Chapters Chapter 1: Ghost In The Machine
Chapter 1: Ghost In The Machine
Night blanketed Equestria. The early morning hours in Ponyville were only visited by three different visitors; the stars, Princess Luna’s moon, and a purple unicorn called Twilight Sparkle. The mare was awake for an activity she loved to do while the rest of the world was asleep, stargazing. From the comfort of the Ponyville library’s balcony, the unicorn sat with her telescope and books as she charted the stars and made observations.
Looking into the telescope, she observed a couple of stars before turning back to her books and using her magic to write something with her quill. She smiled at her scribbling in the book and returned to her sky watching.
“I do love these peaceful nights. Just me, my telescope, and the stars looking down upon me,” Twilight mused, reading her notes by candlelight, “Shame that no pony else joins me for these late night endeavors.”
Using her magic to adjust the knobs on the telescope, Twilight’s vision in the lens widened and allowed her to view more of the stars. She continued to observe the heavens until she saw what looked like a shooting star across the sky. This startled the purple pony as she backed up from her lens. She looked back up to the sky with her bare eyes to see the star stream across the sky.
“Wow, it’s so beautiful. It looks so big….” Twilight commented, “….and close!” The shooting star seemed to come closer and out of the sky down to the surface. With the appearance of being engulfed fire, the star fell to the surface and landed in the outskirts of Ponyville.
Standing up, Twilight tried to take a look of what landed from the balcony. “What in Celestia’s name was that?” she asked in astonishment. She looked to the other homes in Ponyville, noticing that it had not awaken any of the other residents. With a sudden burst of energy, Twilight blew out the candle and hurried inside of the library. Quickly, she gathered up a flashlight, some quills and parchment into her saddlebag. She then went to Spike’s bed to try and wake her assistant.
“Spike! Spike, wake up!” she shook the small dragon’s small bed, “Spike, come on, wake up!”
The baby dragon came to life, “Wha-huh?” Spike was obviously tired and not entirely awake.
“Spike, a shooting star landed just outside of Ponyville!” her voice was filled with excitement, “Come on, let’s go check it out!”
“Twi….it’s way too early to do anything….” Spike yawned from being woken. He quickly pulled the covers over his head.
“But just think of what we could learn from this! I mean, this is a shooting star that has landed in Equestria! And if I write a report about it, I could possibly become published scholars along with the likes of Star Swirl The Bearded! You have to come along with me, Spike, you are my assistant!” the mare’s eagerness kept pushing the dragon’s buttons.
From beneath his blanket, Spike replied sternly, “No, I’m going back to bed and that’s final.” With in moments of that statement, Spike had return to sleep.
Finally giving up on the lost cause, Twilight left her assistant to his sleep as she exited the library. With the light of the moon, Twilight trotted quickly to site of the extraterrestrial body had landed.
“Honestly, I don’t understand how Spike could pass up such a rare and magnificent opportunity. This could be big! And if I write about this wonderful event, I can go down in pony history! Oh, just the thought of that is amazing to me! I can see it now in the newspapers, ‘Princess’s Prized Pupil Discovers Extraterrestrial Object In Ponyville’. I like the sound of that!” Twilight’s imagination had captivated her mind as she drew closer to the site.
Arriving to the location where she had given an approximate estimate of it’s landing, Twilight only saw a large crater. Carefully, the unicorn used her magic to take out her flashlight from the bag to shine into the hole. A little on edge with the darkness, the mare held her breath as she examined the object that had fallen from the heavens. Looking at the item sitting at the bottom, she saw it was a blue rectangular box, lying with its width down. Continuing her observation, she saw that there were what looked like a few windows on the box with a yellow tint. At one end of the object, there was a light at the top that was flashing as well as the words ‘Police Box’.
“Now what exactly is this thing?” Twilight asked herself before carefully making her way down into the crater. While the shadows caused by the flashlight’s beam did spook the mare, she continued on to satisfy her curiosity.
Standing next to the strange blue box, Twilight noticed it was quite large, and that in it’s current position, it was as tall as her. She quickly came to the conclusion that it was not properly upright and that was meant to be standing to be three times tall than her in height.
Continuing her observation, she made another comment, “This very odd. What kind of power source is causing all of these lights to stay on? Is it an independent power source? Maybe perhaps it’s charged somehow?”
“You are correct with the first, my dear!” a voice loudly and proudly proclaimed from seemingly nowhere.
