Still Not Ginger

Dinky swallowed hard, her eyes huge, and huddled closer to the Doctor. The changelings’ eyes glinted in the gloom. She could hear a soft clicking sound as they shuffled their hooves.

“Well, this could’ve gone better,” the Doctor said, frowning.

“You think?”

Suddenly the changelings fell silent. The clicking stopped, and they all took a small step back. A small pathway was made through them. Slowly, a dark figure moved forward, his head held high and his lips pulled back in a sneer.

“Doctor,” the changeling hissed. “Last of the Time Lords, I presume?”

The Doctor blinked, surprised. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

“That is a very good question, my friend.”

“What are you doing in Equestria? You don’t belong here.”

“Neither do you.”

He snorted. “Yes, because my TARDIS crashed. I didn’t choose to land here.”

“And neither did we.” The changeling began slowly circling them, his eyes narrowed dangerously. “I’m amazed by how slow you are, Time Lord. It was my understanding your kind is supposed to be smart.”

“You know, changeling, if we keep dancing around each other’s questions, we’ll never get anywhere.” The Doctor took a deep breath, attempting to control his anger. “I think it would be fair if I answer one question for every one you answer, don’t you think?”

“Very well. What is it you want to know?”

The Doctor glanced down at Dinky, who was cowering between his hooves. “Who are you?”

“I am King Metamorphosis, although Dinky may know me as Night Hooves.”

At this, Dinky gave a tiny whimper.

“I expected as much,” the Doctor said calmly. “Your turn.”

“How did you get here?”

“That’s quite a story. It’s a bit long, so I’ll give you the main idea now and save the details for later. I was aboard a ship of Cybermen, programming it to self-destruct, when one of them tried to delete me. Can you imagine that? A Cyberman trying to defeat the Doctor! Anyway, I hopped on the TARDIS as fast as I could and flew away. The TARDIS was unfortunately on fire and I was about to regenerate, so I crash-landed on the nearest planet, which happened to be this one. Then, thanks to your residue, I regenerated to look like a pony. It’s quite the change, really. How do these hooves even work? I can pick things up just fine, but I don’t have fingers. Fancy that!” He cleared his throat. “Sorry, I got carried away. How did you get here, and why do you want to destroy this place?”

Metamorphosis clamped his mouth shut. For a few minutes he stood, pondering how much he should tell this stranger. His hooves shuffled uncomfortably on the ground as he finally said, “Same as you. We crashed. I assume you know of our rivalry with our neighboring planet?”

“Um…yes?”

“Well, we were in the middle of the greatest war in all of our history. My changelings were the scouts, sent to decide whether or not a place was safe. We boarded our ship and took off. But we were ambushed, and landed in a desert on this planet about one hundred years ago. Since then we’ve lived here, building a wonderful castle. As for why we do what we do…well…we don’t really want to destroy Equestria. You see, changelings are only loyal to their swarm. When we crashed here, nobody took the time to look for us. We were just one swarm out of thousands.”

The Doctor furrowed his brow. “So what do ponies have to do with anything?”

“Be quiet, insolent pest, I’m getting there. We were left here, all alone, weak and helpless. So we began to draw energy from the natives. Soon we realized just how much energy was within these ponies, and that was when we formed a plan. If we captured enough ponies to feast on, we would have enough energy to fix our ship and get back home. And that’s not all. Once we returned to our planet, we could—” He suddenly broke off, smacking his hoof to his face. “Horseapples. I just did exactly what Chrysalis told me not to do. I told you what we were planning. She warned me! She told me what happens when we accidentally tell ponies our plans, but no, I had to be stupid enough to go blabbering everything to not only a prisoner, but the Doctor! Guards, take them to the cell. Oh, and none of you are to tell the Queen what I did, okay?”

Muttering to himself, Metamorphosis stalked away. When he was gone the changelings moved forward as one, reaching toward the Doctor and Dinky.

“Where are they taking us?” Dinky cried, flailing her hooves desperately as they lifted her off the ground.

The Doctor twisted his head to see her. “Don’t worry, Dinky. They need us alive for now. Just let them carry you. I’ll think of something while we’re being taken away, but you have to trust me. Okay?”

She sniffled. “Okay.”

*   *   *

Sparkler sighed, bored. Her arms were shackled to the wall above her, and her legs were bent beneath her. A machine was hooked up to her horn, and several security cameras were pointed at her. For the past hour she had been screaming insults at the guards and cameras. Now her throat felt raw, and not a single guard had even turned around.

