//------------------------------// // The Mystery Stallion: Part Three (S1C1) // Story: DOCTOR // by Deidorimu //------------------------------// Back at the campsite. The Doctor and Dean were searching through Oswald's tent. The tent was the largest in the camp. Big enough for a king sized bed on the front side, a large wooden chest against the right side, a counter full of coffee supplies and other various trinkets on the left side, and a wooden table in the center. There was a map of the forest taped against the wall with big red circles marked on it indicating the areas that the gang had been in. The Doctor was rummaging through the chest as he turned to Dean. "Ah ha! found it!" said The Doctor as he extracted a red ribbon tied, rolled up scroll from the chest. "What is it Doctor. "Oswald mentioned about some pony sending him a letter with his mission information written on it. He said that no pony in Equestria could forge the signature burned onto it". "Well, who's the signature from? Who gave them this mission". "Let's find out" said The Doctor as he ripped the ribbon. He unrolled the scroll and read its contents. His eyes grew wide as he did so. "That . . . that's impossible!" "What impossible? Who's it from?" The Doctor didn't say anything for a moment. He stared at the scroll then looked to Dean with a face of concern. The Doctor appeared lost in thought for a moment before suddenly rolling the scroll quickly and shoving it into his pocket. "Whelp! That was obviously a waste of time!" "W-Wait, what!?!" "It was a waste of time looking for the letter". "B-But I thought it had a signature that-". "There is no signature! Oswald lied! He just received a random letter from a stranger and took the mission without thinking". "Wait, hold on. Oswald just accepted a random mission from no pony!?! Why would he do that!?!" "Because this stranger is rich". "How do you know that?" "Because the letter came with a bribe" said The Doctor, pointing to the chest. Dean looked inside and gasped. The contents of the chest was filled with books, parchment, ink cups and feathers, and a very large pile of gold. "Somepony gave Oswald money before hoof to convince him to take the mission in the first hoof. I doubt this stranger would have been willing to pay him again once the mission was finished" said The Doctor. "Thats a lot of bits" said Dean, staring in awe at the gold. "Indeed". "D-Do you know who could have given Oswald this mission?" "No, but I'll keep my investigation going. Until then, help me with this chest" said The Doctor, closing the lid. "Huh? We're taking the money?" "Yes but don't get your hopes up, it's not for us". "Oh, who's it for?" "Just help me with the chest, I'll explained once we get him". "Him?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Oh, him" Dean said sadly as he looked down at Peter's lifeless body. The Doctor and Dean were outside, standing near Peter's body. The rest of the gang were a few yards away from them. By now the animals had returned from the clearing in the forest and were watching over the gang, waiting for the guards to arrive. The animals had added a very bruised, bloody, and painful looking Oswald to the group of unconscious gang member. Who of which have not awoken yet. Oswald was still alive, barely. "D-Do you think you can use your tears and heal him Doctor?" Dean asked. The Doctor shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Peter was shot twice. The first penetrated his shoulder, a wound I could have easily healed. His second, however, hit his heart. That kind of damage is called a "fatal wound". Meaning that he has taken a hit so damaging, not even magic could heal him. If he was in a hospital with doctors and nurses and extensive medical care he could have perhaps had a chance of survival. However, in a forest with no medical care whatsoever, I'm afraid neither unicorn magic nor phoenix magic could heal him. Without medicine or science, magic is very limited. I'm sorry Dean, I'm so sorry". "Don't be . . . it wasn't your fault . . . but . . . he was so young" said Dean, staring into the poor colts lifeless eyes. The Doctor and Dean looked over the body for a few moments before The Doctor said, "alright, help me lift him up. Put him on the chest so we can take him and the gold". "But what are we going to do with him? You haven't said what you were doing yet". "First we're taking him back to his family". "And then?" " . . . And then, I'm going to fulfill my Pinkie Promise". ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~15 Hours Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dean thought he was never going to leave that forest. He had been trapped in there trying to find his way to Dodge Junction for days. And thanks to the Doctor it had only taken hours! This made Dean feel very inexperienced. They had walked a few miles until they reached the cafe that The Doctor had told Dean about. The Doctor asked the manager, a large build grayish brown earth pony with short well kept brown hair and a russian accent, if he could keep Peter's body safe and the manager agreed. He wrapped Peter in cloth and stored his body in the ice room to prevent his body from decomposing. The manager had also invited The Doctor and Dean to stay the night, especially after hearing everything they had gone through. After a nights rest, the Doctor and Dean had awoken early at the crack of dawn. They retrieved Peter's body and The Doctor tried to pay the manager for his hospitality, which he had refused, saying that it was on the house. The Doctor thanked the manager and the two tried to leave. Before they could, however, the manager was kind enough to offer the two a ride in his carriage. "You still have your blue box in my storage closet Doctor. I wouldn't want you to have to walk all the way to the colt's home and back so you can retrieve it" said the Manager. "What blue box?" asked Dean. "Oh right, you've got a point there. Very well, I accept your offer. Thank you very much Sticky Bun". said The Doctor to the manager. "Think nothing of it friend! You have done more for this community as it is! Somepony has to repay you!" said Sticky Bun. "Oh I don't ask for thanks". "Well you should! You could get payed big money for the things you do!" "You know I don't like being payed to help others, it just wouldn't feel like the right thing to do". "You're too kind Doctor! How do you expect to make a living if you keep doing things for free?" "Oh don't worry about me, I have plenty of money as it is". "Well, alright. But don't forget to at least ask for a thank you every now and again, huh!? Let those ponies know that real heroes still exist!" "I'll keep that in mind. Anyway, shouldn't we be off?" "Yes of course! Meet me out front! I'll go and get my carriage!" said Sticky as he left the two and headed for the back door. "Doctor, why are you keeping a blue box in his closet?" asked Dean. "Oh it's my . . . you know what, I'll tell you later. Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise" said The Doctor, smiling gleefully as he exited the front door of the cafe. "Wait, what surprise". said Dean. The Doctor didn't hear him as he was already outside. "Doctor! What surprise!" Dean shouted, gaining no response. " . . . Should I be scared?" Dean asked himself as he followed The Doctor outside. A few moments later, Sticky Bun, having attached the harness to his torso, pulled the carriage around the building to the two. It was a standard wooden carriage with a back flip gate. The carriage was large enough to carry up to six ponies max. It had plenty of room for The Doctor, Dean, Peter, and the chest. "Hop on in!" Sticky shouted, energetically. The Doctor and Dean obeyed and hopped into the back of the carriage. With a little effort and teamwork, The Doctor and Dean managed to lift Peter and the chest onto the carriage. Once everypony was on, The Doctor flipped the gate up, locked it, and said to Sticky, "ready when you are". "Alright! Then let's be off!" Sticky shouted as he forcefully pulled the carriage with all his might. His enormous strength pulled the carriage with ease. The Doctor was unfazed by the sudden jerk of the carriage as they sped off. Dean on the other hoof fell to his back and needed The Doctor to help him to his seat. The three ponies sped off along the bumpy dirt road, heading to their destination. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Sticky Bun, stop the carriage!" The Doctor shouted. Sticky Bun placed his hoofs firmly against the ground, causing the carriage and himself to drag along the dirt road for a few moments before coming to a shaky stop. Dean not having been prepared fell again. The Doctor lifted Dean to his hoof as he looked to a small house in the distance. The trip had only taken an hour, by now the sun had fully risen. They were in the plains, surrounding the dirt road was miles of large, dry, yellow grass. Thirty yards from the road in the middle of the grass was a small gray and black house. The windows were all cracked and had holes. The wooden roof looked molded and had wooden boards covering holes. Paint was flaking off and the wooden door itself looked bent with water erosion, leaving open cracks in the doorway. "Is that the place?" asked Dean. The Doctor nodded, "that's Peter's home". There was an awkward silence before The Doctor said, "why don't you two stay here, I'll go break the bad news". "R-Right, y-you do that" said Dean, looking down to Peter's wrapped body with a face of sorrow. "Yes, you do that Doctor, I'm not good with bad news anyhow. It be better if you spoke to the family. Dean and I will wait here for you when you are finished" said Sticky Bun. The Doctor nodded and (with Dean's help) lifted the chest and Peter to the ground. The Doctor then pushed the chest with Peter's body on top over to the house. From this distance, Dean saw The Doctor leave the chest a few feet from the door. He walked up to the door and knocked three times. There was a small wait before a pink mare with long, dirty, blue hair answered the door. Dean couldn't hear their conversation from this distance. He saw The Doctor remove his fedora and place it to his chest as he spoke to the mare. A few moments later, the mare's eyes teared up and she said something to The Doctor. The Doctor then pointed to the wrapped body on top of the chest. The mare rushed to