Chapter 1
Twilight was rereading one of her favourite books in the park near her home. She enjoyed these alone days sometimes. As much as she loved her friends, even she needed a few solitary hours occasionally. Twilight looked up from her novel just in time to see a very glum looking stallion walking past. He looked familiar, and yet she was confident she had never met him before. He had a light brown coat, and a much darker brown mane, with a long swoop across the front.
“Hello,” Twilight said, getting up to walk with the brown pony. “Is something wrong?” It took him a few seconds to realize he was being spoken to. He merely looked up at her, questioningly. ”Are you new in Ponyville? I don't think I’ve ever seen you before.”
“Seen me before?” The stallion replied, looking confused. “No, you wouldn't have. But to answer your question, no, I'm not exactly new here. I might be old here, I don't know how long I was gone. Not by local time anyway.” Twilight merely looked at him, her expression asking him to continue. The stallion stopped walking, and turned to face Twilight, looking her dead in the eyes. “I'm not sure if he left it going while I was gone, or if he waited for me to be back to boot it up again. I don't even know if he has that much control.” He rambled on.
“That’s a strange accent. The only other pony I’ve ever heard that had that accent is, well, he calls himself 'The Doctor,' I don’t know his real name. He's a bit odd, but I think you two would get along nicely.” Twilight joked. “You've even got the same cutie mark.” Twilight noted, observing the hourglass on his flank. The stallion she was speaking to perked up, a smile playing across his face.
“The Doctor? Sounds great. Let's go see him.” Approved the stallion. He scrunched up his face as though he was trying to remember something. “You have magic here, right?” Twilight just gave him a funny look she normally reserved for Pinkie Pie.
“Hang on, you didn’t tell me your name.” Twilight remembered.
“I’m uhh... I’m Hourglass.” He turned to look at his cutie mark. “Is that how it works?” Twilight frowned.
“I think The Doctor lives.. this way.” She responded. She didn't know him personally, but she had seen him around once or twice, and anyone that strange gets quite a reputation. The two of them headed off towards the rows of houses.
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They got to the house in a matter of minutes. It was a typical home, much like all the others around Ponyville's town square. Twilight knocked on the door, and took a step back. The stallion stepped around her and opened the door, walking in.
“Hey! You can't do that, it's rude!” Twilight exclaimed
“I've been called worse.” He quipped. “Oh yes! You magnificent... Oh, thank you dear!” The strange pony yelled from inside. Twilight stepped inside to find him hugging a large blue box, about twice the height of a pony. It looked as though one pony could barely squeeze in.
“What is it like a... wardrobe or something?”Twilight asked.
“No no no... Well yes, it can be. Right, introductions. Proper ones. Hello Twilight Sparkle, I'm The Doctor.” He stated proudly.
“What? No, he looks nothing like you!” She protested.
“Yes, that happens... Sometimes I ... change. It's hard to put in your terms. I was him, now he's me.” The Doctor replied.
“That doesn’t make any sense! That amount of change would take a huge amount of magic!” Twilight objected, frustrated.
“Well, I don’t make a habit of it. It just... Where I’m from, things like this happen.” The Doctor explained.
“And where are you from exactly?” Twilight insisted.
“Another dimension.” The Doctor absentmindedly answered, circling the box.
“And the box is... what, exactly? A door?” She reasoned. The Doctor stopped circling the box and looked at her, smiling.
“What makes you say that?” He asked.
“I once wrote an essay on dimensional connections.” Twilight proudly stated.
“Clever you. Well you’re almost right. It's my time machine!” Retorted The Doctor, grinning like a foal. “But how did it get here? Last time I was put in here it never showed up! I was stuck for months and now here it is, right in my entryway.”
“...Last time?” Twilight repeated.
“Oh, of course!” The Doctor realized, tapping his forehead with a hoof. Turning back to Twilight he continued. “Like an immune system in a body, once it knows what it's fighting it can fight it more effectively. My subconscious must have figured out I was being pulled here and it brought the TARDIS as a fail-safe.” Twilight sat down, glaring at The Doctor. She didn't like not understanding things.
