//------------------------------// // Royal Pains // Story: Dr Whooves: Trouble in Canterlot // by FelixTheBrony //------------------------------// Royal Pains Applejack stirred in her sleep as she heard machinery powering around her. Cracking her left eye open, she spotted her brother lying in front of her, looking incredibly worried with Applebloom at his side. Both smiled widely when they saw her eye open and both hugged her immediately. “Y'all need ta stop getting' yaself inta trouble, big sis!” Applebloom scolded, trying to look like the big sister. “Eeyup!” Big Mac agreed, before turning. “She's awake!” About a second after that, Pinkie popped up next to him, smiling widely. “Yay! You're okay!” The three jumped a bit at her sudden appearance as she threw some pink confetti into the air and bounced excitedly. “How in tarnation did ya git over here so fast?” Pinkie grinned at Mac, making a 'zip' motion across her lips. “Sorry, trade secret.” Just as she said this, Rainbow zoomed in with the others not too far behind. “Damn! How does she do it?” “It's Pinkie, just grin and bear it.” Twilight replied, approaching Applejack. “You okay?” “Ah'm fine.” Applejack replied, getting onto her hooves, stifling a yawn. “How long was Ah out?” “About two hours.” Ditzy said, waving a hoof to the door. “We're back on the TARDIS, the Doctor wanted to look at the supersonic sound wave emitter.” “Uh...Tha what?” She asked, tilting her head to the side. “The ball that Applebloom threw to save your life.” Applebloom gave Scootaloo an annoyed look. “Ah didn' throw nothin'! Ah was wit' ya arguing whether tomatoes were fruits or vegetables!” She paused for a bit, before adding. “An' they're fruits!” “I think I got it!” They heard someone exclaim before they heard a crash and a small yelp. They all rushed towards the control room and saw the Doctor covered in multi-coloured wires, a light bulb in his mouth, his fez hanging off his tail. He grinned a bit at their confused looks and sat the light bulb out. “I'm okay!” He said, shaking the wires off his body before rushing back to the console to stare at the ball that had saved Applejack's life. “So what have you got?” Twilight asked, looking curious. “I think I've found a little DNA on the ball.” He explained, proudly, to their even more confused faces. Well, Twilight looked like she understood, but the others. “What's DNA?” Rainbow asked, facing Fluttershy, who shrugged. “I'm pretty sure it's a hoofball team.” Spike mentioned, to which the Doctor looked stunned. “Um...no. It's an abbreviation of Deoxyribonucleic acid, a genetic fingerprint if you will...Um genetic hoofprint?” He asked, looking at his hoof, noticing that there was, in fact, a strange little set of patterns on the bottom of his. “Yes, a genetic hoofprint, like one, DNA is always singular. No-one, except an identical twin, will ever share your DNA. So it will be able to tell us who made this!” He noticed that his audience, except Twilight and, to some extent, Applebloom and Spike, looked very bored and muddled. “Uh...Okay.” Applejack shrugged, muttering a “Fancy scientifics' under her breath. He grinned, before taking a pair of scissors and, quickly, snipping some of Applebloom's mane off, much to her annoyance. “Hey!” She yelled, jumping back as he took a small bit of her red mane to the control console. “Sorry, but I need a sample to compare to the DNA sample I found. Otherwise I can't prove or disprove anything.” He explained, before putting her mane sample into a funnel on the control console, before winding a crank on the other side. “Alright, this should prove that this Applebloom and the Applebloom that saved Applejack are not one and the same.” He explained to them as he heard a ping on the screen and the results were shown on there. “See they are...” He stopped half way when he read the results. The others gathered around and were just as surprised as he was. The screen showed one double helix spiral with several lines connecting the spiralling lines together per interval with the title 'unknown' over it, and on the other side of the screen, the same image but with Applebloom's name on the top, the word 'MATCH' shown on the screen. “...the same pony.” “But wouldn't that make her fourty two years old?” Ditzy asked, curiously. “Older, dear. She'd have to have the experience to build this, especially without magic.” Rarity explained, looking at Applebloom surprised and another thing. “...How do get yourself to look so young?” “What?! No way! Ah am not that old!” Applebloom argued, stomping her hoof on the ground to try and emphasise her point. “Maybe it's a twin!” “Ah was there when Applebloom was born, maybe it's a glitch?” Big Macintosh agreed, remembering when his littlest sister was brought into Equestria. “Hm...Maybe the TARDIS's change is affecting her circuitry.” The TARDIS rumbled slightly, much to the other ponies shock, before the Doctor patted the console. “I know you don't usually make mistakes but it's the only logical explanation.” He consoled before jumping out the TARDIS. “Now c'mon, we have to stop whatever the Krillitanes have planned!” The others followed, but they were all stopped at the by several royal guards outside, pointing spears directly at them. “Halt Doctor!” The one at the front, a grey Pegasus at the front ordered. “You are to be taken to Princess Celestia under the name of the A.C.U.” “Um...What's the A.C.U.?” The brown stallion answered, ushering the TARDIS to close the others inside. The TARDIS obeyed and her doors shut everyone inside. “The Alien Containment