Doctor Whooves
The Doctor and Derpy
It had been weeks, or was it months, since the Doctor had begun his adventures with the Watcher. Over the time with her, he saw miraculous and terrible things: Daleks, Weeping Pegasi, worlds made of gems, and aliens that made even his mind boggle. He sat in his chair, in his TARDIS, thinking of all the things he had seen and people he had met. They came and went from his mind, not much else to do these days since the Watcher insisted on doing half the work; it left them both with a lot of free time. He tried to keep his memories as contained as he could; he didn’t want to bring up anything painful. Some days were good and some days were bad, but today was the worst.
The Doctor arose from his seat and looked down at an old photograph lying on the mantle of the TARDIS. There, under the dust and age, was a happy Doctor and his family: Derpy, his beautiful wife, Lyra, his human obsessed friend, Bon Bon, the skeptic companion, and his wonderful daughter, Dinky. The photo showed the group playfully piling on top of the Doctor with Dinky on top. Her face was beaming as she reveled in her accomplishment. As he stared at the photo, the Doctor’s heart felt like an anchor on land; heavy and useless.
It must have been clear on the Doctor’s face as well. The Watcher walked up behind him and asked, “Are you alright, Doctor?”
He tried to snap out of it, “Yeah of course. I’m fine. I’m always fine.”
He tried to hide the photo before the Watcher could see it, but she saw enough to know what was hurting him, “You miss them, don’t you?”
The Doctor looked over at his fellow Timelord, “More than you miss our race.”
The Watcher glanced away. She had watched the Doctor first hand for a long time now. She knew he was a good Timelord at heart and he only did what was necessary. She had seen his kindness time and time again, so she had to ask, “Tell me, Doctor. How did you come to meet these ponies?”
The Doctor glanced back from the photo again, “Didn’t you see that when you looked into my mind?”
“No, I only saw what you did to the Timelords. I was too upset to dig any deeper than that. “
The Doctor threw the photo aside as if trying to lose the memory along with it, “Well, it’s an old story that doesn’t matter anymore. They’re gone and nothing can change that.”
“Doctor, tell me the story. I want to know how a few mere ponies captured the heart of a Timelord.”
“This is something personal and dear to me. I can’t.”
“Please Doctor; tell me how you came to love them. Please.” The Watcher’s eyes said she wasn’t going to let this go.
The Doctor sighed and pulled his favorite chair up behind her, “Sit down, Watcher. This is going to be a long story.” As she went to sit, the Doctor pulled a screen down from the top of the Tardis and selected a video from the on-screen options, “This is the TARDIS’ and my own, video recordings from the day I came to this universe.” He began attaching small probes to the Watcher, “These will allow you to hear my inner thoughts from the time as well as feel my emotions.”
The Watcher nodded and stared at the screen as the Doctor took his place behind her. She saw on the screen a young man, a young humanoid man that she determined to be the Doctor. He had short brown hair and a rather nice striped suit. He was all alone in his TARDIS and talking to himself, “Where are you going you bugger? I’ve been following you for weeks and you haven’t made any attempt to contact any others of your kind. So what are you doing?” The screen moved to an outer view of the TARDIS and showed what the Doctor was chasing. It was a Dalek, maybe the last Dalek in the universe.
The Watcher was becoming so immersed in the show, that she no longer realized she was watching a video recording. The Doctor ran over to his console, “What? What’s that?” The screen showed a massive amount of energy pouring from something in front of the TARDIS. Something the Dalek was heading straight for. As he drew closer the Doctor realized what it was, “Hmm, a black hole? What would a lonely Dalek want with a black hole? Even a solider wouldn’t fly out to a black hole just to commit suicide, so what does it want?” The Doctor just sat and stared at the Dalek as it grew closer to the black hole. It reached the gravitation field of the hole and spun around. The Dalek began to pulse and vibrate with a brilliant golden light. The Doctor mumbled, “ I’ve only seen one other being do that before; he’s releasing Huon particles from his body.” The Doctor’s speech became sporadic, “Huon particles were capable of allowing passage through time and space, why would a Dalek send them into a black hole? Wait, no. Yes, Huon particles were capable of travel when they are dispersed, but if they were compressed, they could rip a hole in the universe itself. To a new reality even!” The Doctor flipped a switch on the TARDIS and headed directly toward the Dalek, “Oh no you don't! I don't need to fight off another army of Daleks!” The TARDIS came within striking distance of the Dalek when a massive white light shot out from the black hole, catching the TARDIS and the Dalek in the wake.
The TARDIS’ internal light began to shutter, and the Doctor began stumbling around feeling as if a huge force was pressing down on him. The TARDIS began to shake violently; bits of the machinery were flying everywhere and the light was growing dimmer. Then, with a sudden and deafening crash, the TARDIS stopped moving, “Well, I wonder where I landed?” The Doctor moved towards the door and opened it to reveal a wondrous green landscape. He stared out at the foreign landscape as if he had never seen anything like it before. There were smooth rolling hills with intermediate green pastures. In the far distance there were huge sprawling mountains and smack in the middle of all the scenery was a small town. “Time go speak to some locals and see where I am. Wait, I may need to study this place later.” The Doctor ran over to the main console a clipped something onto his tie, “With this I can record anything and everything I see. Right, allons-y!” As soon as the Doctor took a step outside the TARDIS, he doubled over in pain. He looked down at his hand and his veins were glowing gold, “I’m regenerating? Impossible! I haven’t been injured in any way! How could this…” He didn’t get to finish. The Doctor burst into a glorious golden light as his physical features began to change. His head snapped back as the light dissipated and he looked down at himself. He was standing on all fours now, “Well that can’t be right.” The Doctor remarked. He went to move forward but the regeneration caught up with him and he fell face first into the dirt and passed out.
