Part 5: The Final Track
Doctor Whooves
New Settings; Old Enemies
Part 5
The Final Track
The Cyberponies across Ponyville gathered together in the town square. The only missing one was the one destroyed by The Doctor’s companions. They did not think about this. Their orders were to gather at these coordinates. There was nothing else but that. They stood there for several minutes, waiting.
They didn’t wait very long. Many shadows descended over the town, cast by the Cyber-ships. Each ship began releasing their forces, who all gathered in the square. Soon, the pursuer ponies were lost in the crowd of identical mechanoids. Soon, they began marching across town, spreading down every street. The ponies, who had retreated to their homes when the objects fell, all curled up in fear as they waited what they were sure was the end of the world
The Doctor and his companions were racing down the road, following Derpy to the address Vinyl had given them. Fortunately, the mail mare knew the address, as it had been on her route before. Each of the adult ponies carried at least one of the fillies. Derpy carried her daughter and Apple Bloom, Octavia carried Sweetie Belle and the Doctor carried the injured Scootaloo. Of the three, it was Octavia was having the hardest time, as she was also carrying the severed head of the Cyberpony with her, supported by Sweetie.
“Doctor!” She said. “I’ve gone along with you on this so far because I’m convinced you know best what to do in this situation.”
“But?” The Doctor said, knowing that it was coming.
“But,” Octavia continued, “why in Celestia’s name are we bringing this horrid thing with us?”
“The head is still transmitting,” the Doctor replied. “I used the Sonic to sever its auditory functions, but its optics still work fine. It knows it’s still with us, which means that the others know it too.”
“And that’s good, why exactly?”
The Doctor turned to her with a very serious expression. “Because if they know we have the head, they might think we’re up to something. If they think we’re up to something they might divert some of their forces to deal with us first; which means that it will take longer for them to round up all the civilians.”
Octavia understood. Civilian safety was top priority in the Doctor’s mind at that moment. She smiled. “You’re a great stallion Doctor,” she said.
“We’re here!” Derpy called out.
They came to a stop in front of the white, two story house at the corner of Edward St. The Doctor went up and knocked on the door. “Miss. Scratch!” He called. “It’s us!”
In a few seconds, the door flew open and Vinyl pulled the Doctor inside. Derpy and Octavia followed suit and Vinyl slammed the door behind them.
“What took you ponies so long?” She said anxiously.
“Rescue operation,” the Doctor said as he walked up to the couch in Vinyl’s living room and gently deposited his passenger onto it. “Rest here little one,” he said to Scootaloo. “We’ll get you a doctor real soon.”
“Aren’t you a doctor?” the filly asked.
The Doctor smiled warmly. “Not that kind of Doctor, I’m afraid.”
Derpy and Octavia let down their charges, who immediately ran to the couch to be with their friend. After that, they all took in Vinyl’s home. The walls were covered in posters of various pony bands. She had a set of shelves dedicated to her collection of vinyl records. At the far end of the room was set up a large sound system with several sub-woofers reaching to the ceiling.
“Wow,” Octavia commented. “I thought I was a music pony.”
“Miss. Scratch!” The Doctor said. “Did you charge the device?”
“Yeah,” She said, holding it out in her hoof. “Hooked it up to my battery and it’s fully charged.”
“Good,” He replied. “Miss. Octavia, make the call. We need that backup.”
Octavia nodded and took the device from Vinyl. She once again returned to figiting with the device, but now it was making a loud, staticky noise. “No, no no no! Come on!”
“What is it now?” Vinyl exclaimed.
“Argh! I can’t get a signal out! The blasted thing still won’t work.”
The Doctor grimaced and smacked his head. “No no no no no! Stupid, stupid Doctor! The Cyberponies’ transmissions are overwhelming the device. There’s no chance we could get a signal out now!”
“What do we do?” Derpy asked anxiously.
“I DON’T KNOW!” The Doctor exclaimed loudly. He began pacing around Vinyl’s living room. “I need to think! There has to be something we can do.”
“Well, I’d think fast,” called the voice of Dinky, who was looking out the window positioned over the couch. “’Cause they’re coming this way!”
The three adult mares rushed to the window while the Doctor continued pacing. Outside, they could see, an army of Cyberponies slowly marched down the road. Though it would take time for them to get there, there wasn’t much time.
