Adventures in the TARDIS

by Scroll

Part 6: Earned Ancestral Trust

Kleetus and Clyde lead the Doctor, Stern Wing, and Feather Wind to the lower decks. Stern Wing continues to carry the unconscious stallion on her back to safely deliver him down there. This time Feather simply trots beside her close enough to include all of them in his bubble field, but he does tether himself to Stern using the hook vest just in case. In fact, they all do.

From the relative safety of the bridge, they did not have to travel far to reach the hatch leading to the lower deck.

Down in the lower decks there are other crew of the rig which includes some medical personnel as well as their supplies, but Kleetus and Clyde assures the group that those remaining supplies are running thin right about now and the destruction of the radio tower just made that worse because now they can't radio for help if/when the storm passes. When the Doctor asks why their supplies were running low, Clyde says he will introduce the group to another pony who can fill in the answer to that question better than he can. That same individual may also be able to tend to the injured and unconscious pony's wounds, of whom they since learned is named Bhereka.

Once they are through the hatch, Kleetus and Clyde continue to lead the TARDIS crew down a series of metal hallways and metal-grated stairs. Many of these passageways are fairly narrow, making it difficult, or sometimes impossible, for two ponies to cross each other side by side or go opposite ways. Much of the metal is stained with rust that usually trails down. Sometimes they see what is causing that rust right now in the form of dripping water at various points. For illumination, there are bulbs with flickering light embedded in the walls. Whatever is causing those lights is something Feather Wind and Stern Wing are unfamiliar with. They don't even know what the power source is.

Eventually Kleetus and Clyde lead the group to a larger room where there is a large gathering of other ponies. There are lots of cots spread out along the walls and some in the center of the room. In addition, there are other beds attached to the walls further off the ground that can fold up into the walls for more space when not in use. If they are in use, then a chain at the head and foot of the bed helps hold it in place in its folded-down position.

There seem to be thirty earth ponies in this room. Most of them are adults, but there is a few adolescent and foals here too who used to be galloping about wildly and playing some game, much to their parents' chagrin because of the storm tilting the ship every which way, but everypony pauses and observes the newcomers as soon as they step in. Some quickly grow alarmed due to seeing Bhereka's injured and unconscious condition then immediately rush in to further investigate. Still others are taken aback by seeing unfamiliar newcomers. This is made even more surprising since they definitely expected no arrivals during a heavy storm like this. What is triply shocking is discovering two of them are a mythical and never seen before race; a pegasus and a unicorn. When that fact becomes known to them, many of the ponies in this room regard Feather and Stern with awe and, in some cases, fear as well.

“Well, I'll be. There he is,” Clyde remarks in surprise as he regards an individual in a white lab coat. He is a very light brown coat stallion with a darker, short brown mane. This is an individual both Kleetus and Clyde expected to be on lower decks of the ship. “Doctor Waston! Over here!” Clyde calls across the room as he waves at the one in the white lab coat.

Originally the individual Clyde is calling to was kneeling and quietly conversing with another pony who looks a bit sick. When his name is called, he gazes sharply to his left at those who entered and at Clyde in particular, but his attention soon widens out and notices two things of note; the injured pony Bhereka and the unfamiliar newcomers. He widens his eyes which is made even more clear due to the magnification of the glasses Doctor Waston wears. He then regards the pony he was originally conversing with, probably apologizes to her, then makes his way over to the newcomers who, in turn, make their way to Doctor Waston.

“What happened?” Doctor Waston asks in concern when he arrives as he immediately starts inspecting the injured pony. Before anypony can answer, he also adds, “Set him on the cot right here,” he says as he gestures to an empty cot beside him. He turns to a younger adolescent mare beside him and says, “Fetch some warm, dry blankets and get me some water now.”

“Yes Doctor,” she replies then leaves to cooperate.

While they wait for that, Doctor Waston inspects Bhereka's condition through sight and careful tactile inspection. Doing so quickly reveals how wet and cold he is. Seconds later, the Doctor looks over to Clyde and nods to him to indicate Clyde should resume his explanation of what happened. Clyde proceeds to do so and, in the process, everypony around them also hears the explanation. They greatly lament the loss of the radio tower because it means a loss of hope to relieve their situation later.

“Everypony, calm down!” Clyde calls as he raises his voice above the group. “We can rebuild the tower eventually as soon as the storm passes.”

