Chapter 3
And Then There Were 11
The 11th Doctor was on vacation. Hard to believe if you think about it. He decided to take a break from saving the Universe. Why you might ask? Well let me tell you why; it all began several days ago, when the Doctor was reminded of a terrible prophecy.
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As the TARDIS flew through space, the Doctor thought back on all that had happened. He discovered the creatures known as the Silence that wanted him dead, fooled them into thinking he died, and learned why they wanted him dead in the process. Apparently they wanted the Doctor dead because they were afraid that he would one day answer the First Question, the question that he had been running from all his life.
“Doctor who,” he said, thinking to himself as he worked the controls of the TARDIS. The question had been right in front of his face the whole time. Every time he told one of his future companions his name was ‘Doctor,’ they would always reply with, “Doctor who”.
He knew what the question meant, but he also didn’t want to think about it. For now, he decided to lay low in the Universe, answering cries of help in the shadows from now on. However that would prove pointless one day when a larger threat reveals him/herself.
Unfortunately that day was today, or yesterday or tomorrow. Time is complicated like that in a lot of ways.
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The Doctor was orbiting planet Earth, keeping a watchful gaze on the planet that seemed to have trouble brewing every century or so. Everything was peaceful so far, to the point where the Doctor’s mind began to wander. He wondered how the Ponds were doing after he left them to their own things. Family related things and what not. He also wandered about his newfound wife River Song, and the adventures she experienced.
This trip down memory lane lasted for a little while, when suddenly the TARDIS sounded an alarm. The Doctor rushed to the console to find out what happened.
“Hello? What’s this then,” he said to the TARDIS controls. He activated the monitor that hovered over the controls and examined the disturbance. It was a Fluctuation of Time in a sector in the Universe that the Doctor had never heard of before. This puzzled the Time Lord because he’d seen nearly all there was to see in all of time and space. Yet there was an area he had never seen before? The thought almost sounded silly.
But now was not the time for jokes. There was a new sector of the Universe that was waiting to be explored. “I see no harm in exploring new places,” he said to the controls. “There’s always time for another adventure.”
With that, he zoomed off into the stars. This was easier said than done because a soon as the TARDIS began to fly, it shaked like a mini earthquake just went off.
‘This almost feels like I’m breaking the boundary of the Universe again,’ he thought as the shaking continued. And then he realised that this new part of the Universe was, perhaps, a Bubble Universe that was connected to this one. It was only an idea, but the more the TARDIS creaked and groaned, the more that idea sounded true.
Wherever this trip was taking him, he enjoyed every moment of it. Whooping and hollering like there was no tomorrow. Suddenly, the TARDIS lost all control and began to spiral off course. With one last flip of a switch the Doctor shouted, as loud as he could to the ceiling, one word:
"GERONIMO!!!"
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After several minutes of neverending tremors, the TARDIS finally landed. With a slight adjustment to his bow-tie, the Doctor remarked, “Now, lets see what this planet has in store for me this time.” So he ran straight for the door. He opened it up, and what he saw was beyond his expectations.
Standing right in front of him where six colorful...ponies, of all things. They had their own distinct features. Two of them had wings, another two had horns on their heads, and the other two had neither. But what was interesting was that there were four humans behind the six ponies. This puzzled the Doctor. But he didn’t have time to think about it, because both the humans and the ponies were staring at him like he was the most interesting thing they’d seen all day.
So, after all that was established he finally remarked with a simple, “Well...this is new!”
No one said a word. Then one of the humans spoke. “Who the hell are you,” asked Alex.
“I’m the Doctor.”
“...Okay, your a doctor. That's cool and all, but what’s you're name.”
“I just told you. You can call me the Doctor.”
This banter kept on for a minute or two. Then one of the six, Twilight, spoke up. “Where did you come from?”
The Doctor gave a surprised shout when he heard the unicorn speak. “I didn’t know you could talk. This planet just keeps on getting better and better.”
The banter between the humans, the ponies, and the one Time Lord continued, much to the amusement of some of the ponies passing by. However none of them were aware of a mysterious man, sneaking past them almost unnoticed. He inspected the area for traps, analyzed the 11 bickering civilians, and checked his revolver. Then he emerged.
“Tell me what the hell is going on right now,” the man said, just as his golden sunglasses clicked onto his face.