Chapter Two: A Gathering Storm.

Written by:
Doctor Fluffy,
Jed R,
The Void.

Editors
redskin122004,
RoyalPsycho.

***

“Oh dear Lord, three of them. All my worst nightmares at once.”
The General, Doctor Who: Day of the Doctor.

“Con permiso, Capitan. The hall is rented; the orchestra engaged. Now it's time to see if you can dance.”
Q, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Q Who.

***

DisQord’s Hypotonic Lion Tamer Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
...Darn it, Pinkie!

For two and a half days, with very little rest in-between, Twilight and her friends had been fighting against… DisQord’s creations. It had taken its toll on them. They'd been battered and beaten - Rainbow had a bloody cut above one eye, Rarity had developed a limp from a half dozen attacks, and Applejack had three gashes across her flank. Twilight and Pinkie were uninjured, but both were exhausted, and Fluttershy was shaken, her face grim-set and bloodstained.

For most of the time, they had fought… things, things they could only presume DisQord to have created. They were pony figures, loosely. They had the rough proportions of ponies, at least: forelegs, hind legs, hooves. Some of them had horns - not that they used them - and some of them had wings - not that they needed them. There were no details visible on them for the most part: they were grey, indistinct. What details could be seen betrayed glints of armour or the shadow of ancient helmets.

It was rather like fighting very solid, very tangible ghosts. Except, of course, that ghosts couldn't hit as hard. The only way they could usually tell when an attack was due was a strange noise.

Like the hollow bones of a pegasus had been filled with grains of rice, rattling like zebra rainsticks.

“I’m going to keep you safe,” Rainbow Dash said, flitting in front of Fluttershy.

“I can handle myself!” Fluttershy protested, surprisingly forceful for the dainty butter-yellow pegasus. But she was listing to the left, ever so sliiiightly….

“You can barely fly, Flutters,” Rainbow Dash said. “If you take another hit…”

“Then I’ll walk,” Fluttershy said firmly.

Before Rainbow Dash could respond to that, there was a sudden wailing noise. Twilight’s ears perked up.

“Aw, heck,” Applejack swore. “Get ready, gals!”

And then they were upon them.

***

Throne Room, Canterlot, Year 2 Anno Harmonia - ‘Downtime’ Equestria.

Celestia was looking out of a window as a flash of light appeared behind her, appearing in the corner of her eye. She growled softly.

“DisQord or Discord?” she asked.

“You can't tell the difference?” the familiar voice asked.

“No.” She snorted in irritation. “You're far too similar for me to be able to discern between you.”

“I’ll add a fart noise or a brass band to my arrivals from here on,” the Draconequus said, moving to stand next to her. She glanced, and the red Q was present. “And for the record, he smells faintly like sugar when he arrives. You probably never noticed. I, on the other hand, smell like cranberries.”

“… cranberries?”

“Lost a bet to one of my… colleagues, once,” DisQord shrugged. “You wanted to talk.”

“I didn't summon you.”

“You didn't have to,” DisQord said with a smirk. “You're practically radiating ‘bottled indignant speech’ right now. I’m very used to that feeling. Everyone around here’s as pent up as clockwork wound with a power drill.”

“Perhaps,” Celestia said, turning on him, “because you are used to ponies and others treating you like a callous, inquine creature.”

“Ooh, you're spiky,” DisQord said, an oddly suggestive hint in his voice. “I might almost grow to like that.”

Celestia growled. “Do not play games with me, Discord. I am not in the mood.”

“DisQord, with a Q,” he corrected absently. “And that's a shame - I was rather hoping to play games.”

“Well, I wasn't,” Celestia said, rounding on him. “How dare you.”

“How dare I?”

“No. Games.”

“Ooh. Scary.”

Celestia snorted with rage, her horn now starting to actively glow. “Do not test my patience, DisQord. You may be an ally, but if you cross that line -”

“I can only assume,” DisQord interrupted, yawning slightly, “that you mean me telling your student and her merry band that their other selves were dead as the proverbial doornail.”

“And showing them their mortal remains,” Celestia added with a snort of rage.

“You make it sound like I held up a grinning skull,” DisQord said with a raised eyebrow. “I mean, I could if you really wanted me to - there's not much left of most of them at present, but a grinning skull would be easy to -”

“You horrible, twisted creature!” Celestia shouted. “Why would you say that?!”

DisQord said nothing for a moment, before smiling at her, folding his mismatched arms.

“That is interesting,” he said after a moment.

“What is?” Celestia asked, still scowling.

“I spent most of my Celestia’s life watching her,” DisQord said with folded arms. “I fought her - both on a grand scale and in hoof-to-claw combat. And then, after that, I watched her fight others. I watched her battle just about every kind of monster, despot and lunatic you can imagine.” He paused. “And you… are not her.”

“Given that she became this Astra Solamina Maxima, whatever that means in ‘old high Unicornic’, I consider that a complement,” Celestia growled, scowling at him.

“Well, don't,” DisQord said, a new smile - a sad smile - coming over his face. “You don't know what she was. Before she… lost herself, shall we say.”

Celestia’s expression softened as she suddenly realised how much of a sore spot this must have been for him.

“You… knew her well?” she asked quietly.

“Actually, no,” DisQord said quietly. “But if you watched somepony for eleven millennia, you'd have respect for them too. She was strong. Diligent. Hardy. Adaptable.” He shrugged. “Surprisingly distant from her people for a while - that got better while Luna was… away. She was a rock upon which things broke. She was a centre of immovable certainties, always confident, always decisive.”

“I’ve… had a lot to deal with lately,” Celestia said, keeping her tone guarded.

“I know. In a sense, you know, I was trying to help your little friends,” he said after a moment. “They're not going to be well served by mollycoddling. Your counterpart - or more direct counterpart, I should say - is going to unleash hell upon the PHL and everyone else that stands against her - and you're throwing them right into that. They're innocents, and they're going to lose that in seconds. Some might even say they already have. If I was to take any of them to a population center on either Earth, they might crack for not knowing the stakes. They know them academically. But they don’t know.”

Celestia sighed, her gaze returning to the window. “It is… it’s…”

There was no way for her to say it, but DisQord seemed to understand, because he put a comforting paw on her shoulder.

“It's not what you'd have wanted,” he said quietly. “I know. None of us want this. Personally, I’d rather be bothering Jean Luc or Kathy, or sipping Pina Coladas on the moon while being serenaded by a mariachi band.” At her frown, he coughed sheepishly. “Besides the point. None of us want to be where we are now. But we’re here. We have to make the best of it.”

