The Stranger From The Vortex

Across town and far from the hospital, Twilight and Spike were with the Doctor as he was moving dozens of advanced medical equipment and scanning devices into the TARDIS Zero Room. The Maestro was fast asleep as The Doctor activated the machines. His cheery attitude from earlier turned into a serious monotone outlook at the situation he’s been dealt with. From Twilight and Spike’s description of what had happened in the room, the Time Lord knew well enough what he was looking for; something out of place, and possibly something not normal to this universe. The Doctor soon took notice of Twilight pulling a blanket out of her saddle, ready to put it on him.

“Uhm, what’s that?” the Doctor asked.

“A spare blanket I took from the house before we left” the unicorn answered.

“Okay, but why are you putting it on him?” he asked again.

“It’s cold in here and after what he’s been through, it just doesn't feel right to leave him in a cold room. Besides, this is one of Spike’s old blankets” Twilight explained.

“Wait it is? Oh right it is … why couldn't you give him one of yours?” Spike asked noticing that it was his blanket from when he was a newborn dragon. Larger than he remembered.

“Because yours was convenient, now unless both of you have any obscure reason to not give him one, then now is the right time … I’m looking at you, Doctor” Twilight eyed the Doctor who only shrugged, and turned back to the mechanisms at work.

“Anything yet, Doctor?” Spike asked, while Twilight finally placed the blanket on the Maestro.

“Hmm? Well I’m still setting up my equipment, but with what I got from the sonic, that residue from his coat indicates some alien material when I cross-reference it to the biological and nonbiological material to this world” The Doctor explained as he aimed his sonic about.

“So he’s an alien?” Spike asked, cutting a piece of bandage around the Maestro’s head.

“Yeah; probably; not sure, but we’ll know soon enough.”

“Doctor, when I told you about what happened in the room, you looked … worried. Why?”

The Doctor started stamping wires onto the Maestro’s body. The machines began to monitor and buzz as the stranger breathes calmly in his slumber.

“Me worried? Pfft. Please Ms. Sparkle. I am perfectly fine. In fact, I am so fine that you can call me President Doctor Fine … actually, no, stop, that is a rubbish title, but trust me. Everything is Fine, now please go back to the Console room, and check the Monitor.”

“... Fine, but if you aren’t okay, then please tell us. A good pony like you doesn’t need to worry so much.” Twilight said. She had a little frown on her face, and sighed before leaving with Spike alongside her. Miss Sparkle knew well enough that if she kept on pushing, he was going to lie about it, but for now all she can do is wait.

“Oh Mister Maestro, I don’t know who you are … but if I you are what I think you are, then I still don’t know what else is waiting for this daft old man in this strange world”

30 Minutes Later...

The Console was lit up as The Doctor kept walking about the machine as he and his friends talked back and forth, searching for right frequencies as the patient was still in the Zero Room.

“How about now?” the Doctor asked.

“It’s still the same, can you explain again what we’re looking for?” Spike asked.

“He said we’re looking for the heartbeat monitor, along with this downloading scan of the Maestro’s body” Twilight explained.

“Thank you Miss Twilight, just saved me some breathe to do this!” Sparks flew off the console from where he stood, jumping the crew back. “-NOW?!”

“NO!” both dragon and unicorn replied. He groaned and sighed.

“Okay. Okay. Ok-Hey! I got it; I know what I need to do!”

“What is it?” Twilight asked.

“If I can reconfigure the wiring below us, and direct the circuits to read out any life sign and TARDIS medical equipment in the zero room, then it’ll be easy as one, two, pi ... Be back in a tick!”

The Doctor grabbed his goggles and ran down the back staircase. He slapped on the goggles and opened the wooden frame from the deck below, pulling out his handy tool box.

“Does that mean we can go? Ow!” Spike yelped as Twilight slapped him in the back of his head, nearly throwing him off the rail.

“Spike! Don’t be rude like that, what if he does actually need us here, hmm?”

