//------------------------------// // Chapter Three: Finding a Changeling // Story: Doctor Whooves: Ever changing // by AvianAlpha1 //------------------------------// Doctor Whooves: Ever Changing Chapter three: finding a changeling As the Doctor sat there for a while fiddling with the blue box he came in, Octavia and Vinyl were silently discussing what they should do next. Vinyl rolled a performed a series of hoof motions ending in her twirling a hoof around her ear. “Vinyl, I know you think this is crazy, but what if what he is saying is true?” Octavia asked Vinyl shook her head as she shrugged. Octavia groaned as she grabbed Vinyl by the shoulders. “So, why then, did the changelings attack? He’s right it doesn't make any sense.” Vinyl pointed at the Doctor before twirling a hoof around her ear. “You can say that again,” Octavia chuckled. “I heard that,” the Doctor said as he flung the doors to the blue box open wide as a large plum of steam and smoke assaulted the Doctors face. The Doctor coughed as he quickly shut the doors to the box. “Okay,” the Doctor coughed, “not getting there that way.” Octavia groaned as Vinyl snickered. “No problem,” the Doctor said as he started to pace back and forth, “we just need to find another way to reach the changeling hive.” “Doctor, it’s impossible to find the changeling hive,” Octavia said. “Nopony knows where it is.” The doors to the box opened suddenly as a small cylindrical object was shot out and hit the Doctor in the head. “Ow,” the Doctor said as he rubbed the back of his head. He turned around and saw the doors to the box close. He looked down to see what hit his head. “Oh you wonderful thing you,” he said as he picked up the cylindrical object. He was amazed that he was able to pick it up in the first place but decided to dismiss this for now. He gave the device a flick as the tip bloomed open. The tip started to glow green as it made a whirring sound. “Doctor what is that?” Octavia asked “This is my trusty sonic screwdriver,” the Doctor said as he pushed the tip as the bloomed tip closed up. He put the cylindrical behind his ear where it sat comfortably. “What does it do?” Octavia asked as she pointed to the screwdriver. “A lot of things, NOW-“the Doctor said as he looked back to Octavia and Vinyl”-how are we going to get to the hive if nopony knows we're it is?” Vinyl and Octavia sat down and thought about it. After a few minutes Vinyl raised her hoof. “Yes… Um… What was your name again?” The Doctor asked. “Vinyl Scratch,” Octavia said with a chuckle. “Yes, Vinyl Scratch,” the Doctor said as he pointed to Vinyl. Vinyl began to make a few hoof movements as Octavia translated for the Doctor. “She said that a changeling would know where the hive is.” “YES,” the Doctor yelled, startling Octavia and Vinyl, “Only another changeling would know we're the hive is, so all we have to do is find one.” “How?” Octavia asked with a scowl. “With this,” the Doctor said as he reached for the sonic screwdriver that was behind his ear and pulled it out, giving it a few tosses in the air. “With a metal tube?” Octavia asked as she raised an eyebrow. “Oi, I'll have you know that my sonic screwdriver has gotten me out of a lot of situations,” the Doctor said as he flipped the screwdriver in to the air where it landed behind his ear. Vinyl got up as she started to sign before she pointed to the doctor. Octavia groaned, “She's right, you’re going to need a disguise.” Vinyl and Octavia looked at each other for a moment before they looked back at the Doctor smiling. “I look ridicules,” the Doctor said as he walked along side Octavia and Vinyl. The Doctor wore a long cloak that draped over his back and hind legs as well as a hood that covered most of his head. A pair of socks was worn on each leg to hide the holes in them, as a scarf was warped around his mouth to hide his fangs. A pair of Vinyl’s backup sunglasses sat on his nose to hide his eyes. Octavia tried to suppress a giggle as Vinyl snickered. So far, the disguise was working as most ponies would just walk by. Occasionally, somepony would ask why he was wearing that in which case they would say it was a skin condition. The Doctor looked over to Octavia and said, “You know, I thought we would he discovered by now.” Octavia chuckled as she said, “With everything that happens here in Ponyville, everypony is used to strange things happening.” The Doctor was about to question this when again when Octavia said, “We’re