Doctor Whooves Episode 8: Maiden Voyage

by Doctor Perseus


Burns

Chapter 3: Burns

Museum, The Queen Philippine, Orbit of Denum, Space, Winter, 4376 C.E.

"So I'm guessing the whole lockdown situation has something to do with me," said the Doctor.
"You would guess right," John replied as he stepped forward.
"Was complete lockdown really necessary?" Twilight scolded.
"I guess not but I figured that a surprise arrival from the Doctor would be a good enough reason to test it out."
"There's more to it than that, isn't there?" the Doctor asked.
"Yes. I just wanted to ask you about your reasons for being here."
"That's it? You separated us from our friends and sent that entire viewing hall into lockdown just so you could ask the Doctor that?!" Twilight snapped. John blushed a bit and rubbed the back of his head.
"Yeah...I guess it does sound pretty stupid when said aloud."
"If you must know why my friends and I are here, we just appeared here at random. We have no official reason for being here," said the Doctor. John gave a loud sigh and shook his head.
"Sweet Celestia, I'm stubborn! I see your TARDIS through a security camera and instantly think disaster is coming! Damn! This is really going to come back and bite me is the ass later!"
"Why did you instantly think of disaster when you saw the TARDIS?" Derpy asked with a curious face.
"I've read a lot about you, Doctor. I'm pretty sure that at least half of the information about you is sugarcoated stories but I've taken a look at the legitimate reports. You've been to a lot of places throughout history, Doctor. Everywhere we look, something new about you pops up. Drawings in caves, pieces of footage from tourist and security cameras, and practically thousands of reports and stories of encounters with you and your companions. One thing I've noticed that seems to be common with all of your appearances is that whenever you appear, danger is not too far behind."
"He's got a point, ya know," Spike whispered to Twilight.
"There's even more to that...isn't there?" the Doctor asked.
"Yes. This isn't just any old voyage for the Queen Philippine. It's its maiden voyage," John replied.
"Why do I get the feeling that isn't supposed to be a good thing," Spike gulped.
"Nowadays, it usually isn't. The maiden voyage is usually the worst voyage for any spaceship. Things always go wrong. Problems range from lost communication to the murders of captains. The maiden voyage is always a scary thing to go through for a spaceship's crew, especially the captain."
"I guess I can see where the paranoia came from," said Twilight. John turned towards the Doctor and smiled guiltily.
"I apologize. I wish we could have met under better circumstances, Doctor."
John then extended one of his hooves. The Doctor proceeded to shake John's hoof.
"It's quite alright. At least this made my arrival a little bit more exciting and maybe this whole thing counts as the problem for your maiden voyage," the Doctor said. John chuckled as he drew his hoof away. "John Kemp. Something about that name sounds familiar."
"Maybe you've met one of my ancestors is some of your previous travels."
"Charlie!" Twilight exclaimed.
"What was that?" the Doctor asked.
"Charlie Kemp! Remember? That pegasus who helped us out when we went to 2002!"
"Our first voyage together, Twilight Sparkle. How could I forget? Yes...I remember him now. Nice kid. I wonder what happened to him."
John was about to say something but he quickly placed a hoof over his mouth.
"Let me guess. Spoilers?" Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow. John smiled and nodded as he brought his hoof back to the ground. "Of course."
"There's one thing that's bothering me though," said Derpy.
"And what's that?" John asked.
"What caused the ship to shake and the lights to flicker a few minutes ago?"
"I...I honestly don't know. I was so busy trying to find my way here that I hardly gave it a second thought."
"If I were you, I would have somepony look into it," said Spike.
"Good idea."
John pulled out his phone and began speaking into it.
"Lee! It's John. I need you to get somepony to look into the shake that happened a few moments ago," he ordered. Nothing but silence could be heard on the other end of the connection. "Lee? Lee! Damn! Looks like we'll have to head to the control room ourselves. At least this will give me a reason to go and free your friends."
"Come again?" Derpy asked.
"Some of the guards arrested your friends, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, when they tried to get into the TARDIS. Don't worry! They're fine! I had then put into one of the rooms. The room's close to the control room so I can free them on our way there."
"You better not tell Applejack that you're the captain when you first meet her. She may want to buck you repeatedly in the face," Twilight warned.
"I'll make sure to keep that in mind."

