Doctor Whooves: Silence Will Fallby LightOfTriumphChaptersKeep LookingThe Prospect of Regeneration24 Hours on the ClockEllipsesThrough Some We Saw SilencePreacher ManThe Doctor's PlanThe Good Ponies of Dodge JuctionThe Beginning of the EndKeep LookingFluttershy had never seen these statues before. She had woken up this morning to find three statues of pegasi on her lawn. Each one of them had their faces buried in their hooves. Fluttershy wondered what they could possibly be crying about. They were statues! And... Well, she thought it was her imagination, but the statues seemed to be moving. Every time she looked away they were in a different position from where they were when she looked away. It was unsettling to say the very least. Finally she plucked up courage and went outside to have a look at them. She came up very close to one. It was a very well crafted statue. It could have almost been alive. She inspected it for a while and decided that there was nothing too suspicious about it, so she turned back toward town to report that somepony had left a statue on her lawn... And she heard a rushing noise behind her. She turned around to see that the statue had not only moved, but it had changed shape. Fluttershy could see its face now, and it was horrifying. It had angry eyes, it was bearing fangs. Its hooves were outstretched as if it was trying to grab her. Fluttershy backed away from it quickly, but in the blink of an eye it was upon her again. She was about to close her eyes in terror when a voice rang out from the other end of the yard. "I wouldn't do that!" the voice called. "Just keep looking straight at it, I'll be there in a moment!" A red eyed Changeling walked out from behind the statue. "A weeping angel," he said. "Keep your eyes on it. They can only move when no one is looking. Tell you what, I'll watch him with you! Just try not to blink at the same time I do." The Changeling sat next to Fluttershy. "Wh- Who are you?" Fluttershy asked shakily. "You can call me the Master," the Changeling replied smugly. "As I see it you have two options. You can stay with my friend here, waiting to blink or look away and ending up god knows where... "Or you can come with me, so we can have a little chat with your friends." The Doctor, Applejack, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders sat silently around the TARDIS console. They were thinking of the conversation they just had with their... visitor. The White Guardian had come to ask the Doctor a favor. The second he had asked in the Doctor's many centuries. He had given them the Time/Space coordinates, and then he had vanished. For the second time in the Doctor's travels in Equestria, he had no idea where he was going to land. Or at what time period. "So let me get this straight," Applejack started. "There're millions and millions of different universes out there. Whole different worlds like the one Twilight visited when she had to get Sunset Shimmer." "That's right!" the Doctor said cheerfully, happy somepony broke the silence. "But more than millions. Trillions. Quadrillions. Numbers too high for anyone to count." "And all of these worlds are different from every other, somehow," Applejack went on. "But there are certain things that have to appear in all of'em. The... what were they called?" "Lynchpins," the Doctor answered. "The Lynchpins of the Multiverse. If these things were not a part of each universe, they would all collapse." "The Daleks, the Cybermen, the Master...," Applejack listed. "Anything else?" "The White Guardian said five," the Doctor answered. "Obviously there are two more. I guess we'll have to find out when we get there..." Scootaloo's head perked up. "Doctor," she said. "Something just occurred to me." "Yeah?" the Doctor turned to her. "You were from a different universe," Scootaloo pointed out. "Somewhere out there is that other Doctor. The one we met in Ponyville. The one that you met when you were still Time Turner." The Doctor thought about that. It was a good observation. The Doctor had appeared to stop each and every one of the Lynchpins as they had come to threaten this universe, just as he was there to stop them last universe. The White Guardian had essentially made him manifest here. Setting things in motion so Equestria would have its own Doctor. Was it possible that-? The TARDIS ground to a halt. "No time to think about that now!" said the Doctor cheerfully. "We're here!" The Doctor began flipping switches on the console. "When and where are we?" asked Apple Bloom. "Dodge Junction, 900 PLB," the Doctor smiled. "About a hundred and two years in your past. You four had better get dressed!" "Dressed?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Why?" "Well, it was a different time," the Doctor shrugged. "Ponies didn't usually go around in their skivvies like we do. Ponies, especially mares, were encouraged to get dressed up. So off you go! There are clothes in the back marked 'Frontier Era'..." Applejack and the Crusaders went into the back room, AJ leaving her stetson on the console The Doctor heard some faint giggling and then the our came out. Dressed to their finest in period clothes. "Land sakes this dress is tight," Applejack said irritably. "I draw the line at the bonnet," grumbled Scootaloo. "Oh will you stop being such a tomboy and except it!" said Sweetie Belle proudly. "We look fabulous!" "Now you're startin' to sound like your sister," Apple Bloom smirked. "Tell her that, Apple Bloom, and I'll kill you," Sweetie Belle said sharply. "Aren't you gettin' dressed?" Applejack asked the Doctor. "The best part about this style," the Doctor tugged at his waistcoat's lapels and adjusted his ascot. "Is that it never ever goes out of fashion. Though you are right, it is missing something..." The Doctor picked up AJ's hat from the console and whipped it on his head. "Perfect! Shall we mosey on down to that there varmint Lynchpin and other... country-like... turns of phrase?" The Doctor trailed off. The Apple sisters looked at each other. "Never do that again," they said in unison. The Doctor nodded. "That would probably be best, yes." "And give me my hat back," AJ demanded. The Doctor handed the hat back to AJ. "Enough chatting! Avanti!" The five headed out the door. The main street of Dodge Junction was deserted. Something felt wrong to the Doctor as soon as he came out of the TARDIS. And then he caught sight of the sign. Welcome to Dodge Junction Population 55-6 "What does that mean?" the Doctor said reading the sign. "Fifty five to six? How does that work? How can you be unsure about the census of a town of less then sixty ponies? It doesn't-" He looked next to him to see Applejack clinging to his foreleg. "What are you doing?" he asked AJ. "I...," Applejack started. "I don't know. I ain't sure how I got here..." "Well get off," the Doctor said irritably. "You're going to wrinkle-" Everything around the Doctor seemed to pop into a different position in a split second. All of a sudden he was holding out his Sonic Screwdriver, and the Crusaders were huddled behind him. "How did we get here?" the Doctor asked. "What is going on?!" "Doctor this is weirding me out!" Sweetie Belle squeaked. "It's like we're forgettin' stuff!" Apple Bloom said. "It's like chunks of time are missing!" "Well," the Doctor said. "If I'm clever, and I'm more then clever, I'm brilliant, I'd have left a little clue for myself to make sure I knew what I was doing in between the gaps..." The Doctor noticed that his cuff was unlinked. He rolled back his sleeve to see a two word message scrawled in black ink on the length of his foreleg. Keep looking. "Brilliant...," the Doctor said happily. "But unfortunately cryptic, that's me. Keep looking at what?" "I can answer that," came a young voice behind them. They turned around to meet a human shape. He was tall. Young. He had a strong chin and generally happy eyes. He wore a tweed jacket over a blue dress shirt. He had a long mop of black hair. He wore a bowtie around his neck. The Doctor felt a prickling sensation in the back of his head. He had felt this before. He was in the presence of another Time Lord. And not just any Time Lord. 'No," the Doctor said softly. "You're the help the White Guardian sent? I... He... regenerated into.. you? Why a face like a sixteen year old schoolboy?" "Doesn't anyone else find it odd that in a town in this time period, nothing is happening at ten at night? There's a saloon here! There should be lots of ponies drinking alcohol or licking salt or whatever it is you ponies do to unwind after taming a bloody desert. But there's nothing going on. All you can hear, all you ever hear at nights, all that could ever exist here during the night... "Is Silence." said the Eleventh Doctor Author's Note HOW EQUESTRIAN DATES WORK IN MY HEAD: Before Luna gets banished: ATS (Age of the Two Sisters) Luna gets banished: PLB (Post Lunar Banishment) Current Era/ Luna Comes Back: AFA (Age of the Four Alicorns) Current year in the show: 2 AFA Please rate and comment! The Prospect of Regeneration"Doctor," said the Doctor dryly. "Doctor!" said the tall thin man. Applejack was very confused. "Doctor?!" "Yes?" they both said in unison. "You've regenerated," the Doctor said to the man. "How many times?" "Just the once," the man added. "I'm eleven. Technically twelve if you count grumpy face, and we usually don't. Technically thirteen if you count the time that ten cheated." "Oh dear," the Doctor frowned. "Seems your time is nearly up..." "Well," Eleven examined his body. "This old thing has still got a couple of centuries left on it. I don't plan on burning through this one like I did with some of the others." "Most Time Lords live for ten thousand years or more, and you're clocking out at two thousand," the Doctor shook his head. "Anyway, much has happened since you've been gone, we're going to need to catch up. Since you appear to know what's going on and I don't, it would perhaps be best to use the quick way." "Oh..." Eleven deflated. "I bloody hate the quick way. And doing that with a horse skull might burst my cranium open..." "Not horse!" Sweetie Belle interrupted. "Pony, right..." Eleven murmured. "Alright," the Doctor stood directly across from him. "One, two, three...." "Now hold on just a-" WHAM!! The two Doctors slammed their heads together as hard as they could. They both recoiled in pain. "Ahhh!" the Doctor groaned. " I don't remember you having that thick a skull the last regeneration!" "You're one to talk!" Eleven protested. "Where are you up to?" "Pandorica," the Doctor said through gritted teeth. "You?" "Cybermen..." "There's more," they both said in miserable unison. The two Doctors stood directly across from each other again. "Wait!" Applejack protested. "Wait wait wai-" WHAM!!! The two Doctors fell on their backs, looking up in miserable unison. "Married?!" the Doctor said stunned and confused. "We got married?! There was no other way out of that particular scenario? Did you try self-immolation? I mean we could have done worse, but married?!" "Of all the universes the Hand of Omega could have landed," Eleven said dreamily. "It lands in the one filled with magical ponies. Makes a sick sort of sense." They both raised their heads to look at one another. "Good, you're caught up," they said in unison before their heads fell back to the ground. "Alright!" Applejack was so furious she could see the Crusaders cowering from her. "Somepony better start explainin'! Who the hoof is this guy? What did you to just bang your heads together for? And why are there big gaps in our memory?" "Ah!" Eleven shot to his feet and wobbled a bit before righting himself. "Those are all very good questions! The answer to the first one is that I'm the Doctor. The human shaped one you met before. I just have a different face now. The answer to the subquestion you now have is that I regenerated! A process in which Time Lords, like me and Doctor Whooves here, change our bodies in order to keep from dying." "Doctor Whoo-?" the Doctor said with a face of irritated confusion. "Never call me that again!" "I kinda like it!" said Sweetie Belle. "Don't you start!" the Doctor scolded. "The answer to the second question," Eleven continued. "Is that we shared memories in the single most painful way possible, because we are running short on time. And the answer to question three is... Doctor?" The Doctor looked at Eleven. "Silence." "What?" Apple Bloom asked. "Why do you want him to be quiet?" "No," said the Doctor, picking himself up. "That's the answer. Agents of the Silence, a religious order that seems to have issues with Bowtie." "Hey! This is cool," Eleven said, adjusting his bowtie. "Bowties are cool." "Bowties are the direct opposite of cool," the Doctor retorted. "Yeah, keep talking Ascot." "Hold on!" Scootaloo protested. "Why can't we remember stuff?" "We must have caught sight of the priest," the Doctor explained. "You can only remember them when you're looking at them. Because of this any Silent can implant evil little subliminal messages in your head. Which explains this." He rolled up his sleeve to reveal the "keep looking" mark. "The good news is," Eleven said. "I've been here for a week now, I only have one score mark. Therefore there must be only one here. The question is, what is he doing that could concern the White Guardian so much?" "Hmm," the Doctor hummed in agreement. He then caught sight of Applejack, who had been looking at the ground since he had heard of the Tenth Doctor's regeneration. "When were you gonna tell me?" Applejack asked sharply. "Tell you what?" the Doctor said confused. "When were you going to tell me that everythin' about one of my friends could just shift around at any second?" Applejack advanced on the Doctor. "When were you gonna tell me that you were gonna become a whole new pony?" "What?" the Doctor asked. "This happened before, you were there last time. Oh..." The Doctor suddenly realized something. "Right, you were unconscious, weren't you? This must all be a bit of a shock. Listen, I remain the same pony I always was. I may look and act different, but I'm the same stallion. The best parts about me won't change, I promise." Applejack stared intently at the Doctor before calming down. "Alright," Applejack said. "I'll be there, it seems like it would be hard on you too. It just makes me wonder what else you're not telling me..." "A very good point, Applejack," a voice came from all around them. Eleven quickly looked all around the street. "Alright, creepy voice from nowhere," he said cautiously. "Not usually a good sign" "What the Doctor isn't telling you could fill Twilight's thickest books ten times over," the voice continued. "Like what this 'Silence' wants him to keep silent about..." "How do you know that?" the Doctor asked firmly. "On the fields of Trenzalore, at the fall of the Eleventh, when no party can speak falsehood or fail to answer, a question will be asked..." "Wait," Applejack looked stunned. "I know that voice..." "The first question," the voice continued. "The question the two of you have been running from all your lives Hidden in plain sight. The question that must never be answered." With a snap, a twisted creature appeared in front of them. A form Applejack knew all to well. "Doctor who?" asked Discord. Author's Note What's that? The telepathy used in The Lodger makes no sense really? I don't care! It's funny! Please rate and comment! 24 Hours on the Clock"Oh you look absolutely smashing!" Rarity said to the stallion trying on the suit. "Black is definitely your color. Sophisticated, and very elegant. I think it's wise that we skip out on the neck wear. Just that black jacket and blue shirt. It's perfect!" "You didn't have to do this," the stallion smiled. "I was just doing my job..." "Oh, nonsense," Rarity scoffed. "This is the least I could do. I've needed Unicorn dress horses for quite a while now, the horn is so hard to work around blind and I can't be my own model all the time..." "Well," the stallion said. "It was my pleasure. The suit looks terrific by the way, thank you. All though, I do feel it's missing something..." "Hmm," Rarity frowned. "I can't help but agree... Oh! Perhaps a fedora would help the ensemble." "No, the outfit is perfect...," the stallion sighed. "I think the problem is with me." "Now, never think that about yourself," Rarity said comfortingly. "I just don't like the way I look right now," the stallion frowned. "Let me fix it..." The stallion was enveloped in a blood red flame. In the suit he once wore now stood a Changeling with burning red eyes. "Ah," the Changeling smiled. "That's much better. Much more... me. Don't you think?" Rarity backed up to the door to discover it was blocked by two of her plastic dress horses. All of the mannequins in her shop started to move. Shuffling and walking off their poles as if they were alive. Two of the Unicorn models' horns flipped upwards and a small metal protrusion came out of the holes they left. "I wouldn't think about running," the Changeling smirked. "They may not have eyes, but Autons are deadly good shots. Trust me, I've worked with them before." "Wh-..." Rarity swallowed hard. "Who are you?" "Oh, you can call me the Master," he said. "An old acquaintance of the Doctor's. You've met the Doctor, haven't you? That whole business with the Daleks." "The Doctor isn't here," Rarity said defensively. "Don't worry, I know that," the Master said pleasantly. "I intend to fix that..." The Master leaned in close to Rarity's ear. "As soon as you tell me where I can find Ms. Pinkamina Diane Pie." "Discord!" Applejack cried. "So you're behind all of this!" "I'm behind nothing," Discord said defensively. "Everything I'm doing is for your own good." "Sure it is!" yelled Scootaloo. "You just want to stop the Doctor for... Chaos or something!" Sweetie Belle screamed. "Yeah, what do you and the Silence have goin' on?" Apple Bloom yelled. "The agent of the Silence merely opened my eyes," Discord said without an ounce of irony. "I'm protecting my friends. Isn't that what I'm supposed to do, Applejack? I'm not going to let anyone harm you, or anypony back home." "Protectin' us, right," Applejack scoffed. "From what exactly?" Discord pointed at the two Doctors. "Them." They didn't even flinched at being accused. "The Preacher told me everything," Discord said. "Doctor who? That question is the single most dangerous question ever asked by anyone in the history of any universe. The answer could mean the end of all of them. You two are the only ones who can answer that can feasibly get to Trenzalore in