//------------------------------// // Prologue: About to Get Ugly // Story: The Doctor Whooves Chronicles Episode 3: The Monster in the Mirror // by Doctor Perseus //------------------------------// The Doctor Whooves Chronicles: Episode 3 The Monster in the Mirror Prologue: About to Get Ugly Gaia, 1002 C.E. Derpy felt her heart skip a beat as the TARDIS came to a bumpy stop. She felt her legs turn to jello as she made her way towards the doors. "You're sure you got it right?" Derpy asked. "Yes. I'm absolutely positive that your home time is right outside those doors," the Doctor replied. Derpy took in a deep breath as she pulled the doors inward. She was met with a warm gust of air. She stepped outside to find herself in the middle of a lush forest. The trees stretched up high and their leaves kept the ground beneath them well shaded and cool. Derpy could see bits and pieces of the sky through the breaks in the canopy of leaves. It was late afternoon; probably around four or five o'clock. The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS after Derpy. "Ah...well...I may have been a bit off." "No. I recognize this place," Derpy stated. "You do?" "Yes. We're not that far from Ponyville actually. It's about a three mile walk from here." "Oh." The Doctor fell silent for a few seconds. "Well...I guess I should give you a-" "No. It's fine, Doctor. I can fly home from here." Derpy turned to face the Doctor and extended a hoof. "I guess this is goodbye for now, Doctor." The Doctor nodded and shook Derpy's hoof. "Yes, it has certainly been a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Hooves." "Why do you keep calling me Ms. Hooves?" "It's only polite." "But you also call me Derpy sometimes." "It counts on the circumstances." Derpy rolled her eyes and smiled. "I guess we'll be running across each other again sometime soon." "Yes. Until next time then." The Doctor and Derpy let go of each other's hooves. Derpy took a few steps back as the Doctor gave her a quick wave before disappearing through the TARDIS doors. Derpy prepared to watch the TARDIS disappear when she heard somepony calling to her. "WAIT! WAIT! DERPY! DERPY, STOP HIM!" called the voice. Derpy recognized it. She turned around to see Carrot Top running towards her through the trees. "Carrot Top?" Derpy asked in confusion. "DERPY! STOP HIM! DOCTOR! DOCTOR!" Derpy turned back towards the TARDIS as it began to disappear. VVRROOMMPP! VVRROOMMPP! VVRROOMMPP! By the time Carrot Top had reached Derpy, the TARDIS had disappeared. "NO! YOU CAN'T GO! YOU NEED TO COME BACK! DOCTOR! DOCTOR! Darn it!" Carrot Top then turned to Derpy and gave her a big hug. "Oh! I'm so happy to see you, Derpy! You would not believe how stressed I've been for the past week!" Derpy tilted her head in confusion. "Carrot Top, what are you doing here? How do you know the Doctor? Why do you have a bunch of bags with you?" Derpy asked as she pointed at the bags slung over Carrot Top's back. "Huh? How come you don't...oh! I remember now! That hasn't happened to you yet!" "Huh?" "I'll explain everything, Derpy, I promise. But, right now, we need to find a way to call the Doctor back. Oh! Why didn't you tell me how he came back?!" "I'm confused." Derpy then suddenly noticed something odd about Carrot Top; well, another odd thing versus her rambling and panicking. "Carrot Top...what happened to your cold?" "Oh, that? I got over it around five days ago." "But...when I left, you were still sick." "Yeah. When you left a week ago I was still sick. Now I'm better." "A week? Wait a moment! I've been gone for a whole week?!" "Yeah...oh...you mean you didn't do this on purpose?" Derpy shook her head in response. "Oh...well...now you know." Derpy let out a groan and sat down. She rubbed her head for a few seconds before letting out a deep sigh and calming down. "At least he didn't drop me off five months later or something like that." "DOCTOR! DOCTOR!" Carrot Top called. "It's no use," said Derpy. "He's probably in a different time by now." Carrot Top began pacing. "This is bad. This is very bad. If what you've told me, or what you're going to tell me, is true then we don't have much time before the thing you're going to warn me about arrives!" "What?" Just then, a loud explosion erupted in the sky above the forest. "What the hay?!" Derpy watched as a large, burning object came hurtling towards them. "Move!" Carrot Top grabbed onto Derpy and pulled her into the forest. "I have to get Lyra and Bon-Bon out of here!" "Lyra and Bon-Bon? They're here too?!" "Yeah...they think we're just on a camping trip. I didn't tell them everything. I needed somepony else to come along in case things got ugly." Derpy looked up as the burning object grew closer and closer to the ground. "Well, Carrot Top, things are definitely about to get ugly." Time Vortex The Doctor could have sworn that he heard someone calling him as he made the TARDIS dematerialize. Was it Derpy? No. It hadn't sounded like Derpy. Did someone need him? There was a chance. The Doctor thought hard about turning the TARDIS around. He began making his way over to the controls when something smashed into the exterior of the TARDIS. The Doctor grabbed onto the console and held on tightly. "What?!" he asked. The sound of scraping metal emanated from outside the ship. A deep and menacing voice began calling out. "YOU DARE TRY TO BETRAY ME! YOU SHALL BRING HER TO ME! BRING HER TO ME!" ordered the voice. The Doctor tried to understand what was happening but another violent collision nearly sent him flying into the wall. "SHE IS MINE! YOU CANNOT STOP ME, PILOT! DERPY HOOVES IS MINE! DERPY HOOVES IS MINE!" The Doctor felt his eyes widen and his hearts begin to beat faster as another collision between the TARDIS and the object outside occurred and all lights went out in the control room.