Chapters Highlights of Doctor Who: Ponified.
The Challange of the Sycorax
There was a pregnant pause aboard the Sycorax ship. A young mare by the name of Twilight Sparkle had just laid down the law with them, explaining in great detail why they couldn't conquer Equesrtia. She had made a resounding logical argument, going over ethics, Equestrian law, and even thrown in some jokes. It was the most important speech of her life.
Unfortunately, that was when they started laughing at her. The lavender unicorn exchanged glances with Spike.
That hadn't the reaction she had hoped for.
The Sycorax leader quieted his chuckles and brought him up to full height. "Did you really expect such a transparent ploy to work on me, little pony?" He asked in a deep growling voice. "We have your people in a death grip! Make your decision now!"
That's the problem, Twilight thought. So much has happened; I don't know what to do.
It had started just the previous day. Twilight and her friends were hanging out, just doing their thing when Pinkie Pie, for no apparent reason, ran in, wised them all a Merry Christmas, and passed out. She's been remained so even after they had moved her to Twilight's library. While that was still going on, they had received a new message: Aliens were coming to Equesrtia.
The aliens identified themselves as Sycorax, and wanted to take Equesrtia over for themselves. Some of their advanced agents had made to the planet ahead of the rest and attacked the library. Twilight assumed they were after the Elements of Harmony.
That was when Pinkie Pie had woken up again.
She mentioned several things during the whirling of activity that followed, like what was attacking them, (Ryrek! Their tree-robots! Cool, huh?) Disabling them in a matter of minutes from a device she cobbled together in her kitchen, (I'm naming it the Signal-Jammer-Inator! Because it jams signals and all gimmicky gadgets are Inators! Duh!) and the most shocking thing of all:
"I'm not a pony." Pinkie Pie said with a carefree smile. "I'm an alien!"
Then she passed out again. Just to be difficult.
The Sycorax ship made it to Equesrtia, and put every Unicorn under some kind of spell. Even the Princesses' were affected. Twilight was able to change Pinkie's machine into a shield that protected everybody at her library from the whatever it was. Unfortunately, the Sycorax had detected them, and some how teleported the entire tree into their ship. They had demanded that Twilight negotiate on behalf of her ponies.
The choice was this: Either half the planet would be killed by the spell, or a third would be sold into slavery.
Twilight weighed the decision carefully. On the one side, if she refused to surrender, she would be responsible for the death of several million ponies. On the other side, many would say that slavery is worse than death.
One allowed some to go free. The other allowed all to live a living death.
What could she do?
Just then, the doors to the library popped open, and Pinkie Pie casually strode out.
"Hi everyone! Did ya miss me?" She asked perkily. Twilight was too surprised to correct her into saying everypony. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to give me a sec" She turned around and faced Twilight. "Am I green?" She asked.
There was silence
"What?" Twilight was finally able to ask.
"Nevermind, I can check for myself." Pinkie glanced down. "Nope, still pink!" She giggled. "Oh, I can still giggle to! Good, I'm still me!"
"Who else would you be?" Spike asked.
"That's the problem, you see, I don't know." Pinkie looked contemplative. "Heck, I'm not completely sure who I am now. I was never this when I was Pinkie Pie, I was just, you know," She made a weird circular motion with her hoof. "Pinkie Pie."
Twilight had almost processed this. She was almost able to come to grips with the fact that her friend had gone crazy. Er. Crazier than normal, when Pinkie Pie turned back to the Sycorax and Twilight lost her ability to speak.
Pinkie Pie's Cutie mark had changed.
Before, it had been three balloons, but now A Golden Hourglass blazed brightly, almost glowing.
At this point, Twilight's brain just went 'screw this, your on your own' and left her gibbering and pointing at Pinkie and the other Aliens.
"Now, what have I missed?" Pinkie asked cheerfully. "Lets see: A Sycorax ship, obviously, and you've kidnapped two of my best friends. What are you planning on doing with us?"