time. When the question is asked, silence must fall, Doctor. You will not be leaving Dodge Junction. "And you four..." Discord grabbed AJ's hoof and prepared to snap his fingers. "Are coming home with me." "The hoof we are-" Applejack struggled to get out of Discord's grip. "Applejack," the Doctor smiled softly. "That's not how you go about this." Everyone stopped. "You saw it too," Eleven smiled. "He means it, doesn't he?" "An elder god of chaos and disharmony," the Doctor laughed. "Truly reformed by the friendship of six mares. It truly is a sight to see. You really would do anything to protect them, wouldn't you? Even if it meant AJ hating you for the rest of her life, you'd do it if it meant keeping them safe." "But trust me Discord," Eleven began. "The worst thing you can do is trust the Silence. Especially with the people you care about. They will take and do anything to stop me reaching Trenzalore. To the point where I'm thinking of going there simply out of spite, but never mind. I want you to realize that them staying with us is much better than them going wherever the Silence wants to take them. Trust me, they're a bigger threat to this universe than I am." Applejack looked directly into Discord's eyes. "Discord," she said frankly. "If their right, and you really think this is what's best for us, thank you. But I would trust the Doctor with my life, and I have trusted him to look after my sister. I don't go around doin' that to just anypony. You want me to trust you, Discord, that starts with you trustin' me." Discord looked at Applejack for a long while before letting go of her hoof. "I won't lie," Discord said. "You're not the only reason I'm doing this. Since the Preacher contacted me, I've... had my doubts." "Doubts?" asked Apple Bloom. "Like what?" "Well," Discord started. "For one, he said he was from another universe. I don't doubt it, but hopping between realities is something even I can't do. Traveling through time is a stretch for me. I don't like to make a habit of it." "I only got here through help of fuddy duddy adimensional entity," Eleven smiled. "I suppose the Silent could have used the other one, but I doubt that the Black Guardian would care about me reaching Trenzalore..." "Maybe these Silence guys are the next Lynchpin!" Scootaloo guessed. "No," the two Doctors said in unison. "An Ideology can’t be a Lynchpin," the Doctor explained. "Plus the White Guardian said that we were dealing with something that 'didn't belong.' Lynchpins belong everywhere. That's the point." "Wait a minute, did you just call him 'Preacher'?" Eleven asked Discord. "Ah," Discord smiled. He snapped his fingers and a party hat labeled "Congratulations!" appeared on Eleven's head. "You've spotted the other problem." "Could you make it a fez?" Eleven took off his party hat and smiled at it. "I'd prefer a fez. Fezzes are-" "Eleven?" the Doctor said. "Right, sorry..." Eleven whirled around and looked at Applejack. "AJ! What's a church?" "A what?" Applejack asked. The Doctor's jaw dropped. "I hadn't thought of that..." "There's no need for churches because there is no need for prayer," Eleven explained. "If you want to talk to your deities in Equestria you go to Canterlot and make an appointment. Who needs to pray, when you can suck up to God at a garden party? Which I would suggest doing, often. It certainly can't hurt. Unless god doesn't like sycophants... You know what? Forget I said anything..." "If Equestria doesn't need places of Worship..." the Doctor began. "Then why does this town need a preacher?" Eleven smiled. "I've heard that title branded around town a bit. I got here a little before you did. The Preacher is a legend around here. They aren't sure if he even exists. Hence..." "Fifty five to six," the Doctor reasoned. "Alright, let's have a talk with this 'Preacher' I have some things to confess." "You have twenty four hours, actually," Discord said smugly. "What?" asked the Doctor. "I still don't trust you Doctors," Discord said. He snapped his fingers and a huge digital clock appeared next to him, counting down twenty four hours. "I also don't trust the Silence. However, they made a more definitive case then you did. But I gave Applejack my word. You have twenty four hours to prove to me that the Silence are more of a threat to the universe then you are. Otherwise, I take Applejack and the Crusaders home, and leave you here. "Oh," Discord snapped his fingers and two stars in a state of constant implosion appeared in his hand. He began to juggle them. He had stolen the Doctors' Eyes of Harmony. The TARDIS wouldn't function without them. "Just in case you had any ideas about leaving," Discord laughed as he poofed away. The two Doctor's were stunned. "Well," Eleven said. "We'd better get to it then!" "Excuse me!" came a deep... somehow familiar voice behind them. They all turned to see a muscular young stallion wearing a brown stetson, and a silver star on his chest. "I'm Sheriff Silver Smith," he said. "And I'm afraid you five are gonna have to come with me." Author's Note 'Hmm... I wonder why the Master is kidnapping the Mane Six, and if the SILENCE aren't the lynchpin, who or what is?" He said knowingly, with the intention of driving his readers insane. Please rate and comment! EllipsesThe five spent the night in the Dodge Junction jail. From midnight to noon. Twelve hours wasted, twelve more to prove to Discord the true threat of The Preacher. The Eleventh Doctor had noticed a book marked with three dots on the front of it, he had been reading it since they had gotten thrown in, and he was almost finished. The Equestrian Doctor was merely staring at the ceiling, quietly contemplating their next move. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were taking it in different ways. Sweetie Belle was excited to be doing something new (it concerned the Doctor when she said that she might be able to get a cutie mark in crime), Apple Bloom was just looking generally irritated, and Scootaloo was screaming at the top of her lungs. "Let! Us! Out!" she yelled. "I told you a thousand times, the reason we were breaking curfew is that your preacher is a space alien who wants no one to answer a question that could end the whole universe and we CAME HERE FROM THE FUTURE!!!" "Just keep on screamin' that at the top of your lungs to him," Apple Bloom said dryly. "That'll prove you a'int a kook who needs to locked up..." "Well it's true isn't it?!" Scootaloo shot back. "Sheriff Smith?" Apple Bloom asked. "I've never seen this filly before in my life." "Will you two knock it off!" Applejack shouted. The two fillies stopped bickering and the Doctor looked at Applejack. "Do you want to leave?" the Doctor asked. "I'm not an idiot. I always knew this was a temporary arrangement, but I think we've had fun, despite everything." "We have...," Applejack started. "But?" the Doctor asked "But this Regeneration thing," Applejack asked. "It has me right scared. Everythin' about you just changes on a dime? The way you look the way you act the way you think... The way you treat your friends? I gotta ask Doctor, and you better be honest with me, have you ever become someone you aren't proud of? Have you ever become a bad guy?" The Doctor thought hard about what to say. "Not yet," he answered honestly. "I did however get a glimpse as to what that wouls be like. Odd story, but I was my own prosecuting attorney. He called himself Valeyard. Since then I've tried to make sure it never comes to pass." Applejack looked at the ground for a while. "How many times can you do this?" she asked. "You said that he was on his last one, does that mean..." "That's the good news!" the Doctor said cheerfully. "Regeneration is hell on the body. The only reason you can only have thirteen is because your body won't survive a fourteenth. This, however, is a new body for me. I've regenerated once, that means there are twelve more to go, I'll be hanging about for quite a while." Applejack smiled. "That's good to hear." All of a sudden, a mare walked into the door of the Sheriffs office. She had blonde hair, and wore a modest dress. She had a pretty face and a familiar smile. She carried a saddlebag on her back. "Who are the new residents, Silver?" "Hey, there Sweet," Silver Smith blushed as he saw the mare. "These're just a few folks from the future so the filly claims. They probably just had a little too much to drink. I'll send'em home once it wears off." Sweet shrugged. "Here." She put a package on Silver Smith's desk. "I don't want you gettin' hungry. I worry about you, Sugarcube." Silver opened the package to discover a beautifully prepared pie. "Oh," Silver said dreamily. "Sweet you are an angel." "I don't suppose there's a piece for us?" the Doctor asked. "You're in jail, and you expect pie?" Silver asked. "Fair point," conceded the Doctor. He turned to sweet. "Hello! The bizarre looking one with his face in the book an I are the Doctor!" Sweet simultaneously looked hopeful and concerned. "You're doctors? Really?" Silver Smith looked up from his pie. "Well... I guess now I see why you guys were gettin' drunk," Silver said bitterly. "I'm going to have to keep you in here until we can get you two a train outta Dodge. I'm sorry, but it's too dangerous for a doctor to be stayin' here, as much as we need one. Those whackos would lynch you if they found out you were here." "The people who worship at the Church?" Eleven asked, speaking for the first time in twelve hours. Silver looked stunned at the Eleventh Doctor's calm demeanor. "Yeah," he said after a while. "They call themselves the Silence, they think that somehow a doctor could spell Armageddon for all of us." "They ran the last two out of town," Sweet said indignantly. "Dern fools keep on gettin' sick and dyin'. None of'em will look for any sort of medicine." "Of course," Eleven said. "Once you've demonized one Doctor you'll soon demonize them all. Hate comes from fear, after all. Reading this tells me that the Preacher had a lot to fear..." "What is that you're reading?" the Doctor finally asked. "Look at the symbol on the cover." Eleven held out the book for the Doctor to look at. "It looks like just a design, but it isn't. It's punctuation, that's what caught my eye." The Doctor squinted at the books cover. "Sweet Celestia, you're right," he said finally. "That's an Ellipses." "A who what now?" Scootaloo asked. "Dot, dot, dot," the Doctor explained. "How you phonetically write-" "Silence," Eleven finished. "This is a Bible. The Silence's holy book. They never had one before. This one was written here, by the Preacher. It talks about how he landed in Equestria. Apparently after the events that led up to my wedding..." "Mazeltov, by the way," said the Doctor dryly. "Thank you, much appreciated," Eleven smiled. "He was dragged into the void and, to quote the book, 'crashed through the barriers of this world.' He goes on to talk about the Silence's final goal..." "Killing us," the Doctor finished. "Yes and no," Eleven said cautiously. "Apparently I'm not a very easy man to kill. They've decided to take a more... comprehensive approach to killing us this time. Read this." Eleven handed the book to the Doctor, who read a passage out loud. "And the preacher saw a million, billion worlds as he fell through the Darkness. Cast there by the Speaker. The Unholy Doctor. He saw beauty in each and every one, and a tear fell from his eye. One had to die so that the rest could survive." "Wait," Sweetie Belle thought for a moment. "Is he talking about universes? A universe has to die so the rest can survive? How does that work?" "Simple," said the Doctor finally. "Me and Bowtie will be in it at the time. If we go out with this universe, we are never getting to Trenzalore." "That's," said Apple Bloom in a very small voice. "A bit drastic, ain't it?" "Even for them," the Doctor pondered. "Even they wouldn't resort to ending an entire universe on purpose. Why do this?" "Hold on!" Silver Smith spoke up. "You can't tell me you actually believe the hooey that book has been spoutin'-" "Sheriff, you need to let us out of this cell," Eleven said sternly. "If I'm wrong then no harm done. Send us on the train before we get lynched. If I am right I'm the only one who can stop this universe from falling into nothingness. What do you have to lose?" Silver looked over at Sweet, and she nodded. "Must be out of my dam mind...," Silver said as he unlocked the gate. Eleven made his way out of the cell with the Doctor chasing behind, his companions following him out. "You still haven't answered my question. Why? For that matter, how?" "I figure that 'how' will be answered once we get to the church," Eleven said. "The why is simple, the Preacher lost his mind. In falling through the void he saw something that would turn anyone insane. He saw the figure his Religion demonized everywhere. Their was no safe place to hide from him. No universe was without him." The Doctor was stunned. "You can't mean..." "Read the next passage if you don't believe me," Eleven smiled. "We were closer to the Lynchpin then we ever thought possible. You should feel flattered! It means the White Guardian might have some taste..." The Doctor couldn't believe his ears, but after reading the next passage... "He saw the Speaker spread across all realities. No universe was absent of him. Infinite speakers. Infinite Unholy Doctors. Infinite voices to break the Silence." Author's Note I TOLD you, you guys were making it way too complicated! I think a lot of people did in fact see this coming, but thought I was saving it for last. Trust me guys, I got something WAY better than this planned for the Quintets finale. Oh, and before you complain, yes. In the old west, not only was it LEGAL for minors the CMC's age to get drunk, it was not even uncommon. And yes, they would be thrown in the town jail to sleep it off. Please rate and comment! Through Some We Saw SilencePinkie Pie had found the six foot metal man in her closet funny at first. It was certainly funny looking. It just stood there. Looking straight ahead. Not uttering a word. Pinkie tried to talk to it, but no response. So she settled on decorating it with streamers and going about her job. She had to clean the rest of the storeroom, and make sure the twins were in bed. If Cup and Carrot came home to find them hurt, Pinkie would never forgive herself. She finished sweeping, and she went upstairs to check on the kids... And Pound Cake, and Pumpkin cake were gone. Immediately Pinkie panicked. The bed had obviously been disturbed, and someone had come into the room. How could she not have heard them crying? They cry at almost anything. Pinkie frantically searched the entire bakery. They had to be somewhere. She had to hear something. She had to- CRASH Pinkie stood stock still. That came from downstairs. Pinkie rushed down to find Pound and Pumpkin Cake being cradled in the magical aura of a red eyed Changeling. He was backed up by more of the same metal men she had found in the closet. "Shh...," said the Changeling softly. "The children are sleeping. We certainly don't want to wake them." Pinkie Paused for a moment. "Who are you?" Pinkie whispered angrily. "How do you know Mr. Shiny?" "I'm the Master," he chuckled. "'Mr. Shiny.' You know, most people would be terrified at the site of a Cyberman in their closet. Ah, but your friend Rarity told me that any attempt I made to frighten you would simply be thrown back in my face with a laugh. 'Giggle at the Ghostie' and all that?" Pinkie smiled proudly. "Well let me try this," the Master started to walk toward Pinkie. "The creatures you see before me are Cybermen. My confederate and I are the only things keeping them from taking your brain out of your body and putting it in a metal shell. You would become like them. In the process, everything that was Pinkie Pie, all the laughter, all the happiness, all that wonderful care and affection you have for your friends gone. I could crush these infants in front of you like wine grapes..." The blankets swaddled around Pound and Pumpkin became a little tighter. "And you wouldn't care. Because you simply wouldn't be you anymore. That is the horror I face you with. The horror of uniformity" For the first time in her life, Pinkie Pie was speechless. To lose everything she was... To just become another face in the crowd... To not be able to make her friends smile... A tear rolled down Pinkie's cheek. She had never been more scared. "I'm waiting, Ms. Pie," the Master said smugly. "Your talent for finding the joy in hopeless situations is legendary. It's partly why I came to meet with you. Impress me with it now. Go on..." The Master leaned in directly next to Pinkie Pie's ear. "Laugh." They were met by Discord halfway to the church. "I hope you realize you only have ten hours left," he said, holding a large ornate pocket watch bigger than his head. With a snap of his fingers the watch disappeared. "You don't have very much time left." Eleven walked directly past him without stopping. "I think we have less time then you think," he said. "Actually, I'm not sure if we have any time at all..." "What the hoof is that?!" Sweet yelped. "Oh, hello!" Discord smiled. "I'm Discord. Reformed spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. I'm with them. What do you mean 'no time'?" "I'm fairly certain that we only have about half an hour before the whole universe is sucked into a state of non-being," Eleven said. "It is saying a lot when you aren't the main threat Discord, but here we are." "Quite," Discord said thoughtfully. "Well, if you're right it would certainly prove your case. I'm not sure how much of a comfort that would be to you..." "A great one!" Eleven said. "Though I don't know when I'll take the time to enjoy it. The one thing I do know is that we won't be able to stop it until we get to the church." "Will you be able to stop it then?" Silver asked. "Ah," the Doctor interrupted. "Hence you come to the flaw in his plan. The fact that he has none. I can't say I have one either though. You at least seem to have some idea what it is we're dealing with." "Oh come on, Doctor," Eleven smiled as they continued their rush to the church. "We share a brain, how can I be more clever than you right now! Think about it, the Preacher's goal is to take out this entire universe, right? There's no possible way he can do this by himself. So he needs something, something to help him end this world. In all the places he could have chosen to make his congregation, he chose here. So either he landed here, and felt no urge to leave, or the thing he was looking for was right here in Dodge Junction. Something he knows can end the universe, because he's seen it nearly end a universe. In fact, because of this, I had to remake my universe. Not that I want to brag, but I think I did a good job..." It suddenly hit the Doctor, and he picked up the pace. "You're sure?" "It's the only thing that makes any sense," Eleven answered. "What in tarnation are you two talkin' about?" Applejack asked. Then they burst into the church. Almost the entire town's population was there. They were staring straight ahead to an altar that enshrined a familiar fault. A crack in the wall. About three feet wide. With an unearthly light shining through. "There it is," the Doctor said sadly. "The crack in Amy's bedroom wall," Eleven confirmed. "Who's Amy?