I don't own My Little Pony or Doctor Who in any way, shape, or form.
Chapter 11 The Plague of Silence
"Okay, so, where are we?" Rainbow Dash asked as she exited the TARDIS.
"We are currently in the Hoofback Mountains," the Doctor said as he stepped out as well.
"And why are we here?"
"There's a little town around here called Prosperity Falls that I want to check out."
"Why?"
"I like the name."
"You're weird."
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
Dash sighed and shook her head. "So where is this place?"
"I believe it's that way," the Doctor replied pointing vaguely westward.
The two ponies stood there for a moment before Dash said, "So why aren't we going over there?"
"Because Pinkie's still in the TARDIS."
The pegasus glanced around and saw that the pink earth pony was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh yeah, right," she said. Walking back over to the blue box, she stuck her head inside and called out, "Pinkie Pie! Come on! We gotta go!"
"Coming!" Pinkie called back and quickly galloped out. She slid to a stop and took a moment to catch her breath and said, "Sorry about that."
"What were you doing?" the Doctor asked.
"I was checking out the kitchen."
"Why?"
"I wanted to make some cupcakes."
"Cupcakes? I haven't had cupcakes in a very long time. I think that would be a wonderful treat after we finish up here."
"And where are we?"
"The Hoofback Mountains."
"Why?"
"To visit a small town called Prosperity Falls."
"Ooh, I like that name!"
"I know, right?"
"Like I said, weird," Dash scoffed.
"Aw, don't be like that Dashie," Pinkie said wrapping a leg around Dash's shoulder, "It's gonna be fun!"
"How do you know that?"
"Cause it's always fun with the Doctor!"
"Really? I didn't think much fun when were on that planet that almost exploded the other day."
"Yes, well, sometimes things like that happen," the brown stallion said, "There's always a bit of good mixed in with some bad. The people of that planet did think you were the reincarnation of one of their deities, remember?"
"Oh yeah. That was cool."
"See? Good mixed with bad."
"So stop worrying!" Pinkie said, "Everything will be fine."
"If we're done with this now, let's start moving. I want to get there before the sun goes down."
Nodding, the two mares followed closely behind as the Doctor began to walk westward. After about ten minutes of walking, something resembling a small town appeared on the horizon.
"Ah, there we go! Prosperity Falls. Come on. Lets get there quick!"
Picking up the pace, the three quickly reached the town. As they approached, a reddish-brown earth pony sitting near the edge of town took notice of them. Standing up, he began to franticly wave his hooves at them and shake his head. The three ponies stopped and looked the colt confusedly.
"What's he doing?" Pinkie asked after a few seconds.
"Not sure," Dash replied.
"I think he's trying to warn us of something," the Doctor suggested.
"Warn us? About what?" Pinkie asked.
"No clue. Excuse me!" the Doctor called out to the other pony, "Is there something going on here? A problem of some sort?"
The pony nodded his head and pointed in the direction that they had come from.
"Hmm? Something back there?" the Doctor said turning, "I don't see anything. You sure there's something wrong?"
He nodded more vigorously and pointed again.
Sighing, the brown earth pony shook his head and said, "Look, I get that you're trying to tell us something, but it's kind of hard to figure out what you're trying to tell us if you don't actually say anything."
The pony pointed at his mouth and shook his head, then pointed back at path behind them.
"Wait, are you saying you can't talk?"
The pony nodded and pointed.
"Ah. I see. I'm sorry if I caused any offense. In any case, I'm still not sure what you're trying to tell us."
"He's telling you to leave," an off-white unicorn said as he stepped up from behind a house.
"Leave? Why? We just got here!" Pinkie said.
"Because this town is cursed."
"Cursed? What do you mean?" the Doctor asked.
"Bad things happen to anypony who comes into town. Things like this," the unicorn replied gesturing to the earth pony.
"The towns curse made your friend here mute?"
"Him and several others."
