//------------------------------//
// Cracks 
// Story: Doctor Whooves Episode 6: A Ponyville Invasion 
// by Doctor Perseus 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 4: Cracks


Sugar Cube Corner, Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Autumn, 1002 C.E.

The Doctor and the others had decided to group up inside Sugar Cube Corner until the force field disappeared. The Doctor was busy examining two of the now deceased living dolls with his Sonic Screwdriver. 
"Found anything out yet, Doctor?" asked Twilight.
"Not much. Now they're just rags sewn and stitched together. There's nothing remarkable about them at this point," he replied. "However, I was able to find traces of a very powerful form of magic."
"What kind of magic?"
"Tell me, Twilight. Have you ever used magic to animate inanimate objects?"
"Not really. It's a very tricky spell to pull off and, even then, it can drain a unicorn's energy in a flash."
"Well it's obvious to me that our foe is either a unicorn or an alicorn, a very powerful one at that. All of these dolls are being animated and controlled by one single being. I think it's obvious that our foe has a lot of energy inside them to spare."
"At least we know what species our enemy is now," said Derpy. The Doctor stood up and turned towards his companions.
"Well, are there any other creatures in this world that can use magic aside from unicorns and alicorns?"
"Ah don't think so," Applejack replied.
"There could be but nopony's discovered a creature able to control magic yet," said Rarity.
"Come on! Magic surely isn't just limited to unicorns and alicorns! You earth ponies and pegasi must have some sort of magical abilities within you!" said the Doctor. The ponies looked amongst each other and then turned back to the Doctor. 
"We pegasi have some form of magic in us which allows us to fly," said Rainbow Dash.
"I've read that earth ponies are stronger than the other ponies in terms of physical strength and connection to the earth," Twilight informed.
"Duh! Everypony knows that, silly!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she wrapped one of her arms around Applejack.
"Interesting but, as of now, I think everything points towards the magical workings of a unicorn or alicorn," said the Doctor. Twilight stumbled for a bit but Spike managed to help her regain her balance.
"You okay?" asked the dragon.
"I'm fine. That protection spell just wore me down a little bit," Twilight replied. 
"How long do you think we have until the shield drops?" Fluttershy asked.
"An hour at least."
"Damn!" said the Doctor. He looked down at the dolls and stared straight into their button eyes. "Come on. What secrets are you hiding? I know the answer's here somewhere. It's right on the tip of my tongue and yet I can't spell it out!" He began pacing around the shop and mumbling to himself. "Magic. Control. Animation. Life. Mind. Mind control. Unicorn. Alicorn. Wait a minute. Mind control. Magic. Unicorn. Oh no. Oh no no no! I hope I'm wrong about this!"
"What's wrong, Doctor?"
The Doctor grabbed Twilight and pulled her off to the side.
"Twilight, do you remember when we traveled to 2002?" he asked.
"How could I forget?" she responded.
"Remember what happened while we were there?"
"Like I said, how could I forget?"
"Doesn't all of this sound a little bit familiar to you?"
"Something has been eating at the back of my mind but I can't figure out what."
Then it hit her. She looked at the Doctor and said, "No. Are you suggesting-"
"It's possible."
"But how can she be here? I didn't think that she existed yet."
"I don't think she does but what if she got her hooves on some time traveling technology. It's obvious that your kind are going to gain time traveling devices in the future. I mean, look at Matilda and her borrowed vortex manipulator."
"But how could she have gotten her hooves on one of those?"
"I don't know. But we might find out soon enough."
"How can we even be certain that it's even her behind all of this?"
"There are too many coincidences going on here. The powerful magic. The somewhat-mind control. It's all sounding like the influence she had, or will have, over Celestia in 2002."
"I know I don't say this a lot but I really hope that you're wrong, Doctor. I don't have the strength to put up with her at the moment."
"I with you on that one, Twilight."
"So what are you two talking about?" asked Pinkie. The Doctor and Twilight jumped as they realized that Pinkie was standing right next to them.
"Bloody hell, Pinkie Pie!" the Doctor exclaimed.
"So what were you talking about exactly?" Spike asked. 
"The possible identity of our enemy," Twilight replied.
"So who do you think it is?" Derpy asked. The Doctor was about to begin his explanation when a loud crack ripped through the air and the entire town seemed to shake around them. "What was that?!"
"Trouble," said Applejack.

Outside Town Hall, Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Autumn, 1002 C.E.

