Knock Knock! It's the Universe!
My name is the Doctor, though people in Ponyville call me Dr. Whooves. I don't usually settle down like this; I've been living in this small town for, oh, going on 25 years. On a good day, I'm in the same place for 2 days. To be standing still, so to speak, for this long can become a bit infuriating. But never mind about that. I'm here to tell you a story, and that's what I'm going to give you.
I starting living in Ponyville because of a distress signal. The signal didn't originate from Ponyville, or even in Equestria. It came from the entire universe, calling out as one. Something had to be done in Ponyville, and the universe knew it. The only problem was, while the universe knew what the problem was, the universe doesn't have a watch, so it didn't know when I needed to be there. They just knew that it was sometime relatively soon. So, I hopped on over, parked the TARDIS right on Main Street, and waited.
Turns out, "soon" is a relative term. The universe is incredibly old, and as I waited, I watched students grow into teachers, rebels come running home, and fillies find their purpose. Why, I even had a hand in sending a little cloud of butterflies to a certain spot on a certain night, but I've never told Fluttershy about that. The point is that I didn't know exactly why or when I was needed, but I was needed.
All right, that sounds like enough back-story for you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to turn off this self-narrating device and let you get back to what you came here for: a story.
BRRRRRIIIINNNNNNGGGGG!
The bell shook the Doctor awake. He wiped the sleep from his eyes; staying in one place for so long was hard, what with his knack for exploration. But, when the universe asks for help, you can't ignore it. He got up from his bed and trotted slowly towards the TARDIS main control. When he got there, however, his eyes widened.
"Oh my Celestia...it's time. But is it the place?"
Now wide awake, the Doctor began frantically running around the TARDIS, flipping levers and pressing buttons. One of the main screen began to flicker, and he ran to it, the expectation showing on his face.
"Ah, not where, but who is the question I need to ask. Then who?"
Again, he flipped and pressed his way around the ship. The screen stopped flickering and instead showed a clear picture of two fillies, one a white pegasus with a flowing yellow mane, and the other a dark blue unicorn with a short-cut purple mane. The Doctor smiled.
"Of course, the Flower's girls. I should have know it would be those trouble makers."
Without wasting another second, he grabbed his saddlebag and his sonic screwdriver and rushed out of the ship, taking flight as soon as he had egressed. He flew up high and looked around, but there was no sign of the sisters. As he hovered, a familiar blur whizzed past him, then returned.
"Hey, Doc! Whatcha doin' up here?"
The Doctor, at first caught off-guard, now regained his composure. "Oh, hello, Rainbow Dash. I'm looking for Mr. and Mrs. Flower's girls. The fate of the unive..."
Dash cut him off. "Yeah, the fate of the universe hangs in the balance. You've been saying that for years."
He became indignant. "I mean it. We're talking no more Ponyville, no more Equestria...no more Wonderbolts."
Dash gasped. "That's horrifying! I think I saw them in Cherilee's class. Go save the Wonderbolts, Doc!" With that, she disappeared in a blast of color. The Doctor sighed; maybe he would come back once this mission was done, just to say goodbye. These ponies were rubbing off on him.
He flew as fast as his wings could, and in short order, he arrived at the small schoolhouse. He opened the door as quietly as possible. At the front of the room, Cheerilee was in the middle of a history lesson.
"All right, class, can anyone tell me how Equestria came to be?"
No hooves were raised. The teacher shook her head. "I know someone knows. How about you, Violet?"
The entire class turned to look at the shy pony who was now retreating behind her desk. The dark blue filly was starting to turn red from embarrassment, and was on the verge of tears when her sister spoke up.
"Wasn't Equestria made when Celestia and Luna first came down from the sky to meet with the ponies who lived here?"
Cherilee smiled. "Yes, that's right. Very good, Daisy." She paused and looked up at the Doctor. "Ah, it seems we have a visitor. Say hello to the Doctor, class."
"Hi, Doctor." Everypony chimed in, except the two sisters in the back. Violet was still hiding under her desk, and her sister was trying to console her, draping a wing over her shoulder. "C'mon, sis. Let's come out of there. Maybe we'll get another field trip. The Doctor is always taking us on field trips."
"Well, I do like getting out of here." Violet poked her head above her desk, but she quickly popped below again, as the Doctor was standing over her desk. He chuckled.
"I'm sorry, girls, but I've been sent to bring you home."
"What, have we done something wrong?" Daisy stamped the ground.
"No, you haven't. However, your parents have been preparing a...vacation for you. I'm your chaperone." He walked to the door and opened it. "So, what do you say?"
Daisy was hesitant, but Violet was out of her seat and out the door as soon as it was opened. She poked her head back in. "Let's go, Daisy! Cutie Mark Crusader Vacation Adventures!"
Daisy looked over at Apple Bloom, who was smiling. "What do I do? I like it here."
"The Cutie Mark Crusaders're about findin' who yah are, not stayin' where you think it's safe." Apple Bloom patted her shoulder. "Go find yer mark."
Daisy rose from her chair. "Bye, Cherilee. Bye, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle. Bye, everyone!" With a final wave of her wing, she galloped out the door to join her sister.
The Doctor met them outside of the school, where they were excitedly running in circles. "Now girls, I need you to calm down. We have to go talk to your parents, and then we can go on..."
