That Blue Box

by Aurora Aura

A Diamond in the Ruff: Part 3

The Doctor, Derpy Hooves, doctor Rain Step, and the pastel blue unicorn buck with the rich green shaggy mane that hung down his face sat inside a familiar cozy office. The pale blue unicorn sat furthest away from the door so as to avoid being noticed should a diamond dog rear his or her head through the doorway. After ranting about how lucky everypony was that he wouldn't kill all his workers the diamond dog leader let them all go back to their scheduled work.

"So, just so we're clear," the Doctor began. "Your name is Crimson Sunrise? But you're blue ... and your mane is really green"

Crimson had incredible patients and this showed through because even after the nineteenth time asking he still responded with a smile and just as gently as the first time, "It's unusual I know, guess my parents really wanted my coat on the other end of the spectrum."

"Doctor I think we've covered this enough, don't be rude," Derpy said, chiding the Doctor for the second time that day.

"It's quite fine miss, I promise," Crimson said. "Besides he's helped us out so much just in the last twenty four hours that I'm just happy talking to the man."

"I'm not worthy of your praise Crimson, not yet," the Doctor told him. "Not until I can get every slave out of here."

"You really think you can do that Doctor?" Asked Rain Step.

"If I can get to my TARDIS, yes. I think I have something in there that could possible give us the information that we need to win this."

"You know my mother had a saying Doctor," Derpy said. "She used to say that 'if' is the most powerful word in the Equestrian language."

The Doctor beamed a smiled at Derpy, one that she returned in kind. "That's exactly the reason we're going to win this Derpy. That winning attitude."

"I'm sorry, but what is a TARDIS?" asked Crimson.

Rain Step answered for the Doctor, "a big blue box."

"Glass thing on top, says 'police' on the side?" asked Crimson again.

"You've seen it then," the Doctor stated.

"Yes, when the captured me they took me to the leader's throne room. It was serving as a back rest for his throne."

"Well now that's just silly," Derpy said.

"Derpy's right, I mean it's wood! Can't be terrible comfortable and it's also much too big for that tiny dog."

"Well that's not what I meant Doctor. I was referring to the fact that there must be a million better uses for the TARDIS than a back rest."

"Well now to be fair it depends on the craftsmen. I mean as long as whoever jury-rigged it together put forth their best effort and didn't cut corners then it should be fine. That's what the contractor for the pentagon did, cut corners. It was supposed to be an octagon. Oh well, c'est la vi right?"

"You know what Doctor?"

"What's that Derpy?"

"The worse the situation gets, the worse your jokes get."

"That wasn't a joke, the pentagon was designed by American architect George Bergstrom. His original plans were to make it an Octagon but the folks they got doing the actual leg work decided to make it go a little faster. Granted I'd be anxious to finish quickly too if my boss was a Voord. Blimey, not a catering bunch I'll tell you that right now."

Before anypony in the room could attempt to make sense of what the Doctor had just said a charcoal-coated unicorn mare with streaks of color in her long white mane poked her head around the corner and said, "Sorry to interrupt but the name of Spartacus is being besmirch by the few slaves that actually look up the diamond dogs. Just, don't believe the rumors, whomever this Spartacus pony is, they are definitely here to help." With that the unicorn mare disappeared behind the wall of dirt again.

"That was odd," stated Derpy.

"This is what I mean Doctor. You bring everypony something they have not seen in a very long time. You think you have done nothing but really you have done the most important thing anypony could do. And that is give us hope," Crimson informed the Doctor.

The Doctor pondered this for a moment before standing up and saying "Derpy, I think it's time we had a little talk with our slaver king. Don't you agree?"

"What's the plan Doctor?"

"That's the beauty of it my dear Derpy Hooves. I don't have one," the Doctor stated with a confident smile.

Rain Step looked at the Doctor in shock, "but Doctor, no plan? The leader is a very dangerous diamond dog. Very clever and not too forgiving."

"And that is exactly why I'm not going in with a plan. Something will almost definitely happen and I'll have to abandon the plan anyway. This way, since there is no plan not only will I not have to abandon anything but I'll have the element of surprise. He'll never expect it."

"Are you sure about this Doctor?" asked Crimson.

"Yes, just stay here with Rain Step and Derpy and I will have this sorted out my mid-morning tea."

"Very well Doctor, I hope when I see you next it will be as a free stallion."

"So do I Crimson, so do I."

---

The Doctor and Derpy were making their way through the winding caverns of the mines. It had been almost an hour since they left Rain Step's office and almost twenty minutes since they'd last seen anyone else, pony or otherwise. And with still quite a bit of ways to walk if the instructions they received were accurate they decided that now is the best time they had to just talk.

"Derpy, I want to apologize for getting you into this."

"It's fine Doctor, I'm the one who wanted to come here in the first place. So really it's my fault."

