Doctor Whooves Episode 20: The Cure

by Doctor Perseus

A Meeting of Friends and Doubles

Chapter 4: A Meeting of Friends and Doubles

Rebel Headquarters, Underneath Manehattan, Equestria, Gaia, Winter, 1002 C.E.

Spike felt a searing pain in his head when he came to. His eyes hurt as he opened them and he was blinded by the incredibly white ceiling which hung above him. A soft, comfortable surface lay beneath him and the air smelled of...gems? Spike's mouth began to water. "That smell...oh...I could use some gems right about now," he moaned as his stomach growled a bit.

"Good. You're awake," said a voice nearby. Spike couldn't help but find this new voice to sound strangely familiar. He turned his head, a quick pain shooting through his neck in the process, in the direction of his visitor. A wooden chair was situated next to the white bed he was lying on. A human girl was sitting in it. She appeared to be in her late teens, had incredibly fair skin, and had a silky stream of pink hair flowing from her scalp. She was wearing a yellow dress and pink sandals. Each sandal had a pink butterfly pin clipped to it and a symbol containing three pink butterflies was located on the center right side of the girl's dress. The symbol looked an awful lot like...no...it couldn't be.

"F...Fluttershy?" Spike asked weakly.

The girl tilted her head in a cute manner and giggled. "That's me. It's nice to finally meet you, dragon Spike. I have to admit that I'm kind of excited. It's not everyday somebody like me gets to meet a dragon."

Spike was still trying to register what was happening. He searched through his memories and focused on the last thing he could remember. Ponyville. Ash. Cybermen. Hooded figure. Green smoke. Bits and pieces, words and phrases, bounced around his psyche. Another pain echoed through the innards of his skull. He clutched his temple and groaned. "Where...where am I?!"

"A safe place...for now." The human Fluttershy twirled one of her fingers through her hair as she continued to keep her soothing gaze on Spike.

Spike was still digesting the fact that the human before him was an alternate Fluttershy. It was weird, seeing an alternate version of somepony he knew. It was weird with the evil Rainbow Dash, Clockwork, Bright Eyes, and Twi and it was no less weird with this human Fluttershy. However, though his head hurt and his body felt weak, he still felt a welcoming sense of familiarity. She may be human...but she was still Fluttershy. When Spike focused hard enough, he could see his Fluttershy's face hidden within the face of the girl before him. It was just like when he looked hard enough at Twi.

"The others...my friends...where are they?" Spike asked, his voice sounding more urgent.

The human Fluttershy reached her hand over and patted Spike on the head. Her skin felt smooth and delicate and instantly made his insides melt like hot ice cream. Her smile grew a little bigger. "Fine. They're all fine," she replied. "You're the first to awaken. I should probably apologize on Flash's behalf right now. Teleportation dust has some very unwanted side effects."

"Teleportation dust?"

"The green stuff you probably remember seeing before blacking out." Fluttershy reached into one of her dress pockets and pulled out a medium-sized plastic bag filled with green dust that sparkled in the room's white light. "It's a little invention of ours. It's helped out the fliers and those without magic with getting out of tight situations. Just think of a place, toss it down, and you're off. Sadly, most of the trips end with either extreme weakness or instant unconsciousness. Thankfully, the effect appears to wear off with thorough use of it." She returned the bag to her pocket. "I've never had to use my portion before. Mostly because I've never found myself in harm's way. I tend to stay in whatever haven we create for ourselves." Spike threw the covers off him and began to crawl out of bed. Fluttershy attempted to help him. "Do you need help?"

"I'm fine," Spike replied as he politely brushed Fluttershy's hands away from him. "I can feel my strength coming back." A pain coursed through his back and he groaned. "I think."

"Strange," Fluttershy commented. Spike looked up at Fluttershy, her face contorted into an expression of thought.

"What is?"

"Seeing you. Knowing who you are. It's just...kinda weird talking to an alternate version of someone I know."

Spike couldn't help but chuckle. "You're not alone there, Fluttershy."

Just then, there was a knock at the door. "Come in!" said Fluttershy. The door opened and in stepped a boy who looked a few years younger than Fluttershy. He had spiky, green hair; fair skin; was wearing a purple, hooded jacket covered in a few burn marks, and was also wearing a pair of green pants and purple shoes. "Oh...Spike."

