His chosen name was Clockwork World, seeing as it was the closest thing to his true talents that would form a good name. His cutie mark reflected this, showing a globe of Eqestria made of gears. Even he had to admit that it made him feel a little awesome, even with the rather cutesy rendering that this reality provided. He began to walk slowly, attempting and failing to not fall over many a time. Eventually, he stumbled around the hill on which he had gained existence, still new to his legs and form. Observing this universe from above had not prepared him for its absolute beauty, and as such he didn't mind the extra time it took to get used to his body. It was then that he heard a clicking sound, followed by a ding.
He turned to see a brown stallion carrying a rather disorganized pile of wires and lights in his mouth. It dinged once again, and twice more as it pointed at him. The rabid curiosity that the stallion with the hourglass flank was feeling was matched a thousandfold by Clockworks shock at what he saw before him. Seeing what he did, it also gave him a headache. In looking into the face of the stallion, he saw not one, but ten human-like beings, all existing in the same reality, in the same body. He shook his head and looked away, rubbing his temples. He knew these beings. He had followed their adventures from outside of existence, watched as they traversed their universe in a similar manner to how he traveled all universes. And now, he was being approached by them, the great inspiration for much of his behavior since obtaining his powers.
"Greetings! Are you alright there?" the confounding being yelled.
"Yes, just a bit wobbly. It'll pass I'm sure." Clockwork said, still looking away.
"I have to say, I'm a bit surprised. This device hasn't turned on since..." The ponies thought seemed to escape him completely. "... Anyway, I never expected it to go off here! I'd had it stashed away, does horrible things to chickens I'm afraid. I'm Doctor Hooves, and I'm assuming you aren't from around here."
Clockwork sniggered at the statement. "That's an understatement Doctor. My name is Clockwork World, Clock for short. I'd say I'm about as far now from my place as you are from yours, Time Lord."
The Doctor dropped his device, trembling slightly. He recovered almost immediately, but his voice had changed from curious and joyful to cautious and low. Clockwork immediately regretted revealing how much he knew so quickly, but the damage was already done.
"How do you know that name?" he asked in a deep voice, dripping with dark emotions that should have long been purged.
"I too am a traveler, one with great power and dark responsibilities." Clockwork said as gently as he could, attempting to calm the obviously flustered horse before him. He wondered deeply how much the Doctor still knew, seeing as his entrance to this world should have wiped any and all memories that would cause such a reaction.
"Are you..." the Doctor began to say, before deciding against getting his hopes up. He knew it wasn't possible that another had survived the war he had long tried to forget.
"No, I am not a fellow Lord of Time, though I do feel a kinship with you." Clockwork said honestly. He was the only being that he knew of in all of existence that contained the powers he commanded, and knew how loss, loneliness, weakness, and responsibility felt on a level only he and The Doctor were capable of feeling. Though his memories that would allow these feelings to spread were hidden, he still knew of their presence in his mind.
Doctor Whooves looked deeply into the stallions eyes. Though he could not put his hoof on it, there was something incredibly familiar, something that chilled him to the bone. The doctor was running from something, something he couldn't remember, and he didn't want to. He instinctively thought back to his entering the world, and the events surrounding it. I had received a message... something about a song ending... and with this thought, a flood of emotion ran through him. He remembered. "Have you come to take me back then? Back to... die?"
Clockwork looked into the concerned faces of the men that stood in front of him, the lifetimes that the still young stallion had lived. "No, I'm just traveling. I would like to help you if I could though. I have watched you sacrifice Doctor. I have seen your adventures as if watching a film. I have seen your hearts break, time and again. I know your pain, and I would not force you to return to it under any circumstance."
The Doctor was taken aback. How could this traveler know? How could he even begin to fathom the suffering he had endured? It was at this point that he realized something was horribly wrong. He shouldn't be able to feel like this. When he had entered this world, these thoughts were taken from him. He had felt rejuvenated, like he had regenerated without dying. He had taken a new form involuntarily, but had not used up another life to do so. Terror swept over his face now, realizing what it might mean if he truly remembered, and the danger that the world around him was now in.
"But," Clockwork continued, "you cannot stay forever. Your world needs you. I have seen its future, and I can tell you that you are integral to its survival, more than you will ever know." This was true, though how true he could have never explained to the Doctor. The universe had chosen The Doctor as its avatar, and through him maintained balance and its continued existence. Like a medical practitioner, he fixed the very existence he had known every day of his life. With each enemy felled, each relationship created and each sacrifice made, the world at every level continued to thrive. He could never place the burden of such knowledge on another, not when they had so much weighing them down without it.
The Doctor looked aghast. Had he known peace for the past year, true happiness, just to go back into that world? Why was it always his responsibility? Couldn't the humans keep themselves alive for once? He knew the answers before he asked himself the questions, but they still stung. "I know. I was warned that my song would soon end, and I did what I have always done. I ran. I somehow managed to come here. My ship was none too happy about it either..."
He chuckled a bit. The TARDIS had always been a bit temperamental, more-so in the recent past. Upon arriving, the circuit that allowed his ship to blend into the environment, something that had been broken for years, connected momentarily. His police box, something that he had grown accustomed to over the past few centuries, began to change to camouflage into the new environment. It stopped almost immediately, however, as the circuit broke once again. The outside of the TARDIS had transformed into a small bright blue barn. The words POLICE BOX still hung above the door, albeit in a more western font.
The mind of the TARDIS, being a living being, went through the same process as the Doctor, but the telepathic link between them had prevented either of them from being wiped completely, as he now realized, Knowing why he remembered the darkness of his past was small comfort, but it was one less thing to worry about. The travel between universes had caused much damage, but surprisingly, the TARDIS remained powerful. In previous dimensional encounters, she had lost all power when removed from her natural source, but this world was different. It brimmed and bristled with an unknown power. Even the Doctor was impressed, though mostly frustrated, at the level of unexplainable energy in this world. He never did like the unexplainable.
Clockwork looked at him sympathetically. He could see the pain his presence had caused, the memories he knew he had jogged. He made a mental note to be much more careful in the future. A few ideas clicked in his head, memories that still existed. "You don't have to go now. There is a fixed point where you must return, but nothing between the message and then. I might yet be able to help you live the life you deserve doctor."
At this, it was the Doctors turn to chuckle. "The life I deserve is short and painful." He had always been pessimistic about his past, considering himself dangerous, a menace to the universe. This may have explained why he was always so eager to get into danger, and definitely explains why he always wanted to fix things; he felt as though his presence was a sin to the world.
Clockwork could not let that slip. He knew of the Doctors past, but saw not only the good that he did within the universe, but the grand purpose that he fulfilled. He also knew of his own past, and how miniscule the damage the stallion that stood before him had accomplished in comparison. "You're better than you know, and as much as you might not like to admit it to yourself, you're brilliant." He put extra emphasis on the last word, a word that the Doctor used to describe things that fascinated him, even after all this time.
The temporal stallion looked at him, perplexed that one who seemed to know so much would think so highly of him. He decided to shake it off, but it did make him feel better about himself. He smiled genuinely. "Thank you," he said simply. "Would you like to come to dinner? Travel like that, you have to be starving. We can discuss things further after a bite to eat."
Clockwork World hadn't thought of food for a moment up until now. Realizing how long it had been since he had eaten, he went white in the face. "Absolutely." They walked together towards the town, two wandering Gods; no longer alone for the time being.