//------------------------------//
// chapter three, oh Pinkie, where art thou 
// Story: The Fallout of a Fractured Sky 
// by Sam Cole 
//------------------------------//

	The flying chariot pulled low over Ponyville, straight up the street from the Sugarcube Corner. I bailed out while the ride was still 15 feet up, I tucked and rolled, not missing a beat, and dead sprinted into my home. When I burst in, I found the palce a mess, there was over turned tables, food everywhere. The had been a struggle. I heard a sound in my workshop, so I ran there, maybe it was Pinkie! I burst in to find the Doctor and River examining something. I yelled, I had gotten my hopes up, and now, I had nothing. Before I could run out, the Doctor ran over and knocked me to the floor, pinning me down with his forelegs, sitting on my chest. I yelled. I cursed. I cried. My Pinkie was gone. Was it the Changling? Did she steal my Pinkie? What was going on! Pinkie!
"Opie, Snap out of it," The Doctor said to me, "You're not helping by being this mad. You are more useful calm, intelligent. Pinkie needs you at the top of your game old chap, now shut up and think!" The Doctor yelled at me. He had yelled at me before, but never like this, never for me, usually just at me. I swallowed hard, panting, but I was thinking.
"Why are you in here?" I asked him, I thought I was nice.
"Two reasons love," River said, "First, this is the only room in your house we can land the TARDIS in, and Second, Pinkie was in here, she left a note."
"What, what does it say?" I asked, trying to keep calm before I lost it again, the Doctor was right, I was of more use this way. 
"Something called Diamond Dogs kidnapped your friend Rarity with an alien weapon," She read, "Pinkie and the others went to get her back. Applejack is so worried... is that her lover?" River asked looking at the last part.
"Yeah, why?" I said.
"Ah, I see where this is going," The Doctor said, "Opie, I hate to ask, but I need you to arm yourself. We have no idea what those foul dogs have gotten their paws on. Build it, grab it, whatever, I don't care, just get something."
"Well, I have made something..." I said thinking. It was big, but the tool bag the Doctor gave me was here, and my toy would fit nicely. 
"Excellent," He said, grabbing a banana and a mop, "River, ready to go?" 
"You know it, Sweetie," River said, holding up her alien weapon, some sort of hoof laser weapon thing. My brain throbbed looking at her, I knew it was in her fore leg hoof thingy, but it looked like it was just sitting in the small of her hoof now, and that made no sense. She looked at the Doctor and laughed.
"Muhmph?" He said, the mop in mouth.
"Darling, give it to Opie, in his bag. You look just plain silly with it in your mouth," She said. The Doctor begrudgingly did as she asked, then we were off, and not a moment too soon. We ran straight to the outskirts of town, where I had last seen the Dogs. When we got there, there was signs of a struggle, and lots of dirt and mud thrown about. 
"Perfect," I said surveying the scene, "They're already on high alert."
"Great, that means some one else already did the hard work of breaching then," River said. 
"Come along Pie, we have a friend to save," The Doctor said finding a free passage down to the Dogs. We ran down the passage, every second I knew I drew closer to my Pinkie Pie. The others fell back some, but I couldn't stop.  When we bottomed out, we were in a huge expanse, miles and miles of earth excavated. I saw the Dogs, their alien weapon, a large, one paw device pointed right at Rarity's head. I also saw Pinkie, and all of the gang, Gilda too, huh Rainbow must have put her hoof down, kind sad to think how that will end for Dashie tonight, Gilda would 'punish' Dash for any wrongful behavior, and try as we might, we couldn't break them up.  But I digress, PINKIE!
"Pinkie!" I cried, galloping to her.
"Stop where you are stupid Pony, or the jewel finder paints the cave with her skull," The Alpha dog said. I stopped dead, as happy as I was to see Pinkie, I knew better than to risk Rarity's life. It was now up to the Doctor and his wit to save us all. Right on cue, he stepped forward.
"Oh, sorry bout this chap, but I'm afraid you won't be doing that," The Doctor said. I reminded myself to recheck his hostage negotiations qualifications later.
"You doubt me dumb pony?!?" The alpha said, snarling.
"Oh no no no no no no. It's just that what you have there, is in all actuality, a hair dryer. Not a weapon, And if I was that close to an angry, dirtied unicorn, I would run," The Doctor said. 
Before the Dog could even turn his head to look at what was in his paw, Rarity had spun on her front hooves, planted hard, and bucked with all of her might. From where I was, over 100 feet away, I heard the crack of his jaw, that had to hurt. Rarity dazzled us with a brilliant spell, pelting the other dogs with gems til she was safely behind us. I took the chance to slide forward and plant my invention. It's three legs popped out and down, its barrel extended and raised to the dogs in the room, a red laser light on them, but they couldn't see that part. With a mighty spoot, it pelted potato after potato at the dogs. After one hundred feet, the taters couldn't do any harm, but it still scared the dogs something fierce. We all gathered and left, the Doctor waving his mop at any dogs that got to close. I think if I hadn't scared them first though, they would have taken the damn thing and hit him with it. When we were all top side, Rarity threw herself into Applejack's embrace.
"Oh AJ, darling, I was so scared. My first thought was I would never get to see you again," The fashionable mare said.
