1st Doctor - The Grandfather

The universe was not born alone.

Instead it was created as just one sibling of a huge family of could have beens, should have beens and would have beens. Alternatives and parallels of all kinds popped into existence during the first tiny fraction of a second of the multiverse’s life. Some differed only by the position of a virtual particle, so small a variance that you could walk between them without even noticing, as often occured. Other’s, however, differed at a fundamental level, their physical laws so incompatible that if they were to interact they would mutually annihilate.

For a time it seemed that the whole of creation would be destroyed in a universal genocide as the different realities consumed each other. However, the great old ones, the life forms that had come into existence with and in some cases before the universe itself, the eternals, the chronovores, the guardians and other even stranger beings stepped in and acted to save the fledgling multiverse. Walls were thrown up between the universes preventing their contact. The barriers between the simple alternatives were thin and relatively permeable allowing limited travel to the lesser races but the barriers between the innately incompatible universes were, by necessity, thick and strong. However, nothing is indestructible, the right force applied in the right place at the right time could still shatter them and bring about a cataclysm, although the odds of such an event was so tiny as to be almost impossible.

Such a place that force could be applied is the time vortex and in a way it doesn’t really exist. If it did exist it would be at once no place and all places, a mathematical impossibility which links all time and space throughout the universe. As such it is impossible for a simple three-dimensional creature to even conceive its structure yet alone view its 27 dimensions (9 spacial, 12 temporal, 4 probabilistic and 2 even more indescribable) the vortex can only be described in metaphor, and poorly at that.

Imagine a road network, infinitely long, winding, full of twists and turns, bending back upon itself, the walls of the track are crystalline, some pristine, some more cracks and chips than actual wall. To continue the metaphor, if you were to watch one particular stretch of the vortex you would see four vehicles cruising down the track. These vehicles, space time capsules known as TARDIS’s, were created by the Time Lords, one of the few species capable of traversing the vortex. The leading craft, a classic, if poorly maintained model, was violently lurching from side to side constantly changing course as if trying to avoid the three pursuing craft, which are much more sleeker modern designs. Or it could just be that the pilot of the older craft doesn’t know how to drive.

The lead TARDIS suddenly made a sharp turn along a probability axis caused a trailing image, its most likely position, to fly off in one direction, eagerly followed by its pursuers, while the physicality of the object collided head on with one of the already damaged walls.

Crack.

For a second the wall held then the damage caused by the collision and the damage due to be caused in crisis’s both past and future caught up with it and it shattered. Shards of reality stuff flew in all directions revealing a glowing whirlpool of spiraling sickly green energy, which it had once contained, this energy burst forth into the Vortex in glowing tentacles. The craft which had caused the damage was quickly engulfed. The TARDIS seemed, for a second, to fight against the draw of this force but then it was struck from behind by a ricocheting fragment of the wall and both it and the fragment were drawn into the hole leaving behind a jagged tear in reality, which slowly began to spread.

Crack.

“This weekend is not turning out to be as much fun as I thought it would be.”, thought Cheerilee. “This was supposed to be a weekend to do what I wanted. Laze about the house, catch up on my reading, a long hot bath, go out to a dance, and then, if I found the right partner, who knew what? However, Ditzy had to go out of town on a delivery and she’d asked me to look after Dinky. I should have said no but Dinky did that thing with her eyes and who can say no to that? I should have just stayed in and played a board game with her or something, but I decided to make it educational, as if I don’t do enough of that five days a week, it had to take up my Saturday as well. Dinky seems to be enjoying looking after Fluttershy’s animals, I thought, so lets go on a nature ramble to Whitetail woods. Then she goes and tells her friends about it and before I know it Raindrops is asking if her brother can come as well and then Heavy Roller tells me Scootaloo’s been bugging him about going and do I put my hoof down, no, good old kind hearted Cheerilee says of course they can both come as well, so here I am, spending my saturday in the woods, with a bunch of foals.”

One of the aforementioned foals was just now telling Cheerilee how he had fallen into a pond. “I was just looking at the tadpoles,” explained Snails, the lanky orange colt was soaking wet and covered in pondweed “I wanted to get a nice close look, then something bumped into me and splash, I was all wet.”

Cheerilee passed an annoyed gaze over the rest of her party of foals which came to rest on Scootaloo, the Orange pegasus filly was trying to look so innocent Cheerilee could almost make out a halo above her head.

“Sneep,” sneezed Dinky. That had been the first disaster of the day, the cute light purple unicorn filly had made a necklace of flowers when they first entered the woods but quickly found she was allergic to then, now her snout was red and inflamed. Oddly enough even the unicorns sneezes were adorable.

“Can we go home yet?” moaned Scootaloo, the only unharmed foal so far. She had been complaining all day and Cheerilee suspected that she had expected the trip to be to the Everfree Forest rather than Whitetail Woods.

“Now class,” said Cheerilee trying to put on her best teaching voice “There are still plenty of interesting plants and animals to see before we have to go.” She scraped some of the sopping greenery off of Snails “What do you want to go and see next?”

“I ‘ont to see some bunnies ‘ike Miss ‘uttershy’s Ang’l,” sniffed Dinky.

“How about some beatles?” suggested Snails pulling away from Cherelee and using his magic to lift a nearby rock to peer underneath.

“Who want’s to see boring beetles?” moaned Scootaloo, “Can’t we see something cool like a tiger or a manticore.”

“I don’t think that either of those creatures live in these woods,” began their teacher. “Now I’ve jinxed it,” she thought, quickly touching a nearby tree with one of her hooves.

“Beatles aren't boring,” interrupted Snails “There’s over 2500 species of beetle in these woods, the smallest is the Pashford pot beetle, Cryptocephalus exiguus and the largest is the Longhorn beetle, Batocera wallacei, they’re cool. My favourite are Bombardier's they shoot hot chemicals from their bottom!”

Dinky screwed her snout up in disgust, leading to another cute sneeze, but Scootaloo looked somewhat impressed by this nugget of knowledge. Cheerilee was shocked by the sudden flash of learning shown by one of her slower pupils. She opened her mouth to congratulate him when suddenly a strange groaning sound floated across the clearing making all of their ears prick up.

“‘ots dat?” asked Dinky.

Cheerilee was about to reply that she did not know when Snails started to gallop into the woods “That’s the call of the Catchian Barking toad,” he called back in excitement “They grow so big a pony can ride on their back, they’re cool.”

“A riding toad, that sounds awesome! Wait for me,” shouted Scootaloo as she set off after Snails.

“Wait!” called their teacher as she tried to run after the rapidly disappearing foals, however, her hoof slipped on the muddy side of the pond she had recently rescued Snails from and she flipped head over tail into the water. Gasping for breath she forced her head out of the slime, mane covered in weed and frogs spawn. “Ditzy so owes me for this,” she thought as she tried to clamber out of the muck.

Snails rushed into a clearing and was somewhat disappointed that it didn’t contain a giant slimy frog, it was infact empty, although the wheezing groaning sound continued to echo around the forest. Then slowly, before the surprised colt’s eyes, a shape faded into existence. For a second it seemed to flicker between a large blue box with a flashing light on top and a tree, as if whatever it was couldn’t decide what it should be, then, with a creaking sound, it’s form solidified into the box.

“Miss Trixie?” queried Snails looking around the area, “That was a real good trick, how’d you do it?” When he got no reply he walked over to the box and poked it with his hoof, it was gently vibrating.

There was a crashing sound behind him and Snails turned to see Scootaloo making her way into the clearing as well. “Did you find that frog thing?” she asked, “I want to try and ride it.”

Suddenly, a door opened in the side of the box and an old stallion stepped out. Unusually, for a pony outside of a formal environment, he was fully dressed wearing shirt, jacket and trousers which covered most of his coat and had an astrakhan hat jammed between his ears. His mane was white and his coat was grey, in fact all of him and his clothes were in an almost unnatural range of greys “Humm, watch what you are doing young..” he started angrily before blinking a few times, “foal?” he continued in surprise.

“What’s it like out there Grandfather?” came a feminine voice from within the box followed a few seconds later by a much younger unicorn. Like the stallion she was also coloured in a range of greys and likewise overdressed in a woolen dress and leggings.

“Grandfather!” she continued in shock looking at the old stallion “You’re a horse!” She looked down at herself, “I’m a horse to!” and then around the clearing, “They’re all little horses!”

Trying to hide his own surprise the older stallion examined his hooves “That is rather obvious don’t you think Susan, humm. This would appear to be a side effect of the conversion field I had to build to allow us to exist in this universe, yes, it apparently allows us to blend in with the locals, as it were.”

Susan bent her neck back to try and examine the rest of herself, “Why are we all grey?” she asked, “Is that another side effect, the rest of this place is so colourful.”

Her grandfather looked slightly abashed at this “Well, umm, I may have neglected to activate the colour saturation circuits in may haste to leave the ship, but I am sure I can fix that later.”

Realising that he had an audience the grey pony turned to the foals “I don’t suppose either of you fine, um, ponies, could tell me where we are, humm?”

“You’re weird,” said Scootaloo looking dubious.

“Yup,” agreed Snails, nodding his head.

“My granddaughter and I might appear somewhat outlandish to you but we are merely travellers from a very long way away and we appear to have gotten somewhat lost.”

“Well we’re from Ponyville, its about 5 miles that way,” said Scootaloo waving her hoof in the general direction of the town, “but this is Whitetail woods.”

“Ponyville,” said Susan, “I suppose the name makes sense. Is everyone on this world a pony then?”

Before anyone could answer there were further crashing sounds from the woods and a panting Cheerilee galloped into the clearing, mud covering much of her purple coat. Her pink mane was soaking wet, covered in pond weed and now had several twigs stuck into it. Following her Dinky looked much more subdued. “Children,” the teacher gasped, “What have I told you about running off?”

“Sorry, Miss Cheerilee,” chorused the errant foals looking abashed.

Turning to the other, oddly grayscale, occupants of the clearing she continued “Hi,” she said brightly, “I’m Cherelee, I hope that my students haven’t been causing you any trouble?”

“Not at all, young lady,” began the stallion with a short bow, “Please allow me to introduce myself, I am the Doctor and this is my grand daughter, Susan. We are travellers from a long way from here and we were just passing through when we came across these delightful foals. They were just telling us about this area.”

“What odd names,”, thought Cherlee, she didn’t think she’d ever met someone called Susan before. “Please to meet you, Mr Doctor. What brings you here?”

“Well Miss Sherilee, has anything odd occurred in this area recently, strange lights, anything falling from the sky?” asked the grey stallion as if this was the most normal thing in Equestria.

Cheerilee blinked, somewhat taken aback, “Its Cheerilee. We’ll a few months ago Corona returned from the sun and tried to take over Equestria and only a few weeks ago a giant star bear crushed a good chunk of the town but appart from that, nothing recent” she said with a nervous laugh.

“There is no need to be sarcastic with me, young woman” said the Doctor testily “I was just asking a perfectly reasonable question!”

“Look at that,” said Snails, looking at something behind the doctor.

“I wasn’t being sarcastic,” exclaimed the purple mare, “Those things did happen, why do you think the sun didn’t set for over 24 hours? Princess Luna forgot to put it away for the night?”

“Grandfather,” muttered Susan following Snails gaze.

“Not now Susan,” snapped the Doctor, “As I explained my granddaughter and I are travellers I don’t know anything about these Corona or Luna people and I doubt any recent astrological oddities on this planet are of my concern. I asked a perfectly civil question and expect a civil answer.”

“Um, Miss Cheerilee I think you should look at this,” pipped up Scootaloo tugging on her teachers leg.

“‘ou ‘ally should,” added Dinky.

“What is it children!” snapped Cheerilee, following their pointing legs, “Oh,” she gasped, as she saw a wolf shaped creature constructed out of a mish mash of pieces of broken and rotting wood, at least twice her height, looming over the group.

Following Cheerilee’s gaze the doctor turned as well to see the beast, “What is that creature?” he whispered to the teacher.

“Its a Timberwolf, I didn’t think they left the Everfree,” she hissed back.

Slowly, step by step the Timberwolf began to stalk towards it prey putting itself between them and the safety of the TARDIS.

“All of you get behind me,” commanded the Doctor. The terrified foal’s mutely obeyed while Cheerilee stepped up beside him putting herself between the monster and the children.

The Timberwolf took a further step forward and opened its mouth, releasing a stench of rotting vegetation, before roaring loudly enough to shake the trees. Susan’s nerve broke and she let out an ear piercing scream before running into the forest behind them, followed by the rest of the group. The plant creature seemed to be momentarily stunned by the sound but quickly took off in pursuit of the fleeing ponies.

“Keep together,” called Cheerilee as she zigzagged between trees. Ahead of her Susan suddenly tripped and with a scream went flying into the undergrowth.

“Susan! Are you alright child?” shouted the doctor as he stopped to examine his granddaughter.

The younger pony struggled to stand before gasping in pain, “I think I sprained my ankle,” she whimpered in reply.

“The rest of you help her,” he commanded gesturing to the other ponies, “I’ll hold it off while you get help.”

Cheerilee shook her head, “I’ll stay with you,” she said, “Children, help Susan and get back to Ponyville as quickly as you can, tell them about the Timberwolf and get help.”

“I won’t leave you Grandfather,” cried Susan.

“Hush now child,” he replied nuzzling her “It will take more than a pile of sticks to stop your old Grandfather, I’ll be fine.”

“I want to help fight the Timberwolf!” announced Scootaloo turning to face the now approaching monster while Snails and Dinky helped Susan to her hooves.

“Scootaloo, I need you to be strong and guard your friends, there could be more Timberwolves out there,” countered her teacher, the young pegasus looked unsure. Hating herself, but not wanting to see her pupil hurt Cheerilee played her ace card, “It what you mother would wanted you to do.”

Scootaloo looked like she had been slapped, but slowly nodded. She rushed over to the group of foals and helped to support Susan. The four younger ponies started to stagger away from the Timberwolf as it drew close.

Cheerilee turned to face the beast which let out another roar and dived as her, she dropped and rolled to one side feeling the bulk of the wolf fly by only inches from her flank. She tried to buck at it as it flew past, but it was too fast. A reply blow from its rear leg flipped the teacher over and into a tree. She struggled to get to her hooves but fell back as black spots threatened to fill her vision. She blinked them away just in time to see the Timberwolves jaws filling the sky above her. “Don’t eat me,” she screamed, briefly thinking that they were terrible final words, but that at least her little ponies had gotten away.

“You there! Timberwolf, or whatever your name is, why don’t you pick on someone your own size, hum,” came the doctors voice from somewhere behind the beast. It spun around to face its new opponent.

The Doctor was standing somewhat awkwardly on his hind legs and wielding a tree branch like a spear. While the Timberwolf was distracted Cheerilee tried to drag herself away. With a growl the plant creature dived for the grey stallion. With surprising suppleness he bent to the side and the wolf flew past him impacting heavily with the tree behind him. He stabbed at the creature with the branch but to his surprise the weapon stuck fast in the woody mass. The stick was yanked out of his hoof by a sucking force and it merged into the body of the Timberwolf, leaving him unarmed.

The Doctor backed away as the creature stood up and started to pace towards him. His flank collided with a tree, looking around frantically he saw that he was trapped. Unwilling to risk its prey dodging again the wolf started to close on him slowly. Suddenly something tapped the Doctor on his shoulder, making him jump. Looking up he saw that Cheerilee had somehow scaled the tree and was reaching down for him from one of the lower branches. Interlinking their arms she heaved the monochrome pony into the tree and the two of them started to clamber higher up the trunk.

Enraged at its prey starting to escape the Timberwolf charged the tree causing it to sway alarmingly, almost dislodging the ponies. Then be beast leapt up attempting to swat them from the trees branches but found that they were just out of reach, safe for the moment, but trapped.

The quartet of fleeing ponies staggered through the trees in an attempt to escape the ravening monster they had just seen. Their speed was slowed by the injured Susan, Scootaloo and Snails had to put their effort into helping her move while Dinky lead the way.

“We’ve got to keep going,” urged the small purple foal, the panic seeming to have cleared her sinuses.

Snail’s looked back “No wolf,” he noted panting.

“I think we got away from it,” said Scootaloo coming to a halt and gently lowering Susan to the ground. “We didn’t have to run I could have taken it, I wasn’t scared,” she continued, her darting eyes indicating this wasn’t entirely true.

“We have to go back and help Grandfather,” wailed Susan rubbing her injured hoof, “I saw him climb a tree, but that beast could get him at any moment.”

“We should go back to Ponyville and get help. Momma, Raindrops or Miss Trixie could deal with that monster,” said Dinky sensibly.

“Which way is Ponyville anyway?” asked Scootaloo looking around.

“Dunno,” said Snails before wandering away from the group and peering at a nearby dead tree.

“It’s that way,” said Dinky, pointing back the way they came, “Or that way,” she pointed further left “or,” she bit her lip “I don’t know.”

“We’re lost! By the time we find help that monster could have eaten Grandfather and Cheerilee,” said Susan. She pointed at Scootaloo “You’ve got wings, can’t you fly above the trees and see where we are?”

Scowling Scootaloo drew her tiny wings into her sides. “You’ve got a horn, why don’t you teleport home!” she snapped.

Susan momentarily went cross eyed looking at her own horn, “Can I do that?” she questioned.

“Teleporting is difficult magic,” said Dinky “Not many unicorns can do it, Miss Trixie says that I’ll be able to teleport one day, if I practice my magic really hard.” A magic aura surrounded a nearby stick and levitated it in front of the purple fillies face, “I can only lift things at the moment.” A beetle crawling along the stick waved its feelers at her as she disturbed its home. Seeing this Dinky gave out a little squeak of revulsion and lost control of her power, the stick snapped in two catapulting the bug over the startled foal’s head.

Scootaloo giggled at her companions reaction “As long as you don’t mind breaking the things you lift. Your mom must get through a lot of plates.”

Behind them Snails gently caught the recently discarded bug with his aura and examined it closely.

“I’m getting better, I haven’t broken a plate in months,” said Dinky defensively, “Don’t ask about cups though,” she thought, “Handles are hard.”

“Where I come from no one does any magic,” said Susan.

“No magic! Where are you from?” asked Dinky.

“Oh, its a long way away from here.” She hobbled around the clearing, testing her injured leg. “The wilderness looks like this but the sky’s a sort of burnt orange colour and the leaves on the trees are silver, I went there when I could, its not as dangerous as most people think, but I spent most of my time in the citadel, its a sort of city inside a big bowl.”

“A bowl, like the one’s Miss Cheerilee keeps her fish in? Were there big fish where you lived,” questioned Scootaloo. Orange sky’s and silver leaves seemed fairly standard but living in a fishbowl, that was cool.

“No,” said Susan smiling “But there was this one tutor at the academy, I called him cardinal fish face, he had these bulging eyes and big lips,” she giggled making a face.

“Do you miss your friends at school?” said Dinky.

“I didn’t really have that many friends. I was a lot younger than most of the students there so I didn’t really fit In, I think they were going to expel me before Grandfather took me away.”

“That sucks,” interjected Scootaloo “I’d hate to go to a school without any friends, friends are the best part of school, maths is the worse.” She stuck out her tongue.

“I like maths,” piped up Dinky, “Miss Cheerilee makes it fun.” Scootaloo scowled at her and mouthed the word ‘Swat’.

“Grandfather keeps moving us around so I don’t get much time to make friends. Just for once I’d like to stay in one place for a few months so I could feel like I fit in, but I could never leave Grandfather, he needs me.” Susan slumped to the ground.

“That sucks,” repeated Scootaloo.

Susan tried to brighten up. “Well maybe if he does decide to stay in one place for a while I can go to school again, maybe I’ll have a teacher like Cheerilee.”

“There’s no other teachers as good as Miss Cheerilee,” said Dinky loyally.

“We can’t just sit around here talking about school and stuff,” said Scootaloo “We should be thinking of a way to stop Cheerilee and your grandfather being eaten by the Timberwolf.”

“Why does a creature made of wood want to eat anyone anyway?” questioned Susan.

“Maybe they just squish ponies up with their teeth and use them as fertiliser rather than eating them,” suggested Scootaloo making squishing motions with her hooves.

Dinky made a face, “Thats horrible I don’t want Miss Cheerilee to get squished.”

“Then we need to think of a way to fight off that Timberwolf.”

“Bugs,” said Snails making the fillies jump, he’d been so quiet that they had forgotten he was with them. They turned to see that a small river of glistening brown insects were streaming out of the dead tree and forming a pool at his feet. Both Dinky and Susan backed away shuddering in revulsion, even Scootaloo looked a little queasy. “Some bugs eat dead wood, like the Timberwolf,” he explained.

“Snails that’s brilliant,” exclaimed Dinky, she was so excited that she forgot her fear and stepped over the insects to give the lanky foal a hug.

“Aw, shucks,” mumbled the target of her affection looking down, pawing the ground and turning red “You’re much smarter ..... and pretty.”

“How’re we going to get all these creepy crawlies to the Timberwolf? they don’t move very fast,” said Scootaloo looking at the bugs, “Cheerilee will have starved to death by the time we get there.”

“We can carry them,” suggested Dinky, pulling some leaves from a nearby tree with her magic and holding them near the insects allowing them to clamber on. Snails did the same picking up fallen leaves and broken sticks from ground and covering them in bugs. “Come on Susan you can help too,” Dinky continued.

“I don’t know if I can,” she said, “I’ve never done this before.” Susan concentrated and suddenly a large chunk of the forest floor was covered in a gray aura and rose into the air throwing Scootaloo aside.

Dinky stared eyes wide “Wow,” she whispered, “You’re really good at this.”

Susan looked shocked at her own powers “I didn’t know I could do that” she formed the lump of earth in a ball covered by a layer of bugs and started to move it back the way they had come. “Come on,” she said with determination. “Lets go save Grandfather.”

“Are you alright my dear?” said the Doctor examining Cheerilee’s wounds, “You took quite a beating from that creature.” The two of them had climbed as high as they could on the tree and had wrapped their legs around a branch to remain stable. Below them the Timberwolf circled the trunk looking up at them.

“I’m fine. Earth Pony Stamina,” she explained with a shrug which turned into a wince, “We can take a licking and keep on ticking.” She looked down at the raging beast below them, “It looks like we might be stuck here for a while. I hope the foals are OK, and don’t try some harebrained scheme to rescue us.”

“Susan’s with them, she’s a very sensible and capable girl, I don't tell her that enough,” sighed the Doctor, “I do hope she’s alright.”

“Well as we’ve got time, we can have a nice long chat about who you are and where you come from?”

“As I have said I am a traveller from a long way off.”

“Mind telling me where,” replied Cherilee with a raised eyebrow, “I’ve been around the block a bit myself, Callaberia, Zaldia, Pferdreich, I’ve been to them all and you don’t sound like you’re from any of them.”

“Well madam, how do you think you would react if I told you I was from further than you could possibly imagine, humm, that I was not from this world, and in fact not even from this universe?”

Cheerilee blinked. “I don’t know, is it something you’re likely to say?” she smiled. The Doctor raised an eyebrow. “In the last year,” she continued, “I’ve faced down the goddess of the sun, seen the town almost be stomped flat by a giant star bear and almost eaten by a bunch of cute fluffy balls, I think I can deal with someone from another universe. So you're not really a pony then?”

“No,” said the doctor looking at his current physical form, “My natural form is rather more, graceful, that this one, bipedal, long legs, forward positioned eyes, hairless skin, opposable thumbs.”

“So, like a sort of hairless bear then?”

The Doctor blinked at this description. “No, not at all like a bear,” he snapped.

“So if your natural form is so great and not-bear like. Why have to changed it?”

“The rules of your universe and mine are rather different, if I had come here in my normal form there would have been all sorts of trouble, yes indeed, so I had to put a device together to convert my form to one more at home here, it’s not perfect, my true nature will eventually interact with this universe and cause a not insignificant explosion.”

“You’re going to explode!” exclaimed Cheerilee backing away as far as she could on the branch.

“Well yes, but not for several hours at least, maybe even several days.”

Cheerilee quickly changed the topic, “So what brings you to our universe Doctor? Come to steal our mares? You’re not invading are you, I think Princess Luna might have a few things to say about that.”

“No, I have no hostile intentions against you, or your people, Chereilay.”

“Cheerilee,” she corrected, sounding annoyed.

“My granddaughter and I are explorers.” His eyes took on a distant look, “There’s so much in the universe to see and do, people to meet, things to learn. My home, well its a very dull place, my people have great power but they only use it to watch from a distance, they never interfere, never do anything, I found it stifling.”

“You ran away, didn’t you?”

The doctor looked surprised, “How did you know that?”

“I did it to. I’d lived in Ponyville all my life and I just woke up one day and it seemed so small. I saw my Mum and thought, she was born here and she’ll probably die here without ever really doing anything, I don’t want to live like that. I suppose all teenagers think that, that their parents never did anything but it made sense at the time so I grabbed what I could, got the train to Canterlot and went to see what was out there. I found there was so much more to life. Of course eventually I returned home, became a teacher, became the element of laughter, and got stuck in a tree with someone from another universe while a plant monster tries to eat me. I guess everyone settles down eventually.”

The Doctor harrumphed “I have no intention of settling down, my dear. I’m only a few hundred years old, I’ve got my whole life ahead of me.”

Cheerilee giggled, “Well you look good for your age, I’ve always had a thing for older stallions.”

“Behave, Madam,” responded the Doctor with a smile.

There was a rumbling sound, like an empty stomach, which Cheerilee decided was her own, as the other option was the creature currently staring up at them from the ground which she was ignoring hoping that it would get bored and go away. She reached round carefully opening her saddlebags to retrieve the sandwiches she prepared earlier for herself and her students. They were a bit damp from her trip into the pond but seemed edible. “I hope you like dandelions,” she said offering one to the Doctor. The sandwich was encased in a grey aura and floated over to him

“I don’t think I’ve ever tried them before,” he replied, then blinked several times, “Madam. Why is this sandwich flying?”

“Well I guess you have a horn under that hat, so that’ll be due to you. Unless I’ve spontaneously become a Unicorn, or an Alicorn, that would solve our problems,” replied Cheerilee hopefully, as she crossed her eyes trying to see her forehead.

Carefully not taking his eye’s off the floating sandwich the Doctor shoved his hat aside with one of his hooves revealing a long graceful horn beneath it. He gently prodded the offending organ with one of his hooves, the sandwich dropped several feet before floating back up out of reach of the wolf, which leapt for it, snarling.

“Don’t do that,” chuckled Cheerilee, “You’ll go blind. I guess you don’t have have a horn in your natural form, you can’t normally do magic?”

“No the rules are somewhat different in my universe, this sort of thing is much harder there,” said the Doctor, gingery nibbling on the sandwich before talking a large bite and swallowing, “These are simply divine, my dear.”

Cheerilee started her own sandwich. “So how did you end up in our little universe Doctor, drawn here to sample our famous cuisine?”

“No, my craft suffered a slight navigational mishap and was pulled a little off course.”

“A little? You’re in a whole other universe.”

“Well the navigational system was a damaged by the crash.”

“Crash! What did you hit?”

The Doctor looked a little abashed, “Well your universe, if truth be told.”

“My universe!” Cheerilee shouted “What if you broke something? Gravity could suddenly stop working” she clutched the branch tighter “Or the colour ogway could just stop appearing” She glared at the Doctor who looked away abashed “You did break something! What did you break?”

“Well the barrier between our universe’s might have been somewhat injured by my craft’s passage.”

“You said that if our universe’s touched there would be an explosion, Boom!” said Cheerilee making a bursting gesture with her front hooves.

“Well the natural laws of our two realities are non-compatible, and yes if they were to interact they would mutually annihilate but the vortex will act as a barrier for a short period of time, long enough for me to fix the damage.”

“How are you going to fix the universe you broke?” said Cherrilee in the same tone she used when Scootaloo had broken her blackboard showing the rest of the class how good she was at climbing.

“Well it appears that the fragments of the barrier, the seal between the universes as it were, were drawn into your world and have landed quite near here, temporally and spatially speaking, so I just need to find the pieces and return them to their rightful place. Simplicity itself.”

“So you just need to search Equestria for a bunch of pieces of universe? What do pieces of universe look like anyway?”

The Doctor looked away again, “That’s rather a problem as well, they could look like anything. You see, when my craft, the TARDIS, broke the seal its Chameleon Circuit was damaged.”

“It’s what?”

“The Chameleon Circuit, its supposed to make my craft blend in so it won’t be noticed.”

“So with it broken it’s stuck looking like a blue box, which sticks out like a sore hoof?”

“Yes, unfortunately the chameleon circuit has interacted with the fragments of the seal and, well the fragments will now blend in, so if a chunk landed in a library, it would look like a book, in a forest, a tree, and so on.”

“So how are you going to find them?”

“I have built a device to track them.” With his aura the Doctor reached into a pocket in his trousers and brought out a short rod shaped device linked to a box on his waist. He pointed the wand downwards and suddenly it let out a loud beeping sound. “Interesting” he muttered looking down.

Suddenly Cheerilee noticed movement through the trees, balancing herself against the trunk she stood up to get a better view, ignoring the Doctor who was playing with the controls of his device. Not too far away the small herd of foals were making their way through the woods followed by a floating mass of leaves and dirt. “What are those idiots doing?” she asked herself, “Get away! Get Away!” She shouted gesticulating with her forelegs and almost over-balancing on her branch.

The Doctor steadied her “Susan, don’t be a fool, girl,” he called.

“Don’t worry Grandfather, we’ve got a plan, Snails came up with it!” she shouted back up at him.

Cheerilee blinked for a few seconds processing this information “Don’t throw away your lives!” she wailed. The Doctor looked at her hysterics with a raised eyebrow. “He’s a nice colt but critical thinking is not his forte,” she explained.

The Timberwolf turned away from the tree and faced the approaching foals. Scootaloo stepped forwards putting herself between her friends and the monster.

“Ready?”she asked trying to look back at her companions while still keeping her eyes on the monster approaching her. The three young unicorns nodded, Dinky was sweating, she was not used to carrying so much for so long. “Come and get me,” taunted the Pegasus as the mobile wood pile started to bound towards them. Behind it Cheerilee dropped out of the tree with a loud thud and started to race towards them as fast as her hooves would carry her, a terrified look on her face. The Doctor was making his way more steadily down the trunk.

“Fire!” The orange filly cried as the Timberwolf bounded forward, she threw herself aside and the monster passed over her head. A cloud of bugs and leaf litter filled her vision as the unicorns hurled their burdens at the creature. Many of the insects fell short and covered her. “Get ‘em off me, get ‘em off me,” she babbled, squirming in disgust.

Taken by surprise the Timberwolf stopped mid attack as it was engulfed by a cloud of beetles. For a moment it seemed surprised them turned back towards its prey with angry eyes, growling.

“It didn’t work,” gulped Susan.

“We’re gonna get squished up!” screamed Dinky.

“Wait,” said Snail’s calmly.

Suddenly the Timberwolf stopped advancing and its rear leg started to scratch at its side dislodging a small part of itself and a few of the horde of insects crawling all over it. Then it dropped to the ground in a squirming pile. It arched its back and crawled around in a circle rubbing itself against the ground. Its growls changed into a pained whines.

Cheerilee screeched to a stop, her gaze flicked between the immobilized Timberwolf on the ground and the now cheering foals. Susan and Dinky had their arms locked and were spinning each other around in a dance of triumph. Snails was staring at the writhing wood creature on the ground while Scootaloo was still shivering in disgust as she brushed the last of the beetles off of her. “We did it” crowed the pegasus.

“That was very brave, my little ponies,” said Cheerilee putting aside the visions of horribly mauled foals she had expected to see, “But also very stupid, if it hadn’t worked you could have been hurt, or worse.”

“Yes, that was very foolish of you, my dear,” agreed the Doctor striding over to the group.

“Oh, Grandfather,” cried Susan running over and the hugging the old stallion, “I was so worried.”

“There, there, child, you didn’t think a mobile compost heap could deal with your old Grandfather, did you. Now we need to do what we came here to do.”

“Oh, yes,” she replied, “I’d almost forgot, we have to find the pieces of the seal to save the universes, but they could be anywhere.”

“I think I’ve already found some of it, child,” said the Doctor raising the tracker, he pointed it at the Timberwolf and it made a loud crackling sound.

“The Timberwolf is the seal thing you're looking for?” asked Cheerilee.

“Humm, part of it I’d say, definitely part of It,” replied the Doctor, “I think a fragment may have taken on the shape of a branch or twig which was then absorbed into this creature. It might explain why the creature has left its normal habitat.”

“Now we know what it is, how do we use it to fix the hole between the universes?” said Susan.

“Krayton particles, my dear. The tracker runs on them and enough of them should be able to convert the shard back into its normal form, once converted we should be able to use it to patch the universal barrier, yes indeed.”

“But Krayton particles are only found in Time Lords, like us.”

“You’re a Lord?” said Cheerilee disbelievingly, “Yeah right, and I’m a Dame.”

“Humm, please to meet you your ladyship,” said the Doctor batting her away, “Now if you would all stand back.”

The native equestrians backed away as the Doctor played with the controls on the tracking device attached to his waist, when he seemed satisfied both he and Susan put a hoof on the tracker and the doctor carefully brought the wand closer to the twitching Timberwolf. As the two connected a stream of blue energy coiled from the two Time Lords and encased the plant creature, there was a flash of light.

Cheerilee blinked to clear her eyes, sitting where the Timberwolf once had was a irregularly shaped crystal about the size of a pony's head. Although she was sure it was not moving whenever she looked away the crystals shape appeared to change. “Is that all?” zhe asked, “I would have thought a chunk of the universe would be bigger.”

“Well, size isn’t everything, Madam,” said the Doctor.

“I’ve heard that often enough,” she replied with a smile.

Ignoring her the Doctor picked the crystal up in his magical aura and examined it, “I doubt this is the entirely of the seal but I believe it’s enough to block the hole, at least temporarily, while I try to find the rest of it. In the meantime we need to take this back to the TARDIS, I will need it to return the seal to its rightful place.”

“Awhhh,” Dinky suddenly exclaimed, “It’s so cute!”

The others turned to look at the purple filly, she was lifting some of the leaf litter used to transport the wood eating insects and beneath it was a small moving shape made of tiny green twigs, a Timberwolf pup. The diminutive creature, smaller by far than even Dinky, backed away trembling in fear.

“I won’t hurt you,” said Dinky slowly moving towards the creature, she gently picked it up with her telekinesis and nuzzled it, after a moments hesitation the plant creature let out a small yap and licked her face with its rough wooden tongue, causing her to giggle, its tail began to wag.

The other foals including Susan closed in and began to pet the creature.

“Interesting,” mused the Doctor, “ I believe this might have been the creatures form before it encountered the shard of the seal which presumably resulted in premature maturity. Once the parts of the seal were purged by the tracker the creature returned to its original form.”

Cheerilee could see what was coming next and started to try and exert her authority before things got out of hand. “Now children,” she began, “That is a ..“

The foals turned to her and began to chant as one, “Can we keep it? Can we? Please Miss Cheerilee, Please,” Dinky held the creature out to her.

A small rational part of Cheerilee’s mind knew this creature would grow up into a pony eating monster but it was drowned out by the majority which announced that the sight of the young Unicorn and the creature together was utterly adorable. She shook her head and rallied to an old teachers standby, “Uh, You’ll have to ask your parents,” she replied weakly.

“Isn’t he sweet Grandfather, can we take him with us?” asked Susan “I think we should name it Canine.”

“No, child, I doubt that creature is TARDIS trained, anyway I think Canine is a rather silly name for a dog shaped creature,” replied the Doctor sternly, “Now come on back to the TARDIS.”

The party, and the Timberwolf pup, not called Canine, retraced their steps to the blue box that originally brought the Time Lords to Equestria. The Doctor sadly tapped its side, “With the seal having absorbed the chameleon circuits power, it might be some time before my machine gets to change shape again. Although,” he stepped back to admire it a bit, “I think I might get used to it, given time.” He quickly busied himself attaching the tracker to the TARDIS.

“You travel in that?” Cheerilee asked Susan, “It must be cramped.” Behind them the foals were playing with their new pet, holding a stick just out of reach making the small creature jump up and down desperately trying to reach it.

“Oh, its much bigger on the inside,” replied Susan impishly.

“Susan,” called the Doctor, “I’ll need to link us both up to my device to obtain enough Krayton particles to use this chunk of the seal to prevent the two universes interacting.”

“Coming Grandfather,” she replied and trotted over to the TARDIS, once again the two Time Lords place their hooves on the tracking device, now linked to both the time craft and the crystal by a collection of wires. As before blue energy started to leak from their bodies and encased the seal, however, this time the flow was much greater hiding the grey scale ponies from sight.

It seemed to Cheerilee that the crystal swelled with the power being pumped into it but as it did so it also became less substantial, when the effect stretched out far enough to reach her she expected a tingle but felt nothing. She turned to see the faint shape of the crystal, now filling the whole sky, for a second it seemed that it covered the whole world and then it was gone and the glow around the Doctor and Susan stopped.

“Good,” said the Doctor, “That should be enough to form a temporary seal and prevent the disaster, at least in the short term, but we should make sure we locate the rest of the seal as soon as possible.” He lifter the tracker once again “Oh, dear,” he said “This is not good, not good at all.”

“What is it Grandfather?”asked Susan.

“I appear to have miscalculated somewhat, forming the temporary seal has used up all of the Krayton Particles in the both of us.”

“What does that mean Doctor?” asked Cheerilee.

“We will be unable to track or recover any further sections of the seal until our supply of particles is renewed.”

“How long will that take?”

“I don’t know. There is only one process which renews a Time Lords Krayton Particles, I’m afraid, regeneration.”

“Regeneration? What's that?” asked the school teacher feeling that a lot of her time with the Doctor had been spent asking questions.

“We’ll my people have a process by which when their bodies are seriously damaged they can be renewed, we call it regeneration and it results in both physical and mental changes, we become significantly different people,” he explained.

“Should you be glowing?” commented Sails who had moved away from the fillies playing with the young timberwolf.

The Doctor looked down at himself and then at Susan, true enough they were beginning to glow with a yellowy light.

“Oh dear,” he said, “It appears that repairing the seal has speeded the decay of these forms, we will have to leave as soon as possible before there is a dangerous interaction between our two universes.”

“Boom?” said Cheerilee with a smile.

“Yes,” agreed the Doctor.

“But what about the rest of the seal?”

“One day I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. I will return once I have regenerated and I will find more of the seal. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. The temporary seal should hold for long enough.”

Touched Cheerilee felt her eyes start to sting a little, “So I’ll see you again then?”

“I don’t doubt it, although I will be a different, umm, Stallion then.”

“If you do ever decide to settle down, Equestria’s not such a bad place.”

“I’m sure its not, my dear, but I think I may be travelling for quite some time now.”

The foals came over from playing with their new pet. “You’ve got to go?” asked Scootaloo.

“I’m afraid so, I’ll miss you all," replied Susan.

“I’m sure you’ll make other friends soon, maybe you’ll even get to go to school,” said Dinky.

“I hope so,” said Susan with a wan smile, she hugged each of her friends resulting in further blushes from Snails before entering the TARDIS. The Doctor followed waving at the ponies he was leaving behind. The door shut behind him and for a moment there was silence then with a wheezing groaning sound, which Snails still thought sounded just like the call of the Catchian Barking Toad, the TARDIS faded from view.

“Wow,” thought Dinky, “I’ll have to get Miss Trixie to show me how to do that trick.”

2nd Doctor - The Cosmic Hobo

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Rock Steady hated the cold. He loved his original home in Mareami with its tropical climate; to him ice was something you found in your drink, not something that you walked on, or that stretched as far as the eye could see. He gazed around the arctic environment that surrounded him and shivered. Even with extra padding the frozen metal of his armour still leached the heat from his body. Join the guard they said, see the world they said, they didn’t mention anything about this Luna-forsaken part of it, he thought.

“Come on, no lollygagging around!” came a shout bordering on a scream, from a few inches away from his ears.

If there was one thing Rock Steady hated more than the cold, it was Sergeant Ironside. The sergeant was a giant of a mare, larger than most stallions, battered and scarred by a life of soldiering; one ear long lost, her muzzle a shapeless blob. She had always been a hardass, but since they had been stationed here she seemed to have made it her job to make her subordinates’ life - and his in particular - as hard as possible. It was always his turn for latrine duty, or night patrol, or his armour wasn’t clean enough, or any one of a thousand slights against him. He wanted to tell the unicorn where she could get off, but so far his training had stopped him, just.

“Coming, Sergeant,” replied Rock Steady as he redoubled his pace to keep up with his superior. However, he failed to pay attention to where he put his hooves and skidded on a patch of ice. With a yell he slid into a deep snowdrift.

“Get up, you worthless mud pony,” growled Ironside as she yanked her subordinate out of the snow with her magic.

For a moment Rock Steady was shocked into silence by the slur. “What did you call me?” he cried, face red from more of than just the cold.

“You heard me, maggot. Now sound off, I won’t let you embarrass me in front of the Lieutenant again.”

Suddenly the pieces dropped into place for Rock Steady. “That’s what this is about? The Lieutenant? You’re soft on him. His boyish good looks makes your heart all aflutter? He’s a worthless toff, his parents probably bought his commission,” he snarled.

“Shut up! You’re on report!” Ironside yelled over the noise of the wind that had suddenly picked up, throwing flurries of snow around.

“Like I care! He’ll never stick it to you, you know. Even if you put a bag over your ugly mug. If he did it’d probably freeze up and snap off!” Rock Steady gloated.

“I’m going to wipe that grin off of your ugly face!” yelled the mare. However she found she couldn’t move; her hooves were frozen to the ground. “What the...” she exclaimed.

Rock Steady tried to jump back in surprise but found that he was likewise immobilized. He started to shiver, it was so very cold all of a sudden. “W-w-what the b-buck is go-going on,” he stuttered.

“W-what’s th-that?” Ironside shouted, trying to point into the snowstorm. The ice encasing her legs had almost reached her body now.

Rock Steady tried to ignore the numb feeling spreading up his body and peered into the blizzard that had sprung up. He could just make out a number of large blue shapes moving around them. They seemed almost transparent. “W-wha-a-t are th-they?”

Ironside was silent, her whole body encased in a thick layer of ice.

Rock Steady panicked. “H-h-he-elp!” he cried, “P-p-please, so-somepony! An-anypon-n-y h-h..” He in turn was cut off by the creeping ice covering him entirely.

For a moment all was quiet apart from the howl of the wind, then a pair of large blue equine shapes detached themselves from the clouds above and galloped through the air towards the frozen bodies. For a few seconds they circled, then cautiously approached. With a sudden lunge, each shape leapt towards one of the icebound ponies only to disappear upon contact.

With a cracking sound one of Rock Steady’s front legs smashed out of the ice encasing it, then the other. Finally the block of ice surrounding him shattered, throwing shrapnel in all directions. Jerkily his head turned from one side to the other, and his eyes opened to reveal a cold blue fire. He was still covered by a thin layer of ice, although it flowed like cloth over his body. Behind him Ironside broke free of her prison as well.

Slowly, but with increasing confidence, the two ice covered ponies started to walk across the frozen ground towards a collection of tents on the horizon. Behind them the storm started to intensify and more blue shapes could be seen moving in the distance.

The Doctor exited the TARDIS and looked around. The scenery was almost featureless, snow and ice stretching to the horizon in all directions. With a sigh that misted in front of him, he looked down at his own form. He was a short stallion in this incarnation, his coat a light grey in colour and his head and neck covered by a trick black mop of a mane. Most of his body was covered by a baggy black jacket several sizes too large for his diminutive form. His rear legs were covered is black and white checked trousers, and around his neck was a black bow tie. “I knew there was something I meant to do before I came here. The colour saturation circuits are still broken.”

“What’s that, Doctor?” asked a voice in a Scottish brogue as a second pony joined him. He was an earth pony stallion, standing only slightly larger than the Doctor, but was much younger looking. He had a shaggy dark grey mane and a light grey coat. He wore a fur lined jacket over a frilly white shirt. A tartan kilt covered his flanks and socks covered his hooves. “It’s cold as a witch’s heart out here! We’re no gonna find more Yeti out here are we?” he complained, trying to hug himself and almost fell as he took both his front hooves off the ground. “Hey, whas going on?” he asked trying to examine his form.

“I tried to explain to you, Jamie, the transmogrifier disguises us as natives of this dimension.”

“Eye, but you dinne say we were gonna be wee horses.”

“Well that’s what the natives look like here. Some are normal ponies, others are unicorns and some pegasus.” The doctor patted his forehead and his expression sank. “Oh, we both seem to be normal ponies, earth ponies I think they call them. That’s a shame, I was rather looking forward to doing magic again.”

“Magic, dinna you say there was no such thing?”

“Well not in our own world, but here the impossible is very possible - even likely.”

“Och, it’s a pity Zoe couldne come, I’m sure she’d love this place.”

“Yes, well, the Time Lords wouldn’t let all of us go, they wanted to keep her as a sort of hostage to make sure I came back. It was difficult enough to get them agree to letting you and me travel here, but when I explained the possible danger to both universes if we didn’t patch the barrier they didn’t have a choice.”

“You’re not gonna let them catch us again are you?”

“We’ll I don’t see that I have any other option, not with them holding Zoe. Still, I might have a few tricks up my sleeves. You know what they say, while there's life there's hope. Now let’s see where the shard is, shall we.” The Doctor pulled a long thin wand from his pocket and turned in a circle. The device gave a faint buzz. “Oh dear, it seems to be quite a way off, in that direction,” he pointed.

Jamie cantered forwards to the top of a low ridge of snow. “Near those tents?” he asked.

“What tents?” The Doctor squinted. “I think you’re right, Jamie.” There seemed to be a number of large tents on the horizon, blending into the scenery with their white colour.

“Well, if we have to make it all the way over there then we better be quick, I think a storm’s coming.” The young Scot looked up at the rapidly darkening sky.

“I think you may be right Jamie, it is getting a bit chilly.” The Doctor clutched his coat closer.

“Doctor,” called Jamie, tugging at the Doctor’s sleeve.

“What is it Jamie?” asked the Doctor somewhat testily. He turned to find out what was troubling his companion. There, only a few meters away, several large horse-like shapes were hovering just off of the ground. They were transparent with long flowing manes and tails, and an aura of cold seemed to waft off of them. They examined the travellers curiously. Behind the vanguard many more of the creatures could be seen circling in the sky.

“What are they, Doctor?” whispered Jamie.

“I don’t know,” replied the Doctor. “I haven't seen anything like them before.”

“They dinae look too friendly.”

“I know, but appearances can be deceptive. Still if I say run, run like a rabbit for those tents over there.” The Doctor slowly inched his way towards the blue creatures with a wide smile on his face. “Hello there,” he said, “I’m the Doctor and this is Jamie. We just want to be your friends.”

With a loud whinny one of the creatures reared out on its hind legs, and the Doctor felt a stream of ice cold air flow over him. “Run, Jamie!” he yelled.

His companion didn’t need to be told twice and had already started off over the plateau. The Doctor took off after him with several of the horse-like creatures in pursuit. They skidded on sheets of ice and leapt over snow banks in panic while the spirit creatures glided through the stormy air. The wind picked up and the temperature dropped, and snow started to flurry around the travellers dropping visibility to almost nothing.

Shining Armour was bored. He picked at the stitching of his red dress uniform; it wasn’t the most practical of outfits but at least it was warmer than his armour. When he’d first thought of joining the guard he’d imagined it would all be excitement and adventure, fighting dragons, saving beautiful mares, protecting Equestria. Of course, his years in the military academy had driven home just how much of soldiering was standing around doing nothing or long meetings and endless paperwork. He had hoped that now that he’d graduated and had his own command, it might have been a bit different... but here he was in the middle of nowhere, babysitting a group of civilians.

At least the scenery was nice, he thought, trying to sneak a glance at Lemon Crofter. The archaeologist’s coat was a light blue, the colour of a clear summer sky, and her long mane was a glossy brown, currently done in a tight plait that reached almost down to the ground. She was almost a decade older than him, but he’d always preferred older mares - somepony with some experience. This particular experienced mare was tall and thin but she was still nicely padded where it mattered. He risked a glance at her crossed pick axe cutie mark; he imagined caressing that mark and the noises she might make as he did.

“Lieutenant Armour,” she said in her deep, almost masculine voice.

That’s it, say my name, thought Shining in his fantasy.

“Lieutenant Armour?” she repeated louder.

He shook himself, his eyes wide. Had she noticed him staring? His blush showed clearly through his white coat. ”Um,” he stuttered, trying to sort through his thoughts. “Sorry, what was that?”

“I said, I think we can clear the last of the rubble by the end of the day, if your troops can help us.”

“Oh, well, there’s not many of us but I’m sure I can spare a few ponies to assist. With the rogue storm incoming it’s not like we can go out and patrol.”

“Good. Do you have anything for us, Times?”

Past Times, Lemon’s assistant and their guide, looked up from the artefact he was cleaning, brush still in his mouth. “‘ot?” he grunted. He was a crystal pony, his coat a glittering ruby, and his mane was striped black and white. He had once boasted that he had some zebra in his family tree, but given the distance between their lands and the empire that seemed unlikely. He spat out the brush. “Nothing spectacular today, we found some more pieces of that mosaic and one of the students thinks they can get a partial translation of it given a day or so. We found a few more statues of course.” He held up the almost shapeless blob of rock with a shard extruding from one end. “Do you think this looks more like Clover the Clever or Princess Platinum?” He turned it around in his hooves. “Or maybe Pudding Head?”

“It looks like a stone. I think I saw one just like it on a farm once,” joked Shining, earning a glare from both Lemon and Past Times.

“If no one else has anything else useful to say, I’d like to get back to the dig and get that door uncovered,” said Lemon testily.

“Do you really think this could be it?” asked Golden Sceptre, the fourth pony crammed into the cramped command tent and the expedition’s patron. The unicorn stallion’s pale yellow coat almost glittered in the light, and his perfectly coifed golden mane fell like a waterfall down his back.

“Well I don’t want to get our hopes up,” said Lemon, “but the inscriptions on the door are in early Equestrian and although we can’t translate all of it there are several references to fire.”

“But the fire of friendship itself, could it really be here?”

“As I‘ve told you before, I can’t guarantee anything. Outside of Hearth’s Warming tales there is little actual historical evidence of the existence of the fire. It’s not even clear if it is an artefact or a spell or something else. However, the similarity between the mythical powers of the fire and those of the Crystal Heart may suggest a link, so here near the empire may be the best place to search. However, we won’t know for sure until we breach the main chamber itself, which isn’t going to happen if you don’t let me get back to work.”

“Ah, of course Ms Crofter, it’s just that this is all so exciting,” squealed the noble, clapping his hooves together. “To think Princess Platinum, one of my own ancestors, was present when the flames were first lit, and now...”

He was interrupted as one of Shining Armour’s soldiers, Sharp Blade, yanked open the tent’s flap allowing a blast of cold air to enter. “Sir,” she saluted crisply, “sentries have reported something approaching from the north.”

“What type of something?” asked Shining.

The soldier looked confused. “A sort of blue floaty thing, sir.”

Shining armour sighed. Despite her name, Sharp Blade was not the quickest of ponies. Still, she didn’t normally have the imagination to make things up. He turned to the rest of the group. “Gentlestallions, lady, if you would excuse me I should look into this.”

Golden gave an ornate wave and headed towards his own quarters - a much larger and warmer tent than this one - while Times returned to cleaning the statue. “Do you mind if I join you?” asked Lemon. “I could do with stretching my legs before I get back to the dig.”

Shining Armour nodded, while his inner school colt gave a little squeal. She wants to be with me! The three of them left the command tent and headed towards the perimeter. The wind was picking up and snow had started to fall throughout the camp. The group made their way to the northern boundary and met up with the two guards stationed there.

“Report!” ordered Shining. “What have you seen?”

“Sir, there’s something out there sir, in the storm, flying around they are sir,” said one of them. Shining thought his name was Pointer, but he wasn’t sure. He felt a pang of guilt about that; he had few enough guards under his command that he should at least be able to remember their names.

“There’s one,” said the other guard, pointing.

In the distance the sky could be seen darkening, and the fall of snow around them grew increasingly heavy. Shining narrowed his eyes. It did look like something was moving, but surely no pegasus would be stupid enough to fly in a rogue storm like that? Suddenly, with a blinding flash, a bolt of lightning erupted from the storm, followed a few seconds later by a rumble of thunder. Blinking away the aftereffects from his eyes, he saw a stream of blue figures detach from the storm, getting bigger and bigger as they approached. He remembered a Hearth’s Warming play many years ago when he was a colt; it had been a lavish production and several expert illusionists had been employed for the special effects, and the result had been scarily realistic. He’d been glad to cuddle up with his mother's swollen belly at the time, so he could protect his sister held within it of course. What he saw reminded him strongly of that and for a moment he wanted his mother to be here. “They’re… they’re...” he stuttered, unable to finish the sentence.

“Windigos,” Lemon breathed from beside him, sounding almost joyous. “They aren't a myth after all.”

Mutters passed between the soldiers around them and they started to back away.

Shining Armour shook himself. He was the officer in charge. He had to show some leadership. “Sharp, sound the alarm,” he commanded. “I want all the troops ready for action, make sure the civilians get undercover.”

The pegasus saluted and rushed into the camp yelling as she went.

“You two, form up,” he told the guards who shuffled uneasily, but readied their spears. “Ms Crofter, you should get back to your tent.”

She had produced a pad and quill from somewhere and was writing in a notebook. “Not on your life,” she replied without looking up.

Shining grinned. She reminded him of his sister, which given how he had been thinking of her only a few minutes ago made him feel a bit queasy. He pushed aside his thoughts and stepped forward. The first of the Windigos was now only a few hundred meters away. Taking a deep breath, he tried to put on a brave face and hoped that anyone would put the shaking of his legs down to the cold. “Halt!” he bellowed. “This camp is under the protection of the Equestrian Guard. Do not come any closer, we will defend ourselves if you attack.”

For a moment the lead Windigo seemed to pull up and Shining thought he might have actually intimidated them, but then it leapt forward and exhaled a cone of freezing air at him. It seemed to approach in slow motion until, to Shining’s surprise, he was suddenly shoved aside by one of the guards who took the blast in Shining’s place. Time seemed to return to its normal pace and Shining tumbled aside; he could hear the injured guard screaming, see his companion striking futilely at the air as the creature passed by. The rest were getting closer by the second.

Staggering to his feet, Shining shook his head to clear it. “Is everypony in camp?” he yelled.

“I think so,” gasped the uninjured guard. “I think I saw Ironside’s patrol return a few minutes ago.” He jabbed at the floating shape, but his spear passed straight through it and ice grew along its haft.

Shining Armour reached into himself and concentrated. A pink aura grew up around him and his companions, just in time to stop a second blast of cold from a Windigo. Several of the creatures cautiously circled the dome, while the rest of them made their way towards the centre of the camp where he could see the rest of his command starting to emerge from their tents. Centring himself, Shining threw a pulse of energy at the circling spirits, knocking them back before creating a second dome large enough to cover the whole camp. He felt several of the creatures attempting to force their way through the shield, but it held for the moment.

Shining turned to the injured pony. A chunk of his flank and one of his rear legs was encased in ice. “Thank you, private. You saved me.” He turned to the other guard. “Help him to the medic,” he commanded.

“It was nothing, sir,” groaned the injured guard as his companion eased him onto her back. “It looks like you saved us all,” he gestured at the shield above them.

For the moment, though Shining, feeling a slight, but growing, ache in his horn.

“How much farther, Doctor?” shouted Jamie, trying to make himself heard over the sound of the wind. They had been running from the flying creatures for what felt like hours and the storm’s intensity had been growing all the time.

“I’m not sure, I can hardly see my hoof in front of my face,” panted the Doctor. “Are they still following us?”

Jamie risked a glance back and could just about make out a shape moving behind them. “Aye, they’re persistent, I’ll give them that.”

Suddenly the Doctor slipped on the ice and went head over hooves into a deep pile of snow.

“Doctor!” cried Jamie, instantly stopping and turning to help his friend.

“No Jamie! Stay away, save yourself!” the Doctor tried to get up but he remained buried. Several blue forms could be seen quickly closing on their position.

“Och, dinna be daft,” Jamie reached the Doctor and started to pull him out of the snow. A shape loomed up and he turned to defend himself. Suddenly a transparent pink wall appeared between him and the creature. Unable to stop, the horse-like shape crashed into the barrier. Screeching as if it has been burned, the creature backed away. Several of its fellows stopped as well and hovered, examining the wall.

Jamie looked around. The pink aura seemed to form a dome around the area that he and the Doctor were now in; it stretched for quite some distance in all directions. Within it the storm had stopped, and it even seemed marginally warmer. He hauled the Doctor to his hooves.

“Oh my,” said the Doctor, looking around. He gingerly touched the wall before snatching his hoof back. “It tingles,” he declared with a grin.

“Well it keeps those flying beasties out.”

“Yes, Jamie. And us in.”

“Where did it come from?” asked Jamie.

“It seems to be covering these tents,” said the Doctor looking around. There were several large tents around the area. “It’s some sort of camp. We should look around and see who saved us, don’t you think?” Without waiting for an answer he started towards the nearest tent. With a sigh Jamie followed him.

The tents turned out to linked together into a complex by a number of fabric tunnels running between them, presumably so that the inhabitants could move from tent to tent without having to venture out into the cold. It took the Doctor and Jamie quite some time to find an entrance; it had been tied shut and they were unable to open it with their clumsy hooves and so were forced to chew through the ties. The fabric blocked most of the light so the inside of the tent was gloomy. It was difficult to see the contents of the tent but they could just about make out a large number of wooden crates of various sizes ranging from big enough to hold an adult stallion to the size of a hoof.

“What are they, Doctor?” asked Jamie.

“I don’t know. Let’s take a look.” Searching around the floor, the Doctor found a short crowbar and Jamie used it to prise the cover off of one of the larger boxes. Within stood an ancient-looking statue, time having worn away most of the fine detail. It seemed to show six ponies, two of each tribe, standing around what looked like a tall flame or possibly a tree. The Doctor took the tracker from his pocket and scanned the statue; it gave a quiet buzz, indicating that it was not the shard but may have been close to it recently.

“It’s just a bunch of rocks.”

“Humm, maybe something more than that. They might have some cultural or historical importance. This could be an archaeological dig of some sort.”

“What’s an arch-o-logical when it’s at home?”

“Archaeological, Jamie, it’s the study of, hum... well, I guess pony activity in the past.”

“What do they think they’re going to find?”

“Well, that is the question isn’t it. Wait, did you hear something?” hissed the Doctor, gently putting the statue back in its crate. “I think somepony else is in here.”

Jamie stalked forward cautiously and could just about make out a shadowed figure at the far end of the tent. It seemed to be nervously jogging from hoof to hoof. The Scot tried to get closer to get a better look, but in the darkness he tripped on one of the smaller boxes and fell to the ground with a bang.

The shadowed pony almost leapt into the air before calming itself. “Is that you?” It sounded male.

Jamie started to pick himself up, not sure what to say. The Doctor pushed past him. “Well, who else would it be?” he said.

“Good. Now stay back,” warned the mysterious pony. “It’s better if we all stay anonymous, in case you get caught.”

“Of course,” said the Doctor, sounding as if he understood what the other pony was talking about.

As Jamie’s eyes adapted better to the darkness, he could make out more of the strange pony. Its coat almost glittered in the little light there was. “Oh, aye,” he added, trying to join the conversation.

“Right, now take all the crates with the red crosses on them. I’ve made sure they won’t be missed. I take it you have a cart or sled nearby?”

“Well a method of travel, certainly,” said the Doctor.

“Good.” There was a clink as the figure threw a bag onto the floor. The Doctor picked it up; it contained a large number of silver coins. “You’ll get the rest when you deliver these. Don’t think of double crossing me. I have many powerful friends, it would be a mistake.”

“Of course, but could you explain...”

The figure ignored him and carried on speaking. “See if you can get back here in a day or two. I’ve just found something that will make all of us very wealthy ponies. Very wealthy indeed.” He seemed to stare off into the distance for a moment before turning and disappearing into the darkness.

“What was all that about?” asked Jamie.

“I think that our ‘employer’, whoever he is, is smuggling these artefacts and thinks that we’re here to help him.”

“These rocks? Who’d want them?”

“Oh, some people like these sort of things very much. They like to hold on to them just so they know that they are the only one who has them. They pay an awful lot of money just so that other people don’t get to see them. It’s not right.”

“What was it he was talking about? Something to make us wealthy?”

“I’m not sure, a big find of some sort? I think we should follow him and find out, don’t you?” said the Doctor, heading in the direction the shadowy figure had gone. Jamie shrugged and followed him.

The pair found themselves in one of the canvas tunnels that linked the tents. It had several jars containing fireflies attached to the walls, generating light, but there was no sign of the mysterious pony. The Doctor wetted his hoof and held it up. “There seems to be quite a breeze coming from this direction,” he pointed down one of the tunnels. “Maybe somepony left the door open.”

Jamie moved ahead stealthily. The tunnel turned a corner and as he followed it he almost tripped over a pony in armour. He leapt back, colliding with the Doctor who had been following him. The two of them went down in a tangle of legs. “Errr, hello,” said the Doctor as he got to his hooves, “I don’t suppose you saw someone else coming this way? You see...” His voice trailed off as he noticed the pony hadn’t turned to face him, or in fact moved in any way. He cautiously approached it. The guard stood still as a statue. He was covered in a thin layer of ice. The Doctor tapped the frozen form and it unbalanced and fell with a thud.

“What’s happened?” asked Jamie looking at the prone form. It was a pegasus stallion, a look of surprise on his frozen features. He carried a spear which was thrust forward as if to ward off something, and like its owner the spear was covered in ice.

“I don’t know Jamie,” said the Doctor, examining a tear in the fabric of the tent.

Suddenly a large youthful white stallion in a red uniform came around the corner in front of them, flanked by a pegasus mare in armour. “Who are you?” he demanded. Then his eyes fell upon the frozen pony. “Spear Tip,” he gasped. “What have you done to him?” His angry gaze returned to the two time travellers.

“You canne think we had anything to do with that,” said Jamie.

The stallion stomped forward. “I find two strangers in my camp and one of my soldiers frozen solid! What am I supposed to think?”

“Well I suppose it does look rather suspicious,” said the Doctor. “But it really is totally a coincidence, Mr...”

“Shining Armour, Lieutenant Shining Armour,” answered the stallion automatically.

“Well Lieutenant Shining Armour, I’m sure if we all just sit down and discuss it like sensible ponies we can sort out what happened.” He raised a hoof in a conciliatory gesture.

“I’m na chatting with a red coat,” exclaimed Jamie, pointing at Shining’s uniform. He rushed towards the officer, attempting to barge him aside. However, he found himself suspended in the air by a pink aura. “Hey, leggo,” he struggled but couldn’t get free.

“Private, disarm these intruders,” Shining instructed.

Sharp moved forward and reached for the dagger in Jamie’s sock.

“Get your hooves of me dirk,” he bellowed.

Sharp shied back, blushing. “I didn’t mean to... You’re nice and all but... Well, unless you...” she stuttered.

Shining face hoofed. “He said dirk, it’s a kind of knife.”

“Oh, sorry sir,” She plucked the dagger from Jamie’s sheaf with one of her wings. She paused for a second then suddenly dragged back his kilt.

“Get offa me woman, you’re obsessed,” yelled Jamie.

“He’s a blank flank!” she exclaimed.

“What?” Shining Armour stepped forward to examine the greyscale pony. “At his age? Who are you two? We’re five days out of the Crystal Empire in the middle of nowhere. How did you get here?” he demanded.

“Now that can be a bit difficult to explain,” said the Doctor, stepping forward. “You see me and Jamie aren't really ponies, we just look like you. We’re from a different dimension and we’ve come here to help your universe by recovering a piece of the barrier between our two worlds.” He grinned as if that explained everything.

Shining blinked. “That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. I think you’re something to do with the Windigo’s attacking us. For all I know you might be Windigo in pony form.”

“Windigo? Are they those blue shapes outside?” asked the Doctor. “It’s funny you said about them taking on other forms because something cut its way in here,” he gestured at the gap in the wall, “and did that to your soldier,” he pointed at the frozen pony, “and I can assure you it wasn’t us.”

“And why should I believe you?”

“Well if you look here,” the Doctor gestured at the tear in the fabric, “you can see there are small shards of ice embedded in it. And I think if you follow that path,” he pointed back the way Shining armour had come, “you’ll find a trail of these things. Plus if I could turn ponies into ice lollies I doubt we would have having this conversation, don’t you?”

Shining stared hard at the Doctor for a moment, trying to find the truth in his statement. The Doctor just sat there nonchalantly. The stalemate was broken by Jamie. “Can you no get me down from here?” he asked.

With a sigh, Shining lowered the grey pony to the ground. “Fine, I don’t believe all you’ve said, but I don’t think you attacked Spear Tip. However, I’ll be keeping an eye on you and you can consider yourselves under arrest for the moment.”

“Can I get my dir… knife back then?” asked Jamie.

Shining rolled his eyes. ”Oddly, we don’t normally let ponies under arrest keep weapons,” he growled, rubbing his aching head. He turned to the Doctor who had produced a stethoscope and had put it against the frozen pony. “Stop that,” roared the white stallion. “Show some respect for the dead.” He began to pull the older stallion from the guard.

“Wait!” cried the Doctor. “I don’t think he’s dead. I can hear a heartbeat.”

“What?” Shining’s jaw dropped in surprise.

“It’s slow and a bit faint but it’s still there. The ice seems to be preserving him in some way.”

“Can you unfreeze him?”

“I don’t know. I’d need to investigate further to find out.”

Shining gently picked up the frozen form in his aura. “We should get him and ourselves to Lemon, she probably knows the most about Windigos. Maybe she can do something about this. You two, follow me. Sharp, keep an eye on them.”

Shining Armour lead his party through the fabric walkways to the site of the excavation itself. Positioned at the centre of the camp, it consisted of a tunnel leading into the ground. The walls alternated between natural rock and inscription covered and crumbling plaster. Lemon had told him the complex had started as a natural cave but had been strengthened and built within by the ponies of the day. Much of their work had since crumbled with age. The complex was potentially a labyrinth of tunnels but most of them had collapsed. Times Past had talked of trying to clear them but it was the work of several years at least. So far the team had mostly worked on the largest paths in the hope that they would lead to their target.

The group finally came to a stop at the dig site itself. The area was well preserved with frescos on most of the walls, and a large stone door, twice the height and maybe five times the width of an average pony, stood on the far wall. The floor was still covered in rubble. Around the chamber stood several dozen ponies - the students and workers employed to clear the area, watched over by a small number of Shining Armour's troops and Scepter’s personal guard. They seemed quite subdued, which wasn’t surprising given what had occurred above their heads less than an hour ago.

Shining gently placed Spear Tip’s form on the ground again and gestured to his troops. “You two,” he pointed at a pair of soldiers, “Go topside and keep an eye on the shield.” The growing throbbing in his head told him his spell was still in place but the Windigos were attacking it. “Sound the alarm if anything breaks in and stop anypony from trying to get out.”

The soldiers saluted and ran back up the tunnel to the surface.

Sceptre started to walk towards the new arrivals but stopped part way and turned aside. Shining did not have time to question his behaviour before Lemon came over from the dig and stared at the frozen pony he had brought with him. “What happened?” she asked.

“He was attacked by something. I found those two,” he nodded at the Doctor and Jamie, “near him. They made up a story about being from another dimension but even so I don’t think they did it. Something else might have made it in. Do you know anything about Windigo attacking people?”

She shook her head. “Until I saw them I wasn’t entirely sure Windigo actually existed. I had suspected that they were just an allegory for inter-tribal strife. That’s my thesis down the drain then.” She grinned. “In the stories they froze the old leaders but that isn’t normally depicted as a direct attack.”

Shining sighed. “I hope we can find a way to defrost them later. Keep an eye on the new arrivals. I’m going to round up the rest of my forces and try to hunt it down. I’ll send anypony else I find down here - it’s easier to defend you all in one place.”

Lemon nodded, “I’ll see if I can get that door open. If the legends are true, what’s behind it might be the only weapon we have against the Windigo.”

“You’re right, that might be why they’re attacking now before we can switch it on.”

“I guess I better start thinking friendly thoughts to get ready, then.”

“I don’t have any problem feeling friendly with you around,” said Shining with a grin. Then he realised he’d been thinking out loud and blushed.

“Why, Lieutenant Armour, I didn’t know you felt that way about me.”

“Really?” stuttered Shining.

“No, you do tend to stare a lot. Almost as much as Sceptre.”

“Sorry.”

“Oh, I quite like it. We can talk about it later when we aren't going to be frozen to death by winter spirits.” She gently nuzzled him. “Think of that as topping up your friendship tank; you never know when you’ll need it.”

Shining turned back to his troops who were pointedly looking in other directions. “Come on, we’ve got a search to start, I want everypony in groups of at least two.” He continued to give orders as his force left the chamber.

Lemon walked over to Past Times. “Any idea how we can get some good feeling going between the ponies here? That’s what worked in the Hearth’s Warming story.”

“I’ll see if I can get an orgy going then,” deadpanned Past Times. The ears of several of the students pricked up and a few started to grin at each other.

“What sort of Hearth’s Warming stories did you hear as a kid?!” gasped Lemon.

“Well, they’re more of an Equestrian thing rather than Crystal Empire. We’re more about the fall of Sombra and the formation of the first Council of the Heart. I had to guess what you meant.”

“Well I didn’t mean that! I was thinking of something like a sing-along.”

“I’ll see what I can do, but I think my way’s better.” Past Times wandered off to talk to a group of students.

Golden pranced over to Lemon flanked by a pair of his guards. “My dear lady,” he said, “who are those two ruffians?” He gestured to the Doctor and Jamie. “I haven't seen them around before.”

“Some strangers Shining found in the camp.”

“They certainly look like disreputable types to me. Did they say why they were here?”

“Apparently they made up some rubbish about being from another universe.”

“Hum, clearly nonsense. I wouldn't believe a word they say. Probably scavengers of some kind. If we could I would just throw them out into the cold. No doubt they’d find their way home soon enough.”

“Well that’s more up to Lieutenant Armour than me.”

“We’ll no doubt you could find some way to influence his decision,” the noble leered at her. “He seems rather taken with you.”

“Maybe you should talk to him yourself,” she said pointedly. “I’m sure he could do with more ponypower to search the camp.”

“Then maybe I shall.” He returned to his guard and mumbled something to them, and they started back along the tunnel to the surface.

Lemon turned back to the dig to find the Doctor scratching at the door with a tool he’d taken from his pocket. “Hey, stop that,” she yelled.

The Doctor jumped and turned to face her, looking like a guilty schoolboy as he stepped away from the door. “Sorry, I was looking for a way to open it.”

“Well, we’ve been looking for over a week now and we haven't found anything. Sooner or later we’re going to have to use brute force, which is bad when used on priceless archaeological treasures,” fumed Lemon.

“Or you could use the door handle.”

“Or we could use the door handle,” she continued, then paused. “What door handle?” she asked.

“This one,” said the Doctor, pointing at a part of the mosaic on the door. It stood out slightly more than the sections around it.

Lemon was stunned. “How in Luna’s name did I miss that?”

“I wouldn’t have noticed it except for the oil.” The Doctor swept his hoof around the raised area and showed it to her. It was coated in a slight rainbow sheen. “I’d say someone added it to loosen the mechanism, probably fairly recently.”

“Past!” Lemon yelled.

“What is it, boss mare? Changed your mind on my plan?” he asked, walking across the chamber. Several students looked up in interest.

She pointed to the handle. “Who's been here recently?”

“I’ve been around since this morning, apart from the meeting.”

“Anypony here last night?”

“I don’t think so. Some of the guards maybe? Why?”

“Our guest here,” she gestured to the Doctor, who was fiddling with the tracker, “seems to have found a way through the door but it looks like somepony else did first.”

Past Times examined the door. “Wow, this is amazing,” he exclaimed. “When do we open it?”

“No time like the present,” said the Doctor. He prodded the raised area and a handle shot out. He took it in his mouth then let go and spat. “Yuck, oil.” He made a face then grasped the handle for a second time and pulled. Nothing happened. He dug his hooves in and yanked again. Still the mighty door did not budge.

“Ah, let me have a go, Doctor,” said Jamie, walking over. “You’ve no been eating your porridge.” The Scottish pony took a deep breath and pulled on the handle. Once again it didn’t move. He pulled harder, his face darkening. Suddenly he lost his grip and flew back into a small crowd of workers who had gathered behind him.

“Colts,” tutted Lemon. Her aura encased the handle and she gave it a gentle push. A gap only slightly larger than a pony opened in the centre of the door and a faint pink light flowed out. With a gasp Lemon rushed into the gap. “The fire of friendship!” she gasped. “It’s real! And still burning after all these years.”

The chamber beyond the door was large and domed. Around the walls were the remains of carvings, and several collapsed statues were scattered around the floor. In the very centre was a rectangular plinth as tall as a pony, with a concave depression in the top within which a triangular crystal stood. Above it floated a pink flame formed into the shape of a heart which glowed with a softly flickering light - at sometimes it faded to near invisibility while at others it seemed almost solid.

Lemon stood in shock for several minutes, barely aware of the numerous ponies pushing past her into the room only to join her in standing and staring. Finally she managed to pull herself together. “Ok, everypony. I want everything in the chamber recorded, every bit of rubble, every statue, every engraving, everything. This is the biggest archaeological discovery since... well, ever, and I don’t want anypony to mess up. Past, see if you can translate any of this stuff.” Shaking themselves from their daze, the workers started to follow her instructions.

“Um, excuse me miss,” said the Doctor, pointing a strange device at the flame, “but what is that?”

“Well I don’t want to be too hasty but... no, there's nothing else it can be, it’s the fire of friendship itself.”

“The what?” asked Jamie.

“The fire of friendship. You don’t know what that is, do you?” his and the Doctor’s puzzled faces showed the truth of the matter.

“Didn’t your parents ever take you to a Hearth’s Warming Eve play? You really are from another universe, aren't you?”

“Well, we did try to explain to Shining Armour, but he didn’t want to listen,” said the Doctor.

“Ok, short version. The different tribes used to live apart and war with each other. The old homelands suffered from a series of harsh winters caused by the Windigo, which forced the tribes to migrate to Equestria. The old disputes came with them, and the Windigo followed as well. Finally the leaders of each faction and their seconds were trapped together in a cave, slowly freezing to death. The leaders were unable to let go of the old hatreds and were frozen, but the assistants recognised they were all one people and became friends. The power of their friendship lit the fire of friendship, and it drove off the Windigo and stopped the winter. Thus Equestria was born. I never thought the stories were so literal, though. It’s not like powerful artefacts are unknown - the Crystal Heart, the Pillars of the Sun, the Golden Horseshoes, the Elements of Harmony... but there was never any evidence that the fire was real, let alone still in existence. This changes everything.”

The Doctor kneeled down and examined the floor. “I don’t think it has been alight all this time.”

“What?”

“Well, the fire puts out some heat but not too much. The ground over here is still frozen solid, but it’s damp near the flame.”

“So?”

“So it’s been recently defrosted. Sometime in the last day or two I’d say.”

“So whoever got in last night lit the flame.”

“So it would seem. Was this what you expected to find?”

“Not so much expected as hoped, although I might have overestimated our chances of finding the fire to my sponsors.” Lemon looked a little embarrassed. “During my research I found some references to an early Equestrian outpost near what is now the Crystal Empire, with some references to ‘the fire of the heart’. It took me quite a while to find a guide who knew the area - Past Times was Luna-sent in that respect. Then I managed to get house Sceptre interested - they’re my relations, very, very distant relations. Still I’m surprised they were willing to pay so much on such a long shot, and they even sent along their heir, Golden, to help oversee things. We were almost ready to send out a small expedition when I got a grant from Princess Luna herself via the Canterlot Royal Society to make it a medium expedition. They also provided Lieutenant Armour and his people. In return they get first pick of anything we find, but I get to study them in their laboratories. It’s win-win.”

“Maybe not everyone thinks so...” began the Doctor.

“Hey boss,” yelled Past Times, running over. “Somepony’s taken an axe to some of these artefacts, literally. Some things have been removed.”

“Let me guess, in the last few days?” said Lemon.

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“It looks like someone got in here last night and removed some things. Don’t know where to, though.”

“Well, I think we may be able to help you with that,” began the Doctor. “You see, earlier we came across a tent full of artefacts and some pony tried to pay us to take them away.”

“What? Who? Why?” exclaimed Lemon in shock.

“Well I’m not sure but I think it was...” He was interrupted by a commotion from the outer room.

There was the sound of screaming and a cracking sound. Past Times ran to the door just in time to collide with Golden Sceptre as he rushed in. “Ice pony!” yelled the noble. “Get out of my way! The flame might stop it!”

The Doctor rushed to the door and stared out. “Oh crumbs,” he uttered.

There, standing in the centre of the antechamber, was a large unicorn mare. However, it was clear that she was not normal. Her entire form was covered in a layer of ice, thicker in some places like armour but present all over her skin. It twisted with her movements like a living thing. Near the passageway at the back of the chamber, one of the soldiers and several of Scepter’s guard stood likewise encased in ice but unmoving. The few students and workers still present in the room were pressed against the walls, keeping as far away from the creature as possible. The ice pony slowly turned from side to side like a compass needle looking for true north. It came to rest staring straight at the Doctor. He gulped as it charged towards him.

“Get out the way, you stupid colt,” yelled Lemon as she barged him out of the creature’s path.

“It’s following me!” screeched Sceptre as the ice pony entered the flame’s chamber. One of his remaining guards fired a crossbow at it. The bolt flew true and embedded itself in the ice covering its barrel, but did not seem to harm the creature.

With a bellow, it rushed towards its attacker, who dropped her weapon in terror and tried to flee, but the creature was too quick. One of its hooved impacted with the guard’s flank, leaving a thick layer of ice behind. The guard gasped in pain as her legs gave out under her. With a hiss, the ice pony released a thick white cloud, and when it cleared the guard pony was encased in ice, a look of horror on her frozen features.

For a few seconds the inhabitants of the chamber stood in shock before they panicked, running in all directions. Lemon’s cries for calm were lost in the chaos.

The ice pony began to stomp towards the flame in the centre of the chamber. It moved slowly as if it was trying to make progress against a strong wind. The ice encasing it began to drip and for a second it appeared as though a blue shape was superimposed over the pony. Then it took a deep breath and exhaled a stream of icy air over the flame, causing it to flicker even more and begin to shrink.

A rock bounced off of the ice pony’s skin. “Hey, you leave that flame alone,” yelled Jamie. He balanced another stone on his hoof and tried to throw it at the ice pony, missing his target by a mile. He turned and kicked out at the remains of a statue, propelling it towards the creature, striking it in the flanks and knocking it back. Lemon flinched at the damage caused to the historical artefact.

With a cracking sound the ice pony righted itself again and turned towards Jamie. It was struck again from behind and it turned to see the Doctor throwing a further rock at it. Lemon used her aura to pick up various loose masonry; she took a second to search through it for anything particularly valuable before hurling the rest at the creature.

“Good thinking, Jamie,” called the Doctor.

“Well ye know, when in doubt bung a rock at it.”

Confused, the creature started to circle around, facing one of its attackers after the other. Slowly more and more ponies started to throw things at it. In the background the fire started to burn brighter again. The ice pony took one step back towards the entrance, then another. There was a cheer from the antechamber and half a dozen soldiers led by Shining armour rushed into the flame room. He stared at the Ice pony. “Sergeant Ironside?” he asked. “Is that you?”

The creature seemed surprised and froze in place for a second, and one of the soldiers darted forward and stabbed at it with a spear. To his surprise it stuck in the creature’s icy hide and frost began to creep up the haft. Shining’s aura wrenched the weapon from the soldier’s grip before the wave of cold could reach him. “Keep your distance,” he ordered before throwing a beam of energy at the creature, gritting his teeth in pain from the added strain on his horn.

With a snarl the creature rushed for the exit. Kicking aside one the guards, it fled the flame chamber and disappeared down the tunnel towards the surface. A cheer went up from the civilians in the chamber as their attacker disappeared.

Shining surveyed the room, his gaze locked on the fire in the centre. “Is that...”

“The fire of friendship?” asked Lemon. “Seems so.”

Shining shook his head. “I don’t have time to deal with this,” he announced. “I need to track that creature down and do something about it before it comes back or attacks anypony else.” He surveyed the scene and was shocked by how few of his people remained. Several frozen ponies stood around the chamber where they had been immobilized, and others had been partially encased. He had searched the tents above and found only a few more of his troops; by his count, his total force was just over half a dozen uninjured remaining out of his original command of twenty. The house Sceptre guards were even lower in number - only four remained to cluster around their leader. He quickly organised his troops, leaving the walking wounded to look after the civilians, and was ready to head out when one of the strange grey ponies came over.

“I’ll be coming with you,” Jamie announced, staring at Shining as if daring him to disagree.

“Oh, will you?” Shining asked, not liking the other pony’s tone.

“Aye, you need all the help you can get. The Doctor’s busy looking at yon chicken scratches.” He nodded towards the older pony who was talking to Lemon and Past near the engraved plinth under the flame. “I’m nae good with words but I knae how to fight.”

Shining sighed. He didn’t seem to have much choice. “Very well, but I won’t be responsible for anything that happens to you.”

“Fine by me, redcoat,” spat Jamie. “Just give me ma dirk back.”

“Oh no, that stays with Sharp,”

Jamie took a step forward until his face was only inches from Shining’s. The white unicorn remained there, staring at the Scot, not blinking. For a moment Shining thought the other stallion would throw a punch. Then without a further word he turned and headed off up the tunnel to the surface.

Shining let out a breath he didn’t remember holding and gestured to his troops. “After him,” he commanded.

Shining’s squad found Jamie staring at the ground just outside of the tunnel. “The thing came this way,” he announced.

“How do you know?” asked Shining.

“Like the Doctor said earlier they leave these wee crystals behind,” Jamie gestured at the floor which was covered by a thin sheen of frost, “and yon beastie shed this.” He produced a concave shard of ice about the size of two hooves.

Shining Armour sat back and considered the situation. “I think we’ve injured it, it’s probably trying to find somewhere to lie low and lick its wounds. If only we knew how to weaken it more, it’s not like we can bring the flame of friendship up here.” He struck his head with his hoof, then wished he hadn’t; it was beginning to feel like his horn was on fire. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep the barrier spell up. ”Fire, that’s what we need. Sharp,” he called, “where’s the nearest supply tent?”

“Not far, sir.”

“Good. Take the rest of the team with you, bring as much oil and wood as you can, take them to the east of the camp and make a circle. I’ll lead the creature to you and light the circle - that should at least contain it if not knock it out entirely.”

“Sir,” Sharp saluted and turned to leave.

“You gonna do all that by yourself?” asked Jamie.

“I am in charge here, it’s my responsibility.”

“And if yon beastie catches you? You need someone to watch your back.”

“And you’re volunteering? Are you sure you want to watch my back, not stab it?”

“Hey, McCrimmon’s aren't backstabbers, we fight face to face,” Jamie said angrily. “Besides, you still got me knife,” he continued more sulkily.

Shining stared at the earth pony for a moment. “Very well, you’re with me then.”

“Good, I think it went this way,” said Jamie, pointing along the path of ice crystals, and followed his own directions. With a sigh, Shining followed him.

The trail led through several of the large tents that had been set up to house the worker and guard population involved in the dig. Each had been turned upside down, with the meagre furniture and personal possessions within thrown aside. Every so often the pair came across a chunk of ice that had fallen off the body of the creature they were tracking.

Finally, the hunt led them to the command tent where Shining had held a meeting only this morning, although it felt like days ago. Jamie put his head around the door then quickly drew it back. “The thing’s in there,” he hissed.

“What’s it doing?” asked Shining.

“Just lying there, shaking a bit. It looks like it’s crying,” said Jamie, sounding confused.

“Crying!” Shining risked a glance. Indeed, the ice pony was hunched under the table in the middle of the room, shaking. The ice had flaked off half of the creature’s face to reveal the features of Sergeant Ironside. Water was dripping from her face but whether it was tears or melting ice Shining couldn’t decide. Oddly, she seemed to have a blue aura around her, almost like an after image, reaching a few centimetres outside her body.

“She dunna look all that dangerous now,” whispered Jamie. “We may not even need that ring o fire thing.”

“Appearances can be deceiving, but there's only one way to find out.” Shining stood up and hesitantly walked into the room. Jamie reached out to pull him back, but he was already too far away.

“You’re mad!” he exclaimed. “I canna been shown up by a red coat,” he whispered to himself, before following the white stallion into the room.

The ice pony looked up as they approached but was otherwise immobile. Its outer coating had mostly flaked off, revealing the pale coat beneath.

“Sergeant,” called Shining. “Can you hear me?”

The creature started to get to its hooves but fell again.

“Ironside, can you understand? It’s me, Lieutenant Armour. Everything’s going to be all right.”

Suddenly the creature was on its hooves, knocking the table aside as it leapt forwards towards Shining. He was too shocked to move and staggered back as the sergeant's bulk hit him. However, rather than attacking him the giant mare collapsed against him, hugging him. “You saved me,” she gasped. The last of the ice flaked off of her form and a blue equine shape lifted off of her back.

“A Windigo!” cried Shining. Still staggering under the sergeant's weight, he tried to turn the mare’s bulk to put himself between it and her. However, something seemed to be wrong with the flying creature; it was even more ethereal than the ones he had seen before, as if it had been spread too thinly. The ghostly shape let out a thin wail and disappeared.

“Well that was easy,” said Jamie. “As long as that’s the only one we’re all done.”

From behind them, there was a screeching sound, and the room’s temperature dropped rapidly.

“You had to say that didn’t you!” groaned Shining, turning to face a second ice pony as it entered the tent.

The creature leapt across the room, crushing the table under its hooves, and clouds of ice crystals spewed from its mouth to engulf Jamie, who gave a cry and then went silent. Seemingly satisfied, the creature turned on its remaining target. Shining tried to stagger back, his horn glowing bright as he levitated Ironside behind him, but the extra effort from his already overtaxed reserves dropped him to his knees. The Ice pony towered over him, but behind it the cloud cleared to reveal the bubble of magic he had thrown over Jamie. It popped to reveal the surprised grayscale stallion.

Blinking, Jamie quickly realised what had happened, and charged forward. With a cry of “Creag an tuire!” he barged into the ice pony. Ignoring the burning cold of its touch, he rammed it away from Shining and through one of the poles holding up the tent, causing the roof to sag.

“Get out!” yelled Shining to Jamie as he staggered back to his hooves. He lifted Ironside again and dropped her onto Jamie’s back, causing the earth pony to totter for a moment before rushing for the door.

As the ice pony regained its balance, Shining concentrated and with a grunt of pain snapped the remaining supports, causing the tent to fall in on the creature. Avoiding being trapped himself, Shining staggered down the corridor after Jamie.

“We have to find somewhere to hide,” panted Shining as they ran through the cloth tunnels, taking random turns.

“How about here?” asked Jamie pointing to the entrance to a random tent.

“Golden’s quarters? As good a place as any, I suppose.” The two of them entered the tent and Jamie bit through the ropes holding the flap open. With a sigh, Shining dropped to the ground, exhausted.

Quite some time had passed since Shining and his forces had left the dig site, and Lemon had gotten her people back to work in an attempt to stop them thinking about the situation above them. Most of the labourers were still clearing the rubble from around the main door, while the students lead by Past Times were cataloguing the various artefacts in the flame’s chamber. The crystal pony seemed intent on studying the runic symbols on the walls. The frozen ponies and injured guards had been moved close to the flame itself when it was found that the gentle heat seemed to aid in their recovery - the ice was beginning to melt off of the trapped ponies but it was slow going and the flame remained at a low ebb. Only Golden Sceptre and his guards kept away from the rest of the crew, remaining in one corner of the chamber and occasionally staring suspiciously at the other occupants. Lemon herself sat near the flame’s container staring up into the fire.

“Penny for them?” asked the Doctor, settling down next to her.

“What?” she asked, blinking as she turned away from the blaze.

“Penny for your thoughts, or should that be a bit?”

“Oh, I was just thinking what an honour it was to be here where Equestria itself was founded, even if it looks like we’re going to die.”

“Oh, cheer up,” said the Doctor. “Where there's life and all that. I’m sure I’ve lived through much worse.” He frowned. “Although I can’t think of much at the moment.” He searched his pockets. “Maybe I have my diary here somewhere.”

“Still it is odd,” continued Lemon, ignoring the Doctor, “that the founding place of Equestria is now outside Equestria. The borders have changed over time but there’s no evidence this part of the world was ever in Equestria. Plus all evidence shows that the old kingdoms were in the south and east - any scouts would have had to travel over a thousand miles to get here. I really only ever expected to find an outpost here at best.”

“Well, maybe they moved the flame here.”

“What? How do you move something like this?” She gestured at the flame and its brazier.

“Well, it does all come apart, see there and there, those pieces just lift off, one or two ponies could probably carry the bowl itself.”

She peered at the construction. “I think you might be right.”

“Plus it says it was moved, just there.” He pointed at an inscription on the plinth.

“This is proto Equestrian. Not even Luna understands it perfectly.” She stared at the short pony in astonishment. “Are you telling me you can read this?”

“It’s a gift,” said the Doctor with some pride.

“Times!” she yelled. “Bring a scroll and transcribe what the Doctors saying.”

The crystal pony rushed over, “What’s going on?” he asked.

“Shut up and write. Doctor read, now,” insisted Lemon.

The Doctor cleared his throat, the paused. “This is rather long winded. Do you mind if I condense it a bit?”

“Just read,” she insisted.

“Very well. When the fire was first lit from the souls of the founders it drove the Strife Born away.”

“Is he...?” began Past Times in astonishment. Lemon shushed him and gestured for the Doctor to continue.

“However, it was feared that although the fire protected much of the land, its reach was limited and the Strife Born remained on the borders, attacking any that came near. It was feared that as our numbers grew our children’s children would be forced to face the cold again. We were saved by the house of the stars, the wisest of us all, may their line endure for ten thousand years. This is all rather flowery.”

“Carry on,” growled Lemon through gritted teeth.

“Okay. We were saved by the house of the stars, who created the stone hearts which once lit by the flame could carry its light to the corners of the land, driving back the Strife Born. With the hearts went their guardians, those whose coats became as shiny as their charges.”

“Guardians with shiny coats? Could that mean Crystal ponies? And the stone heart? The crystal heart, there’s more of them? This is amazing,” gasped Past Times.

“The hearts were placed at the four corners of the land and their light lit the world, but still the strife born remained at the edges although much reduced. Like the heart from the flame the sparks were born from the hearts. Weaker but more numerous, they were placed on the borders, and the numbers of the strife born continued to dwindle. Then the burning one in her wisdom did call us to stop, for to destroy a race for the actions of their ancestors would be a great evil, and she, her servant, she with blood the colour of the sky, did seek parlay with the king of the Strife Born. Thus a truce was reached, the strife born were to no longer seek to spread their influence, and ponies were to no longer hunt the Strife Born with their sparks. The sparks were extinguished but their energy retained against treachery from the Strife Born. Let none break the treaty on pain of death. I carve this so that none may forget, signed Lord of the Sceptre. Yes, I think that’s it.”

“Wow,” said Past Times, his pencil dropping from his mouth. “This is amazing. The strife born, are they the Windigo?”

“I think so, and we had a peace treaty with them,” said Lemon.

“Which you broke by lighting this spark thing,” continued the Doctor.

“Which is why they attacked us.”

“You sort of declared war on them,” announced the Doctor, “Oh crumbs, oh dear.” He jumped to his hooves and ran around in a circle. Most of the ponies in the room stopped and stared at him. “We need to stop Shining Armour and Jamie before things get any worse,” he exclaimed as he ran out of the chamber followed by Lemon and Past Times.

Jamie gently lowered Ironside to the ground. The giant mare had not regained consciousness but was still shaking violently, and she felt cold to the touch. Without ceremony the Scot dragged several expensive rugs over her form to try and warm her. This duty completed, Jamie turned back towards Shining who was still sprawled on the ground. “I dinna think I’d ever say this to a red coat, but thanks for saving me.”

The exhausted stallion raised his head. “What is it about my uniform that you hate so much? Mum says it makes me look very distinguished.”

Jamie gave a laugh. “Ye Mother? Well I think all mothers say that about their sons. Ach, is nothing aboot ye personally like. Red coats are the uniforms of those lowlanders and English fighting against the Bonnie Prince.”

“Bonnie Prince? You really are from another dimension.”

“Well we did tell ye so.”

Shining staggered up and walked over to a chest in one corner. He carefully opened it and rummaged through it. Pushing aside a flask of oil, he lifted out a bottle. Using his mouth, he put it down and carefully prised off the lid. “I need a drink to deal with this.” He took a swig from the bottle before passing it to Jamie.

The Scot took a sniff. “What is this stuff?” he asked.

“Bourbon, I think.”

Jamie swallowed a mouthful. “It’s nae a patch on whisky.” Shining reached for the bottle again, but Jamie brushed away his hoof and took another swig. “But I didnae say it was bad.” He passed the bottle back.

Shining laid back and sighed, letting the warmth of the drink spread through him. “Luna,” he swore. “This whole thing has turned to horseapples. My first deployment out of the academy and I get over half my people injured, trap myself inside my own shield, and we’re probably all going to get killed by not so mythical bogey ponies. What would my parents think?”

“I think they’d be proud of ye, you’ve fought well.”

“My father is Viceroy Nightlight, head of house Starlight. Unless I get myself killed I’ll be Viceroy someday. Well is not good enough.”

“I’ve nae heard of the fella.”

“Really? Oh, other universe, right? Well, he’s one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria and my uncle’s the captain of the guard - they’re big shoes to fill. I’ve tried to do everything on my own but it’s not hard to find out about my family. I’m always asking ‘did I really do well enough’, or were the instructors just trying to score points with my family? Take this mission. It looked like a cake walk and if it turned out alright then there’d be a bunch of glory. Was I really the best candidate for it or did someone wanting to curry favour pick it for me?”

“Aye, I come from a fine pedigree myself, ye know. A long line of pipers, they say my Grandfather played for the King o the fairies himself, and got a tip for his troubles. My father was called to serve the Bonny Prince himself. It’s just as well I’m one of the best pipers ever, or it might have been a wee bit intimidating.” He gave a cocky grin.

“I wish I had your confidence. I don’t think I’m anything but an embarrassment to my family.”

“Now dinna be so hard on yourself, you’ve kept everybody alive despite the Windythings and the ice ponies. I’m sure the Doctor will figure some way out of this.”

Shining stomped a hoof on the ground. “But I’m in charge here, I’m the officer, I’m going to be Viceroy, I’m supposed to know what to do...” his voice trailed off. “I’m not supposed to be scared.”

“Lemme tell you something, only fools don’t feel fear. I was at Culloden, I’m a piper supposed to lead the men from the front but och there was smoke and the cannon fire and the screamin’, it was like hell itself. I was terrified.” Jamie took another gulp of alcohol and gazed into the distance, “I looked around and there was Ross, a clansman of mine just standing there grinning like he’d heard a joke, but his guts, they were all spread over the ground.” A single tear ran down his face. “I took one look and I ran and I ran.” He looked into Shining’s eyes, “I’ve never told anyone that before, not even the Doctor. Now, you may be scared, but you’re nae coward like me, you’ve nae run.”

Shining stared, eyes wide, jaw hanging loose. He tried to think of something to say. Suddenly he was cut off by the sound of heavy footsteps in the tunnel outside of the tent.

“It’s getting nearer,” whispered Jamie.

Shining pulled himself to his hooves. The rest and drink had allowed him to recover some of his strength but his horn still felt like a burning nail forced into his head; he doubted he could keep the shield up for much longer. They needed to deal with the second and hopefully last ice pony soon in order to focus on driving away the Windigo. “Jamie, find something to cut a way out of the tent with and get Ironside out of here. I’ll try to lead it into the trap.”

“Why am I helping the lassie? I won’t run this time!” said Jamie angrily.

“It’s not that,” hissed Shining. “I don’t think I can carry her without my horn dropping off but I can still run.” Barely, he thought. His knees felt rubbery. “It’s got to be this way around.”

Jamie stared at his companion for a while. “Fine then,” he grumbled. He looked around the room and found an ornate dagger which he took in his mouth. “‘is ‘ould do it!” he said.

“Odd, I thought I saw that at the dig. Lemon said something about it being a good example of early lightning forging or something. I guess it doesn’t matter,” said Shining as Jamie sliced open the wall, before tucking the blade in his sock. He hefted Ironside on his back and, straining slightly, ventured out into the snow.

Waiting a few minutes, Shining tried to calm himself as the sounds of the ice pony got louder. “You, private,” he yelled. To his surprise his voice did not waiver. “Get in here now.”

The ice pony pushed its muzzle into the tent almost cautiously.

“You there!” barked Shining. “Stand to attention when I’m yelling at you!”

Much to Shining’s and possibly the ice pony’s surprise, the creature raised its hoof in salute before freezing for a second and then lunging towards the lieutenant. Shining dodged back, feeling the cold radiating from its hoof as it passed him, before turning on his heel and rushing through the gap in the tent’s wall.

Outside the sky had darkened, and the faint light was tinged pink by the shield still in place over the camp; outside, a violent storm was blowing. But among the clouds and snow, the partially obscured shapes of dozens - if not hundreds - of Windigo could be seen. Occasionally they would crash into the barrier before bouncing off. Dragging his eyes away from the scene, Shining desperately looked around for the rest of his command, but he could not see them. Behind him, the ice pony tore through the tent and without slowing started to rush towards him.

Shining took off at a gallop, circling around the edge of the barrier, head swinging this way and that. Suddenly as he passed a tent he saw his unit at the opposite end of the dome. Straining his eyes, he could just about make out a discoloured circle of ice in front of them. He felt a cold breeze to his left and instinctively twisted right as a cloud of ice flew past him from the pursuing ice pony. Righting himself, he dashed forwards as quickly as his hooves could carry him towards the other guard ponies. His breath came in ragged gasps as his lungs drew the frigid air in. The ice pony remained just at his heels.

For several minutes they played a deadly game of cat and mouse. Shining was quicker than the lumbering creature behind him, but with most of his strength used to maintain the field above him he quickly tired, while the ice pony kept on coming at a steady pace as inexorably as a glacier. Shining was forced to swerve several times to avoid crushing blows from its hooves or blasts of its freezing breath. Finally when he felt he could run no further, he realised that his people were less than a hundred meters away. To his surprise and pride they seemed to be cheering him on. Some of the soldier started to run towards him. “No, keep back,” he panted.

