Bubbles and an Hourglass

by LightAndDark

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Comedy, Other, Adventure, Derpy Hooves, Crossover, Alternate Universe, Human, Doctor Whooves
Length: 6233

The Doctor's on a mission to save the universe. Well... two universes. Sort of a big ball of wibbly, wobbly-you know the rest.

Also on Fanfiction.net under the username "HaterAid" The Doctor drops into Derpy's life. Literally. As he struggles to get used to a new body, Derpy struggles to help in any way possible.
Now he's on a mission to save the universe. Well, two universes. Sort of a big ball of wibbly, wobbly- you know the rest.
Listed as 'Human' but it doesn't start out that way. I would tell you why, but...
Spoilers.

Published 2013-01-30 22:30:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-04-19 20:46:36 UTC

Well, this is unexpected.

The Doctor shrugged off his trench coat, flinging it over the rail around the TARDIS's control room before walking up to the console, idly pressing a few buttons. The view-screen beeped, but the Doctor ignored it, instead turning to ascend up the stairs, deeper into the TARDIS.

A shudder ran through the TARDIS and he was thrown to the floor. A distraction, he grinned. Standing quickly, he grabbed onto the handles of the console, slipping and sliding his way over to the view-screen.

"What? That's impossible!" He grabbed the mallet, striking a few buttons before spinning around, hitting the outer rail only to push off back towards the console, pulling a lever and spinning a dial. The TARDIS continued to shiver for a moment, before finally, everything went silent. The Doctor flopped onto the floor.

"Well, that was close. Could've ripped open another hole in the universe! Close one, right?"

No reply. He sighed.

"Should have-" The floor beneath him rattled ominously.
"Wha-"

A wave of energy burst through the TARDIS, and the Doctor was knocked unconscious.

/

Derpy wasn't expecting to go anywhere after her mail run, but when she got home she couldn't help but to feel cramped. Within a few minutes she found herself gliding up towards the clouds, which were a dark gray and completely covering the sky. She burst through them, landing lightly where only a Pegasus could on the puffy clouds. Here, the sun shone brightly, and a few other Pegasus ponies were also enjoying the view or napping on the clouds. As she tried to get her footing, her wall eye drifted, and, distracted, she tripped over her hooves. There was no mistaking the snickers from a few of the other ponies. Derpy's cheeks were hot with embarrassment, and wordlessly she took off again, flying over the sun stained clouds until she was the only pony in sight.

BOOM!

Derpy opened her eyes at the sound of thunder. By now, the sky was glowing red in a beautiful sunset, though based on the thick, fluffy gray clouds she was laying on, earth and unicorn ponies wouldn't be seeing anything but rain. As she looked up into the sky, a startling and impossible sight overtook the sky above. She gasped in surprise, blinking rapidly, sure she was imagining it.

A crack was spreading across the sky! It widened, revealing stars that Derpy did not recognize, and a slowly growing bright light. The mare stood quickly, stiffened by fear. Just as she lifted herself from the clouds, preparing to soar away, a lightening bolt zig-zagged from the crack to cloud carpet, electrifying it.

A brown blur was falling from the crack now, fast. There was no mistaking it was a pony. Without second thought, Derpy launched herself towards the limp form, flying as fast as she could, desperate to reach this pony before the ground did. She wrapped all four legs around the earth pony, fluttering desperately to slow the pony's descent. This seemed to only help a bit, and as they passed through the clouds, electricity shocked Derpy, and she almost dropped the strange pony. It was much heavier than her, and the strain was making her light-headed, causing black spots to appear at the edge of her vision. When the two ponies reached ground level, it was a less than soft landing, and as Derpy fell unconscious, the Doctor woke up.

/

The Doctor gasped as he felt himself smash into the ground, and someone else land on top of him. A shower of rain was making the ground around him extremely uncomfortable. He groaned.

"Hel-" Teeth. His teeth were different. Did I die, did I regenerate? His eyes flew open and he managed to drag his hand up to his face. Hoof? I'm a...a... what am I? Another hoof flopped into his line of sight, but this one was not his. Oh, right...

