The Majestic Tale (of a Mad-Pony in a Box)

by R5h

Discord and the Doctor – Part 2 (b)

“Lyra?” Bon Bon was beginning to despair of finding her friend. The rational portion of her brain reminded her of the last thing she'd heard from the Doctor; the maze separated ponies without their noticing. Discord would never let her see Lyra again, except maybe to trick and break her. Therefore, as her rational side concluded, she should give up worrying about Lyra and focus on self-preservation.

Which was why she was ignoring the rational part of her brain. “Lyra! Can you hear me?” Her emotional side took precedence and ordered to find her friend. She'd let that stupid Doctor drag them into this mess, and as Celestia was her witness she would get Lyra out of it or never forgive herself. “Lyra, yell as loud as you can!”

Still nothing. “Lyra! Where are you!”

After minutes of yelling through the maze, she was finally rewarded. “Bon Bon!”

“Lyra! Keep yelling!” The voice she'd heard was faint, and Bon Bon couldn't figure out where it was coming from. It's a trick, she thought. Shut up, she thought. She skidded to a stop and closed her eyes.

“Bon Bon! Here!” Concentrate... “I'm here!” Bingo! She turned to the voice's source and opened her eyes to find the thick hedge in her way, filled with thorns, spikes, and cartoonish bombs. It extended as far as she could see in both directions, with no gaps or passageways cutting through it.

Only one way left to go, then. Bon Bon wound up and jumped as high as she could, just managing to get her forelegs on top of the hedge. She dug her back legs in and struggled up to the top. “Lyra! I'm coming!” she yelled as loudly as she could, given how winded she was. She gathered her weight beneath her haunches—quavering a bit as the hedge swayed below her—and leaped to the next hedgerow.

“Bon Bon! Help me!” She's closer! Bon Bon sped up, jumping over the next corridor and the next. From hedgerow to hedgerow she went, trying to ignore the thorns poking into her hooves.

Then, mid-leap, she saw two massive claws grab the hedge in front of her and pull it far out of reach. You knew this was going to happen. She braced herself for a crash landing, but instead found no ground beneath her, only an endless chasm that seemed to go down forever, getting darker and darker and darker... until she landed smack on her face in a bed of gravel.

“Aaaaaand she sticks the landing! YEAH!” Bon Bon groaned and lifted her head from the ground to see Discord in front of her, holding a giant scorecard with a bold '10'. One of his claws had a sock puppet of Lyra on it. “Good job, Bon Bon! You found me!” it said with Lyra's voice.

And you really, really knew this would happen. Bon Bon struggled to her hooves and began to look for a way out, but the gravel bed was completely surrounded by more hedges. Well, if it worked once.... She tried to jump to the top of the hedge, but she was too tired and the ground didn't offer enough traction. Down she fell, the air knocked from her lungs once more.

“Awww, leaving so soon? And here I just wanted to congratulate you!” She stared resolutely at the hedge wall. “Oh come on, you've gotta admit that was pretty amazing back in Ponyville. You actually managed to fool me with some cheap acting and body paint! So bravissimo! Molto bene!” She turned around, startled to hear the Doctor's voice—and then even more startled when she didn't see the Doctor.

“Well, like, uh, how do I, like, look?” 'Bon-Bon' simpered. “Ah mean, ah went to all the trouble ta change mah form—it'd be a rahght shame if ya didn't appreciate tha hard work, sugarcube.” It was the worst impression the real Bon Bon had ever heard.

“What are you doing?”

“Only what we always do,” 'she' said, returning to Bon Bon's normal voice. “Impersonations are our forte, aren't they? Our special talent? Well, at least that's what we like to tell ourselves.”

“And what's that supposed to mean?” Bon Bon turned away. I'm not listening to this.

“Don't kid yourself, sugarcube.” Some of Discord's voice began creeping in to 'Bon Bon's'. “We both know how well that strategy's been working for you these past few years. Don't you get tired, keeping up the facade? Don't you wish you could stop? I can help.”

“What facade?”

“Fine, I'll spell it out for you: Y-O-U. You're the facade, the pony who's lied so much to everypony including herself that when you strip it all down...” A seam appeared in 'Bon Bon's' face, growing wider and wider until it split her whole body down the middle. The two halves fell away like a shredded balloon. “There's nothing there.”

Bon Bon looked around frantically for the now-disembodied voice. “You're nothing! Nothing but a bitter little pile of lies! No wonder nopony can even stand you!”