“What do we do, Doctor?” Derpy asked again.
“I don’t know!” The Doctor also repeated. “We can’t fight them; there’s too many. We can’t run because there’s nowhere To run. We can’t call for help and we can’t save anyone.”
The Doctor continued to pace, muttering to himself. The fillies started to cry as the weight of what was happening settled upon them. Octavia and Derpy sat beside them and embraced the girls in an act of comfort. Derpy nuzzled her daughter and the injured Scootaloo, while Octavia simply held on to Sweetie and Apple Bloom.
The Doctor grumbled before raising his head. “Miss. Scratch. Any chance we can use some of your equipment as makeshift weapons? If we have to fight, it’d be better to have a sporting shot.”
There was no answer. The Doctor turned to the pony in question. She was standing still with her eyes closed and a familiar device clamped over her ears.
“Miss. Scratch?” The Doctor said. “Can you hear me?”
He noticed the device over her ears and grimaced harder. He mumbled about the rudeness of it all as he made to pull the device off her ears and give the sunglasses wearing pony what for.
Then he removed them.
The room practically shook from the power of Vinyl’s headset. The music blared, forcing everypony to cover their ears. Vinyl quickly turned the Ibox off, while everypony else tried to shake the blaring rock and roll from their heads.
“For Celestia’s sake, Vinyl!” Octavia said. “What possessed you to have that music so loud?!”
“I’m sorry!” Vinyl said anxiously. “I do that when I’m nervous or alone or scared! I’m terrified right now, all right?! I needed to block all this out!”
“I understand,” Octavia replied, trying to sound comforting. “I’m scared too. But that’s still no excuse to destroy your hearing. It’s amazing your head didn’t explode!”
Vinyl went on to explain that she had very resilient eardrums, but the Doctor had completely fazed out of reality. His eyes were wide and his mouth small as the words, “…head…explode…” swirled in his brain. Then, there was a spark. He gasped, and then a huge grin spread across his face.
“That’s it!” The Doctor exclaimed.
He ran up to Vinyl, grabbed her head and kissed her right on the mouth. When he pulled away, the mare was totally speechless and completely confused.
“Miss. Scratch! You’re a genius!” The Doctor continued. He released her and turned to Octavia briefly. “She’s all yours now,” he said as he ran to Vinyl’s equipment.
The others followed, still confused, as the Doctor began running his sonic screwdriver over the machines.
“Ye-he-hes!” He shouted. “This can work! This can totally work! Vinyl!”
“W-what?” The mare replied in shock.
“Do you have any long metal rods? Something we could use like the antenna on Octavia’s device?”
“I-I have a lightning rod for rainy days,” she replied. “It saves me having to charge stuff with magic all the time.”
“Brilliant!” He responded. “Go get it! I have a plan!”
“What is it Doctor?” Derpy asked.
He smiled slyly. “Miss. Scratch is going to put on a show for us.”
They all looked at him like he was crazy.
The Cyberponies in the main ship watched the monitors as their forces drew nearer to The Doctor’s location. They didn’t know why he had made himself so easy to track. They did not care. He was trapped. They would delete him.
“Cyberpony unit L-5-Delta,” said the lead Cyberpony. “Delete the Doctor. Capture his allies. They have proven to be superior specimens. They will be the first to be Upgraded.”
They watched as their forces drew closer with cold anticipation.
The Doctor tore and tangled wires from the console of Vinyl’s sound system as the others helped arrange the speakers in a circular pattern. Vinyl hung her lightning rod on her roof from the second floor window, taking a second to look over the huge number of metal terrors heading towards them. She pulled back in and ran down the steps.
“This had better work Doctor,” she said, “because otherwise, we are screwed!”
“Have some faith, my friend,” the Doctor replied cheerfully. “You place the rod?”
“Yep,” Vinyl replied. “We’re set.”
“Good. Now give me the cord.”
Vinyl gave him the cord for the rod, which he took to the center of the room. There sat the Cyberpony head, which was wired to Octavia’s device. The Doctor connected the cord of the rod to the device’s clamp and ran the sonic over the whole configuration.
“Perfect!” he said. “Now all I need do is finish upgrading Vinyl’s machines and we’re set!”