"Excuse me, who are you?" The Doctor asked the faceless...creature on his back. It groaned, shuffling slightly, but making no real effort to reply or get off of him. With a sigh, the Doctor flopped back down. Whatever had happened, he felt unsteady and weak, and the fall certainly hadn't helped. Thick raindrops began to fall onto his face. Maybe if he closed his eyes for a little while...

/

"Hello?" Cold air rushed over the Doctors back. He flipped over, opening his eyes and staring straight up into the face of a pale gray pony, her wide eyes blinking down at him with curiosity and concern. It was dark, the obscured by thick cloud cover, and a light, misting rain was falling.

"Are you okay Mister?" The pony questioned. Her eyes unfocused for a moment.

"Am I a pony?" The Doctor questioned. "Well, yeah. What else would you be?" The gray pony giggled. She sat down on her rump next to The Doctor, and he slowly lifted himself into a sitting position.

"Brilliant. Though I will admit, this is very strange..." He looked up at the other pony. Her bright eyes unfocused from him again, one drifting downward for a moment before snapping back to him.

"Are you alright? Your eyes..." The pony blushed and ducked her head to the side, closing her eyes.

"I was born like that." She whispered. The Doctor cringed at the pony's sensitivity to this subject, and groped for something else to say.

"Whats your name?" He asked suddenly. She blinked, but still wouldn't look at him as she replied.

"Derpy."

"I'm the Doctor. It's a pleasure to meet you, Derpy." Derpy was silent for a moment, then she stood, and began walking around the Doctor curiously. "What's your cutie mark mean?" She asked, pausing behind him.

"My what?"

"Your cutie mark, silly. You know, the mark on your flank?" She giggled again, and the Doctor couldn't help but enjoy the sound. The Doctor cast a curious glance to his back legs, giddy with wonder at the fact that he had back legs. On his light brown flank was an hourglass with sand pouring in it.

"What's a cutie mark for?" The Doctor asked, though he was sure he already knew the answer.

"Are you sure you're a pony? It's what you're good at!" Derpy told him, showing him her own flank. "I'm really good at being myself. Sometimes I wonder what that has to do with bubbles..."

The Doctor found himself smiling again at the filly, and attempted to stand. His legs shook with lack of balance and general weakness. "I don't think you should stand up, Doc..." She cautioned.

"Nonsense. How hard can it be to walk with four legs?" Awkwardly, the Doctor took two steps with his forelegs, followed by two steps with his back legs. Derpy giggled yet again.

"Thats not how you do it, Doc!"

"Well it looks like I've got a lot to learn, then."

/

Derpy tiredly pushed open the door to her cottage, and the Doctor stumbled inside. He was bruised from head to tail, apparently walking wasn't this stallions forte. There had been little talking on the journey back from the Doctors crash site, aside from Derpy asking if he was alright.

"I'm just...so used to...two legs..." He panted, standing up again. He had actually made it pretty far since the last time he'd fallen.

"What do you mean?" Derpy asked. By now they were both throughly soaked, and Derpy wasted no time in getting a fire going in her fireplace. She turned to the Doctor and sighed. He truly was a sorry sight at the moment. His mane was thick with mud, leaves, and twigs, while his coat was streaked with mud and blotched in bruises. He was too tired to even lift his head off the floor.

"Oh, Doc. You need help..."

Author's Note

First story on this website, or of FIM, but feel free to check out 'HaterAid', my account on Fanfiction.net. Also, if I mess up on pony speak, let me know :p

Here's the Problem..

The Doctor was surprised by a warm cloth as Derpy began to clean the mud from his flank.

How interesting that I have a flank!

He wanted to tell the mare it was unnecessary, he could do it himself, but found that he could barely even open his eyes, let alone speak. Instead, his mind began to wander. This wasn't a regeneration, nothing had happened to cause it. Plus, it just didn't feel like it was. The last thing he remembered was nearly ripping a hole in the universe. Maybe he had, and had ended up falling into another, this one. Perhaps something in the space between the two universes had converted his body and possibly even the TARDIS to something that matched this universe.

