Chapter 1 Part 1: THE WINDS OF CHANGE
DOCTOR WHOOVES: THE TIMELORD CHRONICLES
Chapter 1 Part 1:
THE WINDS OF CHANGE
“Change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and gorgeous at the end!”
- The Traveler
***
When my eyes first awoke, they were greeted to the sight of a lush, green field. The wind blew over them with grace; not the rugged brashness you see in the city or town. It was gentler….one that you want brushing across your face and blowing through your mane.
The hills on the horizon sprang into the sky, ready for some eager pony to climb to the top and claim the ultimate prize; being the first. It was something pegasus’ could do in no time, but earth ponies and unicorns were another story.
I stood there as the wind blew my mane and the mountains broke the calmness of the land. Nothing beside me was there….the utter calmness of the field really seemed to calm me.
Slowly, I looked around at the miles and miles of grass. I expected to see just that; nothing but miles and miles of grass.
But when I turned around, something caught my eye. A figure was moving towards me at great speed; running as fast as his hooves could carry him.
As he got closer, his features began to become more visible. His pelt was a light creme color, and his mane was the most perfect blonde color I’d ever seen. His sword and shield cutie mark shown in the sunlight, and his teeth gleamed in their afterglow.
When he finally reached me, his grin became more prominent. It was like a light in the darkness….only there was light everywhere.
“My sweet Roseluck,” he said. His voice was soothing and smooth; just what every mare wanted to hear. “I’ve finally arrived to take you with me”.
My heart began to melt, and for a second I didn’t know what to say. When a mare meets a stallion this perfect, it becomes difficult to find words. But eventually, I found my voice.
“Where are you going to take me?”
The stallion took my hoof, and gave it a small kiss. I almost felt like falling to my legs; mainly because they all felt weak. But I mustered up my strength, and waited for his reply.
“To take you on all kinds of adventures. Ones with danger, drama, and most importantly; romance”. He sealed his sentence with another kiss on my hoof. “There’s just one thing I must ask of you first”.
“Anything,” I said eagerly. All I’d ever wanted was a life of adventure, and now it was within my grasp. If this stallion wanted me to do something first, then so be it.
“Then could you please do me this favor,” he said, “and wake up?”
“....What?”
“You need to wake up Roseluck. Wake up….wake up….”
***
“Wake Up….Wake Up….ROSELUCK, WAKE UP OR YOU’LL BE LATE FOR WORK!”
My eyes flew open as the sound of the yelling reached myears. But the moment they opened, they stung with fiery fury as the light of Celestia’s sun shone into them. After a quick curse and some eye rubbing, I was able to open them again.
The sunlight lit up the room, showing off the ornate wooden dresser, end table, and trunk (which sat at the foot of my bed). The rug that sat beside my bed was still straight, and the lamp on the end table hadn’t blown over during the night.
I raised herself up and gave a quick stretch, while at the same time trying to get the taste of dryness out of my mouth. It was the same thing I did every morning….every single boring morning.
I heard the sound of hooves approaching, and a second later my bedroom door flew open. Standing where it had been was a very angry looking unicorn mare. She had a grayish raspberry coat, light amber mane with pale amber highlights, grayish gold eyes, and a cutie mark of three lilies. And right now, she was tapping her hoof impatiently while at the same time giving me a dangerous scowl.
“Rose, you need to wake up. You’ll be late for work again if you don’t hurry,” she said. “And I won’t cover any more of your excuses; then I’ll be in trouble”.
“I’m getting up Lily,” I said as I slowly crawled out of bed. “Your voice is loud enough to break glass, so I heard you the first ten times you said it”.
“You would have been out the door by now if that was true,” said Lily. “Now get ready, get some breakfast, and get going!”
And with that, she turned on her hooves and walked out.
I sighed as I finally got all of me out of bed. “She’s quick to pounce on me when I mess up, but she can’t take the heat herself. And why is it I always have that dream on days when Lily has a reason to yell at me?” I thought.
It was always the same when it came to that dream. It always happened on a day I had to work, and it was always interrupted by Lily yelling at me to wake up. So I never got to go on any adventures; especially not ones with a handsome stallion!
But I guess that was my conscious telling me that things like that aren’t real. And because they aren’t real, you shouldn’t dwell on them. After all, Lily always said “Living in reality is more fulfilling than living in fantasy”.
So with that thought now in my mind, I headed towards the bathroom to get ready for the day.
***
After a quick shower, and a lot of work on my mane, I headed downstairs to get some breakfast.
I walked into the kitchen, which was set up with the most secondhand equipment in the whole of ponyville. Everything had either millions of dents or enough stains to ruin any dress shop. The worst was the refrigerator; it wasn’t too warm, it actually nearly froze everything that was put in it.
“Okay, what to have today,” I asked myself as I headed towards the cabinets.
“Eggs, if you like”.
I turned around, and saw Lily placing a plate of scrambled eggs onto the table. She turned to me and said “I knew you’d take a while, so I made eggs. Eat them if you want, or don’t. Either way, I’m off to work”.
She grabbed her saddlebags and headed towards the door. “I might be late tonight,” she called, “so get something for both of us on your way home! I’ll probably not feel like cooking!”