“Sorry! Sorry! Ouch, but what about the library, shouldn’t we get to work on it? Plus I am quite in the mood for a peanut butter and gem-jam jelly sandwich-Ow, again!” Spike

“Oh it’s alright!” the Doctor shouted from below. “Don’t you worry a thing; I’ve got this all under control!”

Sparks once again flew off from below, allowing the two friends to hear the time lord yelp with the sound of tools falling to the ground. They giggled for a moment, confirming them that it’ll be alright with the Doctor in charge.

“Oh wait, Twilight! You mentioned something about a scroll?!” the Doctor shouted from below.

“Right! I have it right here” Twilight responded quickly to pulling out a small scroll from her saddle bag. She levitated the scroll to the Doctor and teleported from the glass platform to the deck below. Spike sighed, knowing he was almost free to get food for his hungry stomach. The baby dragon looked over the rails as the two ponies talked to each other.

Knock-Knock

“Hmm?” The Dragon’s ears picked up a sudden knock. Then it was replaced by scratches.

Scratch-Scratch

“Uhm, Doctor? Are you expecting anyone today?” Spike asked.

“I was supposed to meet with Octavia and take her to this relaxing spot in 19th century Trottingham for a nice picnic, but that was yesterday ... Or was it today … Or tomorrow?-Oh never mind, but for now I would say no, why?” he asked, looking back at the scroll with Twilight.

Knock-Knock-Scratch-Scratch

This time, all three heard the pattern of knocks and scratches from the door. The Doctor and Twilight immediately came behind Spike and listened again for the pattern.

Knock-Knock-Scratch-Scratch-Knock-Knock-Scratch-Scratch

The Doctor opened the door and walked out, turning his head at the scenery. The TARDIS had landed on a hill overlooking Sweet Apple Acres, the evergreen forest on the outer edge, the mountains, Ponyville up and down the road from the farm; all of it under one sunny afternoon. The scenery was captivating, but not for long as he picked up a familiar hooting sound. He looked up, and saw Owlowiscious sitting on top of the lantern. Twilight and Spike poked their heads out from the doorway, looking up to see their pet.

“OWLOWISCIOUS!” they cheered in happiness. The owl hooted and flew into the TARDIS.

“Doctor!” the faint shout of Ditzy’s voice cried out. Followed by, “Twilight! Spike!” from Pinkie Pie. The trio turned back to see their friends galloping up the hill towards them.

“Derpy?!”

“Pinkie Pie?!” Twilight and Spike noticed.

“What are you two doing here?” the Doctor asked.

“I was ... and she was ... and it was ... then we ... Phew!” Ditzy kept trying to get her sentence out, but stopped in between for a few breathers.

“Derpy, relax. Take a breather, both of you. And come into the TARDIS”

“B-but there’s no time!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Excuse me, but did you happen to forget that I am a Time Lord, and that this is a time machine?”

“You don’t understand! Ponyville is in grave danger!” Ditzy started to catch her breath as she and Pinkie Pie walked into the TARDIS.

“What do you mean grave danger?” Spike asked. Pinkie took in one deep gasp of air into her lungs and smiled to see Twilight and Spike were safe. Suddenly the mare grabbed the unicorn and the dragon together, hugging them as tight an anaconda.

“Oh great! Now that she’s able to breathe again-GAH! She’s going to kill us by hugging out every last bit of-OOMPH! Air we have left-AGH!” Spike proclaimed, feeling choked by Pinkie’s hug.

“Pinkie, can you-GAK! Let us go?!” Twilight begged before finally being let free of Pinkie’s grasp.

“Oh I knew you guys were alright!” Pinkie bounced all around the console, with glee to see her friends out of harm’s way.

“Well of course we would be alright, why wouldn’t we be?” Spike asked.

“The library duh! It was left in shambles, and we thought something bad happened to you two” Pinkie explained.

“Thank you for your the concerns, but we can assure you that we are okay, and there was a reason behind the mess you two saw.” Twilight reassured.

