The Doctor Whooves Chronicles Episode 3: The Monster in the Mirror

by Doctor Perseus

Splitting Up

Chapter 4: Splitting Up

Gaia, 1002 C.E.

"His weakness?!" asked Derpy. Paulie nodded.

"Yes," Paulie replied before letting out a weak cough. The Doctor looked at the dying alien monkey before him. He desperately wished that there was something he could do. Almost as if on cue, Derpy turned to look up at the Doctor.

"There has to be something we can do!" Derpy looked back at Paulie. "Is there a cure?"

"What...what year is it?"

"1002," said Bon-Bon. Paulie shook his head.

"The poison inside me is known as Red Flora Toxin. Its antidote is a solution known as Green Spore. Neither of those will be invented for at least four centuries from now." Derpy turned to look at the Doctor. He knew exactly what she was thinking.

"I could use the TARDIS to take a trip into the future and find the antidote," said the Doctor.

"Will you?" asked Derpy hopefully.

"It'll be risky. The TARDIS collided with that ship while they were both traveling through the time vortex. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get the TARDIS back in time to save Paulie." Derpy looked down. "But, that doesn't mean that I shouldn't try." Derpy looked up and smiled at the Doctor. Suddenly, something began shooting at them from the ship.

"Let's get back to camp!" said Lyra as she levitated Paulie. Derpy stood up. The Doctor looked straight into her eyes.

"I've got to stay," she said. She looked towards the ship. "Something tells me that I'm going to have to be the pony to face whatever's in there."

"The Jabberwocky," said the Doctor.

"Yeah...that. Once we get Paulie back to the safety of the camp, he'll be able to tell us the Jabberwocky's weakness...and then we can end this."

"I'll try to find the antidote and return here with it by the right time."

"By the way, where is the TARDIS?"

"On the other side of the ship."

"Oh...be careful."

"You be careful." Derpy jumped forward and gave the Doctor a quick hug. The Doctor watched as Derpy followed the others into the trees. He smiled before turning back towards the armed ship.

"Hold it right there!" stated a familiar voice. The Doctor looked back to see Carrot Top approaching him.

"Carrot Top?" he asked.

"I don't think you should go alone, Doctor."

"The others could use your help."

"I know. Derpy's the one who sent me. She's thinks you're the one who needs my help right now." The Doctor and Carrot Top turned towards the ship.

"Be quick on your hooves, Ms. Top."

"Don't have to tell me twice, Doctor." The Doctor and Carrot Top then broke into a run. A gun popped out of the top of the ship and began firing at them. The Doctor aimed his Sonic Screwdriver at it. The gun broke down but three more appeared in its wake. Adrenaline pumped through the Doctor's body as he ran along the scorched ground surrounding the ship. Soon, the TARDIS appeared in his sight. He managed to destroy a few more guns before signaling the TARDIS doors to open with a clap of his hooves. The Doctor and Carrot Top ran through the open doors like a pair of speeding cheetahs. The Doctor clapped his hooves again and the doors slammed shut. Carrot Top was breathing heavily as the Doctor made his way over to the control console. "That was fun."

"That's only the beginning. Now, let's see. About four centuries into the future." The Doctor grinned as he pulled down one of the levers. "Nothing too difficult." The Doctor and Carrot Top held on as the TARDIS gave off its signature sound and disappeared back into the time vortex.

It didn't take long for Derpy, Lyra, and Bon-Bon to get Paulie back to camp. Bon-Bon quickly gave Paulie some water while Lyra spread out a sleeping bag for him. Night had begun to fall and as Lyra began setting up a campfire, Derpy knelt down next to Paulie to talk to him.

"How are you holding up?" she asked.

"Surprisingly well for someone who's near death," Paulie said with a chuckle.

"You're going to be fine. The Doctor's going to get back with that antidote. I know he will."

"But, in the case he doesn't, I best be quick about telling you what you need to know."

"I'm all ears." Derpy leaned in closer.

"Here's one thing that you've got to know about the Jabberwocky in his current state: he's not completely in our world."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"The Jabberwocky is from another universe entirely different from our own. His only means of interacting with this universe is through an extremely powerful gateway."

"So, the Jabberwocky can travel between this universe and his universe through this gateway?"

"Well...yes and no. The Jabberwocky can transfer his powers and magic through the gateway and interact with our universe through the gateway but he can't physically travel through the gateway. That's mostly due to what you did, or what you're going to do."

