physical situation, most of those outfits were now completely useless.

It was not like his TARDIS to go so "all out" in designing the side-rooms as she had this time around, but the exploration and investigation did have a certain thrill to them, and doing so alongside Pinkie was all the more fun as the party pony made an effort to explore every aspect of the area, asking any number of questions.

Moving along to the next door, the Doctor set his hoof onto the handle and turned it, looking inside.

When he looked in, it took him several moments to realize exactly what it was that the TARDIS had done with this particular room. And when he did, he found that this was not somewhere he particularly wanted to be.

But Pinkie had already pushed by him at this point, entering to take a look at the eleven vacuum chamber tubes that circled the room. Encased inside each of them was a familiar outfit, preserved for posterity.

“Whooaa… More goofy clothes,” Pinkie remarked offhoofedly, amused as she started pacing around and looking at them. “Rarity would probably faint right away at seeing these.”

“They’re… not goofy,” the Time Lord responded, moving into the room and noting the perfectly immaculate way in which the suits were set.

“Oh, yeah? Look at this scarf. It’s huge! Why would anypony wear something so bulky? They'd be tripping over it all the time!”

The Doctor tried to contain himself, although he did have to admit it looked rather silly now that he thought back on it. He couldn’t help but remember the time that he had picked that ridiculously long scarf out.

“Is that… celery? Okay, as a cutie mark is one thing, and fruits if Rarity is doing the outfit, maybe. But vegetables on clothes?” Pinkie snickered at the white and red-lined outfit before moving on. “Oh… Ooooohh, wow. Yeah, you should never let Rarity see this one. She would spit a bit if she saw this. Wow! The rainbow umbrella is one thing, but whoever wore this had to be colorblind, or something!”

Pinkie laughed aloud as the Doctor joined her, looking up at the sixth outfit in the line. But unlike before, he didn’t share her laughter, his face instead a somewhat solemn expression.

“Whose are these?” Pinkie asked curiously, still giggling a bit at the question mark-lined vest that was inside the next chamber.

“Mine.”

Pinkie paused, turning slightly towards the Doctor as he looked up at the sixth outfit.

“To be fair, that time around I was quite a bit... quirky. More-so than usual. All in all, I would say the Rani did me a favor.”

“Oh… Well, um... These last few are… nice,” Pinkie started apologetically, trying to keep a forced smile as she looked over the last in the line: a tweed coat and suspenders complete with a bow-tie and a fez. Part of her was curious as to who "the Rani" was, but hearing his tone, she thought better of it, her own expression surprisingly sober. “So… these are…?”

“Pieces of my past. Of each of my lives, set up like they are meant to be in a museum. But then again, perhaps they should be.” The Time Lord sighed heavily. “Well over a thousand years… Eleven lives… and into the twelfth. I keep these, just a reminder sometimes of how far I’ve come, where I’ve been… You see, Pinkie, this is my Memory Room. I don’t usually come in here.” He looked to her. “I don’t often let others in here, either.”

The statement was left to hang thick in the air for a moment.

“There they are again…”

“What?” The Doctor's ears perked up as he regarded Pinkie quizzically.

“Those old… sad eyes…” the mare started, looking back at him with concern, then looking past him. “Who are they?” Pinkie asked, moving aside the Doctor before he managed to turn and see where she was heading.

The shelves there were filled with pictures of creatures that had no fur, pony-like hair, and flat faces. Some in black and white and others in color, all set along in rows. Some of the individuals in them appeared to be quite young, while others included individuals that were wearing the different outfits that Pinkie had unwittingly been laughing at.

“So this is what humans look like... Is this your family?”

“Oh, no… Well, in a sense, I suppose… sort of,” the Doctor hesitated. “These are my… well, my companions. They traveled with me for a time… This one is named Susan. She was the very first, and also my... um, well… That’s a… long and complicated story... Ian, Barbara... Jamie McCrimmon, that daft highlander... The Brigadier, now he was a good man. I always regretted never having that last visit... Oh, Sarah Jane Smith. She was a tough act to follow...” The Doctor nodded to himself, his eyes fogging over slightly, as if his thoughts were a thousand miles away and his mouth was running on automatic.

Pinkie stayed quietly at his side, not asking who they were or commenting on the alien-sounding names. There was an almost dreamy quality to his voice, as if he found himself lost in memories, pointing a hoof to at some, but ignoring others.

“Peri Brown… Sweet Peri. Oh, how she put up with me when I was at my worst. I always loved her for that… Ace, now she was something else, a real spitfire. No, I take that back. Donna, she was the spitfire. Oh, she drove me absolutely crazy, that Donna Noble." He chuckled, moving along to the very last of the pictures in the line: a human lady with hair almost as curly as Pinkie’s own. “And River Song. Oooohh, Professor Song. The trouble we got into and out of together…”

“Don’t worry, Doctor…” Pinkie set her hoof against his flank in a comforting fashion. “You’ll get home to see them again.”

“No… Oh, no. That’s not…” The Doctor shook his head, keeping his voice steady even as he started to pull himself out of his train of memories. “No. There’s nobody waiting for me back there… Not anymore. Besides, I am home. The Doctor in the TARDIS, always together. Out exploring the unknown.” His smile was forced as he turned, taking a breath and starting out of the room. “Well, this was fun. We should take a look at what’s in the next room, don’t you agree?”

“Who's she?”

The Doctor stopped, turning to where Pinkie’s hoof had pointed, towards several pictures that were separate from the others. Set in a small shelf off to the side were multiple pictures of the same human girl with longer, yellow hair.

Pinkie watched at as the Doctor’s forced smile faded, looking over the pictures with a pained look of regret. “...Rose… Her name was Rose.” The stallion tried to contain himself as the pink pony noted the sudden mix of expressions that crossed his face. “Pinkie Pie… I would… really like to leave… Now.”

“What happened to her?”

“It’s not important.” The Doctor started to turn away.

“Why not?”

“Because it isn't!” The harsh edge of the Doctor’s voice cut like a knife as Pinkie finally pushed too far. “And besides that, I think it’s my turn to ask the question, don’t you? So, here it is! Why is it that you are always at it with the personal questions? I swear, you ponies. Just like humans in that respect. Monsters and Reapers and Weeping Pegasi at the door and you’re all asking about things that don’t have any bearing on what's going on! Can’t you just see that this is who I am!? Right now, in this moment. Not what I might have been or who I was in some past life!”

Pinkie Pie stood her ground, looking past the Doctor, towards the door for a moment. Was she considering running? He wouldn’t have been surprised. As free-spirited and bubbly as she was, it would have been the smart thing to do. And at this point, it may have also been the best thing.

He knew that when he had these moments, he was not someone that anypony would want to be around. But she looked back to him, holding her ground without tears or yielding a step.

“Why would you possibly want to know?” the Doctor asked, his anger dissipating after a moment as a more apologetic tone started to seep in.

Pinkie Pie was quiet for a long time, having faced only a glimpse of something that was hiding under the Doctor’s fur. “Because… I’m your friend,” she responded softly. “You said so yourself. And all of these other friends you have… There are so many of them, and these are just your closest, aren’t they? I bet there are a whole lot of others out there too that don’t have a picture in here.”

Now it was the Doctor’s turn to take a step back, shame setting in at his outburst as Pinkie continued, her tone set with concern and hurt, but still defiantly attempting to reach out to him.

“How can somepony with so many friends… feel so alone?”

The Doctor took a few breaths, looking over to the side, down the line of pictures from Susan to River… then over to the eleven suits standing as mute memorial to his past.

“I’m sorry, Pinkie Pie…” he apologized, finally bringing his eyes back up to her. “It’s just… hard for me… sometimes. You see, one of the "side-effects" of living so long... is that nobody else does. They all traveled with me for a time, and I cared deeply for each of them. For Susan and Sarah Jane… For Peri and Ace, Donna and River… just to name a few. And Rose? She was…” The Doctor took a steadying breath. “...something special.”

“What happened to them?”

“Life happened, as it should have.” The stallion shook his head. “After some time, most of them went home, got on with their lives, had their own families. They moved on… Sometimes, I could see them again. And sometimes I couldn’t. Most of them lived out the rest of their lives… without me.”

Silence hung in the air for a moment as Pinkie struggled to imagine what such a thing must have felt like. To have so many friends, and to have to leave them behind time and time again.

Then a thought occurred to her.

“But… aren’t there others? Like you? I mean, what was it you called yourself before? "Time Lord"?”

