Its Finally Over

by serebii


Rolling Dice

An hour later, the sun had set and the moon was just starting to peek over the horizon. Inside the Hooves household,the Doctor and Sparkler had just finished explaining to Derpy and Dinky what they know.

“Ok, I think I understand... but it doesn't explain where are Doctor is. He should've been back by now,he just went into town for a few things, it shouldn't take him that long…” Derpy murmured, her worry increasing as the time passed on.

“You're right, he should have been home a while ago?” Sparkler eyed the Doctor, still not sure what to think of him.

“Should we go look for him?” Dinky asked hopefully.

Sparkler shook her head, “I don’t think that’s a good idea. We should try to find a way to send this Doctor back to his own timeline before time starts to fall apart.” She leaned on the couch and rested her head on her hoof, “I’m not sure what part of the timeline he’s form, but this is his future. Nothing seems to be happening and we’re all still here, but we can’t take any risks: he can't see himself or change anything that happens from this point forward, he already knows too much about us. The best thing for him, us, and the universe is to get him back to the Tardis and keep him there ‘till were able to send him back.” Sparkler replied

Derpy shuffled her hooves as the weight of the situation sunk in, “Thats all good, but it doesn’t explain where this timeline’s Doctor is now.”

“What Sparkler said is true, I didn’t do anything to the tardis so it’s entirely possible that your Doctor could have found my tardis and stayed away from all the places I would go to in my universe to prevent a paradox, and return only once my tardis left.” The Doctor said, trying to think on the brightside.

“If thats true then all we have to do is take you back to your tardis then, right?” Dinky gasped, “Maybe if we hurry fast enough, Dad and I will have enough time for at least one driving lesson!” Derpy raised an eyebrow at her daughter; now wasn’t the time to worry about driving lessons.

Sparkler rolled her eyes, “Right, so mom, take this Doctor back to his Tardis, be careful not to run into Dad, and make sure that he doesn’t do anything here. Dinky and I will stay here just in case Dad comes back”.

“That sounds like the best course of action, the sooner the better. Come on Derpy, lets go.” The Doctor said trotting out of the house.

“Wait for me!”
~

The moon was climbing higher in the sky as they walked back to the big blue box.There were a few ponies heading home, some gave a friendly greeting as they passed by. As Derpy and the Doctor neared the Tardis they saw a purple pegasus with a pale cerulean mane flitting about the indigo sky, she appeared to be searching for something.

The mare spotted the duo walking and approached, she landed softly on the grass next to them. “Hey Derpy” she said cheerfully, betraying the worry clouding her eyes.

“Hey Cloud Chaser, what have you been up to?” Derpy asked.

“I've been looking for Flitter all day. You haven’t seen her, have you?"

When Derpy shook her head she turned to the Doctor, "Earlier today I saw you two talking in the market then walking off. I was going to follow you but I lost track of you in the crowd. I would’ve flown to try and catch up but there just wasn’t any room for me to spread my wings. Where did you two go off to anyway?”

The Doctor bit his lip and looked to his right trying to think of an answer, but Derpy cut him off; granting him a few seconds to think, but he felt that wasn’t her only reason for interrupting.

"Wait! You saw th- I mean- my husband and Flitter earlier today?” Derpy asked; wings drooping slightly.

Cloud Chaser’s eyes widened, regretting what was too late to take back, “Er, yeah... h-he was just talking to her about something and then they left-”

“-to go to the library!” the Doctor smiled awkwardly, “and um, after we got there she said she had something to do so she flew away and thats the last I saw of her”. Derpy stood there dumbfounded by how good he was at lying.

Derpy quickly regained her composure, “Well its been fun talking to you, but we have somewhere we need to be and we’re running late soo let’s get going Doctor” she said briskly. Derpy slowly started to walk away but began to quicken her pace until she was basically running away from Cloud Chaser; the Doctor not to far behind.

“See you... later?” Cloud Chaser half-heartedly waved at the retreating couple, “I hope I didn’t just ruin…” she couldn’t bear to think about it. Cloud Chaser sorrowfully looked at the horizon before resuming her search for her beloved sister. “I’ll find you. It’ll all be ok…”

~
Derpy and the Doctor didn’t stop running until they were sure Cloud Chaser was no longer within sight or hearing range. Derpy panted, “That was close Doctor, it was a good thing you could come up with something believable quickly. But… since you’re technically not supposed to do anything, wouldn’t that mean you can’t-”

He shook his head, “No, not exactly. I can't act on my decisions or make anypony do something different then they would. All I can really do is just stand and watch,”
“Watch and just let what happens, happen.” Derpy finished, then looked away as she whispered, “I know.”

The Doctor was taken aback by her tone and attempted to change the subject, “Hey, at least we know where your Doctor has been, the only mystery left is where he is now.”

He tried to think of reasons why he would go somewhere with Flitter, but nothing came to mind.

After a lengthy pause, “I guess that makes sense… I just hope he’s ok.” Derpy said as she walked towards the Tardis.

She was about to open the door when she noticed that the Doctor wasn’t behind her. Glancing over her shoulder she saw him looking into the night sky; lost in thought. Derpy watched him as he stared at the stars, as if wishing they’d give him an answer, it was a while before she finally spoke.

“Doctor, what's wrong? If you're worried about my Doctor I’m sure he's fine” Derpy reassured him, giving him a slightly forced smile.

The Doctor looked at Derpy wistfully, “That’s not it Derpy.”

“Then what's wrong?”

“Its just that-” he sighed heavily, “I found out today that I have a family. A family. It's a lot to take in. I didn’t want to say anything when we were with the kids, but I need to know... how did this happen. When did it start? I just want answers.” he looked at Derpy, begging her to answer him, and as much as it hurt her to see him so lost, so desperate, she was painfully aware of what she could, and could not tell him.

