//------------------------------//
// The Chase 
// Story: Ruler of Everything 
// by Sixes_And_Sevens 
//------------------------------//

Dinky stared blankly at the wall of the waiting room. The others were there, too. Apple Bloom stared at the floor, silent tears occasionally dripping to the floor. Sweetie Belle wept on Button’s shoulder. He didn’t seem to know quite what to do about that beyond gently patting her hoof. Scootaloo was slouched on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. Rumble looked around at all of them, unsure of what to say or how to say it.
Nurse Redheart stepped out into the waiting room. “Crusaders?”
Most of them looked over at her.
“Could you follow me, please? There are a few questions I need answered.”
Rumble glanced around the room again. “Do you… need all of us?” he asked carefully. “I mean, we all saw more or less the same thing.”
“I suppose that’s true,” Redheart allowed, after looking around the room. “May I assume that you’re volunteering?”
“Sure.” Rumble got up and trotted after the nurse. She led him into an unoccupied check-up room.
“Uh, should I sit on the cot?” Rumble asked, half joking.
Redheart didn't glance back. “If it would make you feel comfortable.”
“...I’ll stand,” Rumble decided.
Redheart felt no such compunctions and collapsed onto a stool. “Sorry,” she said. “It’s been something of a long day.”
“Don't I know it,” Rumble said, shaking his head. “You said you had questions?”
The nurse nodded. “Yes. Your description of the events in the barn gave us a good place to start from, but there are still plenty of unanswered questions.”
“I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to help much, but let’s give it a shot.”
“I appreciate that.” She checked her clipboard. “You claim that you avoided whatever befell our patients simply by being outside the barn, correct?”
“Yes.”
“So whatever effect caused this was able to be constrained by the walls of the barn.”
“Presumably.” Rumble glanced up at the ceiling. "Though... it might have just been allowing itself to be constrained. I can't pretend to know what it was, let alone what might stop it."
Redheart noted that down. “And you say they all just collapsed at the same time?” she asked Rumble.
He nodded wearily. “One minute, they're fine. The next, a brilliant flash of light… out cold. How are they?”
Redheart shook her head. “Their pulses are about normal, they’re breathing normally, and their brains are as active as they would have been when they were awake. By all rights, they should be perfectly fine. They are perfectly fine. I can't even classify this as a coma. They’re just… asleep, and they won't wake up.”
Rumble exhaled. “Do you… do you know what caused it? Can you fix this?”
Redheart pursed her lips. “I really can’t say,” she confessed. “Given that it managed to wipe out the alicorns and draconocci just as easily as the others… well, it doesn’t look good.”
Rumble gnawed at his lower lip and nodded. “Were there any other questions?”
“Several,” Redheart said. She sighed and set her forehead down on her clipboard. “But as they’re all fairly specialized and medical in nature, I don’t think you’ll be able to shed much light on the answers.”
She raised her head slightly to glance at Rumble. “You’re free to go.”
“Thanks.” Rumble paused halfway out of the room. “Actually, there’s one thing I need to ask you.”
“Hm?”
“Sombra. When you found him, he would’ve had a gold-colored crystal with him. Can I have it?”
Redheart’s eyebrows shot up. “You realize that would be immensely irregular.”
“I think it’s related to the energy wave that knocked everypony out," Rumble pressed. "Dinky’s about the only one who even kind of understands it.”
Redheart considered that. “Well…” She trailed off and studied Rumble for a long moment. 
“I can’t give you the crystal,” she said at last. “I can, however, mention in passing that all the associated items are being kept in storage closet 027, in an area of the hospital which is critically understaffed even at the best of times. Do you understand?”
Rumble nodded. “Thanks. You’re the best. Oh, and one other thing.”
Redheart raised an eyebrow. “Careful. My willingness to bend hospital regulations only goes so far.”
“No, no, nothing like that. I was just gonna say, you really should call in the only available Time Lord specialist in town --”
“She’s been contacted already,” Redheart assured him. “I’m confident that Romana will be able to shed some light on the situation.”





Rumble trotted back into the waiting room. He sat down next to Sweetie and Button and leaned in close. “Who’s feeling up for a heist?” he muttered.
