Ghost of the Crystal Empire

by Ianpiersonjdavis

Rating: teen
Tags: Dark, Romance, Adventure
Length: 9942

The Doctor returns Shining Armor to the Crystal Empire, where its inhabitants seem once more to be gripped with fear and anxiety.

The Doctor returns Shining Armor to the Crystal Empire, where its inhabitants seem once more to be gripped with fear and anxiety.

Meanwhile, Shining Armor must come to terms with his mistake and whether or not his wife will forgive him for it.

Takes place after “The Pegasus Paradox”

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-06-23 01:47:14 UTC

Cold and Dark

They were definitely underground, but their surroundings suggest that they didn’t reach their desired destination.

Instead of a throne, endless staircase, or some kind of door to show one their worst fears they were in some type of underground cavern that looked as if it were made of ice.

Unlike most typical caves however, there seemed to various multi-colored, jagged crystal shard stalagmites and stalactites sticking in every direction from the cave ceiling, walls, and floor.

“I don’t think this is Sombra’s castle…” spoke Shining Armor, his breath visible with every word.

“No,” agreed The Doctor. “Something like him could never create something as vast and mesmerizingly beautiful as this place.”

Cadance shivered.

“It’s freezing down here…” she commented.

Shining Armor moved to her side pulled her close to him in an attempt to keep them warm.

“Yeah, the Empire may be surrounded by a frozen wasteland-but, it always feels like summer-no matter what time of year it is.”

“That’s because we’re not in the Crystal Empire.” The Doctor replied, pulling out his Sonic Screwdriver and scanning the crystals with it.

“What?”

“We’re underneath it.”

“Underneath what?” pressed Shining Armor.

“The Crystal Empire and Sombra’s old castle,” The Doctor replied.

“Cadance overshot the target with her spell.”

“Sorry…” she breathed weakly.

“Cadance, what’s wrong?” asked a very concerned Shining Armor.

For the past few days she’d managed to cope with ruling the Empire and keeping up her traditionally royal appearance, but the consistent lack of a decent night’s sleep coupled with the anxiety the gnawed at the back of her mind was finally taking a toll on her.

“I feel…cold…so cold…so very cold…” every word seemed to take a tremendous amount of effort.

“What’s wrong with your eyes?” The Doctor cut in, turning around.

They were cloudy and surrounded by dark circles.

“I…I don’t know…everything’s so dark…”

Ever since they had arrived, the crystals were giving off an almost ethereal glow and while by no means were they bright; one could navigate through the large cavern without much difficulty.

“Doctor…DOCTOR! I CAN’T SEE!” she shouted frantically, “I’M COMPLETELY BLIND!”

Shining Armor conveyed a worried look to him.

“Cadance, hold still.” He instructed before she heard the whirring of a Sonic Screwdriver as her sight slowly returned to the point where it seemed she was looking through a blurry filter.

“I’m sorry, but that’s the best I can do for now.”

“Doctor, what’s wrong with her?”

The Doctor put a hoof on his shoulder and took him aside.

“Your wife, is seen as the ‘Crystal Princess’-or the protector and guardian of this Empire-without her, there is no one to keep the power of the Crystal Heart sustained.”

“But, what does that have to do with-”

The Doctor lowered his voice so Cadance couldn’t hear.

“Her optic nerves are deteriorating, which is why her sight keeps fading. The reason she feels so cold is because her internal body temperature keeps lowering.”

“How?”

“Well, it’s purely speculation at this point-but, I believe that Sombra is trying to kill her by slowly shutting down parts of her body-once she dies the Crystal Ponies will start to panic and fear will envelope the Empire once more.”

“But, Sombra’s dead!” Shining replied in a harsh whisper, “We saw it happen!”

“Maybe,” The Doctor conceded. “But, that doesn’t change the fact that he’s behind everything strange that’s been going on in the Empire, lately.”

“So you’re saying he’s some kind of ghost?”

“No, of course not, I don’t believe in ghosts…”

“Doctor, even if what you’re saying is true and Sombra did somehow survive and is doing all of this…why didn’t he just kill Cadance?”

“Because he’s sadistic, he thrives on pain and fear-back when he ruled everything was cold and dark, that’s why Cadance is losing her sight and that’s why she’s chilled to the bone-he wants revenge on the one who took his kingdom.”

“But, I thought you fixed her sight.”

“No, I could only slow it down.” He explained. “His magic seems to be fading, but it’s still too powerful for the Sonic to completely push back.”

“What about the Crystal Heart?” Shining pressed. “I thought the Empire was protected as long as it was in place!”

He shook his head.

“No, it needs a representative of love and protection inhabiting the throne to channel its power-that’s the reason why Celestia sent you and your wife over here-without her it’s just a stone…a decoration.”

“But, we can stop him…right, Doctor?” Shining Armor asked hopefully.

“I can,” he looked over at Cadance, who was pressed up against the wall for support feeling her way around with her eyes half-open. “But, you need to take care of your wife, try to help her stay warm and keep talking to her…even if she can’t see you let her know you’re still there with her.”

“Alright,” he reluctantly sighed. “I’m not too happy about having you solve our problems for us so, we’re not leaving you either, Doctor…these are our people now and it’s our job to protect them.”

The Doctor’s eyes darted between the two before smirking.

“Fair enough.”

He once again turned so that he was facing forward as Shining Armor rushed to his wife’s side.

“Hey, let me help you.” He spoke softly as he draped her arm over his shoulder for support.

“How are you doing?” he asked, with a heavy note of concern in his voice she recognized that he only used when he was extremely worried about her.

“I feel like I’m dying…” she turned to look at her husband’s face, which was now a blue and white blur and gave him a weak smile.

“But, I’m feeling a little better now that we’re here.”

“We’ve wasted enough time here,” announced The Doctor. “We should be on our way-we won’t be able to solve this problem until we get to the source.”

And with that, the trio headed down the large tunnel ahead.

Echoes of the Past

It took less than a minute for them to reach the end of the tunnel, leading to a small chamber with a crystal pedestal standing in the center of the room and a mirror opposite to them which seemed to be made out of ice.

“Shining…what’s going on?” Cadance spoke with worry in her voice.

“We’re, uh…in a room with a mirror across from us and what looks like some kind of pedestal in the center…it’s beautiful.”

“I’m going to examine that pedestal a bit more closely, you two stay right where you are-this place may appear safe-but, it could all be just a trap to lure escaped slaves into a false sense of security back when he ruled the empire.” The Doctor spoke before giving Shining Armor a look.

