Equestria's Tales

by DouglasTrotter

The Button

"I must say, that was quite the ordeal. It's good to be back in one's abode." The Doctor said. His scarf removed and tossed into the nearby closet, he shut the front door, and then the closet door. Curious eyes focused on the container that once held the flameless fireworks, "Love, such an unusual element. I guess I'm the same as every pony, getting caught up in the frivolity of it all. This is what I get for not having my notepad on hoof," the stallion's hoof grazed the container before brushing against his chin, "and it leaves me wondering why an 'emotion' would act as the catalyzing agent. I wonder if the presence of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza had an unintended consequence of augmenting the catalyst, perhaps catalyzing the catalyst. I wonder... no, no, that won't work."

The stallion paced back and forth around the container. Several lights blinked on and off on the various contraptions around the room. In the corner, the plasma ball emitted a soft light while the contained bolts of lightning glided across the inside surface.

"What was I doing now? Ahh yes, the hypothesis of -- now then, what's this?" The Doctor said. He stepped closer towards a saddlebag. "Must belong to one of the Apple Family that owns the agricultural area near Ponyville. What was her name again? Apple jam? No no no... ahh yes, Applejack. That's it. I better place this near the door and return it to her."

Light pierced the bag's darkness. The stallion's hoof reached closer, undoing the saddlebag's clasp. Three crystals, embedded into the solid rock, glistened and reflected off The Doctor's eyes.

"Doctor?" A voice called while the door to the laboratory opened, "Doctor, are you there? I could use some help?"

"..." The stallion's eyes remained firmly fixated on the crystals. He shook his head as a gentle hoof pressed against his withers, "Hmm, o sorry. I was in a bit of daze. This is such a fascinating object. I've never seen this type of formation in a rock."

"Ooo, pretty." The mare said in a bubbly tone. Her hoof neared the strange rock. Her happy smile degraded into a frown with the rock being pulled away.

"Upon first examination, it appears to be a meteorite. I must get to the bottom of this peculiarity." The Doctor squinted at the object then placed it in a device. He looked at the mare who rubbed her hoof against the cold stone floor. His soft hoof pressed against the mare's side, the stallion giving the pony a kind smile. "I will need some assistance in my research. Please, press that button when I give you the word."

Derpy stood at attention, saluted, and stood near a lever. The Doctor lowered his hoof. The mare pulled the lever on command.

Four concentric rings descended from the ceiling. Eight spheres on each ring hummed with energy. Small bolts of lightning protruded from the spheres. The white bolts arced from their source towards the rock. Precious seconds ticked by. The stallion stared at the rock, and then faced the contraption in front of him.

Several alphanumerical characters rolled across the screen. A loud "click" resonated in the room. The Doctor's hoof reached for a dial and turned it. Behind a sliver of glass, a black arrow slid from green to yellow to orange to red.

"What happened to the lights?" Derpy said, the lights going out after a sudden, noisy pop.

"Setbacks. Always setbacks. I must requisition some stronger inverters and fuses, and, to top it all off, I must re-wire this infernal building. I can never get the voltage I need out of this rudimentary device." The Doctor said.

"The machine was rude to you?" Derpy said.

The stallion raised his hoof, opened his mouth, and then closed his mouth and lowered his hoof. "You needn't worry my dear. The machine is just finicky. Temperamental? Umm... well, let's just say it doesn't work right at times. Anyways. Remain at your position. I will need your assistance when the power is back."

"Sure, Doctor." Derpy said with a grin. Her eyes followed the stallion as he disappeared behind a strange colored door. She scratched her ear. Her eyes glanced towards the rock, now emitting a soft glow. "Pretty, heh heh. I wonder if you stole the power."

Small amounts of light peaked into the laboratory from the front door's threshold. The mare's curious eyes drifted around the dark room. She shook her head. Her eyes focused.

"Pretty button; it looks like a red cherry." She said, a light calling to her with each step she took towards it.

The lights flickered and came back on. The Doctor dusted off his mane. His eyes glanced at the rock then around the room.

"No! Don't Press that!" The Doctor said, a few minutes too late. Several sirens blared. Spheres popped out of the walls, red lights soon flashing alongside the blaring sirens. In a quivered voice, overshadowed by the boisterous noise, the Doctor said, "No..."

"Particle field disrupted. Magnetic resonance chamber failing. Energy Output exceeding designed parameters...."

"That's one creepy voice," Derpy said.

"Great whickering stallions! The energy field for the generator has gone down." The Doctor said.

The room shook. Vials and Flasks jostled around in a cupboard near the electric sphere; the sphere's once peaceful, soft glow became a brilliant beacon of light that brightened the laboratory. Sirens continued the blare. Red Lights flashed.

With a quick pull of a nearby leaver, the Doctor soon pushed another button. His hooves shook. A slit formed in the middle of the floor. Two semi-circular panels rotated on their hinges. The stallion's lower lip quivered as the device ascended then stopped.

Two calm eyes greeted the stallion. He looked at Derpy, shook his head, and lowered his brow, "We've got to contain the energy. The great stellated dodecahedron containment device is cracking. There may only be mere seconds before it collapses and envelops this building -- no, that's the best case scenario. We'll be lucky if it doesn't vaporize Ponyville and a third of Equestria in a fireball."

"Doctor?" Derpy said.

"..." The stallion remained silent.

"Can't you fix it?" She said.

"No. There isn't time." He said.

