If I had to sum the shoppe we were in in one word, it'd be "Pink."
Pink walls, pink ceiling, Pink pony... Pink everywhere.
Midnight squints "I believe all of this bright pinkness has blinded me. Pity, I was quite attached to my sense of sight."
Ditzy rolls her eyes "It's just Sucarcube Corner."
"I have to agree with Midnight Ditzy, this place is... too brightly coloured."
The Pink mare somehow hops over the counter with a cartoonish springing noise "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!-"
"I noticed" Midnight mutters, grinning.
"-And welcome to Sugarcube Corner! What can I get you?"
Ditzy grins "I'd like a croissant and three blueberry muffins."
I shrug "An English muffin and Earl Grey tea."
Midnight grins and points to a bland, bored looking pony, the only neutral coloured thing in the whole store "How much is that pony in the window?"
Pinkie and he maintain straight faces for a few seconds before erupting into laughter.
I turn to Ditzy "Did I... miss something?"
Ditzy shrugs "Hay if I know."
After they stopped laughing, Midnight introduced the mare as Maud Pie, Pinkie's eldest sister.
"She's my second friend, but only by a few seconds."
She nods and turns to me "Hello."
She seems as fun as a wet blanket. I think to myself and Midnight hugs her with his free arm "I would never have guessed you were related to such a... unique pony Maud."
Ditzy smiles "Ponyville is full of unique ponies. Like Princess Twilight."
I nod "Or Bonbon, that'd she'd be some type of MI5 agent."
"MI what now?" Ditzy asks.
"The queen's royal espionage and black-ops corps." Midnight replies, yawning.
"How did you know that?"
"The blue lady told me." he replies, pointing in a random direction.
"'Blue lady'?" I ask.
"Do you mean The TARDIS?" Ditzy asks, cocking her head.
He shrugs "If that's what you want to call her, then sure, why not?"
Pinkie walks over to us and places our orders on the table "Anything else?"
Midnight sniffs his coffee "Nope, thank you Ms. Pie."
Pinkie snorts "My mother's Ms. Pie, I'm just Pinkie."
"Do you mean to say that The TARDIS spoke to you?" I ask, a chill going down my spine.
He shakes his head "Not in that sense Turner, the lady needed a mouth piece to stop you from doing something stupid. I think because I have no memories, it made me the best candidate, no psychic interference and all that."
Ditzy bites into her muffin "So, The TARDIS argued with the Doctor?"
"In a sense, It was like I was a telephone, I don't do the talking, I just relay the message in real time. Unfortunately, I can't remember most of what happened but I think she showed me how to make that receiver to get the message from the Shadow Migration."
I sigh "Wonderful, my own ship thinks I'm stupid..."
Ditzy pats me on the back "You aren't stupid Doctor, you were a little... scared is all."
Snorting, I sip my tea "I don't get scared."
Ditzy starts to say something but Midnight whips his head towards the kitchen "I have a feeling... that something very scary is coming. Something cold as metal..."
"The spirits are back! They've possessed the appliances!!" Pinkie Pie yells, galloping out of the bakery.
"What does she-"
"Scanning. Enemy identified. The Doctor." a mechanical voice monotones and my blood runs cold "N-no... not possible..."
I slowly turn towards the voice and though brightly colored and different, I recognize the 'Spirit'.
Standing on feet made of toasters, legs made of rusted cooling tubes from an industrial freezer. it's chest a large oven, several floating embers bounce within like slow-motion fireflies. The head is a blender and the arms are industrial mixers "Delete! Delete! Delete!"
"Cyber!" I yell, following Pinkie out of the store, Ditzy behind me.
"Doctor! What was-"
"That was a Cyberman... made out of baking appliances. But how-"
It flies through the windows of the bakery, and falls onto it's back "Mobility has been compromised. Damage to energy cells minimal..."
"Whoo! Nice kick Maud!" Midnight whoops, the tacit mare walking calmly out of the bakery "... It was nothing.
Ditzy pokes the Cyber's chest "Do we... take it apart or something?"
Midnight gallops over and wrenches the head off, the lights over the Cyber's body dimming "Take that metal head!"
"... Nevermind."
After dragging the remains of the Cyber to Ditzy's basement, Midnight coughs "Okay, we know that ever part of a Cyberman has the power to rebuild into another Cyber unit. So somehow a single piece must've gotten to Sugarcube Corner a little before we got there, right?"
I nod, inspecting the dented oven "Yes, but we've taken it apart piece by piece, and there isn't a single alien element present."
