A Heart of Steel

A mare, Pie Crust, walked through Appleloosa’s apple orchard. It amazed her, the thought of the great Buffalo-Pony battle. A war ended by apple pie.

As she walked through the path between the countless apple trees, she heard a loud noise. It sounded very metallic and mechanical.

Thunk-zzzz, thunk-zzzz, thunk-zzzz

“Who’s there?” she demanded, “Flim, Flam, is that you? I thought we had enough cider for the year.”

Thunk-zzzz, thunk-zzzz, thunk-zzzz

A strange creature appeared from the shadows of the trees. It was shaped like a minotaur, but made out of metal and lacking horns and hooves. The head was very blocky and square. And it marched towards her.

“What are you?” Pie demanded, “What do you want?”

It focused it’s head to Pie, and replied in a deadpan voice, “You are compatible.”

“What does that mean?”

“You will be upgraded,” it replied, “You shall become the next stage of Equine.”

The metal thing grabbed Pie by the neck. A light engulfed them forcing her to shut her eyes. When she recovered, she teleported to an environment even stranger than the robot.

She didn’t even know what she was attached to before it was to late, and components of metal fit over her head, like pieces of a puzzle.

“Alright,” the Doctor rubbed his brow in frustration, “I did it once, and I can do it again.”

He slammed the control panel of the TARDIS, even to the point of whacking it with a hammer, “Behave!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, dear,” the Doctor hugged and stroked the pillar that protruded from the console (earning an eye-roll from Twilight), “I shouldn’t have done that, but could you please bring us back to Equestria? Twilight really wants to see her friends.”

The iconic wheezing noise of the TARDIS engines filled the air. Gears of the interior meshed together and revealed a new sonic screwdriver. He smiled and whispered two words.

“Thanks dear,”

As the wheezing stopped the Doctor pulled down a small screen and stared at the faltering image.

“Twilight, Ponyville wasn’t a Old Western type town, was it?”

Surprised, Twilight ran to the screen. After a few seconds of viewing, she recognized the town as Appleloosa.

“Appleloosa?” a highly amused Doctor chortled, “Isn’t that a coincidence.”

“Appleloosa was at war with a buffalo tribe over an apple orchard,” Twilight smiled at the memory, “But the whole battle ended when the chief tasted one of their apple pies, and the two groups decided to share.”

“Sharing? Really?” the Doctor shook his head in disbelief, “If only the creatures I face were that benevolent.”

Once again, he seemed to space out, his face, usually cheerful, became old and heavy. As if remembering an old memory. One that he seemed to be ashamed of. Shaking his head, he returned to the conversation at hand.

“Where were we? Oh yes, buffalo tribe,” he chuckled to himself, “Judging from the surroundings, I’d guess the buffalo were wearing large feather headbands.” He emphasized the last words by shaping one over his head.

“Actually,” she informed, “They did.”

That took the smile from his face. “Like how Earth was. Never ignore coincidence, Twilight. Unless it’s the kind of coincidence where you and your friend wear the same outfit, or if somebody shares a favorite hobby with you. Coincidences usually end up being traps.”

“What does that mean for us, Doctor?”

“Ah, it’s probably a coincidence!” his attention returned to the console, “Now, we’re in the same planet, and the same country, so it’s only a matter of guess and check until we get back to Ponyville!”

“Doctor, wait!” she stopped him from leaving, “I can back to my time to see my friends again. I guess I should say hello to Braeburn and Little Strongheart,”

“Well then,” the Doctor clicked his fingers again, making a snapping sound, “Time’s a wastin’!”

The TARDIS doors opened wide, letting the hot climate of Appleloosa seep into the room. The climate and sand forced Twilight to cough. When she turned to the Doctor, he had disappeared. Again. It was becoming a bit tedious.

Unlike the last time she saw it, Appleloosa was buzzing with life. Buffalo and ponies alike roamed the streets. It seemed like an impossible task, to find the pony and the buffalo they were looking for.

“Well, howdy, Twilight! Just the pony ah needed to see!” greeted a familiar voice.

She turned, and conveniently became face-to-face with Braeburn, still wearing his favorite hat. And still as neighborly as she remember him.

“Hello, Braeburn,” Twilight smiled, which quickly vanished as her hoof was taken and violently shaken. Apparently, strong hoof shakes run in the family, “H-h-how g-g-goes the p-p-peace treaty with the buffalo-o-o?”

He gestured to the streets, specifically how the buffalo and the ponies were cooperating together. “It’s goin’ great! Business been boomin’ the past few months!”

Braeburn finally released her hoof (how he could have such a strong grip if he doesn’t have anything to hold on with was beyond her) and Twilight pulled it back. She seemed to have bad luck when it came to hoof-shakes.