Celestia sighed. “What did you have in mind?”

“How do you know I have something in mind?” DisQord asked.

“Because you strike me as the kind of… being... that always has something in mind,” Celestia said with a wry grin.

DisQord chuckled. “As a matter of fact, I do have something in mind. A little training room of sorts for Twilight, her friends, and others in due course. It will have its own separate timezone - allowing for them to train for long period at a time while no time at all passes out here.”

“Sounds good,” Celestia said with a slow nod. “Is there a downside?”

“Not really,” DisQord said with a shrug. “I changed a few of the laws of the universe there. Mainly stuff about death - nasty business. Best avoided. Also they won’t age - they could probably spend your entire lifetime’s worth of years there and be… well, not ok, since there’d be major psychological issues - not that there aren’t any already. Pinkie Pie’s as insane as ever, for example. I don’t think I have psychiatry books non-euclidean enough for me to deal with her if she becomes mentally ill.”

“I honestly decided not to question it,” Celestia sighed. “As long as she was serving as an Element and making other ponies smile, it seemed okay. So you want to send them to this… other dimension?”

DisQord grinned sheepishly. “Well… I think it's more accurate to say that I already have.”

Celestia’s eyes widened. “You what?!”

“What, didn’t I mention that?” DisQord asked. “Silly me. Oh, look at that, silly me, must dash!”

And with that, he disappeared, leaving Celestia feeling even more incensed with him than she had before.

***

DisQord’s Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

Oh, do I actually get to write it normally this time?

If there was one thing any of the ponies could say about Changelings, at least they were predictable. Five of them could come at you the same way, Fluttershy could cower and bonk one in the chin, also the exact same way, and it would keep working.

This… was not the case here.

“Youch!” Fluttershy yelped, as one of the things bodyslammed against her. She tumbled across the floor, the use of her wings forgotten in the panic.

Pinkie glared at the suit, and it seemed for a second to stagger backwards. “Nopony hurts Flutters!” And then - from nowhere that anypony could pinpoint, Pinkie’s party cannon was out, almost directly in the face of the offending shadow.

It fired, the load of baked goods catapulting the shadow into a wall.

It staggered out from the crater, shaking its head and making a beeline for Pinkie. While many things could be said about her bravery, her dedication, or what have you, reaction time when being charged by an armored pony was not one of them.

This wasn’t to say she froze up the whole time. She did turn around, but it was a fraction of a second too late and she knew it.

He’s gonna get me! Pinkie thought, alarmed, trying to turn, and ready a powerful back kick with her rear legs that would have shattered a rock back on the farm.

And then Fluttershy tackled it from the front, grabbing it in her forelegs as she flew upwards, and dunked its head on the floor.

Pinkie blinked. “Um.” Then, suddenly settling back into her usual rhythm: “Thanks, Flut-”

A hoof from another armored figure took her in the stomach, catapulting her backwards.

I knew I should’ve updated to the party volleygun! Pinkie thought, as she tumbled tail over teakettle through the air. Wait, Marcus mentioned rocket launchers? What if I got a party rocket launcher? That’d be super-duperiffic!

She staggered on the ground, hooves straining against the surface, before she turned and drove her back legs into another shadow pony’s head.

“I need a little help here!” Rarity called over. “One of them has me cornered, I don’t think I can-”

“Sure you can!” Pinkie yelled, as she punched another shadow pony.

“Thank you for believing in me, then!” Rarity yelled, and, concentrating, she fired a thin, precise beam of magic through a shadow pony’s head.

The two mares looked at each other.

“I… actually meant ‘Shoryuken’,” Pinkie said sheepishly. “I do believe in you, though. Believe in the me that believes in-URGK!”

Time suddenly slowed down, or felt like it had. Twilight’s eyes widened in horror at what she had just witnessed.

Pinkie Pie had a spear embedded in her gut. She was staring at it with wide, surprised eyes, as though it was somehow the most shocking thing she had seen all day. She blinked once, grimacing as the thing holding the spear twisted it, before it withdrew it and she collapsed heavily to the ground, stirring feebly.

“NO!” Rainbow Dash yelled, kicking another of the things away and charging towards the fallen pink party pony.

Twilight closed her eyes and concentrated, and a shockwave burst outwards, blasting most of the things away momentarily. She turned to look at Rainbow, who had reached her fallen friend. Rarity and Applejack had also trotted up, and Fluttershy was hanging back, a horrified expression on her face

“Twi,” Rainbow said, looking up from Pinkie. The fallen mare’s eyes were wide and glassy. “Tell me there's something…”

Twilight shook her head. “No. There's… there's nothing. No spell.”

“This is impossible,” Rarity said softly, her eyes wide and her lip trembling. “Pinkie Pie can't die.”

Twilight knew what Rarity meant. Even now, as blood pooled around their hooves and Pinkie’s glassy eyes stared at nothing, Twilight still expected her to sit up, smile, and tell a joke - something about spare blood packs for blood pack emergencies, about her being random, who cared, just something.

Anything but those eyes, so empty of what made Pinkie… Pinkie.

“DISQOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORD!” Rainbow Dash screamed. “I’M GONNA SHOVE YOUR HEAD SO FAR UP YOUR FLANKS YOU COLLAPSE INTO A BLACK HOLE!”

“Anatomically impossible and physically implausible all in one go,” a snarky voice said from somewhere above them. DisQord was sat on a floating chair, apparently amused. “I'm impressed, Rainbow Dash, really I am.”

“I’m honestly surprised she knows what black holes are,” Twilight said, her voice hollow.

“I'm more surprised you forgot that lot,” DisQord said, jabbing a thumb at the horde - true to their luck, their enemies had recovered from the shockwave.

“I don’t really care anymore,” Rarity said. “You’re responsible for the death of dear Pinkie. And that’s something I will not stand f-”

“Ah, well, don't lose your head over it,” DisQord said with a chuckle.

“NO!” Pinkie wheezed as she staggered to her hooves. “I thought I had plot armor!”

DisQord raised an eyebrow. “Hmm. Let me fix that.”

He snapped a claw, and a small suit of ringmail appeared next to him, labelled ‘Personal Lightweight Omnidirectional Tactical armour’. It melted in a sudden flash.

“First rule of AU,” the Draconequus said with a nasty smirk. “Anypony can die.”

“Aw, shoot,” Pinkie pouted. “How did I forget that?”

“You can think about that in a minute,” DisQord said. And as he said it, a pair of the ghostly ponies landed in front of Applejack and Rarity. The first hacked at Applejack, who only just dodged, but stumbled as she did so. The second threw a small metal object at Rarity, faster than sound, and she blinked in shock before blood leaked from her mouth, a metal object protruding from her throat.

