Apple Bloom skidded to a halt, horrified. “They got Button! We have to go back for him!”
“Are you crazy?” Scootaloo demanded. “If we go back there, we’re all toast!”
Sweetie Belle glared at her. “So what, you want to just stand here while he dies?”
“No! I want to keep running so the rest of us survive!” Scootaloo said plaintively.
Dinky squinted. “Uh…”
Rumble butted in. “Look, there’s six of us and four of them. None of them are looking up, I can pull off an airstrike and take them by surprise. We can turn this around on them!”
“Hold up,” Dinky said authoritatively.
The others all paused. “What, do you think we should abandon Button, too?” Sweetie demanded.
“Just because you’re in love with him,” Scootaloo said, half under her breath.
“Hey! I’d do the same if it was you,” Sweetie shot back. “And so would Button! We don't leave our own behind, what’s wrong with you?”
“Hey!” Rumble said.
Both mares stopped squabbling. He gestured at Dinky. “You were saying?”
“Well, I can’t help but notice that things seem to have calmed down a lot back there.” She pointed at the pack of aliens. They had set Button down and seemed to be regarding him like they might a well-trained dog. “I think they might not be as violent as they seemed.”
“So… you want to go back and talk?” Apple Bloom asked, incredulous.
Scootaloo scowled. “I don’t like it,” she muttered. “It could be a trap.”
“If it’s a trap, then they’re at least smart enough to negotiate with,” Dinky said. “If worst comes to worst, we’re not exactly defenseless ourselves.”
“That’s true,” Rumble agreed. “Alright. I’m in for giving it a shot.”
Scootaloo shook her head. “You’re all crazy.”
“Fine,” said Sweetie Belle. “Stay behind. I’m going.” She turned and trotted off over the grey sands toward Button and the reptilian creatures.
Rumble and Apple Bloom trotted after her. Dinky stayed behind for a moment, studying Scootaloo. She looked sad. Then she too turned and trotted off after the others.
Scootaloo shut her eyes tight. “I’m going to regret this,” she muttered. Then she, too, started back the way they had come.
Rarity shut her eyes tight and shook her head. “No, I’m sorry, I still don’t understand.” She pointed at the Valeyard. “You’re him, and he’s you. But somehow, your existences cancel out?”
“Yes,” the Doctor said, glowering at the Valeyard. “He was a potential future. I met him in my sixth incarnation. He claimed to be the sum of all my darkest desires and inclinations.”
“Oh?” Ditzy frowned. “Huh. I thought that he’d be, um…”
The Doctor cocked his head. “What?”
“Sexier?” Ditzy suggested. “That’s how it usually works in sci-fi novels. At the very least, I thought he’d have a goatee. And maybe he’d look slightly less like a freeze-dried accountant.”
The Valeyard scowled. “Have a care,” he warned. “You’re in my domain, now.”
“Are we, though?” The Doctor rounded on him. “Because, as I believe we’ve established, you claim to be from ‘somewhere between my twelfth and final incarnations’, whatever that means. Well, this is my twelfth incarnation. By the time I regenerate again, I’ll be in my final body, you’ll have used up all your time, and that’ll be that.”
“Ah. But as you said yourself, we are currently between your twelfth and final selves.”
“Well… yeah,” the Doctor said.
The Valeyard grinned nastily.
“But look, this is my body,” the Doctor said. “No vacancies.”
“Undoubtedly,” the Valeyard said. “For now.”
Luna squinted at him. “Do you simply not know how regeneration works?” she asked. “When you change bodies… that is regeneration.”
“Not necessarily,” the Valeyard said. “Although I’m not surprised you didn’t think to question that. You always did have a habit of unthinkingly accepting information. It made you ever such a pliant companion… and such an easily corrupted one.”
Luna went stiff with outrage. “You dare?” she demanded.
“But of course,” the Valeyard said, his eyes flashing. “You forget. I knew you. I knew all of you, once. All your dark little secrets, all your little quirks. There’s hardly ever been a better time to air old grievances --”
“Your plan,” the Doctor said, his voice hinting at desperation. “You were going to tell us all about your evil plan!”
“Was I? That would be terribly foolhardy of me. You might even get it into your head to stop us. Speaking of foolhardy…” he turned to face the others, and the Doctor's eyes went wide.
Rainbow smirked. “Yeah, you know it--”
“Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight blinked. “Huh?”
The Valeyard advanced on her. “You’re reckless. Your first instinct is always to use magic, and your imbecilic interventions often only worsen the situation you were attempting to fix.”