The lead Cyberpony watched the monitors intently. It had noticed the white colored creature hanging a metal rod on the roof of the structure, but dismissed it as irrelevant. It was only focused on victory.
“Leader,” one the other Cyberponies said. “There is a transmission coming from the planet.”
“Source?” The leader inquired.
“It appears to be the damaged Cyberpony unit. However, it is transmitting stronger than the normal channel. The signal is directly reaching our ship.”
“Impossible. No Cyberpony can directly link with the ship. This is The Doctor’s ploy. Block the transmission.”
“I cannot,” the drone replied. “There is a sonic encryption interlaced with the signal. It is breaking through our communication system.”
Then, a familiar voice broke through on the intercom.
“Hello! Is this thing on?”
“Doctor!” The leader stated.
“Oh, brilliant,” The Doctor replied. He cleared his throat dramatically and then continued; “HELLO CYBERPONIES! Now, I bet you all are wondering, ‘How the dickens did the Doctor hack our comms? Easy really; had a good head. And you should know, you built it.”
“This communication is pointless,” the leader responded. “You will be deleted.”
“Oh, really?” The Doctor said mockingly. “Well that Really is too bad, because we’ve got a lovely show for you tonight!”
“… All the way from Ponyville, for her one-night-only pan-galactic rave; It is my honor to present the one, the only, VINYL SCRATCH!” With that, the Doctor cued Vinyl, who was sitting at her control station.
The Doctor then dived behind her couch, joining the other as Vinyl switched on the system, the room vibrating from the hum of the subwoofers. They all covered their ears as Vinyl moved the needle of her turntables over an Eddy Van Neighlen record.
The needle dropped.
They say the sound could be heard all the way in Canterlot. All across Ponyville, windows shattered under the power of Rock and Roll. It was the kind of force that put a Sonic Rainboom to shame.
The Cyberponies convulsed. The music wasn’t just entering their audio sensors, it was being transmitted into their brains at full volume. All of them, even the ones on the ship, were receiving the transmission at full force.
The leader tried to order the communications be shut down, but it couldn’t get through the pure sound of Van Neighlen. Soon, its head exploded. Every Cyberpony’s head exploded. The metal monsters all fell to the power of the sound.
Even the severed head they were using exploded, causing Vinyl to stop and turn off the system. She breathed heavily for a moment, taking in what had happened.
“YEAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” She shouted excitedly.
The others began to dazedly walk out from behind the couch, not fully recovered from the force they had unleashed.
“Did it work?” Octavia said loudly, trying to overcome the ringing in her ears.
The Doctor looked out the window, smiling at their results. “Yes!” he said. “Complete neural overload! I don’t know who this Van Neighlen fellow is, but he just saved this entire planet.”
“Woo hoo,” Derpy said weakly, trying to rub a migraine from her head.
Octavia ran up to Vinyl and embraced her, planting a small kiss on her cheek. “Vinyl, you were fantastic! You saved the world!”
Vinyl smiled and blushed from the kiss. Then, she tilted her head and, in a loud voice, said, “WHAT DID YOU SAY?”
The Doctor, Derpy, Vinyl, Octavia, Dinky, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, all walked out of Vinyl’s house. They surveyed the damage, as well as the metal husks littering the ground. The equestrian ponies all felt great relief. Derpy walked up beside the Doctor, hoping to share in the joy with him. However, her face fell when she saw his expression. His face as sullen, almost sorrowful.
“What’s wrong?” She asked.
He didn’t answer. She looked over the wreckage again. Then she realized the problem. He felt guilty. He felt guilty over killing them.
“Oh,” she said at her realization.
“It’s not really their fault,” he said. “Their race was dying. They made themselves like this to survive. But their minds got corrupted. They began to see everything organic as a sickness. They removed all that was alive in themselves and everything else. The walking dead.”
“Then it’s good,” Derpy said.
The Doctor looked at her in confusion. “Good?” he asked.
“You set them free,” she replied. “Now, they can finally be at peace.”
The Doctor nodded and returned his gaze to the fruits of his labor. “I wish there had been another way. Killing should never be the solution.”
Octavia and Vinyl walked up beside Derpy, with the Cutie Mark Crusaders moving in front of them. Derpy sat and held her child. Eventually, the ponies of Ponyville began to leave their houses, in order to get an idea of what exactly had transpired. They all noticed the group of Ponies standing before the fallen creatures and drew near to get an explanation.
