My Little Background Pony: New Neighbors

Chapters

How is She?
Dinner Conversations
Answers at the Library
Identity Crisis
The Monster's Lair
Unhealthy Diet
This is Real Magic
The Next Day

How is She?

My Little Background Pony
New Neighbors

Derpy Hooves hummed happily to herself as she glided towards the shop known as Clockworks, the workplace and home of Ponyville’s newest resident. It had been more than a couple weeks since the Summer Sun Celebration, when Time Turner first appeared. That had been an eventful day, for more reasons than just the obvious.

This wasn’t a social call, however. Derpy was doing her mailing rounds. Still, she always found it easier to deliver her charges in person when it came to businesses. Besides, Turner was a friend and both ponies always appreciated a chance to just talk.

Derpy landed in front of the door to the shop and knocked. “Come in!” she heard. She opened the door expecting to find Turner behind the main desk. But all she found were clocks and other various timepieces, some hanging on the walls, others sitting on shelves, and a few more valuable items in glass cases; no sign of the pony who ran the place, however.

“Turner?” Derpy called out.

“Downstairs!” Turner’s voice replied. Derpy had to remind herself that Turner had put up a small speaker in the lobby that allowed him to be heard from anywhere else in the shop. She had been through this so many times that she wasn’t sure why it still surprised her. She shrugged it off and went to the door leading to the basement.

Upon opening the door, Derpy heard a combination of whirring, banging, and burning. She walked down the steps and toward her destination: a large, blue box with the words “Police Public Call Box” printed along the top.

Most ponies were unaware of this, but Time Turner was not a normal pony by any stretch of the imagination. To all of Ponyville, and possibly even the rest of Equestria, he was Time Turner, specialist in timepieces and even a bit of a philosopher on the concept of time itself. Even his own friends called him by this name, aware that in reality, he was known as the Doctor, an alien pony from the faraway planet of Gallopfrey, traveler of space and time, and currently exiled to Equestria for his radical views on his species’ approach to observing the universe.

Turner was currently inside the box, called the TARDIS, making some kind of repairs to the central console; he was surrounded by a variety of tools, such as a hammer, a soldering iron, and his trademark sonic screwdriver, which had been plated gold after their previous adventure. From Derpy’s perspective, the inside of the TARDIS seemed to hold a larger world than its size could possibly allow.

Turner looked up from his work outside the box. “Ah! Derpy!” he said. “How are you?”

“Alright,” Derpy replied. “What are you doing down here?”

“Slow work day. Thought I’d get some extra time in working on the TARDIS.”

“I see,” Derpy mused. She quickly realized something, however. “Did you just let me in here without knowing who I was?” She remembered Turner saying that his identity must remain secret for fear of his exiled life becoming more complicated than it had to be. In fact, once he had secured his job and home, he, Derpy, and the rest of their friends had to spend nearly half the night and an incredible amount of unicorn energy to move the TARDIS into his new basement and away from prying eyes.

“Of course not. I’d never do something that foalish. Come here.” Turner waved her into the TARDIS. Derpy, curious at what he had to show her, stepped inside. Turner pointed to one of the TARDIS’ computer screens; nopony had ever seen anything like this, so that alone was enough to amaze her. But what was on the screen got her attention. It showed four distinct areas of the shop: the entrance, the lobby, the basement, and Turner’s living quarters.

“What are all these?” Derpy asked, although she immediately thought it was a stupid question.

“What you’re looking at are live images being captured from miniature cameras I’ve placed around the shop. In other words, everything you see here is happening right now. Or rather, not happening right now, given the lack of activity. That’s how I knew it was you.”

“But why? And how?”

“Security reasons, mostly. This way, if I’m down here working on the TARDIS and there’s someone I don’t know or somepony isn’t looking too friendly, I’ll at least know where they are and what they’re doing. As for the how, all I can say is that as a traveler of the universe, I get a lot of helpful devices.”

Derpy learned a while ago to not try to understand everything Turner had to say and to just pick up the important parts. “Okay. Speaking of which, how are the repairs going?” Just before he was exiled, the High Council of his species, the Time Lords, deactivated most of the TARDIS’ central functions. At the moment, all that worked were the computers; everything else, especially its ability to travel through time and space, still needed work done.

“The Time Lords really knew what they were doing,” Turner answered. “Even at the rate I’m going, it’ll be a solid month at least before I finally make some sort of headway. Between keeping an eye of the shop and spending time with you and the others, I’ll be surprised if I even make that deadline.”

“Hey!” Derpy said, slightly offended. “Are you saying you don’t like us?”

“No, of course not!” Turner defended. “I wouldn’t trade our time together for anything in the universe. It’s just that fixing the TARDIS will be very slow going. Has been slow going since I started.”

“So when you do fix it,” Derpy started slowly, “will you…?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Turner said reassuringly. “I’ll admit, when I heard I was to be exiled, I thought I’d go stir-crazy. But you all have made my experience more than just tolerable; you’ve made it enjoyable.” Derpy smiled at this answer. “But I am still a traveler of space and time; I crave a change of scenery. Once she’s fixed, I may use her to pop in and out of various locations and time periods, just for the heck of it. But I’ll come right back. And I can assure you that none of you will be left out entirely.”

“Really? You mean…?”

“You’re my friends, aren’t you?” he asked rhetorically. “And you helped me quite literally in our darkest hour. I think those two factors mean you deserve some special treatment.” Turner suddenly felt his lungs compressed by Derpy’s hug.

“That’d be awesome!” she nearly shouted.

“Derpy!” Turner choked. “You mind?”

“Oh! Sorry.” Derpy released her hold and smiled sheepishly. “Oh! I almost forgot!” She opened her mailbag and pulled out some envelopes. “Here’s your mail.” Turner, who had just regained control of his lungs, accepted the letters. “And one more thing,” Derpy said. “Octavia wanted to know if you’d like to come to dinner tonight. Her treat.”

“I suppose it couldn’t hurt,” Turner said.

“Great! She wants us to meet at Grains ‘n Oats by six.”

“See you then.” With that, Derpy left the TARDIS and went to continue her mail route. Turner, meanwhile went back to his repairs.

My little pony, my little pony,
Ah-ah-ah-ah-My little pony!
I had forgotten what friendship could mean.
Until you all reminded me:
Time together,rockin’ beats,
Sweet experience,soothing melodies,
All for one.Such an easy feat!
Now thanks to you, my life’s complete!
Yeah, my little pony!
You are truly all my very best frieeeeeeeeeends!

The art of applebucking was a skill that took years, sometimes a decade, to master. Applejack easily fell into the category of “mastered.” With one buck, she could shake loose all the apples off a single tree and cause them to fall into the baskets carefully placed around it.

She had a few more trees to take care of before she would call it a day. She was about to buck the next tree when she heard one of the trees rustling. Her legs missed and, after muttering incoherent complaints, she looked around her area of the orchard. She heard the rustling again and quickly caught sight of the tree that was causing her trouble. She walked slowly toward it and looked up into the leaves. She saw a dark mass that looked like a pony.

“Rainbow Dash!” she called into the tree. “You sleepin’ up there again? Ah told you; Ah don’t want you nappin’ when Ah got work that needs t’be done.” She didn’t get a response. Instead, the figure in the tree just shifted position.

Applejack sighed but then smiled mischievously. “Okay, but don’t say Ah din’t give ya a fair warnin’.” She pivoted her body so that she was facing away from the tree. She raised her hind legs, ready to buck “Rainbow” out of the tree.

Suddenly, she felt something wide, heavy, and almost cord-like strike the side of her head. She never saw what, or who, hit her as she blacked out.

Dinner Conversations

In no way could Ponyville be described as a high-class town; in fact, more brazen ponies would likely call it a “simple hick town.” But that didn’t mean that some ponies didn’t at least try to maintain a sense of high society. Grains ‘n Oats was one of the classier establishments in terms of the quality of service and overall atmosphere. Eating here could make one easily forget that Ponyville was just an ordinary town.

It was no surprise that Octavia, arguably the most civil-minded of the six friends, would choose to invite them here for dinner. The entire group was seated around a large mushroom-table in the outside dining area. It was mostly empty except for a few other patrons, all of whom were having quiet conversations with each other.

“I believe we can speak freely,” Octavia said, “without too much worry for Turner’s… uniqueness.”

