In the library of Ponyville, a lavender Unicorn mare was rambling to herself about the rules of something or another. A baby purple dragon with green spikes was following in her wake, picking the occasional book from the ground.
"Twiiiiliiiight," The dragon whined, "Can I have my reward now?"
"Not if you keep whining like that." She said in a sharp, motherly tone. "Beside, I need to do more research." She said airily, withholding a shining emerald from the small dragon.
"But-" He tried to protest.
"No buts, Spike." She said and trotted past the M's bookshelf. But then something caught her eye. Her horn glowed a mystical purple and then a book levitated from the bookshelf and to her while it was covered in a haze of the purple light. She plunked it down on a desk in the middle of the library and it stopped glowing.
"Myths And Legends Of Equestria." Twilight read aloud. She flipped it open to a random page. "Oh, wow. That looks beautiful, yet terrifying!"
"What is it?" Spike said and curiously hopped up on a small chair next to Twilight. "Whoa, that looks awesome! Does it have a name?" He asked.
"The Slenderpony." She breathed out in awe.
VWARP! VWARP! VWARP!
"What was..?" Spike started to say, but was cut off as a large blue box crashed through the ceiling, punching through the top of the tree and knocking over every book. Except the one Twilight was reading, its pages never even turned. A chestnut stallion with a spiked, brown mane crawled out of the box, which was still right-side up, and he looked up at the glaring purple unicorn, smiling.
"Hello there!" He greeted with friendliness. "I'm sorry, I do believe that I just destroyed your library! What a horrible waste of valuable information! And nothing phases you ponies does it?"
"What do you mean?" She asked with irritation in her voice.
"Oh. You seem different... Well, a random blue box containing two ponies crashes into your library and you're not even startled in the slightest?" He asked with curiosity.
"What do you mean 'different'? And well, when you live around ponies like Pinkie Pie, you get use to surprises." She said.
"Tsk! Spoilers. Pinkie Pie?" He questioned "Wait! You're a Unicorn!" He exclaimed ecstatically, "This is so exciting! I guess the humans were onto something after all..." The Unicorn just rolled her eyes at the pony before her then furrowed her brow in confusion.
"You haven't met Pinkie yet?" She asked, then her eyes widened. "Wait, you said TWO ponies? Where is the other one?"
"Right here! Hey Twilight, sorry about your house..." Ditzy said apologetically.
"Ditzy?" Twilight asked with puzzlement.
"Yep!" Derpy responded with an affirmative nod and smile.
"Care to explain why HE," She glared over at the Doctor, "Crashed into my house?"
"Hehe... Funny story, actually." The Doctor started before Ditzy noticed a book in the center of the room, untouched by disaster. She walked over to it curiously then saw the picture printed upon the page and screamed in horror, falling back onto the floor.
"Doctor!" She frantically called out.
"Ditzy! What is it?" He asked with the tone of a very worried father as he rushed to her side. She was now pointing at the picture on the book with a terrified expression. She was virtually frozen with fright. Only one word escaped her mouth.
"Slender." She breathed out. The Doctors demeanor changed quickly, from worried father, to serious business.
"What?" He said, getting up and running over to the book to see what he hoped not to. He furrowed his brow in a worried confusion.
"I'm lost here." Twilight said, breaking the silence. "Why does a myth of Equestria have you two so frightened?" She asked with a look of puzzlement.
"I...It attacked us in the Everfree Forest a few days ago..." She said while shaking in frightened memories. "I...I...I almost didn't make it..." She broke down and began to cry profusely. "I would've died if the Doctor hadn't been there though... He saved my life." She said then turned her head, looking at him through the tears. "Thank you Doctor, thank you so much." The Doctor smiled warmly and knelled beside her.
"You're welcome Ditzy, you're welcome." He said. Ditzy flung her arms around him and sobbed into his shoulder. "Ditzy..." The Doctor said in a warm and comforting tone while patting her on the back. "Don't cry, its all over. It will be okay." He added as he stroked her mane with his hoof, lulling her to a gentle sleep in his hooves. "Midnight Twinkle?" He whispered. "May I see that book?"