“Are any of you even listening to me?” she complained. “If not, that’s cool, but I wish you would’ve told me earlier. I’ve been screaming at you for an hour.”

One of the guards trotted over to the door of her cell and scowled. “We’ve been listening. We’ve just chosen to ignore you. If you continue to yell at us and call us names like ‘cheese-legs’, I promise you I will get Chrysalis, and she won’t be happy.”

Sparkler tapped her hoof on the ground. “Okay, but can I at least have a glass of water or something? I know I almost drowned, but now I’m thirsty.”

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

“Pretty please with cherries on top?”

The guard shoved his muzzle in between the bars, his teeth bared. “Shut your muzzle or you’ll regret it!”

Sparkler was obviously enjoying this. She gave a sly grin, saying, “Ooh, I’m so scared. What are you going to do, change me into a flower? I’m so scared, I—AHHHH!” Sharp pain ripped through her as the machine on her horn activated. It was as if someone had taken a vat of boiling hot water and poured it over her horn. At last the pain died down, leaving Sparkler whimpering and numb.

“How about now? Are you scared now, pony?” The guard sneered. “That machine is a way of extracting emotions without magic. We changelings invented it a few years ago. You know what that was right now?”

“What?” she practically whispered.

“Fear. I guess you really were scared. Here’s the thing, pony. Every time you do something we don’t like, we have permission to use this. So I suggest you shut your muzzle and stop complaining.” With that the guard went back to his position, a cruel smile across his lips.

Sparkler closed her eyes, shuddering. I hate to admit it, but maybe taunting the King and Queen like that was a mistake.

Several minutes later, the guard reappeared at the entrance of the cell. “We’ve got news for you, pony. Your little friends are coming to join you. You know, your sister and that Time Lord? I bet you were hoping they’d save you. Well, you were wrong. There’s nothing that can save you now.” He laughed. “Anyway, we’re sending them in. Have fun!”

A large group of changelings pushed him out of the way, the Doctor and Dinky in their midst. The door slid open, and with a large shove the two were sent tumbling in.

The Doctor sneezed, shaking his head fiercely. “I didn’t know changelings could be so rough. I mean, the least they could do is treat us better. After all, we’re their prisoners.” He helped Dinky to her hooves. “Are you all right, Dinky?”

She stumbled a bit before regaining her balance. “I think so. My head feels funny, though.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Sparkler croaked.

Both of them froze. Dinky’s eyes immediately welled up with tears. “I hear Sparkler’s voice,” she mumbled. “Doctor, please, check if it’s a changeling. I don’t want to look.”

The Doctor stood and made his way over to Sparkler. His eyes were narrowed, but softened as he came closer. His mouth opened and closed several times. “Dinky…it’s really her.”

That was all Dinky needed to hear. She threw herself at her sister, her arms wrapping around her tightly. “Sparky! You’re alive!” Her yellow tail wagged happily. “How’d you survive? We thought you drowned!”

“Don’t worry, Dinky, it’d take a lot more than some dirty old river to take me down.” Sparkler smiled weakly, casting several glances toward the guards outside.

“What’s wrong?”

Sparkler dragged her eyes back to the Doctor. “Huh?”

“I said, what’s wrong? You spaced out a bit.” He reached a hoof toward the chains on her arms. “What’re these for? Do they really think those are strong enough to keep you here? They’re all old and rusty. I could probably yank them off if I tried hard enough.”

She saw a guard reach toward a button on the wall and instinctively smacked the Doctor’s hoof away. “No! Stop! Don’t touch the chains!”

“Why not?”

“This.” She tapped the machine on her head, wincing. “If we do anything wrong they’ll activate it. It sucks energy out of me. They did it once before. It was…horrible. Just don’t touch the chains!”

The Doctor shook his head. “Of all the times I don’t have my sonic screwdriver… No matter. We’ll find a way out of this. How many guards are out there?”

“I don’t know. Five? Six?”

“Have you tried talking to them?”

“Well…yes, but then they…” She tapped the machine again. “It’s no use. They won’t listen.”

“Of course. Dinky, do you think you could turn them into insects or something?”

Dinky rolled her eyes. “I can’t control my magic yet, silly.”

“Right. Well, then, I’ve come to a conclusion.” He sat down, looking proud of himself.

“What?”

“We’re stuck here.”