“Thanks for inviting us, Tavi,” Vinyl Scratch said. “I was kinda having some trouble with my own menu tonight, anyway.”

“You mean you forgot to go grocery shopping, right?” Octavia returned. Vinyl glared at her.

“So, Turner,” Bon Bon quickly interrupted, “Derpy said you’re still working on the TARDIS. How’s that going?”

“Well, at the rate I’m going,” Turner began, “it’ll be quite a while. The spatial capacitor is still my top priority now, but I need to unblock the conduit to the Teklon crystals if I have any hope of actually getting power to them, and even then, it’s still uncertain if I can route the radiation through the stabilizers at enough joules to—!”

“So in other words,” Vinyl interrupted, “it’s gonna be a while. Really, Timey, was that so hard?”

Before Turner could respond, a waiter approached their table. “Greetings, monsieur and madames,” he said with a Prench accent. “Have you decided on your orders yet?”

The six ponies glanced at their menus one last time before settling on their orders (and some of them snickered at the waiter’s face when Turner ordered his acorn-and-oats salad with a side of custard). After the waiter left, they all decided it was safe to talk again.

“So what are you going to do once you get her fixed up?” Lyra Hearstrings, the final member of their group, asked.

“Well, like I told Derpy here,” Turner said, pointing to the cross-eyed mare, “I was thinking of giving you all a… ahem, ‘demonstration,’ so to speak.”

“You mean we can actually go to other places?” Octavia asked.

“You will be limited to just this planet,” Turner pointed out. “But essentially, yes.”

“Sweet!” Vinyl nearly yelled. “I propose our first trip be Manehattan!”

“Personally,” Lyra interjected, “I’d prefer Prance. It looks so calm and relaxing, not to mention beautiful.”

“If we’re going to take advantage of Turner’s offer,” Octavia said, “then I must insist we make a stop in Vienneigh at least.

“I’ve always wanted to see a real Festival of Colors celebration in Neigh Orleans,” Bon Bon added. “Something to keep in mind when the time comes.”

“Sounds like I’ve got quite the itinerary to plan,” Turner whispered.

“That’s what you get for offering a tour of the world,” Derpy pointed out. “By the way, put me down for Las Pegasus,” she added with a smirk.

“Won’t make that mistake again,” Turner continued to whisper.

“Y’all sure ya haven’t seen her?” Turner picked up a small voice with a country drawl a ways from their table. He turned and saw a young earth pony filly talking with a couple. The filly was yellow with a red mane, tied in the back with a bow, and wore a Stetson that seemed too big for her. She must have been pretty young, since she didn’t have a cutie mark.

“Sorry, honey,” the mare at the table said. “But if we see her, we’ll let her know you’re looking.”

“Aw well,” the filly replied. “Thank ya kindly, anyway.” She turned from the table and ran toward Turner and his friends.

“Um, ‘scuse me?” she said. Everyone who wasn’t paying attention before turned to the filly.

“Hey, you’re Applebloom, right?” Derpy asked. As a mailmare, Derpy had a keen grasp on many of the names and faces in Ponyville.

“That’s right,” the filly said. “Ah’s just wondering if any y’all seen my big sister, Applejack?”

“Why?” Derpy replied. “Is something wrong?”

“She was s’posed to be in the north fields buckin’ apples this afternoon,” Applebloom answered, “but when it came time for supper, she never showed up. My brother, Big Macintosh, and Ah went lookin’ for her, but all we found was her hat.” She lightly flipped the Stetson on her head. “She never goes anywhere without it.”

“What does your sister look like?” Turner asked.

“She’s ‘bout twice as old ‘s me,” Applebloom said. “She’s orange and has a yellow mane; she keeps it tied at the end. And she’s got three apples for her cutie mark.”

The six older ponies looked at each other, but the faces they made didn’t look particularly promising. “Doesn’t sound like anypony I know,” Bon Bon said.

“Me neither,” Vinyl added.

“I might know who she’s talking about,” Lyra mused, “but I don’t think I’ve seen her today.”

“I wish I had a better response,” Octavia said.

“Sweet Apple Acres isn’t on my regular mail route,” Derpy said. “I wouldn’t have seen her anyway.”

Turner looked at Applebloom. “I only just moved here, so I haven’t had a lot of time to get acquainted with many ponies yet, much less this Applejack.”

“We’ll keep you posted, though,” Vinyl said. “In case she shows up.”

“Okay,” Applebloom sighed. She turned around and left to continue her search.

“Poor kid,” Lyra said. “I hope she finds her.”

“It’s out of our hooves now,” Bon Bon pointed out. “Most of us don’t know Applejack anyway; we’ll be lucky to make the connection if we ever do see her.”

“The name does sound familiar, though,” Turner mused. “I think I remember the librarian mentioning her once or twice.”

“Pardonnez-moi,” they heard. The waiter had returned with their food. He set everyone’s plate in the proper place (he seemed especially eager to give Turner his food), and with a quick farewell, he left.

As they ate, Turner thought to himself, When we’re done here, I’ll go ask Twilight about this Applejack. Maybe she’ll have a clue as to her whereabouts.

Author's Note

Shorter than normal, I realize. But what are you gonna do?

Answers at the Library

Turner had a couple of books due anyway, so he would have gone to the library regardless of Applejack’s disappearance; both facts were merely part of a “two birds” metaphor in his mind. He put the books in his saddlebag and made his trek to the library. Unlike most of the other houses and buildings around town, Ponyville’s library was carved into a tree. It never ceased to amaze him how resourceful and clever ponies were.

Turner had come here on his first day in town. Because of his exile, which would last “until further notice,” he needed to support himself, and that included finding a job. One of the places he considered was the library. The proprietor, Twilight Sparkle, wanted some assistance on the actual running of the library, since her other assistant, a baby dragon named Spike, was busy taking care of the housekeeping and such. He eventually decided against it in favor of Clockworks; the previous owner was retiring and Twilight could still handle things well enough on her own.

Even so, Turner always enjoyed reading a good book. Even after he turned her down, he made it a point to visit every so often. He and Twilight became good friends rather quickly, thanks in part to their love of intelligence.

Turner approached the door and knocked. The door became covered in an aura of bright purple and swung open. Turner walked in and saw a unicorn mare, lavender with a mostly blue mane, save for two streaks of purple and pink along the center. Her cutie mark was a pink, six-pointed starburst surrounded by five white sparkles.

“Turner,” Twilight Sparkle greeted. “Nice to see you again.”

“Pleasure’s all mine, Miss Sparkle,” he replied.

“I told you,” Twilight said, “call me Twilight.”

Turner just ignored her. “I’ve brought those books back for you.” He slipped off his saddlebag and pulled out his books. He called them off as Twilight grabbed with her magic. “Platrot on the Universe and Lightning Strike and the Philosopher’s Stone. Can you believe I’ve never read the series until now?”

“Exactly how out of the loop were you during your travels?”

“So much so that I just never found the time.” Twilight chuckled and put the books on the desk in the center of the room.

“Is there anything I can help you with today?” she asked.

“Well, this isn’t exactly book-related,” Turner answered, “but something has come up that I think you could help with.”

“What’s up?”

“Not more than an hour ago, I ran into a little filly by the name of Applebloom. Do you know her?”

“She’s a sister of a friend of mine. Why?”

“I thought so. That friend wouldn’t happen to be Applejack, would it?”

“Is something wrong?”

“I hope not, but evidently, Applejack has gone missing. Applebloom was asking around for her.”

“Missing? Are you sure?”

“The filly was wearing her sister’s Stetson.”

“Oh, I guess it is that bad.”

“And judging by your response, I can assume you know nothing of this.”

“I’m actually surprised I have to hear it from you instead of Applebloom. Applejack and her family were the first ponies I met when I moved here; we’ve been friends ever since. You’d think Applebloom would tell her sister’s friends about this.”

“She’s just young and confused and wants to find her sister as soon as possible.”

“I guess.” Twilight paused in thought. “But no, this is all entirely new to me. Although now that I think about it…”

Turner’s face twisted with confusion. “What is it?”

“Well, I didn’t think much about this,” Twilight started, “but with all that’s going on, there may be a connection.”

“Between what?”

“You know Rainbow Dash, right?”

Turner snorted a short laugh. “Hard to miss her. You can’t go a day without seeing a rainbow streak of some ki—!” He stopped himself. “Except I don’t remember seeing one at all today.”