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Long story," the two Doctors sighed. "Pardon me," Discord stepped up. "But how is that crack a threat to anything other than the structural integrity of this church?" The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out a single bit. "Do you see this?" he asked Discord. "Yes," Discord answered. "You won't in a moment," the Doctor threw the bit into the light emanating from the crack. Immediately the coin disappeared. "What did I just throw in there?" he asked Apple Bloom. "You just threw somethin' in there?" asked Apple Bloom. Discord was taken aback. "Yes!" he said shocked. "Yes he just threw a bit in there! Didn't you see..." The Doctor shook his head. "No," he answered. "She didn't. Because there was no bit. There was never any bit. The minute the bit touched the light coming from behind that crack, not only did it cease to exist, it never existed in the first place. Anything that comes near that crack will be erased from history." "And it looks like..." Eleven scanned the crack with his Sonic Screwdriver. "The Crack is getting wider..." "What's with them?" asked Scootaloo as she examined the congregation. "Why haven't they... like... shushed us yet? I mean we've been sitting here babbling pretty loudly after we sort of burst through the door during dome kinda ceremony, but their just looking at the crack like total zombies." "Their not just looking," the Doctor said. "You're feeling it too, eh?" Eleven asked. The Doctor nodded. "A massive amount of psychic energy is being shoved into the crack. Their not just staring at it, their forcing it open." "Blessed are the sacrifices of the faithful," came a voice from behind them. The eight turned to be faced by a humanoid figure dressed as a priest. It had a larger head then Eleven. Under it's arm it carried a copy of Ellipses. The Silent walked past them toward the Altar. "Greetings, Doctors," he said kindly. "I am a confessional priest from the Church of the Silence. High order. Kevarian branch..." The Silent put his book down on a podium. "But you can call me 'Preacher'." Author's Note HAHA!! I did it! I wrote something down! I tell you, sickness is a state of mind-*vomit* never mind... Please rate and comment! Preacher Man"You're a hard man to remember finding!" the Doctor said cheerfully. "A power we developed to help the sinful absolve them," the Preacher hissed. "What about you, Doctor? Do you have any sins to confess to me? I am willing to listen..." "No," said the Doctor. "None that I haven't already confessed to someone or the other. I like to remember my sins, thanks. It helps me learn from my mistakes." "What about the sins you have yet to commit, Doctor?" the Silent whispered harshly. The Doctor shrugged. "I haven't committed those," he said. "Oh! You're talking about Trenzalore! Listen, I'm sure that my answering a question will end the whole of reality, I won't answer." "I'll make sure of that," the Preacher hissed. "This universe will crumble in on itself soon. It will all fall through the cracks. And at that point I will have fulfilled my duty. On Trenzalore, when the question is asked, silence will fall." "And I suppose that's why you have your flock here, isn't it?" The Doctor gestured toward the silent congregation. "All ponies have some sort of magic in them. You're having them use theirs to force the crack open. Soon it will just be a great big hole and the whole of this dimension zaps itself into non being." "My flock will sacrifice itself to maintain the Silence," the Preacher said. "Such action is laudable." "Such action is bloody ridiculous!" the Doctor shouted. "Even if you were right, and he best thing to do was kill me, what gives you the right to sacrifice these ponies! If you're going to kill me, it can be done with a gun, Preacher! No need to take out an entire universe with me!" The Doctor thumped his chest. "Come on! I'm right here! Don't tell me you came unarmed because you never do! Two shots ought to do it! One to start regeneration, and one to stop it!" The Preacher paused, as if considering it. "You know that is not true, Doctor," he whispered. "Simply killing you has proved vastly difficult." "'Simply' killing me?" the Doctor laughed. "You're joking right? You have never done anything simply in your entire lives! Breed a baby from my companion to use as an assassin bred to kill me. Blow up my TARDIS when you had no guarantee I'd be in it at the time. Try to send a subliminal message to everyone on Earth by staging the moon landing. You realize if you walked up to me with... I don't know... A gun I had no plan?" The Preacher seemed taken aback by this. As if he had never considered it before. "Go on then!" the Doctor barked. "I'm all ears! What insanely overcomplicated and bloody stupid plan to kill me have you got this time? Perhaps the entire church is filled with highly trained mice assassins? Oh wait, sorry, I know what your plan is. End this universe. So why did you need Discord? Why contact him?" "I..." The Silent seemed to be quaking with rage. "I didn't... He contacted me." "I did not," Discord protested. "How could I, I didn't even know about this until you contacted me!" "Lies!" the Preacher hissed. "A creature of deception!" Discord and the Preacher began to square off as the rest of the crowd looked between the two of them. "Well," Silver Smith spoke up. "One of you two has to be lying, right? Somepony contacted somepony..." "Oh no," Eleven spoke up. "It's far scarier than that, they're both telling the truth..." The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Oh bloody hell, you're right..." "Someone has been doing a little matchmaking," Eleven smiled. "Someone wanted you two here. I think I now who..." "The Black Guardian," groaned the Doctor. "This is all one massive distraction. He wants to keep us here while he's off doing god knows what. For some reason he also wanted Discord here too... Probably because Discord could probably stop him in the early stages of whatever his plan is." "This is a trap," said Eleven. "And we're all caught in it. No escape now." "So," Applejack said after a while. "Let's go? I know things have got to work out here, because I'm from the future. We should leave now and try to stop whatever the Black Guardian has up his sleeve..." "We can't," the Doctor smiled. "I think that the only reason that there is a future for us to be from is that we were here. Time is a bit silly like that." "Silence!" hissed the Preacher. "I'm no one’s pawn! I need to save my universe." "Oh, be quiet would you!" Eleven shouted. "You were taken in, we all were. How about you just seal up that crack and go home. I'm headed back to our Universe when we're done here, I can drop you off!" "No!" the Silent was gripping the podium now. "I can't let you go back! I can't let you reach Trenzalore! When the question is asked, silence must fall! I am going to make sure that both of you fade into nonexistence! This universe will die to save mine!" The Doctors were wide eyed at the Preacher's ranting. Eleven turned to Discord. "I'm sure this serves as proof enough of his ill intentions, yes? We can have our Eyes of Harmony back?" "Of course," Discord growled as he prepared to snap his fingers. "Now to close up that crack." "Sorry," the Doctor chimed in. "That won't help. Your powers can only affect this universe, and that crack isn't from any universe. Simply put I need to figure out an extremely clever way to get us out of this." "Do you have one?" Sweetie Belle asked. The Doctor began to look awkward. "Well..." he started, "no... Not as of yet, no." Scootaloo buried her face in her hoof. "Oh brother..." "Well we gotta think of somethin'!" Apple Bloom protested. "I'll go tape it shut!" Sweet grabbed the filly. "You stay right here, young'un I ain't havin' anypony gettin' hurt while I'm here." The Doctor smiled at the motherly side of Sweet. "Silver Smith... and Sweet... Oh," the Doctor burst out in a wide grin. "Oh I have high hopes for the two of you..." "And I have an offer..." hissed the Preacher." You want the crack closed up, fine. I'll do it myself. All I want is for one of you two to step into the light. Be erased from this reality. I want one less Doctor in the Multiverse. One of you grant me this, and I will gladly seal the crack and save this reality." The Doctor pondered the idea for a while. There were general protests from the rest of them. Eleven tried to explain that he couldn't close the crack, even if he wanted to. The Doctor was too lost in thought to hear them. Eventually an Idea sprung into his mind. This would work. It had to. If Eleven was right... "Alright," the Doctor said with a huge grin. "You've got a deal. I'll go." "What?!" said everyone else in the room, including the Preacher. "He's quite right," the Doctor said as he removed his ascot and started unbuttoning his waistcoat. "One of us stepping into that light is the only way we're going to close that crack. Eleven is right however, the Preacher can't close it." He finished removing his clothes and handed them to Sweetie Belle. "Take good care of this, I'll be needing it back later." "Are you crazy?!" Sweetie Belle was close to crying. "If you step in there, you'll never have existed! We won't even remember you! And... And I won't..." "Shh," the Doctor said quietly. "Trust me. It will be fine." "I'm not gonna let you do it!" Apple Bloom shouted. "We can't forget you!" "The Doctor winked." You're right, you can't." "Don't go!" Scootaloo squeaked. "Have to, I'm afraid," frowned the Doctor. He pointed to Discord. "You! Listen, once you figure out what's going on I'll need to be back here. Lord knows where I'm going to end up, so I'll need to get back quickly before I'm deep-fried by a fire-breathing dragon, okay?" "I have no idea what you're talking about..." Discord seemed puzzled. "You will," the Doctor smiled. "I think Bowtie does..." "Actually, no," said Eleven. "Really?" smiled the Doctor. "Oh, you're going to feel stupid later, mate." Applejack stood blocking the Doctor's path to the crack. "You realize I can't let you do this?" "Applejack," the Doctor smiled. "Remember when I asked you to trust me?" Applejack slowly nodded. "Trust me now..." he gave Applejack a hug and whispered in her ear. "I'll be right back." The Doctor strode proudly to the crack. "In case I'm horribly wrong about this," he smiled. "And I'm only about 98% sure I'm not, I'd like to leave you all with a last word that would appear to sum me up quite nicely..." The Doctor burst into a wide grin. "Avanti!" He leaped back into the light coming from the crack. There was a massive shockwave that made everyone fall to the floor. The congregation seemed to be shaken out of their trance. When Applejack looked up... The Doctor was gone. Author's Note I wonder how many people are going to get the Doctor's plan before I publish it. Please rate and comment! The Doctor's PlanAll Tartarus had broken loose. Rainbow had to get to Twilight, she needed to warn her. Tank was safe at the very least, but her house was gone. There was nothing left but a few scattered clouds. Dash had gone looking for Pinkie when he trouble had started. The Cakes had come home to find Sugarcube Corner in ruins, the two babies crying over their missing sitter. Pinkie was a bit flaky, but she never would have left the babies alone. She had gone to investigate when they hit the streets of Ponyville. Six foot metal demons. Mannequins that walked and talked. Statues that seemed to want to catch ponies and drag them away somewhere. And them.... They were back. They were back and they were right behind her, keeping pace with her flight. They were almost as fast as she was. She wasn't far enough away. She could still hear them. "Seek! Locate!" She was running out of energy. She had to land soon. But she couldn't land. She had seen these things in action before. They were killers. "Seek! Locate! Seek! Locate!" No use. She was out of power. She had to land. She found a nearby cloud and sat down. She turned around to see that the three behind her had caught up. She turned again to find that one had risen behind her. She was surrounded. It was over. "EXTERMINAAA-" "Hold on!" came a voice from above Rainbow Dash. A red eyed changeling landed next to her on the cloud. "Now, mates. I know that's your favorite word, but this one I need alive. Feel free to exterminate all of the idiots below, but not the five I've collected here. Otherwise you all came here for nothing, understand?" The monster paused. "I obey. "Good," the red eyed Changeling turned to Dash. "I'm sorry about all of that. As efficient as Daleks are they are a bit trigger happy and more than a little paranoid. Ask Gallifrey, they'll tell you..." "Who are you?" Dash asked sharply. "Do you work for Chrysalis? What's your relationship with these things? And what do you want with me and my friends?!" "Whoa!" the Changeling stepped back. "Lots of questions at once there. I'll try to answer them in order. I'm the Master, and soon I'll be yours. No. Me and the Daleks go way back. And the six of you are key to finding a cosmic artifact of almost limitless power and destruction that, in the hands of my employer, will throw the cosmos into a never ending age of darkness and destruction with me at the head of it all." Rainbows jaw dropped. "Oh, that face...," the Master smiled. "You expected me to be cryptic, weren't you? Normally I would be, but we're pressed for time. You see, I have an appointment with Princess Twilight, and I had a splendid idea. Since she is so bent on everyone make friends... "I thought she would like to meet all of mine" It took a moment for the ponies to right themselves after being lain prone by the shockwave. The Preacher looked up to the sky, seemingly basking in his victory. "It is done," the Silent hissed. "No more Doctor. No more interference. This universe will soon me washed away in nothingness. You will not reach Trenzalore, for the fall of the Eleventh is here. When the question is asked, silence will fall." Applejack couldn't believe it. The Doctor was gone. Erased from history. The Crusaders broke down in tears. "Say you're goodbyes, my congregation," the Preacher sighed. "You have earned that for helping me in this great deed. You have saved so many realities at the cost of your own. So take the little time you have left to say goodbye to the ones you love." Applejack didn't know what to say or who to say it to. The Doctor had a plan, he had to.... "Well...," Silver Smith took off his hat. "Never thought I'd go out like this..." "Oh?" Sweet was obviously scared, but masking it as best she could. "How'd you think you were gonna go out?" Silver Smith thought for a moment. "I don't know," he said thoughtfully. "In my bed, at an obscenely old age... Surrounded by you and our kids." Sweet smiled back at Silver. "Little apple orchard somewhere. Away from here." That caught Applejack's attention. Apple Orchard? "I could do that," Silver smiled. "I'd still like to, if by some miracle we make it outta this." A tear trickled down Sweet's cheek. "Took you long enough to ask, you damn fool..." She leaned on Silver's shoulder. "I love you, Sweet Apple," Silver said softly. "Wait a minute!" Applejack ran over to the couple. "Silver Smith? Sweet Apple?!" The two looked confused at having to confirm their names. "Yes?" "Granny... Smith... Apple." She couldn't believe it. It was so obvious. She must have seen pictures of Granny Smith's parents over a thousand times growing up, but in those they were older. Silver was a little heavier, Sweet had tied her hair back. But it was them. It was right in front of her. And if she missed something that obvious... What else was she missing? Something clicked in AJ's mind. A gleeful grin spread across her face. She kissed her two great grandparents on the cheek. "I believe in you two!" She said happily. "I believe in that orchard too... I think it's been your destiny to go and start growin'! You two had better find someplace with better land then here... Somewhere near Canterlot! Maybe the Princess can help y'all find a homestead. Meantime I got some business." She turned to the altar. "Oh Preacher Man?" The Preacher turned to face AJ. "What is it, my child?" he asked kindly. "Something to confess before the end?" "Nope!" Applejack said cheerfully. "Just a question! If the Doctor never existed, how can I remember him?" The Preacher was stunned. "What?" "How can I remember someone that was never there?" Applejack asked again. "I remember him pretty clearly. Skinny. Nerdy. Always stealin' my hat. I've got him pretty clear in my mind. By the look of the state their in, so do the fillies! Matter of fact, he's a Lynchpin, ain't he?" Eleven perked up. "She's right," he said spinning to face the Preacher. "You can kill me, but erasing me from a universes timeline is another thing entirely. Without a Doctor, a universe can't exist. If the Doctor never was, neither would Equestria. As you can see, Equestria's still here. If I'm not mistake, and I'm usually not, so is the Equestrian Doctor. Maybe not in this timezone but in this reality." "Discord!" Applejack called. "Start lookin'!" "On it," said Discord. He closed his eyes and focused. "Why?" the Preacher asked. "Why do this? Is he trying to run from me." "Not out of the question," Eleven smiled. "I have run before. But I don't think so. I think he was testing out a theory, and he was right. The paradox of trying to erase one of the Lynchpins of the Multiverse has forced the crack slightly shut." The Preacher looked behind him to see that he was right. The Crack was thinner then it previously was. "No..." "Found him!" said Discord. "Well then what are you waiting for!" Eleven asked. "Bring him in! I don't think he wants to miss the next part!" Discord snapped his fingers and there was a flash outside the church door. "Sis are you sure?" asked Apple Bloom. "Just 'cause I remember him you think he's still out there? Of course I remember! Who could forget the Doctor?" The Doors of the church burst open. "You know, that's a bloody good question." Everyone turned and gasped at the sight of the stallion they saw die not moments ago. He had been erased from reality, and yet he was there... "Sweetie Belle?" he asked. "I'm feeling a bit naked..." Sweetie Belle tossed him his clothes which he caught in his mouth. He began to slip on his black dress shirt. "Doctor who...," he sighed. "What a bloody stupid question. I mean that. Who is the Doctor? I'll tell you right now. He's a Time Lord. A husband. A grandfather. The face of evil on one planet, that's a story I should tell you four at some point." He finished buttoning his shirt and threw on his waistcoat. "A veteran of the last great Time War. The savior of the Thals. A man who has witnessed the birth of the greatest threat the universe had ever faced. And a Lynchpin of the Multiverse. So 'Doctor who?' is a question that has been answered time and time again. My question is, and it better not be answered with silence..." He put his Ascot around his neck and began to tie it. "With all of these things that he has done, with all of the accolades he can call himself, with all the names he's had over the centuries, who could possibly..." The Doctor tightened his Ascot. "Forget the Doctor?" Author's Note I put my Shipping Skills to work! How was the ending to this chapter? Badass? I hope so... Please rate and comment! The Good Ponies of Dodge JuctionApplejack rushed over and hugged the Doctor. "Don't do that again." "Of course not," said the Doctor in a reassuring tone. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to do that again." "What?!" Applejack asked stunned. "Well not by myself obviously," the Doctor smiled. "I'm going to need Wonder Chin's help on this one. You understand what needs doing, right Doctor?" "Of course," Eleven smiled. "We don't!" complained the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "Well!" The Doctor seemed all to excited to answer the question. "The crack shut up a bit in the paradox of attempting to delete a Lynchpin from the home universe. The universe is not going to let me never exist, it will find some way to bring me back. It used Amy Pond back in his universe and I think it used Eleven to bring me back to this one. It also can't erase Bowtie, because without Bowtie there is no Doctor. So we're both going to walk into that Light and hopefully the Paradox of erasing things that cannot be erased will cause the crack to shut completely!" "In other words," Eleven smiled. "We're going to push it shut!" Applejack blinked. "That may be the craziest damn thing I've ever heard in my life." "Thank you!" said the Doctor brightly. "We try," Eleven said smugly. "N-No...," the Preacher wheezed as he rose weakly to his feet. "I can't let you... I can't let this happen... I can't let this universe survive. Silence will fall. Silence must fall! I-" He was cut of buy two large hooves nailing him square in the chest and flinging him into a nearby wall. "Nnnope," said Silver Smith in a way that very much resembled his great-grandson. "Oh! That reminds me..." The Doctor turned to AJ. "Have you figured it out yet? About them?" "Yeah," Applejack said frankly. "You see they're your gr-" "I know," Applejack said. "Right," the Doctor smiled. He turned to Eleven. "Well, Doctor! I gave an 'avanti' stepping into the crack, I think I owe you this next one. On three?" The two Doctor's smiled. "One.. Two... Three... GERONIMOOOO!!!!" they said in unison as they ran toward the back wall. Both of them managed to pass through the erasing light unscathed and hit the wall bearing the crack. A huge shockwave burst out from the area, knocking everypony in the church prone. The two Doctors put their backs against the crack and seemed to be pushing with all their might, to seemingly no avail. "It's not working!" the Doctor screamed over the sound of the energy rushing outwards from the gap. "The paradox isn't enough to close the gap! We need another Lynchpin!" "Oh brilliant!" Eleven yelled. "Don't worry, we'll be fine! I think I saw a Dalek under that pew! He might be willing to help us in bizarro world!" "The sarcasm is unapreciated- AJ WHAT ARE YOU DOING??!!!" The Doctor caught sight of Applejack readying herself in front of the crack. "I ain't gonna leave my friends to do this alone," Applejack said firmly. "I can't just sit back and watch!" "You step into that light and you'll never had existed at all!" the Doctor screamed. "You can't help here!" "Don't mean I won't try!" Applejack ran into the light, turned on her forehooves and bucked the wall. Then many things happened at once. The first thing was that the shockwave that came from the kick threw the Doctors and Applejack several feet backwards, knocking the wind out of AJ. The next was that the church suddenly got a lot dimmer, as if a major light source had been snuffed out. It had been. The crack was gone. The only remnant of it was a faint whisper that seemed to echo throughout the church hall. Doctor who? After a brief moment's pause the Doctor righted himself and went to check on Applejack. "AJ!" he said, repeatedly smacking her face. "You're alive! You existed! How are you doing that?" "You do know I haven't been knocked out right?" AJ said dryly, irritated at the Doctor constantly smacking her face. "Yeah," the Doctor said, not stopping. Applejack slapped the Doctor's hoof away and began to right herself, and probably would have done had it not been for three adorable fillies who leaped upon her and the Doctor and forced hugs on them both of them. "You did it sis!" said Apple Bloom. "Doc, that was awesome!" Scootaloo smiled. "Yaaay!" Sweetie Belle chimed in. Then she noticed Eleven, shifting from foot to foot, feeling obviously left out. So she hugged his leg. "No...," came a weak voice from the front of the church. "No... I can't let this end like this." The Preacher rose to his feet. "I can't let you leave here! This isn't how this ends!!!" "You're absolutely right," said Discord. "It isn't over yet. There is still you to deal with. You lied to me Preacher. For that you are going to be punished. And I can think of no worse punishment then leaving you here. I can think of nothing more painful then sitting in a confined space with people who once trusted you, and now hate you. How many of their children died because they couldn't get medicine preacher? How many of their friends? All because you were terrified of the word 'Doctor.' Don't worry, though. You'll have a lifetime to think about how to explain it to them. I am leaving you in the capable hooves of the good ponies of Dodge Junction." Discord turned around to leave, but stopped. "Oh, and just in case you were thinking of cutting either your life, or your time here short, just remember..." Discord snapped his fingers and a thousand pairs of harsh, judging eyes appeared and surrounded the Preacher. "I'm. Always. Looking." Discord snapped his fingers and disappeared from the church, the disembodied eyes still staring at the Silent. The aftermath was rather jarring. The town seemed full of life again. Without the Preacher's influence Dodge Junction was behaving like a normal, upbeat frontier town. They spent the rest of the day at a saloon talking it out with Silver Smith. He had proposed to Sweet Apple, and the town justice was going to perform the wedding tomorrow. He invited the Doctor, but he couldn't stay. There was still one last Lynchpin to find. The Doctor walked out that night and stared lovingly at the stars. It occurred to him that in all o his travels in Equestria, he hadn't traveled outside of this planet's time stream. He'd have to fix that sometime. Eleven joined the Doctor outside. "Well," he smiled. "Sweet Apple really knows how to put'em away. It's a miracle she hasn't gone blind yet." The Doctor shrugged. "Let them have their fun," the Doctor said with a soft smile, which disappeared as soon as he saw the figure coming down the main road. "And it looks like mine is over..." The figure of Princess Celestia walked up to the two Doctors, sat down and gave a soft smile. "I don't suppose you're the real Princess Celestia here to praise me for all of my heroic and noble deeds?" the Doctor asked hopefully. The White Guardian shook her head. "Ugh," the Doctor resigned. "Where to next, and what am I looking for?" "Not yet," the White Guardian smiled. "First I need to send him home, and then I need to do something to thank you, Doctor. You've sacrificed so much for the greater good, now I'm giving you something in return." "Oh?" the Doctor asked, more intrigued than pleased. "Remember Doctor," the White Guardian smiled. "You made an appointment with yourself long ago..." Suddenly a memory awakened in the Doctor's mind. He was young, although he looked old. Barbara and Ian were out of the room, and he had just left Susan behind with David. At that point a young man appeared in his TARDIS. He explained that he was a later regeneration, and told him to take this equation and keep working on it. One day it would save... It would save... The Doctor burst out in a wide grin. "Really?" he asked the White Guardian. "You'll make the arrangements to get me there? It is a bit of a trek..." The White Guardian nodded. "Oh, fantastic!" the Doctor could barely contain himself. He turned to Eleven. "I'll see you in about an hour! Well, for you it might be a few centuries, but I'll be there, and when I do... Oh..." The Doctor ran into the Saloon. It was a surreal experience being in a drinking contest with your own Great Grandmother... And losing. AJ was about to pass out when the Doctor burst in the room. "AJ! Come on! We have to do something amazing, courtesy of the White Guardian!" "Where y'all goin'?" asked Sweet Apple. "Sweet Celestia," the Doctor said stunned. "Eighteen shots of whiskey and you're not even slurring. Are just immune to intoxica-" The Doctor smacked his forehead. "Come on!" "Come on, Doctor!" Silver Smith called out. "Where're you folks off to?" The Doctor burst into a delirious grin. "Oh, Silver. For the first time it far too long... "I'm going home!" Author's Note One more chapter, and a whole lotta foreshadowing. Stay tuned! Please rate and comment! The Beginning of the EndTwilight had her doors barricaded. There were two guards standing vigilant in front of her throne. She didn't want to do this. She didn't want to stay here, she wanted to get out there and fight. But she was surrounded. And they were breaking down the door. They were coming in. This is where Princess Twilight Sparkle made her last stand. The doors burst open and the two guards were killed immediately. Two flashes of green light and it was like they were put under an X-Ray. And then she saw them. There were a few creatures that Twilight recognized as "Daleks" from the invasion a few months back. Also six foot tall metal men, walking mannequins, and a few curious statues that seemed to hang out at the back of the room, their eyes covered. At the head of them was a Changeling with burning red eyes and a bleeding cut on his cheek. "Princess!" the Changeling said happily. "Let me tell you about my day so far..." "Who are you?" Twilight demanded. "Oh for heaven's sake, I am sick of answering that question," the Changeling shouted. He whipped around and burned a word into the opposite wall from Twilight with his magic. Each letter printed largely and clearly so everyone in the room could read it. Master. "It started out alright!" the Master mused. "I was just going around, picking off your pathetic friends one by one. Making sure they stayed alive, I need them alive you see. Don't worry, with the right tools I can keep you alive for days. And then we struck a problem. You see some damn fool Dalek went and got himself seen by somepony who told somepony else and that caused a massive ungodly panic. Then when it came down to finding the last of your friends I hit a wall. So I chatted with her brother. It wasn't really a chat, he was screaming most of the time. He kept telling me that Applejack was out of town, and until I saw her picture and recognized her, I didn't believe him. I was about to finish him off when the stupid oaf did this to me." The Master pointed at his bleeding cheek. "The Autons are looking for him now. They won't kill him. I'll do that myself." Twilight was shaking with rage. "You're a monster." "And you're unoriginal," the Master said dryly. "Now there is only one order of business. You're going to come with me, and I'm going to call the Doctor back to Ponyville..." "Why do you want the Doctor?!" Twilight shouted. "Oh! He can't miss this!" the Master laughed softly. "He's going to be here to see everything he's worked for fall to pieces. He's going to be here to hear the drums again. He's going to be here to answer the question. He's going to be here for all of it. The Gathering of the Lynchpins, The Construction of the Key... "And the final meeting of the Doctor with his Master!" The Station rocked as Gallifrey was fired upon. The general was staggered by the Doctor's plan. It couldn't work. He was insane. As nine more Type 40 TARDISes moved in through the sky. Nine more screen's lit up. Each of them carrying the face of the Doctor in a different regeneration. "I didn't know when I was well off," the general sighed. "All twelve of them!" "No sir!" the Major said frantically. "All thirteen!" One more TARDIS flew in. The Scott. The Stare. The Twelfth. The general was stunned enough at that, but then he heard one more voice. "Actually sirs! Your still off by one!" Another TARDIS had appeared from nowhere. Onscreen was what appeared to be a talking horse in a waistcoat. "Fourteen faces," the horse smiled. "Fourteen Doctors! Haha! I'm here to boost your chances boys!" "Doctor!" said the Eleventh and the Tenth happily. "What is he doing here?!" shouted the Twelfth. "Shouldn't he be back in his own universe doing his 'Horse Doctor' thing there?" "Well," the Horse Doctor frowned. "We're grumpy today aren't we? I regenerate into you? Dear lord, I am not happy with this. Look at those eyebrows..." "Whatever," the Twelfth growled. "Just make sure that when we're done here ye get back to ye're own universe where ya belong..." "I was planning on it!" laughed the Horse Doctor. "I assume I'll understand this later?" asked the War Doctor. The Tenth and the Eleventh seemed to consider. "A little?" the Tenth answered. "On the borderline, really..." the Eleventh frowned. The General and the Major stared slack-jawed at the screens. "The implications that this has to the way we believe the Multiverse works..." the major muttered. The general pointed harshly at the Horse Doctor's screen. "He was never here." "What?" the major asked. "But general..." "When this day goes down in Time Lord history," the general said firmly. "Thirteen Doctors came to Gallifrey to save it. Thirteen Doctors left. There was no horse in a red waistcoat. Understood?" "Y-Yes sir..." the major stammered. "Do it, Doctor," said the General. "Just do it." After getting back to his home universe the Doctor spun around his TARDIS console. "Two worlds in one day! Bit of a slow week for me actually. But it was nice seeing the old mes again! I-" The Doctor paused as he saw a note pinned to the TARDIS console. "Doctor?" asked Applejack. The Doctor picked up the note and read it carefully, and then he gave a sad smile. "Ah well," he said softly. "I should have figured that was waiting for me soon. Still! Good run! And I'm not even done yet..." He folded up the note and put it his his waistcoat pocket. "What was that note?" asked Apple Bloom worriedly. "Not important!" the Doctor smiled. "What is important is that final Lynchpin! Now I've had a few ideas but..." He was interrupted by the sound of somepony falling to the ground. He whipped around to see the White Guardian, still in Princess Celestia's shape, laying on the ground. Battlescarred. Her breathing labored. "D-Doctor...," she wheezed. The Doctor rushed over. "How are you hurt?" the Doctor asked frantically."You can't be hurt! You don't have a body to hurt!" "The last Lynchpin...," she coughed. "He... He's close to having it... I kept it all together this time... I... couldn't separate it... It kept coming back together... I'm sorry... I made it too easy for him..." "What?" the Doctor asked. "What do you mean? What's 'together'? Who has what?" "Oh come now, Doctor," came a deep voice from behind him. "Think..." The Doctor whipped around to see the figure of a massive black Alicorn with red trim. He was wearing a self satisfied sneer. "Who are you?!" snapped Sweetie Belle. "Idiot girl," the figure laughed. "I am her equal and opposite. I am the adversary of all things good. The bringer of Anarchy. I am the Black Guardian." "W-well," Scootaloo spoke up. "You better get off the TARDIS, or I'll-" "You'll what?" the Black Guardian asked plainly. "Leave her alone," the Doctor said through gritted teeth. "Come home, Doctor," the Black Guardian smiled. "Come back to Ponyville. We can finally settle the score. We can take it back to where it all began with the three of us." The words "where it all began" struck a chord with the Doctor. It rang a bell. The White Guardian, the Black Guardian, the Doctor, and the Black Guardian's champion. It all came down to one thing the first time. The Doctor knew what the black guardian had. "Who put it together for you?" the Doctor asked. "Don't tell me you did it yourself..." "A friend of yours," the Black Guardian smiled. "He called himself the Master. He has most of it now, and also her friends..." he pointed at Applejack. "So getting back is in your best interests." Applejack shuddered. She couldn't speak. "Why call me?" the Doctor growled. "You have what you need, just end it..." "Oh, but I want you to see!" the Black Guardian laughed. "From this moment begins my coronation procession. From this moment the White Guardians ideals of harmony and universal balance die. From this moment onwards there is no such thing as free will in the entire universe... "There is only my will, because I possess the Key to Time." Author's Note The reason that scene was left out of Day of the Doctor was because of massive Time Lord cover-up. The Lynchpin Quintet comes to it's conclusion in Doctor Whooves: Only My Will. Stay tuned! Please rate and comment and as always, thanks for reading!