"It's Twilight Sparkle." She whispered with annoyance. "And yes, you may." She then used her magic to float the book over to the Doctor, whose eyes were now wide with ecstatic surprise.
"H-How did you do that?" He asked in awe.
"Magic?" She whispered in confusion. "I'm a Unicorn and the element of magic, it's kind of my thing." He looked to the top of her head and a grin from ear to ear spread across his face.
"Looks like those humans were onto something after all!" He said, laughing.
"What? Who are you?" She asked.
"I'm The Doctor." He said and began to read the page.
"Thanks, because that TOTALLY clears things up." She said with as much sarcasm as she could muster.
"AHA!" He exclaimed, clearly finding the information that he wanted.
"SHHH!" Twilight urgently hushed. Ditzy shifted positions, rolling over on her back.
"Oh, right. She has had a long day." He whispered. "Could you look after her while I track the Slenderpony down?" Derpy shifted again, this time into a lounging position.
"Sorry, it looks like you're stuck with her." Twilight said, giggling at the circumstance. Then there was a random movement in the rubble.
"Twiiiiii." The moving rubble groaned in a voice that struck Twilight instantly.
"Spike?" She asked in an urgent voice or worry.
"A little help?" He asked. Twilight used her magic to quickly levitate the wreckage off of Spike.
"Are you okay?" Twilight asked him worriedly. Spike has been her best friend since she had hatched him from his egg. She was just a filly then, though she was now a full grown mare and he was still a baby dragon. But that's how dragons age. Very slowly. They grew up together, developing a bond like a friendly brother and sister. She had taught him to walk, talk, read, and write. She even helped him develop the social skills that she never had.
"I'm fine." He said stubbornly. He grunted as he got up and brushed off the dust.
"A DOMESTIC dragon?!" The Doctor exclaimed in awe. "That's brilliant!"
"Shut it!" Said Twilight quietly, yet stern. "As 'brilliant' as it may be to you, you have a sleeping pony in your arms. And she definitely needs a break. If you want to say something, then whisper." She whispered intensely.
"Yes... Sorry." He said lightly. "I need to go. Look after Ditzy while I'm gone. This isn't a debate either." He added seriously, making his last point get across.
"What? Where are you going?" Twilight asked as the Doctor lightly slipped out from under Derpy, cushioning her head with the papers of a nearby book.
"Away, but don't worry. I will be back, I promise." He said warmly, trying to comfort her.
"Oh no you don't!" She whispered harshly. Suddenly, a pink, fluffy maned pony sprung up from a random pile or messy books.
"Yeah!" She said, "I haven't seen Derpy like that since..." She trailed off as her light and happy tone darkened.
"Since?" Twilight asked. The Doctor was still trying to recover from the mild heart attack he had just experienced.
"Tombstone?" Twilight questioned.
"I take it that she is Pinkie Pie?" The Doctor asked while slightly hyperventilating.
"How did you know? Are you psychic?! Because that would be sooo cool!" Pinkie said quickly and brightly.
"Something like that..." He said.
"Back to the subject at hoof..." Twilight started.
"Hand." The Doctor interrupted in a corrective voice.
"What is that?" She asked.
"Oh right, ponies, nevermind." He said.
"Ooookayyy..." Said Twilight. She turned back to Pinkie Pie. "Who is Tombstone?" She asked.
"Ditzy's old husband..." Said Pinkie, her tone darkening again. "He went into the Everfree Forest a year ago and just... Never came back. We sent search parties and looked for months. We never even found a body." The Doctor's eyes saddened, once again looking endlessly lonely.
"I can't be her 'Tombstone'." He said sadly.
"But why? You two are so cute together!" Pinkie said ecstatically.
"If I become her Tombstone metaphorically, I will become her Tombstone literally." He said darkly.