“...No.” The answer was simple, short, and blunt, but then carried an afterthought. “Not anymore.” The Doctor sighed, his tone dragging down. “I’m not just a Time Lord, Pinkie Pie. I’m the last Time Lord. I’m the only one left.”

Tears now welled up in Pinkie’s eyes as she tried to comprehend what the Doctor told her, laying down with her legs folded under her as she trained her gaze on the chestnut-colored stallion. “What happened?”

Resigning himself to tell a familiar, painful story, the Doctor lowered himself down on the ground across from Pinkie, carefully folding his hooves under him in a more comfortable fashion. “There was… a war. Do you know what that is?”

Pinkie nodded, but kept quiet.

“My people fought against monsters, called the Daleks,” he explained, his voice on the verge of trembling with pain as he shared this moment with the bouncy, laughing pony. A pony who was not bouncing or laughing now, as she listened to her newest friend. “We fought them for the sake of our universe… for the lives of everybody that had or ever would live. In a war that stretched across time and space. We fought them because… we were the only ones who could. We fought…”

The Doctor hung his head low. “...and we lost.”

Pinkie’s mouth fell slightly open at the admission, but was unable to speak.

“We lost… They lost… Everybody lost. Until in the end… there was no one left. No one… except for me,” the Doctor continued sadly, lifting his head as a tear rolled down his cheek. “It’s all gone now, Pinkie. Gallifrey… My home… My family… My friends… The Time Lords… all gone. All that is left of it now is the TARDIS and me… The only survivors.”

Pinkie had no words to say as the Doctor cleared his throat, taking a moment to let the weight of what he said sink in.

“And so I travel, Pinkie Pie. I keep going… because I have to. Because I can’t stop. Because I have to know that it was worth it. I have to know that what I fought for… what we lost so much for… that it was worth it so that they…” He looked to the line of portraits, each one of a smiling face that had been so important to the Doctor in the past. “…So that they each had the chance to live and have their own lives. So that they could have their friends and families. I have to see what is out there and know that what I did was for them. I have to give them a chance. And not just the people, but the monsters, too. They all should have the chance. The price that was paid for it is too high to ignore.”

Tears flowed freely down Pinkie’s face as she listened, nodding slightly in understanding.

“You were right. I do have old, sad eyes. They’ve seen so much, perhaps too much…” he continued. “But… they’ve never seen anything like you.”

Pinkie looked up as the Doctor allowed a weak chuckle to escape him.

“There was a reason that I traveled with humans, and it wasn’t just because they looked like me. It was because they were probably the only people in my universe that could understand. The only ones that could look out at the beauty across time and space and see it with the wonder… with the… appreciation that it deserves. And you ponies… Oh, you are so much like them.”

“We are?”

“Well, there are a few differences. You are kinder than they are from what I’ve seen. You have a better grasp of your environment,” the Doctor admitted. “You, Twilight, Spike, and Rarity. You’ve all put up with me in stride, helped me when I needed it, and have asked for nothing in return except for friendship.”

“Well…” Pinkie tried to wipe the tears away, realizing that this was an important moment for both her and the Doctor. “That’s what we value… more than anything: our friends. There’s nothing more powerful in all of Equestria than that bond.”

“A philosophy I dearly wish all other species shared.” The Doctor chuckled at the somewhat childish and naive concept, but it appealed to him all the same. “I think Rarity tried to ask me out on a date while she was fitting my suit… Trying to take it a bit beyond just friendship, but I’m not entirely sure.”

Pinkie huffed a bit, amused even as she started to climb out of the sorrow that the Doctor’s tale had imparted. “Thank you, Doctor.”

“For what?” The Doctor was surprised. He wasn’t sure what to expect from Pinkie now, but that had not been it at all.

“For telling me.”

“...You’re welcome,” the Time Lord replied softly. “Just... do me a favor, and don’t tell Twilight. She’s been curious about me, but I would really rather not tell her before I have to. It’s… a burden, really. She’s clever, and I’m sure she’ll find out or ask sooner or later, but in the meantime, I enjoy her company and I like being able to talk to her without her worrying if this or that might bring up something uncomfortable. I don’t want her to tip-to-- err… prance around the issue. Not just for my sake.”

“Now I understand why you have such sad eyes… I can’t imagine what it’s like…" Pinkie offered consolingly. "And while I know we can’t replace them, I also know that I would be more than happy to be your friend. And I know Twilight and Spike and all the other girls would too if you gave them a chance.”

“I’m sure they would… but we'll have to see. If there is one thing that I have learned in so many centuries of life, it’s that you never know exactly what tomorrow will bring.”

“Not even if you have a time machine?” Pinkie raised an eyebrow, waving one hoof a bit in an outward direction.

“Especially if you have a time machine.”

“Then I bet you don’t know what’s in the next room any more than I do.”

The Doctor smiled slightly, pushing himself back up to his hooves as Pinkie did the same. “As a matter of fact, no, I don’t.”

“Well, how about you hold off on the traveling through time and space until after we’ve looked at the rest of the rooms, okay?”

The Doctor had no arguments for once, amazed at how the pink pony had listened to him, endured his moment of anger, and accepted his apologies without any trouble.

As they moved out the door, the Doctor made sure to lock the latch behind him while Pinkie led the way to the next room.

He did not note the still half-open door to the arboretum they left behind as he followed Pinkie down the hall, nor the purple unicorn that emerged as he stepped out of sight, tears of her own having painted dark patches down her cheeks.

Pinkie had been subtle enough to wave her off after seeing her in the doorway of the Memory Room, and now she understood why. The Doctor, that unflappable Time Pony, had his own inner demons to battle, and he thought that revealing those demons to her or to anypony else would drive them away or make them treat him differently.

Of course, Pinkie wouldn’t. Mad as a hatter, three times as random, and always eager to forgive and forget, she would probably never mention it again if she could help it. Not because she forgot, but because she was smart enough not to betray a secret… Even a secret that wasn’t actually all that secret.

Moving back down the hall from whence she came, Twilight retraced her steps back to the main control room of the TARDIS with surprising ease as she looked over the magnificent machine. She had a few things to think about as she left, the forefront on her mind being Pinkie Pie’s description of the Doctor’s eyes.

"Old, sad eyes," she had said.

What struck Twilight most about it then wasn’t that she had missed this detail in her own dealings with the Doctor. She too had noticed the darkness hidden in his shining blue eyes. But that description to her gave it a whole new perspective that she had glossed over.

They were eyes she was quite familiar with, in fact. Eyes that she had seen just that day...

...in Canterlot.

Ch. 4: All of Time and Space

Chapter 4: All of Time And Space

Books and Branches Library
Ponyville
6:43 p.m.

When Twilight Sparkle returned home to the Books and Branches, she had been surprised to find Spike already asleep in his basket in spite of the fact that it was still so early, the sun having only just set, and found herself correctly guessing as to the Doctor’s whereabouts when she had come downstairs to find the doors to the TARDIS wide open. She had marveled at the new interior of the TARDIS when she first walked inside, amazed at how much it had changed in the past day and intent on asking the Doctor how it had happened. How this magical machine of his had been able to completely renovate itself into a form less alien and far more… dare she say it, "Equestrian."

But as she had gone moving through the hallways that connected the various jumble of rooms together in search of him, she had heard the Doctor shouting. Something angry and terrible that set her into a run, finding herself in the threshold of a room filled with tubes of tall, strange-looking outfits and pictures she couldn’t quite make out, and discovering the Doctor bearing down on Pinkie Pie angrily, his back to her as he finished what must have been a soft, but venom-filled rant.

Twilight’s ire rose as she took in the scene, not questioning what had been said or asking why Pinkie Pie was there in the first place. Fully intending to give the Doctor a piece of her mind, she was stopped in her tracks as Pinkie’s eyes darted towards her.

She had never seen such an expression on Pinkie’s face before. The crazy party pony was usually so bubbly and full of life. But then, there was a pleading look in her expression, one so subtle the a lesser observer or a distracted one wouldn’t have caught it.

To Twilight, it said one thing: Don’t interfere.

“Because… I’m your friend,” Pinkie said softly. “You said so yourself. And all of these other friends you have… There are so many of them, and these are just your closest, aren’t they? I bet there are a whole lot of others out there too that don’t have a picture in here. How can somepony with so many friends… feel so alone?”

The tone to her voice, the sincerity of it, nearly melted Twilight’s heart as the unicorn took a step back and out of sight at the side of the door, feeling it best to trust in whatever Pinkie Pie might be doing as the Doctor, that brilliant, lunatic stallion, began to speak.

