//------------------------------// // Lullabies: Part Six (S1C5) // Story: DOCTOR // by Deidorimu //------------------------------// The M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T The Doctor flipped a lever and swerved around his console as he explained quickly, "phoenix ponies control the temperature of the planet's core using their magic. The planet's core holds its own magic that keeps this planet alive. They don't place their magic into the core, they simply encase it. They store their magic through a volcano on Alburnia that digs deep enough for their magic to reach the core. From there it encases the core, like a shield or a shell, and that protects the core and controls its temperature to where it needs to be." He pressed a few buttons, activating a series of code to pop onto the console monitor. Glancing at the monitor, the Doctor typed on a keyboard as he continued, "hundreds of years storing magic not only increases the magicka density, thus making it stronger, but it also leaves a surplus of excess magicka to be used for other things, so long as your a phoenix pony. Phoenix magic has almost no use to common ponies and most other species. Its also why you'd never find M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T's used anywhere else other than Alburnia. Its the only place on the planet where a M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T can use the excess magicka from the volcano to recharge. The only known place in the world that vents the proper phoenix magic. So its impossible for anyone else to use these off Alburnia." The Doctor looked smugly to Dean, "unless your me of course". He pressed a particular key that made the monitor "beep", before he swerved around his console, flipping a lever and turning to Dean, who was watching the Doctor by the entrance next to Aster. "There are places that exist all over this planet. Cracks and holes that reach deep enough for me to absorb the phoenix magic. They are little to none and the ones I do find don't charge my M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T as well as it would to charge directly on Alburnia; too small or fractured to allow proper ventilation. But they do exist and I, as far as I know, am the only one who have found these spots!" The Doctor shrugged, "you'd have to be a phoenix pony to find these spots anyway. Even the other elementals can't sense our magicka through these cracks, too weak for them to. Heck, even I had a hard time finding them. I've only found three. That aside, we can use that to save the ponies who have been corrupted by chaos!" The Doctor had explained so much information in such a short amount of time, it made Dean temporarily freeze with his jaw hanging. His eyes were wide and watering, as he didn't blink the whole time. Which was normal to him; past practice from a fast talking professor he had at the university made it easier for him to listen to large lectures that were given quickly. Had he had to write this down it would have been a bit challenging, but he still would have managed. And with his intellect, Dean heard and understood every word the Doctor said. Despite having never learned much about phoenix ponies before the Doctor, Dean still managed to follow along. The same, however, could not be said for Aster. The information the Doctor gave at that speed was enough for Aster's mind to go blank. That is, if he were even listening. At the moment, he was currently stiff as a board. His eyes wide and jaw dropped as he stared around the console room, his astonishment blocking out anything the Doctor said. Dean shook his head, awakening from his student stupor as he blinked his stinging eyes. "Wait, wait, how would that help our situation? So you can charge this with phoenix magic, and you can do it off of Alburnia. What's good with that?" "Dean, the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T absorbs surplus magicka. Meaning it won't absorb primary magicka, but secondary, excess, or external magicka it will absorb!" It took him a moment to think about that, and Dean gasped as he figured it out. "Discord's chaos! It isn't the corrupted pony's magicka, its his! External magicka!" "Precisely! Discord's magic isn't the original magic stored within those corrupted ponies! Its an external magicka that is controlling them! And we can use my M.E.I.D..P.H.A.T to absorb and remove it from them!" Pressing a series of buttons and turning a knob, the Doctor prepared his M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T as a thought occurred to Dean. "Hang on, if you can absorb chaos magicka from the corrupted, than that would mean your M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T can run off of any type of magicka. If that were true, than why charge it on those spots you mentioned? In fact, if it runs off of phoenix magic than why don't you just charge it yourself since your body produces that type of magic." "Ah, remember what I said. It needs the "proper" phoenix magic. The magic stored in the core is strong enough to power one of these. If I tried transferring my own magicka into it nothing would happened. A phoenix pony's own personal magicka isn't nearly dense enough to power a M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T. You'd need an army just to manage that. Even than it probably wouldn't work for longer than a minute. As for why I don't charge it with other magicka, well . . . eh, I'm not really supposed to." "Beg pardon?" asked Dean. "Well you can't pop wood into a train that runs on coal. You can if you wanted to, but it won't end well. Same situation here. I can absorb chaos magic into the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T, but that doesn't mean I should. Putting the wrong energy into the wrong thing would be bad! It could break, it could disrupt what your using. A train may just blow up if you use the wrong energy for too long. But trains are made tough, you'd have to abuse it for a long time before it got to that point!" "Okay, so you can absorb the chaos magic this one time as long as you don't do it again?" " . . . Eh . . . no, using the wrong energy on a M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T might just blow it up instantly." "WHAT!!!" "But don't worry! I won't let that happen! I've just recalibrated the core pulsars to reroute any sub pulsars that have absorbed energy away from the battery. It will extricate the corrupted while diverting the energy away from the important parts of my M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T. It will then release the chaos magic out into the sky and the corrupted will be saved!" "That doesn't sound safe, releasing chaos magic into the sky. And, sorry, pulsars?" asked Dean. He was intelligent, but that sounded like phoenix tech, something far beyond him. "The primary piece of the converter that transfigures the raw magicka to a stable wavelength before calibrating the density to that of- eh- you know what, just picture that vacuum used in the woods a while ago", the Doctor said, seeing Dean having trouble keeping along. "The one used for stealing forest animals?" "Yeah, that one! Just picture those animals as the energy and the vacuum is the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T." "Right", Dean said, seeing that vacuum vividly in his mind. "As for releasing it into the sky, yes it would absolutely be dangerous. Which is why we are going to transport away from the corrupted after we extricate them. We'll release it into the least populated area that has chaos magic. That way it won't harm anyone else and when the chaos is dealt with it will dissipate with the rest of the chaos magic without leaving any loose ends! Don't want to transport to the other side of the planet to release it, it might stay around even after Discords gone." Dean scoffed, "you say that like you know for a fact Discords going to be defeated." "Hey, have a little faith will you. I know the princesses will take care of him." "How can you be so sure?" The Doctor smiled as he reassured Dean, "trust me, everything will be alright." The Doctor spoke with a tone Dean recognized. It was at the tip of his tongue, and took a second for him to remember. This tone the Doctor had, it bothered him, because he was aware the Doctor knew something he didn't. It didn't bother him negatively, like he had to know what the Doctor was hiding. It bothered him in a concerning way, in a way that made him wonder, "what does the Doctor know that is relevant?" Or, more