“But when is the storm going to pass?!” a panicked stallion asks. “It's already gone too long to be natural, and even if it passes, we're already very low on supplies as it is. I don't know if we can hold out while we wait for the storm to pass and then wait even longer while the radio tower gets replaced.”

“Relax. I can take care of that,” the Doctor calls out, which is the first time he spoke to this larger group. “The vessel I came in on is equipped with a large stock of food and medical supplies, among other things. I can give you that while me and my companions work to solve your core problem.”

Feather Wind and Stern Wing glance at each other because this is the first time the Doctor mentioned anything about having a large stock of food on the TARDIS, but they aren't too surprised to hear about that either. They already know there are some supplies in the kitchen but they aren't exactly sure how much. So far Derpy has been taking care of their breakfasts on the ship because she simply wanted to. Usually what she has made has emphasis on muffins in particular.

“You're the one they sent to bring us relief supplies?” asks a large dark-coat stallion with a deep baritone voice. “I'm surprised you made it through the storm through all this weather. And speaking of which, just who are you three anyway?” He then flicks an especially awed look over to Feather Wind and Stern Wing.

“We did arrive in a vessel but it's not exactly one most would consider traditional,” the Doctor supplies. “Suffice it to say it worked, we're here, and we can help. As for who we are, I am the Doctor and these are my companions-”

“Doctor?” Doctor Waston says in instant awe as he addresses and interrupts the Doctor. “As in Thee Doctor? The Time Lord Doctor?”

Feather Wind notices how the Doctor regards Doctor Waston in surprise as well as the Doctor asks, “You heard of me? Have we met before?”

Doctor Waston shakes his head as he uses a hoof to nudge his glasses further up his muzzle. Then he says, “No. I never met you personally, but you did rescue one of my ancestors. Ever since then, they passed on the story of that daring adventure along with the claim that the Doctor will one day appear and save us again during another time of need.”

The Doctor lifts a hoof as he says, “Whoa. Say no more, then, because the events you are describing haven't happened to me yet.”

“What?” Clyde asks in confusion. “Okay, what's going on here? And you.” He points to and looks at Doctor Waston. “You never told us about any of this.”

Doctor Waston opens his mouth and was about to say something until the mare he sent a moment ago returns with the requested items.

“Herewh ya gwoh, Dohctah,” she struggles to say because she's carrying some things in her mouth as she spoke and other things along her back.

“Set the blanket on the cot right now then put the water beside it,” Doctor Waston instructs her. “And thank you Mellony. That is very helpful of you.”

She cooperates with his request first before saying more clearly now that her mouth is clear, “You're welcome, Doctor.”

Doctor Waston regards Clyde as he rubs the back of his neck and says, “It's a long story, and if the Doctor doesn't want to hear it now, then I'll explain what I know to you later. For now, I'll just say it is a story that my family passed down between each other and, until now, that's all I thought it was because some of the elements told within the story are very fantastical and therefore very hard to believe. Until now, I didn't really give the story much credit.

“For instance, according to the story, the individual simply known as 'The Doctor' isn't actually the pony that the individual appears to be but rather an alien race known as The Time Lords. In addition to that fact, supposedly he travels in a small vessel that is small on the outside but bigger on the inside. More importantly is the fact that that vessel can teleport through time and space, so,” he shakes his head, “when this Doctor here claims the events I described haven't happened to him yet, he fully means it. What happened in our past will occur in his future. That's probably also why my family insisted on passing on the story about him. It is in preparation for this event.”

Doctor Waston turns his head to regard the Doctor. “While this is a shock for me personally, I guess my role in this particular story is quite clear. You have my vote of confidence, Doctor. I'll do whatever I can to support you in this endeavor. After all, whatever you do for us now will likely save us all in the end.”

“Do you really believe in him that much?” Clyde asks in a soft tone and very honest curiosity towards Doctor Waston.

In reply, Doctor Waston looks back at Clyde as he answers, “If he is the stallion that he claims to be, then yes. We can trust him because he has already proven his heroic intent a long time ago and he will prove it again during another time of need. Namely, now.” Waston looks back at the Doctor as he goes on to say, “Two things about the Doctor that I know of which are distinguishing characteristics is he has a picture of an hourglass permanently embedded on each side of his flanks. That same flank hides a hidden pocket, and within that pocket hides several fantastical devices. Of those, the most notable and frequently used one is some kind of tiny stick with a light at the tip. It also tends to make a lot of noise.”

