The gears of time grind on.
Zek limped down the, seeming endless, staircase. Trailing his false wooden leg behind him. It made a steady thunking noise as it hit stair after stair.
It was dark. Very dark. The walls seemed to be made of some sort of black stone.
Daleks always have hated stairs. And now that he actually had to walk one, his hate for them only escalated.
His pathetic pony eyes strained into the darkness. He missed his body Dalek. If he was a Dalek right now, this darkness would be nothing. He would be able to see strait to the bottom of these stupid stairs. Dumb, fragile pony body. How could they stand to be so disgusting and weak?
You should exterminate those inferior ponies. Said a voice in his head. It would put them out their misery.
But his friends are ponies. They were the only ones over care about him
Does not matter they are inferior to Daleks.
Perhaps that wasn’t the worst thing.
They must be exterminated.
What are you? A Dalek or just an inferior pony?
The darkness around Zek’s body was steadily growing. The corridor was slowly and steadily getting smaller.
You never asked them to be your friends. You owe them nothing!
The darkness was taking form. A hand slowly enveloping Zek’s neck.
Kill them. Destroy all of them! EXTERMINATE!
The darkness hand was getting ready to choke him. The hallway was almost too narrow to walk down now.
What about Fluttershy?
The hand stopped.
And Twilight? And Rarity? And Applejack? And Rainbow Dash? And Pinkie Pie? Do you really want to exterminate them?
The voice screeched in anger.
YOU ARE A DALEK! YOU MUST KILL ALL INFERIOR LIFEFORMS.
“SO WHAT! I NEVER ASKED TO BE A DALEK! NOW DID I? NOW GET OUT OF MY HEAD!” yelled Zek his voice echoing off the walls.
The voice in his head was stunned by zek’s rebelliousness. A brilliant light illuminated the hallway and when Zek opened his eyes he was at the bottom of the steps.
At the bottom of the steps was a hole. In the middle of the ground just there, beckoning him. He peered down into the seemly bottomless pit. He knew it didn’t make any sense but he had the feeling that he had to jump down there.
“Once you jump you can never come back.” said Harmony.
Zek ignored her, took a deep breath and jumped into the hole...
***
Darkness flowed through Zek as he was transported across through time and space to a time both long ago and far in the future.
Two young Time Lords sat in the red grass underneath the darkened sky of Galifrey. A rare occurrence because of the planet’s dual suns made it so it was nearly always light outside.
The two should have been studying for their Gallifrain history test, but one of them already knew most of the material and the other one... well he was good at just running with what he got. (even though he had strait C’s and D’s.)
The two young Time Lords looked up at the universe and all it’s glory. Countless stars in the sky twinkled in the dark orange sky.
“Hey, Koschei.”
“Eh.”
“Isn’t it strange? We look out there and study the night sky and all those different planets and yet we never even go visit them. Time Lords have the power to help the universe and yet we sit here and do nothing. Think of the lives we could save if we just didn’t just sit around and do nothing.”
“It’s hopeless.” said Kosochei. The universe needs someone to rule it. To take care of it.”
“Well not really. I think the universe can run itself fine. it just needs somone to watch over it. like I don’t know a doctor?”
Kosochei laughed. “It would have to be some heck of a doctor to cure the universe of it’s disease.”
“Yeah, it would take one heck of a doctor... keep dreaming.”
***
Zek woke up in a dark prison cell with a start. What the heck was that? A hallucination?
The cell was filled with red sand. Red sand or dried blood? Zek couldn’t tell.
Zek sat up, opened the cell door and started exploring the prison. It was nothing but row after row of prison cells. Every single one of them was locked.
At last he came to an open room full of red sand, but that’s not all. Hanging in the center of the room were hung ponies that dangled by ropes from the ceiling. Dead as doornails they had blindfold bags placed over their heads.
Zek had seen dead bodies before, but these... they were the bodies of his six friends. Cold and dead.
On their blindfolds read the following.
Rainbow Dash; Kidnapper - One who steals ponies being
Twilight; Arsonist - One who illegally sets fire to property
Applejack; Counterfeiter - One who copies with intent for forgery
Fluttershy; Thief - One who steals, especially by stealth
Rarity; Embezzler - One who takes money, etc. for own use in violation of trust
Pinkie Pie; Murderer - One who kills another brutally
There was only one other exit, but it was on the other side of the room and of course it was locked.
On one of the wall, written in a strange writing, read.
