Rage of a Time Lord
Main Characters: TWP, The Doctor (10), Twilight, Lucas, Rainbow Dash, Applejack
Cameos: Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie, Spike, Luna, Derpy
Original Write Date: 10/20/2011
The Power Block is experiencing an afternoon rush, but The Wandering Physicist and his assistant Lucas are easily handling things. The Wandering Physicist takes some boxes to the back. Suddenly, he quickly dashes out and looks around. Lucas stops talking with a customer to watch his boss.
The Wandering Physicist turns to the rest of the store. ‘Excuse me everypony! The shop has to close early today! If you are planning on purchasing something, just bring it to Lucas and you can get it at, oh, sixty percent off, but only ponies in the store right now. Don’t even think of calling your friends.’
The Wandering Physicist gallops into his office. He pulls a mobile in a holster onto his left foreleg with a headset in his ear and gets a small cylindrical object out of the desk. He gallops out through the store. He tosses the cylindrical object to Lucas.
‘Lucas, when you are done here, follow me to the Everfree and use the “key” to lock up!’
‘Gotcha, Boss.’
‘And move your flank as fast as possible!’ The Wandering Physicist manipulates his mobile briefly. ‘Hello? Twilight? Listen, I am going to be galloping past your place in a moment. Get as many of the Elements of Harmony with you as you can and follow me! No time for questions! Just do it!’
The Wandering Physicist charges through town. He does his best to dodge everypony in his way. He intentionally plows through Droll Tale as he passes. A small scooter being driven by an orange pegasus pulling a wagon with a white unicorn and a yellow earth pony swerves into his path. He ducks between the scooter and wagon as they almost hit him.
‘COOL!’ The Cutie Mark Crusaders cheer as The Wandering Physicist barely misses them and Scootaloo drives them right into a wall.
The Wandering Physicist keeps galloping with a purpose. He heads right past the library where Twilight Sparkle has been able to gather her friends Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash.
‘Mr Wanderer, what is...’
The Wandering Physicist just keeps galloping.
‘Uh... After him!’
The three mares give chase, with Rainbow Dash the only one to barely catch up to The Determined Physicist.
‘Hey! What is going on? What are you getting us into, Jimmy?’ Rainbow Dash uses a more casual version of the nickname Luna gave The Wandering Physicist.
‘Something bad is about to happen. Something very bad.’ The Wandering Physicist nods towards a quickly approaching forest. ‘See that smoke? A friend of mine in in trouble.’
‘I hear ya!’
Rainbow Dash takes off at a full speed, barely edging ahead of The Wandering Physicist. At the edge of the Everfree Forest, a small blue, police box is standing. A foul smoke is coming from an unseen port and a cloister bell is chiming quite loudly. The Wandering Physicist lowers his head and just plows through the front door. The box is a lot bigger on the inside than on the outside. The Panicking Physicist sees The Doctor laying on the center console. He quickly scoops The Doctor onto his back and carries him out of the box.
Rainbow Dash pokes her head in the box. ‘Whoa! What is going on here?’
The Wandering Physicist pulls The Doctor’s tie off with his teeth and tosses it to Rainbow Dash. ‘Try not to breathe the smoke! Very noxious! Derpy is somewhere in there. Find her as quickly as possible. There are a lot of rooms, and I need someone with a lot of speed to find her.’
‘Great. What has Derpy gotten herself into this time?’ Rainbow Dash mumbles as she wraps her muzzle and takes off into the box.
Twilight, Pinkie, and Lucas catch up. Lucas is panting like crazy.
‘Twilight, Pinkie. Inside you’ll find a console. Start pulling levers and pushing buttons until the smoke stops or the sound stops. If you stop both, I will take you to the best dinner you will ever have in three galaxies! Be careful of the smoke.’
‘Roger!’ Pinkie salutes and darts into the box. A loud ‘COOL!’ comes from the box.
‘Mr Wanderer...’
‘Twilight, this is no time to talk. I need you to do this and fast!’
Twilight never heard The Wandering Physicist talk this way. She thinks for a second then rushes to help Pinkie.
‘Lucas, go on ahead and find Fluttershy. We are going to need a comfortable bed and a lot of tea. If she is not home, use the “key”.’
Lucas sighs, catches his breath and starts galloping ahead of his boss. The Wandering Physicist follows Lucas as fast as he can with his passenger. Shortly into the journey, Applejack gallops up besides the pair. She pushes in and takes some of The Doctor’s load.
‘Twi said y’all needed help. What’s goin’ on here? Is he okay?’
‘He’ll be fine. Lucas and Fluttershy should be getting everything ready to help care for him.’
Suddenly, there is a loud cough from their backs.
‘Der... Derpy.’
‘She’s fine. I have Miss Dash searching your TARDIS for her.’
‘No. She’s not there.’
‘What?’
‘I lost her, James. I lost her...’
The Doctor passes out again. The Wandering Physicist pushes harder as he and Applejack come into view of Fluttershy’s cottage.
The Wandering Physicist sits by The Doctor’s bed. He is scanning The Doctor using the cylindrical device he and Lucas were passing around. There is a steaming pot of tea on the nightstand by them. Outside, the other ponies are looking in and quietly spreading rumors about what is going on. The Wandering Physicist sighs.
‘Because it is a FAQ, he is fine, just needs some time to rest.’ There is a slight pause. ‘Come on, Theta...’
The Doctor coughs violently and wakes up. ‘Where am I?’
‘Fluttershy’s cottage. It was the closest place to where you landed. You are beat up pretty bad, but I’ve been giving infusions of tannins, too. You also have a number of small bruises and some light internal injuries, but your hearts are fine.’
‘How can you tell?’
