I own nothing.
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic;
Doctor Whooves in..
THE TIME OF DISCORD
Chapter 1
2 days after Discord:
'WELCOME EVERYPONY!' the banner read...and everypony came. In fact, even pets came down to Sugarcube Corner that afternoon, expecting a truly grand party. After all, Pinkie Pie was throwing it, and she always provided. Carrot Top even brought her best hat; the carrot-shaped decorations that matched her cutie mark provided the perfect look for the occasion! Of course, she never wore it while tending her gardens, but a frilly party like this? There never would be a better time! Feeling so very confident, she strode inside the door...
...and was immediately knocked off her feet by Pinkie Pie exclaiming: "Hi, Carrot Top! Welcome to Pinkie's 'TheElementsofHarmonyJustSavedtheDay' Extravaganza! We're so glad you could come!" And just before Carrot Stem could pull herself back up, the pink pony blew a noisemaker right in front of her nose! The tickling sensation went to work immediately...
"ah...aaahh...aaaAAH-CHOOOOOOO!"
The sneeze propelled Carrot Top straight into a small gathering, resulting in a small pile-up of dizzy-eyed ponies, and Berry Punch being thrown straight into the punch bowl (not that she would complain of course-punch was her favorite drink).
Always a helpful pony, Applejack walked up to Carrot Top, and offered the carrot-grower a hoof, which was graciously accepted. "Y' OK there, Carrot Top?"
"Yeah, thanks Applejack. I think I've been tossed around a lot worse than that by my carrots!"
Confused by this remark, Applejack asked: "That ever really happened?"
"Earlier this week, actually-my entire garden suddenly came to life, and tossed me around like I was a beachball! You should've been there!"
"Actually," interjected Twilight Sparkle, who had just entered Carrot Top's field of vision; "I think we all were! Well, maybe not for the 'living carrots' part, but still."
"Whoa there, Twi- yer sayin' that was what Discord did t' Carrot Top here?"
"I'm not ruling it out, Applejack." the unicorn stated, her mind flashing back to the events of the preceding days; "When Discord escaped his prison, he pretty much overpowered everypony, including Princess Celestia! And he broke apart our friendship, so we couldn't use the Elements of Harmony against him! He then went and turned Ponyville into his personal playground of chaos, so there's no telling exactly what he did to the other ponies! Or, for that matter, what he would have done had we not found the elements, fixed our friendship, and stopped him!"
"Yeah," said Rainbow Dash, "but the thing is, we did beat him, and we reversed all of his spells! And that's why Pinkie threw this massive party and invited the entire town: to celebrate! So what're you waiting for, Berry Punch to drink the entire punch bowl? Hit the dance floor!"
Carrot Top happily obliged Rainbow Dash, and within the minute both ponies were grooving to Vinyl Scratch's (a.k.a. DJ PON3) mixing of Sapphire Shores'music.
Twilight thought to herself: "You know, that's not such a bad idea," and trotted off in the direction of the dancing...when suddenly, Rarity galloped up to Twilight, a distraught look in her wide eyes.
"Twilight, I cannot find Sweetie Belle anywhere! Have you seen her?"
"I'm afraid not, Rarity. Applejack's had zero luck with Apple Bloom too."
Applejack nodded. "And ah would venture a guess that Scootaloo's missin' too, since those three stick together like thorns on a bramble bush."
"You know, Pinkie threw this party the instant we got back from Canterlot!" Twilight noted. "Figures we never would have had the time to search for them."
"Whatever shall we do?" exclaimed Rarity, concern for her little sister causing her to become light-headed (and a few of Pinkie Pie's drinks only making it worse).
"Calm down, girls. Let's just keep our eyes open, and wait for them to come. If not, we can organize a search party after-"
(BASH) "Did somepony say 'PARTY'?" Pinkie Pie enthusiastically shouted as she knocked Twilight aside.
As soon as the room stopped spinning, Twilight replied: "Yes, Pinkie; a search party. We can't find any of the Cutie Mark Crusaders anywhere!"