"Only the sinless one can help you here.
Mistakenly pull on a criminal's rope and your reward will be returned to you in a shape most wondrously strange."
Dead ponies, dead ponies, swinging in a tree
How many dead ponies do you see?
Tongue turned blue and face gone grey
Watch them as they twist and sway
The first one killed the baker pony
Then cooked her in the frying pan
Served him to his hungry guests
And gave them seconds on request
The next one with her smile and sweets
Stole poor children off the streets
To ponies who dressed unsavory
she sold them into slavery
Breaking into home at night
The thief she had a nasty fright
Filled his foolish head with ale
Woke in the morn in the county jail
The artist with his daunting skill
Tried his hand at painting bills
But caught in rain she was undone
When the ink he’d use did start to run
With promises of great return
Taking gold she did not earn
Bundled it up out of sight
Quietly slipped off into night
Three houses into ashes burned
The sheriff with no place to turn
Did spy a stranger in his town
Locked her up and beat her down
Dead ponies, dead ponies, swinging in a tree
How many dead ponies do you see?
Six feet long and six ponies wide
Round their necks the noose be tied."
Zek puzzled over this for some time. It was clearly a puzzle of some sort. All he had to do was think about it. There had to be some sort of solution. Zek thought about it for a while. And then he realized it. One of them was innocent.
The answer is the arsonist, because the sheriff had no one else to blame but a stranger, so she is the innocent pony.
Zek pulled out his wooden plank and used the sharp part of the nail par to cut down the arsonist (he refused to call her Twilight) from the gallows. Her body fell to the ground with a sickening thump. As soon as she did so the door to the next cell opened.
He walked in and where the bed should have been there was yet another hole.
Zek knew what he had to do, and jumped in down into into the dark abysses...
***
Zek blinked at the brightness of his new surroundings. It was an empty white room covered in gears. A huge shift in color from before. The paint was peeling from the walls. There were two figures in the dim lighting.
One of the figures was very familiar. It was Lez, Zek’s old vice-commander. And standing next to him was the pyramid pony. Not Pyramid Pie.
The other one. It held a blood red ax and towered far above the rest of the pyramid ponies that he had seen so far. This was the pyramid pony that had been following him around. Both at the library and the one that had given him that medical attention for his leg and for the glass.
Lez turned toward Zek and yelled to him for help.
“ZEK YOU MUST ASSIST ME.” said Lez. “She is going to kill me!”
The pyramid headed pony said nothing, but instead stared at Zek waiting to see how he would react. It stood on two strong yellowish legs it’s red tail swishing back and forth.
Zek felt his front hoof turn into a Dalek death ray. Had it ever been a hoof in the first place? He wasn’t sure.
He’s eyes darted back and forth form the pyramid pony to Lez.
Chose to save Lez the daleks will forgive him.
If he chose to protect the pyramid headed pony he would be turning his backs on the daleks forever.
Don’t ask him how he knew, he just did.
So why was he hesitating?
This pyramid pony, unlike the others, had been helping Zek this whole time. Healing his wounds showing him the true meaning of compassion. She had even given him a new leg.
However, Lez was a Dalek, same as Zek. From the beginning Zek had been taught that Daleks were the only creature in the universe with any value.
To Zek there was really only one choice.
Zek fired his death ray at Lez hitting him causing him to explode in a bright flash of light.
After disposing of Lez the only persons left in the room were Zek, and the six pyramid ponies. They stood at the edge of the room as if waiting for Zek to say something. The leader, at least the bigger one seemed to be the leader, tilted her head curiously to see what Zek would say.
“I’m sorry.” Said Zek. you guys are here to punish me for betraying the daleks right? Is that what you’re doing?” said Zek softly
The big pyramid headed pony nodded it’s head slowly.
“Alright then. I’m ready. I don’t regret betraying the Daleks. If I did it would have made me betray my friends. Kill me now and get it over with.”
The other pyramid ponies were dead silent. Even Pyramid Pie seemed deadly serious. Quietly on two legs the giant pyramid head walked up to him dragging her bloody fire ax behind her.
At last it reached Zek. He closed his eyes and braced to have his head loped off.
To his surprise it did not.
Instead he found himself being hugged gently my the monster.
“Huh?” said Zek in surprise.
“Oh, Zek I would never hurt you. As long as you learned your lesson that is.