Keep LookingFluttershy had never seen these statues before. She had woken up this morning to find three statues of pegasi on her lawn. Each one of them had their faces buried in their hooves. Fluttershy wondered what they could possibly be crying about. They were statues! And... Well, she thought it was her imagination, but the statues seemed to be moving. Every time she looked away they were in a different position from where they were when she looked away. It was unsettling to say the very least. Finally she plucked up courage and went outside to have a look at them. She came up very close to one. It was a very well crafted statue. It could have almost been alive. She inspected it for a while and decided that there was nothing too suspicious about it, so she turned back toward town to report that somepony had left a statue on her lawn... And she heard a rushing noise behind her. She turned around to see that the statue had not only moved, but it had changed shape. Fluttershy could see its face now, and it was horrifying. It had angry eyes, it was bearing fangs. Its hooves were outstretched as if it was trying to grab her. Fluttershy backed away from it quickly, but in the blink of an eye it was upon her again. She was about to close her eyes in terror when a voice rang out from the other end of the yard. "I wouldn't do that!" the voice called. "Just keep looking straight at it, I'll be there in a moment!" A red eyed Changeling walked out from behind the statue. "A weeping angel," he said. "Keep your eyes on it. They can only move when no one is looking. Tell you what, I'll watch him with you! Just try not to blink at the same time I do." The Changeling sat next to Fluttershy. "Wh- Who are you?" Fluttershy asked shakily. "You can call me the Master," the Changeling replied smugly. "As I see it you have two options. You can stay with my friend here, waiting to blink or look away and ending up god knows where... "Or you can come with me, so we can have a little chat with your friends." The Doctor, Applejack, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders sat silently around the TARDIS console. They were thinking of the conversation they just had with their... visitor. The White Guardian had come to ask the Doctor a favor. The second he had asked in the Doctor's many centuries. He had given them the Time/Space coordinates, and then he had vanished. For the second time in the Doctor's travels in Equestria, he had no idea where he was going to land. Or at what time period. "So let me get this straight," Applejack started. "There're millions and millions of different universes out there. Whole different worlds like the one Twilight visited when she had to get Sunset Shimmer." "That's right!" the Doctor said cheerfully, happy somepony broke the silence. "But more than millions. Trillions. Quadrillions. Numbers too high for anyone to count." "And all of these worlds are different from every other, somehow," Applejack went on. "But there are certain things that have to appear in all of'em. The... what were they called?" "Lynchpins," the Doctor answered. "The Lynchpins of the Multiverse. If these things were not a part of each universe, they would all collapse." "The Daleks, the Cybermen, the Master...," Applejack listed. "Anything else?" "The White Guardian said five," the Doctor answered. "Obviously there are two more. I guess we'll have to find out when we get there..." Scootaloo's head perked up. "Doctor," she said. "Something just occurred to me." "Yeah?" the Doctor turned to her. "You were from a different universe," Scootaloo pointed out. "Somewhere out there is that other Doctor. The one we met in Ponyville. The one that you met when you were still Time Turner." The Doctor thought about that. It was a good observation. The Doctor had appeared to stop each and every one of the Lynchpins as they had come to threaten this universe, just as he was there to stop them last universe. The White Guardian had essentially made him manifest here. Setting things in motion so Equestria would have its own Doctor. Was it possible that-? The TARDIS ground to a halt. "No time to think about that now!" said the Doctor cheerfully. "We're here!" The Doctor began flipping switches on the console. "When and where are we?" asked Apple Bloom. "Dodge Junction, 900 PLB," the Doctor smiled. "About a hundred and two years in your past. You four had better get dressed!" "Dressed?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Why?" "Well, it was a different time," the Doctor shrugged. "Ponies didn't usually go around in their skivvies like we do. Ponies, especially mares, were encouraged to get dressed up. So off you go! There are clothes in the back marked 'Frontier Era'..." Applejack and the Crusaders went into the back room, AJ leaving her stetson on the console The Doctor heard some faint giggling and then the our came out. Dressed to their finest in period clothes. "Land sakes this dress is tight," Applejack said irritably. "I draw the line at the bonnet," grumbled Scootaloo. "Oh will you stop being such a tomboy and except it!" said Sweetie Belle proudly. "We look fabulous!" "Now you're startin' to sound like your sister," Apple Bloom smirked. "Tell her that, Apple Bloom, and I'll kill you," Sweetie Belle said sharply. "Aren't you gettin' dressed?" Applejack asked the Doctor. "The best part about this style," the Doctor tugged at his waistcoat's lapels and adjusted his ascot. "Is that it never ever goes out of fashion. Though you are right, it is missing something..." The Doctor picked up AJ's hat from the console and whipped it on his head. "Perfect! Shall we mosey on down to that there varmint Lynchpin and other... country-like... turns of phrase?" The Doctor trailed off. The Apple sisters looked at each other. "Never do that again," they said in unison. The Doctor nodded. "That would probably be best, yes." "And give me my hat back," AJ demanded. The Doctor handed the hat back to AJ. "Enough chatting! Avanti!" The five headed out the door. The main street of Dodge Junction was deserted. Something felt wrong to the Doctor as soon as he came out of the TARDIS. And then he caught sight of the sign. Welcome to Dodge Junction Population 55-6 "What does that mean?" the Doctor said reading the sign. "Fifty five to six? How does that work? How can you be unsure about the census of a town of less then sixty ponies? It doesn't-" He looked next to him to see Applejack clinging to his foreleg. "What are you doing?" he asked AJ. "I...," Applejack started. "I don't know. I ain't sure how I got here..." "Well get off," the Doctor said irritably. "You're going to wrinkle-" Everything around the Doctor seemed to pop into a different position in a split second. All of a sudden he was holding out his Sonic Screwdriver, and the Crusaders were huddled behind him. "How did we get here?" the Doctor asked. "What is going on?!" "Doctor this is weirding me out!" Sweetie Belle squeaked. "It's like we're forgettin' stuff!" Apple Bloom said. "It's like chunks of time are missing!" "Well," the Doctor said. "If I'm clever, and I'm more then clever, I'm brilliant, I'd have left a little clue for myself to make sure I knew what I was doing in between the gaps..." The Doctor noticed that his cuff was unlinked. He rolled back his sleeve to see a two word message scrawled in black ink on the length of his foreleg. Keep looking. "Brilliant...," the Doctor said happily. "But unfortunately cryptic, that's me. Keep looking at what?" "I can answer that," came a young voice behind them. They turned around to meet a human shape. He was tall. Young. He had a strong chin and generally happy eyes. He wore a tweed jacket over a blue dress shirt. He had a long mop of black hair. He wore a bowtie around his neck. The Doctor felt a prickling sensation in the back of his head. He had felt this before. He was in the presence of another Time Lord. And not just any Time Lord. 'No," the Doctor said softly. "You're the help the White Guardian sent? I... He... regenerated into.. you? Why a face like a sixteen year old schoolboy?" "Doesn't anyone else find it odd that in a town in this time period, nothing is happening at ten at night? There's a saloon here! There should be lots of ponies drinking alcohol or licking salt or whatever it is you ponies do to unwind after taming a bloody desert. But there's nothing going on. All you can hear, all you ever hear at nights, all that could ever exist here during the night... "Is Silence." said the Eleventh Doctor Author's Note HOW EQUESTRIAN DATES WORK IN MY HEAD: Before Luna gets banished: ATS (Age of the Two Sisters) Luna gets banished: PLB (Post Lunar Banishment) Current Era/ Luna Comes Back: AFA (Age of the Four Alicorns) Current year in the show: 2 AFA Please rate and comment!
The Prospect of Regeneration"Doctor," said the Doctor dryly. "Doctor!" said the tall thin man. Applejack was very confused. "Doctor?!" "Yes?" they both said in unison. "You've regenerated," the Doctor said to the man. "How many times?" "Just the once," the man added. "I'm eleven. Technically twelve if you count grumpy face, and we usually don't. Technically thirteen if you count the time that ten cheated." "Oh dear," the Doctor frowned. "Seems your time is nearly up..." "Well," Eleven examined his body. "This old thing has still got a couple of centuries left on it. I don't plan on burning through this one like I did with some of the others." "Most Time Lords live for ten thousand years or more, and you're clocking out at two thousand," the Doctor shook his head. "Anyway, much has happened since you've been gone, we're going to need to catch up. Since you appear to know what's going on and I don't, it would perhaps be best to use the quick way." "Oh..." Eleven deflated. "I bloody hate the quick way. And doing that with a horse skull might burst my cranium open..." "Not horse!" Sweetie Belle interrupted. "Pony, right..." Eleven murmured. "Alright," the Doctor stood directly across from him. "One, two, three...." "Now hold on just a-" WHAM!! The two Doctors slammed their heads together as hard as they could. They both recoiled in pain. "Ahhh!" the Doctor groaned. " I don't remember you having that thick a skull the last regeneration!" "You're one to talk!" Eleven protested. "Where are you up to?" "Pandorica," the Doctor said through gritted teeth. "You?" "Cybermen..." "There's more," they both said in miserable unison. The two Doctors stood directly across from each other again. "Wait!" Applejack protested. "Wait wait wai-" WHAM!!! The two Doctors fell on their backs, looking up in miserable unison. "Married?!" the Doctor said stunned and confused. "We got married?! There was no other way out of that particular scenario? Did you try self-immolation? I mean we could have done worse, but married?!" "Of all the universes the Hand of Omega could have landed," Eleven said dreamily. "It lands in the one filled with magical ponies. Makes a sick sort of sense." They both raised their heads to look at one another. "Good, you're caught up," they said in unison before their heads fell back to the ground. "Alright!" Applejack was so furious she could see the Crusaders cowering from her. "Somepony better start explainin'! Who the hoof is this guy? What did you to just bang your heads together for? And why are there big gaps in our memory?" "Ah!" Eleven shot to his feet and wobbled a bit before righting himself. "Those are all very good questions! The answer to the first one is that I'm the Doctor. The human shaped one you met before. I just have a different face now. The answer to the subquestion you now have is that I regenerated! A process in which Time Lords, like me and Doctor Whooves here, change our bodies in order to keep from dying." "Doctor Whoo-?" the Doctor said with a face of irritated confusion. "Never call me that again!" "I kinda like it!" said Sweetie Belle. "Don't you start!" the Doctor scolded. "The answer to the second question," Eleven continued. "Is that we shared memories in the single most painful way possible, because we are running short on time. And the answer to question three is... Doctor?" The Doctor looked at Eleven. "Silence." "What?" Apple Bloom asked. "Why do you want him to be quiet?" "No," said the Doctor, picking himself up. "That's the answer. Agents of the Silence, a religious order that seems to have issues with Bowtie." "Hey! This is cool," Eleven said, adjusting his bowtie. "Bowties are cool." "Bowties are the direct opposite of cool," the Doctor retorted. "Yeah, keep talking Ascot." "Hold on!" Scootaloo protested. "Why can't we remember stuff?" "We must have caught sight of the priest," the Doctor explained. "You can only remember them when you're looking at them. Because of this any Silent can implant evil little subliminal messages in your head. Which explains this." He rolled up his sleeve to reveal the "keep looking" mark. "The good news is," Eleven said. "I've been here for a week now, I only have one score mark. Therefore there must be only one here. The question is, what is he doing that could concern the White Guardian so much?" "Hmm," the Doctor hummed in agreement. He then caught sight of Applejack, who had been looking at the ground since he had heard of the Tenth Doctor's regeneration. "When were you gonna tell me?" Applejack asked sharply. "Tell you what?" the Doctor said confused. "When were you going to tell me that everythin' about one of my friends could just shift around at any second?" Applejack advanced on the Doctor. "When were you gonna tell me that you were gonna become a whole new pony?" "What?" the Doctor asked. "This happened before, you were there last time. Oh..." The Doctor suddenly realized something. "Right, you were unconscious, weren't you? This must all be a bit of a shock. Listen, I remain the same pony I always was. I may look and act different, but I'm the same stallion. The best parts about me won't change, I promise." Applejack stared intently at the Doctor before calming down. "Alright," Applejack said. "I'll be there, it seems like it would be hard on you too. It just makes me wonder what else you're not telling me..." "A very good point, Applejack," a voice came from all around them. Eleven quickly looked all around the street. "Alright, creepy voice from nowhere," he said cautiously. "Not usually a good sign" "What the Doctor isn't telling you could fill Twilight's thickest books ten times over," the voice continued. "Like what this 'Silence' wants him to keep silent about..." "How do you know that?" the Doctor asked firmly. "On the fields of Trenzalore, at the fall of the Eleventh, when no party can speak falsehood or fail to answer, a question will be asked..." "Wait," Applejack looked stunned. "I know that voice..." "The first question," the voice continued. "The question the two of you have been running from all your lives Hidden in plain sight. The question that must never be answered." With a snap, a twisted creature appeared in front of them. A form Applejack knew all to well. "Doctor who?" asked Discord. Author's Note What's that? The telepathy used in The Lodger makes no sense really? I don't care! It's funny! Please rate and comment!