"Don't worry, Doc." Derpy's voice drifted over him like a fog. "Everything's gonna be fine." The Doctor couldn't help but trust her words.

/

It was late morning, but the mysterious stallion still had not shown any sign of wakefulness. The Doctor was wrapped in a blanket on Derpy's living room carpet, and the mare was worriedly trotting from one side of the room to the other.

What if he dies? What if he never really lost all his memories and he's a serial killer? Oh my, what if he's-

KNOCK KNOCK.

"Derpy? Derpy Hooves?" Derpy gasped at the voice from the other side of the door. AppleJack? She couldn't see this strange colt, how would Derpy explain him? Without second thought, she threw a blanket over the Doctors head, then headed to open the door.

"Hi, Applejack!" Derpy said, attempting her best smile.

"You're the mail pony of Ponyville, right?" Applejack asked politely. Derpy nodded slowly. "I was expecting a letter from my cousin, but there was nothing in my mailbox. Do you think that maybe-"

"Oh, no! I completely forgot..." Derpy's mood plummeted as she realized she hadn't done her job.

"D...Derpy?" Oh no.. Derpy was sure she had turned a bright red as the Doctor's head appeared from the cover of blankets.

"Oh...You're busy!" Applejack gasped. The orange mares eyes were wide in shock and embarrassment. Derpy sighed in relief. At least she wasn't asking where the colt had come fro-

"No, AppleJack! It's not like that!" Derpy gasped as she realized what the earth pony meant.

"No need to explain, Derpy. I'll just go to the post office and get my mail."

She was gone before Derpy could say anything more. The Pegasus shut the door slowly, sliding down to the floor. "Great." She looked closely at the colt on her floor, who was now pulling at the blankets wrapped tightly around him. Why did she bring him into her home? Why did she so readily trust him, anyway?

"What's for breakfast?" The Doctor asked, turning to face the gray mare, who was still slumped against the door. His hair flopped unkempt into his face as he struggled to pull the blankets off. Derpy pushed off from the door and crossed the room slowly to help the colt. He was clumsier than even her, and she wondered again how this was possible. She began to pull the blankets away.

"Thank you." He sighed.

"Who are you?" Derpy questioned, pulling the now empty blankets away from the Doctor.

"I'm the Doctor. I thought I told you that, Miss Hooves?" The Doctor chuckled. He stood uncertainly and turned to inspect the bruises that were dotted all over his body. He stopped suddenly.

"Oh brilliant! Look at my tail!" He exclaimed, swishing the appendage in question excitedly. Derpy rolled her eyes.

"That's not what I mean and you know it!" She huffed. The Doctor looked up from his tail for a moment, guilt and unease mixing together on his face. "You're not a pony, at least not really. You're an earth pony, but you fell from the sky. How does that even happen? Not to mention that crack th-"

"Crack? What crack?" The Doctor interrupted, his ears pricked. He starred intently at Derpy, and waited expectantly for her to explain. His eyes held an intensity that made Derpy uneasy.

"You first. Who are you?" She countered.

The Doctor smirked for a moment, as if admiring her persistence, then returned to seriousness as he spoke. "You're right, I'm not a pony. I'm not from anywhere on this planet. I'm called a Timelord. In fact, I'm the last of the Timelords. I travel through the universe in a blue box called the TARDIS, and I'm particularly fond of a place called Earth. I don't look anything like a pony normally, but something happened. Now if what you said about a crack is correct, something very, very bad has happened. Something that cannot be left to get worse. So tell me, Derpy Hooves; what crack?"

Derpy blinked for a moment, staring uncertainly at the Doctor, before nodding slowly. "It was huge. It stretched halfway across the sky, there were stars in it, but the sun was still setting. Then, a huge bolt of lightening came out, and then...you."

The Doctor's gaze was mixed with worry and determination as he took in what the Pegasus had said. "And that's all? Just me? Not the TARDIS?"

