The Doctor hurried to the door and pulled it open. Sure enough, Derpy sat on the other side, patiently waiting for the Doctor to open the door. "Derpy! Great to see you. Why didn't you use your key?"
"I wasn't sure if you guys were inside," came her reply. "I've been jumping back and forth into the future on accident. But like you said earlier, I can't tell you about what I saw."
"It's great to see you anyway." The Doctor stepped forward, hugging his assistant. He then backed up and took the teleporter off of Derpy's hoof. "Now, what did you find?"
"Well like I said, I can't tell you everything, but I did find tons of cameras."
"Great! Then we'll be off." The Doctor then moved to the console and began to input a few commands into the screen while pressing a couple other buttons.
As the TARDIS buzzed to life, it began to make an odd sound. It almost sounded like something had latched onto the outside and was trying to get in. No sooner had the thought crossed the Doctor's mind than a claw about a foot long broke through the front doors.
In their shock, the group failed to notice the claw opening up to reveal a barrel of some sort, like that of a gun. Before anypony could move, the barrel flashed and a loud noise reverberated through the huge room. The claw retracted itself out of the door, and the TARDIS rebuilt itself around the hole.
The Doctor and Applejack were confused at what had just happened. What was that flash of light? On second thought, how had that thing broken through the door? The doors were supposed to be indestructible. Then the Doctor recognized the barrel from the claw. It was the same barrel of a gun from the plastic people that the Doctor had run into those years ago.
Before the Doctor could go any further, a sound came from behind him. "Doctor?" asked Derpy.
The Doctor spun around to look at his assistant. A single bullet hole was in her chest. She began to bleed heavily and fall backwards. The Doctor caught her just in time. "Doctor, what's happening?" asked Derpy again. "I feel so cold. What's going on?"
"Whatever you do Ditsy, don't look at yourself. Keep looking toward the ceiling." The wall eyed mare did as she was told as she began to take in short, quick breaths.
"But what's wrong?" came the pegasis again. The Doctor ignored her and began to shout something unintelligible to Applejack. Derpy began to close her eyes, her mind suddenly forcing memories from her life, though most of them were from the time she had spent with the Doctor. She didn't even know why it was happening, but she went with it. She remembered the ice serpent that they had fought on their first real adventure, the crossing over dimensions and meeting the other Doctor and Twilight. The time when she had saved the princess in the future. The time when she...
Her eyesight began to fade as she closed her eyes. The last thing she heard was, "Derpy! Stay with me!"
/)*#*(\
"Applejack! You have to get to the sick bay in the TARDIS!" screamed the Doctor at the top of his lungs as he watched Derpy's eyes closing.
"Gotcha!" yelled the work horse back.
"Derpy! Stay with we! Applejack, did you find it?!"
"Yeah!"
"OK. I'm bringing her in!" With that, the Doctor picked up Derpy's still form and began to carry her to the sick bay. He didn't care that he was covered in his best friend's blood. All he cared about was getting her to safety before it was too late.
He felt the TARDIS land at its destination, but he ignored it, moving through the nearby passageway and into the sick bay where Applejack waited. He immediately put Derpy into a strange looking pod with harnesses on the inside meant to suspend some pony in the air.
As he hooked her in, Applejack stood at the nearby console, ready for a command from the Doctor. "Now!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. Without thinking, Applejack pushed the biggest flashing red button on the console.
She watched as a hatch sealed the possibly lifeless form of Derpy inside the strange pod, her blood still running down her front. The pod began to fill with liquid. It was odd, as it looked like a thick gelatinous mixture with green food coloring mixed in. Eventually, the mixture filled the tank up to the top and the machine stopped humming.
The Doctor looked towards Applejack with fear in his eyes. "What'd ya do Doctor?" asked the curious orange earth pony.
"I did my best to save her. But I just don't know if I made it. I just don't know." He broke down into uncontrollable sobs. Applejack made her way over to the Doctor and put her arm around him.
"You tried yer best. If there's nothin' else we can do, then we'd better get goin'. We have to find out what that thing was that shot 'er."
