I won't run anymore...

by MidnightFMare

Entering the "Normal" life

Last time, on Doctor Whooves: I won't run any more...

The TARDIS lands in an empty warehouse and Ditzy gallops out, bags in tow "Where are we?"

"Ponyville. About ten minutes after you left. Oh? Didn't I mention the old girl is a time machine too?"

She stares up at the TARDIS and grins "This is the best day of my entire life! A time and space machine! That's so cool!!"

I nod "That she is... so! I'll be seeing you hopefully..."

She cocks her head "What do you mean? Where are you going?"

I pause Where am I going?

She grins weakly "Oh... I understand... you have other responsibilities..." she shakes her head and smiles from ear to ear "Thank you Doct-" I put a hoof on her mouth "No, I'm staying. I have no where I need to be... except right here, right now. Ditzy, I haven't had a companion like you in a long time... and I'm tired of running away from goodbyes. Never say goodbye my dear Mailmare. You still need a Doctor to do his duty. 'Heal the sick, combat problems, and teach others' That's what you said yes?"

She nods, grinning wide "Right! Now I really want to wash all this goop off my coat... I smell bad..."

I chuckle "So do I... to your house?"

She beams and takes off "Yup! Allons-y!"

I pause and follow her "Hey! That's my thing!"

Galloping after Ditzy, I weave through a sizable crowd and close the distance with ease "Ditzy! Slow down!"

She turns and salutes, landing "We're here!"

I pant, wiping sweat from my face "Oh? Good... I could use a break."

She cocks her head at me "You don't like running?"

Running is all I've done... I think to myself and walk towards the door to knock when Ditzy just pushes it open with her head, leaving a smudge of goo on it "Eww..."

I follow, trying in vain to not track in goo.

Carrot Top walks out of what I assume is a kitchen and gasps "What the hay happened to you two?!" Carrot Top yells.

Ditzy smiles weakly "Would you believe, that we fought aliens on another world and this is what got on us?"

I facehoof in response.

Carrot gives her a flat look and stares at the bags Ditzy was holding "What are those?"

"Souvenirs! Ditzy chirps, setting them onto the floor "I'm going to go wash the goop off... Time Turner, is there any biological hazard to washing this stuff off?"

I shake my head "Not really, just sprinkle some baking soda on the tub and down the drain and that should work nicely."

She trots up the steps, leaving me alone with her friend "..."

"..."

"So..." I start, losing my train of thought.

"So what really happened?" she asks, walking into the kitchen.

"Uh... as we were walking past my house, a sewage cart dumped some on us and she thought it'd be funny to tell you that it was alien goo." I say immediately.

She shrugs "'Kay... I don't believe you either but whatever. So, are you staying for dinner?"

I nod "Yes, dinner sounds wonderful."

She grins "Good, because Ditzy would drag you back in if you left. She tends to stick to ponies she likes. And what from how she made a complete reverse of emotion earlier was impressive."

I grin "Oh it wasn't too hard, she needed someone to believe in her ideas and I just happen to be interested in the cosmos as well."

Carrot sighs "She was odd as a filly. Always looking up at night, talking to the stars, drawing charts and schematics for spaceships. Her parents thought that she'd grow out of it but she hasn't. I'm... kind of glad she didn't. She has the most powerful mind I've ever seen and has published too many papers to count. She's a genius, but she doesn't know it. She has no idea how brilliant she is."

I stare at her "How can that be? Shouldn't be obvious to her?"

Carrot shrugged "She's oblivious to it I suppose. She even denies it when somepony says she is. It's as if she doesn't believe her own intelligence."

How can you not believe your own in intelligence? It's obvious once you talk to her that she's brilliant. But why would she deny it? Is she afraid of being considered intelligent? But what would deter her from admitting she's smart?

She trots down the stairs, her mane shining like a river of topaz feeding into a pool of gold- WHAT THE HECK AM I THINKING?!

She cocks her head "Shower's free."

I cough into my hoof "Thank you Ditzy, I shouldn't be to long."

---

I turned the faucet to a warm temperature and sigh I suppose... I might as well see how... it feels to be "Normal". I know that Ditzy won't tell anyone who I am, but I can't help feeling like I've lost something. The thrill of adventure? What is missing?

Walking into the shower, I ponder while ooze falls off my coat "Hands? Feet? Thumbs! I lost thumbs! I wish I still had thumbs, how am I supposed to hold things without thumbs?"

I look around the inside of the shower and grab a pinkish-purple bottle and pour some onto my mane and tail "I'm guessing that it doesn't matter how I smell."

I rub it in and start rinsing when I realize something "How am I still standing if I'm using my forehoo- urf!" I land on my muzzle and groan "Urgh... curse you quadrupedal body..."

Someone knocks on the door "Is everything okay in there?"

"Yes! I just forgot I need three legs to stand!" I reply and groan "I meant I lost my balance washing my mane!"

There's a pause and I resume to wash my hair, figuring that whoever it was had left.

I was wrong.

"Do you need help getting your tail Doctor?" Ditzy asks, moving the shower curtain.