“What do you mean 'in here?'”
“In terms you can understand? Okay I like a challenge.” Began The Doctor. “In the... reality I’m from, everything looks feels and works differently. I shouldn't be here, but a foe of mine locked me in. That's how I ended up here last time, except I was here for months! But not this time. This time, she came.” He tapped the box a few times.
“Well how did you 'get out' last time.” Questioned Twilight, treating this as some sort of test or mental exercise.
“I waited. And eventually he let me out so he could gloat about his ‘magnificent victory.’ Luckily I had some super glue and a kettle handy or I never would have escaped him.” The Doctor replied, looking distant.
“Okay so, if this is a time machine, and you can use it to escape, why haven't you?” Twilight looked the box up and down. She had read many books on the theories of time travel, and the box seemed to defy all of them. She didn't see any kind of magic enhancers or energy crystal that would allow such a complicated spell as time travel.
“Hey! I'm not rude, I wouldn't abandon you here without explaining to you first! Plus, I wanted to show you this. Because I can show you a whole new world with just a snap of my fing-- oh no.” The doctor raised a hoof and his expression dropped. “I'll need the key.” He reached a hoof to his chest and patted round a bit.
“Where's the key then?” Twilight inquired.
“I don't know! It was in my jacket when he zapped me.“ The Doctor thought out loud, ”He could have put it anywhere! I'm sure it's here if the TARDIS is though. Latent energy rebounding between them would keep them together. And this universe is small, barely larger than this country, though you don't know that do you. And both times I've been here, I've been in this town. Ponytown-”
“-Ville” Twilight interjected.
“Oh! His device! He can only affect things in this small radius! The key must be somewhere in this town, I know it. We need to find it!” The Doctor said, determined.
“We? Hang on. I’m still convinced the real Doctor is going to come back and have us arrested! How do I know you aren’t some mad pony? How do I know you aren’t just wasting my time with your crazy stories?” Twilight snapped.
“If I had a dollar for every time I heard that I’d... never use it, probably. But I am The Doctor. You have to believe me.” He pleaded.
“How can I believe somepony who just speaks nonsense all the time?” Twilight argued. The Doctor walked up to her and looked her dead in the eye.
“That’s exactly why you should believe me. Do I talk like any... pony you know?”
“No.”
“Do I act like anypony you know?”
“Well, no, but-”
“I am The Doctor, and if I get that key I can prove it to you. Just a couple of hours. Please.” He pleaded. Twilight could see some glimmer of honesty in his eyes.
“What do you need?” Twilight asked, giving into the probable madness.
“With a few more of us I bet we could find the key in under an hour. Can you recruit some help?” The Doctor was starting to perk up.
“I know a few ponies.” Twilight replied.
“I’ll check around the house, It might be in here.” The Doctor started digging through a side table drawer.
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Twilight returned to find every cupboard door open and every drawer turned inside out. The Doctor himself was sitting in front of the box, clapping at it.
“...What are you-”
“I though clapping might be a good replacement for snapping my fingers, but it isn't working.” He interrupted, without taking his eyes off the box.
“...Fingers? Oh never mind. I could only get three of my friends. Pinkie Pie and Applejack were both very busy. But with the magic of two unicorns and the speed of two pegasi, we'll have your key in no time!” Twilight smiled. The Doctor turned around, revealing he had put on a bow tie from one of the now-tipped-over wardrobes.
“Unicorn magic...” He said, walking up to face Rarity. “Can your horns detect energy auras?”
“I might be able to put one together.” Twilight answered. “That's Rarity, by the way. And these two are Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.” The Doctor was eyeing Rarity's horn.
“Erm... Charmed.” She greeted him, nervous about his disregard for personal space.
“Normally I would have been busy too,-” Rainbow Dash added.
“Napping, maybe.” Rarity interrupted, rolling her eyes.
“But Twilight’s convinced that you need our help, and if she trusts you, so do I. Rainbow Dash, at your service!” She struck a pose, puffing out her chest and flaring out her wings. The Doctor stepped over and began to examine her feathers.