————————

She had missed it, Twilight realized, as she took the steps down into the control room again, Pinkie having pulled the Doctor away to continue their apparent exploration of the TARDIS’ new layout.

This entire time, she had seen only the surface of what he was feeling -- that manic and quick-speaking front that he put on for all whom he encountered. And she had thought that was what all there was to him.

But Pinkie had seen -- and had let Twilight see -- that there was so much more going on, just under the fur. Now, more than ever, she realized that the Princess had been right. Somehow knowing without even meeting him, with only her story to go on, that he would need her.

That he would need all of them.

Moving to the console in the center of the TARDIS' control room, Twilight Sparkle retrieved a letter from her saddlebag and set it on the controls before she started out of the still-open doors and up the basement stairs. The Princess had been insistent that this be delivered to him immediately, Twilight assuming it to be a message to welcome him to Equestria or perhaps with some proclamation concerning what the Doctor might or might not be allowed to do, given his incredible abilities and those of his fantastic vessel.

With this task done, she considered that it had been a long day, and, returning to her loft, she took only a moment to unpack her satchel of necessities that had been unneeded. After her meeting with the Princess, she had taken a more "direct" path back to Ponyville, specifically to deliver the Princess’ message to the Doctor. And now that she was here, she considered that anything else could wait until morning.

But as she set her satchel down and opened it, she saw the other object that the Princess had bequeathed her today. A tool that she insisted was of the utmost importance to this new task that was set before her.

Her horn glowed lightly as she lifted it from its resting place. A simple book, bound in a blue cover with the design of two larger rectangles and two squares on the face of it. Completely unextraordinary except that its pages were perfectly blank, clean, and of the highest quality vellum she had ever encountered. And for somepony like herself, that was saying something.

Twilight had been aghast at the design when she first saw it; at the similarities between the book’s cover and the blue box that was now standing in the library’s basement. But the Princess had assured her that a time would come when she would understand, not for the first time leading the unicorn to believe the Princess knew far more than she was telling her student.

Exhausted by her day’s ordeal of storytelling, and relieved at the weight that seemed to be lifted off of her back, Twilight would have liked nothing more than to sink into her bed and surrender herself to the embrace of her dreams. But instead, she found herself moving to her desk, her horn aglow as a quill lifted from the surface and dipped into an inkwell.

The blue book opened to its first page as Twilight took a breath.

First Entry
4th of Summer, 1001 Celestia’s Reign

My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am a unicorn. I live in the town of Ponyville in the Everfree Province of the land of Equestria, and I am twenty-two years of age. I am the town librarian, as well as a student of magic, Scholar of Friendship, Keeper of an Element of Harmony, and the prized pupil of Her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia of Equestria.

Seven days ago, I met a brilliant, impossible pony from another universe, named, "the Doctor."

This is the TARDIS Journal.

Contained herein is an account of experiences in my travels with this impossible stallion, put down to the best of my ability by the decree of Princess Celestia herself.

To any who may read this, know that what I transcribe is the honest, complete, and total truth. Not a work of fiction or the delusions of an overactive imagination. There will be things that I may not be able to fully and properly explain, or even understand. But as long as I am able, I will keep this record and share this account with whoever may one day read it. In hopes that one day, it will help you as well.

It all started a week ago as I was walking in Ponyville, and a great, thundering boom brought my attention skyward…

————————
Inside the TARDIS
Some time later

“And that's how you get the filling into the cake!” Pinkie finished her explanation as she and the Doctor came back to the TARDIS' console room.

“So what are the bellows for?”

“It does get awfully hot in the kitchen sometimes, you know.”

The Doctor blinked a few times, unable to find a suitable response to the party pony’s "logic" as he walked down the stairs to the main platform of the chamber and checked the monitor from before. Pinkie Pie stifled a yawn as she followed, looking around a bit.

“Wow, it must be getting late,” she stated, shaking her head. “I should probably get going. Applejack will be looking for me by now.”

The Doctor turned a bit on the spot, shocked at Pinkie’s announcement. “Already? But she’s up to forty percent power now… I thought that we might...”

“And we will, Doctor. I’m looking forward to it. But Mr. and Mrs. Cake will be wanting me to check in to let them know I'm okay. Besides, Applejack said she was going to drop by Sugarcube Corner this evening, and I need to make sure I’m there.”

“This is a time machine, you know. We could pop there, look around, and come back, with only a few seconds having passed.” To the Doctor's dismay, Pinkie shook her head in the negative. “Well, you can still stick around for a bit, can’t you? I still have questions. Like that singing, what caused that? Where did the music come from? Or where did your Mister Cake get the idea for those sweets?”

“Well, you’re just gonna have to stick around to ask them, Doc,” Pinkie said, her smile sly. “Consider it a reason to not go flying off right away. Besides, you said that you had to see for yourself that it’s all worthwhile, right?”

The Time Lord didn’t answer, looking to her curiously as the pink pony smirked.

“Well, now is the perfect time to find out. It’s time to smell the flowers.” Pinkie nodded to herself, a new sense of authority to her voice as she walked to the doors. “Besides, it looks like you have some mail.”

“Mail? What do you mean, 'mail'? I don’t have…” The Doctor looked around, then noticed the scroll set out of place on the console. Wondering where it could have come from, the Doctor looked out to the retreating pink pony. “Oh, look at that… I've got mail. How did that get there?”

“See you later, Doctor!” Pinkie called back as she climbed the library's stairs, her tone regaining the song-like quality that she usually had. “Don’t go flying off without us!”

...Us?

The Doctor turned to inquire further, but found that Pinkie had already shut the door behind her, leaving him alone.

He liked Pinkie Pie, he really did. But she could be so infuriatingly random at times. Speaking what seemed like nonsense except for the nuggets of incredible insight and almost precognitive foresight. And it ate at him because he was sure that was how he often came across to those he traveled with. It made him truly wonder who the companion was in this situation.

The Time Pony, left alone again, looked to the TARDIS' controls with a sigh before turning his attention to the scroll.

He didn’t question where it came from -- not yet. That could wait until after he read it. It made sense to him that they didn’t use envelopes here. After all, trying to unfold an envelope without fingers would have to be unwieldy, if not impossible, for non-unicorns, and he was grateful that there was no seal on the scroll, which allowed him to maneuver it carefully and unroll it with his snout.

What was inside took him by complete surprise.

It was a picture… A picture of himself. Him in his new pony form, in an unfamiliar, fancy black and white suit; tie, top hat and all. Although he was still getting the hang of telling like-colored ponies apart, he was easily able to identify himself from the hourglass that was displayed proudly on his rump.

There he was, standing in the center of a group shot with Twilight at his flank. Kneeling down in front of them, Pinkie, Rarity, and the orange, stetson-wearing pony, Applejack, were looking up to the camera. Flying at either side, he saw Fluttershy, the yellow and pink-maned pony looking timid, yet happy, while the rambunctious blue-winged mare that had shouted at him a few days ago stayed in the air opposite of her striking a pose. What was her name? Rainbow? The colored mane was rather a dead giveaway.

As the picture fell free of the rolled scroll, settling on the controls, the Doctor made out seven words written in a light, fancy calligraphy.

Horseshoes.
Take care of them, Doctor.

-- Celestia

“Horseshoes… What is that supposed to mean? Horse, shoes. Wait, horseshoes... not ponyshoes…” The Doctor’s mind milled about for a moment before he looked up.

It was right in front of him the whole time; the three new displays that were stationed around the central core of the TARDIS. Three decorative horseshoes that he had dismissed as having no purpose.

As he looked up, the pink light on one of them was fading, shutting off completely while a faint purple glow was emanating from yet another one of the lights.

Looking to the reading on the scanner display, the Doctor saw that power transfer had been greatly reduced, barely holding steady at forty-two percent.

“No…” The stallion drew back, his eyes narrowing as these facts worked over in his mind.

Six ponies… Six new lights in the TARDIS.

“Nooooooo…” His tone was incredulous in spite of the negative, and his mind reeled in a giddy surprise that came as it all started to fall into place.

Six lights… Cyan, orange, white, purple, pink, and yellow.

Six ponies... Cyan, orange, white, purple, pink, and yellow.

“That's... That's...” The Time Lord’s expression turned into a grin.

“That’s what we value more than anything… Our friends. There’s nothing more powerful in all of Equestria than that bond.” That was what Pinkie had said in the Memory Room.