"Nope. Just you. Doc, what's the crack in the sky mean?" Derpy asked. The earth pony seemed to be excited to explain.

"Well," he began, flicking one ear back against his head, "Every universe is like a bubble. Always bumping up against each other, and sometimes they get stuck together. Now sticking isn't the problem, because usually they just sort of stay like that, joined at the hip...although bubbles don't really have hips...Anyways, the sticking isn't the problem. When something passes through two joined universes, it weakens the barrier between them. If that barrier breaks...the amount of impossible paradoxes would destroy everything in both universes..."

The two starred at each other for a good while, in a silence that any sane pony would have found awkward. Then Derpy smiled. "Do you like muffins?" She asked.

"Of course I like- What? I tell you I'm an alien from another universe, and I've just set in motion the destruction of everything you've ever known, and you want to know if I like muffins?"

"Well Doc, you asked what was for breakfast. Everypony knows breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And if we're gonna fix the...uni-verse... well you need to eat some breakfast, right?" She blinked when she was finished speaking, then walked past him, opening the cabinet he had been trying to get into with ease. The doctor smiled. This mare, the only person...er, pony...he knew in an entire universe, was really starting to grow on him.

Author's Note

Leaving in the / for separation cause it annoys my beta reader >;D
From this point on, things are going to get a little more wibbly, a lot more wobbly....PREPARE FOR TIMEY WIMEY STUFF!

The Mare in the Moon

"What did you look like before?" Derpy asked. They were laying out on a rug in front of the fireplace, answering each others questions. It was late in the night now, most of the afternoon and evening had been spent trying to teach the Doctor to walk properly. He was determined to begin searching for the TARDIS tomorrow, which meant they would have to return to the crash site. The Doctor smiled, remembering his Timelord form.

"Well... I had hands. Oh, hands are wonderful Miss Hooves. They've got thumbs and fingers to grab things with, no carrying it around in your teeth. And two legs instead of four. No tail, no fur, no cutie marks." The Doctor sighed, lost in the memory of his old form.

"No tail? How can you not have a tail? or a cutie mark? How will you know what you're good at?" Derpy gasped in shock, trying to picture the hideous creature that had just been described. How could anyone miss that?

"Everything is so different in my universe, Derpy. There are a lot of creatures with hands, or no fur, or no cutie marks." The Doctor said gently, closing his eyes. She realized how strange it must be for him to have a tail, or a cutie mark, or no hands. Thinking about other creatures in the Doctor's universe also made her wonder if he had left anyone there. His family, perhaps. What if he never saw them again?

"How do you know the TARDIS even came through with you?" Derpy asked.

"Because we can understand each other." The Doctor mumbled. Derpy considered this for a moment, looking back to the fireplace for a moment.

"Doctor-" He was asleep.

/

"Alright, Derpy. How about a walk around town?" The Doctor asked. He was taking his fifth lap around Derpy's garden, and his gait was more even now. The pair had gone outside for breakfast, though the ground was still spongy from the previous rainfall.

"Are you sure, Doc? You're only just getting the hang of it..." She was watching him from the center of the garden, while chewing on a blueberry muffin.

"Course I'm sure. Time I got a good look around...What is this place called, anyway?"

"Ponyville." Derpy answered. She flew over to her garden door, swinging it open and waiting for the Doctor to join her.

"If you get tired we're going back, Doc." She warned. The stallion swished his tail as he followed her out of the garden, then grunted in disapproval at it. "Still not ginger. Turned into an equine and still not ginger!" He muttered. He determinedly stepped up the walkway, and she fell into step with him as they they neared Ponyville's town center. The marketplace was already alive, ponies trotted around with laden saddlebags, each wrapped up in their own business.

"So Doc-" Derpy turned to see the colt had wandered off. He sure does move fast...

"Excuse me, I've got a party to plan, and-" Derpy turned towards the familiar voice of Pinkie Pie, and watched as the Doctor was nearly run over by the pink mare as he looked up curiously at Sugarcube Corner. He nearly tumbled over his own hooves as Pinkie squealed with excitement and jumped several feet into the air.