"Hmm, strange," the Doctor mumbled and began to walk up to the town, "When did all this start?"
"Stop!" the unicorn called out holding out a hoof, "Don't come any closer! Just go away! Get out of here before something bad happens to you!"
"Sorry, but that's not an option. I don't know what's going on here, but I do know that it's bad. And that you need my help, even if you don't know it yet."
"Why would we need your help? Who are you?"
"I'm the Doctor."
"A traveling doctor?" The unicorn's eyes went wide.
"That's right."
"I see. If you're a doctor, then maybe you really can help."
"Glad you see it my way," the Doctor replied with a smirk, "Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, come on."
"Wait a second! You want us to go in there?" Dash said nervously, "Into the cursed town?"
"Yes. Because it's not cursed."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because curses don't exist. Also, our friend here seemed rather pleased to hear that I'm a doctor. If this town really were being plagued by a curse, a doctor wouldn't be much help. The fact that he thinks I can help tells me that it isn't a curse. Isn't that right?"
The unicorn just stared back at him.
"Now then, as I was saying, lets go."
"Fine. But if I'm struck mute, I'm blaming you!"
"Fine by me."
"I suppose I should introduce myself then," the unicorn said as they approached, "My name is Fit Fiddle. This is Sunflower."
The earth pony nodded.
"Good to meet you. Wish it were under better circumstances. As I said, I'm the Doctor."
"I'm Pinkie Pie!"
"Rainbow Dash."
"As you said, I wish we could be meeting under better circumstances," Fiddle said and began to walk away, "Follow me. We'll talk in my home."
He led them a short way to a small house and ushered them in. He sat down near a small table and gestured towards the other side, saying, "Sit. You have questions to ask, I'm sure."
"Yes. Yes I do," the Doctor said as he sat, "First of which is, do you have any tea?"
"I could make some if you'd like."
"That would be lovely. Thank you Mr. Fiddle."
Nodding, the unicorn's horn glowed softly and a teakettle floated in to the room along with four cups. He set the cups on the table and poured tea into each. Picking up one, the Doctor sipped it.
"Hmm, not bad. Now then, first of all, what exactly is happening here?"
"All across town ponies are falling silent for no apparent reason."
"A terrible occurrence, definitely. But I feel that there's something else going on here."
"You're right," Fiddle replied with a nod, "The ponies that are affected end up dieing."
"Dieing?" Pinkie exclaimed, doing a spit take with her tea.
"Yes. Dieing. All the afflicted ponies drop dead anywhere from a week to a month after first falling silent."
"That's quite serious," the Doctor said, "Is there any way to tell how long someone will last?"
"No. It's random. Whoever's afflicted, be they old, young, earth pony, pegasus, unicorn, filly or colt, they die at random."
"Hmm. When did all this start?"
"It was a little over four months ago."
"How did it all start?"
"We're not entirely certain on that. The first pony to fall silent was a tailor named Feather Down. A few days later there was another, then another and another, and, well… I'm sure you can guess the rest."
"Anything strange happen to Feather Down that day? Did he find any strange objects or meet any strange travelers?"
"No. Feather didn't leave his shop much. The only times he did was when he needed to get more supplies from Canterlot. And he had just returned from a supply run few days before that. And he didn't bring back anything weird or different than before. And the last time a traveler passed through town was about a month before that."
"How do you know he became mute if he spent so much time in his shop?" Dash asked.
"His sister came running out of the shop screaming about how her brother suddenly couldn't talk. The doctor looked at him and figured whatever caused it was probably temporary, and then…"
"I see. But if you already have a doctor here, why do you need me?" the brown stallion asked.
"He died a couple of months ago. Even if was still alive, we sorely need the perspective of somepony from elsewhere."
"That makes sense. Anything else you can tell me about that day? Anything odd?"
"Well, lets see… There was a bright flash of light in the sky about an hour before Feather Down went mute."
"A flash of light?"
