Over nine hundred years of traveling through time and space, and he still didn’t know any better. It was better for him to travel alone, because this kind of thing always happened. Every single time. Anyone who had ever traveled with him either ended up dead, or worse.
“Applejack!” Twilight’s voice snapped The Doctor out of his thoughts. The orange mare was unconscious on the floor, her body convulsing violently. Her friend rushed to her side, trying to talk to her, but to no avail.
“Get back, Twilight,” The Doctor said calmly, pulling her away.
She struggled to break free from his grip. “No, Doctor, I can’t just leave her!” Tears were pouring from her eyes.
“Leave it to me.” He knelt down in front of Applejack, gently placing his front hooves on her head. Immediately her body ceased seizing, and became still.
“Is she-” Twilight choked.
“She’s just unconscious,” Princess Celestia whispered to her, equally intrigued in the scene unfolding before them. They all looked back to The Doctor. He had a look of pure concentration on his face.
Putting his forehead to hers, he started to whisper. “Applejack, I know you can hear me.” Her face was glistening with sweat, “Fight it, OK?” His brow furrowed further, “I know you’re a fighter, don’t give up.” He remained still for a few moments, before suddenly jumping back, clutching his ears in pain. “No, no, NO!” He kicked the air in frustration. “Damn high pitched noises! I was so close!”
“What did you just do?” Twilight stood there, bewildered.
“Standard level telepathy,” he answered, “I can do it without magic.” Despite the grimness of the situation, there was still a tone of smugness in his voice.
“What happened?” Princess Luna, who had remained frozen in fear throughout the strange ordeal, suddenly spoke up.
“The Gelth, they blocked me out.” The time lord slumped over, thinking hard. “They can’t control her until they can take over her mind. Applejack’s fighting them, subconsciously of course, but I fear it’s a losing battle.”
“Then what can we do?” Twilight asked, holding back tears.
“I don’t know!” The Doctor groaned in frustration, “I just don’t know.” He hung in head in shame, a single tear managing to trickle down his face.
The silence was unbearable. After a few moments, Celestia’s face lit up. She turned to Twilight. “You are Applejack’s friend, I assume?”
“Of course, Princess, you know I am-” The Doctor glared at her. “Oh, right, another thousand years yet.”
“Then could you not use a memory spell, to help her remember all the wonderful times she has spent with you?”
“Wouldn’t work,” The Doctor spoke up, solemnly, “No matter what the memory, Twilight’s memory spell is still only standard level telepathy. He was quiet for a second. “But...” he got up to his feet, “Both of us combined...” He looked at them, a hopeful look on his face. “Oh, that’s BRILLIANT!”
The three of them looked at him, dumbfounded. “Well, what is it, Doctor?” Twilight said.
“Alone, our respective telepathic abilities aren’t enough to get through to Applejack,” The Doctor explained, “But if we could find a way to combine them...”
“Then we can get through to her!” Twilight finished, “Doctor, that just might work!”
The Doctor clapped his hooves together. “Right, here’s the plan.” He motioned for Twilight to come closer, “I need you to project the happiest thoughts of you and all of your friends into Applejack, via me.”
“So basically, you’re the messenger?”
“Exactly, except our telepathy combined is enough to break the Gelth’s hold over her.” He turned to the two princesses, “Oh, by the way, sorry about this. Hope we didn’t interrupt you, or anything.”
Twilight took a deep breath. “Are you ready?”
He nodded. “Geronimo.” With a wink, he knelt down, putting his hooves around her head again. After a few seconds, he whispered, “I’ve established a link.” Twilight nodded. She knelt next to him, her horn beginning to glow.
Gently, she rested her horn against his forehead. There was a slight buzzing as The Doctor saw all of the unicorn’s memories flash before his eyes. Playing with her big brother, enrolling in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, moving to Ponyville, making her new friends. He studied all of her memories, before one particular scene began to play. Something that must mean something to her, he thought.
The orange mare struggled violently beneath her as Twilight gently lowered her horn. Their heads connected, and, slowly but surely, the mare’s bright coat began to regain its colour. Releasing her grip, the unicorn let Applejack stand up. She was dazed and confused. She looked around for a moment.
