//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 
// Story: Doctor Whooves - Episode 1: Beyond the Limits 
// by The Grimm Reaper 
//------------------------------//

	The Doctor found the muffins surprisingly delicious. His tastebuds had been altered to accept greater flavour from food than before.
“Right, well that was very nice, but I don’t think I can fit any more Derpy… so…” Derpy hovered beside him with a large mountain of muffins. She looked a little uncertain as to what to do with them then.
“Right. Um… maybe I’ll pack them for you, you can eat them whenever then?” she suggested. The Doctor looked around.
“Pack them in what?” he asked. Derpy opened a cupboard in the kitchen and revealed a small plastic box.
“Made these myself. Don’t know what for, but I guess packing muffins is good enough reason, right?” she asked, dumping all the muffins in the small box. Most fell to the floor, but she ignored those as she placed the lid on the box, squashing most of the muffins that made it in.
“Maybe not that box, but yes, I suppose.” he replied. The little grey pony gave him a cheezy grin and offered him the box with her hoof.
“Now how do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“That! That thing with your hooves? How can you grasp things, you need fingers and opposable thumbs in order to hold things, but with hooves… it’s just a stub.” Derpy examined her hoof quizzically, her left eye rendering the gesture redundant.
“I don’t know, I just pick it up, look see?” she said, placing the box on the table and picking it up again.
“B-but t-that’s anatomically impossible, you’ve got nothing to prevent the box from losing balance, especially seeing as how you’re not holding it up in the middle but closer to one side. It should just fall off.” He said, waiting for her to put it down. He tried it, managing to lift it roughly two inches before it fell back down.
“D’oh dear… Let’s try it again… Nope, that didn’t work… Oh wait, hang on I think I – no, not that either. Oh why couldn’t I have been a unicorn? That’d have eliminated the need to do this.” he said aloud as he failed and failed again to lift the box.
“You just pick it up, like this!” Derpy exclaimed, lifting the box casually. The Doctor stared in disbelief and annoyance.
“Can all of you do this?” he asked. Derpy nodded, her head waving back and forth. When she stopped, her eyes seemed to align for an instant before she blinked and they returned to their opposing positions.
“Yeah! Rainbow Dash is better at it than me though. She can grab things going really fast. My hoof-eye coordination isn’t that good.” she replied. The Doctor cleared his throat and stood up, lifting the box with his mouth.
“Well…It’sh been great, thanksh for the muffinsh Derby. My TARDISh should be finished by now, so I’ll bid you Adieu.” he said, bowing his head in respect.
“You’re leaving?” Derpy asked, her expression like that of a worried child.
“Yeah, well the TARDISh should be finished by now and I shtill need to get in there.” he replied, placing the box on the table again. “Right, I’m just going to leave that there for now. It’s hurting my new teeth. And causing me to salivate, never done that before.” he added, wiping his mouth. Derpy quickly began scraping her hoof along the carpet suggestively, as if she wanted something.
“Well… Can I come too? I could drop you off at least.” she offered. The Doctor considered her request.
“I don’t see why not. So long as you promise not to touch anything while you’re there.” Derpy gave him a chiding look.
“What would there be to touch? It’s not very big from what I can tell. It can’t be very roomy.” she argued.
“You didn’t see inside when you lifted me up there before?” The Doctor asked, slightly disbelieving. Derpy shook her head.
“Nope, all I saw was smoke.” she replied, batting her wings away from her as if she were being approached by the aforementioned smoke.
“Right, well then you’re in for a big surprise. Come along Derpy.” The Doctor commanded. Upon command, Derpy grabbed the box for him and lifted him into the air.
“Sure as bubblegum!” she said, zooming through the door.
*** 
“Look Twilight, all I’m saying is this: What we saw fall out of that blue box and what emerged from that golden miasma can’t be the same pony. This… Doctor guy… I can’t even remember everything he said.” the little purple dragon was pacing around, mirroring Twilight as they and their friends held a meeting in the library.