His spirits buoyed, Shining pushed himself on, noting the rough circle of timber partially covered in snow in front of him. He rushed through the circle, only to find his hooves slipping on oil poured onto the snow. With a bone-jarring thud, he landed heavily in the snow, facing upwards. As if in slow motion, he saw the ice pony leap into the air and almost gracefully arc through the air towards him. With a slight force of will that caused him to groan, he created a spark from his horn, which ignited the oil. Flames sprung up in the circle around him.

Suddenly a pony leapt through the fire to his right, colliding with him and pushing both of them through the ring of fire and out the other side. Behind them the ice pony landed heavily where Shining had been lying only a few moments before.

The world returned to normal speed and everypony around him seemed to be shouting at once. Off to one side, Sharp Blade laid in the snow, several other ponies patting out the fires in her mane, tail and wings. “Well done, sergeant,” he croaked.

“Thank you sir,” she said, getting up. “But I’m only a corporal.”

“I know sergeant,” he said with a smile.

“Oh... Thank you sir.”

Behind them the frozen skin of the ice pony was flowing and cracking off of its coat. It spun around in a seeming panic before collapsing to the ground with a moan. A blue shape detached itself from the back of the creature, while Rock Steady dropped to the ground, shivering despite the fire. The newly released Windigo attempted to flee from the fire all around it, but there was no escape and it faded away with a howl.

The Doctor and his companions rushed out of the dig site, followed by a small group of workers. On the way out they bumped into Jamie, coming the other way with Ironside on his back.

“Jamie!” called the Doctor. “What happened, where is Shining Armour?”

“We caught up with the ice pony and it sort of shrivelled up, releasing this lassie.” He passed the unconscious mare off to a pair of workers who carried her back down the tunnel. “Then we were jumped by another one. Shining tried to lead it off into a trap but I havnae seen him since.”

“Oh crumbs! Oh my giddy aunt!” gibbered the Doctor at this news. He rushed off into the snow. Confused, Jamie and the rest of the party followed. To the Doctor’s horror, he saw the remaining ice pony surrounded by a ring of fire. As he watched, the Windigo left its host and disappeared into the ether.

“Wait!” he cried as he arrived at the group of soldiers.

Shining dragged himself to his hooves and turned to the new arrival. “What?” he asked.

“We just translated the writing in the flame chamber,” said Lemon.

“Equestria made a peace treaty with the Windigo. You promised not to use the flame anymore,” panted Past Times.

“What did you do to that ice pony?” asked the Doctor.

Shining swallowed hard. “I think we killed the thing inside it, or dispersed it or something.”

“Oh dear, oh dear,” mumbled the Doctor trotting around in a circle.

“Doctor!” yelled Jamie, looking up at the dome.

The Doctor craned his neck and looked up at the sky. Outside the dome, the Windigo had ceased to throw themselves against the shield. Instead they had begun to circle each other, their paths twisting in and out, getting faster and faster and closer and closer. At once the Windigo formed into a single blue mass, which reshaped itself into a huge equine form easily a hundred feet long.

“Doctor,” gasped Jamie open mouthed. “Look at the size o that thing.”

“Yes Jamie,” gulped the Doctor. “That certainly is a big one.”

With a silent roar the creature brought its front hooves down on the shield.

“Gggaaahhh!” screamed Shining armour, dropping to his knees, horn sparking, as the feedback ripped through him.

“Shining,” cried Lemon.

“I can hold it!” panted the young stallion, struggling to rise. The gargantuan creature struck another blow to the shield, flooring Shining again. Blood dripped from his muzzle. “I always liked this jacket, it hides the stains,” he grinned.

“Stop it!” cried the Doctor. “You’re going to kill yourself!”

“Must protect my people,” he gasped. “It’s my mark, it’s what I do!”

“Listen, the Windigo can be reasoned with, we can make peace with them. But we have to make a show of faith, we have to let them in.”

Shining screamed as the creature outside again smashed into the shield, which momentarily flickered.

“We have to do this, this is bigger than us, if we don’t make peace here the Windigo might attack all of Equestria again,” begged the Doctor.

Shining gave a sigh and the shield dropped. The long denied storm surged in with a vengeance. The wind struck the unprotected ponies almost like an icy fist, scattering them. Snow thick and white instantly dropped visibility to only a few feet. Above them the luminescence of the Windigo could only just be made out; it seemed surprised that the barrier had fallen and was frozen in place.

The Doctor shielded his eyes from the blizzard and started to edge forward towards the towering creature. To his surprise Shining pulled himself up and put a hoof on his shoulder. “My mission. My responsibility,” he yelled, blinking bloodshot eyes. The Doctor nodded and the two of them started to drag themselves forward into the teeth of the gale.

The two ponies staggered forward step by step, leaning on each other for support through the snow. By the Doctor’s reckoning the Windigo wasn’t far away, but they could easily have been turned around in the storm; they could be heading away from their goal. Suddenly the storm ceased, the wind reducing to nothing, and they staggered forward as the pressure on them vanished.

Looking around, the Doctor realised that the storm had only stopped in an area around them a few meters wide. Beyond the unmarked boundary the blizzard continued to howl but where the two stallions stood all was calm.

“What happened?” asked Shining, looking around.

“I don’t know,” started the Doctor, then he pointed. “Look!”

In front of them, several Windigo materialised out of the storm and stood at the border of the area of calm. They were skittish, hopping from hoof to hoof as they stared at the two ponies. Slowly turning on the spot, the Doctor noted Windigo approaching from all sides, including above. “Uhm, hello,” he said waving a hoof at the approaching creatures. “We’re terribly sorry for all the trouble we caused you.” He gave an apologetic grin. “We didn’t know about the treaty with you, it was such a long time ago all the ponies had forgotten. Please, can you forgive us?”

The Windigo turned to each other and seemed to silently confer for a moment, then one of them stepped forward just into the hole in the storm. It exhaled a cloud of ice which formed itself the rough shape of a pony. Within it breast two shapes pulsated.

“Oh dear. Yes, I’m different from the other ponies. You see, I’m from another world, but I’m speaking on their behalf.”

This seemed to anger the Windigo; several started to stamp and snort. The temperature around the Doctor, which was already frigid, seemed to drop even further.

“I rather think that want to talk to you, Lieutenant Armour,” said the Time Lord, turning to the white stallion. “I think they consider me an outsider in your dispute.”

“Me! What can I say?” hissed Shining.

“Speak from the heart, Lieutenant Armour, speak from the heart,” advised the Doctor.

Taking a deep breath of the freezing air and trying to stop his knees knocking, Shining Armour stepped forwards, his hooves making snapping sounds as he pulled them free of the frozen ground. “My name is Lieutenant Shining Armour of house Starlight,” he began.

Several of the Windigo went berserk at this, spewing sheets of ice around and stomping their intangible feet on the ground. One started to charge forwards towards the trapped ponies but another threw itself in the way and they spun into the sky biting at each other.

Shining tried to back away, but found his legs firmly rooted to the ground as ice started to creep up past his knees. Looking around, he found the Doctor in the same situation. Trying not to let his panic show, he continued, “On behalf of myself and my government, I apologize for the actions that have occurred here.” He wished that his mother or father were here; they were so much better at this diplomatic stuff. Then he thought of the situation he was in and changed his mind. He was so glad they were far away and safe. “The land of Equestria has no wish to wage war with the Windigo. This has all been an accident. I’m sorry.”

The ice had reached his body and was starting to creep along his flanks. The surrounding Windigo appeared to have calmed down, although some were still rearing up in agitation. Most were examining Shining closely.

Shining tried to keep his voice steady despite the creeping horror of being encased in ice. “I’m sorry for the deaths of your people. We didn’t understand what had happened, why they were here. They fought well.” He thought he saw the slightest glimmer of respect on the faces of some of the creatures watching, but it could have been his imagination. “Please, there is no reason for war between our people, no reason for more to die.” He felt the icy grip reach as far as his neck.

The Windigo that had previously stepped forwards gave a decisive huff and started to turn back to its kin.

“Please,” cried Shining is desperation. “Please, I’m in charge here, this is all my responsibility. Do what you want to me but let the rest of my people go. Please!” He felt the ice start to creep over his eyes freezing his gaze on the leaving Windigo. For a second the creature hesitated then it turned back to him.

By now, the ice covered all of Shining’s body and he could feel a biting chill start to reach into his body towards his weakly pulsing heart. His frozen eyes started to dim and the world seemed to become flat and grey around him. Oddly he found his thoughts drawn to his sister and the fact that he’d not had a chance to say goodbye to her before he had been deployed. Sorry Twilie.

Suddenly, with a crack, the ice encasing him fractured into a thousand shards which fell to the ground around him. Gasping for breath, Shining fell forwards onto the ground. He shook his limbs, trying to return feeling to them. In front of him, the lead Windigo exhaled again - this time, the breath formed the shape of a flame which suddenly was snuffed out. Then it popped into existence again only to be snuffed once again.

“I understand,” said the Doctor, picking himself up from the ground. “We’ll get rid of the flame as soon as we can. Thank you, thank you very much. Oh very well done Brigadier, I mean Lieutenant,” he whispered in Shining’s ear.

There was a sudden whoosh and the storm free area surrounding the two ponies expanded, revealing the whole camp. Not too far behind them other ponies including Jamie, Lemon and Past could be seen starting to dig themselves out of deep snow drifts. The storm continued outside the camp and all along the boundary stood ranks of Windigo watching impassively.

“Doctor,” yelled Jamie trying to force his way through the snow, “Am I glad to see you. What happened?”

“Something wonderful,” replied the Doctor, “Peace happened, Jamie. Peace happened. Now we should get back to the dig as quickly as possible before we try the patience of our hosts.”

The rather battered group of ponies made their way back to the dig site, only to find that the entrance had been covered in snow during the brief storm. It took several nerve wracking minutes to uncover the opening. Every second, Shining Armour expected to see a Windigo approaching over his shoulder and to once again feel the numbing feeling of the ice creeping over him. With a shiver, Shining pushed forward with his power to move the last of the snow, but was rewarded with a stab of pain from his overtaxed horn. With a sigh, he helped to clear the path by hoof.

Once it was clear, the party made their way down the short path to the flame chamber. To their surprise they found the place a hive of activity; the main door had been forced open, damaging it, and the workers and students and even several of the injured guards were taking apart the plinth upon which rested the flame. As they entered, several unicorns working together lifted the flame’s container from its position and gently dropped in onto the back of one of the house Sceptre guards who grunted with the weight but held it steady.

“What’s going on here?” asked Lemon and Shining together.

“Oh thank goodness you’re all alright,” simpered Golden as he pranced across the room. “I thought those creatures might have gotten you.”

“What have you done? Why did you take that apart? You’ve ruined the find of a lifetime,” exclaimed Lemon.

“Needs must I’m afraid my dear, this flame seems to be the only thing that drives off the Windigo so if we’re going to get away we’ll need to take it with us.”

“You don’t need to anymore,” said Shining. “We’ve worked out a peace treaty with the Windigo.”

The noble’s jaw dropped. “Wh..What?” he stuttered.

“We’ve agreed to put out the flame and they’ve agreed to leave us and Equestria in peace.”

“I mean this politely my lad, but have you lost your bucking mind!” exclaimed Golden. “Haven’t you seen Hearth’s Warming pageants? The Windigo are evil and they just told you to destroy the only weapon we have against them.”

Shining started to feel pangs of doubt. What Golden was saying made sense - he didn’t have any proof of the Windigo’s good intentions. Was he just disarming himself?

“Now look here,” said the Doctor, bustling forward. “The Windigo could have killed us at any time, they could have killed all the ponies they froze.” He gestured at the now mostly defrosted ponies huddling near the plinth. “But they didn’t. I don’t think they actually want to hurt anypony. Anyway the flame didn’t stop that ice pony much, I doubt it will stop an entire herd of angry Windigo by itself.”

“And who is this pony? Some random hobo wandered in off the snow? It is likely that he is working for the Windigo anyway.”

“Now you can nae say things like that about the Doctor, he just saved your life,” said Jamie.

“Look Shining, Lemon,” continued Golden, ignoring the Scot. “Think about it, if we shut off the flame we may never be able to start it up again, it’ll be lost forever. As it stands, if we can get this thing back to civilisation it will make all of us very wealthy ponies. Very wealthy indeed.”

“What did you say?” asked Jamie.

“I’m sure there will be something for everypony when we get back. Even you, whoever you are.”

“I’ve heard your voice before, you’re that smuggler!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Golden defensively.

“What’s this about a smuggler?” asked Lemon.

“This great jessy tried to pay us to take away all these rocks when we arrived.”

“It was you,” accused Lemon, stepping towards the blond pony. “You opened the door to the flame chamber, you lit it and you stole those artefacts.”

Golden sighed. “Let’s end this farce,” he said. Dropping his foppish demeanour, he pulled a dagger from his sleeve with his aura and held it to the surprised archaeologist's neck. A further flash from his horn knocked Shining aside into the wall. Around the chamber the house Sceptre guards brought their crossbows to bear on any nearby troops. The workers and students started to mill about in confusion.

“How? Why?” gasped Lemon.

“Mostly money my dear, as always. My house has recently gotten into a rather expensive feud with house Optiebeurs-Golo and unfortunately we’re rather near to bankruptcy. Luckily a search of some of the house’s oldest records suggested the existence of this place, if not the exact location. It took some time to find somepony with your skills, my dear - it was a bonus that they were housed in such a delightful package as well.” He leered at her. ”It wasn’t hard to make sure you ‘discovered’ the right papers and then I stepped in to help fund your expedition. Unfortunately, the Canterlot Royal Society got in the way and managed to station these fools,” he gestured at the guards, “here but the boy here,” he gestured at Shining’s stunned form, “turned out to be too dull to see what was happening under his own snout. If these two idiots,” he gestured at Jamie and the Doctor, “hadn’t gotten caught and come up with some stupid story about being from another dimension, my artefacts would be halfway to Canterlot by now. Still, no matter, this little beauty will make my house the richest and most powerful in Equestria. Anyway enough of this, move,” he commanded, bringing the knife closer to Lemon and gesturing with his head towards the cave’s entrance.

Grunting with the effort, the pony with the flame on its back started to stagger down the passageway.

“You,” Golden ordered, pointing at the Doctor, who pointed at himself and looked around as if the noble might mean somepony else. “Yes you, and your friend with the silly accent, help him with that thing, we’ve got a long journey ahead of ourselves.”

The Doctor and Jamie slowly made their way over towards the container and took the weight on their backs. The guard pony sighed in relief and the three of them started to carry the flame down the tunnel.

A few minutes later they found themselves above ground again, the confused herd of ponies following. Sharp helped the still dazed Shining stagger along with them.

Around them the Windigo surrounding the camp reacted to the appearance of the flame in anger and fear. Most of them took to the air and began to circle closer and closer, while others galloped towards the party.

“Don’t worry,” shouted Golden, “The flame will keep them away, we’re quite safe.” He didn’t sound entirely certain. The guards turned their weapons towards the approaching horde.

While everypony was distracted, the Doctor cautiously slipped the tracker from his pocket and touched it against the container on his back. With a loud crack the container and the flame above it winked out of existence, to be replaced with a lump of crystal about the size of a pony's head. Surprised by the reduction in weight, Jamie and the guardpony staggered to the ground.

“What have you done?” screeched Golden. “You’re going to kill us all!”

In his surprise, Golden released his grip on Lemon, and she twisted around and spat in his face. He reared back in shock and Lemon spun around, kicking back at him and catching him between his hind legs. He froze in place for a moment before crumpling to the ground with a high pitched wail, clutching his injury.

Jamie recovered quickly and spun around towards the guard next to him, swinging a hoof. It caught the pony on the side of his head and he crashed to the ground, stunned. In a single smooth move, Jamie reached for the ancient dagger in his sock and threw it at another guard. It thudded into his flank hilt first, causing him to drop his crossbow. Several soldiers near him took the opportunity to pounce on him. Sharp dropped Shining to the ground and leapt towards the remaining guard. A bolt shot over her head and she crashed into the guard in a ball of feathers and legs. Within moments the guard was subdued.

Picking himself up, Shining glanced at the oncoming wave of Windigo. He flinched, expecting to feel another burst of icy energy freezing him in place, but instead only a few metres from him the Windigos pulled up into the sky and flew away from the ponies. A single creature remained - although it looked identical to all the rest Shining thought it might be the one that had communicated with him earlier. It hovered in the air above the camp and seemed to bow to the assembled ponies. Struggling to remain standing, Shining returned the gesture and the creature shot away, disappearing into the distance.

Several hours had passed since the Windigo had left and the camp was starting to be broken down. Shining had decided to leave the area as quickly as possible in case the air spirits returned. Lemon and Past Times had originally violently disagreed with this course of action, but they had eventually been talked round and had started to organise their assistants into packing the supplies and artefacts into the wagons that had originally brought them here. Golden Sceptre and his guards had been restrained and were currently kept under the watchful eyes of Shining’s troops. The prisoners could look forward to further punishment when they got back to civilisation. Ironside and Rock Steady sat off to one side, quietly talking to each other, bonding over their shared trauma.

“Can we give you a lift, Doctor?” asked Shining Armour, turning to the grey pony next to him.

“Oh, that’s very kind, but our transport isn’t very far,” he replied.

“Are you sure you have to go? It’ll make my report much easier.”

“I’m afraid if would be quite disastrous if we stayed too long. Just make sure your report gets stored properly, we wouldn’t want some busy body throwing it away, it would be like we were never here.”

“Aye, I’ll be sorry to leave ye,” said Jamie. “I nae thought I’d be friends with a red coat.”

“First time for everything I suppose, I didn’t think I’d be friends with a stallion who wore a skirt.”

“It’s a kilt, not a skirt,” said the Scot defensively.

“A leaving present for you.” Shining floated a half full bottle to Jamie. “The last of the Bourbon.”

“Thanks, that’s very generous of ye.”

“Don’t mention it, it was Golden’s anyway.”

“Now come on Jamie, we better get back to the TARDIS and return this shard to its proper place,” said the Doctor, turning away from Shining.

“Then we have to return to your people and they’re going to do God knows what to us.” said Jamie, following him.

“Well, yes, but I have a few ideas about that. Plus the Windigos turned out to be civilised, so maybe my own people will be as forgiving.” The two of them set off into the featureless white wilderness.

As Shining watched them go, he became aware of Lemon standing next to him. “We’re almost ready to go,” she said. “It’s a shame but I think I’ve got enough artefacts to write several books on now, and of course the Hearth’s Warming stories will need a bit of updating.” She kissed him on the cheek.

Shining blushed. “What was that for?” he asked.

“Just topping up your friendship tank,” she explained. “You never know when you might need it.”

Author's Notes:

Probably the least Lunaverse like of the chapters not containing any of the regular characters and only making a few references to the Universe as a whole.

I did a base under siege story because, well what else can you do with the 2nd Doctor? Rather fortuitously placed with the discovery of some of the missing episodes recently (less than 100 left to go now).

Sorry for this being a bit delayed it ended up longer than I expected (as usual).

Once again thanks to Mooncalf for fixing my grammar and generally making it all better. I'll try to learn my lessons.

Next month should be the 9th Doctor and Celestia having a chat about the wrongs and not-quite-so-wrongs of genocide it might be a bit late as I'm caught up in my nightmare night story at the moment (look at and comment on the second chapter here) and I'm quite busy for the second half of the month but we'll see.

3rd Doctor - The Gentleman

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It was Rush Job’s last day at the theatre although he didn’t know it yet. He was a fairly non-descript earth pony stallion only just into adulthood. He’d always wanted to be an actor, but frankly wasn’t much good at it, as his box cutiemark indicated, so he’d jumped at the chance to work in the Royal Canterlot Theatre hoping it would be a good jumping on point for stardom. After six months of drudge work behind the scenes his initial enthusiasm was starting to fade, and about the only good thing about his current role was that he got to see the shows for free and even that paled after watching the same show every night for a fortnight.

Thus it was with some excitement that he found the statue, if only in that it broke the daily monotony. It had been left just inside one of the side entrances of the building and was made of some crystalline material, and it depicted a snake about two hooves high encircling a rock made of the same material. The snake’s mouth was open and its fangs bared ready to strike. An odd gift, flowers were more traditional, it bore a large tag noting that it was for ‘Quartermoon the Magnificent’. Rush wished that someday someone would give him presents. Still he’d better take it to the star’s dressing room. The room itself was only a short distance away, its door adorned with a large silver star. Rush knocked but there was no answer so he let himself in, the room was cluttered with various props and costumes but there was no sign of its current owner.

Rush carefully placed the statue on the dressing table but as he did he caught the root of his hoof on one of its fangs. He winced slightly and licked the tiny wound. This was turning out to be a perfect day so far. He turned to leave when he was suddenly hit by a wave of dizziness and stumbled, knocking over a rack of costumes. He cursed his clumsiness and knelt to lift it but was stopped by a shooting pain in his side. He stood back up thinking he’d injured his back in some way but the pain continued and increased. The room suddenly seemed very stuffy, he could hardly breathe. He staggered towards the door and blinked several times, he couldn’t seem to focus his eyes properly. What was happening to him? he wondered. He staggered down the corridor leaning heavily against the wall, he tried to cry out but he couldn’t seem to draw a proper breath. The temperature seemed to increase until it seemed he was in an inferno, he had to get out into the fresh air. Struggling he pushed himself forward and fell against the very door that he had found the statue next to. It flew open and Rush fell forward out of the building and into the snow outside. His head smashed into the ground and everything went black. The snow continued to fall, slowly covering his form.

It was several hours before his body was found.

With a wheezing groaning sound a battered blue box faded into existence at one end of a small alley in Canterlot, the capital city of Equestria. Either by luck or design there was nopony around to see either this strange occurrence or the strangers who alighted from the box.

There were two of them - the first was a petite young earth pony mare wearing a short dress covered with a furry jacket, the second a tall older unicorn stallion with a thick curly mane wearing a frilly shirt covered with a velvet smoking jacket and a short cape. His horn was long and elegant. Oddly both individuals and their clothes were coloured only in various shades of grey.

“Wow, Doctor, you were right,” exclaimed the mare brightly, examining herself. “We are ponies!”

“When am I ever wrong, Jo?” said the Doctor, “I told you the TARDIS could take us through the dimensional barrier now the Time Lords have repaired her. This is Equestria.”

“Are all of the people, er, ponies here so drab?” asked Jo.

“Drab? No they're usually very colourful, why do you... Oh,” The Doctor looked down at himself and Jo for a second, “This won’t do, this won’t do at all. Excuse me for a moment, my dear, I’m sure I can fix this.” He turned back and re-entered the TARDIS.

For a minute Jo wandered uncomfortably around the alley getting used to her hooves. She shivered slightly watching the flurry of snow continuously falling from the sky, and brushed some of it away with her hooves and tried to make a snowball, a feat that much more difficult now that she lacked hands. Then there was a sudden pop, a stench of ozone and Jo’s form burst into colour, her coat blooming into Aquamarine and her dress becoming a dark red, while her hair turned bright yellow with a hint of orange. “Wow,” she exclaimed.

“That should fix it, I just had to reverse the polarity of the neutron flow”, announced the Doctor as he exited the TARDIS with his sonic screwdriver hovering alongside him encased in a white aura. The change had affected him much less than his companion. Both his fur and mane were still white and even his clothes were mostly dichromatic, the shirt white, the jacket black - although the lining of the cape was now red silk.

“Groovy,” announced Jo. There was a second pop and the colour faded from them again. The Doctors face fell for a moment, and he pointed his screwdriver towards the TARDIS and activated it with a buzz. Once again colour returned to the travellers.

“I think that’s got it now,” he waited for a second, then returned the device to his pocket. “Yes, it’s fixed. Now shall we see where we are and where the nearest shard is?” He withdrew the tracker from around his waist and waved it around. There was a loud crackle when it was pointed straight ahead out of the alley.“ The Doctor carefully examined the readings, “Interesting, there seem to be two shards in the same vicinity. If we’re lucky we may be able to recover both while we’re here. Come on Jo.”

The two of them strolled out of the alley and were quickly engulfed in a crowd of ponies of all tribes, colours, sizes and ages. Pegasi flew overhead, unicorns and earth ponies walked around in conversation, mares and stallions, fillies and colts could all be seen trudging through the snow, watched over by the occasional spear toting guard. Around them tall buildings rose up into the sky, many topped with spires of silver.

“Doctor!” exclaimed Jo in wonder. “There’s so many of them!”

“Certainly more than I’ve seen in my previous visits, this must be a major city, maybe even the capital.” He put a leg over Jo’s back and began to steer her through the crowd, “Come on, the tracker’s pointing this way, the shards can’t be far.”

The trail led them through the packed streets to a large building which proclaimed itself via an ornate sign to be the ‘Royal Canterlot Theatre’. Outside a mob of ponies were milling around and slowly dispersing into the building through the main doors.

“Look Doctor, it’s a magic act,” said Jo pointing at a poster near the door. The picture showed a blue stallion dressed in a white suit and top hat staring out of a flaming cage surrounded by images of various other tricks, such as a mare being sawed in half and a filly levitating over a pool of sharks. Text indicated that this was ‘Quartermoon the Magnificent’ and a sign stuck over it stated that this was the last night and the performance was sold out.

“That’s odd,” mused the Doctor, “Magic seems to be a way of life in this universe but they still have magic shows.”

“We’ll in our world most people can run or jump and we still have athletics performances, maybe he’s just really good at it?” said Jo.

“I suppose, you're right.” He tried the tracker again, and it hissed loudly when pointed at the theatre. “It appears that at least one of the shards is within, it’s a shame it’s sold out. We might have to sneak in.”

“Or maybe someone’s returned some tickets,” said Jo pointing at the relevant office, “Or there might be a tout about, if this place is anything like the west end.”

The travellers joined the back of the small queue leading to the ticket office, but by the disappointed looks on the ponies ahead of them it seemed that they were not likely to be successful. The queue quickly shrunk and soon the Doctor found himself facing the clerk. “Excuse me,” he began with a winning smile, but was interrupted by a short straw coloured stallion wearing a panama hat who pushed in front of him.

“I’d like to return these tickets,” announced the intruder, pushing over two pieces of paper, “Make sure they get good owners.” Not even waiting for the surprised clerk to reply, the stallion turned and doffed his hat to the Doctor before walking away to join a black pegasus mare by the door.

“Come on, Professor,” she said, as they walked away, “We better get out of here.”

The Doctor watched in shock as the pair of them walked away, “He seemed familiar,” he mumbled, before shaking himself and turning back to the pony in front of him. “Two tickets for Quartermoon the Magnificent, please.”

The serving pony examined the tickets, “These are really good seats,” he noted, “That will be one hundred and forty bits.”

The Doctor levitated a pouch of coins to the ticket pony, “This should cover it.”

“Where did you get those?” asked Jo.

“I was given them last time I was here ... for services rendered, I suppose.”

The ticket pony passed over the tickets and a much reduced purse of coins, “I hope you enjoy the show,” she said with a smile.

The Doctor nodded in reply and turned to Jo, and offered her his arm.“Shall we go in Miss Grant, we wouldn’t want to miss the start of the act.”

“Why thank you Doctor,” she replied and the two of them entered the theatre arm in arm.

The theatre itself was huge, it could easily accommodate over a thousand ponies and was full to bursting point. Close to the stage itself lines of velvet covered benches were laid out as seating for the audience, while further back there appeared to be only standing room. A second level of seating rose above the first and off to the sides various private boxed looked down upon the stage. The theatre was dimly lit by rows of what appeared to be gas lamps, and a huge chandelier dominated the ceiling. An orchestra located below the stage was warming up. Most of the ponies were done up in their finery and for once the Doctors costume fitted right in, while Jo felt conspicuously underdressed and was sure she was getting evil looks from much of the audience.

A smart pony in an usher’s uniform led the Doctor and Jo to their seats, only a few rows back from the stage and near an aisle. Jo easily curled up on the bench-like seating provided, as it was more comfortable to rest that way in her current form than it would have been to take up a sitting position. Next to her a small blue unicorn filly with a white and blue striped mane fidgeted waiting for the show to begin, while occasionally dipping into a bag of sweets almost as big as she was which rested on the side of her seat. The Doctor took his seat to the other side of his companion.

“Come on, start, start, start,” chanted the filly standing on her seat and resting her front hooves against the back of the seat in front of her. This movement upset the bag of sweets and sent it and its contents tumbling to the floor, and with a look of horror the filly flailed her limbs trying to catch it. However, just before the bag impacted it was cushioned by a white aura. With a smile the Doctor returned to the bag to its owner’s grasp while levitating a mint into his own mouth. The filly smiled back.

Jo leaned over to the small pony, “Have, you seen Quartermoon perform, before?” she asked.

The unicorn turned to Jo, “I’ve seen him lots of times, but tonight’s préféré!”

“What’s so special about tonight?”

“It’s a secret,” whispered the young pony looking shifty, “But it’s going to be great, special, magnifique, awesome!” exclaimed the filly in increasing volume bouncing up and down in her seat.

“Can you please control your child!” demanded a unicorn mare in the row in front, glaring daggers at the filly who shrunk back, intimidated.

“She’s not mine,” said Jo, “and she’s just excited about the show. Can’t you remember being her age?”

“What are you saying about my age?” demanded the mare, “They shouldn’t allow such riff raff into the theatre,” she muttered.

The Doctor leaned forward, “Madam,” he began, “The child has an excuse for being childish, you do not, now please be quiet.”

The unicorn sputtered, “How dare you! I should...”

A white unicorn with a red mane sitting on the other side of the filly leaned forward as well, “You should be quiet,” she said firmly with an air of authority in her voice.

The angry mare paled, and then turned back to the stage.

“Thank you,” said the Doctor nodding to his ally. The mare stared at him for a second with strangely ancient looking eyes before making a puzzled sound and looking away. Her horn briefly glowed blue as she covertly stole one of the filly next to her’s sweets.

“Is that your mother?” Jo asked the child next to her.

“Oh, no, she’s .. “ the filly began, when suddenly the lights started to darken. “It’s starting,” she squealed, settling in her seat and staring fixedly at the stage.

A single spot light highlighted the centre of the stage as the great blue curtains opened, to reveal it was empty. From all around them a voice could be heard. “Mares and stallions, fillies and colts. The Royal Canterlot Theatre is proud to present, the one, the only, Quartermoon the Magnificent.” There was a flash of light and a cloud of smoke rose from the stage, and quickly cleared to reveal... nothing. The stage remained empty. There were sounds of dismay from the audience.

Then a booming voice could be heard from above. “Fear not! For Quartermoon the Magnificent has never disappointed an audience.”

Jo looked up. There, perched on the chandelier, was Quartermoon himself. He was a huge blue stallion, and wore a large white top hat with a white mane sticking out behind it, and a white suit jacket with its tails laying across his flanks, highlighting a moon and wand cutie mark. A smart goatee beard graced his chin, reminding Jo of the Master, and making her shudder. “Prepare yourself for a night you will not soon forget!” His voice was deep and commanding, with what sounded to Jo’s ears a French accent.

“You will see wonders beyond compare, tricks to astound.” He leapt from his perch and, to the amazement of the crowd, floated to the ground like a feather, landing lightly on the stage.

“And remember if you think this is all just unicorn magic,” he tapped his hat which seemed to disappear to reveal his hornless head,“There is nothing beneath my hat.” Throwing out a hoof his hat appeared again and was thrown into the air where he caught it on his head. The audience loudly stamped their approval.

“That’s my Grand-père,” squealed the filly sitting beside Jo, bouncing up and down in her seat before holding a hoof to her mouth and looking around awkwardly. “I wasn’t supposed to say that,” she whispered to Jo conspiratorially.

Suddenly there was a crash from the back of the theatre and everypony’s head snapped around to see what was happening. A dark purple unicorn stood in the doorway, surrounded by several apparently dazed members of staff who stared open mouthed and vacantly at him. A neat turban covered much of his head with only his glowing horn left uncovered. He was dressed in a long flowing robe cut to reveal his cutie mark which consisted of a pair of staring eyes. “This isn’t magic!” bellowed the Unicorn in a magically augmented voice, “It’s all tricks and sleight of hoof! No mere Dirt Pony can compare to real unicorn magic!” There were gasp of shock from the audience.

Apparently unfazed Quartermoon calmly turned to the new comer. “It appears I have a critic in the audience,” he noted equally loudly, “He’s politer than most,” he continued with a smile.

Somewhat taken aback by the blasé reaction to his entrance, the intruder stuttered for a second. “You are a faker, a sham. I, Maestro, should be on that stage showing these ponies the true wonder of magic.”

“Ah, Maestro,” continued Quartermoon, “and what would the audience learn from such a display?”

“Learn, learn? They would be astounded by my power!” Maestro sounded confused, this was not working out how he had expected.

“They would learn that you are good at magic. However, with my show they will learn that they could do magic. Yes, my tricks are just that, tricks, and if a member of the audience can work out how they are done then they could do them themselves, regardless of the tribe of their birth. In fact I welcome it, if anyone tonight can see how a trick is done, I invite them to speak up and share their insight with the rest of us, for the betterment of all.”

There was a moment's silence, then the Doctor stood up from his seat and began to clap his front hooves together, “Bravo, Sir. Well said,” he cheered. More and more of the audience began to stand and stomp. Quartermoon gave a bow.

At the back of the theatre Maestro, mute with shock, was accosted by several burley ushers who began to drag him out of the theatre. “You haven’t heard the last of me Quartermoon,” he yelled, mostly unheard over the crowd, “I’ll get my revenge for this humiliation.”

Once the crowd had begun to quiet the earth pony magician began to speak again. “I apologize for the interruption, now, on with the show, and as I said if any of you can see how a trick is performed, please speak up.”

The performance continued for almost two hours. There were card tricks, escapology, illusions and knife throwing. True to his word after each one Quartermoon would ask the audience how they thought the trick was done, congratulated them if they were right and showed them how they were wrong if they were not. However, by the end of the night only a small proportion of his tricks had been ‘solved’.

“Mares and stallions,” announced the magician after a trick involving guessing what message a member of the audience had written in a sealed envelope. “For my last trick of the night, I will require a further volunteer.”

To Jo’s surprise, the filly by her side, who had been quiet and apparently captivated for the performance so far, started to leap up and down shouting “Me! Me! Me!” The spotlight searching the crowd came to a stop over her.

“We have a volunteer,” cried Quartermoon, gesturing for the filly to approach.

The small unicorn left her seat and pranced up to the stage, in the spotlight all the way. Once there she clambered up onto it, slipping slightly before straightening and standing proudly next to Quartermoon, appearing not in the slightest intimidated by the press of ponies watching her or by the imposing stallion next to her.

“And what is your name little filly, who I have never seen before,” said the magician with a theatrical wink to the audience.

“My name is Trixie, Grand-père, I mean Quartermoon,” announced the girl. A wave of laughter passed around the crowd. “And Trixie can do magic too!” The filly screwed up her face in concentration and several bright sparks erupted from the end of her horn to burst, like fireworks, in the air above her. The crowd applauded.

Quartermoon passed his hoof over Trixie’s head and the sparks stopped. Trixie gasped and looked up to see a flower now protruding from her horn. Quartermoon picked the flower before stepping forward and gesturing for silence. “And now The Magnificent Quartermoon will attempt the last and greatest trick of the night. Without the aid of magic I will levitate this filly,” he gestured to Trixie who was mugging for the crowd, “across this tank of pony eating fish.” Quartermoon stamped once and the front of the stage fell open to reveal a tank full of water, and within it large shapes could just be made out slowly moving. Quartermoon threw the flower towards the tank and a fish the size of Trixie leapt out and caught it in mid-air before falling back with a splash. The audience gasped.

Quartermoon reared onto his hind legs and gestured over Trixie, who slowly rose into the air. “I’m flying!” she announced with a giggle.

“As you can see, this is no mere feat of unicorn magic, my assistant is not encased in an aura.” Quartermoon gestured and suddenly a long sword was balanced on one hoof. He tossed the blade in the air and caught it between his forelegs before slashing it around the levitating filly. “Nor is she held by wires.”

With another gesture Trixie began to slowly hover across the stage and came to a stop next to the tank. From the orchestra a drum roll began. Trixie’s progress recommenced and she began to travel over the tank. There was a gasp as a fish leapt from the pool and fell just short of the filly’s flailing hooves.

Suddenly, with a squeal followed by a splash Trixie fell out of the air and into the pool, and the creatures within could be seen becoming more agitated. There was a scream from the back of the audience. Without a pause Quartermoon put the sword between his teeth and took a running jump into the pool. The water frothed and fish were thrown onto the stage. Suddenly a small blue shape was thrown free from the water passing over the stage and landing in the wings. The movement in the water ceased and for a second the stage was quiet.

Then with a clatter of hooves, Trixie, now dripping wet but wearing a purple cloak decorated with stars and a pointy hat galloped onto the stage, “Ne paniquez pas mes amis, Trixie will save The Magnificent Quartermoon!” She tripped and fell on her face before quickly righting herself and gesturing towards the tank. Slowly the form of Quartermoon rose from the water - and despite having returned from a watery grave the magician was completely dry, without a hair out of place in his beard - and proceeded to walk across the top of the water towards his granddaughter.

“Please can we have a big round of applause for The Great and Powerful Trixie,” called Quartermoon. The sound of the crowd stamping was deafening. Quartermoon lifted Trixie onto his back and both of them bowed as the curtain descended.

“Well, that was fun, Doctor, but it hasn’t gotten us any closer to finding that shard thingy,” said Jo, as the theatre started to empty.

“I’ve checked the tracker, I think the shard might be in this building but I don’t know where. The readings are strange, I think we should try to get backstage.”

“Hey, femme,” came a call. Jo looked around and saw Trixie wandering across the theatre towards her. The Filly had removed her magician’s outfit and her coat was ruffled where she had been dried off.

“Hi, Trixie, my name’s Jo by the way and this is the Doctor. You did really well up there. Weren't you scared with all those people watching you? Or those horrible fish?”

Trixie shook her head, “I wasn’t scared at all. It was great,” she said with a gleam in her eyes.

“You weren’t close to the fish anyway, were you?” said the Doctor.

The filly looked impressed. “You worked it out? That’s one of Grand-père best tricks.”

“Well the fish tank was at the front of the stage and it was clear if you looked for it that you were standing further back. The water made the tank look bigger than it was, there was probably a second tank a bit further back, a shallower one that you could be dropped into safely.”

Trixie nodded. “Mr Splashy and his friends aren't dangerous anyway. They don’t eat ponies, only flowers.” Suddenly an idea struck her. “Would you like to meet Grand-père?” she asked.

“Yes, I think I would like to meet him, and congratulate him on an excellent show.”

Trixie led the two ponies out to the theatre’s ample foyer area, which by this time had mostly emptied. Quartermoon was sitting at a desk signing posters for the last of his fans.

“To my greatest fan,” he read out loud as he signed the poster using a pen held dexterously in one of his hooves, before signing it with a hoof print. “There you go,” he said passing the paper over to a brown colt who nodded shyly before running off to his mother.

Trixie rushed over and began to nuzzle her grandfather “Did I do good in the show Grand-père? Did I?” she asked.

“You did very well, Trixie,” replied Quartermoon, gently hugging the much smaller pony, then his tone became stricter, “But you were showing off when you did your own magic.”

“But the crowd was cheering,” pouted Trixie.

“When we’re on the stage we do magic...”

“For the crowd, not for ourselves,” continued the filly, looking chastised, “I’m sorry.”

“That’s alright, ma douce enfant. Now, who are your friends?” said Quartermoon looking suspicious.

“They’re called Jo and The Doctor. They helped me when a mean mare was mean to me.”

“I think I had a part in that as well,” came a feminine voice.

The party turned to see the red headed unicorn that had sat next to Trixie in the theatre. “Ah, Moonbeam,” said the magician with a purr in his voice, “What did you think of tonight’s show?” He took the unicorn’s hoof and kissed it.

“It was one of your best, Quartermoon. I particularly enjoyed how you dealt with that gatecrasher, and the introduction of your new assistant,” she gestured towards Trixie, who preened.

“I’m very proud of her,” said the magician ruffling his granddaughter’s mane, “And Maestro’s a fourth rate hack, he’d be lucky to get a job at a foals party, he keeps blaming others for his lack of talent. Would you like to join us backstage?”

“Unfortunately, I have business at the castle tonight so I will be unable to talk more. I will see you at your next tour and maybe I’ll see Trixie again as well.” With that she strolled away.

“A fan of yours?” asked the Doctor.

“She comes to most of my shows. She’s something of a magic groupie. I’ve taken her backstage before, to show her some of my tricks, ...if you know what I mean,” replied Quartermoon salaciously. “She also knows a lot of the history of stage magic, we’ve spent several hours discussing tricks that haven't been tried in centuries. And you Doctor, are you a fan?”

“I’m somewhat of an amateur magician myself, nothing on your level obviously.” The pale stallion gestured and a flower appeared from his sleeve but slipped through his hooves to land on the floor. He looked rather apologetic. “That’s not as easy with hooves.”

“I’m sure a lot of things must be easier with telekinesis. However, as you and your lovely companion,” Quartermoon smiled at Jo, “have put up with my granddaughter for the evening,” Trixie pouted, “I’m sure I can give you a lesson or two on hoof eye coordination.”

With that Quartermoon led the two travellers back into the theatre with Trixie skipping along behind.

The party snaked their way through the theatre towards the dressing rooms. Much of the staff were still busy tidying up and starting to take down Quartermoon’s set ready for the next show, but as they passed most nodded to the magician and commented on the show, while he in turn replied to them by name and thanked them for their part in making his show a success.

“Welcome to my humble abode,” announced Quartermoon as they arrived at his dressing room. He polished the silver star mounted on it with a hoofkerchief he seemingly pulled from nowhere.

Trixie clambered on top of her grandfather and looked up at the door, “Why isn’t my name up there yet?” she asked.

Quartermoon gave a deep laugh, “Maybe in a few years, Little Trix, this was only your first show.”

Trixie looked determined, “One day I’m going to have the biggest, silverest star there ever was on my door.”

“I’m sure you’ll have forgotten all about your old Grand-père by then.”

“Oh, never,” she replied hugging him, “You can come to all of my shows, so can Tante, Oncle, Limelight, even Echo, but not Sharpie,” she made a face, “Unless she gives me back my Shadowbolts doll.”

The Doctor coughed, feeling somewhat awkward intruding on their family moment.

Quartermoon turned with a smile and pushed the door open. ”Ah, yes, come in.”

The room behind the door was large, but cluttered with a selection of props and costumes. A dressing table surrounded by pictures dominated most of one wall, and the rest were covered with posters from previous shows.

Quartermoon sat at the table, put aside his top hat and loosened his collar. He opened a cupboard and extracted some bottles. “Can I offer you a drink? Bourbon?” Trixie’s hoof shot up, but Quartermoon glowered at the filly and she slowly lowered it again, “Apple Juice?” he continued.

“Bourbon please,” said the Doctor accepting a generous measure. “Very kind of you.”

“Juice for me, thanks,” said Jo, “What’s that?” she asked pointing at a blue pony shaped doll propped up in one corner.

“That’s Trixie deux, her stunt double so to speak. I used its sisters when working out her trick. This one got rejected, its head isn’t quite big enough.” He gave a booming laugh at his own joke, leaving Trixie looking confused.

Jo tried to strike up a conversation with the filly. “Are there any colts you like at school?”

“No,” replied Trixie sticking out her tongue, “Colts are icky, they have cooties.”

“I’m sure you’ll feel differently in a few years.”

“No, I won’t,” said Trixie, crossing her hooves, “They’re icky now and they’ll always be icky.”

“If you keep up that attitude for the rest of your life I’ll be a very happy grandfather, if not a great grandfather,” said Quartermoon. “Why don’t you show Jo around while I give the Doctor some lessons?”

The filly nodded and put down her empty glass and pulled Jo over towards one of the posters on the wall, “This is from when Grand-père first performed here,” she began.

“Now Doctor, catch this,” said Quartermoon as he threw a tennis ball at the other stallion who caught it on a hoof. “Good, now this and this.” The magician threw a further two balls. the Doctor caught one on his other hoof and the third with his magic. “No, no telekinesis, juggle with your hooves, it’s good practise, I juggle for at least an hour a day to keep my hooves limber.”

“I see,” replied the Doctor, throwing one of the balls into the air and passing the others between his hooves. He barely caught the first as it fell. “This isn’t easy with hooves.”

“Keep trying, you’re not that bad at it. Maybe you could go professional. The trade could use some new blood, we’ve had a hard time recently.”

“How so?” asked the Doctor, now smoothly keeping all three balls in the air. Quartermoon tossed him a fourth.

“There’s been a few losses. Pencil Sharpener and Tale Teller were killed in a fire a few months ago, they were a great double act, and Dandy Flimflam’s liver finally gave out on him only last week. He was always a drinker, but a great showpony nonetheless.”

Trixie rushed over to Quartermoon and tugged on his sleeve. “Grand-père, I need to use the little filly’s room,” she said, hopping from hoof to hoof.

“You know where it is don’t you?” asked the Blue stallion, the filly nodded, “Then off you go.” Trixie rushed off out of the door. “That child has a very small bladder, I’m lucky she went before the show or she might have embarrassed herself on stage. I remember when she first learnt to use her magic, she tried to show off to her aunt and strained so hard she had an ‘accident’ on the carpet.”

“Where are Trixie’s parents?” asked Jo.

A look of pain briefly crossed Quartermoon’s face. “Her mother, my daughter, died shortly after she was born. As for her father, I will not speak of that salaud.” he snarled. “Trixie has been raised by my other daughter Moonsinger.” He walked to the dressing table and lifted a portrait, a collection of ponies of various ages smiled out. He pointed at a light blue unicorn mare. “That’s her there, and that’s her husband Sky Scraper, he’s in weather. I think she could have done better, but they seem happy enough together. Those of the petits-enfants, Limelight’s the oldest,” he pointed to a dark coated earth pony colt, “Then Trixie, then Sharp Mind, she’s the family genius,” he continued with pride, “and finally Night Echo the baby.” he pointed at a small filly pegasus standing on her father's back. “They’re a hoof full so I agreed to look after Trixie for a few days to give Moonsinger some time off. Limelight wanted to come too, but he got the croup and had to stay home. I have hopes that one of them will follow me onto the stage, it’s a family tradition started by my own grand-père Valdaville. Limelight’s shown some interest in the backstage work but only Trixie seems to like being in the spotlight. A little too much sometimes.”

While listening to the old stallion tell his tale, Jo’s attention was captivated by a statue of a snake on the table. It seemed to be glowing internally, maybe it was some sort of lamp, she thought. The it began to move, the crystal transmuting into red and green scales. “Look Doctor!” she screamed, pointing at it.

The small snake hissed and coiled before leaping at Quartermoon who fell back and away from it with a cry, the picture in his hoof dropping to the ground with a crash. The Doctor dropped the balls he had been juggling and with a cry of “Hiiyaa!” chopped at the snake, knocking it out of the air and into a rack of costumes.

“What was that?” asked Jo backing away from the costumes.

“It was a type of snake, a Naga I think.” explained Quartermoon, “Someone once tried to sell me some for my act but they’re far too dangerous. Fast as lightning and a single bite can easily kill a grown stallion in less than a minute. How did one get here?”

The Doctor turned towards the door only to see that the snake had positioned itself between them and escape. “Everyone, back away from it, slowly,” he ordered.

They all followed his instructions and the snake slithered towards them, turning its head from one to another. The Doctor reached out for it with his telekinesis but it felt slippery to his ethereal grasp and he could not hold it.

The snake shook off the white aura around it and coiled itself again before leaping, mouth open, at Quartermoon, but the earth pony grabbed a line of silk scarfs from a table and flailed them at the Naga. The brightly coloured whip seemed to distract the snake for a moment and it missed its target, skidding into the far corner. Jo rushed towards the door but the snake raced past her and once again took up a position between them and safety.

“That’s very odd behaviour,” noted the Doctor, fanning out to one side. “Unnatural. I think something is controlling it.” He pulled out the tracker, which gave a faint beep. “I don’t think it’s the shard but it might have been in contact with one recently.”

“What are you talking about?” demanded Quartermoon not taking his eyes off the snake, “We need to deal with this créature, now! Trixie could be back any second and it’s right by the door!”

“You're right, I’ll try to distract it and you see if you can find something to trap it in. Jo, stay behind me.” The Doctor stamped his front hoof on the floor rhythmically, and the snake turned towards him and started to sway. “A little trick taught to me by an Indian fakir,” he whispered to his companion.

Quartermoon’s eyes darted around the room looking for something to hold the snake with. His gaze fell upon his hat left on the dressing table and he leapt for it landing with a crash which seemed to awaken the snake from its stupor. The Naga leapt for the Doctor’s face, while Quartermoon knocked the hat into the air and kicked it towards the snake with a single move. The two collided only inches from the Doctor and fell to the ground. The snake was trapped inside the hat.

The Doctor used his power to hold the hat down and prevent the snake escaping. “Well done, sir,” he said.

“It’s not much different from throwing knives,” explained Quartermoon, “and that hat should hold it, I designed it to contain an angry rabbit.”

Jo dragged over a box and laid it over the hat pinning it down. “That should keep it trapped,” she said, “but where did it come from?”

Trixie was making her way back from the bathroom when suddenly another pony blocked her path.

“You’re Quartermoon’s little apprentice aren't you?” said the intruding pony.

Trixie didn’t recognise him for a second then she realised it was the stallion who had interrupted the performance earlier, Maestro. “You’re not supposed to be here,” she said.

“I should be performing here,” he snarled, “not a hornless fake like your grandfather. Unfortunately he seems to have avoided my little present. I think you should come with me, my girl.”

Trixie backed away from the advancing unicorn and opened her mouth to scream. Then she noticed his horn light up. It seemed different from a normal unicorn’s power, his horn looked crystalline and the lights produced were all the colours of the rainbow. The light shone into her eyes but she couldn’t seem to bring herself to blink, it was so pretty. Suddenly it was too much trouble to cry out, she just wanted to stand there and watch the calming light, and she wasn’t sure if the horn was spinning or she was, but it didn’t seem to matter anymore, nothing did. Then Maestro spoke and the words echoed louder and louder inside her rapidly emptying head until they were the only thing left, “I am Maestro, you will obey me.”

“You are Maestro,” mumbled Trixie, “Trixie will obey you.”

“Follow me,” commanded Maestro.

Without comment the entranced filly did so.

The commotion in the dressing room had attracted the attention of various theatre staff, none of whom were brave enough to enter. One was just working up the nerve to knock when the door was thrown open and Quartermoon strode out, followed by the Doctor and Jo.

“You,” commanded Quartermoon pointing to a random stagehoof, “Go get the guard, there’s a dangerous animal in my room.”

“It’s a snake trapped under the hat over there,” clarified the Doctor, “Do be careful, there’s a good mare.” The stagehoof boggled for a second before scampering off.

“Now has anyone seen my granddaughter?”

“I think I saw her leave the theatre, just now,” replied another random member of staff.

“Leave? Where? Why?” demanded Quartermoon grabbing the unfortunate pony.

“The main doors,” his victim gasped pointing down the corridor.

Quartermoon dropped the pony and galloped down the corridor indicated, the Doctor rushed after him. “Thanks,” said Jo nodding to the pony as she too followed.

The trio rushed to the front of the theatre, Quartermoon barging aside any obstruction. Outside it was snowing heavily but through the flurries Trixie could be seen following a cloaked pony across the road a short distance away.

“Trixie!” bellowed Quartermoon.

The filly did not react but the cloaked pony turned in surprise and looked straight at the Magician.

“Maestro,” snarled Quartermoon, “What have you done to my granddaughter?”

“She’s not yours anymore,” taunted Maestro, “By the time I’ve finished with her she won’t even remember you.” He rushed up to a carriage waiting by the theatre entrance and streams of rainbow light erupted from his horn at both the stallions pulling it and the driver. He grabbed the unresisting Trixie and threw her into the back before leaping in himself and slamming the door. The crew pulling the carriage took off like the Tyrant Sun herself was chasing them.

“We have to catch them!” cried Jo, looking around for a vehicle to commandeer.

“I think we would be the source of any ‘horsepower’ in this world, as they don’t appear to have invented powered travel yet, so if we’re going to follow them it’ll be quickest on our own hooves,” said the Doctor. Quartermoon was already racing down the street after the fleeing carriage.

The streets of Canterlot were quiet due to the snow, but the few pedestrians still present scattered as the carriage thundered past, paying no heed to anyone who got in its way. Quartermoon was forced to weave around various debris, abandoned by other ponies as they rushed to avoid the passing vehicle. However, his desperation gave him speed and he managed to pull up alongside the coach while the Doctor and Jo were still trailing behind. The stallions powering the coach stared straight ahead, apparently unaware of the magician running alongside them, mumbling something that he could not hear over the wind.

“Stop!” he yelled, but there was no response from either the ponies powering or driving the carriage. Gathering his strength he threw his not inconsiderable bulk against the nearest pony. It was like crashing into a rock but his target staggered slightly and slowed. Ignoring his bruises and the lather forming on his flanks, Quartermoon crashed into the running pony again and again. Although his efforts did not stop the carriage it slowed enough for the other pursuers to catch up.

Legs pumping wildly the Doctor pulled alongside the carriage itself. The windows were tinted and he could not see inside. He attempted to pull the doors open with his power but they were locked. In desperation he leapt onto the back of the carriage, his hooves scrabbling for purchase on its surface, and he slipped back before he finally got a grip and started to crawl along the top of the vehicle. From this position he could see where the carriage was heading. Not too far ahead, and quickly closing was the edge of the city, beyond that was a drop straight off the edge of the mountain. A thick wall stood in the way but at the speed they were going the ponies powering the vehicle would no doubt be killed in the crash whereas the carriage itself would either be crushed or fall into the void.

“Must get away from the theatre,” mumbled the driver, staring straight ahead and cracking the reins.

Ahead, unseen by the Doctor or Quartermoon in the snow, a foal separated from its parents in the chaos stood transfixed watching the engine of destruction bearing down upon it, frozen in fear.

“I really don’t think this is a good idea, old chap,” said the Doctor as he pulled himself into place alongside the entranced driver.

“Must get away from the theatre,” repeated the hypnotised driver.

“I’m sorry about this then.” Giving a sharp cry the Doctor jabbed a hoof at the neck of the pony who gasped and collapsed in place. “I’m somewhat surprised that Venusian Aikido worked using hooves,” he said looking at his leg. Now that the driver had been dealt with he reached down with his telekinesis and yanked at the pin attaching the ponies powering the carriage to the vehicle itself. It came loose and the crew staggered forward as their load was suddenly reduced. At the same time Quartermoon once again bashed into one of them, causing his ice cleats to slip and leading to him staggering into his colleague resulting in both of them and Quartermoon skidding sideways in a ball of legs and heads, finally coming to a stop with jarring force against the barrier.

The carriage continued its headlong rush towards the wall and the paralyzed child between it and destruction. The Doctor now seeing the danger, pulled desperately at the manual brake of the vehicle. However, with a loud crack the lever snapped. The Doctor let out a stream of expletives in some alien language and looked around wildly for another way to stop the runaway carriage or alter its path to save the foal ahead.

Suddenly Jo, with a burst of speed, weaved around the carriage and leapt to knock the foal from its path. She screamed as she felt the vehicle pass over her tail, yanking out several strands of hair as it did, but to her surprise she otherwise seemed unharmed. Sighing with relief but with the wall coming ever closer the doctor grabbed the still entranced driver and threw both of them off of the carriage. They rolled and bounced several times before coming to a halt. Behind them the cart crashed into the wall with stupefying force, the wooden vehicle smashed into splinters.

Shaking, Quartermoon untangled himself from the other ponies, who were only now starting to come out of their trances, and got to his hooves. He staggered and then straighten, looking in horror at the shattered remains of the vehicle his granddaughter had been thrown into. He rushed to the centre of the debris and desperately started to burrow into the remains. “Trixie!” he screamed, “Trixie!”

The Doctor stood up and ran over to the distraught stallion putting a hoof of the larger pony’s shoulder. “It’s alright,” he said, trying to calm him down.

The blue stallion shrugged off the Doctor’s grip and continued to hunt through the wreckage. “I can’t lose her Doctor, she’s all I have left of my little Starshine,” he sobbed.

“She’s not here, I don’t think she ever was.”

“What?”

“Look, there are no bodies in the wreckage and Maestro only ordered these ponies to get away from the theatre rather than to go to a specific location. I think he and Trixie just jumped straight through the carriage and out the other side, leaving us to chase it. Very clever and we, like fools, fell for it.”

Jo, having escaped from the grateful grasp of the foal’s father, and still blushing slightly, made her way over to the other two members of her party. “But Maestro and Trixie could be anywhere by now, how are we going to find them?”

“I suspect that Maestro was behind the snake that attacked us and as that had a trace of the shard on it, he might have access to the shard itself. In addition he ordered the carriage to get as far away from the theatre as possible which suggests his base may be near it, so we should start our search there.”

“He still has Trixie, we can’t let her be hurt,” said Quartermoon.

“Indeed, I think we should stop off at the theatre first. You have something there I think will be useful.”

Maestro’s base was a large townhouse only a block or two away from the theatre. The owner was away from the city and Maestro had used his talent to make the few remaining staff believe they had been given the week off, leaving him alone in the house. He knew that his little distraction with the carriage wouldn’t keep Quartermoon and his allies away for too long and they could find this place any minute. However, before he left he decided to collect a few trinkets from his ‘hosts’ house to finance him until he could get a theatre to recognise his obvious talents. Maestro smirked and thought that with all the ‘accidents’ occurring to stage magicians recently that should be easier than it used to be.

Maestro was currently in the master bedroom trying to use his aura to open a safe, while watching for pursuit out of the window. From behind him there was a crash as his current ‘assistant’ dropped a set of silver cutlery. “Careful, you little fool,” he snarled. “That’s breakable.” The small blue filly mutely tried to pick up the set in her aura again but was unable to keep all the pieces in the air at once.

“Whatever shall I do with you?” wondered Maestro out loud, turning away from the window and moving towards Trixie. “I was planning to make you forget all about your fake of a grandfather, but you’re obviously not skilled enough to be my apprentice.” Then an idea struck him. “Well if my little pet couldn’t kill Quartermoon, maybe you can kill his career. I can see the headlines now. ‘Quartermoon accused of abusing his own granddaughter’, let’s see him try to get a booking with that hanging over his head.” His horn lit up again to release its rainbow ray straight into the blue filly’s eyes, “Now repeat after me ‘Granddad was the one that beat me’.”

“Gran... Granda...Grandad,” muttered Trixie. “No, he’d never hurt me.” She staggered back blinking rapidly.

Grimacing the purple unicorn turned off his horn. “You really do love him don’t you? Still I have all the time in the world to ‘convince’ you otherwise, even if I have to damage your mind to do it. Now just sleep for a while.” There was a further flash from his horn and Trixie slumped to the ground, eyes closed.

There was a crash from downstairs. Maestro grabbed Trixie’s unconscious form in his aura before rushing to the bedroom door and looking down the stairs The front door of the residence had been knocked off its hinges and in the doorway stood a white unicorn stallion who Maestro recognised. “You! You were with Quartermoon in his dressing room, you helped beat my snake.”

“My name is The Doctor, not very pleased to meet you,” said the Doctor with a bow. “Interesting that you recognise me, I assume you were controlling the Naga? You could see through its eyes?”

“My powers are great, Doctor,” replied Maestro his chest swelling with pride. “You would be wise not to cross me.”

“Not entirely your own power, I’d wager. I think you might have found something to boost your abilities.” The Doctor’s voice hardened. “Release the filly and there will be no more trouble.”

Maestro lifted Trixie’s limp form in front of him, “I don’t think so. I have become somewhat attached to my little hostage. Now, where is Quartermoon and that dirt pony mare you were with?”

“They were injured in your carriage trap, but we’ve alerted the guard and they should be here soon. Give up, you can’t win.” The Doctor slowly started to ascend the stairs.

“Stay back!” commanded the purple stallion as he backed away pulling the sleeping filly with him. “One more step, and Trixie here will have an accident.”

The Doctor came to a halt staring up at Maestro, and suddenly the evil unicorn realised he was not staring at him but past him. He snapped his head around just as a thick cloud of smoke sprung up around him. Disoriented he leapt to one side and felt rather than saw a large shape move past him. There was a tugging sensation, then he staggered out of the rapidly clearing cloud dragging Trixie with him. Where he had stood only a few seconds ago he now saw Quartermoon dressed in his full stage costume. The Doctor was rushing up the stairs to join him.

“I warned you!” roared Maestro, “You’ve gone and killed your granddaughter now, this is your fault, you forced me to do this. See the Crushed and Broken Trixie.” He reared up onto his hind legs and used his aura to position the small blue body in front of him before bring both of his front hooves down on it, again and again, crushing it. Wood splintered, cloth ripped and wire bent beneath the onslaught. Maestro looked down in astonishment at the broken doll beneath his hooves.

“Congratulations,” said the Doctor with a smile, “You killed Trixie’s stunt double. Alas poor Trixie deux.”

“How?” asked Maestro mouth open in surprise.

“The hoof is quicker than the eye. While I distracted you Quartermoon and Ms Grant climbed into the bedroom. A smoke bomb disoriented you long enough for Quartermoon to switch the real Trixie for her duplicate. The original is safe, isn’t that right Jo?”

“Perfectly,” said Jo sticking her head around the bedroom door while the slumbering foal laid on her back.

Quartermoon started to stamp forward, glaring at Maestro, death in his eyes.“You tried to kill me, kidnapped my granddaughter, did something to her mind and then would have happily killed her, Je vais te tuer!” he roared as he dived forward at the smaller stallion.

With a squeak, Maestro dodged aside into another room. He opened his saddle bag and removed a crystalline ring which he clumsily fitted over his horn. “Stay back, I’ll order the naga to kill you!”

“It’s trapped back at my dressing room,” scoffed Quartermoon.

“Fool! You don’t understand my power!” cackled the purple stallion. With a pop the small snake appeared beside its master and hissed at the approaching stallion, its hood open. There was a flash from Maestro’s horn and the snake expanded, quickly growing to twice as long as a stallion and wider than a ponies head.

The newly enlarged snake lashed out at Quartermoon, who was forced to flee the room and almost collided with the Doctor who was coming the other way. Seeing the snake Jo screamed and rushed back into the master bedroom.

“Kill them my pet,” crooned Maestro, his eyes glowing. “Kill them all.”

The snake’s head struck at Quartermoon again, driving him back, while its tail lashed out splintering the banister and sending the Doctor tumbling down the stairs in a mess of hooves.

With one of its targets out of the way, the Naga focused its attacks on the blue stallion. It managed to coil its tail around one of his legs, tripping him, before slithering on top of its prey, pinning him to the ground.

“Do you still think my show doesn’t teach anything?” said Maestro, looming over Quartermoon. “I think this will teach you not to get in the way of a real magician. Wait, I think we should give that lesson to a younger audience first, don’t you?”

Both Maestro’s and the snake’s head turned towards Jo who was standing stunned in the main bedroom door. Sensing the danger, she slammed the door shut. The snake hurled its previous prey aside and leapt at the door, smashing it to pieces. Behind the door Jo, although clearly terrified, was attempting to put herself between the beast and the helpless Trixie. With contemptuous ease the snake shoved Jo aside and slithered up to Trixie, raising itself over the blue filly with its fangs extended.

Suddenly, there was a flash of blue and white and Quartermoon leapt for Trixie, pushing her out of the way. The sound of tearing fabric could be heard as the Naga’s fangs sliced through the magicians cape and jacket before embedding themselves in the ground. The snake spasmed as it tried to free itself.

“Quartermoon!” cried Jo as she got to her hooves.

“I’m fine,” he replied, wincing. “It just tore my costume.”

“Come on, you stupid reptile,” Maestro commanded. “Kill them now!”

“No you don’t,” cried The Doctor leaping up the stairs and through the hole in the banister. He landed on Maestro, knocking him down and pinning him to the ground.

“Help me!” screamed the trapped pony. The snake tore it fangs from the ground and turned towards its master.

“I think that’s enough of that,” said the Doctor, using his telekinesis to remove the tracker from his belt. The device gave a piercing shriek.

“What is that thing?” cried Maestro as he struggled with the Doctor, while at the same time attempting to keep the tracker from himself and controlling the snake. The combined task seemed to be beyond him and as the snake charged at them the tracker made contact with the ring around his horn.

“Something to cut you down to size, I think.” There was a flash of light and the Doctor felt something heavy smash into his barrel.

Blinking to clear his vision, the Doctor looked around. Beneath him was Maestro, unconscious, with his eyes rolled up into his head and a long thin crack running the length of his horn. By his head was an irregularly shaped lump of crystal, the fragment of the seal. Lying next to the Doctor’s hindquarters was a crystalline statue of a snake coiled around a rock. Of the Naga there was no sign.

The Doctor pocketed the seal and got to his hooves, and through the ruined bedroom door he could see Jo and Quartermoon doing the same. “Are you alright?” he asked.

“I’m fine, I think,” said Jo counting her hooves.

Without a word Quartermoon marched over to the helpless Maestro. Shoving the Doctor aside he raised himself up and brought his hoof down on the fallen ponies face, again and again.

“Stop!” cried the Doctor, trying to pull Quartermoon off of his victim. “He’s beaten!”

“He tried to kill me and Trixie!” He raised his hoof over the bleeding pony one last time.

“Trixie is here,” hissed the Doctor into the magician’s ear. “Do you want her to see you like this?”

Quartermoon froze and looked back and forth between Maestro and the now stirring Trixie. He shuddered and slowly lowered his hoof to the ground, wiping it on the remains of Maestro’s costume. “Get the guard,” he muttered. “Just keep him away from me and Trixie.”

“Grand-père,” mumbled Trixie as she began to regain consciousness, “Where am I? What happened? I was at the theatre...”

“It’s all right,” said the elderly pony, hugging his granddaughter, “everything’s going to be all right now,” he sobbed, “I love you.”

Trixie returned the hug looking confused, “I love you too.”

The party made their way back to the theatre and from there summoned the guard, who were currently searching through the house that Maestro had broken into. While waiting to be questioned they were relaxing in Quartermoon’s dressing room again.

“So what was that ring that that villain was using to control that snake?” asked Quartermoon resting a glass on one hoof, his eyes looking inwards.

“It was a ... special type of magic that myself and Jo had been tasked to find by the, er, authorities,” said the Doctor.

“Wow, did Princess Luna send you?” asked Trixie, looking interested, “I’d like to meet her someday.”

“I’d always hoped she’d come to one of my shows,” mumbled Quartermoon, taking a drink.

“Anyway,” continued the Doctor eyeing Quartermoon suspiciously, “I originally thought the Naga might be the item I was looking for, but the tracker showed me it wasn’t, although it was linked which was why I picked up two traces. When I realised that Maestro was controlling the snake I knew he must have been using the shard and he put that ring on before summoning the Naga so I put two and two together and luckily got four. The guard may find out where he got it from. It would appear he had been using the power to assassinate a number of stage magician’s recently, simply to get better billings himself.” The Doctor shook his head in disbelief.

Quartermoon shook himself. “Trixie, I don’t think you ever finished showing Jo my props, why don’t you do that while I show the Doctor something?”

“Ok, Grand-père.” said the blue filly. She had been slightly more restrained since being freed from Maestro’s control but seemed otherwise unharmed. She did not clearly remember what had happened to her.

The magician hauled himself to his hooves with a grunt and led the Doctor to the far end of the room. He lifted the tattered edge of his cape to reveal a crease in the blue of his coat. The thinnest of cuts ran down his flank. “I’m afraid the Naga bite was closer than I originally let on,” he said solemnly.

With a gasp the Doctor brought out his sonic screwdriver and used it to examine the wound. His face was grave.

“Not good then? How long have I got?”

“I’m afraid the poison has already reached your liver and although the dose is small it will still destroy it over time. If you take it easy, seek treatment, you might live five even ten more years, but there will be a slow degeneration in your capabilities.”

The blue stallion thought for a moment, “And if I don’t? If I carry on performing?”

The Doctor was taken aback, “If you continue to put yourself under stress then you’ll likely have less than a year, two at most before you break down, and there will be pain. Please don’t consider this, think of Trixie and your family. You can live to see her grow up.”

Quartermoon shook his head, “I’m sorry Doctor, but rotting slowly in bed is not the way for The Magnificent Quartermoon to end. If I am to die, then I will die on stage giving my fourth curtain call. Trixie...” He smiled. “Trixie is a born performer, she will understand. The show must go on.” He moved closer to the Doctor. “Please don’t tell her, she would only blame herself.”

“I won’t. You are very foolish, my friend,” he sighed, “but also very brave. I think I would do the same if I was in your position. I leave your fate in your own hooves.” With false cheer the Doctor turn to the rest of the room, “Now I think it’s time we should make our leave, Jo, before we have to answer to many questions. Far too much paperwork for my organisation, you understand.”

Quartermoon looked sceptical and Trixie frowned. “Do you have to go?” she asked.

“I’m afraid so,” said Jo.

“You could come to my first show, when I put one on,” said Trixie, looking hopeful.

The Doctor, knelt down before the little filly, “I’m afraid we probably won’t be able to do that, but I’ll try.”

Looking downcast, Trixie nuzzled Jo while the Doctor shook hooves with Quartermoon.

“Goodbye, and thank you,” said the blue stallion.

The pair of travellers quietly slipped out of the dressing room door. only seconds later there was a knock and the door opened to reveal a white unicorn in a guard uniform. “Quartermoon and Trixie Lulamoon?” he asked. Trixie screwed up her face in disgust at her full name being used.

“Present,” replied Quartermoon.

“I was told there were other witnesses in here?” said the guard using his aura to open a notebook, “A Doctor and Jo.”

Quartermoon looked around theatrically, while Trixie giggled. ”Well they appear to have vanished, officer. Don’t worry, that happen a lot around here, it’s all part of the show.”

4th Doctor - The Bohemian

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Raindrops awoke to a world of pain. Her head was pounding like a herd of minotaur were playing basketball in it. Her mouth tasted like one of her brother’s pets has crawled into it and died, several weeks ago. The rest of her body ached from head to hooves; even her feathers and tail were throbbing. Her stomach cramped painfully and she tensed for a moment before the pain died down and she could relax. She vaguely remembered there having been something warm, comfortable and soft lying next to her – it had felt good, her poorly functioning brain reported – maybe it would make the pain go away, she reasoned. A questing hoof only found a rapidly cooling hollow; the soft thing had apparently left her to her misery. Growling in disappointment, she tried to retreat from this painful reality back to unconsciousness. Her nose was suddenly invaded by the scent of hay bacon, and her stomach reacted painfully again. She tried to recall what had happened. How she had ended up here? Wherever here was? All she could recall was a confused mix of images – a writhing tangle of pony bodies, bouncing around a dance floor with a smiling stallion, Rainbow Dash wrestling with another stallion on a bar, somepony who looked like Ditzy and a black mare leading her through the streets of Cloudsdale… what had happened last night?

With a superequine effort she forced her eyes open, and was immediately blinded by a flash of sunlight that melted her eyeballs into a bubbling goo. She slammed them shut again with a groan.

“Morning sweetheart!” bellowed a cheerful voice, reducing her eardrums to quivering protoplasm.

“Kill me!” mumbled Raindrops, wincing at the sound of her own voice. “Too much noise.” Taking a deep breath, she risked cracking open her eyelids again. Grimacing against the pain, the scene in front of her resolved itself into a multi-hued blur. “Too many colours,” she moaned.

“Nope, just the right number for true awesomeness,” said the voice, a little quieter this time.

“Dash?” asked Raindrops, trying to get her eyes to work again.

“The one and only!”

Blinking, Raindrops resolved the scene before her. The blue pegasus was leaning over her, a wide grin on her face. The room beyond was unfamiliar. “What happened? Why are you here?”

“I don’t remember much of last night, but I do recall challenging the bar that only somepony who could beat me could have me. Looks like you took up the offer because you sucker punched me.” She grimaced and gently prodded a large bump on her head. “Next thing I know I woke up in your bed. I didn’t think that was your style, Drops.”

Raindrops’ eyes widened, and she shot off of the bed as bile rose in her throat. A burning stream of pain ran between her ears as her brain complained at her treatment of it. She wanted to scream, but she didn’t dare open her mouth. Staggering from side to side and knocking over a small table, she tottered into the bathroom before vomiting noisily into the toilet.

“Hey,” cried Rainbow, sounding put out. “There’s a lot of ponies, and a few other species, who would give a lot to get a shot at these fine flanks.” She wiggled her hindquarters suggestively.

Raindrops vomited again before resting her burning head on the cool floor of the bathroom. “Oh Luna,” she sobbed, “What did I do? I’m sorry I took advantage of you, I’m so sorry,” she wailed.

“Uh, hey,” said Rainbow wringing her hooves. “You don’t have to take it that bad, you know.”

“But, I... I...” mumbled the yellow pegasus.

“Look, I’m fairly sure nothing happened. I guess we just made it back from the bar and collapsed in bed together. It didn’t get any further than that.”

“What!” Raindrops bellowed before screwing up her face at the self-inflicted pain. “They why did you say...” the ever burning flame of rage in her heart burst into increased life, and she tried to visualise a cloudburst dousing the flame as she struggled against her anger.

“It was a joke. I thought it would be fun – you could do with lightening up a bit,” replied Rainbow looking slightly abashed.

“Fun! Fun! You made me think I’d...” She tried to ignore her pounding head for a moment and let out a calming breath. “That is not how I’d want my first time to be.” Then she realised her mistake and kicked herself.

“Your first?” Rainbow grinned. “You mean no one’s popped your cherry yet? You’ve not rained on anyone, Drops? No wonder you’re always so tense. You need to get laid, filly.”

Raindrops grimaced and splashed some water over her face. The pony in the mirror looked even worse than she felt. Her eyes were bloodshot, her muzzle was still specked with vomit and her feathers were disordered. “It’s not like I date often. I scare most ponies away. Anyway, I want my first time to be special – silk sheets, a roaring fire – with my very special somepony. Not just dragging some random pony into some club’s toilets.”

“Hey, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it,” Rainbow giggled.

“Why are you so happy? You drank more than me and I feel like slime.”

“I’m just that awesome!” boasted Dash. “Everything about me is fast, even my met-ab-oly-ism.” She spelt out the word as if she’d just learnt it from someone else, who also didn’t know how to pronounce it. “I wanted to die for about ten minutes after I got up, then I was fine. Oh, and I ordered us some breakfast.” She gestured to a plate of rapidly congealing hay bacon and eggs on a table.

“I hate you even more than normal,” Raindrops grumbled, cleaning her face. Despite her impressive strength, she had always been a lightweight when it came to alcohol; it only took a few drinks to put her under the table, which was why... “How did I end up like this anyway?” she asked. “I‘m normally careful to stay within my limits.”

“Yeah, you were nursing a single cider for most of the night, so I decided to give you something a little stronger to loosen you up so you’d have a good time.”

The flame in Raindrop’s heart suddenly burst into an inferno. “You spiked my drink!” she cried, turning towards Dash with murder in her eyes.

“Hey, I just gave you something a bit stronger than you were expecting. You had a good time, I think. It’s still a little hazy,” the multihued pegasus said, backing off.

“You don’t get it, do you?! When I let off steam, I smash rocks with my bare hooves. When I was younger, I crippled a colt because I got angry with him. If I lost control I could kill someone. Kill someone! I can’t just ‘loosen up’!”

“Look, I’m sorry. I might not have thought it through...”

“You! Never! Do!” Raindrops yelled, slamming a hoof into the bathroom wall and cracking several tiles. It made her feel a little better, so she did it again. “You just keep going on about how awesome you are, how cool you are, but you’re a bucking idiot, Dash! You never think about the consequences!” She slumped to the ground, still steaming. ”Just get out of here.” She gestured to the door.

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. It was dumb of me and I won’t do it again, but we’ve got to get going. The last day of the conference starts,” she looked up at a clock, “half an hour ago.”

Trying to rein in her anger, Raindrops closed her eyes and counted to ten. She and Dash were here in Cloudsdale as part of the annual weather management conference; a chance to learn some new techniques for controlling the weather and to hobnob with teams from other parts of Equestria. Cloud Kicker was supposed to have gone with Dash but she’d caught the feather flu, so Raindrops had been roped into it instead. So far she’d found it quite interesting; she’d even gotten some praise for her part in a question and answer session on dealing with rogue weather. Dash had been bored stiff for most of the events – she’d even slept through several meetings. Raindrops couldn’t understand why her boss had even come; given her deputy was ill she could have easily claimed she didn’t have the time.

Opening her eyes again, Raindrops saw that Dash was still standing there, shuffling awkwardly from hoof to hoof. “Give me half an hour to get washed and preened. I can’t go to the conference looking like this.” She gestured at her wrecked form.

“Sure, I’ll see you down in the lobby,” Dash said, leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.

Watching her boss leave, Raindrops stretched and winced as her muscles complained. She looked around the hotel room; it had been nice to get out of her home for a few days. As much as she loved her family she did need some time to herself... when Dash wasn’t pranking her, anyway. It was nice to have a room large enough that she couldn’t touch the opposite walls with both her wings at the same time.

She walked back towards the bathroom, passing the table containing the breakfast Dash had left for her. Her nose filled with the scent of the cold hay bacon and her stomach heaved. She dashed for the toilet again.

The Doctor stuck his head out of the TARDIS and looked around. Rolling green hills stretched as far as the eye could see. “Oh, how dull,” he commented with an excited grin.

He turned around, trying to get a good look at himself. This incarnation’s equestrian form had a brown coat and a curly black mane. A quick hoof to the head indicated that he wasn’t a unicorn this time and a rather more difficult contortion allowed his to check that he didn’t have wings. That was a pity. Well, better luck next time, he thought. His dark brown jacket covered most of his form and a long multi-coloured scarf was wrapped around his neck several times, while a floppy hat covered his head. “It’s safe to come out, Leela,” he cried as he took the tracer from his belt and started to scan the area.

“This is Equestria?” his companion asked as she left the time machine. She carefully pronounced the unfamiliar word as if there would be some punishment for getting it wrong.

“Yes, land of the ponies. It’s been too long since I was last here.”

“Doctor, what are ponies?” Leela asked.

“Small equines, little horses, quadrupedal herbivores,” explained the Doctor. “Well, at the moment you and I are. I know it’s probably a bit confusing, but you should get used to it. Think of it as a learning experience.”

“I do not think I am one of these ponies.”

“Of course you are. It’s what the transmogrifier does, it makes you look like an Equestrian native.” The Doctor spun around, looking confused. The tracer seemed to be giving an equally weak signal in all directions.

“I do not think I am a pony,” Leela repeated with more certainly.

“Nonsense.” He turned and looked at his companion. Her body was that of a lion covered in yellow fur, but her head and front legs were that of an eagle covered in brown feathers. Large wings spread from her back, also covered in brown and black plumage. “Leela!” the Doctor hissed, looking backwards and forwards furtively.

“Yes, Doctor?” she said, moving her avian head closer.

“I don’t think you’re a pony,” he whispered.

She raised one claw and admired the long talons which protruded from it. “I am a hunter,” she said proudly. “I no longer need my knife or Janus thorns, my weapons are part of me now.”

“Interesting,” the Doctor noted, walking around Leela. “I think you're a Griffin. In Earth mythology they were predators of horses; they could kill a pony just by passing their shadow over it. He deliberately put Leela between himself and the sun. “Just as well this isn’t Earth, isn’t it?” He gave a toothy grin.

“MAY I EMERGE, MASTER?” an electronic sounding voice said from the TARDIS.

“Of course K-9,” said the Doctor. “Let’s see what type of pony you’ve ended up as.”

With a clanking sound, a metal creature carefully made its way out of the door of the time machine. It was a robotic canine human hybrid creature, half again as tall as Leela. Its long front legs reached almost to the ground.

The Doctor’s face fell. “I don’t think you are a pony either, K-9.”

“AFFIRMATIVE, MASTER. THIS UNIT IS NOT A PONY.”

“You look very fierce, K-9,” Leela said.

“THANK YOU, MISTRESS,” K-9 replied, wagging his tail.

Leela extended her wings and admired the interplay of her feathers. “I feel like I could fly.”

“PROBABILITY OF YOUR PHYSIOLOGY BEING CAPABLE OF POWERED FLIGHT LESS THAN 1% MISTRESS.”

“You won’t know unless you try,” the Doctor encouraged.

Running forwards, Leela began to flap her wings in powerful arcs. To her surprise she almost immediately lifted into the air; her beak opened to release a great squawk of surprise and elation. Below her, the Doctor grasped his hat with a hoof to keep it on his head. “Brava,” he yelled in encouragement.

“Doctor!” Leela cried. “I can fly!” She swooped down towards her teacher. “It feels wonderful.”

“HIGHLY IMPROBABLE!”

“Try not to get too caught up in it. We still have to try and find the shard.” He swung the tracker, following Leela’s flight path, and the device gave a buzz. “That’s interesting,” he mused before pointing the wand straight up. It gave an angry screech. Shielding his eyes from the sun, he gazed up into the sky. Above, a wide swath of the sky was covered in grey cloud; at first glance it appeared natural, but after some scrutiny the shapes of buildings could be seen, and tiny figures were moving over and around it.

“Doctor,” Leela gasped, hovering near the earth pony, apparently unwilling to return to the ground. “It is a city. A city built on a cloud. This place has powerful magic.”

“ALSO HIGHLY IMPROBABLE!” K-9 barked.

“Indeed. Normally I’d be telling you that magic isn’t real and make up some gobbledygook about antigravs or illusions, but in this case it really is powerful magic. Just one of the wonders of Equestria.” He gave a toothy grin. “I think the shard is up there somewhere. K-9, stay here and guard the TARDIS. Me and Leela will try and find the shard.”

“AFFIRMATIVE, MASTER,” K-9’s tail and ears slumped.

“But how will you get up to the city?” asked Leela.

He looked Leela up and down. “I have an idea,” he announced.

The conference was just coming to an end, and Raindrops was finally starting to feel better. She and Dash had arrived over an hour late, but either nopony had noticed or cared, and they had managed to get into the conference centre without a problem. She managed to make it through the final morning’s lectures – although she was sure her normally yellow coat looked distinctly green to the other attendees – and she’d had to struggle to stay awake through some of the meetings. Seemingly to spite her, Dash had upped her game for the day. She had asked insightful questions at all the seminars, and even now was talking to a somewhat familiar-looking tall yellow pegasus wearing an expensive dress who Raindrops expected was somepony important, maybe a district commissioner or even a member of the Night Court.

After the main part of the conference had been completed, the attendees had all moved to a large open topped building with tables full of food placed around the walls – all enchanted so as not to fall through the clouds that made up the floor.

Raindrops had considered digging into the free food, but her stomach still didn’t feel up to it, so she only picked at a few of the plainer dishes on offer. Sighing, she looked at her program of the rest of the day’s events. There wasn’t much left now; lunch was supposed to carry on for another twenty minutes or so, then a closing ceremony, and finally some sort of team building exercise; there wasn’t much detail. Maybe she could skip it, go back to the hotel and get a few hours of sleep. She’d have to check out before the end of the day and would have a long flight home. She wasn’t sure if she felt up to that right now.

Dash was just returning from her glad-handing with a plate of snacks balanced on each wing when Raindrops caught sight of an orange stallion with a brown mane. He seemed familiar for a second, then her eyes widened and her pupils shrunk in shock. It couldn’t be him, he couldn’t be here, she couldn’t be here with him! She grabbed Dash, causing her to drop her meal, and dragged the blue mare behind a nearby table of food. Her boss cried out in shock but Raindrops muffled her mouth with a hoof. “Look over there!” she hissed.

Glaring at her for a moment, Dash poked her head over the table and followed Raindrops’ pointing hoof. Her eyes went wide. “What’s he doing there?” she asked.

“I don’t know! If he’s here I shouldn’t be! I could get in trouble!” Raindrops said.

“This is awkward,” Dash said at the same time.

They looked at each other. “Who are you talking about?” both mares chorused.

“Hoops, the stallion I crippled. He’s got a restraining order out on me!” Raindrops hissed.

“Dumb Bell, my ex-coltfriend,” Dash said at the same time.

“Who?!” they both said.

“The guy with the brown coat, white mane and those muscles,” Rainbow pointed out. “Seeing him brings back memories. He was my first, you know.”

“Your first what?”

“The first I did the thing you haven't done yet with,” said Dash with a grin.

Raindrops scowled, then her curiosity got the better of her. “So, err. What was it like?”

“Both the shortest and longest two minutes of my life. I was just too awesome for him to last. Still, he improved with time. We fooled around on and off for a few years. I dumped him when I moved to Ponyville.” She smiled, thinking back. “Who were you talking about?”

“Hoops, the one with the leg brace.”

Rainbow popped her head up again. There was an orange stallion with a shaggy brown mane standing near Dumb Bell and chatting with another stallion she thought she recognised from somewhere. His rear right leg was covered by a complicated mechanism of metal bars. She turned back to her friend. “Ouch!” she said. “At least it wasn’t his wings.”

“I did that to him,” Raindrops mumbled, looking increasingly green. “I’m not supposed to get within a hundred meters of him.”

“You didn’t know he’d be here. They can’t hold you responsible for that can they?”

“I don’t think the law works like that.”

“Well, just keep out of his way. There are hundreds of ponies here, the odds of him noticing you must be like a zillion to one.”

Raindrops calmed a bit. It was really strange for Dash of all ponies to be the voice of reason; it was like Trixie keeping a low profile. She started to stand up only to drop to the ground again. “He’s coming this way!” she squeaked.

“I told you there’d be more cupcakes over here, dude,” came a voice Raindrops didn’t recognise. “There’s always more cupcakes.”

“Oh, are there any of the lemon ones?” asked another. “Dash?” he suddenly cried out.

Rainbow rose from her hiding place a wide fake grin on her face. “Oh, hi Dummy. I didn’t know you were here!” she lied. “How are things?” she continued in a tone that suggested she didn’t want to know how things were.

Dumb Bell looked a little shocked but didn’t take the hint. A blue stallion standing next to him scowled. “I haven't seen you in ages, Bow. It must be three, no, four years. You finally got your braces taken off, then?” A look of panic flashed over Rainbow’s face. “What are you doing nowadays?”

“Oh, I’m the weather manager over in Ponyville.”

“Manager already? I thought you barely passed at college,” the blue stallion noted.

“Well, all that book stuff is such a snooze but when it gets to the hooves-on stuff I’m awesome.”

“Oh yeah, I remember you being awesome with your hooves,” Dumb Bell said. Dash flushed slightly. “I’m working at the weather factory here in Cloudsdale. You remember Hoops and Score from flight camp?” he asked gesturing at the stallions around him.

“Well I remember Rainbow Crash,” said Score, a dark blue stallion with black hair. “You used to have all sorts of problems with landings. Hey, isn’t that...” he pointed to Raindrops who had been trying to use the distraction to sneak away.

Hoops looked up as Raindrops turned, his jaw dropped and the plate of food he was holding fell to the floor. “You?” he gasped. “You’re not supposed to be here.” He staggered back shaking, his leg brace making a clacking sound and his wings spread ready to flee, his eyes wide.

Raindrops backed away. She remembered Hoop’s face from all those years ago twisted in pain; she remembered the rage, how good it had felt at the time to punch again and again and again. Shame washed over her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were here,” she said lamely.

Score and Dumb Bell stepped between Raindrops and their friend. “Get out of here, you psycho!” Score yelled. Quite a few ponies turned towards the commotion.

“Yeah, we’ll call the Flying Squad,” Dumb Bell threatened.

“I don’t want any trouble, I’ll go,” Raindrops said, raising a hoof in contrition.

“Wait,” Hoops said. He closed his eyes for a second and steadied himself before pushing his friends aside. “You really didn’t know I was here?”

“Of course not. I don’t want to get in any trouble. What I did to you was the worst thing in my life.” She briefly thought about Corona’s return. Nope, it was still worse.

“It wasn’t the best time for me either,” Hoops said, looking back at his maimed leg.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to...”

“I don’t want any trouble either.” He took a deep breath. “Listen, just keep away from me for the rest of the day and I won’t call the police.” With that he turned and hobbled away, his friends following him. Dumb Bell paused for a moment to wave at Rainbow, who absentmindedly returned the gesture.

“That went well,” she said.

“Well?! I just met a reminder of the worst part of my life and I could have gotten arrested!”

“Yeah, but Dumb Bell wasn’t all clingy like he used to be.”

Raindrops’ jaw dropped at her companion’s self-centeredness, “Dash!”

“I was just joking. Look...”

“Dash?” came a call from nearby. “Ah, there you are.”

Raindrops turned to the new voice. It emanated from a strange looking pegasus mare approaching them. She had a dark blue coat and a mane made up of various shades of grey but the thing that stood out about her were her wings. They were huge, stretching out past her hind legs. Even tucked up, they almost reached the floor. Raindrops tried not to stare as she got closer. “No way are those real,” she hissed to Dash fluffing up her own average sized wings.

“She’s had them as long as I’ve known her,” whispered Dash back as she shrugged, “But yeah, implants. Got to be. Some mares just aren't happy with what nature gave them.” She put on a fake grin. “Hi, Downpour, nice to see you. How are things in Hoofington? You still running the weather over there?”

“I’ve been looking for you all day,” replied Downpour. “You ready for the competition?”

“Yeah, wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Are you sure? I know how much you hate losing.”

“I’m not going to lose this time,” Dash said, drawing herself up to her full height.

“Really? I remember you losing. Sorry, coming second last year. A rather distant second.”

“That was a fluke, no way it’s going to happen again this year.”

“Well you certainly seem confident,” the large winged mare said, leaning closer. “How about putting your money where your mouth is.”

Dash’s eyes narrowed, “What have you got in mind?”

Swinging an oversized wing about and almost knocking over a nearby stallion, Downpour produced some tickets. “I know a mare who knows a mare who got me these.”

“Oh, my gosh!” Dash’s eyes bulged as she examined the pieces of paper. “Wonderbolt season tickets! You’re on!”

“Dash, Dash,” the grey-maned mare tutted, “I haven't even told you want I want yet.”

“It doesn’t matter, I’m going to win!”

Downpour grinned. “You still got that cloud mansion, Dash?”

“Yeah, it’s a sweet pad, rainbow fountains and all, oh...” Realisation seemed to dawn.

“Yep, that’s what I want. You win, you get the tickets, not to mention the bragging rights. I win, I get your house.”

Dash shuffled her hooves for a moment. “I don’t know, it’s my place..”

“I didn’t see you as a chicken, Dash. Still, I guess that’s what living in Ponyville has done for you,” the mare teased.

“I’m not chicken! Fine, you're on!” said Dash holding out a hoof.

“Dash, you can’t seriously be betting your house away, can you?” Raindrops asked incredulously.

“It’s not really a bet. There’s no way Ms Wingy here can beat me.” Downpour winced at her description. “Anyway, she’s from Hoofington – you know the rivalry between them and us. Ponyville’s pride is on the line.”

“Dash, neither of us are natives of Ponyville. What do we care of the rivalry?”

“Well, obviously you don’t believe in town spirit. But I do. You’re on, Downpour.”

Downpour hoofbumped Dash. “Nice doing business with you. I hope you and the rest of your team the best of luck.” She turned with a grin. “You’ll need it.”

“Team?” Dash asked in surprise, but Downpour had already disappeared into the crowd.

“Rainbow, what was all that about?” asked Raindrops. “What competition?”

“Well every year at this conference they...”

“Ladies and Gentlestallions,” a magically amplified voice came from one side of the hall. The crowds all turned towards the noise.

Cloudtroller Barometer, the conference’s rather plump organiser, stood at a podium on a cloud hovering above rest of the room. “I’m sure you are all excited about the team building event due in a few minutes but first I would like to thank the various members of staff who have made this conference such a success.”

While the Cloudtroller continued to drone on, Raindrops turned to Dash. “What’s this about?” she hissed.

“After each conference they have an awesome all comers game of sky hunt. The pony who gets the most tags gets a trophy and some vouchers or something. Last year I came second.”

“Let me guess, Downpour won?”

“Yeah, but that was like a total fluke. I wasn’t ready for the reach those big flappers give her. I’ll be ready for her this time. No way I can lose.”

Raindrops wanted to face hoof. She could not believe how stupid her boss could be sometimes. Still, it would teach her a lesson if she lost her house over this.

“Now as you are aware,” continued the Cloudtroller, “we traditionally hold an athletic competition, a game of sky hunt, after the conference. However, it has been brought to my attention that many of our attendees take this competition rather seriously and not in the team building manner in which it is supposed to be taken. Thus we are changing the rules this year.”

The smile slowly started to drop off of Dash’s face as Downpour turned to her and grinned.

“Rather than scoring individually, each area’s attendees will be scored as a team.” Barometer continued, “In addition, each team member will be required to remain within a quarter of a mile of each other at all times or face disqualification. My assistant will fit each of you with a magical gem to ensure these rules are followed. Remember, the idea of the competition is to work together and have fun, win or lose.”

As Barometer flew down from the podium, Dash stomped over to Downpour where she stood with the rest of her team; a strikingly similar mare and stallion, the former with a white mane and yellow coat and the latter with a yellow mane and white coat. Each of the angry mare’s hoof falls dug trenches in the cloud floor. “You knew about this?” Dash cried.

“I may have heard a few things from a friend of a friend,” the dark blue mare admitted, looking smug.

“You’ve got a bigger team!”

“Well, you could have brought more ponies. Oh wait, you probably don’t have more than half a dozen workers in your little fly speck town, right?”

“And I’m stuck with the slowest pegasus in Equestria!” Dash continued, gesturing at Raindrops, who ground her teeth at the insult but could not bring herself to disagree.

“You lose some and you lose some, Dash. I guess you better start looking for a new place to live. I hear ground houses are very reasonable at the moment,” she sneered.

Dash was about to respond when there was a commotion from across the room. She turned to see a large griffin hen making an apparently wobbly landing in the centre of the room. An earth pony was sitting on her back, held in place by a large knitted scarf wrapped around both his form and the griffin’s neck. Many of the conference’s attendees were running from the strange sight, and even those who weren't were backing away. Griffins were rare in Equestria and the unexpected appearance of one was cause for alarm.

“Don’t worry,” the stallion riding on the griffin called cheerfully. “Nothing to be worried about, me and my friend are just passing by, looking for some lost property.” He unwound the scarf and stepped off of his mount, only to fall through the clouds that made up the floor. A second later, the griffin gave a squawk as the scarf around her neck drew tight and pulled her to the ground. She struggled to stand, pulling the earth pony back into the room.

“Leela,” the Doctor muttered, “I think there’s something wrong with this floor.”

“Choking me!” Leela gasped, tugging at the scarf around her neck.

“Sorry,” the Doctor said, swinging himself onto her back again and loosening the noose.

“Who are you?” Barometer demanded, flying over to the new arrivals. “What are you doing here?”

“Well I’m the Doctor and this is Leela,” the Doctor said, holding out a hoof and grinning. “And well, we’re looking for a shard of the universe – interesting thing, could look like anything. Have you seen it?”

“What are you talking about? I will have to ask you to leave this instant.” He fumed, reaching for the Doctor.

Suddenly he found Leela standing over him one foot placed on his chest and the other at his throat. He gulped, looking down at the razor sharp talons next to his neck. “You will show the Doctor respect or I will gut you, fat one,” she said.

“Now, Leela, no need to be rough with him,” the Doctor said. “I’m sure we can explain. You see, we are...”

“The other members of the Ponyville team,” Raindrops announced, trying to prise Leela’s talons off of the stunned Cloudtroller. The griffin struggled, but to her surprise felt herself being pushed back irresistibly by the yellow pegasus’ strength.

“Er, yeah. They’re the rest of my team,” Dash said. She turned to Raindrops and hissed, “What are you talking about? Who are they?”

“You want to win your bet, don’t you?” Raindrops whispered back. “Well, sky hunt was originally a griffin game; they used captured prisoners rather than Tags, but I’m sure she’d know how to play. Plus, she isn’t the slowest pegasus in Equestria.”

Dash considered for a moment before a light bulb seemed to light above her head, “Yeah, these are the rest of my team,” she agreed.

“A griffin? You have a griffin on your weather team? Can they even control the weather?” Downpour asked.

“She... protects us from creatures coming from the Everfree,” Raindrops said, suddenly hit by inspiration.

“And the earth pony?”

“Oh, you know, quotas,” the Doctor said with a grin. “It’s political correctness gone mad!”

Barometer looked astounded at this. “What is going on? Are you seriously telling me that these... these creatures are part of your weather team?”

“I don’t think that Ms Dash would lie about something like this, do you, Cloudtroller?” asked the yellow mare with the pink mane that Rainbow had been talking to earlier.

Barometer’s eyes flashed back and forth between Dash, the new arrival and the Doctor for a moment before with an effort he steadied himself. “Of course not, your grace.”

“Good. And I’m sure Ms Dash can explain this all to me later.” She glared at Dash, who swallowed painfully, before striding away. Barometer gathered himself and flew back up to his podium.

“Thank you for your help...” said the Doctor.

“Raindrops,” said Raindrops. “I’m a friend of Cheerilee; she told us about you.”

“Ah, Cheerilee. I remember her well. How is she?”

“All right. You’re not how she described you, though.”

“Well, I’ve had a facelift. Several, actually.”

“So where is the shard you are looking for this time? We’re not going to get attacked by giant flying timberwolves, are we?”

“No,” the Doctor said, activating the tracker. “It appears to be quite near. Over there!” he pointed towards Barometer’s podium. “It shouldn’t be difficult to find it.”

The Cloudtroller pulled the lid off of a large packing case, and suddenly the air was full of hundreds of rapidly moving balls. They whirled around the room for a moment before forming into a great cloud and flying up, out of the room and away from the city. The Doctor tracked them with the tracer, noting that the signal getting fainter as they disappeared from sight. “Or maybe not,” he added.

“What is this Sky Hunt?” Leela asked. “What are we hunting? Some type of bird?” She flexed her talons and wings in preparation of the chase.

The four of them, as well as most of the other conference goers, had been led a short distance to the very edge of Cloudsdale where the game was to be played. Each had been given a small satchel and a necklace bearing the symbol of the weather service. The Doctor had managed to avoid them both, claiming to only be an observer; his excuse was easily accepted as nopony thought an earth pony would play much of a role in the game.

“I thought you said that Griffins invented Sky Hunt?” Dash grumbled, adjusting her satchel again to make sure her wings were left free.

“They did, but that doesn’t mean that they all play it nowadays,” Raindrops replied. She turned back to Leela and the Doctor. “We try to catch Tags, the ball things you saw earlier.”

“Are they good to eat?” Leela asked.

Raindrops blinked. “No. They're made of enchanted rubber.”

“Then why hunt them?”

“It’s a game! It’s fun! You get to show how awesome you are!” Dash cried.

Leela cocked her head and thought for a moment. “Oh, it is practice for a real hunt, where the young may learn their skills in safety.”

“That’s what most games are, Leela,” the Doctor noted.