“These are lovely! I am dead jealous I didn't get anything cool like that!” The Doctor complained.
“Earth ponies are capable of many things that unicorns and pegasi aren't.” Twilight reassured.
“Except snapping, apparently. But down to business, we've got a mission.” The Doctor addressed the five of them. “The key is small, round head and will probably be glowing. I'm confident it's within this village, but it could be absolutely anywhere inside. You two with the wings, Rainbow Dash and... what was it?” Fluttershy instinctively shrank back as The Doctor leaned closer to hear her response.
“Fluttershy” She squeaked.
“Rainbow Dash and Butterfly, you two search the rooftops. They're a sneaky hiding place, but I wouldn't put that past him.” The Doctor continued. “Twilight and Rarity, you start working on a spell to detect the key.”
“What are you gonna do?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I’m going to continue trying to circumvent the lock. Hopefully I can activate one of the other entry methods.” He replied.
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After a couple of hours of unsuccessful searching, they regrouped at The Doctor’s home to try and brainstorm a way to find the key. Twilight’s detection spell had failed to detect the key. She hypothesized that it gave off a type of energy she wasn’t familiar with.
“What metal is the key made of? I might be able to devise a magnetism spell if I had a sample of the same compound.” Twilight reasoned.
“No no no, there simply isn't any polycarbide in this dimension!” The Doctor insisted. Rainbow Dash was boredly looking out the window. She wasn't one for brainstorming.
“Look, Applejack and Pinkie Pie are coming.” Dash said, only slightly more interested. Twilight opened the door.
“Hey girls. Thanks for coming, but it looks like this might be a dead end. We might just call it a day and go home.” Twilight remarked. Pinkie hopped past Twilight.
“Go home? That's silly. Why should you stop trying just because you think it might not work?” Pinkie beamed, still happily hopping around. Applejack walked straight up to The Doctor.
“Howdy! Ah’m Applejack. Twilight told me all about your problems earlier, and Ah just wanna let you know if you need some money, we'd be happy to have some extra hooves around the farm!” Applejack happily exclaimed, shaking his hand vigorously. The Doctor did not look very happy at the thought of manual labour.
“I brought you this to cheer you up!” Pinkie stopped hopping and reached into a saddlebag. She pulled out one cupcake and held it directly in front of The Doctor's nose. It was a vanilla cupcake with bright pink icing, and sprinkles spread neatly on top. On top the icing, it was adorned with a glowing round key. Every pony's eyes went wide, including Pinkie Pie’s.
“A key? That's not food! Silly me!” She happily babbled, removing the key from the cupcake and tossing it aside. “Here you go!” She shoved the cupcake into the Doctors agape mouth. After a few seconds pause, Pinkie grabbed his jaw and began to make him chew.
“Mghghmremhph!” The Doctor finally said. He struggled to chew and swallowed. “Where did you find that!?”
“I didn't find it, I baked it silly!” Pinkie beamed.
“No, not the cupcake, the key!”
“Oh.” Pinkie shrugged.
The Doctor picked up the key, wiped off some icing and inserted it into the lock. He pushed the door open. He grinned as wide as his pony-face could manage. Barely recovered from the last shock, everypony's jaws dropped again seeing the majesty of the TARDIS. Except Pinkie who seemed rather unimpressed. The Doctor squinted at her.
“Well?”
“What? Bigger on the inside. Yeah.” Pinkie examined a hoof. The Doctor glared for a moment, before realizing that he never thanked her for the key back to him. He gave her a hug.
“Thank you, by the way.” He said. Pinkie hugged him back.
“Oh it was nothing. I'm a pastry chef, cupcakes are what I do!”
“Not the...” The Doctor began, breaking off the hug. “Oh never mind.” The Doctor ran up to the console and began flipping all kinds of lever and switches. Twilight observed from the door. “No! No! Come on! There's! NO! POWER!” He punctuated each word by slamming various buttons on the console. He put his head in his hooves, defeated. “She can't take off, the physics here don't accept huon energy as real!” He fumed. “Your silly dimension and it's silly physics broke my TARDIS!”
