Doctor Whooves Episode 8: Maiden Voyage

Chapters

Prologue
On Board the Queen Philippine
Encounters and Exploration
Burns
Blackout in Space
The Last Denumian
Rarity Opens a Box
An Unanswered Question

Prologue

Doctor Whooves: Episode 8
Maiden Voyage

Prologue

Viewing Hall, The Queen Philippine, Orbit of Denum, Space, Winter, 4376 C.E.

The cheers died down as the TARDIS came to it usual, bumpy stop. Silence fell amongst the nine travelers.

"Here we are! January 6, 4376!" the Doctor announced. Twilight, Derpy, and the others twitched with excitement as they made their way towards the doors of the TARDIS. The Doctor followed close behind them.

They emerged in the middle of a large hallway that was about as wide and as tall as a ballroom. It stretched for at least the length of two football fields. Its floor was covered in a red velvet-colored carpet and several different sculptures, paintings, chairs, recliners, sofas, and coffee tables were scattered throughout the hallway.

"Where are we?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"That particular detail I'm not so sure about," the Doctor replied.

"So we've just landed in some random place, thousands of years in the future?" asked Derpy.

"Pretty much."

"THIS IS SO EXCITING!"

Derpy hugged the Doctor tightly and he kindly pushed her off.

"I appreciate the hugs, Derpy, but my equine body can only take so much."

"Oh. Sorry, Doctor."

Twilight took time to examine the hallway closely.

"That's strange," she said.

"What's strange?" Spike asked.

"The walls. They're different from one another. The wall to our right looks like a regular wall with wallpaper on it while the other looks like it's made out of-"

"Glass!" finished Pinkie as she touched the wall. "This wall's made of glass!"

"But it looks like it's made out of metal," Applejack stated. The group examined the glass wall closely. It appeared to be made out of a shiny, metallic substance but it felt like it was made of glass.

"What if this isn't a wall?" Fluttershy suggested.

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"I'm with Fluttershy on this one. Maybe this isn't a wall at all," said Rarity.

"Then what is it?" Derpy asked.

"A window," said the Doctor. "I giant, covered window."

Suddenly, a loud, male voice began emitting from a speaker attached to the ceiling.

"Hello, passengers! This is your captain, John Kemp, here telling you that the Queen Philippine has now arrived in the orbit of Denum! Please make your way to the viewing hall for the two-hour Denum viewing/luncheon!" said the voice. Suddenly, the glass wall appeared to begin opening up before their eyes. It didn't take long for them to realize that the glass was the true wall and that the metal surface they were seeing was really located on the other side of the glass. The metal wall folded away to show a massive, red planet floating in outer space. The planet had purple-colored ice caps and plumes of fire shot out from gigantic holes in the planet every few seconds. Three miniature suns orbited the planet: one orange, one yellow, and one pink. One large, emerald moon floated next to the planet and it had two smaller moons orbiting it: one violet and one green. Off in the distance, a gigantic, yellow sun surrounded with massive, golden rings of fire could be seen. Everypony was rendered next to speechless except for the Doctor, who simply smiled and laughed.

"Brilliant!" he exclaimed.

"It's more than brilliant!" said Rarity with a look of awe. "It's...it's...I can't even find any words to describe it!"

Derpy looked at the red planet, its suns, its moons, and the huge star floating off in the distance and said, "We're definitely not in Equestria anymore!"

On Board the Queen Philippine

Chapter 1: On Board the Queen Philippine

Viewing Hall 11, The Queen Philippine, Orbit of Denum, Space, Winter, 4376 C.E.

The hallway quickly began to fill up with a sea of excited ponies, as well as a series of various other creatures. Tables covered with food of all types hovered into the room and settled into place alongside the wall opposite to the window. The hallway filled up so quickly that the Doctor and the others temporarily became disoriented.

"Quite loud isn't it?" asked a dignified voice. The Doctor looked to see a humanoid rabbit wearing a suit and slacks standing right in front of him. "I usually try to avoid coming to these viewing luncheons but it's not everyday that one gets to see Denum in its prime, eh?"

Fluttershy approached the rabbit and eyed him with awe. He looked exactly like Angel Bunny except in humanoid form. She choked as she said, "You're...a rabbit."

"I would think that to be pretty obvious. Name's Reginald O'Hare. I'm serving as President Jonathon's ambassador and informant for the voyage of this vessel."

"Who's President Jonathon?"

"Are you being serious? Strange. I thought everybody knew Jonathon Clarke by now. He's the President of Epripa."

"Yes! Finally! There's actually creatures in this universe that don't use pony terms! Finally!" the Doctor cheered happily as he proceeded to shake Reginald's hand. "Pleased to meet you, sir! Sorry if my group and I seem rather...uninformed. We don't usually get out much."

Reginald smiled awkwardly at the Doctor and looked at the others with a certain fascination.

"I take it that you're all from Gaia," he said. The others nodded in agreement. "Great planet, Gaia. I went there once for my honeymoon. It didn't end that well. A blasted, hot-headed dragon nearly burned my whiskers off!" Reginald then noticed Spike and cleared his throat. "Oh! No offense!"

"None taken," Spike replied casually.

"So you're from another planet?" asked Fluttershy with awe.

"Epripa. Basically all of its inhabitants are like me. It's just us tall rabbits and our vegetables. Believe me, you haven't lived until you've tasted a carrot straight from the Epripan soil! My mouth waters just at the thought of it!" Reginald replied.

"So...where exactly are we?" Twilight asked.

"How can you not know where you are?"

"Hit my head! Little doozy! Temporary, short-term memory loss."

"Ah. I've come across that a lot. I used to study medicine but I lost interest in it and went into politics. The rewards were much more enjoyable. Well I guess I should start off by saying that you're on the Queen Philippine!"

"Is it a type of ship?" Rarity asked.

"A spaceship. The largest of its kind. Created by a simple pony from Equestria! It's simply amazing! It's nearly the size of the Equestrian capital, Canterlot, and can house over two million passengers!"

"There's two million passengers on this ship?!" Derpy croaked.

"Give or take of few but it's certainly around that number."

"Two million passengers," said Twilight.

"I have a lot of planning to do," said Pinkie Pie.

"More parties, right?" asked Rainbow Dash with a smirk.

"Of course! Two million guests! That would be the party of a lifetime!"

"Party of a lifetime? Trust me. You haven't partied until you've visited EPX541," stated Reginald with a devious grin.

"EPX541?"

"The party planet, well, the current one anyway. Parties all over the planet, 24/7."

Pinkie's jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

"What did ya mean by "the current one?"' asked Applejack.

"The name speaks for itself. EPX541."

Pinkie's eyes widened. She looked at Reginald and said, "You don't mean-"

"Yeah. You'd think they would stop after three or ten. But they had to continue on. I can't believe that they just left 540 deserted pony-made planets floating out there!"

Suddenly, a female bunny in a long blue dress approached Reginald.

"Mr. O'Hare, you've got a call waiting for you in the VC room," she said.

"Right! I forgot to call her earlier!" he said. He turned towards the Doctor and shook his hoof. "I best be on my way. Don't want to keep the wife waiting!"

"Good choice," said the Doctor with a smirk. Reginald chuckled as he walked away with the female bunny.

"The future is strange," said Spike.

"Oh you have no idea!" Twilight chuckled.

Captain's Deck, The Queen Philippine, Orbit of Denum, Space, Winter, 4376 C.E.

Captain John Kemp smiled as he watched over the sea of viewing screens. He was an average-sized unicorn stallion with a lime green coat, sapphire eyes, a ice-blue mane, and a cutie mark consisting of a black ship's wheel. He was alone in the room until a blue earth stallion walked into the room.

"Watching over the ship again, John?" asked the stallion as he sat down in the leather chair that stood in front of the monitor of a million screens.

"Sorry. It's become a bad habit of mine since the journey began," John replied as he gave out a loud sigh.

"She's a beauty. Your father would be proud."

"Yeah. He was a dreamer, wasn't he? Heh. I remember when he used to say stuff like we're gonna make a ship so big that even Celestia's sun is gonna feel jealous!"

"Well you certainly achieved that goal. This has to be one of the best spaceships I've ever been in. Not one problem since the start of the journey!"

"It's only a matter of time, Lee. Something always goes wrong on the maiden voyage. Remember the Star Scream?"

"Yeah. Didn't the captain die of a heart attack on that one?"

"No. That happened on the Utopia. The Star Scream was caught in an asteroid field and was blown to bits."

"I thought that was the Prince Mars."

"Nah. That ship's captain was assassinated on its maiden voyage."

"That sucks."

"Yes, but the point is that we have to be ready for anything! Anything could go wrong at any moment!"

"Come on, John! Nothing bad is going to-"

Lee fell silent. John turned to Lee to see that he had frozen in his seat.

"What's wrong, Lee?"

"Captain, you're gonna want to see this!"

Lee tapped a holographic button and the sea of screens disappeared and was quickly replaced by one, large screen. The screen showed a view of one of the viewing halls.

"Which viewing hall is that?" John asked.

"Number 11. Right in the middle of the ship. Take a look at that," Lee replied. John examined the picture closely and noticed a group of passengers crowding around a particular object.

"Zoom in on that!"

Lee did what he was told and zoomed in the picture. The sounds of a conversation began emitting from the speaker.