"Yeah. I didn't see it myself, but from what everypony who did said, it was a bright flash of white light. Blinded everypony who saw it for a few seconds."
"Did Feather Down see the flash?"
"No idea."
"Why would that matter?" Dash asked.
"It's possible that this flash is the cause of everything. How many who saw the flash have been affected?"
"Quite a few. But there have also been ponies who I know for certain didn't see the flash that were affected."
"Ah. Well, it could still be the cause."
"How? It was a flash of light! How can a flash of light do this to a town?"
"That's what I intend to find out. Is it alright if I investigate around town?"
"Yeah, sure. You don't need permission from me. It's not like I'm the mayor or anything."
"Can I speak with the mayor?"
"That depends. You got a spirit board in that saddlebag of yours?"
"Oh. Well… On that note, I think I'll head out. Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, stay here."
"Wait, what? Why?" Dash demanded.
"I just have a feeling you'll both be safer here."
"What about you?" Pinkie asked.
"I'm an alien remember? Whatever's going on might not affect me."
"That's not very reassuring," Dash said.
"That what happens when you're dropped into an unknown situation."
"Wait a second," Fiddle said, "Did you just say you're an alien?"
"No time for that!" the Doctor yelled as he ran out of the house.
Fiddle looked over at the two mares and raised an eyebrow.
"Don't look at me," Dash said, "I barley understand the guy."
Pinkie shrugged.
"Well, make yourselves comfortable I guess," the unicorn said walking into another room, "I have some things I need to do."
"So, what now?" Pinkie asked.
"I guess we wait," Dash replied.
The pink pony sighed and slumped to the ground.
"This is going to be boring," she muttered.
"Boring? Pinkie, there is something going on in this town that makes ponies become mute and then die!" the blue pegasus exclaimed, "I'm all for adventures and fighting monsters, but this is different! Besides, the Doctor knows what's best, I guess. And if he thinks we'll be safe here, then we gotta stay here, even if it's boring."
"I guess so…" Pinkie muttered.
"Hey, you two hungry?" Fiddle called out, "I'm making some soup. If you don't want any you don't have to have any, but there's gonna be soup, so… if you want some you can have some."
"Uh, okay, that's sounds good," Dash called back.
"Hmm… Soup does sound good," Pinkie said.
The Doctor walked through the town slowly, taking time to examine anything that looked odd, but found nothing. Eventually, he found his way back to the entrance where Sunflower sat, looking bored.
"Hello there Sunflower," he said walking up to the earth pony.
Sunflower turned to look at him and nodded.
"Mind if I sit here?"
The rust colored pony gestured to the spot next to him. Nodding, the brown pony sat and the two of them sat in silence, staring at the land stretching out in front of them.
"You know," the Doctor said after a moment, "I get the feeling that you are a great conversationalist. Or, were, I suppose given the circumstances."
Sunflower shrugged.
"One thing I'm a little confused about, though, is why they have you, one of the mute ponies, out here, acting as a watch pony to keep travelers away. It would make more sense to have someone like that Fiddle fellow doing this job."
Sunflower shrugged and made a series of hoof gestures and movements.
"I see. I suppose that makes sense. Still a little weird though."
The two sat in silence for a few more minutes before the Doctor said, "If it's okay with you, I'd like to run some tests on you."
The other pony looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a look of concern in his eyes.
"It's not going to be anything painful, I assure you. You've had physical examinations before, right? It'll be kind of like that."
Sunflower looked at the ground for a second then nodded his head.
"Alright. Just sit still," the Doctor said as he stood up and reached into his saddlebag, "This shouldn't take very long."
Pulling out a stethoscope, he pressed it against Sunflowers chest and ribs, listening to his heart and lungs. After a few seconds, he put it away and pulled out his sonic.
"Alright, go ahead and open up."
Sunflower opened his mouth as wide as he could and the Doctor looked in. He pointed the sonic in and turned it on, then moved around him, scanning him as he moved.