The Wandering Physicist holds up his devise. ‘More advanced sonic. It was a gift.’
The Doctor tries to move. ‘We have to get back. Derpy is in trouble.’
‘You’re not going anywhere right now. We’ll get her back tomorrow when you’re in better shape.’
‘We can’t. I blew out my time coil crossing my timeline just to get here. My TARDIS will take days to heal herself.’
‘We have my TARDIS. I’ll replace the time coil, and yours will be better sooner than expected, too.’ The Wandering Physicist steps out of the room. ‘Lucas! We need a time coil from the stockroom.’ He tosses his sonic to his apprentice who catches it with his magic. ‘You’ll need to use setting thirty-seven among others to get in. Bring it to The Doctor’s TARDIS. No big rush this time.’
‘Got it, boss.’
Lucas makes his way through the others and heads out. The Doctor falls back into the bed.
‘Derpy... I left her there. I can’t believe I left her...’
‘You’ve said enough for now. Get some rest. We can talk about it tomorrow.’
The Wandering Physicist walks out of the room and closes the door behind him. Everypony else just stares at him, either expecting him or one of the others to talk first. Rainbow Dash is the first to do something by jabbing Twilight sharply. Twilight glares at Rainbow Dash, who motions for her to speak. She opens her mouth to talk but is instantly cut off.
‘I am certain you have a lot of questions. I promise you I will answer everything I can, but there is a lot I will not be able to answer.’
‘How about just starting by telling us what is going on?’ Twilight asks.
‘Hmm... Start with the hardest part first... Okay.’ The Wandering Physicist sits and leans against the door. ‘Simply put, The Doctor and I are not from this planet.’ Pinkie Pie lets out a huge gasp. ‘We are a race that travels across time and space as protectors and explorers. Whereas The Doctor prefers traveling, I am more sedentary.’
‘Judging by the gut, I can believe you.’ Rainbow Dash quips. Twilight jabs her friend. ‘What? Just sayin’.’
‘As I was saying, I prefer to stay around my friends while The Doctor prefers to travel with his friends. He currently travels with Derpy. Apparently, they got separated on their last trip, and he basically punched a hole in time to come get me.’
‘Wait a tick. How in the heck do y’all travel in time? And why do y’all look like us if ya ain’t from ‘round here?’ Applejack asks.
‘Well, we were here first. To be fair, it is more that you look like us.’
‘Oh! That makes total sense.’ Pinkie says. Everypony stares at her. ‘Wait. No, it doesn’t.’
‘Just chalk it up to galactic coincidence. The fact that we can change our appearance helps, too. Helps us blend in.’
‘So you can change what you look like? Why pick earth pony? Why not something awesome, like a pegasus!’ Rainbow Dash says. All of her friends, even Fluttershy, roll their eyes.
‘It is... complicated. Anyway, question time is over for now. I have to get to The Doctor’s TARDIS.’ He turns to Fluttershy. ‘Can you take care of things here? Just make sure he stays in bed until morning.’
‘Yes sir.’ Fluttershy answers.
‘Ah will help too, Fluttershy. Jus’ in case he tries somethin’ stupid.’ Applejack volunteers.
‘Excellent. I’ll see you in the morning.’
The Wandering Physicist leaves the cottage, closely followed by the other three ponies. He heads straight to the TARDIS without saying a word. The normally talkative Pinkie is eerily quiet when she notices the determination on The Wandering Physicist’s face and all of the concern shown by Twilight’s expression. They get to the box. Lucas is not there yet. The Wandering Physicist stares at the box for a moment, then pushes the door open. He takes a few steps in. Despite all of the ruckus earlier, it looks undamaged. A large shadow passes over the area. There is a loud thump as the Princess of the Night lands on the TARDIS.
‘Princess Luna!’ Twilight exclaims. She bows slightly while her friends just wave casually.
Luna looks over the situation, greatly confused. When she sees The Wandering Physicist and the TARDIS, she realizes something major is going on. ‘I spent a lot of time working with the weather teams to have wonderful weather for this night, but I found a foul smoke polluting my night. When I traced it, this is where it led. Can one of you explain what is going on?’
‘Well, Mr Wanderer there can explain better, but this is what I understand...’ Twilight begins.
While Twilight and her friends bring Luna up to speed, The Wandering Physicist goes over the consoles on the TARDIS. He finds one of the readouts and starts analyzing what little data it shows him.
‘What were you two doing...’ He pauses. ‘You know exactly which two of you I mean.’ Pause. ‘I never understand why the rest of them do what they do.’ Pause, then laughter. ‘Me too.’
The Wandering Physicist laughs to himself a bit more before he notices that he is being watched.
‘I think he went full Pinkie Pie...’ Rainbow Dash says.
‘Actually, I do believe he is on to something,’ Luna states. ‘I can feel a slight psychic presence resonating with my horn.’
Twilight focuses a bit and her horn glows. ‘I think I can feel it too.’
The Wandering Physicist leans towards the console. ‘I think they are on to us.’
As if to break the awkwardness, Lucas gallops up right on cue. He calmly enters the TARDIS and hands over the sonic and another small device.
‘Here you go. Can I go to bed now? I mean, after I am done with this heart attack.’
‘Thanks. You need your rest so we can do what we need to tomorrow.’
Lucas groans and starts heading back to his place. The Wandering Physicist takes the sonic and time coil and starts going to work under the TARDIS console.
‘Yes, I know this won’t fix you, but it will help you heal faster.’ Pause. ‘I always keep a spare stock just in case.’ Pause. ‘She runs quite nicely still. She should be in range if you want to ask her.’ Pause. ‘It was like that when I got her!’ The Wandering Physicist finishes the repair then runs the sonic over the console. ‘There. Shaved about three days off of your repair time.’ The TARDIS powers up and lights the room. ‘I guess you’re going to thank me later.’
