Sky Dancer, the First Flying Unicorn

by Scroll

Chapter Fourteen: Unexpected Friends and Enemies

{So I learned some things about myself in the two months I've been training in the Wonderbolt Academy and the cyclone storm somewhere elsewhere. Over and over again, I was drawn to nature. It told me a little about myself and my true talent, but my destiny on the other hoof . . . I think it more pointed the way rather than indicated an exact spot and screaming, “You're supposed to be here, darn it!”

{After I retired from the Wonderbolt Academy, I was given a more heartfelt send off than I expected. I kept thinking a lot of my fellow cadets were disappointed in me, but it turns out even the ones that dropped out earlier came back to wish me well. More ponies than I expected was disappointed in my decision. I think they were really hoping to see the first flying unicorn join the Wonderbolts officially. That would forever be an unbroken record because there can only be one “first” in anything, and my fellow cadets were looking forward to bragging to their grandfoals that they were there to see it happen first hoof.

{But the entire point of going to the Academy for me was to learn how to become a better flier and to find out if it really was a perfect fit for me. One reason after another kept hinting at the fact that I missed my mark there. To this day it's still true that I became a way better flier because of their training, and I would forever be the first known unicorn to not only apply for the Academy but successfully attend as well. If any pony surpasses that record and becomes a full-fledged Wonderbolt or even a reservist, well good for that pony. It means that pony has something within him or her that I don't, and that's fine.

{As for me, I went back to my room in my father's manor while I sorted things out. During that time I got back to the basics of studying, reading and writing. It was mostly just being idle while I contemplated my next move, and there I stayed for the next two weeks. During that time my social connections were quite limited, but not entirely absent.

{While I was there, I contemplated all the reasons the Wonderbolt Academy was wrong for me. They told me how to stand, how to talk, where to look, how to fly, how to breathe . . . yes, they even taught me how to breathe because that could be a major factor in how to fly.

{Everything in that environment was rigid and full of repetition. That felt wrong, so I started to wonder if the exact opposite had its own problems as well. I remembered how I felt drawn to nature while I was busy contemplating my next move, so I decided maybe I should give that a dedicated try. Abandon everything, everything in society, and try a life as a hermit for a while and see how well that worked out.

{Truth be told, I expected some problems with that strategy as well. I figured leaping from one extreme to the other would be just as bad but it would also give me perspective. It would teach me how bad it could get and why, and that feedback could help me find the right middle ground between the two. I went into this project fully expecting this would be a temporary experiment. Just like finding one's own true talent, finding my place in the world meant one experiment after another. Like a good old fashion game of “Guess the Pony,” I figured a good strategy was to try the grand experiments and test broad questions first then use that information to narrow it down to the perfect spot.

{For example, in the game of “Guess the Pony,” it's usually a good idea to ask if the one your opponent picked is male or female. Either way, the answer knocks out half of the other candidates, then you can try questions like “Is it an earth pony,” and, if the answer is yes, then that narrows down that half of the remaining ponies to one-third of that half. Basically I was doing the same thing in real life to try to find out where I belong.

{While my father was supportive of my interest to join the Wonderbolts, my new experiment definitely made him hesitate.

{He wasn't the only one either. No pony I ever talked to about the idea gave me a hoof's up with a great big smile and said, “Wonderful! That sounds like a fantastic idea! You go for it.” Instead, everypony was more like, “Are you sure? Are you really sure?”

{Even after telling them that this was just a temporary experiment, it didn't make them any more comfortable with the idea. Going out there in nature all alone had a large store of drawbacks. No security, no company, no conveniences and no medical assistance.

{Oddly enough, I did have a means to communicate with others if I felt like it. I could deliver messages to other ponies across the wind, and they could do the same to me just by mentioning my name. It was sort of a way to deliver a kind of letter back and forth, it could be done fairly quickly, and it cost me no bits.

{Even your mother was not thrilled with the idea, but she loved me enough to still be supportive. She hugged me and told me to do it if it seemed necessary to help me find my place in the world, but only with the promise to write her “letters” every day to let her know I was still okay. She also wanted a fairly accurate idea where I was so she could come over and help me in case of an emergency. It seemed like a wise compromise and precaution, so I agreed.

{I studied up on survival techniques then I took off with only my Mist Cloak on my back and a pair of saddlebags.

{This was very similar to the time I galloped away from home the first time except, this time, I kind of had permission, more ponies were aware of where I was going roughly, I was older, I was more knowledgeable, I had mastered more spells, I had masterful flying skills, and I had a little practical experience with surviving in the wild before. I remember the lessons Braeburn taught me in how to find edible seeds out in the wild. Water was certainly not a problem for me anymore either. I had learned how to squeeze moisture out of the air and create a cloud anywhere. I brought no food with me, no books, no quills, no scrolls. I did bring a couple of saddlebags but they were empty. I figured I could fill them with some necessary knickknacks along the way. Food, for example.

{That was pretty much it. I just went for it.

{That was how I spent the following seven months. Most of that time was spent in a forested environment but I experimented a little with other places.

{Every night I made a floating sleeping bag of clouds which kept me off the ground and out of the reach of any danger that couldn't fly. It was rare to find anything threatening enough that could fly.

{I learned to scour nature for food. My spells helped some in that regard, for example I had mastered a spell that could make food fresh again. I could just cast it over and over again until the food was entirely consumed.

{To be honest, I hoofled my time alone out there far more easily than I thought I would. I thought being away from other ponies and their conveniences would be boring, lonely and depressing, but I discovered I really felt at peace in nature.

{I sensed that, slowly, this process was going to become more and more of a burden, especially the lonely part but, in the beginning, it felt like a vacation from the trials I suffered through at the Academy. Now there was no pony to tell me when to wake up or set a schedule to anything. There was no rush to do anything. I could afford to take my time in any task. The most urgent things that kept coming up was hunger, sleep, hydration or need to relieve myself.

{I developed a very different relationship with time. A relationship that felt like I had infinite time to do anything I wanted so there was no pressure.

{I enjoyed listening quietly to the birds chirping or the wind brushing through the trees. I watched as dewdrops dripped from one leaf to the next in the forest. It was so peaceful and relaxing.

{I trotted across the forest ground and flew through the skies.

{I did not feel like I was in danger. I was far more powerful compared to the first time I fled away from home. If I came across a hostile predator, I knew I could just fly away or blow it away in more ways than one. Feeling that internal security within me helped me to enjoy my time in nature even more.

{So, while sitting on treetops, mountaintops, or the clouds themselves, I realized that being this close to nature almost hit the mark. It wasn't quite perfect but it was a far better shot than my time at the Academy. This new kind of environment resonated with my soul far more closely, but again . . . it was a little off.

{With that kind of security and timelessness, I felt mostly at peace except for the loneliness. That, more than anything, was what built up negative pressure within me. It was something I had to solve before I could call this lifestyle perfect.

{As I thought about that, I realized that maybe just one pony wasn't enough to completely solve the problem. Somehow I needed the freedom to be myself by myself when I had to and yet also have the freedom to enjoy the company of other ponies whenever I felt the need for that. I needed shifting exposure. I needed each day not to be totally predictable.

{Be careful what you wish for. Life can be funny like that sometimes. When you do get your wish, it can come with unexpected consequences but learning to hoofle those problems might be exactly what we need to grow.

{For me, I can honestly say that everything changed when your mother decided to pay me a visit.}

xoxo

{I'd been in regular contact with your mom often enough to give her a pretty good idea where I was at. When I heard she planned on paying me a visit for a week, I decided to make her job even easier by looking around and being near some obvious landmark. In this case, I told her to go to the forest about forty miles west of Canterlot then follow a big river until it led to a mountain with snowy peaks. I told her I'd be around the base of that mountain, facing eastward. Apparently that was good directions because she managed to find me with no problem.

