//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: The Right Choices // by Apex Wind //------------------------------// It had been sitting there Fifty years now. It was still the dark blue rectangle it had been when it was first spotted, before the war. Some of the paint had chipped away though. The white pegasi, dressed in bright red steel, blue cotton draped over each of them like a cape, and the black unicorns, dressed in bright green armor, orange silk draped across them in the same way, trotted their way around the ruin of the town. The battle for Ponyville had been a crushing blow, and solidified the reign of King Forlorn when he destroyed the town of Ponyville, the final holding of the former Princesses and their Elements of Harmony. Forlorn’s son, Prince Silver Sun, young and agile, like his father had once been; The unicorn marched past his soldiers, dressed in great gold armor, towards the blue box. The small squadron, and Silver Sun, was being led towards the box by a light pink unicorn, dressed in a black robe. She led them to the box and looked up at it. “Why should we trust this old bag? The Princesses were defeated, why is this blue box important?” A soldier questioned as they avoided the collapsed bricks. “Because, my father knows the stories told by the messenger, soothsayer Ditzy Doo.” Silver answered. He tapped his hoof against the box as the old, pink unicorn stared up at the words that had begun to fade, the first O having faded almost completely, ‘POLICE BOX’. “But Ditzy has been dead Twenty years now! Why do we trust this one?!” The guard was very persistent. The unicorn turned to the solder and yelled, in a weak voice, but one that still brought fear. “And I have heard all her stories! I’m her daughter! I was named soothsayer by YOUR king! So, you best listen to the words I bestow upon you.” She turned back to the box with harshness. The soldier stepped back in fear and bowed his head. “I-I apologize soothsayer Dinky. I forget my place too often.” “A problem I will have dealt with when we return to Canterlot, perhaps with a good sword,” Silver said as he stood beside Dinky. “But, why is this important, soothsayer? We never investigated it with Ditzy because of the war, but she always spoke of it with such urgency, to both us and the Princesses.” Dinky reached into her pocket, inside the cloak, and removed her hood, revealing the short, white mane. Silver saw it was a key. She slowly pushed the key into lock and the door opened. She trotted into the box and motioned for them to follow. Confused as to how any more can fit in the box, Silver stuck his head inside it. He was shocked. Silver Sun stepped out of the box and looked at it, curiously. It was still no more than 6 feet in width and 8 feet in height. He stepped back inside and walked inside. It was huge. It must have been the size of the entire Canterlot Castle. It was all broken. Loose wires and broken metal coils hung from the ceiling. Pieces of glass covered the floor. There were spheres decorating the walls, but many of them had broken open, like eggs, and the inner gears, cogs, coils, wires, and electrical parts had fallen down around the floor. The floor had large holes in it, like it had been broken by a hammer, and somepony continued to break them. Silver had to twist his body and step cleverly to avoid the jagged, twisted metal that protruded from the main console that was in the very center of this massive, other worldly thing. The central console, as well as the railings that surrounded the main center of the place, were melted, as if by a great fire, and much of the melted metal came to a sharp point on the ground. It was obvious that there was once a great collection of color to the walls, based off the fact that traces of the gold, blue, green, and many other colors remained on the walls and floors. But, the colors that remained were silver and black. Silver remained from the colors that had been ripped furiously away from the insides, and the black was there from the many scorch marks that was left behind in the wake of whatever destroyed this place. “Dinky,” Silver Sun began, walking in circles to get a full view of this huge, wonderfully destroyed world. “Why did you bring us here?” Dinky trotted over to main control board and pressed a button. Lights began to flicker and the large glass ball in the center of this world started to ascend and descend, back and forth. She reached up with her hoof and turned a small monitor towards Silver Sun and the five guards who had entered. The sound of a ticking clock from somewhere began. “Because…” Dinky began as she turned towards Silver with a smile and a tear slowly streaming down her cheek. “It’s about time: that Time started moving… again.” Silver Sun and his guards looked at the screen with confusion. It was static. He turned to her. “Do you take me for a-” A light brown pony appeared on the screen. He had a spiked brown mane and was holding the monitor, adjusting it. He began to speak: Hello. I’m The Doctor. I’ve been working on this for months; I hope it works. I am recording this to give a warning. To all versions of myself, in this universe, past, present, and future: I cannot stress how important this is. It is vital to the survival of the universe. The multi-verse theory states that there is an alternate universe for every movement and decision we make. That theory isn’t wrong .I can’t properly estimate the number of timelines and universes spawned from my decision, but I know that some of the timelines that follow us are moving slower. This is for them. I can only warn you, beware the --/-;/----//-/-/-;-/---;-/-/----/-/--/-/--;-///-----;/--==-.=. (“Beware what?” Silver Sun questioned. “The Message isn’t for you, be quiet!” Dinky said in response.) The shadow that may never be seen, nor heard, nor felt until the time has come. That is the problem! He always comes for us. He came for me, and he will come for all of us every single time! It’s a fixed point! He will make you choose. But your choices will be different from mine. I made the right choice, at least I think I did. But I didn’t defeat him. He- what am I saying is- IT still out there. Don’t lose her. Whatever you do, don’t lose her! The brown pony in the screen stepped away for a second. He sniffed and turned back to the screen holding back tears. But when he spoke, He spoke determined and proud. He will not win! If he does, I’ll beat the bloody hell out of whichever one of you allows him to win! I don’t know how, but I will! So listen: The best way to defeat him is to find even ground to fight him in. I don’t know what you are going to find yourself in, but understand, every universe is counting on everyone of you. Good luck! The message burned out in static. Silver Sun had ordered the guards to leave and he was left with Dinky. “You brought me out here for nothing! When my father hears about this gross waste of his good time, you will be punished!” He tried to put a threatening tone in his voice. Dinky turned to him and smiled. “I have not wasted your time, Silver Sun, I am giving you all the time in the world.” She hit a button with her hoof and the TARDIS door closed behind them. The sounds of the guards hitting the door trying to force it open could be heard. “Wuh-what is the meaning of this?” He used his magic to pull out a freshly sharpened blade and pointed it towards her. All the minute mechanisms that were a part of this great machine began to move faster. The sound of a whooshing engine began to sound off in a rhythmic pattern. “Trust your teacher, Silver. It will make sense.” This was all she said about the topic. The guards watched as they saw the TARDIS disappear in front of them. Fifty years it had sat there. Now, suddenly, it was gone as though it never had.