//------------------------------//
// The Vashta Nerada 
// Story: Doctor Whooves - The Dark Side of the Moon 
// by MrPengu1n 
//------------------------------//

	The Doctor slowly approached Rosebud-or what was left of her-and said, "Rosebud, can you hear me?"
Rosebud did not respond, she only stared daggers at The Doctor with her dark, shadow filled eyes.
"You feel that body?" The Doctor asked, "The body you took over? Use it, talk to me, tell me why you are here."
Rosebud continued to say nothing.
"The Vashta Nerada are solitary creatures; they find a forest, they stay there," The Doctor said, "But you, you came here today, why? Tell me why." He demanded. when Rosebud continued to say nothing, The Doctor became aggressive and yelled, "You and your swarm just devoured billions of creatures on this planet, and I am not happy with you, now you will tell me why you are here!" The Doctor paused, but Rosebud said nothing, The Doctor turned away angrily and spoke to himself, "I've been to this day before and I don't recall the planet falling to a swarm of man eating shadows. What's different?" The Doctor's head snapped back in realization, "Oh..."
"What, what is it?" Luna asked, feeling scared.
The Doctor turned around, "It's you. you're here, you're what's different! This, all of this happened because you're here, but why?"
"So it's her fault!" Truman challenged.
"No, no, it's not her fault," The Doctor immediately corrected, "If anything, it's my fault, I'm the one who brought her here." He looked back at Rosebud, "So you're here for Luna, why?"
Rosebud said nothing.
The Doctor turned towards Luna, "Luna, Try talking to it."
"What, me?!" Luna confirmed.
"I don't know why, but they're here because of you," The Doctor pointed out, "Maybe they'll listen to you."
Luna gulped, but slowly approached Rosebud, "H-hello," she greeted, scared out of her mind, "So you're here for me, then?"
Rosebud just looked at Luna, staring into her very soul.
"Try asking it why it's here," The Doctor instructed.
Luna nodded, cleared her throat, then said, "WHO ARE YOU AND WHY-"
"Luna!" The Doctor interrupted, covering his ears, "What the heck?!"
"I-I was using the royal canterlot voice!" Luna explained, "should I not have done that?"
"I think your regular voice will be fine, thanks," The Doctor said, cleaning out his ears.
Luna nodded, then cleared her throat again, "Who are you, and why have you come here?"
Rosebud paused, then opened her mouth and said in a dark voice, "We are the Vashta Nerada."
"We know that," The Doctor interjected, "But why are you here?"
"We are the Vashta Nerada," Rosebud repeated.
The Doctor turned to Luna, "Tell it to answer my questions,"
Luna nodded and demanded cautiously, "You will answer all questions put forth to you."
Rosebud said nothing, but nodded slightly.
The Doctor nodded enthusiastically, "Now we're getting somewhere!" He approached Rosebud again and demanded, "Now tell me, why are you here?"
Rosebud paused, then said slowly, "We are here for Luna."
"yes, yes, I get that," The Doctor dismissed, "but why?"
"We are here for Luna," She repeated, but then did something surprising: she bowed to Luna.
"What?" Luna said, surprised just as much as The Doctor was.
"Oh, yes, of course!" The Doctor said, "Now I don't know the whole story, but these Vashta Nerada are under your control, but very slightly. but if that were true, you would be able to control them completely." The Doctor had another epiphany, "Unless..."
He approached Rosebud again and demanded, "Who are you?"
"We are the Vashta Nerada," Rosebud repeated.
"I'm not talking to you," The Doctor responded, "I'm talking to the thing controlling you."
"What?" Truman asked, not sure he heard correctly.
"There's something controlling the Vashta Nerada," The Doctor explained, "but the control is incomplete, for some reason, Luna's presence is interfering with the psychic signal," He turned back to Rosebud and said angrily, "Now I'm not going to say this again: who are you and what do you want?"
Rosebud paused again, then said in a different voice, "They shunned me, they cast me out, I will destroy them, I will destroy them all!"
"Okay," The Doctor said quickly, placing his forehooves on Rosebud's forehead, "That's enough of that." he closed his eyes, Rosebud closed hers, and with a gasp, Rosebud opened her eyes again. she was back to normal.
Rosebud collapsed into The Doctor's arms, sobbing out of fear. The Doctor reassured her, patting her on the back and speaking calmly.
"How did you do that?" Truman said, blown away.
"The Vashta Nerada had taken over her mind," The Doctor explained, "I simply gave her control again."
"incredible," Luna said, and then she spotted a stray shadow escape from Rosebud's body and skitter out of the circle of light.
Truman, now fully convinced The Doctor knew what he was doing, said, "Which way to the TARDIS?"
Rosebud stopped crying, and The Doctor let her go. she stood up shakily, and Luna wrapped a wing around her protectively. The Doctor rose, and with a steely look in his eyes, said, "This way."
The four walked down the shadowy corridor, protected by the small flashlight.