"TWO new ponies? Oh my gosh this is the best day EVER!" She skittered into the sweet shop and slammed the door behind her. The Doctor walked back over to Derpy, confused.

"That's Pinkie Pie. She likes to have a party when ever a new pony comes to Ponyville." Derpy laughed.

"Brilliant! I wonder who the other new pony is?" The Doctor exclaimed, glancing around the unfamiliar buildings. His eyes came to rest on a tall, circular structure. Several ponies were rushing in and out, carrying bundles of fabric. "Ooh that seems important. What is that Miss Hooves?" He nearly tripped again as he dashed over to the building in question, and carefully walked up the short flight of stairs leading to its patio.

"That's the town hall, Doc. Everyone's getting ready for the Summer Sun Celebration. Princess Celestia herself will be there!"

"Who's that?" The Doctor asked, curiously heading towards the open double doors to see how exactly ponies prepared for festivities. Derpy looked shocked for a moment, before quickly explaining. The Doctor half-listened with one ear, while the other swiveled forward to concentrate on the commotion inside the building. In fact he was so focused on the wonderfully strange fact that he could move his ears in such a way, that he heard neither conversation. He asked Derpy to repeat herself, just as a crash echoed harshly from the inside of the town hall, and the Doctor's ears flattened against the noise of their own accord.

"Of all the things that could happen! This is the. Worst. Possible. Thing!" Peering through the opening, The Doctor saw a white and purple pony dramatically throwing herself into and armchair (why do ponies need armchairs?), and cry out again. "This blue simply does not go with this shade of purple!" Hovering above her head was a sapphire bow with pale purple diamonds. The Doctor personally didn't see a problem with it. In fact, he quite liked it.

"How is she doing that?" The Doctor muttered to himself, noticing the pony was now rotating several bows above her head. Derpy must have have heard him (he also realized she had been explaining who this Princess was again and he had not been listening, again.), because she immediately launched into an explanation. "Rarity is a unicorn, they can use magic to do all kinds of stuff."

Slightly embarrassed, the Doctor asked Derpy to explain again who Princess Celestia was a third time, and by the time she had finished, with all the questions the Doctor asked as they came to mind, they had made a full loop of Ponyville. The sun was close to setting as the strange pink mare bounced back to the Doctor with a basket full of invitations on her head, giving one to both he and Derpy.

"Don't be late!" She cried happily, then skittered off to another group of ponies. The Doctor glanced down at the invitation in his mouth.

"A library? Brilliant!" He exclaimed. Derpy shifted uneasily on her hooves. "What's wrong, Derpy?" Asked the Doctor.

"I don't really wanna go..." She muttered.

"What? You have to go!"

"Doc, every time I go to a party... I usually end up the center of attention... And not for a good reason." She sighed. She remembered how many times she had crashed into the punch table at birthday parties when she was a filly, or ended up being made fun of by the other foals because of her eye. It had really ruined the whole party experience. She didn't have to tell the Doctor this for her to understand what she meant.

"Derpy, you shouldn't care what ponies who make fun of others think. They're not worth the time." The Doctor reasoned.

"I guess you're right..." She sighed.

"So this library..."

/

It was just after sundown when Derpy's house came into view for the two ponies. Derpy was explaining how every pony stayed up all night for the Summer Sun Celebration, and the Doctor was reminded of Earth's celebration of New Years Eve. He nearly tripped as something in the sky above caught his eye. The moon was resting low in the sky, and it seemed to have the head of a pony on it.

Mare in the moon, man in the moon... He mused, watching as the outline of the mare pulsed against the gray background.

"Derpy, is the moon supposed to pulse like that?" The Doctor asked on impulse, stopping on the path just outside of the house. Derpy stopped too and squinted, focusing both of her eyes onto the moon as best she could.

"I can't see the moon well without my glasses, but I know it's not supposed to pulse, Doc." Derpy said worriedly. "Do you think this has something to do with you?" She asked. The Doctor continued to stare at the moon, but nothing happened. He was more curious as to whether or not it was being caused by the TARDIS. Could she have possibly landed, unreachable, on this planets moon? The Doctor turned back to Derpy.

