Adventures in the TARDIS

by Scroll

Part 4: Introductions

I have to say, I really didn't expect a pony I just met on the train to be this courteous to me. He actually paid for a carriage ride and gave me an escort all the way from the train station to the dock. Some suspicion arose within me for a brief moment because of that, but he's been nothing but a fine gentlepony to me. I don't know why, but my instincts kept insisting that he is a pony that can be trusted. Maybe it is his easy-going nature. Maybe it is because he's easy to talk to. Maybe it is because he has fascinating things to say.

Or maybe it is because I'm attracted to him, but if that is the case, this is most likely a vivid example of sapiosexuality, or in other words, one who is attracted to intelligent beings.

When I feel the carriage we are riding in come to a stop, disappointment sinks into my heart because this means I'll now have to part with this fascinating stranger I met on the train.

“Um . . . well . . . we're here,” I tell him as I squirm shyly.

“It would appear so,” the stranger agrees across from me in the carriage.

“It was, ah . . . It was great talking to you,” I resume as I blush like a schoolgirl crush.

“Indubitably,” the stranger agrees again with a faint amused grin for some reason. “I hope to do this again sometime.”

“Me too!” I agree with a bright smile which fades shortly later. “But I really can't be certain when that will ever happen. I might not even return from this trip alive.”

“Don't say that,” the stranger says disapprovingly with a slight shake of his head. “Always make survival your goal. Believe in that. The longer you live, the more of this fabulous journey you will undertake. Take it from me, from one traveler to another, it's all worth it.”

“Thank you,” I say with a shy smile. “I will try.”

“Don't just try. Do,” the stranger insists. “Do daringly.”

With that, the stranger leans to his side and opens the carriage door. From there, he gestures out of the carriage.

I don't wish to prolong this goodbye. I simply nod at him then climb my way out of the carriage without looking back. That takes so much resolve in my heart, but this is the way it has to be. One chapter of my life has closed and another must take it's place.

That chapter looms out in front of me. I'm here! I'm finally here!

For a brief moment, excitement and anxiety well inside me again when I behold the dock that has the ship The Intrepid before me. It is a two story steam engine paddle boat craft I usually encounter on rivers. This thing is meant to cross Celestial Sea, but it isn't driven by giant sails. All I can think about in that moment is it better have enough coal for a round trip, but that said, at least the wind and ocean currents won't be as much of a threat.

This actually strikes me as a cruise ship. Almost like a hotel on water. I can see a bunch of doors leading to separate rooms strung all round the outside of the ship beneath both roofs of the duel layer ship.

As I stare upon this, I have to wonder why this vessel is chosen for this legendary journey.

“Careful, you fools!” complains a light brown stallion with a dark mane and tail which has a streak of white through both. He has a easily visible cutie mark of a yellow pony skull with gems in the eyes. He is wearing an egg-white shirt and has a white polka dot bandanna around his neck. I immediately recognize him on sight as Doctor Caballeron. Another shy blush rushes to claim me. I have been expecting him and this is a meeting I was looking forward to. “These sah-plies are very del-oh-kit,” Doctor Caballeron goes on to explain to the apparently clumsy dock worker with a very distinct Ponish accent.

“No they're not,” returns a very gruff looking dock worker. “They are not delicate. See?” He kicks one of the wooden crates hard to demonstrate its durability, and indeed, there isn't the slightest dent on the crate.

Nevertheless, the dock worker's demonstration clearly irritates Doctor Caballeron. He almost goes off on another roaring rant, but he restrains himself with intense effort then goes on to explain more calmly, “Fine. Ah-greed. They are not del-oh-kit, but they are impordant so STOP KICKING DEM, YOU FOOL!!!”

Before I know it, I race ahead to meet up behind Doctor Cabelleron and skid to a stop from there. Either the gallop of my hooves or the sound of me skidding to a stop alerts the doctor of my approach. At first he looks back at me in annoyance, but when he sees me, his mood immediately brightens into delight.

“Well, well, well,” says Doctor Cabelleron as he turns to face me. “A fine young lady graces my presence . . . no?” He flashes me a very rogue'ish, charming smile.

Fighting against my blush, I attempt to speak, but he steals my breath away again when he scoops up my left hoof and kisses it charmingly. Following that, I start to black out. The next thing I know, I am staring up into his blue eyes as he is staring down at me.

“There is no need to faint before me, mademoiselle,” announces the debonair doctor as he gives me bedroom eyes. “My exploits hov been most exceedingly exaggerated, I'm sure.”

“B-buh-buh-but you're Doctor Cabelleron!” I stammer excitedly. “The discoverer of Serenity Valley! The one who re-discovered the Temple of Ahak-Teetlet! The one who discovered the long lost Snarkenstone! You're a legend in the archaeologist circles!”

“Please, Madam, I am juz a humble excavationist,” Doctor Cabbelleron insists as he helps me stand up straight. “Please . . . juz call be Doc-tar Cabbelleron.”

“Then from one Doctor to another, I bid you welcome,” says a familiar stranger behind me. Upon hearing that, I whip my gaze about then widen my eyes as I witness that the same stranger I met on the train, who then gave me a carriage ride here, has also followed me to this point.

“Really?” Doctor Cabbelleron expresses in delight as he also beholds this new stranger. “It is good to encoun-tar annodar fellow educated gentlepony such as myself. So you too, Sir, have a doctorate in . . .” Cabbelleron leaves the rest of that sentence hanging as he waves a hoof to invite the stranger to finish the rest of that sentence.

“Yes,” the brown coat wearing stranger replies.

Doctor Cabbelleron lifts an eyebrow as he asks, “Excuse me?”

“I was just answering your question,” replies the stranger. “Whatever the rest of that sentence was going to be, the answer is yes.”

