Dr. Horrible's Equestrian Story

by Terrasora

Lost and Found

Dr. Horrible skirted the forest, close enough to touch the outermost trees, but far from where the actual animals were. There was, quite simply, no way in hell that Dr. Horrible would be heading into an unexplored forest, not under the best of conditions and certainly not while cradling gunshot wounds. Wounds that had threatened to reopen at the slightest provocation. Honestly, climbing through a window and a brisk jog to the forest’s edge and Dr. Horrible could already feel the newly forming scabs pulling at themselves. A scientist’s workshop wasn’t exactly an exercise-conducive environment, but this was ridiculous.

“First order of business once I get on my feet,” mumbled Dr. Horrible in between gasps for air, “cardio.” He winced as a twinge of pain lanced through his stomach wound and stepped around a tree, keeping its moderately-sized trunk between him and the hospital. Dr. Horrible hadn’t heard any hooves beating after him, but he couldn’t imagine that they’d leave him alone. Certainly not with that thing strapped to his forearm.

He needed someplace to hide.

A beam of light came from the hospital. Three pony-shaped forms walked out into the night, one of them flying, one of them carrying what seemed to be a flashlight. Dr. Horrible pressed a little closer to his tree. The figures paused, turning towards each other as though in conversation. Then they split apart, the flying one and the one without a flashlight heading away from him. The other, Dr. Horrible recognized him as the security guard, headed nearly directly towards his hiding place. The villain flexed his arm slightly, feeling his weapon settle slightly.

The guard shone his flashlight on the floor, sweeping it from side to side. He lifted it slightly, the cone of light passing inches from Dr. Horrible’s spot. The light turned, heading towards the back of the hospital, away from the little hamlet of a town that Dr. Horrible had seen through his window.

The town. No, Dr. Horrible shouldn’t head toward that town. Ponies probably lived in towns. But he’d have to stay near it. Take food, maybe find an abandoned building to take shelter in, it was probably the only way to get through his time in this overly colorful place. Dr. Horrible didn’t like his chances in a forest, even with a death ray strapped to his forearm.

He was a villain, not a Boy Scout.

Dr. Horrible set off again, towards the town, riding the edge of the forest. He really couldn’t have asked for a better vantage point. The treeline stayed a ways away from the village proper, but close enough for him to watch the town. He could see the lights shining through some windows and what looked like a giant tree growing in the middle of the town. A landmark. Not that he thought he’d really need one. But it was still nice to have. Especially since everything else was so… monotonous. Dark. Completely dark.

He stopped. No. Not completely dark. There were two bright circles up ahead. Not directly against the treeline, but definitely removed from the rest of the town. Some kind of cottage. This would be the easiest target if he ever needed some sort of supplies.

The thought made him squirm. Bank robbery was one thing. It was a time-honored supervillain tradition. You go in, you open the vault, you make off with the gold.

Burglary was for grunts and minions, the low-lives who used ski masks. Not for Dr. Horrible. No, he wouldn’t head in today. Maybe tomorrow. Tomorrow would be better. He’d watch the cottage, make sure whoever was living there had left before he… went in. Make sure that he wouldn’t be caught. Yes, that was it. That was a good plan. Dr.Horrible nodded in satisfaction.

His plan, however, could not be put into use until tomorrow. Which meant that he had to get through tonight. A place to stay. That was very important.

The villain’s stomach growled angrily. Food was a very close second. Another growl, this time in protest. Alright, maybe food is the first order of business. One last growl.

Not from his stomach. From the forest.

Dr. Horrible felt his breath quicken, his heart pounding on his ribs. He turned towards the noise, the death ray driving his coat into his arm. Dr. Horrible had never quite realized how itchy the material was.

There was something in the forest. Something big, rustling just on the edge of Dr. Horrible’s vision. Except for the eyes. Those were clear, shining in the little bit of moonlight that reached into the forest.

Dr. Horrible flipped the switch on his weapon with a shaking hand. The tremors began to spread, creeping up from his hands into his arms, into his body, and down to his legs. I-I need to get out of here, he thought to himself. His feet weren’t listening. Move. Move!

The shape stepped forward. Dr. Horrible saw claws, big claws that reflected a patch of moonlight. He stepped back, subconsciously.

Not good. The shape darted forward, taking the step away as a sign of weakness. Dr. Horrible threw his arm forward, a bright red beam breaking through the forest’s darkness. It missed, burning a perfect hole into an unfortunate tree.

