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Day and Night3,916 words
Time and Space3,326 words
Landing 3,471 words
First Contact6,582 words
A Long-Awaited Talk2,786 words
A Peculiar Discussion3,618 words
Meeting the Doctor5,450 words
Fifth Circle4,576 words
Ungodly Surprises3,656 words
Progress3,899 words
Parting Words3,796 words
Returning To The Start2,857 words

Returning To The Start

Three years later...

Come on, come on, come on come on come on...

The Doctor's hooves drummed against the seat of the train as it sped down the snowy tracks and through the storm. It had, through a Royal Order, reserved just for him and ordered to travel with haste to Ponyville from Canterlot. The trip apparently lasted roughly an hour, but to him it felt painfully longer than that. After all, every minute he spent getting closer to the TARDIS was one he wished could go faster.

He had just finished going through quite the ordeal in a faraway town when he had received a message from Princess Celestia, the scroll containing a glowing key. He could hardly believe it: against all odds, and with no clue of its presence anywhere, the TARDIS had simply reappeared not too far from where he had originally landed.

Finally, I finally found it...can't this train go any faster?!

He fretted, and walked around the only other car that the train possessed. He tugged at his coat, his tail whipping around, and opened the door to the front of the train, where the three stallion were hard at work in order to keep the train on its course.

"Excuse me, gents!" he shouted, hoping they could hear them above the furious roar of the wheels, "how soon will we be there?!"

"It'll be roughly nine and a half PM when we arrive, sir, so I'd give it about forty more minutes! Maybe a bit more if the storm gets worse!" replied the engineer, shoveling more coal into the furnace.

The Doctor watched him work for a few seconds, cursing the bad weather under his breath. He suddenly had an idea, and made a few quick calculations and observations before approaching him. In the small room, the furnace stood at the bottom right underneath a network of pipes which were connected to other parts of the train. He dug into his inner right pocket, blew on the object he had retrieved and tapped the other stallion on the shoulder.

"What?!"

"Stand back!" shouted the Doctor, before throwing something glowing into the fire which went from orange to blue, and the entire train seemed to shake a tad harder. "Mana crystal, should help save some of that coal, but feed the fire every few seconds, alright?! Also get some steam in those pipes before the front window becomes useless! Can you do that?!"

"Uh...yeah, sure!"

"There's a good stallion! Driver!" The Doctor yelled before walking up to the driver, whose post was located at the top left hand-side of the room, and facing him.

"Maintain you course but go a bit easy on her if you don't want this thing to crash into a wall! Taskmaster!" he said, turning to the stallion who stood by the window on the right, "can you check on the wheels real quick?!"

The taskmaster, who stared at the strange guest for a few seconds, shook his head before securing his goggles on his head as well as his safety mask before climbing out of the window and hanging on to the ladder fixed next to it. In the fierce storm, the wheels were now glowing an electric blue, and seemed to spin slower although the train was positively thrumming with energy. It seemed as though they were gliding on the tracks instead of struggling through them, and he carried that thought back into the compartment.

"They're glowing! What in Tartarus did you do?!"

"Ask the engineer, but no need to worry your beautiful train is fine!" he laughed, before turning back to the driver. "Now then, when did you say we would get there?"

"...Ah, yes! Well, with what you did..." he replied, before checking the dials and pulling on a few levers, "we've only got ten minutes to go!"

"Grand! Listen I'm heading back into my car, give a shout if you need me!"

And with that, the Doctor walked out of the compartment and slammed the door behind him. The staff looked at each other, dumbfounded and feeling like foals, before looking back at the re-opening door.

"Sorry, just wanted to say thank you and great job. Toodles!"

The door closed, and the three stallions felt - Celestia knows why - very proud of themselves when they went back to work. Meanwhile, the Doctor slumped back in his seat and stared out the window. Through the storm, and above the slight blue glow coming from the bottom of the window, he could make out a few houses and street lights. He was close.

Look at that. All this time, and I couldn't see the obvious. The doors, the train, the clothes, and so many other things. It feels good to be back...sort of.

He then went back to drumming his hooves, content in knowing the improved train was on its way home.

************

The train came to a smooth halt at the Ponyville train station, which was peaceful now that the storm had calmed down a few minutes ago, and the glow of the wheels went out in a second. The Doctor stepped out of the steaming train, made sure his battered saddlebags were well attached, and knocked on the front car's door to reveal the taskmaster. He reached into his outer left pocket, and pulled out a heavy leather bag.