“NO!” Twilight yelled. She aimed a spell, but was suddenly hit by a forceful concussive spell that sent her reeling.

Rarity’s eyes went as wide as dinner plates. She coughed, weakly, before collapsing to the ground.

Pinkie, already moving purely by force of will, fell to the floor again, her eyes clouding over as three of the Unicorn-things surrounded her, horns glowing. She closed her eyes.

Rainbow Dash, of all of them, decided to go straight to the point. With a burst of speed, she charged straight at DisQord, who didn't even look at her - right up until the moment she suddenly stopped, frozen in mid-air.

“Tell me,” he asked her idly. “Do you know the story of Icarus?”

And Rainbow Dash exploded: it was like a miniature sun had just consumed her whole, not even ash remaining. And then, nothing was there to mark her existence at all.

Applejack dodged and rolled away from her attacker as best she could, but seeing Rainbow die was enough of a distraction to allow her pursuer to catch her. A heavy axe fell, and there was a spray of blood.

Twilight was only dimly aware of the sound of Fluttershy screaming. She was still stunned by the last spell that had hit her… and then she saw one of the things approaching her. Her horn glowed to summon a shield, but a single spell dissipated it. The thing’s horn glowed - and then Twilight’s life was nothing but white light…

***

And then, with a shuddering breath, Twilight’s eyes opened.

The entire group were laying on the pale floor of the chamber, their injuries gone - not even a trace of them to be seen.

“I’M ALIVE!” Rainbow yelled. “I’m… not… melted.”

“None of us are dead!” Pinkie Pie gasped, patting her body down, running her hooves over her fur. Then when they got to her mane…

“Aw, buck,” Rainbow Dash said. “Her mane went straight.”

“I’m assuming that’s bad?” Fluttershy asked.

“Don’t worry, it gets better,” Pinkie said.

DisQord appeared nearby.

Pinkie’s eyes went orange and she seemed to darken imperceptibly. “Oh… no…. it… won’t.”

“No,” was all DisQord said, holding up a claw. “Not even gonna.” He adopted a mock-accent not unlike Applejack’s. “Just calm down there, pardner.”

Pinkie narrowed her eyes at him. “You don't do things like that.”

“You mean I shouldn’t,” DisQord said idly. “I think it's pretty obvious that I do do things like that.”

“What… was the point… of all that?” Twilight gasped, still feeling winded.

“You lost,” DisQord replied simply. “You've never lost before - you've had setbacks, but never a full-blown, ‘I’m done’, no-recovery, no-respawn, healer’s down and out of mana defeat.”

“I have no idea what most of the words in that sentence mean!” Pinkie Pie said, still looking almost murderous.

“That is both a first, and the point,” DisQord replied, smiling almost indulgently.

“So… what?” Applejack asked with a groan. “That… was jus’… to show us… we could lose?”

“Yes,” DisQord said with a smirk. “You probably knew on a rational level that you'd fight enemies you couldn't beat, but rationality - as fighting me, or my counterpart, should have taught you a long time ago - isn't always the best answer. Now you've been defeated. Now you’ve died. And you know, instinctively, that you can lose.”

“What’s the difference?” Rainbow snapped. “Why'd we have to - to die?”

“Because you - especially you - had a tendency to think, on some level, that you were beyond harm,” DisQord replied. “You start thinking you're invincible. After a while, you might start thinking, ‘Hmm, I could get hurt’. Usually by the time you realise you will get injured or killed and nothing save not being present will prevent it, you've already been out there for a month and had the chance to be an idiot mortal and actually die. We'll be skipping that, thanks to your experiences here. And you, dear Rainbow, will think twice before punching so far above your weight. Queenie and Solamina will do worse than obliterate you.”

“Couldn't you have done it without the… death?” Rarity asked, rubbing her neck unconsciously. “I… I can still feel it.”

“Psychosomatic twinge,” DisQord shrugged. “It'll probably pass.”

“‘Probably’?!” Rarity repeated.

“Do you always treat other ponies like they're toys?” Twilight asked with a scowl.

DisQord affixed her with a glare. “Oh, this is not me treating you like a toy. Be thankful I'm not. My toys have this unfortunate tendency of breaking.”

Twilight shuddered slightly at his tone. “You're cruel.”

“Nooooooo,” DisQord said with a snide smirk. “Reaaaally. Here I thought I was the God of Fluffy Bunnies and Kittens and Flowers, not the God of Trickery, Chaos and Entropy.”

“Our Discord’s all those things too, and he learned not to be mean,” Pinkie pointed out. “And he wouldn’t kill me just to prove a point!”

“No, he’d just brainwash you,” DisQord said.

“But I didn’t die, and he made chocolate rain!” Pinkie said.

“Tell me something,” DisQord said, and his voice dropped temperature so fast that the ponies suddenly shivered. “Do you think you're dealing with your Discord, now? Do you think I care what you think? Do you think that this is the worst I could do? Because I can do worse.” He smiled, but it was empty of mirth. “Believe me. I can do worse.”

Twilight, despite the icy tone, looked him in the eye. “Do it then.”

DisQord smiled. “Fortunately for you, your world isn't my purview.” He paused, looking at a nonexistent watch. “Your three days are up. You'll be going back to Equestria shortly to begin training with someone else. Hopefully you'll be able to come back here, hopefully having learned some valuable lessons.”

Before any of them could say anything else, he waved a claw, and they disappeared.

***

Canterlot.

“My everything hurts,” Pinkie sighed, trotting listlessly back to their room.

They were back. It was almost like they had never left. A shame they had - a shame they could remember every second.

“We… was that even real?” Twilight asked, though she wasn't even sure who she was asking.

“Sure as sugar felt real,” Applejack said quietly. “Reckon Ah haven't felt a hit like some o’ those… well, ever.”

“That other Discord’s a plothole,” Rainbow muttered darkly.

“He's certainly… unpleasant,” Rarity agreed. “Which begs the question - what is his world like?”

“I could stab him,” Pinkie said idly.

Everypony stared at her in shock.

“Pinkie!” Rarity gasped.

“I’m not apologizing,” Pinkie said. “He killed you. Me. Exploded Dashie. I know he needs us, but I won’t say it’s not tempting…”

“If anything, both evil Celestias are, um… worse,” Fluttershy said. “We heard from Marcus. We heard about Solamina. Maybe, um… that was the point?”

“I don’t have to like it,” Pinkie said, looking downwards.