“I didn’t even realize it until you told me about Applejack,” Twilight said.

“So what you’re saying is that we may have more than a simple disappearance on our hooves?”

“I’m hoping that’s not the case.”

Suddenly, there was a crash, like glass breaking. The two ponies looked up and saw something in a shattered window. Turner’s first instinct was to call it a pony, but he quickly abandoned that idea; the creature’s overall body was equine in appearance, but the details of its features were anything but. It had wings that resembled a giant bat’s, with large ears to complete the aesthetic. Its tail looked like a scorpion’s. It had two horns on the sides of its head, like a buffalo. Turner could also make out some kind of spur behind each of the hind legs, just above the hooves. It was snarling at them, revealing teeth that were sharper than a normal pony’s should be. Its overall body was a dark brown, with a mussed mane that was an even darker shade.

“Twilight,” Turner whispered.

“Yes?” Twilight sounded scared.

“When I give the word, run for the door.” Turner kept his eyes on the creature; it didn’t look like it was going to move anytime soon. “Now!” Both ponies ran toward the door, Twilight’s magic quickly throwing it open.

However, both were stopped by a sudden, almost tired, voice. “What’s happening?” The voice sounded like it was coming from upstairs. Turner cursed himself for not remembering sooner.

“Oh my gosh!” Twilight nearly shouted. “Spike!” She quickly ran back and headed for the stairs. Unfortunately, the creature had left its perch and tried to block her path. Twilight swerved to the side in an attempt to get past it. The creature flew up to her and spun sideways, causing its tail to connect with her skull. Twilight was blown aside into one of the bookshelves, causing the books to fall on her.

The creature landed and approached the pile. “Get away from her!” Turner demanded. He started to charge, but the creature lifted its tail, pointing the stinger end at him. A small stream of clear liquid came out of the point. Turner quickly stopped himself before the stream could reach him. But he moved back when a horrible smell invaded his nostrils. The creature fired a few more streams near the first one, the smell effectively keeping Turner away.

The creature then turned back to the fallen books. He dug through them until he found an unconscious Twilight. It picked her up and placed her on its back. Having claimed its prize, it flew off and out through the broken window. Turner went back to the door and tried to follow the path the creature took, but it was already gone.

“Man, try to take a nap and… Yikes!” Turner turned back into the library and saw Spike in the doorway to the living quarters; he was holding his nose and staring at the mess. “Turner? What happened here?” he asked.

Turner looked at the scene and back outside before replying, “I wish I knew.”

Author's Note

Now it's time to play "Name That Creature!" This thing is actually based on a Doctor Who villain. Can you figure it out before the next upload tomorrow? You may have to think outside the box for this, though. I you can get it right, you'll get a prize.

Identity Crisis

Turner ran down the streets of Ponyville back to his shop. He needed to find out what that creature was, and his only hope of doing that was back at the TARDIS. He was running at full speed until a voice stopped him.

“Hey, Turner!” Turner skidded to a halt and found Lyra on the side of the road, playing her lyre. “What’s the big hurry?”

“You wouldn’t… believe me… if I told you,” Turner replied between heavy breaths.

“Said the alien pony,” Lyra mumbled with a smirk, loud enough so Turner could hear.

“Fair point,” he conceded. “I was just at the library. Twilight and I were talking about Applejack when this… thing… I don’t know what else to call it… swooped in and kidnapped her.”

“Kidnapped?” Lyra levitated her instrument onto her back and magically sealed it there, as she was prone to do when she wasn’t playing. “Do you think this is what happened to Applejack?”

“And, if Twilight is correct, Rainbow Dash as well,” Turner added.

Lyra gasped. “Three kidnappings in one day? What do we do?”

“Well, since you’re here, get the others and bring them to the TARDIS. I’ve got samples to collect.” Lyra didn’t bother asking about the latter statement and ran off. Turner also made his way back to the shop.

Turner returned to the library, his saddlebag packed with the materials he needed. He walked through the open front door and set the bag down. Spike was still there, waiting for him; he still had a hold of his nose.

“Did you open all the windows like I told you to?” Turner asked.

“Not that it helped, but yeah,” Spike returned.

“And you didn’t touch the fluid?”

“I’m still tempted to try to clean it right now. But no, everything’s still there.”

“Good.” He reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a giant cotton swab. “Our best chance of finding Twilight is to identify the creature that took her.” He swept and twirled the swab along the floor over the wet spots. “An analysis of this compound should provide a valuable clue.”

“And I suppose you know somepony who can look at that and come up with the right answer?” Spike asked skeptically.

“I have a… friend who has the resources,” Turner replied.

“Okay. Just make sure she comes back safe, okay?” Spike’s voice started breaking up.

“You have my word.” Turner lifted the swab from the floor. “This should be a suitable sample size.” He took a plastic bag out of his saddlebag and sealed the swab inside it. “Feel free to clean that up now. I’ve got a creature to find.” He barely waited for a response before running back out the door.

“My pleasure,” Spike whispered. He lightly released his nose, but then he gripped it even tighter. “Sort of.”

Turner practically rammed the shop’s door open and almost did the same thing to the basement door, stopping himself when he remembered he’d have company. He slowed down, but his sense of urgency still had a hold of his faculties as he only shoved the door open. As he expected, the rest of his friends were already here, almost huddled around the TARDIS.

“There he is,” Bon Bon announced. The others looked up.

“Okay, Timey,” Vinyl said, “Ly told us what happened. What’s the plan?”

“Everyone, into the TARDIS,” Turner said. All six ponies went through the doors and stepped aside to let Turner reach the console. “Keep those doors open,” he said as he started pushing seemingly random buttons.

“What are you doing?” Derpy asked.

“I’m activating the air filters.” Turner ignored their confused looks as he slipped off his saddlebag and pulled out the swab, still sealed in the plastic bag. “When Twilight was kidnapped, that creature sprayed this liquid at me. I had to get a sample so we can have a shot at figuring out what attacked us.”

“So why the air filters?” Vinyl asked.

“I just want to make sure we aren’t immediately exposed to any toxic fumes that may come off this stuff. The open doors are a further precaution. Right now, we should be able to breathe safely. However, I should warn you: the smell is still incredibly potent.”

“How potent, exactly?” Octavia asked worriedly. Turner opened the bag.

Everyone suddenly pushed their forelegs to their noses and groaned in disgust. “Jeez!” Vinyl interjected. “That stuff reeks!”

“It smells like a skunk sprayed directly in my face after swimming through a landfill!” Octavia complained.

“I think you’re being too kind, Octavia,” Lyra nearly choked.

“How do you stand it, Turner?” Derpy asked. Out of all the ponies, he was the only one not holding his nose.

“I can’t,” he replied, “but I can build up a pretty strong tolerance to it.” However, he turned his head away. “Can’t say it’s any more pleasant, though.”

“Just hurry up and do what you gotta do,” Bon Bon said, almost demanding it.

Turner removed the swab from the bag and rubbed it on a panel on the console. He resealed the swab (though nopony was willing to clear their faces anytime soon) and began typing into the computer. The panel with the liquid started glowing. “Just need to run a chemical trace and compare it to all known species.” The computer screen started flashing through various images.

Finally, it stopped. Turner looked at it expecting promising results. “Only one match; that should narrow it down a bit.” He paused to read the information. “The Xaxion?”

“What’s that?” Derpy asked.

“The wrong answer,” Turner answered, much to everyone’s confusion. “The Xaxion are a race of creatures that resemble scorpions. And while I will concede that the creature I saw had a scorpion-like tail, the overall body was equine in appearance.”

“What other features did it have?” Octavia asked.

“Oh, where to begin,” Turner said, exasperated. “Bat wings, buffalo horns, spurs on the hind legs, sharp teeth…”

“Sounds like somepony tried to put a jigsaw puzzle together,” Bon Bon remarked.

“And failed spectacularly,” Lyra added.

“Wait a minute,” Turner said suddenly. “A mix of details from different creatures, one of which is an alien scorpion?” He lowered his voice to barely above a whisper and mumbled to himself. Finally, he nearly shouted, “Of course! Krillitanes!”

“Krilli-what?” Vinyl asked.

“Krillitanes,” Turner repeated, “a composite race whose biology is constantly changing. That’s why the TARDIS has no information on them through the liquid; it only recognizes the primary species! Something that keeps changing and evolving to the point of inconsistency could never have a truly reliable file!”