Pinkie put a hoof to her mouth in thought...and then said, with a twinkle in her eye: "I'll go check the guest list!"
"Oh, thank you Pinkie Pie! Thank you oh so much!" exclaimed a relieved Rarity.
…...
Her relief quickly gave way to annoyance as, outside Sugarcube Corner and away from the noise, she saw that Pinkie had combed the 10-page guest list at least 20 times. "Are you done yet, Pinkie?"
"How long's it going to take for you to find any information on the Cutie Mark Crusaders' whereabouts?" asked Twilight Sparkle.
"We were looking for that?" asked Pinkie, clearly surprised. As Twilight slapped herself in the face, Pinkie said: "They never checked in apparently. I found that on the first run-through of the list!"
"Then what in the hay are you searchin' for?" asked an exasperated Applejack.
"I can't shake the feeling that somepony's not on this list. I'm sure I know him, but I'm not...I know the girls' not being here is a bad thing, but that's because nopony should ever miss this party! But somepony is! And who...is...it? And who's making that weird sound?"
"What sound, Pinkie?" Twilight asked...and as the question was asked, it was already answered:
Vrrrrrooosh...Vrrrrrooosh...Vrrrrrooosh...Vrrrrrooosh...
The four ponies turned around towards the sound's source...and saw a familiar-looking door-sized blue box appear in the middle of the road!
"Ummmm...what's going on? I...thought I heard this noise, and-(GASP!)" Fluttershy gasped as she and Rainbow Dash walked outside, and observed this same phenomenon.
"It can't be-"
"It's-"
"Is it really-"
"THE DOCTOR!" Pinkie Pie shouted excitedly.
(Insert Theme song (MLP or DW) here)
"THE DOCTOR!" Pinkie Pie shouted excitedly. "The crazy pony from another universe with a time machine that's bigger on the inside!"
"Um, Pinkie? We already know that. We've traveled with the Doctor before." Twilight stated.
Rather than respond to Twilight, Pinkie ran up to the doors of the TARDIS, knocked, and called out to the time pony inside: "Where were you, Doctor? Without you, the party was-"
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER TIME TRAVELERS YAY!" shouted the hyper-fast blur that suddenly shot out of the TARDIS, sending Pinkie Pie spinning.
The onlookers rubbed their eyes in shock...and when they opened them again, three small ponies stood before them, walking in circles-one yellow, one white, and one orange! They suddenly stopped, their faces sullen, and the white one said: "Aw, come on! Why isn't there an hourglass on my flank?"
Instead of an answer, the little pony got a tackle from a teary-eyed Rarity. "SWEETIE BELLE!" she shouted, "I WAS SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU!"
Applejack ran up to Apple Bloom, hugged her, and said: "Where were you, Apple Bloom? Y'all had us worried sick!"
Scootaloo, after seeing what happened to her fellow crusaders, braced for the incoming hug...and opened her eyes after a second, to see Rainbow Dash standing over her. Rainbow just ruffled Scootaloo's hair, saying: "Good to see you made it back, Scoots."
Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie watched the fillies reunite with their big sisters and idol. The purple unicorn sighed in relief, and said: "Glad that little crisis is averted."
"Tell me about it."
Everypony turned to see the Doctor finally step out of the TARDIS doors, his spiky mane looking even more messy than usual.
Just then, Applejack trotted up to the Doctor, and shouted in his face: "What's the big idea of carryin' off Apple Bloom like that? Yer kind a' adventures coulda gotten her hurt!" And with that, she slapped the brown pony straight in the face.
The Doctor rubbed the horseshoe mark on his cheek, and said to himself: "First the mothers, now the big sisters! I can never catch a breather, can I?"
"Focus, Doctor." stated Twilight Sparkle. "Why are the Cutie Mark Crusaders your companions?"
"It's a long story. But don't worry. I'm not taking them on any more trips until they're older." the Doctor stated, earning a collective "Awwwww..." from the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "And besides," he continued, "The situation's completely under control!"