Rarity made a heroic effort to change the subject. “Me neither, but… Darling? Why don’t you style your mane like that more often?”

“I’m usually not in a good place at the time,” Pinkie said, still downcast. “Besides, we tried that before the gala.”

“Right,” Rarity said. “We gave up on that one. Would you please let me attempt to style it? You could look quite adorable with i-”

“I’d rather not,” Pinkie said.

“Darling-” Rarity started.

Fluttershy laid a hoof on Pinkie’s barrel, just below her mane. “Let her have this, Pinkie. Please.”

Pinkie seemed to deflate. “Okay, Flutterbutter. I… probably need it too.”

“Certainly,” Rarity said. “Why, I’d love to see what could happen to your mane with some nice styling-”

Rainbow Dash just groaned.

Before she could say anything else, however, there was a sudden rumble. The ground almost felt like it was shaking.

There was a momentary pause.

“I feel a great disturbance in the horse,” Pinkie said ominously.

“Which one?” a familiar voice asked. Suddenly, Discord was standing there - their Discord, sans the red Q of the… other one.

“Mostly me,” Pinkie said sheepishly, apparently fine with him. “I couldn’t resist.”

“Well, it's a great disturbance all right,” Discord said grimly. “Bigger than I'd have liked. Also, Rarity? You’ll be able to have some fun with manestyling soon enough.”

And in a flash, he had disappeared.

“What does that mean?” Twilight asked.

***

Somewhere in the hills outside Hoofington…

It had been a busy day for Claw Hammer.

First, as a Royal Guard reservist, he’d been activated. This, in itself, had been a shock, one that he’d only expected in the event of what Shining Armor himself had referred to as Code Voluspa.

Claw Hammer was not entirely clear on what Code Voluspa was, on account of being more interested in reading forestry publications, Daring Do novels, Shadow Spade novels, or his copy of An Argument For Humanity and Against Catseye.

From what he could gather, Code Voluspa was a reference to ancient Yakyakistani literature. Something about the beginning of the world and its imminent end? He wasn’t sure. What he was sure of, however, was that a Voluspa meant something near-extinction level. A monster attack worse than usual. Some kind of ancient evil returning. Canterlot being out of cake ingredients.

This had happened fairly rarely. Once, about 38 years ago, in an occurrence that against common knowledge Celestia had prepared for, on the basis that “1000 years sounds too dramatic, it might just be 962.”

Back then, it had required mobilization of everypony, even the reservists. A Code Voluspa did not just stop. You had to be absolutely sure. There had to be something like, Claw Hammer guessed, a being with abilities that blunted magic somehow, one that couldn’t simply be punched, netted, or crossbowed into oblivion.

Evidently, this had happened.

Evidently, the Code Voluspa had also stopped. That had also happened.

In response to the apocalypse having been cancelled today, Claw Hammer’s wife Woven Sugar had baked him a cake. Which had been nice, he didn’t even know they had that much caramel in the house, but apparently they’d been saving that for his birthday or something and the cancellation of the apocalypse seemed like as good a time as any.

Claw Hammer had loved his wife more than ever right about then, and knew she would never leave him, and vice versa. Knew that everything was going to be okay.

And then an earthquake hit and a flowerpot fell on his head.

It said volumes about his experience, imperturbability, and pain threshold that his reaction was:

“Dammit, I just got this cleaned.”

“I cleaned it,” Woven Sugar said, tapping her foreleg on the floor impatiently.

“Then… I’ll do it next time,” Claw Hammer said sheepishly. “Sorry, Shug.”

“You’d better,” Woven Sugar said.

***

Canterlot Meeting Room, Canterlot, Year 2 Anno Harmonia - ‘Downtime’ Equestria.

As soon as they had seen - and felt - the return of the Crystal Empire, Celestia had convened an emergency meeting of those who could, feasibly, be of use in this crisis. It was, distressingly enough, a short list of individuals. Stephan and Marcus were there, Stephan still less than brilliant after his battle in Boston and Marcus looking grim, arms folded. Luna and Celestia were obviously there, as was Cadence, her face full of worry - it was easy, too easy, to forget just how young she still was. The two Discords had also deigned to make an appearance, Discord looking worried and DisQord looking irritated.

“So,” Celestia began quietly, once the group was assembled around the briefing table. “We’re all here because of the seismic and thaumic event has just happened. For those of you who do not realise the significance, it is simple. As of thirty minutes ago, the Crystal Empire has returned.”

Cadence shared a glance with Luna, who looked grim.

“This can only mean one thing,” Celestia said quietly. “Sombra. He will not be far behind.”

The assembled ponies and humans shared looks of worry and dread. Stephan and Marcus especially looked concerned, and Trixie had a look that was almost fearful.

“Well,” DisQord said quietly. “This… is… not a good time for this, is it?”

“You might say that,” Discord said with a slight, uncharacteristically humourless smile. “Or you might, to quote Markiplier, say ‘we’re boned. We’re so strongly boned’.”

“It's certainly a difficult situation,” Luna said quietly, a slightly confused frown. “But - what does ‘boned’ me-”

“No,” Discord said, holding up one talon. “No. Just no.”

Luna shook her head with confusion. Marcus chuckled mirthlessly at the exchange, but both he and Stephan looked more concerned than anyone - or anypony - present had seen them for a while.

“We don’t want to be fighting a war against Sombra,” Marcus said grimly. “The Crystal War in our world was bad enough that there are a lot of ponies who haven’t ever recovered from it.”

“We would have destroyed him without the banishment spell he cast upon the Empire,” Luna said. “The legions of umbra ponies, golems, other war machines were challenging enough to defeat in those times. In these… with you, we could destroy him.”

“But that isn’t what we need,” Celestia said. “We have to nip this in the bud. Either we ignore him and leave him a thorn in our side. Which is not an option. We cannot afford a war on three fronts.”

“Three?” Marcus asked, confused.

“The Solamina that lays siege to this other human world,” Celestia said, looking at him. “Queen Celestia, who lays siege to yours. Both are separate fronts - likely because they cannot tolerate anything that does not pledge allegiance to them, in a corruption of our unification of Equestria.”

“Some would call it conquering,” Discord muttered.

“And some would call leaving the warlords such as Sombra that rose up in the aftermath of the Windigo’s Winter to their own devices, or leaving villages of Earth pony serfs undefended immoral,” Celestia said. She was shaking a little here, trying not to yell at Discord.

She wouldn’t have done that before the mind transfer, Luna thought.

“Sister,” she said softly. “You need to rest.”