"Eeyah! Ditzy! Don't you know it's wrong to watch somebody shower?!" I shriek at her (In a manly way), covering myself with my tail.

She blinks "Uh, why should it matter if I see you showering? We're naked most of the time anyway."

I roll my eyes "Be that as it may, where I come from that's something you don't do, especially if you're the opposite gender!"

She shrugs "Sorry, I didn't know. So... you don't need any help?"

I shake my head "I'm fine, I can reach it."

She pauses and turns away, leaving the bathroom.

I sit still, waiting for someone else to jump me, but no one comes "Well, that scared a few years off my life..."

---

I stare at the steps dubiously "I... how do you climb down stairs?" I stare at the banister and equations and estimates fire in my brain and I grin "I've always wanted to do this, never had a banister in the TARDIS..." I grab the banister and slide down it "Wooooo!!!!"

I fly through the air, landing with a flourish on the floor "That was cool!"

Carrot, whom I barely crashed into, stares at me "What the hay?!"

I shrug "I wanted to do something fun."

Ditzy walks out from behind her "Uh... sliding down banisters isn't safe."

I nod "I'm aware. I did it because it's fun."

Carrot rubs her head "Ugh... you remind me of Lyra."

"Ah, I remember Ditzy mentioned someone by that name earlier. Why is she so... memorable?"

Ditzy smiles "Well, you'll see for yourself! She and Bonbon should be over soon."

As if on cue, the door opens and a teal unicorn enters, followed by a cream mare "Ditzy! How's the world's best astronomer doing?"

Ditzy walks over and hugs her "Good. I made a friend today, somepony who believes me!"

The mare, whom I assume is Lyra, walks over to me and looks me over "... Huh, I don't think we've met."

I smile and extend my hoof "I'm Time Turner."

She shakes my hoof and walks past, the earth pony behind her, Bonbon, walks up to me and smiles "Hello, I'm Bonbon, nice to meet you Time Turner."

I return her grin and she walks past me "What nice peop- I mean, ponies. Well, that was nice compared to how I usually meet others."

---

THIS IS THE MOST DELICIOUS THING I'VE EVER TASTED!! I yell internally, draining the bowl of soup.

I set the bowl down and everyone stares at me in surprise "Eheh... I hadn't known how hungry I was..."

Carrot smiles wide "It's nice to know that somepony likes simple vegetable stew. I'll go get you some more Time Turner."

I nod graciously and smile "Who knew that simple is best?"

Lyra shrugs "Iono. Anyways, where you from? South Canterlot?"

I start to say the truth when Ditzy waves her hoof at me and mouths something "Trottingham."

"Really? Huh, so is that where they have that super-collider?"

I shake my head "No, you're thinking of Scoltland."

She grins "I know you're lying."

I cock my head and Bonbon glares at Lyra "What are you talking about?"

"Simple, you say that you had no idea, except according to census, stew and soup stock are quite commonly found within the pantries of most Trottingham homes. So either you are not part of the majority, an unlikely chance, or you are lying."

I smile "Well, I'm not lying."

Lyra chuckles "No, you are. I can hear your heartbeats because of the bug I put on you when I walked past you."

Bonbon levels an angry glare at Lyra "Lyra, why in Celestia's name would you do that for?"

Lyra shrugs "I had a hunch. Nobody can get into Ponyville without Pinkie Pie being alerted and having a party planned. And I have eidetic memory. I'd know if he'd been in Ponyville before. So he had to've entered through non-magical ways, while also not actually crossing any part of Ponyville's borders and the alert field I set up to monitor the magical flow in town. So... he had to have done something quite clever. So I bugged his chest and I've been scanning his physiology since he sat down. Two hearts? My, you must come from a very oxygen rich environment, or you're blood's ability to transfer oxygen to your organs must be very poor. And... the hormones coming off you... golden in color but biological in nature."

She grins at me, leaning on her elbow, chin in her hoof "You're one of the ancient beings known as Timelords, aren't you?" she gives me a half-lidded stare "You can tell me, nobody believes what I say anyways."

I steady my heartbeats and lower one to near inactivity "I assure you I am completely equine."

Carrot returns a bowl of stew on her back "Sorry that took so long, I had to reheat it, I usually make too much."

"Thank you so much, Carrot Top."

Bonbon mouths an apology and I shrug, knocking the probe off my chest.

---

I wave farewell to the two and turn to Ditzy and Carrot "Thanks so much for dinner. I hope I wasn't putting you out."

"Not at all! It's nice to know that Ditzy's found somepony who enjoys space as much as her."

Ditzy grins "Yeah! Thanks! Want to hang out again tomorrow?"

I nod "What else would I be doing?"

I walk away towards the warehouse when a near silent noise makes me sigh "Lyra Heartstrings, please don't follow me. I'm just a weary soul trying to enjoy taking life at a leisurely pace."

"I'm not Lyra, Doctor. How goes traveling all of space and time?"

I freeze, the voice giving me pause "That can't be... no... I haven't heard that voice in a long time..."

Turning slowly, I see a light blue unicorn with dark blue and white hair, an hourglass cutie mark on her flank. But what gives me pause is the glowing gold aura around her "Hello Grandfather."