This spooked Twilight very much, causing her to drop her flashlight and back away from the object in front of her. “Wh-Who said that?” her voice was filled with panic at both the disembodied voice and with her source of portable light now gone out of her reach. The idea of what it could be startled Twilight, as her first assumption was assuming that it was some type of ghost or phantom, “A-Are you some sort of gh-ghost?” After she spoke, she realized exactly how silly it sounded for her to ask something, but it did worry her nevertheless.
Responding to her question, the top of the box opened up, revealing it to be a doorway. With light coming out of the opening, a light brown stallion with darker hair popped out and smiled warmly to the fearful Twilight, “No ghost here! And certainly no Gelth! One can easily mistake those for something of a ghost.”
Cowering in fear, Twilight was very cautious as she spoke, “Wh-Who are you?”
With a proud demeanor and a bright smile, he spoke, “I’m the Doctor! And what I need you to do is to trust me.”
Chapter 2: Lights
“Doctor? Twilight remarked, “Doctor who, exactly?”
With a smirk, the stallion replied, “Oh, that question has come up far more times than I can count. Now then, no dilly dallying, come along!” Without a second thought or a enough time for the unicorn to process his words, the Doctor pulled Twilight into the blue box via the open door that was facing upward.
The moment Twilight could process what had just happened, she was in amazement as she looked about the large room she had just entered into. Confused as well as stunned by the interior, she tried to speak, but only could say nonsense.
“It’s called a TARDIS. Time and relative dimensions in space. It’s a spaceship and a time machine in one, and yes, it is bigger on the inside, okay? Okay, now can you please follow me up here so you can help me?” the Doctor wasted no time when he returned his ship. He quickly trotted up to the console and fiddled with the switches and levers, observing the screens that he had around him.
“Who are you and why should I trust you?” Twilight finally came to her senses as she followed the brown pony onto the platform, “For all I know you could be some weird pony out trying to ponynap me for Celestia knows what reasons! And what do you mean this is a spaceship? And for that matter, a time machine! That’s just science fiction! Just who do you think you are?”
Still pressing buttons, the Doctor looked to the purple mare, “I told you, I’m the Doctor. And if you don’t help me fix my lovely machine, well you can say goodbye to this hemisphere of your planet. To be honest, it looks like a lovely world with a lot to offer.”
With a surge of energy, the console sparked a few times causing both ponies to shield themselves with their front limbs. The Doctor inputted a few more things into the machine before turning to the mare, “Right then, going to need some extra help with this. Name?”
Twilight was caught off guard, “Wha?”
“Name. Your name. What you are identified as in relation to the rest of your species. You have a name, don’t you?” the Doctor spoke quickly.
“Twilight. I’m Twilight Sparkle.”
“Twilight. A beautiful name. Right, listen carefully since time is of the essense. I need you to pull these levers when I tell you to, and after that, I will give you more instructions. You have to act quickly, understood?” Pointing to the console, the Doctor explained.
The purple pony nodded nervously.
“Wonderful. Wait here.”
With a gallop in his movement, the Doctor hopped down from the platform and began to fiddle with the wires below the console itself. Detaching from some and reinserting them in others, he worked quickly as fast as his hooves and sonic screwdriver could move. With a few sparks occurring below, it began to worry Twilight who was anxiously waiting for the Doctor’s orders.
“Get ready, Ms. Sparkle….” the Doctor warned, speaking with his sonic screwdriver in his mouth.
Twilight braced herself mentally.
“Flip the switch!”
The mare did as she was told, flipping both levers upward.
Orders were continually being shouted, “Now, press the orange and green buttons at the same time, now!”
With a bit of hesitation, the unicorn managed to press the two buttons. The second she hit them, the entire power of the TARDIS seemed to completely to die out. The machinery was dead, the lights were all off, and the entire ship was dark and lifeless. While the Doctor found this curious, Twilight was panicking.
“This was quite odd,” the stallion commented nonchalantly.
“What has happened?” a touch of fear and dread was in present in the mare’s voice.
“Seems to be just a delay in the power’s transfer to the main systems. Nothing major,” the Doctor informed Twilight by shouting up to her.
Twilight was not comfortable, “I don’t care what happened, just get the lights back on. Now.”
“Main power should be restored momentarily, no need to rush it.”