“I suppose I do,” Celestia said. “But if these others…” She couldn’t think of either one of them as her at the moment. That is good, she supposed. “If these others are such a corruption of me, of my desire for control and order, that they have reached such states, then it is unlikely that either one will work together. But Sombra opens the possibility of a third front.”

“As if we didn’t have enough to worry about,” Stephan said. “A lot of ponies under our command are Crystal War veterans. Lyra, our Lyra… she lost her parents there.”

“What do you know of Sombra?” Luna asked quietly.

“Unicorn despot - not as bad as the Tyrant, but still bad, in a ‘sound the alarm, batten the hatches, break out something big and killy’ way,” Stephan said dryly. “Specialised in… fear magic, was it? Trickery backed by overwhelming force?”

“Fear magic, shadow crystals, the works,” Marcus added softly. “In our world the war was… nasty. If we can avoid it, we should.”

“Seconded,” Trixie said quietly. “And we can't afford to be fighting another Crystal War - with two Tyrants to worry about…”

“With two of them, and Sombra as well, we’re boned,” Marcus finished with a wry smirk. “Unless we get to the Empire before Sombra takes full power.”

“That shouldn't be a problem - the only issue is getting there,” Luna said, frowning. “It would be incredibly difficult to get there in time to stop him from consolidating his seat of power.”

“Transport isn’t necessarily an issue,” DisQord said with a dismissive wave of one paw. “What your issue should be is, how do you deal with him?”

“What do you mean ‘how’?” Marcus asked.

“What I said,” DisQord said with a smirk. “There’s a Crystal Heart in this world, isn’t there?”

“There is,” Celestia said quietly. “Utilising that, we might well be able to defeat Sombra. A small group might be able to go, hopefully before Sombra is too powerful to contain.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” DisQord said quietly, a smile on his Draconequus face.

“We’ll go,” Stephan said quietly, and Marcus nodded. “You might need our help.”

“And these idiots aren't going without me,” Trixie added.

“I would not avoid this either,” Luna added.

“And the Crystal Empire is part of my family's history,” Cadence said quietly. “I need to go.”

“As long as we’re careful, it shouldn’t be too difficult,” Celestia said. “Marcus, Major Bauer, your presences will be useful.”

“Their presence might not be necessary,” DisQord said, holding up a paw. “In my world, the Element bearers were able to defeat Sombra using the Heart. If I might make a suggestion, they might be able to repeat the process here - it would be -”

Celestia shook her head. “No. No, we will not take them into this fight. It’s too dangerous.”

“Too dangerous?” DisQord repeated incredulously. “Did you really just say that?”

“Yes, because it is,” Celestia said insistently.

“They've got no chance,” Stephan said quietly, frowning at DisQord. “I haven't even had chance to begin training them, or even meet them, but I know that they’re not -”

“In my world, they could do it - no training, no anything,” DisQord said with a frown. “And you're already asking them to -”

“I said NO!” Celestia yelled, her voice echoing out in the Royal Canterlot voice. There was a moment of shocked pause at that - very few of them had seen her angry yet. Discord sighed and looked away, and Stephan nodded once.

“DisQord,” Marcus said, wincing at the odd pronunciation, “they're not ready for this mission.”

“By what standards?” DisQord retorted, a scowl on his face.

Marcus sighed. “They’re untrained, untested, and they’ve not faced anything like this before.”

“They faced him,” DisQord pointed out, jabbing a thumb at Discord. “Unless he’s secretly a cuddly bunny -”

“And I’m not,” Discord put in. “Though I was never going to kill anypony…”

“- he’s not exactly a pushover in a fight, and certainly wouldn’t have been easy to defeat,” DisQord finished, ignoring the comment. He looked over at his counterpart. “Please tell me you weren’t easy to beat.”

“Uh… I don’t think so,” Discord said with a shrug. “I mean, the Elements didn’t exactly seem like they were enjoying themselves. Except Pinkie and the chocolate rain.”

“Well, even so, they beat you,” DisQord said. “I think it’s safe to say they’re capable - and if they’re anything like the Elements from my world, they should be capable of this too.”

“Even if they are - and that’s a big assumption - if we can do this without risking civilian lives…” Marcus began.

“Oh for crying out loud,” DisQord said with a sigh. “This isn’t a war. You're not talking about a rigorous military exercise with formations and battle-lines, you're not talking about your Puppet of Tirek or the Solar Empire. You're talking about -”

“They will not go!” Celestia snapped. “We will not put Twilight and her friends at risk.”

“And yet, you want them trained for your war,” DisQord said with a snort. “So, no risk there, no sir.”

“That’s different,” Stephan said. “We have time to train them for that risk, we have -”

“They don’t need to be trained for this, they’re capable of doing it!” DisQord retorted. “And if you ask me, this is the perfect ‘trial by fire’, to see if these six are really -”

“I. Said. No,” Celestia growled. “That is the end of it.”

DisQord looked up at her with a lazy expression. “Sure, you said no. Newsflash though. That doesn't mean it's the end of it.”

Discord frowned, holding up a paw to discourage his counterpart, but DisQord waved a claw and Discord was suddenly gone.

“How dare you!” Celestia said, eyes wide with outrage.

“Easy - by opening my mouth,” DisQord said scathingly. “And I mean it. You're not the final say on every discussion, anymore. You're part of an alliance, and that means you don't think you're above them.”

“I do not believe I am,” Celestia retorted, eyes narrowed in fury. “More than I can say for you.”

“Don't lie to me, Gloriana,” the Draconequus said with a growl, ignoring her comment. “You still think you're the big cheese, that everybody should just hop to when you say. And let's all be honest here. You're not exactly -”

A flash of light blared from Celestia’s horn before anyone - or anypony - else could stop her, and lanced towards DisQord. He raised a paw, and the energy stopped in mid-air. He winced slightly, but then with a wave of his paw the energy dissipated. He snorted in irritation. Everyone looked between the two of them with shocked expressions, none of them quite believing what they had seen.

“Perhaps,” Celestia hissed, “we should discuss this in private.”

DisQord inclined his head. “As you wish.”

Celestia turned to Marcus and the others. “If you and the others could leave myself and DisQord alone for a few moments?”

Marcus and Stephan shared a glance, before Marcus gave the Princess a questioning glance.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

Celestia nodded slowly. “This needs to be between me and him.”

“If you’re sure,” Marcus said quietly. He walked out, and the others followed, none of them looking particularly cheerful.

DisQord merely folded his arms, a raised eyebrow on his face as Celestia watched the others go. Finally, the door slammed and the Alicorn slowly turned to look at him.

