Doctor Whooves: Ever Changing
Chapter Seven: The Crystalline Consciousness
Getting to Canterlot was easy since all of the guards were more preoccupied with the crystalline ponies inside the city, so Lucky clover was able to lead the Doctor, Vinyl and Octavia over to the caves entrance with ease.
The group was stopped right outside the caves entrance, when the Doctor pulled Lucky Clover to talk with him in private behind a nearby boulder.
That gave Octavia time to think about all that had happened. Her life was flipped upside down earlier today because of the Doctor, and most normal ponies would have walked away by now, but for some strange reason, Octavia felt safe around the Doctor. Sure he didn't make sense most of the time, but still she felt that she could go anywhere with him and still feel that same sense of security.
Octavia looked over to Vinyl who was looking at the night sky, as if she was pondering the same thing. Before she had the time to ask a bright flash of green shook Octavia and Vinyl out of their thoughts.
The Doctor was walking back over to them, but Lucky Clover wasn't with him. “Lucky Clover, decided to head back to Ponyville to help them defend the town from any other attacks.”
“So, it's just us then,” Octavia sighed as she looked over to the caves entrance. The Doctor nodded as Vinyl and Octavia both got up and walked over to the Doctor.
“Well then,” the Doctor said as he looked between Octavia on his right and Vinyl on his left, “let's go save the world.”
To say that the crystal caverns were large is an understatement, as they stretched on for several meters in almost every direction. Crystals of every shape and color were embedded in to the walls, floors and ceilings. Every once in awhile, an opening in the ceiling would allow light to bleed in and reflect off of the crystals, creating beautiful prismatic effects on the ground and walls.
So when the Doctor decided to see if his voice would echo, they were immediately captured by the crystalline ponies that were guarding the area. The where currently walking in single file with the Doctor in the front, Vinyl in the back and Octavia in the back, while four crystalline ponies lead the group deeper in to the caverns.
“Look, I said that I was sorry,” the Doctor apologized for the tenth time, “It's just that the cave was so big and I really wanted to hear my voice echo.”
“Vinyl, please hit him again,” Octavia said as Vinyl hit the Doctor in the back of the head with a large smile on her face.
“Fine I get it,” the Doctor said as he rubbed the back of his head, “but on the bright side, they are taking us to their leader, so we won't be wasting hours wandering around the caves.”
“Vinyl, hit him again,” Octavia said as Vinyl hit the Doctor once more in the back of the head.
“Stop hitting me!” the Doctor complained as he glared at a smiling Vinyl. “Look, I have a plan.”
“Do you?” Octavia said with a raised eyebrow.
The Doctor said nothing for a while before saying, “Okay I have seventy-five percent of a plan.”
“Doctor,” Octavia said with a deadpan glare.
“Fine,” the Doctor said with a groan, “I have ten percent of a plan.”
Vinyl promptly hit the Doctor in the back of the head for the third time. The Doctor decided to stop talking for now and look around at their surroundings.
The cavern had gotten significantly darker as they progressed. Several installments of some form of artificial lighting units were placed inside some of the crystals on the walls. Several crystalline ponies walked back and forth as they seemed to be mining crystal fragments off of the larger ones in the walls and floor.
As the crystalline ponies escorted the group deeper in to the caverns, a machine that the crystalline ponies were working with came in to view. The machine had several pipes connected to them, as well as a control panel on the side of it. The crystalline ponies dumped the crystals in to a large hopper that was positioned at one end of the machine, as a conveyor belt transported the refined crystals in to carts. They saw at least ten more machines similar to that one as they walked further down the tunnel.
The group also noticed several other circular shaped machines further down tunnels, wires feeding in to some sort of energy conversion table. The crystals were placed on top of the table where they were feeding energy in to the crystal shards, causing them to form in to new crystalline ponies.
“Doctor,” Octavia said with a hint of fear in her voice, as she too noticed the machines, “please tell me you have come up with a plan.”
The Doctor chuckled as he said, “Don't worry; everything is going to be fine.”
