//------------------------------//
// A Big Predicament 
// Story: Doctor Whooves Episode 6: A Ponyville Invasion 
// by Doctor Perseus 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 6: A Big Predicament


Home of Twilight Sparkle, Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Autumn, 1002 C.E.

Derpy grunted a bit as the Doctor jumped on top of her and Spike, shielding them from the debris. Rarity produced a small, protective barrier at the last second to protect herself and Fluttershy. Applejack and Pinkie Pie ducked under Twilight's coffee table. Thankfully, only a medium-sized portion of the roof fell in but it was large enough to cover Applejack and Pinkie Pie entirely and cover the Doctor, Derpy, and Spike in a few inches of dust. The Doctor looked up to see the massive face of a living doll looking down at him. The doll was at least the same size, if not larger, than the library itself. It's mouth was open and was big enough to grab six ponies at once. Its razor teeth were the size of chairs and were sharper than kitchen knives. Its tongue was long and it drooped out of the mouth like a soggy rope. 
"Get out! Everypony get out now!" ordered the Doctor. Rarity and Fluttershy quickly made their way through the door. The Doctor rushed over to a pile of debris to free Applejack and Pinkie Pie. The doll opened its mouth and bared its teeth at the Doctor. The Doctor has just grabbed a hold of one of Applejack's legs when he noticed the teeth of the doll were mere feet away. "Well this certainly isn't going to end well."
Suddenly, a gray blur flew past the Doctor and smashed into the doll's face. Derpy flew up towards the ceiling and dive bombed the doll again.
"You leave the Doctor and the others alone you giant rag!" she snapped as she proceeded to kick one of the doll's button eyes. She looked down at the Doctor, who seemed to be frozen with a mix of surprise and amazement. "What are you gawking at! Get out of here while I distract it!"
The Doctor returned to his senses and helped the two earth ponies out of the wreckage. Spike blew a large blast of fire at the doll before following Fluttershy and Rarity through the doorway. The Doctor, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie ran through the doorway while Derpy flew out through the hole in the ceiling. The giant doll let out a shrill cry and began its pursuit of the Doctor.
"How the hay did that thing get beyond the barrier?!" asked Applejack. The Doctor looked to see a large hole located near the library.
"My guess is that Thalia hid a secret doll army underground, just in case a protective barrier was set up," the Doctor replied. Normal-sized dolls were now climbing out of the hole and were proceeding to attack nearby ponies. The barrier was riddled with cracks and the Doctor could only assume that the town had a few minutes left before the barrier finally gave away. Spike, Fluttershy, and Rarity ran into a nearby home and waved at the Doctor, Derpy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie.
"Get in here! Quickly!" Fluttershy hissed. The Doctor ran into the house and was followed by the others. Fortunately, the large doll hadn't seen the Doctor disappear into the house and had lost sight of him.
"It looks like we've lost it," said Derpy.
"For now!" Pinkie Pie said with a shiver.
"Come on, Pinkie Pie. Try to think more optimistically!" said Rarity.
"You mean like think about how at least we're going to die quickly?" asked Spike.
"Not really what I was going for."
"Whose house are we in, anyway?" the Doctor asked.
"I'm not sure at the moment. Though ah think they wouldn't mind us hiding in here for a bit," Applejack replied.
"I hope Angel Bunny and the others are alright," said Fluttershy.
"Who?" the Doctor asked.
"My animal friends."
"Fluttershy has a huge amount of animals living at her house. It's almost like going to a zoo!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. The Doctor chuckled and turned to Fluttershy.
"So you have a magical touch when it comes to animals?" he asked.
"I guess so," replied the shy pegasus.
"So I guess you're like the pony version of Snow White."
"Who's Snow White?" 
"I'll tell you later."
Suddenly, the Doctor felt a sharp pain ring throughout his head. He crumpled to the ground and grabbed his skull in pain. 
"Oh my Celestia! I'm so sorry!" said a soothing voice. The Doctor looked to see a cream-colored mare and a green mare standing a few feet away from him and the others. The cream-colored mare was holding a frying pan.
"Now I remember! We're in Lyra and Bon-Bon's place!" said Pinkie. Derpy knelt down next to the Doctor and examined the whelp on his head.
"What was that for, Bon-Bon?!" Derpy snapped at the cream-colored mare.
"I'm sorry! I thought he was another one of those dolls!" Bon-Bon exclaimed.
"Well, as you can see, I'm not. I'm just a stallion...with internal bleeding in his cranium," said the Doctor as he stood up with Derpy's help.
"What the hell's going on out there?!" Lyra snapped.
"A party. What do you think is happening?!" Spike asked with a snarky tone.
"I don't think this is a party, Spike," said Pinkie Pie. Spike simply face-clawed and gave an audible ugh.
"Everything's going to turn out alright, right?" Bon-Bon asked. "These creatures are going to go away, right?"
"They won't destroy this town. I promise you," said the Doctor. That's when the ground began shaking underneath their hooves.
"It's coming back!" gasped Fluttershy.
"What's coming back?" Lyra asked.
"Do you have a cellar?" asked the Doctor.
"Yes."
"I suggest hiding down there for a little bit."
Lyra was about to ask another question but Bon-Bon quickly grabbed her and pulled her through a nearby door. The door was shut quickly and locked soon afterwards.
"We better go. I don't think any of us wants to be responsible for another destroyed home," said Derpy. Everypony agreed and quickly ran out through the front door.