“But how did you escape the big gooey black thing we found too?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“I’m sorry, what? A big black gooey thing?” the Doctor joined in, surprised to hear this sudden information.

“Yeah, the big black slime creature that was in the library … you’re telling us that you didn’t see it?”

“To be honest, we don’t know what you’re talking about” Spike proclaimed, “You see, the Library was left in shambles because of a spell Twilight used, which somehow blasted our home into smithereens.”

“And in the process, we somehow came across this unicorn we found in the midst of the destruction … but we know nothing about a slime creature” Twilight explained.

“Maybe it’d be best if you can explain what happened” the Doctor suggested.

“Okay. So, it started out this morning when I was delivering mail. I stopped by Sugar Cube Corner where Pinkie Pie was waiting for my deliveries. Then we started chatting about The Doctor’s really cool gift he gave me for my birthday, and that I was keeping the muffin to eat for later. Then when I was about to leave, Pinkie Pie suggested-” Ditzy was suddenly cut off by Pinkie.

“I suggested that since the Cakes wouldn’t need my help for today to run Sugar Cube Corner, that it would be cool and fun if I hung out with her on her mail route.”

“Right and then-” Ditzy started up again, until Pinkie kept on going.

“And then for the entire morning we went around town delivering mail, eating sweets, debating on the fact that Cupcakes are better than Muffins, and-”

“Excuse me, but if I remember it, we settled that Muffins are the superior bakery sweets” Ditzy corrected.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! We left it at a draw. Plus it is so obvious that when it comes to this issue, every Pony prefers the deliciously sweet taste of Cupcakes than the okay taste you get from Muffins.”

Twilight and Spike rolled their eyes as the Doctor began to repeatedly bang his head on the console, annoyed once again by the reprise of this annoying debate between the two ponies.

“But if you look at the balance of a cupcake, you’ll see that they are 20% Tastier than any Muffin!”

“Well at least a Muffin’s taste doesn’t need to hide under all that frosting! It’s not fake like your glittery show off cupcakes!”

“Glittery?! Fake?! Why I oughta-”

“LADIES PLEASE! GRAVE DANGER, you said; IMPORTANT, you said; BIG BLACK GOOEY THING, you said! Now can we just skip the pointless debate, and get to the main part?!” The Doctor frustratingly commanded.

“... Sorry Doctor” Ditzy apologized.

“Me too, Doctor” Pinkie said.

“It’s fine. It’s all fine. Just tell us what the problem?” the Time Lord asked.

“Hold your horses! We’re getting there ... Soon we went to Twilight’s house, and it looked as if a hurricane went through it!” Pinkie spun around as she kept explaining, “So then we charged into there like this! Charge!” The pony ran out the doors of the TARDIS and kicked them in, totally exaggerating the situation.

“So when we came in, we kept searching around if you two were okay. Then we saw Owlowiscious who looked alright, until he started vomiting up this black ooze. It was totally gross! Eww, even thinking about it makes me shiver” Ditzy explained. The Doctor pulled out his glasses and immediately scanned the owl with his Sonic Screwdriver, waving it about until the device could detect the dried stains of the ooze from Owlowiscious feathers and talons.

“And then out of nowhere, it suddenly sprang to life. Creeping along the floor like an ugly slug. Slowly and slowly oozing its way across the floor towards us!” Pinkie grabbed the Owl and Ditzy, reenacting the entire event with them leaning up against the doors.

“We had no idea what to do, but then Owlowiscious came up with the best way out!” Ditzy explained.

“How?” Spike asked.

“Ditzy’s butt” Pinkie proclaimed.

“Her what?!” Twilight raised and eyebrow.

“Ah yes, her buns of steel! Good job my little owly friend, now stand still. I need a better reading” the Doctor complemented, continuing to scan the bird

“Pinkie! You didn’t have to mention that!”

“Then thanks to her butt, we rolled out of your house before that thing can do anything to us ... like so!” Pinkie opened the door.

