//------------------------------// // Part 5:Nova Do That Again! // Story: Doctor Whooves: New Settings; Story 2: Voyage Towards Extiction // by KevynTheDevylman //------------------------------// Doctor Whooves: New Settings STORY 2: Voyage Towards Extinction Part 5: Nova Do That Again! He’d known that this would probably happen. If he hadn’t been so rushed, he’d have done more to prevent it. As it was--the Doctor and his companions trapped in Ghala’s tendrils while she redirected the Splendor on a course towards Sontar--he was less worried about what he didn’t do and more what he could do. At this point, he could only think of one thing he could do. His old stand by. Talking. “Ghala, this is insane,” He said. “You’re better than this. You won’t condemn us all to death for your war.” “Oh, don’t insult me, Doctor,” she said. “Sontarans may be suicidal, but I’m not. I intend to disengage the star drive from the main vessel. I don’t need to wipe the whole planet out, I just want to destroy it.” The Doctor’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh,” he said in surprise. “Damn, that was my best argument.” “Ghala, please,” Derpy chimed in. “You don’t have to do this. We beat them. We won. Let‘s just go home.” “Oh, you poor pathetic thing,” Ghala replied. “You don’t get it, do you? You’ve never fought a war before, have you? Well, I have. Every. Second. Of. My. Life. Forgive me if I am a bit hesitant to pass up on an opportunity to end it.” “This isn’t right Ghala,” Octavia called out. “We may not have them often, but wars do happen in Equestria. And when they do there are strict rules of combat. Surely this violates…” “This war has gone on for eons!” Ghala said angrily. “Don’t compare your petty squabbles to this! If you had war like ours, you’d know that true war has no rules. It’s only limited by what you’re willing to do.” “So, you’re willing to be as big a monster as Linx?” Vinyl asked. “Yes.” ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Dinky had laid curled up in the vent since her mother and her friends left. She was genuinely terrified. The little filly, despite the fact that she was growing used to the strange and bizarre world she’d stumbled into, was still frightened of the monsters in that world. But, she was also excited. The Doctor had a way of making everything an adventure, and this had proven to be no exception. After a while, she noticed the sounds of fighting outside the vent had stopped. Though her mother had told her to remain in the vent, she was too curious and too anxious to wait any longer. She made her way out of the vent and into the hall. She peeked into the control room. Her little eyes widened in shock as she saw her friends pinned to the walls by the green creature, the one who’d saved them. She could hear them talking and realized that she must’ve double-crossed them. Dinky ducked back behind the door and tried to think of what to do. “Come on Ghala!” came the voice of the Doctor. “Do you really think the Sontarans aren’t ready for retaliation. They’ve probably got a whole fleet of ships Shielding their planet.” Dinky’s ears perked. There was something odd about the way the Doctor had said “Shielding”, with an added emphasis. “It doesn’t matter,” Ghala replied. “I doubt anything will be able to stop the engine once it’s at full speed.” “Maybe,” The Doctor continued. “But you have no way of knowing that. For all you know, the Sontarans have a way to Repel the ship should it be used against them. You know them, always Sneaking and coming up with Surprises.” “Repel.” “Sneak.” “Surprise.” The Doctor’s words were beginning to sink in. Suddenly, Dinky knew what to do. It would take all the stealth she’d developed in years of sneaking cookies after bedtime, but she knew what to do. Dinky got low and crawled along the floor, into the control room. “Why in the fangs of Rutas are you talking like that?” Ghala asked. “Like what?” The Doctor replied innocently. “With that strange emphasis on certain words,” she said. “What are you up to?” “Nothing,” the Doctor said. “I just sometimes Emphasize different Words when I’m Nervous! Genocide does that to me.” “I don’t believe you,” Ghala replied. “You’re up to something! What is it?” “Oh, not much,” The Doctor said with a sly little grin. “Just trying whatever it takes to get you Away From That Consol!” Before Ghala could react, a bubble of energy shot from the consol, pushing away her