“I don’t know Spike, I saw him turn from that two legged thing into a pony right before my eyes. Those… Huon particles, or whatever he called them seemed beautiful, but like many of my books say, beautiful things can be dangerous, just as he warned. Whatever he is, I don’t think he’s here to hurt us.” she replied.
“Well Gosh, Twilight. This is just too darn confusin’. He seemed to me like one of them scientific types… Kinda like you, but, y’know, better.” Applejack rubbed her head, shifting her hat as she did so. Twilight just groaned, taking offence to that statement.
“Anyway… Rainbow Dash, could you fly over to that blue box of his and take a closer inspection? I’d ask Fluttershy, but she can’t seem to back away from Rarity’s flank.” Twilight indicated to the Powder yellow mare with the pink mane shaking behind Rarity.
“He’s just so… so… I don’t really have a word for him right now.” she said. Rainbow Dash shot up, saluted and flew out the window.
“While she’s doing that, perhaps we can ask that Doctor some questions. Wherever he’s from, they must have some sort of fashion sense. I was examining the rags he left behind when he changed into a Pony and whatever he uses… there’s magic in those clothes. I shoved my whole hoof up to my shoulder in one of his pockets and I still couldn’t feel the bottom.” Rarity traced from the tip of her hoof along her arm to her shoulder as she spoke.
“Did you find balloons?” asked the ever spry Pinkie Pie. Ignoring her question, Twilight just sighed. She began to wonder where he was. The last time she saw him was when Derpy took him to Cloudsdale. As she contemplated the events, Rainbow Dash returned with a grin on her face.
“They’re coming! Derpy’s got the Doctor and she’s bringing him back.” she collapsed on the ground with a giddy smile on her face.
“Why are you so happy?” asked Spike who poked her face. Rainbow Dash chuckled and fell onto her back.
“I’m curious about him. A pony who can fly in a big blue box. I don’t know if I wanna ride in it or race it.” she replied, placing her fore hooves behind her head and relaxed beside Applejack.
“Uh, hate to rain on your parade there sugar cube, but didn’t the Doctor say something about that there box being a Time machine thingy?” Rainbow Dash paused for a moment and groaned.
“Oh yeah.” As the cyan Pegasus began to wallow in disappointment, Twilight raised a hoof.
“I still maintain that such a feat is impossible. I mean you can project yourself into the past for a few moments, but actually traveling as if it were a simple ride from here to Canterlot… impossible to do.”
Suddenly, the front door to the Library opened and Derpy flung The Doctor through the entrance.
“Hang on, I’m trying to get to my TARDIS, why would I need to go to a Library?” the Stallion asked as the derpy grey mare landed poorly in front of him.
“You said you were interested learning the history of Equestria, so where better to learn about the history than the Library? And our resident Librarian, Twilight, is a science girl like you.” the cross-eyed pony pointed a hoof to Twilight who stared at them both.
“Uh, to answer that question, I could learn the history by travelling to the beginning, secondly, you can’t just throw me into someone else’s house.” The Doctor began walking around.
“Still… I suppose hints as to what not to change about the history would be helpful. I wouldn’t want to meddle in fixed points in time. Alright, I talked me into it… where are the history books Starlight?” he asked, looking to the lavender mare.
“Twilight, and they’re right behind you labelled under history.” she replied. She watched as The Doctor turned around and pulled one book out from its place… with his teeth.
“Oh dear, I can’t turn pages with these hooves. Um… you there, the one with fingers, who are you?”
“Spike”
“Well, Spike, could you help me out here? I need you to just flick through the pages as quick as you can. Use your thumb and just make them brush past, sort of like a fan.” The purple dragon picked up the book and flicked the pages over, the book finishing within a few seconds.
“You cannot have finished the book like that.” Twilight protested.
“Course I could. And what sort of a name is Starswirl the Bearded? He’s just asking to be bullied by all the other boys, wait, pony terms… colts? Is that what you call the male youngsters?” not waiting for a reply, The Doctor took out a big red book and began reading with Spike’s help.