“Shut up!” she screeched, clamping a hoof over each ear.

“If you want my advice... you should try being a bit sweeter. Or haven't you noticed where you're standing?” Bon Bon looked down at the gravel—but how had she not realized that it wasn't gravel? She was standing on millions of pieces of individually wrapped candy. The same kind of candy as her cutie mark.

“Stop! Please stop!”

“Give in, Bon Bon. Do what you were always meant to do, and smile!” Bon Bon sank to the ground in despair. “No no no, I said SMILE!”

Bon Bon felt her lips move. No. No no no no no! She couldn't stop it, and even as she started crying, the corners of her mouth slowly pulled upward. But she wasn't sad anymore. She was happy! So so happy that she felt like laughing! “Heeheehee! Hahahahaha! Woooooohooohahahahaha!” The tears were still on her cheeks, and Lyra was still in danger, but the important thing was how cheerful she was! She just felt like sharing that with everypony she could find! Not that she'd be able to find anypony, but who cared!

“Sounds like a plan! Get to work, kiddo!” Discord knocked down the walls holding her in, and Bon Bon skipped away. “And don't you EVER make a fool out of me.”

“You're too skinny to be this heavy,” Derpy grunted, clutching the Doctor with slightly shaky legs.

“Time Lord physiology, can't be helped.” Being carried made him a bit winded as well, though not as badly as Derpy. Thankfully, neither of them were sweating much; he felt precarious enough without the threat of a slippery grip.

“Stupid physimolology.”

“It has its advantages. Can you see that pony in the distance?”

“No.”

“I can, and I think it's Bon Bon...” He trailed off as he was carried closer, and realized what he was looking at. All he could manage for the moment was a small, “Oh no.”

“What?”

“Let me down here.” She sighed in relief, and dropped him fifteen feet above the dirt. “Not that faaaaaaaast—” His yell was cut off as he crashed into the ground, just managing to stay on all four hooves. Blimey, talk about literal minded. “Just stay close to me,” he cautioned as she landed beside him, and they began to walk.

After half a minute or so of walking, Derpy finally gasped in recognition. “Oh, there she is! Bon Bon!” she yelled.

Bon Bon, who had just entered Derpy's range of vision, turned around and waved cheerfully. “Hi there, Derpy! Hi there, Doctor!” Too cheerfully. She started trotting toward them.

“Bon Bon?” Derpy and the Doctor broke into a canter. “Bon Bon, are you all... right?” Derpy's sentence died on her lips as they got close enough for her to see Bon Bon properly as well.

“You bet! And we've found each other, so everything's going to be a-okay from now on!” There wasn't a bit of color left in her. From head to hoof she was completely grayed out, giving her a drab look that was utterly wrong compared with how she was acting.

They reached each other, and Bon Bon sat down on her haunches, still maintaining that sugary disposition. “Bon Bon, you're not acting again, are you?” the Doctor asked, only half-hopeful.

Bon Bon tilted her head to the side in puzzlement. “Acting? How could I be acting? I'm not an actress! Look!” She tapped at her cutie mark in explanation—three wrapped pieces of candy. No paint was coming off at her tapping, vanquishing the Doctor's faint hope. “Is that the kind of cutie mark an actress would have?”

“Bon Bon, you've been Discorded,” Derpy pointed out. “Think about it—he completely reversed your personality. Doesn't that bother you?”

Bon Bon hooted. “Reversed? Are you kidding, you silly pony? I was broken and he fixed me! I used to be such a meany-mean meany-pants! I used to be soooooo stubborn! But isn't this so much better? Aren't you happy now?”

“Fine! Fine.” And I thought she was annoying before. The Doctor started to walk past her. “Sure, we're happy we found you. Now we just need to find Lyra, Vinyl and Octavia.”

Bon Bon put a leg out in front of him, stopping him from proceeding. “Oh, don't worry about them.” Her smile remained utterly happy and gleeful and—now that he looked at it—not really a smile at all. It was as if hooks were pulling back the corners of her mouth. “Discord's probably crushed their spirits or something, and we'll never find them in this maze anyway, so why bother?”

“Because they're your friends. Lyra's your friend!” Derpy pleaded.

“That's right! So what?”

“She could be in trouble right now, and you don't care!”