importantly, "how does he know what is relevant?" That tone of his, he used it then and he's using it now. It wasn't a tone of someone simply knowing a thing that someone else did not. It was a tone that someone had when they knew something important that someone else did not. Almost like someone keeping a secret they wanted to tell. Only, the Doctor express this with confidence, rather than anxiety. Something crucial, something relevant to the matter at hand. Dean's a clever colt, and he knew he didn't really need to, but he couldn't help but ponder what the Doctor's tone was for. Then he remembered. That tone he used, he said it verbatim, the first time they met. "Let's just say, a mare who's going to make a lot of ponies smile someday", Dean played that memory in his head. That's right, he never did figure out what the Doctor meant by that. At the time he didn't care, he just wanted to go home. Now, he was too curious not to care. There was a link and he knew it. "A mare who's going to make a lot of ponies smile someday? His confidence that Discord will be defeated? He even mentioned Discord turning into stone that one time. It's as if he knows its going to happen. That's what that tone is, not just certainty, he talks like he knows for a fact it'll happen." Before Dean could think further, the Doctor said to the two with the final push of a button. "And there! Preparations are ready! Any questions before we begin?" Now didn't seem like the time to question the Doctor on something that didn't seem important, so Dean shook his head no. Aster didn't respond, he was still frozen, fixed onto staring at the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T. The Doctor and Dean noticed, looking to him. "Aster? Any questions?" the Doctor asked. "Uuuuuuugh", Aster squeaked without moving. "Aster? You alright there?" asked Dean, becoming concerned. Aster gulped, "i- i- i- its . . . bigger." "Bigger?" asked Dean. "On the inside." The Doctor nodded, understanding what he meant. "Ah, right. Yeah, yeah its bigger on the inside. Any other day I'd actually really enjoy hearing that. Are you going to be all right? I know its a lot to take in." " . . . Is it magic?" Aster asked. "Nnnno." "Are we smaller?" "No, we're not." "Do you have a bucket?" "No- eh, bucket?" Aster placed a hoof to his mouth as his stomach churned suddenly, "I think I'm going to be sick!" Aster "ulped" as he felt something rise in his throat, and he quickly turned and ran out the exit. "Wait! Aster!" the Doctor called. "Aster! Hey!" Dean yelled, following him out. Exiting the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T, Dean found Aster hunched over, using his right leg to prop himself against the side of the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T. He was breathing heavy, expecting himself to get sick at any second. And he was certainly close, his body practically begging for its unpleasant release. But it wouldn't come, and all he managed was a single dry heave before covering his mouth. Dean approached and patted Aster's back gently. "You alright mate?" Aster nodded and glanced to Dean, before gasping suddenly, looking past him. Startled, Dean turned and looked to what Aster saw, and what he saw made him step back defensively as he called into the open M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T. "Doctor! Doctor get out here!" "What! What happened!?!" the Doctor shouted, galloping out. He stopped in his tracks close to Dean, feeling a foreboding sense of dread appear in his chest suddenly as he looked to who had appeared. Dozens of meters away, from within an opening view of the scattered trees, stood Larkspur. He was smiling and clean, practically shinning in the early most morning light. Not a scratch, not a bruise, and not the way the Doctor remembered him; unconscious back in that cage. "L- Larkspur?" Aster stuttered, his eyes welling. Larkspur simply tilted his head in response, smiling devilishly to his colt friend, before waving a hoof, beckoning him to approach. All sense of rationality left him as Aster cried, darting towards his colt friend, "Larkspur!" The Doctor and Dean both reacted too late, as they reached to stop Aster. "Wait!" Dean yelled, "Aster! Don't!!!" the Doctor yelled. The Doctor stepped forward, but Aster was already long gone. And Dean made an attempt to grab him, but swiped at air as Aster was out of reach. His wet hooves dashing along the moist grass, Aster plunged himself into Larkspur's chest, wrapping his legs around him weeping. "L- Larkspur!!! I m- missed you so much!!!" Caught in his emotions and refusing to let Larkspur go, Aster was unaware that the Doctor and Dean were calling to him. He didn't hear them shout his name, and he didn't hear them when they saw Larkspur change. Aster wasn't even aware of the change, he didn't feel it. The touch of his beloved coltfriend made his mind wonder. He imagined that they would need to rest of course, tonight would certainly take a toll on them. Afterwards, they were heading out of country without questions. And after that, they would simply relax with each other. Laying on warm grass on a cloudless summer day, resting in the shade of an apple tree, just like they did back in Equestria. Aster could practically feel that warm grass now, and the taste of those juicy apples. Most importantly, he was going to enjoy it all with his beloved Larkspur. "ASTER!!!" Aster heard the Doctor that time, and heard Dean shout immediately after, "Aster get away from him!!!" Aster looked over his shoulder, confused. Before he could call out, and ask them what they were saying, the Doctor shouted, "he's corrupted, Aster! He's corrupted!" At that, Aster felt his heart stop, as the comforting touch of his coltfriend suddenly turned dark. It felt as if he had just blindly stuck his leg into a snake hole. Frightening him enough to keep him from looking back to Larkspur. "W- W- What?" Aster said, hoping he had misheard them. "That isn't Larkspur! That isn't your coltfriend!!!" Dean shouted. His mind went blank, before the reality of the situation crashed into him. Slowly, forcefully, Aster mustered the courage to look to Larkspur eye to eye. What he saw terrified him, and he wanted to scream. But it was caught in his throat as he was scared stiff. He could feel his heart beating out of his chest, and his mind turned fuzzy, turned stone cold in terror. What Aster saw was indeed Larkspur, just not the Larkspur he had expected, nor the one he saw just a second ago. Larkspur stared back into Aster with yellow eyes, his irises changed into a piercing red. He sprouted a hetero pair of horns; one a light blue, twisted goat horn, and the other an antler. His eyebrows turned white and enlarged, growing bushy and hanging off his face. He also sprouted a long chin beard to match, just as white and bushy as his brows. A single tooth enlarged as well, big enough to poke out from the top of his mouth. It was only his face that changed, everything else about Larkspur remained the same. Though Aster was frightened for the obvious, the Doctor and Dean were afraid for a different reason. The two having recognized that face, Larkspur's face, the day that Mane City fell. "Is that?" Dean was about to ask. The Doctor answered sternly, perturbed through gritted teeth, "Discord!" Larkspur cackled as he grabbed Aster by the fur on his chest suddenly. Aster gasped before feeling all his breath leave him, as Larkspur lifted him a foot off the ground. In one swift motion, Larkspur turned right by the waist, swinging around and chucking Aster like a bag of trash. Aster collapsed and rolled, stopping a foot from the Doctor and Dean. "Aster!" Dean yelled, rushing to Aster's aid. Dean knelt to Aster and check on him as Aster rubbed his chest, where his fur was pulled by Larkspur. Meanwhile, the Doctor remained fixed on Larkspur, the two glaring each other in the eye. The Doctor looking focused, concentrated, preparing himself for anything. And Larkspur, smiling maliciously, enjoying the sight of the Doctor in this state of unease. Standing on his hind hooves, Larkspur howled in laughter, echoing through the forest. The three noticed it wasn't just his face that had changed, but his voice as well, but only the Doctor and Dean recognized it. It was far deeper and had a cynical tone to it. Of course, to the Doctor it made sense. His face changed to appear as Discord, and he had his voice to match as well. That, however, did leave the Doctor with a question. He called