"Alright, one last thing," he said looking at the sonic, then putting it away, "Just a bit of physical examination and I should have what I need. Be sure to tell me if it hurts anywhere I touch, alright?"
The other earth pony gave him a look that seemed to say, "Really?"
"Oh, yes, right. Um, stomp your hoof I guess if it hurts anywhere then."
After a couple minutes of examining him, the Doctor turned and took a few steps away. He stared down at the ground, deep in thought for a minute before turning to look back at Sunflower. Sunflower gave him a questioning look as he did.
"Curious about the results, eh? Well, I can tell you, they are very interesting. According to my tests, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you."
At that statement, Sunflowers expression turned into one of shock, confusion, and anger.
"Yes, I know, I know. I don't understand it either. There obviously is something wrong otherwise you would be talking. But none of my tests turned up anything. Your heart and lungs are healthy, you aren't injured in anyway, and, according to the sonic, you aren't infected by any sort of virus or bacteria. There are no parasites within you and, strangest of all, your vocal chords are perfectly fine. I just… I just don't know what's wrong."
The younger pony turned away and looked down, his expression growing dark.
"Look, Sunflower," the Doctor said as he moved closer to him and placed a hoof on his shoulder, "Just because I don't know what's wrong now, doesn't mean I won't figure it out. I will find a cure to whatever's affecting your town. You can trust me on this."
A small, sad smile appeared on Sunflowers face for a brief moment. He turned to the Doctor and nodded.
"Alright then. You stay here. I'm going to head back to Fiddles house. I've got an idea and I may need my companions to help me with it."
With a reassuring smile, the brown colt rushed back into town and quickly reached the unicorn's house. Entering the main room, he was greeted with a bit of an unexpected sight.
"Rainbow Dash, where is Pinkie Pie?"
"Doctor! Uh, well, Pinkie's, um… not here," the pegasus nervously answered.
"Not here? What do mean not here? Where is she?" he angrily asked.
"She said she wanted to take a walk around town."
"After I told you not to leave this house?"
"I tried to stop her, but she got past me. And then I went out and tried to find her, but I didn't want to be outside for to long and I couldn't find her and…"
"It's okay Rainbow," the Doctor interjected, "You did what you could. I'm going to go back out and look for her. You stay here, okay."
"Yeah, okay."
"Good. And if she comes back, make sure she stays here."
As the Doctor turned to leave, the door opened and Pinkie stepped into the room. Seeing the Doctor, a look of shock appeared on her face, followed by a look of nervousness.
"Ah, Pinkie Pie, I was just coming to find you. But now you're back."
Pinkie nodded.
"Back from a walk around town, after I specifically told you not to leave this house! What's the point of me telling you things if you're not going to listen to me!"
Pinkie looked down, her expression growing sad.
"I'm sorry I yelled Pinkie. I just feeling frustrated. My search turned up nothing regarding what's causing this and then I come back to find you gone. But now that you're back, safe and sound, that's one less thing to worry about."
Looking back up, the pink mare shook her head.
"What? Pinkie, is something wrong?"
Slowly and with a sad expression, Pinkie nodded.
"No… No, don't tell me…"
Pinkies expression grew sadder and tears began to well up in her eyes as she nodded again.
"No… No… No!"
"What? Doctor, what's wrong? What happened to Pinkie?" Dash asked.
"Pinkie… She's… She's been infected."
The blue pegasus face fell and she stared back at the Doctor in disbelief.
"Wha… What?" she managed to say after a moment.
"Pinkie has fallen silent. Whatever's happening here got to her. We all need to get back to the TARDIS right now."
"What? Why?"
"It'll keep you safer then being in town. Also, I have an idea that I would like to explore. So come on. We don't have any time to waste."
"Right," Dash replied with a nod.
Pinkie nodded as well and the three went rushing off and they quickly made it back to the time machine. Bursting through the doors, the Doctor ran straight to the center console and began manipulating the controls.