The Wandering Physicist runs his sonic over the display and checks the readout. He starts inputting commands. The other ponies enter further and start really getting a good look at the TARDIS for the first time.
‘How can this be so much bigger on the inside?’ Luna ponders.
‘Dimensionally transcendental, silly. Duh.’ Pinkie answers.
Everypony stares at Pinkie, wondering how she knows that. The Wandering Physicist pops up from under the console again.
‘Okay! I am going to need a transphasic inductor, a neutrino flow capacitor, about two kilometers of conducting cable, and a large crystal of some sort, preferably purple. Oh! And a box of Jammy Dodgers.’
‘I love Jammy Dodgers!’ Pinkie chimes in.
‘Mr Wanderer, I think you have done enough for now.’ Twilight starts. ‘You should take a break. Maybe get some food.’
‘No time. We have to get all of the info we can if we are going to help The Doctor, and the first step is getting the TARDIS going. Now, where’re my Jammy Dodgers?’
‘Oh! My turn to help!’ Pinkie squeals.
Before Pinkie can run off, Rainbow Dash lands on her tail. Rainbow Dash shakes her head ‘no’ to Pinkie’s disapproving look. She looks over at Twilight who nods and charges a spell. She sneaks behind The Wandering Physicist and touches her horn against his head. The magic surrounds him, and he starts getting woozy.
‘Dude... Not cool...’
The Sleeping Physicist falls over. Twilight lifts him with her magic.
‘Let’s get back to the library. We can try to figure out what is going on there,’ Luna suggests.
‘Dash, catch up to Lucas. He seems to have some sort of understanding. Probably from his work with Mr Wanderer,’ Twilight says.
Rainbow Dash salutes and flies out. A loud scream followed by a ‘nooooo!’ is heard as Rainbow Dash finds her quarry. The others carry The Sleeping Physicist out of the TARDIS and close the door, which seems to lock on its own. As the others go ahead catching up a little, Twilight hangs back and ponders the situation.
The Wandering Physicist awakes in a strange bed. It is still dark out. He moans a little and tries getting up, but he cannot move. He tries struggling a little then gives up. He looks around at his surroundings then gets really red with embarrassment when he realizes he is in Twilight’s bed. He hears voices coming from the next room and can tell that it is Twilight and her friends discussing the situation. He figures that that The Doctor must also be under a sleep spell or guarded by a certain rabbit since he can hear Fluttershy, barely, and Applejack too. After the talking stops, the door opens and somepony enters. Since he hears no footfalls, The Wandering Physicist guesses it is either Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy.
‘Oh hey. You’re awake.’
‘... Miss Dash. ... Oh! I can talk!’
‘Heh, heh. Yeah. Twilight’s spell does a number on the nervous system. Just lay back and sleep.’ Rainbow Dash lands on the alcove next to the bed. ‘If you don’t, I’m here to make sure you do.’
‘I rather be out there getting ready.’
‘Whatevs.’ She pauses. ‘Hey. What is time travel like?’
‘I’m surprised you don’t know. I’ve seen you reach speeds above forty meters per second.’
‘What?’
The Wandering Physicist laughs. ‘Never mind. Time travel is interesting. You can see places you only imagined from reading a book... You can read, right?’
‘Watch it,’ Rainbow Dash glares while The Wandering Physicist laughs. ‘Wait. Are you saying I could go back and teach myself how to do a Rainboom?’
‘Oh, hell, no! You cannot change history.’
‘Why not? If I know how to do it early, The Wonderbolts would be sure to hire me.’
‘But if you joined them before Twilight came to Ponyville, who would be the Element of Loyalty to help fight Nightmare Moon?’
‘Duh. I would of, course.’
‘But The Wonderbolts weren’t in town for the Summer Sun Festival, so you wouldn’t have been here.’
‘But, I would have, I mean, me fast, and ... arg!’ Rainbow Dash holds her head as if in pain. ‘You win this round.’
The Wandering Physicist laughs again. Both of the ponies settle down and start trying going to sleep.
‘Want to know if you ever make it into The Wonderbolts?’
Rainbow Dash is instantly awake. She starts shaking The Wandering Physicist. ‘What! Tell me! Tell me now!’
The Wandering Physicist lets out a snore. Rainbow Dash snorts and goes back to the alcove.
The Wandering Physicist reawakes to a bright light. He reaches for his sonic to turn it off before he realizes that it does not have the range to reach the sun nor does he have his sonic. He settles for a mild curse to Celestia instead. He tries getting up again but finds he still cannot move. This time, it is because a certain cyan pegasus is laying across him. He groans and tries moving again. The door opens and very slow, nervous hooffalls come up to the bed. The Wandering Physicist leans over and waves at the approaching Twilight. She has a very concerned look on her face.
‘You may not have guessed it, but this is the first time I’ve slept in a filly’s bed,’ The Wandering Physicist says with a bit of a smile.
Twilight sighs, but otherwise does not seem to react. She just continues her approach.
‘Uh... I also think this is the first time either of the two ponies in this bed have gotten up before noon this month,’ The Wandering Physicist tries joking.
Twilight snorts lightly and stops by the bed. She sits by the bed and stares at The Wandering Physicist. He smiles sheepishly. Rainbow Dash snores.
‘Care to get me my glasses?’
‘You don’t need them.’
‘Uh... All the better to see you with?’
Twilight groans and levitates the glasses over and puts them on The Wandering Physicist’s face. He grins at her. She just glares back. He drops the ruse and sighs.
‘Fine. What do you want to know?’ The Wandering Physicist groans.