I heard the door open before slamming shut, leaving me alone in the house. And with the time still ticking for me to leave, I rushed through the eggs before grabbing my things and heading out the door as well.
***
At this time in the morning, Ponies were just beginning to wake up in Ponyville. Shops unlocked their doors, children began to wake up for school, and the elder began to decide what today was going to hold.
As for myself, I was walking towards my job; as a flower specialist at the Town Flower Shop. I’ve been working there for ten years; ever since I first came to Ponyville. I loved the job at times, but overall it is actually very dull.
The only good thing associated with work was the walk I took each day to get to it. Because then, I passed by shops as they opened and ponies who went to get the best deal at the time. Occasionally, there were foals that were out and about playing, but at this time of the morning it was very rare.
As I passed through the town center, I heard somepony call out to me. “Rose, over here!”
I looked around, and saw that a small stand had been erected near town hall. A small filly sat behind it, and glasses of lemonade sat on top. A sign below it read FRESH LEMONADE: ONLY 1 BIT! in very crude writing.
“Hello Lemon Wedge, what are you doing out here,” I asked as I walked towards the stand. I’d known Lemon Wedge for a few years now; she usually came into the flower shop to get flowers for her parents or teacher. She was a nice filly, and one that still hadn’t earned her cutie-mark.
“Selling lemonade,” she said with a smile. “I thought maybe selling drinks would be my special talent. Then maybe I’ll finally get my cutie-mark.”
I smiled. “Well, let me help with that”. I took out a bit and placed it on the stand. “One lemonade please”.
Lemon Wedge smiled, took the bit, and pushed a glass of lemonade over to me. I grabbed the cup and downed the whole thing in under a few seconds. “Oh, that’s refreshing!”
“I’m glad you like it,” said Lemon Wedge. “Tell others at the shop to come by later, I’ll be here until sunset”.
“I will,” I said as I turned around and headed for the shop. “Keep up the good work Lemon Wedge”.
My smile couldn’t have been bigger; seeing Lemon Wedge was just the thing I needed. A slow day at the shop was something that could be dreadful, but seeing the smiling face of a foal early in the morning could stick with me all day.
And it’s with that thought that I made my way to the shop to start a hard day’s work.
***
“....Ugh….I hate my life!”
My grueling walk home had only just begun, and already I was tired of it. The nice sunset I was supposed to see was instead replaced by Luna’s beautiful moon! The shop had been busier than expected, and I had to stay late to restock everything and clean up the mess from the rush.
So, now I wasn’t just late to get dinner for me and Lily , I wasn’t going to get enough sleep either! And that meant I would be just as cranky tomorrow, and probably more angry too!
As I walked through the almost deserted Ponyville, I looked up at the night sky above me. The stars were out tonight, and the constellations were sparkling so bright you could practically feel the heat.
….I wish I could.
I wish I could go out into the universe, and see the stars as they were up close. Not down in Equestria; where the closet you can get to them is with a telescope.
I was almost ready to stop looking at the sky….when I saw something. It looked like a star, but it was falling along the sky; cutting through the constellations, and anything else that was in it’s path.
“A SHOOTING STAR,” I said excitedly. Everypony knew what they had to do when they saw a shooting star. So I closed my eyes tight, thought as hard as I could, and said “I wish I could have a life of adventure with a handsome stallion!”
I opened my eyes, ready to look up at the star and watch it shoot away from this planet. Far out into the universe, where there were no ungrateful customers or bossy roommates. Just adventure….and wonder!
Unfortunately, my eyes didn’t see the star shoot away. When I looked back at it, I saw the star turn….and soon it was heading right for Ponyville!
“Oh Celestia, this is bad!”
I thought about screaming; telling everypony to get out of town before it hits. But I couldn’t; I was frozen in fear. Not able to move, speak, or even think! I just watched as the star came closer and closer until….it passed.
“What?”
The star soured over the town, leaving a trail of smoke behind. The shockwave it also left rattled the town, but still I didn’t see or hear anypony nearby. It’s as if they didn’t notice the star that just shot over the town!
“I don’t get it, how could they not….”
BOOM!
I heard the sound of the impact before I saw the light. It shown over the hills outside of town, and still glowed long after the sound had gone. And yet still, nopony ran out of their houses or looked out their windows!
“What is going on?” This wasn’t something that happened everyday, and it wasn’t even normal in Equestria standards. This was something that Twilight and her friends should look into; I needed to find her and tell her what had happened.
“But what if I didn’t,” I said to myself. “What if I go and see what it was, and only if it’s dangerous do I tell Twilight”.
In all honesty, it was a stupid plan. If this thing was dangerous, I should inform Twilight right away. But if it wasn’t, then this could be the spark of excitement I was looking for!
And unfortunately, that side of me won out.
So I took a deep breath and ran as fast as I could towards the site where the star had fallen.
***
I was soon running through the lush green fields outside of Ponyville. It was mostly empty, except for a few trees that sprang up here and there. That, and the gigantic hole in the ground that was smoking!
It wasn’t that far outside of town, but I guess far enough so that ponies not outside didn’t hear the impact.