"So, he's basically trapped on the other side of the gateway."

"Yes. Your main goal here is not to kill the Jabberwocky but to simply break his only link to our universe."

"And, what is this gateway exactly?"

"It's a nearly indestructible and durable device known simply as the Looking Glass. Others like to call it the Mirror of the Jabberwocky." A shiver ran down Derpy's back. She suddenly received a flashback to Isaac Longhair's warning.

"The monster lies behind the glass," she remembered him saying.

"That's what he meant," said Derpy.

"Hmm?" asked Paulie.

"Nevermind. So, how am I supposed to destroy this gateway?" Paulie slowly reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a piece of paper.

"With this." Derpy took the paper in her hoof and examined it.

"It's a music sheet."

"Yes. The Song of the Looking Glass. It's a fail-safe made to destroy the Looking Glass if things took a turn for the worse."

"I think it's easy to say that's already happened." Derpy turned from the music sheet to Paulie. "If you've had this with you the whole time, how come you never tried destroying the Looking Glass yourself?"

"Because that song can only be played by one specific instrument. An instrument that, unfortunately for me, I neither have possession of nor know how to play properly."

"What is it?"

"The lyre." Derpy's eyes widened. She turned to look at one of Carrot Top's bags. The tip of the lyre she had brought was just sticking out.

"Well, lucky for us, we have both a lyre," Derpy turned to look at Lyra as she finished setting the campfire, "and somepony who knows how to play it."

"Then go and end this, Derpy Hooves. I am sorry that I couldn't be of more use to you."

"Don't say that. You were plenty useful. Now rest. The Doctor will return with your antidote soon. I know he will!"

"You seem to have a lot of faith in the Doctor. No wonder he likes you so much." Paulie gave a small grin as Derpy tilted her head a bit. Derpy grasped the music sheet in her hoof as she walked over to Carrot Top's bag and picked up the lyre. Lyra was busy keeping the campfire lit with her magic when Derpy approached her.

"So, how are we going to defeat the Jabberwocky?" Lyra asked. Derpy handed the lyre to Lyra along with the music sheet. "What are these?"

"Your weapons." Lyra looked at the lyre and the music sheet and began to shake her head.

"You don't mean-"

"You better learn that song quickly."

"Oh come on! I've got to go back to that ship and play a song in front of a monster?!"

"From how I see things, you've got the easy part. All you've got to do is play a song on a lyre, something you're really good at. I'm the pony the Jabberwocky's going to be aiming for."

Gaia, 1413 C.E.

The Doctor sighed happily as the TARDIS gave its last lurch.

"We're here! 1413 C.E.!" the Doctor announced.

"That's over four centuries," said Carrot Top with a smirk.

"Don't get technical with me, Ms. Top! Besides, I'm only eleven years off and I did this on purpose. I estimated that the poison and the antidote were created in 1402. Eleven years would be enough time for it to become mainstream and commonplace."

"Hmm...good thinking, Doctor." The Doctor and Carrot Top made their way towards the TARDIS doors. "I have to admit that I feel a bit bad leaving Derpy and the others back in the present to deal with that nasty Jabberwocky. We've got the easy part of this situation."

"I have faith in Ms. Hooves and we're helping a possible ally for her and I by doing this. Besides, don't speak too soon about things being too easy." The Doctor opened the doors and Carrot Top gasped. The Doctor looked ahead to find several royal soldiers pointing guns with bayonets at him and Carrot Top. "See, Ms. Top? Spoke too soon!"

Comments

[CaptainSanchez]

"Jabberwocky" is the name of the poem, not the creature. The creature is called the "Jabberwock." Note the distinct lack of the letter "y."

Then again, it's our fic, not mine.

[Doctor Perseus]

2448826
I've heard it go either way with it sometimes being called the Jabberwock and other times the Jabberwocky. Although it has been stated that the original "correct" name for it is the Jabberwock, I'm going to continue calling it the Jabberwocky in this series.

[CaptainSanchez]

2448877 Fine by me. It's your story, so you could call it "Friedrich the Friendly Nazi," and nobody could really correct you.

[MariusIoannesP]

2449067 Friedrich the Friendly Nazi!

[Silver_Spark]

First, the convinient one weakness, then easily learning said weakness, then easy access to said weakness? The quality of the story has gone down a bit. There are too many plot conveniences. Other than that, great job! Love the story!