The others looked at him with varying degrees of confusion, irritation, and interest. “I mean, always,” said Scootaloo. “Why? What’s up?”
“Sombra had another shard of the artron-infused crystal,” Rumble said. “The hospital’s got it in storage. If we can get ahold of it, Dinky can talk to the TARDIS again, and we might get some kind of clue what’s going on.”
“And what good will that do us?” Dinky asked icily. “We know what’s going on. Everypony who might have the power to do anything is unconscious, the TARDIS is dead or dying, and we’re…” She took a deep breath in. “And we’re just sitting here in the waiting room. Waiting.”
Rumble raised an eyebrow. “And how does that waiting make you feel?”
Dinky considered that. “...I don’t.”
He frowned. “You don’t what?”
Dinky met his gaze at last. Her eyes were hollow and weary and very, very dark. “Feel. I don’t feel anything right now. I’m just numb.”
“Oh.” Rumble glanced away. “Uh, fair enough, I guess?” He cleared his throat. “So, um, heist.”
There was a pause. “I’m in,” said Scootaloo. “I’m tired of doing nothing, anyway. How many ponies does this plan need?”
“Two works,” Rumble said. “One to guard and one to search the room. Might go faster with a second searcher, though.”
After another moment, Button raised his hoof. “I’ll take the lookout,” he said.
“Great,” Rumble said. “C’mon. We have to find room twenty-seven. Sweetie? Bloom? Are you good holding down the fort?”
“Um,” said Sweetie, glancing at Bloom nervously. “I guess. What about Dinky?”
“I’m not going to ask a question that I already know the answer to,” Rumble said.
Dinky’s ears flattened against her skull and she narrowed her eyes, but she didn’t say a word.
Rumble led the other two out of the waiting room and down the hall. “So, what should my lookout signal be?” Button asked.
“Uh, coughing,” Scootaloo decided. “Then you can walk down the hall and ask the pony coming by if they know where to find a water fountain.”
“That works.”
Rumble, meanwhile, was scrutinizing the numbers on the doors. “One-forty-six, one-forty-four, one-forty-two…” he muttered. “I don’t get it. This is the first floor. Where are the double-digit doors?”
“In the basement,” Button said. “Duh.”
Rumble stopped, confused. “The hospital has a basement?”
“Yeah. I mean, it’s mostly storage and file rooms with a couple of low-ranking administrative offices, but it’s definitely there. C’mon.”
Button headed off down the hallway. Rumble looked at Scootaloo. “A basement?” he repeated.
“Look, when you live on the ground and you’re in the most stupidly danger-prone settlement in Equestria, you start to really appreciate the benefits of hiding out under the earth.” Scootaloo hurried after Button, and after a moment, Rumble followed, too.





Rumble did not have claustrophobia. It would be nothing to be ashamed of if he did; it was a perfectly natural reaction for pegasi. They spent most of their life in the clouds, looking out almost forever at the vast horizon, soaring free and unconstrained. They tended to get a little tetchy when they were confined. Alright, so Scootaloo didn’t experience it, but that was because she’d lived on the ground her whole life. Fluttershy didn’t have it either, which stung a little bit. But Rumble was definitely not claustrophobic.
“So, like, where are the windows?”
“There aren’t any windows, Rumble,” Button said patiently. “They’d only show dirt.”
“There are windows in Twilight’s basement.”
“That’s partially above ground.”
“So why isn’t this?”
“Why are you like this?” Scootaloo asked. “You’re fine in the TARDIS.”
“The TARDIS has a door that leads outside, and several other rooms that could easily be mistaken for outside, and even more rooms that are big enough to fly around in. This? Doesn’t.”
“Fine. Let’s just hurry up and get through this,” Scootaloo said. “Let’s see. Room twenty-one, twenty-three, twenty-five… twenty-seven!”
“Sh!” Button warned. “This part of the hospital isn’t usually occupied, but we don’t want to be careless.”
“Right. Sorry,” Scootaloo said, lowering her voice. “It’s not locked, is it?”
Button checked the handle. “No, you’re good. Go!”
