The Image of an Angel

"So, Doctor, what chaotic adventure will you take me on now?"

Doctor Whooves chuckled in amusement as a ditzy gray pegasus swooped circles over his head. Her blonde tail tickled his nose and made him sneeze twice.

"Bless you!" Ditzy Doo hollered.

The Doctor wiped his snout with his hoof and rolled his eyes.

"Now, Ms. Doo, whatever made you think that my adventures are chaotic?"

Ditzy laughed and landed with a loud plop onto the ground in front of the Doctor.

"Well, let's see..." Ditzy mumbled aloud. "How about those weird 'dalek' things?"

"That was only one time!" The Doctor scoffed. "And Princess Twilight did most of the heavy lifting."

Ditzy Doo smiled and walked alongside the Doctor. She couldn't help but admire his insanity. His instinct to charge into the danger when there are only seconds left to live.

Maybe 'insanity' isn't the right word. Ditzy thought to herself.

"Ms. Doo? Are you alright?"

Ditzy snapped back to reality and looked over at the Doctor. His deep, blue eyes showed concern, but that quickly faded as soon as Ditzy nodded her head in a quick and jerky manner.

"Oh, yeah!" She squeaked. "Just thinkin' to myself, Doctor."

"About what?"

The question was simple enough, but it still made Ditzy stop in her tracks.

"Ms. Doo?" The Doctor stopped and looked behind him.

"Oh, nothing important."

Ditzy hated to lie, but that answer seemed to satisfy the Doctor as he smiled and continued walking.

"Soooo... what are we doing today, Doctor?" Ditzy chimed, trying to change the subject.

"I thought that you and I could just take a stroll." He replied. "We never really get a break from all of our monster chasing, now do we?"

Ditzy smiled and nodded, feeling a sense of pure relief wash over her. It would just be the two of them. Just her and the Doctor. Alone. Without having to worry about anything ruining their day.

Ditzy smacked herself across the face and cursed her quiet thoughts.

Everytime somepony says that 'nothing will ruin their day', SOMETHING happens! She screamed to herself. But with one final glance at the Doctor, all of her worries subsided and she was finally able to walk alongside him and relax.

Until they heard a scream.

Ditzy jumped halfway into the air as a striped pony galloped out of the Everfree forest, screaming her head off and glancing behind her. The Doctor ran to her aide with Ditzy hot on his tail, but by the time they got to her she was unconscious.

"Oh, my, Zecora!" Ditzy shouted.

"We have to get her to a hospital!" The Doctor ordered, looking around. "Which direction, Ms. Doo?"

"Follow me!" Ditzy yelled, hoisting Zecora up off the ground as carefully as she could and flying towards the hospital. She glanced down at Zecora who had grown terrifyingly pale. Her dark grey stripes were now closer to the color you get after erasing your pencil markings on paper. Ditzy's heart beat increased with each passing yard and so did her frustration.

I SWEAR! The Doctor and I can NEVER have a day to ourselves! She thought, but then shamed herself for thinking such a thing when her friend needed help.

When she finally arrived at the hospital, she glanced behind her to find that the Doctor was nowhere in sight. She allowed herself to chuckle as she thought of the poor earth pony gasping for breath and trying to keep up. Then Nurse Redheart came out from the front door and immediately got other ponies to help her with Zecora. They lifted her up onto a stretcher and wheeled her away before anypony could ask Ditzy what happened. Then, about five minutes later, the Doctor arrived looking exhausted.

"Blasted regeneration couldn't give me wings..." He muttered under his breath and then approached Ditzy. "Is she going to be alright?"

"I don't know," Ditzy whimpered. "Nopony said a thing to me. It all happened to fast."

The Doctor put a hoof to his chin in confusion and started pacing the ground.

"Why was she running, Ditzy?" He wondered aloud.

"She was probably spooked by something," Ditzy answered.

"Yes, but what?" He stopped pacing. "She lives in the Everfree Forest! The most dangerous place in Equestria! If she lives there, then what on earth could she be scared of?"

Ditzy shrugged her shoulders.

"Beats me." She said.

The Doctor sighed in frustration and trotted quickly into the hospital. Upon reaching the lobby, they both were stopped by a security guard.

"Nopony's allowed back there right now," He growled.

"Then you're going to have to bend the rules now, aren't you?" The Doctor challenged, trying to walk around him.

"That area is restricted to all visitors until Doctor X-Ray gives me the 'OK'. OK?" The guard yelled, blocking the Doctor's path.

"Um, excuse me," Ditzy whispered, stepping between the two stallions. "We understand this dilemma, but that's our friend back there. We just brought her in."

"So you know what happened to her?" The guard exclaimed. "It looks as if she saw a ghost!"

"Well, no. We don't know what happened to her, but we'd like to ask her and find out." The Doctor added.

"I am sorry, sir, but nopony is allowed back there just yet. Even if you were Princess Celestia I couldn't let you pass."

"But-!" The Doctor started.