He took a deep breath; The Doctor was giving them a moment to discuss what they’d talked about in the TARDIS earlier.

As The Doctor approached the pedestal when a large black unicorn face came into view from the mirror with a curved red horn, an even darker mane that seemed to belong to a lion rather than an equine, as well as those familiar red and green eyes that seemed to emit a purple mist.

Both stallions on the other side of the mirror flinched the moment they saw activity in the mirror.

“Shining…what’s wrong?” asked Cadance, feeling her husband’s sudden movement.

However, a low growl seemed to answer for him.

“Sombra.” The Doctor spat with disgust.

“The ‘protectors’ of the Crystal Ponies,” he snorted. “What a pathetic excuse for a royal-a couple of teenagers-one niece to the mule who imprisoned me, and the other sibling to her student; the one responsible for my death.”

The tyrant then returned to the stallion before him.

“You were foolish to bring them here.”

There was a sound reminiscent of ice cracking when The Doctor turned around to see the large, jagged green crystal fell from the ceiling directly above Cadance.

“NO!”

The Doctor reached towards her as he began running, but the force gravity would have been too fast for him to reach her in time.

It seconds from impaling her as The Doctor squeezed his eyes shut, having the all too familiar sensation of guilt building up inside him.

Sombra was right; it was stupid of him to let them go along with him and put their lives in danger.

He should have been more assertive.

‘Stupid! Stupid! Doctor!’ he mentally berated himself before hearing what sounded like glass shatter.

Daring to open his eyes for even the briefest of moments, he could barely believe what he saw.

There was some type of large, purple, magical shield above the royal couple protecting them from the falling object as crystal shards rained down as the two collided.

Beneath it, he noted that Shining Armor had cast the spell and seemed to be having trouble sustaining it against something so large and heavy.

He reached for his Sonic Screwriver, but by the time he’d gotten to it, the emergency seemed to be over as Shining let down his shield, looking a bit tired and Cadance who seemed to be slightly shaken, but otherwise alright.

“How is it possible for him to still alive?” asked Cadance.

“He isn’t alive,” The Doctor replied. “Not technically.”

“What do you mean?” pressed Shining Armor. “He’s some kind of ghost?”

“I told you already, I don’t believe in ghosts…this is just a memory, an echo of his consciousness…he must have tried to cling desperately to life in order to form it from his knowledge of forbidden magic.” He explained.

“But, he’s fading…getting weaker.” He turned back to face Sombra. “That’s why he needs to spread fear and anxiety throughout the empire…he needs those negative emotions to recharge his magic, until he either has enough power to reconstruct a body on his own…”

His head snapped back towards Cadance.

“Or he can take the body of another…” he finished, as they stood mouths agape, horrified at The Doctor’s conclusion.”

“But, why Cadance?” Shining demanded, glaring at Sombra. “ANSWER ME!”

“Isn’t it obvious?” The Doctor asked rhetorically. “It’s all for revenge against those who he believed wronged him, Cadance…the Crystal Princess herself will be used to destroy the very empire she’s worked so hard to protect; you, Twilight, and Celestia each have a special connection to her…if push came to shove do you really think any of you could find it within yourselves to destroy her?”

Once again, Cadance and Shining Armor could only stand there, completely stunned.

“That’s why she’s the perfect weapon.” Sombra added smugly.

“Shining Armor, Cadance, I want you two to summon whatever magical energy you have left and transport yourselves back to the castle-it’s too dangerous for either of you to stay here any longer.”

“But-” Shining began to protest.

“If he gains control of her body, then he wins and Equestria is forever plunged into darkess, and then there’s nothing I can do about it…NOW DO AS I SAY!”

Shining Armor shot one last dirty look at the evil king with his heart seething with hatred for him before reluctantly obeying The Doctor’s orders while holding his wife closely.

And in a flash they were gone.

Release

The Doctor turned back around to face Sombra, who at first seemed enraged before lightly chuckling.

“What’s so funny?”

“It’s a moot point anyway-I may have failed to kill her with the stunt I pulled-but, have you forgotten the curse I placed upon her when she first entered the cavern?”

The Doctor grimaced.

“Sooner or later her body will give out and it will be mine for the taking and once the other three fall, there will be nothing to stand in my way!” he exclaimed.

“I didn’t want to say anything while Cadance was still here but, living in a young woman’s body?” The Doctor asked, not bothering to hide his disgust.

“Of course, it will take some time to adjust being a mare…but, having my subjects back under my control again and the immense power of an Alicorn will all be worth it.”

“Besides,” he shrugged. “Once Celestia, her pet, and the ‘knight in shining armor’ fall, I will no longer require her form and begin reconstructing myself as a god.”

The Doctor examined the pedestal which possessed odd imprint that resembled circuitry on the type of devices he was used to dealing with.

“So, that’s your master plan?” he asked skeptically. “Wait until your prey succumbs to your curse and move in for the kill?”

He looked at the sides to see more or less of the same designs.

“You misunderstand, I have no intention of letting her ‘die’ once her body ceases to function and I claim my prize, I will keep hold of her consciousness as she is forced to witness the ones she loves and failed to protect suffer and die.” Sombra explained.

“Why put the pedestal in here?” The Doctor muttered. “There has to be a reason…”

“First, her beloved husband.”

“Uh-huh,”

“And then that annoying teachers pet; Twilight Sparkle, she will pay severely for what she’s done.”

“Oh,” The Doctor uttered, standing back and seeing the vague outline of a heart.

“Finally, Celestia will have no choice to step in…and won’t she be surprised to see her pawns her pawns beaten and tortured in every possible way I can conceive? Always suffering, never dying...I won’t allow them to die.”

“I am so clever.” He whispered, pulling out his Sonic Screwdriver.

“Emotions such as love have no place for those with power; it is nothing more than a weakness to be exploited.”

There was the whirring of the Screwdriver as the console lit up a similar shade of blue to the node at the end of the device.

“What…what are you doing?” Sombra demanded. “What’s going on?”

“Oh, well I realized that this pedestal was almost complete save for one component; a source to power it-your slaves were rebelling against you even before Celestia and Luna showed up-they just lacked a unicorn with the power and knowledge to control it.” He explained.

“And you think that you can?” chuckled Sombra. “You, a lowly Earth Pony?”

“Well…not at first, but then I realized it was just a simple matter of reversing the polarity of the neutron flow and…Allons-y!”

