A Grey Box

by Lonepone

Rating: teen
Tags: Octavia, Crossover, DJ P0N-3, Tragedy, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Human, Doctor Whooves, Original Character
Length: 5768

Vinyl and Octavia and a Timelord travel between alternate dimesions.

Vinyl and Octavia travel between alternate dimensions with what at first appears to be a Timelord. But as time goes on, Vinyl will find that not all is as it seems with this confusing entity, and that maybe it would have been better to have never gone in the box in the first place.

Published 2013-12-23 20:40:03 UTC
Last updated 2013-12-23 20:40:03 UTC

Repeating the Past

I tackle the Master to the ground of the stolen Tardis. He looks shocked at my sudden outburst. I hit him, hoping to knock him out. He stops resisting, and lays on the floor dazed.

I leave him there, and walk to the main console of the Tardis. I pull out my sonic screwdriver from it’s pocket, and look at how he rewired the time engine to jump between dimensions. With this knowledge, I set it on a timer to jump into the void of inter-universal space, and self destruct. I would’ve loved to take this Tardis, disassemble it, and upgrade mine with the pieces, but then what would I do with him. This planet hasn’t had any alien visitors that look different. They’re not ready.

I hit start for the countdown sequence. I walk out the main doors, right as the Master is getting up.

“Enjoy the trip to nowhere” I tell him. I shut the doors, and insert the master key I have on a chain around my neck. The doors lock permanently. I hear him banging on the door, wanting to be released. “Tough luck, buddy. I hope you enjoy the void”

The blue box screeches, angry at me for making her go to a place with no return.

I walk towards the building I sent Octavia and Vinyl too. The dorm room. I question whether or not I should say farewell. Either way, I’m leaving. I’ve been here for too long, I’m starting to go native. I walk up to my room. Those two are standing there, probably wanting an explanation.

“No, I’m not going to tell you what that was” I tell those two. I remember what I was told earlier about Vinyl’s eminent death. Maybe I can forestall that. As a parting gift. “On second thought, I will. You two, follow me”

“Uhm alright. Not really giving us a chance to speak, are you?” Vinyl sas.

“Sorry, no. That was a Tardis. They can travel through time and space, and that one could jump between universes”

“Haha, real funny. Seriosly, what was that?” Octavia asks disbelievingly.

“Don’t believe me? Walk in that door” I say, pointing my hoof at my silver box. The doors swing open at my gesture. They look in.

“Is it...” Octavia asks half a question.

“Bigger on the inside?” Vinyl Scratch finishes the question.

I smile. “Yup. Look inside” I walk in, and the two of them follow me.

I even take a look around, admiring it. It’s been a while since I’ve been in here. About 150 years. I walk up a flight of steps to the central console and pillar. The steps are steel, along with the railings. The floor is one large sheet of glass. The console is perfectly round, but divided into six segments. There’s a chair on one end.

“How are you feeling, Big Sexy?” I ask the ship.

“Excuse me?” Octavia asks since I was looking in her general direction.

“No, I was talking to the ship” I tell her.

Vinyl Scratch walks up to me from my right. “Ship? What is the purpose of this thing anyways?”

I laugh lightly. “Interdimensional time and space travel. I call it the T.A.R.D.I.S. Time And Relative Dimension In Space. I go places. Do things. I live”

“And why did you bring the two of us in here?” Octavia asks with wonder, and an undertone of fear.

“Well. All of time and infinite space. All alone. So much stuff, but no one else that has seen the things you’ve seen, done the things you’ve done” I say, somewhat avoiding the question.

“Cool” Vinyl says.

Octavia doesn’t buy it, however. “That didn’t answer my question”

I sigh. “Because I’m lonely. I go to all these places, but I have no one to share it with. All this, trapped in one head. One head that isn’t meant to house all this without an output. It’s not healthy. But yeah, I get lonely. So, my proposition. Would you like to come with me?”

“Hell yeah!” Vinyl shouts.

Octavia takes a moment to think. “Is it dangerous?”