The camera was face down in the dirt as well, after a few minutes the camera’s microphone caught someone’s approach to the Doctor, “Hey mister, are you all right? Mister?” The camera shook as if someone poked the Doctor, “Well, I can’t just leave you here, you can come home with me!” The Doctor’s rescuer began to drag him in some unknown direction. Time dragged on as the Timelord was dragged. Eventually, a door opened as the Doctor’s body was thrown face-up on what appeared to be a couch. The camera had dirt all over it, so when the face of the rescuer came into view, it was blurred, “How can I wake you up? I know!” The rescuer ran off and started to throw all sorts metallic objects around. After a few moments the rescuer walked back into the room, “I know what always makes me feel better, a warm cup of tea and a banana nut muffin!”
The camera lurched forward as the Doctor suddenly awoke. He plunged into the tea and muffin without even looking at his savior. Once he had finished devouring the food, the camera moved up as the Doctor faced his rescuer. He sounded surprised, “Oh, did you bring me this?”
“I sure did. Are you feeling any better mister?” replied the rescuer.
“I am thanks. Hold on a tick,” the Doctor paused a moment and began to yell, “What?! What?! What happened to me?!”
The dirt on screen was rubbed away by some sort of stubby, blunt appendage. The rescuer finally appeared on the screen; she had a round face and pointy ears. Her whole body was covered in a grayish fur and blond hair sprouted out of her head and tail. She was walking on all fours and looked exactly like a small horse; a pony even. The pony creature looked at the Doctor, “Are you alright?”
“I’m…I’m a horse!” The Doctor ran over to a mirror and was taken aback by what he saw. He was indeed a small horse just like the other creature. He had a brown coat and deep brown hair jutting out of his head and tail area. His old clothes hung off him, like he was a child playing dress-up in his father’s clothes. The only thing that still fit was his tie.
His rescuer seemed confused, “Of course you are, everpony’s a horse! Though around here we use the term pony, ok?”
The Doctor turned and trotted to a nearby window. Sure enough, outside here were more pony creatures going about everyday lives. The Doctor turned to his rescuer, “Right, sorry. I took a huge bump to the head out there today. I’m the Doctor, by the way and you are?”
“My name is Derpy Hooves! Nice to meet you Doctor!”
“Hooves…Is that a common name around here Derpy?”
“No name is common around here Mr. Doctor!”
The Doctor shook his head. “Blast, I guess an alias will be harder to come up with than I thought. Oh, and just the Doctor please.” Derpy looked a little confused at the Doctor’s statement, but before she could question him, he changed the subject, “Right, I’m new in town Derpy, would you mind giving me a tour?”
Derpy beamed, “Oh course not! Let’s go, I’ll take you right down Mane Street!”
The two companions walked out the door side by side. The Doctor felt oddly relaxed around the blond mare, especially considering that he had just met her. The two trotted side by side as Derpy told the Doctor about some of the identical houses around the area. As they neared the center of town the Doctor noticed a large building with candy canes on it. Derpy must have taken notice because she started to explain what it was, “This is my favorite place in the world, Sugar Cube Corner! They have everything, cakes, tarts, candy, and muffins!” Derpy was almost drooling as she said the word muffins. The Doctor tried to move away, but Derpy ran behind him and began pushing him towards the house, “Come on, let’s go inside I know of a…” Derpy was cut short by a deafening blast that came from within the house. The Doctor ran inside without a moment’s hesitation.
As the Doctor and Derpy entered the bakery, they were greeted by a troublesome site. Two ponies, the bakers the Doctor assumed, were sprawled out on the ground and groaning in pain. Derpy and the Doctor rushed to their sides, “Mr. and Mrs. Cakes are you ok?!”
Mr. Cakes looked unconscious, but Mrs. Cakes responded, “Yes we are alright deary. I’m not sure what hit us though.”
“I think I may know.” The Doctor had moved from the two injured ponies and was examining a large hole in the wall back in the kitchen. He seemed fascinated by the burns on the perimeter of the wall.
He pulled out his sonic screwdriver, only pausing for a moment so he could figure out how to hold it, and began to scan when a revitalized Mrs. Cakes asked, “Excuse me, but what is that?”
“It’s a sonic screwdriver; it will tell me more about whatever did this to you.” He pulled the screwdriver back and began to read whatever data it had collected. He sighed, “The residue is too contaminated. I can’t get a lock on what did this. Can you tell me why it was here at least?”
Mrs. Cakes shook her head, “I have no idea; it was in and out before I could even look at it.”
Derpy piped up from inside the cupboard, “Say Mrs. Cakes? Where is all your flour? I wanted to make some of my muffins while I was here.”
Mrs. Cakes looked bewildered, “Well it should be right in there, I just bought some.” She entered the cupboard and searched around for a bit, “Well I’ll be, the flour is all gone. I wonder what happened to it?”
Derpy looked over at the Doctor who was holding his head down deep in thought, “Well, we should help Mrs. Cakes fix this right?”
The Doctor looked up and smiled, “Yes, right. Of course, where should we start?”