“But how does it have access to that… stuff?” Octavia asked, pointing toward the liquid.

“Give me a second.” Turner started typing again. New text started replacing the old on the screen. “Aha! Just as I thought! Krillitanes add to their biology by conquering other planets and taking the best bits of that planet’s inhabitants. And according to this, the Xaxion homeworld was attacked; they barely pushed the Krillitanes back by the skin of their mandibles.”

Derpy gasped. “Does that mean they want to conquer our planet?”

“It’s a strong possibility, I must admit,” Turner mused. “But whatever their intentions, they’ve kidnapped three ponies so far and…” He stopped. “Hang on.” He turned back to the computer and started typing again. The screen shifted to a new set of data accompanied by what looked like a map.

“Oh, this goes farther than just Ponyville,” Turner said solemnly. “The kidnappings we know about are just the latest in a string of disappearances throughout the region that have been going on for days now.” No one said anything for a while. “Well, that settles it,” Turner soon continued. “Whatever they’re doing, we put a stop to it today!”

The others shared a determined look, like they were already in agreement before Turner even said anything. “Then what’s our first step?” Octavia asked.

“We need to find out where the Krillitanes are hiding,” Turner replied. “Since the kidnappings have been limited to just the surrounding areas around Ponyville, we can assume their base of operations is close by. And luckily, we have the perfect tracking source.” He pointed to the panel with the foul-smelling liquid. “All I need to do is run a trace for Xaxion fluid. And unless there are actual Xaxion in the area, where that stuff is, the Krillitanes should be there as well.”

Turner began typing into the computer again and the screen shifted; it remained on the map, but the data shown was replaced by something else, like small patches of red scattered throughout the area. “These spots mark where the fluid has been emitted,” Turner explained. However, his face turned disappointed. “But it doesn’t look like there’s a large enough cluster to make any solid guesses.”

“What about up there?” Bon Bon pointed out, walking up to the map. “This spot looks like it’s in Whitetail Woods.”

“What does that prove?” Vinyl asked skeptically.

“These… Krillitanes…” Bon Bon struggled to get the word out correctly, “they’re kidnapping ponies, right? So why would they be in a forest where there isn’t any real pony population?” No one had an answer for this.

“Bon Bon, I think you’ve figured it out,” Turner said. “Even if they were just passing through, they’d need a good reason to even think about shooting. We’ve got to get to that forest. Erm, just so we’re clear, is this one of those forests that you ponies seem to be so scared of?” He recalled their last adventure, which took them into the heart of the Everfree Forest. He had been surprised to learn that the main reason ponies feared that particular forest was because they couldn’t control the nature and weather in that area. Even though he was now sufficiently informed of the dangers that lay within, he still had doubts that it was really as scary as everypony else was led to believe.

“No, this one’s perfectly normal,” Derpy answered.

“I could argue that by my standards, the Everfree is perfectly normal,” Turner mumbled. “But we don’t want to be here arguing pointlessly, so allons-y!”

The Monster's Lair

Whitetail Woods was a stark contrast to the Everfree Forest; whereas the latter was filled with trees that created a thick, almost light-blocking canopy, effectively darkening the entire wood, Whitetail was home to more deciduous trees, like oak, maple, and birch. There were also several woodland animals scurrying about, not like the fantastical creatures from the Everfree. In short, the overall atmosphere of the forest was peaceful. It helped that, unlike their last adventure, they came to this forest in broad daylight.

The six ponies came to a part of the forest that bordered a rocky, almost mountainous terrain. “Is this the place?” Derpy asked.

“A slight approximation,” Turner admitted, “but essentially, yes.”

“I don’t see anything, though,” Lyra pointed out.

“Then it seems we have no alternative,” Turner stated. “We’re going to have to use our heads: specifically, our noses.” Everyone else’s faces became confused. “We know the Krillitanes used some Xaxion fluid around here, and left alone, its… effects can linger for quite a while.”

“Hold on,” Vinyl said. “You’re saying we gotta sniff out the worst smell in the history of Equestria?”

“If we want to find the missing ponies,” Turner replied, “yes.” Nopony looked happy, but they didn’t argue either.

Everyone spread out and started sniffing. For a long while, almost fifteen minutes, there was no report. Many of the ponies started to drift further away from each other. Finally, Octavia caught something.

“Ugh!” she groaned. “I think I found it!” she called out. The rest of the group galloped toward her. Octavia pointed in front of her. They were now at the edge of the forest, where the rock walls began to form. They all took a cautious step forward, followed by another, then another.

Suddenly, one of the bushes started rustling. The ponies leapt to a defensive stance. The next few seconds seemed to drag until something finally stepped out of the bush: a skunk. It stopped to look at the ponies before heading on its way.

As they watched it leave, Bon Bon said, “Well, Octavia, it looks like your comment about the skunk wasn’t totally off the mark.”

“Let’s get a second opinion,” Turner interjected. He reached over to his flank, revealing the pouch-like pocket that was unique to his race, and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. As he tinkered with it, he started hearing some odd sounds. “Is Vinyl still retching?” he asked.

“To be fair, Turner,” Derpy said, “it is a little weird.”

“Weird ain’t even the word,” Vinyl said sickly.

“Deep breaths, Vinyl,” Turner said. “Remember what I told you. I will say that you seem to have gotten better about this. Ah, there we go.” He switched the sonic on and moved it around. After a few moments, he settled on another bush, this one against the rocky hillside. “There,” he said, pointing at the bush. “Would someone like to do the honors?” he asked, gesturing toward it.

“I got this,” Lyra responded. Her horn lit up in a golden aura, as did the bush. Lyra shook the bush experimentally. “Huh. It’s not even rooted to the ground.” She moved the bush aside.

Everyone could now see that behind the bush was the entrance to a cave. “Is this it?” Bon Bon asked.

“The evidence does seem compelling,” Turner said. “But just in case…” He pointed his screwdriver at the cave and turned it on. After a few seconds, the rock walls started to darken around the mouth of the cave, almost looking like drops and streaks of water.

“What was that?” Derpy asked.

“Using sonic pulses to rearrange the molecules to make the colorless liquid not so colorless,” Turner answered. “I think we can all safely assume we found the Krillitanes’ lair without a doubt.”

“I don’t like it,” Octavia said. “It’s like they want to be found.”

“Quite the opposite, I’d imagine,” Turner countered. “At the moment, nopony, save those they kidnapped, even know of their existence. They’d want to stay as out of sight as possible. And what better ‘Keep out’ sign than a smell that rancid and unfamiliar?

“Besides, there’s a strong chance that several ponies are in there wondering what the hay is happening to them. I don’t want to leave them in that situation longer than I have to.”

After a long pause, Vinyl, who by now had gotten over Turner’s pocket, stepped up and said, “Let get going then. The sooner we get to those things, the sooner we can make them get out.” She took the lead and lit up her horn, illuminating the inside of the cave. The others followed her.

There wasn’t much to the cave, just rock walls and a tunnel that just barely let the ponies fit inside at full standing height. Everyone kept their ears ready, listening and waiting for a possible ambush. Luckily, nothing happened during the first leg of the trip. In fact, their first real challenge was a three-way fork in the tunnel.

“Which way now?” Octavia asked.

Vinyl tried shining her light down each path. “Doesn’t look much different no matter where you go,” she said.

“Let me try,” Turner said. He turned on the sonic screwdriver and pointed down at each of the sub-tunnels, waving it back and forth. Soon, he stopped on the left one. “Let’s try this way.”

“Do you know what’s down there?” Lyra asked nervously.

“I’m picking up some very strong energy readings,” Turner explained. “And my curiosity never could resist very strong anything.” The others conceded to this point and Vinyl led them down the new tunnel.

Again, there was nothing notable about their path. However, they soon saw what looked like a faint light opening into another chamber.

“Vinyl, switch off for now,” Turner said. “That light should point us the rest of the way.” Vinyl nodded and her horn stopped glowing. The group continued on until they were close enough to start regaining their vision.

“Wait here,” Turner said. “I’ll scout ahead, see if there’s anyone there.”

“Why you?” Derpy asked, her voice full of concern.