“It can be” I say. “But it doesn’t have to be. It’s only dangerous when we can’t get back inside the Tardis. If we come across a place that’s inhospitable, then all we have to do is step back inside, I work the controls, and we’re back somewhere safe”

“I mean is the traveling safe?”

I take a moment to respond. “Completely”

Octavia frowns. “I heard some hesitation, Lonepone. What does that mean?”

I smile, and make sure not to hesitate this time. “Nothing. Just lost in a certain train of thought, is all”

Vinyl turns to Octavia. “Come on, let’s go. Think of the things we can see!”

“I don’t know. This sounds really dangerous. I think-”

I cut her off. “Tell you what. One trip. If you think it’s safe, Octavia, I’ll take you on more. If not, I drop you back off here. Five seconds since when we left”

Vinyl looks at me. “But then what would you do if you dropped us back off?”

I laugh darkly. I open my mouth to talk, but Vinyl starts before I can. “You sure do laugh a lot”

“Yes, I do. Anyways, if I dropped you guys off, I would go on, and maybe find another pony who would like to come with me. Until then... I’d be alone. As I always have been” I’m lost in thought for a moment. I think of my one friend, the one who gave me my life. And what happened. I snap back to reality. “But whatever happens, happens. But before we go, I need to do something. Stay here in the console room, please, I should be back in a few moments” I start to walk to the rear doors that lead into the catacombs that houses the rest of my ship, but I stop. “Actually, Go to your rooms. Grab whatever you think you might need, and come back here”

I wait a few seconds for any questions. When none are presented, I walk through the back doors. The Tardis senses the room I want, and she reconfigures herself so that the first door leads me into the room I want.

It’s a bare, circular room, with a chair in the middle. The chair has metallic clamps on arms and legs, and a machine stands above it. A blood stain covers one wall.

I sit in the chair, and the clamps lock me in place.

A feminine voice speaks. “Injecting pain killer”

A needle from the large machine swings down, and pricks me in the arm. A coolness flows up me, and calms me. I designed the painkiller to be a light sedative also.

The majority of the machine swings down, and faces me.

The female voice speaks again. “Starting termination process”

The machine points a barrel at my face. I hear a click, and then my vision goes to black. Right before I ‘die’, I hold an image of what I want to be after the process is over.

***

A young man stood in wonder in front of a blue police box. A harsh groan filled the air, and smoke streamed from the crater the blue box was in. Suddenly, the doors flew open, and a tall man stood in the doorway.

“Who are you?” The young man asked.

The tall man looked at his hands as if he had never seen them before.

“I said, who are you?” The young man asked.

The tall man looks at the young man in surprise, as if he only just noticed him. “Why hello there. Where would I happen to be?” He asked, oblivious to his question.

“America” The young man told him. “In the middle of a forest. Are you an alien?’

“I suppose I am an alien, from your viewpoint” The tall man said.

“What is that thing?” The young man asked.

“This is my spaceship. I can travel through all of time and space in this” The tall man said boastfully.

The young man nodded. “Would you mind picking up a hitchhiker?” He asked.

“Possibly. But wouldn’t you be missed by your friends and family?” The tall man asked in return.

“No. I have no friends, and my family is gone” The young man said with a sad face.

The tall man nodded in agreement. “Then it seems we are both in the same predicament. You see, I’m just like you. My friends all left me, and my family is a long, long ways away. I’ll tell you what. You come with me, and we’ll be friends” He said.

The young man looks up with a smile. “I would like friend”

Author's Note

Well, here's the first chapter. After I finish a story I'm working on with a friend, all my attention and energy will be focused on this.

If you liked or disliked this, please comment what you (dis)liked about it. My writing style, grammatical or spelling errors, etc.

First Wave

I swing my head through the darkness. This is not right. Not right at all. Not natural. I should be dead. I’m human. Humans die. But I was an idiot, and I made myself immortal. The only way I know of how to kill myself would take all of existence with me.