Because of what Doctor Waston said and the way he said it, Feather Wind grows curious about something. In response to that, he scans the flanks of the other native ponies in the room which leads him to discover that none of them have cutie marks. Furthermore, he also privately notes that they have more muted, earthy colors rather than brighter pastel colors like green, purple, or his own sky blue color. This makes him realize why he might stand out to them even more besides being a unicorn or wearing obviously magical items like his Mist Cloak.

Thinking back to some books he read earlier on the subject, it is said that signs like these are indicative of one thing. If ponies are discovered with more naturally muted and earthy colors with no exception in sight and/or they are all missing cutie marks despite being adults then it is all a sign that they were born and raised in a low to nil magic zone. Furthermore, it is said that in any such zones, unicorns who go there and cast magic later discover that they technically can do so but they later find out that their rate of regenerating their internal magical energy is either slower or entirely arrested in such zones because the environment either has less or no magical energy to breathe in.

However, in this situation, at least so far, Feather Wind has discovered no such hindrance to recovering his own magical energy. It is neither accelerated nor slowed down in any way. Instead of all that, it just seems “normal” to him for some reason. Nevertheless, this may be a noteworthy fact to inform the Doctor of later on. Probably safer to do so during a moment of privacy, though, just in case.

There is also the claim that there is a magical artifact out there somewhere that can control the weather on a wide and epic scale. Even if the environment is currently a lower or no magic zone, the existence of a powerful artifact like The Orb of Storms indicates that magic either used to be much higher or still is very strong somewhere else on the planet and the Orb was probably forged there.

“All of this sci-fi whooey is going way over mah head, Sir,” Clyde says as he turns his head to look at the Doctor. “But one thing you need to know is if Doctor Waston vouches for ya, then you're okay in mah book too. Doctor Waston is easily the most trustworthy, compassionate, resourceful, and educated pony on this ship. If he says you're cool then you have my cooperation too, Sir. Besides, I owe you for saving my man.”

“Excellent!” the Doctor cheers. “That is good to know. Helping me will also go a long way to helping you as well. As long as you are all cooperative, things will go over smoother and faster.

“Alright.” He looks at Doctor Waston and says to him, “along our way down here, Kleetus and Clyde both mentioned something about food and medical supply shortage. In the short run, I believe I can help you all with some of the supplies currently in stock on my ship, and even if it runs out, I can simply use the vessel to go somewhere and somewhen else, re-stalk on more supplies, and bring them back here.” He nods to Waston for a moment as he adds, “'Teleportation' isn't exactly the right technical term for what my vessel does but I suppose, as far as you're concerned, the term is close enough. The more pertinent point here is the fact that I can give you all that you need to endure this trial for the moment and, if it turns out it's not enough, I can later get more supplies and it would only take a few seconds relative to your time. I could be out there for months or years collecting supplies and you all wouldn't know it because I can simply return to near the point I just left.”

The Doctor tilts his head at Doctor Waston as he goes on to say, “What makes me more curious and concerned at the moment, though, is wondering precisely why you've run out of medical supplies so soon. I know the storm has been going on for quite some time, but something tells me there's more to this story here.”

In return, Doctor Waston nods in agreement as he informs, “Indeed, there is. I don't know if either Kleetus or Clyde told you this, but there is also a sickness spreading across the ship. I have them quarantined in a lower deck in the hopes of slowing the spread.”

“Have you isolated the cause?” the Doctor checks.

Doctor Waston winces as he says, “Not precisely, but nonetheless, I have . . . or more accurately to say I had . . . an effective vaccine for it. It used to work to slow, or even to entirely halt, the development of the disease until-”

“-you ran out of supplies,” the Doctor concludes which earns him a nod of agreement from Doctor Waston. “I'm beginning to see the problem here, but tell me, Doctor, more about this vaccine. What precisely was it? And do you have any more samples of it? The reason I ask is to check if I could synthesize it either with the current supplies I have, or find it somewhere else out in time and space, or perhaps come up with a better compound.”

Doctor Waston squints as he thinks on this carefully before answering, “I think I have a little bit of the substance left but not enough to be much effect on the rest of my remaining patients. Instead of that, I've been treating them with other standard stuff like plenty of rest, water, what little food I can provide. I also provided some medicine to treat their symptoms but not the root cause of it. I, ah,” he pauses for a moment before leaning forward and whispering in the Doctor's ears, “due to the constraints of my existing medical supplies, I've been supplementing some of it with placebo for the less critically ill patients.” He then leans back and speaks in a more normal and publicly audible tone, “And I found that it does somewhat help relieve or reduce their symptoms.”