The sky seemed to turn a burnt orange as large, red cracks appeared in Twilight's magic barrier. Ponies looked towards the sky as the cracks attempted to grow larger than they already were. 
"Oh my!" exclaimed Fluttershy as red sparks began falling towards the ground in showers. 
"This doesn't look good!" said Rarity. Flying dolls were pounding on the exterior of the shield and an army was stationed around the town. It was much larger than the army they had previously faced.
"Where's a good army when you need one?!" asked Applejack. The ground began to shake violently. Buildings around them shook and some nearly collapsed, though the unicorns and pegasi in town managed to keep the buildings stable. A loud, robotic voice echoed through the air.
"I will destroy this town if it's the last thing I do! But I might be willing to be kinder if two certain someponies decide to make a generous sacrifice," said the voice. The Doctor could tell that this wasn't their enemy's true voice but he also knew all too well who these two certain someponies were. The ground slowly began to stop shaking and the cracks in the field healed themselves.
"What's happening?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Fail safe," Twilight replied. "I added an extra punch to my protection spell so that the enemy wouldn't have an easy time breaking through the defenses."
"Nice going, egghead! It sure is nice to have ya back!"
"You said it!" said Spike. A smile began to appear on his face but it quickly disappeared. Twilight sighed and looked away. She didn't have the strength to think about her guilt at the moment.
"So who's the pony causing all of this trouble?! You two had an idea about who it was, right?!" asked Pinkie. The Doctor stepped forward and cleared his throat.
"Twilight and I believe that it may be an enemy of ours that we came across during our travels," he said.
"Who is this enemy of yours?" asked Rarity.
"Her name's Thalia," Twilight replied. "She's...uh...it's kind of hard to explain."
"Spit it out already!" Applejack urged.
"She's a clone of me."
"A clone?!" everypony gasped aside from the Doctor and Twilight.
"Yeah. But she hasn't been created yet."
"Hold on! How can a clone of you, who hasn't been created, be attacking us now?" Rainbow Dash asked. 
"You met her when you traveled into the future, didn't you? And she's managed to travel back in time." Fluttershy stated. Everypony fell silent.
"What?" Applejack asked. Fluttershy instantly covered her mouth and blushed.
"I'm sorry! I guess Fluttershy's the only pony who I told about this!" said Twilight nervously. "You see, the Doctor's ship doesn't only travel through space. It travels through time as well." Everypony remained silent. "That's why I came back five months late. From my point of view, only a few days have passed since the day I left. The Doctor thought that he had brought me back five minutes later...only to find out that he brought me back five months later."
"It's an honest mistake! The TARDIS can be really unpredictable sometimes and she's still healing from the wounds that blasted Dalek gave her!" said the Doctor. 
"You actually traveled through time?" Spike asked.
"Well it's not like I haven't done it in the past," said Twilight.
"But this is different! That was just a spell that took you back a week for only a few seconds. This is actual, full-fledged time travel!"
"What did you see?!" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Where did you go?!" asked Pinkie Pie.
"Why don't we focus on that stuff later?" asked Derpy as she pointed towards the sky. The cracks were beginning to appear again. 
"Good idea!" said the Doctor. Suddenly, the ground began shaking underneath them once again. This time it was much more violent. 
"Everypony hang onto something!" Twilight cried. Just then, the ground split open and Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Spike fell into the dark abyss. 
"Twilight! Pinkie! Spike!" cried Rarity. Fluttershy gasped.
"I'll get them!" said Rainbow Dash and, with a flash, she flew down into the dark earth. The seconds seemed to tick by like hours as they waited for the return of their friends. The Doctor's hearts were beating out of his chest. Then they saw them quickly flying towards the surface. Pinkie Pie giggled with delight as Rainbow Dash flew her, Twilight, and Spike back above ground. Then, the ground shook again and large, brown vines wrapped around Twilight and Rainbow Dash. "Let go of me!"
Pinkie managed to jump to safety with Rainbow Dash's help and she brought Spike along with her. 
"Twilight!" cried Spike.
"Rainbow Dash, grab my hoof!" called the Doctor. The Doctor reached for Rainbow Dash while Spike reached for Twilight. They were about the touch when the vines began to pull on them once again. Derpy and Fluttershy flew in to stop the vines but the vines quickly retaliated and flung the two pegasi into a nearby pond. A series of black figures began emerging from the abyss below. The Doctor realized that it was an entire army of living dolls. Spike and Twilight tried to burn the flames but it was to no avail. The dolls seemed to laugh as Twilight and Rainbow Dash were pulled deeper into the abyss. The Doctor attempted to stun the vines with his Sonic Screwdriver but, again, it was to no avail. "Damn! Something's protecting them!"
"Twilight! Rainbow!" Applejack called. 
"No!" cried Spike. Twilight's horn lit up as she looked up towards the surface, which was growing further and further away. 
"Don't worry, Spike! I'll come back! I promise! I always keep my promises!" she called. The dolls began to grab onto them along with the vines.
"Twilight Sparkle! Rainbow Dash! You listen to me!" called the Doctor. The trapped ponies looked up at the chestnut stallion. "I will find you no matter what it takes. Whether our enemy's Thalia or not, they made a big mistake when they decided to attack us. I will find you! I will save you! This town will not fall as long as there is a Doctor to defend it! Do you hear me?!"
Twilight and Rainbow Dash nodded and smiled sadly as the darkness ate them up. The earth then closed up, leaving the Doctor, Derpy, Spike, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity alone with their fears. 
"Did you mean all of that?" Spike asked. The Doctor looked into the dragon's eyes. They were puffy and red with sadness and anger, but mostly sadness. He knelt down to the dragon's level and nodded.
"Every word. I've lost to many companions and friends already. I promise you, Spike. I will not let anything happen to Twilight. I'll bring her back. As long as I'm around. You can always be assured by the fact that, no matter what it takes, I will bring her, Rainbow Dash, or any of your friends home when they are lost and/or put in danger. Do you believe me?" the Doctor replied. Spike wiped away the tears and faced the Doctor with a confident smile.
"I do."
The Doctor and Spike then turned to the sky to see a shower of red sparks raining over the town.