Doctor Whooves Episode 7: The Good, the Bad, and the Derpy

by Doctor Perseus

The Reunion of the Friends

Chapter 5: The Reunion of the Friends

Riverside, Everfree Forest, Equestria, Gaia, Autumn, 1002 C.E.

Opal was the first to awaken. Her head ached and her body was drenched from head to hoof. She painfully pulled herself up and looked to see the Doctor and Caroze lying unconscious a few feet away. They were on the side of the river though they were in a completely different part of the forest. The grass underneath her hooves was soft and sturdy. Her stomach growled with hunger and it wasn't until now that Opal realized just how long it had been since she had last had anything to eat.

"I see that you're awake now!" announced a slightly loud voice. Opal looked up to find herself staring straight into the large eyes of a magnificent and frightening sea serpent. Opal's body froze, her heart skipped a beat, and she nearly fainted from the shock of seeing the large creature situated before her. It had a long, scaly, purple body and two long arms with gigantic hands at the end of each arm. A mound of orange hair sat on top of the serpent's head and a large mustache extended from the serpent's upper lip. He had a long, slimy, pink tongue and endless rows of shiny, white teeth in his mouth. Opal, however, suddenly found herself feeling calm around the creature. She had heard many tales of giant serpents from her school days and had come across many wondrous and terrifying creatures during her travels with the Doctor but she had never met a sea serpent like this before. Something about him just made her feel comfortable and safe. He had a sincere smile on his face and his eyes gave out signals of honest care rather than horrifying hunger. Half of his body was submerged in the river, which was still full of wild currents and ferocious rapids. "That was a nasty thing you and your friends went through! If I hadn't found you three, Celestia knows what would have happened to you!"

Opal examined the serpent, studied his words carefully, and quickly put the pieces together. She gave a tiny smile and asked, "Did...are you the one who...saved me and my friends?"

"Guilty as charged!"

The serpent let out a friendly laugh that made Opal chuckle a little bit. Once the laughter had stopped, she looked at the serpent and asked, "Why?"

"Because you were in trouble. I couldn't just sit back and watch two ponies and a zebra get bashed to death by this silly, little river."

"Thank you."

"It was no problem. You should be more careful, though. This river isn't really a safe thing to jump into. You're lucky I was the one who found you. I any of the others had found you...let's just say that things would have turned out differently."

"Is the river normally like this?"

"No. It usually only gets like this when there's a dangerous commotion in these woods. The last time the river was like this, it was because that nasty Nightmare Moon caused me quite a bit a grief and I let my emotional side take the best of me."

"What happened?"

"She ruined my perfect mustache!"

"Oh...well...I guess that is something to complain about."

"Of course! I'm sort of fuzzy about why the river's acting like this now. I feel that some dark magic is at work."

"And I believe I know who's behind it."

The Doctor slowly awakened from his slumber and proceeded to stumble towards Opal in an exhausted daze.

"Opal? Are...are you okay?" he asked as he rubbed his temple slowly.

"A little wet but I'm mostly okay, thanks to him," Opal replied. The Doctor turned towards the serpent and nearly jumped out of his skin. His momentary shock was replaced by instant amazement and curiosity.

"Giant serpents! This world never seizes to amaze me! Anthropomorphic equines, dragons, snow spirits, wooden wolves, and now purple water serpents. Brilliant! Just brilliant!"

"Should I take that as a compliment?" asked the confused serpent.

"You should. Just consider it a Doctor compliment," Opal replied with a smirk. The Doctor eyed Opal with a false look of annoyance before chuckling in return. He then turned back to Caroze to see that the zebra was also slowly waking up. "Thank you for saving us!"

"It was no problem! Question, though. Why did you three jump into the river?"

"Timberwolves. Enchanted timberwolves."

"That makes sense. The animals in this forest have been acting pretty strangely recently. I suggest that you all leave while you still can."