“And you've done very well for yourself by the sounds of it considering the constraints you were under,” the Doctor commends. “I'm proud of you for that, but that said, let's see what I can come up with if I get my hands dirty.” He nods to Doctor Waston as he requests, “Take me to see the other ill patients. If you do, I'll see what I can find out with my resources such as my trusty equipment. Case in point . . .” He trails off as he uses his tail to flip out of his hind pocket his sonic screwdriver. With it, he tosses it up into the air with a graceful flourish before catching it with his mouth. Once it is there, he uses it to emit a small sonic noise which also lights up the tip of the “stick”. In doing so, he also proved that he has the device Doctor Waston's ancestor's stories told him that the Doctor would have, thereby even further proving his identity.

“Um . . . very well,” Doctor Waston agrees with an uncertain squint at the mostly unfamiliar device. He heard about it a long time ago but this is the first time he is witnessing it personally and he still doesn't know exactly what it does. “However, before I take off, let me see to the needs of this patient first and make sure he's stable,” he says with a tilt of his head down to indicate the injured stallion Bhereka.

The Doctor spins and catches his sonic screwdriver to a hoof to clear his mouth before nodding at Waston and saying, “Agreed. Let's take care of him first.”

“Um, Doctor,” Stern Wing prompts the Doctor which ends up catching the attention of both doctors for a moment but she ends up holding the attention of the one she spoke to. With that attention, she asks, “What should me and Feather Wind do? When you go down to investigate the other patients, do you want us to come with you?”

The Doctor smiles at Stern Wing in appreciation for the offer then says, “I want you two to go back to the TARDIS and tell Derpy to gather whatever food and medical supplies she can and deliver them to the exit of the TARDIS. Probably just inside the TARDIS until a team of other ponies from here come by later to pick it up. After that, I want you two to rest. After the trial you've endured to pick up this stallion,” he says with a nod down to indicate Bhereka, “you two have not only earned it but probably need it. I want you two to recover your strength as soon as you can because I get the feeling you're going to need it soon. We're just getting started with solving these ponies' problems. Right now I'm still in investigation mode.”

Stern Wing glances at Feather Wind with a look of uncertainty for a moment before looking back at the Doctor as she says, “Okay, but what about you? Are you sure you'll be fine on your own without us?”

“The strain you two went through likely has taxed your immune system,” the Doctor says back. “It's cold and wet out there, all of which is likely contributing factor to these ponies' gradual decline in health. Declining morale is likely a contributing factor too.” He shakes his head. “I don't want to deal with the risk of you two getting sick as well, so I'm heading this one off at the pass by ordering you to rest. I think you'll be fine as long as we take this early precaution.

“As for me, in addition to the fact I haven't stressed myself out to the degree that you two have, there is also the fact that I have two hearts and, as such, I have a more robust constitution.”

“Really?” Kleetus asks in surprise nearby. “You actually have two hearts?”

In reply, the Doctor simply nods at Kleetus before resumes speaking to his companions.

“Don't worry. I'll use other precautions now and later to even further reduce the risk to my health. Meanwhile, the information I gather from them may help me to lead to a cure for their condition or at least take a step closer to it.” He smiles proudly as he says, “I'm not called The Doctor for nothing. It's time for me to get to work and prove my worth around here.”

“That sounds like a reasonable suggestion under the circumstances,” Feather Wind agrees. “And if we go to the precise destination you described, then you'll know where we'll be just in case you need us later. By then, we might be in better condition to help you as well.”

“Exactly,” the Doctor wholeheartedly agrees as he aims his sonic device at Bhereka and begins using it to scan the injured pony's condition.

“Before we go, there is another thing about Feather Wind that you need to know,” Stern Wing puts forward. “We'll go back to the TARDIS as you suggested, but while we're gone, you need to know that you can send a message to Feather Wind using the wind to deliver a message if need be.”

The Doctor freezes for a second before looking at Stern Wing questioningly and asks simply, “Huh?”

Stern Wing brightens as she asks, “Oh, you didn't know?” She re-thinks this and then verbally expresses, “Ah! I guess we haven't told you about this before. Sorry. I've known this for so long that I forgot about the fact that we haven't told you yet.