‘Why? Why did you keep this from us? From me of all ponies? Why!’
Rainbow Dash does not seem to stir from the outburst.
‘You know how parents can’t tell their kids everything without shattering their hopes? Or how sometimes, just sometimes you have to not tell the whole truth with a friend? Or maybe you have to give a misleading point of view that while true comes off as a hurtful lie?’
Twilight levitates Rainbow Dash off of the bed and climbs up. The Wandering Physicist sits to face her. ‘Are you trying to tell me it was for my own good? You lied to all of us to protect some stupid secret that there are time traveling alien ponies everywhere?’
‘Just two, actually. The Doctor and myself. … He, at least, has a good excuse.’
‘Why should I believe anything you say right now? Why should I believe anything you have ever said?’
‘Twilight... how long have we known each other? Have I ever lied?’ Twilight shakes her head ‘no’. ‘Have I ever done anything without there being a good reason for it?’ Twilight shakes her head ‘no’. ‘And, this is probably the most important, have I ever given you an answer to a question that while true was incomplete or missing key information?’ Twilight looks up at The Wandering Physicist with a few tears in her eyes. ‘First rule with physics is that not all things are certain and are open to interpretation.’
‘... We never asked specific details, and you only gave a broad answers... You knew what we were asking and how to not answer by answering.’
‘I am a horrible pony. What can I say?’
‘No! Don’t say that! You are are a good pony! Others just... need to get to know you better...’
The Wandering Physicist puts a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. ‘You don’t have to be this forgiving, but thank you.’
‘Can you promise me that you won’t keep something like this from me again?’
‘No, but I can promise to keep secrets like this with you.’
Twilight smiles for the first time that day. ‘I guess that is a start.’
‘Pfft! Get a room you, two!’ The pair on the bed look over to see Rainbow Dash watching them. She looks back and forth between them. ‘What? It is your fault for leaving me here if you wanted privacy.’
‘Yeah. I am never telling you,’ The Wandering Physicist says as he hops out of bed.
‘What! No!’ Rainbow Dash dives to The Wandering Physicist’s hooves. ‘You have to tell me! I’ll do anything!’
‘Anything?’
‘What are you two talking about?’
‘You know how fast you fly to do a Rainboom?’
‘Uh... yeah?’
‘Think you can maintain that speed all of the way to Canterlot and back?’ The Wandering Physicist grins evilly.
‘Uh...’
Everypony is gathered in Golden Oaks Library. Luna returned to Canterlot to report the situation her sister. Lucas hangs off to the side, still tired from his running the night before. The Doctor, relatively recovered, joins them. The table in the center of the room has a large pile of garden burgers and hay fries. Everypony is eating while discussing the situation. Rainbow Dash is passed out at the door, seemingly having several heart attacks simultaneously.
‘Are you sure it is okay to leave her like that?’ Fluttershy asks.
‘She “volunteered” to get us this. It is not our fault she is such a good friend,’ The Wandering Physicist replies. He picks up a burger and bites. ‘Oh! I am so glad we have one of them at least that close to here.’
‘Is this the super awesome delicious meal that you promised us! Because if it isn’t, I don’t see how it can get much better!’ Pinkie chimes in before burying her head in a pile of hay fries.
‘Now, a lady isn’t one to complain, but if there is food better than this, you are a hateful pony for holding out on us,’ Rarity says. Pinkie reaches to take a burger from near Rarity. Rarity stomps hard on Pinkie’s hoof. ‘Mine!’
‘As amazin’ as this here food is, Ah believe we gathered here fer a reason,’ Applejack says before returning to her apple shake.
‘Indeed!’ The Doctor adds before taking a big bite. ‘Oh divine! Right! Derpy and I were just traveling around going to places of interest. I thought it would be enjoyable to give her a bit of history.’
‘Oh geez. Where’d you go?’ The Wandering Physicist moans.
The Doctor looks around nervously then says, right before drinking his shake, ‘Battle of the Bassen Rift.’
‘What!’
‘That is an outrage!’ Pinkie joins in. ‘Why is that an outrage?’
‘Fifth Dalek-Cyber War. The Battle of the Bassen Rift is the site of the final conflict. It was so brutal to both sides that they declared peace rather than letting the fight continue.’ The Wandering Historian answers.
‘I thought we would be safe watching the peace process! I didn’t know it would get out of hoof!’
‘How did it get out of hoof, Doctor?’ Twilight asks.
‘Well, we landed all nice. We exited, and I was explaining the historical and cultural significance of the peace that follows. Suddenly we were the target! Like they had waited for just that moment to start attacking that specific spot! Both sides too! We ran. Well, I ran and she flew. I made it back to the TARDIS, but there was a large explosion and we were separated. I don’t know which side, but I think it was the Daleks, started targeting the TARDIS directly. I panicked and had her go straight to you.’ The Doctor puts hooves to his temples and shakes his head. ‘I left her. I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t want to leave Derpy, but I couldn’t lose the TARDIS.’
‘Don’t worry, Doctor. You did the right thing. I have trouble asking for help, too.’
‘Are y’all sure y’all can help her? Sounds like ya got yerself a pretty dangerous situation there.’
‘Simple. You take the elegant solution and go back before they left and tell them not to go.’
‘And blow up half the universe when the time streams cross. Is that really elegant, Miss Rarity?’ The Doctor retorts.
‘Two questions,’ The Wandering Physicist states raising a hoof. ‘1) How do we know it is exactly half? B) Which half are we talking about? And three...’
‘No, we are not going to test that. You were told that countless times at the academy.’
‘I was still a kid. I hadn’t turned two hundred yet. Besides, it would be pretty awesome explosion to watch.’