I slowly made my way up to the hole, which was releasing plumes of smoke from the small branches and grass pieces that had fallen into it. Once my front hooves touched the outer edge, I looked down into it.
Honestly, I had expected to see a big burning blob, or even a giant hunk of rock.
However, I did not expect to see a big blue box sitting slightly tilted in the center of the hole!
“What….was that the thing flying over Ponyville?” It didn’t look like a star, or even a meteorite. It seemed almost pony made; wood and glass with a single light at the top that was blinking red. There were white posters on one side, and a handle above a key hole.
At the top of the box, in white letters, were the words Police Public Call Box.
Taking a big gulp, I slowly made my way down towards the box. It didn’t seem to be doing anything, and I didn’t see any marks on it. In fact, it looked completely untouched! Not a single dent on it, even after hitting the ground and making this hole!
“What is this thing,” I asked. I slowly walked around it, taking in all the details of it’s outside. “It looks like it’s made of wood….but then how is it not burned? I saw it on fire when it flew over town!”
I made my way back to the front, and gave it one more look over.
Honestly, this was the strangest thing I’d ever seen. It fell from the sky, flew over town, was on fire, and made a creator in the ground with not one single mark on it!
“Maybe it’s magic,” I thought. “It could be something from Canterlot, or the Crystal Empire, or….or….uh….”
My words couldn’t be formed; I was too focused on what I was seeing. The glass on the top of the box was glowing a dark golden color, and golden light poured out of the front. Light was even shining through the keyhole!
It went on for a few seconds, before slowly growing dimmer and dimmer and then disappearing all together. “What in the name of Celestia was that?”
This may not be something dangerous, but it was something that I didn’t know anything about. And that meant that I needed to get Twilight. She would know what to do, and might even give me some answers to questions I had.
I was just about to walk away and leave the mystery behind….when the side of the box opened. The doors flew inward, and bright light once again blinded me. I closed my eyes tight and looked away, waiting for the brightness to die down.
When it did, I looked back at the doors….and gasped.
There, standing inside the box, was a stallion.
He was an earth pony stallion, with a brown pelt and unkempt chestnut brown mane. He wore a slightly beaten leather jacket, which was short enough to reveal his glowing hourglass cutie-mark.
….Wait, glowing!
The stallion was breathing deeply, and just stared at me when he did. But slowly, he moved from the box and towards me. Once we was clear of the doors, they snapped shut faster than a sonic rainboom!
I thought about running; to Daisy, to Twilight….really to anypony! But like before, I couldn’t move! I could only watch as this pony walked towards me, stopping just inches away from my face.
He stopped his heavy breathing, and instead started taking in short breaths. He said nothing for a moment, until….
“Eyes seem to be working”.
“Uh….what?”
The stallion stepped back, and reformed his confused face into a cheerful smile. “My eyes, they still work! Thought I might get unlucky and find they only see in one color, or not at all”.
“Huh? I don’t understand….”
“But still, I haven’t seen if everything else works”. He stopped talking for a second, then looked back at me. “Give me a second or two while I check everything off the list”. He looked away from me and instead started looking himself over.
“Let’s see, four legs….two ears….A MANE! YES, I’M NOT BALD!” He ran his hands through his mane, smiling like he was enjoying every minute of it.
“Oh, that’s nice!” He stopped massaging his mane and started feeling his face. “Nose, good, I’ll need that. At least it’s not so pronounced like four’s was”.
He ran a hoof over his grin, which only got bigger. “And I’ve got a mouth; haven’t been talking to myself! Not to mention the new teeth….feel kind of weird though….but they are shinny! Excellent!”
He stopped feeling himself and looked back at me, still wearing that smile. “So, tell me….how do I look?”
I didn’t know what this pony was talking about, and I wasn’t going to try and figure it out. “Who….who are you?”
“Oh, didn’t I say who I was,” asked the stallion. “Hm, I guess with the new face and everything I forgot some common manners”.
He walked over to me, grabbed my hoof, and have it a big shake. “I’m the Doctor; and it is a pleasure to meet you!”
“Doctor? Doctor Who?”
“No,” said the stallion, “just the Doctor”. His eyes started to look me over, and soon he began walking around me. “What about you, what’s your name?”
“Uh, my name is Roseluck”.
The stallion’s face changed from smiling to confusion. “Hm, it’s not a bad name….but a little too long. What about just Rose; much shorter and sweeter”.
Well, this stallion got at least one thing right; most ponies do just call me Rose. But everything else was just crazy! This stallion was rambling on like he’d never seen himself before, and all after he walked out of a big blue box that fell from space!
I knew I had to get some answers; otherwise I might go crazy from all this insanity. I took a deep breath, and puffed out my chest to look more confident.
“Okay, tell me: who are you? ….wait, no, what are you?”
The stallion turned to me, his face just as scrunched in confusion as before. “Like I said; I’m the Doctor.”
“What, like a medical doctor? Or like a educational doctor?”
The stallion tapped his chin: like he was thinking. “Well, a doctor of everything I suppose. My talents range from the mundane to the extraordinary”.
“Brag much,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“As for what I am….well….that’s a little harder to explain”. The stallion began pacing in front of the box, keeping his head pointed at the ground. “Trust me; you wouldn’t believe me if I told you”.
