The train rolled along the tracks, clickity clacking away the miles towards Trottingham. Many of the cars were lively with old friends traveling together, businessmen proposing exchanges, and the fresh faces that could change others lives. But one car in particular was eerily quiet. The ponies inside were all terrified of something inside the car with them. Each of them sat in their seats with their eyes shifting towards a single point, yet they were too scared to look directly at it. One pony found that she had to get up to use the facilities, but she would have to walk past that strange thing in the car. She slowly left her seat and trotted down the aisle, keeping her eyes forward as sweat poured down her neck.
Just a few more steps... She thought to herself.
"Hey, you!" A male voice called to her.
The mare froze in her place. She was so close to reaching her goal, only to be stopped by the very thing she dreaded. Slowly she forced herself to turn around. Facing the aisle she had just crossed, she quickly flinched and forced her eyes shut at a sudden movement directed at her. She began cowering on the floor, but when she felt no pain, she slowly forced an eye open. A strange appendage covered in a black cloth reached out to her, holding a white ticket.
"H-huh?" She gasped in confusion.
"You dropped this." The voice told her again.
She traced the hand to the arm it was connected to, all the way up to a scowling face, framed by long red hair.
"I-I... Th-th-thanks..." She stuttered as she cautiously retrieved the ticket.
Asch turned and walked back to his seat. Derpy was giving him a deadpanned look once he sat down.
"What's with that look?" Asch asked with a raised brow.
"We really need to work on your people skills." Derpy replied.
"Tch. So it's my fault that they're all looking at me like I'm some kind of beast?"
"Well, you aren't exactly being the most friendly guy..."
"We don't have time for such frivolity. We have only one thing to focus on right now, and that's stopping Van."
Derpy shook her head in annoyance. "You don't have to keep focusing on that all the time, though. Everypony needs a break now and then."
Asch sighed. "I'll think about it for now, just leave me be."
Derpy smiled at her small, but certain progress. The train began to slow down as it reached the next stop.
"We are now arriving at Trottingham. Please gather your things and depart the train." One of the staff members informed the car.
Asch got up and grabbed his lock box from the overhead compartment. As soon as he stepped into the aisle, everypony moved out of the way for his advance. Asch snorted in contempt, but continued moving forward. Derpy however was somewhat nervous about how things would be when everypony was jumping out of their skin at the sight of her companion.
Once they left the door-frame of the train, they came face to face with their destination. A city filled with culture, industry, and mystery.
"Trottingham..." Asch muttered.
"You sound like it's bad to be here." Derpy noticed.
"I'm just thinking about how Van could very well be in this city." Asch explained.
Derpy was at her wits end. "Oh for the love of Celestia! You need to stop being such a downer!" She chastised Asch.
Asch could only respond with a humorously shocked face.
"I uh... What I mean is, why not enjoy the time we have here instead of only focusing on all the bad things?" Derpy meekly explained.
"R-right... I suppose it could be worth a try." Asch finally compromised.
Derpy beamed at the prospect. "Really?! Because I know this great place that sells fries, they call them chips here, but they're so delicious! A-and then we have to go and see that clock-tower, Big Branco!" Derpy fired off at a mile a minute.
"Just slow down for a second! You've been here before?"
Derpy nodded happily. "Yep! I came here a while ago on my vacation. Everything was just kinda normal, but then I met... him." Derpy practically swooned at the last word.
"Him?" Asch asked, his curiosity piqued.
"If we're lucky, we might actually meet him. He's called the Doctor."
"Doctor Who?"
Derpy winked at the question. "Just the Doctor."
Asch shrugged, but continued with his other questions as they walked along the street. "You said things were normal before you met him. How did things change just by meeting-"
"EXTERMINATE!" A loud robotic noise exclaimed.
Derpy's ears perked at the voice, and without a word she galloped towards the source.
"H-hey, wait!" Asch called out to her.
Asch gave chase to Derpy, brandishing his sword as he did so. After rounding the corner into an alley, Derpy was nowhere to be seen.
"Dammit! Where did she go?" Asch asked to himself.
Not a moment later, Derpy galloped back down the alley, along with a brown earthpony stallion wearing a green tie. Both ponies seemed to be terrified of something.
"What are you-"
The stallion stopped and turned to Asch. "Run!"
Confused as the two ponies continued their frantic escape, Asch turned to the direction they had just come from. A large metallic creature rounded the corner they had come from. It had what could only be described as an "eye stalk" and two appendages. One was something akin to a small plunger, while the other seemed to be a barrel for some type of weapon or other purpose. The bronze metal thing continued moving towards Asch.
"EXTERMINATE!" It exclaimed again.
The barrel appendage on the creature adjusted its position, and released a blue beam of energy towards Asch. The beam missed its mark, but it demolished the brick of the wall it impacted.
"Bastard!" Asch muttered in anger.
Asch began gathering fire fonons to strike against this new opponent. After a sufficient level was ready for him, he unleashed a massive ball of flame directly above the creature. The flames fell directly atop the creature, creating a massive explosion at the epicenter. Once the smoke cleared, the creature appeared to be nothing more than a few scattered parts and some green splotches.
"Oh, now that was brilliant!" A male, British voice complemented.
Turning around, Asch saw it to be the stallion from earlier. Derpy was not far behind the newcomer, and she seemed to be shocked at his triumph as well.
"Y-you just... You killed a Dalek that easily?!" Derpy blurted in amazement.
"So that's what it was called? It was a pathetic enemy." Asch concluded.
"Oh, they can be very dangerous, but based on what I see, you must have used some kind of high energy weapon to bypass its shields." The stallion surmised.
"High energy? Yes. Weapon? No. I used a Fonic Arte to destroy it with fire fonons." Asch explained.
"Fonons? Now there's something new. Glad to see you took care of that Dalek, though. These things have been the bane of my existence for centuries."
"Centuries? Just who are you?" Asch asked.
A smile spread across the stallion's lips. "Me? I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord, I'm 903 years old, and this little muffin is a companion of mine." He said, pointing to Derpy as he finished.
Derpy perked up at the mention of her name. "Speaking of that, Doctor, I think we could use your help on this adventure of ours."
"Sounds brilliant! We can chat as we go, I suppose. Where were you off to?"
"We're going to search any of the local factories that have the capability to produce a fomicry machine." Asch answered.
"Not sure what that is, but I know some of the factories around here." The Doctor added.
"Excellent. Show us the way, Doctor."
"Allons-y!" The Doctor cheered as he led them to their destination.
This will certainly be interesting...
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Author's Note: That's right, the on and only Doctor has joined the party. I can assure you that things won't get overly stupid and outrageous, but there may be a few instances of wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff. How will a Time Lord assist in stopping Van and his evil schemes? Find out as the series continues!