The Sycorax leader exchanged a glance with his subordinate. "Every magical being on your pitiful rock is under our control, so unless-"
"Ooh! What's this?" Pinkie as pointing at the large red button that decided whether the ponies of Equesrtia lived or died.
"Get away from that, you fool!" The Sycorax leader bellowed. "Have you no common sense?"
"Of course not!"
The Sycorax leader face palmed.
"Thing is, I'm a bit excitable, and things I've never seen before make me soooooo excited! Like all the wires and glowy energy stuff underneath that big red button." Pinkie carefully stuck her tongue into the 'glowly energy stuff'. "On the downside," She said frowning. "This tech isn't very new."
"Of course not, foolish pony!" The Sycorax leader bellowed. "Our magic is-"
"Nothing more than a modified version of Harmonization generator." Pinkie interrupted. "Normally, this stuff locks onto and stabilizes ordinary energy signatures. It's used to fix power generators. All you did was modify it to make it work on magic. Since mystical energy is just ordinary brainwaves translated through a unicorn horn into other forms of energy, it placed any unicorn in range into a hypnotic trance. It's only good until the unicorn horns natural energy signature remodulates in response to the field pattern." She huffed. "Seriously, how dumb do you think I am?"
Stunned silence.
The Sycorax leader rallied himself. "Don't be ridiculous, little pony! We hold a third of your race under our thrall! You have nothing!"
Pinkie snorted. "Don't be silly! You can't hypnotize someone into killing themselves. Hypnotism is merely when the body enters a relaxed state and is submissive to outside stimuli. It doesn't turn of the brains sense of self-preservation." She paused, seeing the confused faces around her. "You can't hypnotize someone to death." She glanced at Twilight. "Seriously, isn't anyone getting this?"
Twilight snapped out of her confused state. "So you're saying that nopony is really in danger?"
"I said nobody, but ya. Now, what about your answer?"
Twilight looked confused again. Pinkie sighed. "Your speaking on behalf of Equesrtia, aren't you? Under article 3f of the Shadow Proclamation, it is illegal to enslave any part of a planet that has not surrendered itself to you, and G7 has some strict regulations about declaring war on pre-warp cultures. If you don't surrender, they will be legally forced to leave Equestrian airspace immediately."
Twilight blinked. 'YES! I mean, No! I mean…" she shook her head and turned to face the Sycorax leader. "Equesrtia does not surrender, and it never will! Do your worst!"
The Sycorax leader gaped. He spun around and loomed over Pinkie Pie. "You, You…pony! You have destroyed everything! In less than a minute! By doing nothing other than talk! I challenge you to a duel!"
The crowd gasped.
Pinkie Pie frowned. "Oh, really? Can't we be friends?"
"Friends?" The Sycorax leader spat. "With a pathetic life form such as yourself?"
"Okay, not maybe friends, but you don't have made everything worse. I beat you fair and square. You don't have to hurt anyone." Her eyes shown with sincerity. "Please. Just go."
"Your bluff is all to transparent!" The Sycorax leader drew his sword. "Now, tell me the name of the pony I will be executing."
"I'm not a pony." Pinkie said quietly. "And you won't be hurting anyone else."
The Sycorax leader laughed. "And why is that?"
The pink mares' mouth settled into a thin line. Her entire expression changed from one of compassion to one of condemnation. She spoke four words, four words that inevitable change the lives of whoever hears them.
"Because I'm the Doctor."
When dictating this to her diary, Twilight would say that the expression on The leaders face was one of the most interesting things about the meet. It went from absolute confidence to fear in less than a second. Pinkie, now known to be the Doctor, took another step forewords. In a dead serious tone she continued, "I'm the last of the Time Lords. I am the Oncoming Storm, the Breaker of the Black Guardian , and the destroyer of Worlds. You just tried to destroy my home. But I'm willing to over look that, if you'll just leave." The Sycorax looked a each other. "Seriously, that's it! Just run away! That's all you have to do."
The Sycorax leader hesitated. The Doctor took anther step forewords, until she was standing nose to nose with him. Her eyes blazed with a cold fury.