Octavia smirked. “Looks like you have quite a lot of explaining to do, eh Doctor?”
There was no answer. Octavia turned, only to find the Doctor had vanished. The other noticed too and looked about for any trace of him. However, there was no sign and soon the ponies were approached by the crowds and were forced to relay the story themselves.
Derpy and Dinky entered their homes well into the dark of night. Derpy continued to rub her head with her, now bandaged, hooves. Her ears were still ringing as she put her mailbag down on its post. She hadn’t had a chance to finish her route, but doubted that anyone cared, as the whole town was abuzz over the alien invasion. Derpy, Vinyl and Octavia were heralded as heroes of the town. A photographer had taken their picture for the town newspaper, which she said would appear in the next day’s issue. Derpy sighed as she silently pondered the fate of the strange brown pony who had truly saved the day.
As she hung up her bag, a letter fell out. Derpy recognized it as the blue colored dead letter she’d picked out earlier, before the madness started. She shook her head and picked it up from the floor and put it on the coffee table, resolving to deal with it in the morning. She sat down in her comfiest chair and just relaxed, as Dinky hopped onto her lap and snuggled up against her.
“Mommy,” Dinky said. “Who was that pony?”
Derpy knew she meant the Doctor. “I don’t know,” she said sullenly. “I wish I did.”
“Where did he go?” Dinky asked. “Why did he leave?”
Derpy shook her head. “I’m not sure,” she admitted. “But, I think he’s all right.”
They sat silently there. Some time passed before a knock came at the door. The two got up and went to the door. They were pleased to see Vinyl and Octavia waiting on the other side. Octavia was wearing a stylish grey beret with a metal badge with the word E.Q.U.I.T. printed on it. She also wore a grey vest which Derpy presumed went with the hat to make a uniform.
“Hey,” Derpy said politely.
“Good evening Miss. Hooves, Dinky,” Octavia said, bowing politely.
“Hey Derp!” Vinyl said in an elevated tone. She covered her mouth and said, in a softer tone, “Oh, sorry. Hey Derpy.”
“I’m glad to see you both again,” Derpy said.
“Well, after all we’ve been through…” Octavia replied, trailing off at the end.
Vinyl nodded. “It’s been a heck of a day.”
Derpy nodded in reply, Dinky hugging her leg.
“So,” Octavia continued, “any sign of The Doctor?”
Derpy shook her head. “Not since that moment.”
Vinyl kicked the ground. “Just like a guy. All riled up when the action’s going on. But once its over; Poof, out of here!”
“Vinyl,” Octavia said chidingly. “I’m sure The Doctor had his reasons for leaving when he did.”
“Yeah,” Vinyl replied halfheartedly.
Derpy stepped aside invitingly. “Would you like to come in. I was about to make coffee.”
“Thank you,” Octavia replied.
“Coffee sounds good,” Vinyl commented.
The two moved inside the house. Before they could get far, however, they heard a strange noise.
“That’s a weird sounding coffee maker you got there,” Vinyl said.
Derpy shook her head. “I haven’t started the coffee yet. I only just got back.”
“Then what…?”
Octavia’s question was interrupted when they noticed a light outside the door. They all ran to it, fearing more Cyberponies. Instead, what they saw was beyond comprehension. In a blur of light, a strange blue box materialized in front of Derpy’s house. The Box had a light on top and the words “Police Public Call Box” in white lettering over the door. Once it was fully solid, the door to the box opened, revealing a familiar brown pony.
“Oh, hello everyone,” the Doctor said cheerfully as he stepped fully from the box.
“DOCTOR!” Derpy said excitedly as she leaped forward and hugged the alien pony.
The Doctor was slightly shocked by the action, but happily returned the gesture. The others walked up to them as Derpy broke the hug, smiling broadly.
“Where were you?” Vinyl asked, not spitefully, but happily.
“Sorry about that,” the Doctor replied. “Hate being the center of attention when I don’t have to be. Thought it would be best to let you lot handle the crowd.”
“We thought you had gone,” Octavia said.
“Gone?” The Doctor said with mock shock. “Without saying a proper goodbye? Octavia, what manner of Pony do you take me for?”
