The Doctor couldn't stand being stuck here. Ditzy was in danger! And Nexus was just going to sit down and play checkers! He had a point, there was no way they were getting out of there with the Sonic shorting out and the light barrier being in the way. They were stuck there. And without the Sonic, he couldn't check for anything that could kill them. They did keep from touching the water though. Neither of them wanted to take the chance. Checkers was easy enough. The Time Lords invented Chess after all, checkers was no trouble at all. Nexus, though a brilliant strategist, never had a chance against the Doctor. He didn't seem to mind and clearly had his mind elsewhere.
He just mindlessly moved the pieces across the board. Like the Doctor he was probably weighing their options and trying to think of a way out. No matter what the Doctor thought of, using the Sonic, if he could fix it, to try and vibrate the molecular structure of the door until it turned itself to dust. But that would require hundreds of years of calculations to keep from doing the same to the rest of the maze. And The Doctor might have a few hundred years left in him, there was no way Nexus was going to make it that long. That is unless his wings weren't totally cosmetic. Unlikely.
But something he realized sitting here with him, remembering he was armed certainly wasn't doing anything for him, The Doctor remembered he felt uneasy around people with guns. Well, uneasy wasn't the perfect word for it. More like uneasy with a dash of just plain disgust. Something that Nexus seemed to pick up on. "What's your problem with me anyways?"
"What'd you mean?" the Doctor asked moving another black checker into Nexus' space.
"When we met you looked honored to meet me. And now you're going back and forth on flat out hating me or thinking I'm just clever."
"I just don't like people with guns."
"It's more than that isn't it?"
"No, just not a fan of guns." he lied.
"Oh really?" Nexus drew his guns and ejected them onto the table. The Doctor didn't flinch. "I'm inclined to believe that's not true."
"I don't like guns. That's it. Now hurry up and King Me." the Doctor said completely ignoring the guns on the table.
"I don't think it's the guns Doc."
"What's your point? I'm stuck with ya so may as well get over it."
The Doctor saw Nexus cock an eyebrow at him, still further delaying Kinging him. "Why don't like me Doc? Derpy says you don't like Soldiers. Is that it?"
"Did she?"
"Mostly. When I brought it up she said it wasn't just that. Now how about you quit beating around the bush Doc."
"How about you just King Me!"
"I'll King you when you tell me why you don't like me!"
"Yes I don't like soldiers, now King Me!"
"Why!?"
"Because I've seen what you can do Nexus. I've seen your future. And I know your past. You're still a soldier, clearly from how you've been acting! All shoot first ask questions later!"
"It was self defense!"
"And I told you that it was a futile move! You can't kill these creatures unless you have a death wish!"
"What's your point Doc? I said enough beating around the bush!"
"Soldiers only know how to hurt others!" The Doctor finally said. "Soldiers always attack something new. Their first instinct is to kill!"
"And you think I like killing!?"
"Isn't that why you became a soldier? To prove that you could fight?"
"I became a soldier to protect the country and people I hold dear Doctor. I don't fight unless I have to, and killing is a last resort."
"And when you shot at the Dalek?"
"You were being shot at! My first instinct when something's shooting at one of my friends is to shoot back. Pardon me if I have a much more prominent Fight reflex when I'm threatened!" Nexus shouted standing up.
"And what if it was some innocent alien!?" The Doctor shouted just as loud and standing just as tall. "Some strange looking, innocent creature that was defending itself too!?"
"I'm not perfect and neither are you Doc!" Nexus shouted. The Doctor knew he didn't have a right answer to the question. "All I know is if it was threatening my LIFE I wouldn't hesitate to fight it."
The Doctor took note of his wording. Unless the Doctor specifically asked about killing, he'd avoid it. Nexus said he avoided killing but there was one thing that was making that argument incorrect. "And the Changelings? What of them? All those thousands of creatures you slaughtered?"
Nexus leant back for a moment. The Doctor had him right where he knew he couldn't avoid the answer. "Changelings are a completely different than another being. They only exist to kill or convert anypony that isn't one of them. They steal away loved ones and take their place, feeding on their emotions until they're nothing. The loved one that was taken, is turned into one of them. I've experienced first hand what they will do to break you. They're why for the longest time I couldn't feel the grass beneath my hoofs, the warmth of my wife against my chest and I feared I couldn't feel my child in my forelegs. I dedicated my service to getting them out of Equestria as soon as possible no matter the cost to them. I watched hundreds of the soldiers under my command die due to an oversight on my part. I will NOT stand here and let you compare the life of others to those things!"