"I said: Run!"
When would be alien conquers gathered around in bars and to tell tales, one this Sycorax leader always made sure to tell was how he had been the one being to escape the Doctor's wrath.
How?
He was the only one smart enough to run.
Highlights of Doctor Who: Ponified.
Discord stared into the face of evil. This is worth noting because, not to long ago, most people would have said he was the face of evil.
Things had changed since then.
The Smu'z crackled and laughed. They were a parasite, something he made as a joke. They were supposed to affect unicorn magic and cause it to back fire, to cause amusing chaos. It looked like just a big grey blob.
But it turned on him...
It absorbed his power, and it was using it to destroy all Equesrtia. The land, the sky, everything slowly turned grey and was assimilated into the Smu'z itself.
All because he had made a mistake.
He sighed. His powers were gone, his intelligence was useless here…what else did he have?
Rest now…My warrior…
Discord turned towards Ponyville in surprise. Off in the distance, he could hear Fluttershy singing. Slowly, first Twilight, then Pinkie, then all the others joined in.
And let the cloak of life…cling to your bones….cling to your bones…
He snorted. There wasn't anything to be done. There was nothing they could do. And yet, they didn't give up. If he wasn't about to die, he might find it inspiring. As it was, he just found it…kind of inspiring to be honest. Useless, but inspiring. They just didn't give up. In many ways, they were better than him. If only he could beat the Smu'z through song…
Have you ever had moment of absolute despair, only to have the solution pointed out by an eight year old? Because that was how Discord felt right then.
He faced the Smu'z, with new determination filling his body. "Can you hear them?" He asked plainly. "This race, which used to be terrified of you. The devoted themselves to you, and feared your judgment." He smirked. "And now their singing."
The Smu'z growled menacingly, which Discord ignored.
"Oh you like to think of yourself as God." He said contemptuously. "But you're not even close. Your nothing but a parasite, eating all the envy and jealously and hope and love and longing of their lives." He narrowed his eyes. "You think you are better than them because you have no emotions, because you destroy them: Now don't you see, you moron? He pointed at Ponyville. "That's what makes them so much better. They are idiots, they make mistakes, and then they get up and keep moving. Their emotions and flaws show them how to be better. I mean sure," He waved away the complaint, "Yes fall and stay down, some just wallow in their lives, but enough of them fall down and get back up again!"
The Smu'z growled. Discord swallowed nervously. This was the tricky part of the plan.
"
Alright. You want proof?" He raised his arms. "Take mine."
The only sound was the song. The Discord stepped forewords and emphasized his point. "Take. My. Memories."
The Smu'z all too eagerly complied. Discord grimaced. "But I hope you have a big appetite, because I have lived a long time, and I have seen a few things." He closed his eyes and focused on his memories.
"I walked away from the Time war. I watched the Time Lords burn and even I couldn't help them." He dropped to his knees, as his scales took a decidedly grey look. "I watched the creation of Equesrtia and I watched as Time ran out, moment by moment, until there was no Time. No Space. Just me." Using his arm he tried to stand, but his strength was failing. He grimaced. "I have walked in a universe were the laws of physics were upheld by nothing but a mad man in a blue box! I have seen terrible things, and beautiful things, and you know what's most important? What Magic is most powerful" He summoned all his strength took look up.
He was never going to live this down.
"Friendship. The Magic of Friendship."
The Smu'z, suddenly put off by the Draconequus's sudden show of strength. Discord was able to stand fully erect. "The most powerful magic in the universe, and do you know why? Its motivation. It changes you, makes you do things you never think of doing. It can move mountains, and trust me when I say this, that is not just hyperbole." He shuddered, remembering what happened the first time he had truly annoyed the Princesses. "I made me the person I am to day and it convinced me to change, And you know something? I don't thing this situation is hopeless. Not anymore."
Discord was smiling. The Smu'z was starting to get nervous.