“Wait, wait, Pinkie Pie! No!” Ditzy screamed, but it was too late as the Pegasus rolled outside with Pinkie Pie back down the hill. Twilight sighed as Spike chuckled at their antics.

“That’s interesting … oh wait a tick” the Doctor said and squinted at the Sonic Screwdriver.

“What is it Doctor?” Twilight asked. The Time Lord pondered at the scans, sensing something oddly familiar about it. Suddenly as he looked even closer and closer, he noticed the correlation of the smeared dried ooze on the Owl’s feathers. Right then and there, he knew what he was staring at.

“Oh. Oh! Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh dear God, this is incredible!” he cheered. The Doctor took his glasses off, and ran around the console. He didn’t take notice of the monitor, as it continued to scan the Maestro. He switched it to another setting. Ditzy and Pinkie walked back into the TARDIS, pulling out grass and twigs from their manes.

“How can a big black gooey thing living inside our home be incredible?” Twilight asked, until she and the gang started grabbing onto anything from falling over due to the familiar shakes and rattles of the TARDIS going into flight.

“Ditzy, Pinkie, did you say that Ooze you saw was glowing green? And did it have a purple spots coloration? Any tentacles?” the Doctor asked, shouting as time machine was working its engines.

“Yes, yes, and yes” Ditzy and Pinkie said together.

“And you said it made you feel queasy inside. Like as if you too felt like vomiting it up, right then and there?!” he called out from across the room.

“Yes” the two answered again.

“Oh this is excellent!” the Doctor said, “Because you two and Owlowiscious were in the presence of a living Vortexnia Siconous Dibrandis or Vortex Ooze!”

“Vortex Ooze?!” the gang shouted in unison as the TARDIS finally stopped.

“Though it is very exciting to know that there is still a living Vortexnia Siconous Dibrandis roaming about, I must say that this could be very dangerous!”

“What? Why? How?” Twilight asked.

“I'll explain on the way. In the meantime, I'll need somebody to stay behind and look after the Maestro. Seeing that he was YOUR discovery Miss Sparkle, I suggest for either you or Spike to stay and look at the monitors.”

“Spike, I think you should stay here with Owlowiscious.”

“Ah, come on Twilight, it’s my home too!”

“Yeah, but this is Time Lord Stuff. Spike, I don’t want some kind of alien to hurt you. Whatever happened in the library after we left may still be there, and I cannot allow it to hurt you or make you feel queasy like the Doctor said.”

“But why do I get stuck here babysitting that Maestro fellow?”

“Spike, you remember how the Maestro was when he realized he had Amnesia. If he wakes up and finds himself in an alien spaceship, who knows what else can happen? Look, I’m so happy that you want to come along and help out, your … courageous spirit is another reason why you’re my number one assistant”

“Oh you don’t have to say that …” Spike blushed to Twilight’s compliment, “… Actually keep going, I like being told that I’m your number one assistant”

“Shut up, you silly dragon” Twilight and Spike giggled as The Doctor waited at the door, while Ditzy and Pinkie walked outside.

“Miss Sparkle, if we do want to stop the Ooze then I suggest we go right now” The Doctor said.

“I’ll be with you guys in a second. Now look Spike I want you to stay and just look over the monitors, if there’s anything weird going on. Just stay here and don’t touch anything or else-”

“Or else if I Press the wrong button, I’ll blow up the moon or block out the sun or whatever time machines do when things go bad. I know, I know. Twilight, if you want me to stay, then I will stay. Anything for my best friend”

“Aww, you’re so cute when you listen to me … for once” Twilight smiled and hugged Spike. They knew everything was going to be alright. Twilight grabbed her saddle, and walked over to the doorway.

“Don’t worry; you guys go stop that ooze thing, and I'll make sure that the Maestro is safe and sound.”

Spike saluted the gang as they galloped out the doors. Initially, after exiting the TARDIS, the ponies recognized that they landed right by the bridge to the center of town. Twilight led the charge back to her library as things inside the TARDIS were about to get weirder for Spike and the sleeping stranger.