The TARDIS had been out of fuel, and so she sought out a suitable replacement for a basic universal energy. Something that was constant, steady, and powerful.

And in this instance, she had latched onto the most potent fuel source she could find.

“Yes! That's it! Oh, clever, clever girl. A little frustrating, but oh, so clever.” He looked up at the TARDIS console. “You girls are ganging up on me, is that it? What are you saying? That you like them? That you like it here? Is that it?"

Almost as if to answer him, there was a whirring click from the other side of the console that brought the Doctor’s attention around. Popping out from the console, a freshly minted sonic screwdriver was ejected from position; a bit larger and heavier than his previous model, with a rough, ribbed surface and no buttons at all. At the top, the projection crystal swirled with alternating colors, shifting through the full spectrum as it functioned.

As he pulled it free with his teeth, he found the extra heft helped him balance it as he practiced holding the device with his hooves. It was still clumsy, but the ribs gave him a better chance at doing so than the usually smooth metal texture. And the psychic interface allowed him a much quicker set of options, he realized, as he felt the screwdriver’s database and systems settings brush against his mind.

It was a perfect design for this new form.

“Okay, okay. You’ve made your point. Please, feel free to keep bribing me, of course, but I get it.” The Doctor smirked slightly, turning to look at the new power gauge again. “Assuming this is a proximity indicator, that would mean…”

————————

Twilight Sparkle knew that the soreness that was emanating from her horn and down the back of her head was a phantom pain; a common side effect of prolonged and sustained magical use as the quill continued to jot down what details she could recall from the past few days’ events.

The Princess had made it very clear that she be as accurate in her recollections as she could; that these accounts would be important one day. So she carried on, focusing on what she was writing as she listened to the slight snoring coming from Spike’s basket.

She had heard Pinkie Pie leave a few moments before, the pink pony humming a new tune under her breath as she trotted out the door with such a carefree manner. Twilight appreciated that she had not bolted up to the loft and started talking about what they both now knew of the Doctor, something that any of the other girls would have done right away had they been in Pinkie’s place.

She was nearly done now, the pen bobbing to and fro from the inkwell as she continued to pour her experiences into the Journal.

“Twilight!”

“AHH!”

“AAAAHH!”

Twilight jumped, a blot of ink smearing the middle of her sentence while Spike was shocked from his sleep and himself jumped several feet out of his basket, as the the Doctor galloped up the stairs, shouting with a renewed vigor and enthusiasm.

He paused for a moment as Spike looked around frantically and Twilight’s horn glowed, quickly bringing an eraser ink out to get rid of the blotch. “I’m sorry, is this a bad time?”

“Doc? Whoa, what the...? When did I get back here? What time is it?” Spike rubbed his eyes as he tried to regain his bearings. “Hey, what happened at Sugarcube Corner? It looked like Pinkie Pie was trying to… Twilight? When did you get back? Hold on, how long was I out?”

“It’s okay, Spike,” Twilight assured him, satisfied as she closed her new journal. “I just got back, and you were probably just dreaming, so you can go back to sleep.”

"...Whatever you say, Twi." The still bleary-eyed baby dragon didn’t question this as he turned over in his basket, facing away from the two ponies. His soft snoring resumed a few moments later.

“We need to talk…” The Time Lord and unicorn pony paused as they spoke together, causing Twilight to draw back slightly and fight back a blush.

The Doctor nodded. “Alright, you first.”

“Alright... To start, I trust that the letter from the Princess explained everything?”

“Oh, it explained something alright,” the Doctor remarked, looking to Twilight, who had taken on a formal sort of stance, as if she was trying to enact a business deal. He had a feeling he knew what she was alluding to, but it was probably best if he let her bring it to the forefront.

“Well, first off... I was thinking that... maybe it would be best to tell the others separately. I mean, if you’re okay with us coming with you.”

The Doctor smiled as everything became crystal clear. “Oh, I am more than ‘okay’ with it, Twilight. You know, your Princess really is as clever as you say, because I was thinking the exact same thing. Although, if I might suggest a different approach?”

“Okay, what did you have in mind?”

“Is there anywhere close by that we could get those darling friends of yours together? Somewhere out of the way, particularly deserted at this time of night where nobody would notice.”

“Well, yeah. I guess if not here, probably the best place would be Stargazer Ridge. But it could take hours to track them all down and convince them to...” Twilight paused as she noted the grin on the Doctor’s face. “...What?”

“Twilight, I have a time machine. Tell me, who do you know you could depend on to spread the word?”

————————
Stargazer Ridge
Outskirts of Ponyville
11:48 p.m.

A chilly wind blew over Stargazer Ridge that night as five ponies walked up the steep slopes of the hill, Applejack leading the procession while Rainbow Dash flew just overhead. Rarity and Fluttershy kept in trot behind them while the excitable Pinkie Pie kept unusually quiet in the rear, walking rather than bouncing along in her trademarked fashion.

“So, let me get this straight. Twilight’s been hanging out with this Hoofan stallion for the last few days; the same one that tried to say nothing was happening at the toyshop? I think most ponies in town would disagree with that," Rainbow remarked incredulously as she floated apace with the rest of the group. "And now all of this has got something to do with the Princess? Why do we have to meet her all the way out here? Why not at the library or at Sugarcube Corner? Why all the secrecy? What is he, a spy or something?”

“And besides that, I don’t think he is from Hoofany at all, Rainbow,” Rarity spoke up as they reached the top of the hill together. “Twilight first introduced me to him as ‘Clockwork’ from Hoofdale. But the entire time I was fitting him in my boutique, I don’t think he said anything at all about the place.”

“Beg pardon, Rarity, but that’s not unusual if y'all never let the colt get a word in edgewise.” Applejack snickered a bit at Rarity’s indignant huff at this comment, but then turned with a more serious expression to her pegasus friend. “Ah didn’t say it made sense, Rainbow. But y'all know how Twi gets when the Princess is involved. She’ll be tellin' us when she’s good and ready.”

Applejack ended her comment with an air of determination. Loyalty may have been Rainbow’s element, but that didn’t stop her aggressive, protective nature from kicking in when things didn’t sit right with her. And while the farm pony admitted that all of this was beyond fishy, she trusted that Twilight would set things straight.

“And what about that box thing that crashed into my cottage?” Fluttershy started. “Or the glowy door-thing in the toyshop? Those new workers that came in this morning from Canterlot said that they would fix my house up for free, which was so nice of them... I bet Twilight asked the Princess to do that.”

Rainbow stopped in midair, her wings freezing up in shock and causing her to drop almost a foot before she caught herself and lowered next to the yellow pegasus. “What was that, Fluttershy?”

“Oh, the new construction ponies came out and said that they would fix everything up just like new, free of charge, and that they should be finished by tomorrow morning.”

“No, no, that other part… What glowy door-thing in the toyshop?”

“The one that we tried to keep everypony away from.” Four sets of eyes turned to the opposite side of the hill from where they had come as they came into view of Twilight Sparkle, who was standing at the very top of the hill, out of sight up until now. “Sorry for all the misdirection, girls. It’s been really hard the last few days, but now that you’re here, we can get started.”

“Started? Started with what?” Rainbow asked in a demanding voice.

“Pinkie? Did you tell them anything?” Twilight asked, looking past the four inquisitive ponies to her curly maned friend.

“Mphhhpmhhh mmmphhhh.” Pinkie’s attempt to speak with her mouth closed yielded little in the way of an answer, although her sudden pantomime of digging at the ground, pulling out a key, and then putting the imaginary key to her muzzle did wonders to ease the nervousness that Twilight was feeling.

All that had happened in the last few days, and one thing that she could still count on was that Pinkie Pie was still Pinkie Pie.

“Nope. I figured you woulda wanted to. Besides, I really want to see their faces when it shows up.”

The relieved tension was back in a heartbeat as the four confused ponies looked back and forth between Twilight and the giddy Pinkie Pie.

“Okay, Twilight, don’t take this the wrong way, but... I heard a story a while back that started like this.” Rainbow crossed her hooves across her chest, her aggressive tone doing little to hide her worried disposition. “This isn’t going to end with us getting our brains sucked out by aliens, is it?”

“It’s okay, Rainbow Dash. I promise I’ll explain everything. And with that, first I need to come clean about our recent ‘visitor.’”

“You mean Clockwork?” Rarity asked.

“You mean Jooohn Smith?” Rainbow interjected, the foreign name hobbling strangely off her tongue.

