The next half hour was spent in silence. The Baker sat, glaring at the Doctor. The Doctor tried to focus on the TARDIS screens. Anything to avoid that burning gaze. Derpy had yet to arrive, which was beginning to worry the Doctor.
Derpy had taken to the skies while the Dalek was focused on the Baker and himself. The Daleks had no reason to pursue Derpy. So where was she? Had she decided that enough was enough and left for good? No, she wouldn't abandon him like that. All he could do was wait.
The Doctor pulled a lever and pressed three buttons. The temporal readout vanished from the screen and was replaced by a program searching for a planet made of muffins. Ever since the Doctor had mentioned the place, Derpy was obsessed. To be honest, the Doctor only had a vague memory of the planet. He was having breakfast at the console one day and had dropped the banana nut muffin he was eating. Before he could say "Bugger", the TARDIS had landed and he was on a planet that grew muffins. He grabbed a replacement and off he went. He had never returned or really thought about it. For all he knew the planet didn't exist in this dimension. If Gallifrey was Gallopfrey, what's stopping Muffin Planet from being Cupcake Planet. All of this was making the Doctor crave an English Muffin...or maybe just some butter to calm his nerves.
The Doctor flipped a switch and the program was replaced with a warning that read "WARNING: CHAMELEON CIRCUIT MALFUNCTION. PLEASE SEEK NEAREST TARDIS TECHNICIAN IMMEDIATELY." The Doctor ignored the warning as he always had and continued to let his mind wander.
Gallopfrey. How could it be gone if he hadn't been in this dimension? The Baker said he had long since done it, which was true...with Gallifrey. If this version of Gallifrey was gone before he had ever landed in this dimension, how could he have been involved? Which brought up the matter of the Daleks. If he had never met the Daleks, fought them, or destroy them...then how are they enemies? Granted the Daleks aren't known for their allies. It still seems odd to single him out as an enemy rather than refer to the Time Lords as a whole as enemies. It's unlikely for him to be recognized at all, let alone anger an entire race and destroy another. Especially two regenerations prior. He had never visited a equine dimension two regenerations ago or ever for that matter. He'd sure as hell remember that.
The Doctor grabbed the screen and walked with it. The screen clicked along its track until it was facing completely out of the Baker's view. The Doctor pressed more buttons and even threw a lever for effect. He loved doing that.
The screen showed the figure of the Baker, still glaring at him. Blue horizontal lines ran down the image, followed by two vertical lines. Words began to fill the space next to the Baker's image.
NAME: Unknown
ALIAS: The Baker
SPECIES: Gallifreyan Variation
AGE ESTIMATE: 300 Years
REGENERATION ESTIMATE: 2nd
ANALYSIS: DNA seems Gallifreyan in base, mutated from humanoid to more equine-like. This mutation seems stable but completely unknown. Mane follicles seem to have inbuilt Gallifreyan technology.
CONCLUSION: Approach with caution.
The Doctor looked around the screen at the Baker herself. She continued glaring. Inbuilt Gallifreyan Technology? In her mane?
"You know," The Baker broke the silence. "It's rude to use Sonic Scanners to Molecularly Analyse a lady without her permission."
The Baker's eyes narrowed as if she was trying to light him on fire.
"Um...Sorry." The Doctor then became more enthusiastic in his words. "I've just never met a Time Lord of this dimension. I'm surprised you aren't called *he he* Time Horses, or Horse Lords, or *snicker* Lords of Horse-y Time.....Horse-y Time *ah ha ha ha ha ha*."
The Doctor began laughing to himself. The Baker began to roll her eyes but stopped suddenly.
"Wait...This Dimension?"
The Doctor's laughter was cut short as he cleared his throat. He pulled a lever on the console and walked to face the Baker.
"Yes, this dimension. I'm originally from a dimension where the more default state of a creature is bipedal. We don't have this arcane energy that seems to make up this universe. We are more reliant on technology. Regardless, my TARDIS brought me here not too long ago for a reason I have yet to determine." The Doctor paused staring down at his hooves. "I have no idea how to get back."
"How long ago?"
"Do you remember when Nightmare Moon tried to take over?"
"Of course. I am the element of laughter. Well, WAS anyway."
