Coming Back and Giving Thanks
It was a rough ride for the TARDIS as it crossed the inter-dimensional void, the police call box flying through un-space as easily as a car would traverse a pothole-covered road. The four occupants of the Type-40, Danielle Richards, Ditzy Doo, Dinky Doo and Amethyst Sparkler, held on as best they could as the pilot, Doctor Whooves, did his best to steer the old girl through the ether. “All right, let's hold on with... whatever you've got.” His brow furrowed. “That's odd.” He waved a hoof in the air. “Ah, probably nothing.”
Danielle hung onto one of the handrails. She swayed back and forth from the turbulence, but managed to steady herself and glare at the Doctor. “Oh, no! This isn't gonna be like that time at Women Wept.” She waggled a finger at the Time Lord. “What's going on?”
The Doctor swallowed. He pushed a hanging monitor over in Danielle's direction. “There's some sort of current tugging at the TARDIS. It's quite strong and insistent.”
Ditzy flew over to her husband's side, one eye focused on a monitor hanging in front of him, and the other focused on their children. “Could it be that Dalek remnant fleet you, Romana and Rory took care of before you crash-landed in Equestria?”
The Doctor shook his head. “Nah, wrong direction and too powerful to be them. I'm not sure what it is, though.”
Dinky spoke up. “Can't be the Daleks. Or anything really dangerous, Mommy. If it was, the Cloister Bell would be ringing. And Daddy would be running around in a blind, frothing panic.”
The Doctor rolled his eyes. “Really, Dinky. I think I'd be a bit more dignified than that.”
Amethyst reached over and gently mussed her younger sister's mane. “I dunno, Dad. You got pretty stressed out when Danielle mentioned a classmate named 'David Ross' within earshot.”
“It wasn't that bad,” The Doctor said, ears folding flat against his skull.
The TARDIS rocked, sending everyone except Ditzy stumbling. Amethyst's and Dinky's horns lit up, and the pair telekinetically 'locked' everyone's hooves or feet down on the deck plating. “Try not to move too much!” Amethyst shouted.
The Doctor grinned. “Look at that, my clever daughters.” He looked down at the control console and pushed a lever. “All right, let's see if we can't get back on track and back to Ponyville. I think–”
The TARDIS lurched once more. The Doctor's hooves slipped off the control console and his head flew forward, smacking off the panel in front of him. He rebounded up, eyes crossed. “Now reverse the polarity of the fish fingers and custard,” he muttered, before falling forward into unconsciousness.
“Dad!”
“Daddy!”
“Doctor!”
“Doctor!”
“I think he's coming to. Doctor, are you all right?”
The Doctor's eyes fluttered open. Danielle's face filled their vision, along with three women strange yet familiar. “Danielle, what happened and how many times have I told you not to let strangers aboard the TARDIS? Nasty habit, that is.”
Danielle rolled her eyes. “You're one to talk.” She held a mirror up, showing the Doctor's muzzle-less face. “You look human, Doctor.”
“No, you look Time Lord,” the Doctor reflexively responded. “Now there's a face I haven't seen in a while.” They blinked and turned their head to the right. “So that means you're Ditzy, Dinky, and Amethyst?” They sat up, groaning and rubbing their forehead. “Oh, been a while since I've been so big!” They looked their hands over. “And fingers! I've got fingers again!”
Ditzy and Danielle helped the Doctor to their feet. Ditzy stumbled a bit. She shrugged, then looked over her shoulders. “Oh, no wing. No wonder I'm off-balance.”
Dinky patted her forehead. “And neither Amethyst nor I have horns. Daddy, is this permanent?”
The Doctor's eyes darted back and forth, finally landing on their sonic screwdriver. They scooped it up, fumbling a bit before steadying their fingers. “Ooh, use a hoof for about six hundred years and muscle memory just takes over.” They waved it over Ditzy, Dinky, Amethyst and then themselves before bringing it up. “Temporary morphogenic camouflage field,” they announced. “You're still pony underneath, as am I. Physical structure altered with artron energy, like a rubber band stretched. It'll snap back. Just something the TARDIS whipped up so we can blend in better.”
Danielle smirked. “I've been spending too much time around you, Doctor. I understood that.” She grabbed a monitor and swung it around to face the Doctor and others. “Oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere, gravity exactly like that of Earth's.” She tilted the screen back towards her, so she could see the image of some trees and a field of grass, along with a small bench occupied by an old man and much younger girl. “I think the old girl is telling us to go out, considering your disguises.”
Ditzy placed a hand on the Doctor's forearm. “What do you think?”
Dinky bounced a bit on her feet. “Can we please go out, Daddy?”
The Doctor's eyes glanced over another monitor. “Well, it will take about fifteen minutes for the TARDIS' engines to reboot for takeoff.” They picked a fedora off a coat rack near the door. “Time for a little walk!”
The quintet emerged into a cool Autumn day, with a slight breeze and cloudy sky. Ditzy, Danielle and Amethyst congregated near the TARDIS, but the Doctor and Dinky wandered to the old man and young girl sitting at the bench. “Hello, there,” the Doctor said, grinning. They looked up and about. “What a lovely day it is! May I sit?”
The old man sighed, but scooted over. “If you insist, young one. Doesn't matter much, anyway.”
Dinky walked over to the old man's side, opposite the other girl. “Are you all right? You seem sad.”
The young girl spoke up. “Grandfather hasn't been feeling well. He's tired.” Her right arm shot out. “I'm Judith!”
Dinky grinned and grabbed Judith's hand. “I'm Dinky. And now we're friends!” She looked to the Doctor. “Daddy, can we go play?”