“But I am no child, I am a warrior of the Sevateem. I have no need of such games. I can hunt live prey.”

“Everyone likes to play games, Leela, even me. You should see me on the football pitch. Alf Ramsey once asked me to play for England. I’m not sure why, it’s not like I’m English.”

“Anyway,” Raindrops said, gritting her teeth. “The balls are enchanted to fly by themselves and try to avoid being captured. They’re also programmed to make sure they stay in a set area, in this case about fifty miles square up to a height of about two miles. Each team has to capture as many Tags as they can and return here in two hours. We have to stay within a quarter of a mile of each other at all times; if we start to separate, this,” she indicated the necklace, “will start to buzz. Get too far apart, it will flash and we’ll be disqualified.”

“So you better keep up with me,” Dash said.

Raindrops looked out past the city. “Looks like they set up quite a few clouds for cover. I think I can even see some rocks in the distance. Cloudsdale must be moving over a mountain range. Speed won't be everything.”

“You’re just saying that because you’re slow as Snails.”

Suddenly Raindrops was up in Dash’s face; it seemed that the yellow pegasus could put on a burst of speed when she needed to. “Was that a joke about my brother?” she asked in an icy tone.

Dash backed off. “Whoa, calm down, I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“You better not,” Raindrops responded, turning from the weather manager. “It looks like the game is about to start. We better get in position.”

The rest of the convention had lined up in groups at the very edge of the city; most were talking and joking amongst themselves but a few were taking the event more seriously and were preparing themselves for action. Raindrops noticed Downpour and her team shoving their way through the crowd to the centre. The grey maned pegasus fully spread her wings, making them looking even larger; her body seemed ridiculously small in comparison. She noticed that Score, Hoops and Dumb Bell had positioned themselves on a raised section of cloud a bit back from the front and were pointing at the other contestants, talking amongst themselves. Score caught Raindrops’ eye and scowled.

Dash led her team to the back of the crowd and gestured for them to huddle together. “Ok, we need to get away from the start area as quickly as possible and get in front of the crowd. Now the sky’s going to be full of Sunday fliers so Leela, you clear a path – none of these scaredy ponies will want to get in the way of a griffin. Raindrops, follow Leela and try to keep up. I’ll orbit around you and grab any Tags I see.”

“How about heading straight down?” the Doctor asked.

“Why would we want to do that?”

“Well if you want to get in front of the crowd, gravity might be of use. Plus, there are less clouds for the Tags to hide in.”

Dash looked thoughtful. “A power dive would get us away from the others, and even Raindrops can fall quickly.” The yellow mare glared. “Good plan.”

“Well gravity is my second favourite force,” the Doctor said solemnly. “Plus you can drop me off. I’ll only slow you down.”

“I will not leave you, Doctor,” Leela announced, craning her head around to look at her passenger.

“Oh don’t worry about me, I’m sure I’ll find some way to keep up.” He pulled out the tracker. “Try to head in that direction,“ he pointed to the south west, “and catch all the Tags you can. If you’re lucky you’ll find the one I need.”

“Is everypony ready?” Barometer bellowed from above. The crowd quickly sorted itself out and positioned ready for take-off. Over a hundred pegasus stood poised and ready. Dash stretched and cracked her neck. “On your marks... get set.... GO!” he yelled. Several fireworks burst around the crowd to signal the start, and as one they leapt into the air.

Dash galloped forwards as fast as her hooves could carry her and leapt off the edge of the city. Her wings gave three mighty flaps, propelling her straight down before she folded them in tight. The wind howled past her as she flashed down through the thick cloud like a multi-coloured dart, shattering the intangible substance as she went.

As much as she might not like her boss, Raindrops had to admit that Dash was a fantastic flyer. She was into the air and dropping before Raindrops even got off the mark. Spurring herself forwards, the yellow mare cantered forwards and jumped into the open sky. Off to one side, she heard Leela let out a bloodcurdling cry that scattered ponies away from her. The Griffin leapt into the air, wings flapping rapidly; she dipped forwards and swooped towards the ground, with the Doctor’s added weight helping her descent.

Raindrops kept her wings tucked in and fell through the sky. Low cloud still obscured the ground and she fought against the urge to pull out of the dive. A voice in the back of her head screamed that she was too close to the ground. Suddenly something painfully crashed into the side of her head. She spun aside and lashed out with a wing as she started to tumble. Something was caught in her feathers; a Tag! She transferred the ball to her front legs and clutched it to her chest. She burst through the cloud layer, still twisting through the air; the ground was coming up to meet her very, very fast. Her wings desperately struggled to catch the air and straighten herself out. With a frantic twitch of her tail, she righted herself and started to pull up, but it was going to be too late. One of her back legs caught against the ground and she flipped onto her back, bouncing once, twice, three times through a field of long grass. She skidded a short distance across the ground before coming to a stop.

Raindrops laid there for a minute trying to get her bearings. Once again she ached all over, her recently dispelled hangover returning with a vengeance.

“Come on Drops,” Dash yelled from somewhere above her. “No time to lay about, we’ve got to go.”

Snarling, the yellow pegasus rolled onto her front and stood up. She winced; most of her back felt like a single giant bruise, but otherwise she seemed uninjured. “I got a Tag,” she announced, holding up the ball with pride; that would show Dash.

“Good for you. I got two,” Dash boasted, holding out her prizes. She suddenly zipped to one side and snapped out with her mouth. “‘ow I ‘ot ‘ree,” she announced.

Off to one side, the Doctor was dismounting from Leela and untangling his scarf. “Off you go,” he said. “Good hunting! I’m sure I’ll see you about.”

Driving her wings through the air, Leela leaped into the sky with more grace now that she was not weighed down. Wincing, Raindrops also took off following Dash who was by now rushing off into the distance. The Doctor waved as they went, then looked around to get a bearing on his position. He appeared to be in some sort of farmed field covered with long grass, although there was no sign of anypony working the field. However, he could make out a tent set up a few fields away. As good a place as any to start, he thought, before starting to gallop off towards it.

The tent was surrounded by several irregular shapes covered in large waterproof cloths. The orange furred hindquarters of a pony could be seen protruding from under one of them.

“Excuse me,” the Doctor said, approaching the camp.

“‘at? ‘ho?” came a startled reply. The partially covered pony spun around and looked up at the Doctor, clutching a screwdriver in his mouth. He was an earth pony with a messy white mane. He carefully stowed the screwdriver in a bandoleer of tools around his chest. “Ah, you’d be the Doctor then?” he asked.

“You were expecting me?” the Doctor asked, rather surprised.

“Well, your brother told me to bring all this stuff out here, paid me well to, not that I’m in this for the money you understand but I’ve got costs. My names Gimmick by the way.” He held out a hoof.

The Doctor shook the offered limb, “My brother? Irvine?”

“No, some little chap, said he was called the Doctor too. A sort of family tradition? It must get confusing at Hearth’s Warming.”

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” the Doctor said with a grin. “Little chap? Played a flute, did he?”

“No, had an umbrella though.”

“Ah, must be one of my older brothers then. Did he leave any messages?”

“No, he just turned up last night and paid me to bring this stuff here, then ran off. He said he had to contact the police about something.”

“I guess I’ll have to remember that or it could cause all sorts of problems in the future,” the Doctor mused. “Anyway, what do we have here?” He strode towards the nearest of the three shapes.

“You don’t know?” Gimmick asked, rushing to stay apace.

“Well, if I did I wouldn’t be asking, would I? Do keep up.”

“Well, your brother said you needed some way of getting up to Cloudsdale, and he came to the right pony if I do say so myself. It’s my talent, you see.” He turned to show the symbol on his flanks; a winged cog. “When I was young I dreamed of a world where everypony could fly – not just pegasi and unicorns who learned the right spells, but everypony. So I worked and I studied and finally I built my first prototype. I was overjoyed when I first left Equestria’s embrace.” He looked thoughtful. “Of course, then I discovered I have a crippling fear of heights. Once I was safely back on the ground I decided to dream of a world where everypony else could fly.”

“That’s what these are?” the Doctor asked, poking the tarpaulin covered shape.

“Yep, some of my best test vehicles. Your brother was very clear that you’d need all three.”

“Well, I’m sure he knows best. So what are my options?”

“These two aren’t quite ready yet.” He gestured at two of the shapes. “So you might have to wait a while.”

“Ah, I’m afraid I’m in a bit of a hurry. Tell you what...” he pulled out a whistle and blew into it. It emitted a high pitched wailing sound that caused the Doctor and Gimmick to wince. “So that’s what it sounds like,” he noted. “You should be getting some help soon, unless the ground’s too uneven for him. Now what do you have for me right now?”

“This one’s more or less ready to go,” Gimmick said, pulling the covering from one of his inventions.

A wide grin started to cover the Doctor’s face. “I think that will do nicely. And it’s even in my colour.”

Dash rocketed through a herd of Tags; the enchanted balls followed their programming and scattered in all directions. Laughing with exhilaration, the chromatic mare rolled to one side, following the nearest target and easily matching speed with it. She carefully positioned herself so that the ball fell straight into her already partially full satchel. With a flick of her wing, she flipped in the air, soaring over a thermal, and kicked off in the opposite direction. She smacked a further Tag with one wing, then the other, finally knocking it into her bag. This was easy – she was going to win for sure. Ahead, she saw another group of Tags – at least half a dozen, easy prey. She shot forwards, closing in on her targets when suddenly her concentration was broken by a humming sound and a vibration around her neck; it was her necklace.

Quickly killing her speed, she turned in the air to look back at her fellow team mates. Leela was a short distance behind, her bird-like head swinging from side to side looking for prey; she had found that her sharp talons were ideal for plucking the Tags from the air – although once punctured they proved difficult to dislodge, resulting in several of her claws now being covered by the remains of the balls. Rainbow was sure they still counted to their score, though. Raindrops however remained far behind, struggling to keep up with her swifter teammates. She occasionally struck out to one side or the other, but the Tags easily avoided her. So far, the yellow pegasus had only captured two of them.

“Come on! Keep up!” Dash growled. “I almost got a bunch. Could you go any slower?”

Raindrops let out a snarl and tried desperately to hold on to her last nerve. The three of them had been heading away from Cloudsdale for over half an hour now, and had outdistanced most of the other competitors. It seemed like Rainbow had spent the whole time continuously complaining about her speed. It wasn’t like she wasn’t trying; she was going as fast as she could. Her wings were aching; she just wasn’t built for speed like Dash was. Leela wasn’t helping either; although her flying had started off hesitantly, like she was out of practise, she had quickly improved and now her speed and agility were almost as good as Dash’s.

As if in response to her thoughts, Leela flipped back and shot past Raindrops’ shoulder after a fleeing Tag. The slower pony was pushed aside by her wake as the Griffin stretched out her neck and plucked the flying ball out of the air.

“Come on, Slow-one,” Leela called teasingly. “We still have much prey to take today.”

“Yeah, slow-one,” another voice came from above. Raindrops looked up to see Hoops, Score and Dumb Bell standing on a bank of clouds not far away. “Your team’s never going to win unless you can keep up,” Score taunted.

“Hey, Bow,” Dumb Bell called. “Think fast!” He took a Tag from his bag and threw it at the blue pegasus.

“I always do, Dummy,” she chuckled, easily catching the ball with one wing and rolling it across her back to the other wing before throwing it back at her ex-coltfriend, catching him on the head. It knocked him off the cloud, causing him to flap desperately to stop from falling to the ground.

Hoops took one of his own balls and tossed it at Rainbow, who easily avoided it, and – giving a whooping war cry – rushed towards the stallions, hurling a stream of Tags.

“Are we not supposed to keep the Tags as trophies of our hunting skills?” Leela asked.

“Yeah, we need them to score. Rainbow’s just being an idiot – it’s like she wants to lose her house,” Raindrops grumbled. She swooped up between the two battling teams. “Come on, stop acting like foals,” she cried angrily. Hoops backed away, ears drooping.

“Hey who put you in change, Raindrips,” Score taunted, tossing a ball at the yellow pegasus. She snapped it out of the air with her mouth.

“Yeah, lighten up, Raindrips,” Dash added. “We’re just having some fun.” She tossed a Tag at Raindrops just as the blue maned mare was turning; rather than bouncing harmlessly off of her back, the rubber projectile instead smashed straight into her sensitive snout. He head snapped back and her eyes filled with tears.

The flame within Raindrops – which she had been struggling to control for the whole day – burst into a raging bonfire, burning away all reason. She struggled with it for a moment, trying to wash away the fire, but the pain in her muzzle overcame her self-control. “Kill you!” she bellowed, blinking away the tears. Her vision seemed to become a long tunnel, with the surprised weather manager at the far end, warped by a red haze.

“Come on, Raindrops,” Dash said, backing away a bit as the raging pegasus flashed towards her at what she now considered a quite impressive speed. “It was just a joke, I didn’t mean to hurt you!”

“Stupid bucking Dash, it’s all a joke to you!” Raindrops roared, swinging out a hoof at her boss. Dash flinched back and the limb just missed her, but she could feel the force behind it and knew Raindrops’ intentions. Realising the danger she was in, Dash turned and fled just ahead of the enraged pony. Behind her, all colour drained from Hoops’ face and he began to fly away as quickly as his shaking wings could manage. His friends realized that things had gone too far and followed him in flight. Leela looked on in confusion.

“Get back here!” Raindrops screamed. “I’m going to knock some sense into you!” She gritted her teeth. She so wanted to bring her hoof down on the blue pegasus’s face again and again, to wipe that stupid over confident grin off of her face.

Dash turned on all of her speed to try and outdistance the berserk pony on her tail, but to her horror she only just managed to pull ahead of Raindrops’s flailing hooves and snapping teeth. Glancing forwards, her eyes widened further as something large and blue started to rise out of the clouds below her. She rolled to one side, narrowly avoiding whatever it was. Raindrops was less fortunate and she ploughed straight into the yielding material that made up the thing. She tried to tear through whatever it was but it resisted, throwing her away from the large blue hot air balloon rising upwards through the clouds.

“Hullo,” the Doctor cried from the basket beneath the balloon, doffing his hat. “Look what I found. Well was given really, apparently a gift from myself. Did I miss anything?”

Snarling in frustration at the thing that had gotten between her and her target, Raindrops rushed against the balloon again only to bounce back again. The basket swayed alarmingly.

“Stop that!” the Doctor cried. “I only just got this thing.”

Noticing a new target to take her rage out on, Raindrops charged at the Doctor, hoof outstretched. To her surprise she suddenly found herself pinned against the edge of the basket. She struggled but found herself unable to move.

“Venusian aikido,” the Doctor explained. “A Sontaran couldn’t get free. I’m not sure why I don’t use it more often.”

With a roar, Raindrops threw the Doctor back and turned towards him, eyes blazing.

“Oh, that’s why. I’m not very good at it in this body.” He ducked under a wild blow from Raindrops but the basket left him with little room to manoeuvre. Reaching into his pocket, he drew out a paper bag and held it in front of the raging mare. “Would you like a jelly, er.. foal?” he asked.

Raindrops froze in place in astonishment for a second, then recovered and opened her mouth to vent her rage again. Suddenly the Doctor did the last thing she would have expected; he shoved the contents of the bag into her mouth. She closed her teeth around the gooey substance and felt them stick in the gummy mass. Her taste buds were stimulated by a mix of fruity flavours. She slumped back onto her hind legs, totally discombobulated.

Chewing, Raindrops felt the fire within her die down slightly. Reason returned to her and she realised what she had almost done, how she had wanted to pummel Dash again and again, how she wanted to attack someone, anyone just to feel better. She remember the look of terror on Hoops face – a look she’d seen before. She looked down; her hooves were shaking for some reason and she couldn’t seem to make them stop. That made her even angrier; why couldn’t she control her own body? Trying to stop herself drowning in the fire again, Raindrops realised she had to get away before she hurt somepony. Giving something between a roar and a sob, Raindrops leapt from the basket and threw herself into the clouds.

“Leela, follow her,” the Doctor commanded. The brown griffin obeyed instantly and followed the fleeing pegasus. “And you,” the Doctor continued, pointing at a shamefaced Dash, “can tell me what happened.”

Thud

Crack!

Thud

Crack!

Raindrops sighed, looking down at rocks beneath her hooves. She was standing part way up a mountain peak that emerged from the blanket of cloud. She had found a number of boulders and had proceeded to try to work out her frustrations by crushing them. Now all she had was a bunch of smaller rocks, aching hooves, and a hollow feeling inside; the fire had receded somewhat, but was still there. She was just so tired, tired of always having to be on guard to stop the blaze spreading, why couldn’t she be a normal pony? The look on Hoops’ face... She shuddered. She’d hoped she would never see that again. He was probably half the way back to Cloudsdale by now, ready to call the police and have her arrested. That might be for the best; at least in prison she couldn’t hurt anypony. Tears started to drip onto the rock. She was so messed up. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to see Leela slowly approaching.

The griffin made a strange gesture with her claws, clutching at her arms and legs before gesturing from her legs to her head. “I am sorry Raindrops, I did not know that you were a Hortzerka.”

“A what?” Raindrops asked, trying to blink away her tears. She looked confused.

“A Hortzerka, you have the spirit of the Horta within you.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The Horta is a powerful totem among my people. They are insects less than the size of a man’s hand but very fierce; they will attack creatures many times their size, and once they bite they do not let go until their prey is dead, even if they themselves perish.”

To her surprise, the image made Raindrops chuckle. She imagined that her brother would probably try to adopt such a dangerous creature.

“Those with such a spirit are mighty fighters much honoured in my tribe. In battle they slay many enemies and withstand wounds that would kill lesser warriors.”

“Yeah, I’m sure I would fit right into barbarian society. I’d probably be made queen of clan Drops or something.”

“You do not understand,” Leela said, alighting next to the yellow mare. “The Hortzerka are both blessed and cursed. They cannot tell friend from foe. They have to live outside of the village’s protection and are not allowed to take mates. Some have to be restrained or even killed for the good of the tribe.”

Raindrops looked down. “I’ve not exactly had luck on the mates front and sometimes I think it might be better if I lived outside of Ponyville where I can’t hurt anypony,” she said bitterly.

“No. The Hortzerka cannot control themselves, but you can. You have mastered your totem, you appear like any other warrior. If I had known you were Hortzerka I would not have shown you such disrespect.” She struggled and took off the bag around her neck holding it out to the pegasus. “I give you my prey to make amends.” She lowered her head.

Raindrops looked at the Griffin supplicating herself before her. “Um, thanks, but I don’t need your balls.” She gently pushed away the offered bag, and Leela strapped it around her neck again. “How can you say I can control my ‘spirit’ when I attacked Dash?”

“The Rainbow one was at fault; she was aware of your totem yet still attacked you and showed you great disrespect. Yet you regained your mastery of the Horta within you, and came here to give homage to the earth goddess rather than smite your foe. The Doctor has taught me it is what you do that is important, not what you fear you might do.”

“You really trust the Doctor, don’t you?”

“He saved my tribe and many others. His magic is strong, although he does not call it that.”

Raindrops looked down at the rubble beneath her hooves. Yeah, homage to the earth goddess. Still, she supposed she had decided to come here rather than carry on after Dash, no matter how much her boss deserved it.

She turned back to Leela, only to be interrupted as the balloon carrying the Doctor rose up through the clouds, followed by a rather contrite-looking Rainbow Dash.

“Ah, there you are,” the Doctor said. “I see you’ve managed to cool off. I think Dash has something she wants to say to you.”

“Er, yeah,” the blue pegasus said, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof. “The Doctor told me that maybe ragging on you about flying slow might not have been entirely cool, and that I should maybe thank you for helping me not lose my house.”

The almost apology hovered in the air for a moment.

“Dash,” Raindrops said, “you can be a bucking idiot sometimes, I have no idea how you got your job,” Dash squirmed a little, “and you don’t care about anypony but yourself.”

“Hey, I care about Fluttershy! She’s my friend,” Dash exclaimed.

Raindrops continued, ignoring the outburst. “But I know you hate having to apologize for anything so even that attempt must have meant a lot. So apology accepted, and I’m sorry I almost attacked you. You didn’t deserve that.”

“‘s ok, you wouldn’t have laid a hoof on me the rate you fly,” Dash muttered, then realised what she had said. “Err, sorry.”

“Well now that we’re all friends again,” the Doctor said, “maybe we can try to find the shard?” He waved the tracker around. “It seems to have moved, I wonder if another team has caught it? Anyway, it seems to be part of that storm over there,” he said, pointing to an area of dark cloud.

“What’s a storm doing here?” Raindrops asked in confusion.

“Hoops! Slow down dude, she’s gone,” Dumb Bell called. The startled stallion was flying recklessly through the thickening storm.

“Pull yourself together,” Score said. “You want Light to see you like this?”

That seemed to get through to the spooked pegasus, and he slowed to a stop before alighting on a dark cloud. His friends pulled up next to him. “You alright?” Dumb Bell asked.

“Yeah, I... I think so. It’s just seeing her like that, it brought back some bad memories.” His metal encased leg twitched and he grimaced.

“You should tell the police, that psycho should be behind bars,” Score said.

“Yeah, it looked like she was going after Dash back there,” Dumb Bell agreed.

“Dash can take care of herself, you know how she was at school, she’s tough.”

“Not all the time you know, sometimes she was soft.”

“You’re still carrying a torch for her?” Score said in disgust. “You remember what she did to you.”

“It wasn’t all like that, we had some good times,” Dumb Bell said, looking down with his face flushing.

“Yes, it was. I remember how you were after she left you, you were a mess.” He placed an arm over his friend. “‘Oh, Score she left me’, ‘Oh, Score the light of my life is gone’, ‘How ever will I carry on’. You were pathetic, dude.” He tightened his hug. “I don’t want to see you like that again.”

Calmed by the sound of his friends bickering, Hoops looked around. Banks of dark stormy clouds had started to build up around them. It was becoming harder and harder to see more than a few feet in any direction. “Where did all this come from?” he asked himself. Suddenly there was a rumble of thunder from not too far away. “Guys? What’s going on?”

Interrupted, Score and Dumb Bell looked around. “Maybe it’s some sort of obstacle course they cooked up special?” Dumb Bell said.

“They didn’t mention it,” Score said. A second round of thunder could be heard and this time the clouds around them were lit by lightning as well.

“Who... who’s there? Who’s doing that?” Hoops stuttered, spinning around.

A huge dark shadow quickly passed over the trio.

“Let’s get out of here,” Hoops cried, his nerve failing. He dove into a bank of clouds, but to his surprise, rather than passing through them he impacted on a solid substance and was thrown back. Score grabbed his friend as he fell back and steadied him.

“What the hell!” the blue stallion exclaimed.

“It’s cloudcrete!” said Dumb Bell examining the cloud bank. Although pegasus could easily shape clouds into building materials, they suffered from the problem that another pegasus could easily reshape your house or a burglar could just make a door to enter your house. Cloudcrete was the solution to this; a special type of cloud enchanted to be resistant to pegasus magic once set in shape, it could still be altered but it took a lot more effort and only the strongest Pegasus could force their way through it. Most cloud buildings were made of it.

“This has got to be somepony’s idea of a joke,” Hoops cried, prodding the clouds above them. With a rumble, heavy rain started to fall, and another flash of lightning illuminated the area. “This way, it’s clear up here.”

He pushed higher into the air, only to find the cloud bank above was thicker and darker than expected. He felt something long and flexible, like the leg of a giant spider, reach around him in the darkness. He let out a scream and tried to dart away, but the thing seemed to have snagged his satchel, and its strap pulled tight against his throat, choking him. He struggled for a moment, then managed to tear free of the restraining strap and streak higher into the cloudbank. He thought he heard a feminine giggle as he passed.

“Hoops!” Dumb Bell cried as he heard his friend scream. He flew towards the sound at full speed, but his shoulder caught on a block of cloudcrete, sending him spinning away. He tried to regain control and had almost managed it, before he slammed head first into another wall of the same material. Knocked unconscious, he went limp and dropped for several seconds before landing on a cloud bank and lying still.

“Dumb Bell!” Score screamed. “Where are you?” he spun around in a panic, looking for an escape from the trap he and his friends had found themselves in. Another rumble of thunder seemed to break out just by his head, and once again the dark shape could just about be made out in the clouds above, its huge wings overshadowing him. He launched himself up and weaved past a block of cloudcrete that loomed in his path. For a moment he thought he could make out an equine shape in the clouds; then suddenly a bolt of lightning flew past him and he could only see spots. Blinded, he flew straight on as quickly as he could, ignoring the buzz of the amulet around his neck signalling that he was too far away from his companions. He heard a mare’s cry of distress, followed by a bone jarring impact that sent him spinning. He blinked and his eyesight started to return when he saw a thunder cloud ahead; before he could react, he impacted with it at full speed, its whole charge discharging at once. He screamed as electricity crackled along his form, overcoming his pegasus resistance to lightning. Paralyzed, his wings locked, and he started to plummet to the ground so very far below him, but getting closer with every second.

As the Ponyville weather team (plus recent recruits) watched, a small figure could be seen dropping from the bottom of the cubic mass of storm clouds that filled much of the sky in front of them. Instantly Rainbow Dash was off, pushing herself as much as she could. The chromatic pony split the air asunder as she sped towards the falling form.

She felt her necklace vibrate with increased strength, and for a second considered slowing – but the dark blue shape in front of her was still falling, and the ground was not far away. It was a shame – she liked her sky mansion, she had all her stuff there. Maybe she could move in with Fluttershy for a while until she could find another place. With an internal shrug, she forced herself forwards even quicker.

There was a flash as her amulet disqualified her team from the contest, but at the same moment she managed to get her hooves under the falling stallion and put all her effort into pulling up. Her burden was heavy, and for a moment she thought her wings would be torn straight off her body. She gritted her teeth; the ground still seemed to be coming up awfully fast.

“Come on dude, flap,” she begged, but her passenger was unresponsive.

The ground was less than a hundred feet away and she could make out the fields clearly. An orange pony was pulling a tarpaulin off of a bulky shape, helped by what looked like some sort of golem, but she ignored it. Fighting against her and her passenger’s inertia, Dash finally managed to start to gain some height as she skidded above the tops of a line of trees. Grunting with the effort, she started to reduce her speed and finally had a few moments to study the stallion she was carrying. Score was starting to stir and groaned quietly, his coat smoking in places and darker than it usually was, but he otherwise seemed unharmed.

Trying to be as gentle as possible, Dash lowered Score onto a low cloud bank. Rain began to fall on her. She looked up to see a tall column of dark clouds descending towards her. She gulped. That didn’t look good.

She shook Score, who gave out a grunt of pain and staggered to his hooves. “Get up, we need to get moving.”

“Dash?” he asked weakly, then shook himself. “What happened? Where’s Dumb Bell?” He tried to launch himself into the air but his wings could barely hold his weight.

“Slow down. You’re injured, you should rest. I’ll check on Dummy and see about that storm.”

“Don’t call him that!” he snarled. “I need to know that he’s alright.” Grimacing, Score began to slowly rise into the air. “Besides, you’ve hurt him enough already.”

Dash frowned but held her tongue. “Fine, have it your way.”

The pair of them flew into the black maw of the storm.

“The spirits are angry,” Leela noted, pointing at the storm.

“Somepony must have built all that for some reason,” Raindrops said, starting to fly towards the dark mass. “There could be other ponies in trouble in there – we need to help them.”

“If one of you could give me a hoof,” said the Doctor, playing with the burner in his balloon. “This thing isn’t built for speed.”

Leela grasped one of the balloon’s ropes in her talons and began to heave the ungainly vehicle through the air. “Thanks,” the Doctor said, pulling a hand telescope from a pocket and extending it. “I can see at least two other ponies over there, one up top and one near the edge. He seems injured.” He focused the telescope more. “There’s something next to him, I think it’s another pony.”

“I’ll check-up top,” Raindrops said, slowly climbing into the air. “You look after the injured pony. You’re the Doctor, after all.”

“Not that kind of Doctor!” the Doctor cried as Raindrops flew away.

Skirting the edges of the anonymous mass of cloud, Raindrops tried to catch up with Hoops. He had stopped fleeing but was flying in panicked circles, seemingly unsure what to do with himself.

“Stop!” she barked. Her target started and looked ready to bolt again. Raindrops cursed herself. “Please, stop,” she asked more gently.

The orange stallion came to a halt, but his eyes kept darting from side to side as if looking for a way out.

“Are you alright? You’re not injured?”

“No. I’m just scared. I’m always scared,” he admitted, dropping his eyes. “You did that to me. You broke my body and you broke my nerve; I’ve never been the same since. I used to have daily panic attacks. What you did to me was the second scariest moment of my life.”

“I’m sorry,” Raindrops said, ears and eyes drooping. “If I could change what I did, I would, but... wait, second scariest?”

“The scariest was last month... two words from my marefriend’s mouth; ‘I’m bleeding’. We’re expecting our first foal in a few months.” He squeezed his eyes closed.

Raindrop’s blinked. “I’m sorry.” She seemed to be saying that a lot, she couldn’t think of anything else.

“Don’t be.” He gave a small smile and opened his eyes, focusing on the mare in front of him. “It was a false alarm, she and the foal are both fine. Actually, maybe the second scariest moment was ‘I’m pregnant’. It sort of puts things in perspective, almost dying suddenly seems less scary than creating life.” He closed his eyes again and took a deep breath.

Raindrops recognised the reaction. “What do you see your fear as?”

“What?”

“You’re visualising, I do the same. I see my anger as fire; I try to put it out, raindrops sometimes work.” She smiled without humour.

“Oh. I see my fear as water trying to wash me away. I try to dam it up.”

“I guess we’re not so different.”

“No, we’re not,” he said with a nod. “I don’t want to be controlled by my fear. I don’t want to be defined by what you did to me as a foal. I want to be a father.”

“I don’t want to be defined by my anger either. I have friends… I have a family.”

He turned towards her awkwardly. “Look, I can’t say we can just kiss and make up, because you still ruined my life.” He tapped his metal encased leg. “Anyway, if we did Light Breeze would kill me. She’s just a little thing – well, not so much right now – but she’s got a mouth on her. I just want to put you behind me.”

“I... I can live with that. Look, I got to go back to see what’s going on down there.” She gestured back at the dark clouds. “You stay here.”

“No. I said I didn’t want fear to define me. It’s my friends down there too. I’m coming with you.” With that he rushed towards the storm, limbs only trembling slightly.

Raindrops followed as quickly as she could.

Leela peered through the dark clouds as they approached the prone shape of the pony she had seen earlier. Rain was pouring down, soaking her feathers and making flight difficult; the Doctor was partially protected by his balloon, but enough water was seeping around it to still get him wet.

The shape of the fallen pony seemed to be obscured, as if a cloak had been spread over Dumb Bell’s body. Confused, Leela left the Doctor’s balloon for a moment to get a closer look. To her surprise, the shape covering the stallion leapt up, and a long limb stretched out to slash at her. Startled, Leela threw herself back. Giving a cry of victory, the creature crouched over Dumb Bell and pulled the bag off of his shoulder before pushing off of the cloud he had rested on, causing it to fade away. No longer supported, the unconscious pegasus dropped out of the sky.

Leela turned to follow the creature as it flew away. “No,” the Doctor yelled, “save him.” He pointed at the falling pegasus. Glaring as her prey got away, Leela turned towards Dumb Bell and swooped down, catching him in her arms. “Well done,” the Doctor congratulated. “Now get him in the basket so I can look at him.”

Struggling against her burden’s weight, Leela complied and bundled the unconscious pony into the vehicle. She then perched on the top of the balloon, her eyes peering out into the storm, looking for enemies.

The Doctor took out a small pen torch from his pocket and used it to examine the brown stallion’s eyes, causing a groan of complaint. “You’ve been quite lucky, whoever you are,” he commented. “You’ll have a lump like a griffin’s egg, but there doesn’t seem to be any permanent damage done. We better get you to somewhere safe.”

“I can lay eggs?” Leela asked, sounding intrigued.

“Actually, I have no idea. You do seem part bird and part lion; maybe griffins hatch cubs from eggs. Image the omelette they could make.”

Leela was about to reply when there was an explosion of sound; a peal of thunder went off seemingly just next to her. With a yelp she spun around, slashing out with her talons as a yellow and white blur shot past her. Unfortunately, her wild swing missed its target and cut a large gouge out of the balloon instead.

The Doctor craned his neck up to survey the damage to his craft as it began to deflate with a loud hiss. “Leela, did you just burst my balloon?” he asked seriously.

Leela looked shame faced. “Yes, Doctor. I am sorry.”

He grinned as the balloon started to drop towards the ground at first slowly but then speeding up. With a sigh, the Doctor started to push the still stunned Dumb Bell to the edge of the basket. “Leela, take him,” he ordered.

“I will save you too,” she said as she lifted the large stallion into her arms.

“The two of us will be too heavy. Don’t worry about me.” He looked down. “We must be almost two miles up; I’ll have sixty, maybe seventy, seconds to come up with something clever. I’ve even brought some knitting to stop myself from getting bored.” He pulled a large ball of red wool from his pocket.

As Leela looked on helplessly, the balloon started to fold in upon itself and drop to the ground while the Doctor waved. Looking away, she located another cloud bank and started to drag Dumb Bell and her own sodden form towards it.

Several thousand feet below, the Doctor took stock of the situation. By his estimation he had maybe forty seconds left before he became a spot on the landscape. The balloon above him was starting to collapse down towards him, so he quickly gnawed through the ropes to free the basket. It surprised him how sharp his teeth seemed to be. That left about thirty seconds, give or take. He looked up; the burner still belched flame into the sky, and that gave him an idea. A crazy, impossible, dangerous idea; his favourite sort.

Acting quickly, he threw himself towards one side of the basket, tipping it. He then hurled himself towards the other side as it tried to right itself. This time the impact was enough to flip the whole basket over. Pinning himself to the bottom of the basket, the Doctor got a clear view of the ground below; a patchwork of greens and browns he would become intimately familiar with in about twenty seconds. He searched through his pockets while admiring the scenery; he noticed a familiar orange pony working on a recently uncovered device. That one looked fun.

“Ah ha!” he announced, as his hoof found what he was looking for in his pocket. He carefully removed a small cocktail shaker. The metal container was covered with warning symbols noting that the contents was flammable, radioactive and a bio-hazard among half a dozen other things. He gingerly unscrewed the top and took a sniff of the contents. He grimaced as his mane started to smoulder; yep, it was definitely a pan galactic gargle blaster. It was a shame to waste it – it was so hard to get one mixed properly.

With a sigh, he used two of his remaining ten seconds to carefully pour out a measured amount of the smoking concoction. Considering for a precious second, he poured a single drop back into the flask before throwing the whole container at the burner. The effect was instantaneous; the small flame became a roaring column of light that reached the remaining thousand feet or so to the ground. The basket shuddered as if it had been kicked by a giant, and for a moment it was propelled further into the air before the flame started to die down and it began to tumble to the ground at a statelier pace.

Still, gravity was not to be taken lightly and the remains of the vessel struck the ground with significant force, sending the Doctor tumbling head over hooves across the ground to land in a pile near the edge of the area scorched to ash by his impromptu retro rocket. He carefully picked himself up and examined the remaining shot of the cocktail before swallowing it in a single gulp. His eyes bulged and his mane and tail stood on end for a moment. “That’s the good stuff,” he gasped.

With a pounding of hooves, Gimmick rushed into the crash site, followed by K-9’s metallic form. “Great Scott, Doctor! What did you do to my balloon?” he demanded. “And can you do it again?”

“Sorry, it’s a one off performance. I think I might be in need of another method of locomotion, Gimmick. I think I caught sight of something very interesting on the way down.”

“With the help of your assistant here, he didn’t half give me a fright when he turned up, I’ve managed to get another of the prototypes working.”

“WARNING, MASTER, PROBABILITY OF DEVICE WORKING IS LESS THAN 1%,” reported K-9.

“Well that seems to come up nine times out of ten around here,” the Doctor noted. “So I should probably give it a go.”

“Hey, Leela. Are you okay?” Dash asked as she and Score caught up with the griffin and her burden. “Where’s the Doctor?”

“He... fell,” Leela replied as she dropped Dumb Bell onto a cloud.

“Fell? Is he alright?”

“I am sure he is, he is a clever man. He has survived many such dangers before.”

“Dumb Bell!” Score exclaimed, rushing over to the injured stallion and ignoring his own wounds. “Are you alright, man? Speak to me!”

“Score?” the brown pegasus moaned, staggering to his hooves. “My head hurts.”

“I’m sure Dummy’s fine, he only hit his head. It’s not like he uses it,” Dash said dismissively.

“I told you not to call him that! He’s not stupid! He’s a section head at the weather factory!” Score growled.

“Hey, it’s alright, Score. She doesn’t mean anything by it,” Dumb Bell mumbled, blinking to try and clear his vision.

“What’s up with this crazy storm anyway?” Dash asked, looking up at the mass of dark clouds and changing the subject.

“I think somepony built it,” Dumb Bell said, poking a nearby cloud. “It’s partially cloudcrete and thunder and lightning keeps getting set off.” As if in response a further boom rolled off the clouds and a jagged bolt of lightning lit the clouds.

“I think I can see somepony up there,” Dash noted, peering into the storm. “They must be behind it, let’s get them.” She leapt into the air, quickly followed by Leela. Score and Dumb Bell followed at a slower pace.

Almost blinded by the heavy rain and thick cloud, Dash reached out at a blurry figure in the storm. “Hey you! What’s going on here?” she cried. To her surprise a yellow arm swung out and grabbed her by the hoof before throwing her through the air onto a painfully solid cloud. Her attacker vaulted on top of her and raised another hoof above her head. “Raindrops?” she gasped.

“Dash!” the yellow mare exclaimed. “Sorry,” she said, “I thought you were somepony else.” Hoops floated a short distance away from her, looking around but never quite taking his gaze off Raindrops. “I thought I saw something moving in the cloud.”

“Yeah,” said Dash getting to her hooves, “That would be me.”

“No, something else, it didn’t look like a pony.”

“There!” Leela cried, pointing up as a large dark shape broke through the cloud bank above and hovered above them filling the sky.

“What is that thing?” Score asked as he and Dumb Bell perched on the same cloud as the mares.

Dash cocked her head and a frown passed over her face. “Wait! I recognise those wings. Downpour!”

“Hey she’s got my bag, and Hoop’s,” Dumb Bell pointed out, gesturing at the dark blue mare.

“Yes, thanks for the donation. Now I just have to make sure none of you make it back to Cloudsdale for a while to tell anypony about this.”

“What are you doing here?” Dash asked.

The large pegasus moved closer, dragging a large cloud bank behind her. “Winning, Dash, I’m winning.”

“What?” Dash exclaimed. Below her the three stallions were frozen, staring at the newcomer’s oversized wings. Stallions! Dash thought, stretching out her own slightly smaller than average pair.

“Winning. It’s what I used to do before you came to the camp. I was the fastest, no one gave my wings a second glance then. Then the ever marvellous Rainbow Crash arrived and I was getting beaten by a filly almost four years younger than me. Then it was all, ‘oh those are so fake’, ‘what’s she compensating for’. I hate you, Dash!”

“You mean those things are real!” Dash exclaimed.

“Yes! They’re real!” she screamed and with a grunt she threw the cloud bank down towards the group of pegasus and Leela.

“Throwing clouds? Come off it that foals, oof,” Dash cried as the cloud hit her. Rather than dissipating as she expected, the cloud knocked her back into Raindrops and pushed both of them back towards the cloud on which that stallions were standing. Leela managed to avoid the cloud, and with a cry charged towards Downpour. The pegasus lashed out with one of her oversized wings, knocking the griffin back into the path of another bank of cloud, pushed by a yellow pegasus mare who had appeared as if from nowhere. Opposite her, another pegasus – a white stallion – kicked another cloud bank towards the group of pinned ponies encasing them entirely.

“Good work Donner, Blitz,” Downpour called as she and her companions settled on the neatly created bubble of cloud and started to seal it together.

Within the ball of cloud, Raindrops struggled to right herself. A random hoof slapped her in the face and she gritted her teeth trying to keep down the fire within her. “Everybody stop struggling!” she growled as she pushed out at the clouds surrounding them. They seemed solid without any give. “Cloudcrete! We’re trapped!”

“When I get my hooves on Downpour, I’m gonna...” Dash muttered darkly as she tried to untangle herself from the others.

Finally orienting herself, Raindrops stood up and carefully examined the wall of cloud. She tried to gently push her hoof through; there was some give but the material resisted like thick rubber. Taking a deep breath, she drew back a hoof. “Yaaaah!” she cried, driving her limb forwards with all her strength. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Hoops jump back, his face pale. Scowling, she examined the impact site. She had managed to dislodge a small divot of cloud. “This could take a while,” she admitted.

“I’ll give you a hoof,” Dumb Bell said, trying to squeeze past the other ponies. “This isn’t just for show, you know,” he said, indicating the weights on his flanks.

“As will I,” Leela said, starting to claw at a wall.

“Nice to see you’re good for something, Dummy,” Dash said, throwing herself against a wall and bouncing off into Hoops, who gave a squeak of surprise.

“Hey, my Dumb Bell is worth at least two of you, Dash,” Score exclaimed.

“Your Dumb Bell?” Dash said, frowning as she got up. “Are you two together?”

“Yep, Score’s my better half,” Dumb Bell noted, kicking out against the wall with his hind legs causing a small dent.

“Really? I know no one can beat my sheer awesomeness but surely you could do better than him,” Dash joked.

Dumb Bell stopped kicking at the wall and turned to the blue mare. “Rainbow, I had fun with you, but Score is the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he said seriously.

“You left him a wreck when you skipped town, Dash. I helped him get back on his hooves and it made me think about how much I care for him,” Score said, nuzzling his coltfriend.

“A wreck? You said you were fine with splitting up,” Dash said, looking confused.

“Well...” Dumb Bell started, looking awkward. “You leaving hurt more than I thought it would.”

“You never told me.”

“You were moving on in the world and I know you never felt the same way about me as I did about you,” he mumbled.

Dash stepped forwards and gently put a hoof on the stallions face. “I’m sorry Dumm.. Dude. We had fun together, but I didn’t see it going anywhere.” She looked down.

“Well it was fun, but I’ve got Score now.” He hugged the blue stallion.

Raindrops looked on with a silly smile on her face. “Aww, that’s so sweet!” Then she shook herself. “I mean, keep working! We’ve got to get out of here!” she continued more gruffly.

“Good work guys,” Downpour said, smoothing down the last of the cloudcrete bubble surrounding her rivals.

“You really think Dash will give you her house after this?” the yellow mare asked.

Downpour shrugged. “Probably not, Donner, but getting beaten again will hurt her more than anything else and show everypony that Hoofington’s weather team is superior to Ponyville’s in every way.”

“Blitz,” she called to the white stallion. “Start clearing away the storm, we don’t want to leave any evidence here.”

“Sure thing boss,” he saluted. “Race you sis,” he called to Donner.

Downpour grinned as her assistants rushed off to disperse the cloud maze they had created. While they were busy she unslung the satchels she had managed to snag from the stallions now trapped below her. It was a shame she hadn’t managed to grab Dash’s too, but she still had fifty or sixty Tags, easy. No way could another team beat her now, but she better head back to Cloudsdale soon; she didn’t want to miss the end of the game. It was a shame Dash wouldn’t be there to see first place be awarded to her, but she could always rub her snout in it later.

Downpour’s ears pricked up as she heard a strange buzzing sound from beneath her. Looking down, she was astonished to see the brown earth pony stallion she had seen earlier rising up on a strange device. He was furiously pedalling with all four hooves and the mechanism was somehow spinning a propeller above his head which was keeping him in the air. In his mouth he clutched the tracker which was beeping loudly.

“‘ello,” he said doffing his hat, removing a hoof from the device resulted in his craft dipping slightly.

“Hi,” said Downpour automatically.

He spat out the tracker which remained attached to his waist by a cord. “Do you mind if I look through that bag you’ve got? I think there might be a shard of the barrier protecting your universe from destruction in it.”

The long winged mare blinked in surprise. “What? No!”

“Suit yourself. Now, I thought I left some of my friends up here but I don’t see them. Do you know what’s happened to them?”

Blitz swooped down to get a closer look at the strange arrival. “What’s this?” he exclaimed. “A flying earth pony? That’s unnatural.” He sounded disgusted.

Downpour shook herself. “They’re in there,” she said, pointing at the ball of cloudcrete. “But I’m afraid you won’t be able to do anything about it. We’ll have won the game long before they get out.”

“Really,” said the Doctor, manoeuvring his craft over towards the prison. “I thought Pegasi had no problem passing through clouds.”

“Ah, this is cloudcrete,” she said proudly. “It interacts with pegasus magic, solid as a rock.” She tapped it with a hoof.

“So no pegasus could pass through it?”

“Yep.”

“But an earth pony without pegasus magic could?”

The smile dropped from Downpour’s face as the Doctor manoeuvred his craft beneath the ball of cloud and the rotor started to disperse the fluffy material.

“Stop him!” Downpour yelled as she leapt towards the earth pony. She flicked out a long wing at the Doctor’s helicopter, knocking it aside and twisting the frame. The rotor blade flew off, slashing a hole in the cloud prison. A rather surprised Score stuck his head out.

“Doctor!” Leela gasped, pushing her way past the stallion to get out of the cloud.

“Don’t worry, I’m prepared this time,” the Doctor cried, pushing a button on the device he was riding. A number of large balloons inflated and he started to drift gently to the ground. “Just deal with them, will you? I need those Tags.”

“On it, Doctor,” Dash yelled as she shot forth from the disintegrating cloud, followed by the rest of the group. Quick as a flash, she shot off after Downpour, who immediately turned and flew away as quickly as she could, while Raindrops struggled to keep up with the two of them.

Leela dashed off after the white stallion, leaving the yellow mare to the stallions.

“Now you and your friends hurt me and Score,” Dumb Bell said, approaching Donner. “But I don’t want to return the favour. Just give up,” he said reasonably.

“Oh, don’t worry you won't,” the mare said, grabbing two scoops of cloud with her wings and slamming them together. There was a loud clap of thunder and the three pursuing stallions were thrown back by the shockwave. She gave a grin and turned to leave, but to her surprise something struck her in the face, snapping her head back and sending her tumbling.

“Got you!” Hoops crowed, retrieving another Tag from Score’s bag and dexterously spinning it on his hoof before flinging it at the falling mare. The rubber ball caught her in the chest and forced the air from her lungs. She gasped for breath and tried to right herself, but before she could recover, Score and Dumb Bell grabbed her holding her tightly.

“You’re not going anywhere,” said Score.

“It’s just you and me,” Blitz said as Leela approached him. He raised his hooves in a fighting stance. “I know how to fight,” he boasted.

Leela grinned and raised her own talons. “That is good, there is no honour is defeating a helpless enemy. However, you are a pony, I am a griffin. I will enjoy eating you.”

“Eating me!” the stallion exclaimed, his pupils shrinking to points.

“Of course. I am a predator, you are prey. I am sure your liver will taste sweet.”

Blitz’s hooves dropped. “Hey, this was just supposed to be a joke, nopony said anything about getting eaten. I surrender,” he squeaked.

A look of annoyance passed over Leela’s face. “This is no fun,” she said with a scowl.

“Hey, you said there was no honour is defeating a helpless enemy. I’m helpless, honest,” he pleaded.

Gently landing on the ground, the Doctor untangled the strings attaching him to his balloons. Looking up, he could just about make out the pegasus flying about above him; it looked like a fight was taking place. Gimmick’s base was only a short distance away and the orange stallion was setting up the third of his gadgets. He saw the Doctor approaching and sighed. “The whirligig as well, Doctor?”

“Well, it’s not my fault it was so fragile. Anyway, I need to get up there as fast as possible.”

“Oh, fast won’t be a problem this time, Doctor.” Gimmick grinned and pulled the cover off his third device to reveal a large catapult.

The Doctor look intrigued. “You know, I suggested something like this to the Greeks a long time ago, but they decided on a wooden horse instead.”

“It’ll certainly get you in the air quickly, Doctor. And this,” he threw a large backpack at the Doctor, “should get you down safely.”

“I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS COURSE OF ACTION, MASTER,” K-9 said.

With a little trepidation the Doctor ignored the robot and clambered onto the catapult. He activated the tracer and swung it about. “Okay, the target is in this direction about half a mile away and a mile or so up.”

Gimmick quickly adjusted his device. “Ready?” he asked. The Doctor nodded. “Good! K-9, turn that wheel nine times.” With a hum of power the giant dog heaved a wheel around, tightening the catapult’s mechanism.

“How many times has somepony used this thing?”

“Including this time?” Gimmick seemed to think for a moment. “One.” He pulled the leaver.

Rainbow Dash was in her element, streaking through the air. Downpour was a small but quickly growing spot ahead of her. There was no way the dark blue mare could get away from her, not in a straight race. Sensing this, her target swerved towards a large cloud bank; if she made it there, then Dash might lose her.

Pouring on more speed, Dash managed to intercept Downpour just before she reached safety. “Come on, give it up. Even with those freaky things,” she gestured at her opponent’s wings, “you can’t get away from me.”

“I am not a freak!” the dark blue mare screamed. She spun around and lashed out with a wing, snapping Dash’s head to one side. “You know how it is, somepony has to come first and somepony has to lose, and that somepony is you.” She struck out again, catching Dash in the chest. The rainbow pegasus tried to fight back, but her opponent’s greater reach was impossible to overcome.

“Now, just to show everypony how useless you are, I think I’ll take this.” Downpour reached out with a wing and snagged the satchel bulging with Tags looped over Dash’s shoulder. She tugged at it but Dash fought back. For a moment, there was a tug of war as the two mares fought over the container, but then the strap got caught up in one of Dash’s frantically flapping wings. Sensing victory, Downpour gave another tug at the bag, yanking Dash’s wing against the joint. Dash gave a scream of pain and dropped from the sky, cradling her injured limb.

“Dash!” Raindrops cried from some distance back, and redoubled her speed to try and catch Downpour.

“See you loser!” Downpour crowed as she turned away from her injured opponent, only to be struck in the face by an earth pony.

“Hi,” the Doctor said as he grabbed hold of the pegasus mare. “I think you might have something I’m looking for.” He felt something vibrate on her chest.

“Argghhh! Get off! Get off!” the panicked mare yelled, trying to maintain her altitude with the added weight.

“Certainly! I just need to grab these.” He grabbed the bags held on Downpour’s back. “Oh, and you might like to look at this.” He held her necklace in front of the mare’s face before closing his own eyes.

“What? I don’t…” Downpour started. Suddenly the amulet flashed, indicating that she had been disqualified, and temporarily blinding her.

“Bye!” the Doctor said, releasing his hold on the flailing mare and dropping towards the ground. He yanked a cord on his backpack and a parachute erupted from it, knocking the already disoriented mare away.

Blinking away the spots in front of her eyes, Downpour peered through the clouds surrounding her. Behind her, Dash was limping towards the ground and wincing in pain with each flap, while below her the earth pony was drifting away. The yellow pegasus and two of the stallions were still following her, but she would be no problem to avoid; at least she could get out of this with only her pride injured. She frowned for a moment. She thought she saw something through the clouds. Suddenly her eyes widened as the haze cleared and she saw a mountain rising up only a few feet in front of her. She desperately tried to turn away, but it was too late; one of her wings caught on the rocks and she was thrown to the ground. She tumbled and bounced for a few seconds before landing in a groaning heap.

For a few seconds it was quiet. Then with a loud thump Raindrops landed next to her. “Why? Why did you do all this?” the enraged pony demanded, spittle flying from her mouth.

“I.. I wanted to win, I wanted revenge on Dash for what happened at school,” Downpour cried, looking up at the yellow pony with fear in her eyes.

“This is all about some stupid playground grudge? Grow up! Score, Dumb Bell and Hoops used to be total jerks, but they grew out of it. What’s your excuse?”

“You don’t know what it’s like to be different. To have people talking about you behind your back,” she sobbed.

“I don’t know?!” Raindrops roared, striking Downpour with a hoof and knocking her back to the ground. “Even my friends fear me, nopony wants to be with me. You don’t know anything about me!” She raised a hoof over the cowering pegasus’ head.

The fire was burning inside her now; it was everywhere, it was all she could see. Rain couldn’t put it out, the whole ocean wouldn’t be enough. She raised a hoof over her battered foe’s head. She was vaguely aware of Score trying to pull her away; he was shouting something, but she couldn’t make it out above the sound of the fire. No, it wasn’t a fire; it was a horde of voracious insects, mindless creatures just existing to eat and bite and kill. But she knew how to deal with insects. She summoned a vision of a lanky colt with a gormless look on his face: her brother, Snails. The insects would love him, would do what he wanted; and he would not want them, not want her, to attack a helpless pony. She couldn’t disappoint him, she loved him. With a struggle she forced the insects back.

Returning to her senses, Raindrops lowered her hoof and let Downpour drop to the ground, whimpering in fear. “Just get her out of my sight,” she snarled. Turning, she saw Hoops looking pale, but he nodded to her.

The rather bedraggled party of pegasi eventually found the Doctor on the ground, talking with Gimmick and K-9 next to the catapult.

“Ah good, you’ve all made it,” the Doctor said. “I’ve got what I’ve been looking for.” He held up a lump of crystal. “I shouldn’t need to do anything like this again for at least a lifetime.”

“We have captured our enemies,” Leela announced in triumph.

The defeated team looked much the worse for wear; Donner was rubbing a large bruise on her head, and although Blitz was physically unharmed, the stallion seemed cowed, stumbling along on shaking hooves and keeping his eyes on Leela. Downpour was likewise laid low, her wings dragging along the ground and her face bloodied. The rest of the group didn’t look much better; Score’s coat was still singed and Dumb Bell’s face was bruised from his earlier crash, while one of Dash’s wings hung limp at her side. Both Raindrops and Hoops – although relatively uninjured – looked exhausted.

“Now I can feast upon them!” Leela cheered.

The rest of the party looked aghast at this. Blitz paled and collapsed in a faint.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Leela. They’re probably rather stringy and brimming with saturated fat. Very bad for your heart.”

“But you said griffins ate ponies.”

“Well maybe, but you’re not exactly a griffin are you? You just look like one.”

“I suppose you are correct,” Leela agreed grumpily.

“Well, I normally am, except when I’m not, of course,” he said, grinning toothily. “Anyway, we better be on our way – time and tide waits for nopony.” He turned to the orange stallion next to him. “Thanks for your help, Gimmick.”

“Well, next time I need somepony to test my inventions I won’t hesitate to ask somepony else, bits or no bits, Doctor.” He rested a hoof on the twisted pile of tubing that had once been a helicopter. “It’ll be safer on my poor babies. K-9 was a great help, though. I don’t suppose you’d be interested in selling him?”

“I’m afraid K-9’s not really mine to sell – he’s really his own robot, isn’t that right?”

“AFFIRMATIVE, MASTER,” K-9 said, tail wagging.

“Shame. I guess I’ll have to carry on by myself then.”

“Keep trying. I’m sure there are many grounded ponies who would be interested in flying.” He turned to the rest of the team. “It was very nice to meet all of you, but I really must be off.”

“I was glad I met you, Doctor. And you too, Leela,” Raindrops said. “Your talk to me about the Hortzerka helped.”

“It was an honour, Hortzerka,” Leela said, bowing low. “May your blade never dull and may you bear many strong children.”

“Yeah,” Dash agreed with a smile. “We’ll have to get you started on that.” She turned to the stallions. “Any of you guys got any single friends?”

“Drop it, Dash,” Raindrops grumbled.

With a wave of his hoof, the Doctor, Leela and K-9 set off towards a small blue dot on the horizon.

Raindrops watched them shrink into the distance before turning to the rest of the team. “Well, now that Leela’s decided not to eat our prisoners, what do we do with them?”

“We should probably take them back to Cloudsdale,” Hoops said. “We can tell the Cloudtroller and the police about what they were doing. Plus they’re probably wondering what happened to us.”

“Even if they’re not arrested, I’m sure they’re going to get fired.” Their captives’ ears dropped even further.

“Hey, that’s right,” Dash said, “they cheated. Do you think they might rerun the game?”

Raindrops look at her boss in horror. “What?” she asked.

“Well, it’s not like I really lost. We can all try again – I’m sure I can win despite this wing.”

The rest of the team groaned and started to plod away from the rainbow mare.

“Come on, dudes. Who’s up for another game? Maybe next year?”

Author's Notes:

A fairly Doctor light chapter this one, rather more Raindrops and Dash and at times more looney tunes than Doctor Who. A lot of this story was only plotted once I'd written the 7th Doctor 'prequel' section and a few other bits only popped into my head during the writing.

Only one more 'prime' story left to go the Matt Smith Doctor and I'm struggling for ideas, I'm thinking maybe Pokey and Dinky and possibly Trixie. With Greengrass and Notary as antagonists. Possibly based on the Doctor trying to build something to allow ponies to find the shards themselves now he feels he's in his last regeneration.

I've got a few 'special' chapters in mind, one based on the war doctor and the time war coming to Equestria and one a 10th Doctor part 2 story with teenaged Scootaloo and Diamond tiara.

I'll probably wait until the new series for the latest Doctor to appear in Equestria.

Once again thanks to Mooncalf for making this readable.

5th Doctor - The Good Sport

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It was a beautiful day in Canterlot - summer was on the way and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. The sun was beating down but the air was just the right temperature, not too hot and not too cold, just pleasant. It had been like that for several years now; some considered it a quiet threat - others, an apology. What the sun thought of it only a few close friends were willing to ask and they rarely got a straight answer. As always the sun shone down on everypony equally, the high and the low, the rich and the poor, the honest and the crooked, and the blue box.

The blue box was a new addition to the castle. In fact, it had not been there even a few seconds ago, just having faded in with a sound like elephants mating. Either by accident or design, it had appeared in an out of the way part of the castle gardens. Despite the commotion going on nearby, nopony seemed to have noticed its arrival.

The door to the TARDIS opened and the Doctor walked out, looking around. In his current incarnation his coat was pure white and his mane a dirty blond. He wore a white shirt covered with a tan jacket and red and white striped trousers, and on his head sat a cream panama hat. Immediately upon exiting the vehicle, a look of discomfort crossed his face and he started to wriggle around. “There’s something wrong here,” he announced with a grimace. “This coat doesn’t seem to fit. Stay in there for a while, there might be something wrong with the transmogrifier,” he yelled into the TARDIS.

Carrying out some minor gymnastics, the Doctor managed to pry the coat off of his form - revealing a set of feathery wings attached to his back. They unconsciously stretched before folding once again over his back. “Those are new,” he muttered.

“What is it, Doctor?” asked Nyssa as she exited the TARDIS. Her form was that of a young mare. She wore a plum crushed velvet dress and a gossamer cape, her coat was light pink, and her tightly curled mane was dark red.

“I appear to have been graced with an extra pair of limbs this time. It’s the first time I’ve taken on the form of a pegasus.” he flapped his wings experimentally. “These would have been useful the last time I was here.”

“The dominant species on this world have both quadruped and hexapod forms? That seems rather unlikely.”

“Yes, but you must remember that we are in an entirely different universe. The rules may be rather different here. Still, I think they look rather dashing.” The Doctor twisted his head around for a moment, admiring himself.

Nyssa likewise examined herself. “Well, I seem to have ended up as a quadruped.” Then she let out a small scream.

“What is it?” asked the Doctor rushing over.

“My cape moved by itself!” she exclaimed. Then with a soft whoosh of displaced air the accessory unfurled into a large set of transparent butterfly wings.

The Doctor stood stock still in shock for a moment. “That’s a new one to me,” he muttered. “This must be some interaction between the transmogrification matrix and Trakonite physiology,” he explained.

“They are beautiful,” sighed Nyssa, turning her newly discovered wings in the sun. “It is a shame there is no possible way they could be functional.” She gave her wings a flap and to her surprise she rose several feet into the air. “I can fly!” she exclaimed.

“I did say we were in a different universe. Apparently aerodynamics work differently here.” He pulled out a pair of glasses and peered at Nyssa. She was now hovering at head height, held aloft by the occasional flap of her wings.

“Wow Nyssa, you look like you should be on top of a Christmas tree,” said the Doctor's second companion, Tegan, as she left the TARDIS. Her coat was orange and her mane a pale blue, and she was wearing a purple stewardess uniform, complete with a small hat balanced between her ears. “So what did I end up as? Can I fly too?”

The Doctor looked over Tegan’s form. “Err, you appear to be what is locally called an earth pony.”

“Earth Pony? What do they do, burrow underground?”

The Doctor looked a little nervous. “No, they’re more or less like earth horses. Although I believe they are stronger and tougher than other species of equines here abouts.”

“That’s it?” yelled Tegan. “Rabbits! I suppose I’m lucky I didn’t end up as a ruddy Roo.”

Ignoring her friend’s displeasure, Nyssa was flying from side to side trying out her new wings. “Doctor, you have to try this,” she said.

“I do have to say this was something I was looking forward to,” said the Doctor. “If you’d just step aside, Tegan, I think I might need a bit of a run up for this.” Pawing the ground a bit, the Doctor ran forwards and leapt into the air extending him wings to their fullest. However, they completely failed to catch any wind and he dropped straight down to the ground, face first.

Nyssa looked shocked while Tegan began to laugh at his misfortune. The Doctor picked himself up and scowled at the Australian. “I might need a little practice,” he said before trying again. This time he made it into the air after several frantic flaps but quickly careened off course and crashed into the side of the TARDIS, landing in a dazed heap on the ground.

“No wonder you can’t fly the TARDIS, you can’t even fly yourself,” chuckled Tegan.

The Doctor picked himself up once more. “Maybe it’s better I keep my hooves on the ground for the moment,” he muttered. “Anyway, we have a job to do here. Remember, we have limited time in this dimension. The transmogrifier can keep us safe for quite a few hours, but eventually we will interact explosively with this universe's matter.”

“Like Omega then?” asked Tegan.

The Doctor paused for a second, thinking about his recent adventure. “Yes, our situation is uncomfortably similar,” he said with a shudder. Getting back to business he took the tracker from around his waist and swung it backwards and forwards. The device gave a loud bleep. “Ah, it appears our target isn’t very far away, less than a mile I’d say, probably at the opposite side of this building.”

“It is rather grand isn’t it Doctor,” said Nyssa, looking up at the towering edifice above them while slowly rising into the air to meet it.

“Yes, I do think I’ve seen it before. Although from a greater distance. I think this is castle Canterlot, in the capital of Equestria.”

“A castle? This place is a monarchy?” asked Tegan.

“Not necessarily,” The Doctor rubbed his chin. “Although think I remember a princess being mentioned... but it was a long time ago, to me anyway. Maybe we’ll find out.” With that he led his small group through the gardens towards the far side of the castle.

As the party passed, a pair of stallions raised their heads from behind a large bush. They looked almost identical, both having brown coats and leaf green manes, but one’s head was graced with a horn.

“Did you see that?” asked the earth pony. “Those wings!” he continued in awe.

“Yes indeed brother of mine,” said the unicorn. “A rare specimen.”

“I thought Flutter ponies were just a myth, Trapper.”

“No, they exist, but they’re very rare. And I can think of one of our regulars who would be very interested in getting her hooves on one for her ‘collection’, Hunter.”

“I didn’t think she did that anymore?”

“A zebra can’t change its stripes, brother of mine, she won’t be able to help herself if we turn up with such a pretty prize.”

“Are you sure this one’s real? I’ve heard of spells...”

“The horn never lies, there’s no magic there,” replied his brother, his horn glowing. “Anyway, let’s get after them. We don’t want any other bounty hunters to get their hooves on them.”

Stealthily the twin ponies made their way across the fields towards the now distant time travellers.

As the group of time travellers cleared the side of the castle, they came upon a large circle of industrious ponies working on a section of the gardens. Some were painting out lines on an open area of the lawns, some were erecting goal posts and still others were placing rows of benches and other seating around the area. A stage of some kind had already been set up at one end of the area. The place was a hive of activity but still a few ponies stopped in their tracks and turned to gawk at Nyssa, who was still floating in the air.

“Doctor,” said Nyssa sounding nervous, “I don’t like this, why are they all staring at me?”

“Well, I’ve visited this world several times, and I’ve not seen any pony with wings like yours. I would imagine you’re somewhat of a rarity. But they just seem interested, not hostile. Just try to enjoy the attention,” replied the Doctor.

“Yeh,” added Tegan, sounding rather bitter, “They might treat you like a rock star or something.”

Trying to avoid the gazes directed at her, Nyssa dropped to the ground and folded up her wings again, falling into position behind the Doctor and Tegan.

The Doctor once again took out the tracker and scanned the area. “The shard appears to be on the stage,” he said, “Or I suppose it could be the stage. In any case we should take a look.”

As the group trotted towards the stage, they continued to get a few strange looks, but no one stopped them. Off to one side was a podium containing a large silver cup flanked by two white coated pegasi. It was to this trophy that the Doctor followed the trackers signal. He reached out for it but one of the pegasus stopped him with her wing.

“Hey, Hey, Hey. You can look but you can’t touch,” announced the guard.

“Couldn’t I just examine it in a bit more detail? It’s a very fine trophy.”

“If you want to get a closer look you’ll need to win it,” said the other with a laugh.

“Win it? What's it awarded for?” asked the Doctor.

“Where have you been? This is for the first Castle hoofball league, everyone’s been talking about it.”

“Hoofball? Not my usual game of choice, but I suppose I could give it a go.”

“You play football? I mean hoofball,” said Tegan. “You’d end up being spread all over the pitch if it’s anything like Aussie rules.”

“Tegan,” said the Doctor testily, “I’m actually quite a good athlete, you know. I prefer the elegance of Cricket but it’s not my only talent.”

“Well, it’s too late for you to just join now,” said one of the guards. “This is the final after all, it’s the Sparks versus the Misfits. If you get a team together maybe you could enter next year.”

“Thank you for your help.” The Doctor bowed and moved away from the trophy. “I’m fairly sure that cup is the shard,” he whispered to his companions. “If one of you can distract the guards I might be able to get my hooves on it.”

“Hey, are you Doctor?” called a large pegasus with a dark blue coat who was pushing through a crowd of other ponies towards them.

“Who’s that?” asked Tegan

“I don’t know, I don’t think I’ve seen him before. Although he obviously knows of me.”

“You Doctor?” repeated the pegasus. The Doctor nodded cautiously. “Great, I thought you might have gotten lost. I’m Frolicsome Meadowlark, acting captain of the Misfits, ready for the game?”

Tegan looked up the large muscular Pegasus in front to her. “Frolicsome Meadowlark?” she whispered to Nyssa in disbelief.

“I think it is a very nice name,” said Nyssa with a giggle.

Ignoring them, the Doctor looked at the blue pegasus. “You were expecting me?” he asked.

“Yeh, got your letter today, arrived special delivery just now, the post mare’s eyes were a bit odd,” he said distractedly. He shook himself, “It said you’d just started here and you wanted to join up. With Moonlight laid up we need a fifth player and your recommendations from Trottingham are impressive. Your arrival was very lucky.”

“How very convenient,” mumbled the Doctor. “A bit too convenient for my liking.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. I’d be honoured to join your team. What can you tell me about the game we’ll be playing?”

“It’s Trottingham rules give or take, so that shouldn’t be a problem for you. There’s a few local changes, we have five a side rather than the normal seven, unicorns can’t use magic but Pegasus can fly, but not above twice head height. You should pick up anything else as we go along.”

“Oh, I don’t think that flying limit will be a problem,” said Tegan with a grin.

Frolicsome raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not the strongest of flyers,” admitted the Doctor.

“It shouldn’t be that much of a problem, most of the game is on the ground. I’ll show you the rest of the team, we’ve got an hour until kick off.”

“I’ve brought some friends with me, is that okay?” The Doctor gestured at Tegan and Nyssa.

“Of course, they can watch the game if they can find room. It looks like it’s going to be packed. Anyway, welcome to the Misfits, Doctor.”

“The Misfits?”

“Yeh, it’s the team’s name,” chatted the pegasus as he lead the time travellers away from the pitch. “You see, when the league was set up, most of the teams were all from specific areas of the castle. The guards fielded a few teams, the kitchens, administration, servants to particular nobles, etcetera. We were those left over when the other teams formed so we called ourselves the Misfits. I’ll introduce you to the rest of the team.”

Unnoticed by them, Hunter and Trapper continued to follow the group at a distance.

The rest of the Misfits were warming up in a small courtyard not far from where the match was being held. The three other team members were listlessly kicking a ball between each other while a small group of ponies watched. As the Doctor and Frolicsome walked over, a peach coated blue maned pegasus stallion with a cast on one leg hobbled up to them, staring at the Doctor.

“Is this is my replacement then?” asked the stallion angrily.

“Don’t be like that Moonie,” said Frolicsome placatingly. “You know you can’t play with that busted leg, but we still have a chance to win.”

“I know,” sighed the peach pony, “but it’s so frustrating.” He stamped with his uninjured hoof. “I helped get us here but now I just have to watch.”

“I thought you liked to watch me get all sweaty,” mumbled Frolicsome, slapping the other stallion on the rump.

“Not in front of everypony, Larky,” he hissed, his blush turning him purple.

“This is my partner and team captain, Moonlight Smiles,” said Frolicsome with a smile. “You’re standing in for him and you’ve got some big shoes to fill.” He gave a loud whistle and the rest of the team stopped their game and walked over. “Right gang, this is the new guy, he’s called Doctor, a personal physician who just started here, so if you want to get hurt,” he glanced at Moonlight who glared back, “now’s the time to do it.” The rest of the team gave a laugh.

“Okay,” continued Frolicsome. “This here is Blooming Rose.” He indicated an earth pony mare larger than many stallions. Her coat was brown and her curly mane was a burnt orange in colour. “She works in the gardens. She’s our striker, and an excellent dribbler if you can get the ball to her few can get it away from her. She’s got a kick like a mule as well.”

“He’s actually not being speciesist, you know,” said Rose cheerfully, in a surprisingly high pitched voice. “My father was a donkey.”

“And this is Gourmet Meal,” continued the stallion, pointing at a young unicorn mare with a dark green coat and a blue and white striped mane. “She works in the kitchens. She’s very quick on her hooves.”

“Like all the best chefs, I come from Cavallia,” she said with a heavy Italian-sounding accent.

“Shame you only wash the dishes then, isn’t it?” teased the last member of the team, a grim middle aged unicorn stallion with a yellow coat and short cut orange mane.

Gourmet blushed and looked at the floor. “Only for the moment,” she mumbled.

“And this cheerful soul is the misnamed Smiling Bandit, our goalie,” said Frolicsome, glaring at the stallion.

“Worked here as a herald, thirty years colt and stallion. Some of the stories I could tell you, why I remember, it must be twenty years ago now...”

“We should get back to practise,” said Frolicsome hurriedly before Bandit could start his story. “The kick-off is in less than an hour now. We better show Doctor what we can do and vice versa.”

The team spent the following hour kicking the ball around their rudimentary pitch. As Frolicsome had noted, Rose was indeed very hard to tackle once she got the ball, but she was rather slow. And her kick could move the ball across half the pitch, but she was lucky to hit the right side of the pitch with it. Gourmet was lightning fast on her hooves but was panting for breath after the warm up session. Bandit proved a very solid goalie but tended to become distracted, shouting advice to the other players rather than paying attention to what was going on around him. Frolicsome himself proved to be very mobile, using his wings to make great arching leaps over the other players to get into position, but often landed badly knocking himself out of position. The Doctor was still learning the strengths and weaknesses of his currently body. It proved to be a jack of all trades but a master of none - he was quick on his hooves but not exceptional, a nimble runner but not the best and a good shot but lacked power.

Moonlight, who was acting as trainer, was not impressed with the team’s performance. “We’ll need to be better than this against the Sparks,” he growled.

“The who?” asked the Doctor.

“Our opponents, the Sparkling Lights. They’re mostly pages working for Viceroy Night Light.”

“Night Light, that sounds familiar. I think I’ve met his son.”

“Yeh, everyone knows Captain Shining Armour since the wedding.”

“Captain? When I met him he was a Lieutenant. I’m glad to hear he’s gone up in the world, he seemed to have a good head on his shoulders.”

“This is no time to be name dropping. We’d better make our way to the pitch now, it’s almost time to start the game.”

“Ok, everybody,” said Moonlight, “Gather round.” The team formed a rough circle around him. “I’m sorry I can’t be with you on the pitch today, but if you give it your utmost you can win this. Not what you’ve shown me so far, your very best! It’s been a hard season, no one thought we would make it this far. No one thought that we’d be one match away from winning the league. We were the players no one else wanted, the ones left over when the others formed their teams, we were the misfits. We’ll I don’t know about you but today win or lose, I’m proud to be a Misfit. Say it with me.”

“I’m proud to be a Misfit,” mumbled the team, Rose’s voice rising above the others.

“Louder,” demanded Moonlight.

“I’m proud to be a Misfit,” repeated the team clearer this time.

Moonlight held out his hoof and the rest of the team put their hooves to it.

“I’m proud to be a Misfit!” yelled the team.

“Good, now let’s go out there and win this thing!”

By the time the team, followed by a small crowd of supporters, made it back to the pitch, the preparations had been completed. The playing area had been neatly marked off and several rows of seating had been placed around the outside. Off to one side, a large marquee tent had been erected and filled with tables covered in food. Several hundred ponies were packed in and around the pitch area, and the air above was thick with pegasi. Many of the fans were carrying banners proclaiming their support for one team or another. There was a buzz of excitement through the crowd as the Misfits approached. A gap opened up in the crowd, allowing the team to make their way to the pitch. As they passed, many ponies reached out to them and shouted encouragement.

Once on the pitch, the Doctor got his first look at the opposition. They were made up of young earth pony and unicorn mares with a single older pegasus stallion.

“Anything I should know about them?” yelled the Doctor to Frolicsome over the sound of the crowd.

“That’s Paperweight, their captain,” replied the pegasus, pointing at a unicorn with a bright orange coat and a pink mane. “She more or less set up the league single hoofed, she’s going to go far. They say Night Light’s thinking of taking her on as his personal assistant. She’s also a very fast striker. That’s her second, Night Vision,” he pointed at an earth pony with a dark blue coat and aquamarine mane, “she’s very good at headers.”

The Doctor stared at Night Vision who seemed to be staring back at him intently. He couldn’t put his hoof on it but something seemed to be off about her. She almost seemed familiar.

“Those two are Inkwell and Sky Master,” he indicated a unicorn with a black coat and peach mane and a pegasus with a grey coat and mane, “Rumour says he’s ‘dipping his quill’ in her. It wouldn’t surprise me they work together really well, it’s like they can read each other’s minds. And finally that’s Orchid Moon, she’s their goalie.” He pointed at an earth pony with a purple coat and green mane.

The Doctor looked through the crowds and caught sight of his companions. Nyssa had once again taken to the wing, getting looks of astonishment from the crowd around her, while Tegan had shoved herself to the front of the crowd. He waved at both of them.

Then something else caught his attention. Outside the pitch, a strange parade of ponies was making its way to the podium. In the lead was a pink earth pony mare with excessively curly hair. She bounced along, her gravid belly almost colliding with the ground as she went. Attached to her tail by a leash was a full grown alligator, larger than many ponies, who trotted along behind her like a pet dog. Off to one side and keeping well away from the alligator, which would occasionally snap its toothless mouth at him, walked a rather stressed looking white unicorn stallion in a suit. The three of them made their way up onto the stage, although the mare required some help from the stallion to scramble to the top.

“Who’s that?” asked the Doctor pointing at the group.

To his surprise it was Bandit who replied, his gravelly voice sounding from behind the Doctors back. “That is the Viscount Prince Blueblood-Pie, the sanctimonious plot hole.”

“He’s sponsoring the league,” added Frolicsome. “He used to be the terror of the servants but I hear he’s gotten better over the last few years. Bandit used to work for him.”

“Never again,” stated the earth pony stallion. “Oh, since he’s gotten married he’s really changed,” sarcasm dripped off his words. “Now he’s a happily married sanctimonious plot hole. There’s no justice.”

Back on the stage the noble party had been joined by Paperweight. She gestured to the crowd and it started to quiet down. “Wow,” she said her voice amplified by magic, “I didn’t expect to see so many ponies here. It seemed like just yesterday that it was just a few of us kicking a ball around at break times. Now look at us, we have a whole organised league and a big shining trophy too.” She gestured at the cup. “Its been a hard couple of years, some bad things happened, but also a lot of good things. We’ve got a new princess now after all.“ The crowds response to this was mixed. Many scowled but a few gave ragged cheers. “And the night court is working better than it has for years, making things better for all of Equestria.” She continued, “Anyway, last night the nobles got to celebrate with their Gala so today we, the servants and staff, the ones that actually get things done,” a cheer went around the crowd, “get to have some fun, so I hope you all enjoy the match and the food that’s been provided. Without further ado I hand you over to our sponsor for a few words.” The orange unicorn lept off the stage and took her place with her team.

The pink mare waddled over to Paperweight’s position and began to speak. “Hey,” she yelled, “Ooooh, echo, echo. Hello everybody. I’m so super happy to see you all here today.” There was a cheer from the crowd. “I don’t know much about hoofball, well apart from the fact that you kick a ball with your hoof, that in the name, but I do know that once the game’s over you have a victory party for the winner and a commiseration party for the loser, so its two for one! Also me and Bluie are working on making our own team.” She patted her swollen belly and for a second a grimace passed over her face, and her husband seemed to materialise by her side to provide support. “Anyway,” she continued, “The quicker we get the game started the quicker I can hold the parties!” She turned to a small cannon next to her on the stage, which the Doctor hadn’t noticed earlier, and fired it. Instead of a cannon ball, a great cloud of tinsel was fired into the air and the sound of a whistle could be heard. “Let the games begin!” she yelled.

A hoofball was thrown onto the pitch from the sidelines by a zebra mare with a black and white striped shirt, which completely failed to match her own patterning. She glared at the pony on stage who had usurped her job. At the signal the two teams cautiously started to approach each other.

The game started slowly as the two sides tried to get a feel of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. The ball was passed backwards and forwards around the mid field. Inkwell tried to make a break down one wing but was stopped by Frolicsome, before passing the ball to Sky Master on the other flank who was in turn tackled by the Doctor, who quickly lost the ball to Night Vision who seemed to dog his every step. The stalemate was broken when Rose got her hooves on the ball and powered down the centre of the pitch; as promised, she managed to keep the ball despite several attempts to tackle her. She slammed the ball towards the goal and for once her shot was true. Orchid tried to knock the ball away but its force was too great, and both she and the ball fell back into the net.

One nil to the Misfits.

The early downturn in their fortunes seemed to galvanise the Sparkling Lights and the Misfits were forced onto the defensive. Again and again Inkwell managed to get her hooves on the ball and wherever she passed it to, Sky Master was already there. Paperweight seemed to be everywhere. Although Frolicsome and Gourmet tried their hardest, shot after shot was made at the goal - all deflected by Bandit’s skills. Eventually Paperweight got lucky and her kick managed to twist the ball around the goalie, the scores were equalised.

One all.

The ball was thrown back onto the pitch and Rose made a powerful long kick to the Doctor; however, it went wide and was intercepted in the air by Night Vision who had been following him like a shadow for the whole game. She headed the ball to Paperweight who rushed past the Misfits’ surprised defenders, and punted the ball straight into the goal.

Two one to the Sparkling Lights.

The pressure on the Misfits finally let off in the last few minutes of the first half. Gourmet found herself with the ball and rushed towards the opposition half of the pitch, with Paperweight rapidly closing on her. Looking around, she saw the Doctor still marked by Night Vision, while behind her Rose was trying to catch up, but the mule was far too slow and Frolicsome was blocked by Sky Master. Seeing no aid was forthcoming, the green unicorn poured on as much speed as she could and managed to barely outdistance her pursuer. The only thing between her and the goal now was Orchid Moon. The purple mare moved out of the goalmouth to block her. Gourmet feinted to the right, before twisting left around her opponent and kicking the ball towards the net. To her horror the ball flew into the crowd, well wide of the target. Exhausted, she sank to the ground in despair as the whistle was blown for half time.

“Ok ponies,” said Frolicsome, “that was a good first half.” The team and a few supporters were meeting off to one side of the pitch, while most of the fans were enjoying a calorie laden meal put on by the leagues sponsor.

“What are you talking about, Larkie?” growled Moonlight. “They were all over you - it’s a wonder you’re only down by one.”

“He’s right,” agreed Bandit. “I’m good but I can’t stop everything. You need to get the ball into their half, actually attack for a change. Gourmet was the only one even trying.”

Gourmet was leaning heavily on a bench, panting hard, and nodded at that, still too winded to talk.

“No,” said Frolicsome. “Gourmet, if you keep up that pace you’ll hurt yourself. You need to pick your moments better.”

“I suppose so,” agreed Moonlight with poor grace. “Rose, you did good with that goal. We need more like that.” The mule glowed with the praise. ”Doctor, you’re going to have to get away from Night Vision, she’s had you totally locked down for the first half.”

“Yeh Doctor, she was certainly keeping her eye on you there. Do you owe her money or something?” asked Tegan.

“No.” said the Doctor testily, “But there is something a little odd about her - almost familiar.”

“We’ll she’s certainly acting oddly, she’s normally a much more proactive player,” said Frolicsome. “Still, it seems to be working. You and I need to be able to support Rose and Gourmet more in the second half. Okay gang, go grab a bite and something to drink, I’ll see you back here in fifteen.”

Moonlight glared at his partner. “Make it ten, we need to run through some plays before the second half,” he yelled at the departing team.

The Doctor gestured for Tegan and Nyssa to come with him. “If you get a chance while everybody is distracted by the game, see if you can get your hooves on the cup,” he whispered.

“Not so sure your team’s going to win, Doctor?” asked Tegan.

“Let’s just say I’d like to hedge my bets. Now take this.” He unstrapped the tracker from his waist and passed it to Nyssa. “I’ve stored enough Krayton particles in there to convert the cup back to its natural form if you can get near it. That should make it easier to hide if you have to.”

“Of course, Doctor, we will see what we can do,” said Nyssa. She and Tegan set off into the crowd to position themselves near the podium.

Feeling rather parched after his efforts earlier, the Doctor decided to get a drink before the second half and made his way to the feast. The tables seemed to be mostly stacked high with cakes and other sugary goodies. ‘Hardly a balanced diet,’ he thought. Then something caught his eye: several sticks of celery that had been used to decorate one of the few vegetable dishes. He took one and, lacking a button hole, stuck one behind his ear. You could never be too careful about gasses in the Praxis range, after all.

He surveyed the area around him. Near the centre of the marquee, Gourmet was talking to Pinkie and waving a slice of cake around excitedly. Prince Blueblood-Pie was holding the alligator’s leash and looking rather nervous, as the reptile was staring at him slowly blinking one eye at a time. Off to one side Paperweight was talking to a grey mare.

“Doctor, we need to talk.” The Doctor spun around to find Night Vision standing there looking serious.

“Yes, you certainly seem to have been keeping your eye on me so far, haven’t you? Why is that I wonder?”

“I know you are not what you seem.”

“Really, I’m beginning to suspect the same of you, Miss Vision,” said the Doctor, sounding unsurprised.

“You will come with me,” she stated.

“I think I’d rather decline your kind invitation.” However the Doctor found his hooves leaving his control and instead followed Night Vision away from the crowds into a quiet corner of the gardens.

“It was not a request,” she stated.

“So I see. So what is it that you want to talk to me about?”

“Who are you, Doctor?” asked Night Vision without preamble. “And do you intend any harm to Equestria?”

“Ah, you must be Princess Luna then.”

The disguised alicorn looked somewhat taken aback. “How did you know?”

“Oh it was mostly a guess, but I’d heard a few things about you during my previous visits and I put two and two together. I’ve got to say playing hoofball incognito is not where I’d expect to find royalty. Anyway, I’d have thought Cheerilee would have told you about me.”

“She did, or rather she told Trixie who told me. But I’d rather hear your story first hoof.”

“Trixie? The filly from the theatre. It is a small world,” he said thoughtfully.

“She is my personal student now, or rather she was. I’d say she’s graduated with flying colours by now, she’s even taught me a thing or two.” She smiled fondly for a moment, then snapped back to the present. “She blames you for her grandfather's death, you know.”

The Doctor looked crestfallen. “Yes, I suppose in a way that was my fault. If I’d acted faster I might have saved him.”

“Quartermoon was always stubborn. If only he’d told me earlier, I might have been able to do something for his condition. If only I hadn’t left that night.”

“You were there?” asked the Doctor. Suddenly he smacked his head with a hoof, “Of course, Moonbeam! That was you?”

“I have worn many masks over the years. As apparently have you, Doctor. Every time you visit you look different but every time somepony suffers... Quartermoon, that research team, Bon Bon, Nocturne. Do you do more good than bad?” asked Luna, angrily pacing back and forth.

“I ask myself that question all the time, even in my own universe,” said the Doctor looking down at the ground. “Death and disaster follow me wherever I go, but I have to believe that I produce a net good. If I didn’t I think I’d go mad. In this universe I don’t know, I placed it all in danger with my carelessness when I broke its shield.”

“You admit that?”

“Of course I do, it’s the truth. But I am doing all that I can to fix my mistake and will keep trying as long as I am able.” He looked up and met Luna’s gaze. “Haven't you ever made a mistake?”

Luna recoiled as if she had been slapped. She stared hard at the Doctor before dropping her gaze. “Yes,” she said, “many. But this is my world and it’s my responsibility to protect it and if necessary I will remove you from it. After all, I remember what you did to my sister.”

“Your sister? I don’t think I’ve met her.”

“Maybe your memory is hazy. It was over a thousand years ago now. Your little discussion of genocide and when it’s necessary?” she hissed.

“Spoilers!” cried the Doctor.

“What!”

“I haven’t meet your sister... yet. You are talking about things that happen in my personal future, and I’d rather you didn’t. Too much future knowledge always leads to trouble.”

“So you do travel in time then? That is rare, powerful and dangerous magic. You have yet to meet my sister.” She thought for a moment. “So if I stopped you now, things might go differently? I sometimes think Corona was born on the night Celestia met you. I can stop you and I might save her and the whole world from that.” She turned to the Doctor, eyes glowing white, and slowly her disguise slipped away to reveal the alicorn of the night in her dark glory.

The Doctor backed away from the enraged monarch but tripped over a bench and fell to the ground. “I am sorry for anything I may do to you and your family but if you kill me then you may be dooming your own world. Even apart from the tremendous paradox it would create, the barrier between our worlds is still weak. At least let me see if there's any way I can let you locate and replace the shards. Please give your world a chance,” he pleaded.

“You would do that?” asked Luna, sounding surprised.

“I told you it was my responsibility. I need to try and fix my mistake, as well as apparently the mistakes I will make in the future.”

Luna deflated, her eyes returning to their normal blue. “I fear that I am placing blame on the wrong pony,” she sighed. “Celestia was already walking her path and had been for many years when you met her. I doubt your words changed things. Only I could have done that and I was wallowing in self-pity. Your future self gave me hope when I felt I had none - maybe you actually saved me. Still it is a fool’s wish to change that which has already been done. At least I have my sister back now, even if it took so very very long.” She turned back to the Doctor. “I still do not truly trust you, Doctor, but I do not think you deserve destruction. We will talk more of this later.” She donned her magical disguise again, returning to Night Visions form. “Until then I have a game to win.” She turned from the Doctor. “By the way, where is the shard you seek this time?”

“It’s the league cup.”

“So close all this time and I didn’t sense it?” she sounded thoughtful.

“The shards are part of your universe at the most basic level. They don’t appear at all out of the ordinary to you. They are almost undetectable by anyone from your universe.”

“We will see if that is truly correct after the match, but until then I will keep my eye on you.” With that she left leaving the Doctor to pick himself up and make his way back to his team.

By the time the Doctor got back to his team the game was due to restart.

“Where did you get to?” asked Frolicsome, hustling him towards the pitch. “You missed Moonlight’s pep talk, you’re going to have to make your own pep now.”

“I was talking to, umm, Night Vision and lost track of time.”

“You can marry her once the game’s over for all I care. Just get out there and play hoofball.”

The now fed crowd were just as jubilant as they had been; around the pitch banners waved and fans roared. The referee, keen to carry out her role this time, positioned herself between the two teams with her whistle in her mouth. With a single peep the second half began.

As the game began, Tegan and Nyssa were cautiously advancing on the trophy. As the Doctor had predicted the guards were distracted by the beginning of the game.

“I do not know if I agree with this,” said Nyssa, looking nervous.

“Oh don’t be such a wet blanket,” said Tegan. “It’s for the good of two universes.”

“But it is stealing.”

“Didn’t you ever go scrumping on Traken?”

“Scrumping?”

“Taking fruit from farms.”

“Why would I do that? The gardeners provided any fruit I would need.”

“Because it was fun, and when you were a kid it felt dangerous. You can be such a stick in the mud sometimes. Look, if you have a problem with this just wait here and distract the guards while I nab the cup. Shake those wings of yours, everyone seems to appreciate them,” said Tegan, somewhat cattily, as she began to casually make her way towards the trophy.

Nyssa was intent on watching Tegan’s progress so she was surprised when she was addressed by a nearby stallion. “Hi,” he said, “You’re a Flutterpony right?” he asked genially.

“Um, yes I suppose you could call me that.”

“Wow,” said the brown coated earth pony, “I thought all you guys were all extinct. Where are you from?”

“Traken,” she answered automatically.

“Haven't heard of it. Is that off continent?”

“It is a very long way away.”

“Look, I’ve got a friend who would be very interested in meeting you, why don’t you come with me?” He put a leg around Nyssa’s neck and began to lead her back towards the castle.

“I’m sorry but I am meeting my friends here,” said Nyssa, struggling against his grip. “Please let go of me.”

“It wasn’t a request, I’m afraid.” Nyssa felt a metal blade bite into her neck. “Now don’t scream,” he hissed all trace of friendliness evaporating, “or do anything foolish or you’ll never make another noise again. You’re worth a lot to me alive but I can probably make a profit off your corpse as well.”

From across the field Tegan was only a few steps away from the trophy when she noticed Nyssa being led away by a strange stallion. For a moment she was split between her goal and her friend but then she started galloping towards the pink flutterpony. “Hey you!” she yelled but her cries were lost in the roar of the crowd. She saw her friend and her ponynapper disappear around the side of one of the castle’s buttresses and galloped off after them, ignoring the cup.

It took Tegan several minutes of desperate running to catch up with the pair. By the time she had sight of them Hunter had dropped all pretense of leading Nyssa away and was shoving her towards a small door in the side of the castle. Without thinking, Tegan charged straight at the brown stallion, body checking him and knocking him away from her friend. To her surprise he flew quite some distance, before crashing into the wall and dropping to the ground, temporarily dazed. “I guess there is something to this earth pony strength thing,” she muttered to herself, then yelled, “Nyssa, run!”

The flutterpony was already ahead of her, and had spread her wings and leapt into the sky. Suddenly her progress was checked as a net of greenish energy closed around her, trapping her gossamer wings and making her fall heavily to the ground to lie still. The energy web was connected to the horn of another brown stallion who had just stepped out of the door in the castle. His earth pony brother had gotten to his hooves and was beginning to close on Tegan, an angry look on his face.

For a moment Tegan was caught between making sure her friend was alright and protecting herself and in that moment the unicorn cast a further spell and she found herself wrapped in green ropes and lifted into the air. She struggled but could not get free. She was trapped.

The second half of the game started very differently to the first. Perhaps energised by the pep talk the Doctor had missed, the Misfits threw themselves onto the offensive. Gourmet had recovered some of her strength during half time and seemed to be everywhere. She drove the ball down the pitch and straight to Rose, who took a shot that Orchid Moon only just managed to block. The same pattern was repeated again and then for a third time. On the fourth shot the goalie only just managed to deflect the shot. The ball flew straight to the Doctor, who had for once managed to escape his shadow, and he gave the ball a quick tap rolling it into the goal.

Two all.

The next few minutes were full of frantic midfield action, with both teams trying to get control of the game. However, after her electric start, Gourmet was starting to lag again, while Paperweight still seemed full of beans. The Sparking Lights managed to break through, and Sky Master took a long distance shot at the goal which was easily blocked by Bandit. The ball was kicked back to the midfield, but again and again the Lights broke through and began to cluster around the goal, taking shot after shot.

“Get them away!” yelled Bandit, “Here, I’ll show you how it’s done.”

To everypony’s astonishment, instead of throwing the ball back into play, the goalie started to dribble the ball down the pitch past the astonished opposition. They were slow to react, but soon started to run after the old stallion - but he had too much of a lead. The crowd went quiet for a moment, but then started to yell encouragement. Within moments Bandit was within striking distance of the opposing goal with only Orchid Moon between him and victory. She came out to meet him, but he deftly faked to one side before circling around her and kicking the ball into the goal. The crowd’s cries were almost deafening in intensity.

“That’s how you play hoofball,” he yelled to his teammates panting hard. He waved at a small group of yellow unicorn foals of various ages near the pitch holding a banner aloft which read ‘Our Dad’s a Misfit’. “I’ve got to show my kids now it’s done,” he muttered.

Three two to the Misfits.

Revitalised by their goalies surprising actions, the Misfits once again threw themselves onto the offensive and made several more unsuccessful attempts at a goal. Suddenly Night Vision broke away from the Doctor, and rushed with the ball towards the Misfits’ end. She ran down the pitch, pursued by the opposition, and took a shot at goal which was deflected into the air by Bandit. Unperturbed, Night Vision put herself in the ball’s path. Paperweight, who had been unnoticed until now, leapt onto her back and used the disguised alicorn as a trampoline to fly into the air, gliding past a surprised Frolicsome who had moved to intercept. She flipped upside down and struck the ball with her rear hooves, sending it rocketing towards the goal, over the startled Bandit’s head and into the net.

In the crowd, a grey earth pony mare leapt up and down yelling with joy. She noticed the ponies around her staring and shrunk away, straightening her bow tie. Paperweight waved at her with a wide grin as the rest of her team gathered around to celebrate her hat trick.

“Who is that mare?” the Doctor asked Frolicsome.

“Paperweight’s mare friend. She’s a musician, I think,” came the reply.

Three all.

For several minutes the game flowed back of forth, first the Sparking Lights having the upper hoof, then the Misfits, then the Lights again. Time was ticking away and it looked like the game might go to extra time. Then Sky Master managed to pluck the ball from the air and dodge past Frolicsome who had been marking him. The two of them powered down the wing in long loping strides. Then the grey stallion smashed the ball across the goalmouth to where Inkwell had been waiting and she headed the ball straight in.

Four three to the Sparking lights.

“Come on ponies,” yelled Frolicsome as the team got back into position. “We’ve only got a few minutes left. Everypony try to get the ball to Rose. Rose, when you get it, just head straight down the centre and score, I know you can do it.”

“Okay, Cap,” replied the mule.

“Let’s do this!”

The ball was thrown back into play and Paperweight was the first to lay a hoof on it, but was quickly tackled by the by now exhausted Gourmet, who passed it off to the Doctor before collapsing to the ground. Looking around, he saw that Rose was blocked by both Sky Master and Inkwell and began to dribble down the pitch hoping for an opening. Night Vision rushed in to take the ball off of him, but before she could it was kicked to Frolicsome who saw an opening and passed it to Rose. The Mule started to power down the field towards the enemy goal, and the opposing team closed in on her - first Inkwell, then Sky Master and finally Paperweight attempted to tackle her but she avoided each one of them. Finally she reached the goal and spun around, kicking the ball at her target with both rear hooves sending it flying at blistering speed. Orchid hurled herself at the ball, wrapping her whole body around it. Such was the force that she was pushed several hoofs back across the ground and came to a stop only a few inches shy of the goal line. Cautiously the purple mare opened her eyes and surveyed the area, seemingly surprised she had stopped the goal. Then the final whistle was blown.

The Misfits had lost.

The two brown stallions, whom Tegan had learned were called Hunter and Trapper, had dragged the two captured mares into part of the castle. Judging by the layer of dust that covered most of the area, is seemed that it wasn’t currently in use and hadn’t been for quite some time. The bounty hunters had bundled Nyssa and Tegan into a long forgotten room and locked them in. From the snatches of their conversation that Tegan could make out through the door, they planned to sell Nyssa to someone called Vicereine as an exhibition in her collection. She didn’t know what they planned to do to her, but she wasn’t keen to find out.

The room the two time travellers had been imprisoned in was cluttered with junk. Off to one side, a sheet-covered king sized bed sat; there were also several empty wardrobes against one wall and for some reason a pile of dolls taller than a pony sat mouldering in the centre of the room. Apart from the locked door, the only other exit from the room was a window high up on one wall. It was boarded up, but there was enough space between the planks for a shaft of light to break through providing illumination.

Although high, the window would easily be in reach of a flying pony, so in order to prevent their escape Trapper had maintained his spell around Nyssa. The glowing green net was wrapped around her preventing her from lifting off or even walking around. Tegan had spent most of the last hour trying to free her friend from her bonds; although the magic did not unduly restrict its captive it resisted all Tegan’s attempts to break them. Finally she was forced to give up.

“It’s no good, Nyssa, I can’t shift it,” said Tegan her ears drooping.

“Then you are going to have to escape and get help,” said the flutterpony calmly.

“But how? I’m not like you or the Doctor, I can’t just fly out the window. I’m just a useless earth pony.”

“Tegan, all the time we’ve been here you have been complaining about our wings. I am sorry but I did not choose to be made this way.”

Tegan sighed, “It’s not your fault. It’s just... I always wanted to fly. There was no way I was ever going to be a pilot, so a stewardess was the closest I could get. Now we came here, and I could fly - not just in a plane but with my own wings - and I didn’t get any. It’s just not fair.”

“You might not be able to fly, but the Doctor said that earth ponies are strong and tough. Maybe you can climb up there.” She indicated the window.

Tegan looked doubtfully up at the window high above her. “I don’t think that’s gonna work. Hooves aren't exactly made for climbing, you know.”

“As the Doctor say’s brave heart Tegan. Look around, maybe there is something you can use to help you.”

Tegan ran a quick inventory of the room. Nothing seemed useful in escaping; the only thing of interest was an iron poker under the bed. It would make a useful weapon but she doubted she could overcome both stallions with it. Sitting on the bed, she felt the silk sheets move beneath her. Then the glimmer of an idea came to her.

“I think I’ve got a plan, Nyssa,” Tegan said, stripping the sheets from the bed and struggling to tear them into strips, which she knotted into a crude rope. The addition of the poker to one end of the rope formed a workable grappling hook. “Wish me luck,” she said. Grasping part of the hook in her mouth, she hurled it towards the window, but it fell far short and dropped to the ground with a dull thud.

Trying again, Tegan twirled the rope a little before releasing it. This time her aim was better and the poker struck the boards with a loud thud before falling to the ground. The room’s occupants held their breaths, fearing the sound would alert their captors. However, when nothing happened for several minutes Tegan decided to try again. Twirling her head until she began to feel dizzy, the earth pony built up momentum and released the rope again. This time the poker sailed true and struck the gap between the boards, lodging itself tightly in place. She gave the rope a tug; it seemed solid.

