//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Putting the Pieces Back Together // by Wheller //------------------------------// Chapter 3 Derpy was dumbfounded to say the least. She wasn't exactly the smartest pony in Equestria, but she did have enough sense that what she was looking at shouldn't be possible. "It travels through Time and Space too," the Doctor said proudly. Derpy looked at him with as much of an annoyed glare as she could manage. "You don't honestly expect me to believe that load of oatmeal do you?!" "You're standing in a 1963 London Metropolitan Police Box that's bigger on the inside than the outside," the Doctor said frowning at his guest. "Is being able to travel through time and space really any more farfetched than that?" Derpy did not know what London Metropolitan was, but she supposed the pony had a point. "Prove it then." The Doctor smiled and went over the control panel, he started flipping switches, pushing buttons, and pulling pull cords, plus a number of other actions that looked like, and may have been, complete nonsense. The box started making an odd high pitched "whirring" noise that sounded like somepony was having trouble breathing. "Won't go far, just a week in advance." The Doctor said. Derpy heard a bell chime and the Doctor grinned like a madpony. He threw a coat over his shoulders and walked over to the door. "Not to worry, we'll be perfectly fine," the Doctor said nonchalantly. He pushed open the door and walked outside. "Not like the world is going to have ended or... any... thing." The Doctor and Derpy were in the same spot that they had been in before, night had fallen, but more importantly, the entire Everfree forest was on fire. "... Well. That was unexpected," The Doctor said. Derpy's jaw practically hit the ground. How could this happen. From the edge of the Everfree forest, she and the doctor saw several ponies running frantically away from something. "RUN!" one of them, a filly's voice, screamed. "RUN FASTER!" A cloud of thick black smoke poured from the forest, seeming to have a mind of its own, it was chasing after the ponies, and it wouldn't be long before it overtook them. One of the ponies, the filly whose voice they'd heard before turned around on a bit and called back to her companions. "Derpy, Doctor! Get out of here! Trixie will hold it off!" The other two stopped in their tracks and looked back at their companion. "Are you crazy!?" The other filly called; strangely enough Derpy recognised it as her voice! "Trixie will be fine! Just go!" the first filly said. It was this moment that the Doctor had placed his hoof on Derpy's shoulder, "It's time to go. I'm sorry, but we can't interfere inside our own time lines." Derpy had no idea what the Doctor was talking about. But she could tell from the look in his eyes that he wasn't happy to be abandoning that group of ponies to their fate. She followed him back into the box, closing the door behind her. "Okay! Time to leave!" the Doctor called out fiddling with the controls. The box whirred and the two ponies exited the box to find themselves back where they started. "What just happened?"Derpy asked looking at the Doctor in confusion. Her looked at her and frowned. "I don't know." Derpy looked down at the ground. "I don't even know who that other pony was." The Doctor nudged Derpy and she looked up from the ground. Standing in front of them was an azure unicorn with cyan mane. Her mouth was wide open. "Box... appears from nowhere!" The Unicorn said. Derpy recognised the voice as belonging to the filly she had seen go against the black smoke. She eyed the Doctor; there was no way that this could be a coincidence. "Humph," the Unicorn snorted. "Turning an object invisible is amateur magic! Trixie can do better!" Derpy and the Doctor looked at each other and smirked slightly. "You want to be impressed?" The Doctor said. "Take a step inside." Trixie raised an eyebrow at the Doctor. She had clearly come to the conclusion that the box was too small to fit even one pony in it. "Very well, Trixie will humour you, and your pathetic display of magic." Trixie said, walking past Derpy. The Doctor opened the door for her with a smirk as Trixie went inside. "WHAT?" Trixie shouted from inside. "It's...! It's...!" "Bigger on the inside than the outside," Derpy said. "Everypony says that." Trixie grabbed Derpy's shoulders and pulled her close. "You must tell Trixie how this is possible!" Derpy gave her a nervous smile, she hadn't the foggiest idea, nor did she know what to say that would make her happy. "It was grown that way!" The Doctor exclaimed. Trixie was not pleased by this answer. She sighed and released Derpy, and sat down regally on the boxes floor. "The Great and Powerful Trixie is not leaving this spot until she learns the truth of this magic box!" She proclaimed majestically. "Fair enough," The Doctor said, a mischievous grin forming on his face. He closed the boxes door and went over to the controls. "Derpy was it? Where exactly are you from?" "It's a little town called Ponyville, why?" Derpy asked. Trixie's eyes popped open, a nervous look formed on her face. "Obviously, were going to go there!" the Doctor proclaimed cheerfully. "What?" Trixie piped from her spot on the floor. The Doctor flipped a switch and the whirring noise again filled the room, the box began to buck about wildly, sending an unprepared Trixie flying from her spot and into the wall. Derpy started