Doctor Whooves Episode 3: Aliens Among Us

by Doctor Perseus

The Experiment

Chapter 2: The Experiment

Guest Quarters, Fort Rice, The Forest of Shadows, Eugora, Autumn, 1899 C.E.

The end of the work day came quicker than expected and the sky now burnt with a lovely orange glow. The Doctor had spent the entire afternoon examining the ponies in the infirmary with Twilight by his side. Florence had also kept a close eye on him all day. She was untrusting of him. He could see it in the way she acted around him. But, personally, he thought that she should have been more suspicious of the pegasus, Davis. Like Twilight had said, he certainly was an odd character. Skulking about the fort, talking in a somewhat sadistic tone, and preferring to stay hidden in the darkest parts of the room he was in. He was certainly was one of the creepiest ponies the Doctor had met since his arrival in Equestria, even creepier than Thalia.

The Doctor was laying down in his bed when Twilight entered the room. Her mane was glimmering in the evening sunlight coming through the window and her coat looked nice and polished.

"Finally got around to taking a bath," she said. "It certainly felt nice." The Doctor remained silent and continued to look up at the ceiling. "Are you okay?"

"Don't worry," he replied. "I'm perfectly fine. It's just those ponies in the infirmary. Their strange illness just keeps eating at the back of my mind."

"Yeah. It's been kind of bugging me too. So, have you found out where we are in the world?"

"From what I've heard around the fort, we're not on your planet at all. We're on a planet called Eugora. You know, the physics of your world continue to amaze me by the second. I mean some planets, like the one we're on now, operate the same way the planets in my universe work. A series of planets orbiting a sun. However, in your universe there exist planets, such as your own, in which the sun orbits the planet along with the moon. It just amazes me!"

"Well the sun doesn't orbit the planet on its own. Celestia causes it to do that."

"Yes. I remember being explained the physics of your planet by Sarah during our time in 2002. She told me that your country, Equestria, is basically the head country of your planet and that your rulers, Celestia and Luna, have some form of control over the governments in all of the other nations."

"And that's true. It's been like that since they overthrew Discord."

"Who was this Discord?"

"He was a Draconequus who ruled over our world prior to Celestia and Luna's reign. He ruled the world with absolute chaos. It's a long story."

"Well I do believe we have enough time. You can tell me the rest."

"You know what? I'll make a deal with you, Doctor. You finish your story about the Time Lords and I'll finish my story about Discord. Do we have a deal?"

"I'll have to think about it. All the examining I've done today has given me quite an appetite."

"Now that you mention it, I could also use something to eat."

"Vincent explained to me earlier that everypony eats dinner in the dining hall at around 7:30."

"It's seven o'clock now."

"Then we have a good half hour left."

"That's enough time to finish our stories."

"Okay, Sparkle. I guess you-"

The Doctor stopped. His eyes were now focused on the window. He slowly stood up from his bed and approached the window.

"Doctor?" asked Twilight as she looked outside the window. The window gave them a perfect view of the main plot of open land in the fort. "Do you see something?"

"Do you see that statue out there?" he asked. Twilight looked out the window and could just barely make out the outline of a statue sitting near the edge of the front gate. Twilight tried to see what type of a statue it was but it was too far away.

"I kind of see it. Why does it matter?"

"I can't be certain but that statue looks almost...humanoid."

"Humanoid?"

"Yes. The reason that matters is because I specifically remember you telling me after we first met that there were no humans in your world."

"Yes. I remember saying that."

"To say something's humanoid means to say that it resembles that of a human. Tell me, Twilight. If there are no such things as humans in your world, then how can there be a statue in your world that's humanoid?"

Twilight focused on the statue again and racked her brain.

"I'm sorry, Doctor, but I can't make out the statue completely from here. I'd have to take a closer look."

"Why don't we go and do that right now?"

The Doctor turned away from the window and quickly left the room. Twilight was quick to follow suit.