Firmly, the unicorn wasn’t just going to wait, “I don’t care who you think you are, Mr. Doctor, but you will listen to me when I say turn the lights back on right this insta-” Her words were cut off by the entire room being lit up by a surge of electricity sparking out from the console itself, shocking Twilight for at least seven full seconds.
“Oh dear, this is not good, not good at all!” the Doctor dashed up the stairs to the console platform to assist the fallen Twilight.
Noticing that the TARDIS has come back to life, he pulled a few levers, causing the machine to begin it’s whirring and moving. He then turned his attention to Twilight Sparkle, lifting her head up with his front limbs and looked at the purple unicorn’s body. With only a bit of apparent burns to her mane and tail, Twilight was breathing and just fine. “Tough gal,” the Doctor commented to himself.
A few minutes passed before Twilight awoke with her head resting on one of the stallion’s limbs. A light was shined into her eyes, causing her to raise a hoof up to block the beam. “Ugh….what is that?” she mumbled.
“A sonic screwdriver. A multi-purpose tool that is right now making sure you’re not going to die on me,” the Doctor joked, looking at his device, “And it just gave you a clean bill of health, save the minor burns on your mane and tail.”
Raising herself up from the Doctor’s limb, Twilight rubbed her head before speaking, “Do you mind filling me in on the little details of what happened?”
Closing his sonic screwdriver and putting away, a smile returned to the Doctor’s face, “I’ll be happy to. First we tried to revive the TARDIS, then the old girl blacked out on us. You then made it apparent that you have lygophobia, and then you were shocked with, I would say, about 20,000 volts of pure electricity. Bodies do make good conductors with electrical circuit.”
“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind next time I’m experimenting with volts,” Twilight replied sarcastically.
“Nevertheless,” the Doctor continued, “with your help, the TARDIS is back in working order, good as new. Well, as new as she was when I stole her.”
“Stole?”
“Oh yeah, me and this machine go way back,” the stallion lightly bragged.
With a heavy sigh, Twilight rubbed her head as she trotted towards the door, “This is way to weird to be real. This has to be some weird dream. Tea, I just need to get some tea from home.”
The brown stallion was close behind, “A spot of tea? Don’t mind I if I join ya!”
Chapter 3: Two Hearts In 3/4 Time
Chapter 3: Two Hearts In 3/4 Time
As Celestia’s sun began to peak over the distant mountains, Twilight Sparkle was making her way back to her home at the library. While she would normally enjoy walking back home in the early dawn of the morning, watching all of the creatures waking up from their slumber and observe the dew that had settled on the field, she had a company that she wasn’t expecting. A brown stallion with an hourglass on his flank.
“Why are you still following me?” Twilight turned her head back to him as she continued trotting down the path.
“What do you mean, ‘why’? You offered something about tea, did you not?” the Doctor asked, still with a bit of smirk on his face.
“Well, yeah for me, not y-”
The stallion interrupted, “Then what’s the problem? We all can use a cup of tea every now and then, and it’s a wonderful way for us to chat, don’t you think? In fact, one of my old friends always loved to have a warm cup of tea, bless her soul.”
Twilight was tired of fighting and just wanted to get home after a sleepless night, “Fine, just hurry up, Mr. Doctor.”
“Oi! That’s the Doctor to you, Ms. Sparkle.”
When the two ponies arrived to the library, the purple mare wasted no time as she trotted to the kitchen to prepare her tea. The Doctor, on the other hoof, looked around the library with a very pleased look. Examining the smallest detail around him, he trotted around the main room with a bright smile.
“You live in a library, do you?” he asked aloud.
“Well, yes and no. I’m the town librarian, but this is also my home. On the second floor anyway. It’s a bit odd, I know, but it’s something I have to admit that I love,” Twilight commented from the kitchen, moving the kettle to the metal tray with two cups.
“Not the least bit odd. I love books myself. Filled with knowledge, some of the most powerful things in the universe are held in the pages of books! Even the smalls, most insignificant books can change history!” the Doctor mused as he read a number of the book titles to himself.
The Doctor’s comments perked Twilight’s ears up. “Okay, Doctor. I have our tea. Now, talk.” Using her magic, she placed the tray on the coffee table in front of the sofa and poured tea into both cups. Twilight sat down and used magic to levitate a cup to her mouth for a sip.
“I could talk about anything and everything, but we would be here for ages! Mind narrowing down for what you want to talk about?” the stallion sat down in front of the table and carefully took the cup of tea and took a quick sip, “Ah, black tea. If I’m correct, it’s bailin gongfu, one of the three famous Fujian reds.”