the chest and practically ripped the cloth off of the colt's head. Upon seeing his face, the mare shouted in agony as she wept over her son's body. Even from this distance, Dean and Sticky heard the mare's screams and cries. The Doctor walked up to the mare and placed a hoof to her back, trying to comfort her. He said something to the mare that caused the mare to suddenly hold The Doctor tightly and cry into his shoulder. It was at this moment that three little fillies appeared in the doorway. One was a pink earth pony with blue hair who looked nearly identical to Peter except her hair was a slightly brighter shade than his. She was the oldest, who looked like a young teen. In her forehoof she carried their youngest sister. A small blue unicorn with pink hair who looked around four years old. Beside the two was the middle child. Unlike the rest of the family, who were all colored blue and pink, this one was a red pegasus with a flashy blue and black mane. She looked to be somewhere between eight and ten. The oldest child said something to the mother and the mother said something to the children and motioned for them to return inside. The children obeyed and closed the door as they returned. However, Dean saw that the three children immediately went to the front window to watch The Doctor and their mother, curious as to what was happening. The Doctor spoke to the mother for a few more seconds, then allowed the mother to weep into his shoulder for several minutes. Once the mother had composed herself as much as she could, she said something to The Doctor, hugged him, and left to the door. Before the mother went inside, she turned to face Dean and Sticky and waved to them. Dean gave a weak wave as he watched the mother turn from them and proceed inside. The Doctor then left the chest and Peter in front of the door and returned to the carriage. "So, how'd it go?" asked Sticky. "How do you think? The mother lost a son and those three little fillies lost a brother. Not even the money we gave them could fix the void that's in their hearts now" The Doctor replied with a sorrowful tone. "What about the father? I don't think Peter mentioned him and I didn't see him talk to you. Where is he?" The Doctor didn't answer. He lifted himself into the carriage and lifted the gate close. After locking it, he gave Sticky a wave, telling him it was time to go. Seeing The Doctor's wave, Sticky turned the carriage around and darted forward, pulling them towards the direction of the cafe. "D-Doctor, w-where was the father?" asked Dean. There was a moment of silence before The Doctor sighed. "Apparently the father is no longer there. He . . . he passed away, three years ago". Dean stared in shock as he heard this. He couldn't even come close to imagining what state that family was in. First they lost a father, now they've lost a son and brother. It scared Dean just thinking about it. The Doctor continued, "Penelope, the mother, told me about her husband. He was sick with a bad fever and they didn't have the funds to get him medical help. It was at this point that Peter tried to get the money himself to help his father. Peter took on several small time jobs, earning minimum wage to pay for their father's medical bill. But no matter how many jobs the poor colt took, it just wasn't enough. Even after he had earned enough for his father to see a doctor his father's condition worsened. He grew more and more ill until . . . he just couldn't take it anymore". There was a brief silence before the Doctor continued. "But no matter how bad things got, Peter never gave up. Once their father was gone Peter took his place, taking care of his sisters and earning money for his family. But eventually Peter wanted to do something bigger for his family. He wanted to get his family out of poverty for good. So he left, telling his mother about some big "job" opportunity that he had to take and left for several months. Putting two and two together, I'd say this is around the time Peter left to join Oswald's gang and capture those animals. He was going to use the money from this mission to help his family. And in the end, he succeeded". Dean looked to The Doctor, astonished. "What do you mean he "succeeded"? He's bloody dead! What kind of a success is that!?" "Not every success is a complete win, Dean. Some ponies lose more so that they can win. Do you remember what I said earlier to Oswald, about what a hero is?" Dean nodded, "You said a hero is the one who does an extraordinary act of courage which will or may result in the conscious sacrifice of himself to-" "Protect the good of others. Yes, Peter lost his life. But he died fighting for a noble cause. He entered into that gang so that he could help his family. And although he didn't receive money for the mission, he was still lucky enough to meet us. For thanks to him, he helped us free the animals, he helped us break Oswald's machine, and for that, he is the reason that you and I were even able to defeat Oswald's gang and take that money to his family in the first place! So in a way, Peter's mission was a success. With that money Peter's family can afford a real house now! His sisters can have proper schooling