Rumble and Scootaloo hurried inside. Inside was a mess of boxes and crates of things. Laid out near the front of the room was a small assortment of personal items including the princesses’ regalia, a bouquet of plastic flowers from Trixie’s magic act, and a small velvet bag.
“That was easier than I thought it would be,” Rumble remarked, snatching the bag up and checking inside. Indeed, it contained a golden crystal. “Alright. Job done, I guess.”
The two were just about to leave when Button raced in, his eyes wide. “Somepony’s coming!” he hissed.
Scootaloo glared at him. “Then why aren’t you distracting them?” she demanded.
“Because it’s a white stallion who might or might not have wings!”
“The Valley guy Vinyl saw?” Rumble asked. “What does he want?”
Scootaloo turned her ire on him. “Oh, gee, Rumble. I don’t know. What could he possibly want down in this closet, huh?”
Rumble's eyes went wide. “Oh, no.”
Button looked around frantically. “The door doesn’t latch!”
They could all hear hooves echoing on the tile flooring now, measured hoofsteps coming ever closer.
“Quick,” Rumble said. “Down here, all these boxes are empty. Hide in one of them!”
He and Scootaloo dove for it. Button glanced at the pile of stuff and plonked something down on the crates before squishing into a box of his own.
The door creaked open. The three Crusaders held their breath.
“Ẅ̶͔ḩ̶̓e̸͕̕r̴͇͠è̷̯ ̴̹̅ä̸̢́r̵̰̀e̶̲͛ ̶̮̉y̷̝̑o̸̜̒u̸̳͝.̵̻͐.̶͎́.̴̝̐” the stallion muttered. Even his voice was like static in their heads, an almost painful kind of fuzziness. “Ó̵̱ȟ̷̰,̷̨͂ ̴͈̀l̸̙̏ḯ̶͈t̷͙͠t̵͖͗l̵͓̀ė̵̗ ̸̢̎c̶̠͒r̴̻̿ŷ̵̨s̶̹̓ṭ̸̈ạ̷̈l̴̥̕,̷͎̄ ̸̢̒o̸͙̕h̷̞̀,̴̬͝ ̵̩͋l̴̫̎í̵̭t̶̢̆t̶̛̻l̴̩͊e̸̜͗ ̶̜͋T̸͎̊A̶̰͛R̶͙͌D̶͍́I̵̺̒S̵͕̑.̶̞̌ ̶͓͝Ĉ̷̙ȏ̵̩m̷̳͘ē̷̹ ̶̹͘ǎ̴̦n̴̊ͅḏ̵̐ ̵̧̏j̴̥͌ò̴̹i̸̼̿ǹ̵̦ ̵͔̋u̴͚̓s̷̔͜.̶̭̑ ̶̞̈́E̷̗̅v̵̪̽e̶͎͝r̵̬̓ỵ̷̿ ̵̜̋d̶̻̍r̷̙͗ô̶̤p̷̝͘ ̸̥̅o̸̗͊f̴̦͐ ̶̬̓y̶͖̓o̷̹̍u̶̩͘r̶̖̽ ̸̰͌p̷̤͛ö̸̖́ẁ̶ͅe̵͈̒r̷̬͠ ̷̞́w̶̘͒i̵͔̎l̸̢̅l̸̥͌ ̶̤̾b̵͈̕e̸̝̐ ̴̺̚ö̸̜́u̷͇͒r̶̖̒s̸̲͛.̸͙̆”
There was a long pause as he rifled around in the mess. “Ā̷̬ḥ̷́~̴͓̾”
Another long pause. Then, the sound of crystal shattering on the concrete floor. “Ț̶́o̷̦͆ó̵̩ ̵̠̚l̶̰͝a̷̠͝t̴̮͗ë̶̢.̵̖̍ ̵̧̇Í̷͉ẗ̴̙́'̶́͜s̸̖̅ ̴̳̐a̸̖̓l̵̹̉r̸͍͛e̷̢͊a̵̜͋ď̴͉ŷ̷̬ ̷̞̃b̵̥́ḙ̵̑ë̵͖́ń̸ͅ ̴͈̓t̶̹̑à̷̯k̷͇̑ě̷̗n̸̫͌.̵͍͒ ̴͎͂W̵̲̑e̸̗͆l̴͔̿l̶̦͘,̸̺͠ ̴̞̌n̴̰̆ȅ̵̢v̴͚̓e̸̼̍r̸̬̽ ̷͎̽m̷̼̃ỉ̶̫ṉ̵͘d̵͇̐ ̸̙͠t̸̳́h̵̫͒a̴͙͐t̵͇́ ̵͙̎n̸̩̽o̸͈͠w̶̮͌.̷̨̈́ ̵͓̈́W̴͇̎è̶̺'̶̩̑l̷̹̚l̵̜͠ ̷̫͝t̴͙̀ả̴̲k̶̒ͅe̴͈͑ ̵͙̽ő̶̬ù̶̪r̷̫͂ ̸̱̄p̶͓̈́ȍ̸̥u̸̪̎n̴̮̓d̷̮͝ ̶̮̍ȯ̴̦f̶̟̊ ̶̥̎f̴̪̀l̵̠͑é̷͍s̵͈͑ḧ̷͍́ ̴͕̊f̷̰̆r̵̞̉ȏ̶ͅm̷̮̆ ̴͇̒e̷͕͠l̴͚͐s̵̫͆e̴̛̥ẇ̴͙ḧ̵͔́e̵̙̔r̷̲̉e̶͇͒.̶̨́.̶̡͠.̵̞̾”
Another long pause. After awhile, it became clear that there would be no more. Scootaloo peered out over the edge of her box. “He’s gone,” she hissed. “Coast’s clear.”