24 Hours on the Clock"Oh you look absolutely smashing!" Rarity said to the stallion trying on the suit. "Black is definitely your color. Sophisticated, and very elegant. I think it's wise that we skip out on the neck wear. Just that black jacket and blue shirt. It's perfect!" "You didn't have to do this," the stallion smiled. "I was just doing my job..." "Oh, nonsense," Rarity scoffed. "This is the least I could do. I've needed Unicorn dress horses for quite a while now, the horn is so hard to work around blind and I can't be my own model all the time..." "Well," the stallion said. "It was my pleasure. The suit looks terrific by the way, thank you. All though, I do feel it's missing something..." "Hmm," Rarity frowned. "I can't help but agree... Oh! Perhaps a fedora would help the ensemble." "No, the outfit is perfect...," the stallion sighed. "I think the problem is with me." "Now, never think that about yourself," Rarity said comfortingly. "I just don't like the way I look right now," the stallion frowned. "Let me fix it..." The stallion was enveloped in a blood red flame. In the suit he once wore now stood a Changeling with burning red eyes. "Ah," the Changeling smiled. "That's much better. Much more... me. Don't you think?" Rarity backed up to the door to discover it was blocked by two of her plastic dress horses. All of the mannequins in her shop started to move. Shuffling and walking off their poles as if they were alive. Two of the Unicorn models' horns flipped upwards and a small metal protrusion came out of the holes they left. "I wouldn't think about running," the Changeling smirked. "They may not have eyes, but Autons are deadly good shots. Trust me, I've worked with them before." "Wh-..." Rarity swallowed hard. "Who are you?" "Oh, you can call me the Master," he said. "An old acquaintance of the Doctor's. You've met the Doctor, haven't you? That whole business with the Daleks." "The Doctor isn't here," Rarity said defensively. "Don't worry, I know that," the Master said pleasantly. "I intend to fix that..." The Master leaned in close to Rarity's ear. "As soon as you tell me where I can find Ms. Pinkamina Diane Pie." "Discord!" Applejack cried. "So you're behind all of this!" "I'm behind nothing," Discord said defensively. "Everything I'm doing is for your own good." "Sure it is!" yelled Scootaloo. "You just want to stop the Doctor for... Chaos or something!" Sweetie Belle screamed. "Yeah, what do you and the Silence have goin' on?" Apple Bloom yelled. "The agent of the Silence merely opened my eyes," Discord said without an ounce of irony. "I'm protecting my friends. Isn't that what I'm supposed to do, Applejack? I'm not going to let anyone harm you, or anypony back home." "Protectin' us, right," Applejack scoffed. "From what exactly?" Discord pointed at the two Doctors. "Them." They didn't even flinched at being accused. "The Preacher told me everything," Discord said. "Doctor who? That question is the single most dangerous question ever asked by anyone in the history of any universe. The answer could mean the end of all of them. You two are the only ones who can answer that can feasibly get to Trenzalore in time. When the question is asked, silence must fall, Doctor. You will not be leaving Dodge Junction. "And you four..." Discord grabbed AJ's hoof and prepared to snap his fingers. "Are coming home with me." "The hoof we are-" Applejack struggled to get out of Discord's grip. "Applejack," the Doctor smiled softly. "That's not how you go about this." Everyone stopped. "You saw it too," Eleven smiled. "He means it, doesn't he?" "An elder god of chaos and disharmony," the Doctor laughed. "Truly reformed by the friendship of six mares. It truly is a sight to see. You really would do anything to protect them, wouldn't you? Even if it meant AJ hating you for the rest of her life, you'd do it if it meant keeping them safe." "But trust me Discord," Eleven began. "The worst thing you can do is trust the Silence. Especially with the people you care about. They will take and do anything to stop me reaching Trenzalore. To the point where I'm thinking of going there simply out of spite, but never mind. I want you to realize that them staying with us is much better than them going wherever the Silence wants to take them. Trust me, they're a bigger threat to this universe than I am." Applejack looked directly into Discord's eyes. "Discord," she said frankly. "If their right, and you really think this is what's best for us, thank you. But I would trust the Doctor with my life, and I have trusted him to look after my sister. I don't go around doin' that to just anypony. You want me to trust you, Discord, that starts with you trustin' me." Discord looked at Applejack for a long while before letting go of her hoof. "I won't lie," Discord said. "You're not the only reason I'm doing this. Since the Preacher contacted me, I've... had my doubts." "Doubts?" asked Apple Bloom. "Like what?" "Well," Discord started. "For one, he said he was from another universe. I don't doubt it, but hopping between realities is something even I can't do. Traveling through time is a stretch for me. I don't like to make a habit of it." "I only got here through help of fuddy duddy adimensional entity," Eleven smiled. "I suppose the Silent could have used the other one, but I doubt that the Black Guardian would care about me reaching Trenzalore..." "Maybe these Silence guys are the next Lynchpin!" Scootaloo guessed. "No," the two Doctors said in unison. "An Ideology can’t be a Lynchpin," the Doctor explained. "Plus the White Guardian said that we were dealing with something that 'didn't belong.' Lynchpins belong everywhere. That's the point." "Wait a minute, did you just call him 'Preacher'?" Eleven asked Discord. "Ah," Discord smiled. He snapped his fingers and a party hat labeled "Congratulations!" appeared on Eleven's head. "You've spotted the other problem." "Could you make it a fez?" Eleven took off his party hat and smiled at it. "I'd prefer a fez. Fezzes are-" "Eleven?" the Doctor said. "Right, sorry..." Eleven whirled around and looked at Applejack. "AJ! What's a church?" "A what?" Applejack asked. The Doctor's jaw dropped. "I hadn't thought of that..." "There's no need for churches because there is no need for prayer," Eleven explained. "If you want to talk to your deities in Equestria you go to Canterlot and make an appointment. Who needs to pray, when you can suck up to God at a garden party? Which I would suggest doing, often. It certainly can't hurt. Unless god doesn't like sycophants... You know what? Forget I said anything..." "If Equestria doesn't need places of Worship..." the Doctor began. "Then why does this town need a preacher?" Eleven smiled. "I've heard that title branded around town a bit. I got here a little before you did. The Preacher is a legend around here. They aren't sure if he even exists. Hence..." "Fifty five to six," the Doctor reasoned. "Alright, let's have a talk with this 'Preacher' I have some things to confess." "You have twenty four hours, actually," Discord said smugly. "What?" asked the Doctor. "I still don't trust you Doctors," Discord said. He snapped his fingers and a huge digital clock appeared next to him, counting down twenty four hours. "I also don't trust the Silence. However, they made a more definitive case then you did. But I gave Applejack my word. You have twenty four hours to prove to me that the Silence are more of a threat to the universe then you are. Otherwise, I take Applejack and the Crusaders home, and leave you here. "Oh," Discord snapped his fingers and two stars in a state of constant implosion appeared in his hand. He began to juggle them. He had stolen the Doctors' Eyes of Harmony. The TARDIS wouldn't function without them. "Just in case you had any ideas about leaving," Discord laughed as he poofed away. The two Doctor's were stunned. "Well," Eleven said. "We'd better get to it then!" "Excuse me!" came a deep... somehow familiar voice behind them. They all turned to see a muscular young stallion wearing a brown stetson, and a silver star on his chest. "I'm Sheriff Silver Smith," he said. "And I'm afraid you five are gonna have to come with me." Author's Note 'Hmm... I wonder why the Master is kidnapping the Mane Six, and if the SILENCE aren't the lynchpin, who or what is?" He said knowingly, with the intention of driving his readers insane. Please rate and comment!
EllipsesThe five spent the night in the Dodge Junction jail. From midnight to noon. Twelve hours wasted, twelve more to prove to Discord the true threat of The Preacher. The Eleventh Doctor had noticed a book marked with three dots on the front of it, he had been reading it since they had gotten thrown in, and he was almost finished. The Equestrian Doctor was merely staring at the ceiling, quietly contemplating their next move. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were taking it in different ways. Sweetie Belle was excited to be doing something new (it concerned the Doctor when she said that she might be able to get a cutie mark in crime), Apple Bloom was just looking generally irritated, and Scootaloo was screaming at the top of her lungs. "Let! Us! Out!" she yelled. "I told you a thousand times, the reason we were breaking curfew is that your preacher is a space alien who wants no one to answer a question that could end the whole universe and we CAME HERE FROM THE FUTURE!!!" "Just keep on screamin' that at the top of your lungs to him," Apple Bloom said dryly. "That'll prove you a'int a kook who needs to locked up..." "Well it's true isn't it?!" Scootaloo shot back. "Sheriff Smith?" Apple Bloom asked. "I've never seen this filly before in my life." "Will you two knock it off!" Applejack shouted. The two fillies stopped bickering and the Doctor looked at Applejack. "Do you want to leave?" the Doctor asked. "I'm not an idiot. I always knew this was a temporary arrangement, but I think we've had fun, despite everything." "We have...," Applejack started. "But?" the Doctor asked "But this Regeneration thing," Applejack asked. "It has me right scared. Everythin' about you just changes on a dime? The way you look the way you act the way you think... The way you treat your friends? I gotta ask Doctor, and you better be honest with me, have you ever become someone you aren't proud of? Have you ever become a bad guy?" The Doctor thought hard about what to say. "Not yet," he answered honestly. "I did however get a glimpse as to what that wouls be like. Odd story, but I was my own prosecuting attorney. He called himself Valeyard. Since then I've tried to make sure it never comes to pass." Applejack looked at the ground for a while. "How many times can you do this?" she asked. "You said that he was on his last one, does that mean..." "That's the good news!" the Doctor said cheerfully. "Regeneration is hell on the body. The only reason you can only have thirteen is because your body won't survive a fourteenth. This, however, is a new body for me. I've regenerated once, that means there are twelve more to go, I'll be hanging about for quite a while." Applejack smiled. "That's good to hear." All of a sudden, a mare walked into the door of the Sheriffs office. She had blonde hair, and wore a modest dress. She had a pretty face and a familiar smile. She carried a saddlebag on her back. "Who are the new residents, Silver?" "Hey, there Sweet," Silver Smith blushed as he saw the mare. "These're just a few folks from the future so the filly claims. They probably just had a little too much to drink. I'll send'em home once it wears off." Sweet shrugged. "Here." She put a package on Silver Smith's desk. "I don't want you gettin' hungry. I worry about you, Sugarcube." Silver opened the package to discover a beautifully prepared pie. "Oh," Silver said dreamily. "Sweet you are an angel." "I don't suppose there's a piece for us?" the Doctor asked. "You're in jail, and you expect pie?" Silver asked. "Fair point," conceded the Doctor. He turned to sweet. "Hello! The bizarre looking one with his face in the book an I are the Doctor!" Sweet simultaneously looked hopeful and concerned. "You're doctors? Really?" Silver Smith looked up from his pie. "Well... I guess now I see why you guys were gettin' drunk," Silver said bitterly. "I'm going to have to keep you in here until we can get you two a train outta Dodge. I'm sorry, but it's too dangerous for a doctor to be stayin' here, as much as we need one. Those whackos would lynch you if they found out you were here." "The people who worship at the Church?" Eleven asked, speaking for the first time in twelve hours. Silver looked stunned at the Eleventh Doctor's calm demeanor. "Yeah," he said after a while. "They call themselves the Silence, they think that somehow a doctor could spell Armageddon for all of us." "They ran the last two out of town," Sweet said indignantly. "Dern fools keep on gettin' sick and dyin'. None of'em will look for any sort of medicine." "Of course," Eleven said. "Once you've demonized one Doctor you'll soon demonize them all. Hate comes from fear, after all. Reading this tells me that the Preacher had a lot to fear..." "What is that you're reading?" the Doctor finally asked. "Look at the symbol on the cover." Eleven held out the book for the Doctor to look at. "It looks like just a design, but it isn't. It's punctuation, that's what caught my eye." The Doctor squinted at the books cover. "Sweet Celestia, you're right," he said finally. "That's an Ellipses." "A who what now?" Scootaloo asked. "Dot, dot, dot," the Doctor explained. "How you phonetically write-" "Silence," Eleven finished. "This is a Bible. The Silence's holy book. They never had one before. This one was written here, by the Preacher. It talks about how he landed in Equestria. Apparently after the events that led up to my wedding..." "Mazeltov, by the way," said the Doctor dryly. "Thank you, much appreciated," Eleven smiled. "He was dragged into the void and, to quote the book, 'crashed through the barriers of this world.' He goes on to talk about the Silence's final goal..." "Killing us," the Doctor finished. "Yes and no," Eleven said cautiously. "Apparently I'm not a very easy man to kill. They've decided to take a more... comprehensive approach to killing us this time. Read this." Eleven handed the book to the Doctor, who read a passage out loud. "And the preacher saw a million, billion worlds as he fell through the Darkness. Cast there by the Speaker. The Unholy Doctor. He saw beauty in each and every one, and a tear fell from his eye. One had to die so that the rest could survive." "Wait," Sweetie Belle thought for a moment. "Is he talking about universes? A universe has to die so the rest can survive? How does that work?" "Simple," said the Doctor finally. "Me and Bowtie will be in it at the time. If we go out with this universe, we are never getting to Trenzalore." "That's," said Apple Bloom in a very small voice. "A bit drastic, ain't it?" "Even for them," the Doctor pondered. "Even they wouldn't resort to ending an entire universe on purpose. Why do this?" "Hold on!" Silver Smith spoke up. "You can't tell me you actually believe the hooey that book has been spoutin'-" "Sheriff, you need to let us out of this cell," Eleven said sternly. "If I'm wrong then no harm done. Send us on the train before we get lynched. If I am right I'm the only one who can stop this universe from falling into nothingness. What do you have to lose?" Silver looked over at Sweet, and she nodded. "Must be out of my dam mind...," Silver said as he unlocked the gate. Eleven made his way out of the cell with the Doctor chasing behind, his companions following him out. "You still haven't answered my question. Why? For that matter, how?" "I figure that 'how' will be answered once we get to the church," Eleven said. "The why is simple, the Preacher lost his mind. In falling through the void he saw something that would turn anyone insane. He saw the figure his Religion demonized everywhere. Their was no safe place to hide from him. No universe was without him." The Doctor was stunned. "You can't mean..." "Read the next passage if you don't believe me," Eleven smiled. "We were closer to the Lynchpin then we ever thought possible. You should feel flattered! It means the White Guardian might have some taste..." The Doctor couldn't believe his ears, but after reading the next passage... "He saw the Speaker spread across all realities. No universe was absent of him. Infinite speakers. Infinite Unholy Doctors. Infinite voices to break the Silence." Author's Note I TOLD you, you guys were making it way too complicated! I think a lot of people did in fact see this coming, but thought I was saving it for last. Trust me guys, I got something WAY better than this planned for the Quintets finale. Oh, and before you complain, yes. In the old west, not only was it LEGAL for minors the CMC's age to get drunk, it was not even uncommon. And yes, they would be thrown in the town jail to sleep it off. Please rate and comment!
Through Some We Saw SilencePinkie Pie had found the six foot metal man in her closet funny at first. It was certainly funny looking. It just stood there. Looking straight ahead. Not uttering a word. Pinkie tried to talk to it, but no response. So she settled on decorating it with streamers and going about her job. She had to clean the rest of the storeroom, and make sure the twins were in bed. If Cup and Carrot came home to find them hurt, Pinkie would never forgive herself. She finished sweeping, and she went upstairs to check on the kids... And Pound Cake, and Pumpkin cake were gone. Immediately Pinkie panicked. The bed had obviously been disturbed, and someone had come into the room. How could she not have heard them crying? They cry at almost anything. Pinkie frantically searched the entire bakery. They had to be somewhere. She had to hear something. She had to- CRASH Pinkie stood stock still. That came from downstairs. Pinkie rushed down to find Pound and Pumpkin Cake being cradled in the magical aura of a red eyed Changeling. He was backed up by more of the same metal men she had found in the closet. "Shh...," said the Changeling softly. "The children are sleeping. We certainly don't want to wake them." Pinkie Paused for a moment. "Who are you?" Pinkie whispered angrily. "How do you know Mr. Shiny?" "I'm the Master," he chuckled. "'Mr. Shiny.' You know, most people would be terrified at the site of a Cyberman in their closet. Ah, but your friend Rarity told me that any attempt I made to frighten you would simply be thrown back in my face with a laugh. 'Giggle at the Ghostie' and all that?" Pinkie smiled proudly. "Well let me try this," the Master started to walk toward Pinkie. "The creatures you see before me are Cybermen. My confederate and I are the only things keeping them from taking your brain out of your body and putting it in a metal shell. You would become like them. In the process, everything that was Pinkie Pie, all the laughter, all the happiness, all that wonderful care and affection you have for your friends gone. I could crush these infants in front of you like wine grapes..." The blankets swaddled around Pound and Pumpkin became a little tighter. "And you wouldn't care. Because you simply wouldn't be you anymore. That is the horror I face you with. The horror of uniformity" For the first time in her life, Pinkie Pie was speechless. To lose everything she was... To just become another face in the crowd... To not be able to make her friends smile... A tear rolled down Pinkie's cheek. She had never been more scared. "I'm waiting, Ms. Pie," the Master said smugly. "Your talent for finding the joy in hopeless situations is legendary. It's partly why I came to meet with you. Impress me with it now. Go on..." The Master leaned in directly next to Pinkie Pie's ear. "Laugh." They were met by Discord halfway to the church. "I hope you realize you only have ten hours left," he said, holding a large ornate pocket watch bigger than his head. With a snap of his fingers the watch disappeared. "You don't have very much time left." Eleven walked directly past him without stopping. "I think we have less time then you think," he said. "Actually, I'm not sure if we have any time at all..." "What the hoof is that?!" Sweet yelped. "Oh, hello!" Discord smiled. "I'm Discord. Reformed spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. I'm with them. What do you mean 'no time'?" "I'm fairly certain that we only have about half an hour before the whole universe is sucked into a state of non-being," Eleven said. "It is saying a lot when you aren't the main threat Discord, but here we are." "Quite," Discord said thoughtfully. "Well, if you're right it would certainly prove your case. I'm not sure how much of a comfort that would be to you..." "A great one!" Eleven said. "Though I don't know when I'll take the time to enjoy it. The one thing I do know is that we won't be able to stop it until we get to the church." "Will you be able to stop it then?" Silver asked. "Ah," the Doctor interrupted. "Hence you come to the flaw in his plan. The fact that he has none. I can't say I have one either though. You at least seem to have some idea what it is we're dealing with." "Oh come on, Doctor," Eleven smiled as they continued their rush to the church. "We share a brain, how can I be more clever than you right now! Think about it, the Preacher's goal is to take out this entire universe, right? There's no possible way he can do this by himself. So he needs something, something to help him end this world. In all the places he could have chosen to make his congregation, he chose here. So either he landed here, and felt no urge to leave, or the thing he was looking for was right here in Dodge Junction. Something he knows can end the universe, because he's seen it nearly end a universe. In fact, because of this, I had to remake my universe. Not that I want to brag, but I think I did a good job..." It suddenly hit the Doctor, and he picked up the pace. "You're sure?" "It's the only thing that makes any sense," Eleven answered. "What in tarnation are you two talkin' about?" Applejack asked. Then they burst into the church. Almost the entire town's population was there. They were staring straight ahead to an altar that enshrined a familiar fault. A crack in the wall. About three feet wide. With an unearthly light shining through. "There it is," the Doctor said sadly. "The crack in Amy's bedroom wall," Eleven confirmed. "Who's Amy?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Long story," the two Doctors sighed. "Pardon me," Discord stepped up. "But how is that crack a threat to anything other than the structural integrity of this church?" The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out a single bit. "Do you see this?" he asked Discord. "Yes," Discord answered. "You won't in a moment," the Doctor threw the bit into the light emanating from the crack. Immediately the coin disappeared. "What did I just throw in there?" he asked Apple Bloom. "You just threw somethin' in there?" asked Apple Bloom. Discord was taken aback. "Yes!" he said shocked. "Yes he just threw a bit in there! Didn't you see..." The Doctor shook his head. "No," he answered. "She didn't. Because there was no bit. There was never any bit. The minute the bit touched the light coming from behind that crack, not only did it cease to exist, it never existed in the first place. Anything that comes near that crack will be erased from history." "And it looks like..." Eleven scanned the crack with his Sonic Screwdriver. "The Crack is getting wider..." "What's with them?" asked Scootaloo as she examined the congregation. "Why haven't they... like... shushed us yet? I mean we've been sitting here babbling pretty loudly after we sort of burst through the door during dome kinda ceremony, but their just looking at the crack like total zombies." "Their not just looking," the Doctor said. "You're feeling it too, eh?" Eleven asked. The Doctor nodded. "A massive amount of psychic energy is being shoved into the crack. Their not just staring at it, their forcing it open." "Blessed are the sacrifices of the faithful," came a voice from behind them. The eight turned to be faced by a humanoid figure dressed as a priest. It had a larger head then Eleven. Under it's arm it carried a copy of Ellipses. The Silent walked past them toward the Altar. "Greetings, Doctors," he said kindly. "I am a confessional priest from the Church of the Silence. High order. Kevarian branch..." The Silent put his book down on a podium. "But you can call me 'Preacher'." Author's Note HAHA!! I did it! I wrote something down! I tell you, sickness is a state of mind-*vomit* never mind... Please rate and comment!
