Doctor Whooves: Parallel Complications

by Coheed275

The Doctor barely escaped death after the TARDIS flew through a temporal storm and crashed. When he awakes, he discovers that he's not in a place he recognizes, nor can he recognize himself. He has completely turned into a pony, but that mystery must wait to be solved as the world around him becomes threatened.

11. Chapter 10- It Begins

Doctor Whooves

Chapter 10- It Begins

Location undefinable

Time undefinable

"I've never seen any readings like this before!" River fought to stay focused on her flight controls, sparks flying this way and that in the cockpit of the ship as the temporal storm shook them hard.

"I think I can see something!" Samantha shouted, looking out into space. The storm was clearing up around them, but she didn't know if the ship would even make it. One engine was already gone, and half the wiring in the ship was blown.

"Whatever it is, we're going to be crashing into it," River replied. "I can't hold on anymore. All piloting computers are down, and manual on this thing is horrid."

"Engine 2 is critical!" Samantha was alerted by multiple alarms on her screen. "If this ship gets in any more bad shape, we're going to explode!"

"We're almost out of the storm, just a little more…" River and Samantha nearly flew out of their chairs when the ship left the temporal storm, suddenly slowing down the ship drastically, g forces pulling both of them forward.

()

The pony universe

42nd century

Somewhere 300 light years away from Earth

Samantha nearly vomited, but recovered herself, getting back in her seat.

"Are you alright?" River asked, getting a hold of herself as well.

Samantha looked down at herself. She was still all there, legs, arms, hands. She shook her head, recovering from being thrown around during the storm. "I'm fine," she replied. She looked up again, seeing where the ship was headed. "That's some sort of… space station."

River frowned, recognizing the ship in front of them. She didn't want to recognize it, or the six other ships around it, all the same. A long, thin cylinder shape, with two large wheel like structures rotating about the cylinder. Through various clear panels on the exterior of the closest ship, River and Samantha could see laser blasts, zooming back and forth, a large conflict clearly happening on the ship.

"It's a cyber-ship," River said.

Samantha gasped, having encountered cyber-men with the Doctor before, aware of how powerful they were, especially if they were from later years when they continued upgrading. She couldn't imagine an entire ship of them.

"Do you think the Doctor is on that ship?" Samantha asked.

"Absolutely," River replied. "And our ship's on a collision course, so we don't have a choice but to get on the ship and help." River got up from her seat, pressing a button to open up a locker that luckily still functioned. The locker contained an assortment of modern rifles and pistols, all capable of handling cyber-men, some even capable of coping with Daleks if used properly. She waved her finger over the rifles, as if selecting a fine wine to go with her meal, and took one out, checking the battery of the weapon and preparing it. "Ready for a grand entrance?" she asked, smiling at Samantha.

Samantha crossed her arms, returning River's smile. "So the Doctor doesn't like guns, yet here you are with a whole collection," she said with a chuckle.

"There are several things the Doctor doesn't usually like, unless I'm the one with that thing. Guns, grenades, paddles, oh- excuse me, too much?"

Samantha blushed. "A bit, but we'll worry about that later. I've seen cyber-men before while traveling with the Doctor, so I know how dangerous they are. Mind if I borrow something to shoot them with?"

"Be my guest," River replied. "And brace for impact."

()

Earth

21st century

Ponyville

The Doctor didn't even have to say anything. When he turned away, the unicorn immediately followed him. He struggled to contain his emotions, unsure whether to be jumping out of joy, or quivering in terror. The mare behind him clearly held the same thoughts, but seemed less nervous than him. She seemed more anxious to see where the Doctor was going.

The Doctor brought the mare to the TARDIS, standing with her outside the blue phone box. "Is this a…" the mare inched forward, and the Doctor motioned for her to go ahead and open the door. She took the lead, slowly placing a hoof on the door, and swinging it open.

The mare gasped, stepping inside and looking all around. "This is a TARDIS," she said, her face full of wonder. "And look," she stepped up to the console, circling around it. "You've regenerated this TARDIS, it's perfectly designed for a pony to use. This is wonderful, just wonderful…"

"Um, excuse me, who are you?"

Paige and Jack had waited in the TARDIS, now confused by the entry of this unicorn. Paige approached her, more curious than nervous. The Doctor had let her in, so she had to be alright.

"Want your curiosity peaked, Paige?" the Doctor asked, now stepping in as well. "Look at her cutie mark, then back at mine."

Both Paige and Jack did so, then Paige's eyes widened. Jack pointed a hoof at the unicorn, then back at the Doctor. "Wha-" Jack had also learned what Paige had told the Doctor when they first met during his time in Appleoosa, and was just as confused.

