//------------------------------// // The Doctor is In - part 3 // Story: Doctor Whooves: Adventures in Time and Space (and Equestria) // by Marshall Lee TVK //------------------------------// "Doomed?" Ditzy was past concerned, "Why would Equestria be doomed?" "The Cybermen are a race of machines controlled by living brains with all emotion and feeling removed. They have to take the brains from living organisms to create more. As you can see, they started on Book Binder." The Doctor explained. "There is one thing I don't understand, though." "What is that?" Book Binder asked. "Why didn't they finish your conversion? The Cybermen have never stopped in the middle of a conversion without a cause. So why?" "I dunno." Book Binder shrugged. "Did the Cybermen say anything to you? I assume they sent you here, but why? It must have something to do with me, so why did they send you after me? To delete me?" "No, they say you are their only hope for survival." Book Binder replied. "Their only hope for survival, eh? Then let them rust." The Doctor threatened. "You don't understand, Doctor. They'll make you." "How?" "By taking your associate." A flat monotonous voice answered. The Doctor turned to fave the voice. There stood a Cyberman, except it wasn't a Cyberman.Instead it was in the shape of a pony, a Cyberpony. And the Cyberpony had Ditzy. "Let her go!" He ordered, but it was to late, the Cyberpony and Ditzy were gone in a literal flash. He turned back to Book Binder. "Take me to them! Take me aboard their ship! Now!" "I-I can't." He replied. "I don't know how to use their transmat." "They are monitoring you, so I demand, whatever Cyber is watching this, bring me up!" His expression filled with rage. "I can help you, but I demand for her to be returned!" There was a long silence, and then a bright flash. The alley was empty. ~o~ "You will remain here as leverage against the Time Lord." The metal pony told Ditzy. She had been tossed in an empty room. She stood up wincing at the pain from landing on the hard metal floor. "You won't get away with this." She said sternly. "The Doctor will stop you, I know he will." "He will further the cyberrace. You will be held as leverage to cause this." Ditzy said nothing. The Cyberpony stepped back and the door slid close with a hiss. Ditzy's expression shifted from stern to scared. She curled up on the floor, silently sobbing. "Help me, Doctor. Please." She whispered. ~o~ The Doctor staggered of the transmat disk, disoriented for a moment. He shook his head. He noticed the Cyberpony operating the transmat. "Alright, you've got me, now let her go!" "The female equine will be released once you have assisted the cyberrace." "I won't assist the Cyberrace' until Ditzy and Book Binder are safely on earth." He growled. "Then we have reached a stalemate, Doctor." A different voice said, it wasn't like the other Cyberponies' voices, it was much deeper, and had a twinge of pride to it. Another Cyberpony had entered the room, but this one looked different, his face plate was painted black, and there was a glass covering display the brain beneath. "Ah, the Cybercontroller, to what do I owe the pleasure." He muttered grimly. "You have been relinquished to advance the Cyberrace." "Yes you've mentioned that, but what does that mean? Why would the Cybermen, well I guess I should call you the Cyberponies, so why would the Cyberponies stoop so low as to have one of their greatest enemies help them? And why send some half converted pony to fetch me, why not send one of your other converts?" His eyes widened with realization, "Unless, you don't have any more, there are only what? Three? Four of you? Definitely not enough to conquer. But there are plenty of ponies have gone missing, so where are the converts? Where are the ponies you've upgraded?" He smiled. There was no reply. "Exactly! There are none, because you don't know how to convert them, they are of an entirely different biology, so in an attempt to upgrade your own conversions, you studied one of the locals but struggled to upgrade with what you have, in fact you sacrificed one of your own to try and keep him alive long enough to study, turning him into that." He gestured toward Book Binder. "And, here's the part that sickens me, you actually think you can blackmail me to get me to assist you in upgrading your conversion machines for a ponies biology. But I won't, in fact I can't, you see we have the same problem, I've only been like this..." He gestured to himself now. "for about half a day. I know about as much as you do. So let them go, and leave this planet forever." The Cybercontroller stood silently. "We have not abducted any equine life forms excepting the equine designated