"Was that a threat?" Twilight asked intimidatingly, putting a hoof forward.
"No... It was a warning." He said grimly. Twilight softened her stance and became less tense.
"I don't care..." Ditzy's cute voice rang out among their whispers. She had awoken earlier and eavesdropped on the whole conversation. "I haven't felt this way in a long time... And I like the feeling... Tombstone use to lull me to sleep like that..." She said and memories made her smile weakly through the tears forming in her eyes.
"No, Ditzy, you don't understand." The Doctor said.
"You aren't suppose to understand certain things, Doctor." She said with a much larger meaning to those words. Then a look of confusion passed across her face. "That... Thing... Do you think it took my Tombstone?" She asked.
"I'm sorry..." The Doctor apologized because he knew it had. Ditzy began a slow and saddened walk to the TARDIS.
"I'll be waiting..." She trailed off as she entered the blue box, slamming the door behind her. A dead silence ensued the event until Pinkie smashed through the awkward tension.
"You're going to have your hands full with that one. She's the sweetest mare that I know, besides Fluttershy, of course, but she is stubborn." Pinkie said.
"Yes... Wait... Did you just say hands?" The Doctor asked.
"Yes, why?" Pinkie asked with a bright, oblivious tone.
"But you're a... pony!" He said in surprise, "How do you know what hands are?" He asked.
"Simple!" She said and put on a huge smile while striking the air with a hoof. "I just heard you say it in context earlier and just decided that was what you used instead of hooves wherever you came from!" She said brightly.
"How did you know that I wasn't from this world?" He asked, dumbfounded.
"Wait-" Twilight Sparkle tried to intervene and ask, but was quickly interrupted by Pinkie Pie.
"Big blue box, strange words, weird device in your..." She then looked up and scrunched her nose up like she was doing math in her head.
"What are you-?" The doctor tried to say but was cut off.
"Top left pocket!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"How did you know about my sonic?" Asked the Doctor in awe.
"My tail's a twitchin'!" She said quickly.
"What does that have to do with-?" The Doctor started but was cut off as his Sonic Screwdriver fell to the floor.
"Pinkie, I didn't know that you could predict when and where an object would fall!" Twilight said with amazement.
"Neither did I! Until earlier tonight," Pinkie exclaimed, " A big blue thingy, which I'm guessing is that," She said and pointed in the direction of the TARDIS, "Fell from the sky. Ever since then, I have been more Pinkie-keen then usual!" She said, smiling.
"Earlier tonight?" Twilight questioned. "Ditzy said you guys had arrived a few days ago and were attacked..." She said, furrowing her brow in confusion.
"Wibbily Wobbily, Timey wimey." The Doctor said with a knowing smile, like he had answered this question many times before. Then his eyes widened in happiness. "YES! Brilliant! I have to go!" He said and ran to the TARDIS. "Thank you, Dusklight Shimmer!" He flung the doors open and ran inside.
"IT'S TWILIGHT SPARKLE!" She called after him in annoyance.
Back inside the TARDIS, Ditzy hit her back against one door and slid down. She shrunk into the fetal position and started to cry her eyes out. The silence was only pierced by her sobs and the warm hum of the ship, as if it were trying to comfort her.
"Why did Pinkie have to bring up Tombstone..." She said after she had calmed down a little bit. "No..." She said to herself, "That's wrong... She didn't know that I was awake, I can't blame her..." She said with sadness. The door beside her was flung open, startling her slightly. The Doctor hopped in and looked down at her with a bright smile.
"Ditzy, wipe those tears away. You don't want to look like that when you see Tombstone again!" She perked up at him and stopped crying instantly.
"W-What?" She said in shock. The Doctor flipped a switch or two rather quickly then paused and looked over at Ditzy.
"Allons-y!" He said and then pulled a large lever. The TARDIS rattled and moaned. He started laughing, but Ditzy was still confused.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"We're getting your real Tombstone back!" The Doctor said as the TARDIS creaked to a stop. He galloped over and flung the doors open.