To Bring About Chaos
The Doctor Is In, Out, And All About
It seems like I could never catch a break, huh? Is it always too much to ask for a normal day? But nevertheless, I woke up to a splitting headache and a crash out of bed. Practically routine by now, at least the crashing out of bed. The headache was surprisingly new though. After managing to get down the stairs, I heard a hurried knock at the door.
Sparkella was at the door, looking both excited and frantic. “Medi! Medi! Come on, I have to show you something!”
“Mmph… Sparkella… I just got up…” I muttered tiredly.
It seems she didn’t listen to me, as I soon felt myself being dragged by magic as Sparkella went on happily. “I think I found out how to fix your voice for good now!”
That got my attention immediately. “Wait… really?! Awesome!”
I quickly flew by her side as we stormed into her home, heading down the stairs, only to come across… someone new? It looked like Sparkella wasn’t expecting him either, as she readied her magic, just in case. She also started to approach him cautiously, while I noticed that his own cutie mark was… an hourglass?
“Who are you? And what are you doing in my private lab?” Sparkella pressed.
“Oh! Terribly sorry. I thought I heard a commotion going on earlier today, and I simply had to investigate it. I do hope you don’t mind if I snoop a little.” A very Canterlot-ish voice popped up, surprising me a little.
“Yes, actually. I do. This is my private research, and some are special projects for Princess Celestia herself.” Sparkella coolly stated.
The pony turned around, looking rather confused. “Really? Hm, I do suppose it was rather rude of me to presume otherwise. Apologies!”
I came up next to Sparkella, nuzzling her lightly to calm her down enough as I got a better look at him. He seemed to be an Earth Pony, with a dark brown mane and a lighter brown fur coat. What was also unusual about him was the green bowtie on him.
“None taken… so long as you didn’t mess with anything of hers. But sometimes, you have to keep back your curiosity.” I replied smoothly.
“Well, I do say! I nearly forgot to give my own name! I am the Doctor, though my companion has recently started to call me ‘Doctor Whooves’, for some odd reason.” The… Doctor? Replied.
“Doctor? Doctor of what exactly? And what is your real name?” Sparkella brusquely asked.
“Oh… er…” He took a while to reply before coming up with something. “Astrology. And my name’s not that important. Tell me, what do you think of this odd mixture brewing here?”
Deflecting the question of the name, I looked over to where he was pointing. Indeed, it looked pretty odd for a potion of some sort. I turned to Sparkella with a raised eyebrow. It looked like she was slowly getting more and more angry about this strange pony who barged in and started asking random questions. She then noticed where he was pointing as well and quickly remembered why she dragged me out of bed, giving a wide grin.
“Oh, that’s right! Medi, I’ve been able to study on the side for a while now, and after making a request of one of Starswirl the Bearded works, I think I managed to make a potion that will restore your voice!” Sparkella giddly spoke.
“Wait… is this true?” Oh come on, he was still there! “One moment, I think I might have something that will fix you up in a jiffy.”
“What are you talking… a… bout?” Sparkella trailed off as he pulled out some strange looking device from his mane.
“Jolly good. Now, let’s take a look-see here, shall we?” Doctor Whooves muttered as he pointed it at me, looking like he was scanning me before giving a small cry of success. “Aha! Well now. It seems you’re quite the conundrum there! Seemingly two different set of memories, though one seems a lot more faint than the other. Current health signs are a positive, except for where your vocal folds are located.They seem to have taken quite the magical damage… and are still afflicted with it? But that’s not possible… unless… ah, of course, voice magnification spell! Brilliant work around!”
“Um… what?” Sparkella and I spoke in a confused unison at the doctor’s ramblings.
“I don’t know whether my sonic screwdriver can patch you up… but I do believe I can easily come up with something to fix it! After all, the last thing your vocal folds need is more magic.” He waved a hoof as he stored the… sonic screwdriver… back in his mane.
“Now hang on!” Sparkella cried out angrily. “I already have the solution ready to go, and I know perfectly well what damage he happened to get! I think we don’t need some technological supplement when magic has the answer!”
“And that is where I think you’re wrong, Ms. Sparkle. After all, magic was the CAUSE of the problem in the first place. We needn’t make it worse off than it currently is.” Doctor Whooves argued.