At that moment, the group was ushered in to a large domed area of the caverns, which measured about ten meters in almost every direction. Path ways were set up all over the area as crystalline ponies worked back and forth. Control terminals were scattered about, many of them seemed to regulate energy flow while others seemed to be monitoring equipment. In the middle sat a flat, circular device was set up, with the center of it filled with crystal shards.
The crystalline ponies escorted the Doctor, Vinyl and Octavia to a balcony that over looked the pool of crystals. The room reverberated with a loud grumble, causing all of the crystalline ponies to stop their various tasks, turn to the pool of crystals, and bow.
The crystals in the pool shuddered as they started to move and form various shapes. Then, the crystals steadily started to rise and take shape. The crystals took a familiar pony shape before it sprouted what looked like wings on its back as well of a horn on its head. Overall, it looked like a crystalline version of Celestia, except without a mane and tail and was about ten times larger. The area where the eyes were supposed to be were instead replaced with two oval shaped rubies.
The crystalline alicorn turned its head toward the two mares and changeling as it spoke in what sounded like the collection of millions of voices.
“You three are either very brave or very foolish to come in search of us,” it said as it leaned in closer, “regardless of the reason, you shall help fuel us so that we may conquer this pathetic world.”
The Doctor stepped forward with the smile still on his face as he said, “As much as that would be fascinating to see, we’re going to have to decline that offer.”
The crystalline ponies around the room started hissing, almost as if they were laughing. The crystalline alicorn leaned in closer to the Doctor, making him back up a few steps to avoid being knocked over. “Do you honestly believe that we would give you a choice?”
The crystalline alicorn leaned back as it observed Vinyl and Octavia. “Your minds are full of confidence, loyalty and courage. You shall make us stronger.”
The Doctor felt a tap on his shoulder as he looked over to see Vinyl pointing at the crystalline alicorn with a questioning look on her face. The Doctor looked back and forth between Vinyl and the crystalline alicorn before connecting the dots. “Oh, I have no idea what it is but let me take a guess. You operate on some sort collective consciousness, assimilating the brain waves of the races you conquer.
“Doctor, what does it mean by making them stronger?” Octavia asked as she looked over to the Doctor with a worried expression.
“I assume that they adapt the traits that they deem necessary and add them to their collective consciousness, and the electrical impulses in the brains they absorb double as a food source,” the Doctor replied as he looked over to the machines around it, “And these machines allow you to absorb those electrical impulses, am I correct?”
The crystalline alicorn looked perplexed for a moment before letting out a slight chuckle. “You are quite clever; your mind shall be adapted to our own collective consciousness.”
“So, they’re going to eat our brains?” Octavia asked as she shuddered slightly from the thought.
The Doctor chuckled as he said, “Oh no, not at all. They’re going to drain our brains of their electrical impulses and consume them while adding our thought patterns to their own.”
“How is that any different?” Octavia asked with a deadpan glare.
The Doctor paused before putting a hoof to his chin. “Hm, good point.”
The crystalline alicorn growled as it brought the groups attention to itself. “We grow tired of this; your minds will be added to our own.”
Then the Doctor began laughing. Not hysterical laughing, like the reality of the situation finally broke his mind, but the as if he just pulled a prank on someone.
“What do you find so amusing,” the crystalline alicorn asked as it became enraged as the Doctor continued to laugh. “YOU WILL ANSWER ME!”
The Doctor began to calm down as he looked the crystalline alicorn dead in the eyes and said, “You know, the one good thing about being a changeling-“ the Doctor burst in to green flames, leaving behind Lucky Clover standing in his place “-is that we can be in two places at once.”
The crystalline alicorn’s eyes grew wide, before hearing a whistle behind it. It snapped its head as quickly as it could as it saw the real Doctor flip a switch, causing the crystalline alicorn to double over in pain. The Doctor took a quick look around, seeing the rest of the crystalline ponies starting to fall apart.
“HOW?” the crystalline alicorn screamed as it started to fall apart as well.