Dr. Horrible caught a glimpse of green and brown in the laser’s light. Streamlined, like a wolf, but without fur. Its skin was wrinkled, gnarled. In his panicked state, the villain could almost think that it was wood.

The creature shied away from Dr. Horrible, suddenly wary. It stayed in the shadows, just beyond any patches of moonlight. But its glowing green eyes pierced through the darkness.

Dr. Horrible hoisted his weapon, pointing it directly at the floating green points, steadying his weapon arm with his other hand.

Four more green eyes winked out of the darkness, a distance away from the first pair. A bone-chilling lupine howl filled the night. There would be more coming.

Dr. Horrible took a deep breath and held it. His arm steadied slightly, lining up with the closest wolf. The creature growled deeply, its eyes shifting slightly downwards. As though it were preparing to spring.

A clanging sound rang through the night, coming from the town. The wolves growled again, their eyes darting from side to side before they were snuffed out by the forest’s shadows.

Dr. Horrible let out his pent up breath, his arms suddenly slumping to his side. The clanging, like pots and pans being banged against each other, quickly subsided.

“That,” muttered the villain, “was too close.”

“U-um, are you okay?”

Dr. Horrible turned with a shout, slipping on the grass and landing on his injured shoulder. He bit back a cry and stared up at the yellow pegasus. “It’s you again?” he spit out.

Fluttershy put a hoof to her mouth. “O-oh, I’m so sorry! Are you okay? I must’ve scared you. I’m sorry, I’m so loud sometimes and I can’t really control it.”

“That’s funny.”

“What’s funny?” asked Fluttershy seriously.

Dr. Horrible rolled his eyes and poked at his shoulder. He gritted his teeth as pain shot through his arm.

“You’re still hurt!” Fluttershy rushed forward and tried to get a better look.

The villain shooed her away. “I’m fine. Leave me alone.”

“Oh no!” said Fluttershy, her eyes widening slightly. “I can’t do that. There are t-timberwolves around here. I-I heard them.” She was shaking slightly.

Dr. Horrible eyed her. “You’re scared of them.”

Fluttershy nodded. “They’re… they’re scary,” she said in a quiet voice.

“Then what are you doing out here?”

“I-I heard them howling and-and then I saw a strange light in the Everfree and I… I had to make sure that the critters were okay.” Fluttershy looked down at the grass, allowing her mane to partially cover her face. “I’m sorry.”

Dr. Horrible spared a glance at the pegasus before looking back at the forest. “These timberwolves. They glow green? Have fur that looks like wood?”

Fluttershy nodded, then paused. “They glow, but they don’t have fur. Th-they are wood.”

The human turned his gaze back towards the mare. “That’s impossible.”

“N-no, I don’t think it is. They’re made of wood; a-at least, that’s what it was when I saw them.”

Dr. Horrible felt his jaw tighten. “It’s impossible for a living, breathing, conscious thing to be made out of wood.”

Fluttershy shrank back. “Ok. I’m sorry.”

Dr. Horrible turned away with a huff. The pony, whatever her name was, had to be lying. It was impossible. Wolves made out of wood. Scratch that, glow-in-the-dark wolves made out of wood. That kind of thing just didn’t make sense, wouldn’t be scientifically possible. No stretch of human ingenuity could instill a consciousness in bark.

Human.

The word rang through Dr. Horrible’s mind.

And how many humans had he seen since he woke up? Zero. About five pastel horses, three pairs of glowing green eyes, and a wide berth of trees. But not one human.

There are no humans here. The thought made Dr. Horrible’s head swim. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. No humans anywhere.

No, this is what I wanted. I wanted to go someplace else, a different place. Where she’d be, thought Billy.

She’s not here. You failed, thought Dr. Horrible. Of course you failed. You romantic idiot, what made you think that this would work?

I just wanted to see her again.

“Ex-excuse me, Doctor? A-Are you okay?” The words seemed to come from miles away.

And look at what’s that done! Look at where we are! Stranded, where the dominant lifeforms are talking quadrupeds. Not even Bad Horse could talk.

I-I can go back. I came here, I just have to retrace my steps!

Idiot, sneered Dr. Horrible. You can’t do that. You’re not in some foreign country. You can’t just hop on a plane or make a teleporter and head back to Los Angeles. You’re on a whole different planet.

“No. No, I can fix this,” muttered Billy.