"Who are you to decide if a species is worth extinction!? You relentlessly followed them across Equestria and then across the ocean as though you wished to play the world's police. You are still not right in what you did. There is always another solution!"
Nexus sneered at the Doctor and he could feel he was about to shout as loud as he possibly could. "AND WHAT ABOUT YOU!?" he shouted in his Canterlot Impression.
"And what about me!?"
"I see through you a lot more than you think Doctor. You may look younger than me but your eyes tell show something much older. I see fire behind those eyes. The same I see every day in those that survived that dreadful war. You've seen combat Doc, worse than anything I could ever hope to see."
"I have." the Doctor said going around the table and getting in Nexus' face. "And they were all preventable. So much more bloodshed than you could ever hope to see in your lifetime. I've lived through more than you could ever imagine and what I've seen would make even you fall to your knees and cry. And if you won't stand to have me 'insult' you, then I won't be compared to a barbaric, war hungry, TYRANT!"
The moment the Doctor finished, Nexus quickly reached down to his pistols and put one of his mechanized arms through the trigger guard behind the trigger itself. He lifted the weapon up to the Doctor and looking back with a look of stone cold rage that matched his own, he held the handle to him.
"Then if you're the better man prove it." Nexus said.
"I'm not dueling you."
"Wasn't asking you to. If you're the better man, the more just man, save the world another tyrant. Shoot me." Nexus shoved the pistol into the Doctor hard enough to knock him on his haunches. He fumbled for a moment but caught the pistol.
"It wouldn't matter." the Doctor said. "If you die here I'll end up bringing you back when we destroy the Paradox Machine." he lied hoping Nexus would leave it be.
"Then find a way out of here without it. If you're so clever."
"I'm not going to kill you." The Doctor said throwing the pistol to the couch.
"Fine." Nexus locked his other pistol into the other arm and put the barrel to his right temple. That took the Doctor aback.
"NO!" The Doctor shouted trying to grab Nexus' foreleg. The soldier grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him back before putting the barrel to his head again. "Nexus, don't."
"Why!? If I'm such a tyrant I'm sure it shouldn't matter to you Doc. If I'm such a tyrant the universe is well off without me. HELL, from what I've seen my wife and son are better off without me! So if you won't end this then I will!"
"Nexus stop!" The Doctor didn't know what to make of Nexus' threats. He knew Nexus was a serious man but from what he'd read he wouldn't pull the trigger. But one look into his eyes he could see something other than anger. Behind it all there was something else. And the mention of his family was certainly part of it. He wanted to die. It was a feeling the Doctor knew all too well. Nexus, from what he saw, had nothing left. He was alone… that was it.
"Nexus… Put it down."
"Why should I?" It was starting to show more. "I've done nothing that couldn't've been done by somepony else and better. Nothing that I've done matters. And according to you it's all wrong, everything I've done is wrong. It's a question so many ask themselves, what would the world be without me? I know the answer now, and I know that no matter what I've done, no matter what I do, everypony is better without me." He was afraid. The "Iron Hoof of Canterlot was afraid.
"You know that's not true."
"My wife is happily married to my mentor, had one of his kids and another on the way, Luna is as fine as ever, my parents aren't any better than they were when I existed-"
"What about Ephialtes?"
"What about him?"
"He was charged with being a changeling remember?"
"He… He was bu-"
"But nobody was there to save him. There was nobody there to show doubt and offer him a chance to prove it. And Silver Bit?"
"She's more than-"
"Her boyfriend, her first one, the one you couldn't save. Without your intervention she would never have known what he was." The Doctor could tell this was working. "The Changeling would've killed her."
"I…I've…"
"You've made a difference. You created a delicate balance that without you has failed. If you die here Nexus, then you won't come back. Everything would return to normal but you would have died for nothing." The gun slipped down a few inches. "I know how you're feeling Nexus. And I can tell you that this is not the answer."
"How would you know?"
"I've lived with a great mistake for over eight hundred years."
Nexus' gaze turned doubtful as the guns finally retracted back into his foreleg. "Who are you, Doctor? No beating around the bush."
"I'm a Time Lord."
"A Lord of Time?"
"Chosen protectors of all of time and space from the planet Gallifrey."
"And Gallifrey is full of immortals?"