Spike's eyes widened as he realized that he was now staring at his dimensional double. The human Spike tilted his head upon looking at his dragon equivalent. "Now I know how Twilight feels," Spike commented.

Human Spike shook his head and turned to Fluttershy. "The others are starting to wake up. Everyone's grouping up in the meeting hall right now," he informed.

"Thank you, Spike," said Fluttershy before looking down at dragon Spike and blushing slightly. Spike gave an awkward cough before following his human self through the door.

Twi was feeling really guilty. Ever since she had come face-to-face with the true face of the hooded figure who had arrived to rescue her and the others from the Cybermen, she had been overwhelmed with an incredible amount of guilt and sadness. She knew that she knew the fair-skinned boy with spiked blue hair...but she just couldn't locate her memories of him.

Her footsteps along with his echoed through the white hallway they were walking down. He was being very quiet and had hardly spoken a word to her other than asking how she was feeling and telling her it was time to go. She wanted to reach out to him, take back the memory she had forgotten. It hadn't taken long for her to remember the signal for help...why was this boy so hard to remember?

"I'm sorry," she said suddenly.

The boy stopped and turned around. She stopped as well and felt her insides burn with sadness as she looked deep into his light-blue eyes. "About what?" he asked. A teasing chuckle escaped his lips. "You haven't touched something you shouldn't, have you?"

Twi shook her head quickly. "No...that's not it."

"Then what's the apology for?"

Twi was silent for a few seconds. She slowly rubbed one of her arms and started to blush. "Forgetting."

The boy smiled sadly. "Come now, Twilight Sparkle. Don't go beating yourself up over something like that. You couldn't control what that rift generator did to you."

Twi clenched her fists. "Were...were we friends?"

"You were friends with everyone. I'm just one of many."

"But...were you and I...were we...close?"

The boy sighed and turned around. "Come along. The others are waiting for us."

Twi and the boy started walking down the hallway once more. "Can I at least know your name?" Twi asked.

"Flash. Flash Sentry," he replied.

Twi felt a warm feeling course through her body. "Well...it's nice to meet you, Flash Sentry. But...I guess I've already met you before." Twi gave an amused chuckle but Flash remained silent. Twi sighed before becoming quiet herself.

The Doctor and his escort, a human by the name of Lyra Heartstrings, entered a room the size of an office lounge. It was filled with various chairs and tables and the air smelled of bananas. "It looks like we're the first ones here," said the Doctor with a chuckle. Lyra nodded and began to walk towards one of the doors. "Where are you going?"

"This meeting's only for the really important people...and ponies. The rest of us still have jobs to do," Lyra replied. Before she left she turned back to the Doctor one, last time. "Um...nice hooves."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Thank you?"

Lyra smiled before exiting through the door. The Doctor let out a sigh and made his way over to one of the chairs. He sat down and stretched his neck a bit. The method of transport used hadn't been exactly the most comfortable means of travel. I would have rather taken the TARDIS on a bad day, the Doctor thought.

Another one of the doors opened and in walked Donna and Derpy. "Doctor!" said Derpy as she flew forward and gave the Doctor a quick hug.

"Well, it looks like you two are doing fine," the Doctor chuckled.

"If by fine you meaning being sore and confused as hell then yeah, we're peachy," Donna replied.

The Doctor chuckled once more. "So where are your escorts?"

"They went back to work," Derpy replied. "We must be in an army base or something like that."

"We are. A rebel base located directly beneath the city of Manehattan...well...what remains of it," the Doctor explained. "My escort, Lyra Heartstrings, told me."

"More alternate versions of ponies we know."

At that moment, several more doors opened and the Doctor, Derpy, and Donna were joined by the others: Twilight, Spike, Twi, the human Fluttershy, the human Spike, and Flash Sentry. "Twilight!" said Spike as he ran over and hugged the lavender unicorn. Everyone and everypony made their way to their seats.

"Is that who I think it is?" Twilight whispered in Spike's ear as her eyes fell on the human versions of Fluttershy and Spike.

Spike gave an awkward nod. "Yep."