Outside Sugar Cube Corner, Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Autumn, 1002 C.E.

The giant doll continued its pursuit of the Doctor and the others. Spike had spewed fire at it, Derpy had kicked it, Applejack had tried taking out its legs, the Doctor had used his Sonic Screwdriver, Pinkie had shot it with her surprisingly-portable party cannon, Fluttershy had attempted to convince it to go away, and Rarity had tried using one of Twilight's fire spells. Nothing seemed to work on it.
"We've got one tough customer with us today!" said Pinkie as she fired the cannon again, covering another part of the doll in multicolored streamers. Derpy tried kicking it again but ended up getting caught in an arm of living hair. Derpy thrashed as the arm pulled her closer towards the doll's open mouth. Suddenly, a little blur flew out of an upper window of Sugar Cube Corner and began zipping around the doll's face. It took the ponies down below a few seconds to recognize the blur as Pound Cake. "Get out of there!"
Mr. and Mrs. Cake were standing by the open window with Pumpkin Cake. Their faces were whiter than flour. Pound Cake was able to distract the doll, which allowed Derpy to break free. Pound Cake flew back into his parents' arms but now the doll had turned its attention on the store.
"Oh no!" exclaimed Applejack as the doll swatted one of its hooves at the shop. The shop shook on its foundations and parts of the upper floor began caving in. Derpy and even Fluttershy flew up to try and draw the doll away from the store but nothing worked. 
"Mr. Cake! Mrs. Cake! Get out of there!" Pinkie cried. The doll smiled gleefully as the shop began leaning dangerously. The Cakes tried to make it downstairs but the floor began to fall apart underneath them. Spike tried blasting more fire at the doll but, as always, it did no good. Spike then turned to say something to the Doctor, only to see that the chestnut stallion had disappeared. 
"Where did the Doctor go?" Spike asked. 
"Wasn't he standing right there a moment ago?" Rarity asked.
"Where could he have gone off to?" Applejack asked. Suddenly, a series of yells began emanating from upstairs. It was the Doctor.
"Hey! Big, tall, and messy!" the Doctor called as he stepped towards the upstairs window that was closest to the doll's face. "Thalia sent you to get me, right? Well take me then! Leave these ponies alone!" The Doctor turned back towards the Cakes and beckoned them towards the stairs. The Cakes quickly, but quietly, made it out of the shop. "I'm right here! Go ahead and take me!"
The Doctor pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver and aimed it at the doll's face. 
"What are you doing?!" cried Derpy from the ground. 
"Improvising!" the Doctor replied. The doll's mouth opened and its large tongue fell out. The Doctor was about to activate the Screwdriver but the doll's tongue reacted at speeds the Doctor couldn't even fathom. It wrapped around the Doctor, crushing all of the air out of his lungs, and pulled him into the doll's mouth. Derpy watched in horror as the Screwdriver fell towards the ground and landed at her feet. The giant doll smiled joyfully and began sinking into the ground.
"NO!" Derpy cried as she flew up towards the doll's face. The doll swatted Derpy like a fly and sent her falling towards the ground. Applejack managed to catch her.
"Gotcha!" she said. The doll disappeared into the earth, leaving nothing behind but a small sinkhole. Derpy punched the ground with her hooves. 
"He can't be gone! This can't be over with!"
"Don't look now but I think we have company!" said Pinkie. A horde of dolls was now starting to surround them. Twilight's protective barrier was finally starting to break apart for the last time.
"We can't take them all on!" said Rarity.
"We have to fight! We have to save Twilight, Rainbow, and the Doctor!" said Applejack.
"We have to save them!" Spike said. The dolls were ganging up on them now. Their hair was extending and their sharp teeth was gleaming. Suddenly, there was a massive, red burst of energy that seemed to envelope the entire town. The crumbling barrier healed itself and all of the dolls crumpled to the ground like rags. They were lifeless. "Wait. What in the name of Celestia just happened?!"
"Improvising," replied a familiar yet unfamiliar voice. The mares and the dragon turned to see a dark blue stallion approaching them. He was a unicorn with a silver mane, sharp, indigo eyes, a fine, black suit with a red tie, and an hourglass cutie mark. In his mouth there was a cylindrical metal device with a red tip. The stallion stashed the device away into one of his suit pockets.
"Are you the one who saved us?" Fluttershy asked.
"That is correct, dear Fluttershy. I just used my Sonic Screwdriver to get rid of those annoying dolls. God, they annoyed me back then and they still annoy me now."
"What?" Spike asked.
"Nothing. Just talking to myself. Anyway, fear no longer. I'm here to fix everything! This town is not going to fall, your friends are going to be saved, and I'm going to use all of my strength and knowledge to help you out of this little jam!"
"I just have one question," said Derpy. "Well two, actually."
"Ask away, dear Derpy Hooves!"
"How do you know us and who exactly are you?"
"I believe I can answer those two questions with one simple answer."
"And that answer is?"
"I'm the Doctor."
To be continued...