tendrils from the controls and knocking her back with its force. She struck the captain’s char and fell limp, her tendrils doing likewise. As they began to once again fall under the influence of the ship’s artificial gravity, Derpy quickly grabbed the Doctor and floated him down while Vinyl transported Octavia and Alhab to the ground safely. Ghala shook her body as she came to. “W-what?” she stuttered as she floated out of the chair. She noticed the bubble of energy surrounding the consol and the little filly inside. “What is that?” “That,” the Doctor called out, “is my adorable little trump card. Bet you forgot all about Dinky. Well, I didn’t.” “Did you really plan this?” Derpy asked. “No, of course not. Don’t be silly,” the Doctor said. “But I did catch sight of the little marvel by the door and thought I’d throw her a hint.” Ghala growled angrily as she charged an energy pulse in her tendrils. “I wouldn’t bother,” the Doctor said. “That force-field can hold back a continuous Cyberpony assault, I doubt your bio-blasts will break through.” Ghala ignored him and fired a burst of energy at the dome. The Energy dissipated against the shield, Dinky barely flinched at the impact. Ghala tried again, but got the same results. “That’s what I thought,” The Doctor commented. “The Bio-energy of your attacks compliments the psycho-kinetic energy of Dinky’s shield. Unlike the Cyberponies, all you can do is tickle the barrier.” He turned to Vinyl. “Vinyl, can you teleport into the bubble?” Vinyl nodded. “Good,” The Doctor said. “Port Alhab in there and help Dinky with the shield.” “On it!” Vinyl exclaimed as she wrapped a fore-leg over Alhab’s shoulders. In a flash of magical light, they vanished from their position and re-appeared inside Dinky’s shield. Alhab quickly went to work taking control of the ship again and bringing it to a stop. Meanwhile, Vinyl’s horn glowed in conjunction with Dinky’s, making the magical bubble bigger. Ghala cried out in anger as she kept trying to break through the barrier, even whiping it with her tendrils. “It’s over Ghala,” the Doctor said. “I win.” “Curse you Doctor!” She said. “You condemn us to eons more conflict!” “No,” he said. “I condemn you to choose a better path.” Ghala growled angrily and flew out of the room and into the hall. “Where’s she going?” Asked Derpy. “Her ship,” he replied. “She probably has one in storage somewhere. A small escape ship hidden away incase she needs a quick escape; if only from her conscience.” “How horrible,” interjected Octavia. “I pray we never have to know war so horrid in Equestria.” “As do I,” The Doctor replied. “I really, really do.” Vinyl and Dinky’s shield dissipated. “Is it over?” Vinyl asked. The Doctor looked upward in a very thoughtful manner. “I… guess it is,” He said. “Well, alls well that…” The Doctor didn’t finish his sentence, as the entire ship shook violently, knocking them all off their feet. “Darn, jinxed it!” He said, trying to pick himself up as more shocks rocked the ship. “What’s happening?!” Octavia called out. Alhab, still at her station, brought up the external sensors of the ship. Her eyes widened in fear. “Doctor!!!” ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Outside the ship, a fleet of Sontaran warships orbited around the stellar resort. They fired upon the ship. Most of their arsenal was bouncing off the shields, but some was breaking through; more with each shot. “How many?” The Doctor asked Alhab. “Four warships,” she replied. “The Sontarans must have called for them when their plan fell apart. They’re breaking down our shields slowly.” “Let’s get out of here!” Vinyl said. “This thing is supposed to be fast, right?” “We can’t,” Alhab said. “The ship’s shields would collapse under the strain. They’ll get a clear shot at us.” “What do we do, Doctor?” Derpy asked, as she held onto Dinky for safety. “I don’t know!” he said. “I need to think.” The ship shook from another blast. “Which is really hard to do with all that noise,” He continued. Vinyl kicked the consol angrily. “Darn it!” she exclaimed. “All this star-power and it’s useless.” The Doctor’s eyes widened. “That’s it!” he exclaimed. “Scratch, you’re brilliant.” Vinyl gave him a confused look. “What? Again?!” The Doctor ran up to the consol, Sonic Screwdriver in mouth. He began working the controls and using the Sonic. The screens opened program windows in rapid succession. “What are you doing?” Asked Alhab. “Reversing