“That fella y'all was with this mornin’ at the marketplace?” Applejack started curiously.

Even Pinkie tilted her head at this. “The marketplace? Wait, didn’t you go to Canterlot early this morning?”

“Yes, yes, yes… and yes. And I’m sorry, but neither of those names are right,” Twilight admitted, looking to her friends in turn. “As you’ve probably already guessed, I’ve been keeping the truth from you all for the last few days, both because I didn’t really understand what was going on myself, and because I didn’t want to worry you.”

“Well, all of us ‘cept fer Pinkie Pie, apparently,” Applejack stated, her tone sour.

“I was there when it happened. and she’s right: it was scary. Besides, you girls wouldn’t have believed me, anyway,” Pinkie objected before Twilight waved her down.

“She’s right, Pinkie. I should have trusted you all from the beginning. But now, things have changed. As you all know, I went today to see Princess Celestia. I told her what had happened, and she said that keeping it a secret from the rest of Ponyville was the right thing to do, but that what's going on… what she’s asked of me, I need to share with all of you.”

The five ponies gave Twilight their undivided attention as the purple unicorn reached back into a saddlebag, drawing out a scroll. Clearing her throat slightly as the official-looking parchment was unfurled in a glow of magic, she began to speak.

“I, Celestia of Equestria, do on this day hereby decree that the unicorn, Twilight Sparkle, and her closest friends, are to be entrusted with the Secret of the TARDIS, and are bound by royal mandate to protect this secret at any and all costs. With this responsibility, they may, if they so choose, travel to the horizons of Equestria and beyond with my blessing. Signed by my own horn… Princess Celestia of Equestria.”

Twilight read aloud from the scroll before turning it around for the others to see the royal seal of Princess Celestia that had been stamped into the parchment, validating it as an official decree.

“Secret of… what now?” Applejack tilted her head, more confused than ever.

“Travel Equestria?” Rarity shared the confusion.

“Beyond? What does she mean by beyond?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“She signs things with her horn?” Pinkie added, and the five mares stopped and looked to the party pony. “What? I’m just saying, how awkward must that be? How does she watch what she’s writing?”

Shaking her head, Twilight paused and looked at the small watch she had put over one hoof. Three minutes to midnight.

She hoped he wasn’t late.

“Girls, the Princess is entrusting us with something that nopony has ever had a chance to do before. Because there has never been anypony else that could do it. So now… the truth:”

The mares facing Twilight gave the unicorn their undivided attention.

“A week ago… something large and blue fell out of the sky. Not a comet, or a meteor, or anything else that anypony has ever seen before, but a blue box… A ship.”

“A ship!?” Rarity seemed blown away.

“I knew it! It is aliens!” Rainbow Dash pumped a hoof in the air victoriously as her suspicions seemed to be proven right. A short-lived victory, however, as the implications caught up with her enthusiasm, her expression turning to horror. “Wait… aliens!?”

“Twilight... You mean to say that thing that crashed into my house…?” Fluttershy shared her friend’s dread as she looked to the unicorn with one hoof to her mouth.

“That's right. Well, yes and no. The ship is alien, but it isn’t from another planet, Rainbow Dash.” The rainbow pegasus seemed to relax a little at this. “It’s from another universe.”

And that ended any ease that Rainbow Dash might have been feeling.

“A universe with a very different kind magic and with all sorts of crazy creatures that ponies have never seen before. It came down on Equestria and crashed into my library with a single occupant. And now, he’s stuck. He can’t get back to his home dimension, but that’s okay, because the Princess has decreed that it is up to us to extend a hoof of friendship to this very special visitor, and has given us permission to travel with him.”

“Him?” Rarity gasped slightly. “You don’t mean…”

“Uhhh... Hold on, Twilight,” Applejack interrupted, her expression one of irritated disbelief. “No offense, but… have y'all been munchin’ on the loco weed?” Her eyes rolled around a bit in her head as she emphasized the fact that she thought the unicorn had gone completely crazy.

Twilight just smiled as she looked at her watch again. Thirty seconds.

“I know, Applejack. I wouldn’t believe it either if I hadn’t lived it for the last few days. But I’m not just out here with words. I didn’t pick this spot randomly. I brought you all here… because I knew that nopony else would be out here tonight. So nopony else…”

There was a slight breeze that suddenly kicked up, blowing about and whipping the manes of the six ponies.

Then there was a sound.

“…would panic.”

The sound that the ponies could not place was a haunting, almost gasping sound… Like air being pulled though a pump, only with a strangely lyrical quality.

Fluttershy gasped loudly as she saw it first, the others standing in mute awe as the breeze picked up, whipping around as the sound grew louder.

And there, right in front of their eyes, it appeared, fading into being out of the open air itself. A tall, blue box, with a light flashing on the top of it. Glowing words were etched into the top.

“Police... public… call box?” Rarity was the first to recover while the other mare’s mouths hung open.

There was a heavy thumping noise, then a moment of silence as the breeze died down.

Then, the door opened.

“Hello, my little ponies.” The brown stallion’s head popped out from the side of the door, smiling at the expression the ponies still had plastered all over their faces. “Welcome to a larger universe.”

The impossible stallion stepped out from the box, closing the door behind him to keep the others from looking inside (no point in ruining the effect) while Twilight tried to go about with introductions, which were brief and all but ignored as the ponies slowly came to terms with what they had seen. The suited stallion stood before them while Twilight pointed out each of their names in a somewhat formal tone.

“Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash… Got it. And of course, Miss Rarity, always a pleasure.” He gave a slight bow with one hoof tucked under his chest. “And Pinkie, no introduction is needed at all.”

“And it took you two days to get ‘Twilight Sparkle’ down?” Twilight asked crossly.

“I had just regenerated, turned into a pony, crashed though the walls of reality and took an orbital plunge. You can’t expect all of the synapses to be firing in sync after something like that. Not to mention there were the statues to deal with.”

Rainbow found her voice first among the mares, her tone a mix of defensive posturing and awe. “And… just who the buck are you?”

“Oh, right. Twilight hasn’t mentioned yet? Very well... I am... the Doctor.”

“Doctor?” Rarity rolled the term off her tongue.

“Doctor who?” Applejack remained withdrawn.

Pinkie Pie, Twilight, and the Doctor all answered together. “Just the Doctor.”

“You’re really an alien?” Fluttershy asked timidly, to which the Doctor didn’t miss a beat.

“From your perspective, yes. A Time Lord. From the planet Gallifrey, to be exact. And now, to rush though the inevitable questions. I am, at least on the outside, a pony. This is my face and these are my hooves. I am over a thousand years old, have two hearts, and an impressive resistance to most kinds of energy. But, aside from that, I am for the most part just like you. Except, you know… a bit older… and maaaaybe a little more clever…and definitely more male. Oh! And this…” He waved at the blue box that stood behind him with a flourish. “...is the TARDIS. It stands for ‘Time And Relative Dimension in Space.’"

“A spaceship?” Rainbow asked, her earlier defensiveness turned to awe.

“Oh, most surely not. Spaceships travel in space. Oh, no, the TARDIS isn’t so limited as that. It travels over hills and dales, across clouds and sky, through space and galaxies. It flows into supernovas and dances among nebulae of fire and ice…” The Hourglass Stallion smiled, absolutely relishing the expressions of the ponies as they looked up to the simple blue box, Pinkie bouncing excitedly while Twilight stood off to his side, allowing the Doctor to have his moment with a slight smirk of her own.

“It’s… made of wood,” Rarity commented in stunned disbelief as the mares remained fixed in place.

The Doctor beamed at the observation. He was in his element here. Then, with the same casual nature, he dropped the most outrageous part of his entire speech. “And I should also mention that it can travel… in time.”

There was utter silence as this fact flew into the face of everything four of the mares standing before him knew.

“Whoa… Y'all hold on, now… Through time? Yer tellin’ us yer not just an alien… but a time-travelin’ alien? If y'all think Ah’m gonna believe that load of hooey, then you can just--” The silence was broken, just as Twilight predicted, by Applejack, who had apparently had enough and was now calling the so-called "Time Lord" out on this particular bluff.

The Doctor smiled as he reached for a pocket, pulling from it the apple half that he had taken from Applejack’s stand only moments before dropping Twilight off at the top of the hill and coming here -- at least, from his perspective, it was just a few moments ago -- and tossing it to her.