My vision slowly comes into focus. I’m only trapped in the darkness because my eyes are shut. I open them. The light hurts my eyes, so I close them.

I feel... Strange. Everytime I do this I feel this way. I feel a new personality taking over. Blindly, yet knowing the room by memory, I walk to a wall, and slam my hoof into it. I hit it over and over, until my hoof is bleeding. I force my eyes open, embrace the pain of light, and look at my bloody, mangled hoof. A golden light emits from the cut, but flickers, failing to heal it.

I concentrate on it, wanting to heal so I can hurt it again. The golden light flickers, and turns black. This has not happened before. Am I finally reaching the end of my immortality?

But at that little glimmer of hope, the light flares gold and seals the wound.

I resume my attack on the wall. Slowly, my anger ebbs away. The new personality begins to take hold of me once more. That anger isn’t apart of me, it’s only the remains of the animal that still resides deep within our minds.

I smile. Not an insane smile, just a natural smile of a happy pony. The smile of being back in control of yourself after a nightmare. Of remembering that all those things that haunt the edges of your mind can’t possibly physically hurt you, only cause you fear.

I roll my shoulders, all of a sudden happy with the world. I practically run towards the door. They open at my approach, and let me pass. Next stop: Wardrobe.

I walk into the nearest door I find, and sure enough, I’ve found the wardrobe room. I throw now to small and tight trench coat that I completely forgot I was wearing onto a random hanger. And with my coat off, I see one of the most amazing things. My wings.

I grab a mirror, and look at myself. I’m a stunning shade of neon green, with bright blue eyes. No horn. At least I’m not an alicorn. I had a feeling that was going to be this regeneration, but maybe its the next one. My hair is an even blue tone.

I put on a plain black fedora, and look at myself. My hair slowly changes color, becoming a dark grey to compliment the fedora. I smile. My neon green coat has darkened to a dark forest green. I chuck the mirror to some obscure corner of the room. I won’t need that anymore.

As I walk out the door. I think of where I need to go. Main Tardis control room. As expected, the main rear doors are at the near end of this hallway. I walk along the warmly lit hall. Hold on, that doesn’t seem right. Last I checked, the Tardis was a medley of metallic decor. Now, it seems to be a plasticky material, and more warmly lit then the cold, clinical lighting before. I smile. I like it better this time.

As I walk into the main room, my stomach rumbles. I’m hungry. What an odd sensation. It’s like pain, but not really. It’s like a yearning to consume things. I laugh louder than before.

Octavia and Vinyl Scratch give me an odd look.

“Who are you?” They ask almost in unison.

“Me? I’m the Ronan” I say, using my title. “And as for what happened to Lonepone, he died”

They give me a shocked expression. “He died?” Octavia says,, half stating it, and half asking it. She looks at Vinyl. “That’s it. We are leaving. If he died on this infernal ship, then what’s going to happen when we go places?”

Vinyl looks ready to argue but I step in. “Just pulling your leg! I’m Lonepone”

They look at me.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, I don’t look like him. But if you haven’t figured out by now, I’m not your average pony” I pause for effect. “I’m capable of many things, some of which you may find... unnatural”

I walk up to the main console. The entire middle column has changed. Well not changed, but entirely removed. And it’s level with the doors now. The room is a neat hemisphere, with circular lights on the walls. A set of stairs leads down to all the wiring, should I need access.

“Where to?” I ask them. They say nothing. “Well, to a random time and location then!”

I flip switches, hit buttons, and pull levers seemingly at random. The room is filled with the great screeching of the machine moving. Vinyl and Octavia look around in concern. I smile slightly to myself. I look as a display screen conveniently located on the console frame. It shows our location in both time and space. I jump us forward around ten thousand years. I keep us in the same location, however. We enter the time stream,

The screeching intensifies as we start traversing time. The whole room shakes, but surprisingly few sparks fly. Then with a sudden thud that reverberates through the entire cabin, the screeching stops. I look at the screen.