Midnight taps his chin "What if... this is a puppet, an avatar? What if something was controlling the whole construct to test our reactions, but didn't anticipate you being there. Because look, there's no brain in here. It's just a hollow shell, completely synthetic"
I pause "That's... brilliant! Ditzy!"
She salutes "I'll go to the TARDIS and look for the source of the signal!" she takes flight.
"... Wow, she's pretty smart." Midnight whistles, inspecting the blender head of the Cyber "If she can get the source, we get the one pulling this guy's strings... but that still raises the question of whether or not it will want to be found, considering it could just take over any tech we have near us, including the TARDIS's scanners. Do you know of anyone with a considerable cache of technology?"
Maud shakes her head "Most ponies' appliances utilize Mana crystals to power them, rather than electricity like the majority of these devices."
I nod and start pacing "Be that as it may, there's still the chance that something could be using the Cybermen's adaptive abilities."
Midnight taps his chin in thought "What if... it was looking to get closer to the original part in order to complete itself and start creating more Cybers? From what you said, it needs an organic brain most of the time in order to adapt at a fairly decent rate; which is why this one was so easy to defeat."
Maud raises her hoof "What if it was both testing our defenses and trying to start an invasion?"
I start to reply but the TARDIS appears in the middle of the basement "Doctor! I know where it is and it isn't good! It's at Vinyl and Octavia's house!"
Midnight cocks his head "Vinyl? You mean DJ PON-3? Oh crap on an unsalted cracker!"
I usher Ditzy out of the TARDIS and we all gallop to the home of the aforementioned musicians.
Midnight tackles the door, startling Ms. Octavia "What are you- Time Turner? Ditzy? What are you two-"
"No time! Where's Vinyl?!"
"I-in the basement, working on one of her devices, why?"
Midnight motions for the rest of us to go and starts explaining to the stunned cellist.
Maud leads but pauses and sniffs the air "Hold on. There's something coming."
Ditzy twitches her ears and nods "It sounds like feedback..."
As if on cue, a blast of blue energy sails over us "Biological units confirmed. Preparing- aaaaaauuurgh...."
Maud jumps and punches the unseen Cyber, shattering its head "Prepare yourself for termination." she monotones.
Ditzy shivers "Remind me to never get on Maud's bad side."
The aforementioned mare nods to us "I'll take point, Ditzy, you focus on the air disturbances, Doctor, you focus on trying to find a way to shut them down."
Ditzy salutes "Roger!"
She nods and opens a door, slowly moving down the steps before pausing "... Excuse me for a moment."
Before either one of us can respond, she leaps backwards and tackles Ditzy and I to the floor, an electric blue-blast sailing over us from behind and hitting a Cybermat at the bottom of the steps "What the-"
Midnight pants, a Cyberman's arm in his hooves "Happy to... see me?"
Maud gapes at him in shock "What is..."
"I tore off the arm of that Cyber you got. Come on, no one puts my friends in danger." He hefts the arm to the stairs "Come... on."
I follow in awe "How did-"
"I borrowed your screwdriver a few seconds ago. Sorry." he pulls out my sonic screwdriver from within the arm "Works like a trigger I guess. Come on, I can't carry this for too long..."
Ditzy inspects the arm "Isn't that dangerous?"
"Not as dangerous going in there un-armed. Get it? Un-armed?" He chuckles "Because I tore off its arm? Ah screw you, I'm funny."
I roll my eyes "Never mind, I suggest you take point along with Maud."
He salutes with the arm "Aye Aye Doctor!"
Ditzy smiles and taps my shoulder "Is this what it's always like with you Doctor?"
"Well, there's more running away involved but basically, yes."
Midnight stares up at a blast door "Okay... how do we get past that?"
Maud nods to him and rears up on her back legs "I'll kick it down."
I shake my head "That's a six inch thick blast door that opens on the inside. Nothing short of several rounds of depleted Uranium shells would pierce that."
Midnight sighs and rears up as well "Well, we don't have any other options Doctor. Maud, on three. One, two... Three!!" Both of them buck their back legs, the sound of metal bending filling the silence in the hallway.
A large dent where Maud had kicked it floors me "H-how did you-"
"I'm gifted with immense Earth Pony magic, like Tactile Telekinesis." Maud replies.
"Or super strength for short." Midnight says, rubbing his hoof "Okay, I'm not suited for that... Maud, do you think you can- DUCK!!!"
He tackles us to the ground, the whole door flying over us as if thrown.
Which, coincidently, it was. By Maud "I got the door out of the way."
"Ditzy... remind me never to get on Maud's bad side." I mutter and Midnight nods, biting his lip "Me too... Never let me tick her off."