Twilight looked at alternate Fluttershy and Spike for a few more seconds. Before turning away, she noticed the human Spike eyeing Twi with a hurt look on his face. She then looked back at her own Spike. It must be hard for human Spike. Twi still has amnesia. I can only imagine how hurt my Spike would feel if I no longer knew who he was, she thought. Her gaze then traveled around the room and examined its other inhabitants. A human me, a human Spike, and a human Fluttershy. I guess human versions of the rest of my friends and the Princesses shouldn't be too far behind.

Finally, one last door opened and in stepped three individuals: Colgate, looking as hardened and general-like as she had in her holographic message; Clockwork, wearing a somewhat dirty, brown trench coat, a striped brown suit, and a pair of square glasses as well as had a small cut on his left cheek; and a woman with fair skin and dark purple hair whom the Doctor and his companions instantly recognized as this world's Rarity. Huh...she managed to make the army look fashionable, the Doctor commented in thought as he examined Rarity's camo jacket, bracelets, pants, and shoes. The Doctor turned his attention to Colgate and Clockwork and stood up, approaching them with a serious look on his face. "Hello again. Colgate. Clockwork," he said.

"Doctor," Colgate and Clockwork said seriously in unison. For a second or two, the three ponies exchanged intense glares before giving wide smiles and meeting up in a big hug.

"I can't believe you're actually here," Colgate said as the hug broke apart. She turned towards Twilight, Donna, Derpy, and Spike. "All of you. It feels almost like a dream."

"Tell me about it," said Twilight as she stood up and approached Colgate. "You're definitely not the same mare I said goodbye to a couple days ago."

Colgate chuckled. "I remember that night. It was over a year ago from my point of view." Twilight's smile faded.

"How did you end up here?" Derpy asked. "And how did you meet Clockwork?"

"It's a long story," Clockwork replied as he gave a sad face in Derpy's direction, which Derpy couldn't help but take notice of.

"One we can discuss in a little bit. There will plenty of time for talk during preparation," said Colgate as she made her way towards the front of the room. "Right now, we need to discuss the plan."

"Wait a minute," said Twilight. "I thought this was a meeting for all of the important ponies and people here."

"That's true. Here we all are," Colgate replied.

"Save one," the Doctor heard Clockwork whisper to Colgate.

"But what about the rest of my friends? Well...I suppose this world's versions of them anyway. Applejack? Rainbow Dash? Pinkie Pie? Derpy? What about the Princesses? What about Shining Armor and Cadance?" Twilight asked. A deathly silence fell. Twilight could see expressions of great sadness appearing on the faces of those who belonged in this world. Even Twi was giving a sad face though she also appeared to be confused about as to why she was making it in the first place.

"They're not here," said a familiar voice from one of the doorways. Everypony and everyone turned to the doorway in question see a woman with flowing dark blue hair that sparkled like the night, incredibly fair skin, dark blue eyes, a black crown on her head, a deep blue tunic, dark blue pants, a long gray cloak, a black belt holding a silver rapier, and a silver wand sticking out of one of her tunic's pockets.

"Princess Luna!" Colgate gasped.

The human Princess Luna smirked. "You seem surprised to see me."

"Well, with all due respect, it's for good reason," said Clockwork. "You've spent a lot of time locked away since-"

"To answer your question, unicorn Twilight Sparkle," Luna said abruptly as she approached Twilight. "They're not coming. Our Derpy is busy helping other soldiers. We lost Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Shining Armor, and Cadance and my sister is...unavailable right now." Twilight gulped as she stared into this world's Luna's eyes. They were abnormally cold and cut through her like knives. A feeling of intimidation with a twinge of sadness coursed through her. Sure, these weren't her versions of her friends and family...but just to hear about them being lost anyway just made her insides twist and turn.

The unicorn turned towards Fluttershy and Rarity. "I...I'm sorry," she said.

"Don't apologize, darling," said Rarity with a wave of her hand. "It's not like you had anything to do with it. No. This is all thanks to that insane stallion, Discord Whooves!"

Fluttershy suddenly raised one of her hands. "Well, one of them isn't lost," she said. "Pinkie Pie is-"

"She's lost, Fluttershy!" Luna snapped. "Deal with it!"

Tears began to form in Fluttershy's eyes and her shoulders started to shake. "But...she's not dead!"