I grab a mic that is connected to the intercom system, and turn it on. “Ladies and gentlecolts, we have arrived”

Vinyl and Octavia look up at the speakers at the sound of my voice, and then they look at me.

I hop away from the console, and run to the main doors. “This is the most exciting part” I tell them. “Let’s make a bet about what’s outside. winner gets to pick the next location” I look at the other two for confirmation. Vinyl nods, and so does Octavia.

“Alright, I bet a jungle” I say.

“Deserted island” Vinyl chips in.

“Desert” Octavia says.

I throw the doors wide open...

And a gust of hot sand blows in on us, and slams the door shut. I give Octavia an impressed look. “You two sit tight, I’m going to go check it out” I walk out the main doors, and put my hooves on solid sand.

A vicious wind threatens to steal my hat, so I put a hoof on it to keep it in place. I jump, and hover in place. I put my other foreleg above my eyes so I can see better. Sand, as far as the eye can see. But just barely, at the far horizon in front of us, I can just make out what appears to be a large complex of some kind. I have to blink rapidly due to the amount of sand blowing. I’ve been out here for only a few moments, but already the hot sun on my back is starting to bake me. Without thinking about it, I start to pant, trying to cool off. My tail and main ruffly in the breeze, being animated by the wind.

A particularly strong gust of wind knocks me off balance, and sends me careening into the sand. My fedora blows of my head. I get up, and chase after it. After a few failed attempts, I manage to snatch it out of the air. I look behind me, and I can just barely make out the shape of my silver Tardis. I hurriedly trot back to it. I open the doors, and bolt inside. The wind closes the doors for me.

“How is it out there?” Vinyl asks me.

“Hot, windy, and sandy. Nothing for a long ways. But I think I saw something. I’m going to run a scan on the terrain in a ten mile proximity. The scanners should pick up any decent sized building”

I quickly trot up to the console, not waiting for an answer. I hit the scanner button, and twist the knob to 100 miles. The screen lights up. A row of ancient symbols that only I can read appears. This language can’t even be translated by the Tardis’s language module. All sand dunes and such, except for two abnormalities. An odd moving mass at the very edge of the scanner range. It’s moving towards the other abnormality. The other one is a large complex of buildings, surrounded by a wall.

The other two walk up, and look at the screen. They can’t comprehend it however, so they ask me. “What does it say, Lonepone?” Vinyl says.

“Yes, and what is that language?” Octavia adds.

I turn to Vinyl. “One: Don’t call me Lonepone. That was just the name I use in association with that body”

She gives me an odd look. “Okay, then what’s your name?”

“I told you. I am the Ronan”

Octavia looks deep in concentration. “I’ve heard that before. That’s a word, isn't it?”

“Yup! A japonyse word. Ronan is like a masterless knight. There is no direct equivalent in this language”

Octavia looks at me. “And this is the name you were given at birth?”

“Oh hell no. I have a true name, like you, but I don’t use it. Ever. I either use a pseudonym, or my title, Ronan. I’ll explain why, but in due time. And Octavia, that language is called Ancient Circular Gallifreyan. It’s an incredibly tricky language to learn. An old friend taught it to me. Anyways. We have two options. One: We can walk the one hundred miles of desert to this compound, or we could just teleport there” I say. It’s obvious which one to choose.

“Teleport” Vinyl says.

“I agree” Octavia states in her high class voice.

“Alright” I say. “While I’m busy navigating us there, go through those back doors. I need you to go to the wardrobe and grab some desert clothing. A scarf to cover our mouths, and saddlebags with water. It may be confusing what you see, but just keep in mind what you want to find, and you should find it. And grab some goggles too. Whatever you think may be useful” With that the two of them walk hesitantly through the doors.

I prepare the Tardis for a short spacial jump. With a quieter groaning noise, we phase out of our current position, and into the complex. Vinyl and Octavia come back out into the main room with a bundle of clothing, some saddlebags, and three pairs of goggles.