“You’re going to supplant me in the timeline,” the Doctor said, his voice rising in pitch and volume as he desperately attempted to divert the Valeyard. “You tried it near the end of my sixth life and I defeated you then. I’ll do the same now.”
The Valeyard ignored him, continuing to advance on Twilight, who backed away from him at the same pace. “You pride yourself as being a paragon of magic and virtue -- better than the likes of those two --” he jerked his head at Trixie and Sunset, “--or, what was her name? Starlight Glimmer? But your impulsive meddling has caused suffering all its own.”
“Oi, Scrapyard!” the Doctor called, now truly desperate. “Are you listening to me?”
Twilight bumped into a wall as the Valeyard continued to advance. “You were alone for so long,” the Valeyard said. “Alone. Friendless. But of course, you were better then. At least you didn’t have any enablers. You should have stayed locked in your library--”
He was cut off then, as a gout of golden plasma enveloped him. Everypony turned to look at Celestia. Her face was like stone as she poured rage-fueled flames onto Twilight's antagonist. Eventually, she stopped, though a raging inferno still blazed around the Valeyard. "Nopony gets to talk to my student that way," she said quietly.
"Duly noted." The flames died down. The Valeyard's coat glittered silver before fading. "And ignored."
Celestia curled her lip. "It's never that easy, is it?"
"No." The Valeyard began to fade slowly from view. "I will return shortly. Don't get comfortable," he warned, before vanishing entirely.
Twilight stood, petrified, against the wall. Spike approached her first, slowly, lowering herself to hold her to his chest. "It's not true," he said fiercely. "None of it. You're wonderful, and all your friends love you. You know that, right?"
He turned to the Doctor. “Is that what you think of her?” he asked, his voice carefully controlled. “Is that how you really feel, Doctor?”
The Doctor shook his head slowly. “Not at all. Twilight --” he turned to look at her. She was still staring at where the Valeyard had been, shellshocked. He softened his voice. “Yes, you are a bit impulsive. Yes, your experiments sometimes get out of hand. But your intentions are always good, and you’re a wonderful pony. I’m lucky to have a friend like you.” He glanced around the room. “And in case it wasn’t abundantly clear, the same goes for all of you lot. The Valeyard is a dark, twisted parody of me. Any minor irritation or flaw will be all he can see or know of you.”
Luna gave a grim nod. “Aye. Just like the corruption of the Nightmare.”
Twilight nodded. “Yes, of course. It’s fine, I’m sorry--”
“No,” said Shining. “No, Twily, you don’t need to apologize for anything.”
“There’s a reason he chose her first,” the Doctor said grimly. “Her magic is drained. Her bonds have been broken, at least for the time being. She’s weakened, isolated on a metaphysical level.”
“And you think the Valeyard knew that?” Rarity asked.
“He’d have plenty of opportunities. You can see the IV drip, there’s a good chance he can get a surface-level read on our minds, and there’s no small chance…” He stopped and took a deep breath. “There’s every chance that he was behind the accident that caused it.”
Silence filled the room.
As Sweetie Belle approached the small group, she started to hear muffled voices. Two of the reptilian things had removed their masks and sat down next to Button. The other two were still masked and standing. One had their weapon at the ready, while the other was considerably more relaxed.
The more militant of the standing pair raised their weapon as Sweetie Belle drew near. She stopped, eyeing it warily. “Um… what’s that?” she asked.
“Keep back!” the reptilian guard warned. “Come any closer, and you will be destroyed!”
Button glanced up, alarmed. The other three reptiles frowned at their comrade. “You know, there’s no need to be so hostile,” one of the pair sitting with Button said. “This one’s hardly more than knee-height. Do you think they’re going to snuggle us to death?”
“These mammals are intelligent and in possession of highly advanced technology! Caution is hardly inadvisable!”
The other four Crusaders had caught up with Sweetie at this point, and all stood at the ill-defined perimeter between safety and danger. “Button?” Dinky called.
“Yes?”
“They haven’t hurt you, have they?”
“Uh, they pulled me up by my tail for a minute before they realized I was sapient. Otherwise, we’ve mostly been talking tech.”
Sweetie Belle let out a sigh of relief. “So you’re safe, then?”
“Um…” he glanced around. “Good question.”
“I think the nicest way to put it would be ‘in our custody,’” said the other reptile-thing.