I rolled my eyes; that was something I understood, yet seemed impossible. “Try me. After all, I’m the one talking to the prony from space with the glowing cutie-mark”.
I don’t know what I said to make it happen, but suddenly the….doctor….wasn’t pacing anymore. His face once again went to shock/confusion, and the quickly set his eyes on his cutie-mark. It was still glowing slightly, with the same golden hue as the light I’d seen.
“Oh no,” he said. “Oh no, no, no! This isn’t good!”
“What isn’t good,” I asked.
The Doctor turned to me, “it shouldn’t be glowing anymore! The only time it glows is when the regeneration is in progress!”
“The regener-what now?” This stallion had gone back to making no sense.
The Doctor went back to pacing, but this time he was a lot quicker. “If my mark’s still glowing, that means the regeneration is still going on. And if it’s still going on, then that means parts of me are still….”
He didn’t get to finish his sentence. Before he could, his head jerked up and his face scrunched in pain. He let out a small cry, and fell down onto his hooves.
“Hey,” I said, running over to his side. “What’s going on, are you okay?”
“No,” he replied through gritted teeth. “The regeneration is still working on my insides, so they aren’t quite ready for me to use just yet!”
Suddenly, his head shot up and his eyes shot wide open. He opened his mouth slightly, and what looked like golden dust flew out of it. It swirled through the sky before blowing away in the breeze.
“What was that?” I asked. Something like this seemed magical, but it was nothing that I knew about. This was something that Twilight should be handling; not me.
“Something bad,” said the doctor, clearly still in pain. “Something very….very….”
The doctor’s eyes slowly began to close, and he fell the rest of the way to the ground. And with one last blink, he had completely passed out.
“Oh no,” I said. “This isn’t good; he needs help”.
Actually, he probably needed some rest first. After everything that I’d seen, he was probably exhausted. Whatever that golden glow was could wait until later; I needed to get him back to my house as quick as possible.
Once I knew he was somewhere safer, I’d call the Twilight and the hospital to come and look at him. It seemed like the best option at this point; I mean, I couldn’t just leave him here.
So, with a lot of grunting and swearing, I was able to pull the doctor onto my back. He wasn’t as heavy as I imagined, but it was still hard to keep him elevated. I was sure this would count as my workout for the next few days!
“I just hope Daisy is home,” I said as I made my way out of the creator. “It’ll be good to have another pony to help me with him….especially if what he was saying was some kind of weird magical disease”.
Once I was out of the creator, I took a few deep breaths before heading back towards Ponyville.
Chapter 1 Part 2: An Unearthly Threat
DOCTOR WHOOVES: THE TIMELORD CHRONICLES
Chapter 1 Part 2:
An Unearthly Threat
“In the fight for survival, there are no rules.”
- The Traveler
***
It was a long haul from the crash site back to my house.
The stallion on my back was still asleep, and he only seemed to get heavier the longer we walked. Soon his hooves were scraping the ground, and my legs were bent in anguish!
“Why couldn’t he be a pegasus,” I said to myself. “Pegasi have lighter bones; so they weigh less. But he’s an earth pony; made for heavy work”.
I know what you’re thinking; you’re an earth pony too. And while that may be true, it didn’t mean I was strong enough to carry a heavy stallion! Heck, I was just strong enough to carry a box of flower pots!
But thankfully for my back, I saw the sight of my house coming up. The lights were on downstairs, so that probably meant that Daisy was home already.
“Great,” I thought. “She’ll probably be angry at me for being home so late, not to mention without any food. AND the unconscious stallion with the glowing cutie mark on my back!”
I reached the front door, and was about to reach for my bags to get my key. But then I remembered; I’d left my bags back at the shop! So, that would be another thing Daisy would yell at me about.
Sighing, I instead reached up and knocked three times on the door. Not too long after, I heard the sound of hooves approaching the door. There was a click and it flew open, with Daisy standing right behind it.
“There you are,” she screamed….but it wasn’t in an angry way.
In fact, she didn’t even look angry. Her face was scrunched up in worry, and a single tear ran down her face. She wiped it away before continuing.
“I was worried something happened to you; you’re never home this late!”
I tried to put on my best “oh, sorry” face, but I had a feeling it came out more like a confused face. “Oh, well….something happened that kept me”.
Now it was Daisy’s turn to look confused. She looked like she was about to ask some questions, but she was interrupted by the stallion on my back shuffling slightly. When he did, her eyes fell on him.
“Who’s that,” she asked quickly. “And what are you doing with him?”
“It’s a long story,” I said as I walked past her and into the house. “The main thing is he’s hurt; we’ve got to find him a place to rest”.
Daisy closed the door before walking in front of me. Now, she looked a little angry….of at least slightly annoyed. I’d seen her give me this face a few times….mostly when I overslept.
“If he’s hurt, then we should take him to the hospital. I doubt there’s anything we can do for him here”.
“We don’t know that,” I replied. “He might just need some rest, or at the very least some aspirin”.
Daisy still didn’t look convinced; it was usually hard to get her to change her mind. So, sighing, I decided to try again.