"With the way she is now, she might as well be!" Luna turned away from Fluttershy and made her way towards the front of the room where Colgate and Clockwork were standing. Rarity placed her hands on Fluttershy's shoulders to comfort her. Luna turned to Colgate and Clockwork. "Everyone and everypony's here now. Let's get down to business!"

"Yes. Let's," said Colgate. Everyone and everypony in the room fell silent as they turned their attention to Colgate. "Doctor, I'm assuming that you've seen the message I sent with the rift generator."

"Yes. My companions and I have seen it," the Doctor replied.

"Good." Colgate cleared her throat. "The situation in this world, as you've seen, is not very good. According to our spies, the enemy is close to finishing the final touches on his rift generator."

"Discord Whooves."

"Correct."

"Before we continue, can we at least know who exactly this Discord Whooves is?" Donna asked.

"He's an alternate version of me," the Doctor answered. Silence fell once more. "He's a dark Doctor."

Twilight gasped. "Doctor," she uttered. "Are you saying that-"

"Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying, Ms. Sparkle."

"What are we saying here?" asked the two Spikes in perfect unison.

"How did you know?" Colgate asked.

"Twi told us his name back in Ponyville. At first, everypony thought he was Discord or something like that. However, Twi also mentioned remembering that he was connected to me. That's when I put it all together. That's when I remembered," the Doctor replied.

"Remembered what?" Fluttershy asked.

"A month ago in my Equestria's time, there was an incident in Canterlot. Several Daleks appeared through rifts and went after our Princess Luna. Our Princess Celestia had a near death experience thanks to these Daleks and was rescued by...well...this world's Princess Luna, if my guess is correct."

All eyes turned on Luna. "You're wrong," said the Princess of the Night. "I've never helped any pony version of my sister. There are other universes. It must have been another one."

"You have experience in spiritual training correct?"

Luna shuffled her legs a bit and nodded. "Why does it matter?"

The Doctor was quiet as he put the pieces together. "You're going to need to use it in the future." Luna turned away from the Doctor. The Doctor cleared his throat and continued. "Anyway, it turns out that the Daleks sent through the rift had been sent after this world's Princess Luna but their damaged minds caused them to go after our world's Princess Luna. I learned that the Daleks had been ordered to do so by the Doctor. Our Princess Celestia later told us of her spiritual encounter with the human Princess Luna, who had warned her about an evil Doctor. I've been trying to figure out more about this other Doctor and the rifts ever since." The Doctor then pointed one of his hooves at Clockwork. "And let me guess. He looks exactly like me only his coat's gray, his mane's black, and he has pegasus wings."

Colgate and Clockwork turned to each other and then back to the Doctor. "You've seen him before?" Clockwork asked.

"Not in the flesh," the Doctor replied. "I saw an echo of him of sorts when I entered your mind during your battle with the false Sombra. Do you remember?"

Clockwork's head gave a motion that resembled a somewhat of a mix between a shake and a nod. "Not entirely. It was so long ago for me...and that's a point of my life I've been trying to move away from."

The Doctor gave a friendly smile. "Hopefully Bright Eyes has been a good help with that."

"Speaking of Bright Eyes, where is she?" Derpy asked suddenly.

Colgate's face became grim once more. "We don't know," the unicorn replied.

Derpy's ears dropped. "What do you mean that you don't know?"

"It's a long story," said Clockwork.

"One we can discuss later. Right now, let's focus on the plan!" Luna snapped.

Everyone and everypony fell silent. "Right," said Colgate as she cleared her throat. "Discord Whooves has been working on a massive rift generator since his arrival in this world. As you can figure out, it is the cause of the dimensional rifts you've been running across in your travels."

"But why?" Twilight asked nearly under her breath but loud enough for others to hear. "It doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't, darling?" Rarity asked.

Twilight looked around and realized that all eyes were on her. Her face grew bright red and her ears drooped a bit. "It doesn't make sense. This Discord Whooves is an alternate version of the Doctor, correct? Well, shouldn't he have a TARDIS? I would assume that his TARDIS can travel through dimensions too otherwise how would he have arrived here? Why would he need to create dimensional rifts when he has a TARDIS?"

"She's got a point," said Donna with a snap of her fingers.

"It's true that Discord Whooves does have a TARDIS," Clockwork replied. "Colgate and I saw it when he first entered this world. But we haven't seen it anywhere since."

