//------------------------------// // The Hits Keep Rolling In // Story: Time Keeps Wibbling On: A Doctor Whooves Adventure // by Shotoman //------------------------------// Part 3 The Hits Keep Rolling In The Crystal Empire, at the height of King Sombra's dark reign: He strode with purpose, bypassing his various tricks and traps as if they weren't even there. His whole life was spent in ensuring his complete dominance of this cursed empire, ensuring that the ponies here bent to his will. There had only been one obstacle in his path, one thing that could have stopped him here, before his influence could spread to engulf the whole of Equestria itself, and now it was in his possession. King Sombra allowed himself a self satisfied smile as he placed his new possession on the pedestal, secured away in this extra-dimensional space located beneath his own throne room, behind a door nopony but he could open. After all, what had he to fear? The Crystal Heart, the source of the Empire's wealth and prosperity, and a mighty artifact in its own right. Sombra studied his own reflection its expertly cut faceted surface. Years of experimenting with dark magics had left him almost unrecognizable as a pony, with his glowing green and red eyes, sabre like red horn, and almost ethereal darkness that exuded from his very being, but he cared not. "Soon, my friend," he muttered as he pulled a small glass sphere from a pocket in his red fur cape. "Soon all our plans will come to fruition." Within the glass sphere a miniature blizzard raged. Yes, a voice emanated from within. It will only be a matter of time before you've crushed those accursed Princesses underhoof, letting us roam free. Sombra chuckled to himself. "Heh. Time. We have all the time in the world." With that, he let his horn flare up with its unnatural black and green flame-like aura, and he unleashed a spell of the purest dark magics upon the ancient artifact. ~DrW~ Ponyville, 1002 C.R.: "Eyes front, soldier," Ripple Pond admonished. "Remember who it is you came to this party with." The Raggedy Doctor broke his gaze from his long former companion, and looked into the pretty blue eyes of his current one. Though she still wore that amused grin, he could see the concern in her eyes. "Yes! Right! Well! Quite! Sorry, Pond," he spouted, seemingly reverting back to his childishly energetic self. Quickly spinning in a full circle to turn around, he trotted back into the ruined clock repair shop. "Come along, Ponds. And Derpy, and me. We'd better get crackin' if we wanna solve this mystery. The First Law of Time isn't something easily broken, even with the Time Chargers gone." And then he vanished back inside. "What do you suppose that was all about?" Ripple asked Blue Shield. "Well, it's hardly rocket science, is it?" he replied, gesturing to the chestnut Doctor and Derpy. "Those two are his past, right? But he's never so much as mentioned her before, has he? Big warning bells there, when you remember that he's told us about the Time War. Not exactly difficult to put two and two together." Ripple sighed as she watched Derpy and the other Doctor exchange words before they got up to follow the Raggedy Colt. "Idiot," she muttered to herself. "What? What did I do this time?" Blue Shield asked. "I wasn't talking about you, idiot. I was talking about... oh never mind and come along." Several hooves away, Derpy was eyeing her own Doctor with a serious expression on her face. "You okay, Doctor? This whole meeting-your-future-self thing seems kinda weird, even for you." The Doctor chuckled. "Oh, don't you worry about me. It's not the first time I've met myself, and it likely--well, obviously really--won't be the last. What about you, though?" "What about me?" Derpy asked, confused. "Well, it's just that... he's my future, this other Doctor, and, er..." "It's okay. Don't worry about it," she replied. "I already knew I wasn't your first traveling companion, and I guess I always kinda knew I wouldn't be your last. I'm okay with it." Her cheerful facade dropped ever so slightly as she added. "It is weird actually seeing it though. Not gonna lie." "Ah, don't you worry," the Doctor said as he draped a foreleg around Derpy's neck. "We've still got plenty of years together, you and I. You won't be getting rid of me that easy." Derpy's smile returned, just as bright and genuine as ever. "Right!" Her face fell again as they entered the building the Doctor had made his home the last couple of years. "Oh, Doctor," she said softly. "Your shop!" The place was a mess, no doubt about it. Not a single clock survived without some damage, with most being destroyed outright. The counter where the Doctor did his business was completely splintered, and right in the middle of the rubble sat the familiar form of a miniature blue barn. The Doctor, however, was unconcerned. "Don't fret, Derpy. An afternoon's work and some timey wimey cheating and she'll be good as new." The future Doctor stuck his head out the TARDIS door, huffing impatiently. "Well? Aren't the two of you the least bit curious? C'mon in. It's not like we can tangle up our timelines worse than they already are." The Ponyville Doctor found himself chuckling. "Am I always tempting fate like that?" "Yes," Derpy replied simply as she entered the little wooden box, the Doctor following behind. When she entered, she whistled appreciatively. "Y'know what, Doctor? I think its even bigger on the inside than yours is." "Yes, he has done a bit of redecorating, hasn't he?" the Doctor noted, taking in the rather extreme changes made to the TARDIS control room. "Eeeeeeh, It could've been worse. I still don't like it, mind, but it could have been worse." "Oh, yes! Still don't like it!" the future Doctor groused. "You never like it. S'not like yours is any better, you and your grunge phase." "My what?" the Ponyville Doctor responded indignantly. Derpy shared a look with the other two ponies before they broke down laughing. Their moment of frivolity was interrupted by a very familiar screeching noise. All the ponies in the room spun to look at the control console. The crystal spire in the center--one of the few semi constant things about the TARDIS--was completely still, and there were no blinking lights or shaking of the ground. Despite the familiar sound of dematerialization, they weren't moving. "Oh, what is it now?" the Raggedy Doctor asked nopony in particular. "Can't you see we were just about to have a good and proper row? Love a good row. Haven't had one against myself since that bit with Omega." "Looks like you might get another chance," Derpy said, pointing off the main catwalk and down into the maintenance area. "Look!" Before the astonished eyes of the five ponies, down in the relatively open space beneath them, another miniature blue box slowly appeared from out of thin air. Once it completely solidified, the doors opened and out stepped a rather tall pony, colored similarly to the Ponyville Doctor, but where he kept his mane short and messy, the newcomer's was almost impossibly curly. Upon his head he wore an old floppy fedora, and around his neck he wore an impossibly long, multi-colored scarf, which he had wrapped around his torso several times to keep himself from tripping. The newcomer had a wide smile on his face, revealing some rather large teeth, as he spoke with a flourish to another pony inside his box. "I bring you the Leisure Hive of Argolis," he said with a deep booming voice. "Vacation capitol of the gala...xy." His face fell as he realized he wasn't where he thought he was. A pretty young mare with straight golden hair and an off white coat exited the newly arrived TARDIS. She took in her surroundings with a smirk as she straightened the simple straw hat she had on her head. "Well, Doctor," she said in amusement. "This most certainly is not Argolis." "No, Romana, it most certainly isn't," he agreed, the five strange ponies on the catwalk above catching his eye. "And it looks like we've been called in to work."