“Discord gave me the serenity to accept what I can't change!” Bon Bon retorted. “And we're never gonna find Lyra or anypony—or anypony else! The whole world's doomed to chaos a—and destruction! So why worry—worry about it?”

The Doctor turned on her and looked her right in the eyes. “Because deep down inside your head, the real Bon Bon's clawing her way out. Can't you hear her? And if I know her at all, she's not going to let you stop her.”

“Can't you see, Doctor? I am the real Bon Bon, Bon BonBonBon!” Her smile remained unchanged, but there was something crumbling behind her eyes. She raised her front hooves and spun around in apparent glee. “No lies, no worries! I d—don't have to lie an—anymore! A—and I feel f—fi... I—I—I—I—I...” She fell to all fours, and now her smile didn't seem as grotesque. Come back, Bon Bon. Come back, you rude, stubborn, deceptive, brilliant mare. She tumbled to the ground and began to laugh hysterically, rolling around in the dirt. “Ahahahaha! Hahahahaha! Haha... huhhh. Ahahahah... ahuhuhuhuhuhuh...”

The laughter was gone, and she was sobbing in the dirt. “Ahuhuhuhuh...” As Derpy and the Doctor watched, the color returned to her, starting at the eyes and radiating through her whole body. “Ahuhuhuhuhuh...” The Doctor bent down to comfort her, but she planted her hooves on his chest and pushed him away. “Don't TOUCH me!” she bawled.

He and Derpy knew what she really meant, and both bent down beside her. “I knew you'd come back,” he said. This time, she didn't resist. “The real you.”

“That was the real me.”

“What are you talking about? Of course it wasn't,” Derpy insisted.

“It's as close as you've ever seen,” Bon Bon snapped, her tears now reduced to sobs.

“What do you mean?” the Doctor asked, ignoring the barb for her sake.

She reached down and tapped her cutie mark, just as she'd done before. “You know what a cutie mark is, right?” Bon Bon sniffed. After a second, Derpy's eyes widened in realization; the Doctor was not so fortunate.

“Not really, but just from context...” The Doctor thought for a moment. Lyra thought my hourglass cutie mark meant I could time travel. Vinyl and Octavia are musicians with musical cutie marks. “I guess it's got something to do with your talents.”

“You think it's just 'something to do with'—no, your cutie mark tells you how you're supposed to live your life. It's what you're best at, your innate talent. How you become happy with your life. But if you won't live up to your talent.... Don't you get it?”

And finally, the Doctor did. “You don't make sweets for a living, do you?”

“My mom taught me how to bake when I was a kid, and I was so sure that it was my special talent—and then I was right, it was. Making sweets.” She laughed—bitterly, not gleefully, to the Doctor's relief. “You get your cutie mark when you're a kid and it's there for the rest of your life, and that was fine. I really did like it for a while—I still do, a bit. But then I found something I liked even more.”

“Acting.”

“Right. And it made me feel so much happier, and I thought, how could I ever go back to baking? So I practiced acting, and impersonations. And by Celestia I'm very good at it, even if it isn't my 'special talent'.” She pulled herself to her hooves and dusted herself off, a wry smile now on her face. “I've been impersonating a sane pony for years, and almost nopony's ever noticed.”

“What about Lyra?”

“I said almost.” She finished wiping the tears off her face, and strode past them. “You've probably figured this out by now, but she's really smart.”

“Pulling a TARDIS out of thin air? Yeah, I suppose I'd agree with you.”

“She was my roommate in college, and it didn't take four hours after she met me before she figured it out.” She switched into Lyra's voice—“You've got the wrong cutie mark! It doesn't match up!”—then laughed in her own. “And most ponies never notice.”

“Maybe she could figure out mine too,” Derpy cut in.

“Yours?”

“Bet you don't know what it means.”

“Well, it's... I don't really know, actually. Is it...” Bon Bon stopped in her tracks and frowned in puzzlement. “It's not your bubbly personality, is it?”

“Because you're so sweet, right?” Derpy said. Bon Bon conceded the point with a chuckle.

“Bubble wrap?" the Doctor suggested. Bon Bon gave him a weird look. "Vinyl said she delivers mail, right? Bubble wrap... packages... you know?”

Derpy frowned. “You did hear the rest of Vinyl what was saying, right? How I can hardly day a go without breaking something? I'm not that good a mailpony.”

“All right, I give up.” Bon Bon shrugged. “What does it mean?”

“I don't know.”

