//------------------------------//
// An Unstable Universe 
// Story: Doctor Whooves: City of Chaos 
// by forevertheDoctor 
//------------------------------//

The three ponies kept running until they eventually found refuge in a hollowed out tree in the gardens. They were cramped but at that point nopony could really care less. Ditzy gasped for air and her chest heaved.

"D-Doctor...what was that?" Ditzy pointed at his screwdriver.

"It's my sonic screwdriver, convenient and capable of doing many things including saving our lives." said the Doctor. Ditzy cringed and gently felt her ears. The fur was stained red with blood. River looked at her sympathetically.

"Including rupturing the poor filly's eardrums." said River. Ditzy quickly shook her head.

"It's fine! The Doctor saved my life yet again." said Ditzy. River nodded and Ditzy looked away.

'I just wish he could save me from insanity.' thought Ditzy. The Doctor shifted, slightly uncomfortable with the sudden bursts of attention and praises and gratitude.

"Well nothing's going to get done if we sit here chatting. Might as well get some rest and tomorrow we can think about just how we're going to catch Discord." said the Doctor. The others nodded and murmured their agreements but in reality River was the only one who truly fell asleep. The Doctor stayed awake. First of all, he wasn't the least bit tired and second of all he feared Discord would hunt them down while they slept. Ditzy remained awake in fear of the nightmares that had been haunting her. The two ponies soon found themselves quietly talking.

"Doctor...I've been wondering..." said Ditzy. The Doctor looked at her intently.

"What is it?" asked the Doctor.

"You remember when I got trapped in the other universe, right? Well what...happened?" asked Ditzy. The Doctor cringed. He really didn't want to tell her the truth.

"What do you remember?" asked the Doctor. Ditzy shrugged.

"The TARDIS landed in the Everfree Free forest...I got curious and went out to explore....oh yeah! I found this weird snowglobe and I picked it up. I shook it and...that's all I remember before I got caught in the snowstorm." said Ditzy.

"Then it's worse than I thought..." the Doctor mumbled.

"Eh...what do you mean?" asked Ditzy shakily. The Doctor sighed.

"Well...there are many other universes aside from the one Gaia inhabits, and oddly enough, they're connected which don't get me wrong is fantastic, absolutely brilliant. It's just that they aren't connected very well. Each planet, star, or moon is extremely loosely connected." said the Doctor. Ditzy cocked her head, not quite understanding what the Doctor just told her.

"Loosely connected?" asked Ditzy.

"Very, VERY unstable. This is a web of galaxies where the mere twitch of a foreign object can send another universe spiraling into a void of nothingness." said the Doctor.

"And...what does that mean?" Ditzy stammered. The Doctor sighed. There was no going back now.

"Theoretically it is absolutely possible that every second that goes by there's a chance that..."

"Don't stop!" said Ditzy.

"There's a chance that this entire universe could be destroyed."