“Just let him stay for the night. If he’s not feeling better by tomorrow, then we’ll take him to the hospital. Okay?”
Daisy was silent; which I hoped meant she was thinking this over. She wasn’t a pony who liked letting strangers into the house, but I also knew she couldn’t turn her back on an injured pony. Evently, she breathed heavily and turned towards me.
“Fine. He can stay in the guest room for the night. We’ll check on him in the morning and make a decision then.”
“Thanks Daisy,” I said with a smile. “Now, could you help me carry him? He’s kinda heavy….and I think my back’s about to go out”.
Daisy moved to my side and shifted the….Doctor….over so we were both supporting him. As soon as he was on her back, her legs buckled slightly as well, and she let out a small grunt.
“You weren’t kidding; he looks a lot lighter than he actually is”.
I nodded in agreement as the two of us made our way to the guest room on the bottom floor.
***
The ponies of Ponyville didn’t seem to realize they had a visitor in town. Nopony left their houses when the blue box fell from the sky, and none seemed to see Rose carrying an unconscious stallion through the streets either.
In fact, the only pony that seemed to still be outside at this time was Lock Pick.
He was a light grey unicorn stallion that worked at the local lock shop in town. He’d just closed up for the night and was making his way across town to his cozy home. The streets were empty, and it seemed no sound was being made either. Only the clop clop sound of his hooves pieced the dark street and alleyways around him.
“Shoot,” he said under his breath. “Maybe I should have finished that last order tomorrow; it’s almost midnight. Fruity will be wondering where I am!”
He made his way out of the busy section of town and towards the outer section; where houses and smaller shops were situated. He could see some houses had lights on, but mostly they were dark; probably filled with sleeping ponies.
“Wonder what’ll be for dinner tonight,” he asked himself. “Maybe a nice fruit salad….or maybe pasta. Fruity does make good fruit salad and pasta”.
“Excuse me,” said a voice.
Lock Pick turned around, and found a blue earth pony mare standing behind him. She looked quite sad; she even had a few tears in her eyes. Her legs shaked slightly, and she sniffed slightly every few seconds.
“Oh, hello,” said Lock Pick. “Can I help you?”
“If you can,” said the mare. “My friend and I were walking through one of the alleyways when something hit him. His leg got hurt and now he can’t even stand! Could you please help me take him home; it’s not too far from here?”
Lock Pick was at a slight impasse. He knew he had to get home to his wife, but he also knew he couldn’t leave a mare who’s friend was in trouble. And besides, he’d been taught to always help a pony in need.
“Sure thing,” he said smiling. “Where is he?”
“Over here,” said the mare, walking towards a nearby alleyway. It was almost as dark as the street was, meaning it was hard to see anything.
Lock Pick followed the mare into the alleyway, keeping as close as he could so as not to hit anything. However, he couldn’t make out any shapes in the dark….or even where the end of the alley was. There was no light at the other end….which seemed strange.
“Why exactly were you and your friend down here,” he asked. But he didn’t get a response. The mare kept total quiet….in fact, Lock Pick couldn’t even hear her moving in front of him anymore.
“Hey, where’d you go,” he called. “And what’s going on here?”
“FOOLISH PONY!”
“Who said that,” asked Lock Pick. He looked around, but it was almost impossible to see anything in the alley.
Something flew past him, making him turn around towards it. But it then flew behind him again, making him turn around again. “This isn’t funny,” he called.
“It’s not supposed to be” said the voice. It sounded menacing; like what evil villains sound like in old horror movies. “It’s supposed to be appetizing!”
“What….what do you….”
Lock Pick couldn’t finish his sentence. Whatever was moving around him suddenly dived towards him.
There was a loud scream….and then all was silent.
***
There was no dreaming tonight.
After everything that had happened, I guess my mind wasn’t in the mood for adventures about dreams. And honestly, I was in agreement. I was just ready to sleep in today and worry about the space stallion later.
Unfortunately, my roommate had other ideas.
“ROSE!”
My eyes shot open as the door to my room did. And a second later, Daisy ran into the room and right over to my bed. She then grabbed me by the shoulders and started shaking me violently.
“Rose, wake up!”
“I am,” I screamed. My voice was a little off thanks to the shaking, but I guess Daisy heard me. She stopped shaking me, giving me a second to let the dizziness leave my head.
“What was all that about,” I asked.
Daisy pointed at the door and said, “Downstairs….now!”
I had no idea what this mare was talking about….which made her like the space stallion in a way. But still, she seemed shocked. And if that was true, then I knew I should check it out.
So I threw my covers off, jumped out of bed, and ran out of my room. Daisy followed close behind as I went down the stairs and into the living room.
And it was a good thing I wasn’t going very fast, otherwise I would have smashed into a large blue box!
“What the….how’d that get here?”
The blue box from the the crater was now sitting in the living room. But given it’s size, I didn’t see how it could have been moved here! It was bigger than the doorframe!
Daisy walked up beside me, looking at the box with confusion. “You’ve seen this thing before?”
“Yeah. The stallion I brought home came out of it….actually, it was the thing I saw fall from the sky last night!”
