Time Keeps Wibbling On: A Doctor Whooves Adventure

by Shotoman

Piece By Piece

Part 6
Piece By Piece

The TARDIS kitchen, 1002 C.R.

Being the infinitely modular piece of technology that it was, the TARDIS was capable of creating a kitchen a five star restaurant would be proud of--and actually had on more than one occasion. Even so, the kitchen that the four companions discovered was a small little thing, very rustic, with wood paneling, a small dining table, and all the necessities, but little more. The only out of place thing in the whole room was a what appeared to be a small vending machine built into one wall, advertizing various flavors of 'nutrient packs.' Ripple Pond suspected that, given the familiarity that their odd grey pegasus 'host' bounded around the room with, that this kitchen was probably made specifically for Derpy back in the day.

"So you're Romana, huh?" Derpy asked as she expertly broke a pair of eggs into the batter she was making.

"So you've heard of me, then?" Romana asked with a smirk.

"Once," Derpy replied, with a simple smile that didn't quite hide a sense of sadness. Then, completely changing tacks, she asked, "Do all Time Chargers have clock things for their cutie marks?"

"Hmm?" Romana replied, casting a glance back at the mark on her flank--a surprisingly detailed and delicate table clock under a glass dome--for the first time in... a long time, really. "Honestly, I hadn't thought on it much. The mark itself is much less important in Time Charger culture than in most others. But now that it's been brought to my attention... I suppose we do. Everyone that I've met at least."

"Not really surprising, that," Blue Shield responded. "When a group of ponies gets really good at certain things, their cutie marks tend to have similar themes. With all the different generations of Apples we've met over the years, I think we've only ever met one who's cutie mark didn't have anything to do with, well apples."

Derpy nodded as she stirred up the mix. If there was a word she'd use to describe Blue Shield it was... normal. Or perhaps average. Good looking, but not enough to really stand out, kinda awkward and quiet. His cutie mark told a much bolder story, though, being a blue cross on top an old fashioned night guard colt's sword. This quiet unassuming stallion was both a healer and a protector. "Raisins?" Derpy asked, holding up a bag of them.

Ripple Pond and Blue Shield spoke up at the same time, Ripple saying "Yes" and Blue Shield saying "No." Blue cast a quick glance at Ripple before amending with "Yes."

Derpy smirked as she separated some of the batter into a smaller bowl before adding the raisins to the first. Ripple Pond reminded her of Rainbow Dash somewhat. Abrasive, self centered, and kind of annoying, but those same words could be applied to the Doctor just as easily. Her cutie mark was interesting--an apple with a happy face cut into it. Derpy was pretty sure Ripple Pond didn't have anything to do with apple farming. The mark had to have a particularly personal meaning, much like Derpy's own bubbles.

Derpy separated the batter into baking pans, ready to go, when suddenly she stopped, her eyes widening and briefly focusing. Then the other three ponies jumped as she fell to the floor screaming.

~DrW~

The silent, psychic conversation between the four Doctors was cut short when Ten and Eleven suddenly fell over gasping. "Eh? What was that?" Four asked in confusion as he and Eight watched their older selves pick themselves back up, though they were noticeably shaken and weak.

Ten shook his head. "A feeling I only felt once, but one I'll never forget."

"You'll remember it, Eight," Eleven said. "The ever so happy and free feeling of having a chunk of your own soul ripped out, with an empty hole where it used to be."

"Oh," Eight responded. "That."

"Mind filling me in?" Four asked.

"You were part of it, too, actually," Eight said. "But you were on the other side of it, one of the causes, of a sort. Remember, Borusa, the Game of Rasstallion, the Master? Past selves being ripped from their place in time?"

Four's eyes widened even further than usual. "Including myself. Oh. I say, that is rather alarming."

"Process of elimination being what is, it must have been my successor that was taken," Eight theorized.

Ten and Eleven shared an uncomfortable glance before Ten nodded. "Right. Makes finding the gap easy." Closing his eyes, Ten searched through his memories. He chose not to go over the Time War. Personal pain aside, the War was quantum locked. Though the Laws of Time could be bent and even broken, breaking through to that was well and truly impossible. So that left the early years afterward. When he was bitter, and grumpy, and... "Oh," Ten breathed as his eyes popped open.

"What is it?" Eleven asked.

"What do you think it is?" Ten replied irritably. After a moment of thinking, Eleven's eyes widened. "Derpy!" they both said together, before galloping full speed into the deeper recesses of the TARDIS, despite their weakness.

~DrW~

Ten arrived first, stopping short at the sight. Derpy was writhing on the ground, screaming wordlessly as Blue Shield struggled to get her to calm down. "Oi, c'mon, stop that," he was grumbling as he dodged another hoof. "I can't help you if you don't let me!"

"You can't do much to help her in any event," Romana said in a calm but sympathetic voice. "There is nothing wrong with her physically. It's a temporal matter."

Eleven arrived at that moment, just as Ten dove in and grabbed Derpy by the forehooves. "'Ey, Derpy! It's me, the Doctor."