“Wh-what happened? Twilight!” Applejack shook her head, remembering. She sighed, and looked at her friend. “I saw vision of us feudin’ and fightin’. I couldn’t face the truth, so I started tellin’ lies.” She removed her hat and placed it at her chest, as if she was trying to hide behind it. “Can ya ever forgive me?”
Twilight smiled warmly. “I already have.” Applejack smiled back.
The scene faded to black. The Doctor smiled. “Come on Applejack, you’re doing great.” After a moment, he released his grip, and stood up.
“Did it work?” Princess Luna asked, genuine concern on her face.
The Doctor and Twilight looked at each other, grinning. “Oh, it worked alright. Right now, our good friend Applejack is just sleeping. She’ll wake up soon.” He told them.
“But what about those creatures?” Princess Celestia approached him. “The Gelth, you called them.”
“Gone,” he answered simply. “See, when they control someone, living or dead, they become just an entity. Like a bad memory, easily erased. Which, to put a long story short, is what we just did.”
***
"Wh-what happened?" After about an hour, Applejack came to, much to the delight of her friends.
Twilight smiled. "It's a long story."
"The Gelth invaded your mind, we stopped them, now they're gone," The Doctor explained simply. Twilight glared at him. "What?" He turned away, whispering to himself, "It wasn't that long."
“Wait.” Princess Celestia stopped them as they were walking out, “You never explained to us, who exactly are you three?”
The Doctor chuckled. “Oh, you’ll find out, in about a millennium.” They smiled at the look on her face. “Give or take.” They went to leave when he stopped. “You know what? I don’t fancy walking, and I think you two deserve something to make up for us interrupting your evening.”
“Well, what?” Luna asked bluntly.
The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver. “Oh trust me, it’s something really cool.” He pressed the button. The device whirred for a moment, before silence. Suddenly, a large gust of wind blew through the room, and, seemingly out of nowhere, a large blue box began to appear in the center of the room. The grin temporarily disappeared from his face when he looked the slim device in his hooves, which was partially destroyed, it’s blue tip cracked.
“Hmm, must have shorted it out. It was getting old anyway.” He chucked the device away. “Ah well, she'll give me a new one.” He leant against the box.
The two princesses stood there, amazed. “What is it?” Celestia managed to say.
“This,” The Doctor told them, opening the door, “Is my TARDIS.” The three of them stepped inside. Soon after, the middle of the room was empty again.
“Well,” Luna murmured, “That was unexpected.”
1000 years later...
Pinkie Pie bounced happily down Ponyville Mane Street. It was a beautiful day; the sun was shining, birds were singing, and the party pony was happy as can be. She loved meeting new ponies, and the funny stallion she had met the previous day was one of the funniest ponies she had met in a long time.
In the distance, she heard a strange grinding noise. Huh, that was kinda weird, she thought, before starting to bounce down the street again. All of a sudden, something bumped into her, knocking her to the ground. Looking up, she was surprised to see Twilight and Applejack with the funny Doctor standing over her.
“Pinkie!” The purple mare tackled her in a tight embrace. “Oh, I missed you all so much!”
“But we saw each other yesterday!” Pinkie freed herself from Twilight’s grip. “Where have you been?”
Applejack chuckled. “It’s a long story, sugarcube.” She too embraced her friend.
Pinkie smiled, before looking over the farmpony’s shoulder. “Hey! Doctor! Where do you think you’re going?”
The Doctor, who had been making his way back to his blue box hiding away in an alley, froze in his tracks. “Well, I-um, well…”
“You’re not going anywhere!” She said, a sudden assertiveness to her voice, “Before I throw you a party!”
The Doctor laughed nervously. “Well, I’m flattered that you would throw a party just for me, but I really need to-“
“Don’t be silly! I throw parties for everypony new in Ponyville!” She grabbed his tail, dragging him towards Sugarcube Corner to make preparations.