and health care. And they'll be well fed and nurtured, all thanks to Peter. Peter succeeded, he saved his family. And for that, he, in his own way, is a hero! And it may not mean much now, but for Peter, I was at least able to fulfill my Pinkie Promise to him". "Your promise?" Dean asked. The Doctor nodded, "I promised to help his family and to tell them that Peter was hero, and that's exactly what I did. I brought his family the gold and told his mother that Peter's "job opportunity" wasn't a hired stallion for a gang. Instead, I told Penelope that Peter tried to become a bounty hunter and find the stallions who were stealing the birds and use their bounty to help fund his family. Peter had crossed paths with us and we decided to help him on his quest to bring these criminals to justice. I told his mother that Peter died fighting against these criminals and that without him, those animals would have never been saved. So in the end, Peter is a true hero. Both to the eyes of his family and to himself". Dean let these words sink in for a moment before he asked, "but, isn't it rotten how Peter tried doing something good by doing something bad? Doesn't that make him a bad pony?" "Not necessarily, It mostly depends on his point of view, not ours. Others may see him as a criminal, and he may even feel like one. But deep down, he was doing the right thing. It may sound complicated, but when you think about it, Peter did the wrong thing to do the right thing. He may have never done the right thing, and that's not wrong. What mattered most, is that he truly believed that he could do the right thing". The Doctor concluded. Dean thought about this for a moment and smiled. He felt a tear form in his eye as he thought, ' . . . ponies who care, huh? . . . Oswald was wrong, heroes do exist. I had the privilege of meeting one, and his name is Peter'. Dean looked up and saw The Doctor smiling to him. Dean blushed as he realized he accidently muttered Peter's name. He wiped his eye and his blush slowly went away as he smiled back. A few moments of silence passed before something came across Dean's mind. "Hey Doctor, when you and I first met you didn't want to tell me your name because you didn't want to form a bond with me. Yet you told your name to Oswald when he asked for it, how come?" "Oh, I'm sorry Dean, I didn't offend you did I?" "A smig perhaps". "My apologies. You see, if you remember the exact words I said, it's that words are powerful! They don't just form bonds with ponies, they do so much more than that! Take my name for example, The Doctor. My name helps other ponies gain more of a trust with me, because ask yourself, wouldn't you trust a doctor? If you're in a dangerous situation and someone comes along and claims to be a doctor, wouldn't you feel at least a little bit at ease? Everypony trusts a doctor. Except! If you're playing for the other team. If you're the one in danger than of course you'll trust a stranger claiming to be a doctor. However, if you're the one who's causing the danger, then it creates a complicated combinations of different feelings and perspectives. Take Oswald for example, he was the bad guy in this adventure of ours. He asked for my name and all he received is "The Doctor". Now, if you were the bad guy, what would you be thinking?" "I would think that you made that up. There's no way your name is just "The Doctor". "And That is exactly what he was thinking! I can't say exactly what was going on in his head, but he was most likely pondering on who I was. Thinking things along the lines of "is The Doctor his real name? Why is a doctor even here? Is he even a doctor? What is his purpose? Is it a spy name? Is he working for someone? What's his real name? And of course, Doctor Who? You see Dean, these are the kind of thoughts that go through the bad guy's head! Someone needing help usually never bothers thinking this way because their desperate. They don't care who I am or why my names "The Doctor", they're just glad someone's there to keep them alive! Bad guys on the other hoof, depending on who they are, can become scared, confused, worried, and those who have heard of me before become down right terrified! And this is all just from hearing my name! That's what I was trying to do Dean. All it takes is for me to tell my enemies my name and I already come closer to getting inside their heads!" "But that doesn't make sense! How do you even get "a name" to become so powerful?" asked Dean. "That, I can't say. There are many ways to make your name powerful. Some names are known for their heroic actions. Some actions make names feared. Some become taboo because of the atrocities they commit, and other are glorified just for who they are, whether it be their social status, ranking, or what other reason there might be". "That sounds complicated". "It is complicated. But once you get the hang of it, it actually starts to make sense. Here, I'll give you an example. Do you know of any names that are glorified?" "Um . . . not at the top of my head-". "Oh come on this one's easy! Everypony knows who she and her sister are!" "Sister? Oh, oh! I know! Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!" "Brilliant! Exactly! Those are two very powerful names! Glorified throughout Equestria for their duties as princesses and for being the only two alicorns in this country! And that's just one example of powerful names. There are so many others! But! If you're experienced, have the right know how, and always stay on the right track, then you can use your own name as a weapon. And with just your words, you can win!" Dean gaped at The Doctor for a moment before saying, "that's awfully complicated for just a name don't you think?" "Some of the smallest things are the most complicated" The Doctor replied. Dean thought about this for a moment then said, "so, as for creating bonds?" "Ah, well. I didn't want you to know my name in fear of us becoming too attached, but I now see that that's exactly what happen. I mean you can't go through everything we went through with a pony and not form some sort of bond with them. Honestly, I wanted you to leave when I saved you from that manticore". "What, why?" "I just wasn't in the mood for mingling. I was in a bad mood you see. Before coming into that forest I . . . stopped by the resting place of my old friends. Great ponies who I had traveled with in my younger years. After losing my friends I wasn't really in the mood for making more. So when I met you I was actually hoping you would just leave, I just didn't want to form another friendship with anyone anymore". "Oh . . . that makes sense . . . must have gotten lonely though, w-without them, I mean". " . . . . Ya . . . it sure did". " . . . Do you . . . still want me to leave?" The Doctor looked to Dean and sighed. "You're a good colt, looking back I'm actually glad you didn't leave. I've enjoyed our time spent together". Dean smiled at this and asked, "so, are we friends?" The Doctor looked to Dean for a moment then said, "sure, friends". The two smiled as they fell into an awkward silence. Several minutes passed before Dean asked, "If you don't mind me asking, these friends of yours, how did they . . . you know". "Old age. I was just a colt when I first joined them. They were a lot older then me so it makes sense for them to pass on before I did. And even if we were the same age, I doubt that would have made a difference. They would have been gone first anyway". "What do you mean by that?" asked Dean. " . . . Dodge Junction, once we get there. I want you to introduce me to your family so that you can tell them about the adventure we went on. If you're still curious by then I'll answer any more questions you have. For now, I think I'd rather this trip be quiet. If you don't mind?" "Uh, ya! Sure thing" said Dean. The rest of their trip was silent. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "A toast! To Peter!" Sticky shouted, holding a glass of vodka into the air. The three had returned to the cafe and had sat at one of the cafe tables for a while, talking about various things and having conversations about random topics. Half an hour later, Sticky took out a bottle of vodka and offered the two drinks. The Doctor was about to question Sticky, seeing as it was a bit early to be drinking. However, recent events made The Doctor feel he could use a drink. He agreed, asking if Sticky had rum instead (he preferred it over vodka), and Dean (who was underage) asked for a soft drink instead. The three made toasts, cracked jokes, talked, and laughed amongst each other for a solid hour and a half before Sticky stood up and offered one final toast. A toast to Peter. "A brave colt, wonderful pony, and a heroic son and brother!" said The Doctor, lifting his glass of rum into the air. "Hear, hear!" said Dean, lifting his glass of sarsaparilla. The three drank their drinks and set the glasses onto the table. Sticky collected the drinks and said, "welp, best not keep the cafe closed any longer. Today's been hard but I still need to run my business afterall!" "You just drank an entire bottle of alcohol, are you sure you can still work?" asked Dean. Sticky bellowed a loud laugh, "please! That was merely the weak stuff! I can take several bottles of it! My more stronger bottles are in the back! It would be rather stupid of me to drink those when I still have to open shop! You can't have a drunk manager managing the place, can you?" Dean chuckled, "no, I guess not". "And don't you two need to be going somewhere?" asked Sticky. "Oh gosh, you're right! This adventure has been quite a rush, but I do believe it's time to take you home Dean" said The Doctor. "Okay" said Dean, standing from his seat. He turned to Sticky and extended a hoof. "Thank you for your hospitality Mr. Bun". Sticky took Dean's hoof and shook it so vigorously, Dean's entire body shook up and down. "Don't mention it! A friend of The Doctor's is a friend of mine! You take care of yourself, you hear?" "Y-Yes s-sir!" Dean stuttered as Sticky released his hoof, his body still vibrating for a few seconds. When he regained control of his body, Dean gave Sticky one final smile before turning to the door. "Dean, where are you going?" asked The Doctor. Dean turned back to The Doctor and saw him standing near the back of the cafe, next to the storage closet door. "Aren't we leaving?" Dean