The three fillies cowered in the corner with the other children.
"What're they doin'?" Apple Bloom asked. "Why are they here?"
"I don't know," Scootaloo whispered. "What I do know is that we have to get to the Doctor and Applejack as quickly as possible. Whatever this is, it can't be good news."
"You're right," Sweetie Belle whispered back. "But how? Every single hallway is packed with Cybermen. Also I don't think that the Matron would like us going out on our own."
"Well we can't stay here!" Apple Bloom whispered harshly. "My sister could be hurt!"
"You're right," Sweetie Belle said. She looked at the large window leading to a thirty story drop. "How high do you think we are right now?"
"To high to try jumpin'!" Apple Bloom insisted.
"No, that's not what I meant," Sweetie Belle said. "Listen, you figure out a way to get those two Cybermen over here. When the time is right-"
"Excuse me!" the Matron walked over to the Cybermen at the door. "Excuse me! I would like to know just what in Tartarus is going on here! I have put in three years of service into this firm, and I demand to speak to my boss!"
"You will wait," the Cyberman insisted.
"I will not," the Matron said firmly. "I'm sure you have a job to do, but you're scaring these children. So please vacate the Daycare or I shall be forced to speak to Mister Daedalus about your conduct!"
"Stand back," the Cyberman instisted. "Or you will be deleted."
"And what exactly-"
She was cut off when the Cyberman put a hand to her shoulder. She seemed to be surrounded in blue lightning before collapsing to the ground.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked on in horror. The Matron wouldn't be rising again.
"Protocol Ag47," the Doctor mused. "That's clever that. The atomic number and symbol for-"
"Silver," Daedalus's voice came from the PA. "I am not born without a sense of humor, Doctor."
"Oh I agree," the Doctor said coldly. "The one I like best is the prank you're playing on an entire country. Making them think they were attacked... It's not all that funny mind you, but you have to be impressed by the scale."
"Never," Daedalus said through gritted teeth. "Never tell me that Black Horn Bay was a joke. I haven't slept at night Doctor. It was a hard decision, and I had to make it. My conscience is far from clean Doctor, but I did what I had to..."
"For your son?" the Doctor asked. "How would your boy feel about you if he figured out what you did?"
"He would be ashamed," Daedalus said almost immediately. This took the Doctor off guard. "Yes, Doctor. I am fully aware that what I did was reprehensible. When the war is over I shall turn myself in. That will far from make up for it, but I will face the consequences for my actions. First, however, I must finish what I started. I didn't do this for my son. I did this for my country."
The Doctor thought for a moment. "Oh dear," he said quietly. "Oh my word... I have encountered a lot of madness in my time. I thought I'd seen it all.... I should always let the universe surprise me. It's so good at it."
"My country had been in a cold war with the Hive for years," Daedalus spat. "Each one of us just waiting to fire the first shot. I wasn't going to let them hit us first. War was inevitable Doctor. It took me the death of my family to finally see that. I grew tired of waiting."
"You truly have lost your mind," the Doctor said quietly. "You've deluded yourself into thinking this was all for the good of the country. You really believe that. It wasn't Daedalus. You've caused the deaths of thousands, and you won't be happy until you spilled more blood. An entire race is going to be wiped out because of what you've done. Stop, Daedalus. Oh, I don't mean stop doing what you're doing. You won't. You've can't from where your mind's at now. I'm asking you to stop telling me, and yourself that you did this for any other reason than your revenge."
There was silence for almost a full minute.
"It doesn't matter why I did this," Daedalus said slowly. "It will all be over soon. The Hive will be gone. Minos will be safe. And that parasite with you will be dead. Maybe worse. Maybe I'll upgrade her. It makes me happy to think that deep down she knows she's killing her own race. Maybe then somewhere deep in her black little heart she will hate what she is."
The Doctor looked over at N'Zeera. She was obviously terrified at the idea.
"Informed consent..." the Doctor thought aloud. "That didn't last long. Though I suppose disinformation is just another way of forcing upgrades. Just a bit more subtle I suppose."
"Hand her over Doctor," Daedalus insisted. "Give her to the Cybermen and leave. I have no wish to harm anyone more than I have to."
"Not gonna happen," the Doctor smiled.
"Then I'll burst in there and take her," Daedalus said frankly. "I'm standing in front of five thousand of my Cybermen. What chance do you think you have?"
"Well," the Doctor said brightly. "A better chance now than I had a moment ago. You see, you just gave me a very vital piece of information. With it I'll have a much better chance of putting an end to this."
"And what was that?" Daedalus spat.
The Doctor burst into a wide grin. "You're not in your office." He raised the Screwdriver up to the speakerphone and cut off Daedalus contact with him.
"Right!" the Doctor said quickly. "We need to get to that office as soon as possible. There may be the evidence we need to expose him. It also wouldn't surprise me if there was a kill switch for the Cybermen.... Alright, maybe that's just wishful thinking."
"Why would he keep the evidence?" N'Zeera asked.
"He said he was going to turn himself in," the Doctor answered. "I doubt they'd take him at his word, would they?"
"And how exactly are we gettin' outta this here room?" Applejack asked.
"Remember a while ago when I did something to the door?" the Doctor asked.
"Yeah?" Applejack said.
There was a clanking noise as Cybermen came up the hallway.
"Duck," the Doctor said.
The Cybermen attempted to punch down the door. The door immediately exploded, taking the Cybermen with it.
The Doctor got up and brushed himself off. "Automated metal door," he smiled. "The more electronics you put in something, the easier it is to blow up."
"There's a Changeling out there!" Apple Bloom called from the window. "That's who's attacking us! They're right out there!"
The two Cybermen walked toward the filly standing just in front of the plate glass window. "What is the cause of this?"
"NOW!" Apple Bloom called.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle bucked the two Cybermen from behind. This pushed them forward enough to crash and fall through the window to the concrete below.
"Owww..." Sweetie Belle said, nursing her hooves. "Those guys are really hard..."
"Never mind that!" Apple Bloom said firmly. "We gotta get to the Doctor and AJ! Come on!!"
Scootaloo turned to the Minotaur children. "You guys stay here," she said. "And stay out of trouble."