The Return of Doctor Whooves

(Pant) (Pant)

A blue furred pony, with two double eighth notes for a Cutie Mark ran through the bushes and trees of the Zebrawa Jungle, determined to outrun those ponies who pursued him. No, not ponies, he thought to himself. Those things couldn't be called proper members of ponykind, not anymore. Not after what he'd seen. It was horrible, something out of one's darkest nightmares. Rain splattered his glasses making everything harder to see than normal, and thunder cracked in the distance. The pony took a quick look behind him to see if he was still being followed, but saw nothing. He let out a sigh of relief. He was safe... For now.

"Damnit, I had to leave everything back at the hotel, didn't I?" The pony  muttered to himself. "Oh yes, come to Zebrawa, the tourist capitol of Equestria. Enjoy the untamed wilderness, the culture, the wildlife... Long as you don't get eaten by it, that is." The pony mused, and chuckled to himself. How was he to know that cave he had took shelter in a few minutes back was home to lions? Lions who happened to have cubs with them. It wasn't like there was some big flashing neon sign that said "Lions live here! Do not enter, unless you are a bloody moron who wants to get mauled!" Really, it was somepony's fault for not warning him of where the lions lived these days. Taking a glance at his right hind leg, the pony nearly vomited. It was mauled very badly, and blood was oozing onto the grass. He was amazed he could even stand up. But that wasn't his biggest concern. He knew those... things, as he couldn't find a proper word to describe them, could track him by the blood. They were like sharks. Put blood in the water, and they would come. The pony grimaced to himself and ignored the throbbing pain that made him want to scream out. He had to get moving, back to safety, back to civilization and find the nearest airship home.

"How does that old Copper Airship song go...?" He mused to himself as the rain poured down soaking both him and the thrush around him. "Oh yeah, Now I smell the rain, and with it pain, and it's heading my way..."

And so, the pony picked himself up and ran, and ran, and ran. He was just about out of the jungle and he could see the light of a nearby village ahead of him. He smiled in relief and let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. Safety at last. But then, the pony found himself shoved up against a tree by an unseen force and found himself looking into a Zebra with pure black eyes, no irises or anything. They were just coal black, darker than looking into the pits of Tartarus itself. Fitting really, as that was where this creature came from originally.

"Yes, I think you'll do very nicely. Now open wide! You've got a very special VIP guest who wants to take up residence!" The Zebra laughed and kicked Noteworthy in his mauled leg making him scream out in pain and just as his mouth opened, a swirling column of red colored smoke entered him and then Noteworthy smiled. Not his usual calm, friendly smile, but one of pure darkened hate. Hate for anything that wasn't one of his own kind. And then his eyes opened, and they were blood red.

"Okay, now that's over and done and dusted, can somepony find me a suit? I really do look rather ghastly in the nude, don't you think? And get me cleaned up. I've got standards to uphold. Knight of Tartarus and all."

The Zebra bowed and said "Yes... Milord Abaddon."

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(Also Starring:  Ashleigh Ball as: Rainbow Dash)

(Special Guest Star: Mark Sheppard as: Abaddon/Noteworthy)

Ponyville: Carousel Boutique

The Doctor and his two companions walked through the streets of Ponyville. The Doctor couldn't resist chuckling to himself. Twilight looked as if she was about to burst from excitement while Rainbow looked as if she were ready for an adventure, dressed in that pith helmet and jacket of hers.

"So, guess the costume shop was all out of Princess dresses this time wasn't it?" The Doctor snarked, unable to resist getting in a dig as he remembered Rainbow's... displeasure when they were in Sleepy Hollow for the first time (Well, second time for him. That town always seemed to be in trouble whenever he was around. First it was that Dalek and then the Headless Horse.)

...drawn to Rainbow Dash when she came in. The sight of her made Twilight gape in complete shock, though not because of how attractive the costume looked on Rainbow, more due to the fact that Rainbow's costume which was a pink medieval princess costume simply just looked wrong on her. Trixie tried to stifle her laughter, but was mostly failing.

"So, I'm guessing they were out of Daring Do costumes then?" Twilight asked dryly. Rainbow gave her a Class-A type death glare.

"What? They were all out of costumes except this, the cowboy outfit and what Cadance is wearing." Rainbow said in disgust. "Now nopony laughs, and nopony gets bucked through the nearest window understand?" Rainbow grumbled as she walked off a mix of embarrassed and furious. Once Rainbow was out of earshot, Trixie finally gave up and burst out laughing as she walked off towards the direction of the Town Square. In her mind, she had more important things to do then hang around here.

'Shaddup..." Rainbow muttered to herself as they walked up to Rarity's workplace/place of residence and Twilight politely rapped on the door a few times. She considered the possibility Rarity might not even be up yet, but she was soundly proven wrong when the marshmellow colored fashionista pony answered the door.

"Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every-" Rarity said in her usual greeting, before noticing who it was. The Doctor noted Rarity's expression as she eyed his attire. He huffed to himself. Who was she to criticize him on fashion? He'd been unlucky enough to witness some of the outfits she'd made for the Pony of Pop, Sapphire Shores, and Rassilon above, they made Elvis's, Lady Gaga's, or even Liberace's outfits look tame in comparison!

"Rarity, you look terrible." Twilight said bluntly, as she noted Rarity's tired eyebrows and then she noticed something else. Dripping from Rarity's mane, which was still in curlers, and onto her fluffy pink bathrobe was a very familiar sticky substance. Blood. Twilight frowned in worry. How had that gotten there?

"Oh sorry dearies, just a bad dream." Rarity replied with a deep yawn. Rainbow raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"And the blood?" She asked, and all three ponies saw Rarity's eyes widen in shock as she felt the sticky substance dripping from her normally perfectly kept purple mane.

"Oh... I... I just bumped my head on my headrest this morning, that's all dearies. Nothing to worry about whatsoever." Rarity told them. Twilight raised an eyebrow, The Doctor "Hmmmed..." to himself and Rainbow thought "Okay, I know I'm no AJ, but even I can tell a lie from a truth. And that right there was a big fat one."

"But enough about me." Rarity continued, as if she seemingly wanted to change the subject of their conversation. "Where are you three off to this fine morning?"

"Oh, us?" Twilight laughed. "We're off to Zebrawa, a little vacation into the bush, to see it's natural beauty. You see, I got curious about Zecora's homeland a few days ago, and so I asked the Doctor about Zebras and their home country, and he thought after all we'd been through together lately, we needed some time off and so he offered us up a little trip. Imagine, the beauty, the wonder!"

As Twilight rambled on, the Doctor thought to himself. "Okay, something's up. I've met Rarity before, Tartarus, she helped me when I was first still regenerating from my previous form and generally did a good job about it, sexual jokes aside (The Doctor blushed at the memory of Rarity asking "Anything else he's got two of?") and kept me well until my body was ready. Nothing really seems to stun or rattle her, well except for maybe rats or spiders." The Doctor mentally chuckled before continuing with his train of thought. "She looks almost afraid. Terribly afraid, almost as if somepony was trying to kill her. And then there's the fact that she looks as if she hasn't slept for a week. If I didn't know better, I'd say it was almost as if..." The Doctor thought before shaking his head. "No, but that can't be. I trapped her myself and handed her off to Princess Celestia and let her deal with her. It can't be that. It simply can't be." But then he was reminded of a very famous quote by a certain deerstalker wearing detective.

"When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

That didn't reassure the Doctor in any way whatsoever.

"...The untamed wilderness, the wildlife, the culture!" Twilight continued to ramble before she was cut off by Rainbow placing a hoof over her mouth.

"Okay Twi, I think she gets it." Rainbow deadpanned. As Rarity waved them goodbye from her shop door, Twilight mused to herself (After mentally squeeing over the fact that Rainbow had given her a nickname, before then brushing it off as just something done out of friendliness. After all, Rainbow called Applejack "AJ" didn't she?) "Hmm, something's off with Rarity... I just can't quite put my hoof on what it is though. Gah, Twilight, you're probably just being overly paranoid. It's not like Rarity is going to be possessed by some evil spirit or anything while I'm gone. Just sit back and relax and enjoy the adventure." and walked, taking a quick look behind her to see if Rarity was truly alright. She sighed in relief when she saw Rarity shut the door and through the windows, saw her go back to work on sewing something as always, never noticing the dark blue mist floating ominously above the Boutique...

"Come on Twi, you're being such a slowpoke! We're going to leave ya behind if you don't pick up the pace!" Rainbow called from ahead of her and Twilight yelled "Coming!" before mentally musing "Zebrawa, here we come!"

VWOOP! VWOOP! VWOOP!

The TARDIS made it's usual assortment of wheezing and groaning noises as it appeared in the middle of a small village in Zebrawa deep in the Serengeti Plains. The village itself consisted of mud huts with thatched roofs, or occasionally homes made from trees, much like Zecora's hut back in Ponyville. As usual, nopony seemed to take no notice of the TARDIS (Now with the words Pony Public Call Box instead of it's old Police Public Call Box. The Doctor had managed to fix the Chameleon Circuit a while back, although it seemed the TARDIS had grown attached to it's form of a police box. Either that, or the Doctor just couldn't be bothered in changing the time machine's exterior to any great extent. Twilight honestly suspected the latter.) as the locals went about their day, trading things at market stalls and weaving complex baskets with whatever they could find. In the street, a group of dancers performed to a tribal beat set down by some musicians much to the enjoyment of a gathered crowd of tourists. Twilight smiled at all of this as she, Rainbow and the Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS. It was always wonderful to go to a new place, and learn about how the culture differed to that of her home.