"This wasn't here earlier!" said a pegasus mare.

"I think it's simply divine! I can't believe they went through all that trouble to make an exact replica of the TARDIS!" exclaimed a unicorn mare. John's eyes widened as the picture zoomed in on a simple, blue box.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me! Not now! Why now?!" John exclaimed as he pulled out a calling device called the iPhone162-8. "This is Captain Kemp! I want the viewing hall on the 11th floor to be closed off! Nothing gets in or out without my say! The Doctor is on the ship! I repeat! The Doctor is on the ship!"

"So he's really here? The Doctor is on the Queen Philippine?!" Lee asked.

"Yes, and that's bad."

"Why is it bad? Don't you realize that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?"

"I understand that, Lee. But there's one thing you should know by now. When the Doctor appears, danger is not too far behind."

John then turned towards the door and stormed outside, making his way towards viewing room #11 and the Doctor.

Encounters and Exploration

Chapter 2: Encounters and Exploration

Outside Viewing Hall 11, The Queen Philippine, Orbit of Denum, Space, Winter, 4376 C.E.

The Doctor, Twilight, Derpy, and Spike had only just slipped through one of the doorways leading out of the viewing hall when the sirens went off. The door slammed shut behind them and a large slab of metal rose up from the floor and encased the doorway, thus preventing anypony or anything from getting in or out of the room.

"What the hay is going on?!" Derpy gasped.

"Applejack! Pinkie Pie! Can any of you hear me?!" Twilight called.

"It's no use. That's enforced steel. Nothing's getting through that, especially sound," said the Doctor. Twilight suddenly smiled and began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Spike asked.

"I can't believe it! We've been here for nearly ten minutes and something's already happening! That must be some sort of record, Doctor!"

"I guess. I may have beaten that record before but I'm not quite sure at the moment," the Doctor pondered.

"Well what do we do now?" Derpy asked.

"Explore, of course! See what's going on!"

The Doctor began trotting happily away while Twilight whispered to Derpy and Spike, "Why do I get the feeling that all of this has something to do with us?"

"I wouldn't be surprised," said Spike as he rolled his eyes. Twilight and Derpy laughed and then proceeded to trot after the Doctor.

Viewing Hall 11, The Queen Philippine, Orbit of Denum, Space, Winter, 4376 C.E.

"Damn it!" Rainbow Dash cursed as she slammed into the metal wall again.

"Cut it out, Rainbow! It's no use! That door ain't budging for anypony!" snapped Applejack. Rainbow groaned with defeat as she lowered herself to the ground.

"We have to get through! Twilight, Spike, the Doctor, and Derpy are on the other side!"

"I'm sure they can take care of themselves. For now, until things die down, ah say that we head back to the...what was it called again?"

"The TARDIS!" Pinkie Pie replied cheerfully.

"Right! Let's head back to the TARDIS until things die down!"

Rainbow lowered her head and grimly nodded in agreement. The five mares began making their way back to the blue box. When they arrived, however, they were shocked to see that it was surrounded by a mob of ponies.

"What the hay?!" Rainbow snapped.

"Strange isn't it?" asked a scrawny voice. The mares turned to see a giant spider wearing a top hat examining the TARDIS. "I don't see reason for them to include a TARDIS replica here in the viewing hall. I would assume that they would place it in the museum. Oh well. I guess Captain Kemp has odd intentions in mind. I do wonder what all the ruckus is about."

The spider then walked off into the crowd.

"Did we just see a spider the size of an elephant?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Ah think we did," Applejack replied, her eyes still wide.

"I've seen bigger," said Pinkie as she waved her hoof.

"Don't worry! I'm fine," announced Rarity as she swayed a little bit.

"I'm surprised to see that you didn't faint," said an unfamiliar voice. Rarity turned to see an earth mare with a red coat and a purple mane standing next to her. She was in her early twenties and she had a wide, pink, brimmed hat sitting on her head at a fancy angle. A single feather was extending from the top of the hat.

"I'm sorry but do I know you?"

"Not really. Let's just say that I'm an acquaintance for now."

Rarity turned to see that none of the others had yet to notice the mysterious mare yet. She turned back to the mare to see that a package was now nestled comfortably in one of her legs. Rarity then asked, "Where did that package come from? You weren't holding it a moment ago!"

"It's just a little magic trick I taught myself," the mare replied with a grin.

"Don't be ridiculous! Earth ponies can't perform magic!"

"I didn't say it was your kind of magic."

"Huh?"

"Whatever. Listen, I have places to go and ponies to see. Make sure to give this to the Doctor."

The mare handed the package over to Rarity and the unicorn cautiously grabbed it.

"How...how do you know the Doctor's here?!"

"The TARDIS is here so I think that's a pretty big giveaway. Listen, don't open that box until time calls for it."

"What's inside of it?"

"Don't worry. You'll find out soon enough. I had to pay a hoof and a horn to get this so don't open it until you absolutely need to!"

"How will I know when to open it?"

"You'll open it when the fire is close and is too hot to bear."

"Huh? Please talk normally! I'm definitely not in the mood for riddles!"

Suddenly a happy ring rang out from the mare's hat. The mare shook her head slightly and the ring died.

"Well I guess it's time for me to go. Don't worry. The Doctor will know when to open the box...or at least you will," said the mare as she turned and began walking away.

"Wait!" Rarity said. The mare turned around.

"Yes?"

"Where...exactly did you get that hat from?"

"This old thing? My mother made it for me."

"Did she now? Heh. Your mother has good tastes. It looks an awful lot like something I would make."

"I guess it would. Have a nice night, Miss Rarity."

Before Rarity could say anything else, the mare turned around and disappeared into the crowd.

"Who was that?" asked Fluttershy. Rarity turned back and shook her head.

"I don't have the foggiest idea," she replied.

"What's that?" asked Pinkie Pie as she pointed towards the box.

"I don't know that either. All I know is that the Doctor's going to need to open it when time calls for it."

"I really don't like the sound of that," said Rainbow as she crossed her arms.

"I'm with you on that one, Rainbow Dash."

11th Level Living Quarters, The Queen Philippine, Orbit of Denum, Space, Winter, 4376 C.E.

The teleportation pad gave off a light sigh as John jumped off of it. The siren had finally died down but confused passengers had begun asking a lot of questions. John had put word out for some of the guards to search the eleventh viewing hall and search the passengers. A recording of his own voice echoed throughout the ship, ensuring the passengers that nothing was wrong and that there was a slight, mechanical malfunction. But John knew that something was wrong, or something wrong was about to come around. The air was tense as John strolled down the hallway. He was almost to the viewing hall when a voice rang out from his phone. It was Lee.

"Captain, the TARDIS has been secured and is being guarded," he said.

"Good. Any sign of the Doctor?" John asked.

"No. The guards did have to arrest somepony though."

"What? Who?!"

"Just some crazy pegasus who was trying to get into the TARDIS. Some earth mare tried to help her. Both have been brought in for questioning."

"Are you insane?! We can't have the guards arresting passengers left and right! That'll make the other passengers think that something is wrong!"

"But isn't there something wrong?"

"Yes and no. It's kind of hard to explain."

"So what do you want the guards to do with the mares?"

"I guess keep them detained until the storm blows over. Lock them up in one of the rooms. They haven't done anything to warrant themselves time in a cell."

"I guess. I swear. Those Applejack clones can pack quite a punch."

"What did you say?!"

"There was an Applejack clone there. She was the mare that tried to help out the pegasus."

"What does the pegasus look like?"

"She has a cyan coat and a rainbow mane."

"Wait a minute...damn it!"

"What?!"

"You've just arrested two of the Doctor's companions!"

"Huh?!"

"The guards have just arrested Applejack and Rainbow Dash!"

"Wait. Do you mean the Applejack and the Rainbow Dash!"

"I'm certain of it!"

"Damn! I just helped arrest my wife's foalhood hero!"

"Where's the Doctor?! We can sort all of this out once we find him!"

"He's not in the viewing hall. Maybe he got out before the doors closed."

"Maybe. Check the cameras!"

"Okay! Checking...checking...aha!"

"Got something?!"

"Yeah! They were seen heading out into the museum hallway just before the siren went off!"

"Okay! I'm heading over to the museum now!"

John ended his conversation with Lee and took off towards the museum.

Museum Hallway, The Queen Philippine, Orbit of Denum, Space, Winter, 4376 C.E.

The hallway was quiet and the air was tense as the Doctor, Twilight, Derpy, and Spike walked down it.

"It's a little quiet now, isn't it?" Derpy stated.

"A little too quiet," Spike added.

"Even old sayings have no dimensional boundaries! This universe amazes me every day!" said the Doctor happily.

"And you continue to be weird and strange."

"Mission accomplished!"

Twilight and Derpy giggled. They soon came across a huge pair of bronze doors. The word museum was welded onto the door's surface.

"There's a museum on a spaceship?" Twilight asked as her eyes widened.

"Best we not go in there. There may be future knowledge in there that we shouldn't learn about," the Doctor warned. But his words fell upon deaf ears as Twilight, Derpy, and Spike raced past him. He charged after them.