The Doctor had once seen a genetically scrambled scientist open his mouth horribly wide to devour life energy. Bon Bon's jaw didn't drop quite that much, but it was a close thing. “You don't know?” she stammered. “How can you not know what your cutie mark means?”

“How can you know what your cutie mark means and do something completely different?” At this, Bon Bon shrugged again, as if to say 'good point'. “But it's true,” Derpy continued, “I have no idea. I've tried a lot of odd jobs, and nothing ever matches up with it.”

“And nopony ever noticed.”

The Doctor noted that Bon Bon wasn't asking, but Derpy ignored the implied olive branch. “Well, maybe if you weren't so focused on my eyes.”

“If I wasn't? I try to be nice and—” Bon Bon cut herself off. “You're right. I've probably made more cracks about the stupid mailmare than anypony else.” She took a deep breath, then said, “I'm sorry.”

Derpy's eyes widened. “Wow... really?”

“No, this is a spiteful ploy on my part to twist the knife deeper—yes, really, I'm sorry! I said some mean things and I'm sorry about it, okay?” Derpy still looked a bit surprised. “What, nopony's ever apologized to you before about that?”

“No.”

“Wow. That is dumb.”

“Uh, girls?” The Doctor reasserted himself by stepping ahead of the other two. “Sorry to break up the heartfelt conversation, but I think I hear Lyra yelling.”

Instantly all of Bon Bon's attention was on him. “Is she hurt?”

“I don't think—”

“Is she hurt?” Bon Bon bolted ahead, forcing the Doctor and Derpy to speed up as well. Derpy jumped into the air to keep pace.

“She doesn't sound hurt, she sounds....” The Doctor screwed up his face in concentration. “Angry?”

“Why would she be angry?” Derpy asked. “That doesn't sound anything like her—oh.” Realization dawned, and the three of them sped up further.

They turned a corner and skidded to a stop. At the other end of the corridor was a veritable tide of spiders, each one as big as the Doctor's head, making horrible squeaking noises and surging toward them. Bon Bon snarled and planted her feet, ready to defend them. “You two, get behind me, now!” she yelled.

Derpy did as she was told, but the Doctor hesitated. “Bon Bon, something's wrong!”

“Yes, there's a swarm of spiders about to attack us! I'm glad you noticed!”

“Listen to them! They're not attacking us, they're scared!” It was difficult to see, but the spiders were definitely looking past them, not at them.

“What?” Bon Bon looked back at the swarm, and shrieked—the spiders were almost on top of them. She raised her hooves to attack, but suddenly the tide parted. The spiders went around the group, keeping as close to the walls as possible. In a few seconds, they had passed, and their shrieking faded into the distance. Bon Bon took a few shallow breaths, her eyes wide open. “Scared,” she whispered. “Right.”

“Scared of... what of?” Derpy panted.

“AAIIIIIIIIIEEEEE!” Another thing came zipping down the corridor at them: Discord, sounding absolutely terrified with a big smile on his face. He grabbed the Doctor and shook him up and down in apparent panic. “She's crazy I tells ya, crazy! Run for it!” He dropped the Doctor and kept following the spiders, his scream mixing with stifled laughter.

After a few bemused moments, the three of them bolted in the direction of Lyra's screams. None of them spoke, but the Doctor was sure they all knew what they were going to find. And it wasn't long before they did.

“That's right, run! You... spidery coward!” They turned into a clearing, just as a spider limped past them with two of its legs crushed. In front of them, wearing a satisfied grin and looking as gray as they'd feared, was Lyra.

“Oh, the cavalry finally shows up. Some help you were!” Lyra spat on the ground and pointed at a giant lyre standing in the corner of the clearing, holding the shreds of a thick spiderweb. “While you buncha jerks were doing... whatever it is you jerks do, I was here getting covered in spiders!”

“Oh dear Celestia, Lyra—are you okay?” Bon Bon rushed to Lyra's side. In response, Lyra wound up and punched her in the nose. “Lyra!” Bon Bon cried.

“Better than you're gonna be, pal.” Lyra smirked and kicked Bon Bon in the side, sending her to the ground in pain.

“Hey! Don't treat my friend that way!” Derpy dove out of the air and tackled Lyra. Down they went into the dirt, kicking and screaming.

“Derpy, stop it right now!” Bon Bon pleaded. “She's not herself!”