"No it's my fault, well the TARDIS' fault really. I mean the TARDIS doesn't always take me where I want to go but it most certainly always takes me where I need to go, she always knows where I'm needed. So it's a combination of fault between me and the TARDIS."

"Did you just call the TARDIS a she?" Derpy asked, giggling a little.

"Yes, me and her ran away together. She stole a Time Lord and I stole a TARDIS."

"How do you mean you 'ran away together' I mean it's not as if the TARDIS can exactly talk," Derpy asked, still smiling. "Or can it?" Her smile faltered briefly at that as she pondered the thought.

"Well without going into too much detail, the TARDIS is mine on a sort of finders, keepers basis."

Derpy raised an eyebrow. "So you stole it?"

"Well, maybe. I mean it's just been so long. The details are a tad fuzzy."

"Really Doctor, it's been such a long time, what ten years? How old are you anyway?"

Now the Doctor raised an eyebrow but added his own sly smile to it as well. "Guess."

"I dunno, twenty three."

"That's actually fairly close if you add two zeros."

"Twenty three hundred?" Derpy asked in disbelief. "Alright now your just messing with me Doctor. I mean I know I said the same thing about the whole time travel stuff but there is no way on Earth that you can be that old. It's not possible, no pony is that old."

"Except for Celestia and Luna," the Doctor added. Then the Doctor looked slightly downward and muttered mostly to himself "at least I think so. Hmm, I'm going to have to find out how old they are when we're done here."

"Well that's different Doctor?"

"Because they are alicorns?"

"Yes Doctor, they aren't normal ponies like me or you."

"I told you Derpy, don't you remember? I'm a Time Lord, we have quite a few tricks for cheating death, near agelessness is one of them."

"Near agelessness? I don't follow."

"I'm saying give me another eight hundred years or so with this face and I'll be needing a cane to walk from my bed to the kitchen in the morning."

"So you really aren't a pony then?"

"Eeyup. One hundred percent Time Lord here baby."

Derpy face began to show small hints of pink with that comment but she didn't let up, "Can you prove you aren't a pony?"

The Doctor had stopped walking now and had turned to fully face Derpy. Derpy stopped too and looked back at the Doctor, who had reached down and grabbed her by her hoofs and brought them both up to his chest and held them there as he looked Derpy in the eyes. Derpy's face had become more flush with the sudden hoof-holding but she didn't pull away.

For a moment Derpy could only sit there. She could feel the Doctor's heard beat but more than that, she could feel both of them. Derpy Hooves was feeling a steady rhythm of four through her hoofs. Like a drum beat, four beats over and over. bum bum bum bum. It was a bit unsettling at first but she quickly became fond of the experience. The steady rhythm was calming and never without pause as each heart beat individually rather than in synchronization. As Derpy began to marvel at what she was feeling the Doctor began to speak.

"I'm a Time Lord. I have two hearts and I am twenty three hundred and seventeen years old. I have many different abilities that is granted through my race, much like your ability to fly only my abilities are much less apparent. It's strange and it's complicated and I'll just need you to trust that a lot about me is impossible."

Derpy nodded and lowered her hoofs. There was a moment of awkward silence before the two began walking again. After another minute had passed Derpy decided to break the silence.

"So Doctor, is this how you've spent those two thousand years. Traveling time and space, kicking flank and saving innocent ponies?"

"Mostly. I started my adventure when I was a spry two hundred year old."

Derpy giggled at that. "A spry two hundred year old," she repeated.

The Doctor smiled and nodded, "yes yes, I know how that must sound."

"Doctor, I think we're here."

The Doctor looked away from Derpy and focused on the double doorway blocked by two golden, gem encrusted doors.

"These doors seem really out of place, don't they?" asked the Doctor.

:"At least we know it's probably the right place," Derpy replied with a shrug.

"Well no sense just standing here staring," the Doctor said as he trotted up to the door and gave it a few quick taps and called out "Hey it's Spartacus and his biggest conspirator! I'm the real Spartacus, we want to chat!"

There was a brief moment of silence and the two doors slowly opened revealing an open room. The ceiling ascended out of the light and into the shadows, a pair of stalagmites rose up to meet a pair of stalactites on either side of the paved walkway that lead to the makeshift throne where the diamond dog leader sat.

"Hello Spartacus," the diamond dog said. "It was very brave, albeit foolish, of you to seek me out like this."

"I see. You're one of those boring maniacs who's going to gloat. Are you going to tell me your plan for running the world too?" asked the Doctor.

Derpy leaned over to the Doctor and whispered "Doctor didn't we talk about you sassing people in power?"

"Why does she call you Doctor?" asked the diamond dog.

"Because Spartacus is nothing more than an idea. But that's irrelevant," the Doctor began, walking over towards the throne as he continued. "Because that back rest you got their is mine and I'd be liking it back no thank you."

"That's not gonna work," Derpy muttered.

"Are you threatening me pony?"

