//------------------------------//
// Home, Please 
// Story: The Doctor Whooves Chronicles Episode 2: Queen of the Moon 
// by Doctor Perseus 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 7: Home, Please


The Moon of Gaia, 2000 C.E.

The Doctor was unsure about how many hours he had spent sleeping in Luna's penthouse. As he woke up, he realized that he couldn't remember the last time he had even slept. Being a time-traveling Time Lord tends to keep one awake. He hopped out of bed and trudged into the kitchen to grab a quick bite to eat. It was here that he found a simple note sitting on the table. It read:
Doctor,
I'm by the TARDIS if you're wondering where I am.
-Derpy
The Doctor quickly finished his breakfast and made his way down to the ground level. As he walked through Moonbase One, he noticed that there were a lot more soldiers than there had been previously. He figured that Princess Celestia was probably there already and was busy discussing the events with Luna. The Doctor made his way back to the Viewing Hall where the TARDIS had been parked. He was glad to see that it was still there in tip-top shape. Derpy was sitting a few feet away from it and was looking out towards the surface of the Moon. The Doctor smiled as he approached her. He walked up next to her and sat down. Derpy gave a sigh as a sign that she acknowledged the Doctor's presence.
"It seems so different now, the Moon," Derpy stated.
"The way things look to us tend to change over time," the Doctor replied.
"I can't begin to tell you how glad I am that this is over. I hope that I'll never have to invade anypony's mind ever again." The Doctor felt Derpy turn in his direction. "I saw you there."
"Hmm?"
"In both my subconscious and in the Queen's."
"Well I was kinda there on both occasions."
"No. You looked different. You took another form. I think I remember you saying that you were in a human form." The Doctor fell silent as he turned to face Derpy.
"Hmm...interesting."
"So...I guess I saw what you looked like before appearing in my universe."
"I believe so." The Doctor let out a deep sigh. "I'm glad you're okay, Derpy." Derpy smiled. "This shouldn't have happened."
"Don't start blaming yourself now, Doctor. It all worked out in the end. I'm still fine, Luna's alive, the Queen is gone, and Moonbase One is intact. Unlike what happened with Nightmare Moon, we can at least say that this ended on a positive note. You did keep your promise to me after all."
"But how long will I be able to keep it?" Derpy was about to say something when Luna appeared in the room.
"I knew I'd find you both here," she said.
"How?" asked the Doctor. Luna nodded at the TARDIS.
"Where there's the TARDIS, there's the Doctor and his companion."
"True." The Doctor and Derpy stood up and approached Luna.
"How's everything going?" Derpy asked. 
"Better. Celestia has arrived and I've just finished explaining the situation to her. I'm sure she'd be happy to see you two again."
"Thanks but no thanks," said the Doctor as he turned to Derpy. "I need to get Ms. Hooves here back to her home time."
"Ah...yes. Well, another time then!" The Doctor clapped his hooves and the TARDIS doors flew open. "Thank you...both of you. It's thanks to you that I've finally been able to bring this age-old conflict to rest."
"Your majesty...the Queen. What...what exactly was she? Why was she the way she was?" Derpy asked suddenly. Luna sighed and shook her head.
"I'm afraid that I can't answer that."
"Could...could there be more like her out there somewhere?" Luna turned towards the window and looked out at the endless collection of stars in the lunar sky.
"Possibly. The universe is quite large. I wouldn't doubt for a second that there's more like her out there. How she got here, when she got here, and what her species and true name were...I fear shall remain a mystery." Luna then turned to the Doctor. "I implore you, Doctor, to not try and find her home world. I fear that this is one mystery that should remain unsolved."
"I try not to find trouble, Princess. Trouble tends to find me," the Doctor said with a chuckle. Both Derpy and Luna smiled and giggled.
"Yes. I suppose so," said Luna. Luna approached the Doctor and gave him a farewell hug. "Hopefully we'll be able to have a peaceful reunion at some point."
"I make no promises, your majesty." Luna then turned to Derpy and hugged her.
"Take care, Derpy."
"I will," Derpy said in return. Luna then broke the hug and took a few steps back. The Doctor stepped aside and beckoned Derpy into the TARDIS.
"After you, Ms. Hooves," he said with a grin. Derpy nodded and began to enter the TARDIS. Suddenly, something caught Derpy's eye as she turned towards the viewing window. The Doctor turned towards the window but saw nothing. He turned back to Derpy in time to see her quickly walk through the TARDIS doors. The Doctor then turned to face Luna one last time. "Take care, Luna."
"I will, Doctor," Luna said back. The Doctor nodded with a smile before entering the TARDIS and closing the doors behind him. He looked ahead to see Derpy standing next to the main console.
"Home?" asked the Doctor.
"Please?" Derpy replied. 
"Of course." The Doctor stepped towards the console and began working the controls. The TARDIS shook and Derpy grabbed onto the console.
"Doctor...do you happen to know any aliens associated with reflective surfaces?"
"Possibly. There are millions of species of aliens out there, and I'm sure there's loads of aliens in this universe that I've yet to discover. Why do you ask?"
"Oh...no reason." The Doctor could tell that Derpy was hiding something but he decided to question her about it later. The TARDIS proceeded to give off its signature sound as it began its journey back to 1002 C.E. VVRROOMMPP! VVRROOMMPP! VVRROOMMPP!

To be continued...