"We can't. We have some friends to find and a villain to stop," said the Doctor.

"Is this villain of yours the same one who churned up this river?"

"I have no doubts that she's behind this."

"Then you have my blessings, that is if serpents like myself have the ability to hand out blessings."

"Even if you don't then it's the thought that counts," said Opal.

"Of course. Well I best be on my way. Take care now!"

The Doctor, Opal, and Caroze waved as the serpent disappeared below the violent water.

"Now what?" Opal asked.

"We continue to search for my friends," said the Doctor. "The only problem is that I have no idea where to go from here."

"That looks promising," said Caroze as he pointed off into the trees. The Doctor and Opal looked to see a series of stone columns just barely managing to stretch beyond the tops of the trees.

"Do you think your friends are there?" Opal asked.

"I have a feeling that they are," said the Doctor as he began making his way towards the stone ruins.

Forest Depths, Everfree Forest, Equestria, Gaia, Autumn, 1002 C.E.

Derpy cradled the Sonic Screwdriver of the present Doctor in one of her hooves as she walked. She wanted to keep it safe and secure. The group had been walking in silence for a long time now. The sky was beginning to grow lighter and the stars were beginning to disappear.

"Dawn's approaching," said Applejack.

"For some reason, I'm not looking forward to what's going to happen when the sun rises," said Fluttershy.

"I'm with you on that one, Fluttershy," Spike admitted.

"Come on you sillies! Let's try to be more optimistic!" cheered Pinkie Pie with a somewhat forced smile.

"I'm with you on that one, Pinkie Pie," said Derpy. Pinkie Pie skipped towards Derpy and gave her a quick hug. The pink pony then returned to walking normally.

"What is that?!" asked Rarity as she came to a halt. The New Doctor looked to see a massive blast of green and purple energy shooting up into the sky.

"Hurry! We don't have much time!" he said as he took off. The others followed in hot pursuit.

Castle of the Regal Sisters, Everfree Forest, Equestria, Gaia, Autumn, 1002 C.E.

Thalia's anti-magic enchantments were wearing down on Twilight like a ton of bricks. Being magically constrained was definitely not comfortable to her. It constantly felt like she was wearing a tight armor suit resembling that of the Canterlot guards. Rainbow Dash had grown tired of fighting the ropes though she occasionally tried to loosen them. But it was pointless. Even if they had managed to break free from the ropes, the dolls were there to stop them from escaping. Those giant dolls sure gave Twilight goosebumps. She didn't like them one bit. They weren't as creepy as the dead animals that Thalia had controlled, or would control, in 2002 but they were close. Twilight found herself to be incredibly tired. She hadn't slept at all since her capture and she could feel her eyes growing heavy.

"We've got to stay awake!" Rainbow hissed as she could feel Twilight's body slowly relaxing with every passing second.

"I'm just...so tired," Twilight groaned as her eyes closed shut. That's when a loud creak reverberated throughout the room. Twilight and Rainbow looked expecting to see Thalia walking in, but what they saw made their faces beam with delight.

The Doctor walked into the room to see Twilight and Rainbow Dash tied up in a corner. Opal and Caroze followed close behind him.

"Doctor!" Twilight sighed as the chestnut stallion approached.

"Told you that I'd find you!" the Doctor said happily as he used Opal's Sonic Screwdriver to cut through the ropes. Rainbow Dash instantly flew up into the air, flexing her wings with success.

"I'm free! I'm free! It's time to settle the score with Thalia!" she exclaimed. The pegasus then descended to the ground and stood next to Twilight. "Thank you, Doctor!"

Opal smiled happily as she approached Twilight.

"Hello, Twilight Sparkle. It's been many years," she said. Twilight looked at Opal closely before the memory came back to her.

"It's you! The mare that helped out Shining Armor back in 987!" Twilight exclaimed.

"I'm happy that you remember me."

"Wait. How do you two know each other?" Rainbow asked.