Preacher Man"You're a hard man to remember finding!" the Doctor said cheerfully. "A power we developed to help the sinful absolve them," the Preacher hissed. "What about you, Doctor? Do you have any sins to confess to me? I am willing to listen..." "No," said the Doctor. "None that I haven't already confessed to someone or the other. I like to remember my sins, thanks. It helps me learn from my mistakes." "What about the sins you have yet to commit, Doctor?" the Silent whispered harshly. The Doctor shrugged. "I haven't committed those," he said. "Oh! You're talking about Trenzalore! Listen, I'm sure that my answering a question will end the whole of reality, I won't answer." "I'll make sure of that," the Preacher hissed. "This universe will crumble in on itself soon. It will all fall through the cracks. And at that point I will have fulfilled my duty. On Trenzalore, when the question is asked, silence will fall." "And I suppose that's why you have your flock here, isn't it?" The Doctor gestured toward the silent congregation. "All ponies have some sort of magic in them. You're having them use theirs to force the crack open. Soon it will just be a great big hole and the whole of this dimension zaps itself into non being." "My flock will sacrifice itself to maintain the Silence," the Preacher said. "Such action is laudable." "Such action is bloody ridiculous!" the Doctor shouted. "Even if you were right, and he best thing to do was kill me, what gives you the right to sacrifice these ponies! If you're going to kill me, it can be done with a gun, Preacher! No need to take out an entire universe with me!" The Doctor thumped his chest. "Come on! I'm right here! Don't tell me you came unarmed because you never do! Two shots ought to do it! One to start regeneration, and one to stop it!" The Preacher paused, as if considering it. "You know that is not true, Doctor," he whispered. "Simply killing you has proved vastly difficult." "'Simply' killing me?" the Doctor laughed. "You're joking right? You have never done anything simply in your entire lives! Breed a baby from my companion to use as an assassin bred to kill me. Blow up my TARDIS when you had no guarantee I'd be in it at the time. Try to send a subliminal message to everyone on Earth by staging the moon landing. You realize if you walked up to me with... I don't know... A gun I had no plan?" The Preacher seemed taken aback by this. As if he had never considered it before. "Go on then!" the Doctor barked. "I'm all ears! What insanely overcomplicated and bloody stupid plan to kill me have you got this time? Perhaps the entire church is filled with highly trained mice assassins? Oh wait, sorry, I know what your plan is. End this universe. So why did you need Discord? Why contact him?" "I..." The Silent seemed to be quaking with rage. "I didn't... He contacted me." "I did not," Discord protested. "How could I, I didn't even know about this until you contacted me!" "Lies!" the Preacher hissed. "A creature of deception!" Discord and the Preacher began to square off as the rest of the crowd looked between the two of them. "Well," Silver Smith spoke up. "One of you two has to be lying, right? Somepony contacted somepony..." "Oh no," Eleven spoke up. "It's far scarier than that, they're both telling the truth..." The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Oh bloody hell, you're right..." "Someone has been doing a little matchmaking," Eleven smiled. "Someone wanted you two here. I think I now who..." "The Black Guardian," groaned the Doctor. "This is all one massive distraction. He wants to keep us here while he's off doing god knows what. For some reason he also wanted Discord here too... Probably because Discord could probably stop him in the early stages of whatever his plan is." "This is a trap," said Eleven. "And we're all caught in it. No escape now." "So," Applejack said after a while. "Let's go? I know things have got to work out here, because I'm from the future. We should leave now and try to stop whatever the Black Guardian has up his sleeve..." "We can't," the Doctor smiled. "I think that the only reason that there is a future for us to be from is that we were here. Time is a bit silly like that." "Silence!" hissed the Preacher. "I'm no one’s pawn! I need to save my universe." "Oh, be quiet would you!" Eleven shouted. "You were taken in, we all were. How about you just seal up that crack and go home. I'm headed back to our Universe when we're done here, I can drop you off!" "No!" the Silent was gripping the podium now. "I can't let you go back! I can't let you reach Trenzalore! When the question is asked, silence must fall! I am going to make sure that both of you fade into nonexistence! This universe will die to save mine!" The Doctors were wide eyed at the Preacher's ranting. Eleven turned to Discord. "I'm sure this serves as proof enough of his ill intentions, yes? We can have our Eyes of Harmony back?" "Of course," Discord growled as he prepared to snap his fingers. "Now to close up that crack." "Sorry," the Doctor chimed in. "That won't help. Your powers can only affect this universe, and that crack isn't from any universe. Simply put I need to figure out an extremely clever way to get us out of this." "Do you have one?" Sweetie Belle asked. The Doctor began to look awkward. "Well..." he started, "no... Not as of yet, no." Scootaloo buried her face in her hoof. "Oh brother..." "Well we gotta think of somethin'!" Apple Bloom protested. "I'll go tape it shut!" Sweet grabbed the filly. "You stay right here, young'un I ain't havin' anypony gettin' hurt while I'm here." The Doctor smiled at the motherly side of Sweet. "Silver Smith... and Sweet... Oh," the Doctor burst out in a wide grin. "Oh I have high hopes for the two of you..." "And I have an offer..." hissed the Preacher." You want the crack closed up, fine. I'll do it myself. All I want is for one of you two to step into the light. Be erased from this reality. I want one less Doctor in the Multiverse. One of you grant me this, and I will gladly seal the crack and save this reality." The Doctor pondered the idea for a while. There were general protests from the rest of them. Eleven tried to explain that he couldn't close the crack, even if he wanted to. The Doctor was too lost in thought to hear them. Eventually an Idea sprung into his mind. This would work. It had to. If Eleven was right... "Alright," the Doctor said with a huge grin. "You've got a deal. I'll go." "What?!" said everyone else in the room, including the Preacher. "He's quite right," the Doctor said as he removed his ascot and started unbuttoning his waistcoat. "One of us stepping into that light is the only way we're going to close that crack. Eleven is right however, the Preacher can't close it." He finished removing his clothes and handed them to Sweetie Belle. "Take good care of this, I'll be needing it back later." "Are you crazy?!" Sweetie Belle was close to crying. "If you step in there, you'll never have existed! We won't even remember you! And... And I won't..." "Shh," the Doctor said quietly. "Trust me. It will be fine." "I'm not gonna let you do it!" Apple Bloom shouted. "We can't forget you!" "The Doctor winked." You're right, you can't." "Don't go!" Scootaloo squeaked. "Have to, I'm afraid," frowned the Doctor. He pointed to Discord. "You! Listen, once you figure out what's going on I'll need to be back here. Lord knows where I'm going to end up, so I'll need to get back quickly before I'm deep-fried by a fire-breathing dragon, okay?" "I have no idea what you're talking about..." Discord seemed puzzled. "You will," the Doctor smiled. "I think Bowtie does..." "Actually, no," said Eleven. "Really?" smiled the Doctor. "Oh, you're going to feel stupid later, mate." Applejack stood blocking the Doctor's path to the crack. "You realize I can't let you do this?" "Applejack," the Doctor smiled. "Remember when I asked you to trust me?" Applejack slowly nodded. "Trust me now..." he gave Applejack a hug and whispered in her ear. "I'll be right back." The Doctor strode proudly to the crack. "In case I'm horribly wrong about this," he smiled. "And I'm only about 98% sure I'm not, I'd like to leave you all with a last word that would appear to sum me up quite nicely..." The Doctor burst into a wide grin. "Avanti!" He leaped back into the light coming from the crack. There was a massive shockwave that made everyone fall to the floor. The congregation seemed to be shaken out of their trance. When Applejack looked up... The Doctor was gone. Author's Note I wonder how many people are going to get the Doctor's plan before I publish it. Please rate and comment!
The Doctor's PlanAll Tartarus had broken loose. Rainbow had to get to Twilight, she needed to warn her. Tank was safe at the very least, but her house was gone. There was nothing left but a few scattered clouds. Dash had gone looking for Pinkie when he trouble had started. The Cakes had come home to find Sugarcube Corner in ruins, the two babies crying over their missing sitter. Pinkie was a bit flaky, but she never would have left the babies alone. She had gone to investigate when they hit the streets of Ponyville. Six foot metal demons. Mannequins that walked and talked. Statues that seemed to want to catch ponies and drag them away somewhere. And them.... They were back. They were back and they were right behind her, keeping pace with her flight. They were almost as fast as she was. She wasn't far enough away. She could still hear them. "Seek! Locate!" She was running out of energy. She had to land soon. But she couldn't land. She had seen these things in action before. They were killers. "Seek! Locate! Seek! Locate!" No use. She was out of power. She had to land. She found a nearby cloud and sat down. She turned around to see that the three behind her had caught up. She turned again to find that one had risen behind her. She was surrounded. It was over. "EXTERMINAAA-" "Hold on!" came a voice from above Rainbow Dash. A red eyed changeling landed next to her on the cloud. "Now, mates. I know that's your favorite word, but this one I need alive. Feel free to exterminate all of the idiots below, but not the five I've collected here. Otherwise you all came here for nothing, understand?" The monster paused. "I obey. "Good," the red eyed Changeling turned to Dash. "I'm sorry about all of that. As efficient as Daleks are they are a bit trigger happy and more than a little paranoid. Ask Gallifrey, they'll tell you..." "Who are you?" Dash asked sharply. "Do you work for Chrysalis? What's your relationship with these things? And what do you want with me and my friends?!" "Whoa!" the Changeling stepped back. "Lots of questions at once there. I'll try to answer them in order. I'm the Master, and soon I'll be yours. No. Me and the Daleks go way back. And the six of you are key to finding a cosmic artifact of almost limitless power and destruction that, in the hands of my employer, will throw the cosmos into a never ending age of darkness and destruction with me at the head of it all." Rainbows jaw dropped. "Oh, that face...," the Master smiled. "You expected me to be cryptic, weren't you? Normally I would be, but we're pressed for time. You see, I have an appointment with Princess Twilight, and I had a splendid idea. Since she is so bent on everyone make friends... "I thought she would like to meet all of mine" It took a moment for the ponies to right themselves after being lain prone by the shockwave. The Preacher looked up to the sky, seemingly basking in his victory. "It is done," the Silent hissed. "No more Doctor. No more interference. This universe will soon me washed away in nothingness. You will not reach Trenzalore, for the fall of the Eleventh is here. When the question is asked, silence will fall." Applejack couldn't believe it. The Doctor was gone. Erased from history. The Crusaders broke down in tears. "Say you're goodbyes, my congregation," the Preacher sighed. "You have earned that for helping me in this great deed. You have saved so many realities at the cost of your own. So take the little time you have left to say goodbye to the ones you love." Applejack didn't know what to say or who to say it to. The Doctor had a plan, he had to.... "Well...," Silver Smith took off his hat. "Never thought I'd go out like this..." "Oh?" Sweet was obviously scared, but masking it as best she could. "How'd you think you were gonna go out?" Silver Smith thought for a moment. "I don't know," he said thoughtfully. "In my bed, at an obscenely old age... Surrounded by you and our kids." Sweet smiled back at Silver. "Little apple orchard somewhere. Away from here." That caught Applejack's attention. Apple Orchard? "I could do that," Silver smiled. "I'd still like to, if by some miracle we make it outta this." A tear trickled down Sweet's cheek. "Took you long enough to ask, you damn fool..." She leaned on Silver's shoulder. "I love you, Sweet Apple," Silver said softly. "Wait a minute!" Applejack ran over to the couple. "Silver Smith? Sweet Apple?!" The two looked confused at having to confirm their names. "Yes?" "Granny... Smith... Apple." She couldn't believe it. It was so obvious. She must have seen pictures of Granny Smith's parents over a thousand times growing up, but in those they were older. Silver was a little heavier, Sweet had tied her hair back. But it was them. It was right in front of her. And if she missed something that obvious... What else was she missing? Something clicked in AJ's mind. A gleeful grin spread across her face. She kissed her two great grandparents on the cheek. "I believe in you two!" She said happily. "I believe in that orchard too... I think it's been your destiny to go and start growin'! You two had better find someplace with better land then here... Somewhere near Canterlot! Maybe the Princess can help y'all find a homestead. Meantime I got some business." She turned to the altar. "Oh Preacher Man?" The Preacher turned to face AJ. "What is it, my child?" he asked kindly. "Something to confess before the end?" "Nope!" Applejack said cheerfully. "Just a question! If the Doctor never existed, how can I remember him?" The Preacher was stunned. "What?" "How can I remember someone that was never there?" Applejack asked again. "I remember him pretty clearly. Skinny. Nerdy. Always stealin' my hat. I've got him pretty clear in my mind. By the look of the state their in, so do the fillies! Matter of fact, he's a Lynchpin, ain't he?" Eleven perked up. "She's right," he said spinning to face the Preacher. "You can kill me, but erasing me from a universes timeline is another thing entirely. Without a Doctor, a universe can't exist. If the Doctor never was, neither would Equestria. As you can see, Equestria's still here. If I'm not mistake, and I'm usually not, so is the Equestrian Doctor. Maybe not in this timezone but in this reality." "Discord!" Applejack called. "Start lookin'!" "On it," said Discord. He closed his eyes and focused. "Why?" the Preacher asked. "Why do this? Is he trying to run from me." "Not out of the question," Eleven smiled. "I have run before. But I don't think so. I think he was testing out a theory, and he was right. The paradox of trying to erase one of the Lynchpins of the Multiverse has forced the crack slightly shut." The Preacher looked behind him to see that he was right. The Crack was thinner then it previously was. "No..." "Found him!" said Discord. "Well then what are you waiting for!" Eleven asked. "Bring him in! I don't think he wants to miss the next part!" Discord snapped his fingers and there was a flash outside the church door. "Sis are you sure?" asked Apple Bloom. "Just 'cause I remember him you think he's still out there? Of course I remember! Who could forget the Doctor?" The Doors of the church burst open. "You know, that's a bloody good question." Everyone turned and gasped at the sight of the stallion they saw die not moments ago. He had been erased from reality, and yet he was there... "Sweetie Belle?" he asked. "I'm feeling a bit naked..." Sweetie Belle tossed him his clothes which he caught in his mouth. He began to slip on his black dress shirt. "Doctor who...," he sighed. "What a bloody stupid question. I mean that. Who is the Doctor? I'll tell you right now. He's a Time Lord. A husband. A grandfather. The face of evil on one planet, that's a story I should tell you four at some point." He finished buttoning his shirt and threw on his waistcoat. "A veteran of the last great Time War. The savior of the Thals. A man who has witnessed the birth of the greatest threat the universe had ever faced. And a Lynchpin of the Multiverse. So 'Doctor who?' is a question that has been answered time and time again. My question is, and it better not be answered with silence..." He put his Ascot around his neck and began to tie it. "With all of these things that he has done, with all of the accolades he can call himself, with all the names he's had over the centuries, who could possibly..." The Doctor tightened his Ascot. "Forget the Doctor?" Author's Note I put my Shipping Skills to work! How was the ending to this chapter? Badass? I hope so... Please rate and comment!