Button and Rumble emerged from their own boxes warily. “What happened?” Rumble asked. “Why did he leave?”
Button grinned sheepishly. “I, uh, put out the bit of crystal that Dinky used up. I was kind of hoping… well, I was hoping he’d think we’d used that fragment up already, too.”
Scootaloo nodded. “Good work,” she said. “Now, let’s get out of here before Mr. Tall, Pale, and Nondescript wises up and decides to take a second look.”





Nurse Redheart stepped out into the waiting room again. Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow. “More questions?” she asked.
“No, actually,” Redheart said with a hint of triumph in her voice. “Quite the opposite, actually. We finally have some answers. Romana?”
A blue unicorn stepped in and gave a small, sad smile to the assembled Crusaders. “Hello again. I’m sorry to see you in such dire circumstances. Er, where are the rest of you?”
“Bathroom,” Apple Bloom said.
“Getting water,” Sweetie said at the same moment.
Romana frowned at them.
“Button’s getting water, Rumble and Scootaloo needed the bathroom,” Bloom said quickly.
“...Right. Well, I’m sure you can fill them in once they’re back,” Romana said.
“What happened?” Dinky asked, dragging her gaze to the Time Lady. Her voice cracked from disuse.
Romana sighed. “The cause is… unclear. I’d say the most likely possibility was a surge from the TARDIS’s telepathic circuits. The effect, however, is very clear indeed. The affected parties -- our friends -- have been trapped inside the Matrix.”
The three Crusaders stared at her blankly. “Right. Yes. None of you are Time Lords,” Romana said. “The Matrix is a Time Lord invention -- a supercomputer the size of a universe where the collective experience of every Time Lord is stored.”
“Uh… huh?” Apple Bloom said. “Ah understood most of those words individually.”
Romana furrowed her brow. “It’s an artificial virtual reality environment,” she tried.
“That’s worse,” Sweetie said.
“Alright, try this. It’s the collected minds of every Time Lord that ever lived, all doing enough sums to make their own world out of math and sheer bloody-mindedness.”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle glanced at one another and shrugged. “Yeah, okay, we can picture that,” Bloom said. “But what d’you mean they’re trapped there?”
“Their minds have been uploaded to the Matrix,” Romana said simply. “I’ve done it before. It’s just like walking around normally, except if you focus hard enough, you can shape the world around you. As for being trapped there... well, I'm less certain of what could do something like that.”
“Alright. So, they’re safe?” Sweetie said hopefully.