asked. "Yes, but the way out is this way" said The Doctor, pointing to the closet. Dean looked to The Doctor, confused. "Inside the closet?" "Well if you want to walk all the way back to Dodge Junction then no, the way out is through the front door. But, if you want to go home today, in five minutes, then the way out is this way". said The Doctor. " . . . Okay, you're not making sense". The Doctor smiled, "follow me, and you'll see what I mean". He turned and entered into the storage closet. Dean looked to Sticky, his facial expression asking Sticky for an answer. Sticky merely shrugged, "just follow him. He's odd, but he seems to know what he's doing". "A-Alright", Dean stuttered as he walked to the closet, slowly. "Goodbye Dean, I hope we can see each other again soon!" said Sticky. "Yeah, you too Mr. Bun. Goodbye" Dean replied. 'We'll be seeing each other again in a minute when I walk into this closet, find nothing, and have to leave out the front' Dean thought. He opened the closet door, noticing an eerie white light as he did so. He entered slowly, expecting The Doctor to stand there, smiling, telling him that this was some sort of joke. Instead, Dean found something he was not expecting at all. It was a large blue wooden box. It had a door with a pull handle and above it was a sign with four words. Two was in a bigger font saying: "Guard Box". The smaller font said: "Public Call". The box had two square shaped windows on each side of the box. On the top sat a large white lantern looking light, giving off the eerie white glow. Dean slowly inched his way to the box. He knocked at the door and said, "Doctor? Are you in this box?" "As a matter of fact I am! Won't you come in?" The Doctor shouted. Odd, The Doctor sounded far, and his voice echoed as if he was in a large empty room. Curious, intrigued, and confused, Dean slowly opened the door and felt his jaw drop. Inside the small box was a large, circular, pearly white room that was at least twenty feet long and twenty feet wide to Dean. The room was practically empty except for a coat racket that was next to the door and a large hexagon shaped table in the center of the room. The table had all sorts of buttons, knobs, switches, and on one side, a small black box that gave off Dean's reflection. The center of the table had what appeared to be a glass cylinder with odd looking black and white squares inside. The walls had large glowing circles as a design and on the far end of the room was another door. The Doctor was next to the hexagonal table, grinning at Dean. "So, what do you think?" If there was a word to describe what Dean thought, Dean certainly hasn't learned it yet. He silently gaped at the interior of the box, trying and failing to speak. Unable to control his curiosity, Dean left the box, returning to the closet. He looked around the box, feeling around the sides. He checked the back and even pushed the box, seeing if this was some sort of spell. When the box shook as he pushed it, he confirmed that the box was indeed not connected to the building. Dean returned inside the box, looking to The Doctor in shock. "Magic!" Dean suddenly blurted out. "I beg your pardon?" "Magic! This has to be some sort of magic! It's just not possible! Its! . . . Its!". The Doctor's grin grew wider, "what is it Dean?" Dean looked around the room again as he said, "it's bigger on the inside". The Doctor sighed in happiness, "love it when they say that". He pressed a button and the door closed automatically behind Dean, startling him. Dean backed away from the door and came close to The Doctor. "Is this magic? Like, some sort of illusion magic? Or is this dimensional magic?" "No it's not illusion or dimensional magic" said The Doctor. "Oh, well I just thought that . . . guess it makes sense. Illusion magic is only temporary unless a unicorn gives off a constant feed. And dimensional magic is excruciatingly advance! Only elder unicorn masters could come close to doing it successfully!" "You seem to know a lot about magic for an earth pony". "Astronomy may be my primary subject of study. But I like to be well educated in various subjects. Magic or non-magic. Well, what kind of magic is this Doctor?" The Doctor laughed, "Magic? You think this machine uses magic?" "Well how else is it bigger on the inside?" asked Dean. The Doctor pressed a few buttons, then switched to a different side of the table and flipped a switch. "What if I told you Dean, that his machine is entirely "science based". Dean's jaw dropped again. "You're joking". The Doctor smiled, "I'm not". "But . . . That's not . . . this has to be magic! There's no way this "box" is science based!" "Most ponies don't know this Dean. But the phoenix ponies are actually quite an advance race. Most ponies, or any species in that fact, try to create all of their inventions around "magic". Magic fireplaces, magic vacuums, magic this, magic that! But the phoenix ponies wanted to go a different route! They took the concepts of magic and replicated it to create completely, scientific based inventions! Take this box for example, it's actually what I use to travel around the world, like a form of transportation". Dean chuckled and said