The mare had it, “Alright, Mr. Doctor, spill it. Just who are you? First you claim you are some sort of traveler through time and space. You use me to help you with your….whatever that thing is.”
“TARDIS,” the Doctor interjected.
“Whatever! Then I get shocked and my mane gets burnt, which I’m not too happy about so you know. Then you seemingly claimed to have make sure I was okay with some ‘screwdriver’ thing. You called yourself a thief and just follow me back to my home for tea. You call yourself the Doctor, but Doctor who?”
The Doctor took a long drink from his tea cup before replying, “You want me to be honest?”
“Well, obviously.”
“No secrets?”
“No secrets.”
With a sigh, the stallion began, “Very well then, I am the Doctor and I am a traveler just passing through. In fact, I’m not even sure how I got into this new body. Regeneration is always tricky.”
“What?” Twilight was lost.
“To put it simply, I’m a Time Lord, an ancient race of aliens who are capable of time travel. The blue box you saw? My time machine. And I should have you know, we don’t normally take the form of….well, equestrian species. We are more fans of bipedal organisms, no offense,” the Doctor explained as best he could.
The unicorn wasn’t buying it, “Uh-huh, an alien? You sure you just didn’t escape from a nut house?”
“Then how do you explain what just happened to us back at the TARDIS? And your hair?” the Doctor asked, pointing to Twilight’s purple and pink mane.
“Lack of sleep? At least that would explain the idea that I’m hallucinating all of this.”
“Are you really that daft?” the Doctor was getting annoyed with Twilight’s attitude. He stood up on all four of his hooves and moved to the other side of the table where Twilight was, “Do you lack your imagination, you silly filly?”
Twilight didn’t change her demeanor, “I’m just looking a this from the most probable view.”
“You like using logic, don’t you?”
“I am a scientist by study.”
“Then have your logic explain this, Ms. Sparkle.” With a fling of his front limbs, the Doctor wrapped his hooves around Twilight’s head and drew it to his torso.
With an ear up against the Doctor’s body, Twilight’s face lit up a bright red. Before she could push the stallion away, she heard a steady heartbeat through his coat. The Doctor then moved her carefully to the other side of his chest where she heard the same beating of a heart. A second heart. The brown pony then let the mare go.
Twilight moved back and didn’t know what she had experienced, “Wh-What was that?”
The Doctor explained, “Time Lords have two hearts, regardless of what kind of body that regeneration gives them. Now do you believe me? It’s kinda hard to fake that.”
“I-I believe you….I just don’t….”
“Believe it?” he finished the statement that was on her mind with a smirk, “It’s quite alright, it takes a while for most to fully comprehend it. Took Donna quite a bit. Took Rory even longer.”
The purple unicorn was still confused as well as flustered, “I still don’t understand why you are here though. If you are who you say you are, you could go literally anywhere.”
“As I said, just passing through. I always like little detours on my journey to nowhere.”
Sighing and raising a hoof to her head, Twilight was trying to completely process what had happened and who was standing in front of her. Talking to herself, she commented “Nothing can make this even more weird for me….”
The voice of a familiar little dragon perked the ears of both ponies, “Morning, Twilight. Whose your coltfriend?”
The statement caused the unicorn’s face to become pale.
Chapter 4: Strangers In The Night
Chapter 4: Strangers In The Night
“So, whose this stallion?” Spike asked as he made his way down the staircase into the main room of the library.
“He’s a….friend….that I just met last night,” Twilight hesitated in her answer.
The dragon became more interested, “Oh, how did ya two meet?”
The Doctor spoke before the unicorn could start, “Oh, she helped me out of a jam when my TARDIS had a little crash after falling down to the surface.” He noticed then that Twilight was glaring at him, not amused, “What, you want me to lie?”
“Quite honestly, I wish you did,” the mare’s voice was annoyed.
“So, you randomly met this strange pony last night after he felt out of the sky?” Spike pointed to the brown pony.
“Spike, don’t be rude!”
“That about sums it up in a neat little package!” the Doctor commented with a laugh.
Spike was still puzzled, “So, what are you exactly?”
Twilight replied for the Doctor, “He’s an alien, despite that he doesn’t look it. Look, can you just go away, Spike? I’m still trying to figure out some things here about this pony….or alien….or whatever!”