"Are you sure, Doctor? Because I think I see a Cybermare in there."
Upon hearing Twilight's observation, the Doctor turned around, pointed his sonic screwdriver at the supposed pony version of his old 'Cyberman' enemies... and just before the screwdriver could be triggered, the robotic pony popped in a burst of rainbow energy.
"Huh. You know, I thought they all vanished when the Elements of Harmony were triggered...maybe this one was a delayed reaction." the Doctor said quietly to himself...before turning to Twilight, blushing in embarrassment, and saying "See? Everything's under control!"
Everypony stared at him, waiting for him to admit it's a lie.
Eventually, he sighed, and said: "Alright, it wasn't always under control. Like I said, it's a long story."
"We don't need to hear it," stated Sweetie Belle, "We were there when it happened!"
"Alright!" Pinkie Pie bounced up to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and continued: "You girls go inside and enjoy the party! The rest of us, it's StoryTime!"
The little fillies nodded their heads, and dashed off inside Sugarcube Corner faster than the eye could follow...while the rest sat down around the Doctor.
"Here's yer chance, mister." stated an angry Applejack: "Y' better give me a good reason to not plant another hoof in yer face."
"Right then." The Doctor rubbed his face again, and then started: "It started around the time those pink clouds appeared in the skies of Ponyville..."
(TWO DAYS EARLIER)
"Remain calm, everypony! I'm sure Twilight Sparkle and her friends will figure this out very soon!" the mayor shouted desperately, as the ponies of Ponyville rushed to and fro trying to avoid the incoming buffalo...in tutus...that were dancing ballet. A few of the buildings had lifted themselves up out of the ground, and some of the wells turned into geysers of salt water.
And in the middle of all the chocolate rain and popcorn grass, stood the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
"Confusion!" shouted Apple Bloom.
"Evil!" shouted Sweetie Belle.
"Chaos!" shouted Scootaloo.
"GIRLS!" shouted Cherilee, fed up with their constant arguing. "Now is not the time! You three need to get to safety right ..." she said as she suddenly fell through a deep hole in the ground that wasn't there three seconds ago.
Five seconds later, Cherilee fell from the sky and hit the ground right next to the hole. Dazed, but completely unharmed, she stumbled away from the scene.
As soon as she was gone, the Crusaders all screamed very loudly, and ran into an alleyway, trying to get off the streets...
...when suddenly, in their path, appeared a creature similar to that 'Draconequus' statue from the Canterlot Sculpture Gardens! And before any of the CMCs could react, it started speaking:
"Hello, girls! I just have to say, thank you somuch for cutting me loose from that statue. As such, I'm prepared to give you this most generous reward..." And with that, the monster snapped it's eagle-fingers, and a gigantic wolf appeared in front of the Cutie Mark Crusaders!
"Enjoy your puppy, girls! Bwahahaha!" the monster laughed, and then it disappeared...leaving the wolf with nothing to chase but the three little ponies.
…...
Seconds later, in the town square, a bright flash of light gathered everypony's attention...and what they saw was what looked like a dragon, but hardly any of the recognizable features! The strange creature spread its 'arms' out, and shouted: "Attention, everypony! The Elements of Harmony are defeated! Equestria, and pretty much everything else for that matter, is now under the control of me, Discord! You don't really have any say in this matter so just sit back, relax, and enjoy the chaos."
As the creature that called itself 'Discord' finished, the skies turned purple, and what looked like blue rocks started falling from the sky, leaving trails of candy canes as they streaked towards the town. Ponies everywhere ran in fright, as the boulders crashed down to earth...causing hills to rise instead of craters. The rocks themselves shattered into drops of pink fluid, which splattered all over the place.
Thee mayor watched her beloved village turn into something reminding her of an insane painting... At least, she was, until Discord pointed a finger at her, and blasted her with a yellow bolt of energy that turned her into a toad.