“Be careful,” warned Nyssa, looking on helplessly.

Tegan wrapped the rope around one leg and pulled herself up before wrapping her next leg and continuing her progress. By the time she reached the window, she was panting and sweating. She lodged herself on the window seal and kicked at the timber with one of her rear legs, again and again, until the wood splintered under the force. Taking a deep breath, the orange pony wriggled out of the window. She caught herself on the sharp edges of the planks but suffered no serious damage. Looking down, she was glad to see that the ground was only a few feet away - their cell must have been partially underground. She stuck her head back into the castle. “I’ll get the help and be back here before you know it, Nyssa,” she said.

The captive pony nodded in understanding. “Do not worry, I am not going anywhere,” she replied, hoping her words were going to be true.

Glancing once more at her companion, Tegan dropped to the ground and tried to figure out where she was.

The crowd had poured onto the pitch, and everywhere were ponies hugging and yelling at each other. Of to one side, Inkwell and Sky Master were embracing. Paperweight zipped from pony to pony, shaking hooves with each of the opposition team. “Good game, hope you can make it next year,” she said as she passed the Doctor.

As the chaos started to die down, the Misfits took the opportunity to gather together with Moonlight.

“Well we lost,” said Bandit.

“Come on cheer up,” said Moonlight. “We almost won.”

“Almost doesn't count. We still lost.”

“No,” muttered Moonlight, “No! We didn’t lose!” he said louder, “We came second!” He grinned. “There were over a dozen teams in this league and we were the players they didn’t want and we came second. That’s amazing. Rose, that first goal was incredible. Bandit, that was the first time I’ve ever seen a goalie score. Gourmet, you gave it your all for the whole match, I couldn’t ask for anything more. Doctor, Night Vision was sticking to you like glue and you still scored. Larkie, you had the hardest job of all, you had to put up to me while I was being a misery guts. I’m sorry. I am so very very proud to be a Misfit.” Once again the team touched hooves. “And I hope to see you all again next year, that will be our year. Now let’s go and have some fun.”

Suddenly a cry of panic broke over the roar of the crowd. “Somepony get a doctor!” At the sound of his name, the Doctor’s head snapped towards the stage. The sound had come from Prince Blueblood-Pie, who was standing over the prone form of his wife.

“Look like it’s time for you to be a hero, Doctor,” called Frolicsome. He grabbed the Time Lord and flapped his wings, propelling both of them into the air. Instinctively the Doctor’s wings shot out, and the two of the swooped towards the stage, landing lightly in front of the panicking noble.

The white stallion turned towards the new arrivals. “My wife’s having our foal, help her!” he commanded.

“I’m not really that sort of doctor,” said the Doctor.

“You will help her now!” commanded Blueblood, his eyes blazing. “And if anything happens to my wife or child, I’ll, I’ll...” he seemed to deflate and started to shake. “Please... please...” he begged, staring into the Doctor’s eyes. “Please do something, I’ll give you anything, just make sure they're safe, please!” Tears started to drip from his eyes.

Bandit appeared behind the noble and rested a hoof on his shoulder comfortingly, “Relax lad,” he said to everyponies surprise, “it’ll be alright.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” said the Doctor, rolling up his sleeves and trying to remember what he knew of equine anatomy.

Pinkie gave a groan and Blueblood rushed to her side, taking her hoof in his own. “Don’t worry, the Doctor’s here, everything’s going to be all right.” He tried to hide the panic in his voice, to be strong for his wife.

“It hurts,” mumbled Pinkie, her voice lacking its normal joyful tone. “I think something’s wrong.”

The Doctor put his hoof on Pinkie’s abdomen and tried to feel what was going on inside. “I’ll need something to sterilize my hooves with, soap and water!” he shouted. Looking around, he saw that Frolicsome and a few other guards were keeping the lollygagging crowd away, while off to one side Night Vision had made her way into the circle and was standing, quietly surveying the scene.

“Let me through,” yelled Gourmet, pushing past Frolicsome. Her horn glowed and the Doctor felt a burning sensation on his hooves. “It’s a spell used for disinfection before we handle food in the kitchens. I guess it’ll work for a foal in a pinch.”

Nodding his thanks, the Doctor steeled himself and got to work. It had been quite some time since he’d had to try to deliver a foal; his second incarnation, he’d helped a vet - Heriot, he thought the man’s name had been - hopefully it was like riding a bicycle. Feeling around, he found the foal. It seemed to be positioned correctly; this was hopefully going to be easy.

Before he could investigate further, the child was already crowning, eager to be born. He ordered Pinkie to push and within a few minutes the child had entered the world without a hitch.

“Congratulations,” the Doctor announced, “it’s a filly.” He passed the pale pink form to its mother.

“Who’s my little Sweetie then?” asked Pinkie as she began to lick her child, eliciting a whinny from the earth pony foal.

“She’s so beautiful,” said Blueblood in wonder, liquid pride in his eyes. He pulled himself together. “But weren't we going to name her following my family's tradition?”

“Oh, if you’re going to be a spoilsport then, but I get to name our next one. Everyone,” she announced, “say hello to Rani Blueblood-Pie.”

“Rani?” asked the Doctor looking worried.

“It’s what they call the princesses in Chenneigh,” explained Blueblood, resting a hoof on his wife's belly and moving it in small circles. “Doctor...” he looked puzzled. “I think something’s wrong.”

The Doctor rested a hoof on Pinkie and felt another, unmoving, form within. “Oh no,” he gasped, “twins!”. Once again the Doctor gently felt around inside the pink mare and found the form of a second foal. This one was positioned wrongly, facing into its mother. His hearts sank as he made out the umbilical cord wrapped around its neck.

“What’s wrong?” demanded Pinkie, fear in her voice as she clutched her newborn daughter to her.

“Nothing,” lied the Doctor, “I just need you to lie back and push again when I say.” He gently tried to reposition the foal inside its now anxious mother without hurting her, but the child would not move. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of Night Vision looking grim. He thought he saw a purple glow play around her head and the child seemed to shift in his grasp. He nodded gratefully towards the disguised princess and started to guide the process, correcting the foal’s position and unwrapping the cord from around it.

“Ok, Pinkie, I need you to push really hard now.” With a scream the mare complied and the limp form of her second child exited her womb. Unlike his sister, who was now struggling to get to her feet without success, the other foal - a light brown unicorn with matted tufts of blond mane - was unmoving.

“Why isn’t he moving, Doctor?” asked Pinkie. Then the situation caught up with her. “NO! NOOOOO!!!!!” she screamed, trying to get to her hooves. “Please, do something, anything, please!” She buried her face in Prince’s neck as she sobbed, and he rocked her backwards and forwards, whispering into her ear and cradling their surviving child between them. Not recognising what was happening, the foal complained at their treatment of her, adding her cries to those of her parents.

With weary desperation, the Doctor rested one hoof on the dead foal’s neck and to his astonishment felt a tiny flicker of life. Thinking quickly, he unfurled a wing and used one of his feathers to clear out the little creature’s mouth. Taking a deep breath, he closed his muzzle around the foal’s and gently exhaled into the foal’s lungs. Glancing at the foal’s chest, he saw a faint blue aura surrounding it and pulsing with a gentle beat. Despite his efforts the foal gave no response, so he repeated the exercise again and again. “Come on,” he muttered. “Please, just for once let me live up to my name.”

“Stop that,” cried Blueblood angrily. “Show my son’s,” there was a catch in his voice, “body some respect!” He reached over to grab the doctor when suddenly the small form took a shuddering breath by itself, and spat out a glob of mucus before giving out a cry.

The Doctor gave out a long sigh as he passed the child to its mother. Colour was starting to return to the colt’s form. ‘Its things like this that make it all worthwhile,’ he thought. ‘Every Dalek, every Cyberman, every power mad tyrant together isn’t as bad and this one moment is good. I think I need more days like this.’

“Oh thank you! Thank you!” burbled Pinkie as she grasped her child in her forehooves, tears flowing down her cheeks. Her daughter had made her way to her hooves and was sniffing her brother curiously.

By now medics had arrived from the castle and started to fuss over the mother and children, preparing to bear the three of them away to the facilities in the castle. “Thank you, Doctor, thank you so much!” yelled Pinkie as she was carried away by a group of doctors. “I’ll name him after you, Doctor Blueblood-Pie. You better come to their birth party!” Then she was lost from sight.

Much of the crowd which had gathered followed the party back to the castle and most of the remaining ponies seemed to want to thank the Doctor, slapping him on the back and shouting encouragement. Somewhat dazed by the excitement, the Doctor just wandered for a while. When he was next fully aware he found himself alone apart from Night Vision.

“Now Doctor,” said Luna as she turned to the transformed Time Lord, “what am I to do with you?”

“We’ll I’d prefer if you just let me go,” he said cheerfully. “But if you do decide to punish me I’ll at least try and show you how to locate and transform shards to strengthen the universal barrier first. To be honest, at the moment I don’t think anything can make me feel down.”

Luna looked astonished for a moment then grinned. “New life tends to have that effect, doesn’t it. Even after thousands of years and so many new ponies, it’s still magical.” She turned more grim. “Still, you do admit that you are responsible for starting a disaster that threatens two universes, including the foals you just birthed. Do you not think you should be punished for that?”

The Doctor seemed to think for a moment. “You’re probably right, but what punishment can fit the crime?”

“That is the same question many ask about my sister, but she at least has the defence of madness. Whereas you are fully aware of your crime.”

“All that I can say is that I will do all that I can in my power to repair the damage I have done, as long as I am able.”

Luna stared at the white stallion for some time, thoughts unreadable. “Very well. I still do not trust you entirely, but you have proved that you care for the welfare of my subjects. I accept your penance for the moment.” The league cup blinked into existence next to them, encased in a blue aura. “Take this,” she said.

The Doctor examined the trophy before placing it on the ground. “Thank you very much. Won’t someone miss this, though?”

“I have created an exact duplicate to take its place, so it shouldn’t be missed. Now can you demonstrate how you convert it into its true form?”

“Of course.” The Doctor reached for the tracker at his waist, only to realise it wasn’t there. “Ahh, I gave the necessary equipment to one of my companions. She should be around here somewhere.” The Doctor scanned the field to see Tegan galloping towards him at full speed, followed by Paperweight and her grey marefriend.

“We found her near the pitch,” said Paperweight, indicating Tegan. “She said there was some sort of trouble and she was looking for you, Doctor. Good match by the way.”

“Doctor...” panted Tegan as she arrived. “Nyssa.... Kidnapped.... Castle....”

“What? Slow down.”

The orange mare tried to get her breathing under control. “Nyssa’s been kidnapped and locked up in the castle. These stallions want to sell her to somepony.”

The Doctor looked grim as he turned to Night Vision. “We have to do something! Can you help us?”

“Of course, Doctor, I can get the guard to... what’s that?” She pointed at what looked like a cloud of fireflies that had started to appear around the Doctor.

“I don’t know...” At first the Doctor looked puzzled, then a look of understanding and finally horror crossed his face. He held up a hoof to his face which could be seen to be sparking slightly. “The shielding,” he gasped. “It’s breaking down, but why so quickly? The three of us should have been safe for hours more...” His voice trailed off. “Stupid Doctor, stupid stupid Doctor,” he cursed, “of course, the three of us, I assumed the effect would split linearly between us but instead we get exponentially less protection as the number of recipients increase...”

“What does that mean, Doc?” asked Tegan, who was also starting to throw off sparks.

“The shield protecting us from the effects of this universe and visa versa is breaking down quicker than I expected. If it fails entirely there will be an enormous explosion, maybe enough to destroy a good chunk of Equestria. You need to get back to the TARDIS as quickly as possible, you’ll be safe there. I’ll get Nyssa and join you as soon as I can.”

“But Doctor..”

“No buts.” He handed her the key. “Once you’re safe inside the TARDIS, the power protecting you can be diverted to Nyssa and I. That should give us a few more minutes at least.”

Tegan looked uncertain for a moment then nodded and turned, rushing off towards the TARDIS.

The Doctor turned back to Luna. He was beginning to glow. “Now we have to get to my other companion as soon as possible.”

Luna concentrated for a moment. “I can detect her. Like you she is now throwing off massive amounts of magical interference - I don’t think I can accurately teleport within the castle grounds. We’ll have to travel via more conventional methods.” Dropping her disguise, she returned to her natural form and stretched her wings. Then she realised who was present and turned to Paperweight and Octavia, who were standing near her nonchalantly. “Oh,” she said, blushing, “this might be a surprise to you.”

“Not really,” said Paperweight. “I’ve known for years.”

“As have I, my lady,” said Octavia.

Luna’s jaw dropped. “How? Why?” she stuttered.

“My talent is noticing small details. Did you think I wouldn’t notice you wearing exactly the same hat to a diplomatic function that I’d bought Night Vision only a few days before?”

Luna was completely wrong hoofed. She hadn’t even considered that Paperweight knew her secret. “But you never said anything.”

“You never mentioned it so I assumed you wanted it to be a secret. I guess even princesses need a holiday sometimes.”

The Doctor cleared his throat, attracting Luna’s attention. The grass was beginning to smoulder around his hooves. She turned back to Paperweight. “We can discuss this later. Tell the guard what is happening.” The pink maned mare nodded and rushed off to carry out the order, Octavia following.

Luna leaped into the air and swooped towards the castle, while below her the Doctor galloped in her wake, his hoof prints leaving flaming patches in the ground.

Hunter was beginning to think he was in the wrong business. He and his brother had been holed up in the disused part of the castle for over an hour now and they had still not heard from their contact in the Vicereine’s office. He was getting increasingly worried - they could be discovered at any moment. His brother was calm as ever, but he was ready to cut their losses and run.

“Sit down,” said Trapper, looking up at his brother from his seat. “You’ll wear a hole in the floor if you keep pacing like that.”

Hunter was about to reply when there was suddenly a loud crash from the room they had stored their prize in. He rushed to the door and unlocked it, yanking the door open. He stood frozen to the spot at the sight in front of him. The flutterpony remained bound where they had left it - although it was now glowing brightly - and of her companion there was no trace. But that was not the shocking sight. The entire far wall was gone, smashed to rubble as if by a giant hoof. But, although surprising, that was still not the most shocking part of the scene. The sight that totally overloaded Hunter’s mind, taking him entirely past terror and out the other side, was Princess Luna herself, standing amongst the rubble and looking very, very, angry. The shadows around the room seemed to flock to her form and her eyes burned with a silver light. The Alicorn glanced at the trapped flutterpony and the magical net vanished. From somewhere behind him, he could hear his brother scream from the feedback of his spell being destroyed.

As if in a dream, Hunter carefully closed the door and locked it before turning to his brother. “I think we should leave,” his voice said from a long way away. He turned towards the door to the outside of the castle but stopped. It was smoking. A charred patch of wood formed a roughly pony shaped outline, before it burst in to reveal a pegasus wreathed in flame.

“I believe you have my companion?” said the burning pony sternly, a piece of vegetable matter behind his ear burst into flame.

At this Hunter’s brain entirely shut down and he collapsed to the ground.

It was the work of seconds for Luna to remove the door that the brown pony had just locked. Beyond it she found the Doctor had already entered, one of the ponynappers was unconscious on the ground while the other was backing away from her, his eyes wide. She concentrated for a moment, and he collapsed to the floor, joining his brother in temporary oblivion. When she had more time she could find out who hired them and deal with them, she would book no slavery in her kingdom! The flaming flutterpony rushed past her towards the Doctor - the heat being produced by the two of them was now enough to discomfort even Luna.

“Doctor,” Nyssa sobbed, “what’s happening, this hurts.”

The Doctor grimaced in pain. “I know. We likely only have a few minutes before the shielding falls entirely. Luna, are you sure you can’t teleport us?”

“I believe I may be able to accurately teleport one of you, given some concentration.” She began to examine the magical interference the two aliens were throwing off, looking for some pattern to the chaos she could lock on to.

“Then teleport Nyssa to the TARDIS, it’s a blue box about a kilometre to the east.” He gasped, “The trophy, I left it back at the pitch.”

“Don’t worry, Doctor,” said Luna, concentrating her magical might. “I’ll have somepony get it.” She sent a quick mental message to Paperweight, while at the same time scrying for the TARDIS and attempting to lock onto Nyssa for a teleport.

Seconds ticked by as the alicorn of the night concentrated on her tasks. The fiery aura surrounding Nyssa and the Doctor grew more intense as the last of the shield keeping them protected started to flake away. Nyssa whimpered in pain and hugged the Doctor, then suddenly vanished as Luna’s spell took effect.

The alicorn gave a gasp and swayed on her hooves, sweat dripping from her. That had been one of the most taxing spells she’d had to cast in years. “She should be safe, Doctor, but I won’t be able to do that again for several minutes.”

“You said the problem was accuracy,” hissed the Doctor through gritted teeth, an expression of agony on his features.

Luna nodded. “Yes, I could teleport you but you would most likely end up tens if not hundreds of miles from your target.”

“Then teleport me into space, or to the moon or sun. Somewhere where no one will get hurt.”

“What?” asked Luna in astonishment.

“I’m seconds away from causing what is probably the largest explosion this planet has ever seen. You need to get me away from anyone who could get hurt. Please, this is my fault,” he begged.

Suddenly inspiration stuck the alicorn of the night and she grabbed the Doctor, feeling her skin singe. She barrelled through the wall and out into the sunlight. She rocketed up until she could see the TARDIS. A small dot of a pony was running towards it. “I’m going to try one of my son-in-law’s tricks. Goodbye, Doctor, hopefully we will meet again.” With this she took the Doctor in her hooves and threw him with all her might at the TARDIS. His wings instinctively flicked open even as his feathers began to burn. He flashed through the air towards the time machine; a flick of one wing altered his course slightly and he passed through the open doors.

Paperweight was running as fast as her hooves would carry her, towards the blue hut which Luna had flashed a picture of into her mind. Gripped in her jaw was the league trophy. Luna had told her it was vital that she get it to the hut. She gasped and almost dropped the cup as a flaming shape flew past her, trailing smoke, and disappeared into the hut. A groaning sound started and the box began to become indistinct. Sensing she only had a few moments to complete her task and that she would never reach it in time, Paperweight dropped the cup on the ground, spun around, and kicked it with all of her might. The trophy shot through the air and passed cleanly through the TARDIS’s doors just as they closed and the vehicle faded away.

“GOAL!” yelled Paperweight, leaping into the air in joy.

A few moments later Luna joined her, shrinking back into her Night Vision form. She smiled at the celebrating mare. “Come on,” she said, “I think we deserve to collect the other version of that trophy now, we definitely won the match. Then I have to deal with whoever the bounty hunters were working for, I have my suspicions about that. And then I think we can talk about your future. I think Dame Paperweight has a nice ring to it, don’t you?”

Open mouthed, the page followed her ruler towards the hoofball pitch.

Author's Notes:

Once again thanks to Mooncalf for this help in getting this story looking as good as it does and to Grassandclouds2 and Fizzy Orange for letting me use their creations Paperweight and Night Vision.

This was actually the first idea I had for a time after time chapter as the 5th Doctor is probably my favourite but it got put on the backburner for a while as its a fairly pedestrian story. Given the success of Pinkie and Bluie I decided to add them to the cast list with a view of their possible life in a few years time.

There is an alternative scene for the birth on my blog which gives Octavia a bigger part to play.

I'm not sure what chapter to do next possibly a 2nd Doctor base under siege story featuring Shining Armour or a 10th Doctor story about an assassination attempt on Luna with Scootaloos mother.

As always comments both positive and negative are great

6th Doctor - The Multi-coloured Man

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It was later afternoon on the outskirts of Ponyville and two mares were walking purposely away from the town. In some ways they were very similar and in others a study in contrasts. One, Rarity, was a white unicorn with a purple mane, a fashion designer by trade; the other, Carrot Top, a yellow coated earth pony farmer with a mane as orange as the crop she harvested. Both were known as generous souls - in fact Carrot Top was the very element of generosity and known to be willing to offer a hoof to anyone who wanted aid. Some even considered her to be quite a pushover. Rarity on the other hand was a much cooler customer, like her companion she was also known to be generous but in a more “I scratch you back, you scratch mine” way. Her generosity was often used as a tool to improve her station in life.

In appearance the two were quite different, even beyond their colouring and tribe. Rarity’s coat shone in the late afternoon sun while Carrot Top’s, although freshly washed, was splotched with ground in muddy stains from the long hours working her fields. However, both of their manes were implacable cleaned and styled; Rarity’s because she expected perfection in her physical appearance in order to make a good impression and boost her business, Carrot Top’s because it was the one piece of vanity that she allowed herself in her life of manual labour. Rarity wore a giant hat, a pink number with feathers almost as tall again as herself, and a pink and yellow striped dress fit for a royal gala, while Carrot Top was naked apart from a black shawl she had seen at the market last week and had fallen in love with.

Despite their differences the two considered each other their friend, although not necessarily a close friend. Currently they were on their way to visit a mutual acquaintance, the hermit-like pegasus Fluttershy, who lived a short distance outside of town, near the fearsome Everfree Forest. Carrot Top, although aware of Fluttershy for several years, had only become her friend a few months ago after helping her recover from a strange curse. Rarity had know Fluttershy for even less time, the two having met when she had visited the town spa only a few weeks ago. Although they had originally gotten off on the wrong hoof the two had eventually bonded over their mutual love of dress making. Currently the two mismatched mares were making plans to try and improve their mutual friend’s socially skills.

“I do hope Fluttershy is alright with the two of us coming to dinner like this,” said Carrot Top. “Apart from Rainbow Dash, Dinky and Ditzy, I don’t think she’s ever actually invited another pony into her house before.”

“I’m sure she’ll do fine, darling,” replied her companion. “It was her own idea after all. At least it was mostly her own idea, I only had to prompt her a tiny bit at last month's spa date before she invited us to dinner.”

Carrot Top shuddered a bit at this. She was aware that Rarity could be rather forceful at times. She hoped that she hadn’t strongarmed Fluttershy too much.

Not noticing her companions distress, the white unicorn continued, “I wonder what she’ll be serving us?”

“Well I have a fairly good idea,” replied Carrot Top, putting her misgivings aside for the moment. “Ditzy asked to borrow some of my cookery books for Fluttershy last week, and I saw Angel in the market yesterday. Unless I miss my guess it will be onion casserole and some type of cheesecake.”

“That sounds simply divine. I suppose she’s a good cook, she can’t have much else to do out here in the middle of nowhere.”

“I’ve brought a few bottles of my latest batch of Carrot Juice to wash it down with.” Her latest enterprise was selling well, the spa had increased its original order and she was considering trying to sell it to some of the town’s general stores as well. ”It improves any meal.” she continued, trying out an advertising slogan Trixie had suggested.

“If only I was as talented at food preparation as you, but my skills lie in other areas. I am but passable in the kitchen. So instead I’ve brought this little offering for our hostess.” The white unicorn opened her saddlebag and levitated a necklace in front of Carrot Top’s face. “I found the gem just a few days ago and thought it matched Fluttershy’s cutie mark so well, I was inspired to create straight away. Sparkler, the dear, helped me with the mounting but most of it is my own humble work. The gem was so well shaped that it only required a little cutting and polishing. I think the final work is magnifique.” The necklace was indeed a work of art. The butterfly shaped diamond, apparently carved from a single piece of crystal, was inlaid in a silver backing which was connected to an intricate collection of chains.

“Oh, I’m sure she’ll love it,” gushed Carrot Top. “Now if only we could persuade her to come into town to show it off to someone.” She had a sudden flash of inspiration. “Maybe the town fair, that’s a few months away.”

“Baby steps, dear, baby steps. It’s a big thing for the poor dear to just have dinner with the two of us, let alone actually going out in public.”

“I guess so. She has really come on in leaps and bounds recently. Only a few months ago she only ever talked to Dash and Ditzy, now she’s come into town and has you and me as friends as well.”

“Exactly, at this rate she’ll be putting on shows for the public in only a few decades. Given her looks she could easily be a model,“ replied the white unicorn with a smile.

***

Fluttershy, tail raised daringly and wings fully unfurled, stalked down the catwalk carefully putting one hoof in front of the other. Her Rarity made outfit consisted of mere strips of silk designed to enhance rather than cover. Upon reaching the pole at the far end of the platform she dexterously twirled herself around it before retracing her steps staring seductively at the audience, face half covered by her mane. Around her the crowd went crazy bellowing, stomping and throwing bits.

***

Carrot top shook herself out of her revelry, cheeks glowing red. “Bad mind,” she thought, “where had that come from?”

“Are you alright, darling?” asked Rarity noticing her flustered state.

“I think we should hurry,” the earth pony quickly said to cover her embarrassment. “I don’t like the look of those clouds over there.”

“I didn’t think there was rain planned for today,” replied her companion, looking worriedly at the sky.

“There isn’t, but those are from the Everfree. According to Raindrops rogue weather often comes from there, and I don’t see any weather pegasus around to deal with them.”

“Then we simply must hurry then, I would be devastated if my outfit got wet before I could show it off to Fluttershy.”

With that the two mares picked up their pace towards their friend’s home.

Less than half an hour later Rarity and Carrot Top arrived at the bridge over the stream that flowed near Fluttershy’s home. The cottage itself stood only a short distance away. The house although a constructed building was designed to blend into nature as much as possible; the roof was covered in greenery and the surrounding area contained burrows and nests of all kinds.

Carrot Top gulped. She always felt a little intimidated by the house, the various critters living in the area seemed to be staring at and judging her. Rarity, however, did not seem to be distressed in the slightest and pranced right up to the door.

“This really is the most charming little home, don’t you think?” asked Rarity “So unique, it must have been quite expensive to build. I had to take out a significant loan for my own humble boutique, I wonder where Fluttershy got the bits for this?” She raised an eyebrow and looked inquisitively at her companion.

Carrot Top didn’t like where the conversation was going. Although she doubted Rarity would purposely try to hurt Fluttershy her social ambition was well known, and if she found out about Fluttershy’s background, well that was a disaster waiting to happen.

“I don’t really know much about Fluttershy’s past. I think she inherited this place of something,” she stammered. “Isn’t it rude, us just standing about out here?”

Rarity gave her companion a long hard look. “Yes, I suppose so.” She turned back to the door and knocked smartly. “Fluttershy, dear, we’ve arrived,” she called in a sing-song voice.

Time seemed to stretch as they waited on the doorstep, Rarity was just about to knock again when the door opened a little. At first it appeared that there was no-one there but then she looked down and noticed Fluttershy’s pet rabbit, Angel, looking up at the visitors with a frown on his face. The Rabbit was dressed in an abbreviated suit and had a cloth over one arm. He gestured that they should enter the house.

“Don’t you just look precious,” squealed Rarity admiring the diminutive butler before going to pet him. In response Angel narrowed his eyes, giving her a look that seemed to say ‘I’m doing this for Fluttershy, not you’, which stopped her in her tracks. Recovering, the white unicorn brushed passed the rabbit and went into the house proper. Angel glared after her for a second before giving Carrot Top a slightly friendlier look. The orange mare reached back into her saddlebag and dropped a carrot in front of the rabbit who, happy that his services had been paid for, grabbed it, shrugged and hopped away into another room.

The interior of the house was just as organic as the outside, it was festooned with further nests and burrows for the large number of creatures which made this place home. The occupants of these dwellings seemed unnaturally quiet, and stared, uneasily, at the intruders in their midst.

The house’s owner stood at the far end of the room hiding behind her mane and nervously hopping from hoof to hoof. She opened her mouth but only a thin squeak emerged. She looked down and steeled herself before trying again. “I’m sorry, dinner’s not ready yet,” she murmured, almost inaudibly. “I should have put it on earlier, I’m such a bad host, I’d understand if you want to leave.”

Carrot Top looked at the yellow pegasus with pity. She was shaking slightly and looked like she might burst into tears. The orange mare quickly stepped forward to comfort her friend. “That’s okay Fluttershy, neither of us is hungry yet.” she said, Rarity nodded encouragingly, “How about we all sit down and have a drink while we wait for dinner to finish cooking?”

The room seemed to release its breath as Carrot Top brought out a bottle and Rarity gently maneuvered Fluttershy towards a seat. The nervous pegasis slumped down and tried to make herself look small.

Carrot Top busied herself in the kitchen looking for some glasses. She briefly examined the dinner, it was indeed an onion casserole and smelled smelled wonderful. It would be ready, by her estimate, in less than half an hour. She opened a cupboard to find that it only contained two sets of crockery. She worried for a moment that it was Fluttershy’s entire supply, but then she noticed a box still covered in some packaging containing a further half dozen sets. The host had apparently planned ahead. The orange mare selected three glasses and carried them into the main room on her back.

By the time the farmer arrived back in the living room Fluttershy seemed more at ease. Rarity, her hat packed away somewhere, had produced a magazine and the two mares were talking about some of the clothing designs in it. The fashionista was doing the vast majority of the actual talking but the pink maned pegasus was nodding along and even occasionally adding her own observations. Smiling, Carrot Top put down the glasses on a side table and filled them with the juice she had brought before giving them out to the other ponies present. She wracked her brain for a toast. “To friendship,” she finally announced. Rarity and even Fluttershy echoed her sentiments.

“On that note,” said Rarity, levitating the necklace from her bags. “I’d like you to have this for agreeing to host this little soiree.”

“Oh, I couldn’t,” mumbled Fluttershy eyes downcast.

“I insist,” she replied gently pushing the gift towards the pink maned mare.

“Just try it on,” encouraged Carrot Top. “It really matches your cutie mark.”

Caving under the pressure, Fluttershy remained still as Rarity fastened the clasp.

“You look beautiful darling,” said Rarity using her magic to create a reflective surface in the air to allow Fluttershy to see herself. “You could be a model - with your looks you’d have to beat the stallions off with a stick, a big stick.”

The pink maned mare looked up almost in terror. “Oh, I wouldn’t want to do that,” she squeaked.

“It’s just a figure of speech, darling. The necklace makes you look very pretty.”

“Thank you,” said Fluttershy staring at her reflection as if seeing herself for the first time “Thank you, both of you. I’m sorry for making so much of a fuss about tonight.” She looked her guests straight in the eye, “I’ll try to stop being such a silly pony.”

The afternoon improved from then on. Fluttershy, although still nervous seemed to gain confidence as time passed and she got more comfortable with her companions. She even interrupted one of Rarity’s tales of her last business trip to Canterlot when Carrot Top asked her about a family of bluebirds inhabiting part of the dining room, although she was unable to speak for several minutes after realising this. The casserole turned out to be rather bland, but was still enjoyable, and the lemon cheesecake dessert was excellent. Fluttershy explained, with some muted pride, that the fruit came from a tree in her garden, which she had planted herself when she had first moved in.

“This is turning into a fun afternoon, nothing can go wrong now,” thought Carrot Top, instantly jinxing it.

Not too far away a further pair of ponies were approaching Fluttershy’s cottage. As with Rarity and Carrot Top they too had similarities and differences. In this case, although they appeared to be ponies they were in fact nothing of the sort. Instead they were natives of an entirely different universe, and their natural forms were homid in appearance rather than equine. However, for the safety of the universe they currently inhabited they had transformed themselves into a form matching that of the natives of Equestria. The Doctor, now in his sixth incarnation, was once again in the form of a unicorn. A curly blond mane covered his head while the rest of his pelt was a dark blue in colour. His somewhat rotund bulk was wrapped in a thick coat made up of a mismatch of colourful segments ranging from yellow and orange to blue and green, and around his neck was a light blue cravat. His current companion was an earth pony mare of late middle age, her dark mane graying, and her coat a light pink. She was wearing a sensible cardigan and had large black saddlebags covering her lack of a cutie mark. Her name was Evelyn Smyth.

“There is absolutely no reason for you to have to come with me, Evelyn,” said the Doctor. “In fact it may be even be dangerous to both yourself and this universe.”

“Nonsense,” she retorted. “You said your machine would keep us safe for several hours at least, that’s plenty of time to find this seal thingy and get back to the TARDIS.”

“My Equigenetic transmogrifier, or my machine, as you so colloquially call all it, has limits. The more individuals it transforms the shorter the effect lasts and the less stable it is, as I found out during my last visit. Having both of us transformed reduces the duration it can keep us safe.”

“That’s enough of that, you’re not leaving me behind on this. It’s not everyday I get to explore a new universe, or try on a new body. It’s certainly a difference from my classes back at the university. Anyway I was quite the equestrian back in my day you know, although I never thought I’d find out what its actually like to be a horse”.

“And what do you think of the experience?”

“Its quite pleasant really. Not having hands takes a bit of getting used to, but a lot of the old aches and pains seem to have melted away. Are you sure you couldn’t have given me a horn? That telekinesis thing looks useful.”

“I’m afraid the transmogrifier’s effects are specific to each phenotype. Each person can only support a single equine subspecies.”

“In English, Doctor.”

“You were born to be a simple Earth Pony, Evelyn, whereas my current body is destined to be a noble unicorn, although I do rather miss the wings I had last time I was here.”

“That’s enough of that cheek,” replied Evelyn with a scowl, “and you could have picked a better time to arrive, it looks like rain.” Indeed large drops of water had started to fall lazily from the sky even as she said this. “Where is this seal thing we’re looking for anyway?”

The Doctor levitated the tracking wand from his coat and scanned it around in an arc. It gave a gentle beeping sound when pointed towards the nearby cottage. “It would appear that the seal, whatever form it has taken, is within that dwelling over there.”

“My goodness, its rather rustic isn’t it. Look at all the birds and animals around it. I expect Snow White to step out and start to sing while she cleans.”

“Well appearances can be somewhat deceptive here, but it doesn’t look like there will be any problem obtaining the shard this time. Come on Evelyn, lets get in there before these forms start to degrade or we get soaked to the skin.” With that the Doctor opened his coat to allow Evelyn to shelter under it and the two of them crossed the small stream at the edge of Fluttershy’s property together and headed towards the house itself.

“And I said, well at least with this dress you’ll be able to tell the difference between the bride and the Diamond Dog!” said Rarity finishing her tale. Carrot Top laughed so hard she almost fell off her seat, and even Fluttershy tittered quietly. The muffled sound of rain could just be heard in the background.

Suddenly, there was a knocking at the door, Fluttershy’s head snapped around and stared at it in horror as if it had just burst into flames. She looked between her guests in terror.

“The poor dear,“ thought Carrot Top, “she’s even scared of her own door.”

“Whoever could that be?” questioned Rarity.

“I’m sure it’s just Rainbow or maybe Ditzy , maybe they decided to join us,” said Carrot Top reassuringly to the hostess. “Why don’t you just answer the door and find out?”

Fluttershy started to back away shaking her head, “Oh, I couldn’t, it might be anyone.”

“Come, now Darling,” said Rarity. “It’s just a door. You were scared about tonight and it’s turned out marvelously. I’m sure you can do this.”

Fluttershy looked between her two friends, both of whom were smiling warmly and gesturing towards the door. For a moment it seemed she might flee but then she gathered her courage and slowly stepped forward. Angel stuck his head into the room and watched his owner’s unusual behaviour closely.

With a trembling hoof Fluttershy reached for the door, then drew it back again, before steeling herself and pulling the door open a fraction to reveal the Doctor and Evelyn.

“Ah, good evening,” announced the Doctor loudly as the door opened, his mane plastered to his head by the rain. “Can we come in please? It’s rather wet out here.” The device floating at his side gave a loud buzzing sound. “Interesting! Do you mind if I have a look at that necklace you’re wearing?” His aura reached out and grasped the piece of jewelry.

With a squeak of distress Fluttershy jumped back from the Doctors grip in a panic. He seemed to take this as an invitation and pushed into the building itself. “This is very... quant,” he said looking around.

Seeing her friend’s distress, Carrot Top rushed to put herself between Fluttershy and the colourful intruder. “Excuse me,” she said sternly. “You’re scaring my friend.”

“Yes,” agreed Rarity stepping forward. “Please...” she stared at the visitor, her eyes grew wide and she took a step back, then stumbled to the ground, her legs suddenly too weak to support her. “The horror! The horror!” she mumbled, shaking.

“Rarity!” shouted Carrot Top coming to the fallen mare’s rescue. “What’s wrong?”

“What have you done to that poor mare, Doctor?” asked Evelyn, entering the room.

“Her condition has nothing to do with me, I only just got here,” he replied.

“Oh, Carrot Top,” screeched Rarity, clutching the yellow mare to her. “It was horrible, there was this clashing monstrosity of a coat. Why is it suddenly so dark?” She waved a hoof in front of her face and took a deep breath. “I’M BLIND!”. Disturbed, the various birds and critters started to holler and call, and several started to flutter around in confusion.

Evelyn turned to the Doctor and yelled to be heard over the chaos. “I told you that you’d hurt someone with that coat one of these days. I don’t know why you didn’t wear the blue one, its much nicer.”

Looking slightly confused the Doctor replied equally loudly, “Its only supposed to have that effect on the Galyari! Anyway, you know my other coat is currently covered in Rancor vomit.”

“Who are you? What are you doing here? What did you do to Rarity?” shouted Carrot Top, struggling to be heard over the rising volume.

Rarity continued to cry. “Oh, woe is me, blind, my beautiful eyes cursed to never see again, blind!”

“STOOOOP!”

Silence suddenly descended upon the house, and even the animals ceased screeching as all eyes turned towards the source of the yell. Fluttershy was standing with her rump pressed against the back door of the cottage, hyperventilating, her eyes wide and wings spread, shaking with stress. Finding herself the centre of attention, the terrified pegasus seemed to wilt, with a cry she turned and pushed the door open before launching herself into the sky to escape from the chaos behind her. Angel quickly scurried through the living room and ran outside to follow his mistress. By the time Carrot Top could disengage herself from Rarity’s grasping hooves Fluttershy was a small dot in the darkening gray sky heading towards the forbidding Everfree Forest.

Seeing their caretaker flee, the animals in the house went crazy, trying to escape in a panic. Rarity curled up into a ball on the floor as various animals ran over and past her. The Doctor tried to shield Evelyn from a flock of ducks that were buzzing her while she struggled with the door to allow the panicked herd to escape. At the same time he had to fend off a chipmunk which had leapt onto his face and was clawing at his eyes. Carrot Top lept onto the table she had recently been eating off, scattering the remains of the meal, to avoid a swarm of mice making for the front door.

As more and more animals fled the house, peace began to settle, and the Doctor used his telekinesis to pull the raging animal off his face and threw it into a cupboard before slamming the door. Eventually, Rarity started to uncurl, her dress ripped, and Carrot Top gingerly got down off the table looking for any more rampaging rodents.

“Is everybody alright?” asked the Doctor looking around at the wreckage.

Carrot Top and Evelyn both nodded. “Still blind,” noted Rarity morosely.

“What’s wrong with her, Doctor?” asked Evelyn looking at the disabled mare.

“I don’t know,” replied the Doctor, taking a small penlight from his pocket and examining the white unicorn’s eyes.

“Wait, you’re the Doctor?” said Carrot Top. “The stallion from the other universe? The girls told me about you. Are you looking for another seal fragment?”

“Yes, I think that yellow and pink Pegasus may have possession of one of the fragments, possibly that necklace she was wearing.” noted the stallion distractedly. “Now do be quiet for a moment. Can you see anything at all, Miss, err, Rarity wasn’t it?”

“Nothing at all, all is black. I’m blind, who ever heard of a blind fashion designer?” moaned Rarity. “Still, I’ve heard this sort of thing makes the other senses heighten.” she continued, perking up. “Maybe I‘ll be able to hear colours, smell shades, feel contrasts. I’ll be unique, I’ll be famous, ponies will come from all around to purchase the works of Rarity, the Blind fashionista of Ponyville!”

“So what is wrong with her?” asked Evelyn again as the Doctor finished his examination of the now ranting unicorn.

“Apart from a bad case of melodrama?” replied the stallion with a raised eyebrow. “Nothing physical as far as I can tell. I think the condition may be psychological in nature.”.

“She’s making it up?” asked Carrot Top trying to keep up with the conversation.

“Not at all, I think its some form of hysterical blindness caused by the stress of seeing my coat. She doesn’t seem to be able to appreciate its true magnificence.”

“Or she has a sense of taste,” muttered Evelyn.

The Doctor ignored her and continued, “I think as long as she remains away from my presence she should make a full recovery.”

“I think you’re right, Doctor,” agreed Rarity. “I’m starting to see a slight haziness.“ She turned towards the blond stallion. “And blind again.”

“I think it’s best if we get you comfortable here then,” said the Doctor as he and Carrot Top heaved the white unicorn onto a sofa, “While the rest of us set off after that yellow pony wearing part of your universe’s barrier.”

“Fluttershy,” interrupted Carrot Top, sharply, remembering what had caused her friend to flee.

“Pardon?”

“Her name’s Fluttershy, and she lives up to her name,” continued the orange mare, snarling, “You barged into her home and scared her half to death. We had to work really hard just to persuade her to invite two friends to dinner, after this she’ll probably never want anyone else to set hoof in her house again.”

“It’s not my fault she’s so sensitive,” replied the Doctor defensively.

“You didn’t need to be so aggressive though, did you,” said Evelyn.

The Doctor deflated somewhat, rubbing the back of his neck with his hoof. “Yes, I suppose I did overdo it a bit, I should probably apologize when I see her. Now which way did she go?”

“Towards the Everfree forest,” replied Carrot Top pointing towards the wood.

“And that would be that rather spooky looking collection of trees over there would it?” asked the older mare.

“Yes, its a home for all sorts of monsters.”

“Then we should set off before she gets into any sort of trouble.” said the Doctor, heading out of the Door followed by Carrot Top and Evelyn.

A few minutes passed.

“Darlings?” asked Rarity to the thin air. When she got no reply she carried on, “I guess I’ll just hold down the fort here then. In the darkness.” She shivered, listening to the sound of an enraged rodent trying to claw its way through a cupboard door.

The weary pegasis tumbled to the ground, her wings too wet and tired to carry her any further. She just laid there in the mud crying, letting her heart slowly return to its normal rate. She didn’t know where she was, just that she was exhausted and soaked and cold.

She’d been having such a nice time, she’d invited people to dinner, her! Just like a normal pony! And she’d only been a little bit frightened. But then the bright, loud pony had arrived and tried to grab her necklace and she’d been so frightened and they all started to shout and it had hurt her head and she’d been so scared she shouted at them, then they’d all looked at her with surprised, scary, expectant eyes and she’d just had to get away.

Slowly she picked herself up, continuing to weep. She couldn’t go back now, not with the eyes there, watching her, knowing what a horrible pony she was. She'd have to leave now, to go far away from her animal friends and Angel and her cozy cottage and garden.

Weighted down by her dark thoughts Fluttershy wandered randomly through the forest unaware of the creatures watching her from the darkness. Ahead she heard the sound of flowing water, and singing?

…please oh please, don’t decline … come and dance on the river’s bed…

The three ponies had been making good time until they reached the forest itself. The rain had stopped as quickly as it had started but it and the previous showers had left the ground sodden. In addition the sun was rapidly dropping below the horizon making the forest darker and more forbidding. Although the tracker gave the Doctor a rough idea of Fluttershy’s position and distance, the trees themselves were thick enough to require them to have to circle around and double back several times in their pursuit. It was hard and tiring work.

“So who is this Fluttershy pony anyway?” asked Evelyn as she carefully avoided a boggy patch of ground. “I know the Doctor can be a bit over the top but I’ve not seen anyone run at the sight of him before.”

“She’s sort of a hermit. She lives outside of town and looks after the animals,” replied Carrot Top, stepping over a tangle of roots.

“Sort of a vet or ranger then?”

“I suppose so, its more of a hobby than a job. She’s independently wealthy, and her family owns some weather factories, I think.” explained the farmer. “They were grooming her to run them but she couldn’t handle the pressure, so they moved her here.”

“That sounds rather cruel.”

“They thought it was for the best, she generally seems happy just living with her animals. She has a few people she trusts, an old school friend, the mail mare and her daughter and now me and Rarity. She getting better at socialising, but its hard work.”

“You must be a really good friend to put so much effort into helping her.”

“I suppose so, I feel sorry for her out here by herself. She was starting to make some progress she actually agreed to invite us to dinner on her own, more or less. Now the Doctor's scared her off into the Everfree, I don’t know how long it will take to calm her down.” she examined the stallion currently leading the way, “He’s not how I thought he’d be, the girls made him sound more heroic and well.. nice, he seems like a bully to me.”

“You’re not seeing him at his best, he can be wonderfully kind. He’s just a bit overpowering, he needs someone who’ll not take any of his guff.”

“I can hear you, you know,” said the Doctor techilly, turning to face the mares.

“I know you can,” replied Evelyn tartilly coming to a halt. “You should be ashamed of yourself, you’ve been behaving disgracefully, you scared that poor pony half to death earlier.”

“I could have handled that better, I suppose,” he replied looking somewhat abashed. “But the last time I was here I stayed too long and almost hurt a lot of ponies. I wanted to get us back to the TARDIS as quickly as possible, I was worried of the consequences.”

“How likely is it that we will explode anyway?” said Evelyn, Carrot Top jumped back from them, with a squeak.

“I’ve made a few adjustments to the transmogrifier since my last visit so less than it used to be, we probably have a day or more before any major interaction occurs.”

“So, you were making a mountain out of a molehill then?”

“Yes,” said the doctor shamefacedly. Quickly he tried to change the subject. “Do you have anything to drink? All this walking has made me rather parched.”

“Sorry, I didn’t pack a thermos.” said Evelyn rummaging through her saddlebags. “I’ve got some sponge cake, though.”

“I’ve got something,” said Carrot Top, lifting a bottle from her own bags.

The Doctor levitated the bottle over and sniffed it. “What is this?” he asked.

“Carrot juice,” said Carrot Top with some pride. “Made from my own crop.”

“Ah, I find the taste of carrot juice rather unpleasant.”

“Oh,” she said in a tone suggesting that death was too good for people who don’t like carrot juice. Then her ears pricked up. “Do you hear singing?” she asked, “It seems sort of familiar.“

…come on in, the water’s fine … please oh please, don’t decline…

Suddenly with a crack a tree started to fall directly onto the Doctor, he looked up but found himself frozen to the spot. “Look out!” called Carrot Top as she leapt into action, hurling herself at the blue stallion and knocking both of them out of the falling vegetation's path. The bottle she had been holding went flying and smashed on a rock. The two of them ended up in a ball on the ground with Carrot Top on top.

“Are we still alive?” asked the Doctor stunned.

“I think so,” replied the orange mare.

“I’m so glad, I’d hate my last words to be about carrot juice, that would be so banal. Now if you would just get off me.”

“Sorry,” replied Carrot Top disentangling herself from the dark blue stallion with a blush.

“Are you both alright?” asked Evelyn carefully clambering over the tree. “Why did that happen?”

“I think it might be because of that,” said the Doctor pointing into the forest.

With a roar the large brown form of a bear crashed into the clearing, shoving aside trees and bushes in its path. It charged towards the Doctor, who struggled to get to his hooves and avoid it. On the leviathan’s back stood the small white shape of Angel Bunny. He gestured to Carrot Top indicating that she should stay out of this.

“What is that thing?” asked the Doctor trying to avoid the bears blows.

“I’ve never seen the bear before, but the rabbit’s Angel, he’s Fluttershy’s err, assistant.” said Carrot Top hopping from hoof to hoof in indecision. “I think he might be angry that you scared Fluttershy, he’s a bit protective of her.”

“A bit protective, a bit protective,” repeated the Doctor in increasing volume as he instinctively formed a magical shield around himself. “A bit protective, you have a talent for understatement. It’s trying to kill me!”

The bear swatted at the coated stallion him with paws the size of a pony’s head, which smashed the shield to glowing fragments that quickly evaporated. Suddenly with a wet splat something impacted on the back of the creatures head. It turned in surprise and got a faceful of cake hurled by Evelyn. “Get out of here Doctor,” she cried. “We’ll deal with this, you find Fluttershy.”

“I’m not leaving you!”

“It’s you it wants, if you leave maybe it’ll calm down.”

After a moment of indecision the Doctor turned and ran deeper into the forest.

The bear finished licking its face clean and started to pace towards Evelyn, sniffing the air. Angel tried to turn the beast towards the fleeing Doctor, but it ignored his efforts and continued towards the pink pony.

“Oh dear,” she mumbled, “I think I made it hungry,” before turning tail and running for her life.

The Doctor rushed through the undergrowth with the sounds of the bear fading away behind him. Ahead he could hear the sound of running water, quite a large river from the sound of it. He checked the tracker; it seemed that Fluttershy, or at least her necklace, was only a short distance away. Oddly he thought he could make out singing just at the edge of his hearing.

…come and dance on the river’s bed … come on in and join the dead…

Getting closer to the river he saw the butter coloured Pegasus at the edge of the water. She was just standing there, staring into the distance, wings drooping and a hollow smile in her face.

Come on in, the water’s fine … please oh please, don’t decline

For a moment his hooves ached. It would be so enjoyable to paddle for a while, to just go into the water and relax. “You can stop doing that,” he announced. “It’s not going to work. I’ve had the best try to influence my mind, and you, whoever you are, are not the best.”

Three pony like shapes rose from out of the water. There was something slightly serpentine about the shape of their bodies and in place of rear legs were fish like tails splashing in the water. Each was a slightly different shade of green and one was slightly more masculine in form to the others, but the most significant difference between them was their eyes. One had red eyes, the next teal and the final yellow.

“We are sirens,” announced the first regally.

“I thought we were kelpies?” whispered the teal eyed male to his companion.

“Quiet you!” hissed the third.

Red eyes narrowed her gaze. “Why aren't you affected by our song? You’re not another critic are you?”

“No, I quite like it, very catchy. I’m just not a normal pony, you see, I’m from another universe”

“Oooh, exotic food,” said yellow eyes. “I could go for that.”

“Thats what we do, you see, we eat ponies,” explained the teal eyed one conversationally. “Like that one over there,” it said, waving a leg at Fluttershy. “Well most of us do,” it continued, glaring at its red eyed companion.

“If it was any other pony I would, but just look at her, she’s so cute. See those big blue eyes? It would be like eating a puppy!”

“We do eat puppies!” came the exasperated reply.

“Sure, because they're delicious, but I still feel a bit bad about it.”

“’We shouldn't be arguing in front of the food again, it makes us look bad,” the yellow eyed one pointed out.

“Oh, don’t mind me,” said the Doctor, edging towards Fluttershy, “carry on with your conversation.”

“Stop right there,” said the yellow eyed mare. “If you try anything we can have this delicious morsel diving to her doom before you can take another step.”

“Hey, how about you become dinner, in exchange for her?” suggested the stallion brightly.

“I don’t know, he looks a bit flabby, I’m trying to watch my weight,” said the red eyed mare inspecting the Doctor.

“So am I,” responded yellow.

“Honestly, mares,” said the stallion. “Maybe I should try that asexual thing that unicorn was on about. I wouldn’t have to listen to you two complain all the time then, and I might get some occasionally.”

“We’ve told you before, I’m sure you’ll make some mare very happy one day, but we want to keep out careers and social lives separate,” replied red. Yellow nodded in agreement.

“Anyway, back to eating me,” said the Doctor sounding a bit annoyed, “I think you will find that all of this is muscle.” He struck a pose. “I am as fine a meal as you could hope to find, in this or any other universe.”

“You’re starting to make me drool,” said red, wiping her mouth with a hoof. “Ok, you agree to be dinner and we’ll let the yellow one go.”

“If you let Fluttershy go, then you can devour me if you so wish,” agreed the Doctor.

“You promise?” said yellow.

“Cross my hearts,” he said gesturing at his chest.

“Multiple hearts? Oh, those are the best bits,” said teal.

“No funny business. Come over here before we let the pegasus go,” said red, sounding suspicious.

The doctor calmly made his way over to the edge of the flowing river and faced the three aquatic ponies. “Now let her go.”

The yellow eyed siren hummed a quick counter melody and Fluttershy seemed to snap out of her daze. She looked around and squeaked in terror, eyes darting from creature to creature apparently frozen in panic.

“Fluttershy,” said the Doctor gently. “Go back the way you came, you should find Carrot Top and my friend Evelyn not too far away, maybe even Angel as well.”

“But...” the pink maned pony whimpered.

“Don’t worry, everything's going to be alright.”

With one last look around the pegasus scampered away.

“That was very nice,” commented the red eyed siren, “Now into the water, I’m hungry.”

“Of course,” said the Doctor with a bow, “I did promise,” he cleared his throat. “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.” He went to step into the water. “But wait, what is this in my pocket?” He theatrically produced a short white wand-like device. The wand started to hum and vibrate. “Why this is a Microwave State Change Inducer, if this were to come into contact with a body of water it would instantly convert it into high temperature steam. Still, I did promise.” He started to step forward.

“A what now?” said the yellow eyed mare, looking confused.

The Doctor sighed. “In your terminology, a magic wand.”

“Wait, it turns water into steam?” said the teal eyed stallion starting to back away, “That would kill us!”

“And you too,” said red with narrowed eyes, “You’re bluffing.”

“Am I?” said the Doctor with a smile, he started to lower the device towards the water.

For a tense moment the sirens stared as the Doctor who looked back calmly.

Yellow was the first to crack. “Come on guys, this isn’t worth it. He’s too fatty anyway, if his thingy doesn’t get us the cholesterol will.” She dived under the water and started to swim down river.

The remaining two sirens looked at each other, “Come on, we better get after that coward before she ends up out to sea,” said the stallion. The other nodded in agreement before giving the doctor the evil eye. “Ok, you can go,” she spat before they both retreated out of sight.

The Doctor let out the breath he had been holding and slumped slightly. That had been close. He switched off the rod. Turning, he found Fluttershy still standing at the treeline looking at him with watery eyes. On only slightly shaking hooves the Doctor made his way up to her. “There, there,” he said hugging her. She tensed up for a moment, then collapsed into his grip. “They’ve gone now.”

“Would you really have done that, to save me?” she sobbed, her voice muffled by the fabric of his coat.

“Yes, if I had to,” replied the Doctor. “But not with this,” he continued, indicating the white rod, “this is a tooth brush.”

Crashing through the forest the bear continued its pursuit of the source of the delicious confectionary that had been thrown at its face, its attempt to kill the Doctor forgotten. Evelyn was galloping for all she was worth but was only just able to stay ahead of it. Carrot Top was trailing slightly behind the creature but was quickly catching up.

“Angel, Angel,” yelled Carrot Top as she ran alongside the bear. “You need to stop this now, before somepony gets hurt.”

The small rabbit tugged at the bear’s neck with no effect, before shrugging. Things had gotten out of his paws. Trying to take control Carrot Top rushed ahead and positioned herself between the bear and Evelyn’s fleeing form. She reared up to her full height trying to look as large and threatening as possible. The bear completely ignored her and with a shrug knocked the orange farmer aside. She tumbled through the air and with a splash landed in a muddy pool. Pulling herself to her hooves she shook herself to clean off the worst of the muck. “I suppose it’s a farmers lot to get covered in mud,” she thought bitterly. She felt something drip past her ear and put a hoof to her head, her shawl was missing and her carefully conditioned and sculpted mane was ruined by the mud and slime. “My hair! This is the last straw. I’m so angry I’m literally seeing red,” she thought. Then she looked around and realised the red colour was not due to her anger.

Evelyn continued to run as fast as she could from the bear, but the elderly pony was starting to tire and slow. With a burst of speed Carrot Top was alongside her, in her mouth was a large branch covered in bright red berries

“‘oh,’ou ‘ave any ‘ore of that ‘ake?” she asked.

“What?”

“‘ake the ‘ake!”

“Oh the cake, yes *gasp* I have one more. Marks and Spencers finest!”

“‘ot?” the orange haired pony looked confused

“You don’t have Marks and Spencers here? Not such a, *pant*, utopia then.”

Behind them the bear struggled as it tried to tear it way through some thick vines which had become entangled around it.

The two mares came to a stop and Evelyn extricated the cake from her bags while Carrot Top stripped the berries from the branch with her mouth before placing them on the cake. The bear roared again in frustration causing both of them to jump. “Oops,” said Carrot Top, “I think I swallowed some, that might be trouble.”

“What are they supposed to do anyway?”

“They're Kroop berries, Cherilee asked if I could find her some a few months back but I couldn’t get any then. I did some research and apparently bears can’t get enough of them and they put them to sleep, I hope. I’m not sure what they do to ponies though.”

The bear finally broke through the vegetation and leapt towards the cake, messily devouring it in a single bite. It licked its lips and turned towards the watching ponies, snarling.

“I don’t think it worked,” said Evelyn backing away.

“Wait for it,” replied Carrot Top, feeling braver than usual, and a little light headed.

The creature’s snarl turned into a yawn. It blinked and yawned again before dropping to the ground, its eyes inched shut. Angel hopped off of his steed and gave it a kick, and the bear rolled over, almost crushing its former rider, before starting to snore.

“You’ve been a very naughty, err, bunny,” scolded Evelyn, towering over Angel while the rabbit looked up at her fearlessly, “What should we do with you?”

“How did I never notice Angel’s fur was so colourful?” asked Carrot Top, her pupils huge. She reached for the rabbit. “Wow, whose hooves are those?” she said, staring at her own legs.

It had taken some time but Fluttershy had eventually stopped crying. Now the yellow mare was hunched down in the dirt looking away from the Doctor.

“Are you feeling better now?” he said gently.

“Yes,” she replied, her voice barely audible, eyes still fixed on the ground.

“How did you end up here?”

“I was lost, I just wandered through the forest until I heard singing, then I wanted to go into the water.” She shuddered. “Then the sea ponies came and they were arguing and everything seemed so distant. I wanted to run and hide by my hooves wouldn’t move and I couldn’t think and it was so scary. Then you saved me, you made them go away. Thank you,” said Fluttershy, almost breaking into tears again.

“No, I should be apologizing to you, I’m the one that caused all this in the first place. It was terribly rude of me to try and take your necklace, I scared you. I can be rather inconsiderate of others feelings, I made you run here and put you in danger. It is all my fault. I most sincerely apologize for my actions,” said the blue stallion, lowering himself to the ground alongside her.

“Its my fault, not yours. I’m such a scaredy pony, normal ponies don’t run away just because someone knocks on their door. Being around other ponies just frightens me.“

“Everyone gets scared, Fluttershy, even me, although I might not show it. Facing those sirens I was scared, scared for myself, scared for you, scared for Evelyn, scared of what would happen to this universe if I were to die before I repair the seal. But I had to be brave for all of them, not just for myself.”

“I couldn’t do what you did, stand up to those Sirens. I can’t deal with other ponies, they all expect me to do things, I don’t want to disappoint them, so I try to keep away from them. Only my animals seem to understand me.”

“Wherever I go people expect me to do things for them to, usually save them,” said the Doctor somewhat bitterly. He sat in contemplation for a moment. “I’ll tell you something I’ve never told anyone else. It used to be so easy for me to be a hero, it came naturally, but the last time I died...”

The butter coloured mare’s head snapped up and she stared at the colourful figure next to her “You died?” she said.

“It’s not quite the same for my people as everyone else, death isn’t always fatal to us. The hero dies only once by the coward dies many times,” he quoted, “Well for me even the hero dies several times. The last time I died I had sacrificed myself for my companion without a second thought, but it left me changed, more pensive, I keep wondering if the universe could cope without me. I used to never be cruel or cowardly, but recently this version of myself has been both. I put on a brash facade to cover the fears within. Like this coat,” he said with a grim smile, “Only a brave person would wear something like this, so people don’t look too closely at the person inside it. I try to surround myself with people like Evelyn who can remind me how I should act, they make me brave.”

“I don’t have many friends, or a coat.”

“You have Carrot Top and Rarity and some others, don’t you? Carrot Top came with me to this forbidding place without a second thought, that’s a true friend.”

The pink maned mare brightened slightly. “I invited her and Rarity to dinner. I thought I couldn’t do it, I could hardly sleep last night worrying how badly it would go, but when they got there it was nice, I had somepony to talk to. We even laughed together.”

“See, you were very brave and it was your friends that helped give you that bravery. Until I turned up and ruined it all. Once again I can only say I am sorry for the trouble I’ve caused you.” He laughed somewhat bitterly. “If I organised a dinner party I’d probably alienate most of the guests before the first course was over.”

“But I’m not brave like you are, Doctor. I can’t fight monsters or even deal with strangers.”

“Then how about we switch places?” said the Doctor, standing up. “You can be the Doctor and be brave, and I’ll be Fluttershy and be kind and understanding.”

With a yellow glow the doctor removed his coat and gently placed it around Fluttershy. It was too large for her and covered her wings, almost reaching the ground as it hung from her diminutive form. She giggled slightly.

“There, now you're wearing the Doctor’s coat, so you must be the Doctor, and everybody knows the Doctor’s brave and fights monsters, so you must be a brave pony then.”

Fluttershy looked down at herself. She momentarily closed her eyes to savour the sensation of the warm, heavy coat on her back before looking back at the Doctor. “Thank you, and you, you can be Fluttershy,” she replied, reaching for her necklace and awkwardly removing it before passing it over to the Doctor, who took it in his aura.

“Thank you, my dear, thank you very much,” he said.

For a few minutes they sat there together looking out over the river, thinking about the day’s events. The Doctor was the first to speak, “We better be on our way, shouldn't we Doctor, those creatures might return and we should see how Carrot Top and Evelyn are.”

“Yes, Fluttershy,” said Fluttershy with a smile.

The Doctor and Fluttershy eventually found the rest of their party by following the trail of devastation left by the bear. The bear itself was lying in the centre of a clearing, still sound asleep. Carrot top, looking a bit dazed, was talking to Evelyn while Angel was sitting with his back to them, his little arms crossed.

“Hello, everybody,” said Fluttershy in a voice only slightly below a normal conversational level, “I’m the Doctor.”

“And I’m Fluttershy,” continued the Doctor quietly with a smile.

Carrot Top’s jaw dropped and she looked between the pair not sure whether to believe her eyes or not.

Evelyn stood up. “Oh, no,” she said, “not another body swap thingy.”

The Doctor laughed. “No, not on this occasion. Miss Fluttershy here needs a bit of help to gather her confidence and she’s decided to take me on as something of a role model.”

“I can be brave because I’m wearing the Doctor’s coat!” announced the yellow mare.

“Well just be careful you don’t take on any of his less admirable traits as well then,” said Evelyn.

“I’ve decided to emulate Fluttershy to try and remove some of my more rough edges as well, Evelyn.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it,” she responded.

Suddenly they were pushed aside as Angel rushed past and lept onto Fluttershy, hugging her tightly.

“Oh, Angel,” cried Fluttershy nuzzling the rabbit, “Did you and Mr Bruin come to find Mommy as well? That was so nice of you.”

The rabbit suddenly seemed to realise he was in public and struggled out of his caretaker’s grip, before climbing onto her back and indicating to Evelyn that she should be quiet.

Fluttershy happily trotted over towards the bear and started to try and rouse him.

Carrot Top got to her hooves unsteadily, and looked back and forth between the Doctor and Fluttershy. “I’m confused,” she muttered, “That looks like Fluttershy, but she’s talking like a normal pony and she seems to have changed colour.”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

“Carrot Top ended up eating some of the berries we used to knock out the bear and it made her a little distracted. I’ve been talking her down, I’ve got some experience of this sort of thing from my students. She’s mostly recovered, but she’s still a bit spacey,” explained Evelyn.

“Wow, have you ever really looked at mud before,” said Carrot Top, scooping up a hoof full and letting it fall to the ground again. “It’s so strange”.

“Well, maybe a lot spacey.”

Behind them the bear was starting to stir, and under Fluttershy’s direction was getting to its feet smacking its lips.

“I’ve got the fragment,” said the Doctor revealing the necklace. “I can convert it back when I have a minute and once we get back to the TARDIS I can return it to it’s proper place. It should stabilize the universal seal quite significantly.”

“It’s a shame,” said Evelyn admiring the jewelry “it really brings out your eyes,” she chuckled.

Night had fully fallen by the time the group returned to Fluttershy’s cottage.

The bear had parted company with them on the way and had headed off to its own cave to sleep off the drugged cake. Likewise, Carrot Top had recovered somewhat, although she still tended to get distracted by the way the moonlight reflected off of the wet grass.

“You seem to have done Fluttershy a lot of good, Doctor,” said the orange maned farmer, indicating the pegasus mare who was walking a short distance in front of them, talking only slightly hesitantly to Evelyn about her home.

“She always had it inside her, I just had to give her a little push to help her out. She’s recovering from a nasty shock so I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some backsliding but with help from her friends like yourself I’m sure she can begin to socialise with other ponies, given time. She really is a sweet filly.”

“Well, thank you again for what you’ve done.”

“Do you have to leave already, Doctor?” asked Fluttershy as they arrived at her door.

“Yes, I’m afraid my time here is rather limited, I need to get back to the TARDIS. It’s not far away now.”

“I think I still have some cheesecake left from the meal. You can take some of that with you, if you want to that is,” she said shyly.

“I think a small snack would be most welcome before we leave,” said the Doctor.

The pegasus entered her house while the rest of the group waited outside.

Rarity’s voice could be heard from within the cottage. “Fluttershy Darling, you’re back! I was so worried, what’s that you’re wearing.... ARRGGGHH! MY EYES!”

7th Doctor - The Chess Master

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The glowing orbs that provided the illumination in the library were flashing a warning red. The very fact that the library had warning lights showed just how unusual a library it was, Trixie thought, as she staggered through it past the panicked guards and librarians. Somewhere an alarm siren was blaring. “Will someone shut that foutu thing off?” she roared. “This is a library!” Nopony seemed to be listening to her and the racket continued. Rubbing her aching head, Trixie and her yellow coated assistant continued to force their way through the library until they saw a familiar face.

“Dinky? What in Tartarus is going on here? Why did you summon me?” yelled Trixie over the racket.

The tall grey unicorn turned to her one time mentor, her bulging abdomen almost touching the ground. “It’s Twilight, she’s gone and sealed herself in the Star Swirl the Bearded wing.”

“So she wanted some peace and quiet to read. If we went on full alert every time that happened we’d never stop,” Trixie grumbled.

“She’s been acting... strange recently, obsessive.” Trixie snorted. “More obsessive than normal,” she clarified. “She’s been talking about those anomalous artefacts again - the ones Luna told her about.”

“The ones supposed to be the underpinning of our entire universe but don’t appear out of the ordinary in any way?” The grey unicorn looked shocked. “See, I pay attention sometimes.”

“Anyway, she claimed to have made a breakthrough and needed some of Star Swirl’s old journals to prove her theory. When the guards tried to check her pass she knocked them out and put up barriers around the room.” She gestured at the purple shield blocking the doorway and her horn lit up. “Whatever she’s doing is throwing out loads of magic, over fifteen megathaums.”

“Fifteen megathaums? That’s a lot right?”

“Yes, éducateur it is a lot.” Dinky facehoofed and turned to Trixie’s assistant. “Bushel, is she drunk?”

Before the yellow pony could answer, Trixie butted in. “I’ve just performed to a sell-out crowd at the Royal Canterlot Theatre, and it’s my birthday. Of course I’m drunk! That reminds me, why weren’t you at my party? I only turn forty once, you know.”

“Trixie, this is the third time you’ve had your fortieth birthday so far. Anyway, I was going to leave when this all blew up in my face.”

Trixie snorted, “And where’s your pirate of a husband? Shouldn’t he be doting on you in your condition?”

“Pip is an independent trader, not a pirate, and you know he’s still on his way back from Neighpon. He should be home well before the foal comes.” She cradled her stomach protectively.

“Anyway, what do you think I can do even if I was sober? You’d need a princess to get through one of Twilight’s shields if she really doesn’t want you to.”

“That’s why she didn’t call for you,” said Bushel. “She called for me, you just tagged along.” She turned to the blocked door. “I guess you need the amazing no-horn?”

Dinky nodded, and the earth pony stepped cautiously forwards until her head almost touched the barrier. A purple glow started to surround her forehead and the shield faded away. Bushel sank to the ground with a groan. Dinky rushed to her side. “Are you alright?”

“Fine, just feeling a bit bloated.”

“Join the club,” muttered Dinky.

Trixie cautiously approached the now clear portal and faded from view as she used her magic to cloak herself. Inside, it looked like a tornado has struck the room. Books had been thrown around the chamber seemingly at random. In the centre of the room stood Twilight Sparkle, her slightly greying purple and blue mane dishevelled. For some reason she was covered by a rather threadbare coat apparently made from clashing fragments of other garments. Around her, complex runes had been burnt onto the floor and were sparkling with power.

Trixie whistled, then kicked herself as Twilight’s wide gaze swung towards the sound. “Trixie?” she said.

“Uh, hi,” Trixie said, dropping her spell. “Shouldn't you be at my birthday party?”

“Oh is that today? I’m sorry I forgot,” Twilight said in a scarily normal tone of voice, as waves of magical energy started to flow around her. “But don’t worry, after today I’ll never be late for anything ever again.”

“Yeah? Well, Dinky called me, she said you’d had a breakthrough about these ‘shard of reality’ things Luna asked you to look into.” Behind the blue mare, Bushel and Dinky entered the room, looking around in awe.

“Yes,” Twilight said with a nod, “I finally figured out how to locate them. It’s fascinating, the slight imperfections in how the background magic flows through them, but it only works within a few miles a most. But I know just how to find them now, the Doctor, he’s the key! And the coat is the key to the Doctor!” She indicated her odd garment.

“Fluttershy’s ‘bravery’ coat? I quite like it myself, but it’s not all that,” Trixie noted. “And a doctor might be a good idea for you, Twilight, you're looking a little.... tired.”

The crazed mare slumped. “Yes... tired,” she mumbled. “I’ve been so busy recently, so much to do.” The mystic energies orbiting her started to fade.

Trixie took a cautious step forward. “Why don’t you come to my party? That always relaxes you, and after a good night’s sleep you can come back and finish off whatever it is you’re working on. You’ve got plenty of time.”

Twilight head snapped up. “Time! That’s the key, I can get there just in time to stop the Doctor, all the Doctors...” The runes flared up again and Trixie was pushed back by a wave of force.

“Twilight! Stop!” Trixie yelled over the wind. “This isn’t like you!” She tried to shield Dinky from the worst of it.

“No it’s not, Lulamoon,” Twilight spat in a voice totally unlike herself. “But it is just like us.”

“No! I remember you, but...” Trixie started. Suddenly a flash of ball lightning burst out from Twilight. By the time Trixie’s vision had cleared Twilight had disappeared.

Ditzy awoke with a groan, bells ringing in her ears. With a herculean effort she dragged one eye open. Her bedroom was still dark but she could just about make out her alarm clock in the gloom; it was the source of the racket. She quested about with one hoof and on her third attempt managed to strike the alarm, knocking it to the ground and mercifully stop the ringing. For a moment she considered going back to sleep - what did she have to get up for anyway? She couldn’t remember. Then she shook herself and recollections slotted into place. She had to get to work; no work meant no pay and no pay meant no food for her and Dinky.

Ditzy staggered to her feet. She felt rotten today; maybe she was coming down with something? Muttering to herself, she wandered into the bathroom and examined her reflection in the mirror. She looked even worse than she felt. Her eyes were red-rimmed and gunked up with sleep, her mane and coat were dishevelled, and she even noticed some bald spots in her wings. Maybe she really was ill? She should make an appointment with a doctor after she finished her shift; she wouldn’t want her daughter to catch anything from her. She thrust her head under the shower and let the warm water make her feel somewhat equine again.

Once she had finished washing, she decided on breakfast. To her surprise, most of the cupboards were empty; she must have forgotten to go shopping. She quickly crunched her way through a bowl of dry and stale cereal. She checked the time again - she was late!

Quickly grabbing her hat and coat - they seemed a little loose on her - she rushed for the door leading down to the post office below. It was emptier than she would have expected, but she didn’t have time to investigate. She grabbed a full bag from one of the tables, shouted a quick greeting to the few members of staff present - who looked up in surprise - and ran out onto the streets of Ponyville.

As she carried out her rounds, a feeling of wrongness continued to gnaw away in the back of her mind. Like the office, the town itself seemed depopulated and the ponies she did see mostly trudged by, eyes downcast. The weather did not help; it appeared that the weather ponies had made a mix up, so one part of town was buried under several inches of snow while another was suffering torrential rain. Ditzy looked up and saw Cloud Kicker yelling at a number of other pegasi she didn’t recognise but who seemed to be ignoring the deputy manager. Was Rainbow Dash AWOL again? It might explain the mistake if her assistant had been left in charge. Cloud Kicker was normally quite dependable but she didn’t deal with stress well.

She checked the address on the next letter and smiled to herself. It was the representative’s residence; maybe a chat with Trixie would make her feel better. She could ask Trixie where everypony was today. Maybe she’d missed a really big Pinkie Party yesterday?

Putting on a sunny smile, Ditzy pushed open the door and let herself into the residence. As expected Trixie was present, but to the mailmare’s surprise she was sitting behind Pokey’s desk rather than her own.

“You’ve got mail,” announced Ditzy, tossing a pile of letters onto her friend's desk.

“Oh, errr. Thank you Ms Doo,” said Trixie, sounding subdued. “You’re looking well today.”

“Ms Doo? Why so formal?” asked Ditzy, bemused. “Actually I’m feeling a little rough. Maybe Dinky picked something up from school and passed it on to me.” Then suddenly it hit her. “Dinky! I forgot about Dinky! I didn’t wake her up and get her ready for school this morning. How could I forget about her?!”

A look of pain and embarrassment flashed over Trixie’s face. “Ditzy, did you take your medication this morning? Did Par say you could work today?”

“Medication? What are you talking about? And what’s Par got to do with anything? He’s retired. Look, I’ve got to get home, Dinky will be worrying about where I am.”

Trixie seemed to fight with herself for a moment before looking up at the worried mailmare. "I know it's hard, Ditzy," she said, wheeling her chair over and putting a hesitant arm across the pegasus’ withers. "But you have to accept it, Dinky died with Cheerilee over a year ago now. You've got to move on."

Ditzy staggered back, breaking out of the unicorn’s grip. “What are you talking about?” she cried. “Dinky’s not dead, I saw her last night - she was talking about being in the Hearth’s Warming play this year.” Ditzy though back to last night and the conversation. And then she remembered the funeral, the casket had been so small, she’d sat there too upset to even cry just waiting for somepony, anypony to just tell her that it was all a mistake, that the thing in the ground wasn’t her daughter. Ditzy staggered back, blinking. Where had that come from? It couldn’t be true.

“Ditzy, you’re having one of your episodes... please try to calm down. I’ll get Redheart or Carrot Top or somepony.” Trixie pulled her chair closer. Ditzy’s gaze dropped to Trixie’s rear legs; they were both missing from just below the hip, and she was strapped into a wheeled contraption that allowed her to remain mobile.

“Trixie,” gasped Ditzy in horror, “What happened to your legs?”

“Grand-père!” yelled Trixie.

“What is it, child?” came a masculine voice from within the residence. “I’m not entirely deaf you know.” An aged blue stallion tottered into the room, leaning heavily on a cane, his mane and beard a dirty white.

“Who are you?” Ditzy asked, backing away from the new arrival.

“Ah, she’s having a bad day, isn’t she?”

“I’ve never seen her this bad,” Trixie agreed, pity written across her face. “She normally forgets the ‘incident’ but not much else.”

“Who are you?” Ditzy demanded again. The stallion seemed vaguely familiar.

“I am Quartermoon, Ms Doo. You remember me? The town's representative to the Night Court?”

“Quartermoon? But you’re dead, Trixie said so,” Ditzy muttered, backing away from the stallion towards the door.

“Evidently not, Ms Doo. Why don’t you just sit down and we can get one of your friends to look after you.” He held out a hoof.

“Get away from me!” Ditzy screamed, bolting for the door and leaping into the air. She had to get away, to get to Dinky, she could see Dinky and everything would be alright. This would all be a bad dream or a plot by Corona or Zecora or someone, Dinky would make everything better.

She flew as fast as her wings would carry her towards her home. She didn’t even stop to land before entering the building, instead prising the window open and crawling into her daughter’s bedroom. It was just as she remembered, every book, toy and item of clothing was in place. The only thing missing was Dinky herself. The bed did not look like it had been slept in. Nothing looked touched, everything was perfect, like a shrine. A shiver ran down Ditzy’s spine. She remembered cleaning the room and putting everything neatly away. She had to keep it all perfect for when her muffin came back, from when the mistake was all sorted out, no matter how long it took. No, that couldn’t be it. What was going on?

She collapsed to the floor, sobbing, as memories flew through her head. She remembered Dinky telling her of her adventures in the Everfree and begging her to let her keep the timber wolf puppy. She remembered the look on Nurse Redheart’s face when she told her what they had found in the forest and that she had to identify the pieces they had found, the pieces of her daughter. What was happening to her? Was she going mad? Had she always been mad? She felt like she was going to snap in two.

“Please help me!” Ditzy cried to the heavens. “Please, somepony, help me! I don’t know what’s going on, what’s real!”

Suddenly the room was filled with a wheezing groaning sound and a wind seemed to pick up from nowhere. To her astonishment, a large blue box faded into existence, taking up much of the bedroom. I suppose that confirms that, thought Ditzy, I have gone mad.

A door opened in the box and a short straw coloured earth pony stallion with a brown mane rushed from it. He was wearing a cream jacket and checked trousers. Under the jacket was a jumper covered in question marks and a tie. On his head was a panama hat and hooked on one leg was an umbrella.

“Don’t worry,” he said with confidence, “I’m the Doctor.”

“I don’t understand, what...” stuttered Ditzy.

The strange stallion crouched down next to her and stared at her with deep brown eyes. “Memory problems?” he asked, rolling the r’s.

“I, I can remember talking to my daughter last night and I can remember her, her death a year ago,” she sobbed. “What’s wrong with me?”

“Very little... but there is something very wrong with the world. Which would you prefer?”

“What?”

“Which memory? Your daughter, alive or dead?”

“Alive, of course, alive! I want to see her again alive and well. I’d give anything, do anything just for that.”

“Then concentrate on that. Remember those memories, concentrate.”

Ditzy did as she was told, and focused on the times she could remember being with her daughter; her birth, their conversation last night, last week’s bath night, even the time she had left her alone in the teeth of a storm. Everything she could remember about Dinky. Gradually the other visions - those of her daughter’s death and her half-life since then - were pushed into the background. They did not disappear, but they became more manageable, as if they had happened to somepony else. “Thank you.” She sighed as her mind cleared.

“You're welcome, Miss...”

“Doo, Ditzy Doo. What’s happening to me?”

“Change, and not the welcome kind. Your daughter must have been very special to you for your memory to span the probabilities,” he mused.

“Who are you? What do you mean, probabilities?”

“I’m the Doctor. I’ve visited your world several times, helping to heal it by finding parts of a shield protecting it from destruction. When I arrived this time, I noticed something strange; where once there was one world, now there were two. Separated by certain events. On one world, this world, I had been stopped at every turn, every shard kept from me. In the other, the one I remember, I had been successful.”

“But what has this got to do with me and Dinky?”

“Dinky?” the Doctor asked, sounding surprised. “She was your daughter?”

“Yes! In this other world, did you save her?” Hope burst forth in her words.

He smiled. “More like she saved me. But yes, in the other world she lived.”

Ditzy reached forward and grasped the Doctor. “Then take me there. I have to see my daughter again.”

“Ah, I’m afraid it’s not quite that easy. At present this world is a possibility; the other world is more likely but only by a bit. Given time the probabilities may shift and this world could become the dominant one. I will have failed and this world will become not just a possibility but a probability and eventually a certainty.”

“And Dinky will die.”

“And Dinky will have been dead.”

“There must be something we can do,” Ditzy demanded.

“Yes, I can try to go back and help my previous selves, but it’s tricky. It has to be done subtly so as not to change my own time line. Somepony who remembers what happened in both worlds would be very useful.”

“I can do that!”

“Yes,” said the Doctor uncertainly. “I wonder why? Why you in all the world?”

“It might be because I’m an element bearer in the other world, the element of Kindness.” Her face crinkled for a moment. ”But not this one. Maybe that helps me remember how the world should be?”

“Maybe kindness is bigger than the world,” the Doctor mused.

“If I help you, will I get Dinky back? Will I see her again?”

“If you help,” said the Doctor, “Then Dinky will get to live happily with her mother.”

“Then I’ll help you.”

“Very well, come with me, Ditzy Doo.” He stood up and with surprising strength for his size pulled Ditzy to her hooves. “Come with me,” he said, striding into the blue box.

Without a second’s hesitation, Ditzy followed him.

Ditzy stood stock still in shock as she entered the box. She had expected a cramped wooden interior to match the exterior, but instead she found herself in a large white room, the walls covered in roundels. The Doctor quickly busied himself at a large, many sided control panel at the centre of the room. The door hummed closed behind the pegasus and a column at the centre of the control panel started to rise and fall.

Ditzy was shaken from her daze by the arrival of another pony.

“Hey Professor,” the arrival called. “That machine of yours is well wicked, look at me now.” She was a young pegasus mare - little more than a filly, really; her coat was raven black and her mane, tied back in a ponytail, was a light brown. She wore a thick black jacket with various patches and badges attached. It had some rather untidy holes cut in it through which her wings protruded. “I’ve got wings, I can’t wait to get to try them out, it’ll be so cool. Hey, who’s this?” she asked, noticing Ditzy for the first time.

“Ah. Ace, this is Ditzy. Ditzy, this is Ace. Ditzy has agreed to help us track down what is trying to change the time lines,” said the Doctor without looking up.

Ace nodded somewhat suspiciously at the other pegasus. “Fair enough. So what are we doing first?”

“I think we should start with my most recent visit, from my point of view anyway. Tell me, Ditzy, what do you know about a dinner party hosted by Fluttershy? It would have been a few months ago in your timeline.”

Ditzy tried to search her split memories for some recollection of that time. “I remember Fluttershy telling me and Dinky about that. You saved her from some sirens in the Everfree. Oh, but after Dinky died I didn’t talk to my friends, I didn’t leave my house, I didn’t want to go out in case Dinky came back and I wasn’t there.” The grey mare started to sob again.

Ace rushed to her side and put an arm over her. “Hey, don’t worry, the Professor will save your sprog. It’s what he does, right?”

“I’ll certainly try,” the Doctor said. “Remember, you can lock the memories away if you want.”

“Oh, how could I forget!” Ditzy cried, still lost in her memories. “Fluttershy died! I was so wrapped up in myself, I almost didn’t notice. She ran into the Everfree and nopony could find her... the sirens must have gotten her.”

“I found her using the tracer.” He lifted a short wand attached to his belt via a cable. “But I didn’t in this world, so it’s likely she never had the shard. Rarity gave it to her, from what I can remember. So where did Rarity get it from in the first place?”

Ditzy screwed up her eyes and tried to force the memories of her Dinkyless life to the back of her mind. “I think she mentioned she’d found it out to the north of Ponyville. She does most of her prospecting there. About two weeks before the party.”

“That should be enough to get a rough fix. Thank you, Ditzy,” the Doctor said, throwing switches on the console. The time rotor began to rise and fall.

“Come along, darling, we have lots to do today,” Rarity said, leading the way. The fashionista was as always tastefully dressed in a flowing white summer dress and a pink pith helmet.

Behind her Amethyst Star followed. She was much more burdened; several shovels and other tools were strapped to her flanks and she was pulling a currently empty cart.

The two of them were on one of their semi-regular gem hunting expeditions. When Amethyst had moved to Ponyville and found out that one of her fellow small business owners had access to a spell which allowed her to locate jewels, she had been overjoyed. The two of them had quickly formed an agreement to work together to locate and cut the colourful rocks. Now, several months later, Amethyst was starting to feel that she had gotten the short straw. True to her word, Rarity’s spell did allow her to locate gems deep within the ground. But most of what she found were of extremely poor quality, maybe good enough to add some flash to dress but certainly not good enough to sell in Ponyville’s premier (and only) jewellery store. Still, it was the exceptions which made it worthwhile; she might only find a few usable gems per trip but those she did provided quite a pretty profit.

“Here looks like a good place to start,” Rarity announced.

Amethyst came to a halt and unhitched herself from the cart before wiping her brow. She looked around at the rough rocky planes that surrounded her. It looked the same as the rest of the area to her but she deferred to the white unicorn’s greater experience.

Concentrating, Rarity lit up her horn and started to scan the area. Quickly locating several possible gem deposits, she began to place markers over each in turn. Amethyst looked on in interest. Shrewdly, Rarity had refused to teach Amethyst her spell, but the other unicorn had been observing the workings closely for some time now, and although her own magical abilities were relatively limited she was quite close to figuring it all out. Given time she might even be able to improve on the base spell, to allow her to locate only higher quality gems or those of specific types. That would certainly allow her business to boom.

“Sparkler dear, do stop wool gathering. We have a lot to do.” Amethyst shook herself out of her thoughts and looked around. Rarity had been busy; there were over a dozen marked areas surrounding her. “I think you should start there,” Rarity said, pointing a hoof at a nearby marker. “It felt like a big one.”

“Do you think you could lend me a hoof this time?” Sparkler asked, lifting a spade with her aura and starting to break the earth.

“I would love to, darling,” began Rarity. “But all that casting has quite worn me out and this can be a dangerous area - somepony needs to keep watch.” She unrolled a checkered blanket to cover the dusty ground and began to scan the horizon with a pair of opera glasses. “I’ll start putting out dinner while you get to work.”

Sparkler perked up a little at that. One of the good points of their trips was that Rarity provided a picnic lunch imported from Canterlot for the two of them, which always turned out to be both lavish and tasty. Spurred on by that thought, the purple unicorn attacked the ground with increased vigour.

“I recognise Rarity over there,” said the Doctor peeking over a rock, “but not that other pony.”

Ditzy raised her head and peered at the hard working pony. “That’s Amethyst Star, she was... is Dinky’s half-sister.” Ditzy screwed up her eyes again to try and block a stream of pseudo-memories. Sparkler had blamed her for Dinky’s death. She had caused a scene after the funeral by publically screaming at her about murdering her sister with her negligence, and she’s been right. If only she hadn’t gone out on that delivery, Dinky and Cheerilee would still be alive. “Should we go and talk to them?” she asked with a quiver in her voice. She didn’t want to have to face the purple unicorn again.

“Maybe. I need to find out what has caused the time lines to diverge. It may be better to wait...”

“Hey, Professor!” called Ace. “What are those?” She was pointing towards several large canine shapes loping towards the pair of unicorns. As they watched, the figures began to burrow into the ground and disappear from sight.

“Diamond Dogs!” gasped Ditzy.

Sparkler was grumbling to herself at Rarity’s laziness as she lifted her next load of gems from the sizable pit she had excavated. The white unicorn had not been mistaken when she had said it was a large collection; so far she had filled half of the cart. The quality of the gems were not bad; most were still a little below what she would normally use but passable as secondary gems in a larger construction. There were one or two of high quality though. A large irregularly shaped diamond in particular caught her eye.

She was just admiring the gem when suddenly she was knocked aside, as the fountain of earth burst from her newly created hole and a large canine shape leapt from the pit. It grasped her in long limbs before she even had time to scream.

Rarity, who had been observing hawkishly in completely the wrong direction, was likewise captured by a similar, but slightly smaller creature which popped out of the earth behind her. “Let go of me you brute!” she squealed, thrashing her limbs around to no avail.

A third Diamond Dog, even larger than the other two, burst out of the earth nearby. “Be quiet, Po-ny,” he growled. Rarity’s eyes went wide and she swooned in her captors grasp.

The dog holding her shook Rarity’s limp form. “You break Po-ny,” he said, “Pur-ple Po-ny tell us not to break po-ny, now she not pay us.”

“She already pay us well,” said the leader, brandishing a bag which made a clinking sound of coins knocking against each other.

“But she say she pay us more if we bring her the gems.”

“Maybe we tell her Po-ny like this when we find it? Maybe it better if we break both Po-nys.” The brute turned towards Sparkler and raised its large paw threateningly. The purple pony tried to struggle out of her captor’s grip, but it was too strong.

“STOP!” came a commanding shout. The group turned to see the diminutive figure of the Doctor galloping towards them. He came to a halt in front of the Diamond Dog leader and stared up into his eyes. “Let them go,” he snarled through gritted teeth.

The leader took a step back, and one of his companions instinctively dropped Rarity. The white unicorn landed with a thud and with a groan her eyes flickered open.

Overcoming his initial surprise, the largest dog took a step forward. “Why should we do what you say?” asked the creature.

“Because I have this!” the Doctor announced, brandishing his umbrella.

There was silence for a second, then the Dog replied, “You have stick? What stick supposed to do?”

“This!” the Doctor announced, pointing it at one of the larger boulders in the field.

Nothing happened.

“Professor!” exclaimed Ace. “That’s the wrong one!”

“I still don’t understand what is supposed to be going on,” said Ditzy. She and Ace had spent the last few minutes rushing around the area placing strange silver cylinders on the ground while the Dogs had been distracted. The black pegasus had then pulled a strange contraption from her backpack and extended a long metal spike from it.

“We’ve been placing the Nitro-9 around the field so the Professor can use it to scare those stupid Dog heads, but he’s gone and picked the only rock in the field we didn’t mine. Here, take the last one,” she passed a cylinder to Ditzy, ”and stick it behind the rock. I need to stay with the remote. Make sure you leg it afterwards or you’ll be chunky salsa,” she said encouragingly.

With a gulp, Ditzy took the offered object in her mouth and scuttled towards the rock. Her grey coat gave her a measure of camouflage against the dusty background, but she still tried to keep as low as she could. Not for the first time today she questioned her sanity, but she would do anything if there was a chance of saving Dinky.

To her surprise, no one seemed to notice her, and she reached the boulder and placed the can it its base before rushing away, trying to keep the rock between herself and the dogs.

“Nothing happen,” said the Diamond Dog leader approaching the Doctor.

“Errr.... Silly me. I forgot to do this,” he said, opening the umbrella with a snap that made the dog hop back in surprise.

He pointed the device at the boulder again, and this time there was a huge explosion that threw it into the sky. It tumbled to the earth not too far away, creating a deep trench before coming to a stop only a few feet from the Doctor.

“Wicked!” Ace crowed from behind cover.

The dogs and ponies froze in place, mouths open in astonishment. The Doctor calmly pointed the umbrella at an empty patch of ground, and a further gout of flame blew a crater in the rock. He casually turned the umbrella round to point at the Diamond Dog leader, who cowered.

“Now, how about you let the ponies go and tell me why you’re here?” the Doctor said, closing the umbrella up again.

The dog holding Sparkler quickly dropped her to the ground, and she staggered over to help the still semi-conscious Rarity to her hooves.

“Uh... Pur-ple Po-ny paid us to get gems,” muttered the large canine. “She said we would find other po-nys looking for them and to drive them off but not to hurt them.”

“Humm, where is this pur-ple, eh, purple pony now?”

“Not far. We can take you. If you not make go boom?”

“Good.” He turned to Sparkler and Rarity. “You should probably go now. Make sure you take your gems with you, you wouldn’t want to leave empty hooved would you?” He searched through the cart for a second, lifting the large diamond that Sparkler had had her eye on. “This one is particularly good, isn’t it? Don’t you think it looks a bit like a butterfly?”

“Why, yes it does,” Rarity mumbled. “Thank you for saving us, Mr ...”

“Oh, call me Professor.”

“Thank you, Professor,” Rarity said. “Are you sure we can’t do anything in return? I am a tailor, I could make you a suit or a coat maybe?”

“I could make you a ring or something,” Sparkler added.

“That’s very kind but your gratitude is enough,” the Doctor said, doffing his hat. He turned back to the dogs, brandishing his umbrella again. “Now we better be off.”

As soon as Rarity and Sparkler were out of sight, Ditzy and Ace joined the Doctor and the group of Diamond Dogs as they headed back towards their mysterious employer.

“She threaten to turn dogs into cats unless we do what she say,” explained the dog’s leader, “She crazy like last boss, but she pay better anyway.”

“I think you should hand over that cash,” the Doctor said, gesturing with the umbrella.

The dog gave a whine of pain but handed over the pouch without further comment.

“Why did you do that, professor?” Ace whispered. “Dog face shouldn’t get to keep the loot, but since when did you need the dosh?”

“It always pays to have local currency. I have reason to believe that I might need to make some purchases sooner or later,” he replied in an equally hushed tone.

“You say the purple pony turned up yesterday?” the Doctor continued loudly.

“Yes, she say find gems and bring them to her, she know when she had the right one. Then she say Po-nys would find the right one and to find the Po-nys.”

The group rounded a large boulder to reveal a purple unicorn, wearing a multi-coloured coat several sizes too large for her. “Twilight?” Ditzy gasped. “You look so old!”

“Ditzy?” replied Twilight looking equally shocked. “You’re so young! You must be this time’s Ditzy but you never mentioned..”

“That’s my coat!” the Doctor exclaimed, stepping towards Twilight.

“That thing!” said Ace. “It looks like an explosion in a paint factory!”

“My tastes have changed over time,” the Doctor replied, looking rather pained. “If your future self saw what you were wearing now, she’d probably be horrified.”

“Not this, professor,” Ace said, tugging on her coat. “This styles going to stay for ever.”

“Your coat! You must be the Doctor. You’re the one doing this, taking the shards, damaging this universe!” Twilight cried. She charged her horn and threw a bolt of energy at the Doctor, causing him to stagger back to avoid it.

“Stop! Twilight! This isn’t like you!” Ditzy called.

“No! He’s a threat! He has to be dealt with!” Twilight bellowed, her voice sounding deeper than normal. With a sweep of her power she pushed Ditzy, Ace and the Dogs aside.

“Now you die, Doctor!” A tornado of power started to blow up around her. “Wait, no! Not now! This is too soon!” There was a flash of light and a silent explosion and Twilight disappeared.

The Dogs all scattered in panic, and the Doctor started to get to his hooves again. “Well timed,” he muttered.

“Who was that crazy mare?” Ace asked, helping the Doctor up.

“I don’t know, do you Ditzy?”

“That was Twilight Sparkle, I think. She looked so old. I never met her in the bad time line,” she didn’t want to think about it now, “but in the right universe she caused an accident and was sentenced to community service in the library.”

“So why’d she try to off you, Professor? Overdue library books?”

“I don’t know, I don’t recall meeting her yet. Humm, back to the TARDIS, I have something I’ll need to look into.”

“Now that is interesting,” the Doctor noted, looking at screen in the TARDIS. “Now this,” he pointed a hoof at a blue line zig zagging itself down the screen, “is a two dimensional representation of the five dimensional interactions I’ve had with Equestria. And this,” he pointed to a red line passing in the opposite direction, “is the time path of Twilight.” The two lines intersected about half a dozen times. “She’s following me, but in the opposite temporal direction.”

“So she’s going backwards along your life?” Ace asked, screwing up her face in concentration.

“Yes, she appears to be trying to collect the various shards before I get to them, but why? That’s very dangerous. If I don’t use the shards to heal the barrier, then the whole universe will eventually be destroyed.”

“But what about Dinky?” asked Ditzy. “How does she fit into this?”

“I met Dinky during my first visit to this world.” He tapped a point near the bottom of the screen.

“So why don’t we just go there? I need to see her again,” Ditzy whined.

“I’m afraid we can’t. If we did, then Twilight won’t have arrived there yet, and we would not be able to arrive later without further crossing our own time streams.”

“How can we get there before her if we’re both travelling in time?”

“It is do with probability waves and semi-temporal chrono mechanics,” the Doctor explained.

“This sort of stuff makes my head hurt,” Ace noted.

“Anyway, the only option we have is to follow Twilight back through my visits one at a time, and hope to stop her each time. What I don’t understand is how she locked onto the time track in the first case... of course, the coat.”

“Wasn’t that Fluttershy’s?” asked Ditzy.

“Yes, I gave it to her during my last visit. How is she?”

“She’s getting better, she actually came into town and played at a concert a few weeks ago.”

“That’s good to hear,” said the Doctor with a grin. “Anyway, she must have used the trace of my bio-data on the coat to track me. That’s very clever. But now we know where she’ll be next. Canterlot Castle, a few years after your time, Ditzy, so we won’t know what she’s planning to do. We’ll just have to hope we can find her and the shard in time.”

Twilight blinked as the glow faded away. Stupid magic! She’d known her time in each time zone would be limited but she’d expected longer than that. She had almost... why had she done that? She’d tried to kill the Doctor. She knew he was trouble, that he was stealing the shards that could be used to protect the world, but why did she go so far? Why?

Shaking her head, she put the matter to the back of her thoughts. She needed to locate the shard in this time zone. A quick spell showed she was in Canterlot, about a decade and a half before her own time. She mentally flipped through the records she had on the shards and the Doctor. This must be the incident that Luna had told her about, where the Doctor had almost caused the destruction of the whole city. The shard would be in the form of a cup for a soon to occur sports match. She lit her horn, running through the spells she had created to detect the presence of the shards. Now would be the time to find out if they really worked. After a few minutes, she got a tentative signal from several floors down.

Twilight cast an invisibility spell over herself. It would be better if she wasn’t seen, since she was supposed to be under house arrest in this time period. Getting caught would only create problems for her previous self. The spell should make her more or less undetectable; it was one that Trixie had taught her. The blue unicorn could be a pompous blowhard sometimes, she thought fondly, but she knew her illusion magic better than anypony. Thoughts of the blue mare brought up a picture of the two of them arguing in a library. Where had that come from? Maybe time travelling had some effect on the memory? She’d have to investigate that later. Trying to get her thoughts back on mission, she set off through the castle.

It didn’t take long for Twilight to make her way to the location of the shard. It was in one of the towers near the top of the castle. The sign on the door indicated that these were the quarters of the court musician. Lyra hadn’t mentioned anything about having a shard, though. Then she remembered when she was. She tried to remember who had held that post at this time, and she thought it had been Octavia Philharmonica. Twilight had met the mare a few times but they weren’t close.

To her surprise, Twilight found another pony also attempting to break into the same room as she was. She was a young blue coated unicorn mare in a page’s uniform, who appeared to be using her horn to try and pick the lock on the door without success.

Twilight looked on in bemusement at the increasingly frustrated filly. Concentrating for a second, she used her own power to open the lock.

“At last,” hissed the mare as the door swung silently open. The room beyond was spartan and very clean. In one corner, a cello sat on a stand, and in another was a rack containing several books of music. A few chairs and a table were the only other furniture present. The unknown mare creeped into the room and Twilight followed her, unseen. To her surprise, the purple mare could hear loud modern music from one of the doors leading out of the living room.

“Paperweight, do you have to play that... noise after we finish?” came a languid voice from behind the door.

“You know me, Octy, I like to celebrate.”

The blue unicorn froze in place at the sound.

“What ever happened to just cuddling?” came the first voice again.

“I don’t suppose there's any harm in doing both.”