"So what's this plan Doctor?" Dash asked as the TARDIS began to whir.
"We're going back to the day of the flash," he replied without looking away from the controls.
"The flash? But we already know that ponies who didn't see it we're infected."
"That doesn't mean it can't be the cause. The light could of spread something into the air."
"Like a virus?"
"No. Sunflower wasn't infected by any kind of virus or bacteria. Doesn't change the fact that that light is the most likely cause of this… this… whatever's going on."
"Ok, lets say it is then. What are we gonna do when we get there? I mean, you can't like, take samples of the light, can you?"
The Doctor turned to her with a smirk.
"Oh, you would be surprised at the things I can do. We're here. You two stay inside all right? This won't take long."
The two mares nodded as the brown colt made his way out of the blue box. Looking around as he did, the Doctor could see that the TARDIS had landed just outside of the town. There weren't any ponies around, allowing him to find a good spot where he could began to set up a number of small devices he pulled out of his saddlebag. He quickly wired them together and began adjusting various knobs and gauges on them.
"Okay, one last thing," he mumbled to himself as he pulled out his sonic and placed it into a small grove on top, the lighted end pointing at the sky. He briefly fiddled with it, leaving the light slowly pulsing and making a soft hum. He pulled out his pocket watch and opened. "Alright," he muttered, "Flash should be coming in three, two, one…"
A bright white light flashed across the sky, blinding the Doctor for a few seconds. When it passed, he picked up the sonic, smiled and put it away. He quickly disassembled the miniature array he had built and ran back to the TARDIS.
"Did you get what you needed Doctor?" Dash asked as he came in.
"Oh yes," he said with a smile as he approached the center console.
He took out the sonic and placed it into a slot on the console and began typing away at the keyboard.
"I got a full sample of the flash itself and whatever it left behind. The TARDIS's computers will tell me exactly what they are."
"Wait a second, you were actually able to get a sample of a flash of light?"
"Like I said, you'd be surprised at the things I can do. Now then, it looks like we got something."
"What is it?" the pegasus asked moving up next to him.
"Look here," he said pointing to the screen in front of them, "That flash of light was some sort of energy pulse. Not only that, but it left behind some sort of residual background radiation that matches the energy signature of the pulse!"
"Wait, the towns radioactive?"
"Not dangerously so. But it confirms my theory that the flash of light caused this."
"How?"
"Look here," he said tapping a few keys and bringing up a new window full of data, "This is the data I collected when I scanned Sunflower earlier. He's giving off the same background radiation. And look at this," he said bringing up another window, "Data I got off of Pinkie Pie on the way over here. Exactly the same. The radiation signature is so faint though that I couldn't see it before."
"I, uh, I see," Dash said, clearly overwhelmed.
"You know what this means right?"
"Uh, no…"
"I have the energy signature that's causing this! I can use it to create a counter pulse!"
"A what now?"
"A counter pulse! A cure! I can fix this! You hear that Pinkie?" he called out to the pink mare, "I can fix this!"
Pinkie replied with big happy grin.
"Then what are you waiting for? Do it!" Dash said, sounding very excited.
"Right. Let's do this."
The TARDIS arrived back in the center of town, back on the day they left from, and all three ponies stepped out.
"And you're absolutely certain this will work?" Dash asked as they did.
"Yes. Well, eighty percent certain," the Doctor replied.
"Wait, seriously? Uh, not to be negative, but, shouldn't you be completely certain before you do something like this?"
"I'm never completely certain of anything I do. Besides, we don't really have any other options right now."
Pinkie nodded in agreement.
Dash sighed and shook her head. "That's a fair point I guess. All right. Lets do it then."
Nodding, the Doctor pointed his sonic at the TARDIS. The light on top began to glow before letting out a bright flash that blinded the group.
"Ah, geez!" Dash shouted rubbing her eyes, "Did it have to be so bright?"
