The Doctor, Derpy, and Golden Harvest rushed to discover the source of the screaming. As they descended the staircase into the darkened basement, they saw Written Script backed against the wall, illuminated by a greenish glow.
“You could have warned me that it was going to be right here,” stammered the purple-maned stallion. As the Doctor and his companions reached the bottom of the stairs, they turned around and saw the source of the glow. It was a pony-sized emerald green cocoon, nested among stacks of books and documents. The light emitted from it pulsed like a heartbeat, and a tiny silhouette floated in the center of the translucent shell.
“It’s not.” The Doctor stepped over to the cocoon, put his face to it, and peered inside. “One of its victims is.” He bit into the shell of the chrysalis and peeled it open.
A foul odor filled the room, and pus began leaking from the crack in the cocoon’s shell. The Doctor held his breath and plunged his face into the crack. He emerged holding a little Pegasus filly by the nape of her neck. The filly coughed once, then twice, before opening her eyes.
“Thanks a lot, mister…” the filly croaked. “What happened?”
“That’s what we’d like to ask you,” replied the Doctor, gently. “What is your name, little girl?”
“Sc-Scootaloo” said the magenta-maned filly. She was obviously still very scared. “I was making up some late homework here in the library when I… I got bored. I was wondering what was through that door, so I came down here, and… and…”
She was on the verge of tears. The Doctor put his foreleg on her back in a comforting gesture. “Go home, Scootaloo,” he said gently. “You’ll be safe there. The four of us are going to make sure what happened to you never happens again.”
Scootaloo nodded and ran up the stairs and out the door. The Doctor’s expression turned serious as soon as she had gone out the door.
“Right,” he said. “The Changeling was impersonating that little filly before it ambushed me. Written Script, have you found the charts you needed?”
Written Script nodded. This brown pony, whoever he was, was a natural leader in times of crisis. He would have to work a character like that into his play.
“Alright then. I’m going to lead you to where I was ambushed. Derpy? Golden Harvest?” He looked toward the two mares. They had been so generous, and kind to him, but he didn’t want them to get involved in what he was planning. “Wait for me at the house,” he said. “We shouldn’t be long.”
“No way,” said Golden Harvest. “You might need our help, wherever you’re going. We’re coming too.”
The Doctor let out a sigh of exasperation. “Alright. But you’re going to have to follow my instructions.”
The Doctor led his company of ponies to the TARDIS. It was a little bit past midnight now, and the TARDIS was still dark. The thunder had stopped, but the rain continued to pour. “Right. Rule number one. Stay close, and don’t touch anything.”
“But where are you leading us, Dr. Hooves?” Derpy had been quiet for a long time, but it was clear she was confused.
The Doctor pushed the TARDIS’s door open, and motioned with his hoof. “In there.”
“In there?” asked Golden Harvest incredulously. “I doubt even one of us would fit in there, let alone all of us. Is this some kind of a joke?”
The Doctor walked up to Golden Harvest, and looked her straight in the eye. “I don’t joke,” he said, “not when the stakes are this high.”
They all walked through the open door of the TARDIS, led by the Doctor. Each of them hesitated after they had walked about four paces. Derpy was the first one to speak. “It’s… it’s not as small as it looked…”
Suddenly, the door slammed behind them, and they were all swallowed up by the darkness.
“Not traditional, but it’ll do in a pinch,” said a voice from the darkness. It was the Doctor’s voice. But it was not coming from where the Doctor had been standing.