"No, a Time Lord has a way around death for a certain time. We can… change our face. We unleash a massive amount of energy and rejuvenate every cell in our body. It alters our personality, appearance, tastes, everything. Once we level off, we regain the memories of our past and continue our lives."
"So not all of your people can do that?"
"No… If they could I wouldn't be alone."
"You're-"
"The last of my kind. The war, the first one, was against the Daleks. It was called the Time War. We fought over all of time and space. I thought they were all dead but clearly some still live."
"Wait, if you won then-"
"Nobody won that war. I was responsible for its end and… I'm not proud of what I had to do."
"But you're a time traveler, why not g-"
"Because I can't!" The Doctor snapped. "It's against the rules to cross your own timeline. To do so might rip all of space and time apart. And there are some, moments in time that are fixed and some in flux. The end of the Time War was fixed. There is nothing I can do to save them! Nothing! Every day of my life I want to go back and fix it all but I can't. Nothing I do can change it unless I want to end the entirety of time! I can't do anything."
"You had no choice."
"No… I didn't."
"I know how that feels." it was the Doctor's turn to cock an eyebrow. "The Changelings couldn't be negotiated with. All they wanted was all of Equestria to feed on. They're parasites. And the only way to truly be free from a parasite is to kill it. Pushing them out of Equestria also cut them off from their food source. Without ponies to feed on they'll start dying off. I'm not proud of killing a species Doc. It was the only way I could keep the ponies I cared about safe. That was the only solution to do so."
"The Daleks are far worse."
"That I have no doubt of."
Now that they were calmer than before and nobody was trying to kill anyone, a thought came to The Doctor's mind. "Speaking of choice Nexus… What about what happened between you and Ditzy when we uh… found you."
"Oh… That wasn't what you think."
"Enlighten me."
"Well…." Nexus started searching for an answer to the question. "Space, as I know it, it is like a stack of paper."
"You're not fully wrong but go on."
"Normal teleportation breaks the user down into pure magic and transported to another sheet. There is another way to do it and that's t-"
"To rip the paper and fall through."
"Yes. That's… what I did. I channeled my magic through my body and ripped open the space here and fell into another sheet. It unfortunately took everything I had that I had to tap into my life force. That's why I was hanging on a thread when you found me."
"And the…" The Doctor motioned to his lips waiting for Nexus to put the words in his mouth. "Well all ponies have magic in them. And Changelings aren't the only ones that can siphon energy from another living creature."
"So … with that kiss… you… 'sucked'… energy out of Ditzy?"
"Simply yes. Not much! Don’t worry, she's leveled off by now."
"Why?"
"Well if you lose some magic your body will lower some nonessential functions to compensate until it you recharge."
"I mean why'd you do it? Couldn't you recharge?"
"No… Unicorns, like everypony else, recharge from the ether. The ether has an unlimited source of magic for everypony in the world. The only thing is we're not really… connected to it here. So my only other source is other ponies."
"And that involved…" the Doctor waved his right hoof hoping Nexus would fill in the blank. He wasn't really comfortable with just the thought. And when he didn't, "Kissing?"
"Intimate Contact. There was only one alternative was well… something that I wouldn't even think of doing. Changelings use the same kind of magic only much more… well malicious. Like I said I only took enough to keep myself alive. If we ever get out of here I'll just recharge. It's nothing well… personal, Doc."
"Yeah. That uh…. that threw me off. If I'm not mistaken you're married and that… it just took me by surprise."
"Doc…" Nexus started sitting back into the sofa. "I'm nothing but three things; a gentleman, a patriot and honorable to a fault. I promised my life to Dust… I wouldn't throw our relationship away no matter what. I've fought for it enough… Luna'd have my head- Oh god Luna…"
"What about her?"
"I never thought about her…" Nexus groaned leaning back into the sofa. "When she almost killed me there was something off about her. She was talking like she was when she first came back."
"Guess you had an impact on her too. Though I'm oddly surprised, I thought you only worked for her."
"No… She's been like uh… like a mother to me I guess. She's done so much more than teach me to handle dark magic better. She's been there for me for me when I've needed some advice and a steady hoof to guide me through a rough part of my day or even life." This was better than he was when he was holding the gun to his head. He seemed to be sucked into a nostalgia for some reason. "Like a mother she'd help me if I asked for it or not. She knew how to read me. Even when I say things that'd make any normal person kick your teeth in or at the very least make them hate your guts she's forgiven me. It's a kind of unconditional love that only a mother could give. Honestly I think my Mom's Mom Jealous." He said with a grin on his face.