“Fix what?” asked Fluttershy.

No you can’t. You’re not on Earth. There is no Evil League of Evil, no Bad Horse, no laboratory, no Captain Hammer, no frozen yogurt, no laundromat.

Dr. Horrible felt his head grow light, but it wasn’t completely his head. Nothing was his anymore. All of the little things that had made up his life were millions of light years away. No, not even that. There was no distance that could measure how far he was from home.

And there’s no Penny.

Billy felt his head hit the grass. It was a dull thud, on the very edge of his consciousness, as if he had watched someone else hit the ground.

And then everything went black.

***

“I’m sorry. W-we were already really near to my home, and he was unconscious, and the hospital was really far away, and I didn’t want to risk walking all the way there when there were t-timberwolves and—“

Nurse Redheart held up a hoof, taking off her stethoscope and turning away from the unconscious human. “It’s fine, Fluttershy. You made the right call; it’s never a good idea to move somepony who has hurt their head.” She turned towards the other five mares in the room. “There’s a bit of a concussion, but nothing too drastic.” A hint of a smirk touched her lips. “Though, he’ll have a really bad headache when he wakes up.”

“I can’t believe he went to the Everfree,” said Twilight. “I thought that anypony with half of a brain would stay away from there.”

“Well, we can’t really go sayin’ that he’s a pony, can we?” remarked Applejack.

Pinkie Pie bounced up towards the couch wherein Dr. Horrible lay. She craned her neck, looking him up and down. “Hmmmmmm. Nope! Doesn’t look like any kind of pony that I’ve seen. Maybe he’s a bear!”

“Pinkie, he can talk,” said Twilight.

Pinkie gasped dramatically. “Is he a talking bear?!”

“I doubt it,” said Rarity, furiously examining Dr. Horrible’s discarded coat. “I’ve never seen a bear wear this. Admittedly, it’s not at the highest point of fashion and it is a tad coarse, but there’s a certain… je ne sais quot to it.”

Rainbow Dash poked at the death ray, which sat at a safe distance from Dr. Horrible. “I don’t see why you’re all caught up with this thing, Twi. Are you sure that it’s not just an umbrella or something?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Honestly, Rainbow Dash, do you think that I’d wake all of you up to examine an umbrella?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“That was different!” Twilight Sparkle turned a shade of pink.

“We talkin’ about the time Twilight sent the town inta a lockdown over a missing umbrella?” asked Applejack with the slightest smile.

“It was an important umbrella!”

“Whatever happened to that umbrella?” asked Rarity.

Twilight looked down, kicking at a dust bunny on the floor. “… I lost it.”

Nurse Redheart coughed into a hoof. “Anyway. I’m officially discharging this ‘Dr. Horrible’ from my hospital.”

“You’re doing what?” asked Twilight incredulously.

“He’s been discharged. He no longer needs a full medical staff attending to him. Dr. Horrible can change his own bandages, if his name is any indication. And I don’t want a princess cruising into my hallways tomorrow and bothering my patients.” She eyed Twilight. “I’m guessing that you’ve already sent a letter to Princess Celestia?”

Twilight Sparkle glanced at her friends. She nodded. “Yes. She has a few things to take care of in Canterlot, but she’ll be here by tomorrow. Along with Princess Luna.”

“All the more reason,” said the nurse. “Two princesses will not be good for anypony in that hospital. And I’m not sure how well our hospital is equipped to handle somepony who… isn’t a pony. For those reasons, I’m placing Dr. Horrible in Fluttershy’s care on the grounds that her experience with animals renders her better equipped to handle the Biped.” She nodded at the six stunned expressions and yawned slightly. “Good night, fillies.”

Nurse Redheart trotted through the door.

The Elements of Harmony glanced at one another.

“Can she do that?” asked Applejack.

“There isn’t exactly a precedent to go by,” responded Twilight.

Five pairs of eyes settled on Fluttershy.

“… Please don’t stare at me.”

***

Dr. Horrible awoke later that night. Or, rather, early the next morning. It is rather difficult to keep track of time when you’ve spent most of the day unconscious. And even more difficult when someone was playing a bass line in your skull.

One thing was certain though. He was not lying on the forest floor, but on a couch that was surprisingly comfortable for its size. He took a moment to feel the material. It was familiar. Something that any grandmother would have in her home. Warm, slightly scratchy, smelling vaguely of dust. It inspired a sense of nostalgia.