The interior of the museum was wide and open. A large staircase stood in the center of the museum and seemed to extend up towards the top of the ship and down towards the bottom of the ship. Twilight was drawn towards a particular, purple book. The title of the book read Alberta Sparkle: Journey to the Cure of Polio 5X9. Twilight was about to open it when the Doctor came up and slammed it shut.

"Spoilers, Twilight!" he snapped.

"Right...spoilers," Twilight sighed as she backed away. Derpy and Spike examined a large, glass display full of necklaces made out of dragon teeth.

Derpy turned towards a sign and read, "From 1129 to 2617, Espergio the Golden Dragon made nearly 957,697,482 necklaces from his teeth. His necklaces enabled non-magical beings to use magic and even helped heal several deadly ailments. Some of the remains of his teeth are used today as the basis for medical research in millions of schools across the universe, particularly the Equestrian Academy of Magic and Skills and the Elmheim School of Medical Sciences."

Spike felt his teeth and said, "I wonder if my teeth could heal somepony."

"Maybe Twilight knows a spell that could give them healing powers."

"That would come in handy!"

"Come along! I think it's time we made our way out of here!" the Doctor called. Derpy and Spike sighed with disappointment as they walked back over to the Doctor. Suddenly, the entire ship shook violently and the lights flickered for a few seconds. The ship then let out a loud groan before re-stabilizing itself.

"That doesn't sound good," said Twilight.

"I think I'd like to have a word with our dear captain. What was his name again?"

"John," announced a familiar voice. The Doctor, Twilight, Derpy, and Spike turned to see a unicorn stallion with a green coat and a blue mane walking towards them. "Captain John Kemp. I believe you have some explaining to do, Doctor."

Burns

Chapter 3: Burns

Museum, The Queen Philippine, Orbit of Denum, Space, Winter, 4376 C.E.

"So I'm guessing the whole lockdown situation has something to do with me," said the Doctor.

"You would guess right," John replied as he stepped forward.

"Was complete lockdown really necessary?" Twilight scolded.

"I guess not but I figured that a surprise arrival from the Doctor would be a good enough reason to test it out."

"There's more to it than that, isn't there?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes. I just wanted to ask you about your reasons for being here."

"That's it? You separated us from our friends and sent that entire viewing hall into lockdown just so you could ask the Doctor that?!" Twilight snapped. John blushed a bit and rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah...I guess it does sound pretty stupid when said aloud."

"If you must know why my friends and I are here, we just appeared here at random. We have no official reason for being here," said the Doctor. John gave a loud sigh and shook his head.

"Sweet Celestia, I'm stubborn! I see your TARDIS through a security camera and instantly think disaster is coming! Damn! This is really going to come back and bite me is the ass later!"

"Why did you instantly think of disaster when you saw the TARDIS?" Derpy asked with a curious face.

"I've read a lot about you, Doctor. I'm pretty sure that at least half of the information about you is sugarcoated stories but I've taken a look at the legitimate reports. You've been to a lot of places throughout history, Doctor. Everywhere we look, something new about you pops up. Drawings in caves, pieces of footage from tourist and security cameras, and practically thousands of reports and stories of encounters with you and your companions. One thing I've noticed that seems to be common with all of your appearances is that whenever you appear, danger is not too far behind."

"He's got a point, ya know," Spike whispered to Twilight.

"There's even more to that...isn't there?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes. This isn't just any old voyage for the Queen Philippine. It's its maiden voyage," John replied.

"Why do I get the feeling that isn't supposed to be a good thing," Spike gulped.

"Nowadays, it usually isn't. The maiden voyage is usually the worst voyage for any spaceship. Things always go wrong. Problems range from lost communication to the murders of captains. The maiden voyage is always a scary thing to go through for a spaceship's crew, especially the captain."

"I guess I can see where the paranoia came from," said Twilight. John turned towards the Doctor and smiled guiltily.

"I apologize. I wish we could have met under better circumstances, Doctor."

John then extended one of his hooves. The Doctor proceeded to shake John's hoof.

"It's quite alright. At least this made my arrival a little bit more exciting and maybe this whole thing counts as the problem for your maiden voyage," the Doctor said. John chuckled as he drew his hoof away. "John Kemp. Something about that name sounds familiar."

"Maybe you've met one of my ancestors is some of your previous travels."

"Charlie!" Twilight exclaimed.

"What was that?" the Doctor asked.

"Charlie Kemp! Remember? That pegasus who helped us out when we went to 2002!"

"Our first voyage together, Twilight Sparkle. How could I forget? Yes...I remember him now. Nice kid. I wonder what happened to him."

John was about to say something but he quickly placed a hoof over his mouth.

"Let me guess. Spoilers?" Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow. John smiled and nodded as he brought his hoof back to the ground. "Of course."

"There's one thing that's bothering me though," said Derpy.

"And what's that?" John asked.

"What caused the ship to shake and the lights to flicker a few minutes ago?"

"I...I honestly don't know. I was so busy trying to find my way here that I hardly gave it a second thought."

"If I were you, I would have somepony look into it," said Spike.

"Good idea."

John pulled out his phone and began speaking into it.

"Lee! It's John. I need you to get somepony to look into the shake that happened a few moments ago," he ordered. Nothing but silence could be heard on the other end of the connection. "Lee? Lee! Damn! Looks like we'll have to head to the control room ourselves. At least this will give me a reason to go and free your friends."

"Come again?" Derpy asked.

"Some of the guards arrested your friends, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, when they tried to get into the TARDIS. Don't worry! They're fine! I had then put into one of the rooms. The room's close to the control room so I can free them on our way there."

"You better not tell Applejack that you're the captain when you first meet her. She may want to buck you repeatedly in the face," Twilight warned.

"I'll make sure to keep that in mind."

Holding Room, The Queen Philippine, Orbit of Denum, Space, Winter, 4376 C.E.

"I can't believe this!" Rainbow Dash snapped as she kicked the door again.

"Kicking the door ain't gonna make things any easier for ya, Rainbow," Applejack sighed as she sat down on the bed.

"Whatever!"

Rainbow kicked the door one final time before turning around and walking over towards Applejack.

"Isn't it strange?" Applejack suddenly asked.

"What's strange?" Rainbow asked back.

"Why did the guards stop yelling at you through the door, telling you to calm down?"

Rainbow's eyes widened a little bit as she turned back towards the door.

"They have grown a little bit quiet ever since the ship shook."

"A little bit?! They've been quieter than Fluttershy in the middle of a large crowd! Don't ya think that's a bit odd?"

"I dunno and I don't care. At least I don't have to listen to their complaining!"

"Is it just me...or is it getting a little warm in here?"

Rainbow Dash stopped and felt the air around her. It certainly was getting pretty warm. She and Applejack were even beginning to sweat a little bit. Rainbow simply shrugged it off and began flapping her wings in order to make herself hover a few feet off the ground.

"It's probably nothing. Maybe the cooling system has broken down or something," Rainbow guessed. Applejack fell back on the bed and began fanning herself with her hat. Suddenly, a dark voice spoke out from the darkness.

"Burn," it said.

"Huh?!" Applejack gasped as she jumped up.

"What?" asked Rainbow.

"Did you hear it?"

"Hear what?"

"The voice!"

"What voice?"

"You didn't hear it, Rainbow?!"

"All I heard was you gasp. I haven't heard anything or anypony else."

"That doesn't make me feel good."

"Don't worry, AJ. Maybe the heat's just getting to you."

"I hope that's the case, Rainbow."

Applejack fell back down on the bed. She and Rainbow remained in silence until the voice spoke again.

"Everything, burn!" it said. Applejack wanted to sit up again but she decided to shrug the voice off. Maybe it was just her imagination. But it sounded so close...so real...so...angry. Applejack closed her eyes as she continued to fan herself with her hat. Suddenly her entire body clenched up and she found herself standing in the middle of an endless, dark void.

"Where am ah?!" she asked as she turned around in circles. Applejack then found herself bumping into something. A red creature stood before her. It looked like a giant crab and had many long, spider-like arms extending from its body. Its eyes burned like hot coals and its mouth was filled with sharp teeth covered with fire. Applejack backed away from the creature as it began advancing towards her. She tried to run but the creature grabbed one of her hind legs with two of its arms. Applejack screamed as a searing, burning pain shot through her leg. The creature bent down towards Applejack, its body heat making Applejack feel like she was going to melt.

"Everything, burn! Burn with me! Burn! Burn! BURN!" it screamed. A plume of fire appeared in the back of the creature's throat. Applejack screamed.

"Applejack! Applejack!" cried Rainbow Dash. Applejack awoke with a start. Her entire body was encased in sweat and tears were rolling down her face. "Thank Celestia, you're awake! What the hell happened?!"

"Ah...ah...ah don't know, Rainbow," Applejack replied. Applejack was relieved to see Rainbow's face again but the creature's face was burned into the back of her subconscious. She couldn't forget what it looked like, no matter how hard she tried.

"Wait...Applejack! How the hell did you get burned?!"

Applejack sat up and looked at her left hind leg. Claw-shaped markings were all over the leg and each marking left a red burn in the skin. Applejack groaned as the pain from her leg finally reached her brain. The pain suddenly began to increase. Applejack fell back on the bed and began to scream as the pain grew more and more intense.

"APPLEJACK!" Rainbow cried.

"It's coming! They're coming, Rainbow Dash! They're coming! They're coming! We're all gonna burn!" Applejack screamed. Rainbow's heart jumped as her friend grew limp in her arms and passed out.