The Good Ponies of Dodge JuctionApplejack rushed over and hugged the Doctor. "Don't do that again." "Of course not," said the Doctor in a reassuring tone. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to do that again." "What?!" Applejack asked stunned. "Well not by myself obviously," the Doctor smiled. "I'm going to need Wonder Chin's help on this one. You understand what needs doing, right Doctor?" "Of course," Eleven smiled. "We don't!" complained the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "Well!" The Doctor seemed all to excited to answer the question. "The crack shut up a bit in the paradox of attempting to delete a Lynchpin from the home universe. The universe is not going to let me never exist, it will find some way to bring me back. It used Amy Pond back in his universe and I think it used Eleven to bring me back to this one. It also can't erase Bowtie, because without Bowtie there is no Doctor. So we're both going to walk into that Light and hopefully the Paradox of erasing things that cannot be erased will cause the crack to shut completely!" "In other words," Eleven smiled. "We're going to push it shut!" Applejack blinked. "That may be the craziest damn thing I've ever heard in my life." "Thank you!" said the Doctor brightly. "We try," Eleven said smugly. "N-No...," the Preacher wheezed as he rose weakly to his feet. "I can't let you... I can't let this happen... I can't let this universe survive. Silence will fall. Silence must fall! I-" He was cut of buy two large hooves nailing him square in the chest and flinging him into a nearby wall. "Nnnope," said Silver Smith in a way that very much resembled his great-grandson. "Oh! That reminds me..." The Doctor turned to AJ. "Have you figured it out yet? About them?" "Yeah," Applejack said frankly. "You see they're your gr-" "I know," Applejack said. "Right," the Doctor smiled. He turned to Eleven. "Well, Doctor! I gave an 'avanti' stepping into the crack, I think I owe you this next one. On three?" The two Doctor's smiled. "One.. Two... Three... GERONIMOOOO!!!!" they said in unison as they ran toward the back wall. Both of them managed to pass through the erasing light unscathed and hit the wall bearing the crack. A huge shockwave burst out from the area, knocking everypony in the church prone. The two Doctors put their backs against the crack and seemed to be pushing with all their might, to seemingly no avail. "It's not working!" the Doctor screamed over the sound of the energy rushing outwards from the gap. "The paradox isn't enough to close the gap! We need another Lynchpin!" "Oh brilliant!" Eleven yelled. "Don't worry, we'll be fine! I think I saw a Dalek under that pew! He might be willing to help us in bizarro world!" "The sarcasm is unapreciated- AJ WHAT ARE YOU DOING??!!!" The Doctor caught sight of Applejack readying herself in front of the crack. "I ain't gonna leave my friends to do this alone," Applejack said firmly. "I can't just sit back and watch!" "You step into that light and you'll never had existed at all!" the Doctor screamed. "You can't help here!" "Don't mean I won't try!" Applejack ran into the light, turned on her forehooves and bucked the wall. Then many things happened at once. The first thing was that the shockwave that came from the kick threw the Doctors and Applejack several feet backwards, knocking the wind out of AJ. The next was that the church suddenly got a lot dimmer, as if a major light source had been snuffed out. It had been. The crack was gone. The only remnant of it was a faint whisper that seemed to echo throughout the church hall. Doctor who? After a brief moment's pause the Doctor righted himself and went to check on Applejack. "AJ!" he said, repeatedly smacking her face. "You're alive! You existed! How are you doing that?" "You do know I haven't been knocked out right?" AJ said dryly, irritated at the Doctor constantly smacking her face. "Yeah," the Doctor said, not stopping. Applejack slapped the Doctor's hoof away and began to right herself, and probably would have done had it not been for three adorable fillies who leaped upon her and the Doctor and forced hugs on them both of them. "You did it sis!" said Apple Bloom. "Doc, that was awesome!" Scootaloo smiled. "Yaaay!" Sweetie Belle chimed in. Then she noticed Eleven, shifting from foot to foot, feeling obviously left out. So she hugged his leg. "No...," came a weak voice from the front of the church. "No... I can't let this end like this." The Preacher rose to his feet. "I can't let you leave here! This isn't how this ends!!!" "You're absolutely right," said Discord. "It isn't over yet. There is still you to deal with. You lied to me Preacher. For that you are going to be punished. And I can think of no worse punishment then leaving you here. I can think of nothing more painful then sitting in a confined space with people who once trusted you, and now hate you. How many of their children died because they couldn't get medicine preacher? How many of their friends? All because you were terrified of the word 'Doctor.' Don't worry, though. You'll have a lifetime to think about how to explain it to them. I am leaving you in the capable hooves of the good ponies of Dodge Junction." Discord turned around to leave, but stopped. "Oh, and just in case you were thinking of cutting either your life, or your time here short, just remember..." Discord snapped his fingers and a thousand pairs of harsh, judging eyes appeared and surrounded the Preacher. "I'm. Always. Looking." Discord snapped his fingers and disappeared from the church, the disembodied eyes still staring at the Silent. The aftermath was rather jarring. The town seemed full of life again. Without the Preacher's influence Dodge Junction was behaving like a normal, upbeat frontier town. They spent the rest of the day at a saloon talking it out with Silver Smith. He had proposed to Sweet Apple, and the town justice was going to perform the wedding tomorrow. He invited the Doctor, but he couldn't stay. There was still one last Lynchpin to find. The Doctor walked out that night and stared lovingly at the stars. It occurred to him that in all o his travels in Equestria, he hadn't traveled outside of this planet's time stream. He'd have to fix that sometime. Eleven joined the Doctor outside. "Well," he smiled. "Sweet Apple really knows how to put'em away. It's a miracle she hasn't gone blind yet." The Doctor shrugged. "Let them have their fun," the Doctor said with a soft smile, which disappeared as soon as he saw the figure coming down the main road. "And it looks like mine is over..." The figure of Princess Celestia walked up to the two Doctors, sat down and gave a soft smile. "I don't suppose you're the real Princess Celestia here to praise me for all of my heroic and noble deeds?" the Doctor asked hopefully. The White Guardian shook her head. "Ugh," the Doctor resigned. "Where to next, and what am I looking for?" "Not yet," the White Guardian smiled. "First I need to send him home, and then I need to do something to thank you, Doctor. You've sacrificed so much for the greater good, now I'm giving you something in return." "Oh?" the Doctor asked, more intrigued than pleased. "Remember Doctor," the White Guardian smiled. "You made an appointment with yourself long ago..." Suddenly a memory awakened in the Doctor's mind. He was young, although he looked old. Barbara and Ian were out of the room, and he had just left Susan behind with David. At that point a young man appeared in his TARDIS. He explained that he was a later regeneration, and told him to take this equation and keep working on it. One day it would save... It would save... The Doctor burst out in a wide grin. "Really?" he asked the White Guardian. "You'll make the arrangements to get me there? It is a bit of a trek..." The White Guardian nodded. "Oh, fantastic!" the Doctor could barely contain himself. He turned to Eleven. "I'll see you in about an hour! Well, for you it might be a few centuries, but I'll be there, and when I do... Oh..." The Doctor ran into the Saloon. It was a surreal experience being in a drinking contest with your own Great Grandmother... And losing. AJ was about to pass out when the Doctor burst in the room. "AJ! Come on! We have to do something amazing, courtesy of the White Guardian!" "Where y'all goin'?" asked Sweet Apple. "Sweet Celestia," the Doctor said stunned. "Eighteen shots of whiskey and you're not even slurring. Are just immune to intoxica-" The Doctor smacked his forehead. "Come on!" "Come on, Doctor!" Silver Smith called out. "Where're you folks off to?" The Doctor burst into a delirious grin. "Oh, Silver. For the first time it far too long... "I'm going home!" Author's Note One more chapter, and a whole lotta foreshadowing. Stay tuned! Please rate and comment!
The Beginning of the EndTwilight had her doors barricaded. There were two guards standing vigilant in front of her throne. She didn't want to do this. She didn't want to stay here, she wanted to get out there and fight. But she was surrounded. And they were breaking down the door. They were coming in. This is where Princess Twilight Sparkle made her last stand. The doors burst open and the two guards were killed immediately. Two flashes of green light and it was like they were put under an X-Ray. And then she saw them. There were a few creatures that Twilight recognized as "Daleks" from the invasion a few months back. Also six foot tall metal men, walking mannequins, and a few curious statues that seemed to hang out at the back of the room, their eyes covered. At the head of them was a Changeling with burning red eyes and a bleeding cut on his cheek. "Princess!" the Changeling said happily. "Let me tell you about my day so far..." "Who are you?" Twilight demanded. "Oh for heaven's sake, I am sick of answering that question," the Changeling shouted. He whipped around and burned a word into the opposite wall from Twilight with his magic. Each letter printed largely and clearly so everyone in the room could read it. Master. "It started out alright!" the Master mused. "I was just going around, picking off your pathetic friends one by one. Making sure they stayed alive, I need them alive you see. Don't worry, with the right tools I can keep you alive for days. And then we struck a problem. You see some damn fool Dalek went and got himself seen by somepony who told somepony else and that caused a massive ungodly panic. Then when it came down to finding the last of your friends I hit a wall. So I chatted with her brother. It wasn't really a chat, he was screaming most of the time. He kept telling me that Applejack was out of town, and until I saw her picture and recognized her, I didn't believe him. I was about to finish him off when the stupid oaf did this to me." The Master pointed at his bleeding cheek. "The Autons are looking for him now. They won't kill him. I'll do that myself." Twilight was shaking with rage. "You're a monster." "And you're unoriginal," the Master said dryly. "Now there is only one order of business. You're going to come with me, and I'm going to call the Doctor back to Ponyville..." "Why do you want the Doctor?!" Twilight shouted. "Oh! He can't miss this!" the Master laughed softly. "He's going to be here to see everything he's worked for fall to pieces. He's going to be here to hear the drums again. He's going to be here to answer the question. He's going to be here for all of it. The Gathering of the Lynchpins, The Construction of the Key... "And the final meeting of the Doctor with his Master!" The Station rocked as Gallifrey was fired upon. The general was staggered by the Doctor's plan. It couldn't work. He was insane. As nine more Type 40 TARDISes moved in through the sky. Nine more screen's lit up. Each of them carrying the face of the Doctor in a different regeneration. "I didn't know when I was well off," the general sighed. "All twelve of them!" "No sir!" the Major said frantically. "All thirteen!" One more TARDIS flew in. The Scott. The Stare. The Twelfth. The general was stunned enough at that, but then he heard one more voice. "Actually sirs! Your still off by one!" Another TARDIS had appeared from nowhere. Onscreen was what appeared to be a talking horse in a waistcoat. "Fourteen faces," the horse smiled. "Fourteen Doctors! Haha! I'm here to boost your chances boys!" "Doctor!" said the Eleventh and the Tenth happily. "What is he doing here?!" shouted the Twelfth. "Shouldn't he be back in his own universe doing his 'Horse Doctor' thing there?" "Well," the Horse Doctor frowned. "We're grumpy today aren't we? I regenerate into you? Dear lord, I am not happy with this. Look at those eyebrows..." "Whatever," the Twelfth growled. "Just make sure that when we're done here ye get back to ye're own universe where ya belong..." "I was planning on it!" laughed the Horse Doctor. "I assume I'll understand this later?" asked the War Doctor. The Tenth and the Eleventh seemed to consider. "A little?" the Tenth answered. "On the borderline, really..." the Eleventh frowned. The General and the Major stared slack-jawed at the screens. "The implications that this has to the way we believe the Multiverse works..." the major muttered. The general pointed harshly at the Horse Doctor's screen. "He was never here." "What?" the major asked. "But general..." "When this day goes down in Time Lord history," the general said firmly. "Thirteen Doctors came to Gallifrey to save it. Thirteen Doctors left. There was no horse in a red waistcoat. Understood?" "Y-Yes sir..." the major stammered. "Do it, Doctor," said the General. "Just do it." After getting back to his home universe the Doctor spun around his TARDIS console. "Two worlds in one day! Bit of a slow week for me actually. But it was nice seeing the old mes again! I-" The Doctor paused as he saw a note pinned to the TARDIS console. "Doctor?" asked Applejack. The Doctor picked up the note and read it carefully, and then he gave a sad smile. "Ah well," he said softly. "I should have figured that was waiting for me soon. Still! Good run! And I'm not even done yet..." He folded up the note and put it his his waistcoat pocket. "What was that note?" asked Apple Bloom worriedly. "Not important!" the Doctor smiled. "What is important is that final Lynchpin! Now I've had a few ideas but..." He was interrupted by the sound of somepony falling to the ground. He whipped around to see the White Guardian, still in Princess Celestia's shape, laying on the ground. Battlescarred. Her breathing labored. "D-Doctor...," she wheezed. The Doctor rushed over. "How are you hurt?" the Doctor asked frantically."You can't be hurt! You don't have a body to hurt!" "The last Lynchpin...," she coughed. "He... He's close to having it... I kept it all together this time... I... couldn't separate it... It kept coming back together... I'm sorry... I made it too easy for him..." "What?" the Doctor asked. "What do you mean? What's 'together'? Who has what?" "Oh come now, Doctor," came a deep voice from behind him. "Think..." The Doctor whipped around to see the figure of a massive black Alicorn with red trim. He was wearing a self satisfied sneer. "Who are you?!" snapped Sweetie Belle. "Idiot girl," the figure laughed. "I am her equal and opposite. I am the adversary of all things good. The bringer of Anarchy. I am the Black Guardian." "W-well," Scootaloo spoke up. "You better get off the TARDIS, or I'll-" "You'll what?" the Black Guardian asked plainly. "Leave her alone," the Doctor said through gritted teeth. "Come home, Doctor," the Black Guardian smiled. "Come back to Ponyville. We can finally settle the score. We can take it back to where it all began with the three of us." The words "where it all began" struck a chord with the Doctor. It rang a bell. The White Guardian, the Black Guardian, the Doctor, and the Black Guardian's champion. It all came down to one thing the first time. The Doctor knew what the black guardian had. "Who put it together for you?" the Doctor asked. "Don't tell me you did it yourself..." "A friend of yours," the Black Guardian smiled. "He called himself the Master. He has most of it now, and also her friends..." he pointed at Applejack. "So getting back is in your best interests." Applejack shuddered. She couldn't speak. "Why call me?" the Doctor growled. "You have what you need, just end it..." "Oh, but I want you to see!" the Black Guardian laughed. "From this moment begins my coronation procession. From this moment the White Guardians ideals of harmony and universal balance die. From this moment onwards there is no such thing as free will in the entire universe... "There is only my will, because I possess the Key to Time." Author's Note The reason that scene was left out of Day of the Doctor was because of massive Time Lord cover-up. The Lynchpin Quintet comes to it's conclusion in Doctor Whooves: Only My Will. Stay tuned! Please rate and comment and as always, thanks for reading!