Blushing brightly, the young unicorn began to quickly search the room. Twilight looked on, puzzled. Could this mare be looking for the same thing as her? How did she learn of the importance of the object?

Giving a cry of satisfaction, the mare lifted a large box from a cupboard. Remembering her position, she held a hoof to her mouth and looked at the door nervously. The music continued to blare. After a few moments she calmed and opened the box to reveal a large golden cup.

Twilight, sensing the cup was the shard she had been looking, for grabbed it in her aura. Surprised, the mare kept her grip on the object and was dragged stumbling over a chair and tripped into Twilight, causing the two of them to fall in a tangle of legs. Twilight was so surprised she dropped her spell.

Suddenly the side door opened to reveal a grey mare, an untied bowtie strung over her shoulders and her mane in a tangle. Behind her stood a younger pink mare, her mane and coat likewise dishevelled. “What is going on here?” demanded Octavia.

“Bellemane,” gasped Paperweight. “What are you doing here? Were you peeping on us?” her face turned bright red.

“I... I...” stuttered the blue mare. Then she jumped to her hooves, painfully stamping on Twilight’s face in the process, and grabbed the cup from where it had fallen before rushing for the door.

With a groan, Twilight staggered to her hooves as well, and set off after the fleeing filly.

With a cry of “Stop thieves!” Octavia and Paperweight ran after them as well.

“That’s odd,” noted the Doctor, waving the tracker around. The TARDIS had landed within the castle this time and the crew had just exited and were looking around. “The shard seems to be quite close but moving. Very close.”

Suddenly a door was thrown open and a panicked blue mare rushed through, a cup in her aura. She crashed straight into the Doctor, knocking him into Ditzy and Ace, felling all four of them. Next through the door was Twilight, who took in the room’s contents in a second and gracefully leapt over the pile of ponies on the floor, grabbing the cup as she went before rushing through a further doorway.

“After her, Ace,” called the Doctor. The black pegasus leapt to her hooves and rushed after the fleeing figure, the Doctor hot on her heels.

Ditzy and Bellemane struggled to stand for a moment before a small group of guards, led by Octavia and Paperweight, entered. The guards pointed their spears at the fallen ponies.

“Not that one,” said Octavia, pointing at Ditzy, and helping her up. “Ms Doo, what brings you to Canterlot? Are you here on official business?” she asked.

Ditzy looked down and saw that she was still wearing her uniform. “Err, yes. I had a delivery to make when this mare ran into me.”

“I am sorry about this. I will make sure you get back to Ponyville as quickly as possible.”

Ditzy’s eyes widened. She could go home! In this world Dinky would still be alive. Her wings tensed as she prepared to fly to her daughter, no matter the distance. Then another thought hit her. If what the Doctor had said was true, then if she didn’t stop Twilight now, this world would fade out to be replaced with the one in which her daughter had died. What would happen to her then, she wondered. Would she and all the world’s inhabitants just fade away? Would Dinky? She couldn’t risk it.

“Why did you do it?” asked Paperweight of her fellow page. “Why steal the cup?”

“I... I...” she stuttered. “It’s not fair,” she whined, “You’re Night Light’s favourite, even Luna knows your name, you're the lover of the court musician,” Octavia blushed, “Even your hoofball team’s going to win the cup. I have nothing, nothing! I work just as hard as you do and I’ve got nothing for it. I just wanted to have something of my own!”

“Where is the cup now?” asked Octavia, as some of the guards started to lead Bellemane away.

Dumbly, Ditzy pointed at the far door.

“Some purple mare in a horrid coat took it from me,” spat Bellemane. “She was in your room as well. She might be a spy or an assassin or something.”

Looking alarmed, half of the guards thundered off in the direction the cross eyed mare had indicated.

“Wait!” cried Ditzy. “My friends went that way as well!” She ran off after the guards with Octavia and Paperweight in tow.

Twilight thundered through the corridors of the castle. She glanced over her shoulder; that black pegasus was on her tail and the Doctor wasn’t much further behind her. In turn, behind them was what looked like half of the royal guard. In some way it made her nostalgic, thinking back to her time on the run. It was odd the tricks memory could play; at the time she had been terrified of capture, but now it seemed like a time of fun and freedom. She tried to remember where her brother was now - probably Cavallia - but he could be on duty here, and running into him would be embarrassing.

Twilight shook her head to clear her thoughts then reached out with her magic and yanked at one of the statues lining the walls pulling it down behind her. The pegasus dextrously ducked under the barrier and the Doctor only just managed to avoid it as it fell, but the first of the guards crashed into it.

“My leg!” screamed one of them.

“Moonlight!” cried another at his partner’s pain.

Fighting down rising guilt, Twilight turned a sharp corner and rushed into an office of some sort. Piles of paper were stacked along the walls, while a large balcony opened out to the exterior of the castle, revealing a starry night. She came to a stop just in front of the balcony.

Ace rushed into the room and screeched to a halt, seeing her prey was cornered.

“Ok,” said Ace. “Just give us the cup and no one needs to get hurt.”

The Doctor followed them and grabbed a few sheets of paper off of a pile, as well as a quill. Seeming to pay Twilight no heed, he put the paper against a wall and began to write.

Something in Twilight told her to attack now, to destroy them both. She fought against it; she could deal with this logically. “I don’t know who you are,” she said to the pegasus, “or what he’s told you, but he’s not who he says he is. He isn’t even a pony.”

“What I’ve told her is the truth,” said the Doctor, not looking up from his writing. “I need the shards to protect Equestria and this whole universe from destruction.”

“No, that’s just what you told Luna, but I worked it out. I found out how to track the shards and how to return them to their natural state.” A crystalline mass appeared in the air next to Twilight’s head orbiting the cup she still grasped.

The Doctor looked up in astonishment. “That’s amazing, how did you manage that?”

“You don’t need to know that. But I worked it out. You’re not strengthening our world by taking these things, you're weakening it - taking away the very foundations until it will all just crumble to dust.”

“I’m afraid you’re very much mistaken about that. Whatever gave you that idea?”

“I... I... It’s just obvious isn’t it?” cried Twilight. “Why don’t you believe me?” she screamed.

“I trust the Doctor,” Ace stated.

Behind them, the rest of the pursuers arrived. Seeing herself heavily outnumbered, Twilight started to back away towards the lip of the balcony.

“Wait, don’t!” cried Ditzy, as Twilight toppled into the space below.

“I’ll get her!” Ace yelled, leaping forwards wings out stretched.

“Wait!” screamed the Doctor. “Flying isn’t that easy!”

Twilight plummeted towards the ground but she felt no fear. A simple teleport should get her to safety and then the Doctor wouldn’t be able to find her. She began to concentrate when she realised her mistake; she felt her physical structure began to loosen as the spell took effect, but in her current state instead of allowing her to move to a different spatial location it initiated a temporal shift, dragging her to her next time zone. She struggled to fight against the effect when to her shock she saw the black pegasus shooting towards her at full speed. Ace grabbed the cup from alongside the falling unicorn and then pulled out of the power dive gracefully. It was the last sight Twilight saw before she was whisked back in time.

The Doctor rushed forwards to peer over the edge of the balcony just in time to see an explosion of light from below. He blinked away the spots and saw Ace rise up and hover in front of him, clutching the cup in her forearms.

“It looks like I’m a natural at this, Professor. It feels Ace!” She did a backflip in the air.

“Well, get down here,” he cried in relief.

“Who are you anyway?” asked one of the guards.

“Ah, yes. Here are my credentials.” He presented a sheet of paper. “As you will see they are signed by Luna herself. Careful the ink is still wet.” He passed the paper over with a smile.

The guard looked at them suspiciously.

“Um, I’ll vouch for him,” said Ditzy, raising a hoof.

Octavia looked at the mare for a second. “As will I,” she agreed.

“Here’s your cup thingy back,” said Ace, holding out the trophy.

Paperweight took it gratefully, before passing it to Octavia. “Thanks, the match is in a few days’ time. Hopefully I’ll get to keep it after then.”

“Good, only one more thing to do before we depart,” noted the Doctor as he passed a letter to Ditzy.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“Just something to keep time on track,” he replied enigmatically. “Just deliver it to Frolicsome Meadowlark.”

“I know him,” said one of the guards. “He just took his partner to the medics after he busted his leg on that statue back there. I’ll show you the way.”

“Don’t worry Moony, I’m sure you’ll be good as new in a week or two,” said Frolicsome, patting one of his partner’s uninjured legs.

“Yeah, but the match is in a few days. No way I’ll be fixed by them. Damn!” The frustrated unicorn shouted. “We haven't got any subs. We’re going to have to pull out. All that hard work for nothing.”

“Err, excuse me,” said a cross-eyed grey pegasus in a postmare’s outfit. “I’ve got a letter for you.” She passed it to Frolicsome.

“Thanks, miss...” but she had already turned and was leaving.

“Odd,” he commented. He opened the letter and read it. “Hey Moonie, look at this, what are the odds...”

The time travellers regrouped in the TARDIS to discuss where they were going next.

“From what I remember of my previous visit, I was at some sort of competition to catch enchanted balls,” said the Doctor.

“A game of Sky hunt?” said Ditzy. “That doesn’t narrow it down much. Most of the professional games are played in Cloudsdale but it can be run more or less anywhere where there’s a sizable Pegasus population. I played once or twice in Fillydelphia... I wasn’t very good at it though.” She gestured at her eyes. “I tended to miss the tags. Never known a game in Ponyville though. I think Rainbow tried to organise one but she couldn’t get enough players.”

“Yes, Rainbow Dash, that was one of the players, and Raindrops. My memory really is getting like a sieve these days. That was only about three hundred years ago.”

“Rainbow and Raindrops together? Could that be the weather bureau conference? I can remember them talking about you afterwards. Oh, and in the other world they got fired! They got into some sort of brawl just before the final day of the conference.”

“Humm, Twilight must have caused that fight somehow,” muttered the Doctor. “So we have to prevent it. As I’m not suited for Cloudsdale, you and Ace will have to deal with it. I have something else to set up.”

“Why can’t you get to Cloudsdale, Professor? They only allow girls in or something?” said Ace.

“No, Ace, it’s a flying city made out of clouds.” He indicated his back. “I lack the necessary limbs.”

“A flying city! Wicked!” A wide grin passed over her face. ”Doesn’t that mean that Twilight won’t have a way of getting up there either?”

“Possibly, but I wouldn’t underestimate her. She’s probably thought of a way.”

“What about me? Won't they be surprised to meet me?” said Ditzy.

“Good point, but I’m sure you can find a disguise in the dressing room.” The Doctor pointed towards a door leading further into the TARDIS.

“What about my most distinguishing feature,” she said, pointing at the misplaced yellow orbs of her eyes.

“Not a problem,” said Ace, reaching into her bag and bringing out a pair of glasses with reflective lenses. “There you go,” she said, placing the glasses over Ditzy’s eyes. “Now you look dead stylish.”

“Yes very nice, now off you go and get a costume.” The Doctor threw a lever on the control panel and the TARDIS started on its next journey.

The place was a dive. Not quite as bad as the places Ditzy had used to frequent in Fillydelphia, where nopony raised an eyebrow when a barely of age mare would go home with a stallion old enough to be her father, but close. The place was only a block or two away from the weather bureau head office. With the conference on, it was packed with ponies from all over Equestria who were technically on holiday and thus were doing things they would otherwise not do. Ditzy and Ace had been following Dash and Raindrops since they left the conference a few hours ago. Ditzy had been relying on a dark hooded cloak she’s picked up from the TARDIS to hide her identity from her friends.

So far, the weather ponies had spent most of their time in this bar. Dash had been drinking enthusiastically for most of that time, and was now barely capable of standing. Raindrops was better off; she had obviously been dragged along to the bar by Dash and had spent the first half of the evening sipping a few beers in a dark corner. However, she had eventually given in to the ambiance and moved on to harder drinks after some encouragement from Dash. She was currently swaying in time with the loud music playing throughout the bar; her tapping hooves were starting to tear small holes in the cloud that made up the structure of the building.

“Raindrops doesn’t usually drink this much,” Ditzy yelled over the sound.

“I guess she just wants to let off steam. This seems to be the place for it,” said Ace, passing over a drink to the other Pegasus. “They didn’t ask for ID.”

“How old are you anyway?” asked Ditzy, her maternal behaviour activated.

“Old enough,” Ace replied defensively. “Probably. It’s not like I have any identification on me anyway.”

“True,” said Ditzy, sipping her beer. “You’re not actually from Equestria, are you?”

“I don’t even normally have hooves,” she said shaking the offending organ. “The wings are cool, though, and I can’t believe you actually build out of cloud.” She bounced up and down on the fluffy furniture, “That’s dead wicked.”

“I guess that’s something I’ve got to look forward to, Dinky picking up the latest slang I don’t understand.” She smiled for a moment then looked downcast.

“Bad memories again?” Ace asked, putting her hoof over Ditzy’s.

“Yes... it’s confusing, being neither one thing nor the other. I try to lock away the bad times but they keep coming back again.” She looked into Ace’s eyes. “I went mad, literally mad. After she... went, I was medicated. How do I know this isn’t just another kind of madness, travelling through time with creatures that only look like ponies? It’s not likely is it?”

“Just trust the Doctor. He can be a bit manipulative sometimes, but whatever he does is for the best.”

“You really trust him, don’t you?”

“Well, yeah, he’s wicked. I didn’t have anything to look forward to, just a dead end job and a dead end life, even if it was in space. But he showed me the universe, showed me that I could make a difference.”

“I don’t want the universe, I just want Dinky,” Ditzy looked down into her drink.

“Cheer up,” said Ace. “You’ll see her soon.” She looked up. The yellow pony, Raindrops, had apparently been coaxed into moving to the dance floor by a stallion, and she was throwing herself around with abandon, bumping into other dancers.

“Raindrops isn’t normally that... liberated,” Ditzy noted, frowning slightly. “Still, it’s probably good for her.”

“Look!” hissed Ace. “Isn’t that Twilight?” She pointed at a pony in a cloak standing near the bar. A horn could just be seen poking out from the hood. Three large stallions were clustered around her, apparently talking.

“I can’t see, those guys are in the way.”

One of the stallions with a brown coat and cream mane reached out and put a hoof on the cloaked pony’s cutie mark. There was a flash and a stink of ozone, and the ‘hoofsy’ stallion was knocked back into the table Dash was slumped over. The drink in front of her was upended over her mane, rousing her from her stupor. She leapt to her hooves, head flicking back and forth before settling on the stallion who was now righting himself again. Dash yelled something at the stallion, which couldn’t be made out over the music but probably wasn’t complimentary. He replied in kind, and soon the two of them were face to face snorting at each other.

“Looks like it’s about to kick off,” Ace noted, standing up. “We better get over there.”

Ditzy nodded. “Can you see Twilight?” she yelled, as the two of them tried to push through the gathering crowd towards the imminent fight.

“No, I’ve lost sight of her. What do we do?”

Raindrops had returned from the dance floor, leaning rather heavily on the by now quite bruised stallion she had been dancing with. The stallion tried to separate Dash and her opponent, but got a hoof to the face from one of the combatants for his troubles and staggered back, muzzle bleeding. Raindrops looked on in dull surprise; then, with a single leg, picked up the brown stallion and threw him across the bar, into another table. The whole bar went silent for a moment, before the brown stallion’s friends rushed at Raindrops, managing to knock her off her hooves. Dash leapt to her aid, pushing passing ponies aside to get to her, and suddenly the whole bar erupted into violence.

Ace shoved a pair of brawling mares aside, and then ducked as a tan stallion was sent flying over her head. Behind her, Ditzy was waving between the combatants, trying not to get involved. They suddenly broke through a wall of ponies and came face to face with Raindrops, who was standing in an empty space with all the other fighters keeping a safe distance from her. Seeing Ace she tensed up and struck a fighting pose.

“Wait!” Ditzy called, drawing back her hood.

“Ditzy?” Raindrops asked slowly. “What are you doing here in this... this.... place?” She was apparently much more drunk than she had seemed earlier, which was probably why the fight had started in the first place.

“We’ve got to get out of here! Have you seen Dash?”

The drunk pony slowly rotated her head around the club before pointing towards the bar. The rainbow maned pegasus was standing on top of it beside a large pile of dazed ponies. “Only the pony who can beat me can have me!” she bellowed with a large smile. A dark blue stallion with a black mane clambered onto the bar and staggered towards her grinning lustfully.

“There she is,” Raindrops noted, unnecessarily.

Suddenly the main doors to the club were flung open, and a number of uniformed pegasi forced their way in. “Flying Squad!” came a shout. “Stop fighting now!”

The declaration didn’t have the desired effect. Part of the crowd started to run from the newly arrived police, only increasing the chaos, while the rest continued their brawl.

“We’ve got to get out of here!” Ace yelled. “We can’t let them get caught by the fuzz.”

“We need to get Rainbow,” Ditzy replied.

“I’ll get her,” said Raindrops, moving towards the bar and shoving ponies away as she went. Rainbow and the stallion were locked together in something between a hug and a brawl, slowly rotating around each other.

Just as Ditzy and the others arrived, the stallion missed his footing and collapsed off the bar. He almost dragged Dash with him, but she righted herself. “Too bad,” Dash crowed. “Guess you’re not going to live up to your name tonight, dude.”

“Come on! We have to get going!” Ditzy called, watching the police getting closer.

“No way! This party’s only just getting started! Who wants to have a go next?” she cried, slapping her flank.

“Rainbow, you need to come with us,” Raindrops insisted, tugging on one of her legs.

“No way! You're not the boss of me. In fact, I’m the boss of you and I say we stay.”

“Nothing I can do to change your mind?”

“Nope, nothing at all.” Rainbow reared up and folded her forelegs across her chest, grinning widely.

Raindrops seemed to think for a moment, then swung her hoof down onto Rainbows head. The blue pegasus fell like a tree grin still plastered across her face.

“I’ve always wanted to do that,” Raindrops noted, examining her hoof carefully.

Ace grabbed Rainbow’s fallen form and rested it across her back. “There’s got to be another way out of here. A fire exit or something?”

“The building’s made out of cloud. Fire is not normally a problem,” Ditzy noted.

“There,” Ace cried, pointing at a door near the back of the club which several ponies were hammering on.

With Raindrops making a path, the trio headed towards the exit. When they got there, they found it locked, but a swift kick from Raindrops opened it. Ponies started to pour out into the night beyond.

The chill air seemed to rouse Dash, who started to struggle on Ace’s back. “What happened? Where are we?” she asked woozily.

“You’ve just had a few too many to drink. We need to get you back to your hotel,” Ditzy said. Dash seemed to accept this and dropped back into unconsciousness. “Where are you staying, anyway?” she asked Raindrops.

“Um... big building... lots of rooms... a hotel,” she replied with a furrowed brow.

“Which one?”

“Near the weather centre... Royal Sky Plaza...” She started to droop.

With great difficulty, Ace and Ditzy managed to manoeuvre the two sloshed ponies to their hotel, and found Raindrops’ room. The yellow pony let them in before dropping into bed and passing out. Rainbow was in no shape to tell them what her room number was, so they laid her on the bed alongside Raindrops.

“They’re going to feel that in the morning,” Ace noted.

“Well, at least they’ll have a job tomorrow,” Ditzy replied, another mark against her terrible future coming to reality. “Still, we lost Twilight. She could be anywhere.”

“We better get back to the Doctor. He might know how we can find her.”

Twilight ground her teeth in frustration. How had this happened? She struggled against the nullification ring on her horn, but it was a heavy duty model and even with all her strength she could not even generate a spark.

She had just gone for a drink! That was all! She knew from what Raindrops had told her that one of the shards was one of the tags used in tomorrow’s game. That set was currently in the weather bureau building. Her original plan had been to simply teleport in and grab it, but now that she had discovered that teleporting resulted in her time traveling to her next destination, that wouldn’t work. So instead she decided to wait until the actual game, then cast the gossamer wings spell on herself and grab the correct tag before the Doctor and his allies could. In the meantime, she had decided to stop off somewhere and have a drink. Trixie had been right, that did normally calm her. Wait, when had she said that? It seemed recent... It wasn’t important. However, some neanderpony had decided to paw her, and she had reacted instinctively with a magical slap which had somehow set off a riot. Then the police had turned up, and somehow they had mistaken her for her earlier self and locked her up. It was like the universe was conspiring against her. She slammed her head against her cell’s wall, then winced at her actions.

Still, it was only a temporary defeat. The time spell was still in place; going by her first trip, it would activate again in less than a day and whisk her off to her next objective. She slumped to the floor and began to plan her next move.

Ditzy and Ace arrived back at the TARDIS just in time to see the Doctor galloping towards them. “Glad to see you again.” He panted, leaning heavily against his vehicle. “How did it all go?”

“Well we stopped Raindrops and Dash from being arrested,” Ditzy said. “But they saw me.”

“With the amount they were drinking, I doubt they’ll remember us,” Ace added.

“Good. Hanging about with time travellers tends to have a deleterious effect on the memory anyway,” the Doctor noted.

“We might have seen Twilight, but she got away, Professor,” Ace said, looking disheartened.

“I don’t think we need to worry about her for the moment,” the Doctor said, tapping his muzzle. “I’ve taken care of that.”

“What did you do?”

“Oh, something very clever and possibly a little bit against the laws of time. But what are laws there for if not to be broken?”

“So, off again then?”

“Soon. Now, Ditzy, what do you know about Quartermoon the Magnificent?”

“Trixie’s grandfather? He was a stage magician back in the day. In the changed world he gave it up and moved into politics, after he and Trixie were attacked by a crazed rival and Trixie was... Trixie was...” Ditzy began to cry. “Oh, Trixie lost her legs when she was a foal! I’d forgotten that. We have to stop it.”

“Don’t worry, we will.” The Doctor laid an arm over Ditzy. “And in the other world?”

“Quartermoon died of liver failure. Trixie rarely mention it but I know she misses him a lot. Can’t we do something so they’re both fine? Warn Quartermoon of what’s going to happen?”

“We can’t change what’s happened.”

“Isn’t that what we’re doing anyway? We’re doing this so Dinky can live, why can’t Quartermoon as well?”

“It’s different,” the Doctor said, wringing his hooves. “Quartermoon chose his fate.”

“What do you mean, ‘chose’? You know something you’re not telling me!”

The Doctor sighed. “Quartermoon’s death is due to the attack on him, he was poisoned and it eventually kills him. But he accepted that fate. He did it for Trixie. We can’t just change things willy nilly. It's like dropping a boulder in a pond, the ripples spread and change everything. We have to do as little as possible. I would like to help Quartermoon but I can’t.”

Ditzy slumped against the TARDIS, too many thoughts running through her head.

“Are you okay?” asked Ace.

“I’m just feeling a little faint,” she whispered. “I might have gotten hit in the fight. It’s just catching up with me. I’m fine.”

The Doctor stared at her intently for a moment, then opened the door to the TARDIS. “Come on,” he said. “We should be on our way.”

Twilight silently made her way down the corridor. Most of the theatre’s staff were busy setting up for the coming performance, so the dressing rooms were largely empty at the moment. She heard hooves coming the other way and ducked into a broom cupboard. She peeked out to see a brown earth pony stallion staggering the other way; he didn’t look well at all. She briefly considered going to his aid, but decided that possibly saving the world was more important than helping what was most likely nothing more than a case of influenza.

Once he had passed, she exited her hiding place and continued to creep down the corridor. At the far end was a door with a large silver star on it, marked Quartermoon the Magnificent. She found it unlocked and peered in. As expected, nopony was present, but an intricate statue of a snake could be seen on the dressing room table. Good, Quartermoon’s journals had been correct. She silently thanked Trixie for lending them to her. Twilight carefully picked up the statue in her hooves, making sure not to touch the fangs.

This would have been so much easier if the nullification ring wasn’t still attached to her, but it had followed her on her trip through time. There was no way she could remove it herself; she would need another pony to help her, but nullification rings were only used on dangerous criminals. Few would just remove one from a total stranger. She would have to lay low for a while until she could come up with a plan, or the time travel spell kicked in and transported her to her next target.

Still keeping an eye out for any trouble, Twilight slipped from the dressing room and back into the theatre.

“That can’t be right,” the Doctor muttered as he activated the tracker. “Three signals? I was expecting two.” He thought for a moment. “Of course!” he yelled, smacking his forehead with a hoof. ”The other must be Twilight, that shard she had. I thought however she stored it must block its signal, but I guess I was wrong.”

“So what do we do, Professor?” Ace asked. Behind her, Ditzy was deep in thought.

“From what I remember, the shards here were held by a pony called Maestro. He had somehow carved one of them into a model of a snake and found a way to animate and control it using another shard. That signal over there,” he pointed the tracker towards the centre of the city, “must be the statue he used to attack Quartermoon. So those,” he pointed the tracker in a different direction, “must be the control ring and Twilight. We have to stop her from getting her hooves on the shard.”

“So if she does, Maestro can’t use the creature on Quartermoon, and he takes matters into his own hooves and cuts up Trixie?” Ditzy asked.

“That seems like it, given what you’ve told us of the future. But I’m sure we can stop that.”

The trio followed the trackers signal as it led them through the snowy streets of the capital

“Ah this is it,” the Doctor said, looking up at a large house.

“Maestro lives here?” Ace asked. “Bit posh.”

“Actually, I think he’s stolen it. However, that has the advantage that he hasn't bothered to lock up.” He carefully slid the door open. “And that there won’t be anypony else here.” He turned and almost ran straight into a tall unicorn mare in a butler’s uniform.

“The master is not home,” she intoned, looking straight over the Doctor’s head. “Please leave.”

“Well I should hope not. I shudder to think what would happen if he made it to Equestria,” the Doctor quipped.

“The master is not home,” the butler repeated. “Please leave.” She began to shuffle forward, pushing the Doctor back.

“Look at me,” the Doctor commanded. “Look at my eyes.” The mare stopped and looked down. “Your master is not home so you do not need to be here. Go to your own home and have a nice long sleep. Sleeeeeep. When you wake up you will remember none of this.”

“Sleep,” the mare muttered, swaying slightly. She blinked. “My master is not home, so I should go home.” She politely stood aside so Ace and Ditzy could enter before stepping out into the snow.

“Don’t worry, we’ll lock up when we finish,” the Doctor called after her.

“What was that, Doctor?” Ace asked.

“Maestro’s special talent in a form of mind control. However, those under such control are often susceptible to other forms of control as well,” he explained. “Now keep quiet, Maestro and Twilight must be somewhere around here.” He waved the tracker around a bit. “Apparently they are below us, maybe in some sort of cellar.”

A quick search of the house revealed an open hatch in the kitchen which opened up into a large wine cellar below. The Doctor and Ace cautiously descended. Ditzy looked apprehensive for a moment; like most pegasi she was not keen on enclosed spaces where her wings would be useless. Still, screwing up her courage, she followed her companions.

From the cellar came the sound of whistling. A deep purple unicorn in a turban, Maestro, was walking through the racks and examining some of the bottles.

“Twilight must be down here somewhere,” whispered the Doctor, “But I don’t know where. Keep an eye out, but keep away from Maestro.”

Ace and Ditzy nodded and headed off in different directions. Ditzy carefully peered around a rack, expecting Twilight to pop up at any moment. However, she misjudged the position of it and one of her wings caught on a bottle, dragging it from its place and causing it to smash on the floor.

Maestro spun around. “Who’s there?” he demanded. “Custus? Is that you? I didn’t tell you to come down here.” He lit his horn and swung around a powerful beam of light like a spotlight; it illuminated Ditzy, who fell back into another rack and knocked it over. She cried out in shock.

“Ditzy!” Ace screamed, running towards Maestro.

Panicked, the unicorn threw something to the ground at his feet and with a flash of his horn a lion suddenly appeared in front of him. Ace was forced to throw herself aside to avoid a clawed paw that struck out at her.

“Oh, no!” cried the Doctor. “It wasn’t Twilight after all! He’s got two of them! Get out of the cellar!” He rushed up the stairs with Ace in hot pursuit, the lion nipping at both of their tails as it struggled out of the cellar.

Ditzy gulped. Maestro seemed to have forgotten about her, and was making his way across the cellar to better lead his creature in attacking his enemies. Looking around, she found a broken bottle and gently picked it up with her mouth as a weapon. She wasn’t sure she could do this - attack another pony. Then she thought of the future Trixie she knew, who had lost her legs, who couldn’t carry out her special talent, who seemed so much less alive than she should be. Trying to stop her legs from shaking, Ditzy rushed toward the distracted unicorn. He must have seen her out of the corner of his eye, and he turned at the last minute and leapt aside.

Once again Maestro’s horn flashed, and a crystal statue of a snake flashed into existence next to him, along with a very surprised purple mare.

“Twilight!” Ditzy gasped.

“What? Where am I?” Twilight exclaimed, looking around.

Maestro took the opportunity with the distraction to clamber up the stairs, out of the cellar. As he left, his horn flashed again. Twilight screamed in terror as the statue she held transformed into a real snake and snapped at her. She hurled it as far away as she could, but it twisted in the air and slithered under one of the racks.

Twilight tried to keep one eye on where the snake might be, and the other on Ditzy, and ended up looking like the wall eyed mare. “I, I really hate, hate, snakes you know,” she stuttered. “Please get this ring off my horn now!”

“Twilight, look. About the Doctor...” Ditzy began.

Twilight’s head snapped forward as the snake revealed itself and started to speed across the floor towards her. “Now!” she screamed.

Ditzy reached up with a hoof, and as quickly and gently as she could knocked the ring off of her friend’s horn. The organ instantly blazed with power and the snake was frozen in place, where it lay struggling in vain against Twilight’s power.

Meanwhile above their heads, the lion was leaping ineffectively at Ace, who was using her wings to keep outside of its reach.

“Not that one,” roared Maestro. “Get the dirt pony.” At his command the creature turned towards the Doctor.

“Now, now, there’s a good kitty,” the Doctor mumbled, backing away from the creature while searching his pockets. “Aha, fetch!” he cried, throwing a fluffy toy mouse at the lion. It bounced off the creature’s nose without any effect. “Oh dear,” he muttered.

Ace swooped down towards Maestro and lashed out with one of her front hooves, catching him on the head. He staggered back, cursing. Momentarily distracted, the lion turned to look at its master while the doctor swung the tracker at it. There was a flash and the lion disappeared. Simultaneously, Maestro screamed as the ring on his horn glowed, and he tore it off of himself.

“What did you do?” Maestro cried, eyes watering in pain. “I’ll deal with you myself.” A rainbow beam leapt out of his horn at Ace. She raised a hoof to block the light, but slowly all the tension seemed to drain out of her body and her limbs flopped limply down. She hung in the air, only held aloft by her slowly flapping wings.

“Good, now deal with that fool over there for me,” Maestro commanded.

The Doctor rushed over to the wall and grabbed a large ornate mirror, which he dragged between Ace and Maestro. The rainbow beam reflected off of its surface and returned to its originator’s eyes. Maestro sneered. Of course his will was strong enough to resist even his own power; it was just that it was fascinating how his spell worked. He’d never seen it first hoof before, how the lights flickered and span; maybe he should examine them closely for a while.

“Maestro?” the Doctor said. “Can you hear me?”

“Yes,” the hypnotised stallion said.

The Doctor looked up. Ace was hovering above his head, still entranced. He weighed up his options and grimaced slightly. “Good. Now listen very carefully.”

To Twilight’s surprise, the snake she was restraining had suddenly changed into a statue of itself. She turned to Ditzy and started to back away. All she needed was a few seconds to cast a teleport spell, and she’d be flung through time to her next destination.

“Twilight, please stop,” Ditzy begged. “If you do this, Trixie loses her legs.”

“What?! How?” said Twilight her horn still glowing.

“That madpony will attack her and her grandfather. He’s going to cut them up.”

“How can you possibly know that?” Her horn went out.

“Because I come from the universe where you get all of these shards. Trixie loses her legs. She’s so different there, the attack put her off stage magic, she never became Luna’s student, she’s just an assistant there. She could be so much more.”

“But.. but... I can stop it, we can catch Maestro before he can do anything,” Twilight pleaded.

“Do you know where he’s gone? Are you sure you can find him again in a city the size of Canterlot? Are you sure? There are other changes as well. Dinky dies!” she cried.

Twilight staggered back as if she had been slapped. “No... no... that can’t be true, I’m protecting her from the Doctor. Her and her foal.”

“What?! What foal?” Her eyes widened. “You’re from my future, aren't you?”

Twilight nodded, somewhat self-consciously stroking her greying mane.

“I’m going to be a grandmother?” A smile started to grow over her face, the first one in a long time. Then it fell. “But that’ll never happen if you keep trying to take the shards,” she said grimly.

“That’s what the Doctor told you, isn’t it? How can you trust him? He’s lying!”

“Maybe, but he’d promised to save Dinky.”

“But I can do that, I’ll make sure she’s okay, you told me what happened when she met him, I can sort it all out, I’ll save her and Trixie.” she said desperately.

“Are you sure?”

Twilight slumped in defeat. “No, but...” She sighed. “Take the statue.” She held out the crystal snake. “I’ll get a shard at the next stop. Keep Trixie safe.”

Ditzy took the statue from Twilight’s aura. Then there was a bright flash and she disappeared. Ditzy sagged to the floor, feeling drained and suddenly faint. The Doctor rushed down the stairs from above, followed by Ace, who looked a little spacey.

“What happened?” the Doctor demanded.

“I got the statue,” said Dinky weakly. “Twilight just left.”

“Well done. Now, I don’t think we have much time. Ace and I have a little errand to run so you’ll need to replace the statue in Quartermoon’s dressing room.”

Ditzy opened her mouth to protest, but the Doctor interrupted. “Maestro got away but he had these tickets he stole from the house’s owner.” He waved a few pieces of paper. “I need to get them to my earlier self and I may not have time to do that and replace the statue at the same time.”

Ditzy sighed. “I’ll do it then.”

The Doctor turned the corner to the front of the theatre. There was a short queue of ponies waiting for tickets. He quickly ducked back and dragged Ace with him. “That’s me,” he hissed, pointing at the queue.

Ace peaked around the corner. “What, with the hair and the cape? You were well disco back then.”

“Yes, well, my tastes have matured over time. Wait here.”

The Doctor took a deep breath and trotted over to the queue, dexterously interposing himself between his earlier self and the clerk.

“I’d like to return these tickets,” he announced, pushing over two pieces of paper. “Make sure they get good owners.” Not even waiting for the surprised clerk to reply, the Doctor turned and doffed his hat to his earlier self, before walking away to join Ace.
“Come on, Professor,” she said. “We’d better get out of here.”

Inside the theatre, Ditzy made her way towards the dressing room. All attention was currently on the last part of the show, so the way was clear. She almost wished that somepony would stop her, would take the decision off of her hooves. She opened the door and carefully placed the statue on the table. She felt like a murderer.

There was still time. She could take the statue away and Quartermoon would live, but Trixie would be crippled and who else might be hurt by the creature? Or she could leave it here and Quartermoon would die and Trixie would mourn but grow up to be something so much greater - Luna’s pupil, saviour of Equestria, her friend.

Could she make a third path? Write a warning? Do something differently? But as the Doctor said, what would the ripples be? Who else would die so she could help her friend? How many mothers would lose their daughters?

“I’m sorry,” she muttered as she left the room, shutting the door behind her with the statue back in its place. She just hoped she could live with herself once this was over.

The trio met up again at the TARDIS.

“So where are we off to next?” Ace asked cheerfully. She seemed to have shaken off Maestro’s power.

“Not too far in time but a fair distance in space, at least for this planet. Only in a few years’ time but in the frozen north, near somewhere called the Crystal Empire. We’d better wrap up warmly.”

Ditzy did a quick calculation in her head. “The Windigos!” she gasped.

“Yes, those were the creatures I met. Quite pleasant once you got used to them.”

“Pleasant?! They attacked Equestria! The war was devastating! It was years before the guard and Princess Luna contained them, tens of thousands of ponies died...” Ditzy looked confused. “Only that didn’t happen. In the correct universe, I never even heard of Windigo except in old stories. You stopped the war?”

“Well, I helped. A chap called Lieutenant Armour did most of the work.”

“We have to tell Twilight. She’s going to start a war. If she knew, she wouldn’t do it.”

“Let us hope so,” the Doctor said, darkly. “I fear that Ms Sparkle may not be entirely in her right mind on this quest of hers.”

Twilight arrived in darkness.

It was the work of seconds to light her horn and peer around. She was in a large ruined chamber, with blocks of rubble littering the floor and crumbling mosaics covering the walls. She had been here before - would be here before? She wasn’t sure what the collect grammar was. In twenty years this site would be crawling with archaeologists hoping to study the lives of their ancestors who built this place. At this point it had only just been uncovered and only one or two ponies understood the importance of what was held here. Luckily the time jump had put her down in the correct place. She had personal knowledge of this location and she knew all about what was going to happen here; her brother had told her himself. There was no way the Doctor was going to stop her this time.

She couldn’t believe what she had just done. Given one of the shards over to Ditzy. Of course she trusted the mare - she was one of her closest friends - but she could be influenced rather easily. Maybe it could be part of being the Element of Kindness, but Twilight had always thought that Ditzy was rather gullible; far too trusting. She had obviously been taken in by the Doctor’s lies. It was obvious that he was trying to harm Equestria; her tests had shown that the shards were clearly a core part of the universe, so taking them away would only harm reality. And that’s what he was doing, draining away reality. Why, she didn’t know, but it was obviously not a good thing. She would not be stopped this time, this shard would be hers, she would not be stopped. This time, if anypony got in her way, even Ditzy, she would have to remove them permanently.

Twilight shook her head. That didn’t feel right. What was going on? No, she couldn’t think about that now. She had to get to the shard as quickly as possible. She had no way of knowing when the Doctor would turn up. She turned to the wall behind which she knew the shard to be and started to search for the secret opening. In her time it had been wedged open, but it shouldn’t take long for her to figure out the secret.

The TARDIS came to a smooth stop and the crew rushed for the door. It swung open into the night to let in an arctic breeze.

“Gordon Bennett,” gasped Ace, “It’s cold out.”

“Yes,” agreed the Doctor, not looking distressed, “it is rather bracing.” He spun around. Nearby was a canvas tunnel connecting one of the several large tents that littered the area. “Ah, this way, but keep your eyes peeled, there should be several of Equestria’s finest around here.”

The group creeped towards the nearest building. Ace took a small swiss army knife out of her bag, and after a few tries opened it with clumsy hooves and cut a hole in the material. She stuck her head in then quickly dragged it back as two ponies, a blue earth pony stallion and a large ugly unicorn mare, marched by. She waited until they had passed before cautiously looking around again. “All clear,” she confirmed.

Ditzy and finally the Doctor followed her into the tunnel. “This way.” He gestured towards a gentle incline leading down into the earth. Suddenly a crackle of magic echoed from somewhere ahead. “Come on,” the Doctor yelled, rushing towards the sound.

The door swung open with hardly a sound. To Twilight’s surprise, she found the room behind it lit by a pale pink glow. The fire of friendship was already lit - it must be later than she thought - still, she should have plenty of time to carry out her task. This particular shard would be too large for her to just carry away, so she would have to convert it to its natural form in situ. That would take some time; she had only cast the spell once before on the shard she now carried in an extra dimensional bag. It had been a miracle that she found it while creating the shard locating spell; by itself near impossible due to the lack of anything to test it on, she had tried to craft a spell able to detect any anomalies in nearby materials and had gotten a positive return on an ancient item of jewellery buried deep in the castle vaults. Many more months of research and experimentation had been required before she was certain of what she had found and how to return it to its natural form.

She carefully shut the door behind her and walked towards the glowing light at the centre of the chamber. She winced slightly as the flame was throwing off more heat than she would have expected. It did not seem dangerous but it was uncomfortable, almost like it was pushing her back. Forcing herself forwards, she lit her horn and began her spell.

“Stop right there,” a high pitched voice demanded from across the chamber. To her surprise, a golden figure appeared from behind one of the statues that dotted the chamber. It was a unicorn stallion, his horn glowing with a bright white light. “Who are you? How did you get in here?”

Twilight's head turned towards the new arrival. Her eyes narrowed. “You’re Golden Sceptre, aren't you?” she asked.

“How do you know me? Are you one of Silver’s people? I wasn’t expecting you for at least a day.”

“Silver? Oh yes, Silver Dollar. I remember you trying to throw him to the timberwolves at your trial - you said he forced you to do it all.”

“Trial? Who are you?” the stallion stuttered, starting to back away as Twilight approached.

“Nopony you know yet. All you need to know is that you tried to kill my brother, and I don’t take that well.”

A beam of light shot out from Golden’s horn at Twilight, but it was blocked by a purple shield that appeared in front of her.

“My turn,” she announced with a smile as her horn burned brighter.

Ditzy, Ace and the Doctor came to a halt in front of the secret door leading to the flame room.

“It’s a dead end,” Ditzy said, looking nervously around the room. She seemed to have been spending far too much time in enclosed spaces recently.

“Not quite,” the Doctor said, examining the hidden door. He wiped a hoof across the door and examined it. “Clean,” he muttered. “Ace, you wouldn’t happen to have an oil can with you?” he asked.

The black pegasus ruffled through her bag. “Here, professor,” she exclaimed, handing him the object.

“Thanks, this should make it easier for me to find this place later.” He squirted some of the slippery liquid over the door and gave part of it a gentle shove. It swung open silently.

Suddenly a yell came from behind them. “Hey you, who’s there?”

Ace’s head swung around to see a white stallion rushing towards them. “Quick!” she yelled, shoving Ditzy and the Doctor through the door.

On the other side, they found Twilight standing over the limp form of a golden coated stallion.

“Twilight!” gasped Ditzy. “What have you done?”

She looked up, eyes blank. “Nothing yet. He attacked me so I defended myself, but he’s going to try and kill my brother. It might be better if he was removed from the picture.”

“What’s wrong with you?! This isn’t like you!”

“You don’t know anything about me. You probably haven't even gotten to meet the me in your timeline yet. But you keep trying to stop me from getting the shards. Why do you keep getting in my way?” She growled. “With your stories about things happening to Trixie and Dinky and others. You just keep getting in my way.” She stamped her hoof into the ground and her horn began to glow. “Maybe I should get you out of my way permanently.”

Ditzy backed away. “What’s wrong with her, Doctor?” she asked.

“I suspect she’s not quite herself,” the Doctor replied. He and Ace were starting to spread out across the chamber. A blast from Twilight's horn destroyed a priceless statue next to him and forced him to dodge back towards Ditzy.

To everyone's surprise, a white stallion came rushing into the chamber. “Stop there, whoever you are!” he cried, then came to a halt and stared at Twilight. “Mom?” Shining armour gasped. “What are you doing here?”

Twilight stared at her brother for a moment. To her eyes he looked so young, barely more than a colt. Then she realised what he had just said. “I do not look like Mother,” she snarled. “You take that back Shiney.”

“Twiley?” he replied, brow furrowed. “Is that you? What happened to you? You’re all grown up.”

“It’s complicated. Just get out of the way. I need to deal with them.” She indicated the Doctor’s party.

“Who are they? What are they doing here? What are you doing here?”

“There really bad ponies, all right? Just get out of the way so I can get rid of them.” She ground her teeth.

“Get rid of them?” he took a step back. “My sister wouldn’t talk like that. Who are you?” He began to charge his horn and a faint shield formed in front of him.

“What do you want? Me to go through the whole ladybug thing? Just get out of the way.”

“Look, just calm down, we can talk this through.”

“Stop treating me like a foal!” she yelled, unleashing a purple beam from her horn. It crashed into Shining’s shield, shattering it and knocking the stallion back against a statue.

For a second Twilight stood there, horn smoking and a satisfied look on her face. Then it shifted into a look of horror. “Shiny!” she cried, rushing to the fallen figure. “I didn’t... Please... Somepony help, please...” she wailed, totally undone.

“Move aside,” the Doctor ordered, pushing Twilight away from her brother and starting to examine him.

“I didn’t mean to, I was just so angry, we’ve never even had a single fight before,” Twilight babbled in shock.

Despite her earlier behaviour, Ditzy felt sorry for the purple mare and enveloped her in a wing hug. “I know you didn’t mean to,” she said, comforting Twilight. “I’m sure he’ll be all right.”

The Doctor looked up. “I think he’s going to be all right, the shield absorbed most of the energy. But I don’t know what the Windigo are going to do when they get here.”

Twilight’s head snapped up. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“Tell her, Ditzy.”

“Twilight, if you take the flame now then there’s going to be a war between the Windigo and Equestria. Thousands of ponies are going to die. Everything’s so much worse in the world where you collect the shards. The only good thing is that Corona hasn’t broken free from her exile.”

“I stop Corona?” gasped Twilight.

“I don’t know. I think she just went crazy later in that world. Everything else is so bad... Dinky dies, Raindrops is fired, there’s a war with the Windigo, Trixie’s crippled.”

“I don’t believe you. You’re lying.” She leapt from Ditzy’s grasp. “If I remove the flame now, there will be no reason for the Windigo to attack.”

“The fire’s already been lit,” the Doctor explained. “They can sense that and take it to be an attack. They only believed Equestria didn’t want a war because they saw it being destroyed in front of them and Shining Armour convinced them he wanted peace. Without that, they’ll attack this camp in force and kill everypony.”

“No, no,” Twilight said, pacing agitatedly around the room. “That can’t be right. I’m sure I can stop the attack.”

“Even if you did, imagine what it would do to your brother. I imagine stopping the attack was a big feather in his cap. I know he made Captain - would that have happened so quickly if this was just an archaeological dig? How would that affect him and you?”

“Why does this keep happening?” Twilight wailed.

“Time is carefully balanced around the shards; the slightest change to the timeline results in disaster.”

Twilight threw up her hooves in exasperation. “So I leave! You win again!”

“It’s not that simple. Even if we leave, Sceptre knows somepony is aware of his smuggling. And Shining has met you here. I take it he never mentioned it to you?”

“No, but maybe if I tell him not to...” said Twilight clutching at straws.

“Every time you try to take a shard, you change your own timeline. That’s incredibly dangerous.”

“And what about you? You keep interfering.”

“Yeah, well, me and the Professor are professionals,” Ace butted in, advancing on Twilight. The unicorn charged her horn again.

“Stand down, Ace. We need Twilight’s help.” He turned to the purple mare. “Is there anything you can do to make Sceptre and your brother forget what happened to them?”

“Well yes, there are memory charms. They’re sort of illegal,” she said, shuffling her hooves.

“I won’t tell anypony,” said the Doctor tapping his muzzle.

Twilight bit her lip. “Okay.” She walked over to Golden Sceptre and locked her mouth with his, kissing him. There was a flash of magic and the unconscious unicorn shuddered slightly.

“Get a room,” Ace said.

“It’s a necessary part of the spell,” Twilight mumbled, her face reddening. Then she turned to her brother, and her eyes widened while she took on a greenish complexion. “Oh, no, no, this is so wrong,” she whined.

“Please. Do this for him,” Ditzy pleaded.

“Please don’t ever tell anypony I did this,” she whimpered, walking over to her brother. “I’m sorry, Big Brother,” she mumbled, closing her eyes and grimacing placing her mouth over his and gingerly expending her tongue before activated the spell.

“Oh Lemony,” mumbled Shining Armour in his sleep.

Twilight looked like she was ready to vomit.

“Cheer up,” said Ace with a cheeky grin, "At least he didn’t think you were his mother again."

Twilight stared daggers at the black pegasus before slumping to the ground. “I need to think about this, about why this keeps happening,” she muttered. “There’s got to be a way.”

“Let me take you back to your normal time,” the Doctor pleaded. “I can explain everything...” he began.

With a flash and a gust of wind, Twilight vanished.

“Damn,” the Doctor muttered.

Ditzy felt a wave of tiredness wash over her and she almost fell to the ground. What was wrong with her? “Ace,” she asked, “can you take Shining away? He probably shouldn’t wake up here. The Doctor and I can tidy up this chamber and we can meet at the TARDIS.”

“Okay,” Ace agreed, looking slightly suspicious. She hoisted Shining Armour on his back and carried him away, staggering slightly.

“Doctor, something’s wrong with me,” Ditzy said, slumping to the ground. “I think you know what it is.”

The Doctor knelt in front of her, his face grave. “I’m afraid I do. You’re becoming less likely.”

Ditzy’s screwed her face up in thought for a moment. “What do you... oh,” she exclaimed. “I’m from the world where Dinky dies, aren't I?”

The Doctor looked down. “I’m afraid so. The more times we stop Twilight, the less likely that world becomes, and the less likely you are.”

“So what will happen to me if we stop Twilight?”

“You will just fade away. You will have never been. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Will it... Will it hurt?” she whimpered.

“No, you’ll just slowly be reduced until there is nothing yet,” said the Doctor downcast.

“But Dinky will be happy and safe with the other me, in the world where Twilight never tried to get the shards?”

“Yes.”

“So I get to suffer, and the other me gets Dinky?”

“I’m afraid so. There is no other way. Only you got both sets of memories. If there were any other way...”

Ditzy put a hoof to the Doctor’s mouth. “Don’t. I don’t begrudge my other self anything. I have her memories; I know she’d do just the same thing if our positions were reversed.“ She started to pull herself up the wall, and the Doctor helped her to stand.

“You are a magnificent mare, Ms Doo.”

“No, I’m just a mother. So, where to next?” she asked.

“Only one more stop now. My first visit here when I met Dinky.”

Ditzy shuddered. “Where Dinky was killed by the timberwolf.”

“Not when I was there. I won't let that happen,” the Doctor announced.

“You better not,” Ditzy said, walking to the door, before turning to the Doctor with eyes burning with emotion. “Because if you do, I stay in existence. And I will make you pay for it.”

With a flash, Twilight appeared in a forest. She looked around, and by the dark twisted forms of the trees, she recognised it as the Everfree. She cautiously scanned the area for possible danger, but no harmful flora or fauna seemed to be present. She calmed slightly, then remembered what had just happened, and stamped her hooves angrily.

Why did this keep happening? Her mission was simple enough. She just had to collect the shards to protect her world, but things kept getting in the way; The Doctor, that stupid stallion at the bar, Ditzy, even her own brother. No more, she swore, no more would she be stopped from her goal.

Activating her locating spell, she swung her horn backwards and forwards in an attempt to find the tell-tale trace of a shard. One was near, less than a mile away, slightly further into the forest. She set off with as much haste as she could; by her time much of the forest had been more or less tamed, but in this period any number of dangerous creatures still lived in there. As if on cue she became aware of one of those very creatures; a timberwolf. Oddly, it did not seem to be moving to attack her yet; instead it was following her stealthily. Thinking quickly, Twilight came to a stop and conjured up a shield. She did not want the creature ambushing her later, and it was likely this was the creature that was destined to attack Cheerilee and the foals later. If she defeated it now, no such attack would take place; that should prove the righteousness of her actions to Ditzy.

Spinning quickly, Twilight lashed out with a beam of energy from her horn. The timberwolf was fast, and twisted its body away from the unexpected attack, but not quite fast enough; one of its rear legs was caught by the blast and shards of rotten wood were thrown in all directions. Giving a loud howl, the creature leapt forward. However, the additional strain caused its injured leg to snap under its weight, causing the monster to sprawl onto the ground just in front of Twilight. It let out a pitiful whine and tried to stand again, unsuccessfully. Intrigued by the creature, Twilight stepped forward to examine it. She had never seen one so close below. To her surprise, the timberwolf thrust its head towards her, trying to savage her with its toothy maw. Its mouth struck her shield and it was thrown back, snapping several of the branches that made up its face. Summoning her power, Twilight shot a sheet of fire from her horn and covered the creature in a blanket of fire. She had heard of the plant creatures’ ability to reassemble themselves and was taking no chances. The timberwolf gave out a strangled cry as it was consumed, and its remains fell to the ground as they turned to ash. Twilight watched for a few moments to make sure the creature was fully destroyed - she was surprised how good it felt to deal with it - before continuing on her original journey. That should show how ridiculous the idea of her causing the death of Dinky would be, she thought. No timberwolf meant no attack.

The Doctor, Ace and Dinky stepped out of the TARDIS and looked around. Thick woods surrounded them in all directions.

“I think this is the Whitetail Woods,” Ditzy said. “Where Dinky first met you.” Part of her wanted to burn the place to the ground, knowing what had - what was going to happen here.

“It does seem quite familiar,” the Doctor said, “but it’s been a long time for me.” He waved the tracker around. “The shard seems to be a few miles in that direction.” He pointed deeper into the woods.

“That’s towards the Everfree,” Ditzy agreed. “You and Ace should go, I’m too weak to keep up.”

“Weak? What’s wrong?” Ace asked.

“Nothing, it’s just been a long day,” Ditzy lied.

“Professor, what’s going on? What aren't you telling me?” Ace asked accusingly.

“Not now, Ace. We need to get to the shard before Twilight does to make sure it gets to my earlier self.”

“I’ll see if I can find Dinky,” Ditzy said. “I can try and keep her and the others away from Twilight.”

The Doctor frowned. “Make sure you keep yourself out of sight. Any further change to the time stream could be even more disastrous than things already are.”

“I will not stand by and let my daughter get killed if there is anything I can do about it!”

“It shouldn’t come to that, but please let things play out how they should. Then your daughter will be safe, I promise.”

“Very well, but I need to make sure she’s safe,” Ditzy said, turning and slowly and painfully walking towards the edge of the forest.

The Doctor sighed and turned in the opposite direction. “Come on, Ace,” he called as he started to run through the woods.

Dinky skipped happily up the hill towards the woods, stopping occasionally to smell the patches of wildflowers that dotted the meadow. She looked back to see that Scootaloo and Snails were half-heartedly squabbling as they followed her. Well, Scootaloo was doing most of the actual arguing; Snails would usually take several minutes to realise he had been insulted, so their conversation was becoming increasingly disjointed. Behind the foals Ms Cheerilee trudged, weighed down by her full saddlebags. Although she smiled whenever Dinky looked at her, the purple foal sensed that her teacher wasn’t entirely happy; maybe she should do something to cheer her up. Maybe the grownup would like a bunch of flowers to make her house smell nice? That also tasted nice? Buoyed by her idea, Dinky turned back to look towards the woods. There were sure to be all sorts of nice plants in there, Ms Carrot Top had told her so, although she’s also told her to not eat anything unless an adult told her it was ok. Something in the woods caught her eyes; there, in the shade of one of the largest trees, she thought she saw a familiar grey shape.

“Momma!” the purple foal cried excitedly, waving. “Look, it’s Momma, she must have gotten back from her trip early.” She turned to her teacher. “Look, Ms Cheerilee.”

“Where?” the pink mare asked, scanning the woods. Maybe she would get some time to herself today after all.

“Look!” Dinky pointed towards the spot where she had previously caught sight of her mother, but it was now empty. “Oh, where did she go?”

“I’m afraid it was probably a trick of the light, Dinky,” Cheerilee said, laying a hoof on the foal’s head. “You see, when you get patches of light and dark...” she began to lecture.

“Momma!” cried Dinky.

For a moment Ditzy froze in place. Had her daughter seen her? Then she noticed that the purple foal was pointing in the wrong direction at a grey blur near the forest. Ditzy blinked. No, she was wrong, there was nothing there. Below her, her daughter was now talking to Cheerilee, and the two of them were making their way up the hill towards her. She had to find some way to delay them, so that the Doctor and Ace could deal with Twilight before they got there. She gazed around desperately, and noticed she was standing next to a small group of blue flowers. She leapt away, thinking for a moment they were poison joke. Then she noted her mistake; although similar, they were not the same as that magical weed. They were familiar, though. Then she remembered she’d gotten some flowers like these just after Dinky had been born; the poor mite had been allergic to them. She had almost sneezed herself silly and had cried all night.

It felt wrong to put her daughter through that again, but it would be a way to slow the party of foals and their teacher down. Given that the other option was for Dinky to be torn to pieces by a timberwolf, there was no option at all. Ditzy started to gather the flowers as quickly as she could.

Staying alert for any further attacks from the forests denizens, Twilight continued to home in on the shard. After some time, she found herself in a clearing under a huge spreading tree. It was there that she found her goal, but its form surprised her; it was just a short length of wood, little more than a big stick, really. She scanned it again just to make sure, but the result was positive. For a moment she felt let down. She was not sure what she was expecting, but it had to be more than this. Then she picked the stick up in her aura and felt a rush of elation run through her. Finally she had done it! She had a shard and there was not a sight of the Doctor or any of his allies. She only needed a few minutes to convert the shard to its natural state and store it in the extra-dimensional pocket with the other and be done. She gave a short squeal of joy. A squeal that was echoed from beneath the nearby tree. Her head shot around; there was a hollow under the tree and in that hollow were two small shapes. More timberwolves. Timberpups, really.

One of the small creatures walked forward, tail wagging and looking at her inquisitively, while its less adventurous sibling backed into its den. The little monster seemed slightly familiar to Twilight; she struggled to remember where from. Then she heard a growl from behind her and turned again to see a large timberwolf entering the clearing, then another and another and another. Ears dropping, Twilight noted a dozen or more of the creatures leaving the forest and slowly approaching her.

She swallowed hard. None of them looked happy to see her.

Dinky noticed the flowers. They were such a bright vibrant blue, it would have been hard not to. A short way off, Ms Cheerilee was explaining how to tell which way was north based on where moss grew on trees to Scootaloo and Snails. Half listening, Dinky moved closer to the flowers. There was something odd about them. They weren’t growling naturally; they had already been picked and placed there. In a way that was good, as Ms Cheerilee had warned her to not pick the wild flowers, but she hadn’t said anything about already picked flowers.

Perhaps Ms Cheerilee would like some of the flowers as a thank you for looking after her, or maybe Momma would like a bouquet when she got home. Momma liked flowers. Dinky took a deep sniff, drawing in the flowers’ scent. They smelled nice, a bit like lavender. She sneezed and rubbed her muzzle. She should take some home to make her house smell nice, but how? She couldn’t carry them all way in her aura, because she would get too tired, and she didn’t think she could balance them on her back for long either. Then an idea hit her. Concentrating carefully, Dinky used her magic to pick up the flowers and started to knot them together into a necklace. It was hard work and it made her eyes water, but she managed it without breaking a single stem. Her construction completed, she rested the necklace over her head and sneezed again. Maybe the smell was a bit overpowering.

Dinky turned to her teacher. “Look what I *sneep* found, Ms Cheerilee,” she called, sneezing yet again.

“What is it, Dinky?” Cheerilee asked her ward, who stood a short way away with her neck covered by bright blue flowers.

“I ‘ound these,” announced Dinky, somewhat nasally. “Arn’t ‘ey pritty? *sneep*”

“Very nice, dear, but are you feeling all right? Your eyes look a little red,” the teacher said, looking worried. Ditzy had entrusted her with Dinky for a day and it looked like she was getting sick. What would the protective pegasus do to her if she got back and found her daughter in this state?

“I’m not *sneep* sure *sneep*.” The last sneeze was so powerful it knocked Dinky off of her hooves. “I don’t ‘eel so ‘ood.” she complained, her nose and eyes running.

“Dinky, are you allergic to anything?” Cheerilee asked, pulling the necklace off of the fallen unicorn.

“‘at’s allergic mean? *sneep*,” Dinky asked.

Cheerilee facehoofed.

Ace and the Doctor were galloping through the increasingly dark woods when they heard the sound of battle. There was a crackle of energy and the howling of what sounded like several wolves. Running towards the commotion, they broke out into a clearing to see Twilight Sparkle being attacked by a pack of timberwolves. Although heavily outnumbered, the purple unicorn seemed to be almost holding her own. A purple aura encased her, preventing the larger creatures from getting near her, while she lashed out with beams of fire. Already several of the wood creatures were alight, and the smouldering remains of one lay on the forest floor.

“What are we going to do, Doctor?” Ace asked.

“It doesn’t look like those creatures have noticed us, so we need to get the shard,” He pointed at the stick Twilight was holding high above her head, “while Twilight’s busy with the timberwolves.”

“Not a problem, Professor,” Ace boasted, leaping to the air and swooping down towards the unicorn.

“Wait!” the Doctor cried, but he was too late.

Most of Twilight’s attention was on the many attackers in front of her, but she saw Ace’s approach from the side and quickly dropped the shard out of her way, causing the inexperienced pegasus to fly past her and continue her trajectory towards the tree. Seeing the obstacle coming, Ace tried desperately to avoid it, but was only partially successful. Her head was clipped by one of the lower branches and she dropped to the ground, stunned. Alerted to her presence, a timberwolf turned from Twilight and padded over to her prone form.

Meanwhile, Twilight fired off another beam of fire, causing several of the Timberwolves to back off, but others took advantage of her distraction to attack from another direction. They bounced off of her shield, but their attacks were starting to take a toll on the Unicorn. She was not sure how much longer she could keep this up. She tried to heft the shard again, and found it heavier than expected. To her surprise, one of the pups had grasped the shard in its teeth and was trying to yank it from her grasp. Tugging hard, she let some of her energy flow down the shard to try and drive off the little pest.

To her amazement, the shard started to merge into the body of the little timberwolf, just as the magic reached it. The pup gave out a squeak and was momentarily covered in green fire. It fell to the ground and convulsed for a moment. Then with a cracking, snapping sound, it started to swell. Loose wood and even parts of the tree were pulled towards it as it grew. Within a few seconds, it had doubled in size, then doubled again until it stood larger than any of the other creatures present. Twilight fell back in horror as the creature loomed over her.

The newly transformed creature got to its paws and turned to the rest of the pack. It stepped forward and moved to nuzzle the closest wolf, but its target backed away, its wooden ears flat, and gave a low growl. The enlarged pup stopped, seemingly confused. While Twilight and the Doctor looked on, several of the other wolves circled and sniffed the transformed creature. The pup dropped to the ground, looking confused. Then, with a growl, one of the other timberwolves leapt forward and bit at the larger creature. Shocked, the pup returned the blow, knocking its attacker back and snapping several of its component branches. There was a moment’s silence. Then, as one, half of the pack moved to attack the larger timberwolf, which turned tail and fled through the woods.

“Wait! Come back!” Twilight yelled as she lost sight of the creature containing the shard. Taking advantage of her distraction, several more wolves attacked, striking her shields and knocking her down.

The Doctor noticed one of the wolves return its attention to Ace as the stunned pegasus started to stagger back to her hooves. He rushed past the creature and grabbed her, pushing her ahead of him as the timberwolf began to race after them.

“Ace! You know how you ran out of Nitro-9?” he asked.

“Yes?” she mumbled, trying to get her legs to work right.

“Where did you put the cans of it you aren't carrying?”

“Bag,” she gasped.

The Doctor lowered his mouth to the bag on her back and picked out a repurposed spray can, before popping the cap off with his teeth and throwing it over his shoulder. A few seconds later he and Ace were thrown forward by an explosion from behind them.

Picking himself up, the Doctor admired the crater and the remains of the timberwolf. Then he noticed the remains starting to knit together again and the smile slid off of his face. “Ace, we need to get moving,” he yelled, helping his companion up. The two of them ran deeper into the woods.

From her hiding place, Ditzy observed Cheerilee taking care of her daughter. She threw the allergenic flowers away and washed out the purple filly’s eyes from a small pond, somewhat alleviating the symptoms, although the small unicorn still kept sneezing. While the teacher was seeing to her charge, Ditzy noticed Snails leaning closer to the water and examining something below the surface. To her surprise, Scootaloo sidled up behind the yellow colt and shoved him into the water. Ditzy was a bit shocked at her actions; the filly was still a foal and she knew that they could be cruel sometimes, well most of them. She thought of her own perfect child. Still, she couldn’t really criticize others for what they did during their wild youth.

To her surprise, she heard the sound of the TARDIS echoing around the forest. For a moment her heart quickened as she feared that the Doctor had abandoned her, but then she realised that this must be the earlier version of the Doctor arriving. Below her, Snails and Scootaloo were rushing off towards the sound, while Cheerilee overbalanced and slipped into the pond.

For a moment, Ditzy dithered about what to do. Should she follow the other foals, or stay to keep an eye on her own child? She knew that in her own world, Scootaloo and Snails had survived the encounter with the timberwolf - although the pegasus had lost a wing - but maybe things had been changed. They could be in danger. Yet Dinky was her daughter. Before she could make up her mind, the decision had already been made for her, as Cheerilee climbed out of the pond and set off to catch her errant pupils with Dinky in tow.

Ditzy started to follow them but almost collapsed against a nearby tree. She felt absolutely exhausted. The fading must be getting worse, she thought. Her end must be near. But in a way she felt good about it; if her universe became impossible, then Dinky would be safe. What more could she want? For a moment she considered just lying there and fading away, but she had to be sure. Hauling herself to her hooves, she staggered after her daughter.

It was several painful minutes before she caught up with Dinky, just in time to see the arrival of the largest timberwolf she had ever seen. She was frozen in terror. This was the moment she had had countless nightmares about, both asleep and awake. This was her daughter's death.

She wanted to cry out, to fly down and save her, but her hooves and wings seemed to be frozen. Below, the ponies started to flee with the timberwolf in pursuit. For a moment it seemed that they would escape, but then a strangely grey filly tripped and an elderly stallion - whom she assumed was the Doctor - stopped to help her. Cheerilee also stopped, and the two adults tried to hold off the attacker while the foals fled. Although she knew she would not have the time, Ditzy felt she should thank her friend for her bravery in protecting her daughter. Ditzy tried to throw herself forward to help them with the creature, but she could barely stagger a few steps before collapsing again. To her surprise, the Doctor and Cheerilee proved quite adept at avoiding the creature, and eventually clambered up a tree to escape it. Sighing in relief, Ditzy started to drag herself after her daughter.

By the time she caught up with her, she and her friends were already heading back to help the Doctor and her teacher. Her eyes screwed up in concentration, the purple filly was levitating several large branches covered in insects. Dinky was trying to look brave, but her mother could see a mix of fear and disgust in her eyes. The small herd approached the timberwolf, and she heard Cheerilee cry something about not giving up their lives. She was right; there was no way her daughter could fight that creature. Ignoring her exhaustion, Ditzy started to make her way slowly, far too slowly down towards her daughter. She saw the foals throw their insect covered burdens towards the creature to no effect.

Cheerilee dropped from the tree and ran towards the monster, but she was going to be too late. It was all going to be for nothing; she had travelled all through space and time just to see her daughter die, and it would all be her fault. If she hadn’t taken that extra job that day, then her daughter would be safe in all worlds. She opened her mouth to scream, when suddenly the timberwolf dropped to the ground and started to scrape itself across the ground in discomfort. The cry turned into a laugh as the creature whined and contorted itself.

Ditzy carefully hid herself again as the drama below her unfolded. The earlier version of the Doctor converted the creature back into a shard, and its remains became a tiny timberpup that Dinky instantly fell in love with. She remembered that in her other life she and her daughter had adopted the creature; how quickly it had grown and what a good companion it was, as well as its tragic end. Then the Doctor returned the shard to its correct place and left. As she had expected, a further wave of tiredness washed over her as her time line became impossible. She did not know what death would feel like, but there were worse options than this drowsy lack of existence. Her last sight was of her daughter and her friends walking away into the distance.

Then all that remained was darkness.

Twilight rushed into the clearing. It had taken far too long to drive of the Timberwolves. Although she had felt the magical shockwave as the shard was taken from her universe, she held on to a last crazy notion that she was mistaken. The sound of the TARDIS leaving had put paid to that idea. As she arrived, she saw Cheerilee and the foals disappearing into the distance. For a second she had a crazy desire to follow them, to punish them for daring to help her enemy get in her way. She shook the feelings away. No! She didn’t know what was wrong with her... maybe she just needed some sleep... she couldn’t remember when she had last put her head down.

Twilight spun as there was a crashing from the treeline, and the Doctor and Ace charged into the clearing. “You’re too late,” the Doctor said, panting heavily. “There are no more shards here for you.”

“Then I’ll get to another time and find more,” Twilight announced, fighting off the impulse to attack him on sight.

“Not with that coat you won't.” He indicated the multi-coloured monstrosity she still wore. “You’ve already travelled to the very beginning of my time line.”

Angrily, she tore the coat from her back and threw it to the ground. A small part of her noted that she’d promised to return it to Fluttershy. “Then I’ll make my own path! You can’t have collected all the shards yet, you can’t!” Her horn lit up and waves of energy started to flow off of her.

“What’s she doing, Professor?” Ace yelled, trying to steady herself against the winds the spell generated.

“I don’t know!” the Doctor cried, trying to keep a hoof on his hat.

Concentrating, Twilight could feel invisible threads of time linking everything together. The Doctor’s thread was so long and tangled, while Ace’s was shorter but just as complicated. Looking inwards, she saw her own threads. Two of them. One lead straight back to her home time, returning a failure. The other was so long, it seemed to circle almost all of time. It lead back, back to the very beginning. Unsure what is meant but not willing to lose, Twilight grabbed the second thread with her spell and pulled, yanking herself out of this time zone and throwing herself back in time.

With a flash she was gone.

“What happened?” asked Ace.

“She’s gone again. I’ll need the TARDIS to find out where,” the Doctor said, picking up his coat from the ground. “We’ll need to be quick before the trail grows cold.”

“Professor, aren't you forgetting Ditzy? I wonder where she got to.” She looked around for the grey pegasus.

“Ah, yes. You see Ace...” the Doctor began awkwardly.

There was a groan from nearby. The two of them turned to see Ditzy stagger into the clearing. Ace gasped - the grey pony had faded to transparent. “Ditzy? What did Twilight do to you?” Ace asked.

“It’s not Twilight. Now that Dinky is safe, I’m ceasing to exist.”

“Doctor, you knew this would happen,” Ace snarled, turning to her mentor.

“It’s not his fault,” Ditzy said. “I made this decision and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“He still could have told me, I’m not a little girl,” Ace cried, glaring at the Doctor.

“I’m sorry, Ace. I was worried that if you knew the effect of our actions on Ditzy, you might try to stop me.”

“After all we’ve been though, you don’t trust me?”

“It’s not that, it’s...” started the Doctor.

“I don’t want to hear it,” Ace growled, stamping off towards the TARDIS.

“Ace!” cried the Doctor after her. “I didn’t mean for it to come to this.”

“You should have trusted her, you know,” Ditzy said ruefully.

“I know, but this was too important for me to trust anyone.”

“Which is why you didn’t tell me either?”

“Yes, can you forgive me?”

“I don’t know. You’ve done what you said you would - Dinky is safe - so I suppose I should.” She paused in thought. “We still need to find Twilight. Help me, I don’t know how far I can walk like this.”

The Doctor hoisted the see-through pony on to his back. She still seemed solid to the touch but unnaturally light. “So how long do I have?” she asked.

“I don’t know. The time lines could realign in a few minutes or a few days, more likely the former. I’m surprised you’re still here - this could mean that there's still a chance your timeline will come to pass.”

A chill passed through Ditzy. Did that mean that after all she’d been through, Dinky could still be in danger? “Then we do need to go after Twilight, now.”

Together, the two ponies headed back towards the TARDIS.

The door of the TARDIS opened to reveal rolling plains stretching as far as the eye could see. Ditzy, still propped up by the Doctor, took a deep breath. The air seemed fresher and cleaner than any she had ever known before. It seemed to nourish her and she found she could stand by herself.

“When are we?” she asked.

“Much further back in your planet’s timeline than I’ve ever been before, at least ten thousand years.”

“Ten thousand? I don’t even think there were ponies back then. That was before even the first tribes.”

“I guess we still need to find Twilight, though?” Ace asked tersely. The journey in the TARDIS had passed in a stony silence.

“Yes, I followed her path as best I could. She should be near in both time and space,” he explained.

“Then I better look for her. I’ll go by myself... I could use some time alone,” she said, leaping into the air.

“Wait, Ace...” called the Doctor.

“If I see her, I’ll signal you. I’m not an idiot, whatever you might think,” she snarled as she flew away, rapidly becoming a small dot in the distance.

“Wait,” mumbled the Doctor. “I do wish she’d understand.”

Ditzy rested a hoof on his shoulder. “She’ll come around, just give her some time. We should search as well.”

The two of them headed off in the opposite direction to the one Ace had taken.

With a gasp, Twilight tumbled back into the real world. The journey had been long. At least it had felt long; it had felt like it had taken years, years frozen in a timeless void. For a timeless time she laid there, her body twitching beyond her control and her mind floating in and out of consciousness.

Eventually time passed (years?) and she started to regain some control of her body. She struggled to stand and looked around with fogged eyes. She was standing in the middle of a dusty brown plane, dotted here and there with large boulders, each several times the size of even the largest of ponies. Where was she? She wondered. Then she remembered the two time lines. Why did she have two? Why did one stretch this far back? She shook her head. What had she been thinking about? It couldn’t have been important. All that was important was to find a shard so she could protect the world from the Doctor. She considered her thoughts for a moment. Why did she think that the Doctor was a threat? What proof was there? No, she couldn’t get distracted; she had a job to do.

Twilight activated her horn to scan the area for the shard and was almost knocked from her hooves. The level of background magic was incredible; even the heart of the Everfree held only a fraction of this power. The magic felt new, clean, untouched. Carefully extending her power, she felt her horn grow painfully warm, her senses extending across the miles. She found a shard almost straight away, despite it being more than a dozen miles distant. She briefly considered teleporting to it, and then found herself there. The slightest wish on her part was enough to activate her powers in this strange place.

She found herself standing on top of one of the large boulders that dotted the environment. Her head swivelled from side to side, trying to locate the shard, before realising that she was standing on it. The barest touch of her horn was enough to convert it back to its natural shape, a lump of crystal about the size of a pony, and to cause her to fall to the ground. She would have to be more careful in future.

She felt dizzy for a moment and found her hoof reaching out towards the shard. She could feel the power within it, the energy of the universe itself. She tried to pull her hoof away, but she found she couldn’t; her body refused to obey her. She tried to call out but her mouth wouldn’t work. Trapped within her head, she felt something move within her thoughts; a black ooze once stretched over the whole of her mindscape, now drawing itself together in the front of her head, growing in size, growing in power. As it moved, she remembered; the thousand, the ten thousand small changes made to her; the small pushes here and there that had brought her here. The creature within her, the creature that had been within her since that fateful day so many years ago now, finally had within its grasp that which it needed. Locked within her own head, Twilight realised that her whole life had been influenced by another, and she screamed wordlessly.

Carefully opening the pocket dimension linked to her, the creature controlling Twilight withdrew the shard it had found before her journey began. Even using all of its strength, it could not control its host for long. To do that, it needed much more power. Luckily, an almost infinite resource lay at its hooves; the very energy of the universe itself. All that it needed to do was to tap it.

The creature within Twilight drove the two shards together with all the force it could muster.

Ace flew in a zig-zag across the land, looking for any signs of life. So far she had seen nothing more complex than a rabbit, and no sign of Twilight.

She sighed. She knew the Doctor meant well but he always seemed to treat her like a kid. Not telling her what was happening to Ditzy was unforgivable. She had been beginning to like the cross eyed pegasus, and to find out that what they were doing was killing her had hurt. Rationally, she understood that it was necessary, and that Ditzy herself was ok with the sacrifice, but her heart told her otherwise. Was that why the Doctor hadn’t told her? Was he right? Was she not capable of putting the well-being of the many above the few? She hoped she didn’t have to find out.

Ace was shaken out of her thoughts as a vast column of darkness rose from a point on the ground about half a mile away. Angling her wings, she turned towards the column, and to her astonishment saw the beam turn into the shape of a colossal pony at least a hundred feet tall, towering over the plains. Peering at it, Ace could just about make out the shape of Twilight Sparkle set in its head, her eyes black orbs.

“We are Legion,” the behemoth thundered, in a voice like thousands of insects buzzing, “for we are one!”

“Where are we, anyway?” Ditzy asked as she and the Doctor slowly made their way across the plain. She could feel the extra strength she had gained from the area slowly slipping away, and was not sure how much longer she could keep going.

“More or less where we were before. In ten thousand years this will be the Everfree forest.”

She scanned the horizon. There was not a tree to be seen. “It certainly doesn’t look like it.”

“A lot can change in ten thousand years,” the Doctor noted.

“Indeed,” a deep voice said. It seemed to bypass Ditzy’s ears and appear straight in her brain. “I remember when all of this was beneath the seas.”

She turned to see the biggest pony she had ever seen, at least a head higher than even Corona. His coat was the purest white she had ever seen, and his mane stood up in untidy spikes. His eyes, his eyes were stars as if drawn from the deepest nights sky, and his cutie mark shimmered and changed from shape to shape as she watched, open mouthed. Even that was not his strangest feature. Like herself, the pony was slightly transparent as if not quite present in this dimension. His wings were spread and his horn glowed slightly. Wings and a horn? He was an alicorn stallion.

Ditzy stood frozen in place, looking at the new arrival in shock.

“Greetings,” he said mildly, with polite interest. “I thought I knew of all the thinking creatures of this world, all that enter my domain, but I do not know you. What manner of creatures are you?”

“I am known as the Doctor - a visitor to this world, a humble traveller,” the Doctor said with a bow. “This is Ditzy Doo, a pony.”

“A pony.” He seemed to be trying the word for the first time. “I have not seen your like before. You are similar to my kind but so much... lesser.”

Still struck dumb, Ditzy could not say a word.

“You appear untethered, Ditzy Doo. Not entirely of this world, yet you are not of mine either. Soon you will be no more. I will do what I can but I can only delay this process, not stop it.” He leaned forward and placed his horn on her head. To her surprise, he felt entirely solid and seemed to radiate a powerful masculinity. She found herself colouring at his touch. She felt strength return to her limbs, and looking down she saw that she was no longer transparent.

“Thank you,” she stuttered.

“May we ask your name?” the Doctor asked.

“I am Prince Morpheus, the alicorn of dreams,” he replied with a slight bow.

“I thought Princess Luna controlled dreams,“ Ditzy blurted out.

“Not yet she does not,” Morpheus corrected, seemingly unconcerned by the outburst. “She is the alicorn of the moon. Still she acts as my apprentice. She would take over if I am incapacitated. How do you know of such things? Where are you from?”

“We are from far in the future,” the Doctor said.

“Really, and what brings you here?”

“We are following another traveller from our own time, one who has come here to obtain a shard that makes up part of the walls of this reality.”

Morpheus tilted his head for a second. “I have not heard of these things, Doctor, but I will do what I can to help you. If there is but one dreamer in the world who had met this visitor, I will know of it.”

Suddenly a pillar of darkness rose on the horizon, before shrinking somewhat and morphing into the shape of a huge pony.

“I do not think that will be necessary,” the Doctor noted, pointing at the creature. “Look!”

“Free at last,” the shadow creature roared, stretching out from Twilight’s form. “No longer constrained in the puny mind of that mare. Free to spread, free to control, free to kill.” It swiped a hoof at Ace as she flew past, and she rolled to the side to avoid the blow.

Twisting her neck, she reached into her backpack, then hissed in frustration when she realised she had used the last of her explosives. She should probably get back to the Doctor; he would know how to deal with this creature. Hopefully.

Legion lashed out with a beam of shadow, and Ace was forced to drop out of the sky to avoid it. “Get back here,” it raged. “We have the shards, we will not be denied.”

Suddenly three figures were standing in front of Legion; the Doctor, Ditzy and Morpheus.

“Doctor!” Legion screamed. “We remember you! We remember being wounded, crippled by you. We do not remember what happened but our hate of you kept us alive. We could not control our host, not fully, but we could guide her, push her mind into the paths we needed. The paths to locate the shards. They are the very foundation of this world and with them we can control it.” It stomped down one vast hoof to try and crush the Doctor to a pulp. To its surprise it found its hoof restrained by a white glowing field.

“I think not,” Morpheus noted gently.

“What are you?”

“I am Prince Morpheus, Alicorn of Dreams. And you are a creature of the mind and thus my responsibility.”

“We are Legion, no one controls us.” It lashed out again, its blow sparking off a further white shield.

“You are mistaken,” Morpheus noted, his aura extending to encompass the shadow pony and forcing it down to the ground.

Black sparks arched up from the shard on the ground to Legion, seemingly to feed the shadow creature. It straightened itself, bursting out of Morpheus’s grip.

For the first time, the Alicorn seemed troubled, and the giant creature turned its attention to him, beams of dark light flew from it and the ground around the pale pony was shattered burying him.

One of the giant creature’s hooves slammed down next to Ditzy knocking her over. She struggled to stand but found herself staring up at the colossal leg as it drove down again to crush her, she screamed and closed her eyes. Then she opened them again to find herself still alive, the hoof hovered just over her.

“Get out the way!” the giant cried in Twilight’s voice.

“What is this!” bellowed Legion in its raspy voice again. Affixed to its head Twilight although still blank eyed had started to twitch.

Taking the hint Ditzy rolled aside before the monstrous hoof smashed down where she had been lying.

“You can not do this. We are legion, you are only a mote to us.”

“All that time you spent in my mind, you tried to control me but to do that you had to become like me. Part of you doesn’t want to do this and part is helping me,” continued Twilight’s voice almost as if it was giving a lecture.

“No! We are of one mind!” yelled Legion lashing out at the Doctor. His blow was physically blocked by Morpheus who materialised next to him. The pail pony was driven back by the force but remained standing.

“You are not, it is only because you are drawing energy from an outside source that you have any power at all,” continued Twilight.

“It’s the shard, Doctor!” Ditzy yelled. “It’s drawing power from the shard!”

The Doctor rushed over to the crystals. “I don’t have the power to convert them now, I used it all on the lion.” He thought for a moment. “Morpheus,” he called. “Can you do something about these crystals?”

Legion had grasped the alicorn in its hoof and was trying to crush him against the ground. “My mind is my own!” Morpheus gasped, as the creature tried to force its fractured will upon him. With a thought, the alicorn teleported to the Doctor’s position, causing Legion to stumble.

The Alicorn examined the lumps of crystal on the ground. “Indeed, the beast is linked to these. I believe I can use the larger one to entrap it for the moment.” His horn glowed and the shard started to shrink until it was only about a foot high, taking on the form of a stone vase.

“Stop!” Legion screamed, turning to Morpheus. White lightning arched up the shadow pony’s form and it started to shrink, dragging Twilight’s form with it. “We will never leave this one, if we are trapped it comes with us.”

“The beast speaks true,” noted Morpheus as the shadow creature was forced into the jar. “I may be able to separate their minds but it will likely damage this one,” he gestured at Twilight.

Twilight shuddered and her eyes cleared “Do it!” she begged, “After all the damage I almost caused it’s the least I can do.”

“Are you sure?” asked Ditzy reaching out for the stricken pony.

Morpheus blocked the pegasus’s hoof, “Do not touch her, the creature may try to escape into you.”

“Do it.” confirmed Twilight with a nod gritting her teeth, “I deserve it. I should have realised what had happened.”

“Very well,” said Morpheus a torrent of white light burst from his horn and Twilight’s limp body was thrown aside like a rag doll. Swooping down Ace caught her in mid-air and gently placed her down on the ground.

The dark shape of legion continued to shrink “We will have our revenge,” it cried, it’s voice weakening as it was forced into the jar. “We will have our revenge.” Then it was swallowed up and became silent.

“The beast is defeated,” Morpheus announced, lifting the vase with his horn.

“What about Twilight?” asked Ditzy nervously.

Morpheus ran his horn over her still body, “She had been lucky, the damage is minor, she will remember little of this but she should recover over time.”

“What do we do with the other shard, Professor?” Ace asked, holding up the first shard Twilight had obtained.

“Taking it away from this universe would be dangerous and I don't have the Krayton particles to use it now. Given time it should disguise itself again. I’ll place it somewhere safe for my next self to pick up when I next visit.”

“What will we do with Legion?” Ditzy asked, pointing at the pot grasped in Morpheus's aura, which was all that remained of the monster and the shard.

“I will give its prison to Luna or maybe her sister. They are the more active members of my people and can ensure it does not cause any further harm,” Morpheus said. “I must bid you farewell for the moment. I must discuss this matter further with my brethren. I will see you later in your dreams.” With that, he and the jar faded from view.

Ditzy sighed, feeling the strength slip from her once more. She did not have much longer. “Doctor, can we move on now? I don’t want to spend the rest of my time here. I want to see Dinky for the last time.”

“Of course,” the Doctor said. He looked down at Twilight's slumbering form. “But first I think we should take Twilight home.”

By the time Trixie’s vision cleared, Twilight had disappeared.

She opened her mouth but then closed it as a sound unlike anything she had heard before echoed around the chamber.

“The Catchian Barking toad?” Dinky mumbled.

To the surprise of all but Dinky, a large blue box materialised where only a few seconds ago Twilight had been standing.

The door swung open, and to Trixie’s surprise Dinky rushed forward. “Doctor, is that you?” she called.

A tan pony exited the box with Twilight sprawled over his back. The unicorn mare was carefully wrapped in the multi coloured coat. He doffed his hat to the assembled mares.

“You’re not the Doctor!” Dinky exclaimed.

“I am, although maybe not the one you were expecting.”

Trixie stepped forward. “What did you do to Twilight? She was possessed by Legion, wasn’t she? I recognised him from when he got me.” She shuddered.

The Doctor gently lowered the unicorn to the ground. “She should be fine after a few days of rest, although I doubt she will remember much of what happened to her. Which is probably for the best. Make sure the coat makes its way back to Fluttershy, although I doubt she needs it after all this time.”

“Fluttershy does still wear it for some of her more important speeches,” Trixie noted.

Twilight started to stir. “Hey Trixie,” she slurred. “What happened? Did I make it to your party?”

“Don’t worry, you can go to my next fortieth birthday,” Trixie said kindly.

“Dinky!” Ditzy gasped as she and Ace stepped out of the TARDIS.

“Mom! What’s happened to you? I can see right through you.”

“It’s true!” She stared at her daughter’s gravid belly. “You are going to have a foal. I’m a grandmother.” She staggered and was caught by her daughter’s magic.

“Mom, what’s wrong? What’s going on?”

“I’m afraid I’m not your mother,” Ditzy said, her eyes starting to water. “Soon I’m not going to be anything.”

“What?”

“I’m the Ditzy from a horrible, horrible world which I am so very, very glad will never exist. I’m not your mother, I only wish I was.” She buried her face in her almost-daughter’s mane.

“Oh, Momma. You look like my mother, you sound like my mother, you smell like my mother, you are my mother.” She returned the hug, her forearms starting to pass through the fading pony. “Please stay. We can get Mac and Dayton and the princesses, somepony can do something for you.”

“I’m sorry. Nopony can do anything for me now. But thank you, thank you for showing me what a great future you have.” She turned to the Doctor. “Please take me away, thank you for showing me this but I can’t bear them to see me this way, please.”

“Very well, come with me.” He led the faded pony back into the TARDIS.

“Momma,” Dinky cried, reaching out. “Don’t go!”

“I’m sorry, muffin but I have to. Remember that I will always love you.”

The door of the time craft closed behind them.

“Please Doctor, there has to be something you can do to save Ditzy. Please!” Ace begged, tears in her eyes.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t. There are some things even I can’t do.” He looked so old, tired and lost for a moment.

“Please!”

“I. Can’t.” he repeated in a tortured voice.

Ace turned and ran from the console room.

“She’ll understand eventually,” Ditzy said.

“I hope so. Now where do you want to go now?” the Doctor asked solemnly.

“I want to see my daughter, the daughter I remember,” the grey haze that was all that remained of Ditzy Doo said.

The Doctor nodded and threw some switches on the controls.

As Ditzy stood there, she felt all the tiredness and aches slip away from her body. She felt light as a feather. Below her, she saw a purple unicorn foal romping through the meadow, occasionally stopping to smell the flowers or call out to her friends. She seemed so happy, Ditzy thought. She knew her daughter would live a long life; there would be tears and sadness at times, but Dinky would always have her mother there to make things better, even if she wasn’t going to be that mother. Dinky would have a good life, a good marriage, and children, and that was all that mattered to Ditzy. As she faded away she couldn’t be happier.

“Momma!” the purple foal cried excitedly, staring up at the woods. “Look, it’s Momma, she must had gotten back from her trip early.” She turned to her teacher. “Look, Ms Cheerilee.”

“Where?” the pink mare asked, scanning the woods. Maybe she would get some time to herself today after all.

“Look!” Dinky pointed towards the spot where she had previously caught sight of her mother, but it was now empty. “Oh, where did she go?”

8th Doctor - The Bon Vivant

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On the outskirts of Ponyville a cream coloured mare with a blue and pink striped mane was sulking. Bon Bon was her name and she was angry over an argument she had just had with her marefriend Lyra.

The day had started off so well. She had closed her candy store early and the two of them had gone for a picnic in the park. Lyra was due to leave later that day to tour Equestria and would not return for several weeks, so the pair wanted to spend some time together before she left. By coincidence the weather had turned out to be perfect and the two had curled up together, tails intertwined, on a big red and white checker blanket in the park. They spent over an hour feeding each other tidbits from the feast they had brought.

Then the foals had arrived. School must have turned out for the day as dozens of miniature ponies had started to run squealing across the field. Several, lead by a marshmallow-like filly, had come over and begged Lyra to play for them. It had not taken much persuasion to make Bon Bon’s lover unpack her instrument and start to make music. The foals were held spellbound as the notes filled their ears. When she had finished they begged for another tune and then another. One of them, a white and brown spotted colt, nervously asked if he could try the instrument himself. Although she looked apprehensive Lyra had agreed and she had given the foal a short lesson, showing him how to handle the instrument. The noises the foal produced were far from musical to start off with but Lyra was patient with the child and after some instruction and encouragement the foal had managed to play a short tune by himself. By this time the sun was starting to dip and the foals, including Lyra’s pupil, had to leave for their dinners. Bon Bon watched them go with a smile on her face, then said the words that would cause all the problems.

“I want one.”

“Huh, want what?” asked Lyra.

“A foal, I want one.”

“Well the parents normally object if you just grab one and take them home with you,” joked Lyra, suddenly looking nervous.

“You know what I mean. You were great with that little guy, you’d be a great mother,” said Bon Bon nuzzling Lyra. “Just think, you could teach our foal how to make music and I can teach him to cook, the best of both of us.”

“We’ve had this conversation before Bonny,” said Lyra, sounding exasperated. “We want the best for our children and the store’s only just breaking even as it is. I’m not a starving musician but it’s still hard to make ends meet. We decided that we’d wait a few years.”

“No you decided that you wanted to wait. We don’t need a lot of bits to have a foal, we just need a lot of love. Don’t you love me, Lyra?” Bon Bon pouted at her mare fiend.

Lyra looked away. “That’s not fair Bonny, of course I love you. It’s just this is a big step, a foal’s a huge responsibility and I don’t know if I’m ready for it yet.”

“Then when will you be ready!” Bon Bon stamped her hoof.

“Look, I’ve gotta go,” said Lyra, changing the topic. “My train leaves in an hour and I still need to pack. We can talk about this more when I get back, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll still be here when you get back, it’s not like I’m going anywhere, not like anything’s going to change,” said Bon Bon bitterly.

They had walked back to their home in an icy silence before heading to the station, where they had shared a passionless kiss before Lyra caught her train and headed off into the distance.

Still fuming, Bon Bon had marched out of town to try and cool down. “Stupid hormones,” she cursed. She was always broody for a few weeks after her heat. Still, there was more to it than that. Lyra had left for almost four years when she went off to Canterlot. Of course they’d visited and written but when she’d gotten back she’d just expected everything to pick up where they’d left off. But Bon Bon wanted more than that, she wanted their relationship to have actually progressed. They were living together but whenever she suggested anything more permanent, anything official, Lyra would shut her down.

Suddenly a whistling sound broke into Bon Bon’s thoughts. She looked up in surprise and saw a ball of fire streak across the sky. She threw herself to the ground as it passed overhead and crashed a short distance away, shaking the ground with its impact.

Bon Bon’s first thought was to run, fearing it could be some sort of new weapon sent by Corona. Then she heard a thin distorted cry from the direction of the impact. Was somepony hurt? Swallowing her fear, Bon Bon began to slowly make her way to the crater made by the impact. The ground was warm to the touch but not as hot as she had expected. The cry continued but sounded wrong, artificial in some way.

“Hello!” she called. “Are you alright?”

The setting sun cast shadows from the shattered land but she thought she saw something at the bottom of the crater, something colourful and moving slightly. She stepped forward. It didn’t appear to be a pony but was the source of the cry, what was it?

Suddenly it seemed to spit something at her. She opened her mouth to scream but only ended up getting a mouthful of the viscous goo. In her surprise she swallowed, then gagged - the liquid was sickeningly sweet. She tried to back away but her legs didn’t seem to want to obey her and she fell forwards towards the creature that had attacked her. Her heart was beating so fast she feared it would tear itself from her chest. She was suddenly almost painfully full of energy but could only twitch as she lost control of her body. Her vision blurred and then filled with a million shades of white. The last thing she remembered before her mind emptied was the creature talking to her, although she could not make out its words.

‘Finally I’m home’ thought Lyra. For almost a month now she had been travelling Equestria, going from gig to concert to event to garden party. She wasn’t sure if it was her talent, her friendship with Octavia or her recent knighting which had made her so popular - she hoped the former - but she had certainly been in demand this summer. It had been a very profitable time for her as well, her saddlebags clinked with bits and a certain something else she hoped she was brave enough to use later.

Still as busy as her month had been it had also been torture. A month away from Bon Bon after how they had left things was pure pain for her. She had started to write her first apology letter before the train had even arrived at its first stop. She had written each following day as well and even sent a few telegrams but received no reply. Was Bonny really still mad at her, or had something happened to her? Thoughts like that kept her awake at night. It was only her professionalism and the contracts that she had signed which prevented her returning early to see what had happened.

Now that she was almost there she felt like running, although whether towards or away from the Confectionarium she wasn’t sure. For a moment she considered visiting one of her friends first, Cheerilee or maybe Ditzy to get some advice on what to say, but no, she had to do this now before she chickened out entirely. With a tentative hoof she reached out and knocked on the back door to the shop. Nothing happened while the seconds ticked by turning into minutes. Dark thoughts started to gather in Lyra’s mind, maybe something had happened to Bon Bon while she was away. She knocked again harder this time, pounding on the door. “Bonny!” she cried.

Suddenly the door was thrown open and then in front of her stood her lover.

“Lyra!” cried Bon Bon, “You’re back,” she practically leapt onto the aqua unicorn nuzzling her frantically. Lyra returned her affections equally strongly; Bon Bon was ok, and the world was ok. She buried her face into her marefriend’s mane and took a deep breath. The smell of burnt sugar and body odour filled her muzzle and she almost gagged.

She pulled back and surveyed her marefriend properly. Bon Bon looked terrible. Her mane was limp and tangled, both it and her coat were grimy and patches of a sugary substance clung to her. She smelt like she hadn’t bathed in a week and she seemed thinner as well, almost emaciated. The worst were her eyes - Lyra had always loved Bon Bon’s big blue eyes, eyes to get lost in, but now they were bloodshot and heavy bags hung beneath them as if she hadn’t slept in weeks. Even worse they seemed glazed despite glowing with feverish intensity, as though they looked straight through Lyra and focused on some point behind her head.

“Bonny! Your hair! Your eyes! What happened to you?”

“Humm? Oh, I’ve been busy, very busy, I haven't had the time to keep myself presentable.”

“Busy? What have you been doing?”

“Oh,” she looked left and right furtively before continuing, “it’s a secret.” she giggled, “But don’t worry you won't have to wait long to find out, I’ll tell you all about it after dinner. Just don’t go into the lab.”

“The lab?” asked Lyra. The lab was a secondary kitchen kept in the basement of the shop, it had been named and stocked by Bon Bon’s mother. Bon Bon didn’t use it often but sometimes tried out new recipes there. Had she been working on some new type of treat?

“Yes the lab, stupid!” snarled Bon Bon suddenly. “Don’t go down there if you know what’s good for you!” Then as quickly as her burst of anger had started it disappeared. “Come on in, dinner's almost ready, you should unpack while I clean up a bit.” She trotted off into the building, leaving an astonished Lyra to warily follow behind her.

Like its owner the house was also a mess. A thick layer of dust covered most of the surfaces and the floors were grimy. A large pile of post lay unopened at the side of the door, and Lyra recognised some of the letters she’d sent over the last few weeks. Bon Bon hurriedly pushed Lyra up the stairs and into their bedroom. It was in as poor shape as the rest of the house, and the bedclothes were tangled and unwashed.

“Bon Bon,” said Lyra, “are you sure everything’s okay? This place is,” she picked her words carefully, “messy.”

“I told you I’ve been busy,” replied Bon Bon lightly. “It’s nothing a quick dusting wouldn’t fix. Now get ready for dinner, I’m just going to check on something, then I’ll have a shower and we can eat. I’ve made something special just for you.”

“I’m sorry about how we left thing’s before I left. We need to talk about it.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that now, it’s all water under the bridge.” There was a hitch in her voice.

“Bon Bon, you’re crying. What’s wrong?”

“I am?” the cream mare held a hoof up to her eyes, and it came back wet. “I am,” she said in surprise. “Don’t worry, I’m just so happy, everything is just perfect now you’re here. Anyway I’ll be back in a minute.” With that she headed back down the stairs.

Shell shocked, Lyra dropped onto the bed. ‘What was going on here?’ she thought. Bon Bon had gotten caught up in projects before but only for a few hours, nothing leading to this level of neglect. Maybe Bon Bon was ill, she didn’t look well... She clamped down on this thought. There couldn’t be anything wrong with Bon Bon, there just couldn’t. Removing her saddlebags with her magic Lyra hung them up on the door before removing her gift. She wondered where to put it. She briefly considered hiding it under a pillow before deciding to put it in one of her spare Lyre cases - Bon Bon wouldn’t look in there.

As promised Bon Bon returned only a few minutes later looking even spacier that before, licking her lips as she staggered back up the stairs. “Hi Lyra,” she slurred. “You’re looking really good tonight, how about we have ‘dessert’ early?” She wandered over swinging her flanks in what she seemed to think was a sexy fashion but was let down by the fact that it made her stumble several times. When she reached Lyra she started to cover her face with sloppy kisses.

Gagging at the smell of her marefriend’s breath and body odour, Lyra pushed Bon Bon off of her. ‘Was she drunk?’ she thought, ‘I can’t smell alcohol, but it tastes like she hasn’t brushed her teeth in weeks.’

Bon Bon stared at her marefriend through unfocused eyes for a second before suddenly bursting into tears. “You think I’m ugly!” she sobbed. “This is your fault! You did this to me!”

Confused Lyra hugged Bon Bon, “What’s wrong with you? What did I do?”

Suddenly the cream mare was calm again, “Nothing’s wrong, everything’s perfect. It’s just some mood swings, their perfectly normal in my condition.”

“Your condition? Please Bon Bon, tell me what’s going on,” begged Lyra.

“Don’t worry I’ll tell you soon enough, after dinner. I just need to clean up a bit and then we can eat. Amuse yourself for a while, I’ll be right back.”