Viewing Hall 11, The Queen Philippine, Orbit of Denum, Space, Winter, 4376 C.E.

The metal walls slid back into the floor and the passengers slowly began to make their way out of the hallway.

"Finally! Now let's head off and see if we can find the Doctor! Maybe he'll be able to make sense out of all of this!" said Rarity.

"What do we do about the TARDIS?" Fluttershy asked.

"I don't think it's going anywhere and the Doctor apparently locked it so nopony's getting in."

"I hope Dashie and Applejack are doing okay," said Pinkie Pie.

"I'm going to complain to the captain! That arrest was totally uncalled for!"

"Something's wrong," said Fluttershy.

"What do you mean?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"I don't really know what I mean. I just have this bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something's wrong. Something's terribly, horribly wrong!"

Rarity looked at the box that she was still holding onto and thought back to the mysterious mare. She knew something. Rarity was tempted to open the box but the words of the mare still echoed through her head.

"Don't worry. You'll find out soon enough. I had to pay a hoof and a horn to get this so don't open it until you absolutely need to!" the mare had said.

"How will I know when to open it?" she had asked.

"You'll open it when the fire is close and is too hot to bear."

"Something on your mind, Rarity?" Pinkie asked.

"Yes...but it's fine. Let's just focus on finding the Doctor right now," Rarity replied.

"Okie-dokie-lokie!"

Captain's Deck, The Queen Philippine, Orbit of Denum, Space, Winter, 4376 C.E.

John led the Doctor, Twilight, Derpy, and Spike down the hallway. The door leading into the captain's deck was coming up fast.

"I can't believe you didn't find out which room Applejack and Rainbow Dash were put in!" scoffed Twilight.

"I said I was sorry, didn't I?" John replied.

"I didn't accept your apology, did I?"

"Fair enough."

John sighed as he opened the door. What he saw made him nearly jump out of his skin. The monitors were destroyed, the walls were singed, and Lee was lying on the ground. His body was badly burnt but, thankfully, he was still alive.

"Lee!" John cried as he rushed forward. He fell on his knees and cradled Lee's head in his arms. "Lee...what happened?"

Twilight was in shock. She had seen and read about burns before but these burns were almost...unnatural. His skin was black, a white liquid was oozing from his burnt skin, some bones were being exposed, and for some reason his eyes and mouth were perfectly intact. The Doctor examined Lee with his sonic screwdriver and examined the results.

"Strange...these aren't natural burns," he said.

"What do you mean?" Derpy asked as she attempted to hold back her breakfast.

"These burns appear to have come from the inside-out and not the outside-in. And yet he's still alive, his organs are functioning, and his eyes and mouth are intact."

"Lee...what did this to you?" John asked. Lee looked into John's eyes. It was obvious that every movement he made was causing him serious pain.

"It...it's coming, John. It's coming. They're coming. They're all coming. We're going to burn. We're all going to burn. They...they've arrived," Lee replied. Lee's eyes rolled up into his head and John felt as his friend slowly drew his last breath.

"Lee...damn it!"

"I'm sorry about your friend, John," said the Doctor.

"What did this to him? Can you tell me that?"

"At the moment...I really can't say."

"Uh...guys!" Spike croaked.

"What is it, Spike?" Twilight asked.

"I don't think we're alone!"

Everypony turned towards a dark corner of the room. A pair of red eyes glimmered out from the darkness. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light and John's eyes grew wide. Floating just a few feet away was a spirit of sorts enveloped in red flames. The weirdest feature of the creature was that it looked exactly like Lee, except with red skin, a mane made of fire, ruby-red eyes, and fire spewing out from cracks in its skin.

"What the hell is that?!" John asked as he jumped up.

"I really don't want to find out!" Twilight responded. The Lee apparition slowly began to hover its way over towards the Doctor, Twilight, Derpy, Spike, and John. A sadistic smile formed on its face as it seemed to stare straight into their souls.

"Everything, burn. You're all going to burn," said the apparition.

Blackout in Space

Chapter 4: Blackout in Space

Captain's Deck, The Queen Philippine, Orbit of Denum, Space, Winter, 4376 C.E.

The Doctor could feel the heat emanating from the spirit's body. The creature was nothing like anything the Doctor had encountered before but it gave him bad memories of his time on the S.S. Pentallian with Martha. The only thing the Doctor could gather about the spirit was that it was hungry for something...and the Doctor wasn't keen on finding out what that was exactly. A blast of cold air rushed past the Doctor and smashed into the spirit. Twilight had just conjured a ball of ice and had launched it at the spirit. It didn't do much damage but it did cause it to become disoriented for a few seconds.

"Good shot!" said John.

"What do we do now, Doctor?" Derpy asked. The spirit glared at them with its ruby-red eyes.

"At the moment...run," the Doctor replied as he beckoned the others towards the door. The spirit yelled as they ran out of the room and into the hallway. The spirit flew after them. Fire propelled from its hooves, sending it down the hallway at breakneck speed. Twilight launched another ice ball at the creature but it was slowly becoming immune to Twilight's ice attacks.

"Not good!" Twilight said as she launched another ball of ice. Derpy grabbed a nearby chair and chucked it at the spirit. Upon contact with the spirit's ghostly skin, the chair burst into flames. The wallpaper in the hallway burned and charred as the spirit zoomed past it and the carpet became singed and burnt in some areas.

"Where are we running to?!" Spike asked.

"I don't know!" the Doctor replied. "I'm trying to think of a way to defeat this fire spirit!"

"I think I know just the thing! Follow me!" said John as he made a sudden left. The Doctor, Twilight, Derpy, and Spike followed him with the spirit in hot pursuit. The hallway eventually led them to a medium-sized kitchen. John jumped over a table and began tweaking with what appeared to be a thermostat of sorts. The spirit kicked in the doors, causing them to burst into flames. Twilight and Derpy looked for another way out of the room from any direction. They were trapped.

"This plan of yours better work, Captain!" Derpy croaked.

"If it doesn't then you have my permission to buck me in the face repeatedly when we arrive in the next world!" John replied as he quickly pressed a green button on the thermostat. A metallic, female voice echoed throughout the room.

"Ice rinse engaged," said the voice.

"Everything, burn. Burn! Burn! BURN!" the creature ordered.

"Not today, hot-head!" John said back. At that moment, a shower of ice-cold water began pouring down from the ceiling. Twilight and Derpy couldn't help but scream as the freezing liquid pelted their unprotected skin. The water was like acid to the spirit and it yelled in agony as its fiery body began to melt and dissipate. Within seconds, the water had stopped falling and the spirit had been reduced to a puddle of moist, red ash. The Doctor and John couldn't help but clap their hooves with success while Twilight, Derpy, and Spike were still shivering their rumps off.

"G-Good p-pl-plan!" Derpy said as she strung the cold water out of her mane.

"Y-Yeah! G-Good p-plan, J-J-John!" said Twilight. The Doctor smiled. He couldn't help but think how cute Twilight and Derpy looked when they shivered. He quickly realized that he was staring and proceeded to walk over to a nearby cupboard to get some towels out for everypony. He tossed a towel to Twilight, Derpy, Spike, and John and proceeded to dry himself off with the last towel.

"What was that thing?!" Spike asked.

"A demon," said John.

"That's a good name for it," Derpy added.

"I wouldn't call it a demon. There was certainly something alien about it," said the Doctor.

"You think it was an alien, Doctor?" Twilight asked.

"Well the possibility of that is pretty large. There's obviously plenty of them on this ship."

"None of the aliens on this ship are anything like that spirit. I should know. I have a list of all the types of passengers on board the ship at the current moment," said John.

"Well maybe it got on board during the trip," Derpy suggested. "It probably happened when the ship shook earlier."

"That sounds like a reasonable scenario," said the Doctor.

"But where could it have come from?" Spike asked.

"Maybe they came from the planet we're flying by. What was the name of it again?" asked Derpy.

"Do you mean Denum? That's impossible. That planet is completely inhabitable. The surface of that planet must be at least five thousand degrees, and that's during the winter!" said John.

"But what about those purple ice caps?" Twilight asked.

"The ice caps aren't made out of ice. They're made out of solid crystal."

"Crystal?" Spike asked.

"Yes. Those ice caps are extremely dense. We've sent thousands of land rovers down onto Denum's surface. No traces of life have been discovered so far."

"But what about underground?" asked the Doctor. The ship suddenly shook again. The lights began to flicker and the ship groaned like an angry dragon.

"This doesn't look good!" said Spike. A light popped above Derpy and she jumped into Twilight, knocking her over.

"Sorry, Twilight!" Derpy apologized.

"I'm fine," said Twilight as she began to stand up. The ship lurched again and Twilight fell back onto the ground. The floor began to shake underneath their hooves.

"Everypony hold onto something!" yelled John. Spike and John held onto a nearby cupboard while the Doctor and Derpy held onto a nearby table that was bolted into the wall. Twilight tried to pull herself towards something but she couldn't get any traction on the vibrating ground. One more light popped and a second later every light on the Queen Philippine went out. The groaning stopped and everypony and everything on the ship found themselves in a world of dark silence.

Ballroom 11, The Queen Philippine, Orbit of Denum, Space, Winter, 4376 C.E.