Spike seemed too interested to leave, “No way, this is too cool!”
The Doctor smiled, “I’m glad that you think so, little dragon, or Spike, if I may call you that.”
“Totally, that’s fine! So, what’s your name?” the dragon asked.
“The Doctor,” he simply answered.
“Doctor What?”
Landing near Spike, Twilight’s pet owl, Owlicious, spoke, “Who?”
“This colt right here, the Doctor. I’m trying to figure out his name,” Spike explained.
“Who?” the owl repeated.
“The Doctor’s name. I’m asking for his name.”
“Who?”
“Him. The Doctor!” Spike was losing his patience.
“Who?”
“That’s it, I’m trying to figure out who he is!”
“Who?”
“The Doctor!”
“Who?”
“Are we seriously doing this?” The Doctor turned to Twilight Sparkle who seemed to be used to this sort of situation.
With a sip of her tea, the mare calmly spoke, “Just ignore them when they start fighting. That’s what I do.”
“Happens a lot, I take it?”
“More than you would think.”
Finally, Spike gave up on arguing with Owlicious and turned his attention back to the Doctor, “So, if you’re an alien, Doctor, do you have some sort of adventures in a spaceship or something? Can you tell me some?” The small dragon was getting excited.
The Doctor took a drink of his tea before he started, “Oh, but of course, but where should I start? Oh, how about the Daleks? They are a very spiteful race of organisms trapped in a metal box of their own creation. While they may look simply silly, one Dalek can bring down an entire planet, which is why when you see one, you run.”
“Whoa, really?” Spike was wide-eyed.
“Indeed. Even worse is that they are a hateful race with the intent to destroy all that is not of their own kind,” the Doctor remembered.
“Wow, what other aliens have you come across?”
“There’s the Sontarans. A race military-like species whom have been likened to a ‘talking baked potato’ by some species. They never do anything with out a military reason, which is one reason why they are all cloned to all have a like mind set.”
Spike had yet another question, “What about dragons? Any dragons in space?”
“Of course! The Dracoians are also out there in the reaches of space! Not a exactly a friendly race but filled with a code of honor.”
“I like the sound of that. They sound tough and strong.”
“Perked your fancy, didn’t I?” the Doctor smirked, “If you want tough and strong, how about I tell you about the police force of the Shadow Proclamation, the Judoon?”
“Am I the only sane one here?” Twilight interrupted, feeling as if she was invisible to the two males in the room as they chatted around her.
“Excuse me, where are my manners? First you help me with the TARDIS, you offer me tea, and then I just ignore you. That is very impolite of me, Ms. Sparkle,” the Doctor turned his attention back to the unicorn.
With a huff, Twilight gave a sour expression to the Doctor, “It certainly was.”
“She went into your spaceship?” Spike asked after piecing a bit of the puzzle together.
“She certainly did. Twilight helped me out in my TARDIS as I needed some assistance with fixing some of the time mechanics that were damaged. Though the power surge and blackout was quite bizarre. Never seen my own TARDIS pitch black before,” the Doctor continued to think about why the entire machine had powered down as it did when Twilight was helping him.
Spike gave sly smirk, “Did she cry when the lights went out?”
Embarrassed, Twilight scolded her assistant, “Spike! Shush!”
“Yes, she did quite testy when the power oddly shut off,” the stallion gave a small chuckle.
Spike also laughed, “Haha, she always did have a fear of the dark. She used to have me check for monsters in her closet, and I’m the younger one!”
“By all means, she has every reason to fear the dark!” the Doctor explained, “The Vashta Nerada are just one race she has the right to fear. Those little microscopic carnivores hide in the dark shadows and refuse to give up when they know a meal is nearby. It’s thanks to them why most have a fear of the dark. They aren’t called ‘the shadows that melt the flesh’ for nothing! They’re even on your planet right now, but in very small numbers.”
As Spike cowered in fear at the idea of shadow monsters, the unicorn was uneasy as she replied, “Great. Thank you, Doctor. Now I never want to leave my home ever again.”
“Oh, fret not. They are harmless unless in massive quantities. But if you ever have a second shadow; run,” the Doctor explained.
Twilight raised an eyebrow, “Always with the running, huh?”
“The best plan is sometimes the simplest,” the stallion pointed out.
“Can’t argue with that, I guess.”
The Doctor took one last drink of his tea,“And speaking of running, I think it’s about time that I be on my way.”