Unit. Surely you should know that. This isn't the first time we've met. We have recorded data of you.” The Doctor looked confused, before remembering. “Oh right...I guess I must have been in their past, in my future.” He muttered to himself when he noticed a golden coated Unicorn stand in front of the door. “We wish for your companions to join us as well. As recorded a Miss Ditzy Doo and Dinky Doo!” The Pegasus ordered. “She's been with you everytime!” “Really!” He thought to himself in shock. “But...Most people I travel with last only a few months before they want to go back to family and/or die...” Inside the TARDIS, the group looked at each other in slight worry. “Um...What do we do?” “We can't ignore an order from the Royal Equestrian Guard, Fluttershy. We'll just have to go.” Twilight answered, going to open the door, before Ditzy stopped her. “Hang on, Twilight, you of all ponies shouldn't!” She argued, pushing her away from the door, gently. “They only asked for me and Dinky, so we're the only ones who need to go.” “Why do you think it's so important for us to stay?” The purple Unicorn asked. Ditzy just waved her daughter over before answering. “Because you know Princess Celestia and have met her in the future, if she knows of you now it could cause a paradox and the Doctor said those are dangerous. That's why he was going to go back three hundred years, so there's less chance of us changing the future.” She explained, before she and her daughter stepped outside. “Ah there they are!” The Doctor said, feigning a look of relief. “Yes there are my only two companions on the whole TARDIS!” “Hiya!” Dinky said, cheerfully. The guards nodded and surrounded the three. “We'll escort you to Princess Celestia. She has requested an audience with you three.” The front most guard said, walking forward with the rest of them. What they didn't notice was a cloaked figure from on top of Doughnut Joe's tailing behind them. “I'm bored!” Scootaloo whined, staring at the ceiling of the TARDIS. Rainbow nodded. “Join the club, Squirt.” She replied, looking over to what the others were doing. “How can you be losing THIS badly Spike!” Twilight asked, astonished that Spike only had two of his checkers left while Applebloom had all of her's, three of them having been kinged. “I don't know!” Spike responded, moving his piece forward, only for his last two pieces to be taken by said farm filly. “Yay!” She cheered, turning to check her flank for a cutie mark, then lowering them in disappointment when she came up blank. “Aw...” “Ah told ya it'll come in time, AB...Besides Spike sucks at every board game.” Applejack told her sister, much to Spike's annoyance. “I don't suck at every board game!” He argued. “Yeah you do! Remember when we played snakes and ladders?” Sweetie Belle asked, noticing Spike wince a little. “I don't know how I kept rolling ones!” The dragon folded his arms before turning to Applebloom. “Chess?” “Y'all on!” “Ooh!” Dinky said, looking at the stain glass windows and statues lining the corridor leading to the throne room. “I'll say!” The Doctor replied, staring intently at the one that depicts the Elements of Harmony. “What's the story behind that one?” “The Elements of Harmony? They're an ancient weapon used to dispel all negative energy out of a being.” The front most guard, Iron Shield, began, walking to stand next to the Doctor. “There are six elements that make up harmony. Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty and Magic...” The Doctor then remembered Pinkie and Twilight mentioning that they were the Elements of Harmony to him. “To think that these Ponies can build a weapon specifically to destroy darkness. It's magnificent.” He thought to himself, smiling. “If only half the races I ran into tried doing stuff like this.” “Doctor...” A powerful voice asked from behind him. He turned to be face-to-face with a larger white mare with a horn and a pair of wings standing before him, a crown adorning her head along with a multi-coloured wavy mane. “Ah! You must be the Princess.” The Doctor said, bowing slightly after the guards and his companions. The Princess smiled and waved a hoof. “Oh stop with the formalities. Just call me Celestia.” She replied, as they all rose to their hooves. “We've met plenty of times before.” “Ah yes, of course.” The Doctor grinned. “But for me this is a first...You know what it's like. Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey.” “Ah of course. This is your first time meeting me even though I have met you before.” She replied, nodding. “But that is neither here nor there. There are far more urgent matters I need you to investigate. Such as those bat like things I'm sure you've seen.” “You mean the Krillitanes? So you've seen them?” The Doctor asked. “No...I just got some descriptions from eye-witnesses. Most of which appear to occur from the Sunset Gardens. I would like to request that you help in the investigation with the A.C.U. and a certain individual...” “Hold up. What individual?” Celestia pointed her hoof behind him Ditzy and Dinky. “Her...” They looked and saw a yellow Earth Pony filly with a red mane, wearing a white robe that went down to just below her flank, her tail pointing out the end of the robe which lifted it up enough to see a cutie mark of a hammer across an apple. She grinned at them, the pink bow in her mane giving away her identity immediately. “Howdy Doctor, Ditzy an' Dinky.” She said, casually pulling a ball like device that was very similar to the previous used. “In case ya don't recognise me. Tha name's Applebloom...”