Derpy pointed a calm hoof at the rock with the three crystals, "Hey. It stole the power. Can't it steal the power from your device, Doctor?"

"Brilliant! No wonder I had to replace the fuses." The Doctor said. The building's violent shaking increased. Three wires were thrown over the cylindrical device, soon tied to the three points on the crystal.

"Stupid crystal. You stole the building's energy. Steal this one and save us." Derpy said. She poked the crystal several times, to no avail. "O... wait. Silly me. There's one wire --"

Derpy placed the end wire on the ground onto the cylindrical device. The building went dark. A slow hum came from the device in the center of the room before it went silent. Several hard knocks came from the front door.

"What in the hay is going on? Ya'll in here are louder than a cricket symphony durin the dead, silent heat of summer." A voice said. The mare adjusted her hat and entered the dark structure. "There's my bag. I knew I left it here. Why is that stone in one of your contraptions?"

"Ahh, yes. Well. I sort of... temporarily 'procured' the meteorite for scientific research." The stallion said.

"Ya stole it, didn't ya." Applejack said.

"The Doctor doesn't steal things. He borrows them." Derpy said.

Lights flickered. Now illuminated, the room revealed several items strewn about the area. Papers lay in the corner with scorch marks across the ceiling. The strange device rescinded into its hole. An audible, mechanical-esk voice came over a speaker that sounded an "all clear" boisterous alert to the residents in Ponyville.

"Please don't tell the princesses about this incident. They'll revoke my license." The Doctor said.

"Uh huh?" Applejack said with a raised eyebrow, soon lowering it. She sighed, looked at the two ponies, and tapped a hoof against the cold stone floor. "Well, to be perfectly honest, I would have asked ya to take a look at it if Twilight was busy. I hope ya learned your lesson about tampering with things and 'borrowing' before askin' about it."

"Indeed so, miss Applejack. I learned, well more like being reminded for the tenth time, that science is quite the harsh mistress. She's beautiful and kind, but she's also unforgiving if pushed too far too fast." The Doctor said. He looked at Applejack and apologized. "How can I make it up to you?"

"You can take me on a date." Derpy said with a raised hoof and a smile.

"Huh?" The stallion said.

"Heh, Rainbow's been itchin to get these two together on a date." Applejack said to herself. She smirked at the stallion and tipped her hat. "Eyup. You can take this here young mare on a nice date. No fancy speak. Just a nice date between the two of you."

"Please, be reasonable. There's --" the stallion stepped back with both mares leering at him, "-- very well. A date it is then. Perhaps at the Chateau Fork in Canterlot? There's a colleague of mine who owes me a favor there."

"NO! Science!" Derpy said with a frustrated expression.

"No science, I promise. I swear on my doctorate from Canterlot College. Also, I give you my most sincere promise as a gentle colt to be on my best behavior." The Doctor said. His eyes glanced towards the closet, "Now I really will need that suit tailored."

Derpy gave the stallion a swift, gentle peck on the cheek, and then flew off. The Doctor chuckled and moved towards the door, but found himself stopped by Applejack.

"I agreed to your proposal to take her out on a date." The stallion said. He raised an eyebrow at Applejack who pointed at the rock still in the device. "Ahh yes... heh, the 'stone.' Here you go, miss Applejack."

"Just curious here. Did you find anything 'interesting' about it?" Applejack said.

"Well, it's managed to absorb over 1.21 billion watts of power, and it has an affinity for energy. Also, there seem to be three symbols embedded into the crystal. It's quite unfortunate to call myself a researcher and say those are my results, but that's all I've been able to learn." The stallion said. He looked over a piece of paper near the machine's output. "Here. Take this to Princess Twilight Sparkle. Maybe she can make use of this information. Magical Sciences are not my forte, and I will not repeat the same mistake again."

The stallion waved goodbye to Applejack as she departed. He glanced at the laboratory, sighed, and pulled a broom out of the closet. The door to the laboratory opened once more with Derpy coming back inside.

"Want to grab a bite of lunch instead of going to a fancy place?" Derpy said.

"That would be most agreeable." The Doctor said with a smile. He opened the door to his closet, grabbed his scarf, wrapped it around his neck, and closed the closet door. He exited the laboratory with Derpy at his side. "Allon-sy, my dear."

Author's Note:

Unfortunately, my writing may have suffered a bit due to some inactivity and RL circumstances. If there are any problems, give me a heads up and I'll correct them. I wasn't sure if I should say The Doctor, Dr. Whooves, or Dr. Hooves. I decided to go with "The Doctor" since it had a nicer ring to it when I was writing the story.

Comments

[Fluttercheer]

Quite good. The only real critique I have about it is that the story is so short.
With the idea you had, you could have written it much longer, perhaps 7,000 - 10,000 words long.
And I didn't understand why the saddle bag of Applejack was in the Doctor's lab. How did it come there?
Aside from that, it was a good read. Stories with The Doctor and Derpy are great! :D

[DouglasTrotter]

6126816

The original idea I had was the current story's event occurring, and then a final vibration happens. Derpy accidentally falls backwards onto a button that pops up an antennae on top of the building. The googly eyed mail mare appears alright, however, things are more troubling as Derpy says in a deep voice, "I'm Discord."

At that point, it's an all Tartarus breaks loose moment with the Doctor trying to put Derpy back into her body with Discord back into his body. Sadly, I didn't have the time to develop the story to a point I liked with that idea, so I decided to end it a bit short.