//------------------------------// // A Visit to a Doctor's Friend // Story: The Past of a Shy Mare // by Songbrony //------------------------------// We ran up to the library and entered behind Rainbow Dash. "And how did you know about Nightmare Moon, huh? Are you a spy?" I heard her say. Applejack yanked back on her tail. "Simmer down, Sally. She ain't no spy. But she sure knows what's going on, doncha Twilight?" She nodded her head and explained what she knew about Nightmare Moon. "I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon. Some mysterious objects called the Elements of Harmony are the only things that can stop her, but I don't know what they are or where to find them. I don't even know what they do!" she explained. "Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide." Pinkie Pie said as she looked at the book shelf. "How did you find it?!" Twilight exclaimed. "It was under E!" Pinkie said in a sing song voice. "There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery. It is said, the last known location of the five elements was in the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters. It is located in what is now the Everfree Forest." Twilight said. "Well, let's get goin' then. We need to get these Elements in order to get the Princess back." Applejack said. "You guys stay here. I'll do this by myself." Twilight said. "Nonsense. Let's go girls!" Applejack said and ran out of the library followed by the others. I trailed behind them. I wasn't comfortable going into the forest. It was big and scary. I had heard the rumors about the plants growing on their own and the animals taking care of themselves. Including the monstrous creatures that could easily hurt us. As we walked through Ponyville, most of the ponies here had moved back into their homes, probably scared with Nightmare Moon running about. I didn't blame them. I just wanted to go home and make sure Angel was okay, but I also had a strange, overwhelming urge to follow the others. As I looked around the town, I noticed the Doctor wave over to me. I looked at the group and had a feeling they probably wouldn't notice me missing for a little while. I ran over to him. "Doctor what's going on?" I asked when I reached him. "What? I can't just stop by and say hello?" he said. "Well, Nightmare Moon did kidnap Princess Celestia, so no I don't think you came to say hello." I replied. "Good point. Well you're right. I'm not here to say hello. I need your help with something." he said, turning and walking behind some houses. "Why do you need my help? Why not get Rainbow to help you? She'd be of more use than I would." I said, following him. "Except she's too bull headed for this. I need someone who's quiet and timid. You know, you." he said. He came up to the TARDIS and opened the door for me. "We're going to visit an old friend of mine. Hopefully she's still friendly." he said. "Wait. I never agreed to come with you." I pointed out. "Besides, I need to go help Rainbow and the others get the Elements of Harmony." "I have a time machine. You'll be gone only 10 seconds when we're done." he said. "Now come on! It'll help stop Nightmare Moon. I promise." I slowly walked into the TARDIS and walked to the console. "So...where are we going?" I asked him. "To the Griffon Kingdom." he said, running over and punching some levers and buttons. "Is this going to hurt like the last time I time travelled?" I asked. "When did you time travel last?" he asked. "Jack took me back in time with this device he had on his hoof. I don't remember the name of it though." I said. "He got that stupid Vortex Manipulator working again?" he said as he flipped a lever that caused the TARDIS to make a humming sound. "Well, no this won't hurt. Vortex Manipulators are so...primitive." We jerked around for a little bit before the TARDIS settled down and stopped humming. "There we go! Better than before?" I nodded my head. "So who are we looking for?" I asked. "Oh just an old friend." he said, walking out the door. I followed him and was surprised to find us in the mountains outside of a house. The Doctor had walked up to the house and knocked on the door. I came up next to him and waited patiently for them to come to the door. "So...have you and this old friend spoken in awhile?" I asked. "Not really. In fact we haven't spoken for...oh...10 years?" he said. He knocked on the door again. "Are you sure she still lives here?" I asked. "It's the only place she will live. She loves the mountains and the Griffon Kingdom has the most beautiful mountain ranges on this side of the ocean." he said. "Maybe she moved across the ocean?" "Naw. She hates traveling on a boat. Found that out the hard way during the colonization of Saddle Arabia. She was sea sick even after we got off the boat." he said with a grin. There was a whirring sound coming from the door. "Hello, Doctor. How may I assist you?" a voice said. "I need to see Sarah Jane, Mr. Smith." he replied. "One moment." There was some more whirring from the door before it opened. I followed the Doctor inside and looked around the house. It wasn't like any house I had seen before. There were screens and beeping panels along the side of the room and a table that had an assortment of different things strewn about it. "Hello Doc-tor." another mechanical voice said in the next room. "K-9! You're still functioning? Has Sarah been taking good care of you?" the Doctor said as a silver dog like box rolled into the room. "What's that?" I asked. "This is K-9. He's helped me more times than I care to count. Last I saw him was when he found out that they were using Krillitane Oil in a school." he said. "Krillitane Oil?" I asked confused. "It was used by the Krillitane race to enhance the brain power of their students which they then used to try and decode a device that would allow them to wield the building blocks of the Universe." he explained. "And they would have if it weren't for K-9 blowing the place sky high." a woman's voice said. "Sarah Jane!" the Doctor exclaimed. "After all these years you never once came by and said hello? What do you need from me now?" she said, frowning. "Oh...well...um...just to say hi, how are things going...You know...visiting." he stumbled. She walked over to us, still frowning. "You never just stop by to say hello. It's always if you need something. It's how it's always been since that Krillitane incident." she said. "Well...I'm saying hello now. That counts for something right?" he said, turning