“Well, it was all very simple really,” the Doctor began as he made his way over to where Vinyl, Octavia and Lucky Clover were standing. “You see…”
Lucky Clover followed the Doctor behind a nearby boulder, as he became curious and worried about what the Doctor could possibly want. Before he could ask anything, the Doctor grabbed Lucky Clover by the shoulders and said, “I need you to be me.”
Lucky Clover stood completely still as he processed what the Doctor said. “You want me to do what?”
“I want you to be me,” the Doctor said once more as he removed his hooves off of Lucky Clover’s shoulders. “Just temporarily.”
Lucky Clover shook his head before saying, “Okay, first, I know nothing about you or your personality, so acting like you would be almost impossible. Second, if, and this is a big if, I am even able to do a passable copy of you, what will you be doing.”
“Okay, for the first part of your question, I was hoping we could use something similar to the hives link,” the Doctor said causing Lucky Clover’s eyes grow big. “As for your second question, while your being me, I will have a look around and try to figure out how to save the world. Any questions?”
Lucky Clover stood there his eyes wide before shaking his head and said, “I only have one question, are you insane?” This caused the Doctor to tilt his head a bit as Lucky Clover continued. “That sounds like the most convoluted plan that I ever heard. Linking two normal changelings together like that is impossible without a queen present to do it.”
“Well it's a good thing that I'm not a normal changeling now am I?” the Doctor said as he stopped smiling and turned serious. “This is our best chance, and the sooner we are able to put a stop to all of this the better.”
Lucky Clover sat down as he processed what was said. The Doctor was right for the most part, as stopping the cause of the invasion quickly would be the best option. The only thing he was unsure about was the Doctor himself. What if he was a part of this invasion somehow and he was leading them in to a trap?
“Clover,” the Doctor began as he shook Lucky Clover out of his thoughts, “are you in or out?”
Lucky Clover sighed. “Alright I’ll do it but…”
Before Lucky Clover could finish his sentence, the Doctor touched his horn to Clover’s as a slight spark jumped between them. Lucky Clover jumped back and hissed in pain as he felt his head ache like he took a hammer to the skull. He could hear a muffled voice coming from somewhere, but he couldn't make out what was being said. Lucky shook his head as the throbbing in his head started to go away.
“Testing, testing, Lucky, can you hear me?”
Lucky Clover groaned as he looked up and saw the Doctor standing there looking closely at him with a worried look on his face. He stared at the Doctor for a good three seconds before punching him hard in the nose.
“Ow, what was that for.”
Lucky Clover groaned as he stood back up before saying, “THAT was for not giving me a heads up about what you were going to do.”
“Well, you didn't need to hit me.”
“Well, you…” Lucky Clover began before he stopped with his mouth hanging open. He worked his jaw a few time before words started to come out. “You’re not moving your mouth.”
“Nope,” the Doctor’s voice sounded in Lucky Clovers head, causing his eyes to go wide in realization.
“How did you do that?” Lucky Clover asked in bewilderment.
“The Queen showed me when we linked minds back at the hive,” the Doctor said with great enthusiasm. “Unfortunately, the spell was too complex to make it two-way so I made it a one-way. Now I can relay what you need to say while being me, whilst I tinker with the machinery in there. Now, let's see your best impression of me.”
“I still don't think you got my left eye right,” the Doctor said causing Lucky Clover to roll his eyes. “The rest was quite easy, the queen also implanted in my mind all of her knowledge of changeling biology and magic, including how to mask my life signs and make myself invisible.”
“That was incredibly lucky that she did that for you,” Octavia asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Well she seemed to know me well before I knew her so we probably met before,” the Doctor replied, confusing Octavia, Vinyl and Lucky Clover as to what he meant by that.
“The rest was mostly thanks to my trusty sonic screwdriver,” the Doctor said as he looked directly at the crystalline alicorn.
“Um Doctor?” Octavia said as she tapped him on the shoulder.
