//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: Doctor Who: The Equine Doctor 
// by CTOONfan1 
//------------------------------//

	"…Doctor?" said Apple Bloom. She still wasn't sure what to make of this guy. He didn't seem to be a threat, except maybe to himself. Plus, he acted as if he had never seen a pony before. She guessed it would be best to learn more about him. "Doctor what?"
 
"Just the Doctor," he replied.
 
She was confused. "Just the Doctor?"
 
"That's right. D-O-C-T-O-R. That's my name."
 
"Aw c'mon," she said, bending her legs a bit. "You've gotta have more to yer name than Doctor."
 
"You're right." Apple Bloom perked up. "It's THE Doctor." She proceeded to slouch down.
 
Standing back up, she took a look behind the him. "So what's the deal with the big blue box?"
 
The Doctor turned to his box and said, "You mean this?" She nodded. He walked over to his oldest companion, leaned on her, and said, "Oh this is just my time traveling space ship that just happens to look like a blue police box from London, England, Earth. It's called the TARDIS."
 
They sat in silence for a moment, but eventually Apple Bloom said, "Y'know if you didn't wanna tell me, I'da taken a "none of yer business," right?"
 
He tapped his fingers on the TARDIS a few times, and said, "Well I suppose it's a bit hard to believe. Then again a world with talking ponies would also be a bit of a stretch for some. Still, you're pretty skeptic for a child. At least I believe you're a child. Not entirely sure about this planet."
 
"Has anyone ever told ya you're a bit weird?" she asked.
 
The Doctor smiled and said, "All the time. Now you've asked me plenty of questions, and while I'm always open for one, I'd like to ask you some of my own. Tell me: where exactly am I?"
 
"Uh…" she looked around, trying to get a good grasp on exactly where they were. "I'd say we're about half a mile away from Sweet Apple Acres."
 
He assumed that was a place and not a town. "No no no. I mean where is this. This area. Is this a town or a village of some sort?"
 
"Oh! Why didn't ya say so? We're in Ponyville!"
 
"Pony…ville." He turned around, talking to himself. "Okay think this through, Doctor. A village possibly full of talking ponies. Brightly colored everything. Apple Bloom's constant staring… Why are you looking at my bum?"
 
Apple Bloom was surprised. How did he notice if he was looking the other way? "Sorry. I just wanted to see your cutie mark, but I can't tell what it is through your clothes."
 
He turned back around, this time with him being confused. "Cutie mark? What's that?"
 
"Y'know." She was the one who had to explain? "The mark you get on your flank when you've learned what yer best at in life."
 
The Doctor furrowed his brow. He leaned slightly to the left, and noticed nothing of the sort on his new friend. It was extremely awkward to do knowing this was a child he was eyeing. "How come you don't have one?"
 
She has asked that exact same question so many times to herself. Not once did she come up with an answer. Hanging her head, she sadly told him. "I haven't earned mine yet. I've tried almost everythin' I can think of, but I haven't earned it yet."
 
"And these… 'marks'… do you have to… do something special in order for them to appear?"
 
"I guess it depends on your definition of special." She tried to think of a good way to explain the thing everypony knew about. "If yer special talent's bein' an acrobat, I guess you'd be happy to find a tight rope or somethin' for a cutie mark sometime. If yer good with cleanin' and stuff, I'm sure yer happy to get a janitor related cutie mark, whatever that’d be. I guess a mop?"
 
Brandings that associate what type of career you'll partake in for life? That didn't seem very appealing to him. He guessed on this world, people were happy having a place where they belonged. Though with that in mind, he started wondering what his cutie mark would be. The TARDIS? A sonic screwdriver? Whatever the case, he was being sidetracked. "In any case, how do you get a mark? Does someone give it to you or something?"
 
"What? No. If it were that easy, don't you think I'd've asked someone for one by now? They just… appear, y'know?"
 
"Out of nowhere?" he asked. "They just show up out of the blue when you learn what you're destined to do for the rest of eternity?"
 