I show them how to wrap the white scarves around their necks so that it covers their entire muzzle, and keep out most of the sand. We put on the googles, and wrap another scarf around our face to keep from being sand and sunburnt. We put the full saddle bags on, and group near the front main doors.

“Ready?” I ask, my voice slightly muffled by scarf. They nod in return.

The three of us walk out of the main door.

The sand is blowing just as hard here as it was in the middle of the desert. A lone figure stands before us, veiled by the blowing sand. It steps forward, and we get a better look.

At first it seems to be a pony, but the I see the metal instead of a normal coat of fur, the glowing red eyes, and the minigun and small missile launcher sticking out of it’s back, pointing directly at me.

In a heavily synthesized voice, it says “Give me back my Master”

Despite the fact that I can tell it’s a robot, the emotion in it’s voice is evident. It’s scared, and alone. And so it’s doing what it thinks is the best thing.

“Vinyl, Octavia, get back in the Tardis” I say soothingly. I don’t want to upset this scared creature any more. Thankfully, they listen without arguing.

Now it’s just me and the robot staring each other down. “I want my Master back!” It’s synthesized voice shouts.

“I don’t have your Master” I tell it. “But I will help you find your Master”

The robot lowers its defenses. The minigun and missile launcher fold away into it’s back. It’s eyes pulse from red to blue. It’s entire body loosens, and blue LEDs can be seen here and there on it.

“What is your name?” I ask it.

“I am designated M3CH. But I have named myself Mechal, and Master has agreed to it. What is your name?”

“I am called Ronan” I tell it.

“Pleased to meet you, Ronan” It says. No, not it. She. That name is feminine, and it has emotions. It sounds genuinely happy to have another living being to communicate with.

“Mechal, could you follow me?” I ask. She nods her head. I lead her into the Tardis. Vinyl and Octavia back away from her.

“Pleased to meet you” Mechal says. “My name is Mechal. Who are you?” She asks.

“Go on, she was just afraid of us at first” I tell them.

Octavia slides the scarf and goggles down around her neck. “My name is Octavia” She says.

Mechal looks at Octavia, as if scanning her. “Octavia” Mechal repeats. “That’s a very pretty name. I’m sure Master would like to meet you”

Octavia blushes slightly. “Thank you, Mechal”

“And who are you?” Mechal asks, looking at Vinyl.

Vinyl slides her goggles and scarf down around her neck like Octavia. “My name’s Vinyl Scratch” She says.

Mechal looks at her again, as if scanning her. Her eyes pulse from blue to red, the blue LEDs turn off, and her joints stiffen. A small railgun pops out of her shoulder joint, and points at Vinyl. “You!” She screams. “You stole master!” She advances towards Vinyl.

“No I didn’t!” Vinyl shouts back. “I don’t even know who your Master is!”

“Your genetic structure is has about a fifty percent match to those who stole master, and your neurological makeup is also similar to them!”

I step in between them before it gets ugly. “Mechal, it’s only a fifty percent match” An idea occurs to me. “Mechal, scan me. How similar am I to those who stole your Master?”

She looks at me, and scans me. “Your genetic structuring is... Strange. I detect a fifteen percent match. You also have a five percent match to griffons, and a twenty percent match to... Alicorns. I can’t identify the other sixty percent.” She says mystified. Her railgun returns to her shoulder joint. “Your neurological structure also very strange” Her eyes pulse from red back to blue. “Its ancient. It bears a close resemblance to changelings. But there’s still so much that I can’t identify” Her body loosens up again. “What are you?” Mechal asks.

Octavia and Vinyl Scratch are also looking at me with a mixture of surprise and confusion.

I smile. “I’m unique”

Mechal looks at Vinyl. “My apologies. I believe that I wrongly accused you of a crime you didn’t commit”

I look at Vinyl. She doesn’t notice me, however. “No problem, Mechal” She says.

Mechal looks at me, assuming I’m the leader here. “Will you help me find Master?” She asks.

“I will. Who took you Master?”

“The Changeling army” She says.