They all had a good laugh at that.
Dinky looked past the adults and took in the strange blue box that the Doctor stepped out of. “Is that your spaceship?” She asked.
The Doctor smiled proudly and leaned an elbow against it. “Yep,” he said. “This is the TARDIS. Time and Relative Dimensions In Space. Basically my free ride to the cosmos.”
“But… it’s made of wood,” she said, knocking on it to confirm her suspicions.
“It only looks and feels and sounds and tastes and pretty much is wood, except it really isn’t,” the Doctor said.
The filly’s mind tumbled in her brain trying to process that.
“It’s a disguise,” The Doctor clarified. “It can look like anything in order to blend in to its environment.”
“What’s ‘Police Box’ mean?” Vinyl asked.
The Doctor looked up at the sign, furrowing his eyebrows and shaking his head. “I have no idea,” he admitted. “For some reason she liked this form and now she wears it everywhere we go.”
“She?” Derpy asked.
“Yes, she,” The Doctor replied.
“Looks kinda small for a spaceship,” Vinyl commented.
The Doctor chuckled at that. “Oh, there’s more to her than meets the eye.”
Octavia stepped forward. “I’m actually glad you’re back,” she said. “I have great news. I gave my report to my superior, who relayed it to the Princess. It seems there’s to be a celebration in honor of your saving Equestria.”
“Oh,” the Doctor replied. “Well, that’s nice. Be sure to tell me how it goes.”
Octavia gave him a surprised look, then laughed, assuming he was joking. “Doctor, the celebration is for you. You have to attend. It would be horribly rude if you didn’t.”
“It would, wouldn’t it?” the Doctor said thoughtfully. “I suppose I could set aside some time next month to go and see how it works out.”
“Next month?” Octavia said in confusion. “Doctor, the party will be in a week. A month is far too long to wait.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” he said with a mischievous grin. “Tell them to have the party when they like. I’ll be there.”
Octavia sighed in defeat, choosing not to press the matter.
“So,” Derpy interjected. “I guess… this is goodbye.”
The Doctor had a rather sad look on his face, as did they all. After such an incredible experience, splitting up seemed so unpleasant.
“Yeah, I guess it is,” the Doctor replied. “Unless…” he added thoughtfully.
“Unless what?” Derpy asked.
“Well…” The Doctor motioned to the Tardis. “Come with me.”
“Come with you?” They all said in unison.
“Yeah, the lot of you,” he continued. “No reason to split up now. We’ve got a whole universe full of adventures to have, and I’m starting to get tired of going it alone. I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have with me than you lot.”
“YES YES YES YES YES YES YES, a hundred times, YES!” Vinyl exclaimed cheerfully.
Octavia looked at her new friend with scrutiny. “Vinyl, be serious, we can’t all just up and leave.”
“Maybe you can’t,” Vinyl replied, “but I sure can.”
“What about your job?” Octavia said.
“Don’t have one,” Vinyl said. “I work on commission.”
“Well Derpy and I do,” Octavia said. “I have to report back to HQ post haste, Doctor or no Doctor.”
“And I have to deliver the mail every day,” Derpy said with a sullen look. “And I couldn’t leave Dinky behind.”
“Who said anything about leaving Dinky?” The Doctor asked.
Dinky perked up at that. “Really?” She asked excitedly.
Derpy looked at him incredulously, wrapping a leg around Dinky. “Are you crazy?!” she asked angrily. “She’s just a foal.”
“But Mommy,” Dinky protested.
“No buts,” She said protectively. “Besides, you have school.”
Dinky slumped disappointedly.
“Come on guys!” Vinyl urged. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance! Are you really gonna pass up seeing the stars for some lame jobs?”
“Vinyl, you may live life with reckless abandon,” Octavia replied, “but some of us don’t have that luxury. We have responsibilities; to our jobs, our families, the people around us. We can’t just up and abandon that for, who knows how long.”
“If I may,” the Doctor interjected, focusing on Derpy and Dinky. “I hope I needn’t remind everyone that this little marvel generates a force field powerful enough to hold back a Cyberpony. That’s no small feat, let me tell you.”
Dinky smiled proudly at the compliment.
“Not to mention,” he continued, “her mother beat up a Cyberpony with her bare hooves.”