"Well yeah. I mean- wait a minute! Everypony knows this! Are you sayin' you don't know what a cutie mark is?" The Doctor nodded his head. "So you don't have ah cutie mark." He shook his head. "Huh. Ah guess you guys don't get them."
 
"'You guys?'" he asked.
 
Apple Bloom didn't realize how that sounded. "A-ah didn't mean it like that! I just meant-"
 
"I know what you meant, Apple Bloom," He understood perfectly. "Are you saying you've never seen someone like me before?" She shook her head, confirming his suspicion. "And how long have you live in… 'Ponyville'?"
 
"Uh… Ah don't think ah've ever 'not'."
 
The Doctor stood up, and he began to pace back and forth. "So if you're telling the truth, this world hasn't seen anything like me, which I assume means homo sapien-like creatures. This town in a long time, at least. If that's the case, walking through the middle of town would be like dropping an iPad into a small village in Africa - they'll have no clue what I am and when they interact with me they'll begin to panic. That would make exploration difficult.
 
"But here's the thing: I have to explore this world because the TARDIS doesn't take me just anywhere unless there's a reason. What that reason is, I have to find out on my own. So-"
 
"Uh, mister?"
 
The Doctor paused for a moment and looked down at Apple Bloom. "Could ya slow down a bit. I'm not followin'."
 
He looked away for a moment, and said, "Sadly no. Long story short, though, is that I'll need a disguise so I can get around town. Now what can I disguise myself as?" He thought for a moment, and an idea came to mind. "Tell me, Apple Bloom. Are there any ponies about my height that you've seen?"
 
"Well yeah." She knew of at least one who was as tall as him. "I know one. It's-"
 
"Brilliant!" he said in delight. He looked left and right, and said in a softer voice, "Now I have to tell you something important. Come closer." Apple Bloom walked closer to the man. "A little closer." He bent down as Apple Bloom walked right up to him. He leaned close to her ear.
 
"OW!" she screamed. She put her hoof up to wear the pain was coming from. Did he just pull out one of her hairs?
 
"Thank you!" He said, walking back towards his box. "Now just give me a few minutes and I'll be right back with you." He entered the box and closed the door.
 
Apple Bloom ran up to the door and banged on it as hard as she could. "HEY! Get back out here and tell me why you ripped out one of my hairs?!"
 
"Just a moment!" She could hear rustling inside. "I'll be right out!"
 
She really didn't know what to do. She should probably be getting home. Applejack's probably worried. … On the other hand, she was kinda curious about where this was going. She decided to sit down and wait for him, because honestly something about this stallion makes her curious.
 
After waiting for a few seconds, she asked, "Um… what are ya doin' in there?"
 
"Looking for something!" he said, his voice muffled like he was farther away.
 
She tilted her head in confusion. "How hard can anything be to find in there?"
 
---
 
"So it turns out that most of the Parliament had actually been replaced by a species of alien called Raxacoricofallapatorians. Ugly creatures, they are."
 
"Raxicopo…. Raxicorn… Rax… UGH! What are they called again?"
 
The Doctor chuckled. His pegasi friend always did have trouble with alien pronunciation. For a while now, he's made a habit of sharing personal experiences with her while she makes her mail run. He doesn't really have a job that needs to be done, so he accompanies her on her duties. "Raxacoricofallapatorians. They were the Slitheen family."
 
"Slitheen… Why didn't you just say that in the first place?" Sometimes she was so irritated by how the Doctor would choose the most difficult way to say the easiest things. 'We went fast through the Time Vortex' sounds easier than, 'Using the thrust of the dimensional rift, we were able to jet through the Time Vortex at supersonic speeds' or something like that.
 
"Because that's just the family name," he explained. "Tell ya just that, and you'll start thinking there's a species called the Slitheen walking around. On the planet Slitheenia. Doing Slitheenian things."
 
"Stop it, Doctor. I'm not stupid."
 
"Oh c'mon, Derpy. You know I'm only kidding. You're one of the most intelligent ponies I've met here."
 