‘I would have thought you would have grown out of such childish fancies when you reached three hundred.’
‘I would have thought you would have stopped visiting every tyrant in history and pressing flank by the time you reached seven hundred.’
‘I did grow out of it by seven hundred. ... I just replaced it with making funny faces behind their backs by seven fifty...’
‘Then which tyrant’s back are you looking at now?’
‘BOYS!’ Twilight shouts. ‘Derpy is in trouble somewhere in time and space, and you two are bickering like a pair of colts in kindergarten.’
‘But he started it!’ both Time Lords protest.
‘Wait a tick. How old are y’all?’
‘Oh. I am only somewhere around three hundred, give or take a decade. Still pretty young. Still haven’t had my first regeneration yet.’ The Wandering Physicist states proudly.
‘Punk kid.’ The Doctor snorts. ‘I’m around nine hundred and this is my tenth face. Feels like a lot longer, though.’
All of the girls are shocked at the ages, even the near immortal alicorn. Pinkie does some quick math in the air.
‘I am going to need to order A LOT more candles before your next birthdays.’
‘Dear lord, no.’ The Doctor says with a facehoof.
‘November fourteenth.’ The Wandering Physicist presses a button on his mobile. ‘I just sent you my Amazon wishlist.’ He looks around at everypony. ‘All of you.’
Twilight facehoofs too. ‘Over a dozen times my age and still acts like a child.’
‘I’m more than a dozen!’ The Doctor protests.
‘I think she means her beau, deary.’ Rarity interjects. Everypony snaps their attention to Rarity. ‘Oh, were we not supposed to mention it? Oopsie.’
An awkward silence fills the room. Suddenly, Spike pops up from the middle of the pile of food.
‘I’ve been listening in and in order to distract you from me eating all of this delicious food, I thought you were in the middle of planning to save Derpy from some cyber-somethings.’ Everypony looks at Spike now. ‘Uh... Gotta go!’
Spike disappears back into the pile of food. The Doctor and The Wandering Physicist slump back and think.
‘We have to go back there...’
‘And it has to be some point after I left...’
‘But not too soon or we could be caught in the bombardment.’
‘And we have to send them some sort of message.’
‘How about a party!’ All of Pinkies friends moan.
‘Hmm... Might be the wrong message.’
‘I’m thinking fireworks.’
‘What is it with physicists and explosions?’
‘The essence of physics is to throw something at something else and watch what comes off.’
‘Just like Mardi Gras.’ Lucas mumbles. He is instantly aware of six mares, including one still dying on the ground, glaring at him with all of the hate in the world.
‘Mr Wanderer, how expendable is your assistant?’
‘Miss Sparkle, how expendable is yours?’
The mares calm down their attack and return to planning the rescue.
…
After a short time, a plan is worked out. Rainbow Dash has recovered enough to join in the eating and planning. Also, the pile of burgers is virtually gone. Spike has taken over being passed out after his binge eating.
‘So... I guess that is it. Dash and Applejack help me with sabotage,’ The Doctor says.
‘While Twilight and Lucas help me with piloting,’ The Wandering Physicist says. ‘It will be tricky if we are to get the timing right.’
‘And the rest of us will prepare a super awesome victory-and-welcome-home-Derpy party for when you return!’ Pinkie cheers.
The Wandering Physicist and The Doctor do not say anything in order not to spoil the mood.
‘So, uh, who wants to finish off the last burger before we go?’ The Wandering Physicist offers.
Lucas starts reaching for it, but a fork gets embedded in his hoof before he can get it.
‘Oops. Sorry.’ Fluttershy apologizes. ‘Let me help you.’ She takes Lucas’ hoof to bandage it and casually slides the burger to herself. ‘Oh! Did anyone else want that?’
All of Fluttershy’s friends shake their heads and back away.
‘Are you sure Discord doesn’t run that place?’ Twilight whispers to The Wandering Physicist.
Rainbow Dash zooms through a very high-tech area. She tosses out many small boxes. She blasts past a thing that looks like a pepper pot as she enters a door that leads to an area that looks like a TARDIS. The doors close and disappear, leaving a very confused pepper pot thing.
In another high-tech area, The Doctor is working his sonic under a panel. A robotic-looking pony approaches.
‘Assimilate!’
‘Assimilate this!’ BUCK!
Applejack kicks the robotic pony’s head clean off. The Doctor slides out from under the panel.
‘That should do it.’ He notices the headless robot. ‘Did I miss something?’
On an alien planet, The Wandering Physicist, Twilight Sparkle and Lucas Grainsborough are fleeing from the pepper pot things. The pepper pots are firing lasers which the two mages are deflecting with magic shields.
‘Exterminate!’ the pepper pots shriek.
‘Boss! If we get back! I quit!’ Lucas yells.
‘I’ll take that under advisement,’ The Wandering Physicist laughs.
‘Mr Wanderer, all of the ponies in your species are CRAZY!’ Twilight shouts, getting more laughter in return.
A streak passes by and the pepper pots are blown out of the sky by a rainbow explosion. They fall to the ground, confused and shouting. The Doctor and Applejack leap in front of the group as an explosion sends a mass of robot ponies flying. Rainbow Dash loops back and lands by the group.
‘I knew I would find you if I tried hard enough. Didn’t I, Applejack?’ The Doctor brags.
‘Y’all got lost fer five minutes before Ah dragged ya this way.’
‘But I did find them.’
Applejack rolls her eyes.
‘Looks like everyone is here. Shall we, Doctor?’
‘Allons-y!’
The Doctor and The Wandering Physicist draw their sonics and wave them around at the gathering forces. The pepper pots and robotic ponies are seemingly driven back while the normal ponies group together. The Doctor and The Wandering Physicist gets items out of their packs and start building something that looks like a cabinet.