She caught it expertly with the reflexes of an athlete, rolling it on her hoof, then noticed that not only was it still crisp and fresh, but that the fleshy inside still had the dripping, juicy white texture of an apple that had just been broken open minutes before.

Remembering the apple that this "Doctor" had bought from her this morning, Applejack reached back into her saddlebag, producing the other half, dried out and stale with exposure to the air, and fit the two pieces together.

They matched perfectly.

“Bu… bu… but… That was hours ago... That was…” Applejack’s eyes were wide with disbelief. It was a trick, it had to be… but it couldn’t be. Nopony knew her crop better than she did, and even the sheen on the peel was right, the coloration matched perfectly. It was the exact same apple from earlier that day.

The ponies stood in mute shock as they processed this information, the Doctor leaning over to Twilight. “See? Better to get it all out of the way at once. Now, then!” he called their attention. “As Twilight has no doubt informed you, I’m not from around these parts, and everything here is new to me. I don’t know for how long I’ll be staying… but in the meantime, I figure I might as well take a look around this place. So! At Twilight’s and your Princess’ request, I’m extending to you all the same offer I’ve made to her. Simply put…” He leaned back, kicking the doors open to the TARDIS and allowing the light inside to spill out. “Who wants to see what’s out there?”

There was a moment of silence, a slight glimpse into the unknown as the four ponies hesitated.

“Out… where, exactly?” Rarity asked, unsure.

“Anywhere,” the Doctor answered. “Everywhere. Any place you want. Any time you want.”

He let that hit home for them for a moment when the still-skeptical Applejack adjusted her hat, trying to find some sort of footing here. “And yer, what, lettin’ us tag along 'just 'cuz’?”

“Of course!” the stallion responded, his smile remaining in place. “Why else?”

Applejack’s eyes narrowed at him. There was something else to it, she could tell. In spite of all that he had said, and what Twilight had said, there was something that was off about this stranger. Something she couldn’t put her hoof on. Something that rubbed her in all the wrong ways.

Avoiding her gaze, the Doctor started again. “Now, if you want to come with me, I should warn you. It’s not for everybody. It won’t be quiet. It won’t be easy. It won’t be safe. It won’t be calm…" he explained soberly as he looked each of them over. "If you come with me, it will change. Your. Life. You’ll see things that no other pony has ever seen. Wonders of the universe both good and bad. Creatures that roamed planets millions of years in the past, and that won’t be born for just as far in the future… The choice is yours, of course. It’s always yours. If you want to go home, you can go on home and I’ll never bother you again. There is no shame in that.”

He turned, his expression neutral and he started back into the box looking over his shoulder. “All aboard that’s coming aboard!” he told them, turning a bit and catching the door with a hoof. “I’ll open it up again in five minutes. After that, anypony that wants to travel with the Doctor is welcome to come in.”

He closed the door… leaving six ponies outside to make their choice.

————————

“Oh, I am soooooo going!” Pinkie bounced in place as the ponies were given privacy to make their decisions.

Fluttershy remained in her laying position, looking at her hooves as if weighing the options quietly to herself, while Rarity voiced her opinion far more loudly. “But what about our jobs? My boutique? The Weather Patrol? Sweet Apple Acres?”

“Rarity, it’s a time machine! You saw that apple! I bet we could be gone for months and he could just plop us back here ten seconds from now… or in the morning… or two weeks… or a hundred years from now if we wanted to!" Rainbow exclaimed breathlessly, the implications having come close to blowing her mind. "I mean, this is huge! Could you imagine it? Going back and seeing the very first show of the Wonderbolts? The original Running of the Leaves? To actually talk to Rushing Skies and the weather team that broke the Green Maelstrom? And who knows what else might be out there!?”

Even Applejack, who still had her reservations about the pony that had made these grand offers, couldn’t help but admit that she was intrigued by them.

“Seein’ the world… not just our world, but other worlds… It's miiiighty temptin’… but Ah don’t know if Ah could stay away from home so long.”

Twilight stepped in at this point.

“I spoke with him earlier tonight about this, and he says that this isn’t just one long-term trip sort of thing,” the unicorn explained. “The Doctor told me that because of the way the TARDIS works in our universe, he has had to ‘anchor’ it to a specific place and ‘line of time’ as he put it -- ours -- to give it a reference point and let it travel safely. After so many trips, it has to come back here in order to recharge itself. I’ve already offered to let him use the basement of the library as that anchor, so sooner or later, he has to bring the box back to Ponyville. And besides, traveling with him isn’t the only thing that the Princess wants us to do.”

“Whatever do you mean, Twilight?” Rarity asked.

“Girls, the Doctor is completely alone here. He doesn’t have anypony else. He doesn’t have a place to call home. He talks about it like he’s just visiting Equestria, but the Princess doesn’t think that he can get back to where he came from. Besides, you’ve all seen how he is... the way he acts. He doesn’t know the first thing about being a pony. Heck, I had to use an adhesion spell just so he can use his hooves without dropping anything.”

“So what're ya sayin’, Twi?” Applejack asked, unsure where the unicorn was going with this.

“The Doctor needs to travel. It’s who he is and what he does. That is his talent. And unless at least a few of us go with him, he’ll go off alone without really understanding how our universe works. There’s no telling what might happen then. He needs a place to call home to stop and be brought down to Equis, so to speak. I guess what I'm saying is... he needs friends.”

“...I’ll go.”

The admission was soft and timid, but got everypony’s attention as Fluttershy spoke up. Even Pinkie ceased her bouncing and Applejack’s hat fell off of her head as she turned to look at the yellow pegasus.

“Really?” Twilight was in shock. “Fluttershy, if anypony was going to stay behind, I kinda figured that…”

“Oh, not just to see the world… or universe… or timey-verse or whatever you call it. But for him. For the Doctor. Couldn’t you all see it? He looked so sad.”

“Sad? He was barkin’ and settin' himself up like he was kin to the Princess,” Applejack noted, causing Twilight to shake her head.

“No, Fluttershy is right. The Doctor is a very lonely pony. And he needs friends in order to keep going. I won’t ask anypony to come that doesn’t want to, but I will say that over the last few days, I’ve seen the things that he can do. I’ve seen him face down and outsmart terrible monsters. I traveled with him into the future and we stopped horrible things from happening there.” She paused, shaking her head a bit to get her mind away from that train of thought. “But he says that’s not all there is to it. That there are wonderful things to see out there too. And I don’t know about you girls, but I want to see what’s out there with my own eyes. And I think that’s what he really needs… Somepony to show these things to.”

The six mares spent their next minutes in quiet contemplation of this... as the time slowly ticked down.

————————

“Anypony… Did I really say 'anypony'? Oh, do you hear me? I’m going native too, already!” the Doctor talked aloud in an amused tone to the TARDIS as he let the six ponies outside the door make their decision. It was a lot to take in, he knew… but that was always how it was. It had to be a choice they made, walking into things with their eyes wide open.

Truth be told, he wouldn’t be surprised if only Pinkie and Twilight were standing outside the door when it opened. Fluttershy seemed kind, but far too timid to travel in the TARDIS. And he liked Rarity, but in spite of what his experience with her future self had entailed, he didn’t think that this Rarity would be so eager to jump into the unknown. Applejack didn’t seem to trust him at all, which was a perfectly understandable reaction. And Rainbow Dash may have been adventurous, but she really could go either way.

As he felt the minutes tick by, checking the TARDIS' controls, he looked up to the newly created power gauge. All six lights were lit, although their degrees of illumination varied. Still, the TARDIS was showing its fuel stores to be nearly at maximum, the energy transfer happening far faster now.

How much this universe had changed things. The rules were different here, so he couldn’t just pop back and forth without consequence anymore. Now he had to actually keep an eye on the TARDIS’ fuel levels. He had to maintain a static point anchor so that she could align herself properly with the rest of the universe.

The components inside the TARDIS whirred and clicked, full of life as the fuel levels maxed themselves out. The TARDIS was fully recharged and raring to go after her brief jump into the past with Twilight to set things up and then back into the present to bring them to the meeting. A simple matter of hours, perhaps, but enough to nail the point home.

And even before the full five minutes were up, there was a rapping on the TARDIS' door. Although he couldn’t explain it, there was a certain degree of tightness in the Doctor’s chest as he moved towards the entrance, holding for just a moment before pulling it open.

To his utter amazement… six ponies stood there in the doorway, looking at his stunned expression for a moment before filing past him one at a time.

“I think this is the beginning of something truly extraordinary, Doctor.”