out to Larkspur, "chaos magic. Random, unpredictable, chaotic! Everypony with it inside them changes, and it differs from pony to pony. Brother and sister into ghosts, a father turned into a turtle. But you, your surely unpredictable with your change, I'll give you that. But you know what doesn't fit the bill as "chaos": copycat!" The Doctor took a step forth, pointing to Larkspur. "Discord doesn't like "copycats"! He's the only spirit of chaos in this world and he'll be sure to let you know that! Now, I have seen hundreds of corrupted but you are the first to appear as Discord. So, what makes you so special?" The Doctor paused a moment, waiting for an answer. Larkspur glared back, snickering beneath his breath. But he didn't answer, and it only served to irritate the Doctor. "Come on! Answer! Discords crazy, but not "clone other ponies into myself" crazy! Because honestly, when you think about it, that's not crazy enough. An army of Discords? No, no, no, that's too organized. Not to mention that the original Discord wouldn't have the spotlight to himself, so! I'll ask you again! What makes you special? What makes you worth looking like Discord?" "AHHHHH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!" a shrill laugh startled them, appearing suddenly. From behind a tree came the filly phantom: Silly. Her mane waving about excitedly, as she stepped into view from the thickens. A foot to her left, the stallion phantom appeared as well. Floating from behind a tree, as emotionless as ever, was Putty. "Oh no", Dean muttered. "I- Its them!!!" Aster yelled, clutching to Dean's leg fearfully. The Doctor took a step to Aster and Dean protectively, keeping an eye on the twins and Larkspur at the same time. Silly's neck twitched, her front completely wet and sticky in dark chocolate milk, drooling like a fountain from her open, smiling mouth. "Silly, silly, PRINCESSES!!!" she roared, stomping her hoof. "Did you think you could escape from my kingdom? AHHHH HA HA HA HA!!! NO!!!" Suddenly, her tone turned sharp as she shouted aggressively. "NO PONY IS ALLOWED TO LEAVE MY KINGDOM!!! NO PONY!!! THIS FOREST IS MINE!!! AND ALL WHO ENTER WILL BE MY PRINCESSES!!!" "Silly", the Doctor said, trying to reason with her. "I know your mad but listen. Something bigger is happening here and I don't know what it is! It could be dangerous for all I know so I need you to let us go-" "Let you- PFFFFTTTAAAAAAHHHHHH HA HA HA HA HA!!! LET YOU GO!!! NO PONY!!! LEAVES!!! MY!!! FOREST!!!" "Silly I promise we aren't trying to escape! If you just let us go than we can help-" "ENOUGH!!!" Silly roared. "I've had enough of you! Princesses! Take them!" Silly commanded, pointing to the three. Suddenly, sporadic sounds blasted around. From each direction, one of the three other corrupted ponies appeared, stepping out from behind trees. The one with wheels stood behind them, the black one with long legs stood to their right, and the mare with hands stood close to Larkspur, a dozen feet to his left. From each direction the Doctor, Dean, and Aster, were surrounded. Dean could feel Aster shaking, as they both looked to the corrupted around them. The Doctor spun once, looking around to each of them, before looking back to Silly quizzically. "You . . . you can control them?" Silly laughed, mistaking the Doctor's concern for fear, "awww!!! Are you scared!?!" The Doctor pressed on, taken off so by the other corrupted that he nearly lost his words. "No . . . that's . . . that's not right. These corrupted, they're . . . following your commands? How?" Silly tilted her head, giving the Doctor a look, as if the answer was obvious. "How? I'm the Queen of the Forest!!! And they are my princesses!!! That's why!!!" The Doctor shook his head, "no . . . no, no, no, there's only one creature who can control the corrupted. This is impossible!" He glanced to the corrupted, all of them cackling like the maniacs they were, as he pondered. No one should be able to control the corrupted. No one, except for the spirit of chaos. The Doctor found it odd that Silly and Putty were the only corrupted attacking tonight, but he didn't complain. At the time it seemed fortunate he had less corrupted to deal with, give him a better chance at figuring out what was happening. Had he known the reason they weren't attacking was because they were under Silly and Putty's control, he would have looked further into why those corrupted were in the cages. Glaring to Silly, the Doctor felt his time to ponder was limited, so he tried a different approach to calm her down. "Silly please listen, we want to help you! We can save all of you from the chaos Discord has planted inside you!" "I don't want your help!!!" Silly roared, stomping the ground hard. "I want you and your friends to be my princesses!!!" "But why? Why do you want everypony to be princesses?" Silly tilted her head, "why? Why!?! Because I'm the Queen of the Forest, that's what I do! I turn ponies into princesses!" "But what if we don't want to be princesses?" Silly laughed, "everypony wants to be princesses!" "No, not this pony, not me or Dean or Aster." Silly frowned and paused a moment, before replying softly. "You . . . don't want to be a princess?" "No Silly, I don't, none of us do. Aster wants his friend back, and Dean and I just want to leave so we can find my friend". The Doctor took a step towards Silly, "my friend is a lot like you. Your queen of the forest and she's . . . a ruler in her own sense. She cares for others and wants the best for ponies. If she were a queen like you, she wouldn't force ponies to change into the way she wants them to, because that's wrong. A true queen accepts a pony for who they are. They don't force them into something else just because they want to. Just because they see fit. Silly, listen to me, stop this please! You can be a true queen, you just have to show your subjects kindness. Please Silly?" the Doctor asked, waiting a moment, hoping that Silly would listen. It was possible that she had listened. Silly was still in there deep down, and the Doctor had hoped that that part of her would hear his message. To reach out and help them, so that the Doctor could save them. He had hoped this would be the case. But than again the Doctor knew that, in terms of making a connection to Putty and Silly, they weren't nearly as strong as their father. He had taken a chance, a blind swing in the dark, but it didn't work. Silly ignored everything he said. She placed a hoof to her chin, acting as if she was thinking, genuinely pondering if she should listen to the Doctor. A moment later, however, she immediately denied him. "Mmmmmm, no, I already am a true queen! Princesses! Get them!!!" The corrupted slowly marched forth, taking there time walking towards them. Purposely, to scare them, as Silly was amused by their expressions of fear. Aster stood up and ran into the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T, limping as he felt the impact of being thrown earlier strike through his leg. Dean followed behind, and turned back to the Doctor, half of his body standing on the inside of the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T. "Doctor! Come on!" "Sorry, but hiding in there won't protect us", said the Doctor, keeping his eyes on as many of the corrupted as possible. Which was difficult, as he had to spin around every so often to do so. "But the shields-" "They won't work! I used them once against Silver's vines and that consumed a lot of power! We don't have enough!" "But the M.I.E.DP.H.A.T can absorb-" "Chaos magic won't power the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T! Even than it takes time to do that! And it won't be able to while its under attack!" The Doctor spun again, looking to each approaching corrupted. He knew they approached slowly to induce fear, but he couldn't deny it was working. The strain of formulating a plan while surrounded; seconds most he assumed he had to figure out something. The M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T couldn't protect them, not while it was low on power from Silver's vines back in the swamp. He couldn't transport away, he still needed to save the corrupted. And of course, there was Larkspur. All the questions the Doctor had answered tonight, and yet Larkspur's appearance only brought a dozen more to him. Everything about this was wrong, and not just Larkspur. It didn't make sense, why he would appear as Discord. But, what was equally puzzling, was the corrupted. There's only one leader to