“Because brown coat against brown rock is effective camouflage. I’ll only take a quick peek.” Derpy didn’t look reassured, but she didn’t argue either. With no one else protesting, Turner crept closer to the wall, eventually straddling it. Slowly, he made his way to the end of the tunnel. He cautiously turned his head into the chamber.

The light had come from several torches placed along the walls. The chamber itself was small, but definitely intriguing; the entire room was lined with advanced machinery, well beyond what Equestria was capable of at this point. Most of it looked like computers, but a few devices looked designed for a pony-sized creature to step into. Assimilation chambers, Turner thought to himself.

The chamber opened up into another hallway, except this one was lit by more torches. There were also several other openings along it, each appearing to have its own light source. Turner looked as far down as he could, but didn’t see anything or anyone.

He turned back to the girls. “All clear,” he whispered. He walked into the room, the others following him. They all looked in wonder at the technology around them. However, their amazement turned into apprehension when they reached the next tunnel.

The various openings had caged doors over them, indicating they were in some kind of dungeon. Some of them were still empty, but a large portion housed a number of captive ponies, one in each cell. They all noticed that each pony had a set of what looked like manacles, except there were no chains connecting them to the walls. In spite of that, nopony seemed eager to move, let alone try to break out, only looking up at their visitors before turning away.

“I think we found our missing ponies,” Bon Bon observed.

“What are they doing here, anyway?” Derpy wondered aloud.

“If I had to guess,” Turner answered, “I’d say the Krillitanes are getting ready to start the assimilation process.”

“You mean that thing where they make themselves more like us?” Lyra asked nervously.

“Exactly that,” Turner affirmed. “But what baffles me is what they could possibly want from ponies of all creatures.”

“Who’s there?” a weak voice interrupted. It sounded feminine. And familiar. “Turner?” Turner recognized the voice almost immediately.

“Twilight!” he exclaimed in a whisper. He ran down the dungeon, looking in every cell he passed. The others joined him in looking. Finally, he found a cell with a purple unicorn. Twilight looked more physically capable than the rest of the ponies, but she was evidently weaker than she should have been.

“Turner,” she breathed out. “What are you doing here? Did they get you too?”

“Don’t worry, Twilight,” Turner replied. “We’re here to save you.” He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and unlocked the cell door. (Twilight seemed too tired to notice where Turner had produced it from.)

As he stepped inside, the five mares approached him. “We just found Applejack,” Bon Bon reported.

“Rainbow Dash is here as well,” Lyra added.

“Are they… are they alright?” Twilight tiredly asked.

“They seem a little tired,” Derpy answered, “but then again, everypony’s pretty tired around here.”

“That’s gonna make getting them out a challenge,” Turner mused. “We have to get them awake.”

“How?” Vinyl asked. “I doubt even my loudest song could get these ponies on their hooves. Might have something to do with those rings.” She pointed to the “manacle” around the base of Twilight’s horn.

“What is that, anyway?” Lyra asked. “Some sort of magic suppressor?”

“It can’t be,” Octavia responded. “We saw a ring just like this on Rainbow Dash, only it had her wings pinned to her body.”

“Not to mention Applejack had one on each hoof,” Bon Bon added. Turner thought for a moment and glanced outside at the other cells. The other ponies had similar rings on their bodies, and, as the others had noticed, the locations of each were all dependent on the type of pony: earth ponies had rings around their hooves; pegasi’s rings were wrapped around their midsections with the wings folded; and unicorns sported one on their horns.

Turner took a closer look at Twilight’s ring. It looked like it was made entirely of metal, save for one spot that consisted of a small, red light bulb. Twilight spoke up again. “I… I don’t think it’s… a magic… suppressor. I can still… still use magic… but it… it hurts when I do.”

Turner put the screwdriver up to Twilight’s forehead and activated it. “What is that, by the way?” she asked.

“Let’s just say I haven’t been completely honest about my identity, Twilight,” Turner replied. “I’ll be glad to tell you when this is over, but for now, let’s focus on getting this thing off you.”

“Do you know what it is, Timey?” Vinyl asked.

“If I’m correct, and I usually am, this is an assimilation ring. It transmits genetic code and converts it into data, which is then stored into those computers we found in the previous room. That code then reverts into its original form as genetic information that the Krillitanes use to evolve themselves via those assimilation chambers, also in the previous room.” Turner’s answer left many confused looks on the mare’s faces. Tuner just sighed. “They use these to change themselves.” Everyone then nodded in understanding.

“But what could they want?” Turner asked himself. “Horns, wings, hooves… Horns I can understand, but they can already fly, and it’s not like they need to improve on the hooves they have now.”

“Maybe it’s not just the individual traits,” Octavia suggested.

“Blast it!” Turner nearly shouted. “It’s deadlocked. The only way I can get it off is—!” He stopped when he realized Octavia was speaking. “Say what now?”

“What if it’s not just those traits?” she clarified. “What if there’s something beneath the surface?”

Turner mulled over the possibility. He whispered to himself, “If it’s not one trait per race, then… something unique to ponies… but what do all…!” Turner’s eyes widened in realization.

“Magic,” he finally whispered. “They’re after magic.”

“But the earth ponies,” Derpy pointed out, “and the pegasi, they don’t have…”

“Not active, unicorn magic,” Turner interrupted. “Real, raw magic, and the ability to tap into it from within. Ponies are practically the only creatures in the entire universe that have the potential to control magic embedded into their very DNA.”

“What does that mean?” Bon Bon asked.

“I’ve seen magic plenty of times before,” Turner said, “but what most beings don’t realize is that it’s more of a semi-sentient force that can be manipulated through the right channels. Some beings can manipulate it through incantations, some through artifacts, but ponies are all but unique in that you can control it directly. And not just unicorns.

“Bon Bon, what is it about earth ponies that makes their food better and easier to grow than if, say, a pegasus tried the same methods?” Bon Bon tried to come up with an answer, but couldn’t. “Derpy, you can control cloud movement and even walk on them, even though they’re little more than untouchable, gaseous forms. Not to mention that your wing-to-body ratio is far too low for sustained flight. How do you explain that?” Derpy didn’t pretend to be an expert on pegasus biology, but even she had to admit that if all of that wasn’t possible for two-thirds of ponykind, then what made ponies like her so special?

Turner’s speech was interrupted by the sound of a hoof striking stone in a slow but steady beat. It seemed to be coming from further into the dungeon. The six friends looked and noticed that the tunnel was unlit; they couldn’t even see what was in the shadows. Vinyl illuminated her horn and pointed the light in front of them. A figure was revealed near the end of the tunnel; it looked like a pony, but the rest of its body looked like a mash-up of other animals. It was smiling, and its stance as it stomped its hooves on the ground indicated a sort of slow applause.

“Congratulations, my little pony,” the Krillitane said in a smooth yet dark voice. “You figured it out.”

Author's Note

Something I should have brought up last chapter: You may have noticed that the way I described the Krillitanes doesn't match up with their appearance in the show. However, consider that these are creatures whose appearance is never constant; heck, the Doctor himself said that he last saw them as humans with long necks, a far cry from their appearance in the episode. With a creature like that, I think I'm allowed to take a few creative liberties. That being said, I did at least try to keep their almost-trademark bat motif. Hopefully, that explains any questions you had about my decisions.

Unhealthy Diet

Everyone froze as the Krillitane walked closer. “I should be impressed,” he said. “The idea of a simple pony from this backwater planet figuring out our intentions is no small wonder.”

“Who are you calling ‘backwater’?” Vinyl returned. Octavia stepped in front of her before she could continue.

“But that does raise a few interesting questions,” the Krillitane continued. “Namely, how could a mere pony come to that conclusion when he has no reason to even know who we are?” He paused. “Unless you aren’t what you appear.” Turner stayed silent.

Octavia decided to speak up. “Who are you? And why are you here?”

The Krillitane chuckled. “Straight and to the point. I admire you. As you may have guessed by now, we are the Krillitanes. And I am the acting head for our special operations troops. You may call me Commander Bras. As for our purpose, we are merely carrying out the great Krillitane objective: to make ourselves the ultimate life forms in the universe.”

“By taking what doesn’t belong to you?” Bon Bon argued. “I’m not even fond of plastic surgery. Why would you do… that?” She pointed to Bras, indicating his mismatched body.

“The Krillitane race aspires to become as close to gods as possible,” Bras replied. “What sort of creature, do you think, would be the greatest in all of reality?” He paused to let the ponies think about it. When they didn’t bother thinking of an answer, he continued, “One who is able to do everything. We seek to become that creature.”

