“Well if it’s not a good thing,” Dinky spoke, her voice shaking in the constant quaking, “that probably means it’s a BAD thing, right?” She stumbled a bit as the next quake shook.
The Doctor leaned over, putting her ear close to the ground, “Probably.” The quake stopped. The Doctor remained close to the ground, her brows furrowed in concentration.
A couple more seconds passed, the three ponies standing still. Pipsqueak glanced around at the white trees, and Dinky braced herself for another quake. The Doctor remained close to the ground.
As the next quake hit, the Doctor tripped in surprise, her face digging into the ground. Dinky remained standing, but shaken nonetheless. Pip hung from a low tree branch in fear. The quake stopped.
The Doctor pulled her face out of the ground, a massive smile on her face, “Ah-ha!”
Dinky recovered from the shock, “What? Do you know what’s causing the quakes?” She stepped toward the Doctor.
The Doctor turned to Dinky, still smiling intensely. If you stared long enough into her eyes, you would honestly think she had gone insane, “It is definitely not natural!”
Dinky tilted her head to the side, the opposite ear falling onto her head, “So somepony is causing the quakes? I don’t think you can mess with the planet’s geography like that-”
“Not some ’pony’. Some ’body’.” The Doctor corrected, “Before the quakes, you can hear an engine start! And when it stops, the sound goes away!”
“So, what?” Dinky asked, “Someone is drilling down into the… planet?”
“No,” the Doctor smiled, then used her hoof to give an example, “They’re drilling UP from the planet.” She launched her hoof upward to emphasize.
A loud ‘thump’ fell behind Dinky, signaling that Pipsqueak had come down from his tree, “Wait-wait-wait,” Pip held up a hoof after recovering from the fall, “So you’re telling me that someone’s drilling UP?”
The Doctor nodded, “True. They must have already lived below the crust, and are coming to see what it’s like up here!”
“So…” Pip tilted his head, “Aliens?”
“Yep!”
Dinky screeched in delight, “Oh, if only this wasn’t a dream! It feels so real! Can we find out where they’ll surface?”
“Let’s see!” The Doctor reached for her jacket pocket to grab the Sonic Screwdriver…
“BOLLOCKS!” She screamed.
“What?” Dinky asked, surprised by the severity of the scream. Pipsqueak had put his hooves to his ears, in the case that everything around him had apparently become ten times louder.
The Doctor facehoofed, “I left the Sonic Screwdriver in the TARDIS!”
“The whatic-what whater now?” Pip and Dinky asked in unison.
“Sonic Screwdriver,” the Doctor said, “Not actually a screwdriver. It uses sonic waves to do... pretty much anything, like scan the ground.” she hoofed the dirt.
"Well," Pip began, "Why don't we just go and grab it?"
"And LEAVE?" the Doctor asked the obvious, "Yeah, let's miss all of the possibilities!"
"Just giving a suggestion-" another earthquake hit, tripping Pip onto his knees.
Dinky remained standing straight, an inquisitive look on her face, "Is it just me, or did that one feel much stronger?"
"We need to know when and where they'll surface." the Doctor said, annoyed at herself for leaving the screwdriver.
"My only hope is that they don't surface under us!" Pip thought out loud.
The three ponies stood still, waiting for the jinx to take affect. They didn't move for an entire thirty seconds.
They finally relax, "For once a jinx didn't work!" the Doctor said joyfully.
The final quake shook, and a few meters behind Pipsqueak the ground seemed to fall away, into a deep pit of darkness. The three ponies stared into the pit.
A few seconds later, a creature that looked almost exactly like a badger emerged from the hole.
Dinky 'daaaaaw'd and the Doctor smiled. Pipsqueak backed away. He'd never been one for small animals.
"Did that little thing make all of that ruckus?" Dinky asked calmly, as if hypnotized by the badger's sheer adorableness.
"No, there must be thousands." the Doctor remained like Dinky, Entranced by the creature before them. It sniffed the ground lightly.