Holding Room, The Queen Philippine, Orbit of Denum, Space, Winter, 4376 C.E.

"I can't believe this!" Rainbow Dash snapped as she kicked the door again.
"Kicking the door ain't gonna make things any easier for ya, Rainbow," Applejack sighed as she sat down on the bed.
"Whatever!"
Rainbow kicked the door one final time before turning around and walking over towards Applejack.
"Isn't it strange?" Applejack suddenly asked.
"What's strange?" Rainbow asked back.
"Why did the guards stop yelling at you through the door, telling you to calm down?"
Rainbow's eyes widened a little bit as she turned back towards the door.
"They have grown a little bit quiet ever since the ship shook."
"A little bit?! They've been quieter than Fluttershy in the middle of a large crowd! Don't ya think that's a bit odd?"
"I dunno and I don't care. At least I don't have to listen to their complaining!"
"Is it just me...or is it getting a little warm in here?"
Rainbow Dash stopped and felt the air around her. It certainly was getting pretty warm. She and Applejack were even beginning to sweat a little bit. Rainbow simply shrugged it off and began flapping her wings in order to make herself hover a few feet off the ground.
"It's probably nothing. Maybe the cooling system has broken down or something," Rainbow guessed. Applejack fell back on the bed and began fanning herself with her hat. Suddenly, a dark voice spoke out from the darkness.
"Burn," it said.
"Huh?!" Applejack gasped as she jumped up.
"What?" asked Rainbow.
"Did you hear it?"
"Hear what?"
"The voice!"
"What voice?"
"You didn't hear it, Rainbow?!"
"All I heard was you gasp. I haven't heard anything or anypony else."
"That doesn't make me feel good."
"Don't worry, AJ. Maybe the heat's just getting to you."
"I hope that's the case, Rainbow."
Applejack fell back down on the bed. She and Rainbow remained in silence until the voice spoke again.
"Everything, burn!" it said. Applejack wanted to sit up again but she decided to shrug the voice off. Maybe it was just her imagination. But it sounded so close...so real...so...angry. Applejack closed her eyes as she continued to fan herself with her hat. Suddenly her entire body clenched up and she found herself standing in the middle of an endless, dark void.
"Where am ah?!" she asked as she turned around in circles. Applejack then found herself bumping into something. A red creature stood before her. It looked like a giant crab and had many long, spider-like arms extending from its body. Its eyes burned like hot coals and its mouth was filled with sharp teeth covered with fire. Applejack backed away from the creature as it began advancing towards her. She tried to run but the creature grabbed one of her hind legs with two of its arms. Applejack screamed as a searing, burning pain shot through her leg. The creature bent down towards Applejack, its body heat making Applejack feel like she was going to melt.
"Everything, burn! Burn with me! Burn! Burn! BURN!" it screamed. A plume of fire appeared in the back of the creature's throat. Applejack screamed.
"Applejack! Applejack!" cried Rainbow Dash. Applejack awoke with a start. Her entire body was encased in sweat and tears were rolling down her face. "Thank Celestia, you're awake! What the hell happened?!"
"Ah...ah...ah don't know, Rainbow," Applejack replied. Applejack was relieved to see Rainbow's face again but the creature's face was burned into the back of her subconscious. She couldn't forget what it looked like, no matter how hard she tried.
"Wait...Applejack! How the hell did you get burned?!"
Applejack sat up and looked at her left hind leg. Claw-shaped markings were all over the leg and each marking left a red burn in the skin. Applejack groaned as the pain from her leg finally reached her brain. The pain suddenly began to increase. Applejack fell back on the bed and began to scream as the pain grew more and more intense.
"APPLEJACK!" Rainbow cried.
"It's coming! They're coming, Rainbow Dash! They're coming! They're coming! We're all gonna burn!" Applejack screamed. Rainbow's heart jumped as her friend grew limp in her arms and passed out.

