World of Chaos

“Oh my bloody head hurts..."

"Dag nabit stallion, get up and run for yer life!"  The Doctor blinked sleepily for a moment, quite confused to where he was. He could faintly se a blur of orange run past him, but everything else was red,

"Ughh, I feel like I just took a bath in both of Galifrey's suns at once..."

"I Said get up!" The Doctor squealed at the sharp jab in the back that he earned from staying still. He quickly pushed himself up with his hooves and rubbed his head, blinking continuously to get a clear look at his surroundings. Somehow he was in a huge volcano, magma pools on every side of the path that he stood on.

Doesn’t look to bad. I just need to find my TARDIS and fly away, oh I’m so tired. Shouldn’t I run from those things coming towards us? And what happened to that other mare?

"Are we being chased be red horses with dagger tails and little horns?" The Doctor turned to where the orange mare had been a moment ago, but was surprised to see her in the distance running.

"Ugh...Well, there’s no exciting moment if there’s no running." The Doctor chased after the orange pony, starting to catch up to her, but stumbled when he noticed who she actually was.

"APPLEJACK?!?!?" He watched the surprised look on the earth pony as she looked over at him.

"Do I know you?" The Doctor almost choked as he started laughing gleefully. That is until he realized where he and AJ actually where.

"But...Wait WHAT?!?!? But you’re in...In...Oh you got to be bloody kidding me. WE'R IN TARTARUS!!!!"

"No REALLY?" The mare said with an exaggerated sigh, still running ahead of The Doctor. The two continued to run until The Doctor was panting for breath. When he could barely run anymore, he stopped and spun around, pulling his sonic screw driver seemingly out of nowhere.

"Why did you stop?! Keep runnin you crazy pony! Do ya want to get yerself killed?" The orange earth pony spun around and headed back towards him. When she stopped beside him, the stick in his mouth began to buzz high pitched.

"What the hay is that do 'hickey?" The Doctor rolled his eyes as he continued to check the readings on his sonic. As he expected, the readings where positive.

"Hold my hoof and close your eyes. Don’t let go until I tell you its safe." The Doctor grabbed the mares hoof, but was bluntly shoved away.

"I aint a coward, but I aint stupid. I don’t want to get stabbed by those monster creatures anytime soon. And why in tarnations should I trust you anyways?"Applejack looked at The Doctor who had put his gizmo stick into a hidden pocket. He looked right into her eyes. For some reason Applejack just had an urge to trust him. It went against everything she knew, but this stranger seemed to know how to save her.

"Please trust me. I’m The Doctor." Applejack decided to stay.

She grabbed The Doctor’s hoof and closed her eyes. The Doctor pulled his sonic screwdriver back out and pressed a button, starting a high frequency buzzing noise to sound from it. The pitch continued to grow higher until their surroundings started to fade. The lava pools of red hot liquid where devoured into a black void. The creatures running towards them where much closer. Their wrathful scowls bore into the void of which The Doctor and Applejack where disappearing, before finally receding into emptiness as the rest of the area did. The sonic's pitch had ended, now abated to a low hum before dissipating.

The Doctor sighed, taking little note of the echoless void as it swallowed the small noise. It was literal nothingness, stretching into infinity so that all around them was black. The only light came from the two ponies that stood there floating.

"Can I open my eyes yet Doctor? Ah don’t like not knowing where I am." Applejack turned her head towards where she thought The Doctor was, ending up actually turning the opposite way.

"You can open your eyes, but you won’t be able to tell where we are." The Doctor watched AJ as the look of relief of being able to open her eyes was replaced by confusion. The confusion was quickly overtaken by surprise and fear and then back to curiosity.

"And... Do you know where we are?" She looked down as she asked.

"And also, how exactly are we standin in this spot without fallin?"

"Wellll," The Doctor began, his voice dropping into nothingness as had every other word spoken there so far, “We are in the void. It’s a space between universes. The Void had no 'up' or 'down', but the universes within it are 'stacked' on top of each other. Even "time" in most senses, doesn’t actually exist here. The only thing that lives here are the chronomites, a four dimensional creature which is actually VERY itchy. I’ve never actually been in the void before, but I have seen a void ship before, and I have sent creatures into the void, and...."

"Uh, doctor. How did we get here?"

“A portal. I could pick up the signals with my Sonic uh...yeah. Where did my sonic screwdriver go?" The Doctor began to look around, trotting farther from Applejack and somehow going downwards, if there was in fact such thing as downwards in such a place as The Doctor had suggested.