“Well then, I got news for you. The Changeling army is en route. I detected them moving through my scanners” I tell her.

Mechal looks around the ship, doing her scanning thing.

“You have time travel, and interdimensional capabilities” She states. “Do you have a weapons bunker? I can’t scan past the shielding you have around this room”

I hesitate. “Yes” I finally say. “Yeah, I have a weapons bunker”

“Are we fighting? I thought you promised no fighting” Octavia protests.

“No, we're not fighting. I’m fighting. You’re staying in here, safe” I tell them in a tone that offers no room to argue. “Mechal, meet me outside. I’ll be there in a moment” I walk through the back doors, and the door to the armory appears in front of me. Right before I enter, a memory surfaces.

A young man looked at a tall man. They were running.

“But Doctor” The young man said. “Why don’t we fight them? You can be so powerful. You can help the weak. Be a savior” The young man said to the tall man.

“Because I can use that excuse of being a savior to do whatever I want. It’s why I’m the last of my kind. I won’t repeat the mistakes of my deceased brethren.” The tall man told the young man.

The young man said nothing, but he silently disagreed with the tall man.

I know that my old friend was against weapons, but sometimes you can’t reason with people. So I added an armory.

I push through the doors. A pad on the floor with four red dots is in front of me. I put my hooves on the red dots. The floor around me opens up. A mechanical suit is assembled around. The armor is made so that I can still fly with the assistance of jets. A helmet goes over my head. The screen fades from opaque to clear. The hud powers on. I’m at one hundred percent power. A rifle is fitted to my right foreleg. A railgun goes on my left. A pistol goes my right hip. A shotgun goes on my left. A turret is placed on my back. A sniper rifle is attached to a custom holster on my back. I have plenty of ammo.

I walk out of the armory, and into the main room. Octavia and Vinyl Scratch look at me with a mixture of fear and awe. But mostly fear.

I walk out the main doors. Mechal is waiting for me there, in combat mode. She looks at me and nods.

The radar on my suit powers up, giving me sight through the hud even when I can’t see due to the sand. The two of us go out the main gate of the compound, and the gate shuts behind us.

My com system crackles, and I hear Mechal’s voice. “I’ve activated the compounds defense matrix. It will keep your two companions safe”. There’s a click, and shes gone. The vanguard of the changeling army appears over a dune.

I pull out my sniper rifle. It magnetically locks to me suit. The reticle is displayed on my hud, along with how many shots I got in the clip and how much ammo I got total. I line up the sights on the nearest one, and mentally pull the trigger. There’s little kick, but a spray of blue erupts from my target. One down. I line up the sights on the next one. I’m about to pull the trigger, but a flurry of bullets from next to me obliterates my target, leaving nothing but a blue splotch on the sand.

Mechals voice invades my helmet again. “I’m going to link my systems with those in your suit, so we don’t target the same one again” She informs me.

I move on to my next target. They seem aware that they’re being shot at, and they’re retreating slightly, waiting for reinforcements. I pull the trigger right as he disappears behind a sand dune. Instead of a sapphire spray, my shot is rewarded with a plume of sand.

“I got this” Mechal says. A rocket flies at the dune, and it erupts as a large volcano of sand. I start picking off targets as they try to find new cover.

A green comet strikes next to me. A changeling struts out of the green flames. I drop my sniper rifle, and engage him. I block his first strike, step back from a lunge, and parry a flying fist. I slip under his fourth blow, and hit him once solidly in the neck. It connects with a satisfying snap.

More and more Changelings rain around me. I flap my wings, and hover a foot of the ground. A blade slides out from my two front gauntlets, and I attack.

Vinyl’s point of view

I can feel the Voice plotting in the back of my head. It’s not saying anything, but it’s responding to the massive amount of it’s brethren that are in proximity. Every second is a fight for control over my own body.

“Vinyl!” Octavia shrieks.

“What?” I ask, jumping up. I’m black. I’m like an anti-Michael Jackson. Instead of my normal white fur, I’m covered by a black insectoid armor.