‘Uh, prof, do we have a plan?’ Rainbow Dash asks.
‘Not a one!’ The Doctor assures as he puts a pair of monitors in the cabinet.
‘Mr Wanderer, how about you?’ Twilight asks.
‘Wha?’ Thump! The Wandering Carpenter bangs his head on the cabinet as he finishes hooking up the monitor. ‘Son of a... OW!’
‘That’s it. I seriously quit.’ Lucas tries walking away, but a pepper pot’s laser weapon takes aim. ‘Never mind.’
‘Monitors?’ The Wandering Physicist asks, rubbing a sore spot on his head.
‘Check. Incentive?’ The Doctor asks.
‘Booyaka!’ The Wandering Physicist responds while holding up his mobile.
Lucas facehoofs. ‘You made an app for this situation?’
‘Open platform and you can load your app to your device with no need for permissions.’ The Wandering Physicist raises a hoof to the air. ‘Take that, Apple!’
‘Excuse me?’ Applejack questions.
The Doctor turns on the monitors. A large, white version of the pepper pot things appears on one. A robot pony with a black casing on its head with a brain exposed appears on the other monitor. The two creatures are confused and start shouting at each other. A loud whistle cuts through the noise.
‘Excuse me?’ The Doctor begins. ‘Mind if I cut in?’
The creatures on screen scan what they are seeing.
‘You are The Doctor!’ The white pepper pot shouts.
‘Yes. And you are the Supreme Dalek. Nice to see you on the front lines for once.’ The Doctor turns to the other monitor. ‘And you are the Cyber Controller. Good to see everyone here. Now, we have a very important matter to discuss. I came by here earlier and was very rudely attacked. By both parties! That was just rude.’
‘This mindless chatter is irrelevant.’ The Cyber Controller states.
‘It is not “irrelevant”!’ The Doctor shouts. ‘You see, in your completely senseless attack, I lost track of my companion. We need you to help find her or we will be very cross. If we get cross, bad things will happen. Now, have you seen a grey pegasus in the past... How long?’
The Wandering Physicist checks his mobile. ‘According to my TARDIS, about ten hours since you left.’
‘Really? Only ten? Impressive.’
‘Type 90... with some customization, but that goes without saying.’
‘Right.’ The Doctor turns back to the monitors. ‘So, past ten hours. Where is my friend? Oh! and if you say she has been assimilated or exterminated... well... Wanderer.’
The Wandering Physicist presses a button on his mobile. Two huge explosions light up the sky.
‘Those were your fourth fleets. I have five more for the Daleks and eight more for the Cyberponies. Think hard,’ The Wandering Physicist threatens.
‘We have no record of a grey pegasus,’ the Supreme Dalek states.
‘Our databases concur.’
‘Wrong answer. Wanderer.’
Two more explosions light up more of the sky.
‘Wait! One of our Cyber Leaders recorded visual record of a grey pegasus flying towards the Dalek lines around the timestamp in question. We have no records after that.’
‘Wrong! Wrong!’ the Supreme Dalek shouts. ‘The one in question left the battlefield! No Dalek has claimed the honor of exterminating a grey pegasus this day!’
The Daleks and Cyberponies resume arguing among themselves. The Doctor starts getting more and more annoyed.
‘Silence!’ The Doctor snaps. ‘I don’t care which of you saw her last I want to know where she is now! I don’t care if I have to tear you apart bolt by bolt and extract the information manually. I want to find my friend.’
The Dalek and Cyberpony stop and scan The Doctor some more.
‘That is an idle threat,’ the Dalek Emperor states. ‘The Doctor would never endanger his companions. We would exterminate all of your companions before you could even harm us critically.’
The Doctor seethes. He is about to speak when The Wandering Physicist pushes forward.
‘Hi. I don’t think you know me. I am The Wandering Physicist. Fellow Time Lord. Don’t bother searching your histories for me. I barely made an impact with most of the things I have done.’ Pause. ‘Now, I know you have a history with The Doctor. You can push each others’ buttons with ease. As I can yours.’ He waves his mobile in front of the screen. ‘Now, I know about you, but you don’t know about me. Since we don’t have a history, you don’t know that I am a generally honest person. Sure, I may bend the truth on occasion, but I never flat-out lie. Never. So know this: you will find my friend or the hundreds of thousands of Daleks and Cybers here today will just be the start. Got it?’ There is no response. He glances over his shoulder. ‘Prepare to duck.’ He turns back. ‘GOT IT!’
A button is pressed and more explosions occur. The explosions are close enough so that debris starts raining in the area. A few Daleks and Cyberponies are taken out by the debris. On the monitors, the Supreme Dalek and Cyber Controller actually seem to display worry despite their expressionless features.
‘A grey pegasus was spotted southwest of your current location two of your hours ago,’ a Dalek blurts from behind the leader.
The Supreme Dalek quickly turns and exterminates the subordinate. It quickly turns back. ‘We, we had just found that out. I-I-I was about to report.’
The Enraged Physicist’s glare causes the Supreme Dalek to back away. ‘And where is she now?’
‘We, we, do not know! We are not deceiving you!’
The Furious Physicist glances over at the Cyber Controller. ‘And you?’
‘Our databases show no data! No data!’
Another section of sky lights up behind The Deadly Physicist. ‘Listen! I don’t care what you have to do! You can make peace across the universe and combine all of your sensor information for all I care! YOU! WILL! FIND! MY! FRIEND!’
The Supreme Dalek and Cyber Controller process the threat. A hoof hovers dangerously close to a mobile for their liking.
‘Cyber patrols have detected a grey pegasus approaching from near the Dalek encampment. Five hundred meters and closing.’