Then, Discord blasted several more yellow beams around him, laughing uncontrollably as he did: "I'd almost forgotten how unbelievably amazing this feels! I mean, 1,500 years without chaos! How do you ponies ever live without it?"
…...
The Cutie Mark Crusaders ran as fast as they could, but they couldn't shake the snarling wolf. They even tried running into a building...but the door led right through the front door of a building just across the street! Luckily, that door was right behind the wolf, so they gained some distance from it in the time it took the beast to turn around.
Eventually, the three girls started to run out of breath, and the wolf gained some distance on them...and then, suddenly, Someone shouted: "OVER HERE, GIRLS!"
Following the voice, the girls found themselves heading for a blue shed with the words 'Police Public Call Box' written above the doors...which were open, and a brown stallion was standing in the doorway urging them inside. With adrenaline flowing through them, they didn't give it a second thought. They rushed inside, and the stallion closed the door. One small 'Whump' later told them all that the wolf had run into the doors, and bounced off them harmlessly.
(In fact, outside, the wolf had burst in a shower of candy.)
The three fillies panted, the sheer terror of the chase steadily leaving them. "Thanks a bunch," wheezed Apple Bloom, "We thought we were goners!"
"Don't thank me just yet," stated the stallion (with a now noticeable Trottingham accent), "There's still a whole lot of work to do. There's a whole lot of energy floating around, and it's wreaking havoc with the TARDIS' shields. I've got to keep it out of here, or else-" He was suddenly cut off by a loud buzzing sound from outside, not unlike a tongue-raspberry.
Just then, the three fillies heard the stallion's voice: "Now that completely defies the laws of physics! I know this universe runs on magic, but a cloud? Sticking its tongue out? That is just impossible!"
At this point, the Cutie Mark Crusaders actually took a good look at their surroundings.
They were inside a large, circular room, with walls covered in circular glowing jewels. Large stone pillars surrounded the outside, holding up a large metallic balcony that seemed to serve no particular purpose. And in the center stood a column that went all the way up to the impossibly-high ceiling. At the bottom of the column was some kind of table, with a wide assortment of doohickeys (some of which Apple Bloom recognized) covering its surface. And looking at a flat panel on that surface (which was flashing images like a Crystal TV screen), was the stallion: a brown earth pony with an hourglass for a cutie mark.
"Wow..." all three of them stated breathily.
"Yes, yes, my name's the Doctor, and my TARDIS is bigger on the inside, now brace for impact! There's a tidal wave incoming!"
No sooner did the Doctor shout that command, than the room they were in shook violently, tossing its occupants all around.
In no time at all after the shaking stopped, the Doctor got up, walked back over to the central column, and said: "Whoever is doing this to the universe is going to be very, very sorry when this is over!"
Suddenly, Sweetie Belle was reminded of what happened earlier: she angrily turned to her fellow crusaders, and said: "This is all your fault!"
"What did we do?" both of them asked.
"If you hadn't started that argument, that weird statue might not've gotten loose!" she accused, pointing to Scootaloo.
"Um, I distinctly remember you started the argument!" Scootaloo pointed at Apple Bloom.
"No I did not! It was Sweetie Dictionary over there!" Apple Bloom pointed at Sweetie Belle, who was quickly enraged by the comment.
"I...AM NOT...A DICITONARY!" Sweetie Belle shouted, leaping at the other two fillies.
The three of them started fighting, the dust from the unclean TARDIS floor obscuring them as they tossed and turned in a wrestling pile that rolled all over the room.
"Whatever's going on over there, I don't have time for it!" exclaimed the Doctor, still focused on the devices on the central controls of the TARDIS. Then, he noticed the three girls didn't respond.
"(Sigh) Everypony warned me about you three 'Cutie Mark Crusaders.'" the Doctor moaned, right before dashing over to where the girls were fighting.
"ALRIGHT THEN, BREAK IT UP EVERYPONY! THERE IS TO BE NO FIGHTING IN THIS TARDIS! BREAK! IT! UP!" he shouted, right before reaching into the twisting pile of violence...and then getting knocked away by their flailing hooves. He soared straight into the TARDIS console, colliding with an audible "OOF!"