the corrupted, and that's Discord. Yet, right now, they weren't following his orders. "How long will it take!?!" Dean yelled. "About a minute", the Doctor replied. "Wha- but they'll attack-!" "I know!" "How did you expect to save them knowing they would attack us!?!" "I knew the twins would but not the others!" "Why would you think that!?!" "Because it doesn't make sense! If corrupted were going to attack us than they would! But only now they do under Silly's command!? That's not how it works! Discord's supposed to be the leader! Why can Silly and Putty control their own corrupted? Only Discord should-" the Doctor stopped. It hit him suddenly; that's right, only Discord could control his corrupted. He had never heard of the corrupted controlling their own corrupted. That suddenly brought several things to mind. Everything that had transpired last night and this morning didn't make sense. Discord uses chaos magic to corrupt ponies. The corrupted spread chaos magic from pony to pony, a curse that works like a plague. But these corrupted, Silly and Putty, they do not spread the chaos as the other corrupted do. They corrupt and imprison their corrupted, locking them in cages. And only now the Doctor figured out why, to keep them at bay in their cages until the time comes when Silly and Putty see fit to use them. That's not the mission Discord implemented. This curse, this mission, imprinted by Discord himself. He implemented this command, only he can alter or change it as the bearer of the curse's origin. The Doctor can remove it, but nothing more. A talk with the pony held deep down within the chaos, also possible. But to place a secondary command that would allow the corrupted to capture their own corrupted? He had seen the chaos work in action from afar, but this, this was new to him . . . unless. A thought came to mind. A coincidence? Perhaps not. Because if Discord could implement a command into his chaos curse, than why couldn't he place a secondary one? Perhaps that had something to do with what Silly said earlier. "Doctor who, I knoooow yoooouuu!" And he remembered Putty saying something similar. " . . . We know you . . . Doctor who. We know you . . ." As he said to Putty, he wouldn't forget about that. He pondered at lightning speed. Why do Putty and Silly know who he is? There are a lot who know who he is or have at least heard the stories. But he found it hard to believe that two young children know about him. His parents could have told him, but he couldn't imagine a parent telling their children a story involving him. He found himself involved in treacherous life or death adventures, adventures that would surely give children nightmares. Their parents could clean the stories a bit, make them child friendly. Even so, stories about him have never really traveled to Mane City, as far as he knew. But that wasn't it, Putty and Silly couldn't know who he was. So why say they knew him than? The Doctor assumed they wouldn't know him, they were too young. But he did know of someone who was far from young. Someone who had lived for over a hundred years. That someone, was all around him. It struck him, as he realized what Putty and Silly meant. The Doctor went wide eyed and turned, looking to each of the corrupted approaching closer. They were near, with only fifteen feet left before closing in on he and those in the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T. He looked to Larkspur and knew what this meant. He knew why Larkspur had changed to appear as Discord, and he knew why Silly and Putty knew who he was, and why they have been capturing ponies for themselves instead of Discord. Partly, it was a theory, partly, he knew it had to be right, and mostly, looking at his situation, he didn't have much of a choice but to act now. The Doctor pointed to Larkspur and shouted, "you never answered! What makes you so special that you made yourself look like Discord!" He glanced to the others, he only had twelve feet left. He noticed that Dean had ran inside, watching alongside Aster within the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T. They stood by the console, standing at, what they felt as, a safe distance away from the danger outside while being able to see what happens. The Doctor licked his lips before continuing. "But maybe I should ask! What makes us so special!?! Why of all the ponies that Discord has corrupted, why have you changed to appear as him for us?" Larkspur smiled and stopped suddenly, remaining fixed at ten feet while the others marched on. Putty and Silly noticed, the two now looking to Larkspur. Both were confused, but only Silly expressed it as she shouted, "what are you doing!?! GET THEM!!!" It was obvious Larkspur heard, but he ignored her command, a sign the Doctor was hoping for. He continued, speaking quickly, "Putty and Silly knew who I am. How is it possible that two children know who I am? Well its obvious: they don't. But last night I was able to talk to someone who broke free from the chaos you know why that is? Because deep down that pony is still in there. A box over an apple, chaos that covers and traps the true pony inside- but! That begs the question: what exactly is the box?" the Doctor took another glance. Eight feet, before they close in on him. They were screaming and laughing, and at this distance the Doctor could feel bits and splatters of chocolate milk spray on him. He didn't have time, but he knew how to stop them. He needed to bring out this group's true leader. Six feet left, the Doctor spoke quicker, "the ponies are the apple, the box is chaos and chaos is Discord!" Larkspur laughed aloud, stretching his forelegs out wide, as if he was enjoying what the Doctor had to say. "These ponies are still there deep down but chaos traps them therefore Discord traps them. This curse is created with his magicka therefore a little bit of Discord is inside you all!" Three feet left, the corrupted giggle, laughed, chuckled, shook and spewed chocolate milk about, as they reached out to grab the Doctor. "It wasn't them who know who I am, its you! But you couldn't remember at the time! You force magic into them, pieces of magic, with bits of you- AAAAAAAGH!!!" "Doctor!" Dean and Aster screamed. Each corrupted pony grabbed the Doctor at once. And from each of the three corrupted, the Doctor felt chaos magic pierce into him from all directions. His front, back, and side, attacked by that familiar boiling oil feeling, as chaos magic flowed forcefully into him. He screamed in agony and fell to his hind knees. His vision blurred, and his peripherals faded black. But he refused to fall, forcing himself to stay awake, as he shouted to Larkspur with all his might. "Ggggrrrraaaaagh!!! Bits of you!!! Bits of you carrying bits of your memory! But there's plenty of you now so you remember! You remember me- you know who I am- you know my name! I! AM! THE DOCTOR!!!" Instantaneously, the Doctor felt the chaos forcefully suctioned out of him, flowing and returning to the three corrupted ponies. The Doctor experienced the same feeling Dean had, like his inside were being ripped from him, with the incredible speed the chaos had leaving his body. He gasped and fell on his front, laying there as his breath returned up to him. The three corrupted ponies froze suddenly and walked backwards. Almost robotic like, they stepped away from the Doctor, unnaturally emotionless, as if they suddenly went brain dead. Silly looked to her corrupted, baffled. Both twins were taken off guard, enough so that even Putty reacted. His eyes narrowed, glaring to his queens corrupted, confused. Silly jumped up and down angrily, shouting at her princesses, "what are you doing!?! I said GET THEM!!!" The corrupted didn't respond, remaining fixed like statues as they looked to the ground, staring at nothing. Putty floated forth a few feet and spoke, commanding the corrupted, "obey your queen!" Still, the corrupted did not respond. Shaking her head, Silly shouted, "why! Aren't! they! LISTENING!!!" "Silly, silly, Silly- Ah Ha Ha! What a perfect name for a silly little filly!" The twins turned their focus to Larkspur, and the Doctor took this opportunity to jump to his hooves and trot backwards away from the corrupted, close enough to his M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T to let his left leg stand inches on the inside. The Doctor glared cautiously to Larkspur, Dean looked at him past the Doctor, afraid, Aster stared at his coltfriend, confused and concerned for Larkspur's well being, and with their attention on him Putty's eyes were narrow as he glared, and Silly stared while absolutely fuming. With all eyes on him, Larkspur beamed a satisfied smile to each of them before laughing aloud. He then stared them down with psychotic eyes. Yet, psychotic as they were he did not appear out of his mind. Absolutely mad perhaps, and yet, the look he gave, it was as if he was aware that he was the most clever one here. He looked crazy, yet masterful. He was in control, he had the power, and he was more than happy to show it off. Larkspur spoke to them all in what was clearly Discord's voice, "oh my, weren't expecting this now were you?" " . . . Discord?" the Doctor asked, breathing anxiously. Larkspur walked calmly to the corrupted as he said to the Doctor, smirking, "Wrong- o Doc! Im only here in spirit! But you already figured that out, didn't you?" " . . . Still had to check." "YOU!!!" Silly roared, pointing at Larkspur, who was admiring the corrupted mare like an artist would with his work. "YOU DID THIS!!