The Doctor couldn’t help, but feel a bit of anticipation as he lead Derpy to the Tardis. His giddiness rose at the idea of 5 words he had grown accustomed to hearing. The door opened with its usual squeak. He trotted in first, turning to Watch as Derpy’s eyes took in the wonder of his beloved ship. Derpy walked just behind him, looking at the ship. She gasped. “It’s”
“Yes?” He prompted.
“It’s…”
“Go ahead, say it!”
“It’s...got so many buttons!” Derpy grinned, flying over to the console, forgetting her worries over the amazing site, “I mean, by goodness, do you know what all of these do? What are they all for? Can I press one? Oh, look at the levers and the dials. This is unlike any house I’ve ever seen. It’s more like a ship! Is this a ship?”
The Doctor let the momentary shock set in. “That was...unexpected.” he murmured, smiling as she rattled her questions off. He would much rather the wonder on her face versus the tears running down her cheek earlier. He then spoke up so she could hear him, “Yes, it is a ship. I’m a bit surprised though. Most people say it’s bigger on the inside.”
Derpy tilted her head in confusion, “Uh….people?”
Whooves notes the confusion is her eyes. He thought for a moment before fixing his mistake, “I mean...most ponies…”
“Oh. That’s, a bit odd.”
“Why is that odd?”
“Well, I was guessing it was magically made bigger by unicorn magic, but now that I think about it, I I’ve never heard of a spell that can only grow the inside of a box...or ship, or…”
“TARDIS.” The Doctor informed before becoming distracted. “Wait...you mean to tell me that unicorns use magic?!”
“Of course unicorns use magic...how in Equestria do you not know that?”
“Equestria?!”
“Yeah, Equestria. Our nation? Are...are you making fun of me now? Because I will get out of this ship right now!”
“No, Ditzy. Listen. I’m sorry. I really don’t know anything about pony culture. Let’s just say I’m not from around these parts…”
“So...you grew up outside of Equestria?”
“Yes. I grew up very far from Equestria. Please don’t be upset.”
Derpy bit her lip, and to be honest, Whooves wasn’t sure if she was staring at him or the floor. After a long, defining silence, she sighed, “Alright. I believe you. I’m sorry too. It’s just...after what happened…”
“I understand. You did have a rough day so far. It’s only natural to go on the defensive.”
Derpy smiled, soaring over to hug Whooves, “thanks, Doctor!”
“Of course, my companion, but I do have a question if I may?”
“Uh...sure, what do you need to know?”
“Why were some of those ponies calling you Derpy Hooves?”
“Oh...that. Some ponies use it as a nickname. When ever I...you know, derp things up, they refer to me as...Derpy.”
“Really, it’s supposed to be making fun of you?”
“Uh, yeah…”
“That’s a shame because I think it’s a rather cute name.” he mused, “Derpy Hooves is just...adorable.”
Red streaked across Derpy’s face a bit. “Uh...thanks?”
“But, Ditzy is nice too...though the Doo is odd...I would much rather call you miss hooves than Miss Doo...it just sounds...off.”
“Okay...are you talking to me, or yourself…?” Derpy wondered as she notice the Doctor lose focus.
“Sorry. Sorry...I do tend to babble...part of being alone as long as I have.” Doctor Whooves gave Derpy a sad smile. “But, I promised a little Trip, so let's see where the Tardis takes us!”
The doctor pushed buttons, trotting back and forth before he stopped looking at his whooves and to a dial, “Okay...how am I supposed to turn that?”
“With...with your hoof?”
“But your hoof doesn’t have anything to...use to turn things…”
Derpy trotted over, turning the dial to the Doctor’s amazement, “See, you just...turn it with your hoof…”
“Fascinating!” The Doctor murmured, “I mean, that isn’t even scientifically possible. Yet, you were able to do it. How do these hooves turn things?...” He stated rambling off possibilities with Derpy giving him an odd glance. The engine whirred mostly tuning out the Doctor’s ramblings with it’s odd sound for a few moments before stopping. Derpy looked around. There wasn’t much feeling of moving, and the amount of time ment they only flew a few feet. Maybe the engine wasn’t working. She Wanted to ask the doctor what went wrong, but he was still engrossed with his hooves. “Okay...well, maybe we just got stuck on something...I’ll see what it is.” Derpy flew outside, stopping the moment the she opened the door. She landed, Her mouth fell open in an instant. They were at Canterlot castle. It took at least a few hours to travel there by train, yet they found themselves in the royal city in mere seconds. “His ship is the fastest I’ve ever seen.” She murmured before noticing the odd pink bubble above them. She tilted her head, “That’s...weird, I don’t remember a barrier being seen from Ponyville this morning.”
“Derpy. Sorry, I was just so entranced by the way these hooves work! I mean the sheer impossibility of it is Fascinating, and I would love to get a closer-oh...well, look at that, a castle!”
“We’re in canterlot!” Derpy murmured, “But something's not right….there’s an odd pink bubble that just...it shouldn't be there.”
“Well, it might not be the same time as we left.”
“Wait...what?”
“Well, the Tardis is a ship that can travel through space and time, so-”
“Time? You used time magic?! Do you have any idea how dangerous that is! They say not even Starswirl the Bearded could perfect it!”
“My dear Ditzy, you needn’t worry. It’s not...magic...per say. Let’s just say it’s my talent to go through time.”
Derpy stopped, looking from him to his cutie mark, the truth dawning on her. “Okay, so that’s why you have an hourglass...but...if we are in a different part of time...what do we do?”
“See what we need to fix, of course...it’s what being a doctor is all about, right?”
“Uh, sure...but I tend to break things more than I fix them…”
“Oh don’t worry...I’m about 50/50 myself.” The Doctor winked as they went to explore the royal city.