Doctor Cabbelleron holds his confused expression as he asks, “So . . . ahh . . . basically . . . you . . . ahh . . . have a doctorate in everything? Even evil?”

The stranger merely grins in amusement then removes his hat and places it on his chest as he says, “I think formal introductions are now in order.”

When he says that, it suddenly occurs to me he never introduced himself to me on the train. I widen my eyes as I further realized I never introduced myself to him either, or to Doctor Cabbelleron.

“My name is Smith,” introduces the brown coat and black bowler hat wearing stranger. “Doctor John Smith.”

“Pleased to meet you, Sir,” greets Doctor Cabbelleron as he extends a hoof that Doctor Smith promptly shakes. “And I am Doc-tar Cabbelleron.”

“I know,” Doctor Smith assures as he continues to shake Cabbelleron's hoof. “I heard you when you were introducing yourself to this nice young lady.”

“And I am Keystone!” I eagerly and hastily put in since I feel so embarrassed that I didn't say that earlier. “Agate Keystone.”

“Agate Keystone?!” exclaims some gruff sounding pony from nearby. Hearing him draws my attention to another fairly large nearby pony who was coiling a rope around a hoof. By the looks of it, he was nearly finished when he overheard me and decided to speak up. Initially his back is to us, but then he turns about and I get a good look at a very old but exceptionally well built stallion with a chiseled jaw and a five o'clock shadow spread on it. I still can't see his eyes yet because his safari hat is tilted too far down. He is wearing a khaki shirt with two pockets on each side of his chest and a dark brown leather coat worn over that. He has large and tough looking saddlebags on each of his hips which has some decent bulge to both of them.

“You know of this young miss?” Doctor Cabelleron asks this new individual curiously with apparently some recognition of this stranger as far as I can tell.

“That depends,” answers this tough old stranger before he asks me directly “Do you have any relation to Fourwind Keystone?”

I widen my eyes as I answer, “Yes. He was my grandfather. How did you know him?”

“Agate Keystone,” the new stranger repeats as if tasting the word, then goes on to say a phrase I haven't heard spoken since the days my grandfather was alive. “A magical keystone needed to unlock a gate.”

The moment I hear that, I gasp as I realize that this new stranger must have known my grandfather.

This new stranger lifts his head, and thus the edge of his safari hat as well, enough so that I can finally see this stallion's hazel eyes. He is giving me a very piercing stare with his old and wrinkled eyes that is still filled with so much strength that his gaze causes me to unconsciously shrivel a bit.

“Your parents wouldn't approve of your presence here, little miss,” the grizzled stranger warns gruffly.

There is a moment of awkward and uncomfortable silence that passes between us all before Doctor Smith asks, “And I take it you are the legendary dungeon explorer Tanon Burrows, right? I heard that Fourwind Keystone was an old partner of yours.”

“Tanon Burrows?!” I gasp in astonishment. “I heard you retired!”

“Yes. I did,” Tanon agrees as he tilts his head back down and thus concealing his eyes from sight again. “But the opportunity offered here was too good to pass up. The discovery we're about to make is a once in a lifetime, and I can't afford this opportunity to show up my old partner.”

A fond look sinks into my eyes. This is the first time I ever met Tanon directly, but I heard he continued adventuring for a few years after my grandfather retired. Eventually Tanon also settled down but not with a family. Instead, I heard he continued adventuring on a lesser scale as a park ranger.

Before all that, Fourwind and Tanon were good partners through many of their earlier adventures. One is a unicorn, which is Tanon, although his hat conceals that fact, and the other is my grandfather Fourwind. Together, they both made one legendary discovery after another.

“You shouldn't be here,” Tanon insists again as he tilts his head and lifts it up just enough so that only his left eye is piercing at me.

“I can't afford the loss of this opportunity as well,” I proclaim as resolute as I can muster. “I'm the right pony for the job that I was hired for.” My knees are shaking, but I go on to say, “I'm not my parents and they don't live my life for me. I'm a grown mare now and I make my own decisions.”

“You do realize precisely why they didn't want you to trot this path?” Tanon asks as he continues to give me a hard gaze with one eye which seems to gleam under the shadow of his hat. “There is no guarantees of anything, but the trials we'll face will very likely be life threatening. Are you prepared for that?”

“Oh please. I am Doc-tar Cabbelleron!” Cabbelleron brags. “I helped to uncover many sites and-”

“I wasn't talking to you, Sir,” Tanon says tightly and firmly as his burning gaze now pierces at Cabbelleron. Despite the intensity of that stare, I am surprised to see how effective it is to the archaeologist I look up to so highly. Tanon is, apparently, intense enough to cow pro explorers even at his very senior age.

I give a hard gulp as I gather my resolve then give Tanon a piercing stare of my own as I declare, “You have no right to judge me or my worth in this venture. I earned my right to be here by being a brave and highly educated pony. Fourwind showed me the ropes in many of our prior camping trips before he passed away, and yes . . . I know that's not the same thing as what we're about to embark upon, but he still inspired me. I feel his passion for exploration burning in my heart and I will not be bullied into submission over that fact. I am here now and I'm going on this trip, and that's final! Take it or leave it, Sir, but I'm going either way. The rewards and consequences of that act are mine and mine alone. Know that you are free from any responsibility for me during this trip. I can hoofle myself.”

Tanon returns his hard and silent stare back at me for a few seconds as if trying to test my resolve. I meet that gaze with equal measure. Eventually he sighs as he turns away then says, “So be it. Lay on the hay you make.”

I give a hard gulp. My gaze continues to remain firm, but inwardly I am still shaking.

“He does care for you,” Doctor Smith assures me as he turns to look at me softly. “He just has his own way of showing it.”

“I know,” I reply just as softly as I finally relax my guard and give a heavy sigh.