Ronan’s point of view

It seems that the horde is thinning. Dead and dying changelings surround me. My entire suit is covered in their blue blood. Why did I have to make them so strong?

I lose track of time again in the midst of battle.

Viniccilios’s point of view

I fight the overlord’s control. ‘What are you afraid of?’ I whisper in the back of her mind. ‘You’re one of them. Go out there and save your family. That friend of yours is slaughtering them’

‘Never!’ She growls back. I mentally laugh. I use my dialogue with her as a distraction as I take away the control from her. ‘Those aren’t my family’

‘Maybe they aren’t your family, but they’re my family’ I say. With that, I take the poer to shapeshift from her.

‘Are you really like them?’ She asks me.

‘Of course I am. I am them’

‘But they have no sense of self’ She says.

I’m silent for a moment. ‘That doesn’t matter. I’m still connected to the hive mind. I still hear the calling of the Queen’ I say.

I cause her immense pain for suggesting that I’m not a true Changeling. But that doesn’t fix what she said. All this time I’ve been toying with her when I could’ve taken control any moment. I push that thought out of my mind.

She starts regaining control of her shapeshifting. I can feel the strain this is putting on her neurons. ‘Careful, you might blow a few fuses’ I warn her.

‘Hopefully they’ll be the fuses you use’ She says bitterly.

Being a Changeling, or the mind of one in my case, we don’t see the need of useless emotion. But since I have more independant thought than most, I’ve come to appreciate certain emotions. Like this for example. Willing to sacrifice one’s self to defeat an enemy. I can admire that.

Vinyl mentally laughs. ‘I can hear you now, just as you can hear me’ She says with a strain. ‘Nice to know you appreciate emotion’

I give up my control. I will need that brain afterall. I am in that brain, just in the attic of it.

‘You win today’ I tell her.

Ronan’s point of view

It seems as if we’ve fought off the majority of the invading wave.

A single changeling carrying a white flag appears.

“Hold your fire” I tell Mechal.

He approaches us.

I step towards him. “Speak” I say.

“We are willing to offer a truce” He says. “You let us pass around this complex, and neither side will attack”

“Why? What’s on the other side?” I ask.

“The shrinking Pony Empire”

“Give me back the pony you kidnapped, and the three of us shall discuss it” I say.

He thinks for a moment. “Agreed. I shall return bringing the hostage” He walks back the way he came. He trusts us enough to turn his back to us.

“Should I shoot?” Mechal asks me.

“No. He came under a white flag. Let him go”

We stand there, and wait.

A while later, he comes back, with a pony in tow behind him.

The changeling returns.

“Master!” Mechal shouts. She runs to the pony and throws her mechanical arms around him.

He laughs, a deep, rich laugh. “Hello, Mechal” He says. “Whos your friend?”

“I’m Ronan” I say.

“Nice to meet my saviour. The Technician, at your service”

The changeling is heading back to his army.

“Come on, let’s get you suited up”

The three of us walk back under the gates to my Tardis.

When I show the Technician inside, he marvels about it being bigger on the inside.

“And who might these two be?” He asks, gesturing to Vinyl and Octavia.

“They’re Vinyl and Octavia, Master” Mechal says.

“Nice to meet you both” he says.

“Same” They reply.

I take Vinyl off to the side while the other three talk.

“Did you have any problems while I was gone?” I ask her.

She looks at me, wondering how I know. “I’ll take that as a yes, but that you got it under control now”

She nods.

The two of us walk back to the main group. “Alright, the changeling army is going to be passing us soon. We can not let them get past us and attack the Pony Empire. So, anypony got a plan?”

Author's Note

Well, Next chapter.

I haven't done anything but type today, doing this entire story in about four hours. I have literally been sitting at this computer typing in my pajamas all day. My head is so fucking woozy from lack of food and staring at a computer screen that I feel like I'm going to pass out. But I'm going to keep typing until I do. This will be my only chance to write until January second, so I gotta make it count. But don't expect another chapter like this today.