"Ah know Sugarcube, but you're okay now, we got ya," Applejack said. "Ah wanted to thank y'all. Ya didn't have to rush in, knowin what ya knew, but ya did, and we're better for it, so thanks, from the bottom of mah heart."
"It's nothing," I said, speaking for my group.
"We will always help you out AJ, Rarity, you gals are our friends, there was no way we could let you guys face this alone," Twilight said. Everyone said yeah, along some lines at least. Gilda was being upitty, but she had been underground, it was understandable. 
"I am happy you all are safe," The Doctor started, and as the sun set now, I got a bad feeling about what was to come. "But I am sorry, so truly truly sorry. Rarity, you and Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Gilda, your relationships, are lies." 
With a roar, Gilda shot out at the Doctor, her deadly talons at the ready, she touched the ground twice, to build air speed for flight, but she failed to see the banana peel the Doctor had placed between them. She stepped right on it, and slipped, her wings had no where near enough lift generated yet, and she ate dirt rather hard, flipping over and sliding to a halt right in front of the Doctor. He quickly pinned her down while River grabbed something from her,  a disk like object, and stomped it. I think she did something else with it, but the pony thingy showed her stomping, and I found the more people present, the easier it was to believe. Instantly I remember now though, the Doctor was right. It had been AJ and Dash after the Daleks, in rather poor timing I admit, but that was how they coped with the loss. Everyone else started to remember also, and soon everypony was in their right mind. But that does not mean there was no awkward feelings now. 
"Dash, I ...I'm so sorry! I only wanted..." Gilda said trapped under the Doctor. He was stronger than he looked I guess.
"Gilda, why? You used that alien Thing on me, then when I resisted, you beat me. You hurt me, and you have the audacity (10 points to RD for that word, she did learn from reading) to call it love?" Rainbow Dash said, half in tears, half lost in rage like I was. I think the rage was winning, so I stepped in.
"Dash," I said, "You're hurt, I know, but Don't give in to that. I did, and I was stopped before I did anything bad, but if the Doctor hadn't talked me down, I would have never found Pinkie today. After I was taken, I thought the worst."
"Gilda, we need to know how this happened. How did you figure out how to use the Perception filter?" The Doctor said. 
"I... I'm sorry... It was Discord. He gave it to me, told me to keep Rainbow form the others, promised me she would love me with that thing. I'm so sorry," She cried. And cried. I could only imagine the pain she was in, but I could not find in me any sympathy for the griffin. She was willingly helping Discord, and that was not a point we could look past.
"I'm sorry," The Doctor said, "You only wanted to feel your love reciprocated, but instead you had to hurt your love, and then we took everything from you. I'm so, so sorry," The Doctor said, tears in his eyes for her. Was this the side of the Doctor that knew love, or loss, I could not tell. 
"Hey, wait, Doctor, you said the filter made River a pony, but here it made everyone remember... wrong... I guess," I said. It was a hard concept to grasp alright. 
"Perception filters affect memory too. When they don't have to change what somepony sees, they are even more powerful at augmenting memories. Sometimes they can have a lasting effect," The Doctor said, casting a look behind me when he spoke. I assumed he meant the girls. We let Gilda up, knowing we had bigger fish to fry. But as she flew off, the Doctor turned to me, pity in his eyes.
"Opie, I am sorry for you as well," The Doctor said.
"Why, cause of what happened? It's nothing Doc, we beat the changlings," I said full of bravado.
"Opie, think for a second. Has this Pinkie for one second acknowledged your existence? Was she happy to see you? Has she spoke?" The doctor said. I felt cold. I couldn't answer him. I turned to my Pinkie, I outstretched my hoof, and rubbed her check. She didn't flinch. She didn't blink. I hugged her tight, yelling inside, crying outside.
"Pinkie? Come on, you got me, funny prank. But now your husband is really scared. I need you to talk to me Pinkie. Please, for the love of Celestia please!" I cried out. Everypony there was silent as I dropped onto my flanks cradiling the silent Pinkie. "Why? Why is this happening? What is this?"
"A very evil device," The doctor said, pulling off her face, revealing a clockwork head underneath. I cried looking at it, for once alien tech I knew like the back of my hoof, and it had fooled me. "It's a clockwork Pony. Beautiful machines, but they switched her, after the note. Girls," He said turning to the gaggle around me, "Was Pinkie alone at anytime after she was told of Rarity's kidnapping?"
"Yes, she was," Fluttershy said, "When she went in to write Opie the note. It must have been after that."
"Wait, how do you know about the note then?" I said, thinking for once.
"Oh... um... shoot, that part was never covered..." Fluttershy said. "Well little repair pony, you're smarter than you look, congrats on figuring out the drones. She was not a full drone like me, poor little F-f-f-Fluttershy barely put up a fight, but I won't be so kind," the Flutterbad drone said. I readied for a fight, instantly pulling my cutting torch from my bag, but the Doctor stepped in.
"Yes yes, that's all well and good, except you forgot one really important detail," He said.
"What would that be?" Flutterbad asked.
"You hurt my friend, kidnapped his wife whom is also my friend, played games with us that broke the hearts of all involved, and worst of all, insulted my intelligence. You see, the one thing you forgot, is that I am the Doctor."