"So, I've told you I'm the Doctor, I've shown you my TARDIS, before I go further it's your turn," the Doctor said. "Who are you?"

The unicorn sat, letting out a sigh and closing her eyes. "I was called the Scout, but you can call me Minuette," she began. "It's the name I've been using on this world, and I'd rather not think about the past more than I have to.

"I'm a time lord, as I can only assume you are as well, Doctor. I chose my name because that was my purpose. I served as a scout in the time war, my job was to fly out far, using stealth to gather information on enemy movements and plans. One day, my TARDIS and I got caught in a firefight with a dalek fleet, and I was struggling to get away…"

()

The Doctor's universe

Exact time unknown

Gallifrey

Laser fire from dalek ships rained down, spitting out like hellfire on Gallifrey's planetary shields. Time lords flew out into the fight, returning fire with every ounce of power they could muster. Daleks and time lords alike fell to the power of the other, tied in an endless stalemate of death and destruction. However, slowly, day by day, the time lords were beginning to lose.

The Scout felt a sharp pain in her chest every time a time lord ship near her blew to bits. She wanted to help, but her TARDIS wasn't armed for a firefight like this. She wasn't even supposed to be here, and now she was flying for her life, using every evasion tactic she knew. The daleks didn't even care about her ship, but so much laser fire clouded space that she had to fight to dodge anyways.

"Hang on darling, we'll make it," she said aloud. The Scout always talked to her TARDIS, feeling a connection with it every time she touched the console. This living ship had gotten her through places as bad as this before, and refused to give up. She loved her TARDIS for that.

The Scout moved to a different monitor, seeing if traveling through time would be possible to get out of here. Her heart sank. Too much damage, she thought, seeing the power report in front of her. The only way I'm getting out of this is by some serious flying skill.

She had only one thing on her side: a lack of importance in the eyes of the daleks. She was caught in the firefight now, but if she could continue to move as nimbly as she was now, she could leave here unnoticed and find shelter for repairs and reporting.

Making a bold move, the Scout turned the TARDIS hard, lining it up with the front line of the dalek assault. This made noticing her easier, but she had one less line of fire to worry about. Now was the time for some real piloting moves.

Two dalek ships stayed in close formation on the front firing line, one on top of the other. There was only just enough room for the TARDIS to squeeze between them, and that's where the Scout flew. She held on tight, making her dodge pattern coordinate with being in close proximity to the dalek ships she was flying alongside. The closer she kept her ship next to the daleks, the less fire she had to avoid. Obviously the daleks wouldn't shoot at their own kind. No one could pilot a TARDIS better than her, and she continued flying by dalek ships with micrometers in between their hulls, allowing her flight to run much smoother, all the laser fire now going around her ship instead of toward it.

Unfortunately for her, this flight pattern made the daleks more curious as to who she was. Without the Scout's knowledge, her ship was being scanned for previous encounter records. Several seconds later, one of the front line firing ships broke off, moving into a flight pattern to follow her.

The Scout caught sight of the warning light that a ship was on her tail, and she dashed to the other side of her console, preparing a much trickier flight pattern.

She pushed her limits, taking greater risk as she moved deeper into the dalek assault. She flew over, under, and between ships, darting this way and that, until eventually, she managed to trick her pursuer, resulting in the dalek ship chasing her crashing into another dalek ship, the explosion giving her TARDIS a good shake but not harming her.

"Hah!" She shouted with delight, clapping as her ship reached the outer edge of the assault formation, her ship now clear from danger. However, her flight path in the denser part of the formation had prevented the TARDIS from tracking the second dalek ship that had been chasing her. Now she had no more dalek ships to fly around, there was no reason for the dalek ship to not fire everything it had.

"ATTENTION TARDIS PILOT, YOUR SHIP IS RECOGNIZED AS A KNOWN INTELLIGENCE COLLECTOR. YOUR SHIP CONTAINS VITAL INFORMATION ON DALEK PLANS, YOUR SHIP WILL BE DESTROYED. YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED."

The Scout shut off the com, hanging on tight again as she flew her ship in a close range evasion pattern, having a harder time now. The dalek shipped fired incessantly, and she had nothing to hide behind, only empty space. She had to get away, if not for her life then at least for the information she had.

I'm honestly surprised I've lived this long, the Scout thought to herself. I've lost track of how long I've been in this war. I only have one regeneration left, then I'm done with starting over. Let's see if I can live just a little bit more, and not explode before I have a chance to regenerate.