***
The party was impressive; a true testament to Pinkie Pie’s party-throwing skills. The Doctor, at first hesitant to the idea of being the center of attention of the whole town, soon warmed to all the friendly ponies greeting him. Rainbow Dash, however, was suspicious of the town’s new guest.
“So what exactly are you a doctor of, anyway?”
“Everything, my dear Rainbow.”
“You can’t be a doctor of everything, that’s not possible!”
He sighed. “Let’s just say it’s my special talent, OK?”
Rainbow paused for a second. “Then where does the hourglass come in?”
“I’d explain it to you, but you’d probably get confused.”
She smirked. “Try me.”
“Do you know anything about the rules of inter-dimensional travel?”
She stared at him for a second. “Alright, you got me.’’ She flew off in a huff.
He smiled, before glancing around the room. Almost everyone in town was here. I’ve seen some parties in my day, he thought, but nothing as big as this. And all for me! I should feel honoured. He noticed the white unicorn that he had gotten his outfit from across the room. What was her name? Rarity, that’s the one. She was with a rather timid looking yellow pegasus.
“Doctor!” She called out to him. The look on her face suddenly changed. “You’re still wearing the bow tie?”
He gave her an offended look. “It’s cool, and you know it. Besides, who’s your friend here?” The pegasus glanced up at him quickly before backing away, trying to hide behind her long, pink mane.
“This is Fluttershy,” she told him, before whispering in his ear, “She’s a bit shy.”
No, really? He thought, before smiling again. “Hello, Fluttershy. I am The Doctor.” He extended a hoof. She took it awkwardly, shaking it before returning to her ‘hiding place’.
“I take it you’re one for all things nature, Fluttershy?” He said, trying to make conversation.
“Oh yes,” she said, suddenly becoming more sociable, “I love everything about nature! It all just fascinates me!”
“That’s nice. I guess you could say I’m sort of into the whole ‘nature’ thing myself.”
She gasped. “You are? We have so much to talk about!” The most adorable smile appeared on her face. “We’re going to be the best of friends!”
“Maybe,” he told her as she led him to a quieter part of the room.
***
The rest of the night was a blast. The time lord had gotten to know each of Twilight’s friends a little better, and got into some sort of conversation with almost everypony in town, even if it was just a brief introduction. Even a grey pegasus with a strange pair of eyes was a joy to speak to, even if she did sound and act a bit clumsy.
The night was drawing to a close. Most of the ponies in town had left or were too tipsy to notice him leave quietly. He had managed to slip out of the room unnoticed before being stopped by Twilight and her five friends.
“Doctor, please don’t go, just as we’re getting to know you.”
He motioned for her and Applejack to come closer. “You saw how dangerous it was back there. Applejack, you were almost killed.”
“Can’t y’all at least stick around for a while?”
He sighed. “I’m sorry, I really am. But wherever I go, trouble seems to follow. Too many people I’ve known have had their lives ruined because of me.” He closed his eyes. “I can’t let anything happen to any of you.” He walked away, leaving them both stunned, and owing an explanation to the rest of their friends.
He soon located his machine. He took a moment to admire it, not quite knowing why. Passing his hoof along the polished wood, he pulled out the key, opened the door, and stepped inside. Slowly making his way around the center console, he pulled on a lever, smiling slightly at the noise he had become accustomed to over the years. He looked at the readings on the monitor. His jaw dropped.
“What.”
He read the Gallifreyan on the screen, double and triple checking it to make sure it was correct.
“I can go back…” he whispered to himself, “Back to Earth, to my universe…”
Before he could think any more on the matter, the console made a beeping noise, and a brand new screwdriver popped out. “Ah, a new one!” He picked it up, deciding to test it on an old radio that happened to be lying around. He clicked the button, but nothing happened. The device just beeped and did nothing.
“What? Don’t tell me you sold me a faulty product!” He extended it, revealing a set of six lights, none of which were illuminated. The lights each had a distinct colour: purple, orange, blue, white, pink, and yellow. He studied them for a moment, before a smile grew across his face. “Oh, you clever thing!” He yanked a bunch of levers, making the whole room shake.
“Hold on Ponyville, I’m coming!” he shouted, before laughing manically. "Geronimo!”