With that she walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her, and after a few seconds the sound of running water could be heard followed by some off-key singing which swiftly faded away. Lyra cautiously approached the bathroom and gently pushed the door open. The room was as messy as the rest of the house. Bon Bon was slumped in the shower, apparently asleep on her hooves with the hot water streaming down over her, washing some of the gunk out of her coat and mane.

Seeing that Bon Bon seemed to be ok for the moment, Lyra decided to search the house for any further clues as to her marefriend’s strange behaviour. Closing the door quietly, she slowly made her way down the stairs. The mouth-watering smell of cooking drifted from the kitchen. She entered and saw something baking in the oven. Searching the larder Lyra found it almost empty with only a few, mostly rotten, vegetables left. There were a few packages littering the table, which in itself was odd as Bon Bon was normally scrupulous about tidying up behind herself, and several herbs of a type Lyra was not familiar with remained on the chopping board.

Returning to the front door, Lyra examined the pile of letters. They seemed to stretch back to the day after she left. As she’d expected the pile included all of the letters she’d sent, unopened.

Slowly, she went from room to room. Each was just a dusty and disused as those she had already seen. Even the shop itself seemed to have been abandoned, stale stock covering the displays. What could be so important that Bon Bon had just closed the shop for a month? Having searched the whole of the ground floor that only left one room, the very room she had been avoiding, the room Bonny had told her not to go into - the lab.

Nervously, she made her way one hoof at a time down the stairs that lead to the lab’s door. The short corridor was lit by a single flickering gas lamp which threw crazy shadows around the room. Unlike the rest of the house this area was clean, almost antiseptic, and there was a faint smell of bleach almost covered by a stronger smell of burnt sugar. She didn’t know how but this place felt wrong to Lyra, her instincts shouted to her to run. Knees knocking, she made her way step by step to the end of the corridor and, ready to flee at the slightest provocation, tried the door. It would not open. She studied it, a brand new shiny lock graced it. She put her head to the door and listened. The smell was almost overwhelming here, and the door seemed to be vibrating slightly and was warm to the touch. There was a continuous artificial humming sound and audible over that the sound of a pump almost like a heartbeat, giving a slow steady rhythm.

“Lyra!” came Bon Bon’s muffled voice from upstairs. “Where are you? Dinner’s ready!”

The green mare leapt into the air in surprise and almost brained herself on the low ceiling. Turning in panic she rushed back up the corridor, leapt up the stairs and shut the door behind her just as Bon Bon was coming down the stairs from the bedroom, drying her mane with a towel. She looked marginally better after her wash but her eyes were still bloodshot.

“What are you doing there?” she asked eyeing Lyra suspiciously.

“Nothing,” replied Lyra somewhat unconvincingly as she leant against the door to the basement.

Bon Bon stared at her for a second before turning to the kitchen. “Come on,” she said, “we can eat now, I’ve made something special. Then I’ll tell you my good news.”

The meal turned out to be pumpkin lasagne, normally one of Lyra’s favourite dishes but in this case Bon Bon’s cooking talent seemed to have failed her. The normally textured flavour was overpowered by the bitter taste of some unknown herbs. Still Lyra pretended to enjoy it while Bon Bon looked on closely, hardly touching her own meal. Lyra tried to make light conversation about her tour but Bon Bon didn’t seem to be interested and only responded with grunts.

When the rather awkward meal was finally over Lyra put aside her empty plate, feeling oddly bloated. “Now what was this surprise you had for me? Is it why you’re so tired?” she said tactfully.

Bon Bon walked over to the oven and opened it before grabbing a bread roll from the counter and pushing it inside. She gestured at the oven and smiled.

Lyra looked perplexed at her marefriend’s bizarre behaviour. “What?” she asked.

Bon Bon sighed. “What do you see?”

“You put a roll in the oven?”

“It’s a bun, I have a bun in the oven, I’m going to have a foal!” Bon Bon began to hop around the kitchen in excitement while Lyra’s jaw dropped in shock. She made gurgling sounds as her brain tried to process this information.

“Pregnant? But... what... how?” stammered Lyra once she regained control of her mouth.

Suddenly Bon Bon was in the green mare’s face, eyes bright and with just a hint of tears in them. “Please tell me that you’re happy for us, that it’s going to be alright, I don’t think I can do this alone. I’m scared,” she whispered.

Lyra stared at her marefriend for a second, a range of emotions flickering across her face, joy, fear and anger all appeared. Then she grabbed Bon Bon into a tight hug. “Don’t worry, I’m here, it’s all going to be alright.”

Bon Bon let out a long breath and collapsed into her lovers grasp. They both stayed like that for a long time before separating.

“I thought we were going to talk some more about this before we did anything?” asked Lyra trying to keep the anger out of her voice. She took some calming breaths. “So who’s the father? Big Mac didn’t finally say yes did he? And you didn’t tell me? You know I wanted to watch,” she continued with a crooked smile.

“No, Lyra, this is our child, yours and mine.”

“Like I’m Dad and Pop’s filly? But they still needed Skyla to make me. Who’s the stallion?” a burst of anger surfaced. “You didn’t just raise your tail to a random guy did you?”

“What kind of mare do you think I am?” snarled Bon Bon stamping on the floor. Then the fury drained out of her. “There was no stallion, it’s our baby, ours alone. I went for a walk then,” confusion passed over her face, “something happened and I knew I had our child.”

“Something happened?” horror entered Lyra’s eyes. “Bonny you weren’t... somepony didn’t...” she couldn’t bring herself to say the word.

“No! No! Nothing like that, I can’t explain it yet but it’s ours, a new life made out of the best of you and me just like we’ve talked about. Why won’t you believe me?”

“But, this is impossible! You need a mare and a stallion to make a baby, we don’t have the ... equipment.”

“It’s happened before, I’ve heard that Commander Hurricane had Pansy's foal.”

“That’s a flutterpony story from thousands of years ago, some versions say Pansy was a stallion, Tartarus, some say Hurricane was a guy, but this is real life. “ Lyra started to pace the floor, swaying slightly. “I want to believe you, I really do. I’d love you to be able to have my foal but it just can’t be.” Lyra was starting to feel light headed from the strangeness of the day. “What has the doctor said about this?”

“Oh, I haven't seen any doctor’s yet, they just want to poke and prod.”

“So how do you know you’re pregnant?”

“The baby told me,” said Bon Bon matter of factly as she opened a nearby cupboard and brought out box containing two bowls of ice cream sitting in a layer of crushed ice.

“What do you mean the baby told you?”

“She talks to me, tells me how to be a good mother, what to do for her. Now open up, here comes the train,” she said in a sing song voice as she took a spoon full of the desert and fed it to Lyra.

“Oh, that’s good,” said Lyra as she swallowed, “Wait, is that Kiwi fruit? You know I’m allergic to Kiwi. It messes up my horn.” She could already feel an ache in her head.

“I’m sorry,” said Bon Bon unconvincingly, talking a mouthful of the ice cream herself, “I forgot, but the baby thinks that too much magic is bad for her.”

“That’s alright,” Lyra slurred, swaying slightly on her hooves. She felt she should have been angrier about this but her full belly suddenly seemed to be sapping all her energy, and emotions were becoming too tiring.

“Maybe you should lie down dear,” said Bon Bon leaning against her marefriend to steady her.

The white mare’s skin felt feverishly hot to Lyra as she slumped against her. A thought tried to force its way into her head as if through a sea of honey. “You put something... *yawn* something in the lasagne... didn’t you? Why?”

“The baby told me you might be worried about the news so I gave you something to help you sleep. You’ve been traveling all day, you could use the rest.” Lyra’s legs gave out beneath her and Bon Bon gently pushed her onto one of the seats. “When you wake up she’ll almost be here, then we can be one big happy family.”

Tons of weight seemed to pull down on Lyra’s eyelids and Bon Bon’s voice seemed to echo from miles away. With a superequine effort she opened her mouth to speak, “But... months ...till ...baby.”

“Oh, our baby is special. She’ll be all done in a day or two, you’ll see.”

The last thing Lyra saw was Bon Bon’s excited face, as if down a long tunnel.

Her horn was itching. That was the first thing that Lyra was aware of. She tried to raise a hoof to scratch it but something was holding her legs down. “Bonny,” she mumbled, “Scratch horn... itches.”

She felt dextrous hooves rub the inflamed skin around her horn and was lost for a moment in bliss as the irritation was banished. Then her eyes snapped open and she remembered what had happened to her, Bonny’s strange behaviour, claiming she was pregnant, drugging her. Along with her memory sensations also returned, her head throbbed in pain both from the reaction to the Kiwi and presumably from the sleeping agent. She struggled to rise but all four of her legs and her barrel were tied to a mobile serving table. She blinked against the harsh glare of lights that were giving an oddly steady glow unlike gas or candle light.

She looked around as best she could. She appeared to be in the lab although it had been significantly refurbished. Much of the catering equipment had been ripped out and piled in the corner like junk while various supplies were stacked against the walls. The main oven remained but it had been significantly altered. It now stood larger than an adult pony with various pipes running in and out of it containing coloured concoctions. Wires ran to it from large glass jars containing colourless liquids and shards of metal. From this monstrosity came the regular beating sound she had heard previously, along with waves of heat.

Bonnie stood next Lyra looking down at her with a wide smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Her coat and mane were once again splattered with sugar and she seemed even more exhausted than before, barely remaining standing despite leaning against the table. “You're awake,” she announced. “You slept for almost a whole day, I thought you might miss the birth.”

“Birth? Bonnie, what is all this?” asked Lyra through chapped lips.

Bon Bon gestured towards the modified oven. “This? I borrowed most of it from mum. She thinks I’m following in her hoofsteps. Won’t she be surprised when she finds out she’s a grandmother?”

“But what is it?”

“This is where our baby is being made, silly. She designed it herself. I’m sure she’s going to grow up to be a cook, or an engineer or scientist. I wonder what cutie mark she’ll get?”

“She? Bonny, how can our baby be in that thing?”

“She’s a very special foal. I know just how she’ll turn out, she did want to be a colt but I thought a filly would be nicer. She’ll be an earth pony like me, we couldn’t figure out how to make wings or a horn.” Suddenly a whistle blew from somewhere out of sight. “She’s almost ready.”

“Bonny! Please stop this! Can’t you see this is wrong? Babies aren't born from ovens! Please!” begged Lyra, thrashing against her bonds.

“Now you’re just getting cold hooves. Once you see our daughter, and hold her in your hooves you’ll love her as much as I do, as much as I love you. Please love her.” Tears streamed down Bon Bon’s face as she started to attach wires to her body and lowered a hat attached to the oven by a thick tube onto her head.

The throbbing sound increased in intensity and the lights around the room started to dim. Bon Bon gave a gasp and started to twitch.

“Bonny!” Lyra cried out helplessly. She tried to reach out with her telekinesis but her horn did not respond.

“Don’t worry,” gasped Bon Bon, “This is natural, birth is always painful. Remember, whatever happens, I love you so much!” Then she went stiff and screamed as blue lighting ran up and down her body. There was a loud crack and the thumping suddenly stopped. Bon Bon dropped to the ground, smoke rising from her body.

“Bonny! Bonny!” screamed Lyra at her lover’s unmoving form. “Please, talk to me! Please!”

Suddenly the front of the oven cracked open, releasing a torrent of thick red liquid which started to spread over the floor to where Lyra laid helplessly. A deep powerful voice reverberated around the room. “Congratulations, it’s a monster.” A figure emerged from the oven and shook the remaining liquid off of itself.

Lyra stared at it and screamed and screamed and screamed.

“These horse shoes, they fit perfectly!” announced the doctor waving a hoof. His current incarnation was once again an earth pony, maybe a hoof shorter than average height with a dark red coat and a long curly mane. He was dressed in a long velvet coat and under that a brown waistcoat and an untidy brown cravat. “The last time I was here the transmogrifier didn’t quite get them right and they chaffed my hooves something rotten, but this time, just right.” He danced a quick jig to demonstrate.

“This place,” muttered his companion, Izzy, ignoring his behaviour. She too was an earth pony with a slighter build than normal. Her coat was light green, and her mane was brown apart from two white bangs which fell next to her eyes. “It’s so colourful, it’s like a cartoon. Like that children’s program, what was it called... My Small Horsie?”

“I’m afraid that what with saving the world every few days I don’t normally get much time to watch television. Although I’ve never missed an episode of Blue Peter, and I have a soft spot for the Clangers - after all, it was me that got them that show.”

“Oh, I didn’t watch it much, it was too girly, I preferred The Alternators or Conflict Division.” she continued conversationally. “Anyway, it’s interesting to change species for a while but I wouldn’t want to be stuck this way, I like my hands.”

The two of them were wandering the idyllic streets of Ponyville, watching the population go about their daily business. Here and their ponies greeted each other as they passed, and in a small park a number of foals were chasing around after a large dog shaped creature made of wood.

Their original target for this visit, the shard of the wall separating the universes, had been found rather quickly in the form of a small statue part buried in a field. Now, converted back to its natural form, it was safe and secure in the Doctors pocket and ready to be restored to its rightful place when the travellers returned to the TARDIS. However, it had occurred to the Doctor that although he had visited Equestria several times before, he had not really had the time to just wander and meet the locals, and this seemed the perfect time to do just that. Their journey had taken them into the centre of the town and the Doctor considered visiting some of the friends he had made on previous visits - Raindrops, Ditzy, Cheerilee, maybe even dear Fluttershy. Although he would have to make sure he wasn’t visiting them before they first met. Such was the danger of time travel.

While Izzy was still gazing around the town wide eyed the Doctor spotted something out of place. “That’s interesting,” he said.

“What is?”

“You see that building over there? The pink and blue one?”

“Yeah, Bon Bon’s Confectionarium,” she said reading the sign above the door. “It’s a sweet shop, what’s odd about that? I guess the ponies must get bored of grass sometimes.”

“Nothing at all. But this,” he trotted over and to a tarpaulin sitting next to the shop and yanked it off to reveal what looked like a pile of scrap to Izzy, “appears to the be the remains of the ghost drive of a Z49 waste disposal pod, which doesn’t belong in this universe at all.”

“Ok,” said Izzy pointing at her face, “This is me pretending that I know what you’re talking about. Care to explain the technobabble?”

“It’s a rather effective but as the same time messy form of waste disposal used by humanity around the 25th century.” He looked down into the remains of the device. “Used to get rid of particularly toxic chemicals and a few even more toxic individuals. The theory was simple enough, you load whatever you want to get rid of into it and fire it into space. Once it gets far enough away it activates a rather unstable warp drive and drops into a random dimension, hopefully far away from home. Problem was, they sometimes left great big holes in the fabric of reality which let all sorts of nasty things come through. They were eventually outlawed. If one made it here then the contents could be causing all sorts of problems.” He scanned the wreckage with both the tracker and his sonic screwdriver. “Hum, the cargo space seem to be empty and no toxic residue I can find. Oddly enough it seems to have picked up some sort of shielding against this universe’s physics. The odds of that happening by accident is a billion to one, but that happens nine times out of ten. It’s just as well as if it hadn’t there would have been a rather large bang. Still it is degrading slowly, we’d better get this back to the TARDIS. But first I’d like to talk to whoever found it.”

Izzy walked up to the front door and peered into the window, “It looks abandoned to me. Maybe somepony just dumped it here?”

“Maybe, but if this place is abandoned no one will mind if we take a look around. Even if someone is here maybe we can pick up some jelly babies - or should that be jelly foals? It’s been ages since I’ve had one.” He wandered around the back of the building and tried the door. “It’s not locked,” he said opening the door. “And it looks like the cleaners are on strike.”

Izzy and the Doctor entered the building and found themselves in a rather dusty hallway. Izzy examined the pile of post near the door. “Looks like no one's been here for a while.”

“Or it’s all junk mail.” The Doctor’s ears pricked up. “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“Well now all I can hear is you talking. Be quiet for a second.” His ears twitched around for a second. “Odd, a humming sound, seems electrical but I don’t recall seeing any electric lighting around town. I think it’s coming from this way.” The two of them quietly moved down the hall to an open door which led down some stairs into another dimly lit hall with a solid looking door at the far end.

Suddenly a series of screams split the air from behind the door. The Doctor took off like a shot, yanking open the door and rushing through it with Izzy following just behind him. They entered into a cluttered room. The air was full of steam and much of the floor was covered in red gloop. The source of the screaming was a green unicorn mare with a green and white mane bound to a wheeled table near the centre of the room. Looming over her was a bizarre figure. Roughly pony shaped, it was half as big again as the average stallion and appeared to be made out of a mix of sweets and metal. Its chest seemed to be a large boiled sweet while its barrel was made from a jelly like substance and its limbs seemed to be sticks of rock braced with metal. Strangest of all its head which consisted of a carved block of sugar with a jaw made out of a gnashing mass of metal teeth while its eyes were glowing red searchlights.

The Doctor pulled up short and looked at the strange creature, “Kandyman?” he asked.

The figure turned towards the intruders, “How do you know my name?” it asked in a deep voice.

“Lucky guess?” suggested the Doctor backing away.

“Kandyman?” said Izzy, “Looks more like a Kandymare to me, arn’t you missing something?”

“Stay where you are!” the Kandymare ordered. She raised a candy cane leg and the hoof hinged down to reveal a gun barrel. “Or get a face full of sour candy.” The gun made a spitting sound and a yellow mass splattered onto the ground in front of the Doctor. The floor started to hiss as the chemical ate into it. “Very sour candy.”

“Bonny! Bonny!” sobbed Lyra hysterically.

“Oh, do be quiet, Mater,” rumbled the Kandymare, walking over to Bon Bon’s still form while keeping her gun arm pointed at the Doctor, “She sacrificed herself for my greater good.”

Suddenly Bon Bon’s form convulsed and her eyes snapped open. “My baby!” she gasped.

“It appears that mother is made of sterner stuff than I had thought. The transfusion should have killed her.”

“Transfusion?” questioned the Doctor inching towards the table Lyra was tied to.

“I’m not of this pathetic Technicolor universe. In order to function in it I required a measure of a native’s energy - their magic, or soul, you might say. After a little chemical encouragement Bon Bon here was more than happy to give me hers.”

“Bon Bon’s soul!” gasped Lyra

“Oh, don’t worry, it’ll grow back. Eventually. This time. After all I might need a top up, and I’m sure she’ll be happy to oblige.”

“My baby!” gasped Bon Bon again. With surprising strength she grabbed the Kandymare into a hug, throwing her off balance.

Seizing his opportunity the Doctor leapt for Lyra’s table. “Run Izzy!” he yelled as the Kandymare shot at him. The yellow gloop missed but hit one of the table legs which quickly disintegrated, dropping Lyra to the floor with a yelp. Izzy ran for the door but slipped on the red slime coating the floor and ended up in a pile of hooves near the oven the Kandymare had emerged from.

Using his tail the Doctor swept a set of cutlery from a side table at the Kandymare, who staggered back under the assault. With his mouth the red stallion grabbed Lyra and swung her onto his back and galloped out of the laboratory. “Don’t worry Miss...”

“Lyra.”

“Lyra, we’ll be safe in a minute.”

“But what about Bon Bon! We can’t leave her with that monster!” Lyra struggled, trying to lever herself off the Doctor’s back.

The Doctor dashed up the stairs and skidded as he reached the top, almost crashing into a wall before running to the front door. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back, I just need to get you and Izzy out of danger. Izzy?” he looked around as he reached for the door.

“You should stop if you’d like your little friend to keep her head,” came the Kandymare’s voice from behind them.

The Doctor turned to see the monster standing at the top of the stairs holding his gun leg to Izzy’s head.

“Sorry, Doctor,” she said apologetically.

“Doctor!” hissed the Kandymare, “Can it be? You look different. But then so do I, and you’re still a thorn in my side. How did you get here from Terra Alpha? Come to make certain of my destruction?”

“An unhappy coincidence, I’m afraid. I didn’t know you had survived - the last time I saw you, you were buried in molten sugar.”

“Oh Gilbert built me to last. He was, after all, working from my own designs. I may have a caramel core but my brain is protected by something a lot stronger. The new killjoy government decided to take rather drastic steps to destroy me and I ended up here. Still we’ll be able to catch up with old times soon, after we put your companions somewhere safe.” She gestured towards the back of the house, “Move,” she commanded.

The creature that called itself the Kandymare forced the trio to follow it into the shop’s main storage room, where bags of sugar, tubs of caramel and jugs of milk covered the floor and walls. Izzy wearily walked to the room while the Doctor gently lowered the still bound Lyra to the floor.

“Now Doctor, you can come with me. It’s time we had a little ‘chat’,” said the Kandymare gesturing with its gun arm.

“Are you going to be alright?” the Doctor asked Izzy.

“I’ll be fine, since I met you being locked up is second nature.”

“Well if you get thirsty maybe you can find something fizzy and refreshing down here,” whispered the Doctor.

“Sure,” said Izzy looking confused, “I’ll do that.”

“Now, Doctor,“ thundered the Kandymare.

“Coming.”

The artificial pony forced the Doctor out of the store before slamming the door behind him. The sound of a bar being slotted into place to seal the door could be heard.

Izzy walked over the Lyra and clumsily tried to untie her with her hooves. “Let’s get you free.”

“What did that thing do to Bon Bon?” muttered Lyra, looking shell shocked.

“Who?” asked Izzy now trying to gnaw at the bonds.

“Bon Bon, my marefriend. That thing did something to her mind, made her think it was our child, made her drug me.”

“Marefriend?” said Izzy looking surprised, “That’s a thing here?”

“What’s a thing?”

“Two... mares, you know, together.”

“Yes, of course, why wouldn’t it be?”

“No reason I suppose,” said Izzy, sounding awkward. Finally the rope binding Lyra’s front hooves broke.

“Oww, Oww, Oww,” mutter Lyra shaking her hooves, “Pins and needles. If I wasn’t such a coward she’d be my wife by now and we would have a real foal of our own. I just keep thinking that one day she’ll wake up and realise she could do better than me, someone richer, better. I don’t want her to make a decision about being with me that she’ll regret later. Bonny’s always been the strong one, I don’t know if I can help her now.” she looked up at Izzy eyes wet with tears.

“Umm, stiff upper lip, where there's life there’s hope, things like that,” said Izzy gingerly patting Lyra on the back. “Look is there any lemonade down here?”

“Lemonade? Why?”

“Something the Doctor said about a fizzy drink. I can’t say I understand it but it’s probably part of an anti Kandymare weapon or something, he’s good at things like that.”

“Wait, the Doctor, that guy from another universe? The girls told me about him.”

“Yep, that’s us, he said he’d been here before. Of course the ‘girls’ would know about him, he seems to have one in every port.”

“Pleased to meet you then. I’m Lyra Heartstrings by the way.”

“I’m Izzy, err, Izzy Sci Fi Fan.”

The two of them started to search the room, Lyra still hobbling on her numb hooves.

“So how did you and Bon Bon get together?” asked Izzy pushing aside a bottle of curdled milk.

“I’ve known Bon Bon almost all my life,” replied Lyra listlessly searching through an unlabelled cardboard box full of baking trays. “We’ve always been friends and when puberty hit we just sort of moved on to the next level.”

“So there’s never been anyone else for you then?”

“Never. It was always her and I suppose it’s always been me for her... well, there was someone else once, sort of.” She started to smile “Not long before I went to Canterlot we had an argument about it and sort of broke up, and she went on a date with Roseluck. When I found out I was terrified she’d finally found someone else. I couldn’t sleep so I got up, got my Lyre and marched over to her house, sat outside and started to play. Kept at it for hours even after her mum threatened to use me as a taste tester. Eventually, just as Luna was raising the sun Bonny came out. She said she’d wanted to see if I was taking her for granted. I should probably have been angry but I was just so happy she was still mine. Then her dad turned a hose on us.”

“Awww. Err, anyway, you fought for her then, you can do it now.”

Lyra looked surprised for a moment. “You’re right, I can’t let this creature take her away from me.” She returned to her search with increased vigour, throwing trays aside.

“Now, Doctor, we can have a little chat,” said the Kandymare, now wearing a chef’s hat. She had forced the Doctor back to the lab and had bound him to one of the tables using some gooey substance which the Doctor though might be toffee but had set as hard as concrete. The artificial pony had then ignored the Doctor for some time while mixing up some concoction from the ingredients which were scattered around the room while humming happily to herself. Finally she poured the mixture out into a tray. In the background Bon Bon had slowly started to recover from what had done to her and was struggling groggily to get to her hooves.

“You say you arrived here by accident?” continued the artificial mare leaning over the Doctor so that her eyes shone in his face.

“More or less, that’s how I arrive at most places. It keeps things exciting.”

“I don’t believe you,” thundered the Kandymare smashing a hoof into the stone wall of the lab leaving a deep indentation. “You came here to find me, what other reason could there be for you to be in this misbegotten dimension?”

“Well there’s the hoofball, and stage shows, oh and I know a mare who makes a cheesecake that just to die for.”

“Oh, very glib Doctor, but I’ve got just the sweet to wipe that smile off your face.”

“What’s going on?” mumbled Bon Bon, “I feel so strange. You’re my daughter but how? Where’s Lyra?” she wailed, “I want Lyra.”

“Excuse me for a minute Doctor, family business,” said the Kandymare turning towards the cream mare with a sigh. “Feeling confused, mother? It must be time for your medicine.” A small hatch opened in her side and she retrieved a plastic bottle topped with a teat, containing a honey like substance. Bon Bon’s eye’s locked onto it and she started to stagger towards the Kandymare.

“Drink up, mother.” The Kandymare held out the bottle and Bon Bon locked her jaw around the top. Her ‘daughter’ squeezed a generous helping of the mixture into the mares mouth, causing her to moan in pleasure before falling backwards as her legs collapsed beneath her.

“I love you so much,” announced Bon Bon, hugging herself. Her eyes were wide and her pupils tiny staring into the distance.

“Of course you do,” sneered the Kandymare, returning the bottle to its cavity.

“What did you do to her?” snarled the Doctor, fighting helplessly against his bindings.

“Do, Doctor? Why I gave her something sweet. One of my best recipes in fact, liquid love. Sugar, spice, Lysergic acid diethylamide, 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine and all things nice, that’s what little Bon Bon is high on, oh and to top it all off a big dollop of Oxytocin. It worked even better than I could have hoped. She would do anything for me, die for me, even kill for me.” An evil grin crossed the Kandymare’s artificial face. “Would you like a demonstration? Mother, I think we should have a sale.”

“A sale?” mumbled the drugged mare.

“Yes, a one off deal, we can give away these special treats I just made.” She indicated the tray of recently poured chocolates. “They’re so very tasty and so very deadly. Just for the little ones.”

Bon Bon, nodded and balanced the tray on her back and began to walk to the stairs. Then she turned. “But deadly?” she asked.

“Now now mother, you do love me don’t you?”

“Oh, almost more than anything,” she replied dreamily.

“You don’t need to do this, think about what you’re doing!” shouted the Doctor.

“Do be quiet!” commanded the Kandymare, taking off her hat and roughly forcing it into the Doctor's mouth, silencing him.

“Now if you do love me, you’ll do what I want and I want you to go upstairs and open up the shop, then put that tray of sweeties on the counter with a sign saying they’re free to foals and come back here.”

Bon Bon nodded slowly, her brow furrowed, and staggered off again almost dropping the tray.

“You just can’t get the staff these days,” muttered the Kandymare to herself. “Now Doctor, I’ve never liked children. Greedy, sticky little things, never appreciating my talents. The adults of this place might be of some use to me as slaves, but the foals them I can do without.” She reached into a pile of junk on the floor and pulled out a glass box. Poking at a few buttons on the front an image appeared in the box. It showed Bon Bon in the shop with a pen in her mouth writing a sign, the tray of chocolate near the middle of the picture. “Good. I had Bon Bon place a camera in the shop so I could see what was happening. Now we can watch the last moments of the town’s children, all through the magic of television.”

“Aaaaaarrgggghhh” screamed Lyra in frustration, “Stupid sugar.” she kicked at a sack of the substance, spilling it across the floor.

Lyra and Izzy had seemingly searched every box, bag, carton and container in the store room and had not found a single drop of fizzy drink. “There should be some of it here, I don’t think Bon Bon sells much but I know she likes to drink it.”

“I found this box,” said Izzy pointing at a box labelled Ponycola, “but it was empty. I think the Kandymare might be a step ahead of us and got rid of all of the fizzy drinks before we arrived.”

“So we wasted our time! While who knows what is happening to Bonny!”

“And the Doctor.”

“Yes, and the Doctor,” Lyra said somewhat dismissively. “WE. HAVE. TO. GET. OUT. OF. HERE. NOW!” she screamed rearing up and tearing at her mane. A large block of butter levitated off of a shelf and threw itself across the room.

Izzy threw herself a side to avoid the flying dairy product. “Whoa,” she cried, “what was that?”

“My horn,” gasped Lyra, prodding her still swollen appendage and wincing. “The Kiwi must be wearing off.”

“Well, can you do something to get us out of here? Use the force, Lyra, you’re our only hope.”

Lyra trotted over to the door and concentrated, a bluish aura starting to form around her horn before it shorted out in a shower of sparks which set alight a nearby cardboard box. She quickly stamped out the flames, looking a bit sheepish. “I can do this,” she told herself.

Trying to centre herself, Lyra started to hum a tune. She normally focused her magic using her lyre but she had been taught to use any form of music to improve her spell casting ability. She thought of the night she had spent serenading Bonny all those years ago, the fear of losing her, and the glow intensified. Then she thought of what the Kandymare had done to her and made her do, and her aura grew stronger and stronger throwing off sparks but remaining otherwise stable. The door began to glow brighter and brighter as she pumped more and more energy into it. Reaching down into the depth of her heart she brought out all her love for Bon Bon and all her fear at what could happen to her, and pushed it through her horn at the barrier stopping her from being with her soul mate.

The door did not stand a chance. With a surprisingly quiet poof the door disintegrated into a shower of splinters that drifted to the ground.

“I did it!” yelled Lyra, cantering around in joy before the effort she had expended caught up with her and she collapsed to the ground, winded.

“Shush!” commanded Izzy. “The bad guy might still be around. Now let’s see about saving the Doctor, he’s probably in extra peril by now if I know him.” She started to sneak towards the stairs to the lab.

“Wait, I’ve got something upstairs which might help us. Keep an eye out here, I’ll be back in a minute.” said Lyra, panting hard. She quietly trotted up the stairs towards her bedroom. When she got there she grabbed her finest Lyre. She turned to go but paused, biting her lip she searched among her Lyre cases for her surprise. This wasn’t how she wanted to use it but the way things were going she might not get a further chance. She hid the gift in her mane and then headed back towards Izzy.

The monitor showed a silent grainy black and white picture of Bon Bon leaving the shop, her task completed. The sign sat next to a plate of mouth-watering treats. A few minutes later she returned to the lab.

“Now all we have to do is wait, Doctor,” crooned the Kandymare. “Ah, here come my little victims now.”

The Doctor was still gagged and could only stare hatefully at the pony like creature.

The television now showed a gaggle of about a dozen foals cautiously making their way into the shop. Apparently surprised that there was no one else around they started to survey the shelves of goodies. It didn’t take long for one of them to notice the tray of sweets and the sign next to it. One of the foals, a pegasus filly, hopped towards the treats and picked one up but two unicorn fillies, one white and one grey on the monitor, seemed to be arguing with her about something. An earth pony wearing a crown seemed to be egging the first filly on. Soon the whole group had erupted into several antagonistic factions yelling at each other.

“Fighting over who gets to die first, this is great comedy, I’m practically glowing. In fact I am literally glowing.” The Kandymare’s head was starting to emit an eerie white light. She touched a hoof to her cheek, and it came away sticky. “What’s happening to me? My shielding’s breaking down quicker than I expected. I guess I’ll need a top up.” She turned to Bon Bon, “Mother, you can do me a favour,” she began, but then an idea seemed to hit her. “Wait, you seem to be unaffected so far, Doctor. I think I should drain you dry first, to give dear Mater some more time to recover.”

The Kandymare grabbed the helmet attached to the oven and dragged it over to where the Doctor was restrained. The Doctor finally managed to spit out the hat in his mouth. “Wait,” he pleaded. “You don’t understand what you’re doing, this will ju..” he was cut off as the helmet was clamped to his head and a strap affixed under his jaw, holding his mouth shut.

“Oh, do be quiet. What’s the worst that can happen? You die? No great loss there. Bon Bon, guard the lab while I deal with the Doctor, and make sure that none of the greedy little maggots from the shop make their way down here while I’m busy. It’s a shame I’ll miss the effects of my treats, they should be most spectacular. Still, there will be more foals to kill later.” Having given her instructions the pony-like construct climbed into the oven and shut the door behind herself. The hum of the machinery started to rise.

Bon Bon stood for a moment, looking at the Doctor’s pleading eyes, before turning away and slowly climbing the stairs out of the lab. Once there she shut and locked the door behind her, then slumped to the ground closing her weary eyes for a moment trying to settle her mind. When she opened them again Lyra and Izzy had appeared in front of her. She jumped back in surprise, colliding with the door behind her.

“Bonny!” cried Lyra. “You’re alright!”

From behind the door the sounds of the Doctor screaming could be heard. Izzy tried to push past Bon Bon but the brainwashed mare kicked her viciously in the barrel, knocking her back with a cry.

“My daughter doesn’t want to be disturbed, she needs something from the Doctor to survive.”

“She’s not your daughter Bonny, she’s a monster.”

“She’s our child, she may look different but I know she’s ours, I can feel it, why don’t you love her like I do?”

“Our child would be made from the two of us, from the best parts of us. The Kandymare hurt you, made you poison me. Do you think a part of me could do that, could a part of you?”

Bon Bon stood statue still for a moment, then burst into tears. “Lyra,“ she sobbed. “It’s me, that’s where she got it from, you know how I can get. I almost strangled Trixie when she changed you into a bear. It’s my fault our daughter is like this.”

Taken aback, Lyra replied, “No, Bonny, no. That’s not what I meant. You’re a good mare, a good mare. You wouldn’t do this, you couldn’t do this and no child of yours could either. Listen.” She levitated her Lyre and began to play. “Do you remember this?”

Bon Bon smiled although tears continued to streak her cheeks. “You played all night, you said you’d fight for me.”

“Yes, and you know me, you know I’m loyal and loyal to the right ponies. Most of all I’m loyal to you.”

“But why? You’re special, you’re an element and one of the best musicians in Equestria. Why me, I’m nopony just little Bon Bon from Ponyville, someday you’ll find someone really special and realise you don’t need me anymore.”

By now Lyra too was crying. “Never! Oh Bonny, I’d never do that. You’re the strong one, you’re my rock. I need you to be strong now. I need you to see beyond what that creature has done to you and believe what I say. That is not our child and you need to help us. Please Bon Bon! Please!” She leaned forward and kissed her lover’s mouth.

“Oh, Lyra, it’s so hard, I know she’s strange but she gives me this sweet stuff and I need it and I love her so much.”

“Why do you love her?”

“I don’t know, I just do, you’re supposed to love your children without a reason aren't you?”

“Not like this, this isn’t right, this isn’t real.”

Bon Bon looked up with eyes full of confusion. “Oh, Oh Luna, I think you’re right, it’s fake it’s all fake, please help me, help me!” she collapsed forward into Lyra’s hooves.

“Don’t worry Bonny. Everything’s going to be alright. I’ll help you, I’ll fix it all.” Lyra cradled her marefriend in her hooves, feeling like a liar.

Taking advantage of Bon Bon’s incapacity Izzy hammered on the door, behind which the Doctors tortured cries could still be heard. Still cuddling her lover Lyra gently reached into Bon Bon’s mane with her telekinesis and retrieved the key, which she silently passed to Izzy. She fumbled the key with her hooves until she finally turned it in the lock with a click and rushed down the stairs towards the screams.

She arrived in the lab to see the Doctor still bonded to the table and attached to the oven via the helmet on his head. Waves of white lightning were running down his body from head to tail. Looking around desperately for something to break the cables linking him to the oven, she spied a rack of cooking knives on one wall and grasped one in her mouth. She rushed back and slashed down at the cables. There was a bright flash and Izzy was thrown back against the wall.

“Izzy,” mumbled the Doctor. He struggled against his bonds and they gave way as the now deep fried material snapped, taking small sections of the Doctors fur with them. He dropped to the ground and stumbled on trembling legs before crawling over to Izzy. Smoke was rising from her form but she was already getting to her hooves apparently unharmed, the rubber handle of the knife still gripped in her teeth, the blade having melted.

With a grinding of metal the front of the great oven containing the Kandymare was torn off its hinges and thrown across the room to embed itself in the far wall. “What have you done, Doctor!” bellowed the Kandymare as she staggered out of the oven. Her head was lit like a torch and the sugar substance it was made of was running like molten wax.

“I did try to warn you,” panted the Doctor. “Your device drains the natural energy of this world's inhabitants to stabilize your existence here. However, I’m not a native, entirely different forces maintain my form, so all your equipment ended up doing was draining your own protection and transferring it to me. You’re finished, Kandymare. Unfortunately your passing is likely to destroy most of this town as well.”

“If I’m going to die, then you will die first.” The Kandymare raised her hoof and once again her gun barrel extended pointing at the Doctor and Izzy. The Doctor struggled to put himself between his companion and the gun. Just as she was going to fire, a chunk of table encased in a blue aura crashed into the Kandymare’s arm, throwing her aim off and dissolving another chunk of the floor.

The Kandymare angrily turned to face Lyra who had just made her way down the stairs with Bon Bon staggering along behind her. Another shard of the table she had once been bound to was gripped in her aura, ready to be thrown. However, as the Kandymare started to bear down on Lyra her magic sparked and the improvised weapon dropped to the ground. She winced in pain as her horn gave out again.

“I see you want to die first,” said the Kandymare. She retracted her gun arm as she approached her victim. “It will be so much more satisfying to kill you with my own hooves.” She slammed a candy hoof into the ground. Lyra dodged back, but a backhoof slap caught her on the flank and spun her around. A further blow to the head left her stunned and helpless.

With a smile on her molten features the Kandymare raised a hoof over her head ready to crush the green unicorn’s skull. “Good bye ‘Mother’,” she mocked. Suddenly she was staggered as an angry Bon Bon slammed head first into her side, knocking her off her hooves.

“Get away from her you bitch!” screamed Bon Bon.

The Kandymare lashed out with a heavy candy hoof catching Bon Bon on the flank, sending her staggering back but she quickly recovered and replied with a blow from her rear hooves, which cracked the artificial pony’s chest. The bottle of the mind controlling mixture rolled out of its enclosure. Bon Bon’s eyes fastened on the small bottle as it rolled away.

“Look mother,” cooed the Kandymare, “It’s your medicine. Remember how good it felt?”

Slowly Bon Bon walked over to the container, eyes still focused on it. “No,” she muttered, “No,” she said with more surety, “NO!” she screamed bringing both front hooves down on the bottle, crushing the plastic and spreading the remaining liquid over the floor. Thrashing around, Bon Bon’s rear hooves once again connected with the Kandymare shattering one of the creatures rear legs. The monstrous pony fell forward, grasping Bon Bon with its front legs and attempting to crush the life from her. Bon Bon drew back her head and smashed it into the molten sugar that now made up the Kandymare’s face. She repeated the action again and again until her opponents metal jaw cracked and the creature fell backwards and released her.

“Mother! Please!” burbled the Kandymare through its shattered jaw.

“NO! You’re not my daughter. NO!” screamed Bon Bon slamming her hoof into the Kandymare’s face, with a crash it shattered, revealing a glowing metal box within. Bon Bon collapsed to the ground, sobbing. Lyra crawled over and held her while whispering, “It’s going to be alright, she’s gone now, it’s going to be alright.”

The Doctor got to his hooves surveying the wrecked laboratory and the remains of the Kandymare. His eyes alighted on the monitor which still showed the foals fighting over the poisoned chocolate. One stealthy colt had broken free of the melee and was making his way to the tray. “Izzy,” cried the Doctor, “Get to the shop, stop those children from eating the sweets, they’re deadly. I’ve got to deal with the Kandymare before she explodes.” With that he sprinted up the stairs. A second later Izzy followed him and watched as he ran out of the front door. She quickly orientated herself and took the door that she thought lead towards the front of the shop.

Izzy followed the sound of raised voices to find the shop itself. She crashed through the door separating it from the rest of the building. Instantly all noise in the shop ceased as two dozen small eyes settled on her. Most of the foals had been shouting at each other but in some cases the arguments had escalated into physical confrontation. A grey earth pony filly lay pinned underneath an orange pegasus while a Pink filly looked on jealously. One of the foals, a while colt with brown spots, had made his way onto the counter and had just put one of the sweets into his mouth.

Time seemed to slow down as Izzy saw his jaw start to close on the poisoned confection. “Sstttooopppp!” cried Izzy and she leapt, as if in slow motion, towards him, sailing lazily through the air. Then everything returned to their normal speed as she crashed into the colt knocking him off of the counter and sending both of them tumbling to the floor. Izzy landed on the foal’s stomach causing him to spit the sweet out.

For a second everything was quiet, and the small figure under her looked up with fearful eyes, “Err, they’re bad for your teeth,” she said lamely.

Suddenly with a scream the colt struggled against her and scrambled to his hooves. His cries set off the other foals and after a few seconds of panicked blundering the whole herd had managed to rush out of the shop and into town, wailing loudly.

“Great,” muttered Izzy to herself, “I guess we’ll have to get out of her before the local police turn up and arrest me for assaulting a child.” With that in mind she grabbed the tray of sweets and rushed back into the house itself.

Izzy met the Doctor on the stairs, he was trying to drag the wreckage of the Kandymare’s craft into the lab. “Help me,” he panted.

“What do you need this wreck for?” she asked.

“If we’re lucky there might be enough juice in the ghost drive for one more jump. We can use it to get the Kandymare’s remains away from here before he explodes.”

Izzy put her back into pushing the remains of the craft through the door and winced to hear it scrape against the walls. “And if it doesn’t have enough juice?”

“Then we won’t have to worry about it for long.” the Kandymare’s brain case was now glowing bright enough to make it painful to look at and heat could be felt wafting off of it. The Doctor rushed over and tried to pick it up. Making a series of pained cries, he juggled the glowing box with his front hooves while staggering towards the craft on his rear legs. He fell just before reaching his destination but dropped the box straight into the ship. “Everybody run,” he cried. “These things aren't designed to work in a planet’s atmosphere, anything could happen.”

Izzy helped Lyra carry the still stunned Bon Bon up the stairs while the Doctor followed behind them. Suddenly the drive just disappeared without a sound.

“Oh,” said the Doctor sounding disappointed. “That was a bit of an anti-climax.”

“Where did you send him?” asked Izzy.

“No idea,” replied the Doctor. “Ghost drives don’t have directional controls. I just hope it’s somewhere far away from anyone.”

Izzy looked down at the still sobbing Bon Bon. She was staring at the remains of the mind control chemical splattered on the floor with longing in her eyes, while her body recoiled from the substance. Lyra, despite looking near hysterical herself, took her lover in her arms and started to rock her back and forth whispering reassurances in her ear. Bon Bon closed her eyes and some of the tension drained from her.

“The Kandymare really messed them up, didn’t she?” said Izzy

“I’m afraid so. Artificial love,” he spat. He thrust his sonic screwdriver towards the mess on the floor and it quickly hardened and started to flake away. Bon Bon let out a pained cry, burying her head in Lyra’s mane.

The Doctor gently helped the two mares to their hooves. “Still, the real thing should help you recover and I think you have plenty of that to go around.” He put an arm around Lyra. “I’m afraid Izzy and I will have to go now. If we stay too long we’ll suffer the same fate as the Kandymare. Help should be on its way soon. Tell Princess Luna I was involved, she should be able to help.”

Lyra nodded, “Will Bon Bon get better?”

“Eventually, it’ll be a long road, but you’ll be there to walk it with her. Have faith in yourself and each other.”

With those words of encouragement he left the shell shocked couple alone.

Lyra awoke to feel Bon Bon tossing and turning next to her. She reached out and hugged her lover. As always her physical contact seemed to calm her marefriend and after a few minutes she relaxed back into a deeper sleep.

Several months had passed since their meeting with the Doctor. Both she and Bonny had spent several days in Ponyville hospital while their various injuries had been treated. Bon Bon had spent most of the time feverish as her body purged itself of the various poisons the Kandyman had inflicted on it. She had awoken claiming to remember little of what had occurred.

Even if Bon Bon’s conscious mind didn’t recall the indignities inflicted on it her unconscious did. At first not a single night passed without her being awoken by nightmares, but time had started to heal her and the bad dreams were becoming rarer - this was the only episode so far this week. Bonny was trying to act like nothing had happened but Lyra still saw bursts of fear in her eyes if she was left along with a foal and neither of them had the nerve the enter the lab even now its contents had been taken by the guard.

Lyra rolled out of bed and silently padded over to her Lyre case. Reaching inside with her aura she retrieved her gift and opened the box to reveal the tail ring she had purchased for Bon Bon. She wasn’t sure how Bonny would react to it now, but she could wait. She wasn’t going to be going anywhere. One day the time would be right, one day they would be married, one day they would have a foal of their own.

Of that Lyra was sure.

8.5th Doctor - The Soldier

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Light, suddenly there was light. Trixie blinked, she had a sudden image a flash so bright it illuminated the skeleton within a pony, she blinked again and it was gone.

“Boss is that you? Are you alright?” came a familiar voice.

“P-Pokey,” she cried, and instantly regretted it, her throat felt like she’d been gargling sand paper. She felt a gentle aura settle around her and tug her forwards towards the light, she staggered to her hooves and felt something push into her head. Her eye’s rolled up, she was wearing the Element of Magic on her head, it was bumping against the low rocky roof, looking closer she realised it wasn’t a roof, it was a wall or part of one at least. “What’s going on?” she asked.

“Just head this way, and be careful, there's glass about. Quickly I don’t know how long this will all hold together,” urged Pokey.

Trixie staggered forwards, down what seemed to be a short tunnel until she emerged into the wreckage of a building, she smelt smoke. “Pokey, what... what happened?” The stallion looked like he’d been in the wars, his normally white mane and blue coat were almost unrecognisable under the layer of dirt and mud covering it.

“I hoped you could tell me boss.”

Trixie squinted her eyes, what had happened? Everything seemed so jumbled. “The princess summoned the bearers,” she began, “She was worried something was going to attack Equestria, attack Ponyville, she sent us and some guards to see what it was... I don’t... I can’t.” She remembered a pegasus snarling, screaming out a name, charging forwards, then the flash, so bright. A light blue shape being thrown through the air, a scream. “I don’t remember, I think we were attacked!” She could feel the memories there at the back of her head but if she tried to think about them a chill ran down her spine, she didn’t think she wanted to know.

There was a crash from behind her and she spun around, the wall she had just crawled out from under had collapsed. Next to it stood three earth pony stallions still clutching ropes in their mouths which had until recently held it up. Two of them she recognised, Big Macintosh and Caramel Apple. The third was a stranger, he was an old stallion, his face lined with age, his fur was a light brown and his mane a darker, but greying, brown he was almost entirely covered by a long battered brown coat made out of a substance Trixie didn’t recognise, a bandoleer crossed his chest containing some sort of wand.

“Where are we anyway?” asked Trixie.

“You don’t recognise it?”

Trixie glanced around, she could just about make out that the rubble around her had been a building, there was a miraculously intact window despite the wall it was set in being almost totally destroyed. Inside the former building were the remains of two desks although now they were just so much firewood, it all seemed so familiar... “The residence! This is... was my home! Its... what happened here?” she gasped. She felt oddly numb, she knew the sight of her destroyed home should upset her more but it just seemed too big for her to comprehend, the whole town just ruins.

“It started about an hour after you and the girls left, I was working on the receipts for the disaster relief fund,” he looked around and giggled, “I think we’re going to need bigger forms!” He sounded a little hysterical, Trixie thought she probably didn’t sound much better. “I heard somepony knocking on the door, I think that might have been you, then the whole wall just exploded in, I think my desk saved me. I staggered out of the residence before the whole thing came down. Everywhere was just... fireballs, rays, all from that thing,” he pointed towards the sky.

Trixie squinted, she could just about make out a shape through the smoke a flattened saucer like shape, perspective suddenly slotted into place and her jaw dropped, it was huge, maybe half the size of the town. “What in Corona’s name in that!?”

“A Dalek command ship,” explained the older stallion, he didn’t sound surprised or afraid, just resigned.

“A what?”

“Something you people were lucky enough to not have to know about until this morning.”

“Who are you anyway?” asked Trixie tearing her eyes away from the thing in the sky.

“Call me... Soldier,” said the old stallion after a moment’s thought, “I was sent by Luna to try and protect you and your fellow Element bearers. I was late, I’m always too late,” he hissed, seemingly to himself. “At least you’re alive, I need to get you back to Canterlot, it’s the only way we might hold out against them this time.”

Trixie frowned, Soldier was not a common name, she certainly hadn’t heard of him before. “What do you mean this time?” she asked.

“Oh, um, the Dalek’s have attacked other... other countries before, slaughtered or enslaved the inhabitants. It’s happening again here. It always happens again.”

“What are these Dalek things? I’ve never heard of them, I don’t think the princess mentioned them.”

“Imagine the worse things you can, a ball of bubbling hate, obsessed with destroying everything that isn’t a Dalek, turning every ounce of its strength, every moment of its existence to that one task, never stopping, never resting, just evil, pure evil.”

“That’s a Dalek?” asked Trixie shocked.

“No, that’s the closest thing to a Dalek you can imagine, the real things are much much worse. We need to get you out of here. Now the command ship has softened up the town the troops will be sent in to deal with any resistance, normally they could detect any survivors from up there but this world’s rules are a little different. They’ll start from the outskirts and move in. We might have time to get to the train station, if it’s still standing.” Soldier turned away.

“Now wait a minute,” said Big Mac blocking his way. “Back at the farm you said you’d help me find my sister.”

Soldier sighed. “Your farm was one of the first to be attacked, if Applebloom is still alive, she’ll be up there.” He pointed at the hovering saucer. “It would be better if she was dead.”

“Don’t say that!” growled Mac advancing on the smaller stallion. Trixie had never seen Mac angry before, and now she had she didn’t want to see him angry again, the ripple of muscles under his skin showed just how much damage he could do if he wanted to. “Ma home’s burnin’, Applejack and Granny are gone, I’m not losin’ Bloom too! She’s alive! She’s got to be!”

“Whoa, Whoa!” said Caramel. Futilely trying to hold Mac back. “Calm down there partner!”

“Besides, I’m not going anywhere without my friends,” added Trixie, “I need to find out what happened to them!” A light so bright she could make out the ponies skeleton, a scream, she shook her head, she had to be sure.

The old stallion shook his head and sighed. “They are dead by now, dead, or worse.”

“Look I don’t want to burst your bubble boss,” the joke was half hearted. “But I haven't seen any of the other bearers since you left this morning. I didn’t even know for sure it was you down there until we dug you out. When he,” Pokey nodded towards Soldier, “Found me, he wanted us to try and find a way onto that thing up there, take the fight to them, now he’s changed his tune.”

“I didn’t know any of the element bearers had survived, with at least one of the elements we might just have a chance to stop the Daleks, if we can get back to Canterlot.”

Trixie was about to argue when she heard something, her ears swivelled trying to locate the source.

“Children!” came a cry, “Come out children!”

That sounded familiar. Cheerilee! Trixie knew her friends must be alive, she just knew it! Cheerilee would come up with some plan and they’d defeat whatever these Dalek things were and Ponyville could be rebuilt better than ever. If she tried really hard she could almost make herself believe that, almost. Trying to put on a smile Trixie turned and stuck her head around the remains of her house looking for her friend. There through the smoke was the somewhat stained fuchsia coat of the school teacher, she was going to shout a greeting when Soldier suddenly leapt on her, bearing her to the ground, she let out a squeak of surprise before he covered her mouth with a hoof. “Look!” he hissed. “Listen!”

“Child-ren!” called Cheerilee, her voice seemed strange, clipped, emotionless. She staggered on through the smoke her head swinging from side to side. Trixie narrowed her eyes there was something on her friends head, something shiny, some sort of metal hat? For a moment Cheerilee’s gaze swung past Trixie, her eyes were blank. As long as she’d known her Cheerilee’s eyes had always glittered with life and energy. Now they were empty.

“What’s wrong with her?” hissed Trixie.

Soldier glanced up then looked away with a sigh. “Your friend is dead, I’m afraid.”

For a moment Trixie thought she had misheard him. “What do you mean she’s dead?! She’s standing over there! She’s talking.”

“She a robo... well robomare I suppose. The Daleks must have captured her and... well that thing on her head, it’s controlling her body.”

“Then we take it off!” said Trixie trying to struggle to her hooves.

“It’s controlling her body, her mind is gone, burnt out, nothing left. You take that off and she’ll... stop.”

Horrified Trixie turned back towards her friend, further movement caught her eye and she started as a second figure moved jerkily forwards, a familiar yellow coated mare. Trixie didn’t want to look but her eyes automatically moved up the figure towards its face. Her mane was missing, replaced by a metallic cap covering the back of her head. That more than anything convinced Trixie that Carrot Top was dead, she’d been so proud of her mane despite of her humble existence, if that was gone then... so was her friend.

“Why’s she calling for children?” whispered Mac from behind them, the large stallion was crouching low.

“For all their brilliance Daleks can be very dull, repetitive, they take other species young and plug them into their battle computers to make them more imaginative,” muttered Soldier, “Obscene.”

“So they might have Bloom!” cried Big Mac eyes brightening.

“Quiet!” hissed Soldier, “Maybe, but the odds are tiny.”

“I’ll take those odds!”

Soldier looked at Mac for a moment, he looked like he was going to say something, then sighed. “Very well. These two would have arrived via teleport beam, the Dalek scanners probably can’t differentiate between ponies, particularly earth ponies, your magic makes you hard to detect as it is. If we can locate the landing point I can get you into the saucer, probably near where they keep any captives. Take this,” He reached into a pocket and brought out a cube made of a seemingly random wires. “If you can get this near the ship's reactor it should disrupt it, the nearer the better, and there’s a timer, you wouldn’t want to be near it when it takes effect.”

“Thanks,” said Mac taking the cube. “I’ll do what ah can.”

“You mean we’ll do what we can,” said Caramel.

“I can’t bring you along,” said Mac, “This is about Bloom, this is family.”

“She’s ma kin to,” said the smaller stallion. “Besides we’re a team, right?”

Mac looked unsure, then nodded. “A team,” he said, “Until the very end. Let’s go cus’”

Soldier took the wand from his bandolier and waved it around the tip glowing and emitting a humming sound. That seemed familiar thought Trixie, but she couldn’t remember from where.

“There!” hissed Soldier pointing at a patch of ground in the distance, for a moment it looked much like the rest of the ruins but then Trixie realised that the area was clear of most smaller pieces of rubble and looked almost melted.

Caramel rubbed his chin for a moment. “Shouldn’t be too hard to get there,” he mused, “We got lots of cover.”

“We can’t just leave,” said Mac, “We have to do something about them.” He pointed towards Cheerilee and Carrot Top, who were still calling out for children. “We can’t let them get any more foals.”

“On it,” agreed Caramel with a nod and quick as a wink he was moving, hopping from cover to cover starting to circle around the two mares. Trixie turned to talk to Mac but he was already gone as well, heading in the opposite direction. She bit her lip for a moment then summoned up an invisibility spell, if they’d asked her to help she could have made this much easier for them all. Still the bounty hunters were doing well at hiding themselves, she’d never seen them at work before and could see why they were successful at their job. Big Mac had already made it behind Carrot Top and brought a large hoof down surprisingly gently on the yellow mare’s head. Trixie had to bite her lip not to call out a warning to her friend. To her surprise despite being knocked back the small mare did not fall, instead she spun around and charged at her attacker catching him on his chest and making him grunt in surprise before she continued to bear down on him hooves flailing.

Cheerilee likewise turned on Caramel who had been approaching her. Without a sound she lashed out with a hoof catching him just above the eye, she followed up with a kick to the gut which dropped him to the floor before she rested a forearm on his neck and started to push down. The stallion struggled as he was strangled, his tongue lolling and his legs kicking out, trying to knock the mare away. Trixie rushed forwards to help him, out of the corner of her eyes she noticed Soldier and Pokey rushing towards the fight as well.

“Cheerilee, stop!” she cried trying to grab the mare in her aura and pull her away from Caramel.

“Children! Come out Children!” continued the school teacher unemotionally as she choked the life from her victim.

“Stop!” begged Trixie again, “Please!” She felt her aura latch onto something and pulled as hard as she could, there was a sickeningly wet sound and the metal helmet on her friends head tore off releasing the cloying scent of cooked meat. Trixie stared in horror at the space where the back of Cheerilee’s head should have been and felt the bile rise in her throat. She turned as her stomach emptied itself on the ground and Cheerilee’s body dropped to the ground like a puppet with the strings cut. Around her everything seemed to become fuzzy and indistinct, there was a hole where the back of her friends head should be! She was vaguely aware of Soldier running past her and kneeling next to Caramel as he started to stagger to his hooves. That didn’t seem to be important. She ignored the unmoving shape on the ground that wasn’t, couldn’t be her friend, she just wanted to stand there until the world made sense, until everything was normal again.

“Boss! Boss!” cried Pokey at Trixie. “Stay with me!” The mare remained blankly staring at the ground. He waved a hoof in front of her face, still no response.

“Something’s wrong with Trixie!” he cried and Soldier rushed over to him slipping on the loose rubble. He brought out his strange wand device and ran it up and down Trixie, it gave out a buzzing sound.

“She’s in shock, catatonic. There’s nothing we can do for her at the moment,” he explained.

Pokey glanced down at Cheerilee’s body, then quickly looked away. “Here,” said Caramel hoarsely, as he passed over a torn table cloth he had found somewhere. “Cover her.”

Trying not look too closely Pokey did as he was told. Next to it Big Mac laid down another covered form, several fresh cuts were viable under his coat. He gave a shaky sigh. “It were her or me,” he explained.

“We have to get out of here,” said Pokey turning back to Trixie, he gently pushed her away from the bodies and she complied. For a moment he’s wanted to go with Mac and Caramel, to fight the Daleks but, he couldn’t this was all so big, what could one stallion do? He’d always dreamt of being a hero, of piercing the heavens, but now that his moment had come, he couldn’t. He slumped in place.

“He’s right,” agreed Soldier, “There will be more Robomares or worse Daleks here soon, we need to get out of Ponyville while we still can.” He took one of Trixie’s forearms and started to lead her away.

“Wait!” called Pokey looking back, “Shouldn’t we...” he wracked his brain for the right thing, Earth ponies liked to be return to the soil didn’t they, it all seemed so fuzzy, so unreal, “Burry them?”

“No time,” said Big Mac, “I’m sure they won’t mind none, they’re in a better place than we are. So what now Soldier?” he asked.

“You still want to do this?” asked the old stallion. Mac and Caramel both nodded. “Stand there,” he indicated the empty space and began to wave around the wand. “I should be able to activate the system and...” there was a flash and a sudden inrush of air and the two stallions vanished. “Good luck,” he said, “Now we need to get to the train station.” He turned and started to lead his companions through the ruins of Ponyville.

Mac bit back a cry as suddenly it felt like he was being dipped in molten metal, as quickly as it had started the feeling stopped. Blinking he looked around, he was not where he had been a moment ago, so that was what teleportation felt like. The first thing he noticed about the new location was the sound, part heard, part travelling up through his legs, a distant rhythmic beating, like being in a giant heart. The room around him was dimly lit and seemed to be comprised of a burnished bronze like metal, it was cold.

“Where are we cuz?” asked Caramel through gritted teeth.

Mac glanced over to him and realised that his friends coat was smoking slightly, his was as well. “I guess we’re on that saucer thing, we need to find Bloom.”

Caramel looked around the small chamber they were in, there didn’t seem to be a way out. “How...” he began.

“CAP-TURE SQUAD DEL-TA WILL DEL-IV-ER PRIS-ON-ERS TO COM-PUT-ER STAT-ION TWELVE,” squawked an artificial sounding voice seemingly coming from all around them cutting Caramel off. A door in the wall slid silently open.

“I guess that’s as good an idea as any,” said Mac starting to the door.

“I’ll go first,” said Caramel stopping Mac with a hoof. “You know I’m quieter than you, remember that mule over towards Vine Ridge?”

“Hey that ain’t fair, did you see the size of his ears?”

“Well yes I did, because I snuck up on him close enough to get a good look at them, you didn’t because he heard you coming a mile away.” He grinned before heading out the door.

Mac stopped him again. “You know this is a one way trip right? We’re probably not going to make it back from here?”

Caramel’s grin slipped for a moment. “Sure, but we go to try and find Applebloom right? Plus you know, never say die.”

Mac nodded. “Right, let’s go.”

The journey through Ponyville was almost dreamlike to Pokey. The ruined town seemed almost like an alien world, until a still standing landmark would remind him of where he was. Soldier led the way while Trixie leaned against Pokey, still in shock she followed him blindly. He was worried she might never recover from this, he’d known Cheerilee and Carrot Top and the others but they hadn’t been that close, but they had been Trixie’s best friends and to see them like that, he was trying not to think about it. As they passed through the remains of the town they slowly attracted more and more survivors crawling out of the wreckage, many injured. He’d wanted to stop to search the rubble for those trapped, like Trixie had been, but Soldier forbade it, he said they had to get to the train station and out of town as quickly as possible. His words highlighted by sounds drifting on from the edge of town, screams and strange humming sounds.

Pokey didn’t know why he was doing what the old stallion told him, maybe it was just because he seemed to be the only one who had any idea what to do, but there seemed to be something more than that, some aura of trustworthiness. Soldier seemed weary and bitter and harsh, but he found it hard to think that he wanted to harm them.

By the time they got to the station their group numbered in the dozens, the building itself was mostly intact and had been cordoned off by some of the guard that had been sent to the town with the element bearers. As soon as they arrived Soldier waved something in the guards leader’s face and received a salute in return.

“What do we do now?” asked Pokey.

“We have to get out of town as quickly as possible,” replied Soldier glancing up at the still immobile ship hovering in the air. “If we’re lucky we might still avoid the Dalek patrols, and if we’re really lucky that thing won’t evaporate us as soon as we get moving.”

The officer rushed over Soldier and saluted again. “Sir, we should be able to fit all the civilians in the rolling stock we have, it’ll be a crush but do able, the track is blocked but my men should be able to clear it given an hour or so. Once that’s been done we can leave as soon as the rest of my scouts return.”

“No time, we have to clear the track now and any of your men still in the town are dead,” said Soldier harshly.

The guard blinked. “Sir, we need to complete a full search we may be able to recover more of the elements.”

“The element bearers are dead, Lieutenant.” Trixie’s eyes blinked for a moment but she remained silent by Pokey’s side. “As will we all be, if we don’t leave in the next few minutes.” He brushed past the guard and turned to face the assembled ponies. “Everypony!” he cried, “We need to clear this rubble now!” he pointed to the large rocks sitting on the tracks just outside of the station. “We all need to work together!” He hopped down onto the track and galloped along to the nearest rock and began to push against it. “Come on,” he gasped.

Taking his cue Pokey followed him and started to heave at the bolder with his aura, to his surprise Trixie followed him and after a moment’s hesitation leant her own magic strength to his. Behind them more and more ponies started to help, earth ponies and pegasus pushed against the rocks while unicorns tried to levitate them to reduce the effective weight. Within a few moment over a hundred ponies were combining their efforts, the rocks didn’t stand a chance, it only took a few minutes for the rails to be clear and some of the unicorns even used their powers to fix some of the damage to the line itself. The train driver certainly wasn’t happy but he agreed they were unlikely to become derailed.

Soldier ordered all the ponies present into the two functioning trains before boarding the foremost, Pokey and Trixie followed. It was a squeeze but Pokey managed to find a seat for Trixie, the shocked mare continuing to stare into the distance. Soldier himself helped a foal into a seat before leaning against one of the doors. Pokey pushed his way through the crowd to stand next to the old stallion just as with a jolt the train started to move off, there was a grinding sound as the wheels passed over damaged section and Pokey held his breath for a moment but they and the second train soon started to pick up speed heading towards Canterlot. Or at least Pokey hoped that’s where they were heading, sight of the capital was still blocked by the smoke and dust thrown up by the destroyed town.

Mac gasped as he entered the next chamber. After innumerable cramped and seemingly identical corridors, the room beyond was huge, he couldn’t make out the far end, it was so far away. In the centre behind some hazy shield sat a ball of flame, like the sun, it didn’t seem to be giving off any heat, but Mac could almost feel it struggling against its confinement at the heart of this strange craft. The chamber stretched up into the sky, walkways spanned the chamber here and there, Mac thought he could just about make out movement on them. The area immediately around him, however, seemed uninhabited.

Caramel was standing not too far ahead positioned next to a pillar glancing around nervously. “Looks clear,” he hissed. “Don’t know how we’re going to find Applebloom in this place though.”

“I’m not leaving without her, we just need to keep lookin’.” Mac glanced up at the chained sun again, he guessed that was the reactor thing Soldier had mentioned, he took out the strange device he’d been given, it had a small dial on one side, he assumed it was the timer. He didn’t know what ‘disrupted’ meant but he guessed it wouldn’t be a good idea to be near when the thing went off. Still if it meant the destruction of the creatures that had burnt his home and family he was happy to be as close as he needed to be, as long as his sister was safe.

The two of them made their way across the chamber, Caramel staying ahead until they were next to the shimmering field holding back the ships reactor. There, arranged around a thick pillar, were strange seat like constructs, the bottoms flared out like skirts covered in hemispheres, the backs flowed up and over forming a sort of helmet. Mac frowned wondering what they could be for.

“Mac!” cried Caramel from another side of the pillar, Mac rushed over to see what his friend had found.

There in the seat was perched a foal, a colt with a brown and white spotted coat and a brown mane. He sat in the chair unmoving, his front hooves clamped around a glass ball in which caged lightning writhed, in front of him patterns of light flashed illuminating his blank face. What the hay was going on here? Thought Mac. He glanced around and saw another chair next to this one containing a familiar occupant.

“Bloom!” cried Mac galloping over to his baby sister. “Don’t worry, we’ll get you out of here!” The filly made no sign of having heard him, like the other foal she was hunched over the glowing ball her eyes flashing back and forth as the lights flickered in front of her. “Bloom!” he cried again grabbing the child and yanking her from her seat, for a moment her hooves seemed to be stuck to the globe, but with a tug he pulled her away, she slumped to the ground for a moment almost boneless then snapped into position limbs stiff.

“Why have you disconnected his unit?” she stated, her voice sounding harsh, almost artificial.

“What are you talking about Kiddo?” asked Caramel. “We got to get you out of here.”

“This unit is needed.” Her head swung back and forth for a moment. “You are not converted, you are intruders!”

“What did they do to you Bloom!” cried Mac reaching forwards for his sister.

She dodged back smoothly before raising a hoof towards him, a ball of blue energy like that in the globe formed in it. Mac stared at it stupidly for a moment unable to believe what was going on. She gestured forwards and lightning extended from her hoof flashing towards Mac’s face, but suddenly Caramel was there throwing himself between the blast and the larger stallion. There was a scream and the stench of burning fur before the light brown pony crashed to the ground, smoking eyes frozen wide open.

“Caramel!” cried Mac. He looked back and forth between the smouldering corpse of his best friend and the creature that looked like his little sister. “No, no, not you Bloom!” he begged.

“You are an intruder!” she proclaimed raising her hoof, once again covered in blue energy. “You are to be exterminated!” She lashed out with her power again. Mac tried to leap aside to avoid the deadly energy it caught his front left leg as he was in the air throwing his form back, he skidded to a halt next to the field holding back the crafts reactor.

Mac tried to struggle to his hooves but his body refused to respond, he couldn’t feel his injured leg and the numbness was rapidly spreading. His left eye showed him only a blinding light, he could feel some liquid dripping from it onto his cheek, scalding liquid.

Seemingly surprised by his survival the creature that had once been his sister started to approach him stiffly, hoof still out held. Glancing around with his functioning eye Mac saw the device that Soldier had given him and reached out with his working leg to pull it closer, he took it in his aching jaw and turned the timer by the smallest amount he could.

“Bloom!” he called using all his strength to rise to his remaining limbs. “Don’t worry Bloom, I’m going to make it all better, it’ll all be better again, you can see Applejack, Granny Smith, even Ma and Pa.”

The small pony raised her leg again then cocked her head her brow furrowing. “Ma?” she said, her voice almost sounding normal and for a moment Mac thought he might have gotten through to her. “No!” her voice returned to its harsh state, “No Ma! No Pa! Just the will of the Daleks!”

Using the last of his strength Mac turned and threw his bulk at the glowing field between him and the caged star. As he impacted a further ball of energy flew from Applebloom’s hoof and struck him in the back setting his coat on fire. The combined force threw his corpse through the shield and into the area beyond just as Soldier’s device activated.

The air in the carriage around Pokey was thick with tension and the smell of terrified ponies. Everypony was staring out of the windows waiting for something to burst out of the smoke and attack the train. It was almost a surprise as a minute passed without anything happening, then another, then another, slowly the passengers started to calm down and a number of quiet conversations began to break out. It would almost seem like a day trip to the capital if it wasn’t for the filthy coats and the injuries most of the passengers had. Forcing himself to calm Pokey looked around for Trixie again, she was still staring into the distance, next to her a mare Pokey didn’t recognise was talking to her gently although the blue mare gave no sign of noticing. He glanced over at Soldier, the older stallion was still staring out of the window at the new clear sky.

“We seem to be home free,” said Pokey.

“No,” Soldier shook his head, “Even though ponies are hard for the Dalek scanning beams to detect there’s no way they could have missed these trains. Look!” he pointed into the sky above Ponyville now several miles behind them.

Pokey squinted, he thought he could make out a trio of dots moving through the sky, what were they, pegasus?

“Daleks!” cried Soldier turning back to the rest of the carriage, “Everypony get on the floor! As far from the windows as you can!”

Pokey watched paralyzed as the shapes got large quicker than they had any right to, he wasn’t sure if even Rainbow Dash could have matched their speed. What just a few seconds ago had just been dots were suddenly bronze coloured machines maybe half again the height of a pony, the bottom half flared out and was covered in hemispheres whereas the top consisted of slats and grills topped with a dome. From the middle section two sticks protruded with a third stuck out from the middle of the ‘head’. At first glance it seemed a ridiculous contraption, but even so it seemed to extrude a palpable aura of menace and fear. One of the creatures dipped towards the train behind them and a flash of green light flew from its weapon, there was a flash of flame and the roof was torn from the back two carriages, Pokey watched in horror as several ponies were thrown into the air by the blast only to crash back down to earth. He managed to pull his gaze from the sight to look at Soldier, the old pony opened his mouth to speak when a bleeping came from the strange wand like device at his belt. His eye’s widened.

“Faster! We have to go faster!” he yelled towards the front of the train, whether the driver heard him or just saw the danger behind Pokey didn’t know, but the carriage did seem to speed up.

“Can we outrun them?” yelled Pokey over the sound of destruction behind them and the cries of the distressed ponies.

“Not a chance!” said Soldier, “But we might be able to get out of range of the explosion.”

“What explosion?” said Pokey looking back at the attacking creatures another burst of fire derailed the back carriage and threatened to tip the whole train.

“Don’t look!” cried Soldier throwing a hoof over Pokey’s eyes. It didn’t do much good the light was so bright that it was viable even through the barrier, if quickly flashed from a pinprick to seemingly engulf the whole world. Behind them the three Daleks were overtaken by the energy. For a moment there was silence as if the world was holding its breath, the light started to fade and recede. Pokey blinked his vision full of spots for a moment it looked like the ground behind them was undulating like a great worm was crawling through it, where Ponyville had stood was now a great mushroom shaped cloud of dust. Then the blast wave struck them like the hoof of an angry god. The train behind them and everypony crammed into it was lifted into the air and swatted aside almost carelessly. The windows around him all shattered throwing glass everywhere and for a moment the whole carriage was lifted into the air and he felt his hooves leave the ground before gravity pulled him down again, metal squealed against metal but the coach stayed upright and after a few more bounces came to rest. The train continuing on its journey, now alone. Screams echoed up and down the train as the passengers recovered their senses.

Looking back, all that remained was a deep crater maybe a dozen miles wide where Ponyville had once stood. “What was that!” gasped Pokey.

“Big Macintosh and Caramel,” explained Soldier gazing at the crater with a look of almost satisfaction on his face. “One down, two to go.”

“What!” Mac and Caramel gone? Killed in a blaze of glory? Should he have done something? Been with them, that would have been a glorious death, like in books and songs. But, a deeper part of him thought, still a death.

“Normal Dalek tactics for this type of universe, three motherships, about a thousand Daleks, enormous overkill in most cases, but now they’ve seen this universe is protected.”

Pokey was going to ask how he knew all this when he saw something rising from the rubble behind them. A Dalek, it’s bronze skin blackened and pitted in places but still intact it quickly orientated itself and zoomed towards the train quickly matching its pace.

“Everypony to the front of the train,” roared Soldier immediately ignoring his own command and setting off towards the back of the train struggling against the stream of ponies.

Trixie recognised that sound, a sort of buzzing followed by a hissing, then the scream of a pony in agony. She definitely recognised that sound. She blinked, she could remember being led onto the train by Pokey, remembered the explosion but she felt strangely detached from herself the whole time as if she was watching her body from a great distance while somepony else piloted it.

There was that sound again and again, she’d heard it before, when? She didn’t want to remember, but she couldn’t remember why she didn’t want to remember.

She looked around, the carriage was packed with fearful ponies all trying to push themselves as far from the door to the back of the train as possible leaving an empty space around where she sat. Swaying to her hooves, her body felt stiff, she wondered what she could do, she was supposed to be a protector of ponykind wasn’t she, a welder of the element of magic, a dame appointed by Luna herself. But it always seemed like a game, nothing bad could happen to her, to her friends, fighting Corona, that phoenix, it never seemed like they could really get hurt, but now Carrot Top and Cheerilee were... gone, it suddenly seemed so different, for a moment she wanted to join the rest of the ponies cowering at the far end of the carriage again but then she heard that sound again, and a scream and she knew she had to do something.

Trying to stop her hooves from shaking she staggered forwards into the next carriage, one whole side was missing, open to the air. The ground was littered with Ponies, mostly guards, all unmoving, there in the middle of a circle of bodies stood a bronze covered, thing, she recognised it from her nightmares, from the memories she didn’t want to remember. As she watched another guard, one of the few still standing, rushed forwards to try and tackle the creature, it swivelled slightly and a bolt of green light spat from its belly, the guard was struck and screamed. For a moment she could make out his skeleton...

A Pony screaming a name, a familiar name, as it flew through the air it slammed into one of the creatures with enough force to knock it back several lengths, the figure rose into the air screaming her anger and despair before she was enveloped in the green light. Her skeleton froze there for a second before falling to the ground, smoking. “Trixie!” called a voice, “You have to get out of here!”

“Trixie!” cried Pokey, “Get out of here!” He rushed over putting himself between the Dalek and his employer.

“Stop this!” cried Soldier, “There is no need for this!”

The Dalek swivelled towards him its eyestalk twitching, it focused on the device attached to his belt. “THAT DEV-ICE IS NOT OF NAT-IVE ORIG-IN!” it cried, “YOU ARE THE DOC-TOR!” it shot backwards towards the hole in the side of the carriage, it was almost, thought Trixie, like it was frightened, who was this pony? The name Doctor seemed familiar.

“I don’t go by that name any more,” said Soldier his head drooping, “I don’t deserve it. But you know who I am, you know what I can do,” he voice gained in strength. “Leave these ponies alone and go!”

“YOU ARE THE DOC-TOR! YOU ARE AN EN-EMY OF THE DAL-EKS! YOU MUST BE EX-TERM-IN-ATED! EXT-TERM-IN-ATE! EXT-TERM-IN-ATE!” it shrieked, its gun stick rising.

Trixie felt herself tense, her legs preparing to leap forwards, her horn powering up to cast something, anything, to stop that horrible sound again. However, before she could move a blue glowing shape slammed into the side of the Dalek shoving it a half body length aside, it’s gun went off but missed Soldier instead ripping a pony sized hole in the side of the train, the old stallion tumbled to the ground almost falling from the carriage.

Pokey’s horn was glowing so bright that it was painful to watch, his whole body was surrounded by the aura of his sharpening spell, he took a step back and lowered his head again, his horn flashed once more and the aura intensified. He charged forwards head lowered. This time the Dalek was prepared and it was only forced back a few inches.

“UNDER AT-ACK BY UN-KNOWN EN-EMY!” it cried rotating to bring its gun to bear on the glowing pony.

“Names... Pokey....” cried Pokey slamming his head again and again against the Dalek’s metal body, each time his horn glanced off an invisible field just above its body. “Pierce!” There was a shower of sparks and his horn finally penetrated the Dalek’s force field gauging a shallow cut in its body. “And I think I just found out... that I’m a hero!”

“IM-POSS-IBLE!” cried the Dalek backing away. “PO-NIES CAN NOT HARM US! PO-NIES MUST BE DEST-ROYED! EXT-TERM-IN-ATE! EXT-TERM-IN-ATE!”

Pokey’s horn flashed once again, seeming to elongate into a jagged spear while the aura around his body expanded and burst into flames. “Puny!” he roared, “JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE—-?!" Pushing off with his hind legs he slammed his horn into the middle of the Dalek, this time it fully penetrated.

“IM-POSS-IBAAAAARRRRGGG!!” screamed the impaled Dalek. Suddenly there was an explosion and the Dalek was thrown out of the train where it bust in a ball of blue light. Pokey was thrown back into the carriage flopping head over hooves until he came to a stop in a broken pile in the corner.

Trixie rushed over to the fallen pony, his head lolled loosely burns covering most of his face, his horn... his horn was gone, broken to a jagged stump. Trixie struggled not to be sick. “Oh Pokey!” she cried, “You saved us!”

To her shock the maimed stallion opened his milky sightless eyes and stared past her. “No problem boss!” he whispered, his voice barely audible. “I guess I... finally... did it. I... pierced... the...” his throat gave a final rattle and he was silent.

“You did, you pierced the heavens,” said Trixie trying to keep her voice steady as she lowered the body to the ground. Pokey gone just like that. She felt the edges of her vision start to fade everything started to seem distant. No! She forced herself to remain in the moment, she couldn’t drift away, as much as she wanted to, she had to stay, there had to be something she could do to help the other ponies on the train, to make Pokey’s sacrifice worth something.

“I’m sorry about your friend,” said Soldier resting a hoof on her shoulder, “He was a hero, but we were lucky, if he’d breached the Daleks reality stabilisation system there would have been an explosion which would have make Ponyville’s destruction look like a match.”

“Don’t touch me!” cried Trixie spinning around to face the old stallion. “I know who you are! What that... that thing called you, Doctor! You killed my Grandfather!” She gave him a shove with her aura.

Soldier staggered back and looked confused for a moment, then his face cleared, “You’re that Trixie? Quartermoon’s granddaughter? I’m sorry, I’ve killed a lot of people, more than I can count even in my darkest nights, your grandfather was not one of them.” He sighed. “But I do hold some responsibility for it, but in the end he was his own stallion, he made his own decision.”

“You’re lying! I got a copy of the medical report,” She advanced on Soldier, “He died of Naga venom, I remember the snake... it’s sort of fuzzy, but you were there, you did it Doctor!” She spat the last word.

“I don’t go by that name anymore!” he cried, loudly enough to make Trixie step back. “I don’t deserve that name,” he snarled, “I don’t heal, I break, everywhere I go death, destruction, Daleks!” His face was twisted with revulsion.

Trixie’s eyes widened. “You brought them here!” She grabbed his neck in her aura and lifted him off the ground. “This is your fault! You killed my friends! You killed Pokey! You killed my grandfather! All! Your! Fault!” she screamed her eyes flashing.

“No!” gasped Solder struggling against the magic wrapped around his neck, “I... I didn’t want this to happen, I wanted to go somewhere pure somewhere they hadn’t touched but... they were already here. They’ve almost finished off my universe, now they’re exploring others, looking for more resources. They want your magic.” His face was starting to go red, “I’ve tried to stop them, again and again and again but there's always more.” He stopped struggling and slumped, “Do it then! If my death will make you happy, let my death make things better when my life couldn’t. But would your friends want this?”

The words hung in the air for a moment as Trixie snarled, increasing the pressure on Soldiers neck. Then she paused and fat tears started to roll from her eyes, a sob tore itself from her throat, she threw Soldier aside and sank to the ground crying her heart out. “I... I... How did this happen? This morning was so normal! I waved to Ditzy, was going to train with Raindrops, where did that go? How, how did it come to this? I can’t remember what happened, I don’t think I want to. What do I do now?”

Taking a deep breath Soldier crawled over to the distressed mare and put an arm over her withers, she stiffened for a moment before collapsing into him. “I know it hurts,” he whispered, “But that just shows you loved them, it never entirely goes away but that’s good as well. I remember them all Susan, Katrina, Sara, Oliver, Romana, Adric, Kamelion, Evelyn, Flip, Ace, Antimony, Roz, C’rizz, so many more I remember them all, every one. I even remember your friends, I’ve met them all, at one time or another.”

Trixie frowned, tears still falling from her eyes, “They didn’t all say...”

“It might not have happened yet,” said Soldier. “I remember Cheerilee, she and I trapped in a tree, she flirted with me, of course I was too young for her then.”

“She was always so hopeful, never let anything bring her down.

“Raindrops was so fiery but never wanted to hurt anyone.”

“She was so careful, so controlled, I admired that.”

“Carrot Top, always ready to lend a hand, err hoof, always ready to help a friend.”

“She was so good to me, helped me settle into Ponyville, I never thanked her enough, now I never can.”

“Ditzy cared so much for her daughter we was willing to pay any price for her safety.”

“She’d move mountains for that filly,” that flash of light, “For any of us really.”

“Lyra, such a big heart, willing to forgive any slight.”

“She certainly put up with me, naked bear and all.”

“I remember them all, them and so many, many more.”

“How can you carry on?”

“I... I’m not sure really, I can’t let the deaths stop me, I have to carry on. Sometimes I think I’m just a hollow shell, just carrying on through the motions with nothing inside any more. But well, the thought of worlds like this,” he gestured towards the windows as the scenery flashed by. “Worlds full of good peaceful ponies, worlds the Daleks haven't conquered yet. That gives me the strength to carry on.”

Trixie looked back down the train over the fallen ponies the remaining guards were covering with whatever sheets they could find and the blackened crater behind them were Ponyville had once stood. “I don’t think this world has much strength left for me.”

“Believe me, this world could be so much worse. I’ve seen whole worlds destroyed, or worse. The people crushed by the Daleks so not a spark of hope remained. This world hasn’t fallen yet, and never will if I can help it. Look there,” he pointed into the next carriage to a stallion gently cuddled a foal. “He’s terrified but he’s hiding it for the sake of his child, because he couldn’t bear her being scared, and there,” two mare’s leaning against each other talking quietly. “Maybe they never talked to each other before but now... disaster makes friends of us all Trixie.”

Trixie opened her mouth to speak but suddenly there was a flash from the window, Trixie turned her weary head and blinked. There in the far distance she could see a cloud of dust rising, it must be hundreds of miles away. “What is that?” she asked.

“That would be Corona,” said Soldier. A lance of fire raced into the sky towards the sun. “Now they think the elements have been neutralised she would be the next target, it looks like she took a command ship with her, good, only one left now.”

Trixie shaded her eyes. “She’s returning to the sun?”

“Maybe,” muttered Soldier.

The trail of fire was almost at the sun when suddenly the golden orb went out, darkness fell and Trixie’s eyes widened in panic, “What?”

Above the sun was dark a flickering halo dancing around it like an eclipse. After a few moments the light died away, leaving the sky dark. Then as quickly as it had disappeared the sun burst into light again.

“What...” gasped Trixie.

“The Dalek’s put a force field around your sun, it prevented Corona returning to heal, she’s gone.”

“They can do that? Just end the Tyrant sun like that?” It seemed crazy, she should be overjoyed, the worst threat to Equestria destroyed just like that but given today's events it seemed almost ordinary, worse things had already happened.

“The Daleks have spent tens of thousands of years researching how to kill, there are very few beings they cannot destroy. I spent a very scary afternoon going through their databanks once, some Dalek had even come up with a plan to kill Santa Claus, or at least the idea of Santa Claus.”

“Who?”

“Never mind. Even if your planet had a normal sun they could destroy it if they wanted, your puny thing they could crush with no effort at all. We are lucky that they want to investigate your people, otherwise this planet would be dust by now.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“No, but it at least means we have a chance, however, slight,” the old stallion pulled himself to his hooves groaning slightly. “We should be in Canterlot in an hour and a bit, unless anything goes wrong, you should try to get some rest. I’ll talk to the driver to see if we can hurry things up.”

Trixie tried to stand but it was true, she was exhausted and her legs refused to work. She slumped back against the wall. She was sure she wouldn’t be able to sleep after what had happened to her, she thought as her eyes drifted shut.

“Ok, everypony,” said Cheerilee, “Were almost there, now everypony keep your heads down, according to the Princess these ‘whatever they are’s’ aren't friendly.”

Trixie glanced up over the small hillock the element bearers and several squads of guards were hiding behind. There hovering above them was the bulk of the bronze ship floating silently in the air, it certainly didn’t look friendly.

“Remember,” mumbled Captain Counter Attack, the guard commander, “Me and my men are to make first contact with the creatures, you bearers are to remain back here, if they prove to be hostile you are to try and use the elements on them. If that doesn’t work you are to retreat immediately. Do I make myself clear?”

“Totally,” agreed Raindrops, the rest of the bearers nodded.

“Halt,” came a cry from one of the troopers near the rear of the group, “Who goes there?”

“Um, hi,” came a small squeaky voice, “Um, I’m here to see my Momma.”

“Dinky!” gasped Ditzy. “What are you doing here?” she rushed over to her child. “I told you to stay back at home with Sparkler.”

“Well Sparkler had to go out on jeweller business and I know it was naughty but I wanted to see you Momma. I’m sorry!” Her eyes widened as she stared up at her mother.

“Well it’s very dangerous here Muffin, you need to go back home as quickly...”

Suddenly bronze metallic shapes appeared around the group of ponies as a dozen Daleks teleported into sight. The guards all turned in alarm, preparing their weapons.”

“Wait! Wait,” called Cheerilee, the Daleks remained motionless. “They’re not attacking, they might want to talk.”

“Cheerilee!” rumbled Raindrops glancing between the creatures. “I really don’t like this.”

The eye stalk of one Dalek moved from pony to pony before stopping on Ditzy. “YOU ARE THE BEAR-ERS OF THE ART-I-FACTS KNOWN AS THE ELE-MENTS OF HAR-MONY?” it asked.

Bravely Dinky took a step forwards and held out a hoof towards the Dalek that spoke. “Hi, my name is Dinky Doo, and my mother is the Element of Kindness!”

“ELE-MENT BEAR-ERS IDEN-TI-FIED,” agreed the Dalek. “EXTER-MIN-ATE,” it cried almost gleefully, a flash of green burst from its gun and Dinky’s small form collapsed to the ground.

“MUFFFIN!” screamed Ditzy falling to her knees and clutching the still smoking form of her daughter. “Wake up! Please wake up!” she shook her daughters limp form, “Please! No... no... no...” around her the guard flashed towards the Daleks only to be brutally cut down one by one by their weapons.

“The elements!” cried Trixie, “We have to use the elements!” She closed her eyes and reached into herself to feel the magic, she felt the power of the artefact streak from her and connect with her friends one by one, laughter, honesty, loyalty, generosity, the last tendril of magic flapped free, she couldn’t feel kindness. She opened her eyes, “Ditzy?” she asked.

“MURDERER!” screamed Ditzy looking up from her daughter's corpse, eyes streaming. “I’ll kill you! Kill you all!” She flashed forwards through the air and slammed into the nearest Dalek with her hind legs, the creature was shoved back a body length, its casing slightly dented. “Kill you!” She cried again, tear streaming from her eyes.

There was a green flash and before Trixie’s shocked eyes Ditzy was illuminated, her skeleton clearly visible through her coat. She writhed in the air for a moment before dropping to the ground not far from her daughter.

“No! No!” cried Trixie, this wasn’t happening! This can’t be happening.

There was a flash and Lyra’s lyre appeared at her hooves, she reached out for it with her aura when suddenly a ray hit the ground in front of her and she was sent flying into the air, she thrashed about until she slammed into the ground back first with a crunch of broken bones.

“Trixie!” yelled Raindrops, “You have to get out of here, turn invisible and go! Get back to Ponyville, warn them, tell the princess!”

“I can cast the spell on all of you, we can all get away!” cried Trixie starting to power up her horn.

“No time! I’ll cover you,” called Raindrops.

Trixie glanced around, the few remaining guards were being slaughtered, Carrot Top was lying unconscious or worse near the remains of a group of trees, Cheerilee was flashing across the group twisting and turning to avoid the deadly rays, she kicked out at Daleks as the passed but her blows had no noticeable effect on them.

Seeing her pause Raindrops cried again, “Go! Now!” She swooped towards a Dalek turning its weapon to bear.

Letting out a whiny Trixie turned, her horn discharging its spell causing her to disappear from sight. She struggled not to hear the whine of the Dalek weapons and Raindrop’s scream as she left her friends to die, like the coward and false friend she was sure she was.

Trixie awoke with a gasp as Soldier prodded her gently. “I... I left them to die!” she cried, staggering to her hooves.

“What?” he asked.

“My friends, the Daleks slaughtered them, and I just ran and ran until I got caught up in the bombardment and trapped under that wall. I should have stayed with them!”

“And what could you have done if you had stayed?”

“I don’t know I might have fought off the Daleks, saved them.”

“You know that’s not true,” said the stallion gently, “You just would have died along with them.”

“You don’t know that!” yelled Trixie.

“Yes. I. Do!” stated Soldier, “I’ve been in that situation many, many times in my life, so many have died so I could live. I know it hurts, I really do, but all you can do is honour their sacrifice by living. Now pull yourself together, we’re almost there.”

Trixie looked out the window at the Canterhorn which now filled her whole vision as the train started to ascend the foothills and snake its way up the mountain. In a way the view calmed her, Luna was close now, the Princess would know what to do, she had to.

“It’s going to be close,” muttered Soldier looking back down the train.

“What do you mean?”

“That,” he said pointing into the air, a third mother ship was approaching at unbelievable speed while Trixie was watching it must have covered over a hundred miles in a few dozen seconds. “Why hasn’t the city put up its shield yet?” he wondered. “The ship will be in position to attack in a few minutes.”

“They must be waiting for us to arrive,” mumbled Trixie her eyes locked on the ship.
“Foolish!” he scothed. “There’s nothing I can do if the city is razed before I get there.”

“But if the shield is up then we’ll probably be locked out of the city.” She looked back and forth between the city and the ship. Trains had always seemed to go so fast, but now it seemed like they were crawling along at a snail’s pace. “Come on!” she urged.

A tense minute passed, the train circled the mountain getting higher and higher as the saucer shaped craft approached. It was odd, thought Trixie a few moments ago she had felt that she had nothing to live for, now she desperately wanted to survive. The Dalek ship filled the sky and she knew that any second fire and death would descend upon them, she closed her eyes tightly and waited.

A moment passed, then another, then there was a hissing crackling sound from above. She expected pain, to feel her body melt under the death ray but instead there was nothing. She opened an eye and looked up, the city was surrounded by a pink bubble of magic extending to just behind the trains last carriage. There was a flash as something slammed into the shield and it dimed but did not go out. They were safe, for the moment.

As soon as the battered train came to a stop at Canterlot station it was overrun by members of the guard and medics looking to treat the injured. There was almost a fight when a doctor attempted to take Pokey’s body away and Trixie refused to let it out of her sight, the dispute was only settled when Soldier got the doctor to agree to allow Trixie to say goodbye and agree that Trixie could see Pokey’s remains later.

As soon as they disembarked Trixie and Soldier were ambushed by a group of Night Guard who informed them that Princess Luna wanted to see them as soon as possible. Before they could even answer they were swept up into a sky chariot and swiftly born to the castle itself. The city below was quiet, the streets almost empty apart from guard and a few others. Apparently a state of emergency had been announced and everypony warned to stay in their houses. The shield still held over the city but the Dalek ship, just visible outside, was pounding away on it. Trixie wasn’t sure how long it would hold up.

After dismounting from the carriage Trixie and Soldier were hurried through the corridors of the castle towards the throne room. Unlike the city, the castle was a bustle with activity as guards and servants rushed here and there, doors were being barricaded, posts stallioned and supplies stored. It was odd to Trixie to be reminded that the building we had lived in for much of her life was actually a fortification which had in the past resisted invasion and siege She hoped it would this time.

They finally reached their destination at the Selenic Cathedra, the throne of Equestria. The walls were lined with guards and the area around them packed by what Trixie thought must have been almost the entirety of the Night Court. Most looked understandably scared but a few had arrayed themselves for war, retrieving family heirlooms often not used for generations. Archduke Fisher looked particularly fierce, garbed in full plate armour and with a huge hammer floating near him, Trixie had never liked him much, but now she had a certain appreciation of him.

At the centre of the room stood, or rather lay, Shining Armour, the captain of the guard. He looked awful, his horn glowed with power from the effort of maintaining the shield around the city but he seemed almost physically consumed by the effort, his ribs showed through his skin. His eyes were closed tight and the fur around them was matted with tears of blood. He was surrounded by a circle of unicorns feeding their power to him. While Trixie watched one of the circle staggered and almost fell her horn going out, she was led away by a guard while another took her place.

At the front of the room on her throne sat Princess Luna, the Alicorn was immobile, as if she was carved from a block of blue marble, she projected an aura of icy calm upon her subjects. As soon as she entered the room Trixie felt her hooves start to gallop towards the Princess as if drawn by a magic force, she rushed around the group of unicorn and screeched to a halt just before her ruler suddenly unsure what to do.

“Princess, my friends... my friends...” tears started to roll down her cheeks. In a moment Luna leant forwards and wrapped her wings around the smaller blue unicorn hugging her close.

“Oh, Trixie,” she whispered. “I’m so very sorry.”

“They’re gone and I left them, I ran, I was so afraid... I’m so scared,” sobbed Trixie reaching out to her mentor.

“I know you are, I... I’m scared to,” admitted Luna quietly so that only Trixie could hear. “My sister is gone, I’m alone. We have to be strong for the others, we have to put on a mask and play our parts. Can you do that?” she asked.

Trixie sniffed and tried to hold back her tears, she understood that Luna could not show weakness in this situation regardless of her own feelings, she had to be strong too. She nodded and Luna gave her a swift nuzzle before straightening again releasing her wings revealing Trixie to the rest of the room. “Soldier,” the princess intoned. While they had been talking the old stallion and his guards had approached to the foot of the throne. “The things you have warned me of have come to pass, this would seem to be Equestria’s darkest hour. What would you have us do now?”

Soldier cleared his throat. “Well your majesty two thirds of the enemy’s forces have been destroyed by the actions of some brave ponies, and your sisters sacrifice. The enemy is not invincible, we can triumph this time. However, we need time to prepare, to plan, and we cannot do that while under attack.”

“I agree, but what can we do? Captain Armour’s shield holds for the moment, I doubt that even I could strengthen it more. However, it will not last for long.”

“There may be a way to secure it, the element of magic,” he pointed up at the tiara still on Trixie’s head.

Luna frowned. “The element cannot be used by itself, and the other bearers... are not present.” A ripple of hushed voices passed around the chamber at Luna’s words.

“Actually I believe the element can be used, with this,” he produced an irregularly shaped crystal. “A shard of your universe I found earlier.”

“How do you know this Soldier?” asked Luna.

“I... I have had certain experience with this sort of thing before, I need you to trust me.”

Luna seemed to think for a moment. “Very well, given what you have told me about your nature, I seems I have little option, although the decision is up to the element’s bearer, Trixie?”

Trixie stepped forwards and glanced around the chamber. The whole court was waiting on her words. She looked down at Soldier, she had no reason to trust the stranger but for all he’d done, and she thought he might have done, he had kept her safe. He had known her friends and those that had spoken of him and trusted him, she knew no higher praise, and as Luna had said they had no choice. “The great and power... I mean I say we should try to use the element of magic!”

Soldier nodded and stepped forwards reaching out towards Trixie. She paused before taking the element in her aura and with some effort removed it from her head and shakily passed it to the earth pony. He held it for a moment before pressing the crystal against the gem on the front. To his audiences astonishment the crystal seemed to melt into the artefact which suddenly flashed with light and began to hum. Turning his head aside Soldier carried the crown down towards Shining Armour. As the bombardment continued from above another two unicorn collapsed only to be replaced from the dwindling pool in the throne room. Soldier knelt before the trembling stallion. “Good to see you again Lieutenant Armour,” he whispered.

The unicorns bloodshot eyes flickered open and he focused on the figure in front of him. “D...Doctor?” he mumbled.

A look of pain passed over Soldier’s face. “Not anymore,” he replied. “Once I would have said this would help you, now I say it’s a weapon.” He nodded to the crown, “It will give you power, but there’s a price.”

A small smile passed over the struggling unicorns face. “Is.. Isn’t there al... always? He said struggling to speak. “I gu... guess I won’t... won't survive it?”

“Your body might but your mind... no,” Soldier shook his head. “You need to concentrate on a spell, become the spell, and a pony mind can’t survive that.”

“Make Canterlot... safe?” he asked.

“Not even the Daleks will be able to break the spell while your body remains alive.”

“Then worth... it,” Shining staggered to his feet, almost falling as another blast hit the shield above them, he slowly raised a hoof and saluted Luna, she nodded to him in return. “Do... do it!”

Soldier lowered the crown onto the stallion’s head, for a moment nothing happened then Shining gave an echoing cry and his horn lit up like a sun. Soldier staggered backwards as the unicorn’s body rose into the air, coat gleaming. Shining’s eyes shot open revealing glowing white orbs. Above the city the shield turned from pink to white as more power was pumped into it.

In the palace there was silence. Luna looked up at her people and stepped forwards. “My people, we should thank Captain Armour for his sacrifice and use the time he has brought us to prepare for battle, Archduke Fisher I will need...” she started to give orders to those gathered around.

Feeling a little ignored Trixie stepped down towards Soldier who was still looking up at Shining Armour’s body as it floated there. “It looks like your plan worked,” she said, “Now the princess has time to prepare for a fight.”

“Yes,” said Soldier looking up, the bombardment had ceased. “I think so, it’s just that this seems almost too easy. It’s never this easy with the Daleks, they’re always two steps ahead...” He looked down and tapped the floor with a hoof. “Do you feel that?” he asked.

Trixie frowned, she could feel a faint buzz through the floor. “What is that?” she wondered.

“I’m not sure... it’s almost like... Oh, no!” gasped Soldier. “Everyone clear the...”