“Um… everypony? Maybe we should settle down a bit…?” I meekly piped up, only to be ignored as they stood face to face with each other.
“What’s so wrong with magic anyways? I bet you that magic can do anything science can do, but better!” Sparkella challenged.
“And I think magic is nothing more than highly advanced and unknown science, which makes your argument completely invalid! I accept!” Doctor Whooves shouted in agreement.
I facehoofed lightly as I stepped in between them. “Doc, Sparkella, mind if I actually have a say in this?”
“Hmph. Fine…” Sparkella reluctantly backed down.
“If you both are so insistent on this, why don’t we hold a contest with three pieces involved. One that magic can do easily, and where science has to try and replicate, the reverse of that, and then one thing where science and magic have a level playing field so that neither has an advantage. I will pick the third challenge, Twilight will pick the first, and the good Doctor can pick the second. Does this sound agreeable?” I looked to each of them, getting a small nod from each as I sighed. “Wonderful. Since it’s clear neither of you will back down on your claims, this is the only solution I can think of to let this all go peacefully. Tomorrow will be the magic challenge, the next day the science challenge, and the final day the even challenge. You both will have one hour now to think of what your challenge will be. Twilight, you have to tell him what he will need to do tomorrow to give him a fighting chance. Doctor Whooves, you will do the same tomorrow. Once the first two are done, I will tell you my own challenge. Now then… Doctor? Can you please leave?”
He quickly fled after hearing that last bit, making Sparkella grumble angrily at him. “First he invades my house, and then he says that science is better than magic…”
“Wait… aren’t you a scientist on the side?” I asked, remembering that little detail.
She scowled a little. “It’s not the same. I don’t try to prove that magic is science or that magic pales in comparison.”
I got the feeling she was blowing this out out of proportion that normally Dash would’ve done, or even AJ on an off day. Then again… it was a pretty bold claim to make to say that magic was just advanced science, especially with someone who worked very closely with magic. I knew that technology could do some good… but also bad. And… is it weird to say you don’t know a reason even when it’s a good one? Because that’s what it felt like. And… yep, that’s the headache coming on from thinking about this so hard. One sec.
Ah, OK, back to writing. After about an hour, Twilight had come up with her challenge, and I soon found where the Doctor lived to make a fly-by delivery outlining what he needed to do. Soon enough, it was the next day, and both ponies came out, glaring daggers at one another. This time though, it seems the Doc brought along a familiar face.
“Derpy? What brings you out and about here?” I asked curiously.
“Huh?” She looked around for a moment before catching me in her sight, giving a small happy wave of her hoof. “Oh, hiya there Medley! The Doctor said something about a competition because of Twilight, so I had to come along and make sure he was alright. I’m really sorry about all this… I really had muffins on the brain, and I guess I lost sight of him.”
I waved a hoof silently, accepting the apology as Doctor Whooves spoke in a tense voice. “So… you want to go through with this, don’t you?”
“You bet.” She tersely replied as her horn activated, creating the challenge ahead.
“Alright, let’s review to make sure everyone’s on the same hoof here. The purpose of this challenge is to find your way to the top of the tower, using only these thin sheets of metal and pieces of wood. Anything is permitted, except messing with the other’s challenge, and of course, and sort of violence. This is meant to be a clean competition. Are both of you ready?” I pointedly noted, getting two nods as I looked to Derpy.
“Wait… I get to be the countdown mare? Yay!” She grinned before looking adorably serious. “3… 2… 1… Muffin!”
It took both of them a moment before realizing that was her way of saying ‘Go!’, and quickly went to work. And I have to admit… it was a pretty good challenge, if only favored towards the more magical approach. Sparkella quickly started to form a rising platform, using her magic to hold in place the metal and wood. The Doctor, meanwhile, used his strange device on the metal, making it form into a platform for him while desperately working on the wood, mumbling something about it not working on wood. In the end though, Sparkella won, hooves down.
“And the winner is… Twilight Sparkle!” Derpy called out as The Doctor huffed.
As Sparkella looked a little smug, the Doctor turned to her with a small grin. “While that may have been close, I have the most ingenious idea for your own challenge tomorrow. I made sure to design it in such a way that requires advanced knowledge of science.”
“Oh it is on, Doctor Whooves!” Sparkella grinned.