Mrs. Cakes shook her head as she helped her husband to stand up, “No, no. Its all right dearies. On your way now, this is our mess.”
The Doctor and Derpy went to argue, but before they could utter a word, Mrs. Cakes pushed them out the door and into the street. The Doctor turned around to argue, but was met with a door in his face. Derpy laughed, “Well if she doesn’t want help we shouldn’t force ourselves on her. Let’s get on with the tour, ok?”
The Doctor shook his head and nodded, “Alright, you lead the way,” he looked back at the home one last time to see a pink mare pop her head at the window and wave good bye.
Derpy and the Doctor continued down Mane Street to the edge of town. They began to approach a store that was looked rather odd to the Doctor, “Say Derpy Hooves, what is that place?”
“Doctor, just call me Derpy, or D. We are friends now after all!”
The Doctor was taken aback by her statement. This innocent young mare accepted him without question; she didn’t know a thing about him and yet she called him friend. This world was much kinder than he though, “Alright D, tell me what is this building here?”
Derpy looked up at the building and smiled, “Oh this is Rarity’s Carousel Boutique! She’s a unicorn that is trying to spread her name across the fashion world. I’ve known Rarity since she was a little filly! Let’s go say hi!”
The Doctor went to speak, but was interrupted by a shriek from inside the shop. Derpy and the Doctor ran in without a moment’s hesitation. Inside they found a white unicorn on the ground sobbing uncontrollably. The Doctor moved to ask what happened when Derpy jumped to the unicorn’s side, “Rarity! Are you ok? What happened?”
The pony looked up and spoke in sharp gasps, “Oh Derpy, darling, it’s just the worst thing ever! I’m not sure how I will go on!”
The Doctor stepped in, “Everything will be ok, but you must tell me what happened.”
Rarity screamed, “Its my gems! All of my gems are gone! Whatever shall I do?”
The Doctor sighed, “Don’t scare me like that, I thought you were injured or something. A few gems can be replaced…”
Rarity jumped up in a rage, “But I needed those for my new dress! How dare you think that some brute can just get away with my gems!”
The Doctor was confused again, “Very well. Show me where you kept these gems. Derpy and I will try and find your thief.”
Rarity lead the group into a back room that had a large golden chest, “This is where I keep them. There were there this morning and now they are just gone!”
The Doctor began scanning the box with his screwdriver while Derpy distracted Rarity. The Doctor finished scanning the box and sighed, “It’s just the same as Mrs. Cakes’ house. The readings are contaminated by something. Something strong.”
Rarity moved to question the Doctor when a sudden explosion shook the house. The three ponies ducked in cover until the shockwave subsided. “What in Celestia’s name was that?” shrieked Rarity.
The Doctor ran outside with the two mares trailing behind. Outside, they found a pillar of smoke coming from a hilly, forest area. The three ponies darted towards the smoke eager to help, as did the rest of the town. They arrived at the smoke pillar to find a massive group of ponies staring at what looked to be a barn. The Doctor ran over to an elderly green pony and a massive red pony at the base of the pillar, “Hello, I’m the Doctor! How can I help?”
The two ponies looked at the brown pony, but before they could speak, an orange pony rushed the Doctor, “And who in the sam hill are you? I ain’t seen you around, did you do this?!”
“What?! No! I’m here to help! Please you have to believe me!”
The orange pony glared and moved to speak when Rarity jumped in to help the Doctor, “AppleJack, this is the Doctor. He’s helping me recover some of my gems.”
“Ah likely story! Who’s to say he didn’t take them too?!”
“The Doctor wouldn’t do that! He is the nicest pony I know!” Derpy’s eyes were determined as they stared at AppleJack.
AppleJack sighed, “I’m sorry Doc, I didn’t mean ta jump on ya like that. It’s just whatever did this coulda hurt ma family.”
“I understand. Mind If I look at the impact crater?”
AppleJack nodded and the mares walked over to take care of AppleJack’s family. The Doctor moved over to the crater and found it only a few feet deep, but at the center there was something glowing. He slid down and began to scan it, when the mass started to glow gold and disappear, “No. No no no no no no no!”
The Doctor began scanning as fast as he could when he heard a voice at the top of the crater, “Hey mister! Need some help?”
The Doctor tried to yell back when he was struck in the back by something. He fell over and turned to see a cyan colored pony on the ground and a yellow pony helping her up, “Come now Lyra, we don’t just run over people like that.”
“Ow, that hurt Bon Bon.”
The Doctor went to talk when he saw his screwdriver on the ground. He ran over to it and began to examine it. Lyra came up behind him, “Whats that?”
“Sonic Screwdriver and it finally got a reading!” the Doctor’s face suddenly became very grave, “No, it can’t be…”
The Doctor ran out of the crater without another word and made a mad dash back the way they came. Lyra and Bon Bon ran after him yelling “Wait! What did it read?!”
The duo ran down the hill after the brown pony when they were joined by Derpy, “Hey Lyra, Bon Bon; why are we chasing the Doctor?”
“He found something!”
Rarity sprinted up to the group, “Does he know where my gems are?
AppleJack called from a distance, “Rarity! I still need help!”
Rarity sighed, “Keep me in the loop, dears. Coming AppleJack!”
Rarity ran back towards AppleJack and her family while Derpy sprinted up to the Doctor, “Doctor, talk to us,” but the Doctor was too far gone. The look in his eyes said it all. Derpy did the only thing she could, she reared back and tackled the Doctor out of his sprint, pinning him hard to the floor. She yelled, “You listen here! You tell us whats going on right now mister! We’re your friends. We want to help.”
