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Arrival Roseluck

A breeze blew softly through the ally in the back roads of Ponyville. A silence was hushed over the town, like the whole place was holding it's breath before the great plunge it was about to take. A leaf tumbled along on the breeze, making sounds that were normally so quiet you could barely hear them over your own heartbeat. But today, it was magnified a thousand times, so that everypony in the vicinity could hear it loud and clear.

As the town stood still, one stallion moved through it. The air was suddenly filled with a low metallic siren, screeching like the wheels of a rusty cart, but deeper, and slower.

If you were standing in just the right spot, you could see a small blue corner that faded into existence. In fact, the stallion had chosen his landing point so well, that this was all you could see without him knowing.

A deep blue door creaked open, and the head of the stallion lurched out, coming to such a sudden stop that it bounced a few times. His coat was a light chestnut, with a spray of dark brown hair exploding from his head. His eyes were a delicate blue, and shifted quickly back and forth as he checked the street for onlookers.

Satisfied, he took an upright, bipedal step out of the box. He tumbled forward, rolling four or five times head over heels, finally landing on his back. His legs were up in the air, rather like a dead bug, when his eyes drifted lazily open.

He got one good look at his hooves. And that's when the trouble started.

~~~~~

"I don't know, Lily," I muttered.

"Come on, Rose! It'll be funny!" the green mare before me jumped up and down in anticipation.

"No, it'll be mean! And... no, I won't do it. That's final."

"Aw," Lily's ears drooped, "But Lyra never gets scared! She wouldn't care!"

"I don't think it's that she doesn't get scared," I explained, "She just wants us to believe she doesn't get scared."

"Ugh," Lily gave up, "You're no fun."

"Maybe not, but I have a lot of friends." I snatched the key to the front door of the shop, 'Roses are Red,' off the marble desk.

Lily followed behind me as I locked the door, "Oh, come on, please? At least help me set up the prank. Lyra won't ever need to know you were involved."

I turned my head to face her, continuing towards my apartment, mumbling around the key I was holding in my mouth, "No! Find somepony else to help you!"

"Rose, watch it!"

I turned just in time to see the face of a distracted stallion; He'd been running, looking over his shoulder. A key flew from his mouth, too, and landed near mine.

"Sorry, miss, I was just leaving. Goodbye!" He grabbed a key and continued down the street, galloping at a ridiculous pace whilst tripping over his own hooves.

Lily chuckled, "is it just me, or did he look like he'd had a bit too much fun at a party?"

"It's not just you," I said, bending down to pick up my key, "Oh, that idiot! He took my key!"

"What are you waiting for? Go get him!"

I took off down the street, trying to keep the tan earth pony in my sight. He stumbled down the street like something was after him, skittering around a corner into a nearly invisible alley.

I picked up the pace, kicking up dust, trying to make sure he didn't wander off with the only key to the store. I sped around the building, stopping myself before I smacked into the rear of the stallion. He was standing before a sort of booth, kind of like an outhouse, but with windows. It was a stark blue color, proclaiming 'Police Public Call Box' in large, bold, white letters. The stallion was, ineffectively, attempting to open the door with the other key.

"Oi!"

The stallion turned, his jaw dropping, the key clattering to the ground, "Uhhh..."

"That's my key, I'll 'ave you know," I dropped his key before him, grabbing mine and preparing to just walk away and forget everything. But--

"Wait: Where are you from?"

His accent matched mine, so I tucked the key away and said, "Great Bitton. Well, Hoofdon to be precise. Why do you ask?"

"And, Great Bitton, that's overseas, is it?" He continued, ignoring my question.

"Um... yes?" I was rather confused by his stupidity, to say the least.

"Would you mind coming in here for a moment?" He gestured to the box, and I started backing away.

"Into your snog booth? No, thanks!"

"It's not a snog booth!" He yelled. Then, under his breath, "Why do they always think I want to snog them?"

"I'm leaving, thank you," I turned to go, but he grabbed my shoulder.

"Please. You don't really have to go in, just let me open the door," He flashed a pitiful smile.

"Ugh, fine. But I'm going to stay over here," I sighed, backing to a position right at the edge of the alleyway.

As the stallion struggled with the key, I pondered slipping off, leaving him be, but he said something that changed my mind, "I need your help. Our lives, as well as the lives of countless others, are in danger. you're the one from a place with an unfamiliar name. I need to find five others, and I think you're meant to help me."

"And why should I believe you?" I asked.

"Because-- I'm telling the truth." He pushed open the door, revealing a yellow, glowing, enormous interior.

My eyes widened, my jaw practically hit the sidewalk. I gasped, the stallion just grinning away, and walked up to the box. I took a few tentative steps up to the box, then inside, my hooves clanking on the catwalk.

"But-- the inside's too big for the outside! Is this a trick? I bet it's attached to the building behind it, right?" I poked my head back out, looking at the earth pony. He closed his eyes, chuckling, and gestured for me to check.

I ran around the box, checking for a tunnel or a connection of some kind. There wasn't any.

"It's bigger on the inside!"

"I've noticed. People-- er, ponies-- always seem to think I don't know that, and feel inclined to tell me," he chuckled.

"What is it?" I asked, completely in awe.

"Now that is the right question. It's called the TARDIS," he said, as though that would mean something to me.

"Care to explain that gibberish to me?" I asked, rather rudely.

"It's an acronym."

I coughed in expectation.

"For 'Time and Relative Dimensions in Space!'" He explained, exasperated.

I laughed, "So this..." I walked up to the device, running my hoof along the side, "Is a spaceship? And it's made of wood?"

"And a time machine, yes," he confirmed.

I closed my eyes and shook my head vigorously, "No, no. This is happening too fast!"

"Too fast for what?"

"You know," I told him, "In stories and things it takes days, weeks even for this sort of thing to happen. How can I trust you? And how can you trust me? I feel like I have whiplash from plot development or something," I sat down, figuring the metaphor would make things clear to the stallion.

"I don't understand," he said, confirming that my tactic had failed.

"Well ,for starters, I don't even know your name," I told him.

"That's easy. It's 'The Doctor.' And you?"

"Roseluck--" I said distractedly "The Doctor? Doctor who?" I was baffled by his perplexing behavior, and was starting to tire of his ridiculousness.

Of course, it was an even greater surprise when he laughed out loud at the question, not in mocking, but pure joy, "That is how I know," he took hold of my hoof and pulled me inside the box, flipping switches like mad.

I heard an odd noise, something like grinding, but almost like music at the same time. A huge pillar in the middle started to slide up and down, and I sensed movement.

"WHAT THE HOOF ARE YOU DOING?!" I shrieked.

"I'm taking you on a trip you won't soon forget!" He ran up to me, stumbling over cables and wires, "Roseluck, my dear, are you ready to change history?"

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