Sure enough, the next day, a new challenge was made up and I explained once more, with now a bigger crowd than before. “Alright, telling the challenge so that neither side thinks of one thing over another. The purpose of this exercise is to escape from a locked box that is wrapped with 5 locked chains that prevent simple teleportation and are resistant to magic. The first out wins, and if half an hour passes without exiting the box, I have the keys to unlock all the chains. Are both parties ready?”
They both gave a nod as they got inside, Derpy and I locking the boxes up as the chains glowed lightly.
“Alright… 3… 2.. 1… Go!” I sharply spoke, and soon the chains could be heard rustling.
I must admit, it was a pretty clever idea to have chains that blocked teleporting out of them. Though it made me wonder where he even got those kinds of chains in the first place, and also why he would ever feel the need to get them as well. I then shook my head a bit, looking forward to who would win this challenge. It was a pretty quick one this time, as the Doctor walked out while pocketing his strange device things. Meanwhile, Sparkella, who had just managed to break to unlock the last chain by levitating the keys over and slowly finding each lock, took an extra 10 minutes to get herself out.
“Aaaand the Doc wins this challenge.” I announced as Doctor Whooves looked even more smug than Sparkella was yesterday.
“Told you that’d be a bloody good challenge.” Doctor Whooves grinned at Sparkella, who looked royally ticked off.
“Hey now, you two. Please, no trying to fight with each other.” I warned, making both of them step down a bit as I continued on. “Tomorrow will be the final challenge, and this time, I’m the one who will give it. And since I already know what I want you both to do, I can just say it here and now.”
“Oh goodie! The last one obviously must be suited to a scientific mind like myself.” Doctor Whooves bragged.
“Hah, as if! Obviously it’ll involve something very magical, since he knows and likes me a lot more than you!” Sparkella hotly shot back.
I face-hoofed yet again as I shook my head. “No, neither. Instead… you both will be required to give a proper definition of what you think your opposite is. That means Twilight dear, you will have to properly explain science, and Doctor Whooves, you’ll have to properly explain magic.”
“It’s on!” They both called out before running off to their respective homes, leaving me in the dust as I shook my head slowly.
“Quite the interesting turn of pace to see Twilight like this.” Rarity commented as my friends approached me while everyone else kinda went back to what they were doing.
“No kiddin’! When Trixie came, she was more modest than anypony I knew, ‘cept maybe Shy. But seein’ her this riled up in defense of her magic is kinda new.” AJ threw in her own two bits.
“Why do I get the feeling that tomorrow will not be pleasant for me at all?” I muttered.
“Probably because you put Doctor Who up against Twilight.” Pinkie shrugged and grinned. “Fan service at it’s finest! At least those who watch the show!”
“Um… Pinkie? What in Equestria are you talking about?” Dash asked, speaking for all of us confused ponyfolk.
“Oh nothing! Oh I just remembered I gotta make some more cakes see you girls and Med soon bye!” Pinkie rambled before zooming off.
We all gave a collective shrug at her strange way of speaking, used to it at this point, and went home, wondering how the day would turn out tomorrow. But sure enough, it seemed like everyone in Ponyville had gathered, and it was all set up to look like a debate between two political opponents, with Sparkella on one side and Doctor Whooves on the other side.
“Alright you two. You will take turns to make your argument. Please do not interrupt the other pony’s argument, for the love of LaurFastia.” A nod from both of them confirmed everything. “Alright then. 3… 2… 1… Debate! Twi, you’re first!”
Sparkella nodded as she launched into her own speech. For the life of me, I cannot remember the entire speech she gave on science, but what I do remember taking away from it all was that science was a suitable alternative for those that couldn’t access magic for one reason or another, but tended to be unreliable even at the best of times. She finished with a scathing remark about how science didn’t exactly replicate sentience.
The Doctor, in turn, gave a harsh critique of magic, calling it a shiny distraction and a waste of time in some cases. He noted that most uses of magic and spells were mainly for frivolity, and didn’t exactly go out of it’s way to try and be useful in any way like science could. He then ended on his own remark saying that not everyone could use magic, so science was clearly the better option of the two for everypony.
It seemed like both sides were waiting for the other to finish their arguments before immediately launching into a near shouting match. At this point, I was getting kind of ticked off at just how out of character this was for Sparkella. I understood that this was magic, and that he didn’t exactly leave a good first impression, but dear LaurFastia! She was really going at it while trying to defend magic at the same time. Soon enough, it started to slightly veer off into personal details territory, and that is where I finally put my hoof down and really let them have it.