"I don't know." He confessed. Derpy nodded slowly, before walking past the stallion and opening the door to the house. The Doctor followed more slowly, lost deep in thought.

/

The party was in full swing when Derpy and the Doctor arrived. Derpy watched as a baby dragon stumbled by them, a lamp shade on his head. A pink and yellow mare was being handed a small glass of amber liquid by a blue and rainbow maned mare in the corner. The Doctor watched as the yellow mare gulped down the liquid and spluttered, while the blue mare burst into laughter.

"You're here!" Pinkie Pie squealed, rushing over to the pair. She was wearing a sparkly pair of thick rimmed glasses.

"Hi Derpy!" Pinkie exclaimed. She looked closely at the Doctor. "What's your name?" She asked. The Doctor opened his mouth to speak, but the pink mare interrupted him before he could.

"Oh wait! Let me guess! Uh...Hourglass? Brownie? Oh.. no, no, no... Time Turner? Oh it's Time Turner, isn't it!?" Pinkie prompted.

"No, actually. I'm the Doctor."

"Doctor who?" The Pink mare said suspiciously, narrowing her eyes and leaning forward.

"Just...The Doctor."

"Well why didn't you say so?" Pinkie laughed, then bounced away. The Doctor wasn't sure if he liked her or not. It seemed like she might be the type of person -er, pony- that would kidnap someone and hold them against their will for fun. The Doctor listened to tidbits of conversation, trying not to say anything that sounded too...Timelord. Meanwhile, Derpy was still practically standing in the doorway, looking around nervously at all the faces.

"C'mon Miss Hooves! Introduce me to some ponies!"

/

"The Celebration is about to start!" Rainbow Dash called out to no one in particular. A few cheers followed this statement, and the ponies began to file towards the door. Most of the night had been spent with the Doctor learning everypony's name. Now he was waiting just outside the door for Derpy, and at the same time seeing how many names he could remember. As he watched the ponies head outside, some stumbling or giggling a little too much, he noticed a purple mare who he didn't know. As she walked by, she mumbled worriedly to herself about the moon. Derpy appeared at his side a moment later, with a mare by the name of Carrot Top at her side.

"Derpy, who's that purple mare?" The Doctor asked.

"Oh that's Twilight Sparkle. She came here to help plan the celebration. Not too social though, She's only at the party because she's staying in the library." Carrot Top said quickly. The Doctor headed back inside the library without warning.

"Doesn't he know the celebration is that way?" Carrot Top asked Derpy.

"He has a habit of just doing things sometimes." The gray mare shrugged. "I should probably see what he's up to..."

"I'll wait for you at the celebration!" Said Carrot Top. Derpy nodded, before following the Doctor back into the library. He was slowly ascending a flight of stairs, presumably leading to where Twilight lived.

"Doc, you can't just go into someone's room." Derpy said, beginning to wonder if manners existed in his universe. She followed him up the stairs.

"That mare, Twilight Sparkle..." The Doctor began, reaching the top of the stairs and swishing his tail in triumph. "She was saying something about the moon. Isn't it strange that something happened with the moon earlier, and now somebody else is worried about it, too?" The Doctor didn't bother to correct himself, and Derpy watched as he began to look around on Twilight Sparkle's desk. A thick book slid off of the desk, and Derpy recognized it as a fairy tale book. She headed over, picking up the book and flipping to a bookmarked page.

"She has a fairytale about the Mare in the Moon bookmarked..." Derpy said. The Doctor came up to Derpy's shoulder to look at the book as well.

"'The Mare in the Moon is to be freed from her imprisonment on the longest day of the thousandth year; the stars will aid in her escape and she will bring night time eternal.'" The Doctor read out loud. Derpy gulped.

"That's this year..." The mare said slowly. Both ponies jumped as a claw of lightening streaked across the sky, and over the trees. The sky was clear, however.

"Doc, that's just like the one when you came to Ponyville!" Derpy said. The Doctor stared at the place where the lightening looked like it had touched.