She fought and fought, but the dalek was getting smarter, learning her flight patterns and adjusting to them. She nearly fell to the floor when a laser blast managed to catch the edge of her TARDIS, causing even more damage than what was already there.

"Son of a…" checking her damage reading again, the Scout knew that there was no way out. She couldn't beat this dalek ship speed wise, and there was nowhere to hide. She needed something fast, or she wasn't getting away from this.

Her eyes caught sight of an interesting reading. A strong temporal storm brewed only a few thousand kilometers away. She had only read about temporal storms, and had no idea what would happen if she flew into it, but she couldn't get any readings past the edge of the storm, which meant the dalek couldn't either. This was her only shot.

The TARDIS turned hard, the dalek ship following suit. The Scout took another blast of laser fire she failed to avoid, and she screamed as she turned away from the console, some sparks having flown up and burned her face. Adrenaline allowed her to ignore the pain, and she turned to the console again, keeping her flight pattern erratic as she approached the storm.

Seeing where she was headed, the dalek ship broke off. Apparently, the dalek thought this was suicide. The Scout shrugged. Maybe it was, but if this didn't work, it was better to die stubborn than by losing in a fight with a dalek.

She flew in.

()

The pony universe

20th century

50 years before the time blend points

The Scout had managed to stay conscious as the temporal storm tore apart what was left of her ship. She was too busy preparing to brace for impact in order to scan what planet she was now headed for. A strange feeling overtook her, and she fell to the floor, a tingling sensation taking over her entire body. She closed her eyes and reached out to try and grab hold of something with her hand, but as her ship was rocketing towards the ground of the planet below, her hand had disappeared.

The TARDIS slammed into the ground, skidding across grass until friction slowed it to a stop. The impact threw the Scout into a broken electrical panel, the current running through it enough to kill her.

When the TARDIS finally stopped moving, the Scout fell to the floor, her body completely limp. She didn't move for several minutes, the regeneration energy in her slowly waking her up.

She could feel the intense energy burning from within. Telling her that the crash had done quite a number on her, and it was time for one last restart. Better say goodbye to my old body, she thought, the regeneration energy giving her enough strength to stand. There's a mirror around here somewhere. I wonder what I'll look like? Whatever person I become, it better be good. This is my last chance.

Feeling rejuvenated, she moved through her completely destroyed TARDIS, on the verge of tears knowing that the dalek ship had likely done enough damage to prevent the TARDIS from repairing itself. The bond she felt with her ship was slowly fading; she would not get to share this one last round with her ship.

Good job, my friend, the Scout thought, a tear rolling down her cheek. You did well, and you kept me alive. I don't know how I could ever thank you, and I'll never forget the adventures we had.

She walked slowly through the passageways of her TARDIS, feeling the regeneration energy continue to build. She began walking faster, needing to move quickly if she wanted to see herself one last time.

After a few more turns, she arrived at a room she had used for getting dressed. She had several hair care items, an assortment of clothes, and a mirror. She walked up to the mirror, ready for one last look-

"Wait, what?"

The scout did not see her form in the mirror. She thought that everything in the TARDIS seeming taller was the electric shock still messing with her head. Staring at her from her reflection was a pony, an animal that didn't exist on Gallifrey, but she had seen on other worlds before the time war began.

"I'm sorry, what?" A gold aura began to surround the scout, her regeneration approaching. "Well…. This is going to be weird." The gold aura shout out from every limb on her body, the regeneration beginning. Every bit of her body changed, the hair on her body turning a bright blue, her mane and tail growing longer than what had at first appeared, becoming two distinct colors. A horn slowly grew out from her head, matching the color of her body. Lastly, the shape of an hourglass took form on both hind legs, and with one, final bright flash of light, the regeneration completed. She looked at herself in the mirror again, seeing her new form. "Wait, I thought ponies with horns didn't exist. I've seen them in some books, but…" she shook her head. "I don't know why I care right now. How did I even turn into… this last regeneration will be interesting."

()

50 years later

"I had crashed just outside of Ponyville, the town we're in now," Minuette explained, nearly done with her story. "Knowing that my TARDIS was dead and beyond recovery, I used some emergency measures I had stored in the ship to destroy what remained, not knowing where I was or what the discovery of such technology would do on this world. Slowly, I learned the culture, began to fit in, and studied magic hard. The concept is fascinating. I learned a passive memory spell so that I could live in Ponyville this whole time without ponies wondering why I'm not aging nearly as fast as them. As those strange creatures began to attack the town, I felt the strange energy that only those who have time traveled would detect, and knew that somehow, someone had created an isolated time blend. I had no idea if anypony would even be able to help, but I stayed right where I was, and transmitted the syncing frequency that your TARDIS and something else made. By pure luck, you came when you did, and here I am. I'm spending my last regeneration as a pony, and that's my story."