The Baker retrieved the pocket watch and studied it.
"Well I arrived earlier that day and met Derpy Hooves."
The Baker looked up at the Doctor.
"Wait, I remember seeing you. You were in THIS regeneration."
"Yes...? I haven't been in this dimension that long."
"That's impossible..." The Baker put away the watch. "You're lying!"
"If I were lying, do you honestly think I would design my console to be difficult to drive with HOOVES?"
The Doctor emphasised his point by trying to turn the Turn-y Crank with his hoof. His hoof kept slipping off the grip. Definitely designed for fingers.
The Baker continued to stare, a mixture of surprise and confusion on her face.
"And if you need more proof..." The Doctor walked around the console and pushed the screen sideways with enough effort that it stopped before the Baker. "There!"
She read the screen. She looked up at the Doctor.
"You put up a Truth Field?"
"I did indeed. I knew you wouldn't believe me without proof and there's proof."
"Please turn it off." The Baker asked with a shocked expression.
The Doctor tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. He shrugged and pushed a lever. A powering down sound was heard.
"But...." She began. "You can't have just arrived. You've been here long before."
"Well, timelines don't always meet up the right way. You should know that, you're a Time Lord!"
"I didn't mean it like that! I mean you've been here at earlier points on your timeline. Earlier regenerations."
".....what?"
"I've found records in several databases. Along with your destruction of Gallopfrey. I guess...it wasn't you that destroyed Gallopfrey then."
The Doctor shook his head and sat down. He leaned against the console, staring into the distance. He was lost in thought. The Baker sat next to him. She dug in her mane and retrieved a white bag.
"Would you like a Jelly Filly?" The Baker offered the bag full of sweets.
"...yeah..thank-Wait a minute. Did you pull that out your mane?"
"Umm...yes? My mane is enchanted with a Spatial Compression Field. Basic Gallopfreyan technology."
The Doctor looked confused.
"My mane is bigger on the inside. Haven't you wondered why it's in a constant state of poof?"
The Doctor raised an eyebrow and rubbed his chin.
"Yes." said the Doctor. "Yes, that makes sense."
The Doctor grabbed this 'Jelly Filly' candy he was offered and popped it into his mouth.
Yup. Just a pony shaped Jelly Baby.
***
After the two had emptied the bag of its sweets, the Baker started to talk.
"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't exactly leave my Doctor on the best of terms when we last met."
"Yeeeah, Article 42.3 is there for a reason."
The Baker looked at the Doctor completely confused. The Doctor met her look and raised an eyebrow.
"Article 42.3?" The Doctor asked "The Shadow Proclamation? Come on! That's day one in the Academy!"
The Baker continued her look and it finally clicked.
"You..." The Doctor began "...were not born on Gallopfrey were you?"
The Baker looked down at her hooves.
"No, I was not. I was born long after Gallopfrey was gone. I did try to get every piece of information I could and recreate it for myself, but there wasn't much to find. Though my searching did find that it was destroyed...by YOU!"
The Baker slammed her forehoof on the TARDIS floor. The resulting CLANG echoed slightly. The Baker took a deep breath and sighed.
"Sorry...by your dimensional doppelganger. Anyway, I wanted to recreate an image of Gallopfrey. To see the beauty I only heard of in tales passed down to me. I made this a life goal of mine. Then I found out that a pony I trusted had been the one to destroy it. Beautiful Gallopfrey. All those innocent Time Lords gone. Millennia of technological advancment trashed. I suppose you can see why I might be a bit angry."
The Doctor remained silent. Static started coming from the screen. The Doctor and Baker quickly got to their hooves.
The image that displayed was a Dalek, that quickly spoke.
"OUR LEADER WOULD LIKE A WORD WITH THE DOCTOR."
"Fine." The Doctor said. "Put them on."
"Dalek diplomacy, that's new." Joked the Baker.
"THE DOCTOR WILL MEET THE DALEK LEADER ONE ON ONE."
"Why would he fall into such an obvious trap?" asked the Baker, eyes narrowing.
"BECAUSE WE HAVE HIS COMPANION."
The Dalek moved aside showing an unconscious Derpy in a cell towards the back of the room. She looked dirty from what might have been a fight, but overall unharmed.