Rarity illuminated her horn to find herself standing in the middle of a dark ballroom. She, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy had been calmly passing through the room a moment ago but were now trapped in a world of darkness and silence. Rarity turned around but could see no sign of her two friends.

"Pinkie Pie? Fluttershy? Where are you two?" she asked.

"Over here!" called Pinkie Pie's voice from the darkness. Rarity followed Pinkie's voice until she came across the pink pony sitting next to Fluttershy, who was curled up in a ball with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"How did you two get all the way over here?"

"I don't know. The shaking must have knocked us over here."

"Are you okay, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy could only let out a frightened squeal. It was obvious that the blackout and the shaking had frightened the pegasus half to death. Pinkie hugged her softly until she stopped crying.

"I...I'll be okay. Thank you, Pinkie," she said as she stood up.

"No problem!" Pinkie said with a happy smile. "That's what friends are for, right?!"

"So what do you girls think happened?"

"I haven't the foggiest idea," Rarity replied. She felt the box in her arm grow slightly heavier. The air was beginning to grow somewhat warm and Rarity could feel a few drops of sweat strolling down from her head. "I do hope the Doctor's close!"

"Let's find him and get things back in order. I don't like being in the dark for very long," said Fluttershy. Pinkie nodded in agreement. The mares turned around to head out of the room when the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from the darkness. "Is...is somepony there?"

Rarity tried to strengthen her illumination spell but found that her efforts bore no fruit. She watched as a tall, burnt creature limped out from the darkness. A torn suit covered its body and its skin was black like charcoal. The eyes and the mouth were intact though. The most noticeable feature of the creature was its ears: the ears of a rabbit.

"R...Reginald? Reginald O'Hare?!" Rarity asked. The burnt Reginald looked at the mares and picked up his speed. His eyes began to glow red and blood began trickling out from cracks in his burnt skin.

"Burn with me! Everything, burn! Burn! Burn! BURN!" Reginald screamed as he began to charge for them. Fluttershy screamed as she ran off into the darkness. Rarity and Pinkie ran after her. Reginald quickly disappeared back into the darkness but Rarity could still hear his footsteps running close behind her.

"Fluttershy! Wait up!" Pinkie cried. Rarity and Pinkie's eyes widened as the sound of Fluttershy screaming emanated through the darkness.

"FLUTTERSHY!" Rarity cried. There was a sudden burst of red light and both Pinkie and Rarity were temporarily blinded. They looked to see Fluttershy lying on the ground, a red burn mark was slashed into her stomach. A fiery spirit was hovering over her. It looked exactly like Reginald except with red skin, fiery hair, ruby-red eyes, and teeth as sharp as knives. The spirit laughed as it began descending towards Fluttershy. The mares turned back to see the burnt Reginald slowly advancing towards them.

"Burn! Burn with us! Burn with all of us! Burn! Burn! BURN!" cackled the Reginald fire spirit. It began reaching towards Fluttershy. The heat coming off of the spirit was enough to make Rarity feel like she was going to crumple up like a fall leaf at any second.

"Stay away from Fluttershy!" Pinkie ordered as she charged at the spirit. The spirit shot a plume of fire at Pinkie but she managed to dodge it. Rarity aimed her horn at the spirit and thought back to a short magic lesson she had had with Twilight. A small, but effective, stream of water shot out from her horn and hit the spirit. The spirit stumbled back for a few seconds, allowing Pinkie to run in and sling the unconscious Fluttershy onto her back. Rarity illuminated her horn as she and Pinkie ran through the nearby doorway, leaving the burnt Reginald and the fiery spirit back in the ballroom.

They didn't stop running until they came to a restroom with a backup light on inside of it. Pinkie began using some of the faucet water to treat Fluttershy's burn.

"Is she okay?" Rarity asked.

"I think so. She just fainted," Pinkie replied. Suddenly a voice echoed from the back of the restroom.

"Pinkie Pie? Rarity?" asked a familiar voice. They looked to see Rainbow Dash walking towards them.

"DASHIE!" cried Pinkie as she proceeded to wrap up Rainbow in a giant bear hug.

"What are you doing in here? I thought you got arrested!" said Rarity.

"I managed to break AJ and I out of the room when the blackout hit. It wasn't easy dragging her through the darkness but I still managed to get her here safe and sound."

"Wait...what do you mean by you dragged her here?"

"She fainted a little while before the blackout hit. She's lying on the floor just over there."

Rarity looked to see an unconscious Applejack lying on the bathroom floor.

"Is she okay?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"I think so. She's just got this nasty burn on her leg," Rainbow replied.

"A burn? How did she get burned?" Rarity asked.

"I don't know. She fell asleep and began screaming in her sleep. When I woke her up, she had those burns on her leg. I have no idea how they got there. What happened to Fluttershy?"

"Some fire spirit of sorts attacked her. She's fine, just unconscious."

Rainbow knelt down next to Fluttershy and examined her burn.

"That's funny," she exclaimed.

"What is?" Pinkie asked.

"Fluttershy's burn kind of resembles Applejack's."

"Um...girls," Rarity croaked.

"Yeah?"

"Something's happening to Applejack!"

The mares looked to see that Applejack was twitched violently on the ground. Her skin began to crack and burn like a marshmallow over a fire pit. Her mane became singed and she began to give off choking sounds.

"APPLEJACK!" Rainbow cried. Rainbow rushed towards her friend but found a blast of hot steam smashing into her face. When the steam cleared, the burnt Applejack was standing before them. Her eyes began to slowly burn ruby-red. Rainbow, Pinkie, and Rarity backed up as the burnt Applejack looked at them and began to approach them.

"Burn with me, Rainbow. Burn with me, Pinkie Pie. Burn with me, Rarity. Everything, burn. We're all gonna burn!" Applejack said with a crooked smile.

11th Level Living Quarters, The Queen Philippine, Orbit of Denum, Space, Winter, 4376 C.E.

Twilight led the group through the darkness with her illumination spell. The entire ship was extraordinarily quiet.

"Pretty quiet for a ship housing over two million passengers," said the Doctor.

"I know. That's what's worrying me," John admitted.

"Do you think we're going to come across more of those...things?!" Spike asked.

"I have a feeling that we will."

"I think I'm going to throw up," said Derpy.

"Not on me, please!" Spike snapped. Just then, a series of footsteps began emitting from the darkness.

"Who's there?!" asked the Doctor, Twilight, and John together. The Doctor aimed his Sonic Screwdriver, Twilight aimed her horn, and John aimed a futuristic pistol that he had kept on a belt around his hip. A figure slowly emerged from the darkness. John's eyes grew wide as he realized just who exactly had appeared from the darkness.

"Captain...what the hell's going on?" asked Lee.

The Last Denumian

Chapter 5: The Last Denumian

11th Level Living Quarters, The Queen Philippine, Orbit of Denum, Space, Winter, 4376 C.E.

"LEE?!" John exclaimed as he felt his own heart skip a beat. The blue stallion rubbed the back of his head as he looked at John and the others with a confused look on his face. "How the...what the...how the hell are you even alive?!"

"Am I supposed to be dead or something?" Lee asked.

"I hate to tell you this but we saw you die," said Twilight.

"But that's impossible! I'm not dead! I'm standing here right now!"

"Tell me, what do you remember about the past couple hours or so?" the Doctor asked as he took a few steps towards Lee.

"Let's see. I remember John telling me to lock down the 11th viewing hall. I remember talking to him while he was running to the museum. Then...then I remember feeling great fear and pain. And it was hot, oh dear Celestia was it hot! My skin felt like dried crust. I think I remember seeing you guys standing over me. Then...nothing. Next thing I knew, I was lying on the ground and nothing was wrong with me. It was really dark though so I stumbled around for a few minutes before I bumped into you guys."

"That's all you remember?"

"I'm positive."

"This doesn't make any sense!" Spike exclaimed.

"Or maybe it does!" said Twilight. "What if Lee never actually died!"

"But we saw him die! John felt him die!" Derpy argued.

"Yes...I know that...but remember that fire spirit we had to fight?"

"The one that looked exactly like Lee?" John asked.

"Yes! Why did it look like Lee? Why was Lee burned from the inside-out? Why isn't he dead and burned now? All the pieces are coming together!"

"I think I see where you're going with this, Twilight," said the Doctor.

"Would you like to explain the rest then, Doctor?"

"Nah. I think it's time I gave you some of the explanatory spotlight."

"Okay then. I'm still not sure about what's causing this but I think these alien fire spirits are able to invade a body spiritually. They then slowly possess it from the inside-out, absorbing energy from it. When they're done, their host's body is weak and burned and they themselves appear as fiery, ghostly copies of the being they were draining energy from! Their host can even die from the physical suffering that they go through...but if the fiery spirit is defeated then the host is returned to full health and they come back to life if they died."

Everypony was silent for a moment as they linked the pieces together in their minds.

"Makes sense to me," said Spike.

"At least I'm not a burnt marshmallow anymore," said Lee. John approached Lee and patted him on the back.

"It's good to have you back," he said.

"Now all we have left to do is find out what's causing this and stop it!" said Derpy.

"I think that's going to be harder than it sounds," said the Doctor. "If Twilight's theory is correct, then Lee may not have been the only being affected on this ship."

"Are you saying that there are more of those spirits?!" Spike choked.