{By then I was not used to talking anymore. I knew how to but was not in the habit of doing so. So, between the two of us, it was your mother that did most of the talking. She clearly had far more details to share, and I was amazed to notice the difference between our lives.

{Life in a civilization was a busy thing filled with so many daily complications. Conversely, my days were much like the ones before that and before that and before that. To say, “I saw a squirrel,” on a particular day was hardly any comparison to the news she had.

{That didn't matter for me. I was fine and at peace with myself. I was also amused at all the antics she shared with me.

{While I was generally at peace, Stern Wing's presence did improve me emotionally so that helped to teach me this was yet another step in the right direction. Out here I had the freedom to be whatever I wanted, but I needed company too. I contemplated privately what kind of job was out there that I could do which would help fulfill all of these requirements for me.

{She planned to hang out with me for a week, but she wasn't with me for any more than a couple of hours when we both had a strange encounter which ended up having a major impact on the rest of our lives.}

“Help! Help me!” called a mare's voice behind them which had an ethereal echo to it. Both Feather Wind and Stern Wing paused in surprise, then looked at each other with the same expression, then looked behind them as a ghost made of light formed behind them. Since the sun had recently set, this light stood out in the fading light all the more.

At first this image was pure light but it formed into a more specific form of a mare wearing a long white gown and a veil over her eyes. She also had a very exotic curved horn unlike anything Feather Wind or Stern Wing had ever seen in their local area. The phantom had a white, long flowing mane.

“Help me, Feather Wind and Stern Wing! You're my only hope!” the ghost pleaded with them.

“What's going on here, and who are you?” Stern Wing asked as she spun about to completely face this new ghost. Feather Wind also did the same.

“That isn't important right now,” the ghost said. “What is important is that you two fly to my temple and rescue my daughter. I'm not really here right now. I'm sending you a projection through my magic.”

“Wait a second!” Feather Wind took a step forward towards the ghost. “You're Vision, aren't you?”

By his side, Stern Wing regarded her friend in surprise. She had never heard of this pony before and was surprised that her friend did but didn't tell her.

“I am the oracle that warns other ponies of impending disasters,” the ghost acknowledged.

Feather Wind noticed how this spirit kind of dodged his question, neither saying yes or no to it directly.

Feather Wind waved a hoof across the air. “Okay then, how about these questions? What danger are you warning us about this time? Where is your temple, and what is attacking you? Who is your daughter?”

“My temple exists far to the east across the seas of Equestria. Follow the direction of the rising sun and you shall find it. My daughter is the one that will help save Equestria from a rising disaster as well as bring about new hope, and as for the threat . . . you know what it is. You faced it before.”

Feather Wind's blood chilled while his eyes widened. He was dead silent for a few seconds, then he informed, “I promised the Princess that I would avoid that threat.”

“That fiend is assaulting my temple right now,” the oracle informed grimly. “My guards won't be able to keep him back for long. You are the only one who can fly here fast enough to make a difference. Please come and save my daughter. You are my only hope!”

After she said that, she faded away. At the last second Feather Wind and Stern Wing barely saw the image of her head whip to the left direction as if she noticed something startling that way.

“What's going on here?” Stern Wing asked her friend in alarm. “You promised Celestia you would avoid what?”

“She also made me promise to keep that conversation a secret,” Feather Wind told her. “What I think I can tell you, as it relates to your own experience, is she was referring to the dark wizard that attacked the farm all those years ago.”

That declaration also chilled Stern Wing. She raised her head up and shifted it back a bit. After a few seconds of silence, she asked, “Are you going to go?”

Feather Wind nodded his head as he said, “I can't ignore this. The oracle may be right. Considering the distance, I may be the only one who can respond to this threat fast enough to minimize it. I've got to save her. She has helped so many other ponies many times before. In fact, she even saved me, albeit indirectly. I have to return the favor.”

“Then I'm coming too!” Stern Wing boldly and firmly declared.

“I figured you might volunteer,” Feather Wind said as his eyes shifted to look at her off a bit to his right side.

“What are we waiting for, then? Let's go save her.”

“Sure. Come with me.” Feather Wind leapt up. A burst of wind shot him up much faster. He put his hooves into each pocket of his Mist Cloak to allow it to catch the wind better. Stern Wing leapt after him. He had an updraft catch her own wings to help her ascend up quickly into the sky with him.

High in the air and far above the treeline, Feather Wind suspended himself in mid-air using his telekinesis. He gathered his forward hooves close to his mouth as he also gathered an invisible ball of air. To that ball of air, he said, “Princess Celestia, it has returned! This time it's striking the temple of the oracle directly, most likely to silence her visions and warnings to you.

“She appeared before me like a ghost, just as you taught me, and warned me I would be the only one who would be fast enough to respond to this impending disaster.

“Please forgive me, but I must respond right away if I'm to have any hope of saving her. Take comfort that I have Stern Wing beside me as well.

“As to her temple, it exists somewhere in the far east.

“If you feel you must, meet us there or whomever you send. Hopefully, by then, I'll have minimized the problem.

“She has a daughter too, by the way, whom I must also save.”

After that Feather Wind whirled around three-hundred and sixty degrees. As he did so, a large gust of wind sped faster and faster as he whirled around. When he returned to his original facing, a huge blast of wind shot away from him at high speed, then he said, “That wind most likely will shatter some windows and blow out some candles, but at least it will arrive at her as soon as possible.”

Feather Wind spun about to face east. “Not soon enough, I'm afraid. If it is attacking the temple right now then I have no choice but to get there as fast as I can.

“I must warn you,” he looked at his friend, “this breakneck speed will be difficult to endure, but I'll try to create a small windshield in front of us to prevent our hide from rubbing off due to the shear friction of our fast-moving speed.”

Hearing that made Stern Wing gulp nervously, but she said, “Then do it.”

“Here we go. Spread your wings wide,” Feather Wind instructed.

Stern Wing did so. A blast of wind met them and they shot off faster and faster as they flew off far into the east.

xoxo

Feather Wind and Stern Wing were traveling so fast that the land itself blurred beneath them, passing them by too fast to pick out any vivid detail. Besides, the wind was blasting into their face too fast to make it safe to keep their eyes open, and the wind screamed past their ears to make communication between them impossible.

{I had never flown that fast before that moment, especially for that long, not to mention bring with me another passenger. I literally could not keep my eyes open, especially since I lacked wind goggles at the time. Even if I had them, I wouldn’t have a spare for Stern Wing. I also knew that if I expanded the wind shield in front of us, it would slow us down, and I figured we couldn't afford that.}

“If you couldn't see and neither could Mom, how did you know where you were going?” Star Breeze asked.

“I followed the call of the wind,” Feather Wind answered. “Both kinds, this time. The natural kind of wind and the evil wind. The closer I got to my destination, the more I heard the latter too. I guess you could say I flew more by instinct than anything else. I had attuned myself to nature enough by that point to know to trust it, and it did not steer me wrong.”

{Of course, that also meant there was no time to enjoy the scenery. I felt, more than saw, the ocean zip by underneath us.

{I could only imagine the tsunami of air I was dragging behind us with our unbelievable speed. We tore the sky apart as we flew across the world.

{Imagine if there was a force that could part the oceans and hold the two sides apart, then imagine if that force suddenly stopped. Without anything holding it back, the ocean water would rush in from both sides to quickly fill in the gap as soon as it could.