A metaphorical light bulb lit over Braeburn’s eyes. “Almost forgot why ah needed you,” he face-hoofed himself and resumed, “There’s a strange critter ah found. It seems to be like a gihugic bug-“

Braeburn stopped in mid sentence as a brown stallion with a spiky manecut jumped in front of him without warning. The stallion wore a full suit and a trench coat, despite the hot weather.

“Gihugic, you say,” he noted inquisitively, “And what did this bug look like?”

Braeburn turned to Twilight, with a rather confused look on his face. In other words, the typical reaction to meeting the Doctor.

“Who’s your friend, Twilight?” Braeburn asked. The Doctor started rambling about creatures that could fit Braeburn’s description. Something about Racnoss and Vespiforms.

“That’s the Doctor,” she responded with a smile, “We’re traveling together.”

“Oh, ah see,” he gave her a sly wink.

“Wait, WHAT!” Twilight exclaimed, “Oh, nonononono, nothing like that, Braeburn. We’re just…friends.”

“Are ya shure?” he insisted, “You got that face, the one that Spike fellow has around Rarity.”

She blushed bit and looked away. Luckily, the Doctor saved her from her awkwardness.

“Hello?” the Doctor waved his hand (or would it count as a hoof?) in Braeburn’s face, “The bug?”

“Oh, yeah!” Braeburn’s forehead scrunched up to find the correct words to describe what he saw; “I think it’d be better to just show it to you. C’mon I’ll take to my shed.”

Braeburn’s shed was dark and noticeably unused.

“Now, the shed just came with mah house,” Braeburn explained, “And no one really uses it. So, ah guessed it would be the best place to hide it.”

The Doctor pulled out his new sonic screwdriver and activated it, causing a low, steady whistling sound. “Hmmm, readings indicate that everything’s normal so fa-“ the screwdriver started beeping rapidly. “What!”

Suddenly, a metallic creature, roughly the same size as a cat, jumped at the Doctor. It’s fierce jaws snapped at his face. Twilight used her magic to hold the thing in place.

“No…” he whispered, “It can’t be…”

“What is it, Doctor?”

“It’s a Cybermat!”

“A Cybermat!” the Doctor paced around the shed floor, more annoyed than worried, “Even when I move ten galaxies away, they still manage to find me!”

“Doctor!” Twilight scowled and whacked him on the head, snapping him back to focus, “Can you please just tell us what this means? You’re always doing this!”

“Alright, fine, mum,” he replied sarcastically, “The Cybermats are little scouts of this blokes called the Cybermen. The Cybermen are beings from the planet Mondas, whose main purpose is to convert any convertible being into more Cybermen.”

Twilight and Braeburn stared at the Doctor, who seemed content with his explanation.

“Doctor,” Twilight began, shaking her head, “When will you learn that ponies are not used to this kind of talk?”

“Sorry,” he thought of a simplified description, “Think super alien robots.”

“Ohhh, I get it now!” Braeburn said nervously, and turned to face Twilight, “Hate to tell you this, but I think that your colt friend is crazy.”

“I know, right?” Twilight rolled her eyes, “Wait, no! I told you already, I’m… He’s not my colt friend!”

Then the Doctor popped up between the two and put his arm around their shoulders, “What are you guys waiting for?! Times a-wastin’!”

“Have you seen anything strange lately?” The Doctor ran around town, scanning things left and right with his screwdriver. The whistling became faster paced, “Power surges, marching sounds, disappearing ponies?”

Braeburn tapped his chin, “Well, there was that mare, Pie Crust. Nopony has heard from her for a while. And just last week, the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000s all malfunctioned. Held us back in the apple cider market.”

“Pie Crust, whose that?” the Doctor asked curiously, while inspecting his screwdriver, “Oh, it looks like we’re right on tra-”

“Never mind that,” Twilight interrupted, “Did you say Super Speedy Cider Squeezy?”

“Eeeyup!” he replied, “This two fellers, Flim and Flam stopped over and gave us a whole bunch of ‘em!”

“But- They’re con colts!” she stammered, “They tried to run Sweet Apple Acres out of business!”

“Sorry to interrupt your oh-so-important gossip,” the Doctor sarcastically remarked, “But, I need to focus, so could you stop your yammering, and shut up for a bit!”

The Sonic beeped loudly, and the Doctor gave out a triumphant shout. He then dropped down to his knees and licked the dry ground.

“Hmm, bit dry, could use a bit of water,” he criticized, and spa out remaining traces of sand, “Definitely traces of a transmat beam.”

“Alright, I’ve had enough with you and yer crazy jibber jabber ‘bout Cyber whatsits and train mats!” Braeburn shouted in a frusterated tone, “Ah want some answers! Now! Who the hay are ya?”