*   *   *

Derpy paced back and forth, her tail lashing like a beheaded snake. Her ears kept twitching, and her nostrils flared with frustration. She’d been like this for the past ten minutes, trying desperately to find a way to escape. So far she had no plans.

“Are you still pacing?” came a voice from a nearby cocoon. “Just face it. There’s no way out.”

She whipped around to face the speaker, a yellow stallion with a brown mane and tail. “My children are in here! I’m going to find a way out if it kills me. If you cared the slightest bit, you’d help me, too!”

He held up his hooves in surrender. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. I was just trying to help. I want to get out just as much as you do.”

Another voice echoed toward them. “Do you have any plans, then?”

The stallion sighed. “No. Even if we could break these cocoons, we’re too high up. Sure, some of us can fly, but most of us would fall to our deaths.” He rested his head on his hooves. “We’re doomed.”

Derpy searched the other cocoons. Finally she located a unicorn, a white mare with a two-toned blue mane. “You there! The pony with the music note cutie mark! What’s your name?”

“Vinyl Scratch,” she called back. “Why? What do you want?”

“Do you know how to teleport?”

Vinyl Scratch shook her head. “Sorry, dude. My expertise is music. I don’t know anything about complicated magic stuff.”

The gray mare thought for a minute. “Have any of you asked for water or food?”

A dark gray stallion nodded. “I did.”

“Did they give it to you?”

“Well, yeah. They need us to absorb energy. How are they supposed to do that if we’ve starved to death?”

“How did they get it in your cocoon?”

“The Queen flew some vegetables up to my cocoon. Where she put her hoof in, it kind of turned to a weird jelly-looking thing, so she could move the food through. Why? Is that important?”

Derpy tapped her hoof to her chin, thinking. It seemed like every time a changeling came into contact with the cocoon it changed substances. If she bucked the walls at just the right time, they might budge. She called out, “May I have a glass of water?” The changelings didn’t move, and for a moment she was afraid they’d heard all the ponies talking. But when she raised her voice and repeated her request, one of them flew toward her, and she relaxed.

“Water?” the changeling repeated. “No problem.” It reached toward the cocoon, the glass held unmoving by its hoof.

At the same time, Derpy lashed her hind legs out, catching the changeling by surprise. The cocoon bent slightly on contact. When she kicked it again, it shattered completely.

The changeling’s eyes grew huge. “Red Alert! Red Alert!” it screamed, flying back toward the others. “Tell the Queen!”

He isn’t even smart enough to try to stop me himself, Derpy thought, giggling slightly. Then she realized what was happening and darted off, her wings pumping furiously. It was only when she was almost to the entrance that she realized she had no idea where she was going. Slowing only slightly, she burst through the doorway, blasting through a group of startled changelings. They automatically jumped up and raced after her.

An alarm flared throughout the building. It was a shrill, earsplitting noise intended to stun the intruder. But Derpy was not going to let a simple noise slow her down. If anything, the alarm quickened her, reminded her what she was fighting for.

As she turned a corner, she stopped. Waiting for her were several dozen changelings, each covered in heavy armor.

“Stop now and nobody gets hurt,” one of them snarled. “We’ll give you one chance to surrender. If you say no, we’ll attack, and may Celestia help you when we do.”

Derpy’s heart pounded in her ears. She was almost certain the changelings could sense her fear. But even greater than her fear was her determination to save her foals.

“You have five seconds to make a decision.”

It was suicide, she knew.

“Five.”

They outnumbered her by a few dozen.

“Four.”

She was also weak; the changelings had absorbed most of her energy.

“Three.”

But somewhere in this maze of changelings were her daughters and the Doctor.

“Two.”

If I’m going to die, she finally decided, I’m going to die trying. Bunching her muscles under her, she yelled, “One!” and leapt.

She had hoped to at least surprise them by striking first, but apparently they were ready. As she flew threw the air, a wall of changelings rose up to meet her, teeth bared and eyes gleaming.

Her hoof connected with a changeling’s jaw. The changeling reared back, clicking, before twisting and lashing its hind hooves. She flew higher, dodging it and retaliating with a buck of her own. The changeling fell away, only to be quickly replaced by another.

“Hello, little pony,” it cooed. “Prepare to die. Any last words?”

“You have no idea how cliché that sounds,” Derpy retorted, barreling into it. What am I doing? I’m a mother, not a fighter. This is crazy. She felt a burst of pain in her ear as the changeling bit down on it. I’m doing it to protect my children. That’s all I need to think about.