The glow being emitted from a console became brighter and more intense as they were transported to a landscape covered in snow.

Sombra was no longer within a frozen mirror, but hovering in the smoke-like form he was when the Crystal Empire had first reappeared.

Confession

In the Royal Bedroom or Shining and Cadance’s agreed bedroom out of the one hundred and thirty available within the castle, while he could understand having two or three for guests; Shining Armor couldn’t fathom anyone possibly needing over one hundred bedrooms in one’s own home.

Once they arrived, Cadance laid back on the bed as he sat on the edge.

Now was the time to tell her, if he didn’t and he lost her to Sombra’s curse he’d regret it for the rest of his life.

“Cadance?” he spoke softly.

Her eyes moved to the direction of his voice.

“Yes?”

Her voice was so calm and relaxed; she looked so beautiful and peaceful in spite of her current condition, which made this even harder for him.

“I…” he swallowed, feeling his throat getting dry. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”

She gave him a questioning look.

“Before our wedding in Canterlot…when I thought the Changeling Queen was you, a lot of it is still kind of blurry but, I-we almost…before Twilight came in and stopped us…” he admitted shamefully.

He looked over at his wife, whose expression was not one of anger, but that of pity.

“Honey, were you beating yourself up over that all this time?” she asked in a sympathetic tone.

He nodded.

“Yeah…I should have known better-she didn’t act like you at all-but, I was stupid enough to fall for her tricks.” He replied, solemnly.

“But she also had you under a spell.” She pointed out.

“That’s even worse!” he exclaimed. “I was supposed to be a big brother, Captain of the Royal Guard, and your fiancée! If I couldn’t protect myself from something like that…”

He lowered his head.

“How can I protect the people I care about…the people that I love?”

Cadance put a hoof on his shoulder.

“You’re a great brother and a wonderful husband…I know you’ll always do everything in your power to protect us, I can’t ask any more of you than that.”

She gave him a warm smile as he smiled back at her.

“Are…are you smiling? I still can’t see anything…”

They both shared a laugh.

“Yeah, I’m smiling…” he replied, once they had both calmed down.

“So, it sounds like Twilight saved you without even realizing it…” she commented.

“Heh, I guess it really is a good thing that she’s so overprotective of me that’s like what-three times now she’s saved me?”

“Your forgetting the Equestria Games Inspector.” She reminded him.

“Oh yeah, I guess that makes it four times now-I really shouldn’t have made a habit of this, the big brother supposed to look out for his little sister-not the other way around.” He chuckled.

“How is Twilight? With everything that’s been going on I haven’t had time to ask you about her.”

“Well, it turns out she has a special somepony in her life now.”

“Oh? Is it someone we know?”

“I guess you could say that…it’s Rainbow Dash.”

“Well, you do know what they say about opposites.” She laughed.

“So…you don’t have a problem with it?” he asked with a mixture of relief and hesitation.

“Of course not, why would I?” she asked, giving him a puzzled look.

“Well…don’t take this the wrong way, but…some ponies in royalty are pretty old fashioned and have a problem with same gender couples…”

“You’re referring to Blueblood?”

He nodded before remembering that his wife couldn’t see his body movements and added a “Yeah.”

She scoffed.

“Blueblood’s an idiot, always has been. So…are you been bothered by it?”

“No, just surprised I mean-I don’t think I’ve ever even seen her interested in anything to do with romance…well, aside from our wedding and her interest in how Hearts and Hooves Day got started-and I guess I just never realized she and Rainbow Dash were so close…what do you think?”

“Well, first of all I told her that if she was interested in the holiday she could have just asked me, since it was my royal duty to learn everything about the subject since I was a filly and I think that as long as they are both happy and not hurting anyone…I don’t see a problem with it.”

“I guess I’m just feeling guilty,” he sighed. “as kids we were inseparable before I began training to be a guard, but after seeing her again and hearing all this…it really opened my eyes to how out of touch we’ve been with each other, lately…”

“Hmm…” Cadance hummed thoughtfully, “We are pretty much on the other side of Equestria, but we could still send letters and maybe one of these day when the empire is relatively calm we can head out to Ponyville for a surprise visit.”

“I think she’d like that…but, this Doctor have you ever met him before?” he asked.

“Not formally, no. But, I do know that he is a very old and very trusted friend of Aunt Celestia’s…so I trust him, too.”

“It just doesn’t seem right to let him take care of our problems for us while we sit around here waiting for everything to clear up…”

Cadance put a hoof over his.

“You’re not just ‘sitting here and doing nothing’ you’re looking after me and I’d rather have you safe in here than out there with that monster Sombra, remember what he did to your horn the last time?”

“Yeah…how could I forget?”

“Well, whatever is going on-I’m sure the Doctor has things under control-he’s been doing this for a long time.”

“I hope so.”

Hate

Sombra let a deep, booming laugh once he observed his surroundings.

“Thanks to your foolishness I am once again free!” he gleefully exclaimed.

“Only your consciousness,” The Doctor reminded him. “And it’s still deteriorating.”

“That no longer matters!” he replied, brushing off The Doctor’s observation. “I am no longer confined in that accursed crystalline prison! No longer shall I need to wait for my curse to finish its work for me-I can take Cadance’s body by force now!”

“Aren’t you still forgetting something?”

“And what pray tell, would that be?” asked Sombra with a confident smirk.

“The Crystal Heart,”

“So?”

“It’s still in the center of town, the only reason it didn’t affect your consciousness is because it was already within the empire and concealed within that prison, but now that you outside of it, the Heart has detected your presence and it won’t let you back in.”

The Doctor let this sink in as the tail end of his coat billowed in the icy wind and the first flakes of snow began to fall outside the warm, summery empire.

Sombra’s confident demeanor fell as his smirk slowly turned into an ugly scowl.

“You lie.” He accused angrily.

The Doctor stepped out of the way and gestured to the empire.

“See for yourself.”

In a sudden burst of speed, Sombra’s shadowy spectral form charged forward, until his curved red horn collided with a light blue barrier which had been invisible up to that point.

Green and violet magical energy was being emitted from it as black smoke trailed behind him; the barrier also emitted its own magical energy in the form of electrical charges, which nullified Sombra’s.

“Gyyyraaahh!” he pushed even harder as the dark violet mists streaming from his eyes became even more profound, as if they were tears of desperation, but even with all of his might combined with his remaining, dwindling magical power was of no avail.

“Are you quite finished?” asked The Doctor.

“My empire….my slaves…” he breathed, feeling what remained of his life force draining even quicker than before.