Maud shrugs and lifts Midnight off of me and Ditzy, who groans "This tackling has to stop... it's starting to hurt."
Ditzy nods, giggling "Yeah, I can barely feel my wings. Spa day after this?"
I sigh "Why not? I haven't had a day to relax in... the last near millennium."
"Move it mares! We have a friend in trouble!" Midnight yells, firing the arm again "Gah... Doctor! Do you know how many shots this thing has?! They're getting weaker!"
I nod to Ditzy and she takes flight, leading the way "Seemingly indefinite, but since it isn't part of a whole unit, it most likely has half a dozen blasts."
He groans "Great, I have about three or four left. Do you have a fix on the artifact Ms. Doo?"
We enter the actual basement and "Basement" is a gross understatement.
Several hundred kilometers of concrete flooring and mechanical pieces are strewn around the available space, amplifiers, workbenches, robotic assembly arms, crates full of components, everything an engineer would need.
But one thing puzzles me "Where are the Cybermen?"
Midnight looks around, shielding his eyes with the arm "Very good question... More importantly, where's Maud?"
Ditzy takes flight, surveying the whole room "Uhm... according to what the TARDIS said, it should be right in the middle of the floor, but I don't see anything."
Midnight looks at the arm and "Do you think that this has an automatic 'Return to home' function?"
"Most likely, can you return my screwdriver?"
He nods and passes it to me, dropping the arm onto the floor.
I point my sonic at it and a light on the side of the arm turns from blue red and it disintegrates and for a split second, the walls shift.
Midnight flares his wings and I nearly drop my sonic "Doctor... I think the walls are alive... literally."
I nod and suppress a shiver "Nanobots... that's new."
He bites his lip, looking around "... And they covered up the door. Great, Maud's MIA and neither one of us are capable of fighting an inexhaustible enemy."
Ditzy cocks her head "Why aren't they attacking?"
Midnight taps his chin and reaches into his pocket, pulling out a compass "The whole room is an electromagnet. They can't form into whole units or even components because the magnetism is messing with their formation. They can't attack."
"And the ones we fought were the lucky few who were able to escape the pull and that's why they were so weak, they're hollow!"
Ditzy taps her chin in thought "But what about Maud and Vinyl?"
"I can... help with that... question..." Maud monotones, a portion of the wall shifting to reveal a door "I am... in control... now."
Midnight cocks his head "Why are you pausing when you talk? And How- Oh... that's not good."
I walk over to him and my jaw drops "Wh-what in..."
Maud stands, her limbs covered with Cyber augmentations. Her legs encased in Cyberman armor and on her chest is an emotional inhibitor, but it's dented and burnt. Her arms are also covered with Cyber machinery, but clawed and stop just below her elbows.
Midnight swallows "You've... become the... Cyber Queen?"
She nods, walking towards us.
I instinctively jump back and Ditzy hovers a few feet higher, but Midnight smiles and extends a hoof "I'm guessing that the danger level is lessened with you in control, right?"
She nods and points to the emotional inhibitor "This is the artifact we were looking for. I broke it when they tried to convert me." She flexes her new fingers "It was very rude of them."
Midnight nods and takes flight, hugging Maud "I knew that it'd take more than just some evil space robots to beat you Maud. So... are you going to go mad with power or are you just going to show us where Vinyl is?"
She nods "Follow me."
Midnight shrugs and follows "Hey, how come they didn't tear your dress?"
"They did, I just used some of the nanobots to repair the fabric. And the inhibitor is a nice medallion as well." she replies before turning back to Ditzy and I "Are you coming?"
Ditzy nods hesitantly "Yeah... It's just a bit... odd."
I nod "Yes, I think we'll stay here."
Midnight groans "Come on guys! Maud is in control here, why are you acting like she's untrustworthy? Where's your sense of adventure and scientific curiosity?"
Ditzy frowns, crossing her arms "I do have scientific curiosity! But there's a difference between that and stupidity!"
He blinks "Really? Well, if hanging with a friend who just gained control over a whole army of nanobots is stupid, then let me be the biggest dope on the face of the planet."
I sigh "You're going to keep taunting us like a child on a playground, aren't you?"
He nods "Preeeeetty much, yeah. So, what do you say Doc? How about we just stop with this back and forth and just finish saving the day?"
I reluctantly follow, Ditzy tailing me "Doctor, are sure about this?"
"As sure as I am when usually facing down possible death."
She turns my reply over in her head "Okay, I trust your judgment."
Famous last words Ditzy, 'I trust you Doctor'...