"Because they are singing. They are singing not just of me, but of everything that makes a life. Not just lack of being dead, but real life! Its painful, it doesn't make sense. It will hurt more than anything in the universe and it will reward you more than anything you can possibly imagine." He stopped for effect, the mirth in his voice audible. "That a little more than you can stomach, isn't it?"
The Smu'z began trying to pull back but it was to late. From Discord, from all the ponies, came light, rainbows of light. The energy coursed from everywhere, into the Smu'z. It was unable to stop feeding. Slowly, light fed back into the world, Trees turned green, and the sky turned blue. All the ponies that had been killed slowly recovered their ability to move.
Through it all, Discord smiled. He finally got. He understood why the Elements worked, and why to bother living. He got it.
It's a pity about the timing.
There was a terrible bright light.
Then, all but one thing was restored.
Fluttershy flew down the path, looking around happily. "Angel Bunny!" She exclaimed. The normally sarcastic bunny leapt into her forelegs and nuzzled her. "Oh, no it wasn't me." She explained. "It was him this time. Oh Angel I so proud of him! I can't believe he…" Her voice trailed off. Angel Bunny looked around and saw the source of his adopted mother's trouble.
Discord stood there. He was smiling. Not his usual sneer though, it was an actual, proper smile. He looked at peace, probably for the fit time in his life.
Which made the fact that he was now turned to stone kind of terrible.
Fluttershy eyes teared up, and she approached the statue cautiously. He couldn't be dare. It was another prank He was hiding around the corner or was going to turn her cottage into a potted plant or something because he couldn't be dead, he just…
She didn't even notice she was crying until she felt her friends embrace around her.
It was painful. It was terrible. Discords sacrifice was a horrible thing to live through, because she would see him again. Not for a while. But she could get through it.
It just took the Magic of Friendship.
Highlights of Doctor Who: Ponified.
The ship shuddered with detonation after detonation as I aimed the bombardment at Ponyville. My name is Daughter. I belong to the Family of Blood. We are aliens, and our normal forms have been damaged. To preserve our lives, we inhabit ordinary bodies, killing the original owners. My Family and I have been trying to capture a mare named Rainbow Dash, but it isn't really her name. She thinks she's Rainbow Dash, but Rainbow Dash doesn't exist. She's really a Time Lord. The last one in universe. If we can capture, we can steal the rest of her lives and makes us immortal. Their wasted on her anyway. She'll just throw them away saving some one or something she doesn't even know. It's so easy to exploit. Right now is the perfect example. At any moment, she'll come and just hand us the key to living forever because her precious town is in danger.
Clang!
My Family and I turned to see the Fastest Flyer in Equesrtia, the Bearer of an Element of Harmony, shaking in her boots. She wore brown saddle bags and dark colored sunglasses on her forehead. She slowly made her way towards us, jumping like a mouse every time the machinery made noise.
"Just let them go!" Rainbow Dash snapped. "I'll do whatever you want, just stop shooting them!" She bumped against one of the controls and jumped back when it whirred to life. I couldn't resist torturing her a little.
"Beg." I told her. "Beg for the lives of your friends."
Rainbow hesitated. To make my point I fired off another round. That was all it took. She slowly bowed to us, her pink eyes pleading. "Please." She said. "Just stop this. You don't have to kill anything. It's not worth it."
Father of Mine laughed with what used to be Big Macintosh's face. "Not worth it? How could immortality not be worth it?"
Rainbow frowned slightly. She looked at Mother of Mine. "Please." She said again. "I know you aren't Cheerilee, but you have to remember something. Taking the class to Canterlot? Or helping the Cutie Mark Crusaders?
"Meaningless!" Mother of Mine snapped. "All that matters is the Family! All the rest of you are nothing more than cattle!"
Son of Mine approached Rainbow with the Body of Pipsqueak, his red balloon bobbing behind him. Unlike the rest of us, he looked a little worried. "Do you have it?" He asked in a little kid's voice. Did you bring the watch?" Dash gave him a pitying look.
Do you even know what your doing?" She asked him quietly. Son of Mine glanced at me.
