Chapter 2: Hold On Tight
All three of the fillies were holding on the railing as the TARDIS rocked back and forth. Their cries for help were full of panic and fear.
The brown stallion, however, kept his calm demeanor about him. Closing the door he had just leapt through to board the TARDIS, he carefully trotted up to the platform.
He spoke to the youngsters, “Keep calm, girls. Just need to settle the old TARDIS down….somehow.” His words were comforting to the fillies. At the console, the stallion pulled a few certain levers and pressed a few buttons. Within moments, the entire room not only stopped shaking, but a stillness filled the atmosphere.
“Wow….how did you do that?” Scootaloo was the first speak to the brown pony.
Taking a moment to catch his breath, he turned around and answered, “Easy, I’m the Doctor!” The tone of his voice seemed to have a touch of cockiness.
“Doctor?” Applebloom tilted her head after she got back up on her hooves, “Doctor who?”
The yellow filly’s question simply made the Doctor smile even more, “Now that’s a long story. Anyway, back to the matter at hand, getting you girls back home.” The Doctor looked at the console in a very intensive manner. However, his expression changed from that of a joyful smile to a bleak stare. He quickly shuffled around the console looking at the different lights, screens, and other items. “Oh dear, this is looking quite grim.”
“What’s the matter, Mr. Doctor?” Sweetie Belle asked.
Hopping down the stairs of the platform, the Doctor started to speak, “First, don’t ever call me anything other than the ‘Doctor’. Except maybe ‘John Smith’ or ‘Theta Sigma’.” The Doctor turned around and corrected himself, “Wait, don’t call me any of those. Just call me the ‘Doctor’.” He then resumed his trotting to the door. Opening it wide open, a bright light flooded into the TARDIS.
The three fillies shielded their eyes from the brightness and trotted over to where the Doctor was by the door. The four ponies looked out to see a supernova amongst the blackness of space. The Doctor instantly recognized the star.
“This is bad. We’re heading straight for that hypergiant star. The Pistol Star of all stars.” The Doctor spoke, “We’re caught in its gravitational pull. I say we have an hour at most.”
“Wait, we’re flying into that sun?” Scootaloo pointed out of the TARDIS door to the star.
“To answer your question, yes. But it’s not a sun. Well, to some planet and race, I’m sure it is, but out here in space, it’s a star,” the Doctor explained.
Applebloom poked her head out of the TARDIS door and looked around “How are we still breathin’ with the door open?”
“A protective atmosphere bubble keeps us safe.” The Doctor simply stated as he grabbed the doors to close. However, he was interrupted before he could shut the them.
“Then won’t it keep us safe if we run into the sun?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“It’s not the heat or the atmosphere that would kill us, it’s the impact of crashing on to that star’s surface,” with that statement, the Doctor shut the door.
Returning to his console, he looked around at the instruments all over in hopes to find the cause of the problem, “What could be causing this problem? Why are we being flung straight into a star? Wouldn’t the TARDIS simply orbit the star instead of throwing us at it? Maybe this is revenge for throwing the manual into a supernova.”
The three ponies returned to the platform with the Doctor. Scootaloo spoke, “You threw the manual into a supernova?”
“Yes, because I disagreed with it! Why does every single individual that I say that to think that’s weird?” The Doctor proclaimed.
The fillies didn’t reply. Instead, they all gave each other uneasy looks.
“Ah ha! That’s why you haven’t been working, you need zeiton 7. How could I be so daft?” the Doctor talked to the machinery.
“Are you talking to the machine?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“The old girl can hear me. She’s a wonderful machine, you know. I take care of her and she takes care of me,” the Doctor quickly turned to face the fillies, “Now, I need the help of you three. What are your names?”
“Wha?” This sudden change caught the Cutie Mark Crusaders off guard.
The Doctor restated what he said, “Come along, I might not have been Equestria long, but I know for a fact your species have names to express your individuality.”
The girls answered him.
“I’m Sweetie Belle.”
“Scootaloo.”
“Ah’m Applebloom.”
A warm smile appeared on the Doctor’s face, “Wonderful, beautiful names. Now, I need two of you to go deep inside the TARDIS and find a small container of zeiton 7 about this size.” The Doctor held his hooves up to show the size of the container.
“I’ll go!” Sweetie Belle loudly announced.
“Me too,” Applebloom stated.
“Excellent. The vial is in a silverish container and might be near the Zero Room. Just follow the signs,” the Doctor instructed.
“What about me?” Scootaloo asked eagerly.
“You, my little pegasus, will be helping me make some much needed repairs up here….with this!” from seemingly out of nowhere, the Doctor produced a small cylinder device that popped upward and had a green light. He turned his attention back to all three ponies, “We all know our roles, right? Meet back here as soon as you find it. Ready, break!”