"Oh horse apples. I seem to have dropped it and now it’s lost forever!" To Applejacks surprise and great annoyance, The Doctor began to sob. His tears dropped into the endless space and he sniffle.

"I love my sonic screw driver! I'll never survive without it! I could just"

SMACK

"Ouch!" The Doctor rubbed the newly acquired red hoof print on his face.

"Quit mopping about that little gizmo thingy and let’s find a way out a here!" Applejack rolled her eyes as The Doctor whimpered. She shoved him in a direction that she could only assume was forward.

She continued to push him until he reluctantly trotted forward on his own accord. They continued to walk.

Fluttershy sighed and sat down at the table, loathing her awkward shyness towards her rescued friends. Rainbow, who had woken up only a few hours before, ate her breakfast in an unsociable manner across from the yellow unicorn. Rarity sat nearby to Fluttershy's right. Her normally curly purple mane had fallen into a straight darkish blue at its lack of normal treatment.

Upon Fluttershys arrival, the two other ponies looked up from their petty meals. All three sat there in an uncanny silence.

"Hi shy. It's been quite a while." Rainbow spoke up, the scowl that had been plastering her face softened.

"Indeed it has. I believe that what you call 'catching up' is in order." Rarity agreed. Fluttershy dropped her gaze a bit, looking down at the bowl of porridge she still had in her telekinetic grip.

"We'll, I don't know what you guys remember from before Discord captured you, but Luna came to join the resistance after we changed her from nightmare moon..."

"Yah, I remember that." Rainbow nodded, recounting the event in her head. All six of them, her, rarity, pinkie, Fluttershy, Twilight, and Applejack had all been born into the resistance. They had all grown up together and became good friends. Then one day they discovered a book that told about a weapon that they could use against discord. It was called the elements of harmony.  They had to travel all the way into the everfree forest to find them, and in the end they did. Then within the next month nightmare moon had come back. They had to use the elements against her when she threatened to join discord and reveal the resistance. The magic blast that the elements gave off had in fact changed nightmare moon back to Luna, but had also drawn discord to them. He could feel the power of the blast and had come and taken the elements away from them. Afterwards he had sent the element bearers on their desperate ways so that they couldn't rise against him if the elements where taken back. That is where Rainbows memory had ended from her former life.

The three continued to talk and remember tales of the past. All of them agreed that they couldn't imagine a life without discords chaos ruling.

The Doctor pat Applejack on the back as the mare sobbed. The Doctor had eventually gotten her to talk to him about her life before she was sent to the pit of fire, and she had to her own annoy net, begun to tear up. Now they had both stopped walking and had begun to rest. The endless void around them seemed pitiless in its silence. The Doctor had begun to acquire burning headaches in the back of his mind. During their endless travel one of his hearts had began to beat oddly slow. He would never know how humans or even ponies lived with only one heart.

“I have been through stuff like this before, believe me, and it’s hard, really hard. The only thing we can do is keep moving." The Doctor looked out to the emptiness around him, quickly shrugging of a glimmer in the dark. There couldn't be anything out there, right?

“You know, once I had a wonderful companion who traveled with me. She was so stubborn. Just like you. But she's gone now, just like all the rest of them. She actually got stuck in a parallel universe, kind of like this one. But I had to close the rift from there to my universe or some bad stuff would have happened. She just had to try and help me. I should have stopped her really, but I just couldn't. But I guess that's okay. She has another human version of me. At least she’s happy." The Doctor wiped a hoof across his face, expelling the small salty droplets that drowned his eyes.

"Doctor? Answer me truthfully. Are we gunny ever get out a here?" The orange mare’s sobs had lowered to a faint whimper occasionally. Her now puppy dog eyes had turned to him, seeming to beg him for a happy ending. To his utter pain, he couldn't give her one.

"No. The only possibility of us getting out of here is if Discord wanted us back or if...if a void ship picked us up. But that isn't very...likely? What?" He was utterly awe-struck by the space ship that at that moment was flying right above them (if there was in fact an above in the void). It was fairly large and circular, golden and smooth. It appeared to slowly increase its speed towards them, the black fog of nothingness around it seeming to fade.

A large flash materialized and the earth pony and time lord vanished, appearing moments later inside the space ship.

Colgate sat next to the sun princess, gently brushing out her silky mane. Celestia just sat there, not crying any tears but still dampening the room with depression. Colgate herself was in despaired ever since she woke to find herself in a much more mature body than a five year old filly should be. Not only that but she seemed to start having uncommon cravings and problems with walking, not to mention that her hearts had begun to have more of a delay in beating than normal. She could only assume that changing her body’s maturity had messed up her regeneration process thing, getting everything mixed up. Once the now full grown mare had woken up, she had found herself in front of the Chaos king himself.