"No, no I'm not. Because I don't make threats, but I do keep promises. And I promise you, I shall cause you more trouble than you bargain for if you don't return my property."

"It's quite alright Spartacus I think I'll take my chances."

"Doctor, why are there no guards in this room. Doesn't that seem a little strange?"

"Yeah why is that Mr. diamond dog? And how did those doors open, wait, don't tell me. Remote control right? I can see the little button on your arm rest. Oh that is brilliant. But who is giving you this because you didn't come up with it on your own?"

"It is actually one of my own inventions, thank you for noticing."

"How is it that you are so mentally advanced while the other diamond dogs have the hardest time enunciating even simple words like 'pony?' And is that my sonic‽" The Doctor had noticed that his sonic screwdriver had been resting on the armrest with the button on it. Something he would have noticed sooner if it had been in one piece.

"Is that what it's called. Strange, not the name I'd have given it," the diamond dog pondered that for a moment before snapping back to reality. "No matter, it's your item so here, fix it together and show me how it works and I'll consider letting you live." The diamond dog had grabbed the pieces and thrown them on the ground by the Doctor.

The Doctor started to laugh but managed to contain himself. "As you wish."

The diamond dog stared curiously at the Doctor during his little outburst but merely watched in silence and allowed him to work. All together it took the Doctor about a minute and half to piece all the tiny pieces together again. "I usually don't take that long but I'm used to doing that with more digits.

The Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at the diamond dog and turned it on for a few seconds. Something that startled the diamond dog at first but he relaxed once he realized it was doing no damage. After the brief moment had passed the doctor brought the screwdriver up to his face and looked at the side, occasionally making knowingly mutters to himself. now the diamond dog was starting to get a little impatient.

"Doctor what's going on?" asked Derpy.

"It seems our friend here doesn't have an alien parasite in his head like I thought, and that's a big problem because I was really hoping it'd be as easy as removing a brain parasite."

"Any plan yet?"

The diamond dog cleared her throat to get the attention of the duo, "You are almost five feet from me, I can hear everything you are saying. In case you had forgotten."

"Derpy, have you noticed a lot of people hear have been clearing their throats a lot?"

"Yeah but that's been only as an attention grabber."

"For the most part yeah, I just think it's kind of odd is all."

"A coincidence I suppose."

"Yes but you never want to ignore coincidence, unless your busy, then you always ignore coincidence."

Another throat clear from the diamond dog cut their conversation off once again.

"Perhaps we should focus," the Doctor suggested.

"Yeah that's probably for the best," Derpy agreed. "How's that plan anyway?"

"Already in progress."

"That's enough! Both of you! I will not be ignored!"

The Doctor chuckled a little at the outburst.

"What's so funny‽" Demanded the diamond dog.

The Doctor leaned over to Derpy and said, "there really is nothing cutie than an agree puppy."

That had been the final thing that he could take, the diamond dog leapt from his throne and towards the ponies below. The Doctor had near simultaneously raised the sonic screwdriver and turned it on. Only instead the gentle sound of the alien device was amplified and it was directed right into the diamond dog's ear as he approached the Doctor and Derpy.

The diamond dog collapsed to the ground, howling in pain. Derpy was doing her best to block the sound from her ears. The Doctor began to speak just loud enough to be heard as he kept the sound going.

"Now here is what's going to happen. Every diamond dog will evacuate the mine, you can tell them what you wish but you will all leave. And the slaves shall remain here. Are we clear? Because if we aren't I can keep this up all day long."

"Yes, yes you win we will leave, we will. Just stop it, please!"

---

The Doctor and Derpy sat together in front of the Large throne as slaves ran around every part of the long series of caverns cheering.

"You know Derpy, we are very lucky that we were up against dogs. That sensitive hearing was pretty much the only thing that won us the day. If it had been literally anything else I don't know what we would have done."

"You would have figured something out Doctor, you always do."

"Doctor," came the voice of the aged sage green pegasus.

"Rain Step, there you are. I was beginning to think you weren't going to stop by and say goodbye," the Doctor said with a smile.

"Of course I was going too, this room is just very far away from my office."

"We're aware," Derpy told him.

"Right, anyway I just wanted to wish you two luck in your travels. We'll never forget what you've done here today, Spartacus."

"It was my pleasure Rain Step, sincerely it was. And don't worry about staying safe out here. I'll make sure Princess Celestia herself sends a regime out here to escort everypony back to their homes and families safely. She kind of owes me one."

Rain Step chuckled, "if you say so Doctor."

"Come on Derpy, lets go see what tomorrow has in store for us."

"Or maybe yesterday," Derpy said, the smile on her lips evident in her voice.

The two entered the TARDIS and the Doctor walked over to the center console.

"Well Doctor, you said you wanted to see something. And it is your turn to pick where we're going so ... where are we going?"

"We're going to see if I can't contact an old friend of mine."

Comments

[Hekate Sketch]

that was an awsome turn-out.

Onaward to the next page!