Vinyl silently groans, several nanobots swarming over her "I found her bleeding from her ribs and a number of scorch marks on her torso and hind legs. Most likely she tried to fight them off and just barely managed to turn on the electromagnet. I'm using the nanites to close her wounds. It's going to scar, but I think that's preferable to death. I'm not a doctor of medicine, so I can only do so much." she turns to me "Can you help?"
I sigh "I'm not a doctor of medicine, I'm just The Doctor. It's a name, not proof of an actual profession."
Ditzy raises her hoof "I have a doctorate in physiology... but I'm not a surgeon."
Midnight nods and ushers her closer "Come then, just say what needs to be done, and the nanites will execute the command."
I grab Midnight and drag him out of earshot "Why are you going along with what Maud says?! For all we know, she's the one who hurt Vinyl!"
He blinks several times and shrugs "From what I understand of Maud, is that she's shy, and in the past, she's only acted violently if someone else was in danger. That and the emotional inhibitor's basic functions have been deactivated and she's in control of the nanobots. That and the fact that she's left herself wide open for attack is proof that she's genuine. If you can't trust your friends, who can you?"
I sigh "That's childish thinking Midnight, she could be under the control of the very nanobots she's wearing."
"The nanobots in the room were inactive."
"Who says she can't reactivate them?!"
He chuckles "Are you always such a cynic? Trust me, we're good. Well, except maybe Vinyl, but she's wounded."
"How can you be so trusting? Are you really that foolish?"
He shrugs "I trust because my gut tells me to, I'm not going to over analyze things just so that I can look over my shoulder for the next boogeyman waiting to jump me." He walks back to Maud and Ditzy "That is no way to live Doctor."
Ditzy sighs, lifting Vinyl onto her back "She needs to rest, but she's fine."
I nod and point to the door "What about the naites? They can't just sit here."
Maud walks through the door and removes the inhibitor "Cover your eyes..."
Midnight covers both of our eyes, Ditzy covers hers with her wings "Why are we closing our eyes?"
Suddenly, the whole room is filled with light and the sound of burning paper.
"You can open your eyes now."
Midnight lowers his arms and I rub my eyes in disbelief.
"The nanites are gone?"
"Yes, I had each one self-destruct and incinerate themselves. They're not even dust now. You might want to vacuum though."
Midnight laughs "That is genius! But before we do anything else, we need to get Vinyl to her bed, which I hope wasn't stripped to make more nanites, that would suck."
Ditzy carefully carries Vinyl up the stairs, Maud moving the discarded door she tore off with ease.
Midnight walks up to me "You seem contemplative Doctor, what's on your mind?"
"You, mostly." I reply.
He chuckles "I'm flattered, really I am Doctor, but I don't think either of us swing that way."
I grit my teeth "That's not what I meant. You and Maud and... this whole place make no sense to me!"
He sighs "Learn to take a joke Doctor. But I suppose that for an educated man like you, you might have no idea how a world like this works. And if it makes you feel any better, most things here make no sense to me either. I can't begin to fathom how such a world came to be, and how it functions at the deepest levels. But I think that there's one sensible thing here, and that's the friendships we make."
"Friendship? Are you sure you aren't a child?"
He shakes his head and points to his cutie mark, a card with a black oval in the center "This is a Duel Monsters card, a game that cherishes the bonds we make with our friends, and that no matter how bleak the present, so long as you have a card to draw, you can see it through to your future. Friendship may seem infantile to you, but to me, and from what I've seen of these ponies, they feel the same. Whether it's because of the fact equines are herd creatures, or something as simple as the life lessons we have when we're with friends, it doesn't matter. What does is the simple fact that we will always have friends, no matter what." he smiles "And Doctor? If you keep running around all of time and space, Ditzy, Lyra, and I will chase you down and smother you with friendship. That's a promise."
I snort beside myself "You mean you'd build a time and space machine just to give me a speech?"
He nods, his face serious "Yup. Definitely."
I shake my head at the image of it and sigh "You are a unique one Midnight."
He beams, rubbing a hoof on his chest as if polishing it "Yeah, I know. And so are you Doctor.
After placing Vinyl in a bed and receiving "Thank you"s from Ms. Octavia, we walk through Ponyville, the sun having set minutes prior.
Midnight clears his throat and turns to all of us "So... I don't know about you, but I never got my celebratory sweets... wanna hit up Sugarcube corner?"
We stare at him before starting to pelt him with dirt "Why?! Ow! Hey! I'm just- Ow!! Stop throwin- pppbth! I swallowed dirt!! Gah!"