The pyramid shaped helmet split down the middle and fell to the floor of the room with a clang. The pony within the helmet was revealed to be Fluttershy. but not exactly this version of Fluttershy had blood a colored mane. Or at least zek hoped it was blood colored.
“I am confused.” said Zek. “I thought you wanted to make me pay for my crimes against the Daleks?”
“I told ya he would be.” Said one of the pyramid ponies. Sounded little bit like Applejack.
The other six pyramid headed ponies began to remove their helmets as well revealing each of Zek’s six friends. Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash. And still hugging him was Pyramidshy.
"We aren’t here to kill you silly we are here to help you make up your mind nothing more. Sorry about scaring you so much."
“And about your leg.” Said Pyramid Dash.
Zek felt a surge of hate build up inside him. He had no idea where it was coming from but suddenly he felt like he needed to kill something.
“Ah not so fast, excuse me please. Said Pyramid Shy. Lunged towards Zek’s mouth.
“What are you?” Zek said before she stuck her hand down his throat making Zek feel like gagging.
“Shhhh it will be ok." she said to him.
She reached down his esophagus and into his stomach. Pyramidshy grabbed hold of something and began to pull.
Out of Zek’s mouth Pyramidshy pulled a large millipede the size of a snake, its coat black as the night. It’s many feet squirmed to get away.
Zek felt the anger and hate leave him as soon as the thing was pulled out of him.
“Ah, so this’s what Davros was using to make you hate everything.”
“What is it?” said Zek curiously staring at the monster insect.
“It’s a parasite that feeds off of negative emotions.” Said Pyramid Sparkle. "It brings out all of your worst thoughts so that it may feed off of them. It’s in the same family as Changelings actually.”
“But... what was it doing in my stomach?” said Zek getting more and more confused by the second.
They didn’t answer him instead Pyramidshy turned to Pyramid Dash.
“Your know what to do with this?” asked Pyramidshy, handing Pyramid Dash the insect. With out any hesitation Pyramid Dash nodded her head and then swallowed the millipede whole. She seemed to grow in size as she messily gulped it down.
She then turned and smiled at Zek her gaze full of uncontrolible malice. It was the look that a Nazi might wear.
“I’m off to find Rainbow, lets see how loyal she really is.” She said and then flew off.
Pyramidshy turned back to the other pyramid ponies. “Alright girls we are no longer needed time to go to bed.”
“Aww, but I was having so much fun.” said Pyramid Pie.
you heard her we got to go now. Said the pyramid headed Rarity. With that she pulled out a sword and beheaded herself.
“Wait what are you…” started Zek in surprise
Pyriamid Pie pulled out a revolver and shot herself in the head.
Pyramidjack pulled out a rope and hung herself.
“No, wait stop!” yelled Zek.
“Pyramid Sparkle self destructed into a pile of goo. Leaving Pyramidshy the only one still alive.
“Well see you latter.” She said with a sad little smile. She pulled out her ax to kill herself on the pointed end.
But Zek grabbed her arm before she did.
“The real Fluttershy wouldn’t do this and neither should you.” said Zek pleadingly.
“but pyramid heads always does this when he is no longer needed, that just how Silent Hill works.”
“Well I don’t want you to.” Said Zek firmly. “And besides Fluttershy would never do that. You would be a bad imitation if you did. Don't you want to be a perfect imitation?”
She thought about it for a few seconds.
“Fine you win.” said Pyramidshy. “Though I’m not sure what I’m going to do now.”
“Why don’t you come back to Equestria.”
“I’m afraid I won’t fit in there.”
“Oh.” Said Zek. The two sat there in silence.
“You know the other me…Fluttershy.”
“Yeah?”
“You know she has a crush on you right?”
“She is crushing me? but I’m not in any pain.” said Zek confused.
“No, I mean she love you”
“What is love?”
Pyramidshy smiled. “You really are quite innocent you know.”
Zek was confused with this statement but chose not to respond to it.
“So now what?” asked Zek
“Now you must face your true self.”
“Huh?”
“Beyond the next door a somebody is waiting for you. if you beat him then you can leave.”
“And if i lose?”
“Well. You won’t be you anymore. Even if you win you might not be you anymore. just try to hold onto yourself and i’m sure you’ll be fine.”
“What about you what are you going to do?”
“There is someone who i’m going to look for.”
“Oh.”
“Good luck, i’ll see you again soon.”
Zek walked through the door...
***
Zek was in a room full of mirrors. No matter which direction he turned he couldn’t seem to get away from his reflection. He didn’t want to look at himself in this disgusting pony body. The disgusting bag of purple flesh with green eyes.