“Aww, but why can’t you stay?” Spike asked, still a little shaken about the idea of the Vashta Nerada.
“I got the universe to see and got people and organisms to meet,” the stallion stated, “I’m not getting younger, now am I? And I mean that chronologically, not by the way I look.”
“Alright, if you insist on leaving, I think I can at least take you back to where you….um, crashed,” Twilight paused to pick the right word for her sentence.
“Excellent, shall we away?”
Spike quickly interjected, “I want to come, too!”
“No, Spike, you still have your chores to finish,” the mare said in her very motherly tone.
The dragon groaned, “I’ll do them when I get back.”
“No, you need to get them done now, Spike.”
“Fine….” Spike finally admitted defeat bitterly.
The Doctor smiled and tried to cheer up the sad Spike, “Buck up, my boy, I might come back and see you sometime. Anything is possible! Besides, if you do come along, K9 would get jealous.”
Both Spike and Twilight gave confused looks and a unison statement of “What?”
“Oh nothing,” the Doctor chuckled to himself as he headed toward the front door of the library to leave, “Come along, Ms. Sparkle!”
Chapter 5: My Town
Trotting through the bustling center of Ponyville, the Doctor and Twilight were going amid rush of ponies going back and forth. Twilight seemed to be bothered by the late afternoon hustle and bustle of the crowds, while the Doctor seemed to feel right at home among the swarm of mares and stallions.
"Just look at this place! Everyone's going every which way and being so lively, I love it! You have vendors selling local treats, you have your ponies here and there enjoying each other's company on such a fine day. Oh, it takes me back. Reminds me of when Donna and I visited Shan Shen. Or perhaps Satellite Five with Rose, that is, before things turned for the worse," the Doctor mused as he looked around and took in the sights, scents, and sounds.
Twilight glared at the brown stallion, "Okay, Doctor, I'll bite. Just who are you?"
"I told you, I'm the Doctor!" the Doctor smirked playfully.
"That's not what I mean. Just who are you exactly? Like, your name. You asked mine, so I figure it's only fair if I know yours," the purple mare spoke, dodging a few oncoming pedestrians.
The Doctor slightly chuckled, "That, my dear Twilight Sparkle, are some spoilers that I just can't share."
"Spoilers? What do you mean? Is this some sort of book, some sort of story?" Twilight was bothered by his light-hearted response.
"That, too, is something I just can't share with you. But, what I can share is a bit of your future," the Doctor hinted.
"M-My future?" Twilight was stunned at the thought.
"Well, not exactly your future as in you yourself, but your whole planet. If you'd like, that is."
Twilight was hesitant to speak. A peek at the future, she had once had an experience like this before, however, it ended with herself continually arguing with herself. "I don't know…."
"Nothing major, just some minor history about your quaint little town here."
"My town?"
"Yes, this wonderful little home of yours!" the Doctor began to muse again as he trotted about, "It's a wonderful little town. Has a lovely homey feel to it and it reminds me of some of the small towns I have visited in the past. One that comes to mind is Leadworth in England back on Earth. I can still taste those fish fingers and custard."
The purple mare was bewildered, "How do you know such things about the future?"
The Doctor smiled, "Have you paying attention at all? I'm the Doctor!"
A heavy sigh escaped from Twilight, "And we are back to square one with this."
Chuckling, the Doctor continued, "Nevertheless, there are many great things in store for this town, and including you, Ms. Sparkle."
A bit puzzled still, the mare continued her trotting, finally exiting the crowds of Ponyville to the vacant paths leading out as the sky began to grow dark, "For me? But, what do you mean? What happens?"
"Spoilers," was all the brown stallion said as he continued trotting towards the edge of Ponyville.
Another sigh came from Twilight, "Always with the mystery."
"Yeah, well, I did just meet you, after all," the stallion teased.
"Oh sure, and you asking me to help you with your time machine which caused to black out and have my mane slightly burned is much more acceptable and normal," Twilight snapped back.
"Such a pluckly little gal, just like Sarah Jane," the Doctor commented.
"Again with this! I'm sure you are making sense with all of this, but I can barely make any of it!" Twilight gave a sour look to the brown pony.
"Then why don't you come with me?"
Twilight froze in her trotting, "Come again?"
Chapter 6: Twilight
"You heard me, come along and travel with me!" the Doctor restated giving her a warm and welcoming smile.