"Derpy! NO!" The Doctor shouted. He grabbed the screen as the Dalek moved back into frame. "You listen to me, you fancy rubbish bin. You harm her in any way and I will make you regret it for the rest of your life."
"THE DOCTOR WILL MEET WITH THE DALEK LEADER."
With that the transmission was cut.
The Doctor sighed and released the screen. The Baker was staring at him, surprised.
"What?" asked the Doctor.
"I've never seen you angry before."
"Well, the Daleks just did something that half the universe is smart enough to know not to....They made me mad."
***
The Doctor traced the signal of the transmission to a building on the moon. He wasted no time setting the coordinates into the TARDIS. With that he flipped a switch and the TARDIS dematerialized.
The Baker remained silent and out of the way. The Doctor was obviously very angry. He was working at the TARDIS console silently and with an angered expression. With a Doctor that was normally smiling and amazed at everything, this was a bad sign.
Once the TARDIS had landed the Doctor walked to doors that led outside. He stopped and looked over his shoulder at the Baker. The Baker still sat off to the side and was just watching the Doctor.
"You coming?" The Doctor asked, a touch of impatience in his voice.
The Baker got up and followed the Doctor. If his dimensional counterpart destroyed an entire race, then an angry Doctor is never good. Best to stay on this Doctor's good side.
The Doctor opened the doors to reveal the same room they saw on the transmission. The walls were grey and metallic, as were the floors and ceiling. On one side was a console of many lights and displays. A rather stunned Dalek was at one of the screens and was turning to face them. On the other side of the room was a cell with-
"DERPY!" shouted the Doctor as he ran to the bars of the cell. "Derpy, can you hear me? Derpy!"
In the Doctor's voice were hints of desperation and denial. He never wanted anything to happen to Derpy. He cared about her too deeply to let her get hurt...or worse. The Baker could hear the scars of his hearts in his voice. How many more times could it possibly break?
Derpy did not get up.
"Derpy...please..." The Doctor pleaded. Tears began to build in his eyes.
Derpy did not move.
The Baker walked up to the Doctor and placed a hoof on his shoulder. The Doctor muttered a faint "No..." as he let his head fall forward and hit the bars. An echoing CLANK was heard.
Derpy's ear twitched upon hearing the noise. She still remained unmoving otherwise.
The Doctor's eyes grew wide. He wiped away tears and sighed with relief. He reached through the bars and gently shook Derpy.
"Derpy?"
She seemed slightly cold, but alive.
The Doctor turned to the Dalek, his rage alight once more. He approached it until his face was looking directly into the eye stalk.
"What have you done to her?"
"SHE WAS SEDATED, AS REQUESTED BY THE DALEK LEADER."
The Doctor found relief in that. Sedation was good. People wake up from sedation generally, no reason for ponies to be different.
"Well." said the Doctor more coolly "Take me to your leader...I have always wanted to say that."
The Baker audibly facehoofed in the background. The Doctor let out a slight chuckle.
"What are we in a bad Sci-Fi movie or something?" she said through her hoof.
***
The Doctor and Baker were led to a giant door by the Dalek. The Dalek moved to the side of the door as it opened inward.
The room was large and mostly empty. From the door led a red carpet. At the end of the carpet stood a cylindrical platform that was very Dalek-like in style. On the top of the cylinder was a glass dome with the same two light cylinders on the top as the Daleks. Inside the glass dome was a plasma that was so dark blue that it was almost black. This plasma seemed to slowly flow in random patterns.
The Doctor and Baker walked into the room as the door closed behind them.
"Greetings" said a female voice that seemed to echo but not off the walls of the room. The lights on the cylinder prooved that it was the one speaking. "I am the Dalek Leader, but you might know me better as Nightmare Moon."
...now THAT'S a twist!
Ooo, is Nightmare Moon the Davros of this dimension? Neat.
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Oh fuck, it's Nightmare Moon.
DUN DUN DUNNN!!!!
Wow. Just whoa...
Betrayals that have not yet taken place;
shattered lives.
This is what they may soon experience. I pray for the retreat of the Daleks.
Awaiting further releases.
Yup that is the doctor the universes oldest 5 year old
I am now befuddled.