“No ...power?” Rarity exchanged a knowing glance with Twilight. The six ponies huddled close while The Doctor hopelessly fumbled around under the console.
“The elements? Do you really think?” Twilight worried. “What if I was wrong to trust him?”
“Look at that box Twilight! It’s awesome! That’s enough for me to trust him.” Reassured Rainbow Dash
“Well, if you girls all think so...” The other five mares nodded as Twilight steeled herself. “Doctor. Over here, please.” He dragged himself from under the console and back into the cottage. None of the other ponies had dared step inside.
“Thank you for all of your help. I suppose I’ll just live here,-” He started.
“Doctor, I-” Twilight attempted to interject.
“-get a job, meet other ponies,-”
“Doctor.”
“-and I’ll just live out all my years as a silly, four legged,-”
“Doctor!” Twilight’s tone shocked The Doctor to silence. “I have a plan. Sorry girls, We’ll be back soon. I hope. Doctor, The Princess can help us. She has these... things. I think they can fix your box.” Twilight swallowed and her horn began to glow.
“Brilliant! I’m open to anythiiIII-” The Doctor was interrupted by the feeling of his hooves being pulled up through him, and the room turning two-dimensional and spinning about. He had flashbacks to travelling by Vortex Manipulator. Eventually his feet found hold on an embroidered red carpet running up a set of stairs to a throne containing-
“Princess Celestia” Twilight beamed.
“Twilight Sparkle! and... company. Who is your guest?” Celestia greeted them.
“Princess, this is The Doctor, he’s a... traveller.” Twilight explained. “He needs your help.” Princess Celestia sat on her throne with a look of concern while Twilight explained a summarized version The Doctor’s situation.
“And so we need the elements to power his machine.” Twilight finished. Celestia stepped off her throne and walked down the steps, stopping directly in front of the two ponies. She squinted first at Twilight then at The Doctor, leaning forward, nearly touching noses with him.
“Have you done something with Twilight Sparkle?” Celestia questioned him.
“Princess, I’m fine, I swear!” Twilight pleaded.
“I dearly hope that you are, my Twilight.” She said, not moving her eyes from The Doctor, examining him to the core. “But how do I know I can trust you, Doctor.”
“I... I’m sorry.” He answered, regretfully.
“Excuse me?” Celestia’s eyes widened slightly. The Doctor managed to swing his head forwards and knock it against Celestia’s before being violently tossed across the room by two pegasus guards.
“Doctor! What!?” Twilight was mortified. Celesta had been knocked back into a sitting position, staring blankly forward. The guards began to drag The Doctor towards the door.
“Twilight! Ow! Stop them!” The Doctor called back.
“What? No? Doctor! What did you do? Why?” Twilight was still reeling from the strange turn of events.
“Psychic energy transfer! I just need a minute! Just give me one minute!” He struggled with the guards.
“I’m... I’m sorry.” Twilight hung her head, regretting her entire day. The guards opened the large, ornate doors leading to the dungeons.
“Stop!” Celestia summed up her immense power in a single word. The guards halted and turned immediately. “You’re dismissed.” The guards were confused, but didn’t dare question her. They took flight and left the throne room.
“Wait.” She addressed Twilight.
“Yes, your majesty.” She replied obediently. Celestia teleported away as The Doctor returned to his spot beside Twilight, smiling proudly.
“So... What was that all about?” She asked.
“I transferred a portion of my memories to her using a physical jolt.” He replied simply.
“Well... Why didn’t you do that earlier? When I didn’t believe you?”
“A large portion of those memories were from my reality, incredibly dangerous to a... regular mind. But that princess, phew, you can feel the power coming off her.”
“Oh, I know!” Twilight gushed, ignoring the slight insult. The room flashed brightly as the Princess returned, floating an ornate box beside her.