“They’re not slaves, Sombra.”

His icy glare returned to The Doctor.

“They are people; living, breathing, thinking, feeling people-a king, a good king protects his people, makes them feel safe and loved-you did the opposite of that.” He explained.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“I’m trying to help you, despite the fact that you’re too stubborn and stupid to listen. I’m trying to explain to you why you you’ve lost both times in the past, why you are losing now and why you will always lose.”

“I have power! Enough to make them fear for their lives and their loved ones-enough even to force them if need be.”

The Doctor merely shook his head in exasperation.

“You’re just not getting it…” he sighed. “That alone means nothing!”

“You’ve had power before and you used to spread hatred and fear throughout your empire during your reign, making their lives a living hell, dedicating your every waking moment to making others suffer for your own amusement and did you ever once consider showing a single shred of mercy or decency?” he asked.

“Those are inconsequential,” he snarled. “I own them, I can do whatever I want and they will still submit to my every whim.”

“Besides,” a malicious grin spread across his face. “Just because I can’t get inside doesn’t mean their beloved princess can’t either…she has to leave some time.”

“Perhaps,” agreed The Doctor. “But, if she succumbs to your curse before then?”

“There’s still her husband.”

“Well, I suppose that’s true…but, everything you are; your magic, your strength, your hatred, is coming apart at the seams; the very core of your being is unraveling and what will you be left with? Consciousness…no interactions with others, no voice, no strength, no magic…you will just exist without a body or even an astral form like the one your using right now.”

He narrowed his gaze.

“Do you really think someone as devoted and loving as Shining Armor would be willing to leave their wife in the state she’s in now, before that happens?”

Sombra merely hovered in place, glaring daggers at The Doctor.

“Well, I suppose he might if she thought she were close to dying and had some sort last request that would require him to leave the empire and you could possess him then, but that really wouldn’t matter.”

“What? Why not? I could still use his body to get into the empire! What could possibly be stopping me then?” he demanded.

“You could get back inside the empire, sure-but, you’d be unable to remove the Crystal Heart from its pedestal, let alone destroy it…not to mention you’d still be deteriorating without a proper body.” He explained.

“What did you do!?” he growled, beginning to lose his patience.

“Well, I realized that if you had taken control of Cadance’s body and had control of an Alicorn’s vast magical prowess, you may have had a chance to keep yourself alive and rebuild your physical form, but not as a unicorn-which is why once I’ve looked over the console back in the cave, I recognized the designs were similar to that of a teleport device, taking advantage of it, I removed us both from the empire to keep her safe.”

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE CRYSTAL HEART!?” Sombra roared angrily.

“Oh, that.” replied The Doctor in a tone that made it seem like trivial, minor detail in his grand scheme.

“Yes…” Sombra confirmed through gritted teeth. “…’that’.”

“Well, since you decided to possess the bodies of others, I came to the realization that even if you did find a stable host body, I couldn’t let you affect the Heart in any way, so through a bit of Sonic engineering I was able to lock it down to its pedestal with Isomorphic controls.” He replied.

“Meaning?”

“Meaning that the console, the pedestal, and the Crystal Heart cannot be manipulated in any way…unless I want them to.”

“You want the power for yourself?” he challenged.

“Oh, not at all…I just want to keep away from people like you-who want to destroy and misuse its properties for your own benefit-other than that I really couldn’t care less about it.”

The malice filled grin Sombra wore earlier was slowly beginning to return.

“Which means, all I really need…is you.”

His eyes returned to The Doctor as he licked his lips in anticipation of the success of his plan.

“Die, Doctor!”

He charged forward once more as The Doctor stood there idly.

As he moved Sombra felt something strange at the back of his being, like he was being erased.

‘What!? No!” he mentally exclaimed before pushing himself to move faster towards the stallion standing across from him in the snow bank.

He had to keep going, he was almost there…

There was a searing pain running down the center of his face, as if he were being split into.

The Doctor stood there stoically watching as a single white crack trailed down the center of Sombra’s being, emitting a white glow.

“No! No! NOOOO!” Sombra screamed in a mixture of disbelief and agony as his being was pulled apart.

But, maybe he could still make it….

Fighting through the pain, he put everything he had into reaching The Doctor.

‘Yes! Yes! Yes!’ he once again exclaimed mentally, as his mouth not longer functioned properly, save for a few grunt and screams.

They were practically nose to nose, a single hair away…

‘Noooo…’ was all he could think of in despair as he was ripped into with the white glow shining even brighter.

Both halves blew past The Doctor, causing the tail of his coat to once again flutter as the two halves collided with the snow bank, creating to parallel tracks in the snow as both dissipating halves of what remained of King Sombra left behind trails of smoke.

The Doctor turned around to look at them.

“Is that it?”

Fear

The Doctor returned to see Cadance sitting up in bed with Shining Armor kneeling down next to her holding her hooves.

“How are you feeling, Cadance?” asked The Doctor as he entered.

“I…I can see again!” she exclaimed, happily.

“But, how did the curse break?” pressed Shining Armor.

“Sombra spent more time trying to kill and hinder us to focus his magical energy where he really needed it.” The Doctor explained.

“Which is?”

“His life-force, he was using his dark magic as a substitute for it and being as vindictive as Sombra is he used far too much of it to seek vengeance instead of listening to his survival instinct.”

“You’re talking about him as if he were still alive.” Cadance noted.

“Well he is…sort of, you see; imagine a goldfish in a plastic bag filled with water.”

“Uh…okay?” mumbled Shining Armor.

“Back in the cave Sombra was that goldfish.” He elaborated. “Now, imagine that someone has taken a pencil and has stabbed several holes in it, water leaks out and the fish is having trouble breathing-that’s what Sombra did when he followed me outside-the crystal mirror he was stuck in had been preserving him, keeping his magical power at a steady level and since he no longer has a proper physical body or horn to channel it, that magical energy began leaking out the second he stepped out…or teleported…whatever.”

“So if he’s still alive, then couldn’t he attack again?”

“No, his magic-if he still has any left-is probably down to just a single spark, and without a host body he is nothing but, floating, wandering, consciousness with no real means to use it in his current state anyway.”

“So what you’re saying is…if Sombra was the fish, then he was more focused on trying to reach the one who punched the holes into the bag, instead of trying to breathe in as much as he could to prolong his life?” Cadance asked slowly.

“Exactly.”

“I still don’t understand how this broke the curse…” Shining Armor cut in.