Derpy blushed as she got mail out of her bag to deliver. "R-really? Thanks! You know, people don't really say that much because of my… you know. It's nice to hear something like that every once in a… you never let me go on this long."
 
One look at him and she knew something was up. He was staring at the ground as he walked. More likely, he was staring at his hooves as he walked. "Doctor?"
 
He sighed. "I've been stuck here for months, Derpy. Months. I don't have a clue where my TARDIS has gone, and we haven't been able to get a single inkling as to where it could be. I like it here, I do. It's so peaceful and friendly. I just wish I had my ship back."
 
That wasn't the whole reason he was saddened. He just didn't want to tell her that he missed how life was before he got there. Always on adventure after adventure, exploring the universe all throughout time, and somehow running into trouble everywhere he turned. Not to mention the use of hooves over hands was really starting to get on his nerves.
 
Staying in one place for so long hasn't happened to him in what was literally several lifetimes ago. It's the reason he was so invested in these strange monster sightings that kept popping up. Just a little excitement is what he needed, and this felt like the good old days.
 
Derpy closed the mailbox and said, "I'm sure we'll get a lead somewhere. Until then, you're still the best time manager in Ponyville!"
 
He couldn't help but laugh at this. Ever since he got there, the mayor found his great handle of time as a valuable asset. He's since been responsible for maintaining the current time on the town's clock tower, as well as a few odd jobs around town. He's still not sure how he was put in charge of the hourglass during the Apple family and Flim Flam brothers competition, but he wasn't complaining.
 
"And besides," she said ,flying backwards to face him. "You've got me, right? I'm always here to back you up!" She proceeded to hit the next mailbox from behind, knocking it over, and collapse to the ground.
 
Doctor put his hoof to his face. He chuckled a bit, and said, "I'll make sure to back up your back up. Deal?"
 
Derpy laughed. "Deal!"
 
---
 
*bang*  *bang*  *bang*
 
Maybe she should've went home. The Doctor had been in his box for what felt like hours. She didn't have a watch, so that was estimating. She's been passing her time by banging her head over and over on the box's door.
 
"You do realize time doesn't pass by faster that way, right? I should know, I've experimented."
 
One of the first things she heard from him and forever. "Could you hurry it up? It been like a whole day!"
 
"It's only been 22 minutes."
 
"Felt like a day to me." She glanced at the handle. What in Equestria could someone do for 22 minutes in a box that small? Having had enough of this waiting, she got back on her hooves and reached for the handle. "Ah've had just about enough-"
 
"Finished!" The Doctor quickly got out of the box and closed the door. Apple Bloom tumbled onto her back from the surprise. He was staring at something in his hand as he left, so when he looked down, he got a strange look. "Do ponies on this planet lay like that? Seems really awkward."
 
Apple Bloom grunted. "No!" She rolled back on her hooves, and walked over to him. "Now what were you doin' in there so long?" She looked left and right. She started to whisper. "Ya can tell me. Is that thing an outhouse, and ya just had to take a big one?"
 
"My TARDIS is not an outhouse!" He sounded offended by this statement. "If you must know, I was… oh! Ponies here use toilets. That's good. Started worrying I'd have to watch my step. Eh, never mind. What I've been doing was… this!" He held out a small metal object hanging by a chain. On closer inspection, it appeared to be some sort of clock.
 
"Uh… you were looking for your watch?"
 
"Watches!" Doctor smiled. "You've got those, too! Wow, this planet is brilliant so far!" He notices the girl's odd look. "Well yes, it's a watch. A pocket watch. I picked this up a few years ago on vacation to Florence. Oh that reminds me. I never gave her that wig back. Anyways, I've used this object to created a perception filter."
 
"A… perception wha?" She coked her head slightly to the side.
 
"Perception FILTER." he said. "It emits a telepathic field around the individual possessing it in order to delude the mind of others in order to go unnoticed for how they truly are.
 