Calming down, the Doctor picked himself up off the TARDIS floor and walked out into the main room. He put his hooves on one of the panels and began to type something into a typewriter. A nearby screen displayed what he was typing. He searched space Google for any sign or mention of a creature like the one that had attacked and possibly killed Derpy. "Listen to me Applejack. I haven't forgotten about clearing your name, but right now, this takes the top slot on my priority list."
"That's alright with me, Doctor," said Applejack in reply. "Listen though, I need to clear my name faster than heck, and stayin' in here won't help. I'm real concerned for Ditsy, but I have to go. I can get help from ma friend Rainbow Dash. She said she'd help me if it came down to me escapin'."
"Fine. Just go." With the Doctor's reply, Applejack opened up the TARDIS doors and exited the big blue box, ready to continue her search for answers.
/)*#*(\
As Applejack stepped out of the TARDIS, she found herself in a remote desert. The TARDIS began to disappear behind her. She cursed herself for not staying by the Doctor when she had the chance.
Looking around to investigate the area, she found a terrible sight. The still form of an Appleloosan lay in the sand 20 feet away. She hurried to his side to see if he was alright. He was breathing, but three gunshots to his side made his death certain.
Slowly, he looked into Applejack's eyes. That's when she realized, she knew this pony. She had talked to him before the fight with the buffalo.
"You're the one on all the wanted posters. But Ah know you. Why'd you kill those ponies?"
"Ah didn't kill any pony. And hopefully, Ah'll never have to."
"Well that's good to hear *cough*." He coughed up a clot of blood then.
"What happened to you?"
"It was those two outlaws," said the dying stallion. "They came to Appleloosa a few months ago wearin' odd clothes and carryin' guns. They started causin' trouble, killin' folks and robbin' banks. Finally, the sheriff got to 'em. He sent 'em outta town and hopefully into the arms o' the cops. They escaped though, and I came out here to find 'em and finish what Silver Star started. They were waitin' for me though." He coughed again, releasing more blood.
"They shot me down before I could even draw this." He gestured to a pistol at his side. "Here. You'll need this if they ever come after you or you ever run into 'em." Reaching down to his waist, he removed his belt which contained the pistol, a holster, and extra ammunition. "And take this too, for protection from the elements." He pushed himself up off the ground with all the energy he could muster in his dying hour. He then took off his brown poncho and handed it to AJ. It had been torn on the edges and worn down, no doubt from over use. He fell back to the ground, a tear running down his face as he started to whimper lightly.
"I don't wanna die," he said, a small sob in his voice.
"Everythin's gonna be okay," comforted Applejack.
"But it's not. I'm gonna die, and mah foals will never know what happened."
"Shh," said Applejack, stroking his mane softly. Then, she heard a sound that she couldn't be happier to hear; the whirring sound of the TARDIS. She spun her head around to see the blue box had materialized where she stood before. In the doorway was Derpy, a smile on her face. Apart from a big white bandage across her chest that had some soaked blood in it, she seemed alright, if a bit dizzy.
"Come on," said Derpy, gesturing for Applejack to come inside. Picking up the wounded stallion and loading him onto her back, Applejack made her way to the TARDIS, hoping to Celestia that the pod that Derpy had been in was still functional.
She went inside and Derpy closed the door behind her. The Doctor stood at the TARDIS's main console, monitoring a screen with some statistics displayed on it. As soon as he noticed Applejack's cargo, his face darkened. "Bring him into the sick bay," was all he said.
Applejack did as she was told, bringing him inside and then hooking him up to the harness. She ran to the console to be stopped by the Doctor, who was already there. He pressed the button and the pod began to fill with the green liquid yet again.
If the situation was the same as with Derpy, then he would live. This came as a relief to Applejack who hated saying goodbye.
"He'll be okay in a month or so," said the Doctor. "That's how long I was gone with Derpy before I came back for you."
At first, Applejack didn't understand what he meant. Then she realized that it was a time machine. He could be gone for only minutes to her, but years for him and it wouldn't matter.
"If you'd like, I could go on another trip for a month and you could see him healthy again in a few minutes."
"No that's fine," said Applejack. She walked over the the pod to look at the wounded stallion inside. He was breathing the liquid as if it were air. "I wanna get this over with ASAP."
"Fair enough," said the Doctor. He moved to the command console back in the main room and set the TARDIS to fly to Canterlot. "We're gonna go drinking."