The Timepony’s Journal

by Penny_Shavins109

Chapter 6 - Skaro

Out of breath, Susan rushed into the cell her friends and grandfather were contained in. Trailing not far behind her was one of those metal things. They were escorting her, making sure that she had no dirty tricks up her sleeve. She'd met someone out there, but she wasn't sure how much she could say. They were watching and everypony knew it. The air was stale and tense with all the commotion that led up to these moments. Everyone was relieved after receiving the anti-radiation treatments they required and began to regain their wits. It was almost sheer luck that she'd been able to make it in time. She'd also received from the mysterious stranger a vinyl cloak to protect her from the now harsher climate outdoors. A storm was starting to cloud up around their area and the night felt as cold as ice against her coat.

One of the machines entered in again, requesting for Susan to come with it. It addressed itself eerily as a Dalek. They finally had a name for the wretched machines, striking fear into those around them. It was worrisome considering they had no need for her except when she retrieved the medication. She was asked to write a note of truce to their enemies the Thals. But why couldn't they just print one out themselves? She followed their orders seeing as there was no other choice except paralyzation from their dreaded guns. But the most alarming question was how had they known she'd had any interaction with beings other than ones similar to themselves? They had to have been watching from somewhere in the room, maybe there were even surveillance cameras throughout the whole Dalek city.

Spark with his head in his still numb hooves spotted a camera wedged in the corner without looking directly at it. It was merely in the corner of his eye, staring almost directly back at him. They didn't even try to hide it as there had never been anyone here in a long while. The Daleks obviously never suspected that the cameras would be damaged or even noticed. They hadn't noticed the camera through all of the fuss they'd been through in the past few hours. It was best not to do anything until Susan returned again. She was rather shaken up when she did though, a pool of deep fear and regret in her eyes.

She sat in the corner silently, looking at all of them in a near defeated state. Spark then motioned to the camera, trying to move inconspicuously into its blind spot. With a small lift from Berry, Spark tore the camera right out of its socket, nearly tumbling to the ground in the process. That was one thing taken care of, now they could finally have their conversation without the Daleks' watchful eye stalks.

"Susan, what's the matter? You seem rather frightened about something." Berry asked as she rested a comforting hoof on her shoulder.

"The note, i-it was a trap. The ponies they called Thals, they're going to use my note against them. They'll be lured into a false sense of security and it's all my fault..."

Berry gave her a comforting hug as Susan nearly started crying into her shoulder. There was a time for tears but now was not the time. The Doctor put a hoof to his lip in contemplation, trying to remember anything about the Daleks that could be used against them. Their guns didn't allow anypony to get into close range with them and they moved a bit too quickly for a sneak attack. They usually moved in groups so they couldn't be outnumbered. There had to be tens of thousands of Daleks roaming the city at this very second. Then their mode of transport came to mind, how they could move so quickly and efficiently but could never leave the city.

"Did you ever notice how the Daleks got around?"

"They just floated around, right? I suppose they could be little aliens in pushcarts with some fancy propellant inside. It feels like there's something I'm missing though." Spark responded back.

"Has you noticed that there was a distinct smell in the air whenever they moved?"

"Yeah, what is it? It's something I don't recognize."

"Static electricity. All the floors, ramps, elevator floors, they're all made out of a conductive metal. This city may be advanced but it's likely that they've been isolated with limited means of movement. Hopefully, these are the only ones left. There could be scouting parties or other colonies in different worlds."

"That's a disturbing thought, Daleks roaming around the universe trying to exterminate every non-Dalek lifeform they see. Still, how do we block off this static stuff if it's giving them mobility?"

The Doctor paused again and looked over Spark's shoulder. The translucent vinyl cloak was laying on the ground, the light reflecting off of the hexagonal latticework decorating the material. He picked it up and observed it, moving it back and forth. It was lucky for Susan to have interacted with the other party, possibly gaining some new allies. Maybe they knew something about the Daleks too and could help them out.

"We'll use this. It'll block the flow of electrical power and render one of them useless. It might not be able to take out a large amount of them but hopefully, it will be able to take out the guard."

"It sounds like a good idea, but how'll we get it onto the tarp? We can't use surprise or it'll attack all of us the second it sees us."

"I believe I may have an idea," Susan beamed.

Those words stuck in Susan's mind, sparking an idea of creativity. She started by scraping a bit of mud off of her hind legs from the rough trek in the dead woods and then mixing it with their drinking water. The amount of mud grew as the water became a mucky brown slurry. It was a waste of good water but she surely had something in mind.