Romana’s face grew grim. “Not by a long chalk. If they’ve been taken there by some force, it must want them there for a reason. And if you die in the Matrix, you die in real life.”
“Oh.” Sweetie hesitated. “What happens if you die in real life?”
“Well… you’re dead,” Romana said. “That is what typically happens.”
“Oh.”
Dinky hadn’t looked away from Romana once. “Do you know how to bring them back?”
Romana looked down. “...No,” she admitted. “It would be one thing to wake them from inside the Matrix, naturally, or if they had entered the Matrix through standard mechanical means. But as it stands, they have to wake up on their own, and I very much doubt that our friend in the mechanical alicorn will permit that anytime soon.”
Dinky looked down. “I see,” she said softly.
“Is  there anything else you can tell us?” Sweetie asked plaintively.
Romana shook her head. “Only that you should go home and get some rest,” she said firmly. “There’s nothing else for you to do, here.”
“Right,” said Apple Bloom. “Thank ya kindly, Miz Romana. We’ll jes’ wait fer the others to get back, an’ then we’ll be off.”
“Of course,” said Romana. “I’d tell you to sleep well, but… well, that doesn’t seem particularly likely tonight.”
She turned and trotted out of the room. Redheart lingered a moment, looking at them all. “Really,” she said. “You should all get some rest. It’ll all look better in the morning.”
Then, she left too.
“...Will it be morning?” Sweetie wondered. “Without the princesses around to move the sun and moon, I mean.”
“Maybe,” Apple Bloom said with a shrug. “Unicorns raised th’ sun and moon before the princesses, after all.”
“That’s true. Hey. We’re not going to bed, though, right?”
“No,” Dinky said, a note of steel entering her voice. “We’re not. If the others managed to pick up that shard of the TARDIS's power, then I think I’ve got a plan. But you aren’t going to like it.”





Meanwhile, in Canterlot, there was an issue of succession. Unusually enough, the problem wasn’t finding the pony in line for the throne -- that had been determined years ago. No, the problem was convincing him to take control. “You cannot be serious,” Prince Blueblood said for the fifth time that hour.
Kibitz heaved a sigh that made his moustache flutter. “For the last time, your highness, I am. Deadly serious, in fact.”
Blueblood winced. “I wish you wouldn’t use that precise expression.”
Kibitz inclined his head apologetically. “Sir, the princesses are by no means dead," he said gently. "They are incapacitated, no more or less.”
“That could easily change,” Blueblood said darkly. “Where the Doctor’s misadventures are concerned, things tend to go off the rails with alarming speed.”
“All the more reason to install you as their temporary regent, sir,” Kibitz repeated patiently. “Word hasn’t leaked to Canterlot at large, not yet. When it does, there will be panic in the streets. A swift installation of a new leader in this time of crisis would make impressive steps toward quelling those anticipated riots.”
Prince Blueblood ran a hoof down his muzzle. “I agree with you in principle,” he said.
“Indeed?”
“Indeed. The people will need a strong, capable leader who inspires the faith of the public. Do you see where I’m going with this, Kibitz? They need a leader that isn’t seen as a shallow flibbertigibbet of a playboy.”
“I assure you, sir, that is not the public perception of you.”
“Is it not?”
“No, sir. I believe a playboy is required to actually have affairs on occasion.”
“Oh, very droll,” Blueblood said, sneering. “Keep going, I’m sure your insults will eventually convince me to take the throne.”
Kibitz sighed and removed his glasses, polishing them against his vest. “I appreciate your concerns, your highness. However, the simple fact of the matter is, there’s nobody else for the job. All of the royals after you in the line of succession are children, older than me, or actually as vapid as you pretend to be.”
“What about the Crystal Empire?” Blueblood said, almost pleading.
Kibitz inclined his head. “Fortunately, the Empire has its own line of succession, and Princess Flurry Heart will be taking the throne, with the court wizard as her regent.”
“The court wizard,” Blueblood mused. “That’s the orange one, yes? With the oversized spectacles and the split ends? The one who appears never to have heard the words ‘mane' and 'care’ together in a sentence, nor yet discovered that magic potion known as 'conditioner'?”