"It's a long story," Twilight replied.

"One we should probably save for another time," Opal added. Caroze then stepped forward.

"I'm Caroze, Zecora's older brother. My sister has told me much about you," said the zebra.

"You're Zecora's brother?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Yes."

"Then how come you don't speak in rhymes?"

"It appears that Zecora hasn't mentioned the details to you. You see, where Zecora and I come from, speaking in rhymes is a trait that is only seen in the most intelligent of zebras. When a zebra is born speaking in rhymes, then you know they're going to be great thinkers and wise creatures."

"Huh. I just assumed that everypony from your land talked like that," said Twilight.

"It's best not to assume things too quickly, Twilight Sparkle."

"I hate to break up this conversation but I think it'd be best if we began making our way back to Ponyville!" said the Doctor.

"Of course! We need to help the others!" said Rainbow Dash.

"Yes, and I feel that something extremely bad is going to happen once dawn comes around."

Everypony turned towards the sky to see that the black sky had changed into a dark blue. Dawn was not that far away.

"We better get moving then," said Opal.

"Wait! We need to free the others!" said Twilight.

"Others?" asked Caroze.

"The dolls have captured some ponies from town, as well as Zecora. We need to set them free!"

"Our best hope at saving them is defeating Thalia, Twilight. I'm certain that she's at Ponyville right now preparing to start the final phase in her plan," the Doctor argued.

"But-"

"Do you trust me, Twilight?"

"Of course!"

"Then do you believe me when I say that all of the ponies captured are going to be saved?"

"I...yes. I believe you."

"Then let's go!"

"I think that's going to be a little difficult now," Opal croaked. The Doctor and Twilight turned around to see that they were now surrounded by a mob of living dolls. The dolls were simply standing there, glaring at them with their button eyes. The dolls remained still and so did they.

"Anypony got any ideas?" Caroze asked.

"We have to fight them!" Rainbow Dash replied.

"I admire your spunk, Rainbow Dash, but I don't think we'll be able to take out all of them," said Opal.

"Any ideas, Doctor?" Twilight whispered. The Doctor looked from the dolls, to Twilight, and then to Opal. Then it clicked.

He presented Opal's Screwdriver to Twilight and whispered, "Do you remember how we defeated Chrysalis back in 987?"

"How could I forget?"

"Second time's a charm, right?"

Twilight looked at the Screwdriver but then gave a defeated sigh.

"I can't. Thalia's placed a series of magic-suppressing enchantments around the ruins. I can't use my magic."

"I wonder if this Screwdriver can take those enchantments out."

The Doctor aimed the Screwdriver towards the ceiling and blindly activated it. There was a quick flash of light and a series of golden sparks began appearing out of thin air. The sparks fell to the ground and Twilight instantly felt the magical, iron curtain lift off her. The dolls wailed and began advancing towards the group.

"Want to try it now?" the Doctor asked.

"Definitely!" Twilight responded with a brave smile on her face. Her horn began to glow and a shimmer of power began emanated from her body. The Doctor aimed the Screwdriver at the advancing dolls and Twilight followed suit. They both proceeded to fire.

Outside the Castle of the Regal Sisters, Everfree Forest, Equestria, Gaia, Autumn, 1002 C.E.

The New Doctor frantically led the group towards the ruins as sparks of green and purple continued to fall from the sky. The ruins glimmered like diamonds in the sparkling air and Derpy couldn't help but be amazed by the sight. Pinkie Pie's head was going ninety-to-nothing as she tried to examined each spark with her large, round eyes. Applejack kicked the front doors in and the group charged into the ancient throne room. What they saw was not what they were expecting.

The Doctor, Twilight, Opal, Rainbow Dash, and Caroze were now standing in the center of what could only be described as a doll massacre. Some of the dolls had been vaporized while others were torn apart by the magical blast. The Doctor and Twilight were slightly weakened by the move but were already recovering. They then turned to face the new arrivals: that being Derpy, the New Doctor, Spike, and the others.