“Are you ready to leave, Twilight?” Celestia asked calmly, he horn beginning to glow.. Twilight nodded quickly, and The Doctor braced himself for teleportation. This time however, he arrived at his destination without any discomfort at all. In fact, they had arrived so quietly that the five other mares hadn’t noticed, absorbed in an intense debate around the TARDIS.
“No way Ah’m stepping in that thing.” Applejack spoke to Rainbow Dash, who had moved herself a few inches into the doorway, stepping slowly.
“Ahem.” Twilight coughed loud enough for them to hear. They all turned and bowed, Rainbow Dash removed herself from the box quickly before doing so.
“Girls, put these on!” Twilight ordered, not in the mood for delays. The Doctor retrieved an object from under the console and rushed over to her.
“What are these necklaces?” He asked, holding a chirping, green glowing wand to the one around Fluttershy's neck. She tried to lean her head as far from it as she could. He popped the wand open. “Oh! Energy conduits. And not even just for unicorn magic, but for latent psychic energies in all of you. Clever! Did you make these, Princess?”
“No Doctor, as far as I am aware, the Elements of Harmony have always been.” She replied in a formal tone.
“Why are they connected? How are they connected?” He asked, moving on to Applejack's necklace.
“They tap into the power of our friendship to release huge quantities of magic.” Twilight explained, adjusting her own tiara. The Doctor looked at the rest of the readings.
“Oh, reverberating signals between the gems allow the transfer of magic to be focused without the use of a horn! I love new dimensions.”
“How do we make the box... go?” Asked Twilight. The Doctor ran inside and began opening various panels in the walls and console.
“If you aim inside, the TARDIS should be able to absorb it all.” He replied distractedly.
“Okay girls, formation!” Twilight barked. Her horn glowed purple, and the six ponies lifted into the air. Their eyes began to glow, an aura of energy surrounding them. Brightly coloured versions of the gems shot out towards The Doctor. He awkwardly dodged a red lightning bolt before ducking behind the console. The open panels in the walls sucked up the glyphs while the TARDIS slowly and painfully came to life.
“Wow! That was pretty flash!” The Doctor exclaimed, laughing. The six mares had stopped levitating and were catching their breath.
“Did it work? It sounds broken?” Twilight listened to the scratching noises coming from the strange machine.
“Err, no. It just does that.” The Doctor reassured her. “I'm sorry, but I have to go now or I won't be able to leave. Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle. And thanks. I'll come back if I ever can.”
“Please do! I could spend hours looking at this machine alone!” Twilight approved. “Oh! Wait, How does time travel work?!” The Doctor was already rushing over to the doors. He glanced back at the console.
“Magic!” He grinned and shut the doors. The blue box wheezed, phasing in and out of visibility, before eventually disappearing altogether.
“We did it Princess! Thank you so much for your help.” Twilight turned to Celestia. She looked considerably less pleased than everyone else.
“Twilight Sparkle, if The Doctor ever returns, you are to make me aware immediately.” Celestia’s tone was slightly stern.
“Is something wrong?” Twilight asked, puzzled.
“The Doctor is very dangerous, and anyone who gets close to him is at risk.” She answered sadly. “His memories contained incredible, terrible things. He isn’t safe.”
“Yes, Princess.” Twilight was disappointed, but understood.
“Now Twilight, don’t let that upset you. You witnessed an incredible feat of magic today! That incredible box!” Celestia knew how to cheer up her most faithful student.
“Oh my gosh, Princess, you’re right! I have at least three new spell ideas, and a paper on inter-dimensional physics, and... Oh it’s wonderful!” Twilight perked up at the prospect of intellectual gain. The Princess levitated the Elements back into their box.
“I look forward to reading them, Twilight.” The Princess laughed. She bid them all farewell and teleported away. Twilight turned to the other five who were waiting chatting amongst themselves.
“Thank you so much girls, for believing me, and helping the doctor, and... oh just everything!” Twilight pulled them all into a group hug.
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Celestia set herself down upon the large pillow in her chamber. She was still struggling internally do decipher some of the strange things The Doctor had placed in her mind. Even without much understanding, Celestia knew one thing. If The Doctor was around, they could all be in grave danger.
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