“Was that really the reason though?” A voice said.
Zek looked around for the source of the voice. There was no one.
“Who are you identifying yourself!” demanded Zek.
“Well. I am you. But not exactly.”
Zek looked into the mirror and saw a pony staring back.
But it was not his own reflection.
Instead of his own reflection stood a dark brown pony. With brown hair and blue eyes. on his flank was a hourglass Cutie Mark.
“No... NO, NO NO NO!”
“Oh, yes, yes, yes.” said the voice “You’re not disgusted at the ponies at all, you’re disgusted at yourself.”
The reflection that stared back in the mirror was not Zek.
It was the Doctor. but something was wrong... there was a strange look in his eye.
Zek scrambled away from the mirror in an attempt to escape the reflection. However the Doctor in the mirror did not back away. No. The opposite the reflection was walking towards Zek, growing bigger and bigger as it approached the surface. Eventfully it reached the point where it would have hit the glass.
But it didn’t.
The Doctor walked right out of the mirror into the room.
The Doctors form towered over Zek’s tiny form like a colossus over .
“It’s time to give back what you took Zek.” Said the massive Doctor
Zek seeing that he had nowhere to run Zek turned with his wooden plank and struck at at Doctor hoping to do some damage. The plank however smashed into splinters the side of the Doctors leg harmlessly.
The Doctor swung his leg and effortlessly kicked Zek into a wall breaking at least two ribs. Zek tried to recover, but the doctor pinned him down underneath one of his colossal hooves breaking Zek’s remaining ribs. He fell underneath the blows of the mirror Doctor.
Zek had lost.
He never really was match for the Doctor
He felt himself fading away
Into nothingness
Zek began to fade away into nothing.
His life began to play before him.
His days at the academy learning to be a killer.
Strategizing ways to destroy enemies he had never even talked to or seen. He had had been taught to hate them with every fiber and metal gear of his Dalek body.
He remembered his graduation.
He remembered his first actual combat kill. He had felt awful about it but he pretended to be astatic.
He remembered leading Dalek fleets into battle each of time coming out with a decisive victory even when the odds were against him. At least until he met the Doctor…
He remembered countless fights with the Doctor. Sometimes he would win, sometimes he would lose. But every time Zek enjoyed fighting with him. Pitting his wit against the Doctor’s was the most challenging and fun thing Zek had done…
And then he met his friends.
He would never admit it to anyone but…
His time in Ponyville had been the happiest in his life.
Racing against Rainbow Dash had been the only time he had ever had a friendly competition with someone. And not had to kill them.
Twilight had taught Zek that he could have friends even though they were different then himself.
Eating apples with Applejack in an attempt to scare away the doctor.
Telling Derpy the truth.
Caan’s crazy shenanigans.
Having Rarity paint him pink.
Trying and failing to kill Pinkie Pie as she messed with his mind. It had been fun he supposed
And lastly, but not least walking in the woods with Fluttershy. And experiencing for the first time. Kindness.
Zek’s eyes shot open. He grabbed the doctor by his massive hove and flipped him sending him crashing to the ground causing the metal room to buckle.
“But how? You were dead! I broke all your bones.” Said the giant Doctor in surprise.
A smile came to Zek's broken mouth.
“If I was anything else in this universe. Yes that would have killed me.” said Zek his voice starting of low whisper.
“But you forgot something very important, something that you should know by now.” Zek was growing in size his voice growing louder.
“Every time you make this same mistake. Forget this one small detail.”
“You forgot that I’m a Dalek, Doctor.”
Zek’s form had grown the match the Doctor
And if there’s one thing you should know by now doctor no matter how many time you kill us. No matter how many times you drive us the brink of extinction, existence and worse there is one thing that the Daleks never do. No matter how many times you beat us, kill us, drive us away.”
He swung his will with all his might at the Doctor
“A TRUE DALEK NEVER GIVES UP!”
The world seemed to shatter into pieces as he felt himself falling back into his body.
50 wins for Zek. 50 wins for the Doctor.
Alright you made your point you can keep your body for now. But if you can’t protect those ponies I’m going to have to take it back real quick.
…
Zek woke to the sound of water dripping from the ceiling onto the stone floor in the dungeons of Canterlot. He tried to look down to see his legs and to his delight he couldn’t.
It was great to be back.
And thats when shield protecting the castle went down.