{Well, basically that was what happened in the sky. The reason there was a crashing thunder that rolled across the sky at terrific speed behind us was because our speed tore a hole open in the sky and created a temporary vacuum behind us, then that vacuum collapsed behind us which made a sonic boom as the air collapsed and smacked against itself.

{That was the furthest I ever traveled at that point but I did not enjoy it. I was too busy concentrating instead.

{That's basically all I remembered at that point. The painful friction of the fast-moving air against my hide, the tight concentration that made me shiver with the effort, and the guidance of the wind.

{The journey was a constant strain until we got there. When I sensed us closing in towards our destination, I slowed us down rather than suddenly stopping. I knew I had to reduce the air drag behind us or that drag would rip us apart if we suddenly stopped and I did nothing to ease it down, not to mention anything else in front of us to suffer the brunt of that wind storm.

{Only when we were near more normal speeds did I finally open my eyes and searched around for the temple.

{I spotted it. On this side of the planet it was daylight. I saw a fat, round building bump up on a mountaintop like a bubble frozen in time. Actually, it was more like several bumps rising up from a more square base.

{I hadn't even landed yet when I noticed the bodies of a bunch of pony corpses torn to shreds in front of the temple. Eerily, a large trail of blood went into the temple from that battle site. I never did see an entirely intact corpse in this area. Instead, it was only small bits and pieces spread out all over the area.

{Since the battle mostly took place at the base level, I thought Stern Wing and I would be safer entering the temple from above. I looked around, spotted a porch with a door on it then dove down to it. I also had a column of air blast ahead of me to burst open the door before I arrived. It worked. Both Stern Wing and I landed safely.}

Feather Wind ignited his horn with a brilliant silver light to illuminate the room they had landed in.

Neither Feather Wind nor Stern Wing paused long enough to savor the exotic decor of the room, but they noticed it long enough to realize that they were in a very unfamiliar culture. There were some paintings on the wall that mostly had nature scenery but a few ponies within it. There were some robes that was hung up on the walls that had fancy decorations on it and appeared to be made of silk.

Even here, the two ponies heard sounds of battle elsewhere on lower floors. There were shouts of angry but determined guards which quickly shifted to screams of pain and panic. This process kept repeating over and over again. Clearly these guards were having a lot of trouble stopping this intruder as the battle kept raging on.

Feather Wind moved to a door and placed an ear against it. He paused for a while to listen then gave his partner a nervous glance. Backing his head away from the door, he nodded his head towards the door to indicate he thought they should move through it.

Stern Wing nodded in agreement, clearly doing the best she could to hold back her own sense of panic.

Feather Wind returned her nod to acknowledge the fact that he saw it then focused his attention on the doorknob. It glowed silver but would not turn. Feather Wind sharpened his concentration. He used it to unlock the doorknob. It eventually worked which allowed him to turn it.

He peered carefully and quite nervously into the next room which ended up leading to a large hallway.

“What does this oracle's daughter look like? How will we know when we find her?” Stern Wing whispered at her friend, her head above his as she peered into the hallway as well.

“Well, at least we know she'll be a girl . . . and probably somepony young,” Feather Wind whispered back. “Certainly younger than her mother, whom we've kind of seen.”

“What is this dark wizard? What are you not telling me?” Stern Wing prompted. “This is your last chance to warn me before we meet it in battle.”

“Do not fight it. It is immortal, possibly even invincible,” Feather Wind warned.

“What? That's impossible!” Stern Wing quietly cried out. “No pony can be that unkillable.”

“I'm sure that's what the guards that faced it outside also thought,” Feather Wind said back then slipped into the hallway beyond the door. Stern Wing followed.

As terrifying as the screams of the guards were, the silence that followed it was far more terrifying. The silence was not likely caused by the victory of the guards. One would expect them to be cheering in victory if that happened, but instead, there was nothing. Just thick, eerie silence. Any noise either Feather Wind or Stern Wing caused at that point could easily be heard because of that.

Feather Wind considered using his magic to lift himself and Stern Wing up off the ground just to eliminate the sound of their hoof clomps on the stone floor, but then it occurred to him that the light of his aura would stand out in the dark in that case as well as the subtle tingling sound of the magic aura.

The silence was so deafening that Feather Wind and Stern Wing started to hear their own heartbeats. Every hoof clomp they made also made them wince in fear, deeply afraid that the sound would attract a most terrible and terrifying danger to them.

They both froze when they finally did hear another sound, and what they heard was quite chilling. It sounded like dozens of young foals laughing but with a ghostly echo to it.

Feather Wind and Stern Wing glanced at each other, each noticing the other's wide eyes in terror.

They both jolted a bit, startled, when it sounded like those young ghostly foals started singing a chilling nursery rhyme in unison with a slow rhythm to each word.

“Tick-tock

Goes the clock

Into the here on af-ter . . .

Tick-tock

Goes the clock

Until we're smashed to bat-ter.”

The ghostly foals started laughing again as if they relished the idea of their own demise. The laughter rose to a fever pitch. It sounded like the crowd was thickening over time.

“Feather Wind,” Stern Wing whispered quietly. His very wide eyes looked at her. “I have never been more scared in my life.”

Feather Wind nodded in understanding.

“Come out!” one of the ghostly foals called out into the air. While it said that, the eerie laughter kept on continuing. Other voices also called out, different ones with each sentence but all of them very young sounding. “We want to play with you!” “Yeah! Come play with us!” “Come play!” “I do ever so enjoy a new playmate!” “Become a doll, just like us, then the laughter will never cease!” “Yeah!”

“I am seriously creeped out right now!” Stern Wing said with a shiver.

Both of them jumped, extremely startled, when a door beside them startled to wiggle but it didn't open. Feather Wind and Stern Wing regarded it wide-eyed. The doorknob wiggled back and forth for a few more seconds then stopped. After that, a strange, high pitch wavy sound issued that could not possibly come from a pony throat. It sounded more like a bird hollering in pain. A few seconds later it sounded like the doorknob unlocked for some reason.

“S-s-stay behind me!” Stern Wing stuttered in fear as she stood in front of her friend and spread her wings.

As terrified as she was, her instincts demanded that she defend her friend to her utmost ability.

In a way, Feather Wind was fine with that. If Stern Wing could delay whatever threat this was, then he could concentrate on his magic easier which he could then use to defend her in return.

For two seconds there was a deafening silence again after the door got unlocked, then it burst open suddenly.

One stallion burst through holding a stick that emitted a high pitched noise and had a light at the tip.

Stern Wing cried out in both fear and determination. She stood up on her hind hooves, ready to stomp down on whatever threat was in front of her. While she held herself suspended on her hind legs, her forward hooves whirled around and around in front of her in a desperate hope to scare off whatever this threat was.

Unexpectedly, it actually worked. The figure that charged through cowered back and held a hoof in front of him to protect his face. It was the opposite hoof that held the noisy stick with a light at the tip. He also had to lean back a bit on his hind legs to maintain his balance.

“Calm down you . . . you menace. I can defend myself!” the stallion warned as bravely as he could but he, too, sounded a little afraid. “I must warn you, I'm armed with a device that can make your day very, very irritating.”

“Huh?” Stern Wing settled down.

Feather Wind peered over her wing which she lowered a bit. Because she did that, the light of his horn illuminated the situation.

The stallion in question was an adult of average height and build. He was a light brown stallion with a much darker brown mane which was cut short. His eyes were a shade of blue. He actually looked quite average and forgettable in most respects but his attire made him stand out a bit. He wore a white collar that hung a green tie. From this angle, his cutie mark was not visible yet.

“Are you two the ones who were making that ghastly noise?” the stallion asked a bit defensively. “Confess, you two! I demand you answer me at once!”