“A curse that powerful and of that nature being used to possess the body of another would have required the user to tether their own life force to that individual, so that put some additional strain on his remaining life-force…or lack thereof.”

“So if Cadance had died back there in the cave…” Shining Armor began.

“Then so would he.” The Doctor finished.

“But, that’s insane! If he cast the spell, then he must have known to risks!” he exclaimed.

“Perhaps,” agreed The Doctor. “But, we know what anger does to us…all we see if red, we’re not thinking straight-if at all-we are so hell-bent on taking our retribution that we either don’t realize or don’t care about the negative repercussions, there’s a reason most crimes are committed on impulse.”

Cadance spoke up once more.

“Doctor, I’m afraid I still don’t fully understand; you said that Sombra wasn’t dead-but, he’s not technically alive either?”

“No, he’s in a sort of limbo state as I’ve said before-a wandering consciousness; not really died, but not alive either…he just sort of…exists as a sort of-well, ghost I suppose for lack of a better term.”

The royal couple exchanged glances.

“Does that mean…” Shining began.

“That I’m normal again?” Cadance finished.

The Doctor took out his Sonic Screwdriver and pressed a button on the side as the blue node at the end once again lit up accompanied by the same whirring sound as he waved it around Cadance’s body, scanning it before taking a step back and looking at the readings.

“It says here, you’re completely normal.”

“You…you’re sure?” she pressed.

“Well…if you don’t trust me, then I suppose you could ask Shining to give you a full physical once I leave.” He winked at the stallion and made a clicked his tongue causing the couple to blush at the comment.

His expression then turned serious.

“But there are still a few ways that he could regenerate his body or even create a new one-is there anything of magical or of a mysterious origin here or in Sombra’s old castle?”

“Well…Twily did mention something about a door in the castle…she said that it seemed to make you live your worst fears…”

“Show me.”

The trio stood together at the foot of an impossibly long, spiraling staircase that seemed to descend to the center of the Earth that only seemed to end once they had reached a door with a dark grey crystal above it.

“She also said it moved when she first tried opening it.” Shining explained.

The Doctor pulled out the Sonic once more and aimed it at the crystal as it began to emit the same magical aura that Sombra had used earlier when the door flung open to reveal nothing, but a dark chasm inside.

There was a low growl as a pair of familiar blood red eyes stared into The Doctor’s.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“I think you must be terrified of death…of falling into obscurity to do something as desperate as sending a part of yourself to become a part if the door of fears, or whatever you call this thing.”

“You do realize that stopping me this time was only a minor delay, don’t you?”

“Actually, I think you are the one who doesn’t understand Sombra-that Crystal Heart is locked in place, it will never, ever move again-the world may burst into flames, but that Heart is staying exactly where it is until the end of time.”

Sombra bared his fangs as he growled once more.

“You will pay for this, Doctor.”

“Yeah…so they say.”

The image began to dissipate into black smoke as the door and crystal above it began to dissolve.

The group stood there in awed silence for a few moments before Cadance finally spoke up.

“Doctor…what was that?”

“That,” he replied “Was the spark I was telling you about.”

Until We Meet Again...

In the center of the Crystal Empire, Princess Cadance and Shining Armor stood before The Doctor and his TARDIS on the insignia of the crystalline snowflake as the Crystal Ponies around them seemed be of a sunnier disposition in stark contrast to the depressed and frightened expressions they wore earlier.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for us and the empire.” Spoke Cadance.

“Yeah,” agreed Shining Armor. “I’m just not sure how we’re going to repay you…”

“Ah, that won’t be necessary.” The Doctor replied, waving a hoof dismissively.

“But, what if the empire ever comes under a similar attack and we need you again?” Shining added as an afterthought.

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much if I was you-I tend to show up wherever I’m needed.”

“Well, I certainly hope we don’t have to wait for the next crisis in order to see you again…it’s always good to see a good friend drop by.” Cadance replied, warmly.

Shining Armor saluted The Doctor.

“No, no, don’t do that-ah, well alright, I suppose…” he muttered before returning the salute.

“I really should be going, now though-there’s this temporal storm of chaos thing-well, more like several things happening throughout time and space really and I should be getting to the bottom of it.”

“Should we be worried about it?” asked a concerned Cadance.

“No, well yes, well-probably, but don’t-soon enough I should have it all under control-I hope.” He added under his breath.

And with that he walked back into his TARDIS as the two watched in amazement as it de-materialized.

Cadance then turned to her husband after seeing The Doctor off.

“Well, that was certainly interesting…now, I can see why you wanted to rest before coming back-traveling with The Doctor must be very exhausting…” she nuzzled his neck as the walked side by side back towards the castle.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Even back when I was a guard I’d get exhausted just standing around all day, without even seeing a second of combat…we must be getting old.”

“Shiny, we’re in our twenties.” She pointed out. “We are old.”

“Yeah,” he repeated. “Imagine being over a hundred or even a thousand and still doing that kind of stuff…I wonder how they do it?”

“Who?”

“The Doctor and Celestia.”

“Well,” Cadance put a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. “It certainly can’t be easy for them and I’m sure with all of the pain and loses they’ve suffered from…they’ve become very empathetic and can’t stand the thought of leaving behind someone in need of help…kind of like you.” She added, nuzzling him again for emphasis as they reached the castle’s front entrance.

On the outskirt of the empire stood a lone unicorn, with a dark grey coat, wearing a black shroud to protect him from the relentless onslaught of the coming night’s brutal, icy winds.

His vision had been obscured by the tightened hood, but once he believed that he had found what he was searching for, he pulled it back to reveal a shaggy black mane and a hot red horn jutting from his forehead that was forked in the tip as a small fracture ran down its center.

The dark violet eyes rested upon the object that they required; the horn of King Sombra.

With it, they could resurrect him and re-establish unicorns to their proper position of the Master Race of all ponykind, the recent ascension and coronation of the now ‘Princess Twilight Sparkle’ proved it…and yet, there were still non-believers.

Well, that wouldn’t matter for long…

Lord Sombra would set them straight once he returned to full power and once he had a new queen to rule by his side, none would dare to challenge unicorn supremacy.

Orange bolts of magical energy surged through his damaged horn as he squeezed one eye shut in a desperate attempt to focus before the horn levitated of the ground, surrounded by the orange glow.

Noting this, his look of frustration turned to one of glee as he manically exclaimed.

“For King Sombra!”