“This thing,” asked Daisy as she started walking around it. “It looks like it’s made of wood! How could it not even have a scratch on it if it fell from the sky?”
“I’m not sure,” I said with uncertainty. That stallion had been inside that thing when I found it, so it seemed logical that he would know what this thing is and why it was now in our living room.
“Come on, let’s talk to the….Doctor….I’m sure he’ll know what this is all about”. I began to walk out of the room, but then I noticed something.
Everything in the room seemed a lot….cleaner. There were no stains on the carpet, all the glass sparkled, and even the wooden floors seemed to look like they did ten years ago!
“Did you clean last night when I went to bed?”
Daisy shook her head. “I was going to mention that too; I think that stallion cleaned the whole house after we went to bed. It hasn’t looked this good in years!”
But how could he clean the whole house; he was passed out when we left him! If he was able to clean the entire house when we weren’t around, he should be just fine!
“Come on,” I said as I passed the kitchen and towards the door to the guest room. The door was ajar; just like we’d left it last night.
I pushed it open and walked into the room. The ‘Doctor’ was lying on the guest bed, still in the same sleeping position we’d left him in. The covers weren’t ruffled, and he wasn’t snoring….it was probably the most calm I’d ever seen somepony sleeping.
Daisy walked in as I moved to the side of the bed. I placed a hoof on the Doctor’s head, feeling if he had a temperature. But everything felt normal, so then I placed a hoof on his neck to check his pulse. After a few seconds, I determined his pulse to be average.
Overall, he seemed to be in great shape.
“I can’t find anything wrong with him,” I said to Daisy.
“Are you sure,” she asked. “He could have something that we don’t know about. I still think we should take him to a doctor”.
“You Called?”
Daisy and I jumped back in surprise. The stallion was sitting up in bed, looking at us with some confusion. “You both look frightened; is there something wrong?”
“No, no,” I said quickly. Now that he was finally up, I could get some answers. “We just didn’t think you’d wake up so easily”.
The stallion pushed off the covers and jumped out of bed, replacing his confusion with a joyful smile. “Well you did call me, so what seems to be the trouble?”
“When did we call your name,” asked Daisy.
“You said Doctor, so what can I do for you?”
“Wait,” said Daisy. “Your name is Doctor?”
The stallion rolled his eyes. “Technically I’m called ‘The Doctor’, but you can just call me Doctor. It does sound better than saying something like ‘hey the Doctor, watch out’ or something similar”.
It seemed this stall….I mean, the Doctor’s personality hadn’t changed much since last night. He kept talking nonsense, and seemed not to care about what was going on around him. Not to mention he was beginning to sound a little boastful.
“Okay than, Doctor. Is it okay if you answer some questions for us?”
“Of course,” he said with a smile. “I’m always happy to answer any question ponies have….unless it’s the same one over and over. I do hate repeating myself”.
“Uh, well you see, I wanted to know why the box from last night is now in our living room?”
The Doctor’s eyes widened, and he quickly ran out of the room. “Hey,” said Daisy. “Where does he think he’s going?”
The two of us ran out of the room and back to the living room. When we got there, we found the Doctor happily hugging the box like it was his best friend. He have it a small stroke with his hooves, and his grin only seemed to grow more.
“Oh you big beautiful girl. I knew you’d find me….But I didn’t expect it to be this soon”.
Daisy and Me looked at each other, then back at the Doctor. “Uh, Doctor, why are you talking to that box?”
“Because she’s so smart! Finding out where I am and moving here even after all that’s happened!” He gave the box another hug….and a slight stroke. “She truly is amazing isn’t she”.
Maybe this stallion did need to go to a hospital. He was talking to a box like it was alive, and stroking it like it was a long lost lover. Even I knew that wasn’t normal….but then again so was he.
“Alright then, let’s see how you look,” he said. He walked to the side of the box that had the key hole, placed a hoof on it, and gave it a push. But the wood didn’t budge; not even an inch.
The Doctor stepped back and frowned sadly. “Oh, still rebuilding hu?” He touched the box again, but didn’t stroke it. He just kept his hoof on it. “Don’t worry; you take all the time you need. I’ll be waiting while you do”.
The Doctor turned back towards us and put on his happy face again. “So, who want’s breakfast?”
He trotted past us and down the hallway before entering the kitchen. Daisy and Me were silent for a second before either of us spoke.
“What is with that stallion,” asked Daisy.
I wasn’t sure, but I wasn’t going to just sit here and wait for him to talk to us. I walked swiftly out of the living room and towards the kitchen. Daisy sighed sadly before following behind me.
When the two of us walked into the kitchen, we found the Doctor standing at the stove. A large bowl of what looked like pancake batter was sitting next to it, and the Doctor was loading a freshly made pancake onto an already large stack of them.
“Wow,” I said as I walked in. “You do work fast”.
“Oh, why thank you,” he said with a smile. “I figured you two mares must be hungry, so I thought pancakes would be an appropriate choice for breakfast”.
He cut the stake into three piles, placed them on his back, and carried them over to the table. He then gave his back a slight flick, and the three plates flew off him and onto the table, all without the stacks falling off.
“Breakfast is served,” said the Doctor. He took a seat and began digging into his own stack of pancakes.