She had of course demanded to know what he had done with her dear uncle, but highly regretted asking when he told her that The Doctor was stuck in Tartarus. Then she had been sent to Celestia’s room and sat there on the floor waiting for hours. Colgate had found that although Discord and Celestia were married, they did not in fact share a room together, so Tia's room was as clean as could be. Eventually around what Colgate guessed what was twelve at night, Celestia had come into her chambers.

Colgate had run to her and helped the poor tired mare out of her garments and began to brush her royal hair. And that's where the two sat now in total silence, neither wanting nor needing to Speak. Colgate surveyed the room, being sure to not brush the princess’s hair too harshly at the same time.

The bed they sat on looked old and worn, a faded image of the princess’s cutie mark on the cover. The rest of the room was also faded, all in multiple shades of red and orange. The only other furniture in the room was a night stand by the bed and on it sat two pictures. Upon closer inspection they were of Tia as a much younger filly playing with a little Luna. Above them flew a gorgeous red bird which Colgate could only guess was a Phoenix. The other photo was of two shimmering alicorn, one as blue as the glorious night, the other as radiant as the sun above.

The only other thing in the room was the three doors. One led to a magnificently huge bathroom, one to a magnificently huge closet, and one to the rest of the castle. Aside from those, no windows or furniture accompanied the two beings on the bed.

"What dose happiness mean?" Colgate paused her brushing momentarily, pulled back to reality by the princess’s sorrowful voice.

"I knew the feeling once, and all I can remember of it was that I would always wish that in those moments that I could sing and dance. But now only faint memories play with my mind. Do you know what it is?" Celestia turned to Colgate, her eyes pleading for awareness.

"Happiness is an emotion. It's the opposite of being sad. Instead of a frown it makes you smile and it’s always so wonderful to have." Colgate grinned mildly, thoughts of smiles filling her mind.

"And what then is emotion?" Colgate had to think on this one.

"Emotion is like.... A friend...or companion perhaps. It's always with you, and the mood of your friend who you hang out with reflects on yourself, showing who you are on the inside. Figuratively speaking of course." Colgate continued to brush the pink mane as the princess pondered over this.

"And what is friendship?" Colgate could hear the broken heart behind the princess’s question. Colgate peeked over again at the pictures on the night stand, then thought of The Doctor.

Her uncle was the most amazing creature she had ever known, and also her neatest friend. He could at times be sad or lie, but in the end all of his work paid off, saving whole planets! If she ever needs help he would be the one she would look to.

"Friendship is...Magic." A dazzling grin spread across Colgate’s face, her eyes sparkling as she thought of how in every way The Doctor was so wonderful. Celestia sat there, amazed at the beauty the mare brushing her hair emanated. It was like she could feel the joy and wonder radiating off of her. The unicorns smile was infectious as well, seeming to grasp a hold of Celestia’s mouth and pull it up wider and wider from a frown and into a grin and finely into a full out smile.

Creeeck

The two turned towards the noise and the mood instantly dampened as the tall form of a draconoquis entered the area.

Celestia’s smile fell back to a frown and Colgate’s to a scowl. As discord entered he seemed not to notice the ending of a wonderful moment or the look of thanks that Celestia gave to the new maid.

"Hello darling.  Are you likening your new maid? At least now she's tall enough to get on the bed without help." Discord lay next to Celestia, giving her a look. Celestia in turn left the bed and went to the bathroom and locked the door.

Colgate too glared away from the bothersome creature now pouting on the bed and busied herself with meditating. The Doctor said that meditating would keep her mind from breaking from all of time and space she had seen in the time vortex.

Eventually Colgate heard the draconoquis leave, murmuring to himself about 'picking a boring mare as his wife'. And then promptly slamming the door. Not too long after that another door opened quite softer and slow hoof steps came towards Colgate.

"What are you doing?" The princess asked Colgate. It must have looked odd, as Colgate was in an awkward position sitting down with both of her bottom hooves held together and both of her upper hooves together above her head. Colgate simply sighed at the question but otherwise ignored it. The princess just wouldn't understand the thinking process of a time pony.

But then to Colgate’s surprise, the princess matched her position perfectly and began to take deep breaths to calm herself, and there the two mares sat meditating in a small prison like room in a castle in Canterlot in a truly chaotic world.