"Maybe his TARDIS just doesn't work anymore," Derpy guessed with a shrug of her shoulders.

"I don't know," Spike added. "The TARDIS doesn't seem like something that can just stop working."

"Oh it's possible, Spike," said the Doctor. "In the right conditions and under the right circumstances, a TARDIS can indeed simply...well...die."

"That blue box did look pretty damaged when it fell from the sky," said Twi as she crossed her arms. All eyes now focused on her and Twi, like her pony counterpart, blushed. "Sorry...just a random chunk of memory." For a few seconds, her eyes glazed over Flash Sentry, Fluttershy, Spike the human, and Rarity and she noticed that they were giving her fairly depressed looks. She turned her attention back to Colgate, Clockwork, and Luna.

"Okay, so his TARDIS doesn't work. What's his motive to begin with?" Twilight asked. "Why did he come to this world in the first place and where is he trying to go next?"

"We don't know," Colgate replied with a sigh.

"He just showed up and all hell broke loose," Luna explained with a wave of her hand. "Okay, let's just cut to the plan." She pointed at the Doctor. "You have a TARDIS with you, correct?"

"Well, it's not with me right now. It's currently sitting back in what remains of Ponyville's town hall," the Doctor replied.

"Not a problem we can get our team there to collect it. Your TARDIS is our new secret weapon! You can transport a team into the heart of Canterlot, where Discord Whooves resides, and we can take him down from the inside out!"

"And that's it?" Donna asked.

"Well, you know what they say," said Fluttershy. "Easier said than done."

"We've tried many times to infiltrate Canterlot with teleportation spells, our new teleportation dust, direct assault from all sides, and so on. He's placed a lot of security around the city with his Cybermen and Dalek armies and has harnessed some of this world's magic to create protective barriers," Colgate explained. "By this point, the TARDIS might be the only thing that can break through his defenses."

"So this all boils down to a simple infiltration mission," the Doctor deduced. A near childish smile appeared on his face. "Haven't done one of those in a while."

"Well...it's not just an infiltration mission. It's also a rescue mission."

"Who are we rescuing?" Spike asked.

"Let me guess," said Derpy as she scratched her head. "Bright Eyes and Pinkie Pie?"

A deathly silence fell. "No," Luna replied coldly. "We don't even know if Bright Eyes is even in this universe and Pinkie Pie is beyond saving."

"How is she-"

"Let's just drop it. Okay?" Fluttershy asked as her eyes began to tear up. Rarity and Spike the human proceeded to help calm her down.

"So who are we rescuing?" the Doctor asked.

"Matilda and Daring Do," Colgate replied.

The Doctor's ears jerked up. "Matilda?!"

"Daring Do?!" asked Twilight, Derpy, and Spike the dragon in unison.

"Yes," Clockwork answered with a nod. "A few days ago, Matilda and Daring Do arrived in this world with the past versions of Colgate and myself. Our past selves escaped while Matilda and Daring Do were captured by the Cybermen in Canterlot. We're not sure what happened to them after we escaped but we're sure that they're alive somewhere in that city."

"As long as Pinkie Pie hasn't gotten to them," the Doctor heard Luna state harshly under her breath.

"It looks like we get to see Matilda again," Twilight said to the Doctor with an awkward chuckle.

"But...Daring Do?! How?!" Spike asked.

"And what's this about your past selves? I thought you two have been here for year!" said Donna.

"Both parts of our long story," Colgate replied with a chuckle.

Just then, Luna reached into one of her tunic pockets and pulled out what resembled a smartphone. After making a few motions with her fingers, she stored the phone away. "There we go," she said with a satisfied smile. "Your TARDIS will be obtained by some of our soldiers and brought here safely."

The Doctor smiled. "Excellent! Thank you, your majesty!" he said.

"Alright, we all best start preparing ourselves for this mission," said Colgate in a loud, clear, general-like manner. "We have a tyrant to take down, an army to defeat, a machine to destroy, and some friends to save. It's going to be a long and dangerous trip."

"What trip isn't like that in this world?" Flash Sentry asked with a chuckle and a smirk. Twi met eye-to-eye with Flash for a second and blushed again, nervously twirling her fingers in her hair.

"This meeting is finished. Go off and mingle and prepare and all that crap," Luna said as she strutted over to one of the doors and exited the room.