Lyra bit Derpy's wing; she howled and flung Lyra to the side. “Myself?” Lyra laughed, and lunged right back at Derpy, punching her savagely in the eye. “Oh, I'm way better than that wimp!” She raised her hoof to strike again, but the Doctor was behind her; he grabbed her forelegs and pulled her back, holding on as tight as he could against her struggles. “Let go of me!” she snarled. “I wanna beat up Derpy some more!”

“You think this is better?” he asked. “Discord turned you into a sadistic monster and you think that's better?”

“Better than a coward!” Abruptly she bent down and flipped him over onto his back. He managed to exhale just before impact, not wanting the wind knocked out of him for the third time that day. “Which is all I was!” She threw her hoof at him, but he rolled to the side and it went into the dirt.

“That's a lie!” He was on his hooves again, ready for her next attack. “You were brilliant! You called the TARDIS out of thin air! And now you're—” She lunged at him, but he dodged to the side just in time. “Just a crude thug!”

“Well—well at least I'm not scared!” Lyra charged at him horn-first, when suddenly Derpy appeared behind her, grabbed her hind legs, and jumped. In a moment Lyra was upside-down in the air, hanging a foot above the ground.

“Yes—you—are,” Derpy grunted.

“Get off of me!” Lyra yelled. She struggled to reach up and hit Derpy, but didn't have the strength to lift herself.

“You're scared, I'm scared, Bon Bon's certainly scared and the Doctor's scared. Is beating up me going to help?”

“YES!” Lyra yelled, and with an almighty twist she wrenched her hooves from Derpy's grasp. This was a bad idea; she didn't quite get her front legs under herself in time, landed on her forehead, and collapsed to the ground in a daze.

“Lyra!” Bon Bon was beside her instantly. “Are you okay?” Lyra tried to get up, but Derpy landed on her back, immobilizing her.

“Lemme up... wanna hitya summore...” Lyra mumbled into the dirt.

“Doctor, is she okay?” The Doctor ran over to Lyra's side and felt her head for injuries. “She's my best friend in the whole world—please tell me she's okay!”

Lyra looked up at the word 'friend', and mumbled something that sounded like “krch”.

“What?” asked Bon Bon.

“Crutch. Friends're equals... didn't like you, just needed you. Don't needa crutch, I'm stronger now.” She tried and failed to get her legs underneath herself.

“You needed me?” Bon Bon smiled. “Well, I need you too. The real you.”

“The useless me. The scared me.”

“The sympathetic you. The you who's willing to let it go when I'm in a bad mood. Who's always coming up with crazy new ideas. Who listens to me even when I'm being a huge....” Bon Bon snorted. “Well, it starts with a 'b'.”

“You're always a huge b.”

“The queen b, and everyone knows you can only have one of those.” Her expression softened once more. “But being your friend is like a daily lesson in being... me. Not a jerk, not crazy, just normal, and I don't know what I'd do without that. Please come back, Lyra...” And she pushed Derpy off, pulled Lyra up, and hugged her.

For a moment Lyra struggled. Then the color started at her back, returning her body to the mint-green it had been before.

Lyra exhaled suddenly, and heaved a few quick breaths, her eyes wide and her body tense. “I'm still scared,” she whispered.

“That's what we're here for.” Bon Bon's smile was more earnest than the Doctor had yet seen it.

“But you're all scared too....”

The Doctor recalled something he'd said a long time ago. “'Courage isn't just a matter of not being frightened, you know. It's being afraid and doing what you have to do anyway.'”

Lyra let go of Bon Bon, and only then noticed the various cuts and bruises on the other ponies. “I did that? Ohnonononono I am so sorry!”

“Don't mention it,” the Doctor interrupted, patting her on the back, then pulling her to her hooves. “Hell of a throwing leg you've got there. Now come on, everyone, let's get moving before—”

“CUT!”

“That.” The Doctor gritted his teeth as Discord appeared in a blinding flash in front of them, wearing a beret and circular black glasses.

“What in my name is wrong with you ponies?” he yelled, speaking into a comical conical megaphone labeled 'DISCORD' for extra volume. “I mean, it was going great, with the wonderful choreography on the fight scene, and the emotional torque, and then it was like you all forgot your motivations! Okay, recap time.” He pointed at each pony in turn. “You're the manic-depressive with a hero complex; you're the mailmare who can't get anything right; you're the former coward who's decided to get serious, and you're the—” He abruptly stopped upon reaching Bon Bon, took off his glasses, rubbed them on his beret, put them back on, and continued not talking for several seconds. His mouth widened in shock. “You're the wrong color.”

