//------------------------------// // Wolf // Story: Survival of the Cyberponies // by Fedora //------------------------------// The studio halls were darkened. It was now after hours, and the only soul to be seen within the twists and turns of private corridors were a trio of snooping time travelers. The Doctor had used the sonic to gain entry, and now stood at the head of the group. He stepped down the hall carefully. Each pony had lifted ears and strained to hear the faintest sound of a Cyber transmat, which the Doctor had described in detail. It took hard and careful listening to distinguish the soft hum from the distant rumbling hiss of the station’s life support systems. Derpy heard it first. She silently waved a hoof to get the attention of the other two, and then pointed in the direction of the subtle noise. The sound was the loudest outside a door to her right. They entered through here, and found themselves in a room that was completely empty save for yet another door. Upon this was a sign which read “Do Not Enter”. “This is it,” the Doctor said, “Beyond that is a transmat someplace. The job is simple: we go through and leave the bags. Once through, we can go back through the other end of the transmat and be on our way.” The Doctor spoke of several plastic bags that he had retrieved from somewhere inside the TARDIS. These bags were filled with ‘gold dust’- small flakes of gold. The station’s ventilation system came on in approximately a half hour, and was designed to clean up dust and debris by kicking it into the air and then sucking it through a filter to eliminate it. The flakes of gold were small enough to become airborne and fill the air in such an instance, but too large to fit through a filter designed for dust. It was the Doctor’s plan to fill the Cyberpony’s lair with gold dust floating around, which would interfere with their respiratory systems and render them dead. Through the door marked with a “Do Not Enter” sign was a white tile. The three stood on it, and their surroundings seemed to stretch above them, as if they were riding an elevator downwards that distorted all vision. Silently, the Doctor led Derpy and Lyra forward. Lighting was dim in this new space. Instead of the crisp tiling covering all other parts of the station the floor, there was a simple metal grate. Exposed wiring and tubes hung from the ceiling and ran along the wall. No Cyberponies were present. The Doctor set into action, scanning the ceiling with his eyes in an attempt to find the nearest ventilator. He spotted one not too far away, but before he could motion for Lyra and Derpy to follow he heard the sound of loud hoofsteps. “Hide!” he whispered harshly. Lyra dove behind a large metal crate, Derpy behind a loose wall panel. The Doctor slid himself among the loose wires and piping, using his leather jacket to cover his face and hide the contrasting blue fur, which would have drawn attention to an observant passerby. The Cyberponies came into view slowly. A pair of them escorted a third, which appeared fresher and shinier than all the others. The third cyber was in fact one of the missing ponies, freshly converted and now marching in line with the other older cybers. With the Doctor’s face covered behind his coat and Derpy’s face behind the wall panel, Lyra was the only pony of the trio able to watch the Cyberponies walk past. They stopped just in front of the crate, and her heart skipped a beat. “Take this crate of spare fusion cutter blades to the conversion chamber for installation.” the leading Cyberpony said in an electronic monotone. Lyra stumbled backwards, scrambling behind the crate and trying to wedge herself into the shadowy corner. There wasn’t any other place to really hide, and she hoped to Celestia that she wasn’t spotted. One Cyberpony lifted the crate onto the back of another, while the third in the group watched. In the brief moment after the crate was lifted this third Cyberpony saw Lyra, and spoke out in alarm. “Unauthorized intrusion by biological equine!” “She must be converted into Cyber-kind. Seize her,” the leader of the group ordered flatly. Lyra was shoved out into the open by a Cyberpony, and faked a stumble onto the ground. She rolled to one side of the grated floor and struck at one of the metal legs beside her in an attempt to throw the Cyber off balance. Instead, they just stood and looked down at her. The Cyberpony tasked with escorting her kicked at her backside, and Lyra cried out in alarm. “Leave her alone!” a voice cried out. The Doctor stood in the center of the hall, with Derpy at his side. Each held a bag of gold dust in their hooves, ready to let it loose at a moment’s notice. “What is this? Identify yourself.” the leader commanded. “What, don’t you know who I am?” the Doctor scoffed, “I’m the Doctor. Remember me?” “Your appearance does not match any known appearance of the Doctor,” the