The Doctor starred in astonishment. No one ever stopped him, not like that, and she called him friend again. He had made a new friend. He nodded to Derpy and she got off his chest, “All right I can explain, but first we need to go back to my TARDIS.”
“What’s a TARDIS?” asked Bon Bon.
“Well, it’s a kind of…um…you had just better wait and see. Wait a minute, who are you two?!”
Lyra popped up, “We’re Derpy’s old friends from school!”
“You should go home. Unless you want trouble.”
Bon Bon got serious, “We want to know what’s happening just as much as everpony else. We’re going too.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Right, allons-Y!”
“Wait!” yelled Derpy, “I can’t leave! I need to make sure Sparkler is ok first!”
“Oh you mean that pony that lives with you sometimes Derpy?” Lyra chimed in, “Where is she?”
“She’s coming back from Manehatten today! I need to be home to meet her!”
The Doctor shook his head, “Listen she won’t come home before you get there. I promise.”
“How do you know that, Doctor?” Bon Bon questioned.
“I’ll explain when we get to the TARDIS. Trust me. I’m the Doctor.”
The three mares looked at each other and before they could even agree on anything, the Doctor began to stroll off. Shocked, the three ponies trotted to catch up to him and walked in silence all the way back to the hill where Derpy had found the Doctor, right outside of Ponyville. The group walked up to a big, blue box that sat on the summit of the hill.
The Doctor spun around, “What you are about to see may shock and confuse you. If you want to run away now, I understand.” He looked around and the three ponies stood their ground. He smiled “Aright. Ladies, welcome to the TARDIS!” The Doctor turned to open the lock on the big blue box, only fumbling with the key for a moment due to his lack of hands. He pushed the door open and the mares walked inside. Almost immediately there was a burst of screaming, the Doctor couldn’t help but chuckle at, “I love that part.”
Bon Bon and Lyra ran outside screaming, “How is it so big? Is it magic? Where did it come from?”
The Doctor began to walk inside and the two mares followed him. The inside of the TARDIS was much darker than normal. They found Derpy in the center of the room staring intently at the main console, “Doctor what does this do?”
“I’ll explain in a moment Derpy. Aren’t you wondering why the TARDIS is so much bigger in the inside?”
“Nope. I actually thought it was smaller than it should be!”
The Doctor was shocked, “Really?! Never heard that one before. Right, everybody, er pony, take a seat. I’ll explain who I am and what’s been taking all those items in town.”
The mares all sat on some chairs located near to console as the Doctor pulled down what looked to be a small swing and lit a candle so the group could see more clearly. He took a seat on it and looked directly at the three ponies, “Right. I’ll start with what and who I am. My name is the Doctor, I’m 909 years old, and I’m not from this world. I’m from a planet called Gallifrey. There my people are known as Timelords, and I am the last among them. We use this ship you’re in to travel through time and space. Its known as a TARDIS and looks like this so nopony will recognize it for what it truly is. I came to this planet looking for our arch rivals; a being known as a Dalek. They are heartless beings who want nothing more than to destroy every other species in the universe. I’m here to stop him. I’m not sure what he wants with the ingredients he has been stealing, but it can’t be good. I will stop him and protect your planet. Now, are there any questions?”
The emotions on the ponies faces were clear, they weren’t sure if the pony in front of them was crazy or just wanted attention. Bon Bon moved to speak when an unfamiliar voice came from a darkened hallway, “I think you forgot to mention the part about being from another universe as well, Doctor. Oh and how it was you, who destroyed the Timelords.”
The Doctor spun to see a pink coated, purple maned pony staring at him from across the console. Before he could begin to question her, Derpy jumped up and gave the mare a hug, “Sparkler! I knew you would get back today! How was your trip?”
“It was fine Derpy, thanks. Could you three leave the Doctor and I alone for a bit? We need to talk.”
Bon Bon rose up, “Now hold on, how do you know this lunatic?!”
“This “lunatic” is the greatest stallion you will ever meet in your life. I would gladly give my life for him if he asked. Now move.”
Bon Bon moved to retaliate against the pink mare, but Lyra put her hoof on her shoulder and the three mares carefully made their way out of the TARDIS to wait for the Doctor. Once the door shut behind them the Doctor moved close to Sparkler, “Who are you? You know far too much about me to just be some pony, not to mention that you somehow got inside my TARDIS without me knowing.”
Sparkler flashed him a sly smile, “Now where is the fun in that? I have an idea. How about you go read what’s above the room in the west hall?”
The Doctor looked down the hall but all he see was darkness, “What room?” Before he could turn back around Sparkler dashed past him into the darkness, laughing hysterically. The Doctor took off after her. He rounded corner after corner trying to keep up with the unicorn, he thought he had lost her when she came to a stop in front of a small door. The Doctor walked up next to her and saw some golden writing on the wall, “It’s too dark to read in here. What’s it say?”
“Let me fix that.” Sparkler sent up a small stream of light from her horn to illuminate the gold writing.
The Doctor’s hearts stopped for a moment. The writing was Gallifrian and it read, “Sparkler.” The light disappeared and the Doctor turned to look at Sparkler, “How does my TARDIS know your name?”
“Oh Doctor, the TARDIS exists in all points in time right? Then so do the rooms. That room is from the future. Your future.”