It wasn't long before one of the drone Daleks came to check up on them and likely to fix the broken camera. Every pony acted normally when the Dalek arrived equipped with a multipurpose tool attached to one arm instead of the usual plunger. It beckoned with its gun for them to move aside so it could start the small construction. Just when the Dalek turned its back to them Susan came out from behind and jammed the mud into its eyestalk, efficiently blinding it. The machine cried out in panic with its monotone voice, thrashing and spinning around until it was pushed onto the tarp. The casing was heavy and it took all four of them to heave it onto the tarp where they needed it to be. The second the base of the Dalek made full contact with the tarp its cries dropped by decibels as it lost power and finally shut down. A brief moment of victory washed over the group as they were now free from the evil clutches of their malicious guard. Although there was still one problem that lied at hoof.

"What do we do now? I can't run away with pins and needles still in my legs, now can I? And I certainly can't keep having you guys drag me around as some ragdoll" Spark complained.

Considering the options, there was really only one to consider at the moment. They didn't have a lot of time and Spark was right, dragging him around while his legs were partially paralyzed would consume time that they simply just didn't have. They looked over at the powerless Dalek casing, just sitting there motionless with the eyestalk drooping towards the ground. If the Daleks hadn't treated them so poorly before or tried to use them they might have felt sad. But it wasn't like the Dalek would be going anywhere anytime soon. After all, they couldn't just let its casing go to waste, now could they?

"Say, do you think you could fit inside of this thing?" Susan said as she brushed the rim of the lid.

"Oh no, there's no way I'm getting in there!"

Long story short, he could fit and he was very unamused about the fact. Spark was never going to live this down if he survived to not tell the tale.

"Not only is this not the way I expected to go but if we really do die I'm never going to let you hear the end of this. And when I can get out of this thing you're all getting a serious scolding from me!"

The group merely laughed and ignored his sarcastic disdain. They were pushing him along since it wouldn't be worth the risk to have him try to use the controls himself. None of them could see the inside except for Spark and nopony had the know-how on how to control it. There wasn't a “how-to” manual just lying around for them to pick up and read. So their go-to excuse was that they were being transferred to another section until reaching an elevator. It wasn't much but it'd have to do for now.

They continued down the long winding corridors, looking for any way out. they stopped when they arrived at an elevator with two Dalek guards. They couldn't deal with them the same way as the last time considering that there were two now. They just hoped that their measly plan would work.

'Why are you here?" one of the Daleks croaked.

"I have been given orders to direct the prisoners to another cell closer to the control center." Spark declared in his best Dalek impression.

Luckily the casing came with its own vocal distortion built-in, making the impression much more convincing.

"When was this order dictated? I have not received any reports on such a matter." the other guard croaked back.

"No need for clarification, I will contact my superiors to confirm."

The Dalek guarding the elevator turned to the control panel to initiate the intercom. The seconds to their doom were ticking down slowly one after another. In a moment of panic and quick thinking, Susan suddenly got a bright idea and tried to escape. This got their attention and the Doctor quickly helped Berry maneuver Spark to make it seem like he'd captured her again.

"Assist me with the prisoners, none of them shall escape again."

They all entered the lift cautiously as the guard sanctioned for it to work. Once the doors closed and the interior began to rise the Doctor immediately disconnected the door control temporarily just in case. They may have avoided the fire but none of them were out of the oven yet. The elevator began to rise upwards towards the higher floors, one after another. While the elevator rose they tried to get Spark back out of the casing but it was magnetically bolted shut from the inside. It was clearly not meant to be opened and closed more than once seeing as how the Daleks never left their own casings. There'd never been a reason to do so in the first place. The elevator finally reached its destination when the connection began to loosen slightly from their efforts.

But the elevator stopped an inch short of its intended stopping point likely due to the discovery of their deception. Luckily the gap wasn't too high up for more than a slight incline but this also meant that the casing Spark was in couldn't properly exit. The Daleks were likely beginning to initiate the recall process to make the elevator return to them. Once they were all out they immediately combined their efforts to pull Spark out or get the lid unstuck. They tried pulling harder and harder but the ledge was just too steep for them to pull him out. Even though it seems like the situation couldn't possibly get worse the lift began to descend again as it was recalled.

Spark was still struggling to get out, attacking with brute force now that his limbs could finally function. Everyone was panicking above while an ambush of Daleks lay below. Floor three, a buck to the lid. Floor two, the Daleks were waiting. Ground floor, the codes were secured to unlock the door and reveal what was left inside.

Author's Note:

Sorry for this being such a short chapter. It needed some rewriting in the middle and I’m trying my best not to make a ponified version of the first Dalek story. Although at this point it’s unavoidable. Next chapter will be a brief break from the Doctor and focus back on Twilight again.

Comments

[fanreader999999]

So this is a story about 900 years of useless backstory?

[Penny_Shavins109]

I'm trying to make it not like that, but when you put it like that it makes it harder.