"Thanks a bunch, gents. Here's a few bits for tinkering with your train, and a few extra to get yourselves a coffee".

"At this time of the night?"

"Or hot chocolate, whatever tickles your fancy. Anyways, I'm off. Have a good night and take good care of this magnificent beast, you hear me? Take it easy," he said, before walking off.

"Yessir! Have a good night too!" laughed the taskmaster, waving goodbye.

The Doctor walked around town, guided only by the street's lights and the glow from the key within the parchment. According to the letter, the TARDIS had simply appeared in front of Ponyville's clock tower, and a single day had passed before he arrived. The locals had been told to stay away from it, and they had, as space-time related problems and accidents were the last thing our Doctor would need. He turned a street corner and froze.

Further down the street, under the dark yellow light of a lamp post, the TARDIS stood intact. The light bulb on the top shone every few seconds, but no wheezing noise was heard. After staring for a few seconds, the Doctor slowly walked towards it. The world seemed to have gone completely silent, save for the noise of his hooves crunching in the snow and a very gentle wind blowing past his ears. Once he stood in front of the TARDIS - still as blue, and a tad taller - he gave a shaky laugh and put a hoof on the front doors.

"Look at you...you managed to get even taller. But you're still so very beautiful." Then, as strange as he looked, he hugged the box. "I'm glad you're back."

"Aaaaw, look at that. You're adorable, you know that?"

The Doctor didn't need to turn around to see who had arrived, but he did, and looked up to see his friend floating above him, with his legs crossed and his arms tucked in a hoodie that matched his various body parts.

"Hello, Discord. What brings you here?"

"Why, this little beauty, of course," he chuckled, landing to wrap an arm around the box. "Yes, this box has caused such a magic disturbance that I just had to see what the fuss was about. And what a box it is. Looks so simple, and yet it remains...enticing."

"Yeah, she's a gem alright."

"In other news, I was expecting you to be mad at me for what happened last time. No remarks, passing comments, thoughts? No?"

"Oh, I got tired of being mad at you after a while. It got too boring to my liking," the Doctor replied, resting his back against the TARDIS and crossing his forehooves.

"There, now you're getting it! So I guess we're done here; you're heading up, up and over the stars again. Well, it's been fun, send me a postcard! Ciao!"

With a pop and a flash of white light, Discord vanished. The Doctor looked up, down, and around him until he felt one of his pockets get heavier.

"Unless," mused Discord, whose head had popped out of said pocket,"you're doubting yourself..."

"Of course I'm not!" barked the Doctor, pulling Discord out of his pocket, "getting out of here was the plan from the start!"

"Indeed it was. Good times," replied Discord, nonchalantly inspecting his claws while his back rested against the lamp post.

The two stared at each other, one with a big ol' grin splitting his face in half while the other smiled knowingly. To them, under the street light and the TARDIS, it felt as though they were the only beings on the planet. Or rather there was no need for anyone else to share this quiet, snowy moment with, until the draconequus cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, and look at that. Company."

The Doctor followed his gaze to find that there was indeed a newcomer to their new sanctuary; an alicorn, wearing a red scarf and furry green ear muffs, trotted up to them with a scroll held by her magic.

"Hello...Time Turner, if I'm not mistaken, and to you too Discord. Nice hoodie," said Twilight Sparkle, smiling up at Discord.

"Oh I know, and I absolutely love it! I have to say it was a stroke of genius on her part," replied Discord, pulling the hood over his head to emphasize how well his horns slid through the fabric. The Doctor silently chuckled.

"I'm glad to hear that! Anyway, I'm here on behalf of Princess Celestia," she continued, unrolling the scroll to read from it, "who wanted me to be here at this exact time so I could greet you and show you where you'll be staying. Are you ready to go?"

Ah, Celestia. Always playing the long game.

Staying? How could she assume...?

Banishing that thought, the Doctor was about to reply when a thunk came from the TARDIS, and the Doctor shot up to investigate. The noise came from the box's instructions panel, and a soft blinking light could be seen coming from behind it. Very slowly, he opened the panel to find a small device resting on top of a rotary dial phone. He gently took it in his hooves, observing it from every single angle.The device, at first glance, was a small gray metal rod. It fit just right in his hoof, but did not go further, so that the only thing that could be seen out of his grasp was a small yellow sapphire, which glowed every few seconds.