"I once used one of these to direct attention away from myself and a group of my friends, but I'm on a completely new planet. I want to actually talk to people. Well you're not really people, are you. Do you say people or something else?"
 
He didn't notice how Apple Bloom didn't seem to be paying attention. He snapped his fingers, and immediately got her to refocus. "Hey! I just said impressive things and then asked a question. Did you hear any of that?"
 
A head shake later, she said, "Ya do realize I'm only a kid, right? Ya lost me after you said that tele-somethin' or other word."
 
He should've guessed explaining this to a small child wouldn't be easy. "Okay then. Visual demonstration. What do you think about… THIS!" He plopped the watch's neck chain around his head and let it hang. He put his arms up in the air, ready for a response.
 
Apple Bloom blinked. "Wow. Ya look just like… yourself with a clock around yer neck."
 
It was true. Apple Bloom didn't see any kind of change in the stallion's appearance. The Doctor blinked for a few moments, and then slapped his front hoof to his face. "Of course! It won't work on you because you've seen my face. Know what I look life. Your mind can't be tricked by it." He walked over to the lake, and said, "Now look," while motioning to the water.
 
A bit suspicious that he could just be some crazy guy with a box, she slowly walked over to the lake. She looked down, expecting to just see their reflections, but ended up tumbling back at what he saw.
 
"You seem to do that a lot. Do you have some sort of problem with standing upright?"
 
"B-b-but… but that's not…" She couldn't seem to find the words to describe what she saw. "That's not you!"
 
He loved these reactions. "Actually it is. Just a different me." Staring back at the Doctor from the calm stretch of water was a stallion. A stallion close to the same color as his jacket, same colored eyes, and roughly the same size as him. He still wore the jacket and bow tie, although she didn't understand why. On his head was a horn about one third a meter long and on his back was a pair of wings, of which he currently had unfolded to show their large glory.
 
"But… but… but you don't look anything like that!" she screamed, not letting herself understand. "What kind of spell changes what ya look like in a mirror?"
 
"It's not magic," he said. "It's a perception filter. To you, I look like me with a clock around my neck, but to everyone else, this is what I look like. That hair I plucked from your head was full of pony DNA. Can you believe it? I was able to run that DNA into the perception filter, and it allows me to disguise myself as a pony version of me! Isn't this amazing? I'm so tall! The back legs are controlled by my mind, so I can move them freely. And look!" He turned to the side. "An hourglass for one of those "cute marks" you were talking about!"
 
Two things rang through her mind as she saw this. One, how could this guy make something like this. Two, how does he get a cutie mark in his first second as a pony when she can't get hers after hundreds of attempts?!
 
"One problem, though. I've tried rewriting the layout on the filter several times, but for some reason I couldn't get rid of this horn or wings. I mean really! A pony with a horn and wings. How bizarre is that?" He looked to Apple Bloom, and the pony in the water mirrored him. "Do you think people will notice? I mean, you said there were ponies this tall, right? Do you think they'll notice the horn and stuff?"
 
She didn't know exactly how to explain to him these 'odd' things he's talking about would pretty much make him royalty. "Well ya might get a few stares. There is one thing that ponies might think looks a li'l bit weird, though."
 
"Really? What?"
 
She looked back down. "Why does your pony self got red hair?"
 
The Doctor looked back down, and he was sad. Yes, he modified the filter to make his pony self have a red mane and tail. He thought that this was his best chance. But seeing it now… "It does look a bit weird, doesn't it?" He sighed and pulled out a brown device from his pocket. He pointed it at the watch, and a green light and high-pitch noise came from it. The reflection then changed its color so the hair now looked exactly like his actual haircut. "Better?"
 
"Better. Uh... what is that?"
 
"Sonic screwdriver," He waved it at her, and looked down at the reflection. He noticed the screwdriver seemed to just be floating in midair with some sort of blue aura around it. He made sure to take a note of that as he placed the screwdriver back in his coat pocket. "Well then!" His eyes twinkled with curiosity. "Let's go meet some ponies!"