“We thought you caused the noise,” Stern Wing admitted.

As she said that, her nerves steadily calmed down, replaced with curiosity and confusion.

“Me?” the stallion looked taken aback as he landed back on all four hooves on the ground. “Well, I admit I can make a noise with this little device of mine here but, if you are referring to that ghastly laughter, then I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you.

“The two of you seem normal enough so I'm guessing that you didn't make the noise either, which means the culprit is still at large.

“Hmm.” He rubbed his chin in a thoughtful pose with one hoof. “Very interesting situation we've got here.”

“Is it clear out there, Doc?” asked a frightened mare from somewhere in the next room behind the stallion but pretty close to the doorway. That was when Feather Wind and Stern Wing realized this stallion had a companion of his own.

“It seems clear for the moment,” the stallion informed the voice, “but I'm afraid the source of the spooky voice may still be at large.

“Fear not, my faithful companion, for I shall protect you. You have my word.

“In the meantime, come on out and introduce yourself to my new group of friends here.” He regarded Stern Wing and Feather Wind. “You are friends, aren't you? For my part I come in peace unless you decide to harm us, then you shall feel a Time Lord's wrath!”

“Not unless you attack us first,” Stern Wing replied defensively.

Her gaze shifted to the doorway as a new figure stepped out from the shadows.

Indeed it was a mare. A gray pegasus, in this case, of a similar age and build to the stallion. She had a bright yellow mane that was a bit messy and unkempt. Her eyes were yellowish at the top but a deeper yellow compared to her mane, and there was a hint of green at the bottom edge of her eyes.

In her case, her most memorable physical characteristics, upon first impression, was that she was somewhat wall-eyed. Each of her eyes was not staring at the same direction.

At that particular moment, she was also shivering in fear, but she calmed down a little upon sighting two new potentially friendly ponies.

“You're not going to attack us?” the wall-eyed gray pegasus asked with rising hope.

“No. We shall not,” Feather Wind promised, figuring these two newcomers needed to hear that assurance to help calm them down further.

Feather Wind also had a gut feeling that these two newcomers were not native to this temple either. Like themselves, these two were also visitors to the temple for some reason. How and why they got here was a mystery to him, if his hunch was correct.

“Then let's not waste any more time with introductions, for I feel that will help smooth things out,” the stallion proposed. “As for myself,” he gestured to himself with a hoof, “my name is the Doctor and this here is my lovely assistant, Miss Derpy Hooves,” he said with a gesture to his assistant when he introduced her.

“Hi!” Derpy gave a cute and innocent wave when she got introduced. She also smiled brightly for a moment and made a slight squee sound when she did.

“Well, my name is Stern Wing, and this here is my foalhood friend and very dear companion, Feather Wind,” Stern Wing introduced with a gesture to herself and then to her friend.

The Doctor looked confused as he asked, “Well? Aren't you going to ask me something?”

Stern Wing blinked in confusion. “Like what? Like what you were doing in that room back there?”

“No!” the Doctor said with a bit of annoyance until he realized something. “Actually, you have a fair point.” He rubbed his chin. “I suppose it would be a mystery why the two of us emerged from that room, but that's beside the point!” The hoof on his chin returned to the ground. “I just told you my name is the Doctor. Aren't you going to ask me, 'Doctor who?'”

Stern Wing squinted one of her eyes as she asked, “Why should I ask that? You just told me your name is the Doctor. Why should that imply another question?”

“Because everyone keeps asking me that!” the Doctor exclaimed as he threw up his forward hooves for a moment before replacing it back to the ground. “Doctor who this, doctor who that . . . everyone asks me that when I first introduce my name!

“At least, they used to before I came to this universe.” Suddenly he looked thoughtful. “You equines are clearly horses of a different color. Fancy that!”

Both Feather Wind and Stern Wing looked at the Doctor in confusion then passed the same look at Derpy simultaneously in the hopes she could explain this.

“Don't worry about it,” Derpy calmly assured with a wave at them with a hoof. “He may be strange, but he's the Doctor and he's going to save us all! I just know it. He always does.”

“Well . . . good! We could use a hero right about now,” Stern Wing said with relief.

Their meeting got interrupted by several noises down the hallway. This hallway intercepted another hallway at the end like a T section. The noise came from the end of the hallway and to the left, but it quickly galloped from that position then spun about in the middle of the hallway in sight of the Doctor, Derpy, Stern Wing, and Feather Wind.

It was a small squadron of stallions with a smaller filly between them who was breathing heavily. They were all earth ponies. The stallions each wore what almost looked like a uniform between them except it was very simple. They wore a gray garment over their torso that did not extend down any of their four legs. Instead of that, they had bandages wrapped down their four legs which extended down from the lower joint area of their legs passed the bending point. They also had a black streak painted across their face at their eye level.

They paused as they examined their options which way to turn down the hallway. Some of them were armed with long sticks. When they spotted the newcomers down the hallway, some of them held their long sticks out towards them and asked in a defensive tone, “Halt! Who goes there?”

“No time!” another one of the stallions warned. “It's almost here!”

The stallion that asked the initial question glanced in the direction they came from nervously then looked back at the strangers. “Be ye friend or foe?”

“Friend!” the Doctor immediately replied as he stood up on his hind legs and raised both forelegs above his head. “Definitely friend.”

“Yeah!” Derpy agreed with a goofy nod that kind of made a rattling sound in her skull.

“We come in peace,” Feather Wind declared. “We were instructed by the oracle to come here and save her daughter. Is that her?” he asked, implying the young filly between them.

“You were summoned by the oracle?” one of the stallions asked with surprise and relief. They glanced at each other with growing hope in their eyes.

“Yes, indeed,” the Doctor said as he lowered his forward hooves back to the ground. “We were all summoned here by the oracle.”

“The one that last spoke lies, but he means well,” came a timid and slightly scratchy voice of the young filly between the group of guardian stallions. “The first one that spoke, though, is telling the absolute truth. My mother did summon him and his companion.”

“Then go to him,” one of the stallions instructed. “We'll cover your escape.”

“Please don't!” the young filly whined. “You cannot defeat it. Don't throw your lives away.”

“If it protects you, then our deaths will not be in vain,” one of the stallions assured. “Go now. Now!”

“I don't know how you are able to tell lies apart, but if you can detect that then detect this! I am the Doctor, and I save people!” the Doctor boldly declared. “Stick with me and do as I say and nobody has to die today! Not on my watch.”

“GO!” the same stallion yelled at the filly and whacked her butt with one end of his stick to drive her towards the strangers. Immediately after that, they faced something the newcomers couldn't see. They yelled out a battle cry as they charged after it.

“WAIT! COME BACK!” the Doctor yelled after those stallions, then grumbled in frustration, “Bah! Why doesn't anybody ever listen to me when I ask them to?”

“Feather Wind, she's blind!” Stern Wing realized with shock as they saw the young white-dressed filly charge down the hallway.

Closer inspection also revealed that the filly was very light blue in color, almost to the point of being white. Her mane was stark white and a bit fluffy. In her case, the most striking visual detail of her was her faded blue eyes that were almost milky white.

Upon noticing that last detail, Stern Wing called out, “Come to me! Follow my voice! We'll lead you to safety! I promise.”

The young filly charged right past them towards a door at the end of the hall.

“That works too,” the Doctor figured. “Everyone, get back there into that room. Let's regroup in a more defensible position.”

Derpy almost blindly obeyed until she noticed her companion was not following, so she paused a short way down the hallway and called over her right shoulder, “Aren't you coming too, Doctor?”

