//------------------------------// // A Hot Date // Story: My Little Doctor Whooves: Horsing Around // by comicfan616 //------------------------------// Twilight magically opened the doors to the library and ran inside. Everyone else came in after her. “Twilight!” Spike called. He was at the window, like he had recently been looking outside. “What happened? I started hearing that you guys were being chased by… Rarity’s mannequins?” He finished his sentence as though he still had a hard time believing the words coming out of his mouth. “It’s a very long story, Spike,” Twilight replied. “Short version,” Pinkie added: “we’re probably under attack by some alien thing that controls plastic things.” Spike just stared blankly. “Not sure I want to know the long version,” he said. All thoughts were interrupted by a rainbow streak that concluded with Rainbow Dash, holding the mannequin head in her hooves. “Here’s your head, Doc,” she said. She tossed it to him. The Doctor caught it easily. “Thank you, Miss Dash. Now then, to the TARDIS.” “Um, Doctor,” Rarity started as everyone went to the basement, “not to insult your tactics, but is it really safe bringing one of my mannequins in here? What if it tries to attack again?” “I’m betting that if this head does become an Auton again,” the Doctor replied, “a head without so much as a mouth, let alone a face, will present much less immediate danger than a whole body.” “Fair enough,” Rarity quietly conceded. Everyone approached the TARDIS and the Doctor opened the door. “Our best bet of finding the Nestene is scanning this head for telekinetic resonance and narrowing down the available places for it to create its psychic influence.” He placed the head on the TARDIS console and picked up the sonic screwdriver. He moved the device close to the head from almost every angle. After a tense near-minute of examination, he switched off the sonic and moved to the computer. “According to this,” he started, “the telekinetic broadcast came from just a little over a hundred mile radius. Now I just need to factor in the suitable living conditions for the Nestene, and…” He turned on the sonic and held it next to the computer. “Really need to figure out hooves. Ah! Bingo!” He looked closely at the screen. His face quickly lost some of his excitement, however. “Okay, not so bingo.” “What’s wrong?” Applejack asked. “The field is narrowed considerably,” he explained, “but it’s still too big to make any decisions without a bit of guesswork.” “Let me take a look,” Twilight said. She walked up to the computer; the screen showed a map of what she assumed to be the area of land around Ponyville. Part of the map was marked by a red circle, not too small, but still large enough to encompass 30 square miles by Twilight’s estimation. “This is the area where the Nestene should be, 100 miles north of Ponyville,” the Doctor said. “The Nestene requires an environment that can support temperatures of extreme heat.” “Wait a minute,” Twilight whispered, “this wouldn’t happen to be near Mt. Scorch, would it?” “You mean that volcano that’s supposed to be dormant?” Rarity asked. “Dormant or not,” the Doctor replied, “it’s still pretty hot inside. Right then, I’ll be back soon, hopefully with the situation well in ha… hoof.” “Wait, you mean you’re leaving us?” Rainbow asked. “I can’t risk your lives any more than I already have,” the Doctor explained. “But that’s why we have to go.” At this point, nopony thought anything could surprise them anymore; but Fluttershy saying this, and this being the first thing she said after the attack, made some of them start to question reality. “Something tried to attack us,” Fluttershy continued. He voice was determined. “I want it to know that it can’t hurt me or my friends and think it can get away with it.” “Well, if Fluttershy of all ponies is goin’,” Applejack said, “we’re all goin’.” “Besides, Doctor,” Rarity added, “whatever you’re planning may require you to need some help.” “And I still want to keep an eye on you,” Twilight said. “The princess told us to learn everything we could about you, and you going off on your own would be counterproductive to that effort.” There was a small pause between everyone. Finally, the Doctor said, “I don’t suppose there’s any way to convince you to change your minds, is there?” None of the mares responded. The Doctor smiled. “So why don’t I mind all that much? Ladies, take your seats, please; landing in the middle of a volcano can be pretty tricky.” “Hold on!” Twilight said. She leaned out of the TARDIS doors. “Spike!” she called. The little dragon stood at attention. “Get a letter to Princess Celestia; she’s going to want to know about this.” “Right,” Spike replied, though he seemed unsure about it. “So what am I supposed to say? ‘Dear Princess Celestia, the world may be under attack by mannequins’?” “Actually, the ring leader looks more like a blob of molten plastic,” the Doctor interjected. “Oh, that’ll make things better.” The sarcasm was practically dripping from Spike’s voice. “Just let her know what’s going on,” Twilight stressed. “I don’t know what’ll happen, and I’d rather have the princess prepared for a crisis than spring it on her at the last minute.” Before Spike could respond, she ducked back into the TARDIS and closed the door. The Doctor moved around the console, hitting various buttons and switches in an almost chaotic manner like last time. The six mares were all prepared this time and held onto the railings tightly. Finally, the Doctor pulled one last lever and the TARDIS began to whir and shake. Again, the shaking only lasted for so long. If it wasn’t for the all-but-inevitable change of scenery that awaited them beyond the doors, no one save the Doctor would believe they had actually moved. That didn’t stop them from being nervous, given their destination and intention. When the tossing and turning stopped, the Doctor hit a few more buttons. “Okay, I’ve placed a protective field around the TARDIS,” he said. “As long as we stay within a 15 foot radius, we should be fine, from both the magma and… whatever