sarcastically, "really? This box is your transportation? What else does it do? Travel through time?" The Doctor laughed, "oh I wish! Imagine the kind of adventures I would go on if it could! Actually, this "box" is called a M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T. It stands for "Multipurpose, Expeditious, Inner, Dimensional, Phoenix, Home, And, Transporter!" Its basically exactly as the name says! It's a transporter and it doubles as a home, seeing as the inside is big enough to be use as one". "Do all phoenix ponies have one of these?" asked Dean. "No, only certain kinds. You see, phoenix ponies aren't supposed to leave Alburnia. But when they do, no matter what the reason for their departure may be, they take one of these for their trip to where their going and back. Its the worlds fastest ways of transportation!" "What about the other elementals? Are they as advanced as your species?" as Dean. "Well, the Frostealius, or water elementals, have tried to increase the current level of their own technology, especially after seeing how advance we were. The other two elementals on the other hoof, don't really care about that sort of thing. Breezies and Golems prefer to be more "traditional" with their cultures. Concentrate more on their environment then their technology. But this doesn't mean that their stupid or inferior to us, they just don't like change. And beside, breezies have very important jobs as air elementals, keeping the planets wind blowing. And as for golems, well . . . they just don't like change". "Wow, I never knew that about the elementals. You have to teach me more about your species and the other elementals! And how come your species never leaves your country? And how come you're the only one to leave?" "Perhaps later, for now lets just get you home" said the Doctor as he switched a few switches. "But Doctor. What makes you different from the other phoenix ponies? I mean, fire elementals work with the other elementals to control the planet's temperature according to the position of the sun and moon that the princesses control. And fire elementals also control and protect the planet's core with their phoenix magic. So what makes you different from them Doctor? How come you aren't at your country doing those kinds of things?" " . . . What makes me different is that I left Alburnia". "But how come you left Alburnia if phoenix ponies aren't supposed to?" asked Dean. The Doctor sighed, "Oh, it's a stupid reason honestly. I was just bored. I didn't want to be a common phoenix pony doing common phoenix pony jobs. I wanted more in life so I left". "Wait, you left just because you were bored?" "Were you expecting a more "grand" reason for me leaving?" "Honestly, yes". The Doctor chuckled, "sorry to disappoint, but that's the only reason I left. Alright, no more questions. Next stop, Dodge Junction!" The Doctor pressed a few buttons and flipped a switched. As he did, the glass cylinder rose up and down, and the machine began to make a metallic, groaning type noise. The Doctor rushed to the other side of the table and pulled a lever, then switched to another side to press more buttons. Suddenly, Dean saw large green words appear on the black box. The words said: Destination: Dodge Junction, South Eastern Equestria. Approximate travel time, five minutes. The Doctor looked to the box, "the screen says five minutes? Odd, my M.E.I.D.P.H.A.T used to be faster. I'll have to look into that. Anyway, just sit tight, we'll be there shortly". Dean sat on his rear and stared in awe at the machine, curious as to what each and every button, knob, and switched did to activate the strange machine. He pondered as to why The Doctor had pressed those exact buttons and flipped those exact switches to move the machine. And how pressing those exact buttons and flipping those exact switches would somehow take him to Dodge Junction. WHINE! WHINE! WHINE! 'And why was the machine making that noise?' thought Dean. So many thoughts, so many questions. Yet for some reason, one particular question came to mind. "Hey Doctor, can I ask you just one more question?" "What is it?" asked The Doctor. "It doesn't have to do with your species or the machine or anything like that. I was curious about something you said yesterday?" "I said a lot of things yesterday, you'll have to be more specific". "Its about the Pinkie Promise". "Oh, that, what about it". "Well you didn't really make any sense when you explained to Peter and I about it. You said that somepony made it up. If you don't mind me asking, who is this pony?" The Doctor smiled as he looked to the screen on the table."You wouldn't believe me if I told you". "Oh I think I'll believe anything at this point. Tell me, who is this pony?" The Doctor looked to the ground, his smile widened. "Let's just say, a mare who's going to make a lot of ponies smile someday". Dean looked confused for a moment, then shrugged. 