"Vacation!" the girls squealed in unison as they capered around the Doctor
The Doctor shuddered. "Stop your squeaking, little mice, and come with me."
As they trotted along, Daisy flew up to eye level with the Doctor. "So, where are we going? Mane-hatten? Filly- delphia?"
"Maybe, but we're probably going to go places you can't even imagine right now. Ah, here we are." Doctor Whooves motioned to stop in front of the Flower's Shop, then gasped. "What's going on here?"
There was a large crowd gathered around the shop; ponies standing on ponies, craning their necks to look in the windows. Daisy flew to a higher window, peered in, then rushed back to her sister. "Oh my gosh, Princess Celestia and Luna are in there! Can we go see them, Mr. The Doctor?"
Violet joined in the plea. "Oh, Mr. The Doctor, we've never met the princesses before. Can you get us in?"
The Doctor was scowling, but nodded. He strode confidently through the crowd. "Attention, everyone. These girls live here; let them through!"
The crowd parted, allowing them access to the door. Violet was amazed. "How did you do that?"
"When you're me, you can do anything." The Doctor was still scowling as they entered the house. The princesses were conversing with Mr. and Mrs. Flower and admiring the lovely bouquets. The girls ran right to their parents and hid behind them. The Doctor, however, walked right up to Princess Celestia, who turned to him and smiled.
"Ah, the Doctor. How are you doing today?"
"I'm doing well, thanks for asking. If you don't mind my asking, today is an important day for the Flower's daughters. Is your visit related?"
The princess smiled. "Well, you're not the only person who knows about destiny. I'm simply here to wish the girls luck on their journey." She turned back to the Flower family. "Daisy, Violet, would you come here please?"
Slowly, the girls came out of hiding and approached the royal duo. Luna spoke first. "You two are sisters, but you must also remain friends, no matter what happens. I hope that, when the time comes, you'll remember this advice."
Celestia now stepped forward. "The two of you, together, can accomplish so much. Listen to this man. I know him well, and he only wants the best for you." She leaned down and touched her horn to Daisy's forehead. "You're going to do great things."
The Doctor cleared his throat. "Well, we really must be going. Mr. and Mrs. Flower, this must seem a little sudden, but..."
Mrs. Flower was close to tears. "Of...of course. Goodbye, girls. I'll see you...sometime."
Mr. Flower was already crying. "We'll miss you, but...we'll never forget you."
The Doctor seemed shocked. "I'm...glad you understand, even if I...don't."
Mrs. Flower leaned forward and whispered in the Doctor's ear. "You said you'd say that. Now go."
As the Doctor escorted the fillies out of the house and back down the street, Daisy turned to him. "Mom and Dad sound like we'll never see them again. Is that true?"
"Yeah. And what about Mr. Quillay, the weird tree guy that helps Mom and Dad? Where was he?"
"I...don't know. Your parents seem confident that you'll return. After all, it's just a vacation. And I don't know about Quillay Bark." Doctor Whooves nervously increased their pace until they arrived at the center of town. "Ah, here it is."
The trio stood in front of a blue telephone booth. Violet snorted. "This is your silly, small house, Mr. The Doctor. We're vacationing in your house?"
"Technically, no. And you can just call me the Doctor, thank you. Come in." He opened the door. "You've never seen anything like it."
Daisy poked her head inside and gasped. "Violet, you've got to see this! It's...it's impossible. Has Twilight seen this?"
He smiled again. "No, though I considered showing her for a while. However, I had more important business." By now, both girls were inside the ship and looking around. The Doctor raised his voice. "Please don't touch anything."
Violet ran back to him. "What is this thing? Is it a spaceship?"
"There are no such thing as spaceships, Violet," Daisy scoffed.
"Well, since this is a spaceship, does it not exist?" The Doctor laughed. "This is called a TARDIS. It can travel through time and space, and time and space called me up and told me to take you two on an adventure." He positioned himself at the controls. "So, when and where would you like to go?"
The girls stopped in their tracks. All of time at their disposal, and they couldn't think of a thing. After a few minutes, Violet was the first to speak. "We were going to go to Mane-hatten next month. Can we go there now?"
"Why go now? You can go anytime!" The Doctor rapped his hoof on the ship. "Remember? Time and space? So, when would you like to go?"
"How about, when Mane-hatten first became part of Equestria?" Daisy mused. "We learned about it in history last week, and I'd like to see that."
"Very well." The Doctor began flipping a few levers. "Hold on, girls. This is going to be a great ride."
Author's Note
I first posted this to my Deviant Art account, which, it turns out, very few people look at. Since this site seems far more suited to both writing and, specifically, MLP fiction writing, I've decided to let the readers of this site enjoy what I've written so far, after a few formatting fixes and a bit of fixed dialogue, to better keep the timey wimey stuff in line.
I'm not trying to be super cryptic about where this story is going, but if you think you have it figured out, please don't say so in the comments. If someone doesn't know where the plot is going, I'd hate to have it spoiled.
Also, I'm glad that I can come make a few...subtle changes 6 months later and few people will notice. Bwa ha ha.
First stop: Mane-hatten and the transaction between the earth ponies from across the sea and the indigenous buffalo!