Cyberpony said, “There cannot be any regenerations beyond the 8th known incarnation.” “And why is that?” the Doctor asked, raising a brow. “The Time Lords went extinct.” the leader said, “The Doctor is one of the Time Lords. therefore, you cannot be the Doctor.” “I’ve got news for you, then.” the Doctor said, “Run a scan. Go on, what did you find?” “Sensors are non-operational.” one of the subordinate Cybers stated. “Fantastic,” the Doctor continued, “That explains a lot, actually.. like why we were able to get down here undetected. Anyways, I've nothing to prove to you, but if you want to live you’ll let my companion rejoin me.” Lyra cautiously tip-hoofed over and stood left of the Doctor, opposite of Derpy. She turned herself around to face the Cyberponies head-on like the others. “It's interesting, really," the Doctor said, "It really wasn't that difficult for us to locate you. Kind of a dodgy move, having your base so easily accessible.Perhaps you don't have a choice... well after all the Cyberponies are on their last breaths of life, not nearly the mighty force of years ago. You lot... you're a weak echo of your former selves. Scavengers. "Inside these bags are enough gold dust to render your entire Cybernetic force on this station dead.” the Doctor continued, “And unless you cease operations here I’ll…. I’ll…” The lights around them flickered, and the station rumbled. Somewhere above them a grinding engine could be heard, ending in the same kind of thump the TARDIS used. It was a sound associated with materialization. “He is here.” one of the Cybers stated to the others, “We have no choice now. We must prepare escape pods before it is too late.” “Before what’s too late?” the Doctor asked, eyes widened, “Who is this ‘he’?” “The Bad Wolf.” the leader stated, “The Bad Wolf has arrived.” A voice came on over the stationwide speakers, speaking in a sharp voice that was covered by a growl. It was a put-on voice, but the effect was chilling. “Attention Station-dwellers, this is the Bad Wolf speaking.” the voice reverberated, “Your structure is infested with Cyberponies, and will be destroyed in fifteen minutes. Everything that doesn’t want to be destroyed in the process must leave now, or die along with them. This is your only warning.” The Doctor trembled, and a bead of sweat trickled down his brow. His lower jaw sagged partway open. Neither he nor his companions took notice of the Cyberponies preparing to leave. “Doctor… that voice…” Derpy said slowly, “Was that… what was that?” “That,” the Doctor replied, “That was the Bad Wolf.” **** The Doctor raced through the halls of the studio, having by now forgotten all about the Cyberponies, their danger and the vow he made to destroy them. All he could think about now was the Bad Wolf. He was a being, and in possession of a device that could at least travels through space via materialization. He also had the means to destroy the station within minutes, presumably before the Cyberponies could get packed up and leave. He had set the timer at fifteen minutes during his speech. Lyra and Derpy were on the Doctor’s tail, struggling to keep pace with the rushing Time Lord. This was made worse by the general state of chaos the station had now plunged into. Aliens and ponies flooded the streets in a din of panic while trying to find a way to escape their doom. “He threatened to blow up the entire station, that means he’s either got a remote detonator or a fuse long enough to let him get back to his ship before the place goes up,” the Doctor yelled back to Derpy and Lyra over the roaring noise, “Likely in a place where the security team can’t find him inside the fifteen minute window... they really need to improve on the security here.” “So… washrooms and private offices?” Derpy yelled back. “That’s right!” the Doctor replied. Lyra was about to reply with her thoughts when a terrified creature ran into her side. She fell over into a head of limbs and slimy skin with the alien, who quickly gathered herself and uttered hasty apologies before rushing off back into the crowd. The Doctor lent her a hoof to get her back onto all fours. “So the Bad Wolf strung the place up with detonators… wouldn’t it just be easier for one of us to go find the detonators?” she said, speaking the words she had meant to say before being knocked to the ground. The Doctor stopped running, and spun around in a split second. He tossed the sonic screwdriver to Lyra, who caught it in her teeth. “Extend the top, and use setting seven,” he instructed, “After that it’s as simple as pointing it and pressing down on the button on the side. Look for support structures, it’ll start whizzing real loud when you’ve found one rigged to blow.” “What about you and Derpy?” Lyra shouted to the distancing pair. “We’re gonna find the Bad Wolf himself!” the Doctor called back, “Better hurry, there’s only about seven minutes left!”