else may be out there.” “Is this… um… Nestene dangerous?” Twilight asked. She struggled to speak the alien word correctly “Not by itself, no,” the Doctor answered. “But be ready for anything.” He went to the doors and pulled them open. The scenery that greeted them was filled with rock walls that had a reddish-brown hue. Upon stepping outside, everyone saw that they were on ledge. The drop below led to a floor with a large hole around the center. A faint, red glow could be seen inside, likely the magma within the volcano. But what drew everyone’s eye was a small pool of a magma-like substance not too far from the larger hole. The Doctor stepped forward from the others until he was near the corner of the ledge. “I request an audience with the Nestene Consciousness,” he declared. For a moment, nothing happened. But suddenly, the contents of the small pool began to swirl around and eventually bulged up into a barely coherent mass. The mass opened up like a slit on one side, almost like a mouth. It breathed something between a sigh and a roar. The creature looked up at the balcony. (“You weren’t kidding when you said ‘blob,’ Doctor,” Pinkie whispered.) “So, we meet at last, Doctor. And you brought your friends, as well,” a voice said. It was a low voice, almost echoey. It gurgled as though the speaker was talking through water. The creature’s mouth hadn’t moved, but they all could tell that it made the voice, speaking through their minds. “Forgive my frankness, but you seem… shorter than I had imagined.” “Oh, trust me,” the Doctor replied. “If anyone else recognizes me, you won’t be the last one to say something to that effect. But that brings up an interesting point: how do you know me? Have we met?” “No,” the Nestene said. “But I know very well who you are. You were the one who killed my father.” “Oh, so tempting to make a movie reference here,” the Doctor whispered. “Your father, you say? I wasn’t even aware the Nestene could reproduce. Tell me, was he involved in an altercation that occurred on Earth in the year 2005 A.D.?” “Years have little meaning for me,” the Nestene said. “But yes, he did attempt to bring new life to that small planet.” “A planet that was already teeming with life,” the Doctor pointed out. “Life that had no less reason to exist than anything else.” “Did my father not deserve that same right?” “I gave him a chance, a choice to be the bigger… blob. But he refused and put millions of lives in danger, all for the sake of self-preservation. I can only assume your following his example?” “As you said, all beings have a right to exist.” “At the expense of another species? I think not. Besides, this planet is completely uninhabitable for your kind.” “What do you mean?” Rarity asked. “Autons need a steady supply of pollutants to stay active,” the Doctor explained, “and that life energy is transferred into the Nestene through their psychic connection.” “Pollution?” Twilight asked. “But the only real pollution comes from the bigger cities like Manehattan and Las Pegasus, and even then it’s hardly noticeable.” “You hear that?” the Doctor said to the Nestene. “The only planets more clean and environmentally friendly than this one are planets without sentient life. So why here?” “Once my soldiers begin to lay waste to this world,” it said, “the damage they cause will release fresh pollutants into the atmosphere. The ecosystem here is so fragile that I will immediately feel the effects and become strong enough to extend my reach further and further as more of the planet succumbs to us. I will become the most powerful force in the universe.” “And how do you intend to start?” the Doctor asked. “Attacking a small town will hardly give you what you need.” “Do you forget where we are, Doctor?” the Nestene laughed. “Any fool knows the destructive power of a volcano. And my body heat is only adding to the pressure inside. Just think: the black smoke rising from the flames, the greenhouse gasses from the corpses of every creature, the ashes of whatever remains are left. It will be a good starting point to raise a stronger army and begin razing the settlements, where the real pollution starts.” The Doctor thought about what the Nestene was saying. “You know, all things considered, that is a good plan. Except for one thing. At the risk of sounding offensive, you are just a pile of molten plastic. Plastic has a melting point of anywhere up to 260 degrees centigrade. But you are looking to erupt a volcano. With magma, molten rock. Even the coolest temperatures are barely below 700 degrees centigrade. With all that magma, you would be destroyed before it even hits the surface.” “I have taken the necessary precautions,” the Nestene said calmly. “I’ve acquired the help of someone quite adept at creating the necessary means of protection.” “What kind of pony would be so stupid as to help a would-be conqueror with a plan as insane as yours?” the Doctor asked incredulously. The Nestene didn’t answer right away. Instead, he lowered what could laughably be called his head and started making humming noises. “What’s he doing?” Rainbow asked. “My guess is he’s calling for his henchpony,” the Doctor answered. “Oh, I seem to be getting the hang of this language thing,” he added to himself. “But who’d wanna betray Equestria like this?” Applejack demanded. “We’ll know more once he or she gets here.” After a tense moment of silence, the Nestene finally raised itself. “I’d like you all to meet my… assistant,” it said. “The purple one will appreciate this, I’m sure.” Twilight flinched. Something came out of one of the nearby caves: three figures. Two of them were more Auton mannequins, both wearing tuxedos. They were escorting a white unicorn stallion with a blue, unkempt main and tail. His horn was surrounded by a magenta aura, indicating that he was in the middle of casting some kind of spell. There was a mark on his flank that the Doctor couldn’t quite make out, though he thought it looked like a blue and purple shield. The mares, however, recognized him almost immediately. “Shining?!” Twilight screamed.