The Doctor didn't move a muscle while Minuette told her story. His mind fought with overwhelming joy and terrible sadness. Another time lord still existed, he wasn't alone! However, Minuette had come to this universe before the end of the time war. She didn't know yet. How could he tell her?

He decided that the only way to explain things was with the truth. He sat down closer to her, and began to explain everything. Who he was, the progression of the time war, and the end of the time war. Minuette fell to tears when the Doctor finished, and he pulled her in to a hug, letting her cry on his shoulder.

"It's alright," the Doctor said, holding her tight. "I've got you."

Paige and Jack sat farther away, understanding that this was a private moment and not wanting to make it awkward. The Doctor sat with Minuette for a long while, giving her all the time she needed to deal with the truth of matters.

Slowly but surely, Minuette's crying slowed to sobs. "I just… I can't believe it's gone," she said.

"It's not entirely gone," the Doctor replied. "It's out there, stuck in a different universe, safe. I just haven't figured out how to get it back yet. There are a lot of people who don't like Gallifrey."

Minuette nodded, slowly recovering herself. "Thank you Doctor, for telling me," she said, pulling away from the hug. "Oh dear, I've soaked your shoulder," she frowned.

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine," the Doctor said, giving her a grin.

Day turned into night, and the Doctor kept telling stories. Minuette had waited so long for something familiar, and the Doctor saw that all she needed to feel better was to sit and listen to stories from her own universe, from someone she could relate to. The Doctor shared his adventures since the time war, of his journeys and companions. Minuette asked questions, and even began to laugh as more and more stories were told. Jack already knew many of these stories, but stopped whispering with Paige to allow to her to listen. Paige was filled with as much wonder as Minuette, hearing tales of beauty, comedy, tragedy, and absolute wonder. The Doctor had done so much in his life, saved so many people, Paige was astounded by the way he just kept on helping those in need. He never stopped.

Late in the night, the Doctor arrived at Benzo with his stories, and the mountains made of pure ruby. He told Minuette about the crash, discovering he looked like a pony, meeting Paige, and their adventures. He let her try on his sonic screwdriver and use it, which she did successfully after a few attempts. He told her of Chaos, and the creator he had met, the metaphor about finding a key to lock the door between the universes and the void, and finally, discovering the time blend and noticing her signal, setting up signals in the other two major points of the blend.

"I've been here since before Twilight arrived in Ponyville, she is certainly talented," Minuette said. "She has accomplished much, and turned into a sort of leader in Ponyville. Her and her friends were the ones to stop Nightmare Moon, back in the first point you saw."

"She proved her magical talent when she transmitted the signal. But I must say, your talent is equally impressive. I'd love to know how it feels to do such things," the Doctor replied.

"Oh, it was quite strange to do at first. I wish I could describe it to you, it's such a strange sensation when you do it. Watch." Minuette concentrated, and her horn began to glow. She levitated the Doctor's sonic screwdriver into the air, which the Doctor had left off his leg after Minuette tried it.

"Brilliant!" the Doctor shouted, and Minuette chuckled, lowering the device to the floor again.

Minuette turned when she heard something behind her. Jack had stood up, and retrieved a pillow for Paige, who had fallen asleep on the floor.

"What time is it?" Minuette asked, suddenly realizing how long they had been sitting there.

"About four in the morning," Jack replied. "Paige was really interested in the story until you got to the part with her, then her body gave up and she started falling asleep."

"Oh my, I had no idea… We didn't even eat dinner!" Minuette said, laughing. She turned back to the Doctor, smiling at him. "Thank you, Doctor, for everything. I've waited so long to hear any news of my home, I've had no way to get off this planet with the current technological state of society here. The ponies here are so nice, but I didn't want to live the rest of my life secretly being someone else. You helped me a lot tonight."

"I only wish the circumstances were better," the Doctor said. "Chaos is growing stronger, so strong that he even broke through a time lock, a storm appearing in the time war itself. And if I don't stop him, then every single universe in existence will fall into the void."

Minuette was silent for a moment, then stood up. "Well Doctor, even one universe being destroyed is too much, let alone every parallel universe out there. You certainly have my help."

The Doctor stood up as well, holding out a hoof. Minuette shook it, and the Doctor grinned. "Glad to have you on board, Minuette. I need all the help I can get." Another time lord. Another living, breathing, time lord. The Doctor nearly needed a turn to cry.