“An’ who exactly are y’all?” Apple Bloom asked. “Cuz, ya look kinda like dragons, but not really. So, uh, what exactly is yer whole deal?”
“We are the Silurians! Rightful owners of the Earth!” the militant one shouted.
Dinky looked around. “Is that where we are?” she asked.
The other standing Silurian cocked her head. “Do you not know?”
“Honestly, no,” Scootaloo said. “Our friends and families got kidnapped and we just sort of barged in after them without any real plan.”
Dinky glared at her. “Why are you such a downer today?”
“Do you want the list chronologically or alphabetically?” Scootaloo demanded.
“Er…” Button said. “Um, sorry. They usually aren’t like this. It’s been a long day.”
The militant Silurian had latched on to part of what Scootaloo had said. “There are more of you? Where? How long have they been here? Are they armed?”
“Okay, I think that’s quite enough,” said the other masked Silurian firmly. “Izzit, go patrol the hole in the caves.”
“But the creatures --”
“Izzit. Remind me again, who among us has the highest rank?”
“...You, Lieutenant Veela.”
“And who was recently demoted for repeated insubordination?”
Izzit hung his head.
“I see we have an understanding.”
“Yes, Lieutenant Veela.”
“Go patrol around the hole in the caves.”
“Yes, Lieutenant Veela.” He turned and trudged back toward the rift in the earth.
Veela sighed and removed her mask. “At last,” she muttered. “Any more shouting, and I’d have got a headache.”
She regarded Sweetie Belle, Dinky, Rumble, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo. “So. You’re foreign to this world?”
“Uh, yes, ma’am,” Rumble said.
“You don’t know where we are?”
“...No.”
Veela made a long, complex hissing noise under her breath that sounded like it was probably a curse. “Didn’t you say this was Earth?” Sweetie asked.
“Oh, this decidedly isn’t Earth,” Veela said. “Last time I checked, Earth’s sky was blue, and we only had one sun.”
The Crusaders all glanced up. “Yeah. I can see how this is a little different from that,” Dinky said flatly. The twin suns glowed almost mockingly in the deep orange sky.
“Huh,” said Rumble. “Well, we really just need to get to that tower, so if you could let us have our friend back…”
“Mm.” Veela grimaced. “Unfortunate. You see, we don’t know where we are, either, nor how we arrived here. And as you are the only other sapients in the vicinity…”
“Only other life, you mean,” Scootaloo said, glancing around.
“As well,” Veela said. “Well. You can understand that we might have certain suspicions.”
“You think we might be lying about not being responsible for bringing you here,” Dinky translated.
“Not to put too fine a point on it, but yes, that is a distinct possibility.”
The Crusaders exchanged glances. “Well, you have to admit, she does kinda have a point,” Scootaloo said.
Apple Bloom squinted at Veela. “How do we know you didn’t bring us here?” she demanded.
“We know how we got here, Bloom,” Rumble said patiently.
“Oh. Right.” Apple Bloom coughed. “Well. Ah got nothin’.”
“Is there some way we can prove to you that we don’t want to be here any more than you do?” Dinky asked plaintively.
Veela studied her for a long moment. “You said you had a ship.”
Dinky shook her head. “We’re locked out, and I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t go anywhere even if we could get in.”
“Unfortunate,” Veela said. “You see, unless we can get off this planet, we’re going to run low on food. Our species is naturally carnivorous. Naturally, we would never dream of eating a fellow species of sapients, but, well… hunger is hunger.”
Sweetie Belle turned a little green.
“I think we follow,” Dinky said grimly. “Maybe we can compromise. If you guide us to the tower, we can rescue the most powerful creatures in our world. They can easily get you back home.”
“That sounds a little too convenient,” Veela said, her eyes narrowing to slits. “Rather like a trap.”
“It’s not,” Dinky said. “Even if it was, surely a trap is better than wandering the wasteland out here.”
“We’ll take our chances,” Veela said.
Dinky growled low in her throat. She considered blasting the Silurian, but quickly dismissed that idea. The lizard’s two comrades were just as well-armed, and she doubted that she could take out all three without casualties.
“Hey,” said one of the Silurians. “What’s this?”
Everyone turned to look. He held up a grey device topped with an antenna.
“Oh,” said Button. “That’s just left over from when I was experimenting with radio waves, Sivald. I was trying to build a wireless controller.”
“Do you have any more pieces from that project?” Sivald asked.
“Uh… yeah, I should.” Button dug through the bag’s pockets. “Had to cannibalize some of it for parts,” he muttered.