"S-S-Susan?" I stutter out.

She nods, her face as neutral "Glad to know that I'm memorable. Of course, the only other Timelord to escape from the time war and your own granddaughter would be memorable in your chaotic mind."

I rub my eyes "H-what are you talking about? I'm the last! I made it so that nothing could leave! Including the Dalek armadas!"

She smiles icily at me "Oh? Then how am I standing here, talking to you? Did you know... that this is my 3rd regeneration? I was trying to stop you from sealing Gallifrey when Rassilon shot me in the back with one of those Earth guns. I barely remember what happened between the moment I hit the floor, Lindos flooding my system when I felt you grabbing me by the arm, wearing an abhorrent... bowtie I believe they're called and a stupid Stetson. You said that you we're going to die and wanted to do right by me. I couldn't have cared less, I hadn't seen you in two centuries, but I still took your hand."

She pauses, staring at her hoof "And then I woke up as a foal in Canterlot, a file of a fake identity to my right, a sonic probe to my left. I had to live life as a bubbly little unicorn, always smiling to try to pass as a normal pony. But underneath I was scared... I hated you at first, I wanted to hunt you down and make you explain why you did it. But..." she sets the hoof down, her blue eyes boring into my mind "I learned that you wanted to give me a new life, one far away from the cynical world of the sciences and the dangers of war. I studied the magic of this world and found out quite a bit. I even knew when you were going to appear, where you were going, and the fact that..." she steps closer to me, her horn glowing "That you were on your last regeneration."

I step back but my hooves are held by her magic "Let me go Sus-"

"Minuette."

"What?"

"My name is Minuette now." she says, releasing me "I don't hold a grudge Grandfather. I just wanted to say 'Hello' and give you a warning you told me to give you; 'Beware the lonely hearts, and never run from your future.' Good bye... Grandfather, I sincerely hope we never see each other again." she walks away, leaving me speechless.

---

I close and lock the TARDIS's door and exhale, my hearts beating fast "Too close... both times..."

Sighing, I walk towards my bed and when I hit the mattress, I'm out like a light.

---

I step out of the TARDIS, about to lock it when someone taps my shoulder.

"Good morning Doctor."

I shiver and turn and stare into Lyra Heartstring's smug eyes "What did you call me?"

"The Doctor. The oncoming storm, the last of the Timelords, the man in the blue box, the impossible man. I know of some stories about you... or the ones I could get from Minuette when I convinced her to get drunk. So..." her face turns stern "Why are you here in Equestria? You've brought nothing but death and destruction in your travels. If it comes to it, I'll kill you myself if I see even one Cybermat, Alien seed, or anything that has to do with you. Equestria is a peaceful nation, and I won't have that ruined because some half-baked deserter."

I glare at her "You think I like the destruction that follows me?!"

She shakes her head "No, I blame your past actions making nearly half the universe hate or fear you. I can't speak for what hasn't happened yet, but I know some things you had not done yet."

I blink "'Had not yet done'?"

She groans "I need to come up with words that work for multiple tenses. You, at this moment, haven't done the things yet, but your future self will have done those things in my personal past. Seriously, we need non-linear tenses, because saying it all out loud is giving me a migraine..."

I nod and cock my head "So... how did we first meet?"

Lyra sighs "I can't tell you, I know that paradox's aren't real, but I don't want to tempt the universe, you know how it is, I assume?"

"All too well, so... any advice on how to avoid the spectacular failures that made you threaten my life?"

She takes a deep breath "Yeah, you told me to tell you 'Avoid the grey morn.' and 'Keep your ear from the tracks, and keep it to the tunnels instead.' You'd been coming to tell me these things to tell you before you said them... AUGH! My aching head!!" She clutches her head in pain "I hate having to talk like that.. how do you handle it?"

"I... generally avoid those types of conversations, takes too much time to formulate." I reply and walk past her "Anything else?"

She nods "Yeah, try to avoid Twilight Sparkle, she'll try to dissect you and your mind, then disassemble the TARDIS. I can see it and you gave me a key." she reaches into her mane and on an ear hoop with a clasp is a key "I keep it there so I can hear the TARDIS coming and going."

I shrug and walk out of the warehouse "So... who owns this warehouse?"

Lyra smiles "You will. Well, you've already bought it in the linear past."

I gasp and she pulls out a folded piece of paper "You will give this to me this morning. Okay, until we talk linear again, I'm not talking... hurts so much..."

I laugh and she shoots me a glare "Shut up Mr. Oncoming Storm."

---

Behind the gate of Tartarus, a shambling swarm of ichor stained creatures limp over the prone body of Cerberus, a smoldering burn in the shape of a star on each of its heads.

"S...sho... cold..." the lead one coughs out, clawing at the gate.

The gate beneath Ponyville.

Author's Note:

Next time, on Doctor Whooves: I won't run anymore...

"Doctor... we have a problem!" Lyra yells, her mane stained with black ooze.

"I'll say! I've been trying to best Ditzy at chess and I keep losing!" I look up and cock my head "Why on Earth is your mane covered in goo?"

She groans "Monsters. From Taratrus... come on!"

The Shambling Plague