The Dining Hall, Fort Rice, The Forest of Shadows, Eugora, Autumn, 1899 C.E.

"I thought you were hungry," said Twilight as she took a bite out of an apple. The dining hall was packed and the Doctor and Twilight were lucky enough to find a table that was able to seat them and only them. The Doctor was taking small bites out of a salad but had an expression of sickness on his face. "Please tell me that you're not getting sick now!"

"What? Oh. Don't worry. I'm fine," he replied as he took another small bite of salad.

"Are you still thinking about those patients?"

"No. I'm thinking of that statue we saw earlier. It just disappeared when we went outside to look for it."

"Maybe somepony moved it."

"We practically raced out of that building. I find it hard to believe that, within that short period of time, somepony walked outside, grabbed that statue, and dragged it inside before we arrived outside ourselves."

"Then maybe there never was a statue. Maybe our eyes were playing tricks on us."

"My eyes next to never play tricks on me. There's one conclusion I can draw from this...but I really hope that it's wrong."

"What is it?"

The Doctor was about to respond when a large male alicorn walked up to the table. He had a black coat, a red mane, a pair of sharp green eyes, a cutie mark that resembled that of a curved sword, and a green soldier's uniform.

"Doctor Smith, I presume?" said the alicorn.

"Yes. Who, may I ask, are you?" asked the Doctor.

"Colonel James. The head of Fort Rice."

"Ah! It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Colonel."

The two ponies shook hands and chuckled professionally.

"Do you mind if I join you and your...assistant?"

"Not at all. Judith doesn't mind."

"He's right," said Twilight. "I don't."

"Great!" said the Colonel. He then proceeded to pull up a chair and sit down.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" asked the Doctor.

"I already ate. The reason I'm here is because I want you to oversee an experiment that we're going to perform tonight after dinner."

"Oh?"

"There's not going to be a huge crowd. Only a select few individuals working here at the fort, including myself."

"So what is this experiment?"

"We're going to attempt to find a cure for the illness that has spread throughout this fort."

"You seemed determined to find a cure."

"Aren't you?"

"Of course. But, at the moment, I'm mostly curious as to finding out the source of the illness. Do you know the details?"

"Yes. I know them well."

"Then you have to understand my curiosity in the matter."

"Yes. I understand it completely."

"Can I bring Judith along with me?"

"She's not a big mouth, is she?"

"No," said Twilight. "I'm not."

"You can trust her, Colonel. I would trust Ms. Springs with my life," said the Doctor. Twilight blushed a bit and hid her face slightly.

"Okay," said the Colonel. "She can come too."

"So, Colonel. What exactly is the history of this fort?"

"Huh?"

"This history. I like to learn about history as much as possible. It's sort of a...secondary hobby of mine."

"I guess they don't teach much about this fort back on Gaia."

"We never hear much about it."

"Okay then. This fort was founded in 1823 by my grandfather, Colonel James Rice I. He was 30 years old at the time. It was the first official settlement on this planet and soon several towns and forts began cropping up across the planet. He was the head of the fort until he passed the job on to my father in 1852. My grandfather died in 1881 and my dad passed the job on to me about 20 years ago."

"So running this fort is sort of the family business."

"Exactly. I see this fort being led proudly by my descendants for decades, if not centuries, to come."

"Well it's always best to have optimistic expectations."

"That's true."

As the Doctor and the Colonel continued their talk about history, Twilight turned around and noticed something. There he was. The pegasus named Davis. He was sitting across the room at an empty table and...he was looking at her. Twilight wanted to look away but she couldn't. His dark gaze seemed to hold her in a telepathic trance. His eyes eventually turned towards the plate of food on his plate and he proceeded to eat said food. Twilight turned away and looked back at the Doctor. He looked happy but she could tell that he was still thinking of those patients. Well, those patients and that statue.

Laboratory Building, Fort Rice, The Forest of Shadows, Eugora, Autumn, 1899 C.E.