Before he got a chance to finish the floor to the throne room cracked and a great drill bit extended through the floor, several members of the court were caught by its whirling bit and their bodies thrown aside. After a moment and front of the drill folded smoothly back and Dalek after Dalek emerged from the vehicle. “EXT-ER-MIN-ATE!” the chorused as they opened fire eliminating the nearest ponies in seconds.

“They came up through the mountain, under the shield!” cried Soldier as he grabbed Trixie and dragged her away from the centre of the room. Already a second drill was emerging.

“How dare you!” screamed Luna, “How dare you attack my little ponies here!” She lashed out with a bolt of energy from her horn which slammed into the nearest Dalek rocking it backwards but to her astonishment not destroying it. Snarling she redoubled her efforts and a second bolt smashed straight through the creature sending a splash of goo out the back as the creature inside was crushed. The alicorn leapt into the air summoning her armour to her, plates of dark metal formed around her. Landing she lashed out with a hoof, catching a second Dalek in the head crushing its eyestalk and throwing it back into a third.

Another drill penetrated the room and more Daleks flooded into the room, the guard attempted to counter attack but their weapons proved mostly useless. Forcing his way through the crowd Fisher swung his hammer with all his magical strength knocking a Dalek back, a second blow severed a gun stalk as it tried to aim at him.

A ray blast caught Luna on the flank, only to be deflected by her enchanted armour. She spun her horn flashing again, blowing the top off of her attacker, only for her to stagger back as another two blasts caught her.

“We have to help the princess,” insisted Trixie from behind a bench where she and Soldier were taking cover.

“There’s nothing we can do, apart from get killed,” he yelled a back over the sound of screaming as a nearby courtier was bit by a stray blast.

Trixie peered over the cover, the room was a mess, at the far end Fisher and the surviving guards were still fighting bravely but ineffectively, most of the court was dead, off to one side she saw a pink maned pegasus mare sobbing over the form of a dead grey earth pony stallion. Before Trixie could do anything the mare joined her friend as she was struck by a ray and collapsed on top of him. Only Luna herself seemed to be able to stand up to the invaders as she swooped around the room slaying the creatures with hoof or spell.

Turning aside Trixie noticed movement from within the drilling machines as further Daleks emerged. These were different from their kin, their shells larger and grimier, in place of eye stalk, manipulator and gun stick they had a single huge cannon, its barrel as large as her head.

Soldier stuck his head up as well, his eyes widened, “Heavy Weapon Daleks!” he gasped, “But... Oh, no! Look,” he pointed. Around each other creatures was wrapped a golden band with a gem on it.

“The elements!” cried Trixie, she felt sick, this was the ultimate desecration of her friends even worse than their deaths. “No! They can’t possibly use them, how can these... these things know anything about friendship?”

“You saw what I did with the element of magic, all they need is a reality fragment, and that’s well within Dalek capabilities. No... No! Not again!” he cried.

Luna had noticed the arrival of the new enemies and turned to the creatures, she struck out with her magic only for one of the normal Dalek’s to interpose itself and take the blow for its companion. She prepared to attack again when with a roaring sound another of the heavy weapon Dalek’s opened up, a beam of red energy rushing out of its canon. Luna screamed as she felt the blast burst through her armour, she staggered out of the blast and tried to recover only for another creature to target her with a blast of green energy knocking her legs out from under her and causing her to cry out again.

“Luna can’t stand up to much more of this,” muttered Soldier, “But she’ll just escape to the moon, they can destroy it of course but that would mean abandoning Canterlot, so why...?” He looked up at the globe over the city and then at Shining Armour’s glowing body still hovering in the air. “No!”

“What is it?” asked Trixie.

“We have to stop Shining Armour, now!” he yelled vaulting the bench and rushing across the chamber.

“What do you mean stop?” cried Trixie pausing for a second them following him.

The old stallion grabbed a spear from a fallen guard, leaving little doubt to his intentions.

Across the room Luna cried out again as she was pummelled by three of the energy blasts at once, her armour glowing red hot and melting off of her form. She dissolved her form into smoke and sought to escape the punishing blasts, to her surprise the power being thrown at her continued to affect her even in her immaterial form. Without giving her a moment’s pause all five of the heavy weapon Daleks tracked her form and opened fire, pink, green, blue, orange and red energy cracking over her, tearing her body apart layer by layer.

With a final shriek the remains of the Princess shot skywards out of the room towards her moon only to be stopped by the shield covering the city. Desperately the ribbon of blue energy sought a crack in the barrier without success, strengthened as it was by the element of magic even her powers couldn’t penetrate it. Below her her tormentors slowly followed rising into the air, surprisingly gracefully, to form a firing squad.

“EXT-ER-MIN-ATE!” they screeched as one as they opened fire releasing a rainbow of energy towards Luna.

In the throne room Soldier raised the spear in his mouth and to Trixie’s horror prepared to plunge it into Shining Armour's flank. When the sound of heavy weapon fire filtered down into the room and he let the weapon drop from his mouth. He was too late.

For a moment silence fell over the room as the few remaining guard fell back from their opponents in confusion. A Dalek rolled forwards. “YOUR PRIN-CESS HAS FALL-EN, SURR-END-ER AND ACC-EPT DAL-EK RULE!” It announced.

For a moment the guards looked around in confusion then Archduke Fisher, his armour dented and one leg dragging on the ground limped forwards. “Never,” he bellowed, “While one Equestrian still stands we will fight you! We will never give up while we still draw breath!” With a roar he staggered forwards hammer raised, before he could take a step he was engulfed in green fire from one of the returning heavy weapon Daleks, once it died down he had been totally destroyed, not even ashes remained. For a moment the guard faltered, then with a single cry they rushed forwards towards their foe.

Trixie looked on in horror as they were cut down on mass, she almost didn’t notice when Soldier grabbed her by the shoulder. “Make us invisible now!” he hissed, “We have to get out of here.”

Still in shock, she complied.

Trixie fled through the corridors of the castle following Soldier. At first they were packed by ponies trying to get away from the destruction above, if that was even possible. Shining Armour must have been killed as the whole castle was shaking under the bombardment, possibly the whole city. Soldier led the two of them lower and lower, the architecture of the castle slowly melted away to the cruder designs of the mines that it had been built upon millennia ago. Enchanted lighting slowly flicked on as they passed, it was a wonder it still worked.

Eventually they came to a stop in a rough hued chamber, Soldier struggled to push the double doors shut and Trixie used her magic to drop the blocking bar in place. Both of them looked at each other panting hard.

“What... what do we do now?” gasped Trixie.

“There is nothing we can do, Equestria has fallen, I’ve failed again!” he snarled. “All I can do is get you out of here, save something from this world.” He gestured at a tall blue box standing in the room.

“This is your ship?” she asked, remembering Cheerilee’s description of it.

“Yes, my TARDIS,” he walked over to the box, its exterior was cracked and peeling. “We’ve both seen better times.” He ran a hoof gently over it before opening the door. “Come on.”

Trixie took a step forwards then stopped. “I’m not leaving,” she said.

“Don’t be silly, they’ll be here soon, there’s no way you can survive.”

“I won’t keep running, I know my friends gave their lives so I could come this far but I can’t leave Equestria without fighting.” She placed her hooves solidly on the ground. “This is my home and I’ll fight for it. There has to be a point where a pony stops and say’s ‘no more’ this is mine. No more!”

Soldier opened his mouth then paused. “Very well,” he said with a nod, “Very well Trixie, good luck.”

“Thanks, you know you might want to think about going back to your old name, I think you’ve helped me at least.”

“No,” he said without pause shaking his head. “I can’t, I don’t deserve it.” He closed the TARDIS door and after a moment the vehicle gave a wheezing groaning sound and faded from view.

Trixie stood in silence for a moment until the last echoes of the TARDIS faded away, then she slumped to the ground feeling every moment of the last day on her shoulders. Had it really been only a day? Less than that? So many dead, Dinky, Ditzy, Lyra, Raindrops, Carrot Top Cheerilee, Pokey, Corona, Luna, so many more. She heard the sound of the Dalek weapons going off, the sound was getting closer. She stood and tried to brush some of the dirt off her cloak, if she was going to die then she at least wanted to do it with some style.

An almost manic energy started to build within her and she paced back and forwards. What was taking the Daleks so long to get here? She thought, and then laughed her herself, was she so eager to die? She supposed she didn’t have too much to live for. She only wished she could take at least one of the attackers with her, it wasn’t likely, she wasn’t well trained in combat magic, still Pokey had managed to destroy one with his horn...

Trixie blinked, his horn sharpening spell! He’d once bet her that she couldn’t learn it. He’d almost been right, she’d tried for weeks before she managed to sort out a workable version, she’d used it once or twice since, as part of an escapology trick. Maybe she could use it, it was a million to one shot, but what other option did she have? Hadn’t Soldier mentioned something about destroying a reality destabilization thing causing a real big bang? Maybe she’d get lucky?

Now with a plan Trixie set herself directly in front of the great doors into the chamber, from beyond them the sounds were getting louder. She swallowed painfully a drop of sweat rolling down the side of her face. At least she’d get to see her friends again soon, whatever happened she thought, she found the idea buoyed her. She could almost sense them around her, ready to fight alongside her, supporting her.

Hey Trixie, I’d never leave you when you needed me, you know that right?

Don’t worry we’re all here for you, aren’t we Muffin?
Even me Miss Trixie, your biggest fan

If there’s anything I can do to help, just ask!

Cheer up! This’ll be fun, think of the future history lessons!

This is probably one of the stupidest things you’ve ever done, just as well I’m here isn’t it?

Boss, this is going to be awesome! Now let’s get straight to the point!

In front of her the door exploded revealing two Daleks, they rolled forwards eyestalks twitching.

“WHERE IS THE DOC-TOR?” one squawked.

“I’m afraid he’s already left,” said Trixie.

“IDEN-TI-FY YOUR SELF!”

“I,” said Trixie rearing up, “Am the Great and Powerful Trixie!” She dropped back onto all fours and lowered her head, her horn glowing as she summoned all her power into the part remembered spell. “And have I got a show for you!” she cried as leapt forwards, the aura starting to spread across her whole body.

The explosion tore the mountain up by its very roots, lifting tens of millions of tons of rock into the air and almost instantly obliterating the whole of the city of Canterlot and everything in it. The rocky projectile slammed into the Dalek mother ship which had been bombarding the city smashing it into fragments. For the third time that day a caged sun was loosed in what became the first day of a new era.

Within the TARDIS Soldier angrily kicked at a defenceless chair. He had retained his pony form for the moment. Four hundred and twenty seven times! Four hundred and twenty Seven Equestria’s he’s failed to save! He turned away not wanting to see any more. He’d worked so hard to try and stop the Daleks from finding their way into that world but they were relentless, his final attempt had resulted in the dimension shattering into thousands of duplicates, but that only resulted in thousands of atrocities rather than just one. Dalek’s attacked and conquered one after another after another and he got to see the same ponies suffer and die each time. He had hoped he could learn enough to stop at least one of the invasions, but four hundred and twenty seven times without success, all he could do was cut off each defeated plain preventing the Daleks from using the resources gained in other battles, locking them away with their conquered subject. Soldier shuddered, what evil was he truly perpetrating?

Still maybe four hundred and twenty eight would be the winner? He moved a hoof to the necessary lever and froze there. No he couldn’t do it any more, he couldn’t keep fighting at the fringes any more, he couldn’t let any more ponies die for him, no more Trixies or Lunas or Dinkys.

“No more!” he muttered to himself.

“No more!” he cried slamming his hooves down on the controls resulting in a shower of sparks.

He breathed heavily for a moment before calming himself and trotting over to the transmogrifier.

He had to return to the centre of the war, to the one place it might be stopped, return to his home.

“No more!”

9th Doctor - The Survivor

View Online

The Moment of Creation had passed and left the universe altered forever.

It had come as a surprise to the early Time Lords to find that there were not one but two Big Bangs; the second overwriting the first only a tiny fraction of a second later. “How can our universe exist if it was destroyed at its own birth?” they had asked. It had not taken long for them to work out the answer and, utilising power on such scale as to make a super nova appear like a mere spark, they locked the second Big Bang away for later investigation. The event became known as ‘The Moment of Creation’ or later still just ‘The Moment’. The knowledge that they alone had saved the entire multiverse in its infancy had resulted in the racial superiority complex which had led to such problems later.

Now The Moment had been carefully released, and instead of destroying the universe, it had instead left it... altered. Two major species locked together in temporal war, fighting at every moment in space and time, battles being fought and refought again until cause and effect broke down leaving only chaos - and suddenly both had never existed, their timeline excised from existence. The universe convulsed, but like a patent who had a cancer cut from them, it would survive, if changed.

Likewise, the individual who had released The Moment had been changed. He had not been left untouched by the changes he had wrought. Although the physical wounds had been dire, they would have been survivable... but he had chosen to change rather than remain in the form which had carried out the universal surgery. The old form he could no longer consider part of himself, that could no longer be called the Doctor. For a moment, as the change passed through him, he considered just letting go, letting the long delayed death finally claim him. But no, he couldn’t allow such an end; with the rest of his people gone, the protection of time fell on his shoulders alone.

As the forces of change passed through him, the Doctor sat alone in the dark in a quiet corner of his TARDIS. Like him, the ship had been ravaged by the forces he had released; it was a burnt husk of its old self. Like him, his oldest friend was now also the last of her kind; she had not asked for this fate, she had always been faithful to him - and look how he had repaid her. He had ripped her heart from her; the eye no longer shone within her. She limped on using reserve power for the moment but that would not last long. Another solution would be needed, but that problem could be delayed for the moment. Around him the TARDIS’s wounds started to heal as coral shards slowly grew through the shattered walls.

For a moment, the Doctor considered looking for a mirror to see the new face of the creature that had caused the greatest genocide in universal history. The creature he was not sure if he could call the Doctor again. Then he decided against it - he did not want to meet himself until he decided what he could do with himself, what he could call himself. He glanced around the slowly transforming room and he gaze fell on a pile of equipment, built in haste and then slowly improved over the centuries: the transmogrifier.

Equestria. He could go to Equestria. In this transformed universe the horrors his hated self had released upon it would not have occurred. A clean slate. Like he himself was a clean slate, a new start. That world seemed smaller, simpler, its problems more black and white. Maybe by continuing to protect it he could find a reason to continue.

Staggering to his new legs, he tottered towards the slowly growing control console and set course.

The Doctor stepped from the TARDIS and looked around. His craft appeared to have landed in a lightly wooded area; from the sound of it a fairly major river was not too far away.

He looked back at his craft. Its exterior was broken and battered like the interior but it was still reassuringly solid and blue. He looked down at his own form. His coat was a dark brown and judging by his tail his hair was black. He quickly felt his head; his mane was cut short and there was no sign of a horn. Neither could he feel wings, so he must be an earth pony. His ears felt a little large, but there was no helping that. He had decided to go naked into Equestria for this visit, since he had not had time to choose an outfit - and from what he had seen on his previous visits, this would not be breaking any taboos.

Sighing, he unhooked the tracker from its belt around his waist and swung it around. From the readings, it appeared that the shard was a few miles away. It looked like he would just be able to walk up to whatever it was and take it this time, since there was no sign of any pony around. The Doctor was not sure how he felt about that - he both wanted to be left alone and was desperate for someone to talk to, to explain what had happened, what he had done. Something niggled him about this place. It didn’t feel quite right, there was a tension in the air like a storm waiting to break.

His enlarged ears suddenly twitched and swivelled. He thought he could make out the sound of voices over the sound of the water. Maybe he would get company after all.

Stealthy moving from tree to tree, the Doctor made his way towards the sounds. He soon caught sight of the source; a ragged column of ponies were making their way through the woods following the river. At least he thought they were ponies. Most were largely equine but many seemed to have random body parts from other animals. Each was unique - where one had the stumpy grey legs of a rhino or elephant, another had a peacock’s tail and a third goat’s horns. Maybe they were some other breed of pony he hadn’t met before?

They all looked exhausted and many were injured. Several pulled wagons but most seemed to have no possessions. A few family groups could be made out, but most seemed to be by themselves. In total there might be as many as a hundred creatures in the company.

Intrigued by the sight, the Doctor started to move closer to get a better look. Suddenly he heard a buzzing sound from above him. He looked up to see a pony with a double pair of insect wings, like a fly, dropping out of the sky towards him. A long spear rested in the crook of its forelegs. With a cry, the creature lunged forward and tried to impale the Doctor on its weapon.

Leaping aside, the Doctor dodged the weapon as it stuck into the ground where he had been standing. With a snarl, the flying pony ripped the weapon out of the dirt and once again thrust at the Doctor, who only just danced back out of reach. “Well, this is typical,” he muttered. “I’ve only been here a few minutes and someone’s already trying to kill me. It makes me kind of nostalgic.” His voice sounded odd to him; he seemed to have picked up an accent in this incarnation.

“Can we talk about this?” the Doctor asked his assailant, dodging a further blow.

His attacker did not seem to be in a talkative mood and swung the spear like a staff, catching the Doctor on the legs and knocking him to the ground. He attempted to rise but was stopped by the spear now at his throat.

“Thunder!” came a cry from behind the Doctor. “What’s going on?”

“I found a spy, I’m dealing with him,” replied the insectile pony.

“A spy? What do you mean?” A second pony walked into view. He was a stallion with rear legs made of what looked like living wood.

“I caught him sneaking up on the caravan, Apple. He was going to bring the whole guard down on us.” He raised spear to strike again.

“How do you know he’s a spy? He could be from that village we went round an hour ago, Oat Town or whatever it’s called.”

“Maybe,” said the armed pony, sounding unsure of himself. “But he’s still seen us.”

“And you think we should kill him for that? What kind of freedom is that?”

“If I could speak?” asked the Doctor.

“Quiet you,” commanded Thunder.

“Just let him go,” suggested Apple.

“No, Dice will want to know about him, it was his idea to come this way.”

“Fine, but I still say we should just let him go.”

“We’ll you’re not the boss here,” sneered the flying pony, gesturing for the Doctor to stand.

“Neither is Card, no pony is. Isn’t that the point of us all?”

Together, the three of them headed off towards the trailing line of ponies.

By the time they reached the convoy, it had stopped and was starting to make camp. A number of tents of varying sizes were being set, and one or two ponies were even using their powers to form shelters from stone or wood. There was an aura of tension over the camp; many of the inhabitants were looking out as if awaiting an attack and several were openly carrying weapons. Most stared as the Doctor was led past.

The small group wound their way towards a tent near the centre of the camp. It was smaller than average but very colourful, and looked like a big top created out of whatever scrap of fabric could be found. Several ponies stood outside, arguing.

“I say we should move on now, the guard could catch up with us at any moment,” said a large blue mare with the head of a duck.

“We need to rest. Most of us are too tired to carry on for much longer,” said another.

“We agreed to wait for Beauty’s group here. If we move on they may never catch up with them,” said a pink maned stallion wearing a tall top hat. His front feet were those of a lion and his rear those of a goat. His tail was that of a snake.

“Look, Dice. You know Celestia herself attacked Beauty’s forces. There ain’t any of them left alive now, and that’s gonna be our fate to unless we move on now.”

“I will not abandon hope that my daughter survived until I see the evidence myself,” shouted the top hat wearing pony, stamping his paws on the ground.

“Why don’t we split up?” asked yet another pony. “Some of us stay here and wait for survivors while the rest go to ground?”

“Then we can be picked off one by one,” said the duck-headed mare. “There is strength in numbers.”

“I don’t know why I’m even here,” said another apparently normal-looking pony. “It’s you Discordians she hates. It’s not even my fight.”

“You were happy enough to aid in the uprising when it looked like we might win, but now that we’re losing you want to run. It’s not like she’d show you any mercy - she hates you almost as much as us.”

The stallion held up a paw for silence. After a few moments murmuring the rest of the crowd settled down. “Straw was right, we do need to rest before we can go any further. I say we wait until tomorrow and then decide what to do from then on.”

The mumbling continued, but after a few minutes it seemed like the proposal had been accepted by the majority of the camp, and the various mares and stallions started to drift away.

Thunder pushed the Doctor forward towards the pony with the top hat. “I’ve found a spy, Dice Roller.”

“A spy?” asked Dice. “Where was he?”

Before Thunder could answer, Apple butted in. “He’s probably just a local, not a threat to us at all.”

“Even if he is, he could still bring the guard down on us,” countered Thunder.

The Doctor sighed. At least this was a familiar situation. “Look, I don’t know anything about you ponies. I’ve no reason to wish you harm.”

All three ponies stared at him. “You don’t know anything about us? Who are you? Even in this corner of nowhere, Celestia must have spread word of the depravities of the Discordians,” said Dice, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

“I’m not using my name at the moment... I’m not sure if I can live up to it right now,” said the Doctor, brushing off the questions. “Discordians? Sorry, never heard of you. I’m not from these parts.”

“Where are you from then?”

“Oh, a bit farther away than you expect.”

“Since Celestia started her purges, she’s made sure the whole kingdom know to look out for us.”

“Sorry, I’m from outside Equestria. I really don’t have time to get involved in your little problems. Always so provincial, you ponies.”

Dice stared at him for a moment. “I think you will find that our problems are currently your problems. But, very well, we are the Discordians, the bringers of chaos, Scions of the Mad God and so on and so forth, blah, blah, blah.” He bowed theatrically. “For many centuries we have lived among the pony population, ensuring nature continues on course and that there is the right amount of chaos to grease the wheels of reality. Normally we were below the notice of the rulers of the land, but one of our number - Curveball - decided to deal with the worst fault in the system, the princesses themselves. Unnatural creatures they are, what else lives forever and does not even change? His attempt was not successful, but unfortunately it did result in quite a bit of collateral damage and caused Celestia’s eye to fall on us. She decided to turn her attention to removing us; her Lightning Bolts scoured each town and village for us and ‘removed’ those they found.” A tear rolled down his face but he continued apparently without noticing. “Many of us decided that enough was enough and we rose up against the tyrant. However, it is not in our nature to act together, and things have gone badly. We have been forced to retreat for the moment but her forces pursue us. We need to join up with other survivors and make a stand.”

“I still say we should disperse and find places to hide. She can’t search every hamlet in Equestria,” said Apple.

“I am fully aware of your opinion, Mr Pie. And like all the ponies here you are free to leave if you want and suffer the consequences.”

Apple looked down at his hooves, seemingly unsure.

“Ah, that’s good. I’ll be off now then,” said the Doctor as he started to wander off. Thunder’s spear stopped him.

“Not you,” said Dice with a grin. “You get to stay here until we can decide what to do with you. Even if you don’t work for the guard you could still tell them of us.”

“Look can’t you just talk to Princess Luna about your problems rather than this Celestia? She’s generally seemed reasonable to me.” The Doctor tried not to think about the time she had threatened to have him killed.

“Luna?” said Dice with a barking laugh. “Luna’s dead! Or she might as well be, nopony’s seen her at a public event in years. They say she spends all her time in her rooms. She doesn’t care about us or anypony else.”

“So either the Time War changed the time line here or I’ve arrived much earlier or later than previously,” mumbled the Doctor.

“What was that?” asked Thunder.

“Nothing, just talking to myself, it’s the only way to get a good conversation most of the time.”

Dice scowled. “Take him away and tie him up. We can talk to the others about what to do with him tomorrow,” he commanded.

Thunder took the Doctor to another tent, larger than Dice’s but not as colourful. After binding all four of his prisoner’s legs together, Thunder threw him in a corner and seemed to freeze into place at the tent’s entrance, becoming as still as a stone. The Doctor tried to start up a conversation, but he found himself being totally ignored by his jailer. The Doctor looked around the tent for something he could use to cut his bonds, but saw nothing useful.

Outside, the sun started to set and darkness began to spread over the camp.

The silence was broken by a small voice from the ground. “Mr Storm?” The doctor turned over to see a pink coated unicorn filly with two trays of food on her back.

To the Doctor’s surprise, the gruff guard leaned over and spoke softly to the child. “Hi Peachie, what brings you over here? Did Apple send you?”

“Daddy made some food for you and the prisoner.” She concentrated and an orange aura surrounded one of the trays and she passed it to Thunder.

“Thanks, kid,” said the stallion, taking the tray. “Your magic’s getting better.”

The child moved over to the Doctor and floated another tray in front of him. With his legs still bound, the Doctor was forced to stretch his neck to reach the food on it.

“Do you want to see a trick?” asked the child, as he struggled to pull a piece of apple towards his mouth with his tongue.

“Sure,” said the Doctor. He glanced up at his guard, who smiled indulgently.

The filly held her breath and squeezed her eyes closed. A whirlwind formed around her disturbing a few loose items in the tent, then suddenly her neck stretched up like a giraffe’s, so she towered over the Doctor. “Ta da!” she gasped.

“Fantastic!” exclaimed the Doctor with a grin.

Peach tried to bow but ended up staggering forwards, unbalanced by her increased height. Thunder rushed to catch her before she fell. “I think that’s enough showing off for today,” he said. Peach nodded, almost falling over again, and her neck shrunk back to its normal size. Rolling her head a few times to make sure her neck still worked, the child wandered away into the camp.

“Nice kid,” commented the Doctor. “You’re good with her.”

“Yeah,” muttered Thunder, smiling. “Did your mistress tell you that we’re all foal-eating monsters? I’ve got a daughter... had a daughter.” His face fell.

“I’m sorry, I did...”

“Don’t be,” said his captor with finality. “Just keep quiet.”

The Doctor and Thunder spent several more hours in silence. The guard remained frozen in place at the entrance to the tent. To the Doctors surprise, the insect like pony eventually began to snore, apparently having fallen asleep while remaining on his hooves with his eyes open.

Taking advantage of the situation, the Doctor began to try to wiggle his way across the ground towards another part of the tent, hoping that it contained something he could use to break his bonds.

Suddenly he heard movement outside and froze in place, hoping that no-one had witnessed his attempt at escape. Through half closed eyes he saw a pony approach the entrance to the tent and wave a hoof in front of Thunder’s eyes, eliciting no response from the sleeping pony. The figure then carefully stepped forwards into the tent itself.

At the closer range the Doctor could make out the figure of Apple Pie.

The Discordian lifted a hoof to his lips to signal for silence. He closed his eyes for a second in concentration and the Doctor felt his bonds weaken. Pulling hard he felt the rope break, and upon examination found that they appeared to have rotted away to uselessness. He got to his hooves and had to bite his tongue to stop himself crying out, as pins and needles ran through all four legs. Apple helped him remain standing and the two of them creeped out of the tent.

Once they were a far enough away from the tent, Apple whispered to the Doctor, “You need to get out of here now, before the others decide to do something to you.”

“How do you know I’m not going to bring the guard down on you?” the Doctor replied.

“I guess I don’t, but I’m just more trusting than the others. I don’t think we should imprison anyone in the name of freedom.” He sighed and looked down. “Dice and the others didn’t used to be like this. Dice used to be a children’s entertainer for Celestia’s sake! But they’ve lost a lot and there’s something about this place... it doesn’t feel right. It wasn’t supposed to come to this. We were just going to show Celestia she couldn’t push us around, keep our children safe, not start a war. A war we’re losing.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think there’s anything I can do to help you,” the Doctor said. “But thanks for rescuing me anyway.” He took out the tracker again and swung it around. The buzzing sound was very loud in the otherwise silent night.

Apple flinched and looked around furtively to see if anyone had been alerted by the noise. “Quiet!” he hissed.

“Sorry, but what I came for is not too far that way.” He pointed towards a rocky area not too far from the camp.

“What you came for?” Apple tensed up. “What are you here for?”

“Nothing that will harm you or your people,” said the Doctor, making conciliatory gestures. “I’m searching for something which will protect the whole of your world from destruction.”

“What?” asked Apple in disbelief. The Doctor had already started to stride off and he had to trot to catch up with him.

“Try to keep up. Now that’s interesting.” The Doctor pointed ahead at a figure that could only just be made out in the darkness - a figure with a top hat.

“Dice? Where’s he going?”

“The same way as me, it seems. Let’s find out what he’s doing, shall we.” said the Doctor with a raised eyebrow.

The duo followed Dice Roller for about half a mile into the rocks bordering the camp. He didn’t seem to be making any attempt to hide himself and eventually disappeared into a cave.

Apple was about to follow the other Discordian when the Doctor stopped him. “Do you hear something?” he asked.

Apple cocked his head for a second. “No,” he replied.

“Odd, it sounds sort of like static to me... it’s faint but it’s very annoying. I wonder what’s causing it?”

The two of them headed into the cave, it started off small but quickly opened out into a chamber big enough to contain several dozen ponies. The walls were covered in writing.

“Do you recognise that?” whispered the Doctor.

“No,” replied Apple equally quietly.

“Me neither, which is worrying. Still, different universe, different rules. Or maybe the poor girl is in worse shape than I thought,” he mumbled.

At the opposite side of the chamber, Dice was apparently examining something on the floor. It seemed to be a dagger formed from some type of bone.

With a deep breath, the mismatched pony clapped his front paws together and a blue glow started to illuminate the room. As the light grew brighter and brighter Dice’s form started to shimmer and warp; he spouted long bat-like wings, his body stretched like a ferret, and his rear legs retracted and became the tail of a whale. The changes became more and more frantic, as he sprouted a dozen insect-like legs which then retracted again and were replaced by tree trunks. His neck stretched out and then retracted again. He sprouted spikes, then feathers, then scales.

The Doctor and Apple watched with horror as a faint blue shape started to form in front of the rapidly mutating pony. It stretched out into a serpentine shape before sprouting four mismatched legs, two wings - one feathered and one scaly - and finally two horns. It towered over the flashing shape that was all that remained of Dice.

“Relax, my child,” the vision said in a surprisingly gentle voice. “You’ll lose yourself.”

“Discord!” gasped Apple.

“Who?” hissed the Doctor.

“The god of chaos, our creator.”

“The black guardian?” mused the Doctor to himself.

Dice’s shape flicked then stabilized in his original form before he collapsed to the ground panting hard. “Sire!” he gasped.

“Not entirely,” replied the creature. “I am only a fragment of a fragment of myself awakened by your spark. However, even so reduced, my powers are still great.” It leaned forward. “How did you know about this place?”

“Chaos brought me here, I won a book about this place in a game of chance a long time ago. It told of a shrine to a great power buried here. I knew it had to be you, my lord.”

“Very good. Who else could it have been?” the creature smirked a little. “But why have you summoned me?”

“The princess, Celestia. She’s killing us, your children. She killed my children.” There was a sob in the stallion’s voice. “I didn’t want this, I was happy making children laugh. Then they found out what I was, they took my son, I never saw him again, it wasn’t right. Now she’s probably killed my daughter too, it’s not right, I will make it right.” He looked up, eyes fever bright.

The phantom creature leaned back and looked thoughtful. “Yes, I have felt my seeds going out one by one. However, in this reduced form I am no match for the Sun Bringer. However, each fragment of myself contains a link to all others. With enough power I can revive my whole self and then we can both get our revenge on Celestia.”

“What can I do to help you?” asked Dice, bowing low.

“Oh, such a small price.” The creature drew closer to Dice, almost crooning in his ear. The Doctor grimaced as the background hiss in his head grew louder. “One you and your kind have paid so often recently. I need change, the change of the living to the dead, here in my special place. How about starting with them?” The chimera pointed at Apple and the Doctor who were suddenly highlighted by a blue glow.

Dice blinked, “Apple? What are you doing here? Why is he with you?”

“One is a spy, sure to bring the guard or the princess herself down on you. He hasn’t even told you his name,” hissed the phantom. “The other, well... he’s never been one of you, has he? While your children died for the cause, his is safe and healthy. Why is that, I wonder?”

“Traitor!” snarled Dice, snatching up the dagger from the floor in his paw and advancing towards the other ponies. “It was you! You set us up!”

“What?” exclaimed Apple in surprise. “How can you say that?” His face darkened. “It’s like you want Peach to die. Would that satisfy you? I won’t let you do anything to her!”

The image of Discord sat back and grinned as Dice leapt at the other ponies, dagger raised. Reacting quickly, the Doctor swung the tracker to block the blow. There was a flash of light and both were knocked to the ground. A shard of the universal barrier dropped to the ground where the blade had been. “Glad I got that right,” said the Doctor, grabbing the crystal from the ground and scrabbling to his hooves. “Come on, Apple, we better get out of here.”

“But he said...” growled Apple, advancing on Dice’s helpless form and shrugging the Doctor away.

“He didn’t say anything. That thing,” he pointed at the towering transparent creature, “is manipulating both of you. We need to get back to your camp.”

Shaking himself, Apple turned and ran from the cavern along with the Doctor.

Dice slowly picked himself up and blinked until his eyes refocused. “After them,” urged the chimera. “Who knows what lies they will tell about you? They’ll turn your people against you, make you seem to be the bad guy.” The top hat wearing pony began to gallop after the Apple and the Doctor.

“There’s a good pawn, in the perfect position to be sacrificed,” whispered the vision as Dice ran off. It remained in place for a few seconds before blinking off, its job completed for the moment.

The two fleeing ponies staggered through the rough terrain separating them from the Discordian’s camp. “That sound’s gotten louder,” said the Doctor through gritted teeth.

“What sound?” asked Apple. “I still can’t hear anything. We have to get back to the camp to warn them about Dice.”

“What was that creature back there?”

“It looked... it looked like the paintings of Discord.”

“Discord?”

“The spirit of chaos, our progenitor. He ruled Equestria long ago until he was defeated by the Princesses. We Discordians each contain a fragment of his power, a spark of chaos. But I never thought he’d help us. There was never any record of him caring for his children.”

“Maybe he doesn’t. Maybe that wasn’t him.”

A bolt of light flared over the Doctor’s head and he looked back to see Dice Roller chasing after them, hurling blasts of magic at them. Redoubling their pace to avoid the crazed Discordian, the Doctor and Apple rushed into the camp. Around them, newly awakened ponies looked up blearily.

“Dice has gone crazy!” yelled Apple. “He tried to kill us!”

The crowd that had gathered around them looked about in shock and all started talking at once. Some trying to defend Dice, others decrying him.

“Friends,” boomed Dice’s voice as he arrived in the camp. “Do not believe these traitors! I have found a source of power great enough to rival that of the Princesses themselves! With this we can get revenge for all of our losses!”

At his words the camp was thrown even further into chaos, as every pony present demanded to know what was going on and voiced their own opinion on this declaration. Apple was jostled this way and that, and the camp’s population ran here and there. He saw Peach leave their tent and run towards him when a white unicorn in armour appeared from behind a tree and grabbed the struggling foal in its aura. “No!” he gasped.

From all around the camp, armoured figures appeared from concealment. Pegasi took to the sky.

“It’s the guard!” shouted Apple at the top of his voice.

At once all the yelling stopped and the Discordians turned to their new enemies. For a second it was quiet as the two forces faced each other. Then Peach, squirming in her captor’s magical grasp, cried out, “Let go of me!”

Almost without thinking, Apple’s legs started him charging towards the soldier holding his daughter, but another was quicker. Thunder swooped down from the sky, spear outstretched, and dived towards the unicorn. The white pony leapt aside to avoid the weapon but Thunder twisted it and caught his enemy with a blow to the flank, opening a deep cut. With a cry the guard’s aura gave out. Peach fell to the ground before running towards her father who took her in his hooves.

Two pegasi swooped down from the sky and forced the insect-like Discordian from the air. With a shrug, Thunder threw one of them back. The guard crashed into a tree and landed in a broken mass at its roots. An armoured earth pony charged forward into Thunder, impaling him on a lance. The Discordian staggered back and looked down in surprise at the wooden weapon protruding from his chest. A look of shock passed over his face and he opened his mouth to speak, before dropping to the ground in a growing pool of blood.

For a moment both sides were silent staring at what had just occurred. Then with a cry one of the Discordians charged forward into a nearby mob of guards. This catalysed the two forces and they threw themselves at each other.

“Wait!” the Doctor cried, but he was forced to his knees as the buzzing sound became deafening. He looked around through watering eyes. To one side, a guard was hacking at his enemy with a sword; to the other, a Discordian with an elephant trunk was using it to throw rocks at a passing pegasus. All seemed too caught up in blood lust to listen to reason.

Suddenly it was as if the sun had risen in the middle of the night as a blazing figure dropped from the sky. “ENOUGH!” it thundered.

“Oh no,” gasped Apple looking up, trying to cover his daughter. “Celestia!”

The light resolved itself into the form of a great mare twice the height of any other present, her pure white wings spread wide she descended gracefully to the ground. Her transparent multi-hued main waved in an illusionary breeze. An aura of fire played around her long pearly horn. “ENOUGH OF THIS,” she commanded as she touched the ground.

All fighting halted at her presence and the Princess of the dawn looked at the figures around her. Her ears twitched and she grimaced. “Discordians,” she growled, “Your very presence corrupts this land. I can sense the evil you bring. However, the light of my sun shall purify Equestria. Surrender now or I shall be forced to destroy you all.”

Dice stepped forwards from among the cowering Discordians. He looked up into the face of the Alicorn, apparently without fear. “You are not the sun, your majesty,” he spat. “Maybe once you were, but you are hollow, only a shell of what you once were. You are only the sun’s corona, and a bloody hoofed tyrant.” He turned to the guards around him who had frozen in place, awaiting orders, almost like statues. “Today she does this to us, but what of tomorrow? Will she decide in her madness that pegasi are too dangerous, or unicorns? If you tolerate this then your children will be next!” he cried.

“SILENCE!” bellowed Celestia, knocking Dice from his hooves with the force of her words. “WE WILL HEAR NO MORE OF THIS SLANDER! We would do nothing to harm our people. But you and your kind are abominations, you do nothing but spread death and chaos wherever you go. How many do you think have been killed in your uprising? We will not rest until every seed of your monstrous sire is destroyed.”

“Yes, kill us all!” yelled Dice picking himself up again, “Every stallion! Every mare! Every filly! Every colt! Even if you do that, you’ll never be safe. Sooner or later Discord will return and will have revenge for what you have done to his children.”

“That will never happen,” cried Celestia. “Never again!”

“You’re afraid,” taunted Dice, stepping forward. “Afraid of us.” A ragged cheer went up from the surviving Discordians and some brought weapons to bear again. The guard likewise prepared to return to the fight.

The Doctor laid on the ground, head full of the sound of static that seemed to fill the whole world. “Stop,” he gasped, but no one seemed to notice.

“You should be afraid, your majesty,” hissed Dice. “One day everything you have built will crumble to dust around you. Entropy will win in the end. Equestria will fall.” He brought back a hoof and, with a sound heard across the clearing, slapped Celestia around the face. “Discord will rise again.”

“By fire be purged!” screamed Celestia, rearing up, eyes glowing. Rippling sheets of flames burst from the solar princess in all directions. The torrent passed harmlessly over her own guards and those without a spark a chaos within them, but was completely destructive to the Discordians. Dice Roller was the first to be struck; his form held for a second a spot of darkness in the light before he was reduced to ash by the energy released.

Seeing the wave of energy approaching them, Apple Pie took Peach in his arms and buried her face in his mane. A single tear fell from the stallion’s eye before the fire reached them and obliterated them both at once. Their shadows were burnt onto the bark of a nearby tree, there to remain for the rest of its long life.

Thunder’s fallen form, blank eyes staring into the sky, was likewise destroyed by the billowing flames.

Several Discordians tried to flee by hoof or wind but it only delayed their fate for a few seconds. The flames caught up with them as it eradicated them.

The burst passed the Doctor leaving him physically unharmed while all around him was destroyed.

Finally the spell came to an end, leaving only the guard and the Discordians’ allies intact. The air and ground were thick with the remains of the fallen.

Seemingly bewildered by her own actions, Celestia fell to her knees, looking at the emptiness around her. She opened her mouth to speak then closed it again. A guard stepped up to her, likewise looking shocked. “Your.. your orders, your highness?” he stuttered.

Like a window closing all emotion fell from the princess’s face and she stood again. “Take any survivors prisoner. I would wish to know of any further groups such as this,” she ordered.

Suddenly released from the agony of the buzzing, the Doctor blinked tears from his eyes and looked around. The ground was covered with a thick layer of ash, the only remains of the Discordians. He picked up a hoof-full and watched it blow away in the breeze. “Gone, all gone,” he muttered. “Not again.”

The Doctor offered no resistance as two guards dragged him to his hooves and away from the sight of the massacre. He hung between them brokenly, his eyes staring blindly inwardly.

The Doctor didn’t know how long he remained in shock. He was aware of being carried through the air for quite some time, of entering a dwelling of some sort. When he became fully aware, it was day. He was in some large canvas structure, presumably a tent; the walls were of white and gold and a bright light shone through them. He was held inside a wooden cage large enough for him to have space to walk around. Surrounding it were several of the white coated guards he had seen earlier, a mix of all three tribes. The door was held shut by a solid padlock; he made a mental note to obtain a new sonic screwdriver if he got back to the TARDIS, since they were useful for this kind of situation. He tried not to think of what had just happened, of the death. It had been so small scale compared to what he had done so recently but to see their destruction had hit him hard. One million deaths are just a statistic; to breathe in the ash left from a holocaust makes it feel so much more real.

“Hey you,” he yelled at one of the guards, trying to distract himself. “Any chance of breakfast? I guess you wouldn’t have a fry up but how about a croissant?”

There was no reply, in fact the guardpony didn’t even move.

He suddenly realised that neither the tracker nor the shard were with him anymore and cursed. He’d have to get them back and quickly; he didn’t know how much longer his shielding would hold. If it dropped, then it would make Celestia’s spell look like a spark. Looking around the chamber, there were no sign of his property. A dark shadow in one corner caught his eye. “Interesting,” he mused.

A white unicorn mare with a red mane and ornate armour entered the chamber. “Her Highness wants to see you,” she announced.

“That’s nice, I’ve got a few words to say to her too.”

A red glow appeared around the lock along with a blue glow from one of the guards, and it opened with a snick.

“You should watch your tongue,” said the officer. “Show the Princess respect or I’ll gut you myself.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll show her all the respect she’s due,” replied the Doctor in an even voice.

The guards eyed him as they passed down a long silken corridor. At the far end a pair of guards stood, spears crossed. “Prisoner for the Princess to interrogate,” announced the white unicorn. The guards nodded and stepped aside.

The chamber beyond was huge, at least the height of ten ponies standing on each others’ backs, and wide enough to play a decent game of hoofball in. Light shone in from various carefully sculpted holes in the walls, illuminating the room - although a corner remained in shadow. The floor was covered by a thick red carpet and a perfumed breeze blew from somewhere. Several guards stood motionless along the walls. However, the feature that caught the gaze was the throne at the far end; rising two pony heights, it appeared to be made out of solid gold and carved with intricate patterns. The back appeared to be an image of the sun and seemed to glow in the light. Upon the throne, looking like she was carved from the same material, sat Celestia.

The Doctor’s guard bowed deeply in front of the Alicorn. “The prisoner you asked for, your Highness.”

“That you Captain Blueblood, you may leave. See if Lady Rumsey’s Lightning Bolts have obtained any information from the other captives.”

“Yes, your highness.” The mare gave a smart salute and turned and marched from the chamber.

The giant white mare examined the Doctor in silence for quite some time. The Doctor stared back defiantly, chin out.

Celestia broke the silence. “What are you?” she asked gently.

The Doctor gave no reply.

“You are not a pony. Not a real pony. Two hearts beat in your breast, that I know. You are not a spirit, not a changeling nor any other kind of sidhe. Nor are you a scion of the Mad God - my flames did not touch you.”

The Doctors jaw tightened as he grit his teeth, the effect of her flames on the Discordians running through his head again.

Celestia got down from her throne and started to circle the lone stallion, dwarfing him with her size.

“Did you feel something for them? Were they not your captors? Were you allied to them?”

“They were only ponies,” intoned the Doctor finally breaking his silence.

“They had led a rebellion against my rule, they had killed many,” replied Celestia. “They were the children of Discord. They were monsters,” she announced.

“There were FOALS!” thundered the Doctor, with such force that the alicorn took a step back. “Even here, even in this magic land where you could be so much better, even here. FOALS! STILL! DIE! WHY! Why? why?” he trailed off. “Why do children have to die?” he whispered.

“I... I...” stuttered Celestia, suddenly appearing smaller. Then she rallied. “Do you think I wanted to do that? Do you think I enjoyed it? I gave them the chance to surrender. They did not accept it. So I did what was necessary to minimise the bloodshed.”

“Oh yes, evil is always necessary, isn’t it,” spat the Doctor.

To his surprise, Celestia remained calm. “A necessary evil, maybe. It is my responsibility. I weighed their lives against the damage they may have caused and did what had to be done.”

“They were that bad?” asked the Doctor somewhat taken aback by her matter of fact tone.

“Their leader, Curveball, killed half of the day court, trying to assassinate me. I saw ponies who I had known for their whole life die, their forms and minds twisted by his chaos magic’s. That can not, will not, happen again.”

“Just like that? One of them attacked you, and genocide was your answer?”

“Of course not. I am not a monster. I tried to locate them all and remove them from society where they could not cause any further harm. They responded with violence and rebellion.”

“Oh I can’t think why,” replied the Doctor, his voice dripping with sarcasm. ”Your forces came in the night and took their children, what did you think they would do? Thank you for it?”

“It was for their own good.”

“Their good? Or yours? Why are you so scared of them? So scared of Discord?”

Celestia staggered back a step wings spread, “You do not know what chaos can do, the threat their sire was. I cannot allow even a trace of Discord’s evil to remain in this world.” There was a hint of panic in her voice. “I will not let his presence touch me or Equestria again.” She began to pace back and forth. “He ruled this land for a time and all was chaos, the death and destruction was horrific. He was pure evil.”

“You don’t know what evil is,” hissed the Doctor. “I know evil, bubbling balls of evil and hatred spending every second of every day planning to kill everything that isn’t themselves. Not chaos but cold and burning order.”

“Really? And what is this creature?”

“Creatures, billion upon billion of them in endless ranks. They called themselves the Daleks,” he spat.

“I have not heard of these creatures, what happened to them?” Celestia sounded intrigued.

“I destroyed all of them. Every. Last. Stinking. One,” he crowed, “I destroyed them all.” He sounded less sure. “It was necessary.”

“Oh yes, evil is always necessary, isn’t it,” replied the Alicorn mockingly.

“This is different. Every Dalek wanted nothing less than to destroy all life. They had no children, no pacifists, no civilians.”

“You did what you had to do and so did I. You do not know what I have had to sacrifice for my people.”

“Sacrifice! You live in a palace surrounded by guards and servants! What have you sacrificed? Only having twelve courses at your banquets rather than fifteen? Given up that extra slice of cake for the sake of keeping your flanks looking good?”

“Have a care. Your life is in my hooves,” hissed Celestia. “You cannot know the responsibilities I have. What I have done for my people.”

“Responsibility! Sacrifice! I destroyed my own race when they went too far!” the Doctor thundered. Suddenly realising what he had said, he staggered back and his hind legs gave out under him. “I destroyed my own race.”

“What?” demanded Celestia, looking horrified.

“I destroyed them all, every man, woman and child.” He seemed to be talking to himself, eyes unseeing. “I had to, there was no other option, they were too far gone. There was no other option.”

“You accuse me of evil, when you have committed genocide not just once but twice - including your own people?”

“It was different.”

“Oh, it always is, isn’t it.”

“If I hadn’t, we wouldn’t be standing here right now, having this discussion.” He glared up to the larger pony. “Either the Daleks would have won and everything that wasn’t a Dalek would be dead, or my people would have destroyed the universe and ascended. It was a no-win situation. But I’ve made a life out of winning no-win situations... there should have been another way. There should have been.” His head dropped and tears began to fall. “There was no choice, but there were children. Friends. Family. No choice but to burn it all. But was it right?”

The chamber was silent for a moment. Then Celestia stepped forward and put a wing around the weeping pony. For the first time in so long she felt a kinship with another creature. “I am sorry for you loss, I understand, I wish... I wish...” For a moment the Doctor felt as if this were a turning point for this world, as if time could go one way or another depending on the princess’s next words. “I wish you could be as certain in your path as me. I am certain of the righteousness of my actions.” Then the moment was gone.

“Certain! Certain! Can’t you even admit that you might be wrong!”

She quickly broke the hug and folded her wing tight to her side. “I am Princess Celestia, I rule Equestria as I have for so many ages. I protect its people, I am not wrong, I cannot be wrong!”

“Cannot be wrong! If you are so infallible, so divine. Why haven't I heard of you?”

“What!” exclaimed Celestia.

“Oh, I have seen the future of this world and Celestia is not in it. I might be remembered as the greatest mass murder the universe has ever seen but you are not remembered at all!”

“No!” cried Celestia, her form starting to glow. “That cannot be, if I am not present in the future what will happened to my people?”

“Princess Luna rules in the future and she is fair and loved by her people.”

“LIAR!” howled Celestia, her mane and tail bursting into flames, her eyes glowing. The heat drove the Doctor back. “I will not be forgotten. Not after all I have done, all I have sacrificed. My sister has withdrawn, she cannot handle rulership.”

Several small fires broke out in the canvas of the tent. The guard seemed unsure as what to do; several stared at their leader in terror while others were attempting to bat out the flames.

With visible effort Celestia reined in her temper and her hair returned to its nebulous form. She closed her eyes and the fires went out. “Take this wretch from my sight. I will decide his fate later,” she commanded.

Several guards rushed over and grasped the Doctor, bearing him roughly to the ground.

“Maybe your people don’t need you as much as you think, when did you last talk to them?” called the Doctor as he was dragged back to his cage.

The Doctor did not know how long he spent in the cage. His body and mind, weary from his recent regeneration and the other recent shocks, fell into a deep sleep. When he awoke, it was dark outside once more. As before the cage was surrounded by guards, but this time they had collapsed on the ground. One was snoring loudly.

“I guess you can come out now,” said the Doctor.

“You knew I was here?” came a disembodied voice.

“I kept seeing shadows without a light source, I guessed it was you.”

A dark equine shape seemed to form from the ground in front of the cage. It was almost pitch black, apart from a glowing starscape of a mane and a pair of unfocused blue eyes which seemed to stare past the Doctor. “A shadow without a light source. Yes, I am that, my mind is in darkness now.” Her voice was a dull monotone.

“Luna?” asked the Doctor.

“Yes. Were you expecting somepony else?”

“When I last saw you, will see you, you were different.”

“I have no recollection of meeting you before.”

“I’ve met you before in the future,” explained the Doctor.

The Princesses eyes focused on him for a second. “Then you meant what you said? That in the future I will rule alone?”

“Yes, you will rule well and be loved.”

“I know you are lying. I do not have the strength to rule, Celestia has always been the stronger of the two of us. She has the strength to make the hard decisions. Ponies love her days, while they will always fear my nights.”

The Doctor reached through the bars of the cage towards the princess of the night. “Maybe it is not strength that is needed but compassion and understanding. My people chose a strong ruler over a compassionate one and he led them to destruction.”

“Why should I listen to you, a creature who by his own admission has destroyed two races, including his own?”

“I’m not asking you to listen to me, I’m asking you to listen to your people. The whole Discordian uprising might not have happened if somepony had listened to them. They did not need to die.”

“Discord was a monster,” Luna took a step back, “Why should his spawn be any different?”

“Why don’t you ask them? Track down any that survive and talk to them and others in Equestria, you might find that more appreciate you and your nights that you think. When was the last time you or Celestia spent time with the common pony, walked among them, played hoofball?”

“It has been some time since I have left my studies, or my sister’s court. There is a beach house I have fond memories of.” She seemed to brighten. “Maybe I will go there and talk to the locals. But what is ‘hoofball’?”

“Not invented yet? Well, I guess you can work it out by the name.”

Luna looked intrigued for a moment, then put this fact aside. “What am I to do with you, stranger? I do not even know your name.”

“I don’t know if I’m worthy of it. I take it your sister hasn’t decided yet.”

“She has been called away by reports of another group of Discordians. She is not expected to return until morning at least. However, I will not lie, she is still angry with you. Your words cut her deep. If you are here when she returns then things will not go well for you.”

“Then would it be better if I was not here?” the Doctor looked hopeful.

The princess looked thoughtful. “I do not know. I have no reason to trust you, you may be lying... but I hope you are not. I fear I had begun to walk a dark path, and you have offered me a light in that darkness.”

“Like the moon?”

Luna’s head shot up and her eyes focused on the Doctor again. “Yes, the moon is a light in the darkness, isn’t it?”

Suddenly and without any sensation of movement, the Doctor was outside of the cage, standing amongst the still dozing guards. “Thank you. I had some items with me when I arrived, a wand and a crystal.”

A box appeared at his hooves and the Doctor opened it to reveal his possessions. “Thank you.”

“What are these?” asked Luna examining the crystal.

“Ask me when we meet again, I’ve already told you the answer.”

She frowned. “You are strange,” she started, then smiled. “But I hope we can talk further when we next meet.”

“We will get to talk, although not for as long as I had hoped, and we don’t get off to the best of starts, but maybe we'll meet again.”

“When she gets back, my sister will be angry. Where will you go?”

“I have my own means of transport. Celestia will not be able to follow, I’ll be fine. But what about you?”

“I will tell her of my decision in regards to you. In theory at least we rule together, so I can make my own decisions in these matters. She will not be happy but I think she will accept it.”

The Doctor turned to leave, then stopped. “Where are we, anyway?”

“My sisters camp, many leagues from where she found you.”

“That could be a problem.” The Doctor could feel a slight burning sensation start on his skin. He did not think he could remain in this universe for much longer before his shielding broke down. He shuddered as he thought about what had happened the last time he had almost overstayed his welcome. “Um, could you give me a lift back to where I was?”

“Very well.” Luna raised her wings and engulfed the Doctor in their darkness; when light returned the two of them were standing in a familiar clearing. The various tents still sat where they had a day ago, but by now the physical remains of the Discordians had been scattered. The enormity of what had occurred here once again hit the Doctor. He staggered over to a blackened tree and ran a hoof over it. “I’m sorry, Apple, Peach,” he mumbled.

Luna looked shocked as well. “This is...” she started.

“All that remains of two ponies a filly and her father. I couldn’t save them. I didn’t even try. There was something here...” he screwed up his face. “I can’t remember now.”

“My sister did this? To ponies?” She ran a hoof over the burned pattern. “Why did she do this?”

“She felt it was necessary to protect her people. Maybe that should be a lesson for you, not to do what is necessary over what is right.”

“I will try. Before you go, please tell me. What is your name?”

“I told you, I don’t know if I can use it anymore.”

“But what is it?”

The Doctor sighed. “I used to call myself the Doctor, but it’s been a long time since I healed anything.”

“Doctor.” Luna rolled the name around her mouth. “I think you should use it again. You may have started me on the path to healing and maybe even my sister, she may still think on your words and change her ways.”

“Thank you, I’ll think about it.”

“Please do.” With that Luna disappeared into the night.

Looking around, the Doctor orientated himself towards the TARDIS and set off, picking his way between the trees. The journey was short and he soon found himself standing in front of the familiar blue box. It had healed over the time he had been away and now stood clean and new again. He gave the shell a pat. “That’s better.” He grinned before opening the door to reveal the new fully grown control room. “Fantastic!”

“Well I’m back,” he muttered to himself. “Let’s go see where a Doctor is needed.”

Author's Notes:

Looks like I managed to avoid my curse of ever increasing chapter size, which is good as a 20K plus chapter would be near unreadable.

This hasn't come up quite as good as I'd hoped, I had this epic confrontation between the Doctor and Celestia in my mind for ages (This was actually the second or third chapter idea I came up with) but when I came to write it it just wasn't as great as I'm hoped.

Still I at least like the general theme.

Up next month (hopefully) will be the 7th Doctor chapter with Ace and Ditzy. It's probably going to be the most complex chapter of the lot as it will cross over with most of the other Doctors at some point or another.

As always thanks to Mooncalf for proofing, editing and generally making better.

Thanks to Lev the Lurker for letting me use his toys and to Fizzy Orange and Whiteeye's for their Discordian feedback

10th Doctor - The Darkness Within

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“Ah, headmaster so good that you could join me,” said Lady Rouncey, bowing to her guest as he entered her house. The noble was in late middle age but retained some of the features that had made her attractive in her youth. The pegasus’ ice blue eyes were still clear but hidden behind thin rimmed glasses. Her mane was of the same colour apart from streaks of grey and was currently worn tied back. Her yellow coat was still immaculate and she wore several bracelets on each leg.

“Your summons did state that the matter was very important,” said her companion, Open Door, the current headmaster of Academy of Magic. He was an ancient unicorn, his mane long since turned snow white and now balding. His coat was a dirty grey and mostly covered by a long rainbow coloured cloak of office, and he rested his forelegs on a short gnarled staff. “But I do not appreciate being disturbed so late, I have enough on my plate organising the graduation and longest night celebrations tomorrow. Anyway, I was told that you had found something of import?”

“As you are aware, my house is one of the oldest in Equestria. The Rouncey’s held power even before the princesses revealed themselves to us.”

The old unicorn gave a grunt and made a gesture for his companion to get to the point.

“This building itself is one of the oldest in Equestria. Indeed, it is said that Canterlot itself may have once been the main holding of House Rouncey and the capital grew up from our property.” The yellow pegasus pushed the door leading out of the house closed, making the bangles on her arms clatter, and deftly locked it.

Open Door raised an eyebrow at her actions. “Yes, well, many people have said many things over the years, often with far more authority that those legends. I am aware that our archaeology department has been trying for several decades to get permission to investigate the foundations of your house. And that every time they have been rebuffed.”

“Recent political events may change that. I am considering allowing your researchers to look into my family’s history, in light of some scandalous accusations made by some of the lesser houses.”

Rouncey started to lead the old unicorn down the hallway. He stumbled for a moment and fell against the door before straightening and following. “That Lightning Bolt matter? Who cares what allegiance your family held a thousand years ago? For all I know one of my ancestors could have been Corona’s personal whore. It’s what you do in this life which is important.”

“Well, others do not feel the same way as you. I can feel the vultures circling. Anyway, that is not important now. While investigating some of the lower catacombs my servants came across a very interesting artefact of quite some age - pre-unification in fact.”

The old mage raised an eyebrow. “That is indeed interesting. Little apart from legends remain from that period, you know. But still, is this not more the kind of thing for a historian rather than a mage?”

“My original thoughts,” said Rouncey. “But once I had a unicorn scan it he told me that it might have magical significance, so I thought of you.” The yellow pegasus gave a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes as she lead the headmaster to a door guarded by a pair of guards, a unicorn and an earth pony.

The four of them entered the door and followed a long winding path leading into the ground. So there was no one to notice the two dark coated figures who entered the building shortly after. Their slitted yellow eyes observed the area carefully then silently followed the party into the depths of the house.

The only light along the path the four ponies took was from the unicorn guard’s horn. The path led them past many portals, all blocked by heavy stone doors with several names and various symbols carved on them. Their form was familiar to Open Door. “These are your family’s crypts?” he asked quietly.

“Oh yes, generation after generation of Rouncey’s have been interned down her for as long as anyone can remember. My late husband is one of the newer residents,” she announced rather cheerfully, “and I myself have a place prepared.”

“You said that the artefact was found down here?”

“Yes, the older tombs are rarely inspected, sometimes not for generations. Ah, here we are.”

In front of the group was a door different from any of the others Open had seen in the complex so far. Instead of a name and cutie mark, the door was covered in tiny runes. He marvelled at the skill behind their engraving, particularly as the work must have been done over a thousand, maybe even two thousand years ago. Their form seemed somewhat familiar to him, but he could not quite put his hoof on it.

With a grunt the unicorn guard forced the door open, revealing a large circular chamber with several entrances. More of the runes were carved into the walls and floor but the centre of the chamber was clear, apart from a large stone urn with a handle on each side placed on a plinth and a shapeless bundle covered by sheets behind it. These objects were surrounded by a metal circle inlayed in the ground. Open recognised it as a primitive form of containment ward, designed to keep spells within its area from affecting those outside its boundaries.

Without fear Rouncey trotted over the circle and picked up the urn. It was quite large and required both hooves to lift, and as with the door it was engraved with runes. “This is the artefact in question, why don’t you come over and have a look?”

Open looked around nervously. His curiosity and caution warred for a few seconds before he moved forward step by step until he was next to the urn. He took it in his aura and examined it closely, rotating it in the air along all three axes. He spoke with increasing excitement, “It appears to be a fairly standard stone vessel although it is obviously very old. I do not recognise the runes but they do bear some similarity to pre-unity script... this might even come from before the original nations formed. There is a minor magical aura bound to it but of a kind I have not seen before, maybe...” Then there was a flash of his horn and his eyes glowed for a second before he gasped and dropped the urn. Rouncey leapt forth to intercept the tumbling artefact, but it was grabbed by Open’s aura again before it could impact with the floor.

“Luna’s mane,” swore Open, “This, this is of Alicorn manufacture.”

“Luna made it?” asked Rouncey raising an eyebrow.

“No, it’s not her signature, nor Cadenza’s. In my years at the academy I have had a chance to study some of the few remaining artefacts from Corona’s time and the aura is similar but not identical. Could it be..?” he wondered. “Could this be the work of another unknown alicorn? The implications are..” he trailed off in thought.

“I’m sure it’s all very fascinating,” said the pegasus smoothly, “but I think it’ll pale in comparison to the real prize down here.”

“Real prize? What are you talking about? This is priceless.”

“That is a mere trinket, a safety feature, linked to the real treasure.” The noble grabbed the trailing edge of the sheet with her mouth and gave a pull, sweeping it away to reveal a pony shaped figure entirely covered in wrappings, onto each of which more of the same script as on the urn and door has been written.

“A mummy?” gasped Open, then recovered somewhat. “One of your ancestors? It is fascinating, there has never been any real proof that our ancestors used this type of funeral ritual, but this urn... the existence of more alicorns... it’s ground breaking.”

Suddenly a hissing sound came from the bandage wrapped shape and it jerkily started to move. Open leapt back in terror. “It’s alive!” he screamed.

Unperturbed, Rouncey took the urn from the headmaster before it could be dropped. She seemed to stare blankly into the distance for a second, then continued. “Yes, and it has been for quite some time now, although not for much longer I fear.”

Open looked on in horror as the clicking sound resolved itself into a dry laughing sound and the creature spoke. “This is our new body?” it asked in a voice that sounded like thousands of insects scratching on wood.

“What is the meaning of this? What is this creature?” demanded Open, recovering quickly from his shock. He began to power up his horn but a blow to the sensitive organ from the earth pony guard knocked him to the ground with a cry of pain.

Through watering eyes he looked up at the bandage covered monstrosity looming over him. “We are legion!” it announced. “For we are many!”

There was a glow from the unicorn guard’s horn and the bandages were torn from the creature’s form. Beneath was the desiccated form of the oldest pony the mage had ever seen. It was almost entirely bald and its bones could be seen through its paper thin skin.

“This is my grandfather’s body,” announced Lady Rouncey sadly. “There was an accident many years ago and the creature entered him rather than its intended victim. We have kept him comfortable since, but nothing lasts forever and a new host is required. You.”

The creature reached a crooked hoof towards the mage. He tried to back away but was held down by the guards. The creature made contact with him and the last thing he heard was thousands of voices screaming in his head, then blackness.

“We are legion!” announced Open Door in the same voice as the creature that attacked him. Behind him the skeletal pony collapsed to the ground, twitching weakly.

Rouncey gently knelt beside the remains of the aged creature. “Rest now Granddad,” she whispered, “I’ll carry on our duty now.” She petted the ancient pegasus until it laid still, and a single tear dripped from her eye before she pulled herself together, stood and turned to the headmaster. “Are you ready for your mission?” she asked.

The grey unicorn leapt forwards and placed his hooves on the noble’s face. She viciously shoved the elderly pony back. “Sorry, but I’m using protection,” she sneered, shaking a bangle covered hoof at him. “Which is probably why my house is almost extinct,” she muttered.

The guards restrained the unicorn again and clamped a bracelet over his forearm, making him howl out in disappointment. “And you are safely neutered for the moment,” continued Rouncey. “Now be a good creature, do what I tell you and you get to kill Luna. You want that, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Open’s body nodded. “Death to the Alicorns! Wait, this body did not come alone! It was suspicious, Night Guard came with it.” The possessed Unicorn spun around and a beam of light flashed from its horn cutting through the weak protection of the circle and smashing into the roof of the chamber. The blast sent a block of stone crashing to the ground. The flash illuminated a pair of identical looking, blue coated, bat winged ponies in guard armour. Discovered, the two night guards took flight.

“Get them!” yelled Rouncey, spurred into action. “Don’t let them escape! Sound the alarm!”

The unicorn used his power to tug on a rope concealed in one of the walls, and the sound of distant bells could be heard. The lead bat guard dived at the unicorn, body checking her and knocking her away from the alarm. The other turned on the earth pony, buzzing past him and making him dive out of the way.

The first Night Guard turned towards Lady Rouncey. “Lady Rouncey of house Rouncey,” she announced formally, “I hereby arrest you on suspicion of treason against Princess Luna. Please come quietly.”

“Or what?” asked the noble lifting herself off the ground and hovering just above the guard.

“Or things will get loud,” intoned the bat pony coolly, looking up into the pegasus’ blue eyes.

With a snarl Lady Rouncey lashed out with her forehooves but her blows were blocked. Behind them the earth pony guard had leapt on the other Night Guard and was currently being smashed into the wall by his opponent.

Smiling, the bat pony counter-attacked using all four legs. To her surprise her opponent bent around the attacks and replied with a blow to her chest which knocked her back. The move was similar to the one she herself had been taught for that situation. “I’m afraid you’re not the only game in town, my dear,” said Rouncey with a sneer.

The smile was quickly wiped from her face as a vicious forehoof jab caught her on the muzzle, followed by another to her gut, bending her over. She desperately blocked a third blow but could not avoid a fourth kick to her back, which drove her to the floor.

“As I said, you are under arrest.” The blue furred pony drifted to the ground over her defeated opponent, “You have...” Suddenly she was interrupted as a white aura enveloped her wing and threw her into the air with a crunching sound. She spun and crashed to the ground.

Rouncey picked herself up, wiping blood from her muzzle. “You couldn’t have done that earlier?” she asked Open Door.

“You looked like you were winning,” replied Legion.

Lady Rouncey glared at him before walking over to the fallen Night Guard and stamped down viciously on her outstretched wing, eliciting a howl of pain. Behind her, more guards started to rush in. Above, the second bat pony threw her now unconscious opponent aside and weighed up her options. She rushed forward towards Rouncey who took up a defensive posture. Moving quickly, the bat pony swept the noble’s legs from under her and grabbed her partner from the ground before turning and diving through one of the exits from the chamber, and back into the labyrinth beyond.

“How did they get in here? The house was sealed,” cried Rouncey as her guards rushed out after the intruders.

The possessed mage spoke using his normal deep sarcastic tones, “Did you really expect it to remain sealed after letting in a mage called Open Door?”

Somewhere a short distance away, the two bat ponies desperately fled through the pitch black network of tombs beneath the house. The spells woven into their armour allowed them to see as well as if there were illuminated by the noonday sun. One was leaning heavily on the other, hissing as its right wing, badly twisted out of shape, brushed against a wall.

“Come on, Nocturne, they’ll be all over us in a few minutes,” said the uninjured pony. “We got to get out of this place.”

“Leave me,” the other gasped. “I’ll only slow you down.”

“Sorry, I can’t do that. We don’t leave a mare behind, you know that.”

“This isn’t a time to blindly follow orders, Fledermaus. One of us needs to report back to the Captain and with this busted wing it’s not going to be me. Leave me and I’ll delay them as long as I can.”

“There’s no way I’m going to have to tell your husband what happened to you.” She looked thoughtful for a second. “Still he is kind of hot for a ground pounder. If something does happen to you maybe I could put the moves on him. After a decent morning period of course, maybe a few days.” Fledermaus grinned.

Nocturne punched her partner in the shoulder, “Don’t you dare, he’s mine. You do that and I’ll come back and haunt you! But seriously you have to leave me.”

Fledermaus looked around and saw a tomb door partially ajar. “Okay, you win.” She put her shoulder to the stone door and with a grunt forced it slightly more open. “Get in there and ambush the pursuers. I’ll get reinforcements for you as soon as I can.” As the sound of pounding hooves got louder she helped her partner slip into the narrow space. “It’s been an honour working with you Nocturne. Custodimus occúltis” she saluted.

“Et nemo potest venire. You too Fledermaus. See you on the other side.” The injured pegasus returned the salute.

Fledermaus gave a grin, and to her partner’s surprise ran back towards their pursuers yelling, “Hey, you. Bet you can’t catch me!” before running off down a random passage.

From her tomb, Nocturne cursed her friend in her head. She considered leaving her hiding place to help but that would make her partners sacrifice in vain, so she was forced to wait in the darkness. Once the sound of pursuit started to recede into the distance, she squeezed herself from her hiding place and started to stagger back towards the surface.

Some distance vertically and a lesser distance horizontally, a deep blue box faded into existence with a wheezing, groaning sound. It sat unnoticed in a side street for several minutes until its door suddenly swung open and a light brown earth pony stallion with an untidy dark brown mane exited. He was mostly covered by a long brown coat over a blue suit. A red tie hung from his neck almost down to the ground. “Ah, smell that air!” he announced. “That’s proper Equestrian air, that is, accept no substitute. In fact, I think this particular air is blowing around Canterlot, capital of Equestria, and the home of its ruler, Princess Luna.”

A second pony exited the blue box with rather more trepidation. The newcomer was an earth pony mare with a light red coat and a raven black mane. She was covered in a short red leather jacket and jeans. “Wow!” she exclaimed looking down at herself. “I really am a horse.”

“Oh yea of little faith. You are what is referred to locally as an earth pony - all humans seem to become those here. Well, apart from Leela, but she always was a little different.”

“Who’s Leela?” asked the mare somewhat suspiciously.

“Oh, a previous companion of mine. Leather bikini, janus thorns, changeable eye colour. She was far before your time, Martha.” his mood seemed to darken. “She’s long gone now, she fought to the end.”

Sensing the change in her companion, Martha tried to distract him. “So Doctor, you’ve been here before. Did you get to meet this Princess before?”

“A few times, not in the best of circumstances last time. But that was a long time ago, over a thousand years if the TARDIS is correct. It’ll be nice to see her again in brighter times if I get the chance. Still, we’d better get down to business first.” The Doctor pulled a small rod-like device from his pocket and waved it around a bit. It gave a quiet buzz. “That’s interesting, the shard seems to be below us and a bit that way.” he gestured towards a tall building towering above the neighbourhood.

Martha looked in the direction indicated. “That would be the building that that winged pony thing just rushed out of followed by a bunch of other ponies who don’t look very friendly, would it?”

“Yes, and I think we should look into that right away, don’t you?” replied the Doctor with a grin as he started to jog towards the ruckus. “Come on Martha, Allons-y!”

With a sigh, Martha set off after the now galloping Doctor.

Fledermaus seemed to have done a good job of distracting the guards and Nocturne had found her path back to the entrance of the house unguarded. However, when she got to the exit her luck ran out; four guards in house Rouncey livery stood blocking the door. Unwilling to waste the time needed to search for another way out, Nocturne had charged the portal, knocking the guards aside, and crashed through the door. Luckily it was still unlocked after Open Door’s attentions.

However, the guards did not remain stunned for long, and before Nocturne could properly make her escape they were upon her. She managed to throw off the first guard, a pegasus, who tried to leap upon her. But a unicorn cast a spell which bound her rear legs and made her fall, while a pair of earth ponies laid about her with their hooves. A wild blow to her injured wing made her cry out, but another hoof to the head quieted her.

“‘ello, ‘ello, ‘ello. What’s going on here then?” came a masculine voice from behind the guards and they turned to look at the arrival.

“Push off,” growled the unicorn, “We’ve caught a thief, it’s none of your business.”
“Really,” said the Doctor walking straight past the guards and examining the fallen Bat pony. “That’s a rather fancy outfit for a thief. Whatever happened to a domino mask, black and white shirt and a bag marked ‘Swag’? It’s traditional.” He reached into his coat and took out a wallet which he flipped open and swung around quickly in front of the guard’s eyes. “As you can see I am a member of the,” his eyes flickered down to the psychic paper, “Royal Guard, so I can take this criminal off your hooves.”

The guards looked back and forth between themselves. Then their leader yelled, “Another one, get him!”

“Not the response I would expect from law abiding citizens, you know,” said the Doctor, backpedalling away from the guards now rushing towards him and Martha.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Nocturne roused herself and swung her still trapped legs at the nearby Unicorn, striking a glancing blow on the side of his head and making him drop his spell. Freed, the pegasus staggered past the guards, her head still ringing, shoving them aside. “Follow me!” she yelled at her rescuer.

Deciding discretion was the better part of valour, both the Doctor and Martha followed the fleeing bat pony into the backstreets of Canterlot, pursued by the guards. Given that it was gone midnight and near midwinter, the streets were relatively quiet, but Canterlot never fully sleeps and some ponies, wrapped up against the cold, still wandered the city. It was these poor unfortunate ponies who ended up getting trampled as the two groups chased each other through the streets.

Nocturne, Martha and the Doctor did their best to avoid the passersby while the house Rouncey guards just shoved the pedestrians aside. The pegasus guard took to the air to try and spot the fugitives and guide his companions to them. Nocturne spotted the aerial guard and instinctively tried to fly up to deal with him, but let out a strangled cry as her injured wing tried to unfold. She staggered and almost fell as she was overcome by the pain. Martha tried to support her. “Doctor, she’s hurt, we have to get away from them.”

“On, it,” yelled the Doctor. He skidded to the stop in front of a shop with an ‘Apple Trust’ sign about it. “Quick, get me a banana.”

The shopkeeper looked confused. “I’m sorry we only sell apples here.”

“Bah, apples are repulsive.” The Doctor made a face. “Still, when all you have is a hammer...” He grabbed an apple from the shocked shopkeeper and with a flick of his hoof hurled it up at the pegasus above them. It hit its target straight on the head, momentarily dazing him and causing him to drop out of the air. One of his flailing wings caught on a canopy, and he crashed amongst his companions, knocking all of them aside like skittles. “Howzatt!” yelled the Doctor as he ran on.

“Hey, you need to pay for that!” called the shopkeeper, shaking a hoof at the fleeing Time Lord.

The Doctor caught up with the rest of his group. Nocturne looked terrible - sweat was dripping from her and she was staggering along only remaining upright with Martha’s support. “Need to get to safety,” she gasped. She looked around, her brow furrowed. “This way.” She pointed down a street.

The bat pony led the time travellers through a maze of streets until she stood in front of an inconspicuous door. After checking that there were no other ponies in sight, Nocturne slumped against it. As her helmet touched the door, it glowed with a faint blue aura and swung open. She almost fell forward but was supported by the Doctor and Martha who dragged her inside. The door clicked shut behind them.

The house, as its exterior suggested, seemed to be totally ordinary. Built on a single floor, a small hallway contained doors to a living room, a tiny kitchen, an equally small bathroom and a bedroom with two beds. It was onto one of these that Nocturne was gently lowered by her rescuers. She laid there panting hard.

“You should probably look at her, Doctor,” said the Doctor.

“Why me!” exclaimed Martha, then continued in a quieter voice, “I’m not a vet.”

“You’re an MD, it’s more or less the same.”

“What about you?”

“Sorry, I’m not that kind of Doctor. Plus the last time I did this one of the patients almost died despite me being helped by a princess.”

Martha turned to her patient and put on a fake smile. “Okay, Miss. I need to look at that wing now.”

“It’s Nocturne. You have medical training?”

“I’m a Doctor, mostly. My name’s Martha and this,” she gestured to where the Doctor had been but he had disappeared, she sighed, “was the Doctor.”

“His name’s Doctor and he’s not a medic?”

“Apparently not. But I’m sure I can help.”

“Patch me up as quickly as you can,” she panted. “I need to get back to base to report.”

Gingerly Martha examined Nocturne’s wing as well as the other wounds she had taken. The injured pony hissed as Martha gently prodded her wing. To the medic’s surprise, despite looking like a leathery bat wing she was certain she felt feathers when she touched it. The surprise must have shown on her face as Nocturne looked up at her with a laugh, which turned into a cough. She reached up and removed first her helmet, shaking loose her matted mane, then her chest piece and finally with Martha’s help her armoured saddle and barding. As the last of the armour was removed a change came over the battled pegasus. She shrunk slightly and her grey coat darkened to a dark blue. Her mane lightened to a bright purple, almost pink. The biggest change were her wings, which converted from batlike to feathered like a bird’s.

“Magic in the armour,” she explained bluntly. “Now do your job.”

Martha returned to the wing and gently manipulated it. It was bent at several wrong angles. Taking it in her hooves Martha closed her eyes and thought about anatomy. ‘It’s just a funny shaped leg,’ she thought. The limb felt hot to the touch.

“Some of your wingtip bone thingies are broken but they’re clean breaks,” stated Martha, wishing she sounded more professional. “But your wing is also dislocated, so I’m going to need to reset it. I haven't got any anaesthetic so it’s going to hurt.”

“I can take it,” grunted the blue pony. “Just fix my wing, I want to be able to teach my daughter to fly soon.” Looking around, she took a lump of thick padding from her armour and placed it in her mouth. Biting down, she nodded to Martha to start.

Trying hard not to shudder, Martha gripped the injured wing above the breaks as best she could with hooves. She put her hind legs on the bed frame and started to tug gently. Nocturne winced and stared daggers at her. Martha increased the force and her patient bit down strongly. “‘arder,” she mumbled. With a tug Martha used her full weight to pull and with a sickening crunch and a muffled scream from Nocturne the wing slipped back into its socket. The injured pony slumped back onto the bed and passed out.

Nocturne slowly drifted back into consciousness. She was in bed, and the sheets below her felt warm and comfortable so she must be at home - she could swear that the blankets in the barracks were designed to be as itchy as possible. She could feel sunlight on her face and she screwed her eyes up to keep it from stripping away the last layers of sleep. She tried to turn away but one of her wings felt stiff. She, or more likely her husband, must have slept on it last night. Even after all these years he still hadn’t learned how to sleep with a Pegasus, well in that way anyway. She couldn’t hear anything so her daughter wasn’t up yet. Maybe she could have some ‘adult time’ with her husband before the orange hell raiser awoke, they had talked about trying for another kid but they never seemed to have the time. She finally opened her eyes and her mind became fully functional reminding her of what had happened last night.

Her eyes darted around the room. Her armour was dumped in one corner but otherwise the room was empty. She ached all over, and several bandages and plasters were attached to the injuries she had suffered at the hooves of the house Rouncey employees. Her wing throbbed gently, but less than it had last night - it was splinted with what looked like part of a picture frame and there was a bandage wrapped around her head. With a grunt she tried to get to her hooves, but it took several tries before she could roll off the bed and stagger into a standing position.

The door to the room sprung open and the Doctor rushed in. “Mornin’” he called. “How are you feelin’?”

“You're still here?” she asked.

“Well you know we wanted to hang around and see that you were okay, do our civic duty, that sort of thing.”

“You’ve been asleep for about six hours,” said Martha, joining them in the room with a glass of water. She passed it to Nocturne who took it gratefully. “I’ve fixed you up with what I could find in the surprisingly good first aid kit in the bathroom. I think you might have a minor concussion, though.”

“Plus of course you locked us in,” continued the Doctor, ignoring Martha.

“I must have set the security spells when I arrived, I don’t remember,” muttered Nocturne taking a sip of water.

The Doctor pulled a short rod from his coat. It hummed and produced a blue light. “Apparently, you have the magical version of deadbolt seals around here,” he said. “Even the windows.”

“It’s standard design for guard safehouses. But you should know how to get out, you said you were with the guard.”

“Well let’s not get caught up with what I have or haven't said,” said the Doctor dismissively. “I take it you’re with the guard then and not a thief, so what was that all about last night?”

Maybe it was the concussion but Nocturne felt she could trust the brown stallion. “Me and my partner, Fledermaus...” She shuddered when she thought about her partner’s likely fate. “...were assigned as protection for a VIP, the headmaster of Luna’s school of magic, Open Door. He was summoned to Lady Rouncey’s house around midnight last night and thought she might try something, so he let us in. We followed him down to the catacombs under the house. Once there something calling itself Legion...”

“Wait, Legion?”

“I think that’s what it said.”

“Interesting, I think I’ve met it before and it did say it had met me before. I wonder if this is before or during our last encounter?”

Nocturne stared at the stranger before restarting her account. “Legion attacked and seemed to possess the headmaster. It must know what its host knows because our cover was broken and I got hit. Fledermaus stayed behind to allow me to get away, that’s when you found me.” She blinked. “I’ve got to get back to base and report.”

The Doctor looked thoughtful. “Why would they want the headmaster, what can he get them?”

“He’s getting on a bit but he was one of the most powerful mages in Equestria. His position gives him access to some of the most powerful artefacts as well and tomorrow he’s going to....” She gasped. “Tomorrow, no today now, he’s going to present the graduating class to Luna herself. They’re going to try and kill the princess!”

‘This was supposed to be a special day,’ thought Lyra. She’d been chosen to be part of the school band to play to Princess Luna herself but now she’d gone and broken her stupid lyre while practising. She gazed unhappily at the snapped string while around her the rest of the school were making their last minute preparations for this afternoon’s ceremony. Oh well, it wasn’t the worst possible thing, she could probably find a music shop open to get a replacement. It just normally took her hours to tune it to her satisfaction. She was glad Octavia wasn’t around or the grey mare would lecture her on taking proper care of her instrument.

Standing, she noticed the headmaster making his way across the quad towards her. He stopped every few feet to shake hooves or hug a passing student. She didn’t remember the old curmudgeon being so personable in the past.

“Ah, Ms Heartstrings isn’t it,” Open Door called.

“Yes sir,” said Lyra, eyes down and trying to hide her ruined lyre behind her back.

“Good to see you, I’m sure you and the rest of the musicians will be at your best tonight.” The aged pony took the green unicorn into a long hug.

Lyra stiffened in his grasp. ‘Oh Luna,’ she thought, ‘He’s coming on to me, ewwwww. He’s got to be three maybe four times my age, this is gross.’

Open released her from his grasp and she staggered back in shock. The headmaster examined her for a second before turning away, looking disappointed. He walked away without a further word, a bracelet on his ankle clanging against the ground.

“Well that was strange,” mutter Lyra before shaking herself out of her daze and cantering away. She had to find a new lyre string by this evening or there would be Tartarus to pay.

Nocturne strapped on her armour on as quickly as she could given her injuries. The spells built into it once again transformed her into the impressive visage of a Night Guard pony, although her wounds were making her feel less than impressive. The same spells would allow her to open the doors of the safe house. Fully prepared she marched into the hallway and moved to open the door. To her surprise it sprung open before she could do anything and revealed another royal guard. Her heart leapt as she read the magical name tag on the arrival, ‘Fledermaus’.

“You’re ok,” she gasped. Her partner looked rather the worse for the wear, various cuts and bruises covered her coat and one of her eyes was swollen shut.

“Nocturne,” gasped Fledermaus, “I’ve found you at last.”

“The weather has been off schedule recently,” said Nocturne, looking suspicious.

“Come on, you know I’m terrible at these code phrase things.” Nocturne glared at her partner. “Fine. First we get the sun, then the, oh what is it, showers, do you think we’ll have snow?”

That was the code response and the one to indicate she her partner wasn’t acting under duress, but Nocturne still wasn’t satisfied. “That Legion thing possessed the headmaster. How do I know it hasn’t done the same to you?”

“Does it sound like I’m gargling bees? It’s me, Noc. I went to your wedding, remember; you spent ten minutes hyperventilating into a bag when the groom was late, you were worried your dress would make you look pregnant and given your daughter was born five months later that was a valid fear. It’s me.”

Nocturne let out a deep breath she hadn’t realised she was holding and stood aside, letting the bat pony into the living room where the Doctor and Martha were waiting. It was crowded with the four of them. “What happened?”

“Those thugs gave me a good working over but I lost them in the tunnels. It took me a few hours but eventually I got out. I made it back to base and got patched up. We raided house Rouncey and captured them all. A few mages managed to extract that Legion thing from the Headmaster and stuck it in some sort of magic bottle. Some of the captives we questioned said you’d gotten away so I checked all the safe houses I knew in the area, eventually I found you here. So what have you been doing all this time? Did you manage to contact command? Who are these ponies, anyway?” She gestured at the Doctor and Martha.

“They’re some civilians that helped me get away. Martha and the Doctor.”

Fledermaus ignored this. “Did you manage to contact command?” she insisted.

“No I’ve been unconscious here all night.” said Nocturne, sounding confused. “Wouldn’t you have been told if I had?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think your partner is herself right now,” said the Doctor gravely. “That peculiar piece of jewellery might have something to do with it.” He pointed at a rune covered bangle on one of Fledermaus’ rear legs.

With an unnatural hissing sound, the bat winged mare reared up and slammed her front hooves down on the floor where Nocturne had been standing just a moment ago, cracking the wood. The Doctor shoved the injured guardsmare aside at the last moment.

“You will all die!” screamed the Legion-controlled pony in her buzzing voice, striking out again at Nocturne with her front hoof while flailing her wings to keep Martha and the Doctor back.

Despite still being stunned, Nocturne’s training kicked in and she moved to deflect the blow, throwing her former friend off balance. She followed with a blow of her own, knocking the attacking pony back and tripping her over an armchair. She was up again in a moment, hissing in anger. With the possessed pony distracted, Martha ran for the hall while the Doctor drew his sonic screwdriver. Fledermaus leapt at him and he ducked, flipping the pegasus over his head to crash against a wall. By the time the controlled mare came to her senses, Nocturne had a hoof to her throat.

“Wait! Stop! It’s me!” pleaded Fledermaus in her normal voice. “The thing in me, you’ve weakened its control. I’m myself again but I can feel it getting stronger. I don’t have much time, help me!”

Nocturne moved back slightly but kept her partner covered. “What can I do?”

Fledermaus shook the leg with the rune covered bracelet on it. “This thing, they put it on me when the creature possessed me, I think it’s keeping it in me. Please help me. I can feel it, it’s so cold.” The possessed pony shivered.

“Let me see,” commanded the Doctor, pushing Nocturne aside gently. He examined the outstretched leg. There was no clear joint on the bracelet. He waved his sonic screwdriver at it and checked the readings. “Interesting. This seems to be created to open upon a specific signal, probably what you would consider magic, but I think I can duplicate it.”

“Please!” begged the bat pony. She started to convulse. “I will not be denied,” came the scratchy voice. “I can’t hold it much longer,” cried Fledermaus in her normal voice.

The screwdriver gave a sharp buzz and the bracelet opened, dropping from Fledermaus’ leg with a clang. She stopped shaking. “Thank you very much, Doctor. You are so very gullible.” She reached up and tapped the Doctor’s head with one of her hooves.

He froze for a moment. “We are Legion,” he announced in the spirit’s buzzing voice as he turned towards Martha and Nocturne.

“Doctor?” asked Martha in shock.

“Not anymore,” announced Legion as the Doctor’s body started to slowly walk towards the scared earth pony.

“Now we are both Legion,” said Fledermaus as she got to her hooves and advanced on Nocturne. “Come, let us touch you so that you can join us.”

With a sudden crash the front door was knocked open and ponies in house Rouncey uniform rushed in filling most of the already cramped room.

“No! Not so soon!” cried Legion using the Doctor’s body.

“It’s spread,” warned one of the guards. “Quick, get bracelets on them all.”

“No! I will not be caged again!” cried Fledermaus, charging for the door and bowling several guards over before she was pulled to the ground by the weight of their numbers.

Two guards leapt at Nocturne. She sidestepped one and twisted to kick the other in the face, smashing him into a wall. She turned to her first attacker but she was quicker and landed a heavy blow to Nocturne’s head. The bat pony blinked to try and clear her vision and retaliated with a glancing blow to her attacker’s flank. A third attacker charged at the beleaguered Night Guard and smashed into her injured wing, causing her to howl out in pain. More and more ponies piled in bearing her to the ground.

The Doctor desperately swiped at Martha with his hoof but she leapt back out of reach almost tripping over one of the guards. He growled as several guards fell on him bearing him to the ground. He tried to buck them off but was quickly incapacitated.

Two guards advanced on Martha, who backed away until her flank touched the wall. “I surrender,” she called. One guard roughly grabbed her hoof and slammed a bracelet over it, locking closed.

“Now you lot, come with us,” commanded one of the guards.

‘Well, this is going to be a ‘special’ day,’ thought Trixie sarcastically as she paced back and forth in Luna’s office. Luna herself sat at her desk going through some paperwork, her reading glasses propped up on her snout. Trixie had never understood why the princess wore the things; there was nothing wrong with her vision, in fact it was far better than a normal pony’s. She had asked her teacher about it once and she had just said that she’s been told that they made her look cute. Trixie thought they made her look like a dork but had kept her mouth shut on the subject.

“Trixie, sit down. You’ll wear a hole in the floor,” commanded the Alicorn of the night without looking up from her work.

Trixie flopped down on the ground with bad grace. “But do I have to come with you all day?” she whined.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I told you to, and although you might have forgotten I actually rule this country,” replied Luna severely. Then her tone softened, “You’re going to have to go to events you don’t like if you join the Night Court.”

“The meeting with the weather bureau, that’s fine, Nimbus is always good for a laugh. But you know Open Door hates me, why do I have to go to that graduation thing?”

“I think it would be good for you to meet up with some ponies of your own age and ability. And headmaster Door doesn’t hate you, he just doesn’t think you apply yourself to your full potential and sometimes I agree with him.”

“But they’re all the same at the academy, alternating between looking down their muzzles at me or trying to suck up. ‘Oh, illusion isn’t a real branch of magic’, ‘Look at this spell formula, isn’t the second semi-temporal counter-spiral so pretty’. They’re all so wrapped up in their ivory tower they never actually get out and do stuff.”

Luna looked up and removed her glasses via telekinesis, rubbing her snout with her hoof. “Trixie, you are going to have to learn to deal with these things the same way I do, just smile and wave.” She demonstrated by putting on a dignified smile and waved a hoof in Trixie’s general direction. “Besides, it’s the longest night celebrations tonight, you always enjoy those.”

“True.”

“I’m thinking of splitting myself into three and disguising myself as one of each of the tribes before combining back on the stage this year.”

“You did that last year, and the year before and the year before that,” said Trixie, looking bored.

“Did I? Well, it’s a good symbol of the unity of the tribes and it gives me a chance to talk to my little ponies while they’re enjoying themselves.”

“We could try something different this year,” said the light blue unicorn, brightening up. “I could put on an epic warm-up show for you, culminating with a massive illusion showing the battle between you and Corona.”

“No,” announced Luna icily, the shadows around the room seemingly deepening.

Trixie decided she had pushed her teacher a little too far. “Sorry.”

Luna took a deep breath and the office returned to its previous state. “Trixie, if you don’t cause any trouble for the rest of the day you may help with the fireworks display tomorrow.”

“Fine,” Trixie pouted.

“Good.”

There was a knock on the door and Luna opened it with her aura to reveal a jagged horned member of the Night Guard. He saluted. “Your chariot is ready, your majesty.”

She nodded to him. “Come along Trixie, we have a long day ahead of ourselves.”

Martha and Nocturne were led through the back streets of Canterlot back to Rouncey’s tower, the former having to support the latter who was still recovering from her recent head injury. The Doctor and Fledermaus came as well. The possessed ponies occasionally snarled at the guards but followed them without having to be forced. Once in the house, the party was surprisingly led into a well decorated dining room and left under heavy guard.

“Doctor,” called Martha, “Please do something, Please.”

The creature inhabiting the Doctor’s body took a few steps forward and grinned nastily. “There is no more Doctor,” it buzzed. “There is only Legion and soon you will be Legion too.”

One of the guards grabbed the Doctor by the tail and dragged him back away from his companion.

“We’ll going to have to do this by ourselves,” mumbled Nocturne, trying to concentrate on stopping the room from spinning around. Martha huddled up next to her. “We have to get out of here now. If I was right then they’re going to try to assassinate Princess Luna using this Legion thing. We have to stop them.”

“But how? There’re too many of them,” whispered Martha.

“It doesn’t matter how many. Nos protegat nocte.”

Martha though back to her latin classes. “You protect the night?”

“Motto of the Night Guard, well one of them. What do they teach in school nowadays?” She looked disappointed.

“I didn’t go to school in Equestria, I’m afraid.”

“Where are you from then?”

“You probably won’t believe me.” She took a deep breath. “Me and the Doctor are from another universe, we travel in time and space. We’ve come here to reclaim a fragment of the barrier between our two universes to prevent them both being destroyed. Oh and we’re not normally ponies but humans.”

Nocturne stared at her for a few seconds. “You’re right,” she intoned, “I don’t believe you. What is a human anyway?”

The conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Lady Rouncey. She had changed since Nocturne had last seen her and was wearing an ornate suit of armour with a helmet held in the crook of her wing. It was in a style that looked vaguely familiar to Nocturne; it had similarities to her own but appeared to be made of gold, and she thought she might have seen something similar in a museum. It gave her a bad feeling.

“These are the prisoners?” the noble asked one of the guards.

“Yes, my lady,” he replied with a bow.

She walked over the Doctor and examined him. She turned to Fledermaus. “You took control of this one?” he asked.

“Yes,” both the Doctor and Fledermaus replied at once in identical scratchy voices.

With a sweep of her wing Rouncey knocked the bat pony’s legs out from under her and she fell with a surprised cry. Before the possessed pony could recover the noble slapped her about the face with a hoof. “I gave you no permission to do that,” she yelled. “How did you get the warded bracelet off?” she demanded.

The Doctor stepped forward angrily and several guards closed in around him.

“If you don’t tell me I will not free your other self to kill Luna!” threatened Lady Rouncey.

The Doctor froze for a second then slowly withdrew the sonic screwdriver from his pocket. “With this.”

“What is it?” Rouncey examined it.

“A type of ... wand.”

“A wand usable by an earth pony?” she sounded suspicious, “Who are you anyway?”

“My body’s name is Dr Time Turner, a watchmaker from Ponyville. He is visiting Canterlot with his wife, Dr Marvellous Stitching, a doctor from the same town.” He gestured towards Martha who was standing with her mouth open - she was sure he winked at her. “That device was enchanted by one of his friends to help in his work.”

“Interesting.” She passed the device to a nearby guard. “I’ll look into that later. I’m rather busy now, my guests should be arriving soon. You,” she pointed at Fledermaus who had now picked herself up of the floor, “Go to the night guard, make sure they don’t suspect what is going to happen. I will free you once the plan goes into action, gain control of as many of them as possible and spread chaos.” Legion chattered excitedly before scurrying off. “You, she pointed to the Doctor, “Make your way to the festival if you can, it won’t hurt to have two of you there.” The Doctor’s body nodded as well and followed Fledermaus from the room.

“The rest of you, bring the prisoners to the catacombs. I think I may have a use for them.”

The trip to the catacombs was difficult. Nocturne could barely stand; Martha had to support her for more most of the trip. The red earth pony was worried that the further head trauma had aggravated the guard’s previous injuries. The two of them were shoved along by the guards while Lady Rouncey led the way.

“We have to get away now,” hissed Nocturne. “I’m not as weak as I’m acting, we can surprise them.”

“Wait,” replied Martha. “The Doctor lied, he’s not called Time Turner and I’m certainly not Marvellous Stitching. He’s faking, he’ll rescue us.”

“Why do you trust him?”

“He’s never abandoned me before.”

“And you fancy him.”

Martha paused, “It’s that obvious?”

“To everypony who’s not him I think. Don’t worry, my husband was the same. I practically had to beat him over the head and drag him into my bed before he got the hint. He figured things out quickly enough after that, though.” Her eyes looked distant.

“You’re married?”

“Yep, got a filly as well.” Her eyes hardened again. “I hope I get to see them again. But if I don’t, they’ll understand that I died defending Luna and Equestria.”

“Don’t talk like that, I’m sure you’ll see your family again soon.”

The party reached a door which Nocturne recognised as being the one leading into the chamber which originally contained Legion. Within it the vase remained on its pedestal but the remains of the previous host had been removed. Rouncey called for the party to stop and placed her helmet on her head. Suddenly a change came over her, her coat bleached to a bright white, her tail and mane appeared to burst into flame and she seemed to grow in size. The armour must contain similar spells to Nocturne’s own. It suddenly struck the bat pony that Rouncey now looked similar to the images of Corona she had previously seen.

“Keep them here and keep them quiet,” said Rouncey to her guards as she strode into the chamber.

The room contained several dozen ponies all wearing the same armour as Rouncey, although slightly less ornate. The same spells were anchored to them so that the chamber seemed to be full of many copies of the same pony.

“Welcome, my fellow Lightning Bolts,” announced Lady Rouncey to the gathering. Her voice was not affected by the spells.

The other occupants of the chamber all stamped with various levels of enthusiasm. Rouncey glared at the more sedate members of their group before continuing, “For hundreds of years our ancestor served as Celestia’s strong right hoof, searching out corruption and treason and bringing in into the light. But there was one place they did not expect treachery to come from; our monarch’s own sister! When Luna started her rebellion, our predecessors were taken by surprise and many died at the hooves of the mob. Some managed to flee to other lands,” she gestured to some of the audience, “while others like myself remained hidden in plain sight, slowly rebuilding our power until the time was right to strike, and that time is now!”

There was a general rumble of conversation between the audience members. Rouncey waited for it to die down before continuing. “Celestia, in her infinite wisdom, left a weapon in my family’s possession with which to strike down her sister. A creature known as Legion - once a scourge of ponykind, but tamed by our patron. This creature can control any number of ponies. Luna may have the strength of a hundred ponies, but Legion can control a thousand - or ten thousand - it will crush her. Even if Luna does overcome Legion she will have killed many of her subjects, and it should not be difficult to raise a rebellion against her then.”

“But if Luna is killed who will raise the sun?” came a call from the audience.

Rouncey scowled. “My family’s libraries contain scrolls dating back to pre-unification times. They include a copy of the spells once used by Unicornia to control the sun. With Luna destroyed we can return to the old ways. Given time we may even be able to free our mistress from her prison.”

“How do we stop this Legion creature turning on us once it has ‘dealt with’ Luna?” asked one of the ponies at the front of the crowd.

“With this,” Rouncey gestured at the vase on its platform, “and these,” she waved her foreleg covered with the rune bracelet. “These bracelets prevent Legion from controlling the wearer, whereas the vase once activated will draw all the parts of legion for several miles into the nearest pony. I even brought a few ‘volunteers’ for that duty.” she gestured at her captives.

“And when will this attack take place?”

Rouncey smiled and turned to one of her unicorn guards who nodded and her horn lit up. “It should start momentarily. I just freed Legion at the academy graduation ceremony which Luna is presiding over.”

“And I hope that the whole class, as well as their family and friends, all enjoy this special day,” said Luna, finishing her speech. The courtyard in front of her was packed with ponies, the graduating class were on the stage next to her and around them were various academy staff and other dignitaries. With the longest night celebrations tonight, the streets around the academy were packed. Her guards had warned her that they be forced to disperse the crowds due to the sheer numbers but had gotten the situation under control before that was necessary.