“You noticed!” Bon Bon put on an incredibly thin smile.

“But—you couldn't have—I—arrrrgh!” Discord screamed into his megaphone, creating a deafening wave of sound.

“Run!” the Doctor yelled. The four of them ran out of the clearing and away from Discord. Make Discord angry: check. I hope I didn't overdo it....

Then Discord started laughing. The four of them didn't stop running, but they slowed down. “Ignore him,” Bon Bon insisted, taking the lead while the Doctor, Lyra, and Derpy followed behind. It took a few seconds for the Doctor to realize that the laughter wasn't getting closer: Discord wasn't following them.

“GOTCHA!” He continued laughing for a few seconds, before stopping as abruptly as he'd begun. His tone became serious. “You know what's funny, don't you? The way you're running away from me! Like I'm the most dangerous thing in this maze....” A dry chuckle reverberated through the air. “Believe me, I'm flattered. But if you're so interested in self-preservation, then I have a suggestion: Duck.”

“EX-TER-MIN-ATE!”

Without thinking, the Doctor pulled Lyra and Bon Bon to the charred dirt, barely dodging the incoming death ray. He heard Derpy gasp behind him. A gasp of shock, not pain. It's okay. The Dalek missed her.

The Dalek. Realization hit him like a punch in the face. No. They can't be here. He pulled his head up to look down the corridor in front of them—but there was no corridor now, just devastation and the accursed tin cans in every direction as far as the eye could see. Their cries of “EX-TER-MIN-ATE!” filled the air.

“STAY DOWN!” he yelled. He desperately looked for cover in the blighted orange landscape, but there was nothing remotely close enough. They were surrounded. So this is how it ends.

“Nice try, Discord!” The Doctor peeked behind himself to see Derpy standing up, calling to the sky. Is she insane?

“Derpy, get down!”

“Doctor, that green light thingy from before went right through me. It's an illusion. Look!” She flew away and landed in front of a nearby Dalek, who did not notice her. In fact, it rolled straight through her body, still screaming bloody murder and firing laser after laser out of its gunstick.

“Oh.” Of course it's an illusion. Why would there be any Daleks here?

Bon Bon conked him affectionately on the head. “So much for 'rather exceptional mind', you big dumbo.” She pulled him and Lyra to their hooves.

“But why would Discord show us those... whatever-they-ares, if he's not trying to hurt us?”

“Good question, Lyra! I thought you could all use a little history lesson, so I've taken us somewhere I'm sure our alien friend recognizes....” The four of them looked for Discord, but could see nothing of him. “Doesn't it all look familiar, Doc? The twin suns, the burnt orange soil, the Dalek ships flying in the sky? The Untempered Schism, raging with the power of the Time Vortex? Ring any bells in that head of yours?”

The Doctor's jaw sagged, and he staggered a few steps back. He knew where they were.

“Fillies and not-so-gentle colt, welcome to Gallifrey. Home to Doc and all the other Time Lords, and the epicenter of a war more horrifying than the rest of you can even imagine. Well, I say it's home to all the other Time Lords, but we both know what the problem is with that....” A huge rumbling caught their attention, and they turned as one to look at where the soil was being forced up. “You destroyed them!”

A dirty gray headstone burst from the Gallifreyan landscape and rose over the four.

It did not stop. More and more names rose from the charred earth, each one glowing like fire. “Did you tell them that you'd save Equestria, Doc? After the thousand civilizations that have fallen dead before you, including your own? After whole planets were reduced to ash and dust and nothing—because you decided, in your infinite wisdom, that their time was up? You exterminated your own people, your own parents and children! Your own planet! So thoroughly that no one mourns the Time Lords—because there is no one left who will mourn!” Behind the headstone, the Doctor saw the TARDIS flying over Gallifrey, high in the sky and burning bright white with a power that could not be contained—

The world exploded. It imploded, it fell apart, it burned away, it crumbled into nothing. In an instant, everything—Daleks, Gallifrey, and the headstone—was wiped out, and they were left in a howling blank void. The Time War was over in a single moment.

“You ponies still think I'm the worst thing here? Well, the Time Lords discovered your good friend's plan. They tried to escape.”