here.” The Doctor looked around at Ponyville’s market place. In his opinion, it looked a lot like a farmers market that he has been to back on earth, as he could see stalls all over the place trying to sell their products. A lot of them where selling food products such as apples and cherries, but he spied a few seconds stands scattered about selling novelty items such as lawn ornaments and glass sculptures. The Doctor looked over to Octavia and Vinyl and said, “Let’s have a look around,” before he walked off to a nearby stand. It had been about four hours since they had started their search and since then they have searched all of the market place and have been over half of Ponyville with not even a sign of any changeling. After a while, the trio was wandering through the streets at this point, the Doctors sonic screwdriver making its whirring sound whenever he pointed it at a random pony or building as they walked. Eventually, their stomachs started to growl as they all agreed that it was time to get something to eat. They made their way to a gingerbread house shaped confectionery called Sugar Cube Corner. They made their way inside, the Doctor getting a few strange looks here or there as they made their way to a secluded booth in the corner of the shop. “I’m going to get us all something to eat,” Octavia said as she walked over to the counter, leaving the Doctor and Vinyl alone. When Octavia reached the counter, she was immediately greeted by a tall, yellow stallion with an orange mane. “Good afternoon Mr. Cake,” Octavia greeted with a friendly smile. “Good afternoon Octavia,” Mr. Cake said, “Can I get you anything?” Octavia looked the assortment of sweets before making her selection. “I’ll have three marzipan cupcakes please.” Mr. Cake quickly pulled three cupcakes out as he put them in a small box. He looked over to the booth that the Doctor and Vinyl currently occupied, “I see you made a new friend over there.” Octavia began to panic as she quickly looked around for something pink before turning back to Mr. Cake. “Yes, but he is really shy about meeting new ponies, so if you could be so kind…” Mr. Cake chuckled as he made a motion like he was zipping his lips. Octavia smiled as she dropped a few bits on the counter. She made her way back to the table and stopped as she tried to understand what was happening. The Doctor was starring at Vinyl intensely while Vinyl herself was looking at the Doctor with her head propped up on her hoof. “Um, what are you two doing?” Octavia asked. “Starring contest,” the Doctor said as he continued to stare at Vinyl, “I'm winning so far.” “How can you tell when you’re both wearing sunglasses?” Octavia asked with a raised eyebrow before looking back at Vinyl. “Also, I think Vinyl is asleep.” “How can you tell?” the Doctor asked as he continued to stare at Vinyl. Octavia rolled her eyes as she knocked Vinyl’s hoof out from underneath her head, which promptly hit the table face first followed by a loud snoring. The Doctor stared for a minute before throwing his hooves up in the air and yelled, “I WIN,” startling Vinyl awake as well as several other ponies in the shop. Octavia shook her head as she sat down and passed out the cupcakes. The Doctor lifted the scarf around his mouth a little as he took his and took a bite out of his. His eyes suddenly went wide as he looked at the cupcake. “This-“the Doctor said as he held the cupcake in his hooves “-is one of the best cupcakes that I have ever eaten.” Octavia and Vinyl chuckled at this before taking a bite out of their own cupcakes. The bell to the entrance of the shop rang as a gray earth pony with a black mane and a four leaf clover cutie mark walked in, drawing the Doctors attention. Just for the fun of it, the Doctor whipped out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the earth pony. WhirrrrrrRrRrRRRRRR The Doctor looked at the screwdriver as the whirring started to fluctuate and he smiled. “Well girls,” the Doctor said as he turned to Octavia and Vinyl, “I we just found our lucky clover.” Before the two mares could respond, the Doctor got out of the booth and made his way over to the grey stallion. “Hello there,” the Doctor said as he quickly wrapped a hoof around the stallions neck, startling the pony, “you having a good meal in here?” The stallion shifted uncomfortably as he responded, “Well, not yet, I was just about to order a few sweets.” The Doctors tone changed suddenly as he leaned