'Guess I won't be getting a straight answer. Oh well, its not really my business anyway. Whoever this pony is, she must mean a lot to The Doctor. I wonder if she's important?' Meanwhile, The Doctor checked the screen again before walking to the opposite side of the table. He sat on his rear and placed his hoofs into his pockets. As he did so, he felt a large, rolled up scroll within. Dean didn't notice as The Doctor's face hardened as he thought, 'names indeed are powerful Dean. You may not fully understand, but I'm sure, in due time, you will. Just a bit of growing up, that's what you need. As for this name, the name burned onto this scroll. Her name . . . quite a powerful one . . . Perhaps it's a fraud but, as Oswald said, no pony could forge this signature. No pony . . . . best keep this a secret from Dean. Wouldn't want him getting involved in things he doesn't need to be a part of. Just take him home, that's top priority right now. Then, after Dean's safely home, I deal with 'her royal majesty'. Dean was lost in his thoughts for the rest of the trip. Silently thinking, occasionally observing the hexagonal table, and listening to the odd metallic noises the machine would occasionally make. WHOOZ! VIRRR! WHOOZ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Meanwhile~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The cries of a mare echoed loudly among the dark, damp dungeon walls as she was beaten by a stallion. A small, well toned, light yellow earth pony. He had thinning brown hair and piercing red eyes. He wore a large brown stetson and brown vest. He had a desert cactus and a tumbleweed for a cutie mark. The prisoners, having nothing else worth doing listened in fear inside their cells. Some prisoners flinched at every shout of pain, others hardly moved. One in particular was too concussed from his beating to pay much attention to the cries of the mare. The stallion gave the mare one final blow to the head before pushing her to the ground. "So, you ready to give up yer land now?" the stallion spoke in a western accent. The mare spat a bloody loogy at the stallion in response. The stallion growled and bucked her in the rib cage. "Guess that be a no!" He walked towards the gate of the mare's cell and sighed, "you are a stubborn mare, you know that?" The mare, who had taken her fifth beating this week, still mustered the strength to shout (also in a western accent), "Go to tartarus!" The stallion opened to gate, exited her cell, closed and locked the gate, then looked to her, frowning. "I have given you several chances Mrs. Do. I've tried be'in nice but ah can't keep this up anymore. You're go'in to give us yer farm-" "Over my cold dead body! We've had that farm for three generations now! And I ain't gonna give it away to some no good, traitor'in, piece of bull manure!" The stallion grinned, "I thought you'd say that. So I sent my colts out to go an grab you some "persuasion". "What the hay is that supposed to mean?" The stallions grin grew wider, "you know, you've been in here fer so long you might ah not heard the news. But some big "chaos spirit" came and took over Mane City. And since a little birdy told me that yer son just so happen to go to school there, I figured that since his school is gone now he'll have to leave and come on home. And I thought "the colts been through quite a lot. Wouldn't it be nice if I had my colts go out there and give him a nice "welcome" once he made it back-". "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MA SON!!!" Mrs. Do screamed, coughing up spittles of blood. The stallion chuckled. "I'd best be off now, wouldn't want to keep him waitin. Now what was his name again? Dean? Dean Do I think? Ya, I think that's right, I'll have to remember that when I "welcome" him". The stallion burst into a sinister laugh as he walked away from the mares cell and headed for the dungeon exit. "You won't lay a single hoof on ma son! You hear! Ah bet he ain't even comin back to Dodge Junction! He's probably a thousand miles away from here as we speak!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Meanwhile, a quarter of a mile outside of Dodge Junction~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A blue box appeared out of nowhere next to the "Welcome to Dodge Junction sign", making a metallic groaning sound as it did so. A few moments later the door opened with a squeak and out came The Doctor and Dean. "Here we are, Dodge Junction!" said The Doctor. "Wow" Dean said in awe as he looked to his beloved home town. It was a western style town, all designed with the classical wooden structures one would see if they were in the wild west. All the roads were dirt and cacti surrounded the town. Dean could see the town hall at the end of the town if he squinted. "I can't believe it, I'm actually home!" exclaimed Dean. "I told you, five minutes was all it took. Would have been sooner though, I really need to look into that. Might be something wrong with the data transference of the console via the-" Dean wasn't listening, he was too focused on the town ahead of him. He felt excited to see the townsfolk again. 'Wait until Mother and Father hear the story I have for them' thought Dean, as he started walking towards the town. "- And if that's the case, then a simple cross link of the binary- oi! Where are you going! Don't leave without me!" The Doctor shouted, catching up to Dean. Together, the two walked on and entered into Dodge Junction.