“Derpy!” came a voice from below. “It’s me, Vinyl Scratch!”

Derpy resisted the urge to look down, instead focusing on the changeling she was battling. “How’d you get here? Wasn’t it a long fall, even if you managed to break the cocoon?”

“That stallion, Thunderlane or whatever his name was, flew me down! The others are coming. It’s totally crazy in there, dude! There are changelings everywhere.”

She was about to reply when she felt her wings snap shut. At once she began to plummet, pawing frantically at the air. “What’s going on? Why won’t my wings open? Vinyl, help me!”

Vinyl Scratch sounded injured. “I can’t. They’re using their magic, dude. I can’t move.”

The changelings moved aside to let Derpy fall, satisfied smiles on their faces.

“Help me!” she screamed. Her eyes squeezed shut. I was right. I'm going to die. At least I tried. An image of the Doctor flashed in her mind. Oh, please, Doctor, keep my little muffins safe.

Just as she was about to crash, she felt something bowl into her.

“You okay?” the dark gray stallion asked, lowering her to the ground.  “You looked like you needed help.”

“Yeah, I’m okay,” she lied. She glanced over at Vinyl, who was smashing two changelings’ heads together. “Thank you. You saved my life.”

“No problem. We’re working together to get out.” He darted off, wings beating to lift him off the ground.

“Don’t fly too high!” she reminded him. “They’re using magic now. You could fall. I—oof!” Whatever she was about to say was cut off as she was pinned to the ground. Something sharp dug into her neck.

The changeling’s horn glowed, and suddenly she saw Sparkler towering over her. “You failed me,” Sparkler-changeling said. “I trusted you. I thought you would save me. But you failed me. You lied to me, Derpy. You said you’d always protect me.”

Derpy kicked feebly at Sparkler-changeling, trying to throw her off her. “Stop it,” she begged. “If you’re going to kill me, just do it.”

Sparkler-changeling’s eyes flashed, and now she was Dinky, her eyes wet with tears. “Mommy, how could you? How could you do this to me? You left me all alone. Now I’m going to die. It’s your fault, Mommy. I will die because of you.”

“Stop it!”

Another transformation took place. The Doctor shook his head disapprovingly. “I expected better of you. Oh, well. You did a good job messing everything up, Derpy.”

Derpy clenched her teeth, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Shut up! Leave me alone!”

The fourth and final transformation occurred, changing the creature to Night Hooves. “Oh, Derpy, I can’t believe it took you this long to realize the truth. You really are an idiot sometimes. Maybe that’s why your parents named you Derpy. It makes me laugh to remember that you used to think ponies could love you. You’re a disgrace. Your children are disgraces, too, even more so than you.”

At this the gray mare stopped struggling. Her ears drooped and she stared up into the changeling’s eyes, the tears pouring down now. “Is that true?” she asked softly.

“No truer words could ever be spoken.”

“Then I will end you.” Derpy surged upward, startling the changeling back into its true form. Her hooves flew at the changeling’s face, slamming into it again and again. Soon she had it pinned against the wall, yet she kept attacking it. Finally she stepped back, her wings spreading over her back. “You can torture me. You can curse everything I’ve ever done. You can threaten me with promises of death. But when you bring my children into the equation, that’s when things get personal.”

The changeling cowered against the wall, trembling.

“I won’t kill you. But you won’t lay a single hoof on my daughters, or I promise I will hunt you down. Is that clear?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the changeling whispered.

“What was that?”

“Yes ma’am!”

“That’s a good changeling. Now, you are to stay here until this is over. Okay? Good.” She turned around, coming face-to-face with a gaping Vinyl Scratch. “Oh! Um, hi, Vinyl Scratch.”

Vinyl blinked. “Hi, Derpy. I heard you mention something before about the Doctor being able to help us. Is that true? Can this Doctor really save us all?”

“Yes.”

“In that case, I think you should go find him. We need all the help we can get. We’ll stay here and fight off the changelings. Go get them, okay?”

Derpy nodded and turned, ready to leave. Vinyl’s voice stopped her.

“Oh, and Derpy? Be careful. We can’t have you die on us. I saw the way you fought that changeling. While I don’t fully understand what’s going on here, I do know that fierceness like that is exactly what we need.”

“Thanks. You be careful too, Vinyl.”

With that Derpy raced into the swarm of changelings, hoping with all her heart she’d be able to find the Doctor and her daughters in time.