Twilight shook herself back to normal, "Now you're just being more ridiculous than usual, which I have admit is something I didn't think you could do."
"Am I being ridiculous? I've been called a madman with a box far more times than I count!" the Doctor continued his trotting.
"Let's just get you to your TARDIS, or whatever it is," the purple mare spoke, still trying to process what the Doctor offered to her.
Celestia's sun had set by the time the two ponies arrived at the blue phone box hidden just off the side of the road.
"Ah, the TARDIS. Time and relative dimension in space! The old girl seems to be doing just fine. A little break from flying around the universe does it a world of good, both body as well as the mechanical parts within," the Doctor said as he went around the box, examining it in every little detail.
"Show off," Twilight commented with a smirk.
"Oi! It's not showing off, it's reflection! Me and this machine go back a long time! We have literally been to the far corners of space and back," the brown stallion became defensive.
"Well, I'm so sorry to have offended her!" Twilight mocked.
"You'll see just what it can do," the stallion pushed the doors open, revealing the inside of the time machine, "So then, shall we be off? All of time and space await."
Twilight was hesitant to respond. The thought of traveling off Equestria to see what wonders the rest of the universe was a tempting offer, but she couldn't, in good judgment, make a sudden decision like that on the spot. One of her hooves reached up and touched her still freshly burnt mane, "You just fall out of the sky, give me the shock of your life, captivate the mind of Spike, and now you are asking me to fly through space with you?"
The Doctor changed the subject, "I also noted that Spike didn't mock your burnt mane."
Twilight was quick to state the reason, "He knows that if he does, he gets extra chores, but can we get back to what you were saying? I mean, it's a lot for me to take it at once."
"Oh, right, of course! Sorry!"
With a sigh, the mare continued, "It's something I would love to do….but what about what you said about my future? You said I have big things in my future here in Ponyville."
"Time can always be rewritten," the Doctor stated.
"I don't know….I really don't know what to d-"
Stopping her by placing his hoof on one of her limbs, the Doctor looked up into the twilight of the night and spoke, "Look up, Twilight. Look up at the stars. Above are worlds without number. Life forms that we can only begin to count. I've been traveling among it for around a millennia and a half and I have only scratched the surface. I'm offering to you a chance to accompany me and see what others can only imagine, Across time, across space. What do you say?"
Finally, Twilight gave an answer, her voice was one of struggling, "I can't….I just can't do it! I have so much here to do. I can't do it in good faith."
With a small smile, the Doctor nodded, "My offer will always stand, Ms. Sparkle."
"I'm sorry," Twilight hung her head low.
"Fret not. I will always remember our time together under the Milky Way. And I will always remember you, the plucky purple unicorn known as Twilight Sparkle," the Doctor entered his TARDIS and began starting up the machine at his console. With one last look to Twilight through the doors, he asked, "Would you like to take one last stroll around the TARDIS?"
With a sad smile, she declined, "I really shouldn't, but thank you, Doctor. For everything."
"Ms. Sparkle, it is me who should be thanking you. And with that, I do sincerely thank you from the bottom of both my Gallifreyian hearts," the Doctor smiled brightly as he closed the doors to TARDIS.
Turning back towards Ponyville, Twilight began to trot away from the blue phone box. She heard a strange, yet slightly familiar whirring noise from behind her. After a number of paces, she turned back to see the TARDIS beginning to disappear. Over come with emotion, Twilight rushed back to the TARDIS as it was beginning to vanish. Tears started to form and fall down her face. She was immediately filled with regret that she did not join him, "Doctor! I've changed my mind, I want to join you! I want to go with you!"
Her words, however, only echoed in the twilight of the night. Crushed, she turned back towards Ponyville and started home.
Back at the Ponyville library, Twilight dried her eyes as best she could before entering the building. Her dragon assistant, who was lying on the floor reading a book, could tell something was bothering her.
"Hey, Twilight, are you alright?" Spike asked with concern for his friend.
Twilight was a bit choked up to speak, but she managed to nod and speak a few words, "Yes, I'm fine."
"Would you like me to make you some tea?" the dragon offered.
Twilight nodded, "Yes, thank you."
Trotting up the stairs, the mare went out on to the balcony, allowing the night air to hit her coat again. Shivering slightly, she looked up at the stars in the sky. A couple tears returned to her eyes and rolled slowly down her face.