This got the attention of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who immediately stopped fighting when they realized they had hurt the Doctor. They rushed over to his side, asking "Doc! Are you alright?"
The Doctor tried to answer...but then a small piece of metal landed on his head, and then bounced onto the floor right in front of the dazed pony. The Doctor got a good look at the small object...and gasped in total horror.
"What is it?" asked Scootaloo.
"...The steering wheel." the Doctor managed to say.
"That doesn't look like a wheel." noted Sweetie Belle.
Ignoring the little filly, the Doctor grabbed the object with his hoof, and said: "Don't worry, everypony; I can fix this as long as the TARDIS isn't-"
CLUNK!
"...moving."
Vrrrrooosh...Vrrrrooosh...
…...
The light flashed on the top of the blue police shed that composed the exterior of the TARDIS, as the whooshing sound rose in volume. The light eventually enveloped the entirety of the shed, which slowly faded out of sight. Soon, the whooshing sound faded...
...and was replaced by the distinctive laughter of Discord. "Enjoy the trip, Doctor!" he called out, "I most certainly did. Gwahahahahahaha! Wahahahahahahaha!"
…
"Lookit what you did, Sweetie Belle!" shouted Apple Bloom.
"It was Scootaloo!" retorted Sweetie Belle.
"No, it was Apple Bloom's fault!" Scootaloo shouted back.
"GIRLS!" shouted the Doctor, "you all share the blame for this incident! Now shut up, so I can prevent this from getting out of hand!" The three fillies nodded, and then glared at each other…
…and then the room started spinning, literally! It felt like they were in a box being rolled down a very steep hill, as they desperately clung to whatever pieces of bolted-down scenery they could. The Doctor kept a firm hoof on the central console, as centrifugal force threatened to throw him against the wall.
"WHAT'S HAPPENIN', DOC?" Apple Bloom shouted desperately.
"THE PARKING BRAKE WAS RELEASED AS WELL! THE TARDIS IS TRAVELING THROUGH TIME, WITH NO WAY TO CONTROL THE DESTINATION!"
"WELL, CAN'T YOU DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT?" Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo shouted at the same time.
"IF I CAN GET TO THE EMERGENCY STOP LEVER," he explained as he crawled across the edge of the console, "WE'LL TOUCH DOWN…HOPEFULLY NOT INSIDE THE MOLTEN HEART OF A STAR!"
"WELL HURRY!" shouted all three Cutie Mark Crusaders at once. As they did, the Doctor let go of the console with one hoof, and with strain on every part of his body, slowly reached towards a red lever…and pulled it.
Instantly, the spinning stopped, and everypony dropped to the floor of the TARDIS with a distinctive 'WHAM.' They picked themselves up, and the three children turned to the Doctor, their faces asking: 'now what?'
"Now, we ensure that we landed somewhere safe-and hopefully," his face seemed to darken with anger as he continued, "somewhere I can leave you while I fix the TARDIS because I cannot trust you to keep your hooves to yourselves." The tone of his voice caused the three fillies to shrink back in fear…which instantly made the Doctor feel uncomfortable.
"Oh, don't give me that!" he exclaimed, putting his cheery tone back in his voice, "We might have landed on some sort of trampoline planet or something!" this brought some calm back to the CMCs, and made the Doctor feel better about himself.
"Right then! Let's see what we've got!" And with that, the Doctor opened the TARDIS…
…and stood there in the opening, dumbfounded at what he was seeing. The Cutie Mark Crusaders asked him what happened, and he breathlessly pointed outside. The three fillies walked up to the doorway, and followed his hoof…
"Oh, Celestia…"
The TARDIS was upside down in a room full of stairs that were mounted on the walls as well as the ceiling and floor, and angled and tilted every which way. The more they looked, the more confused they became as to which way was up, down, or sideways.
"This is bad," the Doctor stated. "This is very bad."