the polarity of the Graviton flow!” The Doctor replied. “What?” she said in confusion. “The ship uses Gravitons as a fuel source, correct?” He stated. “Well, I’m reversing the flow of gravitons to create a buffer within the engine chamber.” “That’s crazy,” Alhab replied. “That will cause a massive fusion jump in the star. It will expand into a regular sized star. The Soltanium won’t be able to hold it back.” “It will,” the Doctor said, “because we’re going to use the expansion to propel us out of here!” Alhab’s eyes widened in shock. “You’re not…” “Oh, yes!” The Doctor exclaimed. “Once the star is at the right mass, I’m gonna open up the drive and use the reversal of the gravitons like a hover-board and surf the solar wave.” “And the Sontarans get swallowed up by the new star,” Vinyl added. “Man, I Am a genius.” “You’re absolutely insane,” Alhab uttered in total shock. “Welcome to my life,” Octavia replied, deadpan. “Just give it a minute,” The Doctor said. “Once it’s reached the appropriate potential mass…” The ship shook violently. Sparks shot from the consol and the panels flashed red. “NO NO NO NO NO!” ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Outside, an attack from a Sontaran ship cut a major gash in the hull of the Splendor. “What happened?” Derpy cried out. “The Sontarans cut the controls’ hard connection,” The Doctor replied. “I can’t contact engineering.” “That’s bad, right?” Vinyl asked, knowing the answer. “Very bad,” said the Doctor. “Unless we can break free, the star will super-nova and take us with it.” “What are our options?” Octavia asked in a relatively calm manner. “Argh!” The Doctor growled in frustration. “Someone has to go down and manually unlock the drive.” “Impossible,” Alhab said. “The hatch is inside the engine. At the rate of its expansion, whoever went in would be left outside the ship. None of our solar suits could survive that.” “Then what do we do?” Octavia said. “I DON’T KNOW!” the Doctor exclaimed in frustration. “But I do.” The group turned to the command consol. A familiar voice came through the speaker. “Ghala?” Derpy said in confusion. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Deep inside the ship, the Rutan known as Ghala pulled a solar suit from a locker meant for the engineering crew. She flowed into it like a liquid and morphed into a Nauta female. “Ghala,” came the voice of the Doctor over the intercom. “What are you doing?” “I can alter my physiology to better withstand the radiation,” she said. “I stand the best chance of making your plan work.” “What?!” The Doctor’s voice exclaimed. “How did you?” “When the attacks started, I hacked the com to find out what was going on. Now I‘m going to finish my mission; and use this thing to strike a blow against the Sontaran Empire.” ____________________________________________________________________________________________ “You don’t have to do this Ghala,” The Doctor said, the comforting hoof of Derpy on his shoulder doing little to ease his anxiety. “You won’t survive it! You can’t adapt to this! You don’t have to do it.” “Yes, I do,” came the reply. “If I don’t, you and everyone else will die.” “But You don’t Have to die!” “Maybe. But I choose to take the better path.” ____________________________________________________________________________________________ The equinoid Ghala stepped before the chamber that lead into the engine room. She opened the inner door, and stepped in. After closing the door behind her, a hard hiss was emitted as the chamber depressurized. Beyond the outer door she could see the bright light of the star. Almost no creature ever came so close. “It’s beautiful, Doctor,” she said as a green tear ran down her cheek. “So beautiful.” “Ghala, Don’t!” Ghala pressed a switch on the wall. An alarm sounded as the second chamber door opened. As the light poured in, flames ignited on the suit. These did not deter the occupant, as she stepped forward into the light. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ “GHALA!!!” The Doctor collapsed. He growled angrily. Derpy leaned down and embraced The Doctor. “I’m so sorry, Doctor,” she whispered, comfortingly. “The oncoming storm,” he muttered, “whose one constant companion is death.” “That’s not true,” she whispered. “Listen.” All about them, the monitors showed the same thing; an image of the rear section opening up. “Information: Solar drive opening. Prepare for emergency procedure Alpha red.” ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Outside, the drive section opened up like a flower. The sphere budded open, revealing the brilliant star within, Almost immediately, the star started to expand. The Sontaran ships tried to break away, but the gravitational whiplash dragged them in. As they were consumed by the star, the Splendor was launched forward. It was driven forward at amazing speeds. When the star ceased expanding, the ship was still flying off into space, propelled by the gravitons. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ “I don’t believe it,” Alhab said. “It actually worked.” Dinky, Vinyl and Octavia all began cheering victoriously. The little filly danced about the deck while Vinyl got up on her hind legs and raised up her fore-legs victoriously. Octavia also reared up on her hind legs. However, this was so she could plant a standing kiss on Vinyl Scratch. The two fillies kissed passionately while sounds of celebration echoed through the whole ship. The Splendor’s passengers were all ecstatic over their survival. The terror that had been gripping them until this point was finally abating. The vacationers began planning amongst themselves a massive party; one that would only be dwarfed by a certain unending Flying Party. Back in the control room, Vinyl and Octavia had sat down and were hugging each other happily. The Doctor and Derpy sat together, the Doctor still sullen over the fate of the Rutan, Ghala. Dinky walked up and leaned against the Doctor’s side, trying to help comfort him. The Doctor looked down at the filly and smiled. He wrapped a fore-leg around her, returning the affection. Seeing this, Derpy smiled warmly. She too leaned against him, the three finally able to relax after a very stressful day. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ The Tardis still stood in the midst of the various stands, undisturbed. Nearby, the trans-mat pads glowed as the four ponies and one Time Pony reappeared there. The group walked towards the Tardis, as the sounds of revelry came from the distance. “Sounds like a heck of a party,” Vinyl said, enviously. “Bet they could use a good DJ.” “Now, now, Miss Scratch,” The Doctor said. “We’ve already outstayed our welcome. Besides, the last thing we need is to get lost in that crowd when the rescue ships come and trans-mat everyone out.” “I, for one, agree,” Octavia said. “I think I’ve had enough vacation for one day.” The group walked up to the Tardis as the Doctor sat down and clapped his hooves together, causing the doors to open. Vinyl and Octavia went in first, followed by Dinky, who skipped happily into the impossible ship. Derpy lingered outside with the Doctor as they both looked back. The Dome was still in the night-shift formation and the stars shone brightly through the clear dome. Derpy looked at the Doctor. “Are you okay?” She asked. “Yeah,” he replied, though unenergetically. “You still thinking about Ghala?” He nodded. “I think about all of them. Every creature, every life I fail to save. I never forget them.” “It’s not your fault,” Derpy said. “Isn’t it?” The Doctor replied. “Ghala was right. I’ve allowed this war to go on. This isn’t the first time one of the races, either Rutan of Sontaran, had the chance to destroy their enemies and end this war. But I always stop it.” “But isn’t that good?” Derpy asked. “You don’t want them to destroy each other. You want them to make peace.” He nodded. “I have to believe it’s possible,” he said. “I have to believe that, for all the death and suffering that it causes, something good can come of it.” Derpy smiled. “I think you’re right,” she said. “And I’m sure, some day, you’ll be proven right.” The Doctor chuckled and turned to his companion. “Thank you, Derpy,” He said, warmly. “What would I do without you?” “Mom!” came the voice of Dinky from inside the Tardis. “Vinyl and Octavia are making out again!” “Shut Up, you little tattle-tail!” Came Vinyl’s voice. The Doctor and Derpy laughed at that. Derpy walked into the Tardis. The Doctor followed, but, as he entered the door, he looked back. “Thank you, Ghala,” he said quietly. He stepped fully inside, the door closing behind him. The familiar sound of the Tardis’ engines flared up as the blue box became consumed in an ethereal glow and the lamp atop the box flashed softly. In a few seconds, the ship was gone into the time vortex, on to the next adventure. The End