Dinky and the Doctor both 'daaaw'd audibly.
Pip spoke up, "Doctor... You don't really seem like a pony for cute, fuzzy, animals."
"I'm a mare, what do you expect?" she continued to smile at the badger.
Then her face contorted in disgust, "Ew, now I'm actually THINKING like a mare!" Just on queue multiple other badgers began filing out of the hole.
The Doctor and Dinky 'daaaw'd once more, "But they're so darn cute!" the Doctor said, smiling once more.
Pip felt a strange sensation on the back of his neck. He turned, surprised to see four more badgers... staring directly at him.
"Guys?" more badgers came around to his sides, "Guys?" he turned back to the others. Badgers surrounded them on either side. The Doctor and Dinky remained in 'daaaaaw' land. "Guys!" They returned to reality.
Pipsqueak could suddenly see all of the badgers smiling, bareing razor-like teeth.
"This is bad."
One of the badgers pulled a baseball bat seemingly out of nowhere.
The Doctor spoke, "Well... this is an odd predicament." the badger with the bat whacked Pip on the back of his head, knocking him unconscious. "Well, bollocks…" the Doctor felt the impact and nothing else before falling into complete darkness...
__________
The blue unicorn woke up slowly, her eyes refusing to open, and she groaned a bit from the pain on the back of her head. She felt more like she had been sleeping. All she wanted was to go back into darkness.
What happened? Had she just been hit in the back of the head with a BASEBALL BAT by a BADGER?
Her eyes burst open, and realized she was upside down. She seemed to be in a cave, not very well lit, but a few torches lined the walls here and there, at least allowing her to examine major things. Like the strange tower that reached up to the ceiling.
Or ‘floor’ in this case.
Badgers walked around, bipedal, talking, and occasionally throwing glances her way. The Doctor glanced to either side of her. Dinky and Pip were also regaining consciousness, hung by their legs, upside down, by a pole. The Doctor looked at her own legs. They were attached to a pole as well.
“Bollocks.” She said under her breath, frowning heavily.
“Ah, you’re awake!” a voice echoed around her. It seemed to have an almost… Russian accent for lack of a better word, I was wondering when I could speak with you!” A badger passed in front of her, forelegs crossed behind his back, his eyes staring directly at hers.
“Well, I’m up for a talk. A deal to get me out of this would be nice.” She said sarcastically.
The badger smiled, “Ah, you’re the joking bugger of the group!”
“Speaking of joker, maybe the deal could go with a game of poker?” she rhymed. Dinky was now fully awake, watching the spectacle.
“Oh, quite funny!” his face collapsed into a frown, “But let’s get serious here. Why were you on our territory?”
“Oh, why does everything always have to be serious? Serious is so BORING!” The badger unleashed a claw and held it to the Doctor’s neck, “Okay! Serious it is then!” he pulled the claw back.
“Why are you here?”
“Before I answer that question,” she answered, “If we’re being so serious, I’ll come straight out: get me down from here before something bad happens.”
“Oh, but bad things are so exciting!” the badger replied smiling, “I haven’t been in a fight for nearly ten years!”
Okay, she thought, he’s not going for peace. He’s a predator, so he’ll do what he finds necessary.
“Okay, fine. We stumbled through a portal while investigating a strange amount of voices coming from my friend over there,” she nodded to Dinky, “Her wall.”
“Portals don’t exist!” the badger replied angrily.
“Says the bipedal badger on a planet full of cannibal cows.” The Doctor retorted, and then struggled a little, attempting to loosen the ropes. The creature glared down at her, “You came from another planet too. I know, I’ve seen your species before!”
The badger growled, “How?”
“How?” the blue unicorn chuckled, “Because I’m The Doctor.” The badger fell backwards.
“Quick! Throw her over the side!” he demanded the others nearby.