The TARDIS?

Author's Note

Worked pretty hard on the last part :p I hope you all enjoyed!

Oh, She's More Than a Box!

"Doc? Wait!" Derpy screamed. The brown colt had dashed from the bedroom, scattering loose papers in his hurry. She looked around at the room once more, before following him down the stairs and out of the library. The Doctor was galloping down the road at his top speed, which wasn't very fast. Derpy lifted herself effortlessly off the ground, and easily caught up to him.

"Where are you going?" She demanded. He stopped running to catch his breath, and she dropped to the ground and turned to face him. It was several moments before the Doctor was ready to speak.

"If I'm right...and I usually am...That was TARDIS...that lightning bolt...and she needs me!" He gasped. He'd never run as a pony before! Derpy stared at him, and a flicker of fear passed in her eye.

“What about Nightmare Moon? What if that’s what that lightning bolt was?”

“It’s just a story in a children’s book, Derpy. Don’t worry.” If Derpy could properly see his face through the darkness, she would have noticed the way his eyes shifted downward as he reassured her. He didn’t believe a word of it. Derpy cast a glance at the direction the bolt had gone in.

"Doc, that's the Ever Free Forest! You can't just go running in there! It's dangerous. Who knows what lives in there!" Derpy reasoned, casting a worried glance to the dark mass of trees in the distance. She could imagine hostile eyes peering out from every bush and tree. The Doctor continued running, he had finally caught his breath.

“If the TARDIS is in there, I have to find her!”

Her?

“Nopony knows what’s in there!” She repeated, sprinting after him.

"Fantastic!" The Doctor grinned, mostly to himself.

/

They had long since stopped running after entering the forest, as the Doctor was having trouble navigating through the undergrowth with ‘these stupid, clumsy, uncreative hooves’. Derpy trailed a short distance behind the colt, nervously glancing at every darkened bush or swath of undergrowth the pair passed. She cast a glance towards the Doctor, who seemed unshaken by the likelihood of danger. His ears were perked forward, as if listening for some tell-tale noise only he could hear. As far as he was concerned, he by himself. He had not acknowledged her existence for the past hour.

"She's close!" He said excitedly. Derpy had a feeling the words were more for himself. He picked up his pace, nearly tripping over a root in his haste. An unfamiliar voice caused Derpy to nearly jump out of her skin.

"Doctor? My Doctor...please hurry..." It was distinctly female, and there was something very strange about the way she had heard it. It sounded as if it could have come from inside of her head.

I'm not crazy...It came from outside...

"Doc? Did you hear that?" Derpy asked cautiously, catching up to the stallion. The Doctor muttered distractedly, and Derpy rolled her eyes.

He’s not even listening... She thought. Was she going crazy, then? The Doctor nodded and muttered reassuringly, presumably to himself. Time passed sluggishly, and Derpy cast a worried look at the canopy above her head. It should be dawn by now... She thought quietly. She tried to convince herself that the trees were just to thick, focusing on the Doctor’s words. Just a fillies story...

"There you are, my dear!" The Doctor said suddenly. Ahead of them, a small clearing opened up. Derpy’s heart fell into her stomach as she noted the ice chips of starlight still dotting the sky. It should be dawn. The Doctor, seemingly unaffected by this detail, trotted forward. Derpy just barely made out a sizable crater. Without hesitance, the Doctor slid down the side of the crater, and his silhouette disappeared from sight.

"Doctor!" The strange voice called softly again. Derpy nearly fell over as a shiver ran down her spine. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the voice was not only in her mind, but pressing against it.

"Oh look at you! Where have you been?" The Doctor's voice drifted to her from inside the crater, shattering through her thoughts. Derpy fluttered cautiously to the edge of the hole, peering down curiously. A blue box lay inside the crater, and the Doctor was excitedly running around it. It had somehow managed to land upright, and Derpy guessed it was something to do with being a space ship. Speaking of which...