cheering as if it were a roller coaster she was riding. "Trixie is going to be sick!" Trixed shouted as she slid down the floor again. The box quickly came to a halt. Derpy giggled slightly at Trixie and opened the door to the outside world. However she was shocked to see what she had found. She was in the high street, and in front of her was Sugarcube Corner. She slammed the door shut in a panic. Yesterday it was gone, and today it's back? Impossible, unless... "Trixie? What's the date today?" Derpy asked. Trixie popped her head up, a hoof clutching it in pain from the small bump she'd gotten. "It's August 9th, Year 1000 of Celestia's reign." Derpy's eyes shrunk. "Doctor! It was November 17th year 1001 when we left!" "Oopsie!" The Doctor said sheepishly. "Not to worry. I have a time machine!" He fiddled with the controls again, and soon enough, the box began bucking about, catching Trixie off guard again. "And there we go!" The Doctor said. "November 17th, 1001!" Derpy poked her head out the door. Sugarcube corner was gone, replaced by the giant crater that currently occupied the lot. Derpy sighed in relief. Trixie took a peek outside the door, discovering that they had indeed moved. "You've kidnapped Trixie!" she exclaimed. The Doctor merely chuckled at her. "You insisted in not moving." Trixie looked bleakly at the other ponies. She barricaded herself in front of the door, blocking the Doctor and Derpy's exit. "Trixie cannot go out there!" "Oh, why is that?" The Doctor asked. Trixie slumped to the floor, a frown forming on her face. "Trixie did not leave Ponyville on the best of terms. Last time Trixie was here, Trixie made a fool of herself and was run out of town." The Doctor smiled at her. "Oh come on now. I'm sure everything will be fine! Come out with us!" Trixie reluctantly rose to her hooves and stepped outside the box. From her point of view, it had only been several days since Trixie was here last... but the town had changed significantly. Everything looked beat up, there was severe damage to many buildings, and some of them destroyed completely. Trixie, Derpy, and the Doctor stood in the middle of the High Street; many ponies were walking by, going about their business, not paying them much of any attention. "I... do not understand," Trixie said dropping her third person speech, fearing that somepony would recognise her. "It travels through time and space!" The Doctor said, whispering into her ear, Trixie ended up believing him; if the box was bigger on the inside than the outside, why should it not be able do something as spectacular as that? The town clinic's two nurses walked into view, they were carrying a stretcher, and something was on it covered in a white sheet. Suddenly the street grew quieter than what seemed possible. Derpy didn't understand. She looked around for someone that she knew to tell her what happened. Trailing a few metres behind the nurses was Twilight Sparkle. She was looking at the ground, not really paying attention as she walked. Trixie began to cringe to herself; Derpy however didn't notice the unicorn's apprehension and called over to her. Twilight looked up at Derpy, the Doctor, and Trixie standing in the High Street and smiled faintly at the trio. "Hi Derpy," she said, forcing as much cheerfulness as she could, but to no avail. "When did you get out of the Hospital?" "A week ago," Derpy said. "Can you tell me what happened?" Twilight looked uncomfortable with the question, Derpy was quick to pick up on it and retract her question, Twilight looked grateful for it and gave the wall-eyed Pegasus as best a smile as she could. Twilight at this moment took more notice of Derpy's companions. She looked at Trixie, staring intently at the azure unicorn, which she gave an odd smile. "Wait right here." Trixie did her best to hide her nervousness at Twilight's command. Clearly the purple unicorn had recognised her, her first instinct was to turn and run for it. But where would she go? The Doctor and Derpy had taken her from her own time and brought her here. It was a year later than she belonged; she had nothing to go to. Twilight Sparkle came back into view. Trixie began to panic; she had no idea what Twilight Sparkle had in mind for her. Twilight smiled at Trixie and opened her saddlebag and gave the contents to her. Trixie gasped, it was her hat and cape! Clean and neatly folded as if it had only been a day since she had seen them, of course from her point of view, that's all it had been, she looked at Twilight Sparkle intensely, expecting some kind of trick. But when Twilight didn't do anything to suggest that it was, Trixie took them and placed the hat on her head and tied the cape around her neck. No magical traps went off, much to Trixie's surprise; she smiled, and looked at Twilight Sparkle and quietly managed a 'thank you.' "You're welcome," Twilight said, smiling the best that she could. She looked at Derpy's other companion, who was not somepony that she recognised. "I'm the Doctor," the earth pony said beating her to the punch. "Just the Doctor!" "Nice to meet you Doctor," Twilight said not bothering to question him about his name. "I'd love to stay and chat... but I have something I need to take care of." She trotted off slowly behind Nurse Redheart and Nurse Tenderheart, who had stopped for a moment to allow her to catch up. "That was a body," the Doctor said. "What? Whose?" Trixie asked. "I don't know... I don't know..."