Nostalgia for something that Dr. Horrible could very well never see again. His fist clenched around the couch’s material.

“You awake now—er--Dr. Horrible?”

The human started slightly. He let go of the couch and turned towards the voice.

An orange pony, this one lacking in wings and horns, but wearing a Stetson, attempted to smile.

“Where am I?” Dr. Horrible’s voice was scratchy, his throat completely parched.

The pony offered a glass of water, which Dr. Horrible took. “ You’re in Fluttershy’s house. She carried you here after your little tussle with the timberwolves. Name’s Applejack.”

Applejack reached out a hoof. Dr. Horrible took a sip of water.

“Ain’t right ta ignore a peace offerin’ like that. ‘Specially if you’re gonna be here for a while.” Applejack smiled politely. The hoof stayed there.

Dr. Horrible cleared his throat. “I don’t plan on being here for very long.”

Applejack shrugged and withdrew her hoof. “Well, that’s your choice and Ah ain’t gonna hold it against you.”

The human scoffed and tried to sit up. His vision blurred slightly.

“Whoah there. Don’t get ahead of yourself; you took a nasty fall.”

Dr. Horrible felt something hold onto his good shoulder. He promptly shrugged it off, staring straight into Applejack’s eyes as he straightened himself. A blanket that he hadn’t even noticed slid to the floor. “Don’t touch me.”

Applejack scowled, but she backed off, settling back into her seat.

Dr. Horrible looked around the room. It was homely, furnished more like a cabin than a home. He guessed that Fluttershy’s home was that cottage near the forest. And that Fluttershy was the yellow pegasus. Not that he cared. He was making it a point to not remember their names.

“Are you going to watch me all night?” said the human.

“’Course not. Ah’ll be watching you for the next few hours. Then it’s Rarity’s turn. An’ it’s mornin’, not night.”

“Great. There are more of you.”

Applejack squinted slightly. “What’s your problem?”

“Where’s my coat?”

“I ain’t tellin’. Ya ain’t goin’ anywhere anyway, not till Princess Celestia gets here.”

Dr. Horrible felt his head throb violently. He was tired. Even with all of the sleep he’d been getting, he was terribly tired. He rolled over, back onto the couch. “Right, Princess. Of course.”

“Is that it?” asked Applejack as she knit her eyebrows. “You’re just gonna roll over and head to sleep?”

“Love to stay up and talk, but I’d hate to do that.”

There was a pause. “Ah don’t think Ah like you very much, Dr. Horrible.”

“Good.”

***

“The most we’ve discovered, sir, is that this stone seems to be its source of energy.” The scientist turned over the box in his hands, gesturing towards the pink crystal imbedded in its face. “But… it’s empty. Or nearly so.”

Bad Horse nickered.

“He wants you to find more,” threatened the translator. “He wants Dr. Horrible back by the end of the week.”

“But sir! I-I’ve never seen anything like it; I have no idea whether it sends people to another point on Earth or… or anywhere!”

Bad Horse snorted and turned around.

“Do it,” said the minion. He followed after his boss.

The scientist grumbled, tossing the box from hand to hand without a thought. He walked out of his laboratory, towards the secure room where the League kept their research materials. “By the end of the week? It’d be a miracle if I were able to reverse engineer something like this by the end of the month! And this stone. Where did this thing come from?”

Another researcher crossed his paths, carrying a stack of boxes. He tripped, scattering the boxes in all directions.

The first scientist rolled his eyes. As if he didn’t have enough on his plate already. He bent down, picking up a few of the boxes and stacking them in the researcher’s arms.

“Thank you.”

The scientist nodded. “You’re welcome.” They went on their separate ways.

The stone glowed a soft pink in the scientist’s hands.

Comments

[BlueNinja]

Really, Billy? You're lamenting that you don't have a laboratory, yet you can't manage a civil conversation to find out if there might be one around *cough*Twi's basement*cough* that you could use? Stop being a schmuck.

[Knowledge seeker]

3453669 give the guy a break even evil geniuses like him and I have a bad day and can't always make evilly underhanded plans all the time. Besides he is more depressed then eore so i doubt he's thinking straight
.

[Davidp1522]

I have so much love for this story, you don't even know. Too bad I don't even know how to expresses it.

[Schmuck]

A pity this story doesn't have more views, it's extremely well written. Keep up the good work.

[Frission]

Oooh, it's powered by kindness. Of course.