Baker..... Tom Baker.... The Baker..... Jelly baby... Jelly filly...
it all makes sense now...
Poof is an epic word
poof I love that word
Pinkie's mane would be bigger on the inside.
Obviously.
Wait... What happens when it falls flat?
3922078 It turns off and she has a tea party with whatever falls out?
3922096 THAT
is a good explanation
...Didn't see THAT coming. and now i have over 25 possible theory's on whats the BUCK is happening.
There is punctuation missing here, either a period or a comma. If you decide on a comma, the o should be lowercase.
The comma here is superfluous.
I would have thought it would have been the Nightmare essence that created both Nightmare Moon and Nightmare Rarity that took over the Daleks. Not Nightmare Moon herself. They must have traveled back in time. It could still be the Nightmare essence thinking that it is Nightmare Moon. Actually when I read "building on the moon," the first thing to pop into my head was that line from Smith and Jones, "Judoon platoon upon the moon."
KBO.
3922682 Then my work here is complete. *bows*
Wow I feel sorry for Nightmare Moon.
Now what happens when the Baker discovers that while the Doctor didn't destroy Gallopfrey he did destroy Gallifrey
Hmm...you know I think I'm going to stop trying to figure out what's going on now and just go with the flow and see what happens. It seems easier that way.
Aww man, and he was gonna save her too.
3923314 Aw, what's the fun in that?
I'm calling River
Nightmare moon is Davros?
Sure, we'll go with that.
Is it possible that making Daleks were her pastime during her stay on the moon? Or maybe Davros tried to gain the moon's power by taking over Luna in order to wipe out the inferior races so only Him/Nightmare moon and the Daleks would survive?
Oooooo, so many possibilities. Thats what I like about The Doctor's adventures.
3923038 He didn't destroy Gallifrey and by extension I'm pretty sure that the other Doctor didn't destroy Gallopfrey either.
I'm calling the Doctor's daughter. It all makes perfect sense, how she said she trusted him, how she was born after the fall of Gallopfrey, and how she's on her second regeneration.
3924773 Not trying to spoil anything, but just something I thought I might want to clear up. Even if the Doctor didn't destroy Gallifrey (and Gallopfrey by extension), he thinks he did. He doesn't learn that he didn't until his 11th regeneration (Or 13th if you want to be accurate). His other selves forgot their entire encounter because of some paradox mumbo-jumbo. Like if the 10th Doctor thought he didn't destroy Gallifrey, then he may have been a happier Doctor and a lot of his dialogue wouldn't make sense. This story Doctor is the 10th Doctor. He won't learn about not destroying Gallifrey until some point further down his Time Line when he returns to his own dimension (or universe).
3925018 Ok that makes sense now.
If it had been Davros and NMM together, I probably would have shat bricks. As it was, I merely idly considered it. Well done!
Nightmare Moon is in command of Daleks? that either means that Daleks are mutated Alicorns or NNM is really good at mind magic.
Also, hooray for time lord tech, bigger on the inside manes.
More? Please?
So, as cool as it would be for The Baker to be Susan, it's been established that she's never seen Gallopfray. On that note, that leaves her as either Jenny (unlikely, considering Jenny wasn't really told too much about it), or what I'm thinking: Miranda Dawkins. Well, at least some variation of her... One where the Gallopfray Doctor didn't step in to raise her, maybe?
It's hard telling with Pinkie's past being so vague right now, but that's my bet and I'm sticking to it.
3921993 Yeah. I actually read a story where Pinkie was helping to create Jelly Fillies, which is pretty much when she found out about the Doctor's past. It was funny to see his reaction when he saw one of those things, though.
Wow...
I sense awesomeness.... Also, there should be a doctor whooves emote
3922710 Thanking you as always. :D
Would you like a Jelly Baby?
Really good story so far, but something kind of irked me: when The Doctor opened the watch, without even informing Pinkie of what it really was, he basically killed her.
I get the feeling that her friends are going to be very, very angry at The Doctor for what he did. Like he so often does, he's going to need to do a lot of running or face the wrath of five exceedingly homicidal/equicidal ponies (including one of the most powerful magic-wielders in the land) and one baby dragon that will probably hulk out into a draconic rage form.
yes