“ENOUGH!!! I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT YOU TWO ARE ACTING LESS MATURE THAN THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS RIGHT NOW! YOU ARE TWO, FULLY GROWN, ADULT PONIES, THAT ARE ONE OF THE HIGHEST IN YOUR RESPECTIVE CATEGORIES! THERE IS NO NEED TO GET PERSONAL, AND YOU BOTH SHOULD BE SO ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES FOR TRYING TO EVEN ATTEMPT SUCH A THING! THINK BEFORE SPEAKING!” I shouted as loud as I possibly could, looking like I was making everyone’s ears ringing before I felt something completely shut down.
Sparkella looked so hurt and ashamed, while the Doctor looked pretty worn down himself. It seems it finally caught up to them what they were doing, and from how they were standing just a moment ago, they were ready to start pulling kicks and punches.
I tried to continue on peacefully, but found myself unable to speak, even in a whispery voice. Again and again I tried, still with no results. Now I was starting to panic, and while in hindsight, it did look kinda funny with how I looked while silently yelling in panic, it was still so damn terrifying. I was starting to have flashbacks to when I was at Canterlot Hospital and had just been attacked by that crazed mare, and let me tell you, it is… fucking terrifying to go from being able to speak to losing it, especially if it’s only being repeated recently.
“Oh my goddess… Medi? Medi, are you alright?” Sparkella quickly rushed down to me, casting what looked like diagnostic spells over me.
“Oh dear, oh dear, no no no no…” Doctor Whooves mumbled as he ran down as well, checking me out with his sonic screwdriver before paling, speaking up. “Erm… it seems you… um… possibly have a worse condition than before? Most likely brought on by excessive use earlier…”
“You… you stay away from my Medi.” Sparkella growled a little, turning to the Doc with her horn alight. “Ever since you trespassed into my home and tried to tear down my life’s work, you’ve done nothing but cause trouble.”
“Oh, so this is all my fault, is it?” Doctor Whooves challenged, looking her squarely in the eyes as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver. “I’ve faced down many creatures with far greater technology than can be even dreamed of. If anything, you’re making a mockery of science, only using it to support your own form of science and nothing else! It was also you who went along with turning this into a competition to see who was better.”
“And you still accepted it!” Sparkella accused, looking even more angry than before.
It was times like these that I wished I had my voice. Which is a new statement, considering that I normally would be able to whisper. Still, I thought I would be able to stop this from breaking out into yet another debate and/or fight again, just this time be very direct with body language. And with that, I stood firmly in between them, looking cross as I spread my wings as far out as they could be. I was sick and tired of all the fighting that was happening, and just wanted an end to this.
“Medi…” Sparkella looked angrily. “Please dear, move away.”
“For once, I’m in agreement with Miss Sparkle. Please move.” The Doctor asked frimley.
As I shook my head, Sparkella and the Doc both yelled at me at the same time. “Move aside!”
As I held my ground, the rest of my friends came up, looking out of sorts.
“Twi, honestly, I think this has gone on far ‘nough!” AJ called out.
“Med just lost his voice completely, and what is this all trying to prove anyways?” Dash challenged.
“I…” Sparkella angrily looked at them before sighing, slumping defeatedly. “You’re right, girls… I’ve been way too worked up and angry about this…”
“Doc! I thought you knew better than to try and needle others with your insistence on sciencey stuff!” Derpy went over to the Doc, looking pretty angry herself. “Now, what do you say you got out of all this? Was this all worth it?”
“I… er…” The Doctor seemed to go through the same thing, reluctantly bowing his head. “...not… really…”
I nudged my head at both of them, with a cross look in my eyes. This had gone on for far too long, but at least now amends could be made.
“I’m… sorry for what I said… and made you go through.” Sparkella started off first.
“And for my part, I apologize for my own attack on you and your own talents.” Doctor Whooves mumbled out loud enough for us all to hear.
Sparkella then reached a hoof out. “I know we might never agree on which is better… but I think I can admit that science has done more good than what I initially said.”
Doctor Whooves looked at Derpy for a split second, who was looking at him intently, before shaking her hoof, reluctantly responding. “And I also suppose in this world filled with magic, sometimes science isn’t always needed to fix a problem when a magical solution is quicker and easier to apply.
