The Changed One

by peacevic

The Changed One- part 2

Ch. 2

Unfortunately, I had started walking in the wrong direction. Luckily, Twilight noticed and guided us back to the right track. We managed to get to Ponyville fairly quickly following her path.
"Now, we're looking for an earth pony." I said as we arrived.
"An earth pony? In Ponyville?" Twilight snarked. "That should be pretty easy, considering how few there are in town."
"Ha. Ha. Ha." I deadpanned. "Very funny."
"What color is he?"
"A light brown," I supplied, "with an hourglass for a cutie mark."
Twilight gave me a look. "Time Turner? The pony who maintains the clock tower?"
"Maybe." I said, going for thoughtful. "Maybe something more. Hopefully something more."
"Well, you can ask him." Twilight pointed. "He's right over there."
Wow, that was convenient. As convenient as waking up just as an alicorn princess flies overhead. But, super coincidental convenience aside, this was good. I walked over to him.
"So," I asked, "what color is your police box?"
The Doctor may lie, but this version's face wasn't very good at hiding it. "I'm, uh, sure I don't know what you mean. Excuse me."
He tried to trot off, but Twilight teleported in front of him, blocking his escape. I thew a foreleg around his shoulders. "Come on! Just show us your sonic."
"Really, I'm very busy. If you will-"
A shout cut him off. "Doctor! Tick Tock says it'll be a while before... oh." Derpy stopped as she noticed Twilight and I.
"Yeah, the cat's kinda out of the bag now." I gloated.
"I'm sorry, Doctor. I didn't mean to-"
"It's fine, Derpy." He reassured his companion. "They somehow knew who I was already."
"Yes, I did. I need your help, Doctor."
His eyes lit up. Annoyance over being discovered or no, he couldn't help himself when it came to distress. "With what?" He asked.
I shook my head. "Not here. It's too... overhear-able."
The Doctor nodded, and broke into something close to a canter. He really did love this. "Come along, then. We'll talk in my Tardis."

"What?" The Doctor was close to panic. "Where is it?"
'It' was the Tardis, as we were now standing in an empty field. The Doctor turned to Derpy. "This is where we parked, isn't it?"
"I think so..." Derpy walked around, getting her bearings. "It certainly looks familiar."
Twilight looked around. "So, this 'Tardis' is missing?"
I frowned again. "Awww... I wanted to show Twilight how big it was on the inside."
That got a smirk from the princess. "I'm sure that has to be a metaphor for something."
"Save it for Brad." I teased, hoping she would take what I said for what it was.
Luckily, she did. "Maybe I will."
The Doctor was not amused. "If you're quite finished."
"We are."
"Because the single most advanced piece of technology on this planet, possibly the universe, is missing. Probably stolen!"
"Relax." I said. "Nothing can break into it. I doubt whoever took it will even be able to chip the paint."
He stared at me. "Was it you?"
I put a hoof over my heart, wounded. "Me? I just got here."
Derpy stood beside the Doctor. "Doctor, I'm sure if someone stole the Tardis, the last thing they'd do is come get you."
"You make a good point." He said, calming a bit.
Now was the time to throw gas on the fire. "About that, there's a chance I may be tangentially involved in the Tardis' disappearance."
"Doctor..." Derpy started.
"Explain." He whispered. "Right now."
Twilight interceded. "Only tangentially. He just got here, he can't have actively participated. Or do you also suspect the Princess of Friendship?"
The Doctor whirled on her. "We just got here. He could've stolen it and then come to you."
My turn. "She means I just got here. As in, to Equestria."
Derpy cocked her head to the side. "That's weird. There aren't too many pony colonies outside Equestria."
"I'm not from a colony. I am not of this world."
The levity was not appreciated. "You seem to know a lot about me, so you should realize that this is not the best time for alien jokes."
I sighed. "Alright, alright. You clearly don't like it when someone else is being cryptic and smug. So I'll be straight with you. I'm human."
"Human? Here?"
I nodded. "Yep, and I didn't come through Twilight's portal."
"Twilight, you have a portal to another world?"
"Kind of, Ditzy."
"Oh, it's ok. You can call me Derpy." She smiled. "I get the feeling we're going to be running for our lives in a little while. Running buddies get to call me Derpy."
Twilight returned her smile. "Ok, Derpy. Anyway, the portal was already there. I just built a machine to stabilize it."
"That's amazing!"
"Hang on." The Doctor said. "Putting aside the fact that apparently there's a portal back to Earth-"
"Not your Earth." I interrupted. "Not mine either, a different one."
"You've been ripped from your dimension and plopped in this one. How?"
I shrugged. "That's what we need your help figuring out. Odds are, we find out what pulled me here, we find the Tardis."
Derpy joined in. "Wait a minute, Doctor. He was pulled here from another world. Do you think that Jabberwock thing is involved?"
The Doctor rubbed his chin. "Maybe. But if it were, I'd suspect those cats would've shown up by now."
"I have to agree with the Doctor." I said. "Annoying as they are, Carrot's cats are usually on top of things."
That stopped both of them in their tracks, metaphorically. "I should have mentioned that." Twilight supplied. "In Verdant Spark's reality, all of this is a show of some kind."
"Gotta love the multiverse." The Doctor muttered. "At least one of everything. So you know about our pasts."
"Only some things." I assured. "And only if you are, in fact, the characters depicted in the show and fan works."
"Oh, and which am I?" The Doctor asked, excited. "Show material?"
I smiled. "Sorry, you and Derpy are background characters in the show. The fans crossed your character with one from a different show, and voila."
"Well, that's disappointing."
"Ahem."
I focused. "Alright, Twilight, you're right. It's time to be serious, and seriously there's one place that's the obvious place to start looking."
"Oh, you're right!" The Doctor agreed.
"Where?" Derpy asked.
Twilight had come to the same conclusion. "The Everfree Forest."