//------------------------------// // Memories // Story: Tales from the TARDIS // by Gherkin //------------------------------// There weren’t many things that Twilight Sparkle found trouble with. In her younger years, she was one of the top students in Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. She was Princess Celestia’s personal student; the mare who represented the very element of magic. Heck, she was the filly that could recite the square root of five hundred and forty six off by heart. And yet, there was something that she could never quite get the hang of. Swimming. She stood tentatively on the edge of the TARDIS’ indoor swimming pool, watching with slight envy as her friends swam about merrily inside. Even The Doctor was having fun, playfully splashing Rainbow Dash as she floated on her back. I suppose I could always find a book to read or something, the lavender mare thought to herself, But why The Doctor has a swimming pool in a library is beyond me. What if the water ruined the pages? She was knocked out of her thoughts by Pinkie Pie, who paddled over to where she was standing. “Come on in, Twilight, the water’s fine!” “I’m sure it is, Pinkie, but the thing is... I can’t swim,” she admitted. The pink mare gasped loudly. "You can't?" Twilight cringed. "Well, then we'll just have to teach you!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Hop on in!" The unicorn bit her lip. "Uh, okay. Here goes." Slowly, she lowered herself into the water, relaxing slightly when she found that it was pleasantly warm. Standing on her hind legs, the water only reached her chest, so she could safely stand there without fear of getting out of her depth. Pinkie Pie wasted no time in showing her the basics. Twilight soon got the hang of swimming to and from each side of the pool. She soon realized that she never knew how to before because of a subconscious fear of water, instead of simply not being able to. When she was confident that she could swim properly, she joined her friends in their fun. After a while, they all ended up playing pool volleyball, which went on for at least an hour. Soon enough, though, they all clambered out and dried themselves off. While the rest of them chatted amongst themselves, Pinkie Pie trotted over to Twilight. "So," she began, "What do you think? Pretty neat, huh?" Twilight giggled. "Heh, yeah. Thanks for that, Pinkie." "Don't mention it," the party pony replied, beaming. "I'm always happy to help a friend in need." The unicorn smiled, before noticing that the room was empty. “Guys, wait for us!” she called out. “Hurry along now, Twilight!” came The Doctor’s voice from a nearby hallway. “Wouldn’t want you to get lost now, would we?” Hurriedly, Twilight got to her hooves and trotted towards the exit, Pinkie Pie bouncing happily behind. When she reached the hallway, she was surprised to find it empty. They made their to the end of the corridor, where they met a two-way junction. “Um... which way again?” Pinkie asked. “Wait, I thought you knew?” The party pony giggled nervously. “Uh... I forgot.” The librarian put her hoof to her face and sighed. “Oh, great,” she said sarcastically. “I think it was this way.” She pointed left. Pinkie bounced past her, taking the lead. The hallway went on for quite some time, and Twilight was beginning to question whether she made the right decision. However, after about five minutes, they reached a large door. “See?” Pinkie Pie said to her, “I told you we’d remember?” Smiling, she pushed it open, only to be greeted by the sight of what looked like an old study, instead of the bedroom quarter they were expecting. Pinkie, undeterred, hopped inside anyway. “Pinkie Pie!” Twilight hissed, “I don’t think we should be in here.” Pinkie ignored her, looking around the room in awe. In the corner, there was a small wooden desk, however the walls and shelves were lined with photos and mementos, “What is this place?” she wondered out loud, picking up a satsuma from a bowl on the desk and popping it in her mouth. "I think it's The Doctor's private study room," Twilight said quietly, her curiosity piqued. Deciding to take a closer look, she wales over to a large photo hung on the wall. It depicted three unusual bipedal creatures. The one in the middle, who bore a familiar mad grin, had spiky brown hair and was clad in a long waistcoat. That must have been The Doctor, before he came to our universe, she deduced. To the right was a similar looking person. He stood straight at about The Doctor's height. He was wearing a dark navy blue longcoat and seemed to be doing a mock salute. The final one, on the left, must have been female, due to her slimmer and more rounded body shape. Her skin was a darker colour, and she was smiling like the rest of them. Fond memories, huh? Twilight thought. Drawing her gaze away from the large picture, she turned her attention to eleven framed photos hung above the desk. Each one depicted a different man. The first looked quite old, with greying hair, while the tenth looked like the one in the larger picture, albeit minus the waistcoat. The eleventh, the furthest to the right, depicted The Doctor as he looked now, grinning, standing in the middle of all his new friends. The two friends froze in place when they heard the door creak and swing open. “Twilight?” came The Doctor’s voice. “Pinkie? Are you in here?” He poked his head through the doorframe and saw the two mares, looking surprised and nervous, as if they were two foals who had been caught with their hooves in a cookie jar. “We’re sorry, Doctor,” Twilight began, “We didn’t mean to come in here, it’s just that we took a wrong turn and-” She was silenced when the Time Lord put a hoof to her lip gently. “Hey, it’s okay,” he said. “No harm done.” He turned away and stared around the room, looking upon all of his memories. “It’s about time someone else saw this place anyway.” He noticed Pinkie Pie inspecting the eleven pictures above his desk. “This is you, isn’t it?” she asked, pointing to the tenth photo. He nodded. “But who are the other nine?” “Uh, me,” he answered simply. In response to her confused expression, he continued. “See, Time Lords have this little trick where we can cheat death. Except, every time, I become a whole new man. Same memories, same personality, but a different appearance.” “Wait, does that mean you’re immortal?” Twilight asked him, her curiosity piqued for a second time. “No. If it happens quick enough, we don’t have time to start the process.” They all stood in silence for a few minutes, the two mares casually observing the different memoirs the Time Lord had collected over the years. “So, how old are you?” Pinkie asked, finally. “Very old,” he replied, still looking at a picture of a young, blonde girl. “You know, I think I’ve lost count.” He heard Twilight chuckle slightly, and turned to face her. “What?” The unicorn giggled and sighed. “Every time I think I’m getting to know you, Doctor, you always surprise me with something new.” The Time Lord smiled. “Yep, that’s me. ‘Surprise’ is my middle name.” He stopped for a second. “No, seriously. You should see the looks I get when filling out a form.” Twilight and Pinkie laughed. “What, so you’re full name is The Surprise Doctor?” The librarian asked, still chuckling. “Something like that,” he answered, stepping out of the room. They followed quickly, only to be stopped in their tracks when he leaped out into the doorway, shouting, “Surprise!” This only succeeded in making them all laugh even more. “See?” he said once they had all calmed down. “Told you so.” Still giggling, they started to trot back down the hallway to the console room. “Where to now, Doctor?” Pinkie wondered, merrily skipping beside him. “Good question,” he told her, grinning. “Anywhere you want.”