“Ah, yes,” Turner said, nearly startling everyone, “the god complex. I’ve seen many individuals and even entire species fall prey to it. My own people have a bit of it in themselves on their worst days.”

Bras smiled. “And which people would those be?”

“I’ll probably tell you later,” Turner said with a dismissive wave. “I’m more interested in talking about your tactics. I admit, it’s been a long time since I’ve even seen a Krillitane. By the way, how exactly were you able to blend into the shadows so well? No wait, let me guess: the Hemtoliors, right? From the dark planet of Hemtol? Lovely place, really,” he added to the girls, “perpetual night but the peace and beauty are practically unparalleled.

“Where was I? Oh, right! Like I said, I haven’t seen much of your kind as of late, but I’m pretty sure the standard method of Krillitane invasion and assimilation is just that: invasion, then assimilation. You all seem to have skipped the invasion part and just went right to the assimilation. Either your tactics have changed, or there’s something else forcing you to take a new approach.”

Bras just scoffed. “You’re a smart pony, Mr.…”

“Just call me Time Turner,” Turner said.

“Yes, Mr. Turner, you are quite intelligent,” Bras continued. “So perhaps you could come up with a suitable answer. Why would we try to assimilate ourselves instead of just taking over right now?”

“Because Celestia would kick your sorry flanks to the other end of space!” Vinyl nearly shouted.

“Shouldn’t we include Princess Luna in that?” Lyra added. “I mean, we were there when she… appeared.”

Octavia sighed, “Is this really the time to be discussing this?”

“Actually,” Turner said, “they may have a point.”

“Exactly!” Vinyl said proudly. That pride quickly wore off, though, as she continued with, “Um, what point?”

“Even if it wasn’t the princesses,” Turner thought out, “mounting a full-scale invasion would draw in several ponies willing to defend their homes. And that would include several unicorns with powerful spells, pegasi that could weaponize the weather, and earth pony strength that would be ideal in a hooffight. But by sending their special ops to act in secret…”

Bras interrupted him. “…We create an advance force that will subvert and weaken your planet’s defenses just enough for when the true invasion begins.”

Turner smirked. “You’re afraid. The very idea of confronting a species who have almost direct control over magic makes you quiver in fear. Even with your bids for creating a ‘perfect’ species, you don’t even want to come in guns blazing because they might slaughter you in the bargain.”

“Turner,” Derpy whispered, “are you sure you want to say that to him?”

“Maybe we are taking the cautious approach,” Bras conceded. “But I have nothing to fear from six ponies.”

“Well you should,” Vinyl said. “Even with all the stuff you’ve got in that jigsaw puzzle you call a body, we still outnumber you six to one!”

Bras’ laugh was quiet, though still louder than a chuckle, like he honestly found Vinyl’s outburst funny. “How quickly you seem to forget. I’ve been watching you since you opened that unicorn’s cell, covered in complete darkness. And I believe I have used the word ‘we’ several times by now.” Everyone realized what Bras was implying. Vinyl shifted her light around the darkness until she looked up.

Lyra gulped. “That’s a lot of bat ponies,” she whispered. The whole ceiling was practically covered with Krillitanes; if the situation weren’t so serious, some of them might have laughed at the fact that, like the bats they resembled most, they were hanging upside down. The Krillitanes were glaring at them, their faces filled with murderous intent.

“While I would love to continue this conversation,” Bras said, “I have a world to conquer, and you all are just in the way.”

“Girls, run!” Turner shouted. Everyone quickly went back the way they came. They were followed by the sounds of wings flapping and hooves galloping. The ponies in the cells barely reacted aside from simply looking up.

The six ponies ran out of the dungeons and past the computer lab into the tunnel path. As they were coming upon the entrance where the path split, Turner stopped and turned toward the advancing Krillitanes.

“Turner!” Bon Bon called out. “What are you doing?”

“Waiting for the right moment,” he replied. He held up the sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the horde. The Krillitanes were almost on top of him when he turned it on. The resulting noise caused the Krillitanes to stop (the ones in midair fell) and reel in agony.

“That’s the problem with bat ears, isn’t it?” Turner yelled over the noise. “You can hear things all too well.” He watched them continue to reel. “Oh, that’s right, you can’t hear me right now. Be seeing you, then.” He turned and ran out the exit, keeping the still active sonic pointed into the tunnel. “Come on, girls, allons-y.” He pointed to the tunnel on the far side. Everyone ran in and Turner switched the sonic off before following them.

Like the previous tunnel, there was a light at the end. Nothing needed to be said as they all continued running. They all knew Turner’s distraction wouldn’t last for very long, and they wanted to put as much distance between them and the Krillitanes as possible.

They entered the chamber and were greeted almost immediately by a voice saying, “What the hay?!” They turned and saw an earth pony mare. Her coat was a cross between light blue and grey and her purple mane was curled up in a bun. Her cutie mark was a spoon and fork crossed over each other. She was backed up against a counter topped with various fruits and vegetables.

“Wait a minute,” she said. She relaxed a bit and moved toward them. “Octavia?”

“Silverware!” Octavia responded.

“Do you know her?” Turner asked.

“She’s a cook at a café in Canterlot,” Octavia answered. “I make it a point to go there whenever I’m in the area doing a performance.” She turned back to Silverware. “What happened to you?”

“I… I don’t really know,” Silverware admitted. “One minute, I have an egg roll in the fryer almost ready to serve, and the next, I’m waking up in here in front of a bunch of… things! You’ve seen them, right?”

“Seen, heard, and especially smelled,” Vinyl replied. “Not looking forward to taste.”

“But why are you in here instead of the dungeon?” Derpy asked.

“I guess they’re just terrible in the kitchen,” Silverware said. “These things are rude and completely without respect, but they do keep their prisoners in good condition. I guess that’s why I was kidnapped; I’m already under consideration for best cook in Canterlot. Those things just want me to make food for the ponies they capture. Simple dishes, at any rate; the most I can manage right now is a semi-gourmet salad.

“And despite their attitude, they’ve been cooperative with my requests and gathering ingredients for me. The only condition is that I have to flavor it with this stuff.” She turned to the counter and picked up a bottle of what looked like vegetable oil.

“What is it?” Lyra asked. She used her magic to bring the bottle closer.

“I’m not sure,” Silverware replied. “I gave it a little taste test, though, and seeing as I’m not dead yet, I assume it’s safe for consumption. It has a unique flavor to it, but in a not-so-bad way. Although, if what I’ve seen and experienced is any indication, I think it makes ponies sleepy. That taste test was just enough to make my own eyelids feel droopy. And I can guess you saw the others. I would have stopped, but I didn’t want to find out what happens if you cross those things.”

“Do you know what this is, Turner?” Lyra asked. She floated the bottle closer to the stallion.

“Could you open it?” he asked. The stopper lifted itself off the bottle. Turner thanked Lyra and sniffed the contents. After that, he held the sonic screwdriver into the bottle. “Just offhoof, I’d say this is Krillitane oil.”

“And this is different from Equestrian oil how?” Vinyl asked.

Turner pulled out the screwdriver. “It’s actually much like regular cooking oil, except for the fact that it can be modified at the molecular level to have any number of intended effects.”

“Like tiredness and fatigue?” Octavia said.

“More specifically, a sedative that also weakens a pony’s adrenaline levels, inhibiting their fight-or-flight response.”

Everypony had almost forgotten Silverware was still in the room until she said, “Could somepony please explain what the hay you’re all talking about?”

“It’s something of a long story, Silver,” Octavia said.

“Well, I’m sure I’ll be very interested to…” Silverware trailed off midsentence and started looking upwards. Octavia noticed this and turned around suddenly, causing the others to look that way as well.

A Krillitane was hovering near the wall, staring at them. Realizing it had been discovered, it leapt at the ponies.

There was little time to plan their escape. Instead, Lyra just yelled out, “Get back!” as she threw the levitating bottle of oil at it. The oil spilled out and some of it splashed on the creature’s body. The Krillitane let out a shrill cry, like it was in pain; everyone noticed that the pain was more than it should have been for just being hit with a bottle. The confusion continued when smoke started rising from its body.

“Everyone, stay back!” Turner demanded. They all moved as far away as they could.