Derpy blushed, rubbing the bandages around her hooves.
“Honestly, I’m not so worried about what danger you’re in if you wander the universe, than how much trouble the universe is in if it threatens you. And if you are still worried, know that I’ll always be there to keep you two safe. I swear it.”
Dinky looked at her mother pleadingly. Derpy just couldn’t say no to that face. She sighed in submission and nodded her head. “Okay, Muffin,” she said. “We’ll go. But I want you to stay by me at all times, got it?”
Dinky responded by leaping up and hugging her mother around the neck, which the mare returned in kind. The Doctor smiled at the display of affection shared by mother and child.
Octavia just groaned in frustration. “Derpy, what about your job?” She asked. “And Dinky’s school. How are you going to explain the absences?”
The Doctor walked up to Octavia and looked her in the eye. “You know,” he said, “for a highly trained government spy, you aren’t very observant.”
Octavia looked at him with confusion. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means, I’m a Time Pony who travels in a machine called ‘Time And Relative Dimensions In Space’ and you never once thought to ask what that means.”
Octavia took in the Doctor’s coy expression as she tried to process what he meant by all that. Then, it hit her like a pile of bricks. “Oh, no…” she said. “You can’t be serious.”
“I too am serious,” The Doctor replied coyly.
The others all caught on and smiled widely at the implication.
“Holy cow, it’s a Time Machine!” Vinyl said, running up to it. “That’s 1000 times cooler than just a spaceship. And it can go anywhere?”
“Anywhere, any when, any how, any hen,” the Doctor said jokingly.
“Impossible!” Octavia stated. “I’m sorry, but that’s completely impossible. I’m willing to accept that you might be an alien. I’m even willing to accept that this box is some type of transport. But it is a scientific fact that controlled time travel is impossible! The best anypony has ever done is going back a few days and only for a few seconds. It would take more magic than all of Equestria combined to power controlled time travel.”
“Oh, really?” The Doctor said challengingly.
“Yes, really,” Octavia replied.
The Doctor smiled widely. “Derpy, did you find a dead letter earlier today? A rather thick one in a blue envelope?”
Derpy gave him a surprised look. “Y-yes,” She replied. “How did you…?”
“Could you go get it for me?” He interjected.
Without any more prodding, Derpy ran inside and pulled the letter off the coffee table and ran back out.
“Would you mind opening it for us?” He asked.
“But I can’t,” Derpy said, depositing the letter into her hooves. “It’s not mine.”
“Sure it is,” The Doctor said, pulling out the Sonic Screwdriver. “See?”
He buzzed it over the front of the letter. Surprisingly, this caused words to appear where there had previously been none. They read, “To Derpy Hooves”.
Pushing aside the surprise, Derpy opened the letter, the other mares peering over her shoulders. She pulled out what looked to be a folded up newspaper clipping, and a sizable one at that. She unfolded the clipping, revealing the headline and a photo. “Mysterious Alien Invasion Averted by Concerned Ponyville Citizens” read the headline. They all gasped as they realized the picture was of themselves. It was the picture that had been taken earlier that day by the news pony.
“Whoa!” Vinyl commented.
“It’s us!” Derpy said. “It’s a clipping from tomorrow’s paper!”
“Impossible,” Octavia said. “It must be a late edition paper.”
“But look at the date,” Vinyl said. “That’s tomorrow’s date.”
“And it’s been in my bag since before I met any of you,” Derpy said.
“Lemme see, Lemme see!” Dinky called out, her mother lowering the picture for her to see. “Wow!”
Octavia strained herself trying to think of how this could be. This was just too incredible for her to process.
Vinyl put an arm over the flustered Octavia’s shoulder and said, “Face it, beautiful; He’s a time traveler.”
With that, Vinyl stepped forward beside the Doctor. Derpy and Dinky also stepped forward and turned to Octavia. The grey mare stuttered, struggling to find some rational explanation. When none was forthcoming, she sighed in defeat and walked forward to join them.
“Oh well,” she said. “What’s the worse that could happen?”
“That’s the spirit, my dear lieutenant,” The Doctor said. He motioned to the door of the Tardis. “Everyone ready to go?”