“Answers?” The Doctor got up, and looked him in the eye, “Are you sure you want to know?”

Braeburn nodded his head firmly.

“Okay…” the childish glint in his eye seemed to vanish, “Imagine that you were the last of your kind. Imagine that you could feel the world shifting under your feet. Imagine that you could somehow comprehend in your thick pony skull that there are other worlds out there, each containing evil creatures. And that it was your duty to protect it. Imagine you knew everything. Every possible future, the whole history of the universe. And imagine that nearly everything was against you, and hated you. That’s who I am. The Doctor.”

All of a sudden, the lights of a restaurant on the right of the street dimmed down and flickered. The Doctor, Braeburn, and Twilight to the direction of the power shortage. A blue light appeared in the middle of the street, and something began to materialize.

“Oh, dear.”

“Halt all primitive life forms known as Equines, you are compatible. Do not run and or resist, or you will be deleted,” one of the creatures stated emotionlessly.

“Doctor?” Twilight asked as the creatures marched around the town, herding frightened ponies, “You said Cybermen. Are these what you were talking about?”

“Why, yes!” he exclaimed, a bit surprised, “Only they’re the mondas ones! It’s been a while. Luckily, I think I brought some gold to trade with-”

Meanwhile, Braeburn was screaming at the top of his lungs, “What’s the matter with ya’ll! Doncha see those monsters out there?”

“Hey,” the Doctor shouted indignantly, “Don’t judge a book by its cover! It’s very racist to think everything that doesn’t look like you is evil!”

“So, are you saying that the Cybermen won’t do us any harm,” Twilight asked with relief.

“Wellll,” the Doctor drawled sheepishly, “I didn’t say that…”

The Doctor’s sentence trailed off. His eyes locked onto Braeburn. And he made a swift grab for his hat.

“Hey! That’s mah hat!!”

“I have to look presentable for these guys. I haven’t seen these guys since the day before I faked my own death!”

“Wh-what?” Braeburn face hoofed, “Listen, Doctor, we need to git outta here, now! Who knows what those things want with us!”

“I do,” the Doctor giving him a stare that would give Fluttershy a run for her money. He turned to the Cyberman and began to ‘do his thing’.

“Helloooo, then,” he greeted, “And who might you be?”

The Cybermen marched up to him, and said, “We are the Cybermen of the planet Mondas,” The first Cyberman answered, “We do not wish to bring harm upon the worthless, weak ponies. We shall collect them and send them for the upgrading process.”

“Ah, yes,” he nodded, “Quite reasonable. But, I’m sure that many of the ponies here don’t want to be emotionless metal shells like you. Anyway, more to the poin-tah!, Why are you here, on this planet?

The next answer was a bit hesitant. After a few seconds, the Cyberman finally answered, “We were… running.”

“Huh,” he responded with a taunting tone, “All of your emotions, erased. But seems like you can still feel two things. Humiliation, and fear.”

“This pony knows much of our race,” the Cyberman shouted, “Tell us where you got your intelligence from, or be deleted.”

“Just answer me this,” the Doctor raised an eyebrow, “Just think. Just think of the person you were running from. And remember. Remember every day he destroyed you, or defeated you. And do you think you ran far enough? Across ten galaxies? No. Because…”

He deactivated the Perception Filter. His image faltered, and he was replaced by his true form. His tall, biped form, standing on the dry ground. The Cybermen stopped dead on their tracks. The Doctor tipped Braeburn’s Stetson, “Hello, again! Now, I’m not asking for much. These ponies are simple, unsophisticated, and primitive creatures. Wait a minute… those words all mean the same thing. Anyway, all I’m asking for is a surrender.”

The Cyberman seemed to consider this. But he just gave an answer in that cold, heartless voice; “No.”

“Well then,” he replied, reaching into his coat pocket, “It’s a good thing that I’m always prepared!” he conjured a dark red bag. The Doctor threw it into the fleet, and it burst open, scattering some sort of dust all over the Cybermen. Instantly, they made a wheezing sound, and they all collapsed.

“Gold dust,” The Doctor kneeled down to inspect a Cyberman’s head, “Never leave the TARDIS without it.” He pulled out the Sonic and removed it’s head.

“What the hay just happened!” Braeburn shouted frantically, and he started to hyperventilate. Twilight rolled her eyes. You just get used to this sort of stuff in the TARDIS.

“Alright, Twilight,” he moved towards the TARDIS, carrying the Cyberman’s head under his arm, “Time’s a-wastin’.”

“Where are we going now?”

“Deep into the heart of the Cyberarmy,”

"We’re going to the Mothership.”