"Yes. Everypony and everything on this ship can get possessed. Even we aren't safe. We better move quickly."

Suddenly, the entire hallway seemed to light up with a stream of red light. A group of fiery spirits were hovering down the hall towards them.

"Burn with us! Burn! Burn! BURN!" they chanted as they hovered forward.

"Do they really have to sneak up like that?" Derpy asked with an annoyed tone.

"We can scold them later! Just run!" yelled Lee. The group took off down the opposite direction. The spirits flew after them. The hallway burned and screamed from the heat behind them and the air quickly became as hot as an inferno.

"Please tell me you have another plan, John!" yelled Twilight.

"There isn't an ice rinse big enough on this ship to take out all of them at once!" John replied.

"Then what are we supposed to do?! Just keep running around this dark ship until they catch us?!" Lee snapped.

They passed through a doorway and John quickly sealed the door behind them. They found themselves in another hallway but this one was lit with emergency night lights.

"I knew we should have installed these all over the ship," said John.

"Where are we?" Derpy asked.

"We must be in the first class section of the 11th level living quarters."

"I have to ask, how come this ship seems so empty? Aren't there over two million beings on this ship?" Twilight asked.

"I have a feeling that whatever's behind this has something to do with this isolation-based feeling as well," the Doctor concurred. Just then, a series of screams emanated from down the hallway. "Good! We've found some company!"

"I wouldn't consider screams and hollers as a good sign, though."

The Doctor led the group down the hallway until they came to large mess hall. A group of ponies and aliens were huddled together as a fire spirit was slowly advancing towards them. It took a moment for Twilight to realize that the fire spirit looked awfully familiar.

"Applejack?!" Twilight gasped. The fire spirit turned around and it looked exactly like Applejack, aside from its fiery features.

"Burn with me, Twilight. Burn with us! Burn! Burn! BURN!" cackled the spirit as it flew towards them. Suddenly, a stream of water flew into the spirit, knocking it into the wall.

"That'll teach you!" snapped Rarity.

"Rarity?!" Twilight gasped.

"Good shot!" said Spike.

"Oh it was nothing! I simply must thank you for those lessons, Twilight. They've certainly come in handy today," Rarity said with a smirk.

"Where are the others?" Derpy asked.

"They're dealing with the burnt Applejack."

The fiery Applejack regained her balance began to conjure a plume of fire. Twilight and Rarity turned to face the spirit while the Doctor ran to help deal with the burnt Applejack, who was advancing on Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and an unconscious Fluttershy in a corner of the mess hall.

"Applejack! It's me, Rainbow! You've got to remember!" Rainbow pleaded.

"Let's burn together, Dashie. Let's burn together forever and ever!" cackled the burnt Applejack. Her eyes began to invert like Derpy's and her mouth was stuck in the form of a crooked smile. The Doctor came up and aimed his Sonic Screwdriver at the burnt pony.

"I'm sorry, Applejack, but I have to do this!" said the Doctor as he activated the Screwdriver. Applejack screamed as the sonic waves smashed into her fragile, burnt body. Her skin cracked and blood poured from the cuts. Her red eyes rolled up into her head and she screamed as she fell to the ground, the life quickly escaping from her.

"APPLEJACK!" Rainbow cried. The pegasus tried to rush to her friend's side but the Doctor held her back.

"Rainbow Dash! She'll be fine as long as we manage to defeat that fiery clone of her's! I promise Applejack will be okay!"

Rainbow looked straight into the Doctor's eyes and nodded, giving him the sign that she trusted his words.

"How are we supposed to defeat it then?" asked Pinkie Pie as she struggled to keep the unconscious Fluttershy on her back.

"This is a mess hall so there must be a faucet of some kind in here!"

The Doctor scanned the dark mess hall until his eyes fell across a counter. He ran for the counter and began rummaging through the cupboards. Rainbow Dash found the sink above one the cupboards and grabbed onto the extendable faucet.

"It doesn't have enough strength to blast the clone all the way from over here!" said the Doctor. Rainbow looked to see Twilight and Rarity fighting off the fire spirit.

"Hey, Twilight!" Rainbow called. "Get that thing over here! It's time for its bath!"

Twilight began backing off and beckoning the Applejack spirit towards the faucet. Rarity helped by shooting more weak water streams at it. Once the spirit was close enough, the Doctor turned on the faucet at full blast. A large spray of water shot out from the faucet and smashed into the creature. The cold water was like acid on its skin and, within seconds, the spirit was nothing but red ash. An emergency light kicked on, bathing the mess hall in a dim, yellow light. Pinkie Pie watched as Applejack's burnt body slowly returned to normal. The earth pony began breathing again but she was still unconscious.

"Applejack's okay!" Pinkie cheered. As the other passengers fell back into several seats to let their heart rates return to normal, the others gathered around Applejack.

"I kept my promise, didn't I?" asked the Doctor.

"I'm glad that you did," Rainbow said happily as she knelt down next to Applejack and gently stroked her mane. Rainbow leaned in close to Applejack, making sure that nopony could hear her, and whispered, "I'm glad that I didn't lose you, AJ."

"What happened to Fluttershy?" asked Twilight as Pinkie placed the unconscious pegasus on the ground.

"She was attacked by one of those spirits," Rarity replied. The Doctor suddenly noticed the box in Rarity's arm.

"What's with the box?" he asked.

"This? Some strange mare gave it to me after we got separated. She told me not to open it until the heat was too hot to bear."

"Did you recognize this mare?"

"No...but she seemed to recognize me and she seemed to know both you and me."

"Did she tell you what was inside of it?"

"No. All she said was that it cost her a lot to get. I can only wonder what's inside."

Suddenly, Fluttershy began to moan and her body began to shake.

"Oh no!" Pinkie gasped as she pushed the others back.

"What's wrong?" Spike asked.

"Fluttershy's going to become what Applejack just became! This is what happened to her right before she became burnt!"

The Doctor took this as an opportunity to find out more answers.

"Pardon me!" he said as he pushed his way past Twilight and Pinkie Pie. He knelt down next to the burning Fluttershy and pressed her hooves up against the sides of her head. Her eyes shot wide open and the Doctor felt an immense amount of heat rush through his body. That's when he blacked out.

Lair of Fire, The Core, Under the Crust, Denum, Winter, 4376 C.E.

The Doctor could feel himself leaving his body and appearing somewhere else. He was standing in the middle of a ginormous chamber constructed out of burning bricks. Fluttershy was standing next to him.

"Doctor?" she asked. "What...what happened? Where are we?"

"The home of our enemy, I would think," the Doctor replied. The Doctor and Fluttershy watched as a giant, red, crab-like creature the size of a mountain rose up from the depths of a pool of lava in the center of the chamber. The creature had thousands of sharp arms extending from its body, its teeth were sharp and covered with fire, and its eyes were redder than a pool of blood filled with rubies. Fluttershy wanted to cower behind the Doctor but the Doctor placed a hoof over one of her own hooves and she instantly felt somewhat braver. "Don't let it get to you, Fluttershy. Stand up to it. It feeds off the weakness of its hosts." The Doctor looked up and faced the creature. "What do you want with the passengers of the Queen Philippine?! What purpose do they serve?!"

"They must all burn," replied the creature.

"Why?! What are you?!"

"I am Monstrume Ignis Gigata. I am the last of the Denumians!"

"Last of the Denumians? So a species did occupy Denum?"

"And it still does! I may be the last but I will not fall like the others. This ship must burn! The filth aboard must burn!"

"But why? How has a ship on its maiden voyage affected your life in any way?"

"It is not the ship! It is the beings on board it!"

"What have they done?"

"They must all pay for the crimes of their ancestors!"

"Crimes of their ancestors?"

"Yes! They should have burned! But they never did! Now their children's children's children must pay the price! I remember all too well what took place here over one hundred years ago!"

"Whatever happened then does not concern anything in the present! Let the Queen Philippine and its passengers go, Monstrume!"

"I decide their fate! Not you! You will burn with them, Doctor of Gallifrey! They will all burn! They must burn!"

A wall of lava flew at the Doctor and Fluttershy. There was a massive pull behind the Doctor's naval and he could feel himself flying back up towards the ship. Just before the Doctor returned to his body, he caught a glimpse of a dimensional rift sitting in the middle of viewing hall 11.

Mess Hall 11, The Queen Philippine, Orbit of Denum, Space, Winter, 4376 C.E.

The Doctor opened his eyes to find the others standing over him.

"Thank Celestia, you're alive!" said Twilight as she hugged the Doctor tightly.

"What? Did you think I went and killed myself?" he asked.

"You were nearly there!" Pinkie gasped.

"Thankfully, both you and Fluttershy stayed in a stable condition," said John. The Doctor looked to see Fluttershy slowly regaining consciousness.

"So what happened?" Derpy asked. The Doctor stood up and began walking towards the door.

"I'll fill you all in as we walk. Right now, we need to get to viewing hall 11. And Rarity, I have a feeling that we're going to need that box of yours," he replied weakly.

Rarity Opens a Box

Chapter 6: Rarity Opens a Box

Viewing Hall 11, The Queen Philippine, Orbit of Denum, Space, Winter, 4376 C.E.

