Tug, tug, tug...
Doctor Whooves tugged on the strap around his left forearm, making sure his sonic screwdriver was tight against his skin. He double-checked his right and the similar device there. “All right, good,” the Doctor muttered to himself. He looked up from his work, glancing around once more at the darkened interior of his beloved TARDIS. He patted the control column, letting out a long sigh. “Thanks for this one last favor, old girl,” he said before turning and galloping out the door.
He emerged from his old friend into the back yard behind his clock shop. He paused for a moment and looked up at the sun. “Not this time,” he muttered. “I won't lose this home, not after so long and everything it's given me!”
The TARDIS thrashed about, nearly pitching the Doctor into a wall. He grabbed onto the control pedestal and steadied himself. “Come on, old girl!” he shouted above the rattling and beeping. “It's only ten black holes converging into one mass large enough to rip a hole into Void Space and let loose ten billion Daleks into here!” He grabbed a lever and pulled it towards him. “Not on my lives!”
A screen hanging from the ceiling flared to life, revealing the face of a younger woman. “Doctor!” Romana shouted. “The portal is almost open.” She glanced offscreen. “It's less than a minute!” Her brow furrowed. “Please tell me you've got some insane plan to stop them from conquering all of time and space!”
“Oh, of course!” the Doctor exclaimed. He looked to his side and flipped a switch. “Right where I am, I can open the engines and flood the black holes with energy from the Eye of Harmony. All the black holes close and Davros loses. Again.”
Romana's mouth opened and she gasped. “Doctor, are you insane? That will destroy the TARDIS and kill you!” She glanced to the side. “Miss Smith, Mister Williams, get over here!” she said, waving an arm frantically.
The Doctor looked down at the control pedestal, sighing. “You're right, Romana. You're right.”
A sigh of relief escaped the Time Lady. “Good, now we've got a-”
The Doctor stretched out his arms. “I need to be able to pull two levers on opposite sides of the pedestal. And there's no way I can reach that far! This time, not even I can be in two places at once...”
The lever opposite his station suddenly shifted, a few degrees down.
The Doctor stood there, a moment of eternity. “Are you sure, old girl? Absolutely?” At the lever's continued downward slide, he patted the console and smiled. “Thanks, you sexy thing.” He looked up to the image of Romana and tossed her an informal salute. “Sorry, Romana, but looks like I've got help this time.”
Romana bit her lip. “Goodbye, Doctor.” A bitter smile crossed her lips. “It was good working with you again.”
“And with you as well.” He pushed a button and the image faded. He looked down at the lever opposite him and grabbed the one jutting out right in front. “All right... ALLONZY!” he shouted, pulling down. The lever opposite slid down in concert, and the entire console room exploded...
Celestia stood before the blue box, a pair of guards beside her. Canterlot was right behind, the drawbridge across the moat pulled up and the gates sealed. The box was lying on its side,embedded halfway into the ground. A strange smoke wafted up from a pair of doors, smelling foul and tingling her nose. “Stay back,” she commanded. Her horn lit up. “Whatever this is, I shall deal with it.”
The doors swung up and open, revealing a glowing light. A hand and arm suddenly reached out, flailing about. Celestia gasped and reared back as a humanoid crawled out, wearing a disheveled suit, little more than rags. He stumbled up and out, leaning heavily on his shins. “Oh, that was worse than that all-nighter I pulled back at Time Lord Academy!” He tilted his head up, finally noting Celestia. “Oh, hello!” He stood up, smiling. “Well, winged unicorn, or horned pegasus. That's new!”
Celestia stared at him for two seconds before launching her head forward. “Who are you? Are you human? Are you from Earth? Is this some sort of vehicle? Is it magic or science? Have you met a young woman named Megan Williams?”
The man paused and his eyes darted back and forth. “I'm the Doctor, Time Lord, from Gallifrey-although Earth's one of my favorite planets, yes it is, a little of both and I'm afraid not.” He met Celestia's intense gaze. “And you?”
Celestia took a step back and bowed her head. “My apologies, Doctor. I am Celestia, Princess of the Equestrian Alliance. You've arrived in another dimension, and Megan was an old friend of mine.” Her voice hitched slightly on the last words and she swallowed. “Again, sorry.”
The Doctor shook his head, waving her off. “No, no problem. Humans look very Time Lord.” He grinned, but his entire upper body suddenly heaved. He doubled over, groaning in pain. “Oh, no!”
Celestia's head whipped about. “Bring doctors and nurses, now!” she barked to the guards. She looked back to the Doctor, her ears twitching. “By the Herd, you have two hearts!” She took a step forward. “What can we do for you, Doctor?”