The surprises just kept coming with one final event: the Krillitane just exploded. Its body was engulfed in a sudden fireball. Nothing was left of it after the flame subsided.

Everyone was silent for a long while. “Um, Turner?” Derpy finally started. “Did that thing just… blow up?”

“I think it did,” Turner answered. He walked slowly toward the discarded bottle and scanned its contents with the sonic again. “This oil’s been tampered with so many times, and they’ve evolved so far beyond their original state, that it’s created… well, an adverse effect.”

“And it doesn’t seem to be too good for their skin, either,” Vinyl said obliviously.

“That must be why they needed you, Silverware,” Turner continued. “They can’t do anything with the oil themselves because it’s too risky for them.” He paused to look at the entrance to the chamber. “Does anypony notice anything… odd?”

“‘Odd’ how?” Bon Bon asked.

“I could have sworn we were chased by more than a dozen Krillitanes,” Turner clarified. “Yet that one was the only one to come after us.” Realization hit everyone’s faces. “They’re up to something, and I don’t like the odds of it being good.”
“Is there any way we can stop them?” Vinyl asked.

Turner looked at Silverware. “Do you have any more oil?”

Silverware looked surprised by Turner’s question but said, “Um, I think there’s a spare bottle in the cupboard.” Turner wasted no time looking for that bottle. When he found it, he opened it and stuck the sonic into it.

“What are you doing?” Octavia asked.

“Put simply, I’m reversing the oil so that it has the opposite effect,” Turner answered. “Whereas before the oil caused a weakening of the adrenal system, this further-modified version will give a boost of adrenaline to anypony who ingests it. It should counteract the effects of the previous oil long enough to get everypony out of here.”

“But how do we get it to them?” Bon Bon pointed out.

“Well, I assume Silverware still has another batch of salad somewhere in here.” At Turner’s words, Silverware perked up and went what looked like an icebox, pulling out a large bowl of salad.

Turner unstoppered the bottle and poured the contents into the bowl. “Mix the oil into the salad so that it covers practically everything. After that, you all can administer it to the ponies in the dungeon; even a single lettuce leaf will be enough to bring their energy back. Also, Octavia, once the salad’s ready, I want you to escort Silverware out of the cave. And one last thing; Bon Bon…” He gave the sonic screwdriver to her. “I’ve already set the sonic to open the cages. Just point it at the locks and press the buttons.”

“But where are you going?” Bon Bon asked.

“Somepony has to provide a distraction for the Krillitanes while all this is going on,” Turner pointed out.

There was a short silence until Octavia spoke. “I don’t suppose we can talk you out of this?”

“Not in the slightest,” Turner replied with a no-nonsense kind of tone.

“Just be careful,” Derpy said.

“Aren’t I always?” he said with a smile.

Derpy just gave him a smug look and said, “Well, there was the cliff, the manticore, facing Nightmare Moon alone, and, oh, let’s not forget getting chased by alien ponies.”

“Oi!” Turner exclaimed. “We all lived. And this time will be no different. You have my word.” Not waiting for any further responses, he ran back into the cave.

Author's Note

I just realized something. If I separate the chapters like I'm planning, then I'll finish this story this Saturday. The same day season 4 airs.
Talk about your happy coincidences.

This is Real Magic

Bras watched as his subordinates worked the controls of the computers and apparatuses needed for the assimilation process. That stallion’s trick with the sonic device took him and the others by surprise. He knew there was nothing ordinary about that stallion from the beginning, but technology like his couldn’t possibly have been found on this world. He would need to be ready when they met next.

“The scout’s still not back, Commander.” A Krillitane came up to him with information regarding the scout he sent to search the caves.

“We’ll worry about that after we’re done here,” Bras replied cooly.

“With all due respect, sir,” the other started, “why do we need to concern ourselves with them? They are nothing compared to us. They may not even be in the tunnels anymore.”

“They are still here,” Bras said, surprising his cohort. “None of them, especially that stallion, strike me as the kind to leave their fellow ponies in distress. Besides, however unlikely it may seem to us now, should they escape, they will reveal our existence. Our purpose is infiltration and quiet subjugation. We can’t risk them telling anyone about our existence. We need them either in the dungeons or in the ground before that happens.”

“Commander,” another voice called out. Bras turned to the Krillitanes at the main terminal. “The chamber’s ready, sir.” Bras smiled and walked to the open assimilation chamber. “Sir, before we continue,” the Krillitane continued, “I should warn you that you’ll be the first of our kind to have these features. There is no small amount of risk in being the first to advance our evolution; it’s possible your body may not be able to handle the mutation.”

“Are you saying something will go wrong?” Bras replied. “I would hope that such esteemed scientists as yourselves would be a little more confident in your abilities.”

“Just maintaining a realistic outlook,” the other pointed out.

“No matter,” Bras said. “As your commanding officer, it my duty, my obligation, my privilege to take such risks for the Krillitane objective.” Having said his piece, he stepped into the chamber. The walls closed up, sealing him inside.

The scientists carefully worked the controls at their station. The assimilation chamber hummed to life and light could be seen coming through the cracks between the walls. A muffled groan could be heard inside, like Bras was straining to keep himself alive.

Then it all stopped. The humming died down and the lights faded. Once of the scientists pressed a button on the console and the chamber opened up. Bras stumbled slightly but made his way out just fine. He looked very similar to how he did before, with the addition of a dark brown unicorn horn between the pre-existing buffalo horns.

“Commander?” Bras’ second-in-command stepped forward with an inquisitive look. “How does it feel?”

Bras looked around and settled on a rock in the corner. He stared at it, almost like he was trying to scare it into submission. Finally, his horns, all three of them, became surrounded in a dark aura. The rock had a similar aura around it as it rose off the ground and flew from side to side.

“Magical,” he finally said.

“Oh, come on!” a slightly familiar voice exclaimed. “All the words you could have used, and you went with ‘magical’? I can’t decide if that’s stupid, cliché, or stupidly cliché!”

“I had a feeling you were still here Mr.… Turner, was it?” Bras said before turning to the entrance. The stallion was, in fact, standing there.

“Have to say, though,” Turner continued, “that was fascinating. I’ve never actually seen Krillitane assimilation before. I suppose that’s one more off the bucket list. And it’s simply amazing that you were able to master levitation and manipulation so quickly.”

“Yes, well, as fun as it is listening to you ramble,” Bras said, his voice becoming darker, “I can’t have you running about. And we could always use a few more ponies for the assimilation. What’s a little more magic, right?”

“You’ll have to catch me first!” Turner circled around and ran back through the cave.

“All troops, move in and intercept!” Bras yelled out.

As soon as Turner came back to the fork, he whistled loudly. That would be the signal for the girls to get ready. He then made his way down the only tunnel he hadn’t gone through yet. He didn’t know what lay at the end, but knowing was not important; he still had to lure the Krillitanes out of the girls’ way.

He ran for what seemed like a long time. He was starting to tire, but the sounds of wings and hoofbeats behind him kept him going. Finally, he ran into a dead end. He almost didn’t see it due to the lack of a light source, but his eyes had gotten used to the darkness just enough to keep himself from smacking face-first into the wall. The tunnel had just stopped: no chambers, no forks, no exit point whatsoever. He was completely trapped.

He heard something clicking its tongue behind him. “You should know better than to go running around unfamiliar territory.” Turner circled around and stared as confidently as he could at Bras. The Krillitane commander lit up his horns, most likely out of courtesy for Turner’s vision problems; the light was still minimal, however, due to the dark aura.

“I’m touched by your concern,” Turner replied, “but shouldn’t you be more worried about finding me alone? I did, after all, have five other companions.”

“If these companions are anything like what I believe them to be,” Bras returned, “They will not be too far away.”

“Then where are they?” Turner asked with a smug grin. “And what are they doing in the meantime? You were right about ponies being a danger to your plans, but you still don’t give them enough credit.”

Bras chuckled. “In saying that, now I’m even more curious. You speak as though you are something else entirely. And your sonic device is most definitely not of this world. You are more than what your appearance would claim. Who are you, Time Turner?”