Derpy's eyes focused on her Doctor, tears streaming down her face. Then he saw something he didn't expect. Anger. Then she slapped him in the face. "You didn't come back!" she shouted. "You promised you'd come back in a week! Why didn't you come back!?"

The Doctor pulled her in and began stroking her mane. "Oh, Derpy. Derpy, Derpy, Derpy. Derpina Merengue Hooves. I didn't come back? What rubbish is that? 'Course I came back. I always came back."

Derpy clamped her eyes shut as more tears fell. "It hurts, Doctor," she whimpered.

"Yeah. I know."

Ripple Pond looked up from the scene before her and locked eyes with her Doctor. His expression was worryingly blank. Then he turned and stumbled back out the door. Out in the hallway, he ran into his other two selves. "D'you think you could do me a favor?" he asked Eight. "Get Derpy to the Quiet Room. Pretty sure the me in there isn't in any shape to do so."

"Right," Eight agreed with a nod, as Eleven continued to stumble down the hall.

He didn't get very far when he was stopped by Ripple Pond's voice calling for him. He wearily turned to see her looking at him worriedly. "You okay?" She asked.

The Doctor chuckled humorously. "Not really, no."

"What... what happened to her?"

The Doctor sighed. "Just about the worst bit of timey wimey nonsense that can be done to a time traveler. Someone or something has removed a chunk of my past. And that chunk... well, it was my early days with her. Really, by all rights time should have overwritten her completely, but well..."

"She's special, isn't she?"

The Doctor smiled. "Ah, Ripple Pond. All of my companions are special. Each one of them hold irreplaceable places in these hearts of mine." He bumped foreheads with her. "That includes you, you know. Ripple Pond, the Filly who Waited, First Face this Face Ever Saw."

Ripple grinned. "Well of course. But..."

"But, you know, these little get togethers of mine are hard. Take Mr. Charmer. Notice that he arrived completely alone? He's running from a really major decision right now and I know for a fact that he doesn't have all that much time left before the choice catches up with him. Similar thing with Hat 'n Scarf and Romana. He doesn't know it of course, but they've got, maybe, a year or so left--relatively speaking--before she leaves."

"And Derpy?"

"Ah, yes. Derpy. She was something. Just what I needed in fact. I'm sure you've seen it, right? The way she instantly recognized me? How she's able to keep up in the timey wimey talk, despite less than flattering first impressions? Even more important for me when I met her, her ability to stay cheerful no matter the situation."

Ripple Pond nodded. She hadn't known Derpy very long, but the description was accurate. "Why is she so affected by this an not you? I mean, it is your life."

The Doctor gave her a sad smile. "Who said I'm not affected?" Ripple now saw for the first time the sweat beading on his brow, and the shakiness in his legs.

Ripple sighed. "That mess there in the kitchen. It was all really familiar, wasn't it? Memories both with you and without you? It was... kinda eerie, really."

"Yeah..." the Doctor conceded for a moment, before he was hit by a sudden realization. A moment of silence later and he was laughing hysterically. "Oh, oh. That is good. That is very... You are a genius!" Ripple smirked, perfectly aware he wasn't speaking to her at the moment.

"Oi!" She shouted as he ran back the way he came. "Where are you going?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" he asked giddily. "I'm off to do a thing! This is my 'I'm going to do a thing' face. And what a thing it's gonna be!"

A genuine grin formed on Ripple Pond's face. "And after that...?"

"After that, Ripple Pond? Get your coat!"

Comments

[DelphiDovahkiin]

I'm enjoying this. Have you ever read The Ten Doctors?

[Shotoman]

3898731
Yeah. I've totally read the Ten Doctors. This will be a smaller scale story than that one, naturally, but there will be some influences. I've already made a brief reference to it earlier when Four first showed up and using their numbers as names rather than continually writing the Eleventh Doctor or something probably came from there.

[MrAskAPirate]

"After that, Ripple Pond? Get your coat!"

Ah, a callback to one of my favorite lines,

[gvozdengrom]

Ya know, I generaly don't care for Doctor Whoves stories. They just somehow fall flat.
This? This I like

[Shotoman]

3899768
I'm glad to hear that. I hope you'll give my other stuff a try, too (Storm of Chaos, primarily as it's the direct prequel, but I think you'd enjoy my other stories, too).

[Seraphem]

WHY DID YOU NOT TELL ME THERE WAS AN UPDATE FIMFICTION!

But, DAMN, okay so something really bad happened to Nine. And, Derpy,. just, Derpy. Best companion ever!

Now to see what this 'thing' will be.

Loving this so so much!

[TrueBlueTardis]

3910364 Haven't read yet, but your comment implies that something bad happened to Doctor #9. NO NOT 9 HES MAI FAVORITE! NUUUUUU!

[Tribal Timelord]

Don't tell me something bad happened to Nine! He's my favorite Doctor of them all!

Pic slightly related
i.imgur.com/NHKbz.gif

[MisterSpiffy]

I love the inside joke reference to the 3 Doctors. Warms my heart. I miss Jo Grant.