in to whisper in the stallion’s ear. “Listen, I know what you are,” the Doctor said with a whisper, making the stallion stand there, a shocked look on his face, “ Don't worry, I will not reveal you, I just have a request. Meet me in the alley behind this shop in ten minutes.” The Doctor withdrew his hoof as he made his way to Octavia and Vinyl, the stallion still standing there in shock. “Come along you two,” the Doctor said as he made his way out of the shop, shortly followed by Octavia and Vinyl. The Doctor paced back and forth in the ally way as Octavia and Vinyl sat on a pair of wooden boxes. “How, long has it been?” the Doctor asked the two for the fifth time. Octavia groaned as she rolled her eyes. “It's only been five minutes Doctor.” “It feels more like five hours,” the Doctor said as he sat down on his haunches. In a blur of gray, the Doctor was knocked to the ground as he was pinned to the ground by the gray earth pony. Octavia and Vinyl quickly got up to go help the Doctor. “Don't worry ladies, I've got this,” the Doctor said. “What do you want,” the gray stallion asked menacingly, “You want money?” The Doctor laughed as he looked at the scared stallion. “Nope, I would like to speak to your queen.” The gray earth pony staggered backwards allowing the Doctor to get back up. “Why would you seek the queen,” the gray stallion said with wide eyes. The Doctor removed the scarf and sunglasses, looking the stallion straight in the eyes. “I wish to ask her a few questions.” The house that the Doctor, Octavia and Vinyl were now in was very simple. On the right side of the house sat a small dining area with a round table and four chairs around it. The left side sat a long couch and an arm chair in front of a fire place. A small bookcase sat against the far wall as a stair well lead up stairs to the bedroom and a door way to the right lead to the kitchen. The blinds on the house were pulled close as the trio sat on the couch as the gray earth pony sat in the arm chair. They all sat in silence for a long while, neither one of them saying a word. The Doctor, who has since shed his disguise, was the first to speak up. “So, what do I call you?” “Lucky Clover,” he responded as he nursed a cup of tea between his hooves. “So, Clover,” the Doctor said as he leaned forward a bit, “why don't you show us all what you really look like.” Lucky Clover looked around nervously before a green flame consumed the pony for a few seconds before leaving behind a nervous looking changeling. Like all other changelings, he was covered in black chitin with holes in each leg. He had blue compound eyes, as well as a blue fin on his head and a short, blue tail. “Wow,” the Doctor said in amazement, “now aren't you fascinating.” “It shouldn't be too unusual to you,” Lucky Clover responded, “You are a changeling too after all.” “Well sort of,” the Doctor said as he rubbed the back of his head, “You see I’ve only been only been this way since this morning.” Lucky Clover raised an eyebrow and looked over to the two mares sitting next to him. Octavia just shook her head while Vinyl twirled a hoof around one of her ears. Lucky Clover decided best not to ask about it. “So,” Lucky Clover began, “Why do you need to see the queen?” Octavia was the first to speak up. “We want to know more about what happened at Canterlot.” Lucky Clover chuckled as he shook his head. “What's there to tell? The queen went insane.” The Doctor leaned closer with a raised eyebrow. “What was the queen like before?” Lucky clover sighed as he closed his eyes and said, “She was a fair and just queen. Everyling would have given their lives for her. Then she slowly started to change, she requested more love to be gathered. Then she ordered the attack.” The Doctor rubbed his chin as he thought about this before asking, “Was there any threat made against the hive?” Lucky Clover shook his head and said, “Our existence was a well kept secret, not a creature knew of us except only as a myth.” “Then our need to see the queen is now imperative,” the Doctor said, “Will you take us there?” Lucky looked at the trio for a long while before he answered, “I shall take you there but that will be as far as I go,” he said before looking right at the Doctor, “but if you can't disguise yourself, we might have an issue getting to the changeling hive.” The Doctor grinned and looking at the changeling. “Well then,” the Doctor said, “I guess you’ll just have to teach me how to.”