Book Binder." He stated. "What?" The Doctor knitted his eyebrows. "We have not abducted any equine life forms excepting-" "Yes I heard that part, but then what happened to the missing ponies?" "We do not have such information." "Okay, that's embarrassing, everyone just pretend that didn't happen." "It was a bit impressive though." Book Binder chimed in. "Like Shetlock Holmes." "Okay, why did you need me? Eh?" "You are required to return home." The Cybercontroller answered. "Home? You mean our universe? I can't!" "Incorrect, Time Lords are known to be able to travel between universes." "They used to, before they were destroyed..." the Doctor trailed off. "You're here the same reason I am! We fell out of our universe and ended up here, and there's no way back, not without the Time Lords." "If you are of no use, then you will be deleted." He lifted up his front right leg and started to approach. "Wait! You don't need to do this, you can be better." "Irrelevant." "Got a plan Doctor?" Book Binder asked. "Well...ah...run!" He darted past the Cybercontroller, barely avoiding deletion, Book Binder in tow. The Cyberponies marched after them. ~o~ The Doctor pulled Book Binder around a corner. "We need to find her." "You don't say..." he replied, catching his breath. "You don't understand." He pulled out a black passport case. "I want to know is how she's doing this." flicking it open to show a hoof scrawled message saying "Help me Doctor, please." "How do you know it's her?" "I just do. If only we could get a message to her, whatever she's doing to my psychic paper, she could tell us where she is." Book Binder cocked his head, wondering. Then realization crossed his face. "Or I could access the Cybercontroller's mind." "What do you mean?" "Well, I may be a partially upgraded, but I'm still in their system, I can hear them, faintly but I can hear all of them." He gestured to his cyber-ear. "Their thoughts, their memories, all of it." "That's risky, opening your mind to their hive mind, you could lose your free will." "It's a risk I'm willing to take, I can't let anypony get hurt." The Doctor started to argue. Instead he clenched his jaw. "Alright, good luck." He resigned. Book Binder closed his eye, the sound in his head growing louder. He was no longer alone in his mind, he could feel the other few Cybermen, the stimuli almost overwhelming. He forced himself to focus on the Cybercontroller. The brain filled with information upon information, it's memories scattered in between. Some recent and some of a time before metal, Book Binder got curious. He focused on the memories before Cyber conversion, though they seemed hazy and distant. Another one of those strange bipedal creatures resided there, it...had a family, they were a lovely family, a beautiful wife, two brilliant children, and a dog. They were happy, then the Cybermen came and- "Book Binder can you hear me!" The Doctor's voice cut through snapping Book Binder to attention. "Yeah, I-I'm fine. I'm in, I can almost hear it." He murmured. "Careful, you have opened your mind to the hive mind, they could easily find you and extract our location. Do not attract attention." He whispered. "I'm almost there, I can hear it. She's..." He saw her being led down a corridor from the transmat room, lead through the labyrinth of hallways and then tossed into a room. A sign on the wall labeled this as the conversion bay, and the door room Ditzy was in was emblazoned with the number 10. "She's in the conversion bay, specifically containment unit 10." "Great, now close your mind. Shut them out." the Doctor sounded anxious. "I don't think I can." Book Binder's head started to pound. "The sound is overwhelming now, its...comforting?" A wave of bliss flowed through him. "Yeah, comforting, like I can't ever be lonely again. Never feel pain again." Book Binder sighed dreamily. "No!" The Doctor cried out. Then there was a buzzing noise, the voices in Book Binder's head went silent immediately. His eye shot open. He saw the Doctor holding a small pen-like object in his mouth. "There, that should be better." He mumbled around the pen thing. He dropped it in his coat pocket and peered around the corner. "Now, we just need to avoid the Cybermen, get Ditzy, and get off this ship." "Is that all?" Book Binder rubbed his temples. "Are you okay for another go?" "Oh yeah, love the running." He labored. "Lets go." ~o~ Ditzy had no idea how long she had been stuck in the cell. It seemed to have been an eternity. It also seemed like no time at all. Or maybe it was like ten minutes, thought to herself. He smiled at this. "Yeah, that's right Ditzy, keep positive. You aren't getting anything done crying on the floor." She told herself. "Figure