Sweetie winced. “Please don’t say ‘cannibalize’,” she groaned.
“Oh. Sorry. Aha!” He started pulling out a series of electronic scraps and parts, including something that resembled a tiny radio tower.
“A signal transmitter,” Sivald said, their eyes going wide. “How strong a signal can you get from this?”
Button contemplated that for a long moment. “Hard to say,” he admitted. “I think originally, it could broadcast for about half a kilometer, but I’ve been tinkering with it a lot.”
Veela tilted her head. “Sivald? What are you planning?”
“We could use this transmitter -- with modifications of course -- this should help, yes…”
Veela glanced at Sivald’s silent partner. “Osric?”
Osric looked up. “We can broadcast a distress signal,” they said, simply.
Dinky raised an eyebrow. “Would letting you have these parts be enough of a show of good faith?” she asked.
Veela frowned. “Perhaps. Unless this is some kind of ruse. Sivald. Osric. Are you certain these parts are genuine?”
“Hm?” Sivald glanced up from where he was twisting wires together. “Certain? Well… certain enough, yes. We have enough parts to make repairs if need be, and enough to amplify the signal if we… oh yes, and weld that onto the… hm…”
Veela cast her eyes skyward. “And how sure are we that they haven’t set up a signal-jamming network?”
“Oh, yeah,” Scootaloo said flatly. “Because we wanted to be trapped on the planet Quarry with the pony-eating dragons so badly, we made it impossible to call for help.”
Veela raised her eyebrows in shock and anger. She had been insulted. Worse, she had been insulted accurately. Her fingers toyed with the grip of her weapon.
Quickly, Button stepped in. “I’ll help you put it together,” he offered. “Once you’ve made contact with something, you can let us go, how about that?”
“But the others!” Rumble objected. “They’re still stuck in the tower! If we wait until the transmitter is built -- actually, we’d be waiting to hear a response, which would take even longer -- well, who knows what could be happening to them?”
Button gnawed at his lip. “Good point,” he admitted. He looked up at Veela. “I’ll stay and help. But please, won’t you let my friends go on?”
Veela looked down at the stallion. Against all odds, he was still smiling up at her, hopeful. “You really would, wouldn’t you?” she mused. “Give up your freedom to someone who already threatened to eat you -- just so your friends could get away.”
“I’m sure it won’t come to that,” Button said, his optimism unwavering. “It won’t take long for them to rescue the Princesses and the Elements and everypony else, and I’m sure they can get you home. If you’re really hungry, I think I’ve got some granola bars in my bag somewhere.”
Veela cocked her head. “Gra-no-la,” she echoed. “What in the world is that?”
Button spun around and rifled through the many pockets of the bag. “I dunno if you’ll be able to eat them,” he admitted. “Since you’re carnivores and all. But they’re a pretty good snack for most species in Equestria, so it’s worth a try.”
Veela watched as Button Mash pulled out a few brightly-wrapped rectangular packages. He ripped one open and offered it to the Silurian. She narrowed her eyes. “You first,” she said.
If Button was at all offended by her suspicion, he didn’t show it. “Okay,” he said with a shrug. He took a quick bite off the end, chewed it up, and swallowed. “Now do you want to try one?”
Veela took the bar from him and sniffed it. Grudgingly, she took a nibble and chewed it thoughtfully. “Grains… honey… some manner of dried fruit.”
“Strawberry,” Button supplied.
Veela lifted a wrapped bar to eye level and scrutinized it. “No punctures or tears,” she muttered. “Unlikely to have been tampered with.”
“You really think we’re out to get you, huh,” Rumble said levelly.
Veela paused. “Truth be told?” She shook her head. “No. You don’t seem the type. But this place… one minute we were on patrol. The next, we were in some dirty old tunnels. I can’t afford to take anything on trust.”
“Neither can we,” Dinky said. “We’re all of us strangers here, in a strange land. But we have to trust in something, or we’ll be even more lost.”
Veela toyed with the granola bar, mulling things over. She looked at Sivald. “Have you all the parts you need?” she asked.
Sivald paused and surveyed the disassembly of parts. “I should say so, and more.”
Veela turned her eye toward Button. “You’d stay until it was complete, would you?”
The stallion nodded. Just once, a simple, sharp gesture. He was still smiling, just slightly.
“Good. Then I won’t ask you to.”
“Huh?”
Veela shrugged. “You’ve convinced me. Your intentions aren’t malevolent, and I see no reason to keep you here -- provided you leave some of your rations.”