Daisy and Me looked at each other; not exactly sure what we should say. Thank You? How? Or maybe even the most important question; who are you?
But the rumble in both our stomachs won out, and we each took a seat at the table. Daisy went straight into her pancakes….but I held off on mine for a second. Instead, I turned to the Doctor; I was going to get some answers.
“So, Doctor, what exactly is that box in our living room? I saw you walk out of it last night, but before then I saw it fall from the sky”.
The Doctor swallowed a mouthful of pancakes before replying. “Oh, that’s the Tardis. It’s how I travel around”.
“You travel in a big blue box,” asked Daisy. “How can it even move; I don’t see any wheels or balloon mechanisms”.
“There are other ways to get something to move,” said the Doctor. “The Tardis just happens to do it in a way that many would consider….different.”
“But why did it fall out of the sky,” I asked. “And how is it there wasn’t a scratch on it after it reached the ground. Not to mention you; I didn’t seen even a cut or a bruise on you!”
The Doctor’s smile faded and was replaced by a sad frown. “Oh, well that was thanks to my Regeneration. After that occured, all the cuts and scratches on my disappeared….along with a few other things”.
I didn’t know what the Doctor was talking about, but I knew it must had been hard for him. Something he cared about clearly wasn’t around anymore, and he was trying to hide the sadness. I had a feeling that, on the inside, he was facing a lot of problems.
Unfortunately, things like that weren’t good for me, at least, so I decided to distract myself with the pancakes in front of me. But before I could dig into them, there was a knock at the door.
I sighed before jumping off my seat and heading out of the kitchen. “I’ll get it”.
“Thanks Rose,” said Daisy, who’s mouth was filled with pancakes.
I made my way to the front door, which was still being knocked on by whoever was outside. When I got there, I pulled it open to find the frightened face of Lily looking back at me.
“Lily,” I asked, “what are you doing here?”
The mare looked like she had just seen a ghost. Her mane was sticking out in places, and her eyes were sunken like she hadn’t gotten any sleep.
“Rose, you’re not going to believe this. They found Lock Pick in an alleyway this morning….and he was dead!”
What! Lock Pick was one of the nicest ponies in all of Ponyville. I didn’t know one pony that didn’t at least respect him. How could it be that a sweet pony like him could end up dead in an alleyway.
“Who’s at the door Rose,” called Daisy.
“It’s Lily,” I called back. Then I looked back at Lily, “do you want to come in? We’re just finishing up breakfast”.
“Thanks for the offer,” said Lily. “But I’m heading back to the crime scene; ponies want to know what happened to Lock Pick. I just stopped by to tell you what happened”.
I nodded. “Thank You; I’ll be sure to inform the others about what happened”.
Lily let out a small smile before turning around and walking away. I shut the door and returned to the kitchen, where the Doctor and Daisy had just finished their pancakes.
“So, what did Lily want,” asked Daisy.
I knew this was going to be hard to hear, but it was best to say it now rather than later. “Lock Pick is dead”.
You could almost feel the happiness drain from the room, especially from Daisy’s face. Her eyes grew in size as her mouth opened wide in shock. She stayed like that for a second before she said anything.
“Lock Pick is dead? But how; he wasn’t that old and everypony I knew liked him?”
“I’m not sure,” I replied. “All I know is that he was found in an alleyway this morning; so be must have died last night”.
I turned to the Doctor; he’d mostly been quiet since I’d told them what had happened. For some reason; I expected him to have a similar reaction to Daisy. He might not be from around here, but a death is still a death.
Instead, I found a look of contemplation plastered on the Doctor’s face.
“It couldn’t be….could it? Last time I saw them they were hurtling towards a collapsing star”.
“Uh, Doctor, are you okay?”
The Doctor’s contemplation look disappeared as he turned to look at me. Now, he was once again wearing a big smile. “Oh, yes I am.”
He jumped out of his seat and trotted over to the entrance to the kitchen. “I’m just going to pop on over to the crime scene; I shouldn’t be long”.
What? Was this stallion crazy, or just mentally insane! “Why would you want to go to the crime scene?”
“Oh, I have my reasons,” he said, still smiling. Now, he was actually starting to look and sound like somepony who would do something like killing another pony.
….Oh Celestia, what if he WAS the one that did it? And now, he was returning to the scene of the crime to make sure nothing of him was left behind!
I couldn’t let that happen; I had to make sure he didn’t do anything that would make himself look innocent! I didn’t know what would be the best option, but I came up with one fairly quickly.
“I’m coming with you!”
Daisy and the Doctor looked at me like I’d said something crazy….which was probably an accurate statement.
However, the Doctor soon gave me a warming smile. “If you so wish, be my guest. No, wait, I should say be my companion; I don’t seem to have one at the moment”.
I didn’t even bother trying to understand what the Doctor was talking about; it was a lot easier than trying to understand. But if he was okay with me going along with him, then so be it. It’ll just be that much easier to keep an eye on him.
“So Roseluck,” he said with a smile. “As they say in Prance: ALLONS-Y!”
The Doctor turned on his hooves and headed for the front door. I gave Daisy an uncertain smile before turning and following behind him.