“Yeah. With Feather Wind's deep connection to the wind and sky and such, he has also developed the ability to send whispered messages to intended recipients through the wind. In time he later discovered that the same could happen in reverse if others simply say his name out loud with the intent of delivering a message to him. If they do, then they simply need to speak aloud what message they want to deliver and then the wind mysteriously picks up and delivers that message to Feather Wind.”

“That's assuming if either I or my recipient is at a location that the wind can blow within,” Feather Wind adds. “However, I must point out that, in this case, I think the message would be lost if it has to travel through a storm as loud as the one above us.” He nods to indicate the storm above them on the upper decks. “As such, I don't think a whisper would be sufficient and that is all this ability can deliver, at least so far.”

“Oh!” Stern Wing blinks at Feather Wind in surprise. “I didn't know that. As in, I wasn't aware of that particular limitation to the ability.”

“Still, isn't that interesting?” the Doctor asks in a giddy fashion akin to an excited child who just made a very fascinating discovery. “That's good to know. Even if we can't utilize that ability well under these circumstances, we're not always going to be surrounded by hurricane-force winds in every adventure we undertake. At least, I hope not. That kind of repetitiveness would be so boring after a while.

“Anyway, that knowledge might come in handy during our future adventures together.” He grins mischievously at Feather Wind as he jokingly asks, “What kind of data plan do you have with that long-distance service?”

“Ah . . .” Feather Wind regards the Doctor in confusion. “I'm not sure what you mean, but I can tell you that the 'data' I can send or receive is the whispered message itself.”

The Doctor waves Feather Wind off as he says, “Never mind. That's a stupid, inside joke that you'd probably wouldn't ever get in this dimension.

“Anyway, go ahead and return to the TARDIS to do as I instructed.”

“Ooo! Um, can I say something?” Kleetus asks as he raises a hoof.

“Go ahead,” the Doctor invites as he briefly gives the stallion his attention.

Kleetus lowers his hoof as he says, “If we're going to send ponies later to retrieve supplies from this 'Tar-dis' thing or what have you, shouldn't I, or at least one of our ponies, accompony with them to-”

“Whoa! Hold on,” the Doctor interrupts as he raises a hoof then asks, “Did you say 'accompany' or 'accompony', as in pony? The name of the race you are?”

Kleetus just looks confused. He, and everypony around him, always spoke the way they speak and didn't see anything strange about it. As such, he isn't exactly sure what the Doctor was asking about right now.

“Accompony,” Stern Wing answers. “He said accompony.” She then narrows her eyes at the Doctor as she says, “And I know what you're thinking.”

The Doctor literally laughs out loud and slaps his right hind knee for a moment before he slowly recovers and says, “Fancy that! You ponies are so adorable! I can't stand it! You're killing me!”

Feather Wind and Stern Wing develop a dry look while everypony else who was paying attention simply looks confused.

“Anyway, um,” the Doctor says as he starts to simmer down. At this point, he is even fighting to stabilize his mirth enough to get serious again. When he recovers about sixty percent of his serious focus, he says to Kleetus, “I see where you are going with this, and yeah. That's a good idea, my new friend. Yes. Go with them so they can show you where we left the TARDIS. You're going to need to deliver that information to the others so that you can later guide them back to pick up our supplies. By the time you go and come back to gather a bigger crew for that task, they should have some of the supplies ready at the doorstep for later pickup.”

“Forgive me for saying this, but I'd rather not invite a bunch of strangers we just met directly inside the TARDIS just yet,” Stern Wing advises. “Instead of that, we'll hoof them the supplies through the door when they later come back.”

“Always thinking like a security officer, I see,” the Doctor notes with interest. “I had that plan in mind anyway, so sure. Execute the plan exactly as you have suggested.”

Stern Wing nods at the Doctor both to acknowledge his request as well as out of appreciation for him accepting her refined suggestion for security reasons.

Comments

[Walrusesarecute]

“Accom pony ,” Stern Wing answers. “He said accompony.” She then narrows her eyes at the Doctor as she says, “And I know what you're thinking.”

This could be a translation error you know doctor, unless he’s just switching it off or something, the doctor can do a lot, and it seems you are retconning some of the things about the doctor to this story, for the sake of this story, so I am not exactly sure if he is as OP as he actually is in the source material.