“Are you sure we’ll all fit?” Octavia said jokingly, suspecting it would stretch to accommodate them. It was the only sensible thing she could think of; which actually assured her guess was wrong.
The Doctor smiled slyly as he clopped his hoof against the ground three times, causing the closed door to emit a clicking sound, like a lock releasing, and swing open. All four ponies’ eyes nearly bulged from their heads.
Inside, the Tardis was a massive chamber. The dome ceiling reached almost twenty feet into the sky and had an underbelly that went at least seven feet into the ground. The walls were silver with circular indents lining it completely. In the center was a massive glass column. Inside the glass were several crystal cylinders, moving up and down in a rotating pattern inside. As they moved, the same sound that preceded the Tardis’ appearance emanated from them. It all was set in a circular control panel. The controls seemed to be a rather random selection of knick-knacks and gimmicks, including a typewriter, an abacus and various levers and pulleys of all shapes and sizes. The controls were elevated above the lowest point of the ship, with a metal catwalk allowing access to it leading to the door. On the far side, three stairways lead into three dark hallways. All this was bathed in a faint glow emanating from the ceiling.
The Doctor stepped in first, prompting the others to follow. They all tentatively stepped in, as if afraid that if they went too far they’d wake from what must have been a very surreal dream.
“Well?” The Doctor probed. “Anything you’d like to say?”
“Its…” Vinyl began.
“…Bigger…” Octavia continued.
“…On…” Derpy also added.
“…the inside,” concluded Dinky.
Almost immediately, Octavia began racing around the lower level of the room, which were accessed by two flights of stairs next to the catwalk. She ran about, as if looking for some hole or piece of fake material that would confirm it wasn’t real. The others just watched as she raced about, tapping on the walls, and then as she raced outside, apparently to confirm that the dimensions of the box indeed did not mesh with the inside.
“I can tell she’s gonna be a lot of fun,” Vinyl commented with an amused smile.
“You two are taking this rather well,” Said the Doctor.
Vinyl and Derpy gave him a deadpan look.
“We survived Discord turning our town into his own personal surrealist playground,” Vinyl said.
“You get used to it,” Derpy added.
Octavia rushed back in. “This thing is amazing!” She exclaimed. “How is it doing this?”
“It’s dimensionally transcendental,” the Doctor replied. Noting the confused look of his companions, he continued. “The inside exists outside the normal rules of space, and the outside anchors it to normal space.”
“Oh,” They all replied, not really understanding it.
They all went up to the controls. Each of the ponies scrutinized the manic control scheme, trying to make sense of it. Eventually they all realized that making sense would probably defy the point of the Tardis; that being to be totally nonsensical.
“Loving the control scheme,” Vinyl said. “Throw it together yourself?”
“Not exactly,” The Docto replied. “The Tardis just knows how I like to drive and arranged itself to suit my preferences.”
“Now that’s what I call service,” Vinyl said with a grin.
“So,” Octavia interjected. “If its designed to your preferences, that means you can operate it expertly?”
“Um… well… he he he.” The Doctor stuttered as he tried to find the right words to address that.
Octavia gave him a look that showed her lack of confidence.
“Where to first Doctor?” Derpy asked, hoping to break the tension.
The Doctor smiled warmly. “Glad you asked Miss. Hooves,” He said. “Everyone, grab onto something!”
The others went to the railings which lined the catwalk. Each railing was lined with soft foam, which made them all nervous. Derpy held on to Dinky as the Doctor began working the controls. With the flip of a switch, the cylinders began moving in unison and the sound grew louder. Soon, the whole place was shaking, causing most of the ponies to panic.
The only non-panicking pony was a certain Vinyl Scratch, who whooped and hollered with reckless abandon as the ship shook and wobbled.
When it finally stopped, the equestrian ponies all groaned dizzily. They slowly picked themselves up, all wobbly from the experience.
“W-where are we Doctor?” Derpy asked.
“See for yourselves,” he replied playfully.
The Doctor opened the door with a switch on the control panel. Curiosity dominating them, the four Equestrians walked towards the door. What they saw was awe inspiring.
Hovering in a black expanse was a large blue sphere. The sphere was covered in brown masses and white amorphous shapes that constantly moved about. It took them all only a second to realize what they were seeing.
“It’s… home,” Dinky muttered.