Something must have clicked in the Doctor’s head because he began to ramble, “Wait…no. It can’t be. You’re…”
“That’s right.”
“But that would mean that I…but with who?!”
Sparkler laughed, “You know I can’t tell you that. It would affect me and my sister!”
The Doctor moved to ask her some more questions, but he heard a faint call in the distance that stopped him, “Doctor! Doctor where are you?”
The Doctor replied, “Over here Derpy. I’m coming!” He turned back to Sparkler, “This isn’t over yet.”
“Oh I know it’s not.”
The Doctor turned a corner and ran smack into Derpy, who had been searching for them, “Ow Doctor, next time tell me before you come around the corner like that.”
“Right, I'm sorry.” He looked behind Derpy to see Bon Bon and Lyra waiting on them, “Right, let’s go get some food yeah? I’d like to see what my new diet consists of.”
“Oh I know! Girls, come help me in the kitchen!” Derpy exclaimed. Before anypony could protest, Derpy shuffled everypony back towards the direction where they came.
“Don’t worry Doctor! I’ll show them where the kitchen is!” yelled Sparkler as she was whisked away.
The Doctor shook his head and made his way back to the central control room. He hadn’t had much time to think with all the new developments that had taken place, but now that he sat down and thought about it, this new world was a bit strange. Magical unicorns, Pegasi, and no humans. He had to learn more about this place. He moved to start repairing the TARDIS from her last voyage, but before he could start, he began to smell a delicious aroma coming from the kitchen. Curious, he made his way towards it and found his four new friends setting a table for dinner, “Whats all this about?”
Derpy perked up, “Well since you are new here, we made you a three course meal to celebrate finding a new friend! We have oats and wheat for an appetizer, some hay on rye for the main course, and for dessert, muffins! Blueberry even!”
The Doctor looked around at his new friends. No, that wasn’t the right word. Is this what having a family is like? He couldn’t remember his own from his old life. Maybe this was his chance to begin anew. He looked over the spread, “Looks fantastic! Let’s eat!”
The hungry ponies gorged themselves on the food. After dinner, the Doctor made his way to the library where he often read in his rare moments of peace. After he was safely out of the room, Bon Bon took her chance and began questioning Sparkler, “So how do you know this Doctor? What are you two, hmm?”
Sparkler looked up from the table, “The Doctor is exactly who he said he was. I can’t tell you much about myself, but I can say I’m a time traveler as well. One from the Doctor’s future.”
“Oh so we are just supposed to believe you? What proof do you have?”
Lyra glared, “Bon Bon, stop that. Be nice.”
Derpy intervened, “Maybe we should just trust them…”
Bon Bon yelled, “No! I want to know who they think they are trying to spread lies like that!”
Sparkler giggled, “You always were slow to believe Bon Bon. Fine, you three follow me. I will give you your proof.”
Sparkler got up and started walking towards the library with the other mares in tow. She peeked around the entrance to the room and found the Doctor asleep in a chair with a book in his lap. Derpy asked, “Does he do that a lot?”
“Only after he eats your muffins; come here, I’ll show you all something.”
Sparkler moved closer to the Doctor and pulled a glass off a nearby table. She put it up to his chest, “What are you doing?” inquired Bon Bon.
“Take a listen you three. What do you hear?”
The three mare put their ear up to the cup and heard the stereotypical “thump thump” of a pony’s heart. “What’s so special about his heart?” asked Lyra.
Sparkler moved the cup to the opposite side of the Doctor’s chest, “Listen again.”
The mares moved forward and listened again. They heard the thump thump of the Doctor’s heart again, but it was moving the opposite rhythm than it had before. Bon Bon’s face went pale white, “Two…he has two hearts…”
Sparkler nodded and moved to speak, but the Doctor began to stir in his seat. She motioned for the ponies to move into the hall. Once they were outside, they closed the door and Sparkler began to explain, “Yes. He has two hearts. He is as alien as anything you will ever meet. He is the eye of the storm, the fire in the pit. He is everything horrible and terrible in the world. He destroys nations and armies run from the mention of his name. He is both divine and demonic; and he is wonderful. Like I said, I can’t tell you who I am, but I can say that he is somepony very special to me. He has saved your world more times than I can count and most ponies don’t know he exists. So please, just give him a chance. “
Bon Bon looked at the floor, disgusted with how she had been treating the Doctor. Derpy and Lyra moved into comfort her, “I think it is time for bed. Sparkler could you show us the way to our rooms?”
“Of course Derpy, this way.”
The mares departed for the night and all was well until the Doctor woke up in the middle of the night. He yawned and thought to himself, “That’s strange I never fall asleep like that. I should really get back to work.” He looked at the clock on the wall, and it read four a.m. “Yea time to get started, the TARDIS needs to be fixed so I can go home, that is once I find a power source.” The Doctor moved to get up when he felt an unfamiliar weight on his chest. He looked down and saw Derpy had snuck in and spent the night with him. The Doctor began to panic. “What should I do? What should I do?” The Doctor stared down at her and saw a small tear move down her cheek and the derp-eyed pony talked in her sleep. The Doctor couldn’t contain his curiosity. He put his head close to hers and peered into her mind. He saw the way the ponies in Ponyville treated her. She was ridiculed for her eyes, and disliked for her clumsiness. She only had a few real friends that would hang out with her. Even through all this, all she ever wanted was somepony to hold her…somepony to love. The Doctor pulled away from her. He suddenly felt much more connected with her. He looked down at Derpy one more time and made up his mind. He decided the TARDIS could wait. This is where he was needed now. He rested his head on her mane and drifted back into a state of sleep.