“In a moment. I have some foolish stallions to save!” the Doctor boldly declared while spinning his metal stick on one hoof. “Just go! I'll catch up as soon as I save this sorry lot.”

“No!” the young filly objected after she arrived at the next room, spun about, and called back, “They are already dead. They sacrificed themselves to save us. Please, don't let their deaths be in vain!”

“Nonsense!” the Doctor called back defiantly. “It's never too late until-”

He was cut off by the sudden sounds of snapping and screaming. He looked forward again, startled, when he heard the sounds of battle had already started but, based on those sounds, it seemed more like a slaughter. It was as if each of those stallions were rushing right into a hallway full of buzz saws. The sickening splash and cracking sounds conjured up mental images just like that.

But in only four seconds it was already over, replaced by a creepy and sudden silence.

The newcomers and the young filly all froze in sheer terror, listening for any sound to replace that awful battle a few seconds ago.

Then it happened.

The sound of slow hoof steps resumed its journey down the hallway.

Every other pony did not say a word or dare to make a sound.

Onward the hoof steps continued, echoing in the hallway in the otherwise deafening silence. Sometimes the hoof steps sounded like it splashed in some kind of puddle, and every pony who heard that realized that sound was probably pools of blood.

During this time, no other pony dared to move a muscle.

Finally, the nightmarish pony emerged into view. The newcomers were frozen, dumbstruck, when they saw this pony finally emerge.

The pony in question moved in an awkward, irregular way. He twitched back and forth. His movements snapped into motion after several seconds of building tension. He moved like he was a puppet on a string controlled by an awkward puppet master. His body looked like black oil that actually dripped on the ground and made a slight sizzling sound each time it did as if the oil was made of acid. His mane was made of black, flickering flame devoid of light. If anything, his mane seemed to make the area around him darker, as if the shadows around him thickened somehow.

It was the eyes that stood out to Feather Wind. He had many vivid nightmares of those same eyes.

Those eyes were as wide as possible with an expression that indicated evil insanity, yet the pupils of the eyes were tiny and glowed red in the dark. Similar to Derpy's eyes, this pony's eyes were also not fixed at any one point but instead whirled around on their own accord. While Derpy was the picture of innocence, this pony was her perfect counterpart.

Also, unlike Derpy, this nightmarish pony had a curved horn that appeared bloody red, and the black pony had no wings. This was a unicorn, albeit an extremely horrifying-looking one.

The twitchy head of this pony snapped its gaze at the newcomers with a sickening snap of its neck. Based on the sound alone, it seemed like it just killed itself right then and there yet it continued to stand.

“Well hello there, gorgeous!” the Doctor greeted as cheerfully as he could, trying his best to break the tension in the air and put moisture back in his own throat. “My, my, you're not creepy in the slightest, are you?”

“I can see in the DARK!” Puppet Master suddenly declared in what sounded like multiple voices speaking in unison, most of which had a rough texture to it. He twisted his head sideways with another sickening snap. “Can you?”

“Yeeeeeeaaaaaaah!” the Doctor said nervously as he took a few hoof steps backwards. “I'm, ah . . . going to have to get back to you on that one.”

“You will!” Puppet Master promised. “Soon . . . you'll all be able to see in the dark!” That declaration made him laugh in hysterical, mad laughter. While that continued, the multi-voice he once had gradually got more and more out of sync, starting to sound more like a crowd that did not laugh in unison anymore.

“Yeah, that sounds like it would be a lot of fun. Let's set an appointment on that. Like, how about sometime next never o'clock? How does that sound?” the Doctor said back as he continued to cautiously inch his way backwards.

While snapping his head right-side-up again, Puppet Master's lower jaw suddenly dropped far too low to be natural. At the same time, he screamed in his creepy multi-voice. While that happened, he wiggled his head back and forth fast enough to blur and kept on doing that.

“RUN, DOCTOR! RUN!” Derpy cried out to him.

“You'll get no argument from me!” the Doctor agreed as he spun about and galloped towards the door. As he proceeded he shouted, “SHUT IT! SHUT THE DOOR BEHIND ME!”

The group almost panicked when they saw Puppet Master charge down the hallway in a sudden burst of speed. He took only tiny little steps each time but he did it fast enough to blur, and the overall effect achieved a speed about five times faster than any normal pony could gallop. That hallway was eighty feet long. Puppet Master was crossing through it in just a few seconds.

Another thing that was startling was his burst of speed. There was absolutely no warning. One second he was standing still and the next he was charging across the hallway at full and unnatural speed without needing to accelerate up to that speed. It was as if some pony suddenly put him in fast forward.

While he charged down the hallway, his face continued to wave back and forth in a blur. He also continued his terrifying scream.

Derpy and Stern Wing both shut the door quickly the moment the Doctor charged through into the new room. They also leaned against it. It was a good thing they did, too, because, right after the door shut, an intense crash hit the door from the other side and almost knocked them down.

The Doctor reversed his course to charge up against the door as well but, in addition to that, he aimed his metal stick at the lock of the door. The stick issued a high pitched whine. A second later the door suddenly locked.

Mysteriously and eerily, the pushing against the door stopped as well.

“Did we do it?” Derpy asked in fear. She was shivering with fright as she asked. “Are we safe?”

“I don't know,” the Doctor replied. “Hopefully this door will hold it.”

They all froze, their blood chilled, when they heard a light scratching on the other side of the door.

“Let me in, little foals! Let me in!” came Puppet Master's frightening multi-voice plea in a faint voice. “I just want to play with you!”

“No thank you!” Stern Wing boldly declared with very wild, wide, and frightened eyes.

“I'll give you candy if you let me in!” Puppet Master promised with a sinister voice. “You like candy?

“Of course you do! Every little foal likes candy!

“Or how about balloons? I'll give you balloons! I got all kinds of nice colored balloons for you, especially red balloons.

“They float. I promise you that my balloons float.” His voice suddenly got very hard and scratchy as he bashed hard against the door while he yelled, “THEY ALL FLOAT!”

“What are we going to do, Doctor?” Derpy asked in near hysteria. She fell on her butt to the ground and covered her face with her forward hooves. She constantly shivered in fright. “I'm scared, Doctor! I'm so scared!”

“Scared? You're scared?” the Doctor wondered aloud, then he suddenly seemed to have an epiphany. “SCARED! OF COURSE! Stupid-stupid Doctor! That's what this is all about!”

A little reassured by his realization, Derpy peeked at the Doctor over her hooves as she asked, “What do you mean, Doctor?”

The Doctor turned around and leaned hard against the door, pushing at it with his back to reinforce it.

To his side, Stern Wing was doing the same except she was pushing against it with her forward hooves.

Looking back at his assistant, the Doctor declared to her, “Fear! That's what this is all about! Fear! That creature back there,” he pointed back at the door with a hoof, “wants you to be afraid of it. Every single detail of him is custom-designed to inspire terror in the ponies he encounters deliberately, and why do you ask?”

“Why, Doctor?” Derpy asked.

“Why? Because, my lovely assistant . . . well,” he suddenly looked confused. “Actually, I'm not sure why, but what I do know is that is what he wants you to feel so it's very likely he draws power from it somehow.”

“Indeed he does,” Feather Wind agreed. “Princess Celestia told me that herself.”

“Oh. How is the old girl, anyway?” the Doctor asked pleasantly.

Before Feather Wind could answer, he felt the presence of evil magic within the room. He looked about as various things started to glow with a purple and blackish flaming aura. When that happened, the various objects affected started to bend and twist.

“That's his animation magic!” Feather Wind warned. “His name is Puppet Master, and he's very good with animation magic!” Feather Wind shook his head in disbelief. “But how can he do that without line of sight? That doesn't make any sense!”