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY PRINCESSES!!!" Larkspur looked over to Silly and sighed sarcastically, "tsk, tsk, tsk. My beloved Queen, I had such a fun time making you! But had I known you would have had such a temper, I might have made you into a wicked witch!" "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!!!" "Now, now, silly filly, you don't want me to put you in time out, do you?" Larkspur said, smiling in a way that practically begged for Silly to attack. She responded as Larkspur hoped she would: growling and charging at him with her hair thrashing madly. "YOU WILL OBEY ME!!!" Larkspur stood to his hind legs, practically shaking with excitement, as he pointed his right leg to Silly. The moment he did, Silly stopped in her tracks. Like a wizard brandishing his wand, she was under his spell, frozen four feet from Larkspur. Under his command, he had Silly sit on her rear, frozen in a blank state like the other corrupted. Larkspur saw what was coming and pointing to Putty as well, who floated fast to come to his queen's aid. Foreseeing Putty's attack, Larkspur stopped him before he had the chance to get close and he too was frozen, falling to the ground and laying on his front in a blank state, several feet behind his queen. Larkspur blew to his hoof as if he were blowing smoke out the barrel of a gun, before standing on all fours and looking back to the Doctor. "Well that was fun! So! Where were we?" "Doctor, what just happened?" Dean asked. Inside the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T, Dean and Aster had only seen part of the display. They saw Larkspur and the corrupted just fine, but they missed the twins fall under Larkspur's spell. "Larkspur stopped Putty and Silly, they won't try to harm us anymore", the Doctor explained. "What!?" said Aster. "How'd he do that!?" Dean asked. "Like I said, bits and pieces of Discord inside of them all." " . . . . Sorry, what!?" Aster repeated, he and Dean not following at all. "Oooooh! Is this the part where you explain to your friends what's happening?" Larkspur said excitedly, as he zoomed in front of his corrupted so they wouldn't get in the way of his show. "Oh I love this part! The other ponies don't understand what's happening so your going to have to tell them! But we both know why you really have to do this". Larkspur lifted his hoof and waited a moment, as if something was going to happen. When nothing did, he looked to his hoof confused before sighing. "Oh right, no fingers. Oh well, guess I can enjoy the show without popcorn". Larkspur sat on his rear, watching excitedly for the Doctor to begin. Neither of the two inside noticed how uneasy the Doctor looked, who didn't bother to hide it. Just like the others, the replicate Discord before him had put him off, but far worse than the others could imagine, and not for the reason they could ever fathom. Not out of fear, but concern. And not for safety either, as the Doctor knew they were safe. But that did nothing to put him at ease. Despite setting the pieces straight, everything that was happening now, it was all wrong. He spoke seriously, and carefully, "right . . . right, okay". He explained to the others over his shoulders, not daring to look away from Larkspur. "As you know, Discord uses his chaos magic to control others. And as you know Discord does this by placing his own magicka into the ponies he corrupts. Magicka is categorized depending on its origin: phoenix pony magicka, tribal pony magicka, alicorn magicka, etcetera, etcetera. But even so, magicka, categorized or not, is still unique in its own way if it is inside of someone. I'm a phoenix pony, so I use phoenix pony magic with my phoenix fire, A.K.A, phoenix magicka. However, this magicka has been inside of me since I was born, and throughout life your magicka evolves into a uniqueness that defines you. If you were, say, a pony that steals other ponies magicka, you would most likely see remnants of their life or would have episodes having their personality or their thoughts or their emotions. My magicka is phoenix pony magic, but my magicka is also me!" "So when Discord placed his magicka into all of the corrupted ponies, he's also putting a little bit of himself inside them too?" asked Dean. "Exactly!" said the Doctor. "And than he's going to ask-" Larkspur predicted. "But, that means that Discord . . . he knows who you are?" "And there it is!" Larkspur cheered, predicting correctly. The Doctor almost fell into a ponder, but kept his unbearable puzzlement at bay as he said with half certainty, "I . . . so it seems". He stop himself from hesitating as he asked Larkspur, "how do you know me?" Larkspur tilted his head, looking innocent. "Oh Doc, if I tell you that it would spoil the story." "Story? What story?" asked Dean. "Don't worry about it, that's just his way of saying he won't tell us", the Doctor said quickly. Dean shook his head, confused. "Wha- but wha- eh- alright. He knows you and now Discord is, what, talking to us through Larkspur?" "In a way." "But why?" "Bits of him were placed into everyone he corrupts and that is a lot of ponies! One or two he could probably project himself properly but hundreds of thousands? The most he could most likely manage is to slip small fragments of himself to each pony. It would take several of them to be grouped together, like they are now, in order for Discord to project himself properly. That's what he meant that he's "only here in spirit". With enough of his corrupted, Discord can use his magicka to mimic himself. He's not truly here, but his magicka acts in the same way he would as if he truly was here. A perfect replica" "Well, I wouldn't say that", said Larkspur, frowning at his lack of fingers. "Yes but why now? Why change Larkspur into him? Why . . . just, why? Why is he here at all!?!" "Well, the obvious is because he didn't have enough corrupted grouped together to project himself properly. His corrupted knew who I was because of those fragments of him, but none were able to create anything more than that, bits and pieces of his memory, without bringing together more corrupted to piece those fragments together. But, I guess that's not what you meant. Why he's here, why he's actually here, well, its because of me of course." "Because- what! How are you involved!?!" Larkspur laughed, "and here it is! The part that everyone wants to know!" "Part?" asked Dean. "The part everyone wants to know of course! Why oh why would I humble you of all ponies with my presence! Why would Discord appear before the Doctor of all ponies! What does the Doctor and Discord have in common? Hmmmm?" Larkspur waited for the Doctor to respond. There was a pause, and the Doctor asked slowly, "I assume . . . your not going to tell me? Larkspur scoffed, "and ruin the fun! Pah- lease! This is great! The Doctor! Defender of the Keep! Young and clueless like a baby! Hahahaha!" "Defender of the Keep?" Larkspur stopped laughing abruptly, and looked serious for a moment. "Wait, you don't know?" "What the hell are you talking about?" the Doctor asked, becoming short in his frustration, and with being completely lost. "Defender of the Keep? You honestly don't know?" There was a second of pause, and Larkspur continued asking, "what about the Almighty Shield? Or the Oncoming Storm? Hmmm?" Again he waited for a response, only for the Doctor to answer with an expression of utter bewilderment. So, Larkspur asked, "what about: the Doctor of