“DisQord,” she said simply, “when it comes to my subjects, ‘no’ means ‘no’.”

The Draconequus’ other eyebrow joined its fellow. “I wasn't aware that you had suddenly become an absolutist, dear Celly.”

“I am not,” she said with a low growl. “But neither am I about to let children into a war that I can fight without them.”

“And yet,” DisQord said with a wave of his griffon claw, aimed at the window, “out there sits Equestria. Ready to go to war - a war they, if one looks at it from a certain perspective, have no part in whatsoever. Those ponies have never experienced conflict - you’d ask them to die, but not your beloved Twilight?”

“The war with the Tyrant is different,” Celestia said bluntly. “Every hoof is needed for it, or we stand no chance of victory. Without the Elements, we may have no way to defeat Tirek: they may yet only just be powerful enough to purge the Queen of his influence and restore some semblance of sanity to that Equus.”

DisQord looked her in the eye. “Then why not send them to defeat Sombra?”

She snorted angrily. “We don't need them.”

“Not the question,” DisQord said. “If it's so easy, why not send them?”

“I never said it was ‘easy’,” Celestia retorted. “I said that we didn't need them. A small group could -”

“No,” DisQord said, holding up a claw. “No, this isn't making sense.”

Celestia snorted again, derisively this time. “I thought you were the king of ‘not making sense’.”

“I am,” DisQord said lightly, a blue crown appearing on his head. “But you aren't. If you're willing to send them into the more deadly conflict, why not send them to fulfil their destinies and face Sombra?”

“Because they aren't ready!” Celestia snapped, her horn blazing once again. “And you, you horrible, pathetic thing, have no right, not after everything you've done, to -”

She stopped, eyes wide and expression shocked, as if suddenly aware of the words she had spoke. Her horn dimmed, the energy dissipating.

“Oh,” she said quietly.

“Oh,” he repeated knowingly. “Maybe if I'd not been me, you'd have listened.”

“I… I thought I had forgiven him,” Celestia said quietly.

“Do you know how hard ‘forgiveness’ is?” DisQord asked, raising an eyebrow. “Sometimes forgiving is never really forgiving. You can remember the pain, feel it - all of it - and not be outwardly angry. He may not have been all that I was, but he still hurt you. And I, conveniently enough for you, look just like him. It’s a process, after all.”

As if summoned, Discord suddenly appeared, a growl in his throat.

“You do not get to teleport me across the galaxy!” he yelled. “I am -”

DisQord waved another claw and Discord vanished again.

“He’ll be cross with you,” Celestia said with a raised eyebrow.

“He can be mad as he likes, he's not my bosses,” DisQord snorted. “‘Sides, I’m explaining it to him as we speak.”

“How?”

“I am Q,” was all he said. He frowned slightly. “You still resent him, and you used that on me.”

“Yes, I did,” Celestia said quietly. “And… and I apologise.”

“You don't need to,” DisQord said quietly. “I did the same injustice to you. Or did you miss me calling you -”

“Gloriana,” Celestia repeated quietly. “What name is that?”

“Gloriana Regalia Celestia,” DisQord said quietly, a smile gracing his snaggle-toothed mouth. “That was her full name. So rarely used now - only record keepers and soldiers know it.”

“What was she like?” Celestia asked honestly.

DisQord looked lost in thought for a moment. “Resplendent - not that false splendour Solamina puts about, but truly splendid. Undaunted. Courageous. Tireless in the defence of her people. Beautiful, I think, in her own way. And I do miss her, even if she never knew me as I knew her.”

“I'm sorry,” Celestia said quietly. “You've suffered the loss of your own Equestria.”

DisQord waved a paw dismissively. “It was a job. One I grew too attached to. But all tasks end.” He looked her in the eye. “They need to go, Celestia.”

It took her a moment to realise what he meant, and she frowned.

“They aren't ready - we’re already asking so much of them!” she insisted again. “We should -”

“If wise mentor figures did everything, Luke Skywalker would never have blown up the Death Star, Dumbledore would have taken on Voldemort himself, and Gandalf would have taken the One Ring for himself,” DisQord said with a sharp claw-gesture. “You want to ask something of them, Celly? Ask them to do what they were meant to.”

Celestia paused, frowning. “Their destinies - if such things even exist - have changed.”

“Then un-change them,” DisQord shrugged. “Colonel Bogey and Major Malfunction want to go, as does your BBBDF -”

“My what?”

“Big Brother Best Draconequus Forever,” DisQord said with a shrug.

“… what does that make you?”

“I'm ‘Best Q’,” DisQord said with an impatient wave of the claw. “My point is - Sombra is a big deal, but you're asking these ponies to get involved in a war with your world's equivalent of satan, with none of the breeding and all of the malice. If you think they're ready for that -”

“But I don’t!” Celestia suddenly yelled. She paused, taking a deep breath. “I… I have more faith in them than you know. But… but, I… I just…”

“You want to keep them safe,” DisQord finished. He sighed. “That's… laudable. But they're not going to be children forever. They're not even children now.”

“I cannot make them go,” Celestia said quietly. “I cannot force them to face this enemy.”

“Then ask me,” a new voice cut in suddenly. Celestia turned, to see Twilight and the other Element bearers (and Lyra) stood there, the violet mare’s eyes filled with tears.

“Twilight,” she said quietly. “Twilight - I…”

Twilight ran up to her, and hugged her. Celestia, numb, hugged back, closing her eyes.

“I don't want you to get hurt,” the Princess said quietly.

“I know,” Twilight replied. “And I… I appreciate that. More than I can ever say. But…”

“But you want to do what you can to help,” Celestia said sadly. “I know. I've known so many ponies just like you in that respect. Young, brave. So eager to do what’s right.”

“Then let me do what’s right,” Twilight said quietly. “Let us do what's right.”

“We’ll have to go out there eventually,” Fluttershy said.

“We might as well,” Rarity said.

“I got in plenty of fights in flight school,” Rainbow Dash said. “How bad could it be?”

“Ain’t never been to war,” Applejack said, “But if we have to and don’t do this, then we’ll be flopping around like fish out of water without at least some idea.”

“Besides,” Pinkie Pie added. “The ponies of the crystal empire must be so sad! Freeing them from King Sombrero should make them happy, and I’d love to make them smile!”

“And I… I guess I have to go too,” Lyra put in. “It's about time I did… something.”

“I believe that's settled it,” DisQord said dryly. “When you assemble your ‘A’ team, they'll have seven mares joining them.”