‘All Daleks have been informed not to exterminate and are leaving the area.’
‘All Cyber Legions are evacuating.’
The Daleks in the area back off and fly into space. The Cyberponies all put a hoof in front of their chests, and they are transmatted back to their ships.
‘We have made peace and are leaving the area,’ the Cyber Controller states.
‘We have fulfilled our part of the bargain,’ the Supreme Dalek adds. ‘Now fulfill your promise.’
‘I promised nothing except your destruction,’ The Murderous Physicist growls.
The two screens go blank as all of the ships start leaving orbit. The Frightening Physicist sits on the ground and sighs. He drops his mobile next to him. All his friends behind him are too scared to approach. Twilight finally gets up the nerve to step forward, when she is interrupted by a small figure flying up. Derpy is slowly making her way towards the remaining beings on the planet. Rainbow Dash quickly intercepts her friend and helps her down. Derpy is covered in cuts and burns and her left foreleg looks broken.
‘Hey, Doctor. I am back.’
The Doctor rushes over to the wounded Derpy and gives her a big hug. ‘Don’t worry, Derpy. I have you.’
The Drained Physicist gets up and starts walking away. ‘Great to have you back, D-Squared. If anypony needs me, I’ll be in the TARDIS when you are ready to leave.’
The Tired Physicist starts wandering back to his TARDIS.
‘What is wrong with Chief?’ Derpy asks.
‘He’s just had a long day. We all have. Come on. Let’s go home.’
The Doctor and Rainbow Dash carry Derpy back to the TARDIS as the group leaves. Twilight stops for a moment then goes back to pick up The Wandering Physicist’s mobile before rejoining the group.
The next few days are busy. After returning to Ponyville, The Depressed Physicist seals himself in the living area above his store. Pinkie throws a massive party to celebrate the return of Derpy, but she is deflated when she hears about The Depressed Physicist’s mood. Lucas continues to run the store in the absence of his boss. All of his friends try to talk to him, but The Depressed Physicist does not even answer his door when they come around. Even Twilight’s and Luna’s most powerful spells cannot penetrate the barrier he seals himself behind. After a week, Twilight is really distraught about her friend’s situation. The Depressed Physicist’s mobile has become a common accessory wherever she goes.
Twilight is at The Power Block talking with Lucas. She looks as if she has not slept much recently.
‘How can you let him stay up there! You’re his friend! We should be trying to help him!’
‘I know you are supposed to be the one studying friendship, but I also heard about the Smarty Pants incident.’
Twilight teleports herself onto the counter so she can stare down at Lucas. ‘That has nothing to do with this!’ She teleports herself down. ‘I just want to help my friend. That is all.’
‘Princess Sparkle, I appreciate your concern, but Boss... He is an odd one, as you know. If he needs some time to himself, he needs time to himself. It is best to let him be.’
‘Best?! BEST!? How do you know that is best? Did you ask him!?’
‘You are scaring my customers. Leave now or I will be forced to contact law enforcement, princess.’
Twilight comes very close to bursting into flames before she storms out of the shop. She takes a couple moments to shout a few disgruntled groans as she exits. Lucas moans and goes back to work.
On the opposite side of the town, The Doctor is working on his TARDIS. He is currently working under the flooring. Above him, Twilight is pacing.
‘ “Best to let him be”? “Best to let him be”? What sort of friend is that? How can he say such a thing? It makes me want to scream!’ Twilight screams loud enough to set off the cloister bell as well as scare away all of the animals around Fluttershy’s cottage and cause some apples to fall at Sweet Apple Acres.
‘Are you quite finished? I’d like to have my hearing last at least another nine hundred years before it gets wonky.’ The Doctor looks up to see a face of pure rage, something he had not seen in a week, staring down at him. ‘On the other hoof, I am free to talk.’ He lifts himself on to the main deck. ‘So what do you want to talk about?’ Twilight’s developing eye twitch is enough of an answer. ‘Ah. Right. What do you want to know about him?’
‘How can he be like this! Just locking himself away like this! It is so frustrating!’
‘He has been like this for as long as I can remember. Ever since we were in the academy together.’
‘Wait. I thought you were his elder?’
‘I travel a lot more than he does. I’ve experienced more time, but we were mates at the academy. Anyway. He was far from as popular as he seems to be these days. A lot fewer mates, and I doubt anyone as close as he is with you, Selene and Lucas.’
Twilight is shocked. ‘That long without friends?’
The Doctor shakes his head. ‘That long without close friends. The constant torment by The Master didn’t help much either. A few of us that tried to help, myself and Romana to name only two of barely more, but he always seemed to be more happy when he was by himself. It was like he was looking for the right person to share himself with but was too shy and thus unable to make the connection. He seemed very alone despite the constant smile on his face... No close friends... That is something that fills me with dread.’
‘I can’t imagine my life without friends since I came to Ponyville.’
‘I doubt any of us can.’ Twilight looks confused. ‘See, there are points in space and time that are beacons. They can be beacons for good or evil, for tangible or intangible things, for ideas, inventions, emotions and much more. Ponyville is a beacon of friendship. All who are drawn here come because they are, at some level, looking for friendship. Take Trixie, for example.’
‘But she was just a boastful showmare! She didn’t want anything more than to get attention and make other ponies look foalish.’
‘She wanted to find a place where ponies would be impressed with her magic and be drawn in to her. After her show, did anypony even bother asking her why she was here? Or at least anypony you know? She would have had to have gone through some level of red tape and paperwork to set up her stage and cart in the town.’
‘Well, no, nopony I know talked with her outside of the show... But she interacted with Snips and Snails a lot!’