“His name is Sunburst.”
“Mm, yes, that’s the one,” Blueblood agreed. “I suppose there’s no question of getting him to take over?”
“No, sir.”
“The other alicorns? I know they exist, I’ve seen the books!”
“Then you also know that most of them haven’t been seen before Luna’s previous abeyance. Come now. Consider the kingdom. Consider the city.”
“I am. I told you, who would want the rule of a self-absorbed ninny with the apparent geopolitical awareness of a rabbit?”
Kibitz pursed his lips for a moment. “I urge you to remember, sir, that this is Canterlot.”
Blueblood put a hoof on his chin. “A true, if unflattering, commentary on the nobility,” he admitted. “Alright. But you know as well as I do the importance of maintaining my cover. I must at all times appear to be a narcissistic idiot, or I’ll never be able to keep tabs on the nobility again. Do you think I can do that without setting the nation back twenty years?”
Kibitz nodded. “With a certain amount of assistance, yes.”
Blueblood took a deep breath and nodded. “Very well. When’s the coronation?”
Kibitz held out a crown and peytral. “Five minutes. Shall I fetch you a comb, sir?”





Dinky led the others out of the hospital. She hadn’t said a word when Scootaloo, Rumble, and Button had returned. Instead, she merely nodded to acknowledge their presence and let Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom explain what Romana had told them. Then, she had listened intently while the heist team told them all about what had happened in the storage closet.
Even after they were done, she refused to share any details of her plan. “Not here,” she’d said shortly, glancing around the room. “Too many ears.”
That hadn’t exactly been encouraging to anypony, but they all followed her down the street, away from the hospital. “Where are we going?” Button asked plaintively. “Can you tell us that, at least?”
Dinky stopped and glanced around. “Do any of you see him?” she asked.
“Him who?” Apple Bloom asked.
“You know. The faceless guy. The... what did the machine say in the barn? The Valeyard.”
Everypony fell silent at that, and they all cast nervous glances up and down the street. “...No,” Scootaloo said at last. “No, I think we’re clear.”
“Alright, then,” Dinky said, sitting down on the side of the road. “I guess it’s only fair that I tell you here and now. If you don’t like it, well, you can save yourselves a hike and just head home.”
“That sounds… nice,” Sweetie said.
“But we wouldn’t just leave ya like that,” Apple Bloom said firmly.
Scootaloo held up a hoof to stall Bloom. “Hold on. Let’s see what her actual plan is, first.”
Dinky took a deep breath. “I want to power up the TARDIS for just long enough to get us into the Matrix, too.”
Absolute silence reigned. “I told you you should wait,” Scootaloo muttered.
Dinky held up her hooves. “I know, it sounds kind of crazy--”
“Idiotic, even,” Rumble said, spreading his wings. “Dangerously so.”
“Maybe so, but when has that stopped us before, exactly?” Dinky demanded. “Let me explain before you run off on me, jeez.”
Rumble scowled, but furled his wings.
“All right then,” Scootaloo said. “Explain. How is us getting knocked out too going to help anything?”
“Romana said it herself, we can wake the others up from the inside. The Valeyard won’t be expecting us--”
“Because he’d assume that nopony could possibly think this was a good idea,” Button muttered.
“Well… yes,” Dinky admitted. “But we’ll have the element of surprise, won’t we? And if we can break out the princesses, and Discord, and everypony else, they’ll put paid to whatever’s keeping them there.”
She looked at their blank faces. “Look, the TARDIS said we have the power to stop the Doctor’s machine. We just need the will. Well, I have the will. Do you?”
Apple Bloom looked torn. “Ah dunno… Granny hasn’t woke up. She still doesn’t know nothin’ ‘bout AJ an’ Mac. Ah, Ah gotta be there for her, right? If she wakes up tomorrow, an’ all three of us are gone…” She trailed off.
“But you could save them,” Dinky said, almost pleading. “Applejack and Big Mac and everypony else, for good measure.”
Apple Bloom sat silently for a long moment, thinking. After a minute, she looked at Dinky, her eyes flinty. “Alright. Ah’m in.”