But before he reached the front door, he turned back to look at me. “By the way; what happened to the leather jacket I was wearing when you found me?”
That old thing? I didn’t know why he was concerned about that old thing. In all honesty, it didn’t look as good on him as he probably thought it did.
“I put it over here,” I said as I stepped towards the closet near the stairs. “I thought you’d be more comfortable sleeping without it”.
I opened the closet, then reached up and took the jacket off a hook I’d put it on earlier. I moved away from the closet and handed it to the doctor, who gratefully accepted it.
I expected him to put it on, but instead he started rummaging around the pockets. After a few seconds, his hoof retracted and he pulled out two objects from the jacket. One looked like a leather wallet, but the other one was a little harder to pin down. It looked like a cylinder with a blue marble at one end and a black cap at the other.
“Ah, good. Can’t go anywhere without these two,” he said as he placed them in his own pocket. “Right then, on we go”.
I didn’t know what those two objects were, but I decided to wait until later before asking. So the two of us once again headed for the door...and the crime scene that laded beyond.
***
The crime scene wasn’t too far away from the house. It only took us a few minutes to find it….mostly thanks to the mob of ponies that flocked around it. Some were trying their best to push their way through, while others were casually observing.
A few local police ponies stood at the front of the alleyway, making sure nopony got past. The Doctor and Me stopped towards the back, and arched our necks to try and get a better view.
“Well, I don’t think we’re going to get much farther than this,” I said.
The Doctor gave an uncertain face, and began to walk around the group of ponies. “Come along Rose; I have a way to get us past those guards”.
“What,” I said as I walked behind him. “How? Nopony’s going to let a random stallion just walk into the first major crime scene Ponyville’s seen in over 50 years!”
“Ah, but you forget my faire mare,” he said with a confident grin. “I am not a random stallion”.
He stopped at the part of the crowd nearest to the police officers; just within ear shot. “Excuse me,” he said to the officer.
The pony looked at the Doctor; not amused by the stallion calling him out. “What” he asked.
The Doctor pulled out the leather wallet from before and held it up to the guard. The stallion looked it over, and soon he looked at the Doctor differently. Now, he almost looked afraid of him.
“Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you sir.” He stepped aside, giving enough space for a pony to walk past him. “Go right ahead; we’ll be here if you need any assistance”.
“Thank you my good stallion,” he said confidently. “But I’ve already got an assistant”. He turned to me and called, “come Rose, we have a body to examine”.
WHAT? How did this stallion convince the police officer to let him pass? Not only that, but he was now dragging her to see Lock Pick’s body?
I was almost ready to walk away right then and there. But then I remembered that I had promised myself; to keep an eye on this stallion. So, if he wanted me to follow him, so be it.
I pushed my way past the other ponies and followed the Doctor down the alleyway. There weren’t any trash cans or pieces of junk like most alleys you see in town; it was mostly empty.
That is, except for the mass of meat and bones that was at the end of it!
I thought I was going to be sick….and I was right. I emptied my almost empty stomach away from the mass of meat, trying not to contaminate it. I knew that eventually somepony official was going to have to look at it.
After I was done, I turned back to find the Doctor looking over the body. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the strange device he taken from his jacket.
“What is that?”
The Doctor smiled. “This is my Sonic Screwdriver. It allows me to do all kinds of things; like right now I’m scanning this body to see what I can figure out about his death”.
“How can it do that,” I asked as I walked up to the two masses. It took a good amount of resistance not to barf again.
“Like this,” said the Doctor. He pressed a button on the device, and instantly is started producing a loud whirring noise. The blue ‘marble’ at the end started to glow, and the Doctor started moving the device over the meat and bones.
Soon, the stopped pressing the button and instead slid a piece of it upward. The top of the device rose up, revealing a clear tube below it. The Doctor stared at it for a second….and soon his face formed into one of worry again.
“Oh no,” he said, clicking the slider back into place. “It’s just as I feared; they’re here”.
“What are you talking about,” I asked. “Who’s here? What did your device say?”
The Doctor straightened up, keeping his eyes on the body. “The sonic found trace amounts of Krillitane oil along the body”. He turned to look at me, “that means the Krillitane did this, so they’re here in Ponyville”.
“What do you mean; what are Krillitane?”
“Krillitane are aliens that can give the illusion that they are regular ponies. But underneath that, they’re really just monsters. They take the best bits of every race they conquer and add it to themselves; therefore making themselves more powerful”.
I swallowed; that sounded like a horrible way to improve yourself. And doing that to a race of creatures was just wrong!
“Have you encountered them before,” I asked.
The Doctor sighed. “Yes, just before I came here. I was battling one of the last remnants of their species, but soon things got out of hoof.” He scratched his neck embarrassedly. “To make a long story short, I ended up crashing my Tardis here, and I guess they followed me”.
“But why,” I asked. “Why would they follow you, and why would they kill Lock Pick? This doesn’t make any sense!”
“Not yet it doesn’t,” said the Doctor. “But I do know this; if the Krillitanes are here, then all of Ponyville is in danger.”
“So what can we do?”
The Doctor sighed, then let out a confident smile.
“Same thing I always do: Save the Day!”