"The original flash was that bright, so I had to make this one just as bright make sure it affected the whole town," the Doctor replied.
"Yeah, well, you could warn me next time."
"Duly noted. Now then," he said turning to Pinkie, "How are you feeling Pinkie? Can you talk again?"
Looking at the other two, Pinkie opened her mouth a little nervously, and in a shaky voice said, "I… I think so." Hearing her own voice, she gasped and excitedly said, "Oh my gosh I can talk again! I can talk again!"
"Oh Pinkie Pie, it's so good to hear your voice!" the Doctor exclaimed hugging her.
"You got that right!" Dash said hugging her well.
"It's good to talk again!" Pinkie said hugging them back.
"Now then, not like I'm doubting myself, but we should check around town to make sure everyone else can talk again."
Just as they were about to split up, Fit Fiddle and Sunflower came running up to them.
"Doctor," Fiddle said, "Did you make that flash of light just now?"
"Why, yes. Yes I did."
"Well, I think you did it Doctor. I think you cured the whole town."
"Really? You're certain of that?"
"Yeah. We're pretty sure," Sunflower said with a smile.
"Sunflower! You can talk! Come here!" the Doctor said pulling him into a hug.
Sunflower shifted a little uncomfortably before the Doctor let go.
"How does it feel to be talking again?"
"Uh, good. It feels good."
"Everypony feels good," Fiddle said, "Thank you for everything Doctor."
"Oh there's no need for that," the Doctor said with a dismissive gesture, "It's just what I do. Anyway, I think we should be heading off now. These may not have been the ideal situation for visiting Prosperity Falls, but was still a good trip in the end I suppose."
"Prosperity Falls? This isn't Prosperity Falls," Sunflower said.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"This isn't Prosperity Falls," Sunflower repeated, "This is Pine Ridge."
"I see. And where exactly is Prosperity Falls from here?"
"East, in the Hoofback Mountains."
"Wait, are you saying these aren't the Hoofback Mountains?" the Doctor shouted in disbelief.
"Nope," Fiddle said shaking his head, "These are the Wingtip Mountains."
"Seriously?" Dash said angrily turning to the Doctor, "You didn't even land us in the right place?"
"I'm sorry!" the Doctor apologized, "I'm still having trouble with these hooves, okay? Cut me some slack!"
Back in the TARDIS, the Doctor was at the console while Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie milled about in the main room.
"So now what?" Dash asked.
"That depends," the Doctor replied, "Do you want to try for the real Prosperity Falls or go somewhere else?"
"The way you drive? I'm not sure we should go anywhere," Dash scoffed.
"What? Oh come on, now you're just being mean."
"She's kinda right," Pinkie said, "You do kinda suck at this."
"Oh come on, not you to Pinkie! Uh, fine. We'll take some time off," the Doctor said typing on the keyboard in front of him, "I have stuff to look into anyway."
"What kind of stuff?" Pinkie asked skipping over to him.
"Stuff," he replied turning off the screen in front of him, "Boring, sciencey stuff. You two wouldn't like it. So, go off and relax or something."
"Yeah, sure, whatever," Dash said floating off down one of the many corridors, "Come on Pinkie!"
"Okie Doki Loki!" Pinkie said and skipped off after the other mare.
With the two gone, the Doctor turned the screen back on and looked at it intently.
"Hmm, this doesn't make any sense," he muttered, "How can that creature from Gear Head and Bunsen Burner's ship have been giving off the same energy signature as the pulse? There's no way it could ever have been here. Another mystery to add to the pile I suppose."
This may seem like a bit of an odd request, but if any of you know for certain whether or not radios have appeared in My Little Pony, please tell me in a review for this chapter. I can't remember myself and it would be really helpful for a future chapter of this story if I knew for certain whether or not radios have appeared in My Little Pony. Anyway, thanks for reading, and be sure to leave a nice review!