“Woo-woo! The Pinkie Train is here, Doc! Parties across time and space!”

“This is going to be… so... awesome…”

“Oh, um, permission to come aboard please… If, you know… you don’t mind, Doctor.”

“Oh, Doctor, before we go anywhere too far, could we perhaps make a stop by my boutique? I mean, what should I pack? Should I pack for cold weather? Warm?”

“Alright, Ah’ll try it, but y'all better not be yankin’ us ‘round by the reigns…”

While Twilight and Pinkie both continued in without stopping, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack were halted in their tracks a few scant steps inside, each running into one another in sequence as they realized their surroundings.

“It’s…”

“Bigger…”

“On…”

“The inside…”

The Doctor couldn’t help but grin cheekily.

“Is it? I hadn’t noticed.” He shut the door behind them, moving past the mares at a quick gallop, excited as he reached the controls and started pressing his hooves into the large panels, biting and pulling down on a lever, then kicking on another one slightly with the large grin apparently plastered on his snout.

“Alright, girls. Welcome aboard the TARDIS! One quick trip to get the hang of things and go over ground rules. Pinkie, I believe I made you a promise, and I intend to keep it, so here we go! Oh! And one more thing: You might want to find something to hang onto!”

He reached over and cranked down with one hoof on one particularly large lever, and the TARDIS shifted suddenly, rocking a bit while the time rotor started to oscillate and the Doctor frantically moved around the circular console. All around them, that same wheezy, musical sound from before filled the air.

“HI-HO, TARDIS! AWAY!”

Twilight, having experienced this before, had already moved up against the guardrail and pressed herself to it, one hoof over to stabilize herself as the TARDIS rocked back and forth. Pinkie, being her usual bouncy self, seemed almost unaffected by the shaking, laughing all the while.

“Oh, my mane! Eep! Does it always do this, Doctor!?” Rarity called out, her legs shuffling to try and keep herself upright while Rainbow remained airborne, managing to ride out the shockwaves of the TARDIS’ flight.

Applejack kept a firm grip on Fluttershy’s tail as the yellow pegasus had gone rigid with the sudden shocking movements, sliding this way and that along the transparent floor. In spite of the fearful expression in her eyes, there was also a certain, contagious excitement to it that the farm pony couldn’t quite ignore.

Then, as suddenly as it had started, the tremors stopped, as did the sounds, with a single, reverberating thump.

“Not always,” the Doctor replied to Rarity at last, pulling himself up, slightly out of breath from having rushed around the console as he had. “But usually, yeah.”

“How about a little more warning next time? I thought you knew how to fly this thing.” Rainbow came down from her flight with an sour look on her face.

The Doctor paused for a moment, taking the comment on his driving in stride and waiting for the important question to be asked.

“W-wh… where… are we?” Fluttershy stammered, looking around.

“Well, we can’t have gone too far. We were only ridin’ along fer a few seconds,” Applejack assured her, looking to the Doctor.

In response, he merely pointed a hoof towards the door. Twilight took the invitation first as the others found their hooves again, and moved towards the entrance. With a steady hoof, she pushed forward, revealing the sight that lay beyond.

What she saw nearly made her faint. “Dear Luna…”

One by one, her friends moved to the doorway, each standing in mute silence as the impossible scene before them played out, with the Doctor situated behind them, watching proudly.

High above their heads was the glowing orb of a world of blue and green pastels, wispy white clouds dotting areas where rain had been scheduled or in areas where wild weather took over. Meanwhile, before them was an endless plane of grey stone and soft-looking soil stretching to the end of the horizon, dotted by small imperfections and craters while the starry black night lined its edge.

Tears formed in Twilight’s eyes as she came to the conclusion that Pinkie now blurted out. “We’re on the Moon!”

“Dear Celestia… he weren’t makin’ it up…” Applejack stammered noticeably.

Rainbow looked back to the Doctor, who seemed himself to be far more appreciative of the six mares that stood in awe of the scene before them, bathing in the light of Equis. “Can… Can we go out there?”

The Doctor nodded. “I’ve extended an atmospheric shell to a radius of about fifty yards. But stay close to the TARDIS,” he warned sternly. “If you get too close to the edge, you’ll see a blue energy distortion. Now, beyond that point there is no air and no pressure. It is quite dangerous, so be careful.”

One by one, the ponies journeyed out, their hoofprints leaving impressions on the soft surface.

“Wow, flying is so much easier here. I bet I could pull off all kinds of tricks," Rainbow remarked as she flew a few loops in the lessened gravity.

“Ahahahaha! Look, moonwalk! On the Moon!” Pinkie bounced a bit higher than normal, gliding along the surface as she ran her hooves in a backwards motion while moving forward on her hind legs, a position that would have been nearly impossible for another pony.

“It’s so… beautiful. Is that Equestria up there? I wonder where Ponyville is…” Fluttershy asked meekly, straining her eyes as she looked upward.

“Oh, my… So dusty…" Rarity complained as she made an effort to keep her styled mane away from the ground. "You would think that Princess Luna would take better care of this place. She was certainly here long enough. At least put in a cobbled sidewalk or something.”

“Seriously, Rarity? Are y'all fer real? Lookit where we are! And y'all ‘r worryin’ about dust?”

“Well, a lady must maintain her dignity under any circumstances, mustn't she?”

The Doctor followed them out, watching them go about the landscape in their own way as he approached the quiet purple unicorn. “Not bad for a crazy pony with a box that crashes about, eh?”

“It’s… amazing. I mean, I’ve read about it. I’ve looked up here so many times through a telescope. But… to think, I am the first mortal pony to stand here… To…” Twilight bounced up and down slightly, legs feeling like jelly at experiencing the weaker gravity. “To see it up close… To feel what it’s like… To-- Whooaa... That’s so weird. Wow… Do you think I might be able to take a sample back? Just for…”

The Doctor’s smile faltered for a moment, causing Twilight to hesitate.

“That’s… a natural question. And I suppose it means that it’s time to go over the next part of all this…” The Doctor shook his head with a sigh. “Girls! Everypony! Over here!” he shouted a bit to get their attention, striding in the light gravity with ease. “Yes, I know it’s an absolutely brilliant view, but please, your attention. There’s something important that I need to go over with all of you.”

He took a breath as he looked over the group of them, Rarity trying daintily to avoid getting filthy while Rainbow Dash grudgingly joined them.

“I’m not used to addressing so many at once, so bear with me, alright? So, before we start galloping off all over the place, I have some things I need to tell you. Firstly, I’m more than happy to travel with all of you, but not all at once. I’m not quite used to so many to keep track of at the same time, so at least for now, we won’t all be traveling together like this. I can’t keep an eye on all of you and while this place may be safe, there is no telling what we might encounter as we travel. So after we leave here, I’ll take you back to Ponyville and you can all decide where you would like to go for starters in groups of two or three. Any questions?”

Almost as if this was a class and the Doctor was acting as a field trip chaperone, Fluttershy raised her hoof. “Ummm... So, we can go anywhere we want?” the demure pegasus asked timidly, her mind obviously cast to a certain place.

“Yes. But there are a few ground rules you all need to understand.” The Doctor raised a hoof to his muzzle and coughed to clear his throat. When he lowered it, it revealed a grin that almost seemed too wide for his face.

“Rule Number One: No average, ordinary, boring days! This is a time machine. Anywhere and everywhere is open to us. Every planet that will ever be. Every star that ever was. All of it new. All of it waiting for us. But, right now, you have to promise not to exploit it or use it to your advantage. Not to make money or pick up futuristic souvenirs to make life at home easier. This is the experience and adventure of a lifetime. No one else can do the things that we can do here and now. Please… don’t cheapen that.”

The mares looked at one another as Twilight bit her lip, looking around at where they were. It was the Moon. The Moon. And they were standing right there.

The scientist and scholar in her wanted so much to collect samples and bring back proof of this amazing experience. But as much as she wished to do so, she realized, in order to explain how she got them, she would have to betray what the Princess had asked them all to do: to keep the secret about the TARDIS from becoming public knowledge.

“Rule Number Two:” the Doctor continued. “Interfering with established events is strictly forbidden. Now, most of time is not as fragile as fiction would lead us to believe, so we can act here and there and it won’t impact history too much. Contrary to popular philosophy, moving a stone does not change the course of a river and a butterfly’s wings don’t usually create storms a world away. But! There are fixed points, both past and future, that have, will, and must always happen exactly as they are supposed to. We can try to avoid those, but keep in mind that this extends to your own personal timelines as well, because they are what happened in your lives. That means we can’t go back to when you were a filly to tell yourself about what will happen in the future. No going back and leaving notes in order to avoid something that happened that you now regret. Those sorts of things get very complicated, very dangerous, very quickly.”