The others remained silent, watching their world floating before them in the expanse of space. Vinyl removed her dark glasses, revealing her vibrant red eyes. She wiped a tear away, the scene moving her to tears. Octavia, who was at her side, embraced her, sharing in the moment. Derpy wrapped her fore-hooves around Dinky as all four sat to just enjoy the view.
The Doctor walked up to the door and joined in their sitting. Rather than take in the sight, he instead took in their reactions. The fact that they were so moved by the beauty of their world warmed his hearts. It convinced him that they indeed were the right choice to bring along.
Derpy turned, seeing the Doctor sitting with them. “Thank you,” she said.
“It was my pleasure,” he replied. He then stood and returned to the console. “Well, come on then. Don’t want to get bored with it.”
The Equestrians all stood as the door closed. As they stood, Octavia noticed Vinyl’s eyes and her heart skipped a beat.
“Vinyl,” She said. “Your eyes.”
“Wha?” Vinyl replied, not sure what Octavia meant before realizing she’d forgot to re-place her glasses. “Oh, right. Pretty rad, huh?”
“Y-yes,” Octavia replied, moving a hoof through her hair. “They’re… really quite lovely.”
Vinyl’s eyes widened. Both ponies blushed and turned away.
“Gee, thanks,” Vinyl managed to squeak out as she put her glasses back on.
Both Derpy and Dinky chuckled at the actions of the two as they all eventually joined the Doctor at the center.
“So, where to next Doctor?” Derpy asked excitedly.
The others all gazed at him, waiting for his answer.
The Doctor gave a sly smile and said. “Where, Miss. Hoooves? Everywhere!”
With that, the Doctor restarted the Tardis, causing everyone to brace for the take off. Outside, the Tardis faded from the universe. It flowed into time itself, being pulled through all of existence on the waves of time itself. As the little blue box soared through the Time Vortex, one thing was certain;
Adventure was not far ahead.
The End
AN. Okay, truth time. This has actually been finished since I posted the first chapter. I wanted to see what people thought while I posted each chapter gradually. I wrote up the whole thing before posting to ensure that I didn't make any major continuity flubs and so I could add elements to make it all flow better. I'm pleased to say that the reaction has been mostly positive, so I decided to just bite the bullet and post the final chapter now. I might do more stories if the mood strikes me. I certainly have ideas.
Please feel free to post your thoughts in the comments. I'll take all criticism and ideas.
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1380935
I meant to reply to this earlier. EQUIT is the Pony universe equivalent of UNIT. And all that that implies.
Two thumbs way up. You got a first meeting with the doctor down.
And how can someone not smile when somepony or ponies say "Its bigger on the inside."
Excellent work amigo. I hope you keep at it.
1404395
You have raped mah' Childhood.
Well, well, well. This ends quite a good Doctor Whooves fanfic. Actually, mah' favorite of all the DW fics Ah' have seen by now. Ah'm expectin' many, many adventures from that group, because, the endin' leaves us with the possibilities of a sequel. And, If ya' don't do one, Ah'll murder ya'!
Loved it
I want to put in my oc
To quote Skrillex:
YES OH MY GOD
1820155 I wouldn't hold my breath on that. I'm not looking for OCs at the moment. I do plan to do a spin off of these featuring the Doctor and his companions in Ponyville at some point, maybe then I might consider it.
1868387 As I see it, this is a completely different character from any of the Doctors before. He is the Doctor of his world, but he's not just a pony version of the Doctor. He has his own life, adventures and history which parallel the Humanoid Doctor, but he is his own pony. As such he's yet to regenerate in this lifetime so he's still the first Doctor of this world.
Edit: I'm reconsidering this stance, postulating that I might include earlier incarnations of this Doctor based on previous canon Doctors, but with my own twist. It's a thought, I'm still trying to get myself going on Story 3. Small hint, it'll be a Time-Travel story set in the pony equivalent of the Victorian Era.
I can totally see the "I Am The Doctor" music playing during this.
Have you ever considered becoming an author?
2268182
I have to agree with him/her the chapters were too short. Otherwise, great job!
you used a pony version of Eddie Van Halen to kill an army of cyperponys......AWESOME!!!
Well it looks like the Cyperponys got......rocked. YEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
I want to see more of their adventures!
THIS IS GREAT~! Following you now.