“Well,” Celestia said with a sigh. “We’ll still need to get ourselves there in time, before Sombra can regain his full power.”

“About that,” DisQord said, a smile forming on his face. “I know a pony who might be able to help…”

***

Ponyville, Year 2 Anno Harmonia - ‘Downtime’ Equestria.

For what seemed like hours, the two Doctors sat in silence. They had been given space to think of something in a place that was safe and free from danger. It had taken a little coaxing for Dinky to go with her mother for a wander around town, mostly because she had be so fascinated by the old Stallion that bore the shattered version of her father’s cutie mark and couldn’t seem to look her in the eye. Despite that, and despite Sparkler having a whispered disagreement with her mother that both Doctors had heard (but pretended not to), they managed to get the house to themselves.

“You know, one of us is going to have to start,” said the younger Doctor after a long moment.

The older Doctor had been sat at the table, periodically drinking his tea. He looked up from it, surprised. “Have you been waiting for me? I’ve been thinking of ideas since they left.”

“Great,” the younger Doctor said with a grin. You couldn’t deny the hope in his voice. “What’s on my mind?”

Not even a smile back.

“Okay, what have you been thinking.”

The older stallion nodded slowly. “Good question. We have so many options but which ones would not tear both worlds apart?”

One evil Celestia was bad enough, two was a living nightmare. They needed something powerful enough to defeat them but not powerful enough to break reality. It sounded easy in theory, but the two were unsure.

“How do you take down something like that?” asked the older stallion.

“Pardon?”

The greying stallion finished his tea and began to pace around the floor.

“It’s funny,” he said. “I’ve spent all night thinking of how to defeat one, so many nights awake just hoping that something comes to mind that can beat her. Now? Well, now we both have to do it.”

“Well, we can,” the younger Doctor said. “I’m sure we can. There have to be a good half dozen ways to trap a powerful creature like an Alicorn.”

“Or destroy them,” the older Doctor added. The younger Doctor frowned.

“I know we said it was bad,” he said quietly, “but surely -”

“We cannot risk failure to contain this foe,” the old Doctor said definitively. “Queen Celestia and Solamina both have to be stopped by any means necessary.”

The younger Doctor frowned. “From what you've said, these ‘Newfoal’ things are as much victims as villains. So are the Converted for Solamina. You're asking for any means necessary - does that mean abandoning them?”

The old Doctor gave him a look. “I don't believe the humans will see another way.”

“Isn't that what we’re for?” the younger Doctor asked dryly. “So that ‘no one else will ever have to live like this. No one else will ever have to feel this pain. Not on my watch’?”

The older Doctor chuckled grimly. “Perhaps I should have chosen that face to wear again. Perhaps that would have made things different.” He looked up at his colleague. “Do you really believe we can make a difference again?”

“Don't you?” the younger Doctor asked.

“I did, but that was a long time ago,” the older stallion said grimly.

The younger Doctor nodded, before taking a breath. “We made a promise. Both of us, a long time ago.”

“To never be cruel, never be cowardly, never give up and never give in,” the older Doctor nodded, looking off into the distance somewhere.

“Then you and I, together… let’s change the world,” the younger Doctor said. “We help - we help end this madness. No one else will do what we had to. Not on our watch.”

The old Doctor looked up at him again. “You're very full of hope. Remarkably different to your counterpart from the other world.”

“I just remember why we’re here,” the young Doctor replied with a soft smile. “And I'm sure he will, too.”

Before either Doctor could say anything else, there was a harsh knock on the front door. The Doctors glanced at each other.

“Expecting anypony?” the older stallion asked.

“No, now you mention it,” the younger one replied. “Who is it?”

The door opened… and in stepped Princess Celestia herself, a regal expression on her face as she stood in front of the two of them.

“Good morning, gentlecolts,” she said quietly. “I believe I need your assistance.”

***

The TARDIS. En route to the Crystal Empire.

The old pony was flicking switches, a frown of concentration on his face as the great engine of the machine rumbled and groaned in its ever-present cacophony. He had chosen to be the Doctor to go to the Crystal Empire, mainly due to the fact that the other Doctor had a family: ‘something to leave behind’. The machine made another groan, and the Doctor flicked another switch.

Most of the others were elsewhere in the ship, exploring the labyrinthian machine as far as they dared. Lyra stood, aimlessly, as though her entire world was shifting underneath her. Which, to be fair to her, it probably had done a great deal since Marcus Renee had arrived.

“I’m still not a fan of this means of travel,” Discord commented grimly, arms folded as he watched the old Doctor do his work. “Still don't know why we can't teleport there.”

“We could, but Captain Grumpy’s ship is harder to detect for a magic user than a half dozen powerful beings - especially powerful beings with powerful magical thingamajigs - teleporting there,” DisQord put in. “We want as many advantages as we can throw at this baby.”

“Please don't call me ‘Captain Grumpy’,” the old Doctor asked blandly. “I have a lot of names, and that's still my least favourite.”

“Where's everypony else gone, anyway?” Discord asked.

“Well, Twilight went off to find the library the minute he mentioned one,” DisQord said, jerking a thumb at the still-concentrating Doctor. “And her friends and Princess Cady-Wady went with her.” He glanced at the pony. “I’m still not sure letting them go off like that is… entirely wise.”

“She's more than welcome to pick up whatever book she likes,” the Doctor said idly, pulling a lever as he did so. “I sincerely doubt many of the truly dangerous books would make sense to a pre-spaceflight society. Or in some cases, a pre-Twitter society.” He shuddered slightly. “Twitter.”

***

Deep within the bowels of the TARDIS, there was a room with white walls, empty but serene. Within that room, the two Alicorn sisters spoke.

“Take a rest, sister,” Luna said. “The Doctor said this place - this ‘zero room’ - would be perfect for your needs… and I believe you need it.”

“Why do you say that?” Celestia asked, looking around the admittedly serene little room with an appreciative nod.

“You nearly blasted one Discord,” Luna pointed out. “And you absorbed a staggeringly large amount of traumatic memories - an imprint of Marcus. This place will… help you be better.”

“Perhaps,” Celestia said with a sigh. “For a little while.”

“Maybe I will entreat the Doctor to install a room of this sort in the palace for your use,” Luna suggested. “So that you may rest more when we return.”

“My little ponies need me in this time,” Celestia said, shaking her head. “I couldn't take time -”

“The fact that they need you is why you need to rest,” Luna said quietly. “I’d rather have a sister well-rested who returns to the throne refreshed than one who lets the stress get to her.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Celestia said. “But… My… our little ponies need stability. If I step down in a time such as this, certain citizens could suspect foul play at work.”