TO BE CONTINUED…

The Doctor will return in; “A Tale of Two Doctors”

A Good Tailor

“Welcome to the ‘Carousel Boutique’ where every garment is chic, unique, and-”

The beautiful unicorn was cut short as she noticed the handsome stallion that had entered her boutique.

She had a white coat with a mane and tail that were both a shade of deep violet and worn in a stylized curl with a Cutie Mark shaped like diamonds.

“Uh, hello?” he ventured, trying to break the awkward silence.

“Oh!” she exclaimed, jumping slightly as if she had just been snapped out of a daydream.

“H-hello,” she stammered nervously, secretly wondering if the stallion had caught her checking him out; “I’m dress shop and this is my Rarity-WAIT! I mean…oh, never mind…” she turned away, blushing furiously.

Rarity

That name rang a bell.

“Well, Dress Shop.” He spoke with an accent “That’s very convenient because I happen to be looking for a tailor who goes by that very name to pick up a few suits…and maybe a new coat.” He added, almost as an afterthought.

He had a brown coat with an even darker shade of brown for his mane with an hourglass Cutie Mark and bright blue eyes.

“I-I’m sorry,” she apologized, trying not to get lost in them. “What I meant to say was; I’m Rarity-the shop owner and resident aspiring fashionista of Ponyville.”

“OH!” he exclaimed, startling her. “You’re Rarity! Twilight Sparkle’s friend! The Element of Generosity!”

He narrowed his gaze.

“Are you alright? You seem a little anxious…”

‘He seems nice enough…’ she thought to herself.

‘So did Blueblood,” the more cynical part of her brain reminded her, but she ignored it.

“Yes, quite alright-I’m just a little flustered, since I don’t normally see customers this early.

“Ah,” he looked around at the marrequins she had lined up against the walls to show off her latest in-style dresses.

At first she thought he was admiring the stitch work, but the suspicious look on his face made it seem as though he believed they were hiding something and would spring to life at any minute.

Of course, that would be absolutely ridiculous-wouldn’t it?

“So what’s your name?” she asked, desperately trying to conceal the timidity in her voice.

“I don’t believe you gave it to me.”

‘Careful,’ her mind cautioned her; ‘Just because he’s handsome and seems nice doesn’t necessarily make him sane…who else looks at marrequins like that?’

“I’m The Doctor,” he replied.

Rarity waited for a response, but when she didn’t get one she furrowed her brow in confusion.

“Doctor Who?”

“Just ‘The Doctor’.” he replied cheerfully, while turning back around to face her.

‘He’s certainly mysterious…’ she thought to herself, ‘Maybe he’s some sort of musician and ‘The Doctor’ is his stage name?’

Like that mare in town that moonlit as a DJ, Vinyl Scratch-what did she call herself, again-DJ Pon-3?

‘Only her mane is a completely frazzled mess,’ she reminded herself, ‘his is very well groomed, too much so to be something like a disc jockey…a classical musician, perhaps?’

“Anyways, I’m afraid you’re going to have to take my measurements since I haven’t yet ascertained what they are in this form.” He continued.

‘Wait…’this form’?’

No, she couldn’t have heard that right…or maybe she did and he meant something else; like he used to be overweight but, now that he started exercising he lost a few pounds and now his old clothes are too big for him and now he needs a new suit?

She looked at his legs; the muscles seemed to be pretty built up like he did a lot of running.

He cocked his head to one side.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “You still seem a little distracted…”

“Oh, sorry…just lost in my thoughts,” she replied nervously. “Do you see those mirrors over there? That’s were I work on measurements for new customers.”

“Let’s head over there then, Allons-y!” he exclaimed, before flashing a toothy grin.

‘Sweet Celestia!’ She thought to herself, before leading him to the designated area. ‘Even his teeth are perfect!’

He stood on a podium before the trinity of mirrors as she magically levitated the strip of measuring tape she kept on hand for just such an occasion before putting on her work glasses.

“That accent of yours…I must ask; are you from Canterlot?” she inquired, as she began measuring his neck.

“No, and neither are you from what I can tell.” He replied.

“I beg your pardon?”

“That accent of yours is fake…it’s a good fake though, I like it.”

“But, how did you…?”

“Lucky guess,” he replied, “Well, that and I’m brilliant…”

What he said was true, but that she had developed for herself as an attempt to make herself more sophisticated and respected throughout the fashion industry.

Shakily, she resumed measuring at his forelegs.

“So, if you’re not from Canterlot, then pray tell; where did you come from?”

If this random stallion could have figured that out within minutes of meeting her, how many others knew?

“A galaxy far, far away.” He replied, nonchalantly.

“I’m sorry?”

“The planet Gallifrey, specifically…I think it’s in another universe, although there might be a version of it here, too…” he thought to himself aloud.

“What?”

“Of course, that’s if it hasn’t been destroyed or suffered a similar fate…beautiful, though.”

“What!?” she repeated.

“Oh, but don’t get me wrong-this world’s nice too-ideal place to raise a family if you ask me…how far are you on those measurements by the way?”

“I-I’m done.” She stammered.

“So does that mean you can start making them, now?” he asked.

“Y-yes,”

“Mind if I watch?”

“Yes, fine.” She replied. “Just please don’t hover over me while I’m working-I hate it when people do that.”

“That reminds me, I also need a new pair of glasses.” He added, following her to the sewing machine.

“Tortoise shell framed.”

“And what about the lenses?” she asked, as she began working on the first suit.

“Doesn’t matter, I only wear them to look clever.”

“What?”

“Oh, yeah…it’s sort of like the reason you probably use that accent of yours.”

The machine stopped and she turned around to face him.

“Why are you telling me all of this?”

He shrugged.

“Well, you seemed pretty shaken up when I realized the truth about your accent, and I can tell just by the look on your face that you’ve been second guessing yourself from the moment I’ve walked in…so, I’ve decided to share one of my secrets with you.”

“Yes, that’s all well and good but, you can’t honestly expect me to believe that you’re an alien from outer space…can you?”

“Ah, you think I’m mad…can’t say I blame you, though I don’t think you ponies even had a space program, so the belief in extraterrestrial life must quite a stretch-but, I’m telling you the truth…as for the part about being mad…quite possibly, living over nine-hundred years can do a real number on your sanity…especially when you travel alone.” He replied.

“Travel where?” she asked as she slowly resumed the task at hand.

“Through space of course-well, space and time.” He specified.

“Then I’m assuming you have some sort of spaceship?”