out the door, and get out." She walked over to the panel that was the door. It had no handle. "Well, that's no good, what am I supposed to do? Say open sesame?" The door slid open with a hiss. "I can't believe that worked." she laughed to herself. "Ditzy?" The Doctor's voice called through the door, leaning to see through. Ditzy didn't even touch the ground when jumped through the door to hug him. She was latched on to him before he knew what was happening. "Oh, Celestia, I thought they'd gotten to you." She squeezed him tighter. "They'd...never...Ditzy. Now...please...let me go. I can't...breath." He struggled to say. Ditzy hopped back sheepishly. "Sorry." She smiled. "It's alright. Now to find a way off this ship." The Doctor announced. "We could use the transmat." Ditzy offered. "No, somepony would have to stay behind to control it." The Doctor explained. "Does this ship have escape pods?" "I think so. The only problem is they're off the control room." "Well it's the only plan we've got. Are there any objections?" The Doctor asked. No one said anything. "Right, Allons-y." ~o~ They entered the control room. The large room devoid of Cyberponies. Consoles sitting in intervals in the middle, a large viewport at the head of the room, through it, the expanse of space could be seen, only broken by the planet around which they were orbiting. Ditzy slowly approached the veiwport, jaw agape with awe. She stared at the planet on which she was born, the planet where she grew up, just spinning slowly, lazily below her. "It's a bit overwhelming at first, isn't it?" The Doctor asked. "It's...beautiful." She replied. "It's unlike anything I've ever seen." "And this doesn't even compare to what I have seen." He muttered. "Now! Where are those escape pods?!" He turned to Book Binder. "They should be through there." He pointed at a door opposite the one they came through. "Brilliant! Let's get out of here." The Doctor trotted over. Before the Doctor could get close, the door slid open to reveal the Cybercontroller. The Doctor jumped back, surprised. "You are trapped, Doctor, assist us or be deleted." It stated, stepping a few steps out into the room. "I've already told you I can't! There is no way back without help from the Time Lords." "Negative, sensors indicate you were brought here." "What?!" "Sensors indicate-" "Yes I heard that!" He yelled. "What do you mean?" "Data collected from the projected time of your arrival, as well as scans of your ship," The door behind the Cybercontroller slid open further to reveal the TARDIS. "indicate you were pulled through to this universe." "Well, go talk to them!" The Doctor exclaimed, stomping his front hooves, fuming at the thought of the Cyberponies messing with his TARDIS. "If you will not help, you will be deleted." "You lot, you're like a broken record. Can't you tell me anything useful?" "Delete." The Cyberponies droned. "Alright, new plan!" the Doctor turned to Ditzy and Book Binder. "We'll need to get to my ship." "How?!" Ditzy and Book Binder asked simultaneously. "Well," the Doctor tilted his head. "You know how sometimes people come up with great ideas? This isn't one of them." He turned to the Cybers. "You lot want me! Come and get me!" and he ran toward the TARDIS. "He's insane!" Book BInder cried to Ditzy, but she was gone, running in the same direction as the Doctor. "I'm insane!" He took off, full gallop. All three weaved between the lumbering forms, narrowly avoiding their sparking hooves. First, the Doctor slid under the Cybercontroller into the room behind, followed by Ditzy leaping over him, gliding with her wings. Finally Book Binder came to the door, the Cybercontroller a hulking obstacle inbetween him and safety. He faltered, slowing for a moment, but it was enough for the Cybercontroller. His hoof caught Book Binder's, his momentum throwing him in an arc over the head of the Cybercontroller and slamming to the ground, his rear right hoof held firmly in the magnetic grip of the Cybercontroller. He could hear the thoughts clearly now, the Cybercontroller was preparing to delete him. He knew this would be the end. "At least I help somepony." He muttered to himself, bracing himself for his death. It didn't come. instead there was a loud bang. He looked up to see the Doctor mid buck, he had bucked the Cybercontroller, throwing him off balance. This distraction caused him to lose his magnetic grip long enough for Ditzy to pull him away. He struggled to his hooves, they both stood in front of the blue box the Doctor called his ship. "Get in!" the Doctor rushed past them, both doors bursting open as he barreled through. Book Binder and Ditzy followed, expecting to be crammed into a small wooden box. They