The two trotted forward, The Prince illuminating the way with a Shadow Light.
“…and she’s just standing behind the controls. I ask her what she did, and, you know, before she couldn’t even plug a toaster in, but there she is, Daleks spinning like tops, and all she can say is ‘A flipstick circuit breaker in the psychonetic threshold manipulator’.”
“Nice.” Skorpeon held a branch out, keeping an eye out for enemies.
“So then, she simply pushes a button, the Daleks start explode--”
“HALT!” The two spun, catching sight of one of the Monger Guards in his stark white armor, “Who goes there?”
“Hold, soldier!” FoxTrot shrugged from the smoke, “It’s just me. And--”
“HALT! Who goes there?”
“It’s me!” FoxTrot trotted to the armored guard, “FoxTrot!”
“HALT! Who goes there?”
“Skorpeon!” The Doctor aimed his torch at the stallion “Look at his feet.”
The Prince of Shadows looked down. “Two shadows.” He looked back up, wiping the grunge from the armor’s face
plate. He started back as a bloodied skull rested on the glass.
“HALT! Who goes there!”
“Run!” The two took off like lightning without a care as to where they treaded.
“Doctor!” The fox spat mud from his mouth, “DOC!”
The Doctor grabbed the back of Skorpeon’s vest, “Ew, don’t you ever wash this thing?”
Skorpeon yanked his arm from the mud hole, “Shaddup.”
The two took off again, the skeleton creeping up on them.
“Who’s there? I can hear you!” Somepony else called. “Star Lane?”
“Over here!” Skorpeon turned direction to the voice, activating his disguise, “it’s FoxTrot and The Doctor!”
“Who’s there?”
FoxTrot cursed, bucking the skeleton in the chest. It fell to the ground, but immediately jumped back up.
“HALT! Who goes there?”
“Who’s there? I can hear you!”
“Is that you Star Lane?” A third Monger joined them, his call mingling with the other two.
FoxTrot spun. He was surrounded.
He sighed, “By what creeps, what crawls. By what does not. Let all before me crumble and--”
“Fawkes!” The Doctor grabbed the Prince by his chest, both of them swinging to safety among the taller trees. The
Prince lost control of the curse, feeling the negative effects of the curse go awry.
He kicked The Doctor, “Don’t touch me!!” He winced as his bones started to warp, as if about to break.
“What?” the Doctor started back, “What’s wrong?”
Skorpeon stood, rubbing his paws together faster than The Doctor could see, “Thanks to your intervention, the curse I
was about to use to turn those creatures into dust instead turned on me and is about to kill me.” He yelped as his shin
popped, “I need to get the energy from my body as fast as possible.” He rubbed his paws faster.
“How fast?”
“Faster than I can exert it this way!” Panic seeped into his voice, followed by a massive scream that erupted from his
lips.
“What can I do?” The Doctor looked around, “Anyone I can call?”
“I… need…” Skorpeon gasped, “I need… the energy… pulled from my… my system.” He screamed again, this time an
audible crack came from his left leg. It snapped into a weird angle.
“Right, hang on!” The Doctor grabbed Skorpeon by the shoulders, then crammed his lips to the fox’s.
Skorpeon tried to break away, but felt his bones start to cool. Then he felt the energy start to leave.
The Doctor thrust himself from Skorpeon, his face red with massive embarrassment. “Sorry. Direct Energy Absorption.
The only way energy can be quickly pulled from a body.”
Skorpeon took a step backwards from the Doctor, “Yeah… right.” He shook his head, “So, when you’re done trying to
kiss me, can you tell me what that was?”
“I thought you’d know.” The Doctor shook his head, “What with your little ‘two shadows’ knowledge. I think if there’s
going to be information given, then—“
“HALT! Who goes there?”
“See?” Skorpeon glared at The Doctor, “You should have let me be.”
The Doctor shrugged.
“By what creeps, what crawls. By what does not. Let all before me crumble and rot.”
The three Mongers started to shake, emitting what sounded like an old, dysfunctional organ.
One of the Monger’s armor broke apart, starting a small cyclone that engulfed the other two in a heartbeat. The wheezing
grew louder, dawning on the two stallions that it was the Vashta Nerada’s screams. A red liquid started forming around the
still-standing skeletons that seemed to drain directly from a heart that never was. The bones fell to the dirt, turned red from
the blood, then white, brown, black, and then rotted clear to nothingness.
All was silent suddenly. The Doctor dropped from the tree, followed close behind by SKorrpeon.
“And that is what’s SUPPOSED to happen.” The fox said, shaking his arms.