He awoke the next morning to a smell of pie and pancakes. The Doctor looked around, but Derpy was nowhere to be seen, “Well, I’m sure everypony is waiting for me in the kitchen. “
As he made his way towards the smells filling his TARDIS he heard a small scream in the background, “Doctor! Help!”
The Doctor dashed towards the front door of the TARDIS to find Derpy and the other mares huddled around a pony who had collapsed outside his TARDIS. The pony was a Pegasus and from the look of it, unconscious, “Right! Sparkler, Bon Bon; get this Pegasus inside and put her in a bed. I’ll see if I can’t get some supplies together to help her out.”
The mares picked up the pony and took her inside. The Doctor returned a few moments later with some medical supplies and began to patch up the pony, “Well, I’m not sure what did this to her, but she has a broken wing. Looks like some broken ribs too…” but before the Doctor could finish his analysis, the Pegasus awoke from her slumber and attacked.
She pinned the Doctor to a wall and began screaming, “Where am I? How did I get here? What was that thing I was chasing?”
The Doctor moved to explain, but the pony suddenly crippled over in pain, “That’s what you get for moving around with all those broken bones. Now please, calm down and let me help you Miss…?”
The pony sat down grudgingly, “Rainbow Dash. And who are all of…oh. Hi Derpy, Lyra, Bon Bon. I didn’t recognize you three. Can anypony tell me what the heck place this is?”
Derpy chimed in, “Oh it’s the Doctor’s TAR…”
Sparkler put her hoof over Derpy’s mouth, “Why it’s that brown ponie’s home is all.”
“I guess that’s my cue. Hello, I’m the Doctor. Pleasure to meet you Rainbow.”
“You too Doc. So how bad are my injuries?”
The Doctor took a closer look and finished rapping some gauze around Rainbow, “Oh not so bad, but don’t try flying for a few days. I may not know much about pegasi but I do know not to put stress on a broken bone. So tell me, what caused you to faint land outside my home?”
“Well, you ponies know all about the things that have been getting stolen right?”
Lyra popped up, “You mean like the gems, and the flour and stuff?”
“Yeah, well I was out patrolling; looking for whoever did it, when I saw something flying through the air. It was…strange. It had no wing or magic, but it was still able to fly. I chased it and try to confront it, but it knocked me down to the ground with its weird arms.”
The mares began to discuss what Rainbow had told them, when Sparkler noticed that the Doctor looked afraid, “Doctor, are you alright?”
“Rainbow. This thing…did it happen to say anything when you attempted to stop it?”
“Now that you mention it, yeah it did. I think the thing it screamed was, ‘Exterminate.’”
The Doctor rushed the Rainbow Pegasus and put his hooves on her shoulders, “Which way did it fly off? You must tell me, lives are at risk, Rainbow.”
“Well he was heading to the west towards that old abandoned bear cave. Why what is it?”
The Doctor began turning knobs on the TARDIS, “Nothing, don’t worry about it. Sparkler, escort Rainbow and the group home and meet me at the cave alright?”
“Alright Doctor.”
Sparkler began to herd the group out of the TARDIS when Derpy piped up, “I want to go with you Doctor! Please?”
“If she is going then I am too.” Said Lyra.
“I guess I have to go if Lyra goes…” said a reluctant Bon Bon.
The Doctor looked over, “You all are aware this is going to be dangerous right?” The Doctor scanned the room and the mares didn’t waver from their choice, “Alright. Rainbow has to go though, she is injured. Sparkler, take her home.”
Rainbow moved to argue, but Sparkler picked her up with ease and walked her out the door, “I’ll see you at the cave then.”
With that Sparkler and Rainbow left the TARDIS. The Doctor put his hoof on the lever that made the TARDIS take off and looked to his new companions, “Allons-Y!” he shouted and off the TARDIS went.
The TARDIS landed with a thud and went dark. The Doctor and his friends spilled out of the front of the ship, “It really moved! But…but…how?!” Bon Bon screeched.
“Just think of it as magic.” Said the Doctor, “it can move to anyplace and when that I want it to. Well, most of the time at least. It barely moves now that I’m not in my own universe. I won’t be able to travel anymore; that was the last time. So, somepony tell me, what is this cave we landed in?”
Lyra looked around, “Well this is the old bear cave where Bon Bon and I used to play as fillies. It’s old and no bears have lived here for years.”
“Then why can I hear a growling noise?” asked the Doctor.
It was faint. Just a small murmur in the background of the cave, but there was indeed a growl. It wasn’t a natural growl however, it was mechanical and forced. Derpy asked, “What is that?”
“I know that sound. Follow me girls.” The Doctor sped off down into the cave. They walked for what seemed like an eternity. There were no loops or turns, just a straight line to where to the growling was coming from.
Finally, the group reached a large open room with metal and machinery all over the walls. In the center of the was a strange floating sphere and what looked to be a tin can, “Well, this is new.” Said Bon Bon.
“Nopony move and do not interfere if you want to live. Understand?” The ponies stared as the words came out of the Doctor’s mouth. He slowly began to walk towards the can in the middle of the room.
The can turned around and revealed it was much more than a metal cylinder. It had a long telescope poking out from his head and two metal rods where his arms should be. It was painted a glimmering gold. It then spoke in a loud synthesized voice, “Life forms detected. Designation: Equidae. No threat detected.”