The Doctor and Nexus shared a chuckle. It really helped lighten the mood in the room. It would've been hard to consider they'd been in a shouting match only a few minutes ago. Best keep him talking. "So what about your wife?"
"I… I've never been good with uh…"
"Come on." The Doctor pestered nudging the air with his elbow.
"She's kind of… Abrasive."
"How so?"
"Well… She's nice and beautiful and all but she's also kind of…. traditionally not my type."
"And you married her?"
"Like I said I'm not good at this kind of thing. I don't look for ponies that are as… forward as she is. She's always been forward with me and to be honest she's been kind of a hard head."
"How so?" The Doctor asked half faking interest. "You love her don't you?"
"Of course I do! She's a big part of my world. Like Luna I couldn't imagine who I'd be without her. She doesn't let what others think of her or me get to her. She does what she likes and I respect that. All though she was kind of promiscuous when we met."
"How promiscuous?"
"On our first date she got wasted and went home with another guy."
"Oh that must've been harsh."
"Very. But after Luna forced us to bunk together for a few weeks she kind of grew on me and I grew on her."
"And she stopped being-"
"Yeah. She was still kind of flirty around other guys but… I got nothin' to end that sentence with, I really hate how flirty she is sometimes."
“That must be tough.”
“Sort of. She does have a good outlet for her flirting though. No matter how long we’ll be together I bet I’ll never get use to it.”
“You don’t like it?”
“Well... It depends. Call me a masochist but I like it when she whips her tail in my face. In public part of me really want to just hide from her and everypony else. The other part kind of likes it.”
“Sounds like she pushes your buttons.”
Before the Doctor could half listen a massive bang came at the door. Nexus jumped up and looked ready to pounce. And depending on what was on the other side The Doctor was more than willing to let him knock whatever was on the other side over. It did all depend on what it was. They were on other wavelengths so it was likely that even if it was some odd amalgamation of a Manticore and a Cyberman he’d still try and fight it off. Like it or not the Doctor was dealing with a soldier in a hostile environment.
Another bang came and the door and Nexus had his back arched, coiled and ready to get out or die trying. Another much more hearty bang came and Nexus flinched. Then with one final hit the door fell off its hinges in a flurry of splinters. Nexus leaned back, ready to fly forward and suddenly stood up straight. The Doctor followed his gaze and was as frozen as Nexus was. In the door jam with her rump pointing in their direction was his favorite woman on four legs. She spun around and she lit up seeing them.
“Doctor!” She shouted sprinting into the room.
She practically knocked the Doctor off his fee-hoofs. “Ditzy oh it’s so good to see you! You’re okay?”
“Better now! And Nexus!” she said ecstatically opening her left foreleg for him to join the hug.
“I’m fine thanks.”
“Oh come over here Mr. Killjoy!” The Doctor said reaching out too.
“I said I’m fine.”
“Aw. Shall we help him lighten up?” The Doctor asked looking to Ditzy with a mischievous smile.
“We shall!” Ditzy replied with an equally devilish smile. Best part of traveling with somebody for some long, they just end up on the same wavelength.
“No. Both of you just stay-”
He wasn’t allowed to finish. They closed in on him and wrapped him in two bear hugs. Nexus groaned in annoyance before they let him go.
“How’d you get that door open?” Nexus asked.
“I bucked it?” Ditzy replied confused.
“But there was a shield.” The Doctor said equally befuddled.
“Not anymore. Wait, you didn’t try kicking down the door?” she asked Nexus.
“I... I figured the shield was still up.” Nexus replied no doubt running through his mind when the shield could’ve gone down.
Come to think of it wasn’t really something The Doctor’d picked up on either. There was no sound or ceremony to it was just gone. From nowhere it just went down while they were playing checkers. At the moment they didn’t have time to think over it.
“So you two, two smart ponies like you, didn’t think to try the door again?” she asked snapping them out of their thoughts.
“It’d seem that way. We should probably move before the door shuts again.” Nexus said before looking up to the storm. “Looks like we’re close.”
“Right then. Let’s get our butts out of here! Allons-y!” The Doctor said feeling much lighter.
“Allons-Y!” Ditzy replied charging out the door with him. Nexus chuckled and rolled his eyes before following.