“A TARDIS actually, it’s like a nineteen-fifties telephone box-well, it’s more like a time machine-well, actually more like all three really.”

“A ‘TARDIS’?” she asked, skeptically while moving on to the next project.

‘Yes Rarity,’ she mentally berated herself, ‘reinforce his possibly violent delusions…that can only end well.’

“It’s an acronym;” he clarified. “‘Time And Relative Dimensions In Space.’”

“So where is this ‘TARDIS’?” she asked, finishing the final touches

“Right now it’s in front of Twilight Sparkle’s library.”

She froze at hearing those words.

‘Rarity relax,’ she instructed herself. ‘Twilight is very gifted at magic and an Alicorn, now-she’d be more than capable of defending herself from one crazy stallion.’

“In fact, after this I’m taking her brother back to the Crystal Empire.”

Her heart sped up.

‘What is wrong with you?’ she thought, ‘Shining Armor was Captain of Princess Celestia’s own personal royal guard and quite gifted at shielding spells-why do you keep worrying so much?’

“So is it finished?” his voice distantly asked.

“Huh?”

“My coat-is it finished?” he repeated.

“Oh…Oh! Of course it is, dear! Why don’t we go try it on?”

As they returned to the podium, The Doctor spoke once again.

“This is a little embarrassing, but…could you help me out?” he asked.

“I-I beg your pardon?”

“Well…I haven’t been in the form of an equine for that long and I’m not used to operating without hands…or fingers really…”

“You…want me to help you get dressed?” she asked, feeling her face heat up as a streak of red appeared across her muzzle.

“If it’s not too much trouble?” he replied, avoiding eye contact.

She sighed, before levitating the pieces of clothing with her unicorn magic.

“I could have sworn I saw you around before wearing a green necktie…” she commented, desperately trying to change the subject to anything, but the task at hand-while praying to Celestia that no other clients walked in on them in this rather, compromising and un-ladylike position, getting the wrong idea about her.

“I did,” he sighed. “It took me three hours to get the damned thing on…and even then, it was covered in saliva-I just don’t understand how you ponies do it.”

“We adapt,” Rarity replied, “Alicorns, like the princesses and Unicorns like myself have magical abilities that are harnessed through our horns…we probably have it the easiest.”

“And what about the other species?” he asked.

“Pegasi, have always had a reputation for being warriors and athletes, given their endurance for severe weather control and conditions…Rainbow Dash always says that impressive stamina is required to become a member of the Wonderbolts-even by Pegasus standards.” She explained.

“And what of the third group?” he pressed, “I forget what they’re called.”

“That would be Earth Ponies,” Rarity corrected. “They have neither wings to fly and manipulate weather, nor horns to use magic.”

She narrowed her gaze.

“That would be you, dear.”

“Sounds like we got the short end of the stick…” he muttered.

Rarity shrugged as she finished working on his tie.

“It’s said that Earth Ponies have above-average strength compared to Unicorns and a unique connection to the Earth, which is why most of them can grow crops so well and become farmers like my friend Applejack.” She replied.

“And the pink one?” he pressed as he straightened his suit.

“I can not explain Pinkie Pie.” She replied, levitating the coat over to him as he spread out his arms so it could slide onto him.

“So…what do you think?”

The Doctor looks at his reflection to see his old ensemble of a blue suit with a red necktie covered with a brown coat.

He looked at his reflection and smiled.

“Fantastic.”

“Perfect!” Rarity practically squealed as she suddenly realized that she’d been holding her breath the entire time she’d been waiting for her customer’s verdict.

“Now, that will be four hundred bits…will that be coin or credit?” she asked.

He nervously scratched the back of his neck with a hoof.

“Um, yeah…about that-I don’t have any money.”

Journey to the Crystal Empire

The Doctor returned to the Golden Oaks Library to pick up Shining Armor.

Luckily, Rarity’s legendary streak of generosity hadn’t been exaggerated as she had allowed him to take the suits for free as sort of an incentive to shop at the boutique at the future, but warned him that she’d have to charge him the next time (she still had a business to run, after all).

He knocked on the library door with one hoof while he held onto his brown suit with the other.

“Hello?”

A small purple baby dragon with green spikes answered the door while rubbing grit out of his eye-giving him the impression that he’d just woken up.

“Yes, um…is Shining Armor up?” he tried looking in over his shoulder “Or Twilight by any chance?”

“And…you are?” Spike asked groggily.

“Oh, that’s right-you were sleeping the last time I was here; I’m The Doctor.”

“Who?” hooted Owlicious.

“Just ‘The Doctor’,” he replied, before looking inside once more.

“Is that an owl?” he asked.

“Yeah, that’s Owlicious…he’s Twilight’s pet.”

“Does he deliver letters?” he asked, half-jokingly.

“No,” he yawned. “That’s my job-I’m Spike, her number one assistant.”

“Oh.”

“Shining Armor!” he called upstairs before releasing another colossal yawn. “There’s some kind of Doctor here to see you about something…” he muttered.

A familiar Unicorn stallion with a white coat and blue mane trotted down the stairs.

“Oh, hey Doc!” he called down. “I didn’t think you’d be here this early…I was just catching up with Twily during breakfast.”

“Well I thought we’d probably get going as soon as possible.” He replied. “And it’s ‘Doctor’.” He added under his breath.

“Well, I’ve already said goodbye to Twily, Rainbow Dash, and Scootaloo…”

“What about Spike?”

“Uh,” he glanced over at the basket Spike was curled up in where he had resumed his early morning nap.

“No, but I think he’d understand…” he followed The Doctor back the TARDIS.

“Hey Doc, can I ask you something?”

“It’s ‘Doctor’,” he repeated irritably. “And yes, what is it?”

Shining Armor looked around nervously before spotting a few ponies casually going about their business at the beginning of the day.

“Can we talk about it inside…in private?” he pressed.

“Sure,” The Doctor led him inside the TARDIS.

“Thanks, it’s just that…well, do you remember what Chrysalis said back in the caves?” he asked, “About me and her?”

“Actually, now that you mention it I do remember her mentioning something about the two of you having…intimate relations?”

“Yeah,” he sighed, hanging his head.

“Before the wedding, before we realized she was an imposter-I was really stressed out about not being able to help ‘Cadance’ out with the important wedding decisions, since I had to focus on control of the Royal Guard and maintaining the barrier to protect Canterlot from any outside attacks.”

“And?” prompted The Doctor.