‘They were just drawn in by her flashiness. How can we say anything different about Rarity’s fashion shows? You befriended her despite her attention-hogging personality. And what about her return? Yes, she was seeking revenge, but she left seeking redemption. She left with a renewed feeling of friendship.’
‘You have a point...’
‘Right. We all came here looking for friendship on some level. Never forget that. Never let that fact out of your mind. As long as you have that in mind, you will always do what is right.’
Twilight ponders what The Doctor has said. She quickly charges a spell and teleports away. Seconds later, she comes walking out of one of the back rooms soaking wet.
‘Looks like you found one of the pools. By the way, I wouldn’t recommend trying to teleport in here.’
‘Thanks for the warning!’
Twilight leaves the TARDIS and teleports again.
Twilight materializes back at The Power Block. She is right outside the entrance to the second floor living area.
‘Hey! I thought I told you to leave!’ Lucas snaps from his vantage point. A look that would have sent Nightmare Moon back to the moon for another thousand years while permanently freezing Discord in stone causes Lucas to completely drop the subject forever.
Twilight goes up to the door and knocks as loudly as she dares. ‘Mr Wanderer... It is me again. I am sorry I haven’t been back since a couple days ago, but this time I am staying. I am not going to leave until you come out again. No matter what you do, I will wait right here.’
Twilight sits down and leans against the door. She gets out The Missing Physicist’s mobile and clutches it to her chest. She tries using her magic to get a clue to the barrier, but all of her spells fail. She sighs and waits. After what feels like forever but is really only a couple minutes, she hears a sonic screwdriver activate and the door unlocks. Twilight is instantly up and through the door. The door reseals itself after she is through.
The apartment is dark despite it being the middle of the afternoon. Twilight looks around desperately. Nothing looks as if it has even been thought about in the past week. Twilight eventually sees a small crack in the bedroom door.
‘Mr Wanderer?’
She spots him on his bed, facing away from the door. She cannot tell if he is alive since she see no movement, not even breathing. She steels herself and dares to climb up next to him.
‘I am sorry if I am intruding, but I will not leave your side.’
Getting no response, she lays away from him and sighs. Suddenly, a foreleg goes around her midsection.Twilight is shocked. She is even more shocked when another foreleg goes under her and the two lock her in a tight grip. The feeling of a muzzle strikes between her wings. Twilight sighs contently and pats the hooves that are around her.
Another shock hits Twilight. It is slightly noticeable at first, but then it becomes clear. She can hear The Crying Physicist bawling his eyes out. Twilight tries to resist, crying too, but she gives in and starts crying too.
The pair cry together for hours. Eventually, The Silent Physicist stops, but the silence between him and Twilight continues. The silent laying eventually turns into sleeping. Twilight quickly loses track of time. When she reawakens, she is certain it is the next day. She shifts a little, and The Wandering Physicist does not seem to react. Suddenly, she is squeezed again.
‘Confound you ponies.’
‘Huh?’
‘You know how to ruin a perfectly good bad mood.’
Twilight nervously laughs a little. ‘We are good at that, I guess.’
The Wandering Physicist moans and buries his face into Twilight’s back. ‘I hate it. I hate it so much. Why does it have to be this way?’
‘What does? What is wrong?’
‘Just... Nothing. Thank you for being here.’
The Wandering Physicist eases back a bit. The heavy silence returns. Twilight takes a deep breath and bites her lip.
‘I... I went to ask The Doctor about you.’
‘Ugh. And what did ol’ Theta Sigma have to say?’
‘Who?’
‘Just a nickname from the academy. Go on.’
‘Right. He talked about your academy years.... Lots of really sad and lonely stuff. Sounded very familiar...’
‘I am sorry I worried you. It is all fine. You get used to it after a while...’
‘But you shouldn’t be used to it! It is not right! You should have lots of friends. You need a, uh, mate!’
‘I need to what?!?’
‘A mate! A!’ Twilight groans. ‘Stallions...’
‘It is not just that, Twilight. You saw how I was. All of that needless anger and hate. Just too much anger...’
‘We all get mad sometimes.’
‘I threatened two races with genocide and meant it! That is not just mad.... That is....’ The Wandering Physicist starts trying to hold back tears again. ‘Having that inside you is so tough. We try and control it, but....’ Pause. ‘There is no surprise when you leave us in the end. It is always our fault.’ Tears start to flow. ‘I drive them away, and it is all my fault!’
‘Wanderer... I will never leave you... You have a lot to learn about friendship...’
The Wandering Physicist moans. He thinks for a moment. ‘Well... I don’t really feel like going anywhere right now. Now, if only I had a good teacher...’
Twilight laughs. ‘Hmm... Well, the first lesson is to never be afraid to share your true feelings with a good friend. Hint. Hint.’
‘Yeah. Yeah.’ The Wandering Physicist stomach growls. ‘I think one of my true feelings just shared itself...’
The two friends start laughing.
Fun fact: 40 m/s ~= 88 mph.
TWP Timeline: First time he slept in a mare's bed. First time he sleeps in Twilight's bed and the first time she sleeps in his. *winkwinknudgenudgesaynomore*
Story Event: This is the first and one of the few to dive into TWP's past. I am intentionally not covering his backstory since it would be a lot of depression and loneliness (which is basically what all of the stories about his mental state are about). I tend to draw his personality and certain events in his life from my own experiences. I try not to make them too personal, but some stuff slips through. That is why I highly appreciate everyone who takes the time to read my stories. Thank you.
Post Twilight Time Edit:
That garden burgers and planning scene. Then over two years later...
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back to the future?
3325270
That how he knows Dash has time traveled before
Now attach a flux capacitor to RD's saddlebags, and set it for 20 minutes in the future.