War." Clearly, the Doctor was still lost, so Larkspur frowned as realization dawned on him. "You . . . you don't know . . . you really have no idea what I'm talking about, do you!" His frowned turned to a smirk as he asked, "now I have to know! How old are you doc? Two hundred? One fifty? Mmmmm, with those wrinkles I'm gonna say your reaching your expiration date so . . . . two hundred and fourteen! Is that it!? Am I close!?" With everything Larkspur said, the Doctor felt himself trapped. Placed somewhere he deeply feared, and it made him hesitate to answer. He didn't know if he should tell Larkspur his age because he feared of the response he might receive. So, he attempted to change the topic back to what he truly wanted to know. "Everything that happened tonight, the twins capturing these ponies in the forest, locking them in cages, is this all because Discord knows me? Why!?!" Larkspur frowned, "oh you are such a spoil sport! Fine! I'm just going to say Two hundred and leave it at that!" His smile returned as he answered, "yes yes its because I know who you are! There, happy?" "So . . . Discord really does know me?" "I just- didn't you hear!?" Larkspur cupped his hooves, shouting, "I know you Doctor Who!" "But how!?! How do you know who I am!?! And how did you know I would be here for you to get to me!" Larkspur laughed, "please doc! My ideas are good but no one is that good! I have small groups of my corrupted scattered all throughout Equestria in the hopes that you'd find yourself coming across one. And for awhile I was concerned you wouldn't show but, as luck would have it, here you are! Appearing out of the blue in a group I had placed in a forest! Outside of Equestria! Ha! Of all the places I could have found you its in a forest in the dead of night!" Larkspur laughed, "oh and what a night it was! I can see everything that happened in here!" Larkspur said, pointing to his head. "Oh, boy! What a night you three had! Running through the forest, fireworks, a spooky house! Fearing for your lives! Trying to solve a mystery! Oh! I'd give all the bits in the world to see more of these adventures! It'd be like watching a show!" "But why!?! Why go through all of this just to find me!?!" the Doctor asked, practically shouting. "Why? So I can see you of course!" "See- you . . . you wanted to see me?" the Doctor asked, feeling his heart sink. Larkspur noticed how uneasy that made the Doctor feel, and based on the smile he gave it was clear that filled him with satisfaction. "Yes doc, because I wanted to see you." "But . . . why? We've never met, we don't have anything to do with- what- what's so funny?" Larkspur suddenly burst into a laughing fit, and it took a full minute before he could catch his breath. Wiping away a tear, Larkspur said through chuckles. "We- we- we've never- never met! BWAHAHAHAHAAA!!! Ohhh my goodness! I knew you were young, but I had no idea you were this young!" Larkspur smiled deviously to the Doctor, which felt threatening to him. "No wonder you don't know anything, your just a baby! You really aren't like the Doctor I knew." The Doctor went wide eyed, as this information practically shot him in the face. "Wha- Doctor!?! What do you mean "the Doctor you knew!?!" Larkspur waved his hoof, "no, no, no more teasing. If you want to find out more, your just going to have to come talk to me. Face, to, face. Oh! Would you look at that!" Larkspur pointed to the sky and the Doctor looked to see. Unexpectedly, what Larkspur was pointing to was the sun. The Doctor suddenly realized what time it was. After arriving at the forest seven forty the other day, it was now eight o clock in the morning, over twelve hours of being in this forest. The clouds had blown away, leaving the sky clear. The forest was already warming up in the summer sun. Drops of dew and precipitation from the night before scented the forest in a moist, early morning grass and bark. The forest returning to its warm and welcoming atmosphere still made the Doctor feel uneasy. The forest may be beautiful, but standing here before a projection of Discord, hearing the things he's heard, this place felt awfully eerie. Like a dark foreshadowing, taking away the pleasure that this nature would have otherwise given. "Sun butts brought the sun up. Guess that means you should go now", said Larkspur. Surprised, the Doctor said to Larkspur, "wait a minute, I've still got questions-" "I'll only hold them for another minute. Better leave now before I let them give you some of my chaos!" Larkspur said, grinning mischievously. "Wait! I need to know-" "Three, four, five, six", Larkspur started to count. "Son of a!" the Doctor growled, stomping his hoof and galloping into his M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T. "Watch your language Doc! You wanna keep your story at least a little age appropriate, don't you!?" Flipping levers and turning knobs, the Doctor activated his M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T, hearing the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T respond in its signature, metallic groan. "Wait! What's-" "No time!" the Doctor cut Dean off. "But what did-" The Doctor took a moment to stop and look to Dean, "Dean! I don't even know what's happening! Believe me I'll figure it out later! For now I need to remove the chaos from them!" Hearing that, Aster gasped and ran passed them to the exit. The other two saw him last minute and shouted: "Wait!" "stop!" Too late, Aster pounced into Larkspur's chest, shouting, "Larkspur!" Even Discord's projection didn't expect that, and nearly lost his balance when Aster leapt into him. He chuckled, "well well! Guess I've got me a date to the gala!" "Aster get back here!" the Doctor shouted. "No!" "Aster-" "Get rid of the chaos!" Aster shouted, tears welling in his eyes. The Doctor hesitated, before groaning loudly and returning to typing on his monitor key board. "What about-" "I'll get rid of the chaos and Aster will have Larkspur anyway! In or out makes no difference! Besides, its his choice!" the Doctor explained, cutting Dean off. With a final flip of a switch, the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T was ready. Groaning and screeching, the interior shook while the outside made an electric "hummm". From outside, Larkspur and Aster watched as the guard box levitated, floating high above the trees. It then tilted slightly, positioning its bottom to point to the corrupted, aimed like a crossbow. The Doctor had adjusted the interior gravity so that, when the box tilted, he and Dean would remain leveled with the ground and not feel it tilt. "Here we go!" the Doctor shouted, pressing a button. Wirring and groaning, the bottom humming louder and louder, a small hole opened from the bottom of the box, revealing a large, metal sphere inside. The sphere projected a violet, purple light that illuminated a beam on Aster and the corrupted. Aster didn't feel it, but the others did. A moment later, the beam felt cold to the corrupted. They felt it grip to them, like hands made of ice. The chaos flowed through their cores, up to their hearts, and out of their chest. Like dark, shadow like steam, the chaos magic exited their bodies and flowed along the beam, wiggling like tadpoles through a stream. The chaos flowed to the box and entered the metallic sphere, sucked into the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T's systems. The beam continued its suction for a minute, before the steam of chaos stopped. The last bits left the corrupts, and as soon as it did they each fell one by one, unconscious. Except for Larkspur. Larkspur felt the magic leave his body, and he fell limp into Aster's body. Smiling to the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T, the projection felt itself reduce to nothing. With only seconds left, Larkspur shouted loud enough for the Doctor to hear, "see you in Mane City, DOCTOR!" He laughed loudly, which faded to a chuckle, then faded to a weak giggle, before Larkspur's eyes closed, and he too fell unconscious. Hearing Larkspur, the Doctor frowned, before he heard his monitor "beep!" He glanced to the monitor and flipped a switch before looking to Dean, "that's all of it! Now we need to transport somewhere to release the chaos!" The Doctor pressed some buttons, returning the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T exterior to float upright again, before running to the other side of his console. A few knobs turned, buttons pressed, a lever flipped, the Doctor worked fast and