And now there they were, on Christmas Day, in a room sprinkled with the trappings of the holiday, swept aside to make room for the Immortality Gate—and they were all there. Rassilon, standing in front of the Immortality Gate, flanked by an entourage of Time Lords. The Master, angry and betrayed and hungry for revenge.

“But no, we couldn't have any of that, could we, Doc?”

And there he was, as he had been—humanoid, and scarred, and terrified. Ending the Time War once and for all. He shot the White Point Star, the link keeping the Master connected with the Time Lords, and they fell through the gate. “The link is broken! Back into the Time War, Rassilon—back into hell!” He watched the Master, Rassilon, and all his kin disappear into the emptiness.

“The Time Lord... victorious. Aren't you proud, my friend, to have so outdone me in every way?” And then they were back to the blasted landscape of Gallifrey, but now they were all alone. There were no Daleks, just the four of them in the endless wasteland. “When ponies pass down the stories of how I covered a planet in fear and chaos... oh, if only they knew. If only they'd heard the legends of the nameless monster, who rips worlds apart because he can!”

“No... all I ever did was try to help....” The Doctor couldn't even convince himself. When have I ever done any good for anyone?

“You want to help? Leave. Step into your magic box and run a trillion miles away, where you can't hurt anypony anymore.” Almost against his will, the Doctor found himself pulling his screwdriver from his pocket. He began changing the setting, finding the one that would return the TARDIS...

Bon Bon's hoof came out of nowhere and knocked his screwdriver from his grasp. “Don't you dare let him lie to you too,” she ordered, sticking her face right into his. “He's only trying to hurt you.”

“But it's no lie—I did it. I killed my own people. I killed the Daleks, I've killed my friends, I've killed and killed and killed... and I'm gonna kill you too, soon enough. It's all I can do.”

She slapped him hard across the face. “Snap out of it!” she yelled. “This is just what he wants!” It didn't help. He sank to the ground in despair, sobs beginning to force their way up his throat.

Then Lyra was there beside him. “Why'd you do it?” she asked.

“Because they were in his way!” cackled Discord.

“When I want your opinion, Discord, I'll ask for it!” she yelled. Everyone shut up and looked at her. “Why'd you do it?” she repeated.

“Because they would have... because I didn't... I gave them a chance. Every time, I gave them a chance, and they never took it—and I destroyed them. The Daleks, the Time Lords... he's right, my planet burned. I burned it out of existence, because the Time Lords were planning something worse and that was the only way to stop them.”

“Something worse?”

“It was the Time War, the last great Time War, and it had been going on for too long. We used to be... well, I don't know what we were, but by the end we were worse than the Daleks. We—they—were going to win at the ultimate cost. Everything would have been destroyed: my world, this world, all the worlds in creation. That's why I had to end it, so that nobody won. Daleks, Time Lords, and me... we all lost.”

He looked up at them and saw horror in their faces. He expected that. No doubt, so did Discord. Well, at this point he didn't care if Discord was getting what he wanted. “So that's what I am. The worst thing in this maze. On this planet. I should never have come here, and I certainly should never have brought you. I'm sorry.” He wondered when they would turn and run away. It always happened, when they saw too much of him—when it wasn't fun anymore. And why not? What have I ever done for them except cause them pain? He decided to save them the trouble and trudged away.

But he heard quick hoof-falls behind him, and suddenly Lyra was on his right. “I don't think you're the worst thing in this maze.”

“Really? How many races have you killed recently?”

“No, but listen. If you're so mean, what are you doing here?”

“Putting you in danger.”

“But you saved me from Discord. No, you listen to me now—” she pushed through his attempted response. “Then you saved Octavia and Vinyl, and you hadn't even ever met them. And then you helped save me again. And now here you are and you're trying to save everypony. So maybe you're not so bad after all,” she finished with a smile. “I think you can stay.”

“But Lyra—”

“You know who you remind me of? Bon Bon.”

“Lyra—what?” So much for guilt—it was replaced by a sense of confusion. “Seriously?”

“Seriously!” She giggled. “You two are so hard on yourselves.”

“But I—”

“Like, imagine some sort of generator powered by...” she waved her hooves around, before settling on, “guilt energy.” Lyra looked him straight in the eye. “You two could power Canterlot. And a half.”

“What.” The Doctor quickly shoved aside the part of his brain trying—and succeeding—to figure out how such a machine would work, and determining the units of guilt energy. Angstroms, I suppose... no, focus. “Lyra, I can't forget what I've done.”