“Regardless of his methods, I have a counter for that,” the Doctor declared before boldly holding up his metal stick. “Behold, my sonic screwdriver, literally the answer to everything. Just watch.”

He aimed his device at each object that was emitting a purple/black glow. After a few seconds from the noisy device, the purple/black aura dimmed and the object stopped moving. He then aimed the device at another object and proceeded to do the same with that.

In some cases, it was a little too late. A book, for instance, flew off its shelf and started flapping its way to the newcomers.

Feather Wind intercepted it by hopping between Derpy and the little filly. From there he erected a hemispherical force field. The attacking book bounced off the force field.

“Quick thinking, Feather Wind!” Stern Wing cheered at her friend as she continued to hold back the door, leaning heavily against it.

The Doctor aimed his sonic screwdriver at the flying book. Its purple/black aura dimmed, then the object dropped to the ground.

The Doctor proceeded to aim his device back and forth at various objects that started to glow. While he did so he declared, “Derpy, I want you to ignore your fears. Don't think of it. Think of anything else. That goes for the rest of you too. If this creature feeds off of fear somehow then that is the last thing we should feel right now.”

“I can't, Doctor!” Derpy complained in a frightened voice. “I'm too scared!”

“Think of something else, Miss Hooves! Think of anything that gives you happiness and comfort,” the Doctor encouraged, then realized something. “Ooo! I know! Think of muffins!”

“Muffins?” Derpy reflected, immediately perking up. She already sounded a lot better.

“Yes!” the Doctor cried out triumphantly. “Think of muffins. Think of how tasty each of them are.

“I want you to do something for me, Miss Hooves. I want you to do something and this is very important!

“I want you to list to me every single kind of muffin you can think of. You hear me? Every-single-kind you can think of!”

“With pleasure, Doctor!” Derpy cheered brightly then proceeded to gradually list practically every single kind of muffin that ever existed on the planet. With each item she listed, she tapped her right hoof on top of her left. Typically her whirling eyes shifted back and forth with each separate item she listed.

From that point on she seemed oblivious to anything else that happened in that room until a while later.

“As for you,” the Doctor said with a brief point at Feather Wind with the sonic screwdriver before aiming the device and canceling the purple/dark aura off another object. “You seem to know a little about this pony we're facing right now. Care to shed a little light on the situation, if you so please? I would be most appreciative.”

“I'd like to know as well,” Stern Wing agreed with a slightly hurt and accusing look back at her friend.

Feather Winds blue ears lowered as he explained, “It's not my fault! Princess Celestia told me to keep this a secret.” His ears perked up again as he went on to ask, “You remember that one time I was summoned by her after that Wonderbolt's game?”

“I do,” Stern Wing recalled, and in doing so her expression calmed down a bit. “So that's when she told you. That was over six years ago.”

Feather Wind shook his head. “It doesn't matter how long ago it was. I had to keep my word to her.”

“But I made no such promise,” declared the young filly. “His real name is Toy Box, and he used to make toys for the delight of young fillies and colts. It brought him joy to see them happy.”

“I'm guessing something went wrong, then,” the Doctor figured with a sharp look at the door behind him.

“Yes.” The young filly looked down sadly as her ears drooped. “I haven't seen what happened clearly in my visions, but what I do know is that something happened that made him very, very sad. Something so terrible that he went insane with grief and unknowingly invited the heart of shadows into him. Ever since then, he became the fear feeding pony known as Puppet Master.”

“Wait a second!” Feather Wind realized something in astonishment. “Your name is Vision, isn't it? You're the one with visions of the future!”

“Yes,” Vision confirmed as her ears lifted just a bit.

“I thought you said the ghost we encountered was the oracle,” Stern Wing reminded her friend then winced tightly when Puppet Master smashed hard against the door, proving very clearly that it was indeed necessary to brace the door as heavily as they could.

“No,” Vision said with a shake of her head. “The one you encountered was the projected spirit of my mother. She is not the one who has the visions, she is the one who shares them after I tell her.”

“So that's why she is so determined to protect you, besides the fact she's your mom,” Feather Wind realized. “She called you the light that would one day save the world from some threat.”

“Where is your mom?” Stern Wing asked in concern then held back another door smash.

“I do not know,” Vision said sadly.

“But I thought you were psychic,” the Doctor inquired.

“I do get feelings and impressions when I am awake, mostly, but my visions of the distant present, past and future mostly occur when I'm asleep,” Vision explained.

“I see,” said the Doctor. “Still, that is a very remarkable gift. I take it that's how you were able to tell that I was lying earlier?”

“I can feel the hearts of other ponies around me,” Vision explained as her ears finally lifted fully. “That's how I know they are lying. That's how I know what they are feeling.”

“Then what you're telling me is that you're empathic,” the Doctor figured, then rolled his eyes. “Great! You'll be the bane of my existence, kid. There are many reasons I have to protect my secrets. Please don't go prying too much into my hearts.”

“You are so weird!” Stern Wing said numbly to the pony by her side.

“But, while you sleep, your powers are amplified, and you become a downright seer,” the Doctor went on to Vision after passing a brief glance at Stern Wing following her comment beside him. “Actually, this could be useful, but I take it you have no control over the visions you receive?”

Vision shook her head. “None whatsoever, but the timing of the day is a factor.”

“Explain,” the Doctor encouraged.

Vision looked down with her blank, white milky eyes. “When I sleep during the nighttime I get nightmares about terrible things that will, is, or has happened in Equestria, but sometimes it is warnings of a future that can be prevented if acted upon quickly enough. When it comes to the present or past, though, I see horrible things that I cannot prevent.”

“The night?” the Doctor queried. “Why would you only get nightmares during the nighttime?”

Vision answered immediately, “Nightmare Moon.”

“Oh! I see!” the Doctor realized. “Your moon princess is still locked up in the moon during this time, isn't she? What is it, nine-hundred years so far in your time?”

“That's an odd question,” Stern Wing observed.

Feather Wind considered that question very noteworthy because it caused him to realize something important about his new companions.

“Yes, yes. I'm a very odd pony. We've already established that so it's best to get used to it,” the Doctor encouraged Stern Wing, then asked Vision something else, “but why just during the nighttime? Why do you suffer nightmares only during the nighttime? What changes during the daylight?”

“Because, whenever the moon rises, that is when Nightmare Moon is awake. She rules Equestria in ponies dreams and, to those sensitive enough to be influenced, like me, she deliberately tries to inflict as much terror as she can.

“However, during the daytime, Nightmare Moon also goes to sleep. She is nocturnal, you see.

“During the daytime, she is asleep as well and, in her dreams, I encounter her other self, her true self, Princess Luna. Deep down she's still in there and, if I encounter Luna, she influences positive dreams, or at least dispels nightmares.

“During those times, I dream about good things that is happening, has happened or will happen in Equestria. For example, I see towns end their bickering, I see the birth of new foals, I see weddings. Things like that.”

“Can you actually visually see in your dreams?” Feather Wind inquired towards Vision.

“If you mean visually like you can, then sort of.

“Actually, I'm not really sure. I was born blind. I do get a different sense when I dream, though. I can tell you that much. A different sense from when I'm awake. I'm not sure if it's how you see the world. All I know is what it's like for me.”

“A fair answer, I suppose,” Feather Wind accepted then regarded the Doctor as he said to him, “You're from the future, aren't you Doctor?” Feather Wind asked the Doctor. “Both you and Derpy Hooves?”

“Now why would you say that?” the Doctor asked with a coy smile.