"Man, this Luna makes our Luna look like Pinkie Pie," Spike whispered to Twilight. Twilight giggled in response.

"Doctor," said Colgate as she approached him. "Can I speak with you in private? There's some things I wish to discuss with you. There's also a question I've had for a long time that I dearly hope you can answer."

"Certainly, General," the Doctor replied with a smirk. "Lead the way." Colgate chuckled a bit before leading the Doctor out the room and in the direction of something she had been seeking an answer to for the past year.

Comments

[Crossfiction]

well ok.

[MariusIoannesP]

I should probably apologize on Flash's behalf right now.

She knew that she knew the fair-skinned boy with spiked blue hair...but she just couldn't locate her memories of him.

Twi and the boy started walking down the hallway once more. "Can I at least know your name?" Twi asked.
"Flash. Flash Sentry," he replied.

I knew it! Flash Sentry in the house! This is going to be like Equestria Girls except more awesome!

Twi met eye-to-eye with Flash for a second and blushed again, nervously twirling her fingers in her hair.

I saw that! That was in Equestria Girls.

The Doctor and his escort, a human by the name of Lyra Heartstrings, entered a room the size of an office lounge.

Before she left she turned back to the Doctor one, last time. "Um...nice hooves."

So, human Lyra likes hooves. I still await seeing pony Lyra go nuts over Donna's hands.

"Pinkie Pie is-"
"She's lost, Fluttershy!" Luna snapped. "Deal with it!"
Tears began to form in Fluttershy's eyes and her shoulders started to shake. "But...she's not dead!"
"With the way she is now, she might as well be!"

Did.. Did Human Pinkie get... Upgraded?

"As long as Pinkie Pie hasn't gotten to them," the Doctor heard Luna state harshly under her breath.

So not upgraded. Wait. Did Discord Whooves turn Human Pinkie into some kind of Human Cupcakes Pinkie?

He's placed a lot of security around the city with his Cybermen and Dalek armies…

Discord Whooves has Daleks too! Oh, wait of course he does. That's going to be fun to see. He's like an old school Master. Not surprised it that's where he got the idea.

Ah yes, the return of Human Princess Luna.

He's dead! Who? Everybody! Another reminder of how this is also kind of like Harry Potter.

This is neat. Them meeting alternate universe versions of themselves... Wait a minute! Cybermen walking around everywhere. This is supposed to be like "Rise of the Cyberman" and "Age of Steel"! I see what you did there.

"What are we saying here?" asked the two Spikes in perfect unison.

That's like Mickey and Ricky!

Well, this story is becoming progressively more interesting. All the pieces are finally coming together. Anywho, I eagerly await the next installment. Keep up the good work.

[The Ohvist]

3839053 To talk about that whole "Discord Whooves" business, I think that a more appropriate comparison would be to refer to him as 'The Valeyard' instead of 'The Master'.

[MariusIoannesP]

3839499 A concede that valid point.

[Doctor Perseus]

3843494
A glitch possibly?

[SheogorathTheMad]

I like these story's I have read all of them but I only just got my account so I also want to do a bit of RP in my comments from now on, don't know if that's weird or not so oh and have these for an amazing story line

[DrWhooves007]

"The green stuff you probably remember seeing before blacking out."

What? Did you mean this?

[Rosie and the Doctor]

FLAAAASH!!!!!

Great chapter as always!

[Luna105]

3855102 your right ( note stop underestimating people on the internet )

[Daring Cammie Do]

Twi was feeling really guilty. Ever since she had come face-to-face with the true face of the hooded figure who had arrived to rescue her and the others from the Cybermen, she had been overwhelmed with an incredible amount of guilt and sadness. She knew that she knew the fair-skinned boy with spiked blue hair...but she just couldn't locate her memories of him

NO! I'm fine with you pairing Twilight with the Doctor now, but never pair Flash with Twilight, jot even an alternate version of her!

Great story as always! You never cease to make even the worst chapters enjoyable.

P.S. The only thing that could be worse is if you actually have human Twilight and human Flash get together, which I feel like you will. Still, I can't hate the whole story for just one little bit.

[jlfran06]

Not a supporter o Flash/Twilight. And DEFINITELY not a fan of Docter/Twilight.
DERPYDOCTOR 4 EVAH