“So remember it. Just try to remember the good stuff too.” He hesitated in his response, so she followed up with a quick, “For me, okay?” Still he said nothing.

“Like when you saved the universe, twice,” said Derpy. “Isn't that what you said? And hang on—” this time he was about to respond, but she cut him off: “Those Dalek things looked pretty bad. If you beat them, isn't that good?”

“Yes... yes, I suppose it is...” The Doctor suddenly felt a bit silly. Actually, I have saved the universe a few times... and am I really going to feel bad about the Daleks?

“And you helped me out a few minutes ago...” Bon Bon interrupted. “I mean, that was mostly me, to be honest, but you did help, so... thank you.”

“Yes, that's right!” You know what? I did help her.

“You saved me and Octavia!”

“Yes, Vinyl, but Lyra mentioned that already," he replied.

“Well, excuse us if we haven't been here—it seemed like a nice thing to say.”

The penny dropped a second later, and he whipped his head around to see the two of them beaming at him. “Vinyl! Octavia!”

“The two and only!” Vinyl exclaimed. “Looks like we found you instead!”

“Impossible!” Discord appeared in a flash beside them, his claw clenched into a fist. “The maze should have kept you separate from him!”

“If there were a maze, I imagine it might have done so.”

“What do you mean, if there was a maze—” Discord stopped, and took a look around at the very un-maze-like surroundings. His jaw dropped to the ground.

“If there were a maze,” Octavia continued, “except that you seem to have demolished it, probably to prove some sort of point. Oh, and we found another statue, Doctor—Vinyl says her name is Fluttershy. You can see her over there.” She pointed behind herself, and the Doctor was just able to see the back of Fluttershy's statue.

“What—but I—AAAAAAARGH!” Discord roared. “You ponies are impossible!”

“Exactly!” Vinyl grinned.

“FINE!” Discord snapped his fingers, and the orange soil returned to being brown. The walls rose back up around the six of them, but did not separate them. “I've got better things I can do with my time anyway! Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a very important errand to run!... AND 'WAS' IS ALSO CORRECT!” With that, he dove into one of the hedges and vanished.

“That's right! You'd better run!” Vinyl yelled. “Woo!” She raised her hoof in front of Bon Bon who, after some hesitation, bumped it with her own.

“Thank you,” the Doctor said to Lyra. “That was brave of you.”

“What was?”

“Standing up to Discord the way you did.”

“That wasn't being brave, was it? Wait a second, was it?”

“You were frightened, and you did what you had to do anyway. That's bravery.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh my goodness! I was brave just then! I totally was!”

“You're bleeding!” The two of them turned to see Octavia looking at Bon Bon, who had a fair amount of blood running down her right rear leg. The Doctor realized he was bleeding too, after fighting with Lyra and diving into the dirt on 'Gallifrey', but Bon Bon's wound was bigger.

“I'm fine.”

“Miss Bon Bon, that could get infected if you're not careful. Here—” Octavia undid her bowtie, and tried to wrap it around Bon Bon's wound, but Bon Bon jerked her leg away.

“Seriously, lady, don't touch me—”

“Come on, BB,” said Lyra.

“Oh... fine. Thanks, Octavia,” Bon Bon grumbled, offering up her leg.

“Wait—” Derpy began, but Octavia had already tied her bowtie around the wound as a makeshift dressing. They looked at her, and in response she used her wing to reach into a saddlebag and pull out a real bandage. Octavia sighed and smacked her own forehead.

“Well, is anyone else significantly hurt?” she asked. When the assembly shook their heads, she continued. “Then Vinyl and I think we have a lead on where to go next.”

“Really? Where?” asked the Doctor.

“Well, there were a couple of other statues I saw besides Fluttershy, but we didn't think we'd have time to get 'em before getting back to you,” said Vinyl. “So I cast a Finders Keepers spell on 'em... hang on...” She concentrated, her horn glowed blue, and the Doctor heard faint tones pulse from the distance. Listening closely, he heard three sources of the sounds, the closest of which was to his right.

“This way!” he called, and started trotting in that direction.

“And you said I should just learn to organize my stuff,” Vinyl said to Octavia as the others followed the Doctor. “Imagine if I'd listened to you instead of learning this cool spell! Your neat-freakiness nearly doomed the world!”

“Yes, yes, I'm wrong and you're right,” Octavia sighed, and the two of them trotted after the group.