"Ah, smell that air! It's... It's so fresh and new!" The Doctor cried in a childlike joy, unable to think of any other words to describe it, all the while doing a 360 spin, as if to get a panoramic view of the area. Both Twilight and Princess Celestia had often noted he had a tendency to do this when in places he'd never been before, and sometimes just when he was excited about something, and often at times for both reasons.

"Geeze, what a dump." Rainbow stated bluntly only to get smacked upside the head by Twilight causing her to yelp in pain.

"Rainbow, don't be rude! This is how they live, we are in no position to criticize them on it! For all we know, if they came to Ponyville, they might think our form of construction strange. I actually quite like it. It's rather simple and makes for a nice change of scenery." Twilight chided, and Rainbow felt as if she was being scolded by her mother.

"Spending all that time around Princess Celestia, not healthy." Rainbow mused, although this time she kept her remarks to herself, in fear of another smack to the head.

"Thank you young mare. We of this village greatly appreciate you appreciating our way of life. Welcome Twilight Sparkle and friends, we have been expecting you." An older Zebra, who could only be the village leader, judging by his red robes and staff said as he walked up.

"Really?" Twilight asked and then the Zebra chuckled before smiling in a very Princess Celestia like way, the kind of way that she often smiled at you before telling you that you had fallen victim to a joke of some manner.

"No, we just say that to freak out the tourists." The Zebra smirked while in the background Rainbow muttered "Well then, consider me officially freaked." to herself as the Zebra introduced himself as "Akachi", meaning Faust's Hoof in traditional Equestrian.

"Welcome Doctor." Akachi said as he shook hooves with the Time Lord. "I can tell you're a stallion of wealth and taste."

Those words set something off in the Time Lord's mind, as he knew he'd heard that particular phrase before somewhere, but he just didn't remember exactly what it was from. Problem was, if you had over 900 years worth of memories, things tend to get lost in them. He at times so envied the BBC version of Sherlock who only remembered the things that were important and his "Mind Palace" ability. Would have come in handy right now.

"A-And, uh, you too." The Doctor stammered out, somewhat caught off guard that this Zebra knew his name, along with Twilight's and Rainbow's before he had even brought it up. He was then in for another shock as Akachi then whispered "We need your help _______. Our village is under siege. Do not tell the others of this just yet. It will frighten them, for what you face is not of this plane. I have already given you a clue as to what it is. Do with it as you must."

Now the Doctor was really stunned even as Akachi trotted off with a follow me gesture from his hoof. How could this Zebra even know his true name? Not the title he told everyone, but his real name given to him at birth. And what was this threat he talked of? The Doctor's mind was still on this problem even as he and his two companions found themselves on a wagon pulled by a Zebra named Kevin, who made his life's worth providing tours of the surrounding wilderness, with the wagon's sides opened up to the fresh air with only four small pillars to hold the roof up and very crude seats exploring the Plains.

"C'mon Doctor, get your head out of the clouds and take a look around, you're missing a lot of great stuff here!" Rainbow exclaimed before pulling out a pair of binoculars and looking through them to see a pair of giraffes eating from the very tops of trees. All the while Twilight was eagerly jotting down notes on a small notepad as she observed an elephant's behavior, only to receive the shock of her life when the elephant sprayed her with water from his trunk. Twilight coughed and sputtered as she angrily looked at the elephant and then at her soaked notes. All the while, Kevin (Along with Rainbow) laughed uproariously.

"Do not mind him, he must have thought you needed a bath!" Kevin exclaimed in amusement as Twilight growled and brushed part of her now soaking wet mane away from her face. Needless to say, she did not share his amusement. She quickly dried herself off with a spell and pulled out a spare pencil and notepad just as the wagon neared some lions.

"Always prepared, huh, Twi?" Rainbow thought in amusement before she noted how sharp teethed the lions were. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, please tell me they don't want me for a Rainbow Dash sandwich! Daring Do never had to deal with anything like this!"

But it seemed, the lions had other things on their minds as the male one slowly got up on top of the female one.

"Ewwwww, lion porn!" Rainbow groaned as the Doctor laughed and said "It's only natural! Birds do it. Bees do it. Tartarus, even well educated fleas do it, and I know you certainly want to do it with a certain mare!" making Twilight squawk and drop her notepad and render Rainbow speechless for several moments. But then she got her revenge.

"Like you want to do it with a certain Princess?" She snarked and that promptly shut the Doctor up for the rest of the journey.

Later that night, the Doctor was still musing on the problem at hand even as he and his two companions turned into bed for the night at the only hotel in town. The Doctor yawned. It'd probably be best to think on this in the morning, when he wasn't tired and his brain was more awake. The Doctor pulled the covers over himself and smiled as he heard Rainbow whisper "Good night Twi." and hear Twilight whisper back in return "Good night... Dashie." before she flicked off the lights.