The air was tense as the selected spectators filed into the room. Those in charge of the experiment were Colonel James and Logan Reed, the head scientist at Fort Rice who was an earth pony. Those chosen to watch the experiment were the Doctor, Twilight, Florence, Vincent, Davis, and Everglade, the Colonel's second in command. There were also three extra spectators. Cornflower was brought there by Florence, Roxanne Fox was brought there by Davis, and Nimble Claws, a griffon, was brought there by Vincent. There was also a patient in the room. She was a unicorn pony named Jean who was the first pony at the facility to fall under the influence of the illness. She was laying down on a hospital bed that was situated underneath a cloaked device.

"Vincent," said the Colonel. "Close and lock the door."

Vincent nodded and did what he was told. The Doctor and Twilight eyed the cloaked device with great curiosity.

"Do you believe that they've found a cure?" asked Twilight.

"I hope so...but I can't lie about the fact that this whole experiment is giving me a funny feeling," replied the Doctor. The Colonel and Dr. Reed walked to the front of the room and stood next to the cloaked device.

"I am very glad to see all of you here!" said an excited Dr. Reed. "Tonight we shall finally rid our beloved fort of this terrible ailment. Are you ready, Jean?"

"Ready," Jean replied. The Colonel removed the cover from the device to reveal a large circular device that resembled a human MRI machine. The device had a circular reflective plate at the bottom that hung over Jean. The Doctor was getting extremely curious now. Twilight looked over towards Davis and saw that the dark pegasus was looking somewhat frightened. She shook her head and turned away. Florence eyed the machine with awe but also glanced at the Doctor and Twilight for a second. She had seen them somewhere before. She knew that she had. She then drew her attention back to Dr. Reed.

"We have decided to call the device...the Cure. I know it's pretty generic but it's fitting since the ailment itself has no official name either."

"Dr. Reed, are you sure it's safe to test this on a pony yet?" asked Roxanne.

"I certainly believe so. The other scientists and I have spent a lot of time developing and analyzing the Cure. Jean is aware of the possible risks and has agreed to help us out with this experiment willingly."

"Believe me, Roxanne," said Everglade. "I was with the Colonel and Dr. Reed during the whole process. The Cure should work without fail."

"Thank you, Everglade," said the Colonel.

"Okay. Let's begin!" said Dr. Reed. He then proceeded to flip the switch on the machine. Jean closed her eyes and relaxed. Twilight turned over towards Davis to see that he was now extremely jittery.

"Are you alright, Davis?" Florence asked as she turned towards her friend.

"Don't worry...I'm fine," he stuttered. Florence shook her head and turned back towards the Cure. The device was shaking slightly now and several lights were flashing around it. The silver plate on the bottom of the device began to vibrate and emit a sonic sound. Jean's body began to vibrate and she slowly levitated a foot off of the bed. The spectators gave gasps of amazement as the Cure did its work.

"Amazing. I can feel the sonic waves from here!" said an amused Doctor. Twilight shook a bit as each sonic wave hit her body. She turned back towards Davis to see that he was shaking violently now.

"Davis?" asked Florence. "Davis? Davis?! Dr. Reed! I think something's wrong!"

Everypony turned towards the pegasus as he began to vibrate rapidly and uncontrollably. The Colonel ran towards Davis and grabbed a hold of him.

"Davis?! Davis?! Answer me!" snapped the Colonel.

"Oh my Celestia! He's having a seizure!" cried Roxanne. Davis looked at the Cure, which was still emitting its sonic waves, and then looked back at the Colonel. His eyes were bright red and cuts were forming around his neck.

"Damn that machine!" he said in a wheezily voice that in no way resembled his normal voice. "Damn you all! They are coming! They are coming and you can't stop them!"

"What the hay are you blabbering about?!" asked the Colonel. The Doctor grabbed Twilight and pulled her back.