Studying the rod, his hoof found the leather feel of a mouth grip. Biting down on it, the rod extended with a snap and the crystal glowed brightly with no interruption. Rolling it around with his jaw, he bit down with more force and that sound, that whirring noise he hadn't heard for three whole years, rang clearly in the dark winter night. Bringing his hooves together to close his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor rested his head against the door and gave it an affectionate pat, his eyes misty with tears.

"Oh, you..." he croaked, laughing shakily, "you beautiful, beautiful creature. Thank you, thank you, thank you..."

The two others watched him: one with curiosity, the other with understanding, but they both did so silently, almost in awe. The Doctor then rubbed his nose with a sleeve, straightened out his coat and turned to face Twilight.

"Lead the way."

"WELL!" said Discord, loudly, clapping his hands once, "I guess this is my cue to exit. Are we still on for Friday, Twilight?"

"Yes, yes, don't worry about it," she giggled.

"Great! As for you, Doctor. Or do you prefer Time Turner? Either way, I'll be seeing you soon."

And with that, he teleported far away from the two, leaving Twilight perplexed.

"Doctor? But I thought that-"

"It's complicated, and quite frankly I am way too tired to go any further than that so could we simply go to this place you mentioned?"

"..Sure, I mean yes, of course. Follow me."

The two walked the the streets of Ponyville, the only sounds to be heard being the crunching of hooves in the snow and the slows gusts of wind. While the Doctor looked around when he wasn't fiddling with his screwdriver, Twilight would sneak a few looks at him, from top to bottom, and jump from thought to thought, ranging from remarks to questions she couldn't ask. There was something about him she couldn't put her hoof on, an air about him that made her want to ask tons of questions but not annoy him as well. She eventually decided that, as Celestia had mentioned, he was a friend of hers, she would have to approach him carefully for now.

Roughly fifteen minutes after they left the TARDIS, they arrived in front of a small house not too far from the library. The Doctor was not interested in its appearance, content with letting Twilight describe it for him. He simply nodded every now and then, until she held up a set of keys.

"And that's about it, really. Princess Celestia had this set up for you by the time of your arrival, and she told me that you shouldn't hesitate to come to me if you needed anything. So there you are, I guess," she finished, handing him the keys with a slow gesture.

He thanked her, and turned the key in the lock until the telltale click of an opening lock was heard, and he smiled a bit at the sound. The door swung in ever so slightly, and he pushed it open in without really caring for his new, very temporary environment. He sighed contently, then turned to face Twilight, who was feeling more and more uncomfortable in his presence.

"Thank you very much, miss..."

"Sparkle. Twilight. I mean- Twilight Sparkle, that's me," she said, laughing sheepishly.

Smooth, Twilight. Way to go.

"Twilight Sparkle. Huh. Nice name," he said, with a smile. "Since I'll go check on my TARDIS tomorrow, I suppose I'll retire to my bed right now, and wish you a good night."

"Wait!" she blurted, as he was about to close the door. "I'm sorry if I'm bugging you, I just really want to know something...the scroll I have here describes you as an Earth pony, but I look at you and-"

He interrupted her with a raised hoof.

"Like I said, I am very tired. And the story behind this," he continued, gesturing to the horn on his forehead, "is a long one. Which I will gladly tell you over some coffee tomorrow. Until then, I hope you have a good night."

And with that he closed the door. Although he was very cold with her, Twilight Sparkle walked back home with very warm cheeks and a small, shy smile, both of which she couldn't really explain on the moment. As for the Doctor, things happened through a fog of sorts. When he snapped out of it, he was staring at the ceiling of a spacious, almost empty room. His coat hung from a chair that faced his new desk, not too far from the door, and the only thing that stood out apart from the closet was a night stand on which he had dropped his screwdriver.

He rubbed his horn in thought, thinking back on the events that had led up to this new addition. He then yawned, and pulled the covers up to his chin, turning to face a nearby window. The snow had become denser, and the wind had stopped.

Yeah, tomorrow...

His head was devoid of any further thought, and he kept watching the snow slowly drift down from the black sky until the moment he fell asleep.

Author's Note:

I've finally finished writing the first of many stories I've got planned for the Doctor's life in Equestria :D
Just so you know, I'm already thinking about the adventures and changes he has gone through during the three years marking the TARDIS's disappearance, and questions will be answered.
If you have any questions feel free to PM me or leave a comment.
Until then, stick around if want more!

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