“You might want to scan again, Dalek.” Said the Doctor.
This seemed to get the creature’s attention, “Mammal, how do you know of the Daleks?”
“Oh I’ve faced your kind before. You might even say, that I’m the Dalek’s boogieman.”
The Dalek recoiled, “You…you are the Doctor. You followed me through the rift?”
“Oh yes Dalek, now tell me. That thing behind you, the orb, that’s a Progenitor isn’t it?”
“That is correct Doctor.”
“Then that’s why you needed all the materials from this world. You are trying to create more Daleks! But it won’t let you will it? You are too contaminated from getting here, that’s why you need raw material to feed to it.”
The Dalek looked at the Doctor, “Yes. The Huon particles that allowed us to arrive here changed me and the Progenitor. They made me something less than a Dalek and over charged the Progenitor. The Progenitor will respond to me, but will not accept DNA from me to begin creation. New creation will be forced with the materials collected from this world. With this I will create more Daleks.”
The Doctor began to pace, “And what will you do with all your new soldiers, hmm? Slaughter this world and its inhabitants? Try and start anew?”
“Correct. We will start a new Dalek empire and take our place as rulers of this new universe. Behold! The process has begun.”
The orb shot up and began to glow. It spun faster and faster, consuming all the gems and food around it. Derpy and the group looked at each other. They heard running from behind them and Sparkler ran up to join the group. The Doctor looked back at them and then back at the Dalek, “Dalek. We are in a new universe. You don’t have to do this. Please, we can live with them in peace. Just stop this now, before I have to stop you.”
The Dalek looked at the Doctor, “No Doctor, all life shall be exterminated and the Daleks will rule again. All hail the Daleks! Exterminate! Exterminate!”
The Dalek pointed its left arm at the Doctor. Derpy didn’t know what it did, but she knew it wasn’t anything good. She sprinted to the Doctor and threw herself in front of him, right in the way of the Dalek’s energy beam. It hit her square in the back. She let out a short shriek and fell to the floor. Sparkler tried to yell, but before she could finish, she disappeared. Derpy hit a nearby panel hard. The Doctor and his friends gathered around her. Lyra started to ask, “Is she ok?! Where did Sparkler go?!”
“No Lyra, she’s gone. Derpy is dead.”
The shock hit the ponies hard. Bon Bon began to cry, “No! She can’t be! Where is Sparkler?! She can help.”
“No,” said the Doctor through his tears, “she can’t. She doesn’t even exist anymore.”
“What? How is that possible?!”
“Because she was Derpy’s daughter. She was…my daughter. She came to the past to see me again, but I got her mother killed. Without her she never existed.”
The ponies were in pure shock. They couldn’t even speak, so the Dalek did for them, “What good are your emotions Doctor? All they do is give you pain.”
The Doctor looked up through the tears in his eyes, “Yes, they do, but they also give me love. Love to help my friends. Love to sacrifice for them, and love to fight for them!” He grabbed his sonic screwdriver from his coat and began to hit buttons on the panel Derpy was on top of.
The Dalek screamed, “Doctor! What are you doing?”
“Ending this.” The Progenitor began to spin even faster and shoot electricity from its surface. It stopped eating the gems on the ground and began consuming parts of the cave.
A bolt of electricity hit the Dalek square in the center of its body. It slumped over, “Weapons: Non functional. Movement: Non functional. Doctor, what have you done?!”
“Simple, I overloaded the Progenitor. It won’t make anything now, except for a big explosion.”
As if on cue, the Progenitor exploded taking the majority of the cave with it. With part of the cave missing the roof began to collapse. Fires erupted from every corner of the room and began to spread. The Dalek screeched as loud as it could at its defeat. The fire gleamed off the Doctor’s eyes as he stared, unaffected, at the chaos around him. He stood tall and menacing as if the universe moved just for him. His thoughts returned to Gallifrey as its fields burned. He saw his family and friends in the city as it was being destroyed and as Daleks rained from the sky, disabled and dead. The heat from the fires reminding him of the sun of his home planet as death occurred all around him, by his own hand.
“…tor…”
The world was burning and it was all his fault.
“…octor…”
This was his fate; to be a destroyer. Alone for all eternity.
“doctor…”
He lowered his head and watched the blood drip off of his Timelord hands as his loved one’s bodies piled up in front of him and burned with his world.
“DOCTOR!”
The Doctor snapped back to the collapsing cave he was standing in. He looked around and saw that Lyra and Bon Bon had picked up Derpy and began running towards the exit. The Doctor ran over to the screaming Dalek and tore a small golden piece off of its chassis. He looked down into its eye stalk one last time and ran for the exit. The cave collapsed right as the Doctor ran out as a huge plume of fire sealed the fate of the Dalek and machines inside. The group ran outside and back into the TARDIS where they would be safe. The mares placed Derpy’s body on the main console and began to mourn her, while the Doctor paced, looking at the piece her took from the Dalek.
“What are you doing Doctor? Come say goodbye with us…” Lyra said through gasping for breath.
“ I can save her.”
“What? She gone though.”
“No. This piece I took from the Dalek is full of my world’s Huon particles. It could reverse time, bring her back to life.”
Bon Bon got up and shook the Doctor, “Then what are you waiting for?!”
“They would also allow me to return home. To my universe, where I could ensure no other Dalek would ever come here again.”