“So am I,” Rumble agreed.
“Me, too,” Button said.
“And me!” Sweetie said quickly.
All eyes turned to Scootaloo. She looked skyward for a long minute, then chuckled. “Yeah. Alright. One last hurrah for the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Let’s go.”
Dinky grinned, even though Scootaloo’s words had pushed another twisted shard of metal into her already shrapnel-filled heart. “Awesome.”





The trek up to Sweet Apple Acres was silent, but filled with a shared, wordless tension. Apple Bloom blazed the way, trotting as quickly as she could without leaving the others behind completely. Rumble flew overhead, soaring over the trees. Scootaloo stormed along with a face like fire and legs like pistons. Sweetie Belle walked alongside her -- the unicorn’s lanky legs meant that she didn’t even have to try to keep up. Dinky walked along behind, pensive, and Button brought up the rear, visibly struggling to keep pace as he hauled his bag along up the road.
“You really should’ve just left that behind,” Dinky observed after awhile.
Button shook his head. “I figured it would take too long to drop it off back at mom’s house. I can just leave it in the TARDIS.”
“If you say so.”
The barn was dark and quiet. “Hold on,” Apple Bloom said. “Lemme find th’ light switch real quick…”
There was a click. Nothing happened. Several more clicks followed. “...Huh,” Bloom said. “Well, that is odd, and no mistake.”
“Burnt-out bulbs?” Rumble suggested. “Power outage?”
“Or just an aftereffect of the energy release,” Dinky said, lighting her horn. The golden light fluttered, like a candle in the wind. It seemed as though it was being pulled toward the TARDIS. “Oh. Or, somebody’s hungry. Sweetie, leave your horn off.”
Sweetie Belle gave a mock salute. “Roger that, cap’n!”
“Please don’t. C’mon, we’ll have to work in the dark.”
If the barn had been bad, the inside of the TARDIS was far worse. The console was a mess of wires and parts, and everything was dark and still. The time rotor stood, a memorial to the dead ship. Dinky took a deep, shaky breath. It wasn't quite as bad as seeing her mother’s still body, but it hit much harder than she'd expected. “Alright,” she said, voice shaky. “We need, uh, the telepathic controls.”
“Oh! I know where those are.” Scootaloo pulled on a panel, and a tray of gel popped out. “Careful. When I used them, the TARDIS punched a hole in spacetime.”
“Alright. And now we need to power it.”
Button held out the golden crystal. “Um, ideas?”
Apple Bloom rubbed her chin. “Smash it?” she suggested.
Everypony else looked at Dinky. She shrugged. “Sure, why not. We’re playing by Discord’s rules, anyway. Considering how the TARDIS is reacting to external stimuli, as long as it releases the energy, it should work.”
She sunk her hooves into the gel. “Right. Everypony, hooves on me. The closer we are together, the less energy the TARDIS will have to use.”
That wasn't necessarily true. Dinky didn't know one way or the other. Right now, though, any excuse for a supportive group hug was fine by her.
“Right,” said Rumble, setting a hoof on her withers. The others followed suit, huddling around the panel.
Button glanced back and held out the crystal. “Apple Bloom? Care to do the honors?”
Bloom nodded once, then took the crystal from his hoof and set it on the floor. She screwed up her face, let out a cry of fury, and slammed her hind hoof down on the golden stone, shattering it. There was a flash of golden light that rose up in a stream, swirling through the crowd and into the console itself. The exposed wires sparked and the console hummed. There was a deep, throaty roar from the depths of the TARDIS.
All six Crusaders slumped into a pile. Dinky fell on top, a smile of pure exhilaration on her face.





And then she woke up. The TARDIS was alive again, the instruments alert and the time rotor humming. Around the central console, her friends stood, blinking in the sudden light. “What…” Sweetie began. She couldn’t seem to find the words to complete her sentence.
“Did we make it?” Button asked, perplexed.
Dinky grabbed a monitor and swung it around. The world outside was an inhospitable grey desert. Twin suns hung in the orange sky, and all around stood towering mountains. Slowly, she started to grin. “Yes,” she said simply. “Yes, I think we did.”