The Doctor shook his head. “Nothing, Celestia. It's a healing process, but it's gonna be rather... bangy.” He straightened up and held out his arms. His skin took on an orange glow and smoke, similar to that from the blue box, wafted from his mouth and nostrils. “This should be interesting...”
His entire body convulsed, energy surrounding his entire form. The guards reared back from the discharge, but Celestia stood there as his entire form shrank, his clothes rolling up into a simple cravat and necktie. The glow faded, revealing a brown-coated earth pony with a wild, frizzy mane and an hourglass as a cutie mark.
The Doctor blinked. “Well, that was... different.” he held up his forelegs and looked them over. “Hooves? That's new!” He looked up at Celestia. “My word, you're huge!” He glanced to the left, then the right. “Celestia, please, there's something very important. I have to know!”
Celestia leaned down and narrowed her eyes. “What, Doctor, what is it?”
The Doctor raised a foreleg and ran it through his already-wild mane. “Am I... ginger?”
The Doctor entered his clock shop through the back delivery door, crossing through the storage room and emerging into the shop proper. He skipped around the sales counter, double-checking his sonic screwdrivers while trotting forth. But the entrance of three ponies stopped him short. “Ditzy? Dinky? Sparkler?” he exclaimed, stopping just short of headbutting Ditzy and scrambling back.
Ditzy's left eye was focused on Dinky and Sparkler, but her right eye slid around to focus on the Doctor. “Honey, what's going on?” she asked. She extended a wing over Dinky and Sparkler. “The kids are a bit nervous, and to tell you the truth, so am I.”
Dinky looked up at the Doctor with wide eyes. “Daddy, what's going on?” There was a distant thud from outside. “You've got your tools from your ship outside, and you told me and Sparkler never to use your tools from your ship, because they're dangerous for ponies our age. But you've got them. Why?”
Another thud resounded, a little louder this time. The Doctor knelt down slightly and held out his forelegs, wrapping them around Dinky and Sparkler's necks in a hug, the pair leaning into his forelegs. “Daddy has some work to do, part of his old job. But I'll be right back. Now you take care of Mommy. She worries a bit too much about me.” He looked up at Ditzy as she stood there. “Just a bit too much sometimes, dear.”
Ditzy shook her head as the Doctor disentangled himself from their daughters and stood up right in front of her. She grunted, focusing both eyes on him. “I worry because you're you, Doctor.” She leaned forward and nuzzled him. “And you've never hidden anything from me, either. That's another reason why I worry.”
The Doctor returned the nuzzle, sneaking a quick kiss in. “Well, how could I hide anything from you?”
The Doctor looked up at the nice, newly-painted sign hanging from the pole, swaying slightly in a pegasus-created breeze. “'Sepia Tock's Clock Shop',” he read, tilting his head this way and that at the fancy typeset used. He bobbed his head. “Looks good to me!”
A voice from behind caught his attention. “Hey there, mister!” He turned and saw a gray-coated pegasus hovering a few feet off the ground. One of her eyes focused on him, the other on his shop. “Welcome to Ponyville!”
A smile crossed his face. “Well, thank you Miss...”
She landed and extended a hoof. “Ditzy!' she proclaimed, smiling right back at him, an infectious smile that he seemed to catch right then and there...
“I'll be all right,” the Doctor said. By now the thudding had grown rather loud and steady. A few ponies outside the storefront window were dashing or flying away, bu others were rooted in place, staring up with open-mouthed expressions of shock. He waited for Ditzy to step aside before dashing out the front door, sonic screwdrivers powering up. “All right, you daft machine!” he shouted, holding up a foreleg and waving it about. “Time to...” His voice trailed off as he beheld the robot standing before him. “What?”
A robot stood before the clock shop, humanoid in shape. His torso, upper arms and shins were red, while blue adorned his hips and forearms, with large dials mounted on the latter. Translucent panels covered his chest. A large tube was mounted on his left shoulder, with another dial on top. His hands were empty and held out away from his body. His face, although metal, was wearing an expression of kindness and curiosity. “Greetings, equine citizens of the incorporated township of Ponyville!” he called out, taking another step forward. “I am pleased to make any and all acquaintances of you here in your diminutive council-led collective.”
The Doctor flipped his screwdrivers off before ducking his head back into his shop. “It's all right,” he said, grinning. “I know this bloke.” He stepped back outside and waved a foreleg. “Oi, Perceptor!” he shouted. “Down here, mate!”
Perceptor looked down, optic sensors brightening. “Hello, there,” he said. He knelt down. “I am pleased to meet you, but how did you know my name...”
The Doctor waggled his head a bit. “Do a scan, Percy.” He cantered from left to right. “Come on, we both know how much you love to scan stuff!” He turned back as Ditzy peeked her head out, Sparkler's head right below hers and Dinky at the bottom. “Don't worry,” he said, waving at them. “He's a really great guy!”