On her cue the school band started to play the national anthem, and a secretary rushed over with an aura full of the diplomas she would be presenting to the class. She took them and started to unroll a few. She had memorized the names of the graduates but it would be interesting to see exactly what they had done. Beside her Open Door leaned over. “Do you mind if I have a quick word, your excellency?” he asked.

The band was starting the second verse so she probably had a few minutes until she needed to present the certificates. “Of course, headmaster, we have a short time. What is it you want to speak of?” She noticed a bangle lying at the old stallions hooves. She hadn’t seen him wear such decoration before.

To her surprise Open Door hopped up and kissed her, forcing his tongue into her surprised mouth. ‘Memory spell?’ she briefly thought before she felt an entirely different power trying to worm itself into her mind. With a tiny fragment of her power, she blocked the intrusion. Around her the crowd were gasping at the stallion’s actions. The band continued to play on but a few of its members including a mint unicorn had noticed what was going on and were standing open mouthed.

Luna staggered back in surprise. “Legion?” she muttered. Before she could act further, the old stallion rushed across the stage and rammed into the first of the students - a purple mare who looked far too young to be there. She was knocked aside but righted herself. “We are Legion!” she announced, reaching for the next student in line.

Acting to prevent a disaster, Luna formed a bubble around both the headmaster and the student. To her surprise, the young unicorn activated a teleport spell with more power than she would expect someone of that age to be able to use, and disappeared from the bubble. She reappeared a short distance above the centre of the crowd and fired a bolt of energy at the Alicorn princess with enough force to make her flinch. Then gravity took control and she fell down into the packed crowd.

For a second there was a pause then several hundred heads turned towards Luna and several hundred mouths spoke as one.

“WE ARE LEGION! FOR WE ARE MANY!”

“Trixie, run,” she called and turned to her student, to see a questing hoof reach her from the crowd.

The blue unicorn turned towards her. “We are legion.” she hissed with a smile.

The chamber had erupted into an uproar upon Rouncey’s announcement and for several minutes no single voice could be made out over the yelling. Eventually the crowd quieted.

“Why did you not tell us of this in advance?” demanded one of the Lightning Bolts.

“Because I know how cowardly most of you are.” A gasp passed through the crowd. “You are happy with your current positions, you have forgotten our ancestors’ dreams. Now that I have taken this step, you have to put your resources behind my coup, because if it fails you will all be branded traitors like your forefathers. You don’t have a choice.” The disguised pony smiled at the shocked crowd.

Suddenly there was a loud buzz and all the firefly lanterns around the chamber went out. For a moment the chamber was silent. Then one end was bathed in a blue light, revealing the figure of a bat winged pegasus in Night Guard armour. “I am the terror that flaps in the night!” it announced in a voice as loud as thunder, but somewhat familiar to Martha. It bared its fangs and snarled theatrically.

“The Night Guard!” yelled once of the Lightning Bolts.

“It’s a raid!” screamed another.

“Let’s get out of here!” called a third.

The whole chamber erupted into chaos as a room full of ponies tried to run in every possible direction at once.

“Wait! There’s only one of them!” called Rouncey, trying in vain to establish control.

The bat pony charged forwards, a blue glow emanating from her mouth. The crowd separated in front of her and she grabbed the urn from its resting place, swinging it dexterously onto her back. Rouncey tried to grab her but was pushed away by a panicked Lightning Bolt.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Nocturne leapt up and headbutted the nearest guard. Armoured helmet met pony skull and the guard fell to the ground stunned. In the same move she kicked out at another guard, catching him on the flank with her rear legs and knocking him to the ground.

The bat pony rushed through the crowd and met up with Martha and Nocturne. “Quick, we have to get out of here,” it said with the Doctor’s voice.

“Doctor is that you? You’re a mare!” stuttered Martha.

“Well, I did wonder what it would be like. This armour is apparently sex and tribe specific.”

“That’s Fledermaus’ armour?” asked Nocturne, knocking another guard aside.

“Yes.” He grabbed his sonic screwdriver from one of the fallen guards. “That’s mine, thanks. Don’t want to leave that here, it’d explode eventually.” he stuffed both screwdrivers into his pockets.

“I didn’t know you had two,” said Martha as the three of them galloped back into the catacombs.

“Of course, one philips and one flat head,” replied the Doctor as if it was obvious.

“How did you avoid becoming possessed?” asked Nocturne.

“That caught me by surprise, the last time I met Legion it couldn’t do that. But it helps that I have an exceptionally large mind. I trapped Legion in a small corner of my consciousness and let it think that it was the whole thing, sort of an emulator if you like techie talk. That way I can send it false signals making it think I’m off doing its bidding elsewhere while I’m actually running for my life. I’m running a Fledermaus emulator as well so it doesn’t know I managed to knock her out and steal her armour. It’s getting a bit distracting, luckily most of Legion’s a bit busy fighting Luna now to pay too much attention to me.”

Nocturne gasped, “What’s happening?”

“It doesn’t look great. Luna’s holding him off for the moment but he’s spreading like wildfire. I don’t know how long she can continue without having to do something drastic.”

“So what do we do now?” asked Martha, listening to the sounds of pursuit from behind.

“We need to get back to the TARDIS to use this urn thingy. We need to make sure we get all of Legion at once.”

“How do we get out of the house? The front door must be heavily guarded.”

“Don’t worry, I - or rather Legion - knows a secret way out. It’s how I got back in.”

Luna struggled to keep her shield up while it was being battered by magic projectiles from dozens of unicorns, including some of the most powerful in the land. She had taken to the air to avoid attacks from earth ponies but still had to contend with hordes of Pegasi. Around her floated over a hundred bubbles containing possessed ponies, keeping them safe from her and she from them, but the concentration required to maintain all the spells at once was starting to become a drain. She had tried several times to cover the whole area with a shield to prevent Legion’s influence spreading any further, but each time one or more of his puppets had breached the quarantine. The entire crowd around the academy were now under his control, and she suspected he was loose in the rest of the city. She had tried to use her powers to induce a slumber over the affected ponies, but it did not seem to affect the possession by Legion - awake or asleep, it continued to control its hosts. The spell had only resulted in the few un-possessed ponies falling unconscious, leaving them easy prey for their controlled brethren. She had considered producing duplicates of herself to match her opponent’s numbers, but feared that the resulting weakening would make her vulnerable; she would weaken as her numbers increased while her enemy grew stronger with each pony he absorbed. Her options were being reduced by the second and forcing her to consider very desperate actions.

“Come on, o Princess of the Night,” taunted a squadron of Night Guard pegasi as they threw themselves at her. “You can do better than this, your sister did. She knew how to do what had to be done.”

“I will defeat you monster,” she swore encasing the attacking winged ponies in a blue force bubble. “I have in the past.”

“Back then,” yelled a red and yellow unicorn, hurling a fireball at her, “there were only small villages, maybe a hundred ponies. How many are there in this city? Ten thousand? A hundred thousand? Soon they will all be us.”

She dodged the flaming projectile but was struck by a dozen other blasts, and her shields began to buckle. She struggled to strengthen them. A mint unicorn battered her eardrums with a barrage of sound, shaking her concentration.

“What is it you told this body earlier?” said Trixie as her bubble floated by. “You wanted a good symbol of the unity of the tribes? And here they all are working together to kill you, united in one mind.”

Above her a cloud of pegasus formed and as one dove down towards her. “It’s not even you we really want. Tell us where Morpheus is and we might let you live.”

“He is gone, but he abdicated his power to me.” She tried to teleport out of the way but a hundred counter spells at once stopped her.

“Are you sure? You don’t seem very powerful to us.” The rain of pegasi hammered into Luna’s shield forcing her back to the ground and into the hooves of the earth ponies.

Martha was glad to be out of the tombs. They had been pitch black and although the spells in Nocturne’s and the Doctor’s armour allowed them to see in the dark she had been left blind and had to grasp the Doctor’s tail in her mouth to allow him to lead her through the maze. A position that had left her blushing.

Finally after an unknown period of time a doorway had opened with a creak of stone and they emerged into the weak winter sun which nonetheless appeared dazzling to her light-starved eyes. The group paused for a second to catch their breath and get their bearings. Martha let the Doctor’s tail drop from her mouth and he gave it a few experimental swishes. It was very strange to see him in Fledermaus’ form.

He removed the tracker from his coat and waved it at the vase still balanced on his back. It gave a shriek. “That’s what I thought,” he muttered. Lurching onto his hind legs he grasped the urn in both hooves and it seemed to glow for a second. He blinked in surprise. “Oh, that’s not good. Quick, to the TARDIS!” With that he dashed off around a corner. Martha and Nocturne made to follow him but before they could move he sped back past them. “Sorry, wrong way,” he yelled.

Once the Doctor has gotten himself fully orientated, it only took a few minutes for the party to find the TARDIS.

“What is this thing?” asked Nocturne, tapping a hoof on the blue box as the Doctor fumbled with the lock.

“This is how we travel in time and space,” explained Martha.

“That’s real?”

“As real as you want it to be,” said the Doctor, finally opening the door and gesturing for the mares to enter.

Nocturne’s eyes widened as she entered the impossibly large space within the small box. The walls were covered with roundels and pillars of a coral-like substance twisted and turned through them. Cables hung from the ceiling, at the centre of the room was a single glass column reaching the ceiling, and around it stood banks of glowing controls. Attached to the console was a thick cable leading to a hissing, crackling contraption seemingly cobbled together from a pile of junk.

The Doctor threw aside his helmet returning to his own form before checking the device. “Well, the transmogrifier’s fine,” he announced before leaping over to the main console.

Nocturne turned around slowly taking the whole space in, “It’s big,” she muttered.

“You have to say it now,” said Martha with a smile, “or he’ll get all grumpy.”

“Say what?”

“That it’s bigger on the inside than the outside.”

“Well that’s obvious. It’s all true isn’t it? You are from another universe, and you are trying to save mine.”

“Yep,” said the Doctor, rushing around the console pushing buttons, pulling levers, hammering bells, “Except I don’t get grumpy, well except when I do. Now come on girl,” he muttered to the TARDIS. “All I need is a bit of a move in space, not time, not dimensions. You can do that it’s easy, a Morris Minor can do that.”

The whole room shuddered and the column at the centre of the room slowly began to move, “That’s it,” crowed the Doctor. “That’s it old girl, just a bit more. Martha I need a hoof over here.”

The red mare staggered over to the console.

“Now I need you to hold this in position,” he gestured at a lever, “and turn this wheel so that the red line is at 180, got that.”

“Yes Doctor,” she said positioning her hooves.

“Good, don’t stop for anything or we’ll fall out of the sky which won’t be much fun.” He slammed his hoof down on a button on the console and the door swung open. A strong wind blew in to reveal that the TARDIS was now floating several hundred feet over the city. Below could be seen the castle and a blue dome covering the academy and its surrounding area.

“So what happens now Doctor?” asked Nocturne, staggering towards him as he walked towards the door, seemingly unaffected by the TARDIS’ shuddering.

“Now I use this,” he indicated the urn, “to draw all of Legion into me. You’ll probably need to subdue me, but you’re a tough mare and I’m a wimp so that shouldn’t be a problem. Use this,” he pointed at the tracker,”to return the urn to its natural form, the TARDIS will do the rest.”

“And what about you?”

“I’m sure Luna will be able to sort out something.” he grinned, the smile not quite reaching his eyes.

“What aren't you telling me, Doctor.” asked Nocturne looking dangerously at him.

“Well, there’s more of Legion than one body can really hold now. There’s a chance that it’ll burn me out, but look on the bright side, no more Legion.”

“Then I should do it,” offered Nocturne. “It’s my job to protect Luna.”

“Don’t,” yelled Martha from across the room. “What about your family? Doctor, surely there’s another way?”

The Doctor stood strong. “You have a family? I don’t, not anymore. I can’t let you do this.”

“This is my choice, Doctor,” announced Nocturne, swinging a hoof at Doctor and striking him in the gut, knocking the air from his lungs. She grabbed the urn and leapt for the door. “This universe needs you to fix it. It can live without me. Tell my husband, tell Heavy Roller I love him and I want him to be happy, he should find someone else, eventually, after a long long time, but definitely not Fledermaus. That sounded more noble before I said it, I’m not good at sharing.”

“You can tell him yourself!” The Doctor leapt at the guard mare and grabbed her before she could get to the door. The two of them rolled around on the floor, wrestling for the urn. Martha looked on helplessly.

“Tell my daughter,” growled Nocturne, trying to shove the Doctor off her, “Tell Scootaloo...”

“Scootaloo?” muttered the Doctor. The name triggered a memory in him, from his first incarnation, many hundreds of years ago.

A large creature made of animate wood was running after a small crowd of ponies, including the Doctor. Suddenly one of the ponies fell and the Doctor and a magenta earth pony turned to face the beast. An orange pegasus filly with a purple mane stood alongside them. “I want to help fight the timberwolf,” she announced without fear.

“Scootaloo, I need you to be strong and guard your friends, there could be more timberwolves out there,” said the magenta mare. “It’s what your mother would have wanted you to do.”

“It’s what your mother would have wanted you to do.”

“mother would have.”

“would have.”

“Noooo!” howled the Doctor. “Time, don’t do this to me!”

“What is it?” asked Nocturne in surprise, ceasing to struggle.

“Scootaloo, orange coat, purple mane, fearless?” snapped the Doctor.

“Yes, that’s my girl,” said Nocturne with pride. “You’ve met her?”

“I will have, not far in the future. She saved me from a timberwolf. She missed her mother.”

The implication of this sunk into Nocturne. “So, I do die here then?”

“Not necessarily, you could die in another way, or she could just think you’re dead, or...” he babbled desperately.

Nocturne got to her hooves and put her hoof to his lips, “We both know I die here.”

The Doctor dropped his gaze and nodded his head.

“Then tell her... tell her I’m sorry I’m not going to be there in person to teach her to fly, to see her go on her first date, to see her join the guard. But that I will be there in spirit as part of her, I’ll never be away from her.” Tears started to stream down her face. “And tell her to never let anyone tell her she can’t do something, because she can do anything she puts her mind to.” She picked up the urn from the ground and walked to the open door.

Wondering how to activate the thing, she saw it flash briefly and heard a gentle voice in her head. “I am Morpheus, lord of dreams,” it explained. “This artefact contains a fragment of my will to allow you to contain the spirit known as Legion. Know that this will result in the creature possessing your body permanently. I honour you for your decision to make this sacrifice but ask if you are sure of what you are doing?”

“Yes,” she replied quietly, “Yes, I do.”

“Then I salute you. Pass on to glory, bravest of the brave.”

There was a bright flash and a beam of light blazed from the vase to Nocturne’s body, illuminating it with a light blue glow.

Below, Luna was pinned to the ground, covered in the bodies of hundreds of her little ponies, each controlled by Legion. She tried to rise to push them off but the weight was too much. She tried to think but dozens of horns threw stunning spells at her breaking her concentration. She once again felt a presence try to worm its way into her consciousness but this time it was not alone; a hundred pin pricks tried to pierce her mind’s defences at once and she was tired, so very tired. The dark presence found a grip and pulled.

“I.... am..... Leg...” gasped the alicorn.

Suddenly beams of light cascaded from the sky, one for each of the possessed ponies, painting the sky blue. As each of the controlled ponies was struck, a black shadow image of it was drawn up into the sky. Some tried to flee but the beams were too fast. A purple mare tried to teleport but was struck just as the spell took effect; her body disappeared leaving behind a partial jagged and torn black image which was drawn upwards like its fellows.

The affected ponies fell into groaning piles on the ground. After a second, a blue unicorn crawled her way out of the pile of dazed ponies she was trapped beneath, shuddering in revulsion.

“What the buck happened here?” asked Trixie.

Nocturne hung from the open door of the TARDIS, and below her she could see a vast wave of darkness erupting from the ground towards her. She pushed her body forwards, out of the door and towards the approaching forms. She flipped over in the air and hurled the now drained vase through the open door of the time machine, and as she caught a glance of the Doctor looking down at her, a black shadow was torn from him and dragged towards her.

She closed her eyes and her face relaxed into a look of peace. “Nos protegat nocte,” were her last words as the darkness claimed her.

“We are legion,” cried the creature as its spirit was forced into too small a container. Nocturne’s body convulsed as the entity within tried to fly, but the wounds her body had already suffered were too severe. Screaming, its head smashed into a tower with a crash of bending metal and breaking bone and then continued to fall silently and bonelessly to the ground far below.

From above the Doctor surveyed the scene and whispered, “There should have been another way.”

He turned and staggered back to the console, striking several controls with more force than was necessary. “Come on, I have a message to deliver,” he growled at Martha.

The red pony stood back tears rolling down her face.

The TARDIS faded from view.

“This is where she landed?” asked Luna looking at the sheet covered form on the ground.

“Yes, majesty.” replied the Night Guard officer, “We covered her up as quickly as we could. It wasn’t a pretty sight. Her armour gives her name as Nocturne, but you couldn’t tell it from looking at her.”

Luna sighed, she felt more tired that she had in years. She wanted to rest but she had to attend the longest night celebrations soon. She had to show her people she was fully capable despite the attack, even if she didn’t feel it. Luckily most of those controlled by Legion had suffered only minor injuries and could not remember what had occurred while they were possessed. Luna herself was not so fortunate; during her brief contact with the creature she learned much about it. Including who had sent it, her guards had been sent to apprehend Lady Rouncey and any Lightning Bolts they could find, and who had been responsible for its defeat.

She remembered seeing Nocturne through the eyes of one controlled by Legion falling to her death clutching an item from the ancient past. An item created by one of her fellow alicorns before her ponies were even created. The possessed pony had a name Doctor or was it Time Turner, she would have to investigate further when she had time.

“Search the area Lieutenant, there should be an urn nearby. Tell me when you find it, no one is to touch it, do you understand?” The Night Guard nodded. “Good, and notify her family.”

“I’ll have someone look up her details.”

“She had a husband, Heavy Roller, and a daughter, Scootaloo. They live in Ponyville,” intoned Luna. The officer looked at her. “I know all of your families,” she replied to his unspoken question.

“What shall I tell them?”

Luna used her power to pick up Nocturne’s helmet, a deep dent in the top. She lowered her head and passed it to him. “Tell them I’m so very, very sorry. Tell them she died a hero. Tell them I know it doesn’t help.”

The orange mare frolicked with her friends in the meadow. She looked differently to to when the Doctor had last seen her, centuries ago for him, a few years for her. Her legs were long and ungainly, bringing her to her adult height. Her wings had developed into strong pinions, and she leapt into the air to soar over her giggling pink friend; apparently she had learned how to use them.

“Scootaloo,” he called.

“Yes?” she asked swooping over, “Do I know you?” her brow furrowed.

“We’ve met before but I looked a bit different then.” He took a deep breath. “I met your mother, I was there when she...” he looked down, “I’m sorry.” He met her gaze.

“Mom,” she gasped dropping to the ground, her eye’s starting to wet.

“I’m sorry, I should have come earlier but I got a little off track. She gave me a message to pass on to you, she said...”

11th Doctor - The Eternal Child

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Today seemed far too nice a day for the nasty business he was forced to do, Pokey thought as he skulked through the streets of Ponyville. Today, much to his distress, he was forced to play tax collector, and it made him feel dirty. Nopony liked the confusing mixture of different taxes and tariffs that all Equestrian citizens were required to pay; in most cases they just had to send the money to the government, but when that went wrong some unlucky individual had to collect it in person. In this case that unfortunate individual was Pokey Pierce.

It wasn’t fair, he thought, as he turned away from the frowning face of his latest victim. This was supposed to be Trixie’s job; she was the one the townsfolk were supposed to despise, not him. She was actually quite good at it. But she and the rest of the elements had been dragged away somewhere overseas by Luna, so he as always had to pick up the slack - as if he didn’t do most of the blue mare’s work anyway. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a little worried whenever Trixie was away, maybe more than he should be. For all of her boasts and bluster about her powers she was still only a normal unicorn mare, and not even a trained fighter. If anything went wrong she could get hurt or worse, the thought brought a lump to his throat and caused his tail to thrash about.

He’d been thinking about Trixie in less and less professional and more and more romantic ways recently. He’d tried to squash the feeling, but the truth was that she was just his type. He’d always been chromasexual, attracted to certain coloured ponies. It was superficial, he knew, but he found white and pink to be major turn ons, and despite the implied narcissism he was attracted to blue as well, so he’d always found Trixie’s white and blue colour scheme hot. On top of that - although he wouldn’t mention it out loud - there was something about her freewheeling attitude that he found liberating; there were never two days the same around her. The problem of course was that Trixie was his boss and, well… she was Trixie. He knew she didn’t, maybe couldn’t, reciprocate his feelings in any physical sense, and that any relationship would affect both of their careers. But just knowing that didn’t stop his desires. He’d been fighting with her more and more recently (never an unusual situation given her unprofessionalism) just to feel some sort of passion from his crush. Sooner or later something was going to slip out, and that would cause all sorts of awkwardness. He’d had this type of crush before, many times - Oak Leaves, Pinkie, Minuette, Big Mac, Redheart, to name just a few - and they didn’t normally last long. But this time it felt different, more like a real thing. Still, he’d said that before. He could only hope his heart would turn to another before anything disastrous happened. If only there was some way he could just turn his feelings off… or turn Trixie’s feelings on.

With a sigh he pushed his troubling thoughts aside, and tried to get back to work. He checked over his list again; at least this day of being glared and snarled at was almost over. Just one more house to visit, then he could get back to just doing Trixie’s less odious tasks. Twenty three Stallion Drive was on the very edge of Ponyville proper, before the town spread out into farmland dotted with the odd stand of houses. He didn’t think he’d visited it before, or even seen it in passing. The building certainly looked like it had been there for a while, and unlike its neighbours, it had seen better days; the roof had several rather prominent holes in it and the walls, although standing, were at rather alarming angles. The door, however, looked solid and freshly painted with a striking shade of blue. Pokey checked his notes again. Oddly, there was no name for the occupant. Only one way to find out, he thought.

Raising his hoof, Pokey gave the door a few quick knocks. There was a crash of breaking glass from the other side of the door, followed by the screech of some sort of enraged animal. The door opened and a grey blur streaked between Pokey’s legs as a large squirrel fled as quickly as it could. Pokey spun around and watched it as it disappeared into the distance.

“We can try again tomorrow then, Pasquirreleo?” came a voice from behind Pokey.

The blue stallion spun back to the door to see a young purple pegasus stallion, probably not much older than Pokey himself, standing in the door. His mane was an untidy black mop and he had a black bowtie tied loosely around his neck. “He’ll be back,” said the stranger. “He just can’t keep away from the nuts.”

Pokey gawked for a moment.

“I’m the Doc... The Physician.” The stallion rolled the word around his mouth for a moment as if trying it out. “What can I do for you?”

Pokey blinked. That was odd - his grandfather’s name was Physician too. It wasn’t that common a name. “Hi, I’m Pokey Pierce. I’m here to collect your taxes,” he said with a smile.

“Taxes! Taxes!” bellowed the Physician in excitement, forcing Pokey to stagger back a step or two. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever had to pay tax before. How do you do it?”

Pokey rolled his eyes. Of course his last collection of the day would be a strange one. “It’s quite simple and to the point, really. You give me,” he looked down at his notes, “two hundred bits, I give you a receipt, and that’s it.”

“Hum, I don’t get it. What’s so great about that?”

“Well, the money is used by the Princess to build roads and fund the guard and things like that.”

“That doesn’t sound very exciting. Why are people are always going on about taxes? I assumed they were something special. So I just give you money and that’s it? No party, no explosions, no fun?”

“No just a receipt,” said Pokey slowly. “Are you related to Pinkie Pie in some way are you?”

“I don’t think so, although she did name one of her children after me.” He looked thoughtful. “Maybe I should look into my namesake sometime.” Then a look of pain crossed his face. “Ah, never enough time. Anyway, so, money. Can you tell me of any when that a lot of it went missing? An accident or ship wreck or something?”

Pokey stared at the strange stallion for a while, trying to decide if he was actually crazy or just bluffing. Either way, he wasn’t going to let the pegasus get to him. “Well,” he said carefully, “there was the Trotanic. Sank not far out from Horseshoe bay. It was carrying the pay for most of the guard at the time.” His voice got stronger as he warmed to his subject. “They say the hull was pierced by something sharp in the water. Most ponies don’t remember it but it’s a bit of family history, you see... my great grandfather was one of the crew and he met his wife on a lifeboat...”

The Physician held up a hoof. “How long ago was that?”

“About eighty years... eighty three, I think. As I heard it, it could have been a disaster, but somepony warned them about the leak in time for everypony to abandon ship.”

The Physician stopped him again. “Ok, I’ll be back before you know it, maybe even sooner.” The manic stallion rushed away, leaving Pokey to stare at the open door. There was suddenly a wheezing groaning sound from the house.

“Physician?” asked Pokey, sticking his head into the house. “Are you alright?” There was no reply. The inside of the house looked like an explosion in a brick-a-brac shop. A stuffed crocodile hung suspended from the roof, and one wall was covered with a network of cables and wires leading to a number of strange looking light bulbs that glowed gently. In one corner was what looked like a small alchemist’s laboratory, where a number of potions smoked and bubbled. In the centre of the room stood a large freestanding bookshelf, leaning at a dangerous angle; it was packed with dusty looking tomes in languages Pokey couldn’t make out from his spot. Even stranger, small piles of nuts were neatly stacked here and there around the room, and hundreds of red flower pot shaped hats were piled in one corner.

Overcome with curiosity, Pokey carefully trotted into the room. “Physician?” he called again, but there was no reply. Trying not to disturb anything, the blue stallion carefully made his way over to the electrical equipment. He had a passing interest in such things and electrical power was rare in Ponyville; this strange stallion must have his own generator somewhere in this place. Sitting on the bench, wrapped in a web of wires and placed on a battered metal box, was what appeared to be a large colander with a metal spike sticking out of the front. As he watched, a faint green aura formed around it. Pokey was surprised to feel an echoing tingle in his own horn, almost as if some unicorn was casting a spell nearby. Confused, he moved his head closer to the device to get a better look. It almost looked like an artificial horn. Although it didn’t have the elegance of the mighty organ gracing his own head.

Suddenly Pokey felt a yanking sensation and with a yell he was dragged towards the electrical equipment. His horn made contact with the spike and in a flash of light and electricity - and a feeling like somepony was driving a hot knife into his head - he was hurtled back, head over hooves, across the room and into the bookcase, which collapsed beneath him, striking the chemicals and smashing several beakers. The stunned stallion blinked, trying to clear his vision. He gazed up just in time to see the wires holding the crocodile to the ceiling snap, and only just had time to give a cry before it fell onto his chest and knocked the air from his lungs.

“Are you alright?” asked the Physician, suddenly looming over Pokey as he dragged the stuffed reptile away.

“...” gasped the still winded pony.

Reaching out with a hoof, the purple pony pulled Pokey to his hooves again. For some reason the Physician was soaking wet and stank of salt and seaweed.

“I’m sorry,” gasped Pokey, gesturing around the room. “It was an accident.”

“What?” asked the Physician, looking around. “Oh, that’s not a problem. This place needed a clean out anyway.”

Pokey carried out a quick inventory; all of his limbs seemed to still be intact, although his horn was still throbbing. He quickly lit it up and gave a sigh of relief when there seemed to be no significant damage. A questing hoof fell upon his saddlebags; they were empty! Looking around, he noticed his various papers, letters and pouches had spilled across the floor during his impromptu flight. Swearing to himself, he started to gather his things up again. “What is that?” He gestured at the strange device. “I found it quite shocking.”

“Oh this,” said the Physician, picking it up gently with one of his wings. “Well, I’m studying unicorn magic and that’s difficult when you’re not created a unicorn, so I had to improvise.” He stuck the strange device on his head with the spike pointing forwards. A look of concentration passed over the pegasus’s face and once again a green aura emanated from it. To Pokey’s astonishment, the crocodile was also surrounded by the same glow, and started to levitate into the air.

“That’s... that’s...” stuttered Pokey.

“Magic?” suggested the Doctor.

“But you’re not a unicorn! You shouldn’t be able to do that!”

There was a crackling sound and a smell of burning, and the glow around both the helmet and the stuffed animal died. The crocodile fell back to the ground.

The Physician sighed and took off the device. “Still not got all the kinks worked out, but I’m getting there. Anyway,” he suddenly looked up at Pokey, “I’ve got your money.” He lifted a soaking wet bag of coins and passed it to Pokey while at the same time steering the blue stallion towards the door. “It was nice of you to tell me about the Trotanic and how Hawkeye and Grace met, but you should go. I’ve still got a lot to do.”

Pokey frowned. “When did I tell you my great grandparents’s names?” he asked.

“Oh, I’m sure you mentioned it some when,” said the Physician, pushing Pokey out of the door.

Pokey turned to find a closed door barring his progress. “You didn’t get your receipt,” he said lamely. A part of him considered knocking again and demanding to find out what was going on, but the larger part of him - including his still throbbing horn - demanded that he should find somewhere to lie down and rest. With a sigh, he quickly scribbled out a confirmation of the taxes paid and slipped it under the door. Then he turned away; he still had other chores to run.

“Next!” came a call from in front of Pokey.

The unicorn shook himself and looked around. It was late in the day and the post office was almost empty.

“Next!” came the call again from the handsome purple pegasus with a white mane standing behind the counter. For a moment Pokey was surprised that Ditzy wasn’t there, but then he remembered that she was off with the other element bearers.

“Sorry Script,” he said, stepping forwards and starting to empty parcels, boxes and letters from his saddlebags onto the desk. There was a metal box among them that he couldn’t remember packing. He scowled at it. How had it gotten there? Then he realised that Silver Script was talking to him again. He turned back to the older stallion. “What was that?”

“I said, is something wrong? You don’t seem all there today.”

“I’ve just had a hard day,” he said, rubbing his still tingling horn. “Anyway, all of this stuff needs to get to Canterlot, express delivery.”

“What is all this, anyway?” the mail stallion asked, stacking the post onto some scales.

“Some sort of audit is going on in Canterlot. They keep asking for copies of our files and they want this batch by tonight. I’ve spent the last two days writing it all out. I don’t see the point really, but hopefully they’ll get off my back now.”

“You’ve missed the last train, I’m afraid. Next one’s not due until tomorrow morning.”

Giving an annoyed sigh, Pokey slammed a hoof into the desk among the packages. He wished there was some way to get all this stuff to Canterlot by tonight. A further bolt of pain erupted from his horn.

“No need to take it out on the desk, you know,” said Script ruefully. “There’s a royal courier in, delivering some special documents for the mayor; something to do with the relief funds. She should be able to take your package back to Canterlot. It’ll be expensive, a hundred bits.”

Pokey rubbed his horn; it might have been his wishful thinking, but it felt a bit longer than normal. “Thanks, that should work. Just charge it to the representative’s account.” It was easier to pay monthly for the office’s postage rather than have to carry money around all the time. Besides, it would teach Trixie a lesson - she’s only mentioned the audit just before she left, despite being informed several weeks ago.

“Will I see you at Berry’s tonight?” said Script, adding the new parcels to a bulging sack.

It was a tempting offer, but Pokey didn’t feel up to a night out right now. “No, I think I’ll just get an early night. I might make it tomorrow, though.”

“You hear anything about where Ditzy and the rest of the girls are off to?” said Script, leaning forward. “I know they can take care of themselves, but I get a bit worried, you know.”

“They don’t tell me anything. I just know they’re somewhere outside of Equestria. But don’t worry, the Princess is with them… I’m sure they’ll all be fine.” Pokey knew that Script’s relationship with Ditzy was a little more than just employer / employee; the postmaster felt a little bit paternal about the cross-eyed mailmare and her daughter. Of course, he wasn’t the only one to worry about the elements; he sometimes thought that he, Script, Dinky and Bon Bon should form a support group. Maybe they could invite Cheerilee’s fish and Carrot Top’s fields as well.

“Yeah I’m sure they’ll be fine, just like every time. But it doesn’t stop us worrying, does it?”

“No,” mumbled Pokey. “But if you ever tell Trixie I told you that, I will deny it until my or her dying day. Her head…” Her beautiful snow covered head… “... is big enough as it is.”

Script grinned. “Well, I’m sure they’ll be back soon then, probably with some tall tale for us. I better make sure this all gets to the courier.”

“Thanks Script,” said Pokey as he turned to leave.

“La da de, la da dum,” sang the petite yellow mare as she wandered the dark corridors of castle Canterlot. She swayed from side to side, following the music in her head. Her horn glowed as she pushed a small cart laden with letters and packages in front of her. She haphazardly turned a corner, almost overturning the cart. “La da da dum.” She straightened up, then backed up a few steps before rushing forwards.

At the end of the corridor was a door flanked by two large stallions; a brown earth pony and a purple coated unicorn. “Da da dum,” she finished with a flourish, coming to a stop just in front of the door and its guards. She gave the unicorn a cursory nod before turning to the brown stallion, looking up at him with a wide smile.

“Hi big guy,” she said. “Sorry about that but I just get a song stuck in my head sometimes. You know what that’s like?”

The titanic stallion looked down at the mare a fraction of his size and broke into a sweat. “Uh, yeah,” he mumbled.

She reached into the cart with her magic and started to levitate out a bunch of letters and parcels. “I really like music and dancing,” she commented, lowering her gaze. “But I just can’t find the right partner.” She looked up into the brown stallion’s eyes. “Some stallion big enough to really be able to twirl me about but still light on his hooves.”

“Um, sorry.” His knees were almost knocking.

She gave a slightly exasperated sigh. “Here you go,” she said gently, floating the mail onto his back.

“Well, if you can think of anypony who fits the description, just tell me.” She turned and began to push the cart away, her tail playfully flicking his cheek. “La da de ta ta,” she hummed as she danced off. Both stallion’s eyes followed her until she turned the corner.

The brown stallion slumped against the wall, breathing heavily.

Bear signed loudly looking at his partner. “Ox,” he said. “She is so into you. Just ask her out before she gets bored.”

“Can’t,” stuttered Ox. “What if she says no?”

The purple unicorn shook his head. He’d seen Ox calmly face off against a blood-crazed griffin without breaking a sweat, but all he needed was for a pretty mare to bat her eyelashes at him and he fell apart. “Come on. What’s she got to do to make it more obvious, present for mounting?”

Ox’s face shone bright red.

Sighing again Bear lifted the post off of his companion’s back and opened the door they were guarding. Within was a mid-sized office containing several filing cabinets, a desk against one wall and a door at the far end. He trotted over to lay the letters on the desk and did a double take when he realised there was a pony sitting there, a mare with a white coat and mane.

“Hi Notary,” he said. “Got the post.” His horn glowed and a purple aura surrounded the letters and parcels. “Doesn’t seem to be anything harmful in them.”

“You’re supposed to do that before you bring them in here,” she reprimanded the large stallion, then began to sort through the pile. She picked out a large package. “This will be the Duke’s latest report from Ponyville. He wants it taken straight to him.”

“Sure thing, I’ll take it on through,” said Bear, but Notary had already turned away, busied herself opening the other letters.

He trotted over to the inner door and gave it a light knock. “Come in!” came the almost instantaneous answer. He pushed the door open. The chamber beyond was lushly furnished, and dominated by a large oak desk set in front of a large window looking down over the city of Canterlot, currently lit by the light of the full moon. Facing away from Bear as he entered was a swivelling chair, which turned to reveal a short brown stallion with flaming red hair.

“Duke Greengrass,” noted Bear, nodding as he dropped the parcel on the desk.

“Thank you. Doesn’t Ox normally bring my mail? Oh, it’s that delightful little mailmare again, isn’t it?”

“Yep. I think he needs a lie down.”

“He really is hopeless, isn’t he?” laughed Bear’s employer.

Bear nodded in agreement and then yawned widely.

“You look tired. Is it your mother again?” asked Greengrass.

Bear flinched. “She didn’t have a good night,” he said.

“I am sorry to hear that. If there is anything I can do to help?”

“No, thank you,” said Bear carefully. Greengrass was a good boss, but there were limits to how much he wanted to intertwine his work and home lives. “The doctors say there isn’t much can be done now, except wait.”

“Well tell me if you’ll need any time off,” said Greengrass as he picked up the parcel and started to unwrap it. Deciding he wasn’t needed any longer Bear discreetly left the room.

Greengrass sorted through the various papers contained in the parcel. It had seemed a good idea at the time. He had managed to get a position on a committee with oversight of the representatives in North Everfree. Once there, he could use his power to get copies of any their paperwork and record any potentially embarrassing irregularities in how his enemy, Trixie, ran her office, and without her knowing who was requesting them. Unfortunately to date most things checked out. Still, maybe Notary would be able to find something. With a sigh he threw down the package. There was a metallic clanging sound.

“Odd,” mumbled Greengrass as he searched for the source of the sound. A small battered metal box seemed to have been included in the paperwork. Intrigued, he opened it to reveal an irregularly shaped crystal, smaller than his hoof. What was it? Why would Trixie have sent him something like this? He gingerly picked it up and examined it in the moonlight filtering in through the window. He expected some sort of trap or enchantment, but Ox had checked it for harmful magic.

There was a knock on the door and Notary stuck her head around the door. “Your appointment with Marquis De Salad is in a few minutes, my lord,” she said. “Have you read the papers I gave you on his recent behaviour?”

“Yes, you believe he will try to part company with us?”

“It seems likely. The details we have of his expense reports are damning, but given the current political climate he may decide that it would be better for him to come clean rather than continue under your control.”

“Like the others, then?”

“Yes, like the others. I do think we should let them go for the moment. The Princess’s forces will no doubt be watching us closely after your unfortunate outburst at the gala.”

Greengrass frowned, then his face brightened. “Ah, but the greater the threat the greater the thrill of triumph. I am sure you can outdo any Shadowbolt who might be sticking her muzzle where it isn’t wanted.” Notary blushed almost imperceptibly at the compliment. “Anyway, when De Salad arrives, show him in. I’m sure I can change his mind.”

Notary nodded and closed the door again.

Tossing the crystal aside, Greengrass slumped in his chair. Sheep! The rest of the court were brainless sheep! They had all taken Luna’s warning to halt their corruption as a serious threat rather than the sign of weakness it was. A sign that the immortal ruler was losing her grip on power; with her sister’s return, Luna couldn’t afford the chaos a purging of the court would cause. The fact that she had threatened her court rather than actually doing something meant that it was time to remove her from power, not that the court should cower at her very shadow. Still, her outburst had been successful; most of the court were too scared to act, or were spending all their time watching each other for hints of corruption, rather than rallying to deal with their ruler. Even with the Alicorn out of the country, the court remained huddled in their offices in fear or had fled to their provinces. Just this week several of his closest allies, ponies he had worked hard to purchase or blackmail, had tried to wriggle off of his hook. Blackmail only worked when nopony else knew your target’s secrets, and the truth potion and Zizanie’s capture at the gala meant many ponies dark little secrets weren’t as secret as they used to be. So far, he had managed to maintain their allegiance but his grip was weakening. Curse that aged cow! She was so obstinate, trying to maintain her grip on power rather than gracefully stepping aside for a more competent ruler, like himself.

A knock on the door roused Greengrass from his thoughts. That would be the Marquis. Greengrass shuffled some papers and put on a calm expression. “Enter!” he called.

The office door opened and Notary led in Marquis De Salad of Neigh Orleans. The Marquis was a tall thin black unicorn stallion in his early middle age. His yellow and red striped mane was carefully styled and he wore a frilly pink suit.

“Ah, De Salad,” said Greengrass. “What brings you to my door?”

“We are through,” announced the Marquis rather melodramatically, not even bothering to sit down.

“Through?” asked Greengrass, raising an eyebrow. “Whatever do you mean?”

“I mean I will no longer be supporting you in court, I will withdraw my proposal to change the hay subsidy regulations, and I will be cancelling my province’s trade agreement with Caneighda. I want nothing further to do with you or your schemes.”

“That seems rather rash, don’t you think,” said Greengrass calmly. “Of course, it is your decision, but have you considered what might happen to you if somepony were to audit your expense claims over the last few years?” He brought out a thick wad of papers. “They do make rather interesting reading. You are rather keen on spending time at certain hotels… well, not that much time, it’s just as well they charge by the hour, isn’t it?” He leaned back for a moment to study his opponent's reaction, and allow his talent to gauge his enemy’s weakness. Ah, there it was. “And I’m sure your husband would be interested in hearing about some of the ‘guests’ you ‘entertain’ there.” He reached into his desk and pulled out a wad of photographs.

The Marquis looked pale for a second, then rallied. “I have spoken with my husband recently.”

Greengrass looked perturbed for the first time. “And?” he said cautiously.

“He is soon to be my ex-husband, but he will not make a public fuss about my infidelities. You no longer have a hold on me, Greengrass.”

Greengrass stood up quickly and leaned over the desk. “Still, the revealing of your claimed expenses with be most harmful to you,” he hissed, before getting himself under control again.

“That may be the case. I will repay every jangle and throw myself on the princess’s mercy, but I will no longer be your pawn. You may not see where your games are leading us, but I do. I will not be known as one of the ponies who caused the fall of Equestria’s government. You were there; you know what the Princess threatened. I know I am guilty and I am willing to pay the price for that but I will not follow you to destruction.”

Greengrass’s smile faltered slightly. “You’ll regret this,” he said dangerously. “Luna is toothless, she would not dare to move against the whole court.”

“She is the Princess!” cried De Salad. “She raises the sun and moon! Who else could protect us from Corona!”

“There are records of magics capable of duplicating her abilities, and it was the elements - not Luna - who defeated Corona. Their bearers can be controlled with the correct leverage.” His roaming hoof found the crystal and he gripped it tightly in his anger while trying to prevent any trace of emotion on his face.

“No! We are through, Greengrass. I may not be a saint, but I want no further part in your corruption, and I doubt the rest of the court will either. You are mad!”

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” said Greengrass, trying to keep his tone even. “We’ll just have to see how things work out, won’t we?”

“Oh don’t worry, you haven't seen the last of me!” exclaimed the Marquis as he turned to go.

“I wish you would just leave with the rest of the sheep, then,” whispered Greengrass under his breath.

Suddenly the crystal flashed with a pale light and the Marquis was no longer in the room. There was no aura to indicate unicorn magic; he simply vanished. Greengrass stared at the now open space where his ex-ally had once stood, his mouth hanging open. “De Salad?” he whispered, then blinked. “Notary!” he yelled.

His assistant appeared at the door. “Yes, sir?” She looked around the room. “Where is the Marquis?”

“He.. he just disappeared,” mumbled the still shocked Duke.

“Teleported?” she asked. “I was not aware he was able to perform that feat.”

“No, just disappeared. I just said I wished... that I wished.” He raised the crystal to his face. “I wonder. I wish the Marquis De Salad were here.” The crystal glowed again.

Suddenly a sheep with a yellow and red striped coat appeared in the room. It gave a bleat of distress and ran into the corner, away from the ponies. Notary jumped back in surprise while a wide smile grew on Greengrass’s face. “I wish my desk were made of silver.” The wooden desk was replaced by a metallic duplicate. He turned to his assistant. “I wish your mane were longer.” Notary’s hair uncoiled from the bun it was tied into and stretched down her back. She gave a little shriek and backed away. “I think that’s a better look on you,” he commented with a grin.

“How.. how are you doing this, Sir?” asked Notary.

He looked down as the crystal. “I think this might be a game changer, Notary,” he said with a smile. His assistant ran a hoof through her extended mane and looked at him ruefully. “Don’t look at me like that. I can use this as a reward as well. I wish you had a jar of your favourite snack.” Suddenly a glass container packed with pickled apples appeared in front of Notary. She blinked at it for a moment before carefully unscrewing the lid, removing one and taking a tentative bite. She smiled and took a second larger bite.

“Thank you, sir. They taste just like the ones from Moscolt. You just can’t get them the same in Canterlot.”

“This really is a wonder,” said Greengrass peering at the crystal. “With this I could control the entire court in less than a month.” The wishing stone illuminated again with a dull glow. “Maybe even less than a week,” mumbled the Duke staring into its depths. It was almost as though something was staring back at him, something very familiar. He shook his head. Notary was saying something. “What was that?” he asked.

“I said, are you feeling alright, sir?”

“Never better.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t be so rash. You have no idea how this item works.”

Greengrass tossed the crystal from hoof to hoof. “You worry too much Notary. Still, it may pay to test its power, and I have just the subject.”

The mare lying beneath Pokey was beautiful. Her blue and white mane was spread out around her head like a halo against her shining blue coat. The vast purple cape she wore was covered in stars and stretched out beneath her as far as the eye could see. A white sock partially covered one fore leg the other three were scattered here and there.

“Vous savez que je ne l'avais jamais agir de la sorte en dehors de vos rêves,” she sighed in a lyrical accent, causing a shiver to pass through the stallion’s body.

He leaned forwards and nibbled her neck, causing her to give out a loud nicker of pleasure and arch her back, pressing herself against him. She tasted good so he bit down and took a mouthful. She was made of cake; the outer shell was bitter and tangy but her core was so sweet and carried a faint smell of bourbon.

Suddenly she flipped him over so she was lying on top, pressing down upon him, the buckle holding a pink silk saddle onto her back bit into his belly. Her cape billowed about to form the night sky above them while grass sprouted from the ground beneath them, tickling his back. With a smile, she started to kiss her way down his chest as he let his head flop back. Her hungry mouth and insistent tongue moved lower and lower until...

“What is this thing?”

Pokey’s eyes snapped open as his dream was scattered to the four winds.

“A horn enlargement pump? How does that even work?”

He shot up in bed. The dull glow of pre-dawn light was just making its way through the curtains. He looked around and made out a moving shape near the door. He blinked and his vision started to compensate for the low light levels. “Physician?!” he cried.

The purple pony spun around. “Where? Oh right, yeah, that’s me, isn’t it?”

“What are you doing in my house? In my bedroom?” Pokey cried.

“Well, I’m looking for something.”

Pokey turned to his bedside table and switched on the gas lamp there, illuminating the room. The purple pegasus had opened one of his cupboards and was poking around inside. “Horn sharpening kit, ‘Your horn and you : Thinking your way to a better horn’. Blimey, it’s all about the horn with you, isn’t it?”

Pokey leapt out of bed and stumbled for a second as his legs were still tangled in his sheets, before rushing over to the cupboard and slamming it shut. “That is private!” he hissed, his blush showing through his blue coat, turning it purple.

“Well I guess it would explain that,” said the Physician, pointing at Pokey’s head.

“What?” asked the surprised stallion, going cross eyed as he tried to examine his own horn. It seemed easier than normal.

“How long is your horn normally?”

“That’s very personal. It’s not like I measure it.” He backed off a few steps before looking down a bit bashful. “Ok, its seven and three sixteenth inches.”

“Measure it now,” the Physician insisted, bringing out a ruler from somewhere.

Pokey took the device in his aura and started to lift it to his head. “Can you at least look away?”

“Why?” said the Physician, looking confused.

“Never mind.” He placed the ruler next to his horn and checked. “This can’t be right.” He measured himself again. “Just over eight inches. Horns don’t just grow overnight like that.”

“They do if you change the universe.”

“Excuse me?”

“When you played with my device earlier, you created a small area of reality flux. I guess you were thinking about your horn, and the flux worked on that mental impulse.”

“You created a device to enlarge horns?” Pokey gasped. “You’ll make millions!”

“That was just a side effect. I was making a device to create a unicorn spell to allow reality fluxes to be detected.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.” He shook himself, remembering why he was angry in the first place. “What are you doing here? How did you get into my house?”

“You left the door open.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Well, you did once I opened it. It wasn’t locked, once I unlocked it. You could do with better security.”

“There aren't many thieves in Ponyville, usually.” He glared at the Physician, who didn’t seem to notice.

“Anyway, I need you to return what you took from me.”

“I didn’t take anything,” said Pokey, looking offended. “Except your money, but I told you about taxes.”

“What? No, I mean the crystal.”

“What crystal?”

“The shard, the shard of reality.”

That term rang a faint bell in Pokey’s head, but he couldn’t put his hoof on where he’d heard of it before. Maybe something from Trixie? Or one of the other element bearers...

“Look, it may seem like a little thing but it’s very dangerous. Your horn could just be the start of all the trouble it causes. The others were just as bad - giant timberwolves, Windigo-dispelling flames, poisonous snakes… these things always seem to cause trouble.”

“Wait, giant timberwolves! Snakes!” exclaimed Pokey. “You’re the Doctor! Cheerilee mentioned you, Carrot Top and Lyra too!”

“How is Lyra?” asked the Doctor, sounding concerned. “I hope she and Bon Bon are feeling better after what the Kandymare did to them.”

“They got out of hospital a few weeks ago. Bon Bon still isn’t herself though - it wasn’t easy to get Lyra to leave her for Luna’s mission.” He shook himself. “Trixie’s told me how you killed her grandfather!” he cried angrily. He had arrived at work one morning to find Trixie slumped over her desk, surrounded by empty bottles. She had drunkenly told him that she was celebrating her grandfather’s birthday before collapsing onto him, sobbing and explaining what had happened to Quartermoon. How she had investigated his death, and found he had been poisoned by a Naga controlled by a rival called Maestro. Pokey had held her tightly until she had finally cried herself to sleep, then carried her to her bed and tucked her in. He doubted she remembered it, but he still did; thinking back, it might have been the start of his current problems, when he’d stopped seeing her as his troublesome boss and started seeing her as a vulnerable filly.

Pokey stepped back from the Doctor, starting to fill with anger at what the other stallion had done to his... done to Trixie. His horn began to glow dangerously.

“What! No, I... I... that wasn’t entirely my fault. I didn’t know what was going to happen,” stuttered the Doctor.

Pokey still did not look convinced. “Once Cheerilee explained why you were here, Trixie blamed you for creating that Naga in the first place.”

The Doctor slumped. “I suppose I was responsible... I’m responsible for all of it, really. I did damage the barrier in the first place, brought the shards to Equestria.”

Surprised by the admission, Pokey felt his anger start to drain out of him, and he let his horn go out.

“But I’m trying to do what I can,” pleaded the Doctor. “And to arrange for this world to be able to protect itself once I’m gone.”

“Gone?”

The Doctor gave a wan smile. “Oh, I might have a few hundred years left in me yet, but this will be the last time I visit Equestria. I’ve used up all my bodies, you see, every one, and the barrier’s still not fixed. Oh, it would hold, but there are still some gaps; it’s a bit leaky, so anypony with the right magic can get in or out, and I won’t be here to plug them anymore. So I’ve decided to work out a way to allow you ponies to find them yourselves; think of it as my legacy. I’ve fixed the transmogrifier so I can stay for a few months, and once I found a shard I spent all my time working on a way to use unicorn magic to find others. Well, not all the time, I spent a few days flying around going ‘Wheeee!’ because,” he gave a wide smile and stretched his pinions, “Wings! Wings are cool!”

“Well, I suppose they are,” said Pokey, backing away from the suddenly manic pegasus.

“Yeah.” He gave a few beats of his wings and rose into the air. “I have no idea why I used to be so bad with them.” He slammed his head into the ceiling. “Ouch!” He rubbed his bump. “Note to self, flying is better outside. Anyway, I know unicorns will eventually be able to locate the shards; I’ve got insider information as it were. So I decided to make sure it happens. Of course, I wasn’t a unicorn this time so I had to find out a way to mimic their abilities.”

“Hence the metal horn that shocked me?” said Pokey, rubbing his horn. It still throbbed a bit.

“Exactly. The work I’ve done has caused a few changes to the shard. It leaks, sort of like nuclear reactors aren't supposed to.”

“Leaks? What does a shard of reality leak?”

“Reality, of course. Do keep up,” said the Doctor, as if it was the most obvious thing in the universe, causing Pokey to bristle. “It changes the universe in small ways around it. Hence your horn.”

“So it’s not specifically a horn growing device then?”

“No, that’s an unintended side effect. But it could be dangerous in the wrong hooves. So give it back.” The Doctor held out a hoof.

Pokey shook his head. “I haven't got it.”

The Doctor’s face fell. “But I looked everywhere, twice! I even started in the last place I’d look and worked backwards.”

“What does this shard thing look like, anyway?”

“I converted it back to its natural form - by the way, if the Mayor asks where her boxing trophy is, it wasn’t me - so it looks like a crystal. I stored it in a lead box, since it helps to block the influence.”

Suddenly Pokey flashed back to his visit to the post office. There had been a metal container there. “Oh no,” his eyes widened, “I think I might have posted it to Canterlot.”

“What!” bellowed the Doctor.

“I must have picked it up by accident in your house and then it got mixed up with the post.” He turned towards the window. The sun was just starting to edge above the horizon. “It’ll have arrived last night, so it’s probably in some bureaucrat’s office by now.”

The Doctor gave a sigh. “That doesn’t sound so bad. The more unimaginative the pony who's got it, the better. I guess I’ll just have to go and get it.”

“Because of course there are no insanely ambitious politicians in Canterlot who would sell they mothers to get even the slightest leg up at court,” said Pokey sarcastically.

“Well, that’s good, I hate worlds that have governments like that. This should be easy, then.”

Pokey rested his head in his hoof. “I was being sarcastic.”

“Really?” said the Doctor, his face falling. “So there might be a few problems, then?”

“Very likely. Now, we better get the first train. It should be leaving fairly soon.” He headed for the door.

“Wait a minute. I didn’t say you could come,” said the Doctor, following the blue stallion. “I don’t take companions with me anymore - they keep getting hurt, and I don’t want to have to go through that again.”

Pokey stopped and turned. “I can look after myself, Doctor. Anyway, do you know the office the letter was sent to?”

“No.”

“Do you even know the way to Canterlot?”

“Well, I know it’s on the top of a mountain. There can’t be that many around.”

“Then I think you’ll need me.”

The Doctor pouted for a moment. “Fine,” he moaned. “But just this once. With some luck we’ll be able to get the shard back before anypony can use its power to cause mischief.”

“Ah, Baron Max,” said Greengrass. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“What is it?” asked the grey stallion, turning to face the Duke. “I really don’t have time for this right now.”

Greengrass considered Max to be the perfect subject to test the powers of his new windfall on. As the court’s most junior member, he was in no position to harm the Duke if something went wrong, and as a plus Greengrass had always found him to be an annoying imbecile, if an easily misled one. Now all he had to do was to decide what to do with him. He felt out with his personal talent; now, what was the naive fool’s weakness? He was stubborn and bull-headed; Greengrass was sure he could work with that. Then inspiration hit. What would happen if he removed his enemy’s weaknesses? It might actually make him a challenge. He muttered something under his breath, and the crystal, currently hung around his neck, glowed for a second. In front of him, Max froze and then seemed to slump slightly.

“I thought we should maybe talk about your position in the court.”

“My position?” asked Max weakly.

“Well, I can’t help but notice that you don’t really fit in here. You’re a bit of a fish out of water.”

“Well.. Well, I suppose you’re right, maybe...”

Greengrass grinned. This was almost too easy. “I’m hardly the only one to notice. It’s a bit embarrassing, really. What you need is someone to show you the ropes, tell you how to vote, things like that.”

“That sounds right. Fragrant helps me...”

“Oh, I don’t think we need to bother the Duchess about this. I’m sure she’s tired of all of your bungling by now.”

“Well I suppose...” the grey stallion seemed to be close to tears. Greengrass almost felt sorry for him; maybe he’d gone over the top with his new power. This was why it was important to try it on somepony unimportant first, he thought with a grin.

“Now, now. Don’t be like that,” said Greengrass, throwing a leg over the other stallion’s back. “I’m sure I can sort it all out for you. Now, just come to me before you do anything and I’ll tell you just what to do. I think that would work, don’t you?”

“Yes, I suppose so... Thank you.”

“That’s alright, my dear Baron. Now, maybe you should take some time away from court, try out a new hobby. I’ve always found gardening to be very relaxing.” He gently pushed the dazed stallion away and Max staggered towards the door. Greengrass grinned, watching him go. That had been too easy; maybe he should tone it down in the future, even if only to make things a challenge. The stone around his neck pulsed. No, that would be a waste of his new powers.

“That seemed to go well, my lord,” said Notary, seeming to materialise at his side.

“Very well. When I said I could control the court in a week, I may have been underestimating. I think I could do it in a single night.”

Notary frowned. “An exaggeration, surely?”

“Maybe, but not by much. Come, I have another idea I’d like to try out.”

“Duke Greengrass! What is going on here?” demanded Shining Armour. He had just been going over various reports on Corona’s possible locations when the noble had just barged into his quarters without even knocking. To the Captain’s surprise, there were no sign of the guards at the door.

“Ah Captain, I wanted to have a little chat with you about your sister.”

“What! What about Twilie, I mean Twilight?” The white stallion stepped forwards threateningly but Greengrass stood his ground.

“Certain evidence that has come to hoof which would go down very badly at her trial. If it were to come to light.” He tossed down a file. “A certain magical accident… many ponies were injured… a few even killed.”

Shining Armour caught the folder in his aura and started to scan the pages. Greengrass’s amulet flashed brightly for a second. “This... dark magic... But Twilie would never do this.”

“Yet the evidence is rather compelling, is it not? No pony has linked it to your sister yet, but a few words in the right ears would be all that would be needed. The fact that some of the listed tomes come from your own family’s library suggest that your parents may have some explaining to do about their choice of reading material.”

“This is all lies, no pony would believe this.”

“Oh, I think you might find that there are always those waiting for the powerful to fall. Your family might find itself running out of allies rather quickly.” Greengrass grinned. He really was enjoying himself. The shard glowed again.

Shining Armour’s gaze dropped. “What do you want me to do to make sure this evidence is never seen?” he mumbled.

“Oh, nothing much. There is a certain item of baggage I’d like your guards to collect for me.”

He outlined the rest of his plan to the guard captain, whose eyes widened.

“This... this is...”

“Oh, don’t tell me you’ve never thought about doing it before. Now run along, I’ll see you soon.” Looking broken, the white stallion staggered towards the door.

“Sir!” hissed Notary, once Shining Armour had left. “This is far beyond what we had planned. What are you doing!”

Greengrass seemed to think for a moment. “Maybe you’re right...” The amulet glowed again. “No... No, winning is what I’m doing. You saw how easy that was? One of the most powerful stallions in the nation, brought down by a single wish to obtain certain evidence against his sister. A little longer and I will control the whole court; Luna will never suspect the power I hold. Come, Notary, I have a performance to prepare for.” With that, Greengrass strode from the room. Notary followed in his wake, looking very worried.

“Did I mention I always wanted to drive one of these as a child?” said the Doctor, as he and Pokey climbed into their seats on the morning’s first train to Canterlot.

“Only a few times so far,” noted Pokey, stretching his back. His pegasus companion had originally wanted to fly to the capital, but Pokey had managed to dissuade him. It was a long way and few pegasi could beat a train over such a distance.

“Do you think we could speak to the engineer?”

“I don’t think they’ll let you drive it, Physician. Sorry, Doctor.”

“I suppose not,” sighed the Doctor, looking out the window as the train started to pull away.

“Why did you decide to use a different name anyway?”

“Habit, mostly. I’ve been trying to go incognito for the last few decades; far too many of my enemies have started to expect me. The problem with a long life, I suppose. I’ve tried a few names - Caretaker, Tailor, Twentyman, Matt.”

“What’s in a name?” noted Pokey, closing his eyes. He wanted to try and make up for this mornings interrupted sleep. Hopefully without any Trixie-themed dreams, this time; the difference between fantasy and reality was rather frustrating. “I’ve got an aunt called Caretaker, you know. And it’s not like I use my birth name most of the time.”

“Really?” said the Doctor. “What’s your real name?”

Pokey realised his mistake and his eyes shot open. “Never mind, that’s private,” he mumbled.

“Oh, go on. I told you mine,” said the Doctor. “Pleeaasseee!” he begged.

“Oh fine, but don’t laugh. And never, ever tell Trixie.” He sighed. “My birth name is Pinprick.” His face glowed red. “And honestly it doesn’t suit me, regardless of what Nurse Redheart says. That examination room was freezing.”

The Doctor thought for a moment. “I don’t get it, was she going to give you an injection? Are you scared of needles?”

“No, it’s more the other way around… I wanted to stick her with something.” Ah, a white coat and pink mane. Bliss, he thought. Shame about her personality. “But all the pointing and laughing put me off my stroke.”

“Oh... Oh...” mumbled the Doctor, looking shocked. Then he relaxed again. “No, I still don’t get it.”

“Never mind.” Pokey closed his eyes again, hoping this journey wouldn’t take too long.

“Greengrass!” shrieked Puissance as she was dragged into the throne room by a pair of guards. “What is going on here? How dare you do this to me!” The ancient pegasus struggled weakly against her captors.

“Ah Puissance,” said Greengrass. “How nice to see you again.” He gently rested his posterior on the throne. “This really is quite comfortable - only the best for our Princess, I see. I suppose it’s just as well she doesn’t use a throne made out of her enemies fallen weapons, like the ancient Griffin emperors did; that would be far too cold and sharp. It could cause a nasty accident.”

“Release me!” cried the aged pegasus at her guards, who looked towards their leader. He in turn deferred to Greengrass.

“I’ve done what you asked, Greengrass,” said Shining. “Now we’re even.”

The red headed earth pony leant forwards. “Oh, I don’t think so, Captain. You just kidnapped one of the most powerful ponies in the land. That wouldn’t look very good, would it?” The amulet glowed again.

“But you told me to!”

“I’m sure that is a solid excuse for the courts. I think we might be working together for a long time yet, don’t you?”

Shining’s head dropped and he staggered back.

“Don’t worry, I reward loyalty well. As for you, you old hag!” cried Greengrass, turning back to Puissance. “You threatened to destroy me once, but it looks like I’ve got there first.”

“You wouldn't dare!” cried the pegasus, her face red with rage. “If anything were to happen to me, my family would crush you, you upstart fool! I am a Vicereine!”

“I’m sure your family would thank me. You are nothing, if it wasn’t for your wealth... I wonder, where would you be without your money?” Greengrass gripped the crystal attached to a chain around his neck. Below him, the jewellery covering the noble pegasus disappeared, and her greying hair seemed to shrink back into her skull, ending at a more practical length and became wrapped back with a simple piece of cloth. Her face became more lined and her back more bent, and a mop and bucket appeared by her. She looked around in surprise and then glanced up at Greengrass fearfully. “Begging your pardon, your highness, but why am I here?”

“Ah,” sighed Greengrass, slumping across the throne. “I think the throne room could do with a good scrub, don’t you? The place is such a mess. You can start over there.” He waved a hoof at the far corner.

“Of course, your highness,” replied Puissance, grabbing her mop and bucket and rushing off as quickly as her old hooves would carry her.

Notary stepped forward. “Was that really necessary, Sir?” she asked. “I would have thought you would have preferred to savour her fall more.”

Greengrass looked at her coldly. “Oh, I enjoyed it immensely. It’s just that in my new position, I can’t afford the time to do this all personally. If I’m going to be the tyrant to replace Luna, I should at least be an honest - not to mention impressive - tyrant.”

Notary stepped back with a shudder. She could hardly recognise her boss any more. His new found power was going to his head so quickly and he wouldn’t listen to her warnings. She didn’t know what to do.

“You know, I think this place could do with a few changes. I don’t see why I should wait to supplant Luna,” announced Greengrass, throwing wide his forehooves. “King Greengrass has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?” The wishing stone blazed with light, and around him the throne room flowed and altered.

Pokey was rudely awoken from another Trixie filled dream as his face impacted with the floor of the carriage. He staggered back onto his hooves and looked around. The train had come to a screeching halt and he had been thrown from his seat. The rest of the passengers seemed equally confused. “What’s going on?” he asked nopony in particular.

“I rather fear that it’s something to do with that,” said the Doctor, gesturing out of the train’s window.

Pokey looked in the indicated direction at where Canterlot stood, or rather where Canterlot should have stood. The city was missing; in fact the entire Canterhorn had disappeared. In its place stood a shimmering dome maybe two miles in diameter. It cut the train tracks off. Around the edge of the dome stood a number of ponies, including a few members of the guard. They were all milling around uncertainly. “What is that?” Pokey gasped.

“It’s a reality barrier,” explained the Doctor. “I think someone has found the shard... this is going to be more difficult than I thought.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s the physical representation of the barrier between two universes. Someone inside has used the shard to alter reality, but the shard isn’t powerful enough to affect the whole universe. That effect indicates its boundaries.” He peered closer. “I can sort of see through it, so the differences can’t be that great.”

Pokey peered at the barrier; the other side seemed to be quite green and he could make out movement. “So someone’s changed the universe on the other side of the barrier?”

“That’s more or less it. Small differences like your horn are easily accepted by the universe, but this must be on another scale. Do you know who might have done this?”

“Not a clue. There could be any number of ponies in the city who might try to change the world to suit themselves.”

The Doctor started to make his way to the carriage’s door. “Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out. I’ll have to go in.”

Pokey struggled past the carriage’s other occupants and followed the Doctor. By the time he left the train, he found the pegasus arguing with a guard who was standing by the barrier. “Look, anypony who's passed through hasn’t come back. I can’t let you go,” insisted the guard.

The Doctor backed away as the guard turned to the stream of passengers starting to disembark from the train.

“I need to get into that thing. I might be able to find out what’s going on and fix it.”

”Wait a minute, is that safe?” asked Pokey.

“I’m fairly sure I’ll be fine. The transmogrifier should be able to compensate for any changes in the laws of reality, and I doubt the other side of the barrier is totally incompatible with this universe’s rules. However, anything that passes through which hasn’t already been affected by the shard might get altered by its power, that’s why no pony’s come back through. You stay here and see if you can contact someone in charge to properly seal off the area.” He took a few steps back before galloping forwards at full clip. The guard turned to try and block him, but he was too late. The barrier parted in front of the Doctor like a river before he disappeared with a flash.

Pokey sat there for a moment, unsure what to do. He could see the benefits to trying to organize things here, but he didn’t like being told what to do. He’d told his older brother on his death bed than his would be the horn that pierced the heavens, but what had he actually done to accomplish that? It was more than just having a sharp horn; it was about doing the best he could. And when would he get a better opportunity to improve himself than how? He stood and pawed the ground for a moment. The Doctor had said that things which had been affected by the shard wouldn’t be affected by the barrier, and his enlarged horn was evidence that he had been changed by its power. Steeling himself, he charged forwards horn lowered. “Gangway!” he cried.

The guard, once again surprised, leapt towards Pokey, but only impacted with him glancingly, sending the unicorn tumbling through the glowing shield. For a moment Pokey’s skin felt like a million insects were crawling all over it; then he found himself surrounded by lush fields of green plants.

“Pokey!” cried the Doctor. “I told you not to follow me!”

“You’re not my boss, you know. She’s not here and I’m sure she’d have followed you as well. Anyway, where are we?” He turned around; rows of vegetation stretched as far as he could see in all directions. There was no sign of the barrier he had just passed through.

“Exactly where we were, I think. It’s just that the inside is bigger than the outside. That’s more common than you’d think. There could be the whole of Equestria inside this dome.” He spun around, “Whoever made this certainly like plants.”

Pokey peered through the greenery around him; here and there ponies seemed to be caring for the plants, pulling up mouthfuls of weeds and pruning back the vegetation. In the distance he could just about make out a cityscape. “That looks like Canterlot!” he said, pointing. “But on the ground! What happened to the Canterhorn?”

“I guess whoever created this place wasn’t keen on heights.” The Doctor scampered over to the nearest gardener, a grey stallion with a short brown mane. “Where are we?” he asked.

The stallion looked up with dull eyes, spitting out a mouthful of unwanted plants. “This is the garden of King Greengrass.”

“King Greengrass!” exclaimed Pokey.

“You know this Greengrass?” asked the Doctor.

“He’s a Duke in real life, a rival of Trixie’s. He’s tried to gain control over the elements a few times.”

“Well if he’s gotten his hooves on the shard, then it looks like he’s used it to improve his position somewhat.”

Pokey shuddered. A world created by Greengrass. This couldn’t be good. “We’ve got to stop him!”

“How long has the king been in charge?” asked the Doctor.

“He only revealed his power to us a few hours ago, but now I can’t think why we ever followed Luna,” said the grey pony, looking confused.

“This Greengrass doesn’t do things by half, does he? Less than a day and he’s declared himself ruler of the whole country,” said the Doctor grimly. “I guess we better find him.”

Pokey looked around at the endless fields. “He could be anywhere.”

“Yeah, but as he’s set himself up as king, I’m sure we’ll find him at the heart of it all; in the city.”

“But how do we stop all this?”

“We need to get our hooves on the shard. We should be able to use its power to put things back to how they were. But you have to be careful; the slightest distraction can result in changes to the world. For instance, you might possibly create a few hundred fezzes by mistake, but that’s just because they're so cool.”

Pokey considered for a moment. There were certainly a few things he’d like to change about the world. A pony or two he’d like to be more accommodating; a few injustices to be righted. It was a very seductive thought. He could see how easy to would be to replace King Greengrass with King Pierce, then shuddered at the thought. The very fact that he was considering this showed what a bad choice of ruler he’d be.

“Come on, we better get going before this place gets even worse,” noted the Doctor, leading Pokey towards the city in the distance.

Not much seemed to have changed about Canterlot. Pokey had thought that the city would be bedecked with pictures of Greengrass, but the changes seemed to be more subtle. There were more guards around, but the population seemed happy. Maybe a little too happy; they all had wide smiles but they didn’t quite fit their faces correctly, as if they were happy but didn’t know why.

“This is a little creepy,” shuddered Pokey.

The Doctor nodded. “Things have gone further than I’d thought. I think the whole population’s been affected. Try to fit in, we don’t want them to realise we’re different from everypony else.”

Pokey tried to look happy as he and Doctor made their way through the streets towards the castle. They arrived at the gate to find it heavily guarded; scores of troops stood around the entrance.

To Pokey’s surprise, this didn’t seem to deter the Doctor at all, and he marched straight up to the gate without a care in the world. Pokey followed behind, trying to look like he was supposed to be there.

“Halt,” cried a black unicorn in the uniform of an officer. “What business do you have in the castle?”

“All hail king Greengrass!” cried the Doctor. The guards all snapped to attention. “We are his most royal majesty's personal crystal inspectors.” He held out a small card.

The officer squinted at it, “That’s blank.”

The Doctor glanced at it, “Oh, right! It burned out, didn’t it? I keep meaning to get it replaced. I mean I must have left my papers in my other, umm, saddlebags. Look, if you don’t let me in, the king will be very angry with you all, and you wouldn’t want that, would you?” He glanced around. The guards did not look impressed.

Pokey stepped forward and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry about this,” he said. “My companion here is new. You know how it is - they just don’t give them the proper training any more. Now, we submitted both a Q278 and S668 form in triplicate three months ago. If you check your pigeon hole you should find the requisite AP77 form to allow us entry to, um, inspect the king’s crown jewels.”

The guard looked confused. “I haven't received any paperwork about this. Where is your pass?”

“Didn’t you get the memo?” said Pokey glibly, continuing his bluff. “Passes are being phased out - too easy to duplicate or lose. Look, this is all very important. The king will punish you if you delay us any longer.” Pokey gave a scowl.

The guard stared intently at him and Doctor for a moment. “Very well. You may enter, but my men will escort you to the throne room.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary. I’m sure we can find it,” said the Doctor.

“I insist,” hissed the officer.

“Very well,” agreed Pokey, as the portcullis was lifted and the main gate swung open. He and the Doctor trotted forward, guards on either side of them.

“Wait a minute,” said the officer.

Pokey’s nerve snapped. “What in Luna’s name is it now?!” he cried.

“Temporary passes,” mumbled the officer, holding up slips of card in his aura. “Wait a minute, Luna? Stop them!” he shouted, “Secure the doors! Seize them!”

With a whooshing sound the portcullis started to drop towards Pokey; he looked up, open mouthed, as it hurtled towards him. The Doctor leapt forward, pushing both of them past it as the wooden construct smashed to the ground. Guards started to swarm towards them, but they were all trapped on the other side of the gate.

“Thanks,” muttered Pokey, picking himself up and dusting himself off.

“Don’t mention it.” The Doctor ran to the castle’s inner entrance, a smaller but still solid door. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and scanned it. “Blast! It’s barred and this doesn’t work well on wood. I knew I should have downloaded that app when I had the chance.”

Behind them the gate started to grind back up as several guards struggled with the mechanism.

“Get behind me,” yelled Pokey, lining himself up with the door. “I can get us through.” He concentrated and began to feed more and more power into his horn. He’d never tried this on anything quite so thick before, but hey, with a larger horn he might be able to be even better at this, right? A white aura started to form in front of him.

“What are you doing?” cried the Doctor.

“I’m going to make a sharp exit,” cried Pokey as he lowered his head and charged forwards. “PIERCE... THE... HEAVENS!” he roared as his horn entered the thick wooden door like a hot knife into butter. The ancient portal split down the centre and its pieces were thrown aside as the blue unicorn battered his way into the chamber beyond. Stunned by his own success, Pokey skidded to a stop, a wide grin on his face. “I did it! I did it!” he cried and started to do a dance of triumph.

“Wow!” exclaimed the Doctor looking at the wreckage of the door. “I guess you’d never have a problem losing your key, if you bothered to lock your door properly.”

They were both startled out of their revelries as the portcullis behind them rose enough for the guards to start to scramble under it. “This way,” cried the Doctor, picking a path at random and galloping down it. Pokey followed, head still held high in triumph.

With a clatter of hooves the Doctor skidded across the floor and crashed into a bucket of soapy water, spilling it, before falling to the ground.

“Sorry, sorry,” came a cry as an old pegasus mare rushed over. “Are you alright, me lord?” she asked.

“Fine,” said the Doctor, getting to his hooves. “My fault, I should have been looking where I was fleeing.”

Pokey rushed into the room. “Doctor,” he panted, “I think we lost...” He stared at the old mare. She had the face of one of the most famous ponies in the land. “Vicereine Puissance!” he gasped.

The mare looked confused. “Do I know you gents?” she asked. “There’s not many that call me by my birth name, most just call me Purdy, and I certainly ain't no Vicereine. What kind of world would it be where one of them cleans the floors?” She gave a short laugh.

“But.. but.. don’t you remember? What’s Greengrass done to you?”

“His Highness has been very kind to me, the work here isn’t hard and I get ten whole days off a year! Not many can boast that.”

The Doctor took out his screwdriver and scanned the cleaner as she righted her bucket. “I take it she used to be somepony else?”

“She was one of the most powerful nobles in the country. Now look at her!” said Pokey, staring at Purdy as she began to whistle cheerfully while moping at the floor.

“The shard’s very powerful; it can totally change someone to its holder’s desires,” said the Doctor grimly.

“She seems happy enough with her new position,” pondered Pokey. He couldn’t square the cheerful old mare before him with the bitter hag Cheerilee had described to him after the Gala. Maybe the teacher had been exaggerating.

Purdy stopped and leaned on her mop. “Oh, I am happy. There are some born to lead and some born to make sure things are kept spic and span, as my husband - rest his soul - used to say. I’ve got lots of children. Never could keep my tail down.” She gave a toothy grin. “And grandchildren and even great grandchildren now. I know most of the ponies in the castle and I’m never short anypony to chat with. What more could I want?”

“But you used to run several provinces.”

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about, Dearie. I wouldn’t know what to do with a province. I’d probably just end up messing it all up. I’d never be happy with that sort of pressure. Nope, cleaning is more my speed.” She gave the floor a scrub.

Pokey considered for a moment. Could the shard actually be used to make ponies happier? To fix their problems? It was a very seductive thought and he had to fight against it.

Before he could think any further, a group of guards galloped in from the far door to the chamber. Skidding to a halt on the soapy floor, they raised their spears at the intruders. Purdy gave a squeak of alarm and dropped her mop in surprise. Pokey turned to run but saw another group of guards arriving from the other direction. They were trapped.

The Doctor looked back and forth between the two groups of blank faced guards. He raised his hooves in surrender. “Take me to your leader,” he announced with a smile.

The Doctor and Pokey were dragged into the throne room by a phalanx of guards. The room was impressive and closer to what Pokey had expected the city to look like under Greengrass’s control. Everywhere were vast tapestries in green and red showing images of Greengrass’s face or cutie mark, and bowls of lush flowers stood around the walls. At the far end was the throne itself, upon which Greengrass lounged. Two attractive mares were attached to the throne via ornate silver chains; a young lime green earth pony with a thick curling orange mane, and an older yellow pegasus mare with a pink mane. They both had green silk saddles with bronze inlay adorning their backs and green and white striped socks covering their legs. They lay, limbs intertwined, at the foot of the throne, looking up at their ruler with adoring looks in their vapid eyes. Around the throne stood a throng of ponies in noble garb, the remains of the Night Court; they looked nervously up at their new leader. Two lines of guards stood at attention all down the centre of the room, lining the path to the throne.

As Pokey was led towards the throne, he finally got a good look at ‘King’ Greengrass. He was a giant, larger even than the princess. On either side of him stood a heavily armoured pony, one unicorn, one earth pony; although large, they were dwarfed by their leader. His brown coat shimmered and his mane almost glowed with energy.

“You know,” said Pokey as they came to a stop at the foot of the throne, the provocatively dressed mares scuttling out of the way, “Trixie always said you were a short stallion. Did you think you needed to add a few inches, or feet, to impress the mares?” Then he remembered his horn and tried not to wince at his hypocrisy. Maybe his unconscious had made a few changes as well, Redheart might not laugh any more.

Greengrass glared down at Pokey. “What are you...” he began, before looking at himself, seeming confused. “I don’t remember...”

Turning his head away from the commanding figure of the stallion, Pokey noticed an attractive white mare standing in the shadows of the throne. “Notary!” he gasped. She was wearing a delicately styled gown of white silk, her long mane done up in an intricate style. “You left Blueblood for this looser? I thought you had better taste than that.”

Drawn from his introspection, Greengrass looked aside at his assistant. “You know this pony?” he asked, his voice tinged with suspicion.

Notary flinched at her boss’s tone. “I met him once at a conference. His name is Pokey Pierce. He is a fool of no importance.”

“Hey, I’m a very important fool!” cried Pokey. Wait, that hadn't come out quite how he’d planned. “I do most of Trixie’s work.”

“He works for Trixie Lulamoon,” admitted Notary.

“Trixie? She is here?” he asked, looking around anger in his voice. “Come out, you fool!” he bellowed.

“I’m afraid not,” said the Doctor, stepping forward. The guards crossed their spears in front of him, blocking his path. “You’ll just have to deal with me instead. Now, I believe you have something of mine?” he nodded towards the faintly glowing crystal set on a chain around Greengrass’s neck.

The giant stallion’s eyes narrowed. “Who are you? What do you know of this?” he asked.

“I’m the Physi... let’s just go with the Doctor, it’s easier to remember. As for that little jewel, it’s something you should never have gotten your hooves on. It was just a mix up in the post, really. Now, if you’ll just return it we can get this all sorted out. You don’t understand the damage that thing can do - the damage it’s probably doing to you right now.”

“I wish you to tell me all you know!” demanded Greengrass.

“Sorry that won’t work on me, if only affects things from this universe. Just as well, really, or we could be here for a long, long time. Look, you need to listen to me...” Greengrass turned to Pokey. “He’s protected as well,” noted the Doctor.

Greengrass looked nervous for a moment, then an easy smile passed over his face again. “Interesting, you will be a challenge. Good, I was beginning to get bored. If you did not exist I might need to create you. Now, I could have my guards force you to talk, but that would be... messy. Instead, maybe we could play a game?”

“Oh, I like games!” infused the Doctor, “What shall we play? Drafts? Global Thermonuclear War? Charades? Hop scotch? Ticket to Ride? Settlers of Catan?”

“Chess, Doctor.”

“Ah, well, it’s traditional I suppose, but I can never remember how the little horsie pieces move. Wait, are all the pieces horsies here?”

Greengrass gave a smile. He grabbed the shard around his neck and whispered something. Suddenly the centre of the throne room was home to a giant chess set, each of the dark blue or white pieces several times a pony’s height: The nobles and guards scattered aside. “I think I’ll play the moon side, there is a rather delicious irony to that.” Suddenly he was standing on top of the blue king, while Notary was on the queen and his bodyguards stood upon the knights. Pokey and the Doctor did not move. Greengrass scowled. “It seems you’ll have to get some exercise first.” He gestured at the opposing pieces.

The Doctor trotted over and began to clamber up a set of stairs built into the white king. Pokey moved to mount the queen but found that there was no way up its steep sides. “Hey, what about me?” he cried.

“Ah, Pokey. I didn’t see you as such an important piece - you are more of a pawn. Trixie herself is barely a rook, let alone anything truly important,” taunted Greengrass.

Pokey scowled. “Hey, I’m the brains behind that team, you know.”

Greengrass laughed as Pokey started to scale the king’s pawn.

“Right,” called the Doctor, lying down on top of his piece. “I guess now is the time for you to lay out the grossly unbalanced rules of this game? What do I get if I win?”

“If you win you get my wishing stone, just as you want.”

Pokey snorted. “Because you’re entirely trustworthy! A real straight arrow!”

Greengrass ignored him. “But if I win, you will tell me what it really is and where I can find more. Oh, and Doctor? You probably don’t want to lose Mr Pierce's piece, that could be... messy.”

“And your own allies?”

“Oh, I’m sure I will be able to keep them safe.” Ox and Bear looked nervous, but Notary kept her icy demeanour. “Now, the sun moves first. By the way, I wish I was the best chess player in Equestria! That should make things interesting.”

“Just as well I’m not from Equestria, isn’t it?” said the Doctor with a grin. “Now, let’s see… d4.” With a rumble the queen’s pawn moved forward as if pushed by an invisible hand.

“d5,” announced Greengrass. “Your move.”

Slowly the two armies wheeled around the board. Greengrass played aggressively, striking at the heart of the Doctor’s troops, forcing him to sacrifice several pieces to protect the pawn that carried Pokey. When a piece was taken it was crushed into dust by its attacker.

A thrust resulted in the knight carrying Bear being left without protection, and at the mercy of the Doctor’s forces. The large unicorn shifted nervously as he eyed the Doctor’s queen, positioned to destroy him. “Sir?” he asked sounding unsure.

“Don’t worry, Bear. I know the Doctor’s type,” murmured Greengrass, glancing at his opponent. “I can see his weakness.” Bear straightened, apparently convinced. Notary looked on with greater concern; she knew Greengrass would not normally sacrifice one of his servants over such a minor matter, but ever since he had obtained the wishing stone he hadn’t been himself. She bit her lip in concern.

With a sigh, the Doctor used the queen to take a piece without a pony on it.

“See, he is spineless. This will hardly even be a challenge.”

The game continued for several more turns, but the Doctor’s need to protect both himself and Pokey, as well as his unwillingness to attack his opponent’s living pieces, weighed against him. Eventually his king and a few remaining pieces were forced into a corner, while Pokey was stranded at the far end of the board.

“It’s almost over, Doctor,” gloated Greengrass. “You might as well give up and tell me what I want to know now.”

“Oh, you never know. This game can result in a few turnabouts. You see, sometimes the weakest piece, d1, can become the strongest. Pawn becomes Queen, check and checkmate in three.”

Pokey desperately held on to his mount as it changed shape, a crown growing on its head. “Who’s the lesser piece now, Greengrass!” he called.

A grin spread across Greengrass’s face, “Very clever, Doctor. But can you go all the way with this?” At his command, a bishop moved back from the attack to protect his king. “Now, Doctor, do you have the guts to do what is needed? Take my bishop and I take your queen, killing Mr Pierce, but then you can capture me. I will give you my wishing stone and Equestria can go back to its long torpid rule by Luna, or you can take over yourself if you so wish. Or you can prove to be as big a fool as I think you are, lose this game, and tell me all you know about my little trinket.”

“Do it!” insisted Pokey, his mouth dry. “I don’t matter, saving Equestria is what’s important.”

The Doctor stood strong for a moment, but then his shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry, I can’t do it.”

“You must!” cried Pokey. “Queen to e1.” The giant wooden piece ground along its path.

“Wait! I didn’t call that!” cried the Doctor.

“Mr Pierce did say he was the brains of the outfit,” said Greengrass with a smirk as Pokey’s piece rose of the ground and, with Pokey desperately trying to maintain his position, slammed down on the opposing piece, crushing it to shards.

“Very brave of you Mr Pierce,” said Greengrass with a hint of respect. “But also very stupid, and stupidity must be punished.”

“Wait, you don’t have to do this!” called the Doctor. “I concede, I concede! I’ll tell you what you need to know!”

“Don’t Doctor, I’m not afraid,” said Pokey. His shaking body showed that the statement was a lie. “Don’t worry, a true stallion doesn’t die, even when he’s killed.” He turned to Greengrass. “Do your worst.”

“Please, my lord,” cried Notary. “You have already won, you don’t have to do this. Please, spare him. For me,” she pleaded.

Greengrass stood frozen in place for a moment. “Yes,” he mused. “I can afford to be merciful, this time. I accept your surrender, Doctor.” The surviving giant chess pieces started to shrink, returning their burdens to the ground.

“Are you alright?” asked the Doctor, rushing over to Pokey.

“I’ll be fine. But what do we do now?”

“I don’t think we can stop him,” he whispered. “But he may be able to stop himself. Follow my lead.”

“Now, Doctor,” said Greengrass, returning to his throne. “What is this?” He lifted the crystal from his chest.

“It is a shard of the barrier separating this universe from all others. As an innate part of the universe, it can change its rules,” explained the Doctor.

“And there are no limits to its power?”

“It is but part of a greater whole; its range is limited.”

“And are there other shards like this?”

The Doctor remained silent, his face impassive.

“So there are, then? And with enough of them I can control all of Equestria; I can depose Luna for ever. I wish I could locate the other shards,” he announced. “Ah, so many,” he sighed closing his eyes.

“And what will you do with this land once you control it all?” asked the Doctor.

“With Luna gone, Equestria and everything beyond can truly be controlled by ponies.”

“You say ponies, but really you mean you alone. How will that make you any different from Luna? I guess after thousands of years of eternal monarchy, you can’t fit your limited brain around any other type of government.”

“There is no need for any other government,” snarled Greengrass. “I am a better ruler than Luna ever was! Under my control Equestria will spread to every corner of the continent and beyond! I have the power to make this world a paradise!”

“And what have you done with it?” asked Pokey. “Petty revenge! You turned your rival into a cleaner! And as for these poor wretches,” he gestured at the besaddled mares. “What did they do? Refuse to date you? You’re pathetic.”

Greengrass growled and stepped forward.

“You’re not even yourself anymore,” said the Doctor. “Just a bad caricature, created by your own twisted mind.”

“No one would want to work for a monster like you, unless you forced then to,” said Pokey.

“Of course they do.” Greengrass started to look perturbed. “In my world, my allies have all they want.”

“Allies? Is that all you’ve got? No friends? You really are alone, aren't you?”

“They are my employees. I don’t need friends!”

“Can’t they be both? Trixie might be insufferable sometimes, but I still care about her, and she about me, in her own way...” The declaration suddenly made him feel better. Trixie did care, in her own way. It was a shame he’d figured it out just before it looked like he was going to die.

“It doesn’t matter! As long as they are loyal, I reward them well. Of course that are happy with this world.”

“Have you tried asking them? If they can even think for themselves anymore?

Greengrass turned to the armour clad stallion to his right. “Ox, you prefer this world, don’t you? Here, no mare will ever deny you.”

The guard shuffled awkwardly and turned away. “Actually, sir,” he rumbled, “I don’t know if they actually like me or just act that way because you made them. It’s not the same.”

Greengrass frowned, “I... see,” he said slowly. “Very well. Bear, surely you will follow me? With just a word I can heal you mother; you can have many more years together.”

The other guard raised his head. “That is very generous, my lord, but no.”

“What?” said Greengrass in disbelief.

“No. It just wouldn’t be the same. She’s ready for what is to come and so am I. She wouldn't want to keep living just at your sufferance. Plus I’ve seen how easily you are willing to sacrifice your forces nowadays.” He took a step back.

“Notary, ever loyal Notary. You want this world, don’t you?” he asked, desperation starting to sound in his voice, looking down from his throne.

The white mare looked up at him in silence.

“You are so easily overlooked by the unwary, your skills unappreciated. But I can raise you up so that no pony will ever ignore you again. Everypony will see how very special you are. I can make you a princess or a queen to rule at my side.” He leaned down and ran a hoof down her cheek. It came away wet. “Natalia,” he whispered. “Please tell me you believe in me.”

She stared up at him for a moment, then turned her head away. “I am sorry, sir.” Her voice quivered and tears flowed openly. “But I can no longer tell the difference between you and Princess Luna. What good are my skills in your world when you can just wish to do anything? At least Luna pretends to need assistance. You are not yourself, sir. This is not you.” She gestured at the hall and its banners. “You were clever and subtle with your power. I respected that. But not this travesty. I cannot condone your actions.”

Greengrass looked shocked for a moment, then his face screwed up in anger. “Ungrateful wretch, I can make you trust me! So be it then, I wish... I wish...”

Notary backed away covering her face uselessly with one leg.

“ I... I... no. No, you are loyal to me! What am I doing?”

“You’re not yourself,” said the Doctor. “The shard doesn’t just work on your conscious mind, it’s interacting with your unconscious, your id; it gives you what you want, even when you don’t know you want it. It even changes you; once you decided to become a tyrant, it began to change you into the tyrant you thought you’d be. Look at yourself. Did you really wish to be a giant, or did it just happen?”

“No, this isn’t right,” muttered Greengrass, looking down at himself. “What have I done? What have I done? Notary!” He turned to the where the white mare had stood, but she was not there. In her place stood a doppelganger, exquisitely beautiful but with eyes dull and bovine.

“How may I help you my lord?” the new Notary intoned. As the would be king watched, a chain appeared, linking her to the throne. An inlaid saddle appeared on her back, and socks on her legs. “Your every pleasure is my only wish,” breathed the newly minted slavefilly.

“No, No!” cried Greengrass, backing away from the vision in horror and disgust, falling from his throne. “I didn’t wish for that. Bring her back! Bring her back!” With a rumble, part of the throne room collapsed as a mass of vegetation spilled into the building. “What! My garden! What’s happening? What have you done?” He turned towards the Doctor.

“I haven’t done anything, Greengrass. This is all your fault. You’ve lost control. You knew deep down that you’d never control Equestria, that everything would fall apart.”

“No! No! That’s not true. I should rule, Equestria would become great under my leadership.” He looked up at the Doctor and Pokey, his wish-created height failing him. He turned to the few remaining members of the night court who had not fled. “Please help me!” he cried. The shard flashed ever brighter.

“Hate you!” cried the assembled night court, ignoring the destruction all around them. They turned to Greengrass as one.

“Insincere little mongrel!” hissed one.

“Nothing without his hired help,” muttered another.

“Not a patch on his father,” cried a third.

“Shut up!” screamed Greengrass like a petulant child. “I don’t like this game anymore! I don’t want to play!” He tore at the chain around his neck and snapped it, throwing the shard aside.

The shard bounced several times before landing, blazing with light, at the Doctor’s hooves. He backed away as if it were on fire. “I can’t use it like this!” he cried. “I’ve got far too many regrets, so much I’d like to change about the world, any world!” He turned to Pokey. “It’s up to you.”

“But..” cried the blue stallion, as the throne behind the weeping Greengrass disintegrated into dust. He didn’t know if he could do this, be trusted with such power, after what it had done to Greengrass.

“Do it!” shouted the Doctor.

Pokey grabbed the amulet in his aura and the whole universe seemed to pause. This was it. He could do anything he wanted now, make any changes he wanted. He didn’t have to be an assistant, he could be whatever he wanted, defeat Corona, be a hero. Make Trixie... make her what he wanted her to be for him. But then she wouldn’t be Trixie. She’d be the Trixie he wanted, not the Trixie she was. He sighed, and made a wish.

Pokey looked around. He and the Doctor were standing in the centre of the throne room. Gone were the giant banners proclaiming Greengrass’s superiority, the giant weeds attacking the building, and even the oversized throne, replaced by a much more modest version. Greengrass himself was also absent.

“Did it work?” asked Pokey cautiously.

“I don’t know,” said the Doctor. “But this looks hopeful. What did you wish for?”

“That none of this had happened.”

“Good choice. With some luck, nopony will remember what happened, apart from a few echoes, like dreams. Where is the crystal?”

“I don’t know.” Pokey looked around, but there was no sign of it.

“Hum. I think it might be back at my place in Stallion Drive, then. Oh well, it shouldn’t take too long to get back.”

“Halt!” came a cry. “Who goes there?” All around the room, guards were starting to converge on their position.

“Oh, dear,” said the Doctor. “This could be awkward. Now, is Shining Armour guard captain?”

“I think so, why?”

“It might be time to call in a favour.” The Doctor stepped forwards. “We surrender, take me to your captain,” he intoned.

Vicereine Puissance gave a start. What was she doing here? She was in a small chamber somewhere in the castle. The floor was half covered in soapy water and a mop rested against one wall. One of the castle’s cleaners must have left it here; she would see him or her punished for leaving a job half finished. She turned to go, then stopped. It seemed wrong to leave things like this. She reached out with a hoof and grasped the mop. To her own surprise, she dipped it in the water and started to scrub the dirty floor, and a sense of satisfaction flooded through her as the tiles started to shine under her assault. She glanced around furtively; there didn’t seem to be anypony to see her. She returned to her cleaning and began to whistle a cheery tune. Once she was finished maybe she should visit some of her family to see how they were, to her surprise she realised she actually missed them.

Notary looked down at her work. More and more of Greengrass’s allies were breaking away now. It might take a while, but his power base was weakening and she didn’t think there was anything she, or anypony else, could do about it now. She could try to cushion the inevitable fall, but nothing further. Both his and her career would soon be in tatters; she’d be lucky to be the assistant of a representative in some far distant province after all of this was over. Still, Greengrass had been good to her, and he deserved her loyalty.

Something troubled her. Did Greengrass really appreciate what she did for him? Would he prefer some brainless yes mare? A vision of her chained to a throne upon which Greengrass sat swam into her mind, and she shuddered. Maybe she should be looking out for herself instead?

She considered for a moment, then took out paper and a quill and began to write.

“I’m glad Shining Armour was so understanding,” said Pokey. “Or we could be in prison.”

“Oh, me and Lieutenant Armour go way back. I think he’ll keep all of this quiet. No need for Luna or anyone else to find out what happened.” The Doctor opened his house’s door and disappeared inside. He returned a second later with a familiar box. “Just as I expected, the shard’s back where it should be. Still, I think I’d better get it back to its proper place, it’s rather too dangerous to leave lying about. Thanks for putting the universe back how it should be. Weren’t you tempted to make a few changes?”

Pokey laughed. “Probably more than you can imagine, but it’s not my place to do that. This world might not be perfect, but it’s our responsibility to make the most of it through hard work. A shortcut just isn’t the same.”

“I don’t know, there are a lot of things I’d want to change, and not just increasing the number of red, pot shaped hats in this world.” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “Here.” He passed Pokey a long scroll covered in what the unicorn recognised as spell notation. “Make sure this gets into the hooves of a mare called Twilight Sparkle.”

“Twilight?”

“You know her?”

“She almost destroyed the town a while back!”

“With a giant smoke monster?”

“No, a giant star bear.”

“Huh. Well make sure she gets it eventually, she should use it to develop a spell to detect shards in about twenty years. That should make sure Equestria is safe from my mistake. I’ve got to go now.”

“This is really it?” asked Pokey, feeling unexpectedly sad. “You’re never going to return to Equestria?”

“Well never say never, but it’s not likely. I’ve nothing else to give this world. You’ll just have to go forward in all your beliefs, and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine. Goodbye, Pokey.” He held out a hoof.

“Goodbye, Doctor,” said Pokey shaking it, “And thank you for everything.”

The door shut, and after a few moments a grinding sound could be heard. Before Pokey’s astonished eyes, the whole house faded from view. He blinked for a few moments, then turned away. Things were back to normal; he still had taxes to collect and Trixie’s work to do for her.

Whistling to himself, Pokey glanced around for a moment to see if anypony was about, before taking out a ruler in his aura and measuring his nine inch horn. Well, maybe things weren’t entirely back to normal, but he felt that he deserved a little reward for saving all of Equestria. He still needed to decide what to do about his feelings for Trixie.

“Good morning, Mr Pierce,” came a cheerful voice.

Pokey turned, quickly hiding the ruler. “Good morning, Mayor Scrolls,” he said with a bow.

“How are you today?” she said politely.

“Well, busy as always, and you won’t believe the morning I’ve had, literally!”

“Tell me about it. What with the rebuilding, I’ve been working my hooves to the bone, just work and sleep. I’ve not have a moment to myself in weeks.”

Was it his imagination, or was the Mayor looking younger than normal today? He scrutinized her for a second, then caught a glimpse of something that set his heart racing. Pink roots! Her hair had the most gorgeous pink roots! “Maybe I can walk you back to your office. I have some business to discuss with you,” he said as suavely as he could. “It sounds like you’re due sometime off; maybe we could talk over drinks?”

He hoped it wasn’t his imagination, but the Mayor seemed to blush slightly and looked down. “I think I’d like that, Pokey,” she said.

He grinned. He knew he had more work to do for what’s-her-name, his boss, but it could wait for the moment.

Greengrass sat at his desk and felt troubled. He couldn’t put his hoof on the cause, but things felt wrong - as if something was out of place. He felt too small, and the vast office too cold and empty. He opened a folder and looked at the details of a plan he had in mind; a way to leverage Luna from her throne. After a few seconds, he slammed it shut again. It just didn’t seem important anymore.

Getting to his hooves, he walked into the main office. It was empty; Notary was nowhere to be seen. “Ox, Bear?” he called, but there was no reply. He pulled the door open, but nopony was there; just an abandoned mail cart. He thought he could hear the sound of a mare giggling and a stallion singing with a deep voice in the distance. He scowled; at least one of his guards should be on duty.

He returned to the office and looked around. There were three envelopes left on the desk, all address to him.

He angrily tore them open and read them one at a time with increasing disbelief. They had resigned, all of them. They had abandoned him. The ungrateful wretches, after all he had done for them.

Still he was better off alone. He slumped heavily into Notary’s seat, tears starting to stain his face.

Alone.

He was all alone.

Dr Who / Lunaverse - Time after Time

by Talon and Thorn

1st Doctor - The Grandfather

2nd Doctor - The Cosmic Hobo

3rd Doctor - The Gentleman

4th Doctor - The Bohemian

5th Doctor - The Good Sport

6th Doctor - The Multi-coloured Man

7th Doctor - The Chess Master

8th Doctor - The Bon Vivant

8.5th Doctor - The Soldier

9th Doctor - The Survivor

10th Doctor - The Darkness Within

11th Doctor - The Eternal Child