Sparkella nodded before looking at me worryingly. “I… I’m sorry I made you lose your voice… Medi…” She teared up a little before quickly and tightly hugging me.
I simply gave a gentle hug back, patting her lightly with a small smile. While I couldn’t speak, I know I would’ve said something about it being alright, so long as she learned her lesson from this and didn’t try it again.
“Wait a tick… don’t you still have that “potion” from a few days back?” Doctor Whooves brought up.
It was like a switch flipped for Sparkella. She instantly looked up, remembering it suddenly with a nod. Quickly pulling me into her magical grasp, she sped off towards the library with me in tow, making everypony else run along behind us, with the exception of Dash.
“Wait, what potion? Twi, what did you do exactly?” Dash asked.
“It was a potion I made a few days ago to restore Medi’s voice completely! I had completely forgotten about it until now! Oh, I do hope it’s still potent…” Sparkella frettered as she made her way inside, heading down the stairs.
“Wait… he never drank it until now?!” Dash sputtered. “Why?!”
“I was so caught up with the challenges ahead, and Medi was just trying to keep me company, and it must’ve slipped out minds…” Sparkella mournfully thought back before finding the potion, which looked a bit more dull than before. “Alright Medi. Let’s see if it works still! The worst thing that could happen is that nothing happens.”
I gave a small nod as I quickly snatched up the potion, quickly guzzling it down as I felt it running through my system. Everyone had arrived when I finished the ption, giving a hacking cough at the sudden wave of taste that was flooding my mouth. Seriously, only Pinkie, Ray, or Discord could’ve thought these flavors would work well together! Bleech!
“Darling! Are you alright?” Rarity looked extremely worried as I winded down.
“Never… better…” I whispered out, making that as loud as I possibly could.
Sparkella squeed with happiness as she gave me a very tight hug. “It worked it worked it… wait… can you actually speak higher than a whisper?”
I shook my head, whispering some more. “I’m sorry, my dear… this is as loud as I can possibly get…”
“No… all this effort to get you back to normal… and all I’ve done is just return you to where you were before all of this…” Sparkella was starting to tear up again.
“Actually… hold on just a second.” Doctor Whooves pointed his sonic screwdriver thing at me again, giving a small nod as he continued on. “While you did indeed restore him to normal, I can fix up whatever damage is left. It seems your potion targeted the worst spots and now only minor spots are left in strategic places to still make him whisper.”
“Sparkella looked a little relieved before giving a hard look at The Doctor. “Will this be painful for him at all?”
“No more than the potion.” Doctor Whooves shrugged. “Besides, I feel as though I’m at partial fault here for taking things just a hair overboard. It’s literally the least I can do here.”
“Hit it, Doc.” I whispered to him with a nod and grin.
“Excellent! Now, do please hold still, and please don’t talk.” Doctor Whooves warned me before his sonic screwdriver activated.
Sure enough, I stood still, and resisted the urge to even cough, even as his screwdriver thingy went about it’s thing, patching things up and making me feel very, very dry in the throat. As soon as he put it down, I devolved into another coughing fit, making Sparkella quickly levitate over a small glass of water to wet my suddenly dry throat.
“M-Med… are you… OK now?” Shy mumbled worryingly.
“Like I said… never better.” This time, I actually spoke it, much to everyone’s surprise.
“Wait… I didn’t apply any enhancement spells… that means… Medi? Y-Your voice… it’s…?” Sparkella prompted.
“It’s… it’s all cured now! I can finally speak and shout normally!” I cried out, making everyone cheer.
Soon enough, it was a party up in Sparkella’s library, at Pinkie’s insistence on overcoming such a large obstacle. Derpy and The Doctor were both invited, as The Doctor did indeed finish up fixing my voice, even if he was the cause of me losing it entirely. And Derpy because… well… she somehow knew him well enough that he’d behave himself. I thought about asking Derpy about it, but then thought it’d be pretty rude to ask a very personal thing, so I kept my mouth shut. And on that note, I think that summarizes everything perfectly. I know that Sparkella and I cuddled after the party was all said and done, happy that we could now speak equally with each other. But otherwise… that’s all I got. At least this night, I could rest, feeling very happy about myself, and wondered what this could possibly mean in my future.