“Wait, you’re not allowed to read that, it’s forbidden by Princess Celestia!” Twilight cried out in protest.
“I’ll say, it’s her fillyhood diary. Blimey, was she really that young when she lost her… what’s this world’s term for virginity?” The Doctor placed the book back and grabbed another.
“H-how old was she?” Twilight asked, her face turning red.
“I may read diaries, but I don’t divulge what’s inside them. If you wanna find out, you’ll have to be a bit bad and read it yourself. Ooh, I like this Discord guy; chocolate rain! In all my years, I’ve never heard of chocolate rain. I went to a planet that had chocolate mountains, travelled a year further into the future, tourists turned it into a chocolate Ayers rock. Fat slobs, the lot of them. Ooh, and a rabbit shaped like a giraffe? What happened to this guy? Let’s see, oh. Turned to stone? He doesn’t… move when you blink, does he?” The Doctor waited for a response this time.
“H-how can a statue move? Of course he doesn’t move when you blink, what sort of question is that? What kind of statue moves–.”
“Well let’s just leave it at that then, since that statue doesn’t move you’re probably safe. Although, in case you come across any statues that seem out of place, or look like weeping angels, don’t blink.” The Doctor continued to scan through the books within the History section when a gonging sound began. He stopped what he was doing and ran outside.
“Oh, nonononononono! No! Not good, Derpy, get me up to the TARDIS right now, or it’s going to leave without me.” he said.
“Wait, you’re leaving already?” the seven ponies asked, each with their own emotions tied to the question. Derpy’s was the most noticeable of the seven. The Doctor saw the hurt in her face and sighed.
“Yes, I’m going but it’s only for a bit, I need to get the old girl sorted out, I shouldn’t be gone for more than ten minutes, and trust me, I’m not going to make the same mistake as last time and accidentally travel ten years. I kind of got scolded by someone for doing that. Look, just please help me!” Derpy, after having been asked for help, couldn’t refuse. She picked The Doctor up and flew as fast as she could to his TARDIS. With Rainbow Dash behind her, helping her go faster, She flung the Doctor right through the doorway of the TARDIS just as the doors closed. The two Pegasi watched with awe as the blue box began to flash and disappear. The choking sound it made frightened and amazed them both at the same time. When all was silent and the box was gone completely, they returned to their friends.
“He’s gone. But he’ll be back.” Derpy declared with a lingering doubt. The seven of them stood just below the clock tower, wondering what to do until he returned.
“What did he mean by make that mistake again?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“I doubt this is the first time he’s had to run off like that. As for the mistake, he probably time travelled ten years into the future instead of ten minutes.” Twilight replied.
“Ya’ll really don’t like the idea that an Earth Pony can do what a unicorn like you can’t, do you Twilight?” Applejack smiled with satisfaction as Twilight began to look scorned.
“Hey, I don’t know what’s going on, but that pony can’t travel through time. And that box of his probably just teleports. It’s an invention, nothing more.” As Twilight spoke, the choking sound began again and the box materialised right behind the Lavender pony. A minute later, The Doctor emerged in a black pinstripe jacket with a white overcoat hanging over him. His mane was combed back and he looked healthier than before.
“Sorry I’m late… Had difficulty finding some new threads. Fortunately, I found this. Wound up with a Circus Gorilla in the swimming pool one day. Silly TARDIS picks up anything it fancies. I kicked the gorilla out, but kept the coat in case I regenerated into one at some point. As for the white overcoat, well I can’t remember ever having worn this much white, so I thought I’d try something new. How long was I? Not ten years again, was I?” The ponies just stared at The Doctor, wondering how he could have changed so much in less than ten minutes.
“Uh, Doctor, where did you go?” Twilight asked. “And where did you get the clothes from in that thing?” The Doctor smiled at her and looked to the others.
“I think you girls can be trusted to… not endanger the universe with curious touching… come on in.” he replied, ducking his head back into his TARDIS. The seven ponies looked at each other, Derpy having one eye on the night sky. Cautiously, they all crept into the blue box. What they saw amazed them.