"Now, you've been having trouble tracking Chaos, but I'll bet that his power isn't just derived from the void," Minuette said, moving to the TARDIS consol. "With the explanation of magic you've been given, I bet you that Chaos has to retrieve some of his power using the same universe energy that all of us unicorns use. And that means, there will be a distinct signature left behind."

"Every unicorn's magical signature is different?" the Doctor asked.

"I may not have known about this universe energy business, but you're not the first to wonder about magic. Many ponies have tried to figure it out in the past. A few unicorns came close, and I read about them." Minuette began pushing buttons, setting something up. "You know how I transmitted a certain frequency to resync Ponyville? Well, combine that idea with your knowledge of universe energy, and you've got magic completely explained," she continued. "Horns act like receivers for the universe energy all around us. It takes in the universe energy and uses it to manipulate things in the world through all sorts of spells. The unicorns from long ago found out that every unicorn has their own underlying transmission that occurs when they cast a spell, similar to the underlying energy level that pervades all of space and tie in this universe. So, if we look at recent activity over Ponyville… ah hah! Come look Doctor!"

The Doctor rushed over to the monitor, seeing the energy readings from Ponyville that Minuette had pulled up. A few hours before the Doctor had arrived, there was a huge energy spike. "So that's Chaos?"

"Indeed it is," Minuette said. Jack approached the TARDIS console now, curious to see this, and Paige had woken up, now sitting in the corner where she had fallen asleep, listening. "It's difficult for the TARDIS to pick it up, but because of how much energy he's using the TARDIS can find him. His magic is a mix of taking energy from the void and from this universe. That spike that's just a bit larger than the other little fluctuations, that's me giving off my frequency transmission."

"So we may not be able to predict Chaos's movements…"

"But you can track him a lot easier. You can keep up a lot more."

"You are… absolutely… brilliant."

"I know." Minuette chuckled, smiling proudly.

Everyone remained silent for a few minutes, thinking about the journey ahead of them. Paige moved to join the Doctor, Minuette, and Jack, as they all stared at the TARDIS monitor.

"So this is it then," the Doctor said. "The creator told me find her, that that was the next step before moving on. I've found you, and we know how to track Chaos. Now we follow his path, and search for this mysterious 'key' the creator mentioned while we're at it. No more running, no more shots in the dark, now we truly work to stop him."

"It begins," Jack said.

()

Far away from Earth

Chaos stirred from his slumber, realizing the time blend he had created failed. The Doctor was good, but Chaos had plans to stop him.

There are things even you fear, Doctor, Chaos thought to himself. I wonder how you'll enjoy some familiar faces.

()

Earth

Canterlot

60 years after the time blend points

Steel smiled and waved as his good friend approached. "Vigilant, great to see you!" the royal guard said. "It's been a quiet day. Hopefully you get some more excitement in the night shift."

"Same here," Vigilant replied. "There's always a couple fun things that happen in the night."

"So what did you do on Saturday?" Steel asked, using his magic to levitate his helmet off of his head.

"Same old, same old, went to my favorite club. It's the best club in Canterlot."

"I figured, but we were gonna meet up at midnight, remember? Did you end up finding somepony you liked?" Steel shot Vigilant a wink.

"No no, nothing like that," Vigilant replied shaking his head. "Oh, I remember now. I left the club at eleven thirty so I could meet up with you," he said. "I took the shortcut down that long alleyway we use, but when I was walking, something came out from behind a dumpster."

"What was it?"

"I don't know… it was scary," Vigilant continued. "It rolled out really slowly, and turned towards me. It had all these weird ball things on it, and a bright blue light on its head. I think it… yeah, I remember now. It shot at me."

"Wait, what?" Steel didn't know what to say now. "Shot what at you? Steel, you're freaking me out here. You look perfectly fine, are you playing with me?"

"No, it definitely shot me," Vigilant said. "It killed me too. That really sucked, I can't believe I forgot to let you know, man."

"What the heck are you talking about, Vigilant?"

Steel grew wide eyed when a blue light appeared, from inside his best friend's head. Vigilant lost all emotion in his face, and a strange object with a blue light pushed out of his forehead.

"Oh my-" Before Steel could finish his sentence, he was dead.

Vigilant turned away, preparing a transmission. His voice was no longer his own, it now sounded completely robotic. "TRANSMISSION TO ALL DALEKS IN CANTERLOT CASTLE, THERE ARE ENOUGH OF US NOW. INFILTRATION OF THE CASTLE IS COMPLETE, PREPARE FOR THE NEXT PHASE. IT BEGINS."