"Its all right deary," I said. "Sister will handle the stupid old Pegasus."
Rainbow approached, all but begging. "Can't you remember anything of the Filly you used to be?"
"Everything." I said. Rainbow looked hopeful. "I remember all those times Scootaloo wasted trying to earn her Cutie Mark, how pathetic and caring she was." I walked towards her, watching as hope died. "She is dead, and I think this miserable planet is better off without ponies like her." I grabbed Rainbow Dash by her hair and painfully dragged her down to my level. "I am not Scootaloo." I said quietly. "I only care about helping The Family. Nothing else matters," I bucked her away. Dash slammed into the main control computer.
I watched her struggle to her hooves. "Alright." She said quietly. "If you want the watch that badly, then you can have it." Slowly, she lifted the object of the all the Families crimes into view.
It was a battered old pocket watch, with mysterious runes on the back. It was rusty, dented, and it looked like it had been ignored all its life.
My Family and I looked at it like it was made of diamonds.
This was the Watch of a Time Lord. Inside, it held the remaining lives of the Time Lord this mare used to be. It was positively brimming with energy.
Dash threw it to me, and I just barely caught it. This body was young and feeble. No matter. With this power, I can make a new body for myself.
I gave a wide smile. "Don't think you saved yourself." I said cruelly to Dash. "You'll die with the rest in Ponyville." I said the name with disdain, enjoying the look of anger Rainbow Dash was restraining.
Mother of Mine walked forwards. "At last." She said. "We will have the lives of a Time Lord." With relish she flicked the watch open.
Nothing happened.
Absolutely nothing happened,
We spun around to look at Rainbow Dash who was no longer shaking with terror. In fact, she was looking triumphant. "Oh, don't you want it anymore?" She said with mock disappointment. "Ya know, I was telling myself on the way over that I need to take to the Pawn shop instead but Noooooo!' She continued pacing. "I had to stay loyal to my customers!' She huffed. "That's gratitude for you."
Father of Mine stepped forewords. "Do you really think you're jokes can save you now?" He demanded angrily. "Who do you think you are?" In answer she let the Saddle Bags fall to the ground. Instead of the Tri-colored lighting bolt that had formerly been in place, now a golden Hourglass blazed. She dropped the false bravado and looked almost sad.
"I'm The Doctor.' She said slowly. "And you've used up you last chance."
The Doctor quickly regained her jovial nature. "And I've got to say, I reaaaaally don't like the look of that Hydro-kilometer!" She pointed back to the panel she had bumped into. "Cause it looks like its feeding tachyon energy through the Retro-stabilization system all the way to…" She looked around. "Why, that Main Thermo Buffer of course!" She looked around at our paling faces. "That means your ship-y go –boom-y." She explained in Baby talk. She backed up, spreading her wings. "But, just to be fair, I'll give you a tip." She dropped her smile and glared at us. I could hear all the pain, humiliation, and torment we had put her and her friends through over the last 24 hours all contained in one word.
"Run."
We **ran .
The ship exploded, and there we were, stranded on a backwater planet with about a week to live. But the Doctor changed that. In an instant we saw the Fury and Kindness of a Time Lord, and we understood why she had run and hid. She was trying to be kind.
Father of Mine she trapped in chains forged from a dwarf star, the heaviest things in the entire universe, for all of eternity.
Mother of Mine she left in the event horizon of a Black Hole, to be crushed by the forces and deaths of galaxies for centuries to come.
She still visits my Brother, out of kindness. Probably because it wasn't really his fault. One day, she might let him out. He's trapped in a mirror. In every mirror. If you look at you reflection and think you see something move, it's not your imagination, it's him.
As for me? Well, I hurt the most. I saw how dangerous she was and tried to cause her as much pain as possible, to warn her to listen to their Family and do what we said. In return?
In return I was trapped in Quantum Lock, unable to move or speak as long as I am seen. He left in Canterlot gardens, as a warning to any that would dare to attack the Last of the Time Lords through her friends.
We wanted to live forever.
So the Doctor made sure we did.