"Doctor! What's happening to him?!" asked a frightened Twilight.

"Stay away from him!" ordered the Doctor. Then...Davis's head flew off of his body. A spray of blood splattered over the Colonel and the others standing around him. Cornflower and Roxanne screamed in horror as the head landed on the floor nearby. Everypony watched as a creature resembling a hybrid of a giant tarantula and a furry crab jumped out of the hole in Davis's neck. The creature laughed horribly as it jumped through the air and attacked the Cure. Dr. Reed attempted to stop the creature but it was too late. The creature had smashed his way into the system and was now ripping wires and circuits apart. The Cure instantly stopped and Jean fell back onto the bed. Dr. Reed grabbed the creature and threw it up in the air. It smashed into a light and the lights in the room went out. Everypony screamed in horror until the lights came back on.

It was gone. The creature had disappeared into thin air and Jean was now awake from her healing slumber.

"I...I think it worked!" she exclaimed. "I'm cured! I'm...OH MY CELESTIA!"

Everypony's attention was now back on the mutilated corpse of Davis. The Colonel dropped the body onto the floor and a pool of blood began forming around the body.

"Davis!" cried Florence as she fell, crying, into Vincent's arms.

"We need to get help!" said Nimble. He turned to run out the door.

"DON'T OPEN THAT DOOR!" yelled the Doctor. Everypony was now looking at the Doctor. Twilight was surprised at the Doctor's new expression. It was a mix of fear, anger, and curiosity. "Don't you dare open that door!"

"And why not, Doctor Smith?!" snapped Florence. The Doctor ran to the door and stepped in front of it.

"Because the creature is still in here."

"What?! You mean the creature that just killed Davis?!" asked Roxanne.

"I wouldn't say that it just killed Davis. Oh no. My guess is that Mr. Davis has been dead for a while now. At least 24 hours."

"What?!"

"Tell me, did any of you notice any odd behaviors with Davis within the past 24 hours?"

"He...he did seem much more darker and...jittery than usual," replied Vincent.

"He hit his head last night during the storm. I heard him scream as if something had attacked him...though he told me that he just tripped and fell," said Florence.

"He was lying. Davis was attacked by something last night. That creature. Whatever it is...it appears to have the ability to kill a pony quickly and quietly, burrow inside without leaving any marks, take over the body, and access the memories of its dead host so it has no problem in pretending to be the host."

"What are you saying, Doctor Smith?!" asked the Colonel.

"The Cure emitted a series of strong sonic waves that, apparently, forced the creature out of Davis's corpse. The creature is supposedly no longer in this room since we no longer see it. But the doors and windows were locked tight so there's no way the creature could have escaped. This means...that one of us is dead and is now being controlled by the creature."

Everypony gasped and began looking at each other.

"Are...are you saying that...any of us could be the creature?!" asked Cornflower.

"Yes. You, the Colonel, my assistant, and even I could be the creature."

"So what do we do?" asked Vincent.

"We stay in this room until we are able to weed the puppeteer out of its puppet."

Everypony slowly backed away from each other, their eyes refusing to look away from their possible enemies.

Comments

[Spirit Shift]

kkk 3 things
- you said they shook hands but u must mean hooves
-this story is aweeessssooome
- EWWWWWWWWW giant spider

[MariusIoannesP]

Second time I'm reading this story, and I just realized Colonel James is an alicorn. A lot of alicorns in the future.

This is the first time one of these stories got really dark. Decapitated pony!

[damnaion]

hummmm

[GoldenFlower]

Twilight's attack mode for spider in 3.. 2.. 1... ( Read episode 2! )

[Daring Cammie Do]

"Yes. You, the Colonel, my assistant, and even I could be the creature."
"So what do we do?" asked Vincent.
"We stay in this room until we are able to weed the puppeteer out of its puppet."
Everypony slowly backed away from each other, their eyes refusing to look away from their possible enemies.

*squee*