Four.
Four Nnn'toks.
There were four Nnn'toks.
Ah, ah, ah.
The Doctor shook his head. Did he say that aloud? He actually wasn't sure on that, but given the smirk his Derpy was shooting him, and his known propensity for gab, probably. Just once he'd like to look cool in front of a new group of people Ah, well.
They were back at the Football (oh, yeah. They call it Soccer here) pitch, and there were four pest cages, each with an Nnn'tok within. They certainly didn't happen as a result of breeding -- at least not here -- and as near as the Doctor could tell, they were actually the same age. The Doctor also knew for a fact that there was only one Nnn'tok in Ponyville, and that was the Nnn'tok that escaped to this dimension.
The Doctor crouched down next to the cages, and picked them up one at a time to inspect the creatures. "Curiouser and curiouser." They were all the same age, but there was something else about them. Something he was pretty sure he could see, but just to be on the safe side... "Fluttershy, if you would?"
The young girl in question almost seemed to jump out of her skin, before pointing at herself. "M-me?"
The Doctor gestured rather impatiently for her to get down by him. "Yes, you. You are the animal one, aren't you? Pretty sure you are, unless I've got you confused for someone else and I don't think I do."
Fluttershy crouched down next to the Doctor. "But, er, Mr. Doctor, ah, sir? Aren't the Nnn'toks aliens? I don't really... know anything about aliens."
The Doctor shrugged and flashed a grin. "You'd be surprised, actually. In a lot of cases, animals are animals. In this case in particular, apart from their differently developed psionic brains, Nnn'toks are not overly different than most rats or mice in your world. At least so I would imagine given the various differences and similarities between here and back home." The Doctor gestured to the cages. "There's something here I think I'm seeing, but juuuust in case, I'm asking for a second opinion. See anything off about these creatures?"
Fluttershy cast one last doubtful glance at the Doctor before looking at the Nnn'tok's more closely. "If they really are like mice and rats... they're all the same age as each other, possibly from the same litter... wait a minute." Fluttershy picked each cage up, one at a time, and spent at least a minute looking at each one. The Doctor and his Derpy shared a grin. Some things didn't change, no matter the universe.
"They're identical," Fluttershy finally said as she put the last cage down.
"Well, yeah," Applejack replied. "Y'said they looked like littermates, right?"
Fluttershy shook her head. "No, I mean they're identical. Right down to spot pattern on their coats. That's just not possible, even for twins and triplets. Er, I mean, you know. In theory."
"Just as I thought," the Doctor almost whooped with a grin. "Miss Shimmer, could I borrow your mobile for a moment?"
Sunset passed her phone over almost automatically. It wasn't until he had it in hand she thought to ask "I am getting it back as it was, right?"
"Mmm-hmm. Oh yes, of course," the Doctor said even as he pointed the sonic at the back of the phone. Sunset cast a somewhat desperate glance at the Derpys, one of whom looked as nervous as she suddenly felt, the other giving her a little shrug and sheepish grin.
"Why did I do that?" Sunset whispered. "I mean, I didn't even think about it 'till it was too late."
"He kinda has that effect on ponies, er, people," Derpy responded. "I still fall for it and I know better."
"Ah-HA!" exclaimed the Doctor as he finished whatever it was he was doing to Sunset's phone. (Sunset herself shuddered at the tangle mess of wires and metal bits that were now attached to the back of the thing.) Then he started taking pictures of the captured Nnn'toks, after which he plopped down on the ground, legs crossed, and started tapping commands into the phone's screen.
"Mind telling us what you're doing there, chief?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Following a hunch," was all the Doctor would say. After around thirty seconds he sighed, pointed his sonic at the back of the phone, which caused all the added machinery to fall off the back of it (he pocketed these), then tossed the apparently restored phone back to Sunset as he stood up.
"Find anything?" his Derpy asked, putting an arm around his waist.
"Naturally," the Doctor answered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Thanks for letting me borrow that, by the way, Sunset. I needed a little more than a 'dings when there's stuff' device and your mobile saved me hours of work."
"Well, don't just leave us hangin', Doc," AJ insisted.
Suddenly Pinkie Pie was right up in the Doctor's face. "Yeah! Whadidyafind,whadidyafind,whadidyafind?"
"Well," the Doctor said, pushing Pinkie away from himself, "I checked the Nnn'toks' molecular makeup, and that one's made of bubble gum ice cream, that one's made of coffee--an espresso I'd guess given the caffeine content--that one's made of brussel sprouts, and that one is," another sigh, "cotton candy."
His Derpy seemed to try to hide her entire face in her hand. "Ah, geez."
"Okay, that is really weird," Other Derpy said. "But what does it mean?"
The Doctor ignored her as he turned away from the group of girls and shouted out to the open field. "All right, you might as well show yourself. I know its you."
A sudden, seemingly ownerless voice answered back. "You know, I was just about to make a big grand entrance, but now I'm reconsidering it. It's no fun when they know you're coming." The voice turned sly and teasing when it added, "And besides, you've got that 'otherworldly wrath' look on your face, and last time I saw it, I got turned to stone. Again."
"Please. I'm mildly irritated at best. Now, if you don't show yourself, then I might get well and truly--what did you call it?--wrathful."
A black cane suddenly appeared out of thin air, its golden unicorn head-topper pointing at the Doctor's face. "Are you threatening me, sirrah?" the voice asked, still not coming from any particular direction.
The Doctor shrugged. "I don't threaten. I say what's going to happen, then back it up. As you know full well."
The voice laughed as the cane stuck itself into the ground (where it made a rather disturbing sound, like it impaled a goose.) "That's what I love about you, Doctor. Your mastery of banter." At this, a gloved hand appeared and grabbed at a spot about six feet above the ground, then pulled down and with a loud zzzzzzip a man suddenly appeared.
He was tall, skinny, and rather old. He wore a suit in the cut of a tuxedo, but it was worn, and had enough patches to make it a veritable rainbow of colors, with a focus on various browns and light blues. He looked to be rather old, with a long grey goatee. Despite his red eyes, he had a surprisingly friendly face. "Why hello, girls," he said, taking his top hat off his head as he bowed with flourish.
The Doctor rolled his eyes as he turned back to the group of girls. "Derpy, Derpy, and the rest, I present to you... Discord."