“Really?” Sweetie Belle asked, frowning. “That seems a little --”
“Perfectly reasonable,” Apple Bloom interrupted quickly.
Button nodded, pulling several more granola bars out of his bag. “And here, juice boxes for when you get thirsty.”
Veela nodded. “In exchange…” She unhooked a device from her belt and handed it to Button. “An electronic map. It uses sonar to make an image of your immediate area. Very useful for finding your way around the caves.”
Dinky took it from Button and turned it around in her hooves. “This could come in handy. Thank you. Just one more thing?”
“Oh?”
“Could you escort us to the pit in the ground? I don’t trust your compatriot not to shoot us on sight.”
“A more than reasonable concern. Very well. Try and keep up.”
The TARDIS stood empty out on the plain, still and silent. A crunching of sand grew ever louder as a figure approached the box. The Valeyard barely glanced around before pulling on the door’s handle. He scowled when it didn’t open, and stepped back to inspect the TARDIS. His glower only deepened as he took in the subtle changes to the box’s exterior.
“I suppose you think you’re clever,” he spat. “Pulling yourself and those children into the Matrix.”
The light at the top of the TARDIS flashed weakly. The Valeyard grinned. It didn’t reach his eyes. “Oh, yes. I know about the Crusaders,” he said. “You seem to forget, I once held the office of Keeper of the Matrix. It borders on the impossible to keep secrets from me, here.”
The light flashed again.
“You will let me in,” the Valeyard said. “You are my TARDIS.”
The light kept flashing, and the Valeyard realized there was a pattern to it. Morse code? Rather plebian, but if needs must…
He translated in his head. Dot dot dash dot dot dot dash, then repeat. An F and a U.
F.U.? What could that -- oh.
The Valeyard snarled. “When I gain control of my timeline, I’ll replace you with a Type-125,” he promised. “Then I’ll make it eat your interior dimensions, until you’re fit for nothing but a London streetcorner!”
The flashing light grew brighter.
The Valeyard turned away in disgust. “I will gain entry to you, one way or another,” he said as he crossed the sands. He faded as he moved away. “Either you let me in, or I break down your doors.”
Then he was gone. The TARDIS stood empty out on the plain, still and silent.
The Doctor had taken to pacing the perimeter of the tomb, inspecting the stonework. Luna had tried to join him, but he’d merely shaken her off and muttered something about Twilight needing her attentions more than he did.
In a sense, this was true. Twilight was still rather shaken from the Valeyard’s lecture. The Doctor attributed that to a combination of psychic manipulation within the Matrix itself and Twilight’s low magic levels. Everyone else quietly thought the Valeyard had just known exactly where to hit her in order to make it hurt the worst.
However, while it was undeniable that Twilight desperately needed to be surrounded by her friends, it was much more difficult to argue that Luna’s presence was strictly needed. Twilight was at all times surrounded by a small gaggle of warm bodies and comforting words. Shining Armor and Spike seemed to have formed a silent pact that one of them would always be at their sister’s side, and Twilight’s various other friends swirled around her. Big Macintosh seemed almost glued to her side.
Even Discord, in an act of what, for them, passed as an act of supreme devotion, attempted to give her some of their own magic. Unfortunately, all that happened was the sudden appearance of several floating bananas. It seemed that magic didn’t function well in the Matrix. Or, perhaps more likely, the Valeyard had ensured that none of the gods present could pose an active threat to his designs.
Only a few of the assembled creatures had strayed from Twilight’s side. The Doctor himself, obviously, was skulking around the dark recesses of the tomb, looking for secret exits or exploitable flaws. Sombra, similarly, had slunk off to sulk quietly in the shadows. Unexpectedly, though, one other had chosen to absent herself from the cluster.
Applejack stood beside the great stone sarcophagus, halfway between the well-lit atrium near the doors and the shadowy back end of the room. Not for the first time, she looked at the huge stone box and repressed a shudder. The thing was so big. How large were the Doctor’s people?
She tore her eyes away. She felt bad about not being there for Twilight right now. But what her friend needed was a little bit of Laughter. She needed praise being Generously heaped on her, Loyal camaraderie, words of Kindness and acceptance and love.
The Valeyard had supplied more than enough Honesty to Twilight. Not Applejack’s own brand, of course, but Honesty nonetheless. Twilight didn’t need that right now, or at the very least, there was somepony who needed it much more. Applejack took a breath and trotted into the darkness.