Lee decided to stay behind in the mess hall to look after the other passengers, as well as the unconscious Applejack, while the Doctor, Twilight, Derpy, John, and the others made their way to viewing hall 11. The Doctor wasn't completely sure about what was waiting for him there or if it could even help him stop Monstrume, but that single vision he had had right before returning to his body was enough to give him an ounce of hope for victory. They passed by lots of passengers and several fire spirits on their way to the viewing hall. Thankfully, there weren't any massive groups of spirits so the spirits they came across were easy to ward off. Eventually, they found their way back to the viewing hall. The room was illuminated by the planet Denum and its many stars. The lights of the TARDIS also shone somewhat bright in the slightly-dark hallway. There was a patch of air close to the window that looked like the surface of a rippling pond.

"What is that?" asked Spike.

"A rift in space. I have a feeling that it leads to where we need to go," said the Doctor.

"And that would be?" Twilight asked.

"The center of Denum. You see, as I explained, there never was an invasion of aliens. There was only one alien."

"This Monstrume fellow. He must have incredible psychic powers," said John.

"He does. Ever since I returned from the core, I can feel his presence all around us. He's extremely powerful."

"Did he ever mention his reasons for doing all of this?"

"Something must have happened over one hundred years ago on Denum that made Monstrume despise all other forms of life. John, do you have any knowledge of what happened?"

"Not really. I never was into history all that much."

"It's not like it would have been hard to do some research!" Twilight scolded.

"So what do we do now?" Rarity asked.

"We go through the rift and face Monstrume...that is if he's on the other side," said the Doctor.

"What else could be on the other side?" Fluttershy asked.

"Pretty much anything else in the universe."

"So walking through that is pretty much a crap-shoot," said John.

"Pretty much."

"And you're going to walk straight into it?"

"Pretty much."

"Are you insane?!"

"Pretty much."

"Is pretty much all you can say? And if you say pretty much as a response to that then I swear I'm going to break your jaw!"

"I think I'll be on my way then!"

"Doctor!" Derpy cried.

"Yes?"

"We can't just let you walk through that rift by yourself!"

"Well I was expecting somepony to come along with me. Not all of you though. I don't want to risk all of your lives anymore than I already have."

"I'll go!" said Twilight and Derpy together.

"No, Twilight! Your friends need you here! I can go help the Doctor!" said Derpy.

"No, Derpy! The Doctor needs me! I need to help him!" Twilight argued.

"But what about your friends?!"

"I can only help my friends by helping the Doctor and they're your friends too, Derpy!"

"Oh will you two stop fighting over the Doctor like little fillies?!" Rarity snapped. Twilight and Derpy fell silent. "I'll go! Besides, I have the box that supposedly is going to solve all our problems."

"But!" Derpy cried.

"No buts about it! I'm going and that's final!"

"I guess it's settled then," said the Doctor as Rarity marched forward with her box.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Sit back and wait for us to finish the job. Make sure to not get turned into a burnt marshmallow while we're gone!"

"Thanks. We'll try not to let that happen," Spike sighed. "Be careful, Rarity."

"Be careful, Doctor," said Derpy.

"Both of you be careful," said Twilight as she looked between the Doctor and Rarity.

"We will," said the Doctor and Rarity together. And with that, the Doctor and Rarity passed through the dimensional rift.

Lair of Fire, The Core, Under the Crust, Denum, Winter, 4376 C.E.

Rarity felt her body stretch and compress at least twenty times before she and the Doctor arrived at their destination. The air was incredibly hot and Rarity could feel her mane drooping from the sweat coming out of her pores.

"How are you holding up?" the Doctor asked.

"I've felt better," Rarity groaned as she fanned herself with one of her hooves. The box felt somewhat heavier in her arm and she was tempted to rip it open right then and there.

"Why don't we wait a little while before opening it?"

"I guess. I just really want to know what's inside of it."

"We're both on the same page there, Rarity."

"So...do you recognize anything?"

"This certainly looks like the chamber Fluttershy and I visited but it's definitely different."

"So where is this crab thing you told us about?"

"He's around here somewhere. I can sense him."

Rarity felt that she could sense Monstrume too. The hairs on her body were standing up and the hot air around her seemed almost alive in a sense. A loud roar rocked the chamber around them and the ground cracked in some areas.

"Be strong, okay?" the Doctor said.

"I'll try my best. For my friends!" said Rarity.

"For our friends."

The Doctor and Rarity began to walk deeper into the lair of Monstrume.

Viewing Hall 11, The Queen Philippine, Orbit of Denum, Space, Winter, 4376 C.E.

Several minutes had passed since the Doctor and Rarity had disappeared into the dimensional rift. Derpy was getting worried. She wanted to jump in after them but she knew that she had to stay and wait. She knew the Doctor would make it out okay. He had saved Ponyville and he could save the Queen Philippine too.

"You alright, Derpy?" Twilight asked.

"I guess. I'm just a little worried about the Doctor," she replied.

"I am too."

"I can see that."

"It seems like we both care about the Doctor very much."

Twilight chuckled a bit and Derpy nodded in reply. She looked and saw that the others were paying no attention to them. They were too busy watching Denum spew geysers of lava into space.

"There's something about him that makes me feel happy inside, no matter what the situation brings," Derpy explained. "I haven't known him as long as you have, Twilight, but I still feel a connection of sorts with him."

"I guess I feel a connection with him too," Twilight said.

"Do you love him?"

"Huh?!"

"Do you love him, Twilight?"

"I...er...what about you, Derpy?"

"What?"

"Do you love him?"

"I...er...well-"

"Is anypony nervous?!" asked a familiar, hyper voice. Pinkie Pie sat down next to Twilight and Derpy. She was shaking violently. "There's no need to be nervous right? I mean the Doctor and Rarity are going to come back in one piece and everything on this ship is going to be saved! That's what's going to happen right? Right?! RIGHT?!"

"Are you okay, Pinkie?" Twilight asked even though she really didn't see a reason for doing so in the first place.

"Am I okay? Am I okay?! Of course I'm okay! I'm always okay! I'm happy! I'm fine! I'm relaxed! I'm tired!"

And with that, Pinkie fell asleep right in front of Twilight and Derpy.

"Pinkie Pie's so random!" Derpy exclaimed.

"Tell me about it!" said Twilight. The two mares laughed. The ship shook again and they quickly stopped laughing.

"Come on, Doctor! Come on, Rarity!" they whispered together. "Please hurry!"

Lair of Fire, The Core, Under the Crust, Denum, Winter, 4376 C.E.

They were getting close. Both the Doctor and Rarity could feel it. The air was hotter, the roars were louder, and practically all of their hairs were tingling with a mix of excitement and fear. They soon came to a massive chamber. It was at least a hundred times bigger than the chamber they had arrived in.

"This is it," said the Doctor as he came to a halt. "This is the chamber that Fluttershy and I spiritually stood in."

"That means that this Monstrume fellow...is extremely close," Rarity gulped.

"He's not just close. He's right underneath us."

And with that, the pool of lava in the center of the chamber exploded as the giant Denumian known as Monstrume Ignis Gigata rose from its heated depths. He glared at the Doctor and Rarity with his red eyes and gave a lustful smile with his sharp, fiery teeth.

"I see that you've officially arrived, Doctor," Monstrume cackled.

"I've come to make a final bargain with you. Leave the Queen Philippine and its inhabitants alone and we'll leave you in peace!" the Doctor stated.

"No! They must pay! They must BURN!"

"But why must they burn?! What did their ancestors do to you to make you loathe every other being in existence with such a ferocious passion?"

"The year was 4247! This planet was not as red nor as violent as it is today! It was a happy place! A place where my species could live in peace on the surface! Many species had come to our planet and had left next to no impact on its surface! I was a mere child when this world became a living hell! The other species have been too lenient about leaving their garbage around! They created too many party planets and left them all abandoned just so they could move on to the next one. Most of the party planets remained stationary in space. But there was one that continued to drift through space...all because those reckless imbeciles forgot to turn off the engine systems! EPX538 was its name! In the winter of 4247 it smashed into my planet! It didn't destroy it but it destroyed the surface! Nearly my entire race was wiped out! I, along with a few survivors, was forced to descend into the depths of the planet! I have lived here for the last 129 years! Forty-eight of those years have been spent alone! Those innocents up there in that ship must now pay for their ancestors' crimes against my planet!"

"But that's not fair! However reckless their ancestors were, they weren't planning to have EPX538 destroy the surface of your planet! Your planet was just in the wrong place at the wrong time...and it got caught in that party planet's path!" Rarity argued.

"Someone must pay! They need to pay! They need to burn!"

"Don't you see what's happened?! For over a hundred years you've kept that anger inside of you! It's driven you insane! Now you're trying to unleash it out on a bunch of innocents! Please, Monstrume! Stop this!"

"You don't understand! You'll never understand! You're one of them! Both of you are! You must burn! They must burn! Everything must burn!"

"We're trying to help you, Monstrume. If you continue this then we will have to stop you," said the Doctor calmly.

"Do you honestly believe you can stop me from seeking justice?!"

"I cannot tell you how many times I've heard beings from all walks of life say that to me. It's not justice that you're seeking, it's revenge. Revenge for a reckless mistake that a series of party-loving creatures made over a century ago. It's time to let that anger go, Monstrume. This is your last chance. Stop now...or my friend and I will stop you."