“I just deactivated a few consoles, rewired a few signal receivers, and made it so you’re absorbing every living beings thought at once,” the Doctor said as he glared at the crystalline alicorn with a victorious smile on his face.
“Doctor,” Octavia said as she tapped a bit harder on the Doctors shoulder.
“One minute Octavia,” the Doctor said as he continued his speech, “How does it feel to have every single mind forced down your throat, huh?! Not so confident now are we?!”
“DOCTOR!” Octavia yelled as she yanked his head and turned it down to a nearby console. The console was currently flashing red letters that said “overload imminent” on the screen. The Doctors eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen.
“So, I was saying,” the Doctor said as he started pushing Octavia, Vinyl and Lucky Clover towards the nearest exit, “it was lovely talking to you, but we have to run if we're going to make it to our scheduled seven o’clock tea time, if you don't mind we’ll be going now.”
The group began to run towards the entrance in which they came before a large crystalline tentacle whipped out and smashed the top of the tunnel, causing it to cave in. The ponies and changelings turned to see the tentacle retract back in to the crumbling crystalline alicorn as it began to laugh. “If we burn, then you shall burn with us.”
Octavia, Vinyl, Lucky Clover and the Doctor ran over to the pile of rocks blocking their exit as they desperately began to dig at them. Octavia was able to knock a large piece of rock out of the way, only for a larger piece of crystal to topple down in its place. Panting, Octavia sat down as she saw how futile their attempts were. “It's no use, it's too thick.”
The Doctor looked around the room before quickly running over to one of the nearby consoles that wasn't currently on fire and began pressing furiously at the buttons. “All right baby, it's now or never.”
The Doctor just finished his task when a large piece of rock from the ceiling broke off and crashed in to the console, causing it to explode and fling the Doctor backwards. Lucky Clover flew forwards and was able to catch the Doctor before he landed in a pile of jagged rocks. Octavia and Vinyl quickly ran over to where Lucky Clover and the Doctor had landed, the two of them steadily getting back to their hooves.
“Okay, everyone get ready to run,” the Doctor called out as a large gust of wind picked up out of nowhere, followed by a quiet whooshing sound that steadily got louder and louder. Slowly a large blue box began to materialize a few yards away from the group.
“RUN!” the Doctor yelled running to the box, shaking Octavia, Vinyl and Lucky Clover out of their stupor and run after the Doctor. The Doctor reached the doors of the box first and flung them open as he quickly ushered them in. The Doctor was just about to run in to the box as well, when a loud roar from the crystalline alicorn made him stop and look at it.
“DOCTOR!” the crystalline alicorn yelled as its form began to crack and fall apart, “YOU MAY HAVE DEFEATED ME, BUT THERE IS A WAR COMING, AND NOT EVEN YOU AND YOUR COMPANIONS WILL BE ABLE TO HELP YOU STOP IT!”
“You may not think much of these ponies,” the Doctor began as he grinned with confidence, “but they are a lot stronger than you think.” The Doctors smile faded as the crystalline alicorn began laughing. It was a sickening cackle that chilled the Doctor to the bone.
“You think that I speak of the worthless fools with you,” the crystalline alicorn cackled before it's voice grew ominous. “No, I speak of the others like you, the ones who have come to this world and have taken refuge with creatures inferior to them.”
“What do you mean?” the Doctor asked curiously.
“One is already here,” the crystalline alicorn spoke, its body cracking even more as it began to glow brighter and brighter, “a mare of war and science, clad in armor and frozen in time. She had been awakened and destiny will have you two meet.”
“Well, I guess I won't keep destiny waiting then,” the Doctor said as he walked in to the box, shutting the door behind him. A whooshing sound came from the box as it slowly started to dematerialize before fading completely.
The crystalline alicorn watched the box fade as it started laughing to itself. “My body may be destroyed but my soul shall live on.”
The crystalline alicorn shuddered for a moment before its body exploded, the shock wave causing the cavern to collapse in on it. After the dust settled, there was nothing left, no trace of the crystalline ponies or the machines that they had built
Just dust and echoes.