As Twilight nodded, the other girls did the same, accepting that when the Doctor put it that way, it made sense. She could also see the concern in his eyes, though.

These weren’t rules that he was making up on the fly. These were things that were important to him, things that had been taught by hard experience. The thought of what the consequences of these things might have been made her both worried and more than slightly curious.

Then she considered how easy it would be to abuse that power, and the repercussions of such a thing sent a shiver down her spine.

“And Rule Number Three: And this is by far the most important. No matter what happens. No matter how frightening or dangerous things may become. No matter what we find out there or what situations occur, you need to remember Rule Number Three… Remember it, because one day, your life may well depend on it.”

The six mares leaned in, hanging on every word as the impossible stallion took a breath.

“Trust me… I’m the Doctor.”

Epilogue: The Adventure of a Lifetime

—COMING SOON—

Celestia
There is a legend…
woven throughout all of history…
A story told of things that have passed…
and in tales yet to come…

=================================

Doctor
“If you could go anywhere…”

——

*Scene of a glorious set of a royally carved pavilion, Twilight and the Doctor weaving though the pillars quickly.*

——

*Scene of a beautiful nebula against a striking starscape, seen from the deck of a space station, the Doctor facing towards the view, flanked by Twilight and Rainbow Dash.*

——

Doctor
“If you could do anything…”

——

*Scene of Rarity sneaking about around a stone corner, a beautiful ruby held carefully in her mouth, while Pinkie Pie, dressed in a harlequin outfit, carefully checks for anypony coming around.*

——

*Scene of the Doctor holding up his sonic screwdriver as Applejack watches with concern, the two of them standing at the mouth of a foggy, marsh-ridden cavern.*

——

Doctor
“What would it be?”

=================================

Celestia
The Legend of the Hourglass Stallion…
and his mystical blue box…
With companions at his flank…
and his bag of tricks at his side…

=================================

*Scene of a posh pony party, the Doctor jumping up on the stage, pulling out a thin black case containing… a blank piece of paper.*

Doctor
“Good evening, fillies and gentlecolts! Official Royal Survey Taker. Just a few questions…”

——

*Scene of Rainbow holding the sonic screwdriver, which goes off with a whirl, causing a nearby masterpiece Reignaissance pony statue to collapse with a crash before the Doctor rushes over to her.*

Doctor
“Not a toy!”

Rainbow Dash
“Awwwwww…”

——

*Scene of the Doctor grinning as he lowers a new set of goggles down over his eyes, Pinkie bouncing at his side.*

Pinkie Pie
“OH! OH! OH! Are those Super-Advanced-Scanning-Goggles that let you see in the dark, or hoofsteps, or the temporal signatures of things that have passed through the area?”

Doctor
“Not particularly… They just make me look adventurous!”

=================================

Celestia
And one day, when hope is lost and the need is great…
the box would appear…
On a forgotten corner, or in the middle of a vast field...
And from it, they would emerge...
The Light in the Darkness...

=================================

*Scene of the Doctor bearing down on a regal, noble mare who sneers at him, her coat bright while her mane is dark, giving her a monochromatic look while she speaks with disdain.*

Noble Mare
“Who are you to judge?”

Doctor
“I’m the Doctor…”

——

*Scene of the Doctor walking away from an explosion in slow motion.*

“And if you want to take it to a higher authority, there isn’t one…”

——

*Scene of the Time Stallion looking up to the stars, still alone.*

“It ends with me!”

=================================

Celestia
The stallion who speaks…
and monsters flee in terror...
With tools to shatter the strongest magics…
he saves lives, stops wars...
and ends sinister plots...
With the companions who protect him…
from his darkest memories...

=================================

*Scene of the center of Ponyville, a zebra mare stumbling back and falling over herself in terror, before fleeing from an unseen fear.*

Zecora
“Certain as the cauldron bubbles, your presence here shall bring naught but troubles!”

——

*Scene of Princess Luna sitting across from Fluttershy, the stars overhead sparkling as the Princess looks to the yellow pegasus.*

Luna
“What is it like? Traveling with him?”

*Scene is interrupted with a soft squeak from Fluttershy, rushing away as several spears embed themselves in the ground where she had just stood. Then returns to Fluttershy calmly sitting across from Luna.*

Fluttershy
“Well… There’s an awful lot of running involved…”

——

*Scene of a yellow-maned pony with a red beret and a trimmed goatee looking to the Doctor, Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash.*

Twilight
“Leonard DiHoovsie…”

Leonard
“Ummm... Yes?”

*Twilight's mouth gapes open, unable to speak.*

Doctor
“Pardon her, slightly starstruck. I’m the Doctor, by the way. Do you happen know why somepony’s trying to kill you?”

——

*Scene in the TARDIS, with Applejack jabbing a hoof accusingly at the Doctor.*

Applejack
“YA LIED TO US! Y'ALL BEEN LYIN’ SINCE THE START!”

——

*Scene showing Twilight, seen through a purple-colored filter as she struggles frantically, held by unseen forces.*

Twilight
“You can't be here! You were never even created! We stopped you!”

*Quick pan to an eye-stalk, turning on a metallic pony head, the spiky, electronic voice grinding to the ears.*

Darlock
“YOU… FAILED!”

=================================

Celestia:
And then… just as suddenly as they appeared…
they’ll be gone…

=================================

*Darkness.*

Sinister Voice
“In the twelfth hour…”

——

*Scene of the Doctor standing within an enormous clock tower, the face of the clock itself ticking to midnight and chiming once with a brazen bell.*

“Friendship will fail…”

——

*Scene of Applejack straining as she holds two of her friends from the edge of a fiery drop, Pinkie hanging from one hoof, Rarity from the other.*

“Harmony will break…”

——

*Scene of tears rolling down Twilight Sparkle’s face as she bows her head, utterly defeated as the Element of Magic lays broken at her hooves.*

“The Time Lord will fall…”

——

*Scene of the Doctor looking at a distant horizon, his eyes refusing to accept the inevitable.*

“And the nightmare… will rise!”

——

*Darkness lightens to a new scene, with Twilight Sparkle lying on her side in her bed, her mane a mess and her tail pulled up against her stomach. Her hooves grip it tightly as she trembles, her eyes twitching in time with a pounding in her head.*

Rap-tap-tap-tap
Rap-tap-tap-tap
Rap-tap-tap-tap

Twilight
“Please stop…”

Rap-tap-tap-tap
Rap-tap-tap-tap
Rap-tap-tap-tap

*She clenches her eyes shut in agony as her hooves move to her head.*

Twilight
“MAKE IT STOOOOOPP!”

*Darkness.*

Rap-tap-tap-tap
Rap-tap-tap-tap
Rap-tap-tap-tap

—————————————————————————————

The journey begins...

Doctor Whooves: The Series - Episode Two
“Game of Stones”

Announcement/Revision

*Original announcement*

Announcement for Doctor Whooves: The Series Fans
Episode 2: Game of Stones is now out with an opening prologue.
A bit sooner than expected. Updates may be sporadic, but first chapter should be up on or before December 11th
Thank you everypony for your kind words and high ratings.

Revision (3-2-12)

Following the growth of readership for the Doctor Whooves Series, as well as multiple comments concerning the change of formating, setup, and spelling/grammar errors, the time has come for a slight revision to the entirety of 'The Pinkie Conundrum' with the helpful assistance of 2dextreem, the Doctor Whooves Series new proof-reader.

Among the alterations of wording and spelling, minor changes have also been made to descriptions (Particularly of the new TARDIS Interior described in Chapter 3: Old, Sad Eyes) and the addition of video & music links embedded in the primary 'FiMfiction.net' version of the series 'only' . While these changes are not strictly required readings for those already fans of my interpretations and adventures of the Doctor and the Mane Six, those that may enjoy a second read-though are happily encouraged to give it a look and feedback so that this setup may be applied to future chapters if they work out here.

Thank you all for your comments, thumbs ups (formerly Gold Stars), Favorites, and Tracking of my work as it has certainly given me something to look forward too when coming home. I hope to keep you all entertained, guessing, and hanging on the edge of your seat as the Doctor's adventures in the Equestrian Universe continue.

With Very Much Love for all my readers...

-Mina (Loyal2Luna)