"I will never let go!"

"Very well."

Rarity was about to open the box when Monstrume sent a sea of fire raining down on the two of them. The Doctor jumped to the side and pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver. As the fire fell down towards him, a small force field came out of the Screwdriver.

"You can do force fields too now?!" he gasped as the shield disappeared. Rarity ran away from the fire as she attempted to open the box. She tripped on a jagged rock and the box fell out of her grasp. It rolled along the ground until it came to a halt a few yards from the lava pool.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Rarity groaned as Monstrume bore down on her.

The Doctor, meanwhile, aimed his Screwdriver at the lava and said, "Let's see what else you can do!"

He activated the Screwdriver and arms of lava began grabbing onto Monstrume's sides. Monstrume proceeded to fight the arms as Rarity made her way towards the box. The Doctor continued to distract the giant Denumian with the Screwdriver. He decided to use this time to test out of the Screwdriver's new abilities. He caused some rocks to fall, caused some lava to rise and latch onto Monstrume like glue, and even shot a lightning bolt at the crab. Rarity eventually made it to the box but the Denumian was already bearing down on her. A plume of fire was forming in the back of his massive throat. A mixture of tears and sweat was pouring down Rarity's face as she tore at the box. Suddenly, there was a huge explosion of cold air and Rarity found herself flying back. A cloud of ice flew out of the bag and began flying around Monstrume, eating away at him like acid. Some of the particles in the cloud flew down into the lava and began to ice it over.

"What is all that?!" Rarity asked as the Doctor helped her get up. The Doctor examined the cloud with his Screwdriver and smiled.

"Brilliant! Just brilliant! That cloud's made up of tiny microchips! They're designated to act upon one specific command!" he said.

"And that is?"

"Make everything as cold as hell!"

Monstrume screamed as ice began forming all over his body. Sparks of fire fell down towards the Doctor and Rarity but they dodged the falling debris successfully. As Monstrume proceeded to fall victim to the ice microchips, the cavern began to collapse around them.

"I think it would be a good idea for us to get out of here before the pressure crushes us like tin cans!" said the Doctor. Rarity noticed something sticking out of the remnants of the box and reached for it. It was a blue envelope. The Doctor grabbed Rarity and pulled her towards the exit. "We can read it later!"

The two ponies proceeded to make their way back to the dimensional rift as the chamber collapsed around them. Monstrume let out one final scream of anger as he was frozen and crushed to death simultaneously.

Viewing Hall 11, The Queen Philippine, Orbit of Denum, Space, Winter, 4376 C.E.

An army of fire spirits was attempting to break through the doors. The others were preparing to hold them off to the best of their abilities.

"Any time now, Doctor!" Twilight cried as the doors burst open. Fire spirits flew in a breakneck speeds. Suddenly, a large plume of fire shot off into space from Denum, causing the ship to shake violently. Derpy noticed that the dimensional rift was slowly closing.

"NO! DOCTOR! RARITY!" she cried. Another vibration sent everypony falling to the floor. The lights turned on and off and proceeded to flicker like strobe lights. The fire spirits screamed in agony as they dissipated into piles of red ash. As the dimensional rift closed, the Doctor and Rarity were seen flying through it. The rift closed with a soft pop and Denum's fire geysers proceeded to stop going off. The lights flickered back on all throughout the ship as power slowly began to return.

Everypony was silent for a moment as they tried to come to terms with what the hell had just happened. Twilight and Derpy ran to the Doctor and wrapped him up in a massive hug.

"I knew you would do it!" Derpy said.

"I never doubted you for a second!" said Twilight with a forced smile.

"I helped save the ship too, you know!" Rarity snapped. Spike ran up and hugged her.

"I knew you'd be able to do it, Rarity!" he said.

"Thank you, Spikey-wikey!"

"So I take it that you were successful in your mission," said John as he approached the Doctor. The Doctor broke free from Twilight and Derpy's grasp and nodded.

"It was nothing. All I had to do was destroy a lair, defeat a giant crab, and have Rarity unleash a swarm of ferocious ice microchips," said the Doctor.

"That's all?!" asked Pinkie Pie with a laugh.

"You were so brave! Both of you!" said Fluttershy. "I never would have been able to do what you two did!"

"Of course you would have, Fluttershy!" said Rarity. "You've stood up to dragons, stared down a cockatrice, have taken care of countless animals, and have been able to keep my sister and her friends under control! You definitely could have done what the Doctor and I did!"

"Thank you, Rarity!"

"Whatcha got there?" asked Rainbow as she pointed towards the envelope in Rarity's hoof.

"Oh this? I found this in the box after the microchips were let loose," Rarity replied as she proceeded to open the envelope. There wasn't much on the letter. Rarity smiled as she read, "To the Doctor. You can thank me later. With love, Matilda."

"Matilda. I should have known," the Doctor sighed.

"So the mysterious mare who gave the box to me was Matilda all along?"

"Apparently."

"I wonder how she knew what to get and who to give it to," said Pinkie Pie.

"Well she is a time traveler and she doesn't exactly come across us in chronological order so I guess the Doctor's going to tell her past self the details at some point," said Twilight.

"Ugh! All this time travel talk hurts my brain!" said Spike.

"Wibbly wobbly timey wimey!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"So you do say that!" John said. "I knew it!"

The Doctor couldn't help but laugh. Seconds later, a record of John's voice began emitting from the speakers. It said, "Don't worry, dear passengers, the danger has passed. I repeat. The danger has passed."

"Well at least you don't have to worry about anymore problems with your maiden voyage," Derpy said to John with a wink.

"Thank Celestia!" he groaned as he fell back onto the floor.

An Unanswered Question

Chapter 7: An Unanswered Question

Viewing Hall 11, The Queen Philippine, Esther Space Station, Space, Winter, 4376 C.E.

The Queen Philippine came to a smooth stop as it docked at the Esther Space Station. The silver-clouded planet known as Esther was suspended in space a little ways away from the space station. Passengers of all sorts were beginning to disembark and board the ship. The Doctor and his fellow companions had enjoyed their time on the Queen Philippine following what was starting to be known as the Denum-Philippine Incident. Applejack had made a full recovery and now spent most of her time hanging out with Rainbow Dash in the viewing halls, watching the stars move by the ship. Now with the ship finally docked in a station, the Doctor and his companions figured that it was time to hit the time stream once again.

"Those had to be some of the most relaxing five hours of my life," Derpy sighed as she made her way towards the TARDIS.

"I think I've had enough of luxury spaceships for a while," said Fluttershy.

"I'm with you on that one, sugarcube!" laughed Applejack.

"I wish they had some rubies in the mess halls," Spike groaned. The viewing hall was empty aside from the Doctor, the Mane 6, Derpy, Spike, and John.

"I can't tell you how happy I am that I was able to meet all of you," John said with a smile. "This is almost like a story come true."

"This will probably end up in one of the stories about us," Twilight said with a laugh.

"Maybe," the Doctor chuckled. The Doctor and John shook hooves one last time.

"So where are you all off to now?" John asked.

"Wherever," Twilight replied.

"Whenever!" Derpy replied.

"Whenever and wherever they pull me," the Doctor whispered to John with a smile.

"Before you go, Doctor. There's one thing that's still on my mind," said John.

"And what's that?" the Doctor questioned.

"The dimensional rift. Where did it come from exactly?"

"At first I thought it was just a side effect caused by Monstrume's excessive psychic influences over the ship but now I'm not so sure."

"Are you saying that the rift just appeared at random?"

"Rifts are unpredictable but something about this one told me that something caused it to be here. Maybe it was here at random but it was no fluke in space and time. Something somewhere was creating it."

"Any ideas?"

"At the moment...I'm just as stumped as you."

"I bet you'll figure out the answer eventually."

"As long as I have my friends with me, no question will go unanswered."

Twilight and Derpy exchanged awkward glances. The refusal to answer each other's questions about their feelings for the Doctor left both of them in an awkward state of friendship at the moment.

"So I guess this is goodbye," said Rainbow Dash.

"I guess it is. Good luck with the Gailenean 1000, Rainbow Dash," said John.

"What's the Gailenean 1000?"

"Oops! Spoilers!"

"Would you mind sharing some of those spoilers with me?"

"Come on! Into the TARDIS, sugarcube!" Applejack chuckled as she pulled a disappointed Rainbow through the blue doors. Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie went in close behind them.

"Enjoy your ship, John. It's a real masterpiece," said Twilight.

"Thank you. Thank you all for saving it," John replied. Twilight smiled as she and Spike walked into the TARDIS.

"So where to now, Doctor?" Derpy asked.

"Why don't we set it on random this time and see where it takes us?" the Doctor suggested.

"Sounds like a plan! I hope they have muffins where we're going! I can't believe that on a ship for two million passengers there wasn't one mess hall that sold muffins!"

"Then let's pray that there's muffins at our next location."

The Doctor and Derpy chuckled as they walked into the TARDIS and shut the doors behind them. John smiled and watched as the TARDIS slowly flickered back into the time stream.

"Wait until Judy hears about who I met on my maiden voyage," he said to himself. He was about to leave the hallway when he noticed something lying on the ground. It was a piece of metal. He walked towards the metal and examined it. Two words were welded into one of the sides: Cybus Industries. "I wonder where this came from."

To be continued...