Spike stepped out on the balcony as well with a tray for tea in his claws. He set it down in front of the sitting unicorn.
"Thank you, Spike," she spoke, taking a sip of the warm liquid.
"Is he gone?" the dragon asked.
Twilight could only nod for an answer.
"You wanted to go with him, didn't you?"
Twilight didn't answer.
"If I may say something, Twi? I know he said he crash landed here and all of that by accident, but it could have been that he was here to help you," Spike stated, looking up at the multitude of stars in the sky.
"What do you mean by that?" Twilight asked.
Picking up the tray, Spike made his way back inside, "I don't know, I'm just a baby dragon with an overactive imagination as you would put it."
Sipping her tea again, Twilight looked back up to the stars in the sky and thought about the dragon's words. "Well, whether Spike has a point or not," she spoke to herself, "I know I won't forget you either, Doctor."
END
Epilogue: Waitin' For Superman
Epilogue: Waitin’ For Superman
Sitting at her desk in the library, Twilight Sparkle took a piece of parchment out and placed it on the flat surface. Looking at the blank sheet in the candlelight, the mare took a quill with her magic and began to write a note.
Dear Doctor,
How are you doing? This is Twilight Sparkle of Equestria. I know it’s been quite a long time since our encounter with one another, I would say about five years. I honestly don’t know how you would get this letter for that matter. And I know it sounds silly, but everyday I think about your visit to Ponyville.
Quite a bit has happened since your visit. First off, I think about what you said about the future for my town, and I had no idea what that could have meant back then. But now, I think it was your way of telling me that I would become mayor. It’s still a shock to me, but after Mayor Mare retired, most of the citizens of Ponyville wanted me to fill the void. It’s still beyond me, but everything is running very smoothly here.
Also, if you remember my assistant Spike, he has grown-up quite a bit. He’s about as big as me, if you can believe it. He also just grew wings. They are still really weak, but he keeps insisting on flying high in the sky like the pegasus ponies. I guess that’s his determination at work.
Twilight paused from her writing to look out her window. Observing the late night sky just on the other side, she touched her short mane. She then continued her writing.
Do you remember our first meeting in your machine? I believed you called it a ‘TARDIS’ or something of that sort. Anyway, I do remember being very angry at you for allowing my mane to get burnt after being shocked by your machine. Well, one of my friends, Rarity, insisted that I keep my mane short that fashion, stating it was manageable for me as well as a ‘look I could pull off’. While I wasn’t a fan of it to begin with, I suppose I wanted to keep it since I wanted to remember you in some small way. Daft, I know, but I guess I just miss you.
That evening you left, I regretted not going with you immediately. It may have been the way you painted the picture of the universe, or perhaps it was how you literally fell out of the sky and captured my imagination. Everyday I think about what I could have seen traveling with you. I really should have taken you up on your offer.
Pausing again, Twilight sighed and thought for a moment. She then resumed her writing with the quill scratching echoing in the dark library.
I do miss you, Doctor. I know you were here only momentarily, but that moment changed my life forever. It’s hard to meet such an individual as yourself and go on with my life as if nothing ever happened. I know I never said it to you, but I promised I would never forget you. And I know you said that you remember me, but sometimes it feels like you have forgotten about me. I know not to expect you to come back, but I will still keep waiting for you to return. Maybe I’m just being silly with all this thinking. At least I am able to write this to get all of this off my chest.
Bringing her head up from the parchment, Twilight’s ears perked up at a familiar sound. It was a whirring coming from outside. Looking out the window, she saw a blue box. Abandoning the desk and her letter, she rushed down to the front door of the library. Bursting out of the building, she galloped up to the blue box. Knocking her hoof on the door a few times, the doors opened inward with lights from inside pouring out. Amongst the light was a brown stallion.
Shielding her eyes from the bright light, Twilight spoke, “Doctor?”
The light died down and the stallion smiled, “Hello, Ms. Sparkle.”
Finally getting a better look at the stallion, she saw the Doctor just as he did before, not aged a day, “Doctor, you’re back! I thought you forgot about me!”
“I told you I wouldn’t,” the Doctor’s infectious smile beamed at the purple unicorn. He looked at her from horn to hoof before continuing, “You look as brilliant as ever.”
Sheepishly blushing at his words, Twilight looked away momentarily before asking a question, “Is the offer still open?”
“It always has been.”
With those words, the two ponies entered the TARDIS. The blue box then began to vanish from sight.
END