Knights of Time and Space

The Doctor and Redheart had been running for a few seconds before a strange thudding noise could be heard.

*Thump*

The Doctor looked back. The hall behind her, slightly dark but well lit by the moon, was empty.

*Thump*

The still foreboding noise seemed closer. The Doctor grabbed Redheart and they dove into a closet. Peeking out through a crack in the door, The Doctor could see a wavering shape at the end of the hall.

*Thump*

Again the noise was heard. The creature looked around. Its head, or what seemed to be its head, turned at the sound. The creature, native to the planet, leaned forward and looked down the other end of the hall.

*Thump*

The noise was startling close, and the other creature knew it. Suddenly, from something at the other end of the hall, the creatures was stricken by a paralyzing fear, and a dark shape glided past their little hid out. Arching down towards the other creature it latched on. The other creature momentarily unfroze and screamed in both fear, and pain. Suddenly its eyes, light with life, darkened to a pure, shapeless black and it dropped to the ground. The dark shape seemed to inflate slightly before it glided past the body and disappeared from sight. Waiting quietly The Doctor and Redheart looked out the crack. After several minutes of a fading *Thump* they could hear it no more and stepped out. The Doctor, using her sonic screwdriver, scanned the dead creature at the end of the hall.

Her voice cracking in fear, Redheart spoke, "What was that?"

The Doctor looked up at her, solemnly, "Something that I once thought I destroyed long ago."

"Run!" The Doctor yelled out to his companion. "Quickly!"

"I know Doctor," screamed back his companion, her hooves were nearly a blur.

A dark shape glided towards the Doctor and he slide into the TARDIS' protective field. Hissing it banged against the invisible wall. The Doctor spoke, "You don't have to do this! I can take you somewhere. Somewhere you can live out the last of your days without harming anyone."

"Htss ssitsh tyser sithinag ser? Inths ysrys htsy dosther ssy rcses!" It answered. While this sounded like gibberish to the pony behind him, the Doctor understood perfectly. Why would I do that? These ponies have doomed my race!

"No! That was their own doing! They tried to attack the ponies, and as such, the ponies responded in self-defense!" he said.

"Hsterk! tsry msst pys! Wsd hste sn fsstd!" It said. No! They must pay! They took our food!

"They did not! You could have moved on!" He said.

Outside the field a figure, a small filly, was limping towards a house. The creature dove at her and the Doctor screamed. "NO!" His hoof had already laid upon a button on the TARDIS. He pressed it and the field expanded too rapidly and the creature was torn apart, the filly was saved. The Doctor dropped to the ground, "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry."

The Doctor shook her head. That moment was gone. There would be no saving the creature. No pleading. Redheart looked at her curiously.

"What's wrong?" came her concerned voice.

"Ah. Nothing. Come on," The Doctor said.

Concerned, but accepting of the answer, Redheart followed. They walked down the hallway. Every so often a light would flicker out, then on again. After a few moments they came to an intersection. The Doctor pulled out the sonic screwdriver, scanned, and made her way down the right hallway, Redheart right behind her.

After another few minutes of walking Redheart spoke up, "Doctor? What are you? If you're not a pony that is."

"I'm a Time Lord. Well, the last Time Lord to be exact," she said distractedly.

"A Time Lord?" Redheart inquired, slightly confused.

"An alien race to do with, well, timey wimey things, I guess," The Doctor answered. Once again the had reached an intersection. She pulled out the sonic and scanned again. Redheart looked at the strange device. She had never seen anything like it in her life.

"And what's that?" Redheart said directing a hoof at the sonic screwdriver.

"A sonic screwdriver," the Doctor said bluntly.

"Oh. What's it do?" Redheart asked again.

"Everything. Except wood. Doesn't have a wood setting," the Doctor answered.

Redheart nodded. Suddenly the small of rotten flesh hit her and she gagged. It was potent so it had to be close. The Doctor opened a door and there was the answer.

A young mare hung from the ceiling, clearly dead. Her once light blue coat was brown and her mane extremely disheveled. The ground below her was crusty and covered in her blood. Her head dangled ominously, she was nearly decapitated. Her stomach had also been ripped open. The organs, a pale grey, threatened to fall out and small white things crawled inside the corpse. The ground shook and the organs fell.

That was the last straw for her stomach. Redheart leaned into a trash can and vomited profusely. While her head was inside the can the Doctor scanned the corpse. The sonic beeped and the Doctor grew wide-eyed.

"She was mutilated AFTER her death. To do something so... vile... Who would do it and why?"

Suddenly the sound of hoof steps echoed and with a disturbingly bright flash, a stallion appeared. His dark grey mane and black mane blended into the background. His cutie mark showed what seemed to be a butcher's knife covered in red. The stallion's eyes glowered at the Doctor, clearly filled with hate, anger, and, strangely, humor. The stallion trotted forward casually.

"Well, Doctor, it's about time. What took you so long? I've missed you?" came his deep voice.