checked his monitor frequently, making sure to transport his M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T to a good spot. He pointed to the exit and said to Dean, "close the door!" Dean nodded and ran to the open exit. From the outside Aster watched as the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T disappeared. It groaned and faded, disappearing in and out of existence, before it was gone entirely. Even after, Aster heard a few echoing groans before even the sound faded. It took a minute before Aster registered that it was over, that the night was done and that they were safe. Aster took a deep breath and noticed his ears were ringing. A whole night of shouting, screaming, running, and now, all of a sudden, a quiet, calm, sunny forest. No more screaming, no more running, everything was calm. Even the birds were awakening and chirping throughout the forest. His body noticed as well that everything was suddenly winding down, and it made Aster realize how sore he was. His back hurt where Silly had almost captured him last night, and his leg felt sprained when Larkspur threw him. That reminded him, looking down, Aster tapped Larkspur's cheek gently. "Larkspur! Hey Larkspur!" Suddenly, as quickly as he had changed, Aster saw Larkspur return to his normal self before his very eyes. It was uncomfortable to watch, Larkspur's horns shrinking and popping off his head like old scabs, his excess hair on his eyebrows shriveling before falling off, his beard practically plummeted like a prop without glue, and his hair transitioned to its original color. As soon as Larkspur was returned to normal, Aster looked around and noticed that everyone else was changing as well. The pony with wheels had his legs return, the mare with hands had hooves again, and the dark pony shifted back to his normal size. Looking to the twins, Aster saw as Silly and Putty returned to their normal bodies as well. The two twins shrunk down, their fur grew back, their eye colors returned, and eventually, the two looked like normal children again. As with the others, as Aster looked to everyone, they all had returned back to normal ponies again. As unsettling as it was to watch it did make him feel happy enough to want to cry, and he placed a hoof to his mouth, stifling a small sob as his eyes welled. "He did it . . . he really, actually did it!" "Uuuugh, wha- huh?" Larkspur groaned, stirring. Aster gasped and wrapped Larkspur in a tight grip, hugging him around his chest. "Larkspur! Your awake!" Aster's tight hug made him lose his breath, and Larkspur choked slightly, "A- Aster!" "Oops! Sorry", said Aster, loosening his hug. Larkspur returned his hug, holding Aster around his body, as he smiled to his coltfriend. He frowned suddenly as he noticed the cuts and bruises Aster had. "What happened to you! You look like you've gone through tarterus!" Aster giggled, "something like that." Larkspur took a moment to look around and noticed all of the unconscious ponies. "W- What happened!" He looked to Aster, "where are we? H- How did we get here?" Aster pecked his coltfriend's lips, both silencing and calming him. Smiling, Aster assured him, "its a long story! But I think I'll have time to tell you when were in Marzipan." "Um, okay?" said Larkspur, clearly confused. Aster looked over to the other ponies. The chaos was gone, they had turned back to normal, they were all safe. He, his colt friend, and those that were corrupted. That's when he remembered about the twins. He gasped, "oh dear!" as it struck him. With everything that happened he realized that Henry was not here. Therefore, Henry did not have his chaos released from him like everyone else did. "What? What's the matter?" Larkspur asked, worried. Aster thought for a moment, before he sighed. "After all that, we still couldn't save him." "Um, sorry?" Larkspur asked, not following. Distracted in his ponder, Aster didn't respond as he thought aloud. "But . . . we saved his children . . . and that's what he wanted . . . what he fought so long for". Remembering last nights events, Henry's struggle through chaos and his research in the forest lab to save his children, only to fall into chaos himself in the end, it put a lot of weight onto Aster's heart. And it only worsened as he knew Henry was out there somewhere, and he was still a turtle. As was his wife, probably in Mane City at this moment, corrupted herself. The children were saved, but now parentless, and Larkspur felt Aster's tears fall on him. In response, Larkspur hugged Aster, comforting him. Clearly Aster had been through something, but whatever it was he felt that now was, perhaps, not the right time to ask about it. So he spoke soothingly while stroking Aster's mane, "everything's alright Aster . . . whatever it is that's bothering you, I'll help you, okay?" On the brink of crying, his tears fell, but Aster held it in. He sighed contently and relaxed in his coltfriend's embrace, still thinking in his ponder. A moment later, Aster asked softly, "you'll . . . you'll help me?" "Of course! Whatever's bothering you I'll help you!" Larkspur responded. Aster thought for a moment more before he decided what he thought was best. Wiping away his tears, Aster leaned back, looking Larkspur in his eyes and smiling. "You said you liked kids, right? When we were baking for your younger cousin's birthday?" "Um, yeah, I did. Why do you ask?" Aster pointed to the twins, both of who remained unconscious, "how do you feel about babysitting for awhile?" That's what he decided to. He would care for them until he could return them to their father. Explaining to them about the whole ordeal may be a challenge, but despite everything, he was sure they would have fun in Marzipan with them otherwise. At least, he would do his best to help them have fun. Or, to help them from not thinking about everything they've been through. He'll bring the twins with him to Marzipan. When Equestria is safe, he and Larkspur will bring them back and find their father. In the meantime, the Doctor and Dean will dispense the chaos somewhere and will be on their way. He wasn't sure where they were going to go exactly, and realized suddenly that he wasn't even sure he would see them again. It would be nice to, with how great of ponies they are. But if he doesn't, at least they were able to accomplish something amazing during the time they were here. Larkspur looked over to the unconcscious children, before giving his coltfriend a bewildered look, " . . . . come again?" His look and tone made Aster giggle, and he couldn't feel any better. His coltfriend was safe, the children were safe, and most of the corrupted ponies were safe. They couldn't save Henry, but they sure did their best, including Aster. That thought lingered, and for a moment it repeated in his head. "I helped saved them. I did my best, and I helped save them!" It was a beautiful feeling he didn't realize he could ever have. Ponies were in danger, and he did his best and helped save their lives. His eyes welled again, and for a moment he was sure that no feeling could ever compare to this, before thoughts of sleeping in bed with Larkspur popped into mind, resting the night's pains away. He looked to the sky where the M.I.E.DP.H.A.T had once been and sighed contently. "Thank you Doctor and Dean", Aster said, feeling his tears fall along his cheeks once more. "Thank you." He had his coltfriend, they were safe, and the Doctor and Dean were off to wherever. Things couldn't have gone any better. Little did Aster know of the danger the Doctor and Dean were in at this moment. The Doctor and Dean "Close the door!" Dean nodded and ran to the exit. However, the moment Dean grabbed the door the two were nearly taken off their hoofs. The M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T suddenly bounced, and shook violently. Something in the console went "bang!" as sparks spewed from the machine. The Doctor gripped the console so he wouldn't fall, and Dean fell towards the exit. He managed to grip the door and hold on to the edge of the exit so he wouldn't fall outside the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T. Simultaneously, Dean witnessed as the outside world had changed. From outside the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T, it seemed like they were flying through a portal. Red and orange swirls flowing past them, with sparks of lightening flashing every here and there. A vortex of fire, taking the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T away from