"Doctor!" cried Derpy as she flew towards them. She was followed by the others.

"Twilight!" cried Spike.

"Rainbow!" cried Applejack. Twilight raced forward and hugged Spike. Derpy crashed into Doctor while simultaneously giving him a bone-crushing hug. Rainbow hugged Applejack and received a massive hug from Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy went on to hug Rainbow Dash and Rarity joined Spike in hugging Twilight. The New Doctor simply stood there, smiling at the reunion of the friends.

"Derpy! You're...crushing...my...spine!" choked the Doctor. Derpy blushed a bit as she pulled away from the chestnut stallion.

"Here's your Sonic Screwdriver, Doctor," said Derpy as she handed the blue-tipped Screwdriver to him. The Doctor grabbed the Screwdriver and smiled.

"Thank you, Derpy."

The Doctor then turned to Opal and handed the green-tipped Screwdriver to her. He smiled as he said, "I think it's time I returned this to you."

Opal took the Screwdriver and then turned to Derpy.

"Oh my Celestia!" she breathed. The Doctor and Derpy turned to face Opal. "It's you! You're Derpy Hooves!"

"That's me!" Derpy exclaimed. Opal approached Derpy and looked straight into her inverted eyes. "Is there something wrong?"

The Doctor was confused. Opal was looking at Derpy oddly and there appeared to be a hint of sadness in her glare. Opal stepped back and smiled sadly as she looked at the Doctor and Derpy standing next to each other.

"You two...really are perfect together," she sighed. The Doctor and Derpy turned to each other, both equally confused, and then turned back to face Opal.

"What's wrong, Opal?" asked the Doctor. Opal was about to say something when she felt a hoof fall onto her shoulder.

"Remember, Opal. Spoilers," said the New Doctor. Opal looked back at the New Doctor with a look of confusion on her face.

"Do...do I know you?" she asked. The New Doctor nodded and then beckoned Derpy to explain. Derpy took one of the Doctor's hooves and brought him over to the New Doctor.

"Doctor...I don't know how to say this...but this unicorn...is you from the future," Derpy explained. The Doctor looked at his future self as a smile appeared on his face. The smile on the New Doctor's face grew as he nodded.

"Brilliant!" exclaimed the two Doctors. Both Derpy and Opal giggled at the sight. Twilight, Spike, and the others turned to face them.

"Wait. So this unicorn is a future Doctor?" Twilight asked.

"Basically, Twilight Sparkle," replied the New Doctor as he looked at all of the companions surrounding him. He then turned towards Opal and said, "Opal. Dear, sweet Opal. Thank you for following the directions I gave you when you last saw me."

The Doctor noticed that his future self was looking at Opal in almost the same way Opal had been looking at Derpy.

"Is something wrong...future Doctor?" Opal asked. The New Doctor simply shook his head and turned away.

"I think it'd be best if we did all of our catching up later," the New Doctor suggested. "Thalia's going to make her final move at dawn."

Everypony, all at once, turned to the sky to see ribbons of orange, red, and yellow expanding across the sky. Clouds were beginning to appear and birds began chirping off in the distance.

"I think it's time we headed back to Ponyville," Twilight said with a nervous tone. Everypony nodded in agreement.

Comments

[MariusIoannesP]

Opal was looking at Derpy oddly and there appeared to be a hint of sadness in her glare. Opal stepped back and smiled sadly as she looked at the Doctor and Derpy standing next to each other.

Why does make me think of the moment when River Song realized who Donna Noble was?

The Doctor noticed that his future self was looking at Opal in almost the same way Opal had been looking at Derpy.

Why does this make me think the Doctor gave Opal a sonic screwdriver for the same reason he gave River Song one?

[Spirit Shift]

"I'm Caroze, Zecora's older brother. My sister has told me much about you," said the zebra.

I knew Caroze was an anagram