"Thank you, anyway, sir," Ditzy interrupted, grabbing the Doctor's tail in her teeth and pulling him away.

"Ow, ow, ow! Ditzy, that hurts!" He whined as she sat him down in a chair and spat out his tail.

"Oh, stop behind such a cryfilly! You've had worse!" She scolded, sitting down next to him.

The Doctor scoffed at her comment and looked around the lobby. To the ground, to the ceiling, to the wall, to the clock... the seconds turned to minutes and the minutes turned to hours. Before knowing it, they both fell asleep in their chairs with Ditzy's head on the Doctor's shoulder and his head on top of hers.

"Um... excuse me?"

The Doctor woke up with a jolt and looked down to find a small filly wearing a nurse's uniform. He tried to rub his eyes, but then realized that Ditzy was asleep and he couldn't move his shoulders. He blushed and then looked at the filly in front of him.

"Yes, what is it?" He whispered, trying not to wake Ditzy.

"You can see your friend now," She reported and then briskly walked away.

The Doctor sighed quietly and gently nudged Ditzy's front leg.

"Hey, hey, wake up," He said, pulling Ditzy away from his shoulder. She woke with a wide yawn and then a small smile formed on her face.

"Morning already?" She asked groggily, still recovering from her nap. The Doctor chuckled and pulled Ditzy to her hooves.

"Not quite." He answered. "More like 11 o' clock at night."

Ditzy shook her head to clear the drowsiness and looked around her.

"We can go and see your friend Zecora now," The Doctor informed her, leading her down the hall into the only room with the lights on. Nurse Redheart walked out of the room and scowled at the two of them.

"Take it easy on her!" She ordered in a harsh whisper. "She's had quite a scare and I don't want either one of you adding to it!" She then stuck up her snout and trotted towards the front office to clock out for the night. The Doctor snorted in reply and then slowly walked into the room.

The steady beep of the IV echoed across the walls and Zecora laid in her bed half asleep. When she saw Ditzy, however, her face brightened and she smiled.

"Oh, my dear Ditzy Doo! How nice it is to finally see you!" She chanted softly. Ditzy smiled and gave Zecora a small hug.

"It's good to see that you're OK, Zecora," Ditzy said.

"But goodness me, the hour is late. Why did you stay here? Why did you wait?"

The Doctor sighed and slowly approached her bed.

"We saw you running out of the Everfree Forest screaming your bloody head off, ma'am," The Doctor stated matter-of-factly. Zecora grimaced and pulled the covers up over her shoulders as if trying to hide from something. "Ma'am?"

"Beskerm my. Beskerm my. Laat dit nie aan my te kom." Zecora mumbled under her breath. Ditzy strained to make out the words, but couldn't understand a thing.

"'Beskerm my. Beskerm my. Laat dit nie aan my te kom'?" The Doctor repeated. "What does that mean, Zecora?"

Zecora suddenly stopped whispering and stared at the Doctor. Her eyes looked empty, as if she was no longer in the room.

"Protect me. Protect me. Do not let it get to me." She muttered.

"Protect you from what, Zecora? What?" The Doctor demanded, almost to the point of yelling. Ditzy rushed over to him and placed a hoof on his shoulder.

"Calm down, Doctor," She whispered urgently. "You'll only make it worse!"

"Skerp kloue. Skerp tande. Geen siele." Zecora continued to chant. "Sharp claws. Sharp teeth. No souls."

"She's not chanting anymore," Ditzy stated in fear.

"Zecora," The Doctor said, putting his front hooves on her shoulders and pinning her to the bed. "Was there something in the forest?"

"Yes," She whispered.

"Did it attack you?"

Zecora shuddered and slowly nodded. Then her pupils shrunk to the size of a dot and she screamed loudly. The Doctor was taken off guard and Zecora pulled him into a choke hold. Ditzy gasped in shock and tried to save him, but Zecora started chanting loudly into the Doctor's ear.

"They want you! They've come for you!" She hollered.

The Doctor struggled in her grasp and fought to get the air back into his lungs.

"Who?" He rasped.

Before she could answer, the IV stopped beeping and she fell back limply onto the bed. The Doctor started wheezing as her choke hold ceased and he stared at her cold form. Ditzy whimpered in fear and approached Zecora, placing a hoof on her chest.

"She's... dead?"

The Doctor's face went pale as he approached her, the stripes on her back almost fading into her coat. The Doctor checked for a pulse and then, failing to find one, opened her eye with his hoof. What he saw made him recoil in pure terror and drop to the floor. Ditzy looked at him, alarmed, and sat by his side.

"What's wrong, Doctor?" She asked, wrapping a hoof around his shoulders.

The Doctor slowly looked into Ditzy's eyes and shivered.

"They've found me." He stated.

"Who?" Ditzy whimpered. "Doctor, who's found you?"

He said nothing as he stood to his hooves and started to leave the room.

"The Angels..." He gasped.

"Who are they, Doctor?" Ditzy questioned.

"