“But…but..” Bon Bon was just as conflicted. Was one life really worth putting all of Equestria in danger?
The Doctor walked up to the console, “It’s not really much of a choice, is it?” He placed the shard containing the particles on Derpy’s chest. At first nothing happened, everypony held their breath just waiting. Then, suddenly, a brilliant golden light erupted from the shard and covered Derpy. She began to float off the console as the streams of light began to envelope the whole room. The TARDIS sprang to life as all the lights and gadgets began to whirl. The golden beams slowly covered the whole room, the ponies had the shield their eyes it was so bright. And just as fast as they came, the particles were gone. Derpy landed on the floor silent and cold while the TARDIS burned with new life.
Bon Bon slapped the Doctor, “How could you chose your machine over Derpy?!”
“But I didn’t!”
Suddenly, Derpy gasped for breath, “Where am I? What happened?”
The Doctor smiled and began to explain, but before he could speak a familiar voice came from the front door, “He saved you. He saved us all.” It was Sparkler. She ran up and gave Derpy a big hug. The other three ponies followed suit. “How did the Houn paticles fix the TARDIS and Derpy?
The Doctor responded, “The soul of the TARDIS must have linked itself with Derpy so it could share the Huon bond. That would have brought them both back to life.”
After some catching up, the Doctor returned everyone to Ponyville. They all spilled out of the TARDIS while the Doctor and Sparkler remained at its door, “So what are you going to do now Sparkler?” asked the Doctor.
“Oh I have other places to be, you will see me around. Good bye, Dad.” She gave him a swift kiss on the cheek and pressed the button on the vortex manipulator on her hoof. She vanished in a cloud of smoke and the Doctor went outside to say good bye as well.
He walked outside and found everypony waiting for him, “Well everypony, I’ve caused you enough trouble. It’s time for me to go back home.” It began to rain on the group, but nopony moved. The Doctor turned to go back into the TARDIS, but something grabbed his waist and stopped him.
He looked back and saw that Derpy and grabbed him and there were tears in her eyes, “Please don’t go Doctor. Please.”
The Doctor turned around and stared into Derpy’s eyes, “Derpy…ok. I’ll stay. I can always go home later.” Derpy smiled and moved in close to the Doctor. Their faces got close, their eyes shut and…
The Watcher gasped. She found herself back in the TARDIS. The screen showing the memories was black and the TARDIS was running on sleep mode from not having been used. She looked around and saw the Doctor asleep in his chair with the last of Derpy’s muffins in his lap, “So alone. A man who kills worlds and ends lives left forever alone.” The Watcher reached up to her face and found that tears were coming out of her eyes. She knew what had to be done. She got up and started to put coordinates into the TARDIS.
All the noise she was making woke up the Doctor, “What? What? Watcher, what are you doing?”
“Giving you what you deserve.” The TARDIS lurched forward towards its next destination. After a few moments, the TARDIS landed with a thud and the Watcher ran outside. The Doctor ran after her, and after adjusting to the light saw that he was in Ponyville.
He looked over and saw the Watcher messing with her sonic memory pen, “What are we doing back here? It looks like spring time, look at all the cherry blossoms.”
“Do you remember this pen Doctor? I took the memories of you and I from everypony in Ponyville as punishment for destroying the Timelords.”
“I remember.”
“It’s hard for me to say, but I was wrong. From what I have seen, you have suffered more than anypony from the death of our species. Even in the face of that, where most, including myself, would become bitter and cold, you still smile and help eveypony you meet. This isn’t the face of a killer, just a man who did what needed to be done. So for that, I give you back your home.”
The Watcher raised her pen towards the heavens and let a pulse of green wash over the town. At first, nothing happened, but then ponies started to stop and stare at the Doctor. Some came out of their homes and pointed at the brown stallion. Whispers of his name filled the air as everypony stopped and looked at the time traveler. Then, out of nowhere, a cloud of smoke came from around a corner as a familiar family came into view.
It was Dinky, Derpy, and strapped to her side, a filly Sparkler. The Doctor couldn’t do anything but stare. Dinky screamed, “Daddy!” and began to run towards the Doctor with her mom and baby sister in tow. The Doctor began to sprint towards them. The family embraced as a gust of wind swept cherry blossoms around them. The crowd of ponies began to cheer as the reunion took place. Lyra and Bon Bon emerged to give the family a hug as well. The Doctor looked over to his wife and child and said, “I’m…I’m home.”
“Welcome home dear.”
While the party was going on, the Watcher tried to slip away into the shadows. Her time was over, the Doctor had no need for her. She began to walk away when she heard somepony calling for her, “Watcher!” it was the Doctor. He ran up with his friends and family, “Where are you going? The TARDIS is back that way. We are going to go to the beach!”
“But I don’t belong with you…”
“Rubbish! Of course you do! You’re part of my family!”
Dinky piped in “Let’s go!”
The group grabbed the Watcher and pushed her back into the TARDIS. The Doctor and his group ran around setting things up in the TARDIS, getting things ready for their trip to the beach. The Doctor gripped the switch to send off the TARDIS, when Dinky put her hoof on top of his. Derpy moved in and put hers in too. Bon Bon and Lyra followed suit. They all looked over at the Watcher and Derpy said, “Come on! We can’t go without you.”
A happy tear ran down the Watcher’s face as she smiled at her new family. She placed her hoof on top of the group’s pile and smiled. The Doctor looked around and the group yelled as they pulled the switch, “Allons-Y!”