Viewing Hall 11, The Queen Philippine, Orbit of Denum, Space, Winter, 4376 C.E.

The metal walls slid back into the floor and the passengers slowly began to make their way out of the hallway.
"Finally! Now let's head off and see if we can find the Doctor! Maybe he'll be able to make sense out of all of this!" said Rarity.
"What do we do about the TARDIS?" Fluttershy asked.
"I don't think it's going anywhere and the Doctor apparently locked it so nopony's getting in."
"I hope Dashie and Applejack are doing okay," said Pinkie Pie.
"I'm going to complain to the captain! That arrest was totally uncalled for!"
"Something's wrong," said Fluttershy.
"What do you mean?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"I don't really know what I mean. I just have this bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something's wrong. Something's terribly, horribly wrong!"
Rarity looked at the box that she was still holding onto and thought back to the mysterious mare. She knew something. Rarity was tempted to open the box but the words of the mare still echoed through her head.
"Don't worry. You'll find out soon enough. I had to pay a hoof and a horn to get this so don't open it until you absolutely need to!" the mare had said.
"How will I know when to open it?" she had asked.
"You'll open it when the fire is close and is too hot to bear."
"Something on your mind, Rarity?" Pinkie asked.
"Yes...but it's fine. Let's just focus on finding the Doctor right now," Rarity replied.
"Okie-dokie-lokie!"

Captain's Deck, The Queen Philippine, Orbit of Denum, Space, Winter, 4376 C.E.

John led the Doctor, Twilight, Derpy, and Spike down the hallway. The door leading into the captain's deck was coming up fast.
"I can't believe you didn't find out which room Applejack and Rainbow Dash were put in!" scoffed Twilight.
"I said I was sorry, didn't I?" John replied.
"I didn't accept your apology, did I?"
"Fair enough."
John sighed as he opened the door. What he saw made him nearly jump out of his skin. The monitors were destroyed, the walls were singed, and Lee was lying on the ground. His body was badly burnt but, thankfully, he was still alive.
"Lee!" John cried as he rushed forward. He fell on his knees and cradled Lee's head in his arms. "Lee...what happened?"
Twilight was in shock. She had seen and read about burns before but these burns were almost...unnatural. His skin was black, a white liquid was oozing from his burnt skin, some bones were being exposed, and for some reason his eyes and mouth were perfectly intact. The Doctor examined Lee with his sonic screwdriver and examined the results.
"Strange...these aren't natural burns," he said.
"What do you mean?" Derpy asked as she attempted to hold back her breakfast.
"These burns appear to have come from the inside-out and not the outside-in. And yet he's still alive, his organs are functioning, and his eyes and mouth are intact."
"Lee...what did this to you?" John asked. Lee looked into John's eyes. It was obvious that every movement he made was causing him serious pain.
"It...it's coming, John. It's coming. They're coming. They're all coming. We're going to burn. We're all going to burn. They...they've arrived," Lee replied. Lee's eyes rolled up into his head and John felt as his friend slowly drew his last breath.
"Lee...damn it!"
"I'm sorry about your friend, John," said the Doctor.
"What did this to him? Can you tell me that?"
"At the moment...I really can't say."
"Uh...guys!" Spike croaked.
"What is it, Spike?" Twilight asked.
"I don't think we're alone!"
Everypony turned towards a dark corner of the room. A pair of red eyes glimmered out from the darkness. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light and John's eyes grew wide. Floating just a few feet away was a spirit of sorts enveloped in red flames. The weirdest feature of the creature was that it looked exactly like Lee, except with red skin, a mane made of fire, ruby-red eyes, and fire spewing out from cracks in its skin.
"What the hell is that?!" John asked as he jumped up.
"I really don't want to find out!" Twilight responded. The Lee apparition slowly began to hover its way over towards the Doctor, Twilight, Derpy, Spike, and John. A sadistic smile formed on its face as it seemed to stare straight into their souls.
"Everything, burn. You're all going to burn," said the apparition.