Before Feather Wind could answer, the Doctor grew horrified when the door he leaned against started glowing purplish/black. He looked back at it with wide-eyes of terrified disbelief.

“Oh no!” He complained fearfully. “Oh no-no-no-no! That's not fair! That's grossly unfair!”

“What is it? Just stop it with your sonic screwdriver like you did for everything else,” Feather Wind encouraged.

“I would, but this thing can't affect wood!” the Doctor declared in horror while he shook his sonic screwdriver for emphasis. “The fact that he can is appalling!”

“Wait!” Stern Wing widened her eyes. “If you can't stop this then does that mean . . .?”

The Doctor pushed away from the door and turned to face it while backing off a bit. “I'm afraid so. I can't stop it this time.”

“Puppets are normally made of wood,” Feather Wind pointed out. “You really didn't account for this? He can animate anything! Apparently even the wind.”

“Good for him, bad for us,” the Doctor said grimly. “Brace yourselves.”

This new activity disrupted Derpy's list of muffins. She regarded this new event with renewed terror.

While that occurred, Stern Wing pushed away and backed off from the door. When she stood beside her friend, she reached a wing back to him without looking. He took it with one of his own hooves to comfort her.

“About all I can report that might be helpful right now is to strongly advise you all not to attack him,” Feather Wind cautioned. “If you do not, he will not attack back and instead be more content to scare other ponies. That's why most of his previous victims survived their encounter with him despite how deadly he is, or at least that's what Celestia once told me.

“Vision,” Feather Wind looked at the little blind filly, “did any of your visions tell you how we can defeat Puppet Master?” Feather Wind asked her in desperate hope.

“Right now you can't,” Vision promised grimly. “You can't hurt him because that's not really his true body, although it used to be a long time ago. His true body is a black crystal somewhere within that puppet corpse he's animating, and that can't be damaged except with the Red Crystal.”

“The Red Crystal!” Star Breeze exclaimed. “Meaning, the one you're wearing on your neck right now!

“I think I get it, or at least . . . I'm starting to piece things together.”

“Red Crystal?” Feather Wind inquired with rising hope back in the past, still regarding Vision.

Vision shook her head. “It's not here. It's in the far north. My visions had shown me guiding you to it, but only you can find it in the end. You'll find it in a place that's very dark and cold.”

“Wait. If your visions show you showing me where it is and it hasn't happened yet, doesn't that imply we survive this encounter now somehow?” Feather Wind asked hopefully.

“Probably, but I don't know how,” Vision informed. “What's more, my visions of the future can be changed, even if they are good futures. The fact I saw it once doesn't mean it will always happen, only that it is one possibility.”

“Then I suggest you all let me do the talking, okay?” the Doctor requested, winning back Feather Wind's attention. “Everyone else, stay quiet and let me handle this. This may be our last chance.”

The door bent and twisted. It bent inward into the shape of Puppet Master's head. It grinned a wide, sick, and twisted grin before the door seemed to melt away entirely which then revealed Puppet Master standing behind.

“Hello, little foals,” Puppet Master greeted with his multi-voice. “It's so good to see you again! We're going to have such fun together as we play. Yes, yes indeed!”

“Hold it!” the Doctor declared with a bold forward thrust of one of his hooves. “I have credentials here that might interest you. I finally recognize you. We serve the same master!”

Both red eyes snapped at the Doctor. It was hard to tell what the dark pony was feeling, but his attitude and silence suggested skepticism.

“It's true! I have the paperwork right here,” the Doctor declared.

Then, very oddly, the Doctor pulled out an object from what apparently was a pocket built into his flank just above his cutie mark which, Feather Wind finally noted, looked like an hourglass half full of sand.

Stern Wing and Feather Wind snapped a surprised look at each other for that latest observation. Since when did ponies have built-in pockets?

The Doctor flashed the object at Puppet Master which, in this case, seemed to be some small black leather thing that unfolded in half. He showed Puppet Master one end of it and seemed confident that it would somehow help to diffuse this situation.

“The crest of the Dark King!” Puppet Master declared in astonished recognition. “You also serve the Dark King?”

“Yes. Yes I do,” the Doctor said confidently without missing a beat.

“He's lying,” Vision whispered under her breath.

“The Doctor often does,” Derpy whispered to her, “but he means well when he does. Trust in him. I have faith in him. Am I lying to you?”

“No,” Vision admitted more calmly.

“I am a servant of the Dark King,” the Doctor went on as he picked up a dramatically menacing voice like a classic villain while he folded his leather thing and replaced it in this back pocket, “and he's very cross with you!”

Puppet Master appeared to growl for a moment, but he also seemed to react nervously. Eventually, he asked, “Why?”

“Because this is my mission, you imbecile!” the Doctor declared with a bold stomp of a hoof. “He sent me to retrieve this sorry lot, and here you are getting in my way.

“Of course, he might not be aware of the extenuating circumstances, and I'd be happy to explain it to him if you explain it to me first. He didn't tell me that you would be sent here as well, so why are you here?”

Puppet Master twisted his head almost completely sideways. He twisted it far enough that it would have killed any living pony. As it was, that action was made with a sickening snap. He did not answer the question right away.

“Answer me,” the Doctor demanded with dramatic flair, “or you'll feel the wrath of a very angry Dark King! You wouldn't want that, would you?”

“No,” Puppet Master admitted a bit sheepishly.

“Wait a second!” the Doctor realized something. “How do I know you are a servant of the Dark King? I showed you my credentials, but you have yet to prove yourself.

“Tell me then, if you really are a loyal servant of the Dark King . . . then you'll tell me his name. His true name!”

Puppet Master grew a wide, creepy grin while his head remained sidewards, then said, “Sombra!”

“Som . . .” Derpy almost screeched but stopped herself by slapping both of her hooves over her mouth.

Feather Wind was surprised as well. He, too, recognized that name.

He also realized that, if she and the Doctor both came from the future and they recognized the name Sombra, then it implies that King Sombra played some meaningful role in the future, and that didn't sound good except they apparently survived it somehow.

Maybe that's why they are traveling through time. Maybe they are trying to find a way to undo what King Sombra did in the future.

“King Sombra. Good. Very good,” the Doctor said. “You said his name correctly. Praise him. Praise the Dark King.”

“The Dark King shall rise!” Puppet Master declared while straightening his head again with a sudden snap. “All shall praise his mighty name!”

“Of course,” the Doctor agreed. “That's what I am doing here. What are you doing here?”

“I've come . . . for the foal of visions!” Puppet Master said as he eyed Vision as if she were a tasty snack.

“To seek information, I take it?” the Doctor guessed.

“Yessss!” Puppet Master agreed with a sinister hiss. “I seek the one of his bloodline. The Dark King's bloodline. In their blood there is power, and it shall help our glorious king to rise!”

Feather Wind grew both amazed and sick.

In other words, me! Feather Wind realized in shocked horror. Puppet Master attacked this monastery specifically to seek me out. All these ponies died because of me!

“That's strange,” the Doctor said quizzically. “That's strange because that's why I am here.”

“Give up the foal!” Puppet Master demanded in a rough, monstrous growl.

“Now hold on, there!” the Doctor objected. “I already told you I was here on the same mission, and, unlike you, I already have the answer.”

Puppet Master appeared to salivate like a savage, rabid dog. Black oil dripped and sizzled on the ground.

“And I will kill this child before you steal my prize away from me!” the Doctor declared as he aimed his mostly harmless sonic screwdriver at Vision.

“WAIT!” Puppet Master cried out in fear. “Give it to me! Give me the information! Let me be the one to deliver the blood of his kin to the Dark King!” Puppet Master begged.