to me. "Umm...how long have you known each other?" I asked. "About 30 years." she said. "30 years?!" I exclaimed. "And you never once said hello to her?" "Has it been 30 years?" he asked to nobody in particular as he squinted at the ceiling. "For me at least. With time travelers you never really know how much time has passed outside your own little adventures." she said. "It's not my fault! Besides, you never phoned." he said. "How am I suppose to know when I can phone you? For all I know you could be in Primitive Equestria and it'll go off, causing you to rewrite the whole of history!" she said. "I've done worse." he said, waving it off. They were quiet for a few moments before they both smiled. "It's nice to see you again Doctor." she said, giving him a hug. "Nice to see you too. How you been?" he asked as they ended the hug. "Oh you know just doing my own private work for the government. You aren't always around, so they need me to keep tabs on all alien activity." she said. "Are there aliens here in Equestria?" I asked, slightly curious. "Oh lots. Have you ever heard of a Manitcore?" she asked. I shook my head. "They have the head of a lion, a red body, and can either have a tail of a dragon or a scorpion. They came here looking for refuge about 10 years ago, and the Princess wanted me to give them a place to live in peace. Of course, I couldn't just place them in a place where ponies would most likely find them. But they were drawn to the Everfree Forest for some reason. So, they live there, away from ponies who could happen to stumble upon them outside of the forest." she explained. "But what if somepony were to go into the forest and see one? I've been in the forest myself, and despite it being scary, it's not unlikely for somepony to have gone in." I pointed out. I was worried that Rainbow Dash may enter the forest and encounter one of them. "True, but the Everfree Forest is a mysterious place. There are creatures that live there that are stranger than a Manticore, so we just pass them as one of the residents of the forest and leave out the alien part. Plus, they aren't dangerous. They're rather peaceful and only become dangerous when they are either threatened or injured." she said. "Oh, we haven't been introduced yet. Let me guess, this version of him is rude." she said, looking at him. "This is Fluttershy. She's a friend of mine." the Doctor said. "Well hello Fluttershy. Let me guess, he needed you for something which is why he brought you here?" she asked. "Something like that." I said, giving a light smile. "Is this pick on the Doctor day?" he said. "Isn't everyday?" Sarah laughed. "Anyways, what is it you need? I wasn't joking about the whole only coming by when you needed something." "Well there is one thing. The Alicorn Amulet. Do you happen to know where it is?" he asked. "The question is who doesn't." she said, walking over to the screen that I saw when we walked in. "Mr. Smith, locate the Alicorn Amulet." "I have located the Alicorn Amulet in Bowing Street in Manehattan. Warning, multiple alien lifeforms detected in the city's vicinities." a voice said from the screen. "Can you identify the lifeforms?" she asked. "One moment." "So is this Mr. Smith?" I asked. "Yep. Helps me locate any alien life and deciphers whether they are dangerous or peaceful. For the most part." Sarah said. "Alien lifeforms consist of CatKind, Argolin, The Forest of Cheem, Menoptara, Silurian, and Ood." Mr. Smith said. "Oh, I love the Ood." the Doctor said with a smile. "Well, none of them are inherently dangerous. Should be safe enough to extract that relic without much of a problem." Sarah said. "So all of those are aliens?" I asked. "That's...quite a lot..." "We're lucky there are so few near the area we have to go to." she said. "Thanks, Sarah. Fluttershy and I will take it from here." the Doctor said, opening the door. "Oh no you don't! You are not leaving me here while you go on an adventure." she said. "Oh if she really wants to, she can take my place. I don't want to meet any aliens and I would just get in the way." I said, wanting to get back to Ponyville. "Nonsense! We can all go." she said. "The TARDIS is more than big enough for three ponies. It's not like it's an average Police Box." "But I really have to-" I started to say but was cut off. "Sarah we need someone here to monitor Mr. Smith and send us coordinates in case a dangerous alien happens to show up." the Doctor said. "Mr. Smith, are you able to monitor the area and keep a tab on the aliens while I am out?" she asked. "I am more than capable of handling that task. Would you like me to warn you if a potential hostile appears in a five mile radius of your location?" he asked. "Yes, Mr. Smith." she replied. "You were saying Doctor?" she said as she walked out the door. "Well she seems capable of the job. I think I'll just go home now. I need to help my friends in the forest." I said. "Oh they'll be fine. Besides, you're the one who needs to go in and get it." he said. "Why do I have to?" I asked. "You're the only one out of us three who wouldn't draw attention. A small town mare going into a bustling city for the first time, it's highly unlikely that you'll be taken notice of." he said as we walked into the TARDIS. "But why do I have to go? Sarah seems to know where it is and how to get it, so why can't she?" I asked him. "Because I am a known face there. I go there for most of my components for Mr. Smith that may increase his efficiency and his processor. Alien technology is easily found in Manehattan, if you know the right places." she explained. "And for some reason, his core processor has been getting jammed, causing him to be slow and misread coordinates." "Do you have any idea who may be behind it?" the Doctor asked. "No idea. Whoever it is, they have a completely fool proof system. They even found a way to block the subwave network which I thought was impossible. " she said. "Subwave network?" I asked confused. "It's a communication wavelength that travels below normal wavelengths. Should be undetectable, at least for a short period of time, but I've never heard of someone completely blocking it out." he said. "So is that bad?" "Possibly. If they blocked out the subwave network then they know where it's originating from. Which means they know where you live." he said, looking to Sarah Jane. "I take it I should be concerned?" she said. "Not while you're with us!" he exclaimed and slammed a lever down, sending the TARDIS off to Manehattan.