Judith, likewise, looked to the old man. “Can we, Grandfather?”
A sigh escaped the old man, but he waved her off. “All right, all right. Just stay in line of sight!” His head turned as Judith and Dinky ran off with the energy only small children could possess. “I was young like that, once. Now time's passing me by far too quickly.” He extended his hand. “Oh, sorry. My granddaughter's showing more manners than me. I'm Bill.”
The Doctor took Bill's hand in their own. “And I'm... Jamie. Yes, Jamie.” They leaned back. “So, what's troubling you, Bill? You seem pretty down.”
Bill leaned back and gazed off into the distance. “I can't do my job anymore,” he said, voice quavering. He waved a hand over his temple. “I can't remember my lines, and the grind's just too much. So I'm being replaced.”
The Doctor nodded slightly. “Ah, an actor? Never worked in that profession, but I've got friends in the business.”
Bill arched an eyebrow. “You... don't recognize me?” He waved a hand over his face. “On television? It's rather popular. Doc–”
“Never was much of a TV watcher,” the Doctor said over Bill's words. “Always called it the idiot's lantern, preferred reading and other stuff.”
Bill's mouth set into a thin line. “Well, it's not that bad. Anyway, as I was saying, I just can't do the job right anymore. And I-I understand that, and the folks at the BBC are doing their best to not make me feel bad, but I'm still letting so many people down.”
The Doctor's eyebrows furrowed. “Oh, I don't think it's that bad. You did your best, Bill. No shame in bowing out if you've gotta.”
Bill shook his head. He pointed to Judith and Dinky, now surrounded by Ditzy, Amethyst, and Danielle. “But I'm letting the children down!” he exclaimed, voice rising. “They look up to me. They have fun with my adventures, but I just...” He sank down into the bench. “I just can't do it. The mind's too foggy. The body just can't handle it.”
The pair sat in silence for a few minutes. “You're a good man, Bill,” the Doctor finally said. “A lot better than a lot of folks I've met over the years, myself included.” They held up a hand even as Bill started speaking. “No, no. It's true. It's good of you to want to carry on for the children.” Their eyes lingered on Dinky and Judith, playing hopscotch. “But you gotta know when to throw in the towel, step aside so their memories are of the good times, and not of the bad times. There's no shame in saying, 'I'm tired'. That's a lesson drilled into this noggin over a long time.”
Silence settled over the pair for a few minutes. “You're quite smart for being so young,” Bill finally said. “And, well, Patrick is the best man for the job. I chose him myself!”
The Doctor grinned. “Well, there you go! The role's in capable hands. He'll do fine. You can retire and rest.” They stared off into the distance. “Quite envious, being able to rest. Been running for a long time.”
Bill rolled his eyes. “Oh, come now. You've got a lot of years left in you.”
Any rejoinder was cut off as Danielle walked over. “Sorry to intrude, but our ride's all set.” She said, turning and pointing back at the TARDIS.
Bill's eyebrows furrowed as he followed Danielle's finger. “Excuse me young lady, but that's a police call box. Is your ride behind it?”
The Doctor slapped their thighs and stood up. “Oh, you're in for a treat. Have a good retirement, Bill. Have some fish fingers on me, all right?” They walked over to Dinky and Judith, Danielle trailing behind. “Time to say bye, Dinky.”
Dinky groaned. “Ah, but Daddy!”
Amethyst waggled a finger at her younger sister. “No 'buts', young lady. Listen to Dad. Time to go.”
Dinky sighed. “Bye, Judith. We gotta go.” She reached out and hugged her friend. “I had fun!”
Judith returned the hug. “Can we play tomorrow?”
The Doctor and Ditzy exchanged a somewhat melancholic glance. The Doctor knelt down. “I'm afraid we'll be going away for a while, Judith, so I'm not sure when we'll be back, if ever.”
“But if we do, we'll stop by,” Ditzy continued, patting her on the shoulder. “Thanks for being such a good girl.”
Bill walked over, leaning to the left a bit. “W-wait, a moment, Jamie. Where's your ride? There's nothing behind the call box.” His expression darkened. “Now, if you're mocking me, I won't stand for it!”
Danielle's eyes narrowed. “We're not... mocking you, sir. It's just... maybe we'll explain later.” With that, she opened the TARDIS door and walked in. Ditzy, Dinky, and Amethyst all followed.
The Doctor grinned at Bill and squeezed his shoulders. “Oh, I wish you could see. Well, you will. Thanks for the talk, Bill. And don't worry. Things will work out fine. In fact, they should be fantastic!” With that, they turned and walked into the TARDIS, the door closing behind them.
A low, wheezing, groaning sound echoed through the park, through the fabric of time as the TARDIS faded out, leaving William 'Bill' Hartnell and his young granddaughter behind. Bill stared at the spot the TARDIS had stood moments ago. “Impossible,” he muttered.
Judith looked up at her grandfather. “Is that the magic box you fly around in on the television?”
Bill's eyes widened. He slowly shook his head. “It can't be, but maybe...” He slowly smiled, then looked down at Judith and patted her head. “Let's get back home, Judith. Heather will have dinner ready for us by the time we're home.” He looked up at the sky. “Safe travels, Doctor. And thanks for helping an old man out. Good luck getting back to your home, wherever or whenever it is.”
Author's Note
Happy anniversary, Doctor Who!
This is dedicated to EVERY actor or actress who's ever played the Doctor, as well as companions and the folks behind the scenes. Thanks for the entertainment over the years. :)
Which face did the Doctor have? Yes. :p