“That seems far-fetched,” Luna said.

“I allowed First Citizen Phalanx the Wise to step down, become nobility under us, and gave her a decently sized estate,” Celestia said. “She agreed and retired to a happy pension fund, while monarchists that had evidently never known Phalanx herself despite prattling on about her attempted to reinstate her. Whether she liked it or not. Ponies have a way of believing of their idols what they will, as if I had descended from the heavens to speak with them in particular.”

“You do that fairly frequently,” Luna pointed out.

“I do,” Celestia said. “I have faith in my little ponies, but I worry for what happens if I ‘rest’ at a time like this turbulent period."

“True,” Luna said. “Very true.”

“Still,” Celestia said, taking a step and suddenly finding herself floating effortlessly, “this place… feels… nice. I shall enjoy resting here.”

She seemed almost to lay down in mid-air, before closing her eyes. Smiling slightly, Luna turned to go.

“Sleep well, sister,” she said quietly.

Luna exited the ‘zero room’. With her sister seen to, finally, she breathed a quick sigh of relief. Her sister was stubborn, and always had been. It was not surprising that she was still being stubborn now, even after everything she had been through, all the horrors she had witnessed.

Now that she was resting, however, Luna had the opportunity to speak with a pony she had been meaning to for some time. The strange pony, the old one from this other Equestria…

He knows more than he's telling.

***

Returning to the console room, where the Doctor was still hard at work, Luna approached the old pony, who tapped a button almost like an artisan chipping away at a statue. After a moment, he looked up at her.

“Princess,” the older stallion said with a nod. “May I help you?”

“The name ‘Sidera Somniata’,” Luna replied softly, a frown on her face. “You spoke it the first time I and Discord stood in this machine of yours. What does it mean?”

The Doctor glanced up at her with a tired smile. “There are many, many differences between your world and the world I knew.”

“Like what?” another voice asked, as Lyra turned to join the conversation. She looked curious.

“Those lives are not your lives,” the Doctor said sternly. “It is not my place to tell you of them. I’m sorry if that is somehow disappointing to you, but you have to understand - time is a delicate thing.”

“If these ponies live such very different lives, how can telling us of them affect time?” Luna asked.

“Tell me, Princess,” the Doctor replied. “If I told you that in the world I come from, Sombra was your distant grandson, how would you react?”

Luna blanched. “Grandson?”

“Child of the line of Astrum di Nocturnus,” the Doctor said quietly. “He usurped his brother's throne and took the empire. It was… not a good time.”

“You speak as though you were there,” Luna said quietly. “This… machine. It can travel time?”

The Doctor nodded. “Astute.”

“If you can travel in time, why don't you go back and change the war?” Lyra asked with a frown. “You could -”

“It doesn't work like that,” the Doctor said tiredly. “Believe me, I tried once to change one small event, and I couldn't. Even that was unwise of me.” He pulled another lever. “‘Sidera Somniata’… among other things, the name of an Equestrian airship, one of several battleship-class ones. She was named for…”

“Me,” Luna guessed. “Just as my sister apparently has a longer name - ‘Gloriana’ is part of it.”

“Gloriana Regalia Celestia, and Sidera Somniata Luna,” the Doctor said with a nod. “Sisters, children of noble houses. Princesses of the Adamantine line, and - a long time ago - declared Diarchs for life of the Equestrian ponies. A pair of living symbols of Equestria’s unity.”

Luna frowned. “It sounds… different to my life.”

“It was,” the Doctor said. “In many ways, too many to count, in truth.”

He spun a wheel, and sighed. “We shall be arriving in fifteen minutes, relative time. I suggest you retrieve everypony else.”

Luna nodded, and headed off, leaving Lyra and the Doctor stood with each other.

***

As the Doctor pulled another lever, frowning slightly, he glanced at the Lyra Heartstrings who was still looking at him.

“Do you know a Lyra Heartstrings?” she asked him. The question took him off guard - she asked with a kind of worry on her face, one that made little sense to him.

“Yes,” he said tersely.

“What's she like?” this Lyra asked with a frown.

The Doctor sighed, before setting one of the controls into ‘automatic’ mode. He could have done that from the beginning and saved himself some trouble, but he preferred manually flying. It was supposed to grant him some peace from awkward questions.

“What would you like to know?” he asked.

Lyra took a breath. “She's not… y’know… really super duper important, is she?”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. “Everypony is ‘really super duper important’, in their own way.”

Lyra couldn't help but chuckle at the remark, spoken in such a dry, clinical fashion, with the same tone he used for everything. He supposed that was just his voice now - the old ‘posh, gravelly thing’ he had once mocked from this very voice.

“I mean,” she asked, “I keep hearing about the Lyra from Marcus’ world… how she’s this big hero who did all this stuff…”

“And you worry you won't live up to that,” the Doctor finished. “No. I understand.” He frowned, wondering how best to phrase this. “Operative Lyra Heartstrings is a well-regarded figure in the Equestrian Resistance. She is brave, and humble - perhaps too humble. She is also close friends with David Elliot.”

“Who?” Lyra asked.

“An important figure in the BDF,” the Doctor said by way of explanation. “And also a good friend of mine.”

He returned his attention to the console, but turned to face her before pressing anything.

“Try not to compare yourself to her,” he said simply. “We all have our own destiny. Yours may yet prove just as worthwhile as hers.”

And with that, he flicked the control back to manual and returned to piloting, leaving Lyra Heartstrings pondering his words thoughtfully…

***

The Crystal Empire.

Snow-covered plains and mountains surrounded the TARDIS when they finally materialised. The Doctor stepped out first, sniffing slightly at the cold air. Behind him came the Discords, then Stephan and Marcus, the Princesses, and finally the Element Bearers and Lyra. They looked at the desolate landscape for a moment, most of them feeling somewhat overwhelmed.

“Right then,” the Doctor said blandly. “I believe we have work to accomplish.”

Celestia, well-rested from her brief time in the zero room, advanced, looking towards the distance where - though they were just out of sight - she knew the capital of the Empire was.

“Right,” she said. “Let’s go.”

And with that, the little band advanced towards their destiny.

Author's Note

WHAT'S UP, HUMPADUMPS! Red, uh, took issue with some of the stuff here, and Jed and I figured that since he had great points, we ought to edit it a bit. So, here it is! The remake of this one. Changes include, uh, I don't know, I was probably asleep or trying to get drunk at the time. Did you know a nearby brewery makes beer called "Hell Yes" ? It's true!