//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: Doctor Who and the Voice of the Shadow // by spartiecat //------------------------------// Sweetie Belle’s voice echoed around the small room. Twilight and the others could hear an unusual malevolence in the voice. “I should have known you would come”, the voice sneered. “Although I am surprised you brought Fluttershy this far”. The yellow pegasus was filled with terror. She slowly backed toward the entrance, hoping to make a quiet escape. But she immediately froze as she bumped into Zoe. The Doctor and Twilight looked around, trying to see where the voice was coming from. Twilight called out “Who are you?” The voice giggled. “You know me Twilight. Don’t you recognize me?” “I know you took Sweetie Belle’s voice! I know you’ve hurt my friends! I know you are dangerous, and I know you must be stopped!” shouted Twilight as she stamped her hoof on the ground. “Oh Twilight” said the voice in a sweet tone. “You know so much about me. But you don’t know me. You don’t know why I am doing this”. “But I do!” said The Doctor. “I know your plan is to overthrow Princess Celestia and the natural order of Equestria! I know you and your shadow friend have a monstrous scheme to butcher ponies in order to achieve your goal. What I don’t understand is why you stole that voice.” “I needed a voice, Doctor. I will not be relegated to speaking through minds like the shadow. I need a voice to rule Equestria!” A small shape emerged from the far corner of the room. A small white rabbit hopped out from the shadows. Fluttershy jumped up and scooped up the rabbit. “How did you get all the way in here, Angel bunny? Did that mean old monster take you away too?” “Not exactly” said Sweetie Belle’s voice. Fluttershy looked down in horror as she realized the voice was coming from Angel. “Oh no!” exclaimed Fluttershy. “Wha-what happened to you?” She carefully set Angel down and slowly backed away from the rabbit. “You see, this whole project was my invention.” he said in a calm, cool voice as he gestured at the cages. “I, more than any other creature have suffered from my lack of a voice. I’ve especially suffered under your overbearing, matriarchal tyranny.” He grit his teeth and sneered at Fluttershy, who cowered before her once beloved bunny. “But why take Sweetie Belle’s mind?” demanded Twilight. “I needed a voice, any voice. This is the one the monster brought me, so this will suffice.” The Doctor stepped between Angel and Fluttershy and crouched down to the rabbit‘s eye level. “So why would you want so many ponies? And how could you have gone unnoticed all this time?” “It’s very simple Doctor”, said Angel. “I need strong ponies that would survive the procedure. They were taken from all over Equestria, not just Ponyville”. “I see”, murmured The Doctor. “That’s why Sweetie Belle’s body was left, and why the children in the nursery were unharmed”. Angel hopped closer to The Doctor and stared directly into his eyes, “With your mind inside of our Alicorn, we will be victorious! No one will be able to stand against my power as I rule Equestria!” “Enough!” yelled Fluttershy as she stood up. She had a stern look on her face and her wings were outstretched. She pushed The Doctor out of the way and started to march toward Angel bunny. Angel backed away from Fluttershy as she determinedly walked forward. “You kidnap my friends, want to hack them up, threaten Princess Celestia, and call ME overbearing?” She stared hard at Angel, with a look of determined anger on her face. “I DON’T THINK SO!” Angel jumped up and slapped Fluttershy across the cheek. The stern look disappeared from her face. She stood stunned at what had occurred. “You never could rein me in terribly well with that stare of yours. Now that I have a voice, nothing will.” Angel hopped away from Fluttershy and back toward The Doctor and Twilight. “So you see Doctor”, Angel said in a calm voice, “you do not have any say in this. You will follow my commands, I will rule Equestria, and that will be the end of it.” “And what of Sceadugenga? How does it benefit from your arrangement?” asked The Doctor as he carefully watched the rabbit. Angel’s giggle in Sweetie Belle’s voice was chilling. “Oh Doctor, it is just a pawn, no different than the ponies in these cages. My goal is conquest. It had abilities I needed, and I had the vision”. “And now you have a voice as well”, The Doctor furrowed his brow, “but what of the voice Sceadugenga desires?” “Oh Doctor,” said Angel in a sarcastic tone as he stood back on his haunches and put his front paws on his hips, “as long as it is motivated to do my bidding, there is no reason for me to grant it anything. I am destined to be the most powerful being in Equestria, and Sceadugenga‘s desire for a voice is simply a means to an end.” Angel hopped on top of one of the cages containing a motionless pony. “Now Doctor, you will obey, I will succeed, and you are powerless to stop me.” As Angel was speaking, a dark form started to grow behind him. Jamie, Zoe, and the ponies backed up slowly as the mass grew. The Doctor kept his eyes fixed on the gloating rabbit. “You lied to me”, said the shadow as it started to encircle Angel. The bunny was indignant. “Your role is to serve me, not question me! It is my vision that has seen us this far! If it were not for my guidance, you would still be alone in the forest, pining for a voice.” Sceadugenga coiled itself around Angel and lifted him off the ground. “I am still psychically linked to The Doctor. I know you never intended to give me what I sought.” Angel stuttered “B-but, our goals! Your goals! They are nearly complete!” “But they’re wrong” said the shadow as it spread itself out, encompassing everyone and all the cages.