the forest. "Doctor!" Dean shouted, worriedly. "Dean get away from there!" "What is that!" Dean asked. "Its the teleportation stream the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T creates to travel! Its composed of powerful phoenix magic that can kill you if you fall in! Get away from there!" Dean nodded and went to step away, before another shake caught him off balance. The M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T tilted suddenly, poising the machine at an angle that faced the door downwards. The Doctor, already holding to his console, was safe. Dean, however, dropped out of the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T. He managed to grab hold of the open exit doorway, hanging out with his body flowing straight; the power of the vortex pulling him out now that he wasn't shielded with the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T force field. "DOCTOR!!!" Dean screamed. Pulling himself at waist level with the console, the Doctor reached over to the monitor and pulled it closer to him. He pressed a few buttons quickly and felt his heart drop as he read what was on the screen. "The M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T's internal gravity is shut off! Somethings controlling it!" Suddenly, the lights in the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T turned red. Flashing on and off as an alarm went off, the Doctor saw a warning sign pop on the screen and an image display. The image appeared to be what looked like several black worms wiggling their way through pipes, reaching a large, important machine. The Doctor knew what it meant and gasped. "The chaos broke through-" Suddenly, the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T shook hard. Something metal within the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T crashed and broke, and several sparks spewed from the console. The console itself lost some of its power, and the monitor shut off. Dean lost his grip on one hoof and was now hanging only by his right hoof. "DOCTOR!!!" Dean screamed, feeling the vortex become stronger suddenly. Thinking quickly, the Doctor managed to reach across the console and press a few buttons. It took him a moment to reach the right ones, as he attempted an emergency stop. He pressed a button and flipped a switch on his side of the console, and the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T came to a dead halt. The vortex vanished, and the world suddenly reappeared. The M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T had popped back, appearing out of thin air, flouting hundreds of feet above a country side. Mountains in the distance, and wet tall grass on a rocky terrain scattered all across the land. That was the most Dean saw out of his glance, before the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T jerked. The emergency stop made the machine jerk hard, and Dean was thrown off. The Doctor tried to reactivate his console command, so that he could fly manually and catch Dean. But he was unable to seal the chaos in his M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T, and it was disrupting it from functioning. In order to fly the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T, he needed to release the chaos from the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T first. But he couldn't release it here, he didn't know if this was a safe place to release it. Releasing it anywhere that didn't have chaos magic made it very likely that the chaos would not eradicate with the rest of the chaos after Discord is defeated. Maybe it would, but he didn't know, and the Doctor wouldn't take that chance. Therefore, with no other option, if he couldn't fly his M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T, the Doctor chose to drop out and catch Dean himself. He flipped a switch to place his M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T in standby mode. However, the moment he did, the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T jerked, and a large serge of power suddenly blasted through the console. Sparks flew, and a large chunk of metal exploded, shooting into the wall behind the Doctor, by the entry door. The console turned back on, revealing an image of a dark shadow, standing in front of a dark red back ground. The shadow was laughing maniacally, and the Doctor knew exactly who was on screen: Discord. The M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T groaned and suddenly, the Doctor saw the vortex outside reappear. The outside world faded away, with Dean plummeting with it. He tried to stop it, but it was no use. The chaos wouldn't allow the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T to listen, and the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T transported away. "NO! NO! NO!" the Doctor shouted, pounding against the console. In a desperate attempt, the Doctor pushed away from the console and darted to the door. From the outside, Dean fell sprawled with his back facing the ground below. Facing upwards to the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T, Dean just barely saw the Doctor inside jump from the console and fall to the door. The Doctor reached out and arched his wings back, making himself sleek to reach Dean quicker. "DEAN!!!" the Doctor shouted. However, that was the last Dean saw, before the door closed suddenly. He saw the Doctor reach to him, he jumped and tried to save him, but the M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T door closed for some reason, making the Doctor on the other side crash face first into it. "DOCTOR!!!" The M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T faded in and out, and was gone within seconds, leaving Dean to fall outside. It took him a second to register what had happened. And when he realized where he was, that he was in the sky falling, Dean screamed, flapping his legs about, as if he could grab something and save himself. He screamed all the way down in this unknown place, all the way down, close to a large, brick building below. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!" ( ( ( NEXT TIME ) ) ) His fur was fire red, and his tail was sharp and black. He had no mane, instead replaced with a pair of swirling goat horns, razor sharp at the tips. His mouth hung open, drooling, as if he were hungry, exposing rows of shark like teeth. He was three times taller than the average pony, and his muscles and veins were bulging, practically ripping through his fur, both literally and metaphorically. Every here and there, Dean could actually see small cracks of exposed muscle, with pulsating veins beneath. His mouth stretched wide, and he spoke without needing to move his lips. "I want your mortal souls!" [Transition] The large, muscular pony pointed to the map, speaking in a deep voice that made him sound stupid. "This is where they produced shields for soldiers during the expansion. You see this spot here?" he asked, circling a small indication with his hoof. "This used to be a doorway, before it was shut off by brick." [Transition] "So the wall is weaker there. Smash it down and we can get out of here!" Dean exclaimed. The armed pony scoffed, "yeah, dats if we can get there first." [Transition] Dean noticed his shadow hovering above him, as the demon lingered just beyond his hiding place. His deep gravel like breathing, like an evil bull about to kill, Dean heard every breath. And he hoped his own breathing was softer in comparison. The adrenaline pounding through him, the anxiety as the demon searched for them, standing right there, he could only stifle his breathing so much as his heart beat like a drum, begging for oxygen. [Transition] "Hold dat door shut!!!" the armed pony shouted, helping Dean and his partner with pushing the cart aside. "I- I'm trying!!!" the Large pony felt the door push against him, as the demon on the other side banged against it. "GIVE ME YOUR SOULS!!!" [Transition] Dean fell to his knees as he continued beating against the locked door. It was futile, his wounds were too great, his strength had left him, and he was ready to succumb, and allow himself to fall. As quickly as he fell, he heard that deep, gravel breathing behind him. He turned, seeing who he had been expecting. The demon hovered above him, staring him down like meat, ready to devour him. Dean closed his eyes, laid himself to the ground, and covered his head. "Doctor . . . I chose to come with you . . . this isn't your fault." The demon growled, and he pounced.