The Scrapyard

Once inside the TARDIS, The Doctor noticed that the two mares occasionally shifted between awkward glances at each other.

“I’m sorry…I wasn’t interrupting anything, was I?”

“No.” Twilight lied.

“Twi, won’t use her magic to bring back my mom or Applejack’s parents.” Rainbow Dash replied angrily, crossing her arms.

“Wait…you don’t mean…Necromancy, do you?” he asked, noting Twilight’s uneasy expression.

“Because I’ll tell you right now; don’t. And I’m not just saying ‘don’t’ because that’s what Celestia expects of me-I meant it-seriously, DON’T.”

“I don’t get what the big deal is…” Dash grumbled stubbornly. “If it’s something you guys know it’s something that’ll make us happy, then why can’t you just do it for us?”

“Well for starters; it’s Dark Magic.” The Doctor replied adamantly. “I’ve had many friends, companion, and family members die…and while it is sad and it hurts us, the harsh reality is that death is a necessary part of life.”

“What do you mean?” Dash asked, cocking her head to the side.

“Imagine a world where nothing ever died; within time it would become over-populated, there wouldn’t be enough food for everyone, so they would resort to cannibalism instead to satisfy their stomachs.” He explained.

“Horrific, debilitating disease that cause excruciating agony and destroy vital organs-people inflicted with them would be condemned to suffer for eternity-until a cure was found, if one ever even existed in the first place.”

“But, I don’t want to make the whole world immortal.” Dash argued. “I just want to bring back people that were murdered or died in accidents, people that lost their lives unfairly-I don’t want to bring my Mom back for me-I want to bring her back so she has a fair chance…and for Dad…”

“Rainbow…” Twilight sighed. “You’re intentions are very noble and I admire you’re selflessness, but there are far more variables to factor in than you realize; experiments with any sort of magic is dangerous, but the dark arts are a whole new level-even the slightest error in measurement, mis-incantation, or slip of concentration could lead to disastrous results.”

“Whose side are you on, anyway?” Dash snapped at her.

“The side of reason.” The Doctor stated plainly. “Even if the spell went off without a hitch, how would we be certain that the one we’ve casted the spell on would have the desired effect? They could be brought back as shambling corpses that are forced to decay as their mind’s live on, they could have some form of mental illness due to the rotting of their brain, they may not even want to be brought back.”

Rainbow Dash grumbled something unintelligible as the two scientific ponies shared a collective sigh.

“Well, speaking of corpses-I found this earlier lying on a hill around the outskirts of Ponyville.”

He held up what Twilight thought upon first glance to be some sort of metallic tortoise shell, but on closer inspection appeared to be armor of some sort.

“What is it?” she asked, letting her scientific curiosity take over.

“Exactly what it looks like; a piece of armor from a race known as the ‘Cybermen’, this appears to have come from the torso, but as you can probably tell, the back is the majority of what remains.” He replied, putting on his tortoise shell framed glasses while rotating the piece of armor to give her a better view.

“Doctor, what’s a ‘Cyberman’?”

“In my universe there is a race known as ‘Homo-Sapiens’ or ‘Humans’,  they would undergo a ‘Conversion Process’ which the Cybermen would refer to as; ‘Upgrading’ to become better versions of themselves to be stronger and more logical by removing their brains and placing them in a metallic body instead, though the conditioning required the loss of emotions.” He explained.

“Better not let Lyra hear you say that.” Dash deadpanned.

“All of that power and knowledge…for the price of their souls…” Twilight muttered to herself, sadly.

“But, Doctor-why no emotions?”

“They believe that it clouds one’s judgment, that it is a structural design flaw that makes organic beings inferior, but above all-it hurts.”

He narrowed his gaze at her.

“Can you imagine would it would be like to have your brain removed from your body, and see nothing but a broken, empty shell of a corpse? To look in the mirror and see yourself only to realize that you were nothing more than a mechanical monstrosity? That you could never, ever go back to what you were before?”

Twilight didn’t even realize that tears were pouring out of her eyes.

“That sounds like…like…” she choked.

“…A fate worse than death.” Dash finished grimly.

She nodded.

“I’m afraid that’s not all of it; they’ll try to convert anyone or anything they can get can get their hands on-men, women, children, infants, the handicapped, the sick, the elderly-they believe that they’re doing them a favor.”

“Wait.” Dash uncrossed her arms, glaring at The Doctor.

“You mean these freaks do this stuff to kids?” she asked, appalled.

“No emotion means that they have no true system of morality, they have no sympathy, no compassion, they just have one single-minded purpose to expand across the entire universe and convert as many creatures as they possibly can.”

“That is beyond messed up.” She growled in disgust.

“Which, is exactly why we need to stop them.” The Doctor replied. “Unfortunately depending on what kind of Cyber Unit this is from-they may have nightmarish levels of adaptability.”

“Huh?”

“He means they could convert us and create a new race; Cyber Ponies.” Twilight exclaimed, grimly.

“Yes, and if we used magic or technology to bring the dead back to life-how would we be any different from them?” The Doctor added.

“I…guess you guys have a point.” Dash sighed.

“I’m glad you finally understand.” Twilight replied with a strong sense of relief washing over her.

The Doctor looked at the screen to see a large grassy hill before pointing at it.

“Right there is where the signal is coming, that’s where the Cybermen are being made.”

“But Doctor, that’s just a hill.” Twilight pointed out, confused.

“No, it just looks like a hill to the outside world.” He replied.

Twilight looked harder at the image, scrunching up her face in concentration trying to see whatever it was that The Doctor saw, but gave up after a few moments.

“Doctor, if these things are as dangerous as you say they are-then I hardly think this is an appropriate time for jokes.”

“It’s not a joke…I’ll show you.” He then pushed the door of the TARDIS open before stepping outside with Rainbow Dash and Twilight following close behind.

“It still just looks like a hill to me.” Twilight replied, squinting to examine the terrain.

Dash cocked her head to the side.

“Yeah, you’re sounding crazier than Pinkie Pie…”

“Alright then, Dash.” The Doctor replied confidently. “If you’re so certain that I’m wrong then why don’t you try walking through it?”

“Um, what?”

“Unless of course you’re afraid it will be too dangerous for you.” He added with a mischievous grin.

“I’m not afraid of anything!” Dash retorted adamantly, before giving a few experimental flaps with her wings and flying towards the hill.