took a few steps in, the Doctor slammed the doors shut behind them. They stood there, mouths agape, staring at the huge room, it's coral pillars, it's doors with hallways branching out, it's strange metal table-like thing with a large tube reaching the domed ceiling high above them, and the many buttons and levers and lights, both paralyzed with sheer awe. The Doctor rushed to the strange table-like thing in the middle of the room. "Now they'll probably follow me, got to lead them s far away from all civilized life as I can." He threw a lever and the tubes within the large tube started to move up and down, the two opposing sets interlocking and retreating. A loud bang followed by whooshing was heard. The entire room heaved to the side and started shaking horribly. The Doctor seemed unmoved by this, as if it was to be expected. "A few million years into the future should be just enough, to keep them busy." He grinned. "especially in this remote section of space, not another planet for lightyears!" He pulled back on the lever he threw originally, the shaking subsided. "We've a few minutes before they catch up." He trotted over to Ditzy and Book Binder. "Why do you two have those looks on your face?" "It's-It's bigger..." Book Binder stuttered. "It's bigger on the inside!" Ditzy finished. The Doctor grinned brightly. "I love it when they say that! Welcome aboard the TARDIS!" He reared back. Ditzy giggled at this. "TARDIS?" Book Binder asked. "TARDIS. T-A-R-D-I-S. That's Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. It's a space ship and it travels in time." He explained proudly. "Time Machine?" Book Binder asked. "Yep." He smirked. "So when you said 'a couple million years' you mean we traveled a couple million years into the future?!" Ditzy asked. "Yep." His smirk grew larger. "And the Cyberponies can do that too?!" Book Binder asked frantically. "Nah, they're taking the long way 'round. They've probably shut down and drifted for the past two million odd years." the controls started to beep. "And there they are. We stuck around long enough, time to go back." He ran back to the controls and started fiddling with buttons and knobs, ending with the same lever that appeared to make the ship go. The ship started shaking and heaving, and the tubes started wheezing and moving. The Cybercontroller had been awake for a few minutes, just enough to see it's only hope of returning home disappear into the past, where the Cybers couldn't go. ~o~ "End of the line!" the Doctor called as the time rotor slowed to a halt. He smiled at his ship. He trotted to the doors and pulled them open, they were in the alleyway where they had been almost an hour ago. He stepped out, Ditzy and Book Binder close behind. "So they're gone?" Book Binder asked. "Yes, well..." He tilted his head, emphasizing the word 'well' "I say gone, they're still in up there, but completely shut down to preserve power for the next millennia, until we surface." "So that's it?" Ditzy asked. "Yes, you're all safe now." "But what about me, how could I possibly remain here looking like this?" Book Binder asked, referring to his half upgraded body. "You're clever, you'll figure something out." "You could maybe find a unicorn with powerful enough magic to create a glamour." Ditzy offered. "Yeah, I guess, 'til then I'll just have to shut myself away. Actually that's a good thing." He stated. "How so?" the Doctor asked. "Well, I've found some inspiration for my book. My editor's been on my flank for weeks, waiting for a good story. In fact, I should go work on it now. Thank you for everything Doctor." He then pulled his hood up and trotted off. "Not the reaction I expected." The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Probably shouldn't let him write that book." "You do kind of owe him for not being able to fix him." "'Spose so." He sighed. "Anyways, I'd better be off. Got to find a way home." "I thought you said it was impossible?" "It should be, but if I fell through to here, I should be able to fall back." He started to walk back into the TARDIS. "Doctor, wait!" Ditzy called out. "So you're just going to travel alone?" "Yeah, I seem to do less harm that way." "Maybe you do less harm to others, but what does it do to you?" The Doctor didn't reply. "Nopony should ever be alone." "Ditzy I don't-" "Doctor, please." She pleaded. "Don't go off alone." The Doctor sighed. "I need a tailor." He said. "What?" Ditzy smiled a bit as she asked. "I need someone to mend my suit, and maybe modify my coat." He looked down at the torn suit he wore. "You know any one?" He smirked. Ditzy smiled broadly. "There's Carousel Boutique. Rarity is pretty good with that kind of thing." "Right then Allons-y Miss Doo."