“Well,” the Doctor waved the sonic screwdriver up and down while still aimed in Vision's general vicinity. “I suppose you do need to make it up to him for nearly botching my mission.”

“He didn't tell me that you would come!” Puppet Master complained.

“Nor did he tell me that you would come,” the Doctor pointed out. “He might be testing our loyalty to him, so here's what I'm thinking.

“Let's share the credit. I'll tell you where to find his blood kin and I'll even let you be the one to make the delivery if you let me tell him I gave you the information in the first place. That way both of us can win and avoid his wrath.”

Puppet Master gave another sinister grin.

“Sound fair?” the Doctor checked.

“Agreed,” Puppet Master said with a sinister hiss. “Tell me where his blood kin is.”

“His blood kin is to the far north-east of us, in the scorching desert. You will know her as a purple pony with a rainbow mane, mismatched colored eyes and a cutie mark of a cupcake with a really angry face on it that looks like it wants to take over the world,” the Doctor lied, then inquired, “Will that be enough information for you?”

Puppet Master gave a wide, evil-looking smile as he slowly started to drift backwards, seemingly without needing to move his legs.

As he withdrew, another nursery rhyme issued from disembodied ghostly foals.

“Tick-tock

Goes the clock

Which soon reveals everything . . .

Tick-tock

Goes the clock

Until the rise of the Shadow King.”

Following that sound was the constant laughter of the ghostly foals.

“Wait for it,” the Doctor cautioned while holding a hoof back at his other companions without looking back at them. “Nobody make a move or a sound. Just let him quietly withdraw.”

That was what happened. Everypony remained perfectly still as if their life depended on it, for it very likely did. This monster was extremely dangerous and could probably rip them apart with ease; meanwhile, it was unkillable itself, at least for the moment.

When at last it seemed Puppet Master completely withdrew, the Doctor cautiously went to explore the next hallway and saw something startling.

“Oh dear.” His ears drooped. “I'm sorry. Derpy, I am so, so sorry for bringing you here,” the Doctor lamented.

“What?” Derpy grew scared. “What is it, Doctor?”

“I'm going to need you to be very brave for me,” the Doctor said back to her as his ears raised again. “I need you to hold onto your courage for just a little longer. If you can do that, we'll all make it out of here alive.”

Fear deepened in Derpy's eyes as her pupils shrank. “What is it, Doctor? You're scaring me!”

“Which is exactly what I need you not to feel, or at least not show it,” the Doctor told her. “I just told him that I am the servant of the Dark King. I even implied that we all are except for Vision. A servant of the Dark King probably would show no fear of his, um . . . grizzly decorations out there on the walls of the hallway.”

Derpy suddenly held her breath to keep herself from screaming which actually caused her to make an adorable squeaking noise instead.

“I need you to not scream, and it's probably best if you keep your gaze fixed forward. While you tread this hallway, think of muffins. Keep that locked in your head and we'll all be fine. Can you do that for us?” Derpy nodded silently. “Good. Muffins will save us, Derpy. Muffins will win us the day.

“When we get back to the TARDIS, we shall have muffins as your reward for being brave here. Okay, Miss Hooves?”

“Okay, Doctor,” she relented, “but remember, you promised!”

The Doctor crossed a hoof over each side of his chest and said, “Cross my hearts, and hope to fly, and stick a cupcake in my . . .”

He trailed off as a confused expression claimed his face, then he asked, “Wait a second. Does it have to be a cupcake? Why not a bagel or a good old fashion English Muffin?”

Derpy nodded fiercely then said, “Muffins are good, but you can keep your icky English Muffins. Eck. Those aren't muffins! Those are impostor muffins. Ew.”

“Well, one does get used to it eventually,” the Doctor said in English Muffins defense, then he went on to warn the rest of us, “Same goes for all of you. I don't know the rest of you as well but, whatever gives you happiness and courage, keep that in your mind as we cross this hallway. I'll take you all to a place I know you'll be safe if you follow me.”

“To the same room you came from?” Feather Wind guessed.

“Yes,” the Doctor answered.

“To your time machine?” Feather Wind probed further.

“I'm not accustomed to being asked that before others see my time machine, but yes,” the Doctor admitted.

“Must be pretty small to fit in that room, then,” Stern Wing figured, then shook her head. “Hey! Are you serious? There really is a time machine in there?”

“Time And Relative Dimension In Space, actually, or TARDIS for short,” the Doctor explained, then waved them all to approach with a hoof. “Now come along with me. Let's all get this nasty business over with. Each of you remember to keep your cool in this room, and would somebody please help escort the blind child by hoof.”

“I'll do it,” both Derpy and Stern Wing said simultaneously, then they glanced at each other.

“Or you could,” Stern Wing invited.

“No, you asked first. I don't want to be rude,” Derpy returned.

“No, you go ahead,” Stern Wing returned.

“Why don't you both do it?” Feather Wind compromised. “Each of you escort a side of the pony. Together, you can guide her down the hallway.”

Derpy and Stern Wing looked from Feather Wind to each other. Stern Wing shrugged and said, “Sure, that sounds fine to me.”

Derpy said in agreement, “Yeah. Works for me too.”

The Doctor sighed as he noticed something else down the hallway which made him turn back to Feather Wind and say, “I'm going to need you to ignite your horn just a little bit in the hallway. Enough so that we can dodge the mess on the floor but not bright enough to illuminate the walls. Can you do that?”

“I can try,” Feather Wind said with mild confidence.

“The good news is we only need to make it half-way down the hall,” the Doctor pointed out, then he realized something as he asked Vision. “You got any news about your mother?”

Vision shook her head. “She just told me to leave with those guards. She sounded like she had a plan, though. I still feel her. I know she's alive.”

“I hope she's well,” the Doctor said as he looked down the hallway again. “After we take off from this place, I feel very little incentive to return in the near future, so hopefully she's well.”

“My mother is a powerful and resourceful mare,” Vision assured. “I know she will be well. We're the ones in true danger right now.”

“Then let's change that,” the Doctor declared. “Onwards and upwards, my friends.”

The group proceeded down the hallway.

The first sign that something was amiss was the smell of torn bodies and blood down the hallway.

The second sign something was amiss was when some of those corpses started talking to the group. This was none other than the guards that originally escorted Vision to this hallway, or at least parts of them. They hung up on the walls in grizzly poses, and some of their body parts were replaced with plastic ones as if Puppet Master was literally in the process of re-configuring their corpses into that of a doll but didn't finish yet.

“Come play with us!” one of the corpses invited them with dead eyes and eerily foal like voice.

Upon hearing that, Feather Wind suddenly realized where all the foal-like voices were coming from earlier in this adventure. The current pattern shows that, for every separate voice that spoke before, it was yet another torn up guard that was re-configured into a doll, and the fact he heard so many laugh before chilled his soul because it implied how many had shared that fate.

“Yes, play with us!” invited another corpse.

“Do you want to become a doll, like me?” asked a corpse on the ground that was only the upper half of a pony torn by the mid-torso, his guts and blood spilled all over the floor of the hallway.

“We'll look so pretty together!” invited another further down the hallway. “We'll dance, and sing, and brush our pretty manes! Oh, it's going to be so much fun!”

Derpy tried really hard to ignore them but their comments drew her attention for brief moments.

During their trip down the hallway, she held her breath entirely to keep from exploding with a scream. With every corpse they passed and every comment they made, her head shook harder and harder in an intense effort to keep from screaming. One could almost hear steam spewing from her ears due to the building pressure in her skull.

Author's Note:

Here's a treat for you all! A cover poster for this chapter made by my good friend Dice Warrick. A link to his Deviant Art page is located >here<.