Perceptor tapped the side of his head. His optic sensors brightened and a beam of blue energy washed over the Doctor. “Binary vascular system, respiratory backup system, what the Unicron...” He tapped his head again and the beam brightened slightly. “Analyzing quantum signature for reality categorization...” His voice trailed off and the beam stopped. “Doctor?!”
Ditzy stepped out of the clock shop, standing beside her husband. “Doctor, he's a friend?” At his nod, she turned to Perceptor and bowed her head. “Nice to meet you, Mister Perceptor. I'm Ditzy Doo, the Doctor's wife.” She looked over as Sparkler and Dinky walked out. “And these are our daughters, Dinky Doo and Sparkler Doo.” Both fillies waved a foreleg at the giant robot, sticking rather close to Ditzy and the Doctor.
Perceptor lowered his right arm to Ditzy's level and held out his hand. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Missus Doo, Dinky and Sparkler.”
Ditzy looked him up and down before reaching out with a foreleg and touching Perceptor's hand. “Thanks, Perceptor.” She lowered her head, one eye looking at his hand. “You're warm,” she said, eyebrows furrowing.
Perceptor smiled. “Yes. My thermal signature is quite large, I believe.” He looked back to the Doctor. “How long have you been in this particular alternate quantum reality, Doctor? Have you regenerated since arriving?”
The Doctor let out a sigh. “It's been...” He held up a hoof, but quickly dropped it back to the grass. “Stupid, still doing that. About eight hundred-fifty years, old friend. And no, I'm on my last incarnation.” A tight smile crossed his face. “About forty or fifty years, then perhaps I'll see orange skies and silver grass again?”
Ditzy leaned into him in an equine hug. “Oh, Doctor,” she said, sniffling slightly.
The Doctor leaned into her, swallowing. “Sorry,” he murmured. He glanced to his right and saw Sparkler and Dinky there, both reaching out to him and wrapping their forelegs around his neck and right foreleg, respectively.
“I hate it when you talk like that, Dad,” Sparkler said, eyes tightly shut.
Dinky choked back tears. “Y-you'll stay here, Right Dad?” She looked up at him. “Right?”
The Doctor leaned down slightly and nuzzled Dinky. “Of course,” he said. “I'll be right here for you, Dinky.” He looked up and met Sparkler's gaze. “I'll be right here for all of you.” He looked to Ditzy, kissing her gently on the lips.
Perceptor looked them over. “It appears my internal chronometer indicates it is time for me to return to the chronal-stabilized inter-dimensional gateway.” He stood up, then bowed at the waist. “It has been a pleasure, Doctor. My internal fuel pump temperature has been increased considerably seeing you alive and well.”
The Doctor's head snapped around, mussed-up mane whipping about. “Oi, no you don't!” He disentangled himself from his family and trotted up to Perceptor's foot. “You are not leaving until you've taken a tour of my clock shop, do you hear?” He planted his hooves on Perceptor's right foot. “Not until, Percy.”
Perceptor's mouth opened and a small burst of static came forth. “Oh, all right,” he said, a smile blossoming across his mouth plates.
Sparkler's mouth canted to the side. She walked up to the Doctor, cocking her head up at the Autobot. “Dad... crouching his head's level with my upstairs bedroom. How is he gonna fit inside?”
The Doctor placed a hand on Sparkler's shoulders and guided her back. “Oh, not a problem there. Just stand back and watch the super science happen.”
Perceptor's entire body straightened. His head retracted into his chest and the barrel on his left shoulder raised itself on struts, swinging over to where his head was. Translucent panels on his chest folded down, the barrel tilting down as well. His hands retracted, his arms raised and his legs splayed out at angles only possible due to his mechanical nature. And all the while his entire form was shrinking down, down down. There was no flash, no afterimage of larger sizes. It was as if he was simply moving away. After a few seconds, where a forty-foot tall robot once stood, a microscope now sat.
Sparkler, Ditzy and Dinky stared in wide-eyed shock, but the Doctor merely trotted forward. “There we go.” The barrel raised and the lenses rotated. “He can see through the barrel just fine.” He knelt down, gently picked it up by his mouth and tossed his head back. The microscope flew up and over, landing perfectly on his back. He turned, walked up to Ditzy and gently closed her mouth. “How's about I make dinner,” he said, winking before turning and heading for the door.
Ditzy's eyes both followed the Doctor. “Okay...” she said before following him.
Sparkler blinked. Her head whipped around as she tracked the Doctor. “Dad, how did he do that?” she asked, a slight cracking in her voice.
The Doctor paused on the threshold and looked back. “Well, it's sort of like with the TARDIS.”
The younger unicorn sighed. “Right. You'll explain later.”A smile formed on her lips and she followed her parents inside, Dinky right behind.