“And we almost had a moment before I hesitated and she asked me what was wrong, I told her how guilty I felt leaving her with all of the tough decisions…that’s when she began going off on me for wearing my favorite uncle’s uniform and then…and then…Twily showed up, but Chrysalis scared her off before she could warn me-I think, it’s all still a little blurry to me from that weird mind-control spell she kept casting on me…”

“Well, it seems to me like your sister prevented you from making a great mistake-possibly a fatal one based on what I’ve heard of Changelings.” He replied.

“Yeah…but, I can’t stop thinking about what would have happened if she didn’t show up.”

“You mean how you almost died?” The Doctor pressed.

He shook his head.

“No, I can’t believe I was stupid enough to believe that she was the real Cadance…we’ve known each other at least since Twily was a filly…and I almost did…that.”

“You were under a lot of stress and at the time, you thought that so was she.” The Doctor reasoned.

“Besides, you said it yourself-you were under a spell that she cast.”

He narrowed his gaze.

“You haven’t told Cadance about this, have you?”

“No,” Shining Armor sighed. “Twily and Rainbow Dash asked me about it and since I figured I had no choice since they already knew about it…there was no point in hiding it from them.”

“And what did they think?”

“Twily was supportive, of course…and so was Rainbow Dash-they said I should tell Cadance how I feel, but if I can’t even forgive myself for being so stupid…then, how could she?”

“Alright,” The Doctor conceded. “But, why tell me?”

“Because…I needed an expert, outsider opinion on what I should do.” He admitted.

“Well, I’m certainly no expert when it comes to romance…but, I agree with your sister and Rainbow Dash-this is obviously tearing you up inside and has been for some time-do you really think Cadance wouldn’t understand or still care about you…even if you did…”

He cleared his throat.

“Ahem, you know.”

“You really think that would work?” he asked hopefully.

“There’s only one way to find out.”

He pulled a lever as the TARDIS came to life.

“Even if she doesn’t understand-which I highly doubt-I’ll help you explain it to her!” he shouted over the rumble of the TARDIS.

“Doc, I…I have no idea how to thank you!” Shining Armor shouted back joyfully.

“You can start by calling me by the right name! It’s DOCTOR!”

There was a resounding THUMP as the TARDIS materialized at its destination.

The door creaked open as the duo exited what appeared to the Crystal Ponies to be just a wooden blue box that somehow was able to bear the strain of having two full-grown stallions crammed inside it.

The ground before them held the insignia of a large crystalline snowflake with a pedestal protruding from its center holding what appeared to be some sort of magically charged Crystal Heart, which Shining Armor was relieved to see had still been held in place the whole time he was gone.

The Doctor craned his neck and spun around, completely mesmerized by the structures around them.

“The Crystal Empire!” he exclaimed, “And it’s actually made of crystal! Ha! That’s brilliant!”

“Doctor, with all due respect-you can sightsee later, right now I’d really like to talk to my wife.”

“Right and she is…”

“At the palace,” Shining Armor corrected. “Do you know which building that is?”

The Doctor looked up at the gleaming, pristine structures once again seeing them in different colors and formations.

“Kind of…sort of….no idea.” He sighed in defeat.

“It’s okay,” Shining laughed. “Cadance and I’d get lost all the time without escorts the first months we lived here. It’s beautiful, but still really confusing at times…it’s straight ahead, the largest structure in the empire.”

“Straight ahead?”

“That’s it.”

As they began down the path to castle, they noticed something strange-all of the Crystal Ponies eyes were either bloodshot or had bags under them as if they hadn’t slept in days, they also kept looking over their shoulders as if they expected someone to be watching or following them.

“Are the empire’s citizens always this…skittish?” inquired The Doctor.

“No, something must have happened while I was gone…I haven’t seen them like this since…”

All of a sudden he rushed ahead, breaking into a full gallop as The Doctor followed suit.

“What’s wrong?” he called up to him. “Why are we running?”

“The last time I saw the Crystal Ponies this scared was when Cadance and I first arrived here, their former leader-a tyrant-King Sombra reappeared with the empire and wanted to make them his slaves once again.” Shining Armor called back to him.

“But, I thought he died.”

“He should be,” Shining Armor growled. “With the combined power of Cadance and the Crystal Heart he was killed…well, maybe not so much ‘killed’ as ‘having his body erased’….something’s up.”

The Ghost is Here

“Cadance!” Shining Armor exclaimed, rushing over to his wife. “Something’s wrong!”

“I know,” she replied calmly. “The citizens can feel it…and so can I.”

“Do you have any idea what’s causing all this anxiety?” The Doctor cut in.

“It’s the same feeling I had when we first encountered Sombra, but that’s impossible…” she muttered to herself.

“Well, do you have any idea where your uneasiness is coming from…anywhere in the empire where you feel the most uncomfortable?” The Doctor pressed.

“Yes…we’re standing there.”

The Doctor looked around the central chamber before pulling out his Sonic Screwdriver, activating it as he scanned the walls and the ceiling before pointing it at the center of the floor which held the same crystalline insignia as the one outside.

He dropped down onto his stomach, knocking on the center of the design with a hoof before pressing his ear against it.

“Sometimes late at night…can you hear things?”

“You mean like voices?” asked Shining Armor.

“Yes, well…not really voices, but more like whispers…” she replied, nervously.

“I thought I was just imagining things because of how tired I am, but…”

“Could you make any them out?”

She shook her head.

“No, I couldn’t make sense of any of them…just that they sounded sinister and full of hate.”

“That definitely sounds like Sombra…” muttered Shining Armor.

“I think you two are right.”

“But Doctor, how is that possible!?”

“I don’t know, yet.” He admitted. “But, I’m working on a theory.”

He turned to face Cadance.

“Is there something below this floor? A sewer tunnel, an old mine shaft, anything at all?”

The royal couple exchanged glances before she replied.

“Why, yes-this whole structure was built on top of Sombra’s old castle…I think it was because the Crystal Ponies wanted to erase any memories of him…any evidence that he ever existed.”

The Doctor nodded in understanding.

“Well, we should probably head back to the TARDIS if we want to get down there without destroying your floor.”

He put his ear back down to the floor and listened.

“Cryssstal.”

“Vengeaaance.”

“My Slaaavesss.”

They all seemed to speak at the same time, almost as if they were separate entities, despite the fact they possessed the same voice.

“Doctor, I’ve not had a good night’s sleep in a while…but, I think I have just enough power to teleport us down there and back f things get too dangerous.”

“Are you sure?” he asked.

She nodded before casting the spell.