“Doctor, I wish I could tell you that story. Its a story that I love, and hate at the same time. We can't change the past, you know that, and I would never want to if I could. This is my life and I would never change it. All I can say is, that day we lost someone close to us but that’s also the day we became a family. The only way you're going to get answers is if you get back to your own timeline and wait for it to happen, and when it does you’ll understand everything. I know how much you hate waiting, you're a pony of action, which is one of the reasons I fell in love with you, but you just have to let things happen. Everything will work out, you’ll see.”


“Thanks Derpy, but I'm not sure I'm ready to start a family.”

Derpy got closer and gave the Doctor a hug. “When the time comes, you will be ready.” She hugged him tighter. Neither of them broke the silence that followed, they just embraced, neither wanting to be the one to end it.

As comforting as it felt, Derpy and the Doctor knew the moment had to end. They unwrapped their arms from each other and Derpy gave the Doctor a big smile and nodded. The Doctor walked up to the Tardis and placed a hoof on the door, he looked back once more at Derpy and smiled warmly before opening the Tardis and walking in, and closing the door behind him firmly.

He climbed up the stairs and began to check his monitor when he noticed something flashing on the far right of the monitor. The Doctor inspected the blinking signal curiously, “No…” he murmured, “but then, that means-” He quickly crossed over to the door and yanked it open, he saw Derpy already at the base of the hill. He called out for her to wait, and ran after her.

Hearing her name called, Derpy turned and saw the Doctor running down the slope. He skidded to a halt next to her, panting hard. After taking a moment to collect himself he managed to say, “Derpy, you need to see this.”

“What is it, Doctor?” Derpy asked as they made their way back to the Tardis.

“You have to see this”

Upon entering the Tardis, the blinking signal was now emitting a shrill beeping noise, the Doctor desperately tried to find a way to shut it off.

“Uh Doctor,” Derpy said worriedly, “why’s the Tardis beeping?”

“It’s a call for help only the Sonic Screwdriver can signal, and the only other ponies with a Sonic are…?”

“My Doctor and Sparkler” Derpy said as she nervously shuffled her hooves and rustled her wings.

The Doctor nodded then ducked his head under the counter. Moments later,the piercing alarm finally died down. Derpy and the Doctor both rubbed their sore ears, trying to get the lingering buzz to fade. The Doctor looked at Derpy as she she held her nose and took a deep breath in an attempt to pop her ears, once she was done he said, “Well, it looks like I'm going to be staying a little longer than we planned.”

“Wha- what! Y-you can't do that Doctor, you’re not allowed to change anything, remember?”

“Yes I know, but I can watch and help from afar. I'll be right back!” the Doctor said while walking to the other side of the Tardis. He leaned over and looked under the scanner, after a few minutes of searching and moving things around the Doctor finally found what he was looking for: an old box covered in cobwebs and dust. He brushed his hoof over the box, scattering dust, causing him and Derpy to cough. Once the air cleared, they could clearly see the word ‘gifts’ inscribed upon the box. The Doctor opened it and began to rifle through it.

“No... nope... wow I still have this?” The Doctor started pulling things out of the box when he was unable to find what he was looking by just pushing them aside. Derpy looked over his shoulder, curiously eyeing the assortment of things strewn around him.

“Doctor, what are you looking for?”

“I'm looking for glasses, Derpy. Glasses for you”.

Derpy gave him a funny look, “Glasses? Doctor you know glasses won’t do anything for my eyes”. The Doctor barely heard her, “Come on, I could’ve sworn they were- Found them!” With a look of triumph he pulled out an odd pair of glasses, taking a second to wipe the lenses on a rag, he put them on, “Well would you look at that... 2000 years and they still work.”

“Doctor can you please tell me what you doing.”

“Well Derpy, I can't do anything because I can’t mess with my own timeline, but what I can do, is stay in the Tardis and make sure you and your family are safe. These glasses have a an earpiece on the right side, so you’ll be able to hear me even from inside the Tardis. On the left lense there’s a small camera that lets me see what you’re seeing. Now I can help you without the risk of seeing myself.” The Doctor gave a small smile as he passed the glasses to Derpy.

Derpy examined the glasses, holding them up to the light and looking at them from different angles before finally placing them on her face. “This is a great idea!” Derpy exclaimed, causing her glasses to tilt to the right. The Doctor moved them back in place and adjusted the earpiece to fit comfortably.

“Doctor, will it be possible for us to pinpoint where the signal is coming from?”

“I’m sorry Derpy, we can't, not just yet. The tardis is weak from making the trip here, she should be ready by morning; we can start searching then, it’s too dark to now anyway. The best thing you can do right now is go home, and get some rest. You need it.” Derpy nodded and began walking to the tardis door.

The Doctor walked with her to the doorway. “Derpy,” he said, placing his hoof on her shoulder, “stay safe.”

“I'll be fine as long as I wear these glasses. If anything happens, you'll know.”

“I know, I just- don't want anything to happen to you.”

Derpy smiled from ear to ear and hugged him lightly around his neck, “Thank you Doctor.” A second later, she dropped back down to all fours and walked out the Tardis.

The Doctor leaned against the doorway, he placed a hoof on the opposite side of the Tardis and gave her a gentle pat, “Don’t worry sexy, I don’t blame you for getting us stranded here.”

Derpy looked over her shoulder and rolled her eyes, amused at what she saw. She shook her head lightly and quipped, “Still wishing, huh Doctor?”

He jumped, a small blush creeping across his cheeks, “W-what did you say?!”

Derpy giggled, and continued walking down the hill, “Nothing Doctor, nothing at all.”