Turner was silent. He could almost feel Bras' emotions within his accusations: curiosity, excitement, and just the slightest hint of fear. “You’re right,” he said at last. “I’m not what I seem. To you, and to everyone for that matter, I look like any normal pony. An earth pony. Not even special like a pegasus or a unicorn. But inside is a life that would make even the bravest of beings quiver with fear. I’ve seen and done things that most could only dream of. All of time and space is at my hoof.” He paused to look at the comprehension in Bras’ face. “That’s right. I’m a Time Lord. And not just any Time Lord, either. In war, I am salvation. In peace, I am the glue that keeps it there. To my enemies, I am the Oncoming Storm. My very existence led my own people to mistrust me. I am… the Doctor. And I will not allow you to conquer this planet.”

Bras was silent for a moment. Finally, he started laughing again. This was more than a simple chuckle, almost more like an actual laugh. “Call yourself whatever you want, Doctor.” He spat out the name as though mocking him. “Time Lord or no, you are still just one pony against my entire company. Tell me how you have the advantage.” Turner didn’t answer; he was too busy looking at an aura of blue magic behind the Krillitanes.

“Like this!” Bon Bon’s voice shouted. She held out the sonic screwdriver and turned it on. Once again, the Krillitanes buckled under the noise.

“Timey! Get out of there!” Turner wasted no time following Vinyl’s voice past his former pursuers. He galloped over to his friends.

“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” he said to them. “Where are the others?”

“Derpy and Lyra are leading the prisoners out of the cave,” Bon Bon said. “And yes, we did get all of them out.”

“We just wanted to make sure you were all right,” Vinyl added.

“I’m glad for that,” Turner said. “But what is that?” He pointed to the object Vinyl was carrying with her magic; it was what alerted Turner to his friends’ presence in the first place. It looked like the salad bowl.

“Leftover salad,” Vinyl answered. “Not enough mouths to feed.”

Before they could continue, however, all three heard grunting from the direction of the Krillitanes. Suddenly, the air around them started to distort and wave, almost like water. Then, one by one, they started getting up, like the noise caused by the sonic wasn’t affecting them.

“Hold on,” Vinyl whispered. “That’s a sound barrier! I’d recognize that anywhere.”

“Wait, then does that mean…?” Bon Bon started.

“Bras does have magic now, yes,” Turner finished.

“I think it’s quite clear now that the advantage has fallen to us,” Bras stated. “You’re all out of tricks, Doctor.”

“Then try this!” Vinyl said. She threw the bowl at the Krillitanes, causing the salad to spill out. The contents landed on the opposing army. The Krillitanes screamed in pain, some of them complaining about burning.

“Nice move, Vinyl,” Turner said. “Looks like there was just enough oil. But we better get out of here.” Bon Bon quickly gave the sonic screwdriver to him and they all ran back to the outside.

Bras, through his pain, glared at the retreating forms of the three ponies. With little else to comfort him, he could only scream, “Dooooctooorrrrr!” Suddenly, he and his entire army were engulfed in flames.

Even with the number of Krillitanes, the explosion wasn’t big enough to even reach the trio. However, the shock caused the cave walls to crack under the pressure. It didn’t take long for the cracks to travel along the cave, causing the whole place to collapse. The cave-in seemed to follow the ponies as they ran down the final stretch of tunnel. They kept running until they finally saw light, and even then, they didn’t stop until they were outside and far away from the cave entrance. They turned back to find the mouth of the cave was completely covered by boulders.

Turner sighed to himself out of relief before turning around. He saw a large crowd of ponies, all standing around and wondering if what had been happening to them was even real. Some were even looking back at the cave after the collapse.

“You’re sure you got all of them?” he asked the girls.

“Every last one,” Bon Bon confirmed.

Turner held up the sonic screwdriver and turned it on. Immediately, the rings snapped in half and fell off the ponies’ bodies. The crowd barely had time to wonder what had happened before Turner shouted, “Oi! What are you lot waiting for? You’re free now! You’ve probably got friends and family waiting for you! Off you go!” The ponies were still confused by everything, but eventually, the crowd started to drift away.

“Turner!” Turner was immediately squeezed by a set of hooves. The only way he knew it was Derpy was because of the shrill voice. “Thank Celestia you’re safe!”

“Derpy…” Turner eeked out. “Do you mind?”

Derpy realized what she was doing and immediately released him. “Sorry. I just got nervous when that cave-in started.”

“What happened in there, anyway?” Lyra added as she and Octavia reunited with the group.

“Long story short,” Vinyl answered, “those Krill-things really don’t like their leafy greens.”

“Wait, you mean you blew them up?” Lyra asked in semi-hysterics.

“What else were we supposed to do with that leftover salad?” Vinyl replied.

“On the plus side,” Turner added, “that cave-in destroyed the Krillitanes’ laboratory, and without those computers, there was nothing to deadlock the assimilation rings.” He lightly waved the sonic in his hoof.

“So is that it, then?” Derpy asked. “Are they gone for good?”

“I figure that once the top brass notices their special ops forces have failed,” Turner pointed out, “they’ll decide to take their business elsewhere. No more jigsaw ponies for us.”

“Then I propose we head back home,” Octavia declared. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but this mare needs her beauty sleep.” It seemed no one had realized how late it was. When Turner looked up, he saw that dusk was beginning to fall.

“Perhaps we should turn in,” he conceded. “It’s been a long day for many ponies, especially us. Allons-y.”

Author's Note

One more to go.

The Next Day

The sun had been up for a few hours when Turner knocked on the library door. He was almost immediately greeted with, “Sorry, but we’re closed for the day.”

“It’s just me, Miss Sparkle,” he replied. After a few seconds, the doorknob glowed bright purple and the door opened. Turner stepped inside. The first thing he noticed was that the stench was gone. The second was Twilight sitting near the center of the room, her face partially buried in a book, though still looking up at Turner.

“Just wanted to see how you were doing,” he said.

Twilight sighed. “As well as can be expected.” There was a brief pause. “Do you know what the most draining part was? It wasn’t that I was kidnapped or that they were… exploiting me, as best as I understand it. It was just… them. Those creatures shouldn’t even exist under any stretch of the imagination, and yet there they were.”

“Trust me,” Turner responded, “there’s more to that statement than you realize.”

“And then there’s that,” Twilight continued. “You said you weren’t really what you claimed to be. You actually knew what they were and what was happening. And you had that… thing that made the noise and… Just who are you?”

“I said I would tell you, Twilight,” Turner stated. “But I can’t tell you everything; just enough to help you understand.” He paused until Twilight nodded for him to continue. “I come from very far away, farther than even you can imagine, on another world entirely. All I want to do with my life is experience everything the universe has to offer. Do you understand me?” Twilight nodded slowly and uncertainly. “But make no mistake; if there’s one thing that has been entirely true, it’s my character. Everything you’ve seen with me is one hundred percent what I’ve always been. Besides, what estranged offworlder would take the time to read the Lightning Strike series?” Twilight giggled at this.

“You know what?” she started. “I think I can find a better reason to trust you, whether you’re actually and alien or not. When you talk to me, and I mean really talk, like we’re doing now, you actually call me Twilight, not Miss Sparkle.” She smiled at him. “I think that’s as good a reason as any.”

Turner returned her smile. “Well, since I’m here, you wouldn’t happen to have the second Lightning Strike, would you?”

“Actually, I figured you’d want to read that, so I’ve had this reserved for you for a few days now.” Using her magic, she pulled a book from the central desk. “I’ll just mark this as checked out later.” Turner looked at the title: Lightning Strike and the Stable of Secrets.

“Thank you Miss Spa… I mean, Twilight.” Turner barely caught himself in time.

“My pleasure, Turner.” Having said their goodbyes, the stallion walked out of the library.

Derpy was waiting for him outside. “So how is she?”

“Better than I would have thought,” Turner answered. “She was well enough to let me borrow this, at least.” He held up the book for her to see.

“Good to hear. You know, you’re a good friend, Turner, helping innocent ponies like that.”

“Just doing my good deed for the day. Besides, whether it be you girls, Twilight, or just some stranger, I can’t, and won’t, let anyone suffer needlessly.”

“And that’s why I say you’re a good friend,” Derpy concluded. She looked at the book. “I really do love this series. You’re gonna love the part where Lightning fights the—!”

“Oi! Derpy! Spoilers!” Turner shouted hysterically. Derpy just laughed.

Author's Note

And that wraps up another one. What a day, huh? This story is complete, season 4 aired today, and if you're not behind on DW like I am, you have "Day of the Doctor" to look forward to. So yeah, this is a good day. 'Till next time.
This is CF signing out.