“Sorry!” the Doctor spread her legs apart, snapping the rope. She fell to the ground, then quickly regained her stance. All four legs spread apart and she yelled at the tope of her lungs, “I AM THE DOCTOR, THE LAST REMAINING TIMELORD, AND I…” she paused to breathe, “I AM GOING TO SEND YOU HOME CRYING TO YOUR MOTHERS!” all of the badgers nearby panicked and ran away on all fours.
Dinky called to the Doctor. She hurried to untie Dinky’s ropes, “What did you do to them?” Dinky asked.
“I don’t know, but it was apparently enough to get them running from my NAME!” As the Doctor did the last of the ropes, Dinky fell to the ground. The Doctor moved on to Pip’s ropes. Pipsqueak still seemed unconscious. Until he snored loudly. Dinky chuckled as the stood up, “He was always one fast asleep.” When the Doctor finished with the rope, Pip fell to the ground, knocked into consciousness by the impact.
“What happened? What’d I miss?” he said a little too loudly.
“We were all knocked out by bipedal badgers, and apparently I’m just so amazing they ran away from my sheer awesomeness!” the Doctor explained.
“Huh?”
Dinky answered, “She did something traumatizing to them at some point in her future and their past.”
“Huh?”
“A time machine.” Dinky and the Doctor spoke in unison.
“Oh! That makes more sense.” Pip said, then tilted his head, “Wait, badgers?”
“Yes, now can we go and escape now?” The Doctor said hurriedly. She turned and began a gallop through the cave. Dinky followed. Pipsqueak was beginning to dislike the Doctor. All she did was be a jerk to him, or throw his questions back at his face. But Dinky trusted her. The only reason he was really there was for Dinky. He galloped to catch up with them.
As he reached them, he heard Dinky ask, “Where are we going?”
“Do you see that tower?” she motioned her head toward the large pillar that looked like it held the cave up. Dinky nodded. “Hopefully those have some stairs to get out of here!” The tower loomed overhead, badgers running in the opposite direction of the trio.
When they were about twenty yards away from the tower, a line of badgers, armed with spears, blocked the rest of the path. The three ponies skidded to a halt.
“You thought you would actually be able to get away this time?” the supposed ‘leader’ who had talked to them a moment ago yelled from behind the line, “Not again!”
Badgers flanked Pip and Dinky, grabbing them around their necks, their claws ready to tear their throats out.
“Doctor!” Dinky yelled before the badger threatened her more by pushing his claw slightly more into her neck.
The Doctor spun and saw her companions trapped. Oh, not this again.
“Let them go!” she yelled.
“Why?” the badgers around their necks hissed.
“Take me instead!” the Doctor said.
“No.” Dinky mouthed.
“Unfair. One pony for two? No. You get one. Choose!”
Freakin’ knew it.
Pip spoke out, “Let Dinky go!” he was quickly put back in line from a scratch to the chin.
“Choose!” the badgers pushed.
Dinky remained silent, her eyes showing sadness and fear.
The Doctor made her decision, “Dinky.” Dinky shook her head, and Pip mouthed a ‘thank you’.
“Done!” the badgers slapped a collar onto her neck.
“What’s that?” the Doctor asked.
“Time collar: randomly generates a time jump! We’re letting her go! Somewhere!” They laughed maniacally.
“No!” Pip screeched.
“Yes!” they pressed a button on the collar. Dinky began to gain a light blue aura.
“Pip?” she asked quietly.
“Dinky!” he threw the badger off of his back and dove toward his love…
Right as she flashed a brilliant blue, and disappeared. Pipsqueak hit the ground hard, “DINKY!”
The Doctor was speechless. For more than one reason.
“Where did you get that technology?” She asked angrily.
“You, of course!” the Doctor lowered her head.
“I thought so.”
“Take them to the pit. We’re throwing them in immediately.” The leader said, and they dragged the two ponies away, away from the pit…
And away from where Dinky had been.
“Dinky…” Pip whispered, crying, allowing the badgers to drag him by the legs.
“Dinky Doo… the daughter of my first pony assistant… what will Ditzy think?”
The two ponies allowed themselves to be dragged to their doom…