"Doctor, I thought you said the TARDIS was a spaceship, not just a...box." Derpy questioned. The Doctor looked up at the mare, the grin on his face just barely visible in the moonlight. He pushed open the doors on the front of the box, and gestured her inside.

“This is not just any box, Miss Hooves. Take a look.”

Derpy started climbing down into the crater to stand along side the Doctor, but caught her hoof in a root instead, rolled, and sent herself and the Doctor tumbling inside the open doors of the TARDIS. She cringed internally at her own clumsiness.

"Why didn't you just fly down here?" The strange voice questioned. It was curious rather than mocking, and Derpy was grateful that if she was going crazy, at least the voices weren’t mean.

"I don't know..." Derpy admitted. The Doctor's head shot up from under Derpy's, causing her jaw to be slammed painfully shut as it connected with the top of his head.

"Did you say something?" He asked, ignoring the pain that echoed through his skull. Derpy stiffened, realizing she had answered the voice out loud.

"Nothing." She replied quickly, nearly getting a mouthful of the Doctor's mane. Hearing voices inside your head was probably abnormal in the Doctor's universe as well, she reasoned.

"Er, Miss Hooves? Could you please let me up now?" The Doctor asked.

"Oh, right! Sorry." As Derpy stood up, she nearly fell back down again. She was standing in a room that was most definitely bigger than the box she had just entered. She gaped at the sight before her.

In front of her, a circular panel stood, sleek and commanding, at the center of the room. It sloped gracefully inward, and connected to a clear glass cylinder at the top. The cylinder disappeared into a cone shaped thing, which reached all the way to the high arched ceiling. It had thick wires extending from it every direction and into the walls. The room may have been bigger, but the only light source was a faint blue glow that came from within the cylinder.

"Wow it's-"

"Bigger on the inside?" The Doctor interrupted, smirking. He had picked himself up from the floor, and his face was half in shadow in the darkness. Derpy watched as he stared, his eyes full of humor as he awaited her response.

"No...Yes! But... I was going to say...beautiful." Derpy finished breathlessly.

"Thank you..."The Doctor smiled, casting a slow look around the room.

"Weell, yeah. She is..." He grinned. Derpy frowned.

“Is it always this dark?” She asked.

“No...She must have shut down after passing through. At least emergency power is on. Now, lets see if we can find out where she’s been...”

He headed over to the circular panel and pressed a few buttons, muttering distractedly. Derpy smiled and followed him.

/

"What? But-- What?!" The Doctor screamed, slipping and sliding his way across the control room. He threw open the TARDIS doors, and the sun immediately streamed into the TARDIS doors. Derpy started awake from where she had been napping on the floor of the TARDIS. She had clocked out when the Doctor had begun to ramble on about the TARDIS needing to absorb energy. Or something.

"Hm?" She yawned, stretching her wings.

"The TARDIS just picked up a huge surge of energy from somewhere nearby. These readings... They indicate that there was enough energy to cause a star to implode...but...we're all still here." He said, kicking the door closed and rushing back up to the console. The screen flickered for a moment, before the entire room exploded with light. Derpy briefly too in the golden hugh and the coral pillars, before turning back to the Doctor.

"She must have absorbed it all..."

"Doc... is she gonna be okay?"

"Of course! But with that amount of energy coursing through her, she’ll have to shut everything down to process it properly. She'll be back to her old self soon enough." The Doctor smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

“Then why did she--” Derpy began. She was cut off by a gold bolt lightning, which streaked through the TARDIS from somewhere under the grate, gouging a long, black, streak in the ceiling. The two ponies rushed out of the door, just as another burst of lightning erupted inside and the lights went off again. The doors slammed shut of their own accord, and the TARDIS stood quietly in front of them. There was no evidence of the chaos happening inside.

"And that was our cue to leave I think..." The Doctor said, casting one more look at the TARDIS before climbing slowly out of the crater. Derpy flew up to meet him. She watched as the Doctor walked slowly through the trees, deep in thought--or worry--about the TARDIS.

“She’ll be ok, Doc.” Derpy said, though she knew there was no reason for him to believe her.