"Something seems impossible. We try – it doesn't work, we try again. We learn, we improve. We fail again, but better. We make friends, we learn to trust, we help each other. We get it wrong again. We improve together, then ultimately succeed. Because this is what being alive is. And it's better than the alternative. So come on, you brilliant humans. We go again. And we win."

-The Thirteenth Doctor

"For days like this, Ruby Sunday. I don't have a people, I don't have a home... But I don't have a job, either. I don't have a boss, or taxes, or rent, or bills to pay. I don't have a purpose, or a cause, or a mission, but I have... freedom. That's why I keep moving on, to see the next thing, and the next, and the next. And sometimes... It looks even better through your eyes."

-The Fifteenth Doctor

+}{+

Major-General Highmore was a bit jealous of Princess Luna at the moment. She had reported that she had gathered all the possible forces she could bring despite the situation back in Equestria. Being a semi-worshiped leader had its perks, as anyone who believed in you would just throw themselves in front of you, ready and able to fight. Meanwhile, Major-General Highmore dealt with the consequences of living in a primarily democratic world.

"You can't be serious, Major-General?!" Colonel Spade, a veteran of the war and a friend of his, shouted as he slammed his hand on the table. Surrounding them were other members of the U.N.'sU.N.'s forces. The highest-ranking leadership that he could get in a short time, along with their troops. He sent the distress call, and they had all come. He told them what he had learned, what the real enemy was, and what they needed to do for mankind to survive. "You want us to work with the very same aliens who tried to erase the entire history, culture, and spirit of humanity on a mission to the moon?!"

"We've confirmed with our satellites that the Daleks and Cyberponies have built a military base on the moon. They are planning to use the Harmony Canon in our world. If it goes off, there is a good chance there won't be any life on this planet. Human or pony," Major-General Highmore said with a heavy sigh. "Besides, the Equestrians are victims in this as well. I'm not saying they're guilt-free with what they've done, but the real villain in all this, the Black Guardian, is the one who deceived them and made them war with us. He's the real target we need to focus on."

"Assuming this Black Guardian even exists," One Major muttered.

"Both our people got attacked by two different forms of aliens, both of which are far more advanced than us," Highmore pointed out as he nodded to the giant number of screens in their meeting room. Numerous news reports still discussed the various disasters the attacks had brought on their soil, not just in the cities that were attacked but also in those affected. The chaos and self-destruction it was causing were palpable as humanity's existence and sanity stood on the knife's edge. "Everything is falling apart, and if we don't do something, then nothing will be left to save."

The officers all looked at each other, and their torn feelings were relevant on their faces. For years, they had been fighting the Equestrians, and now they had to make peace because they were facing a threat that the two couldn't deal with on their own. It was a blow to their pride, not to mention a blow to the honor of all the lives that had been lost in the war. But Highmoore knew it would mean for naught if they didn't survive. It was no longer about anything but survival at this point.

"I'm doing this whether you join me or not, but I would like it if you were to join me," he said as he stood tall. I'm asking this not as a fellow officer or soldier but as a fellow human being. Because if we fail this, then there is no hope. We're doomed."

"...And you trust the Doctor?"

"... I've got no choice but to...and even if I didn't? Yeah, I would."

+}{+

"I want to thank you for meeting with me," Princess Luna said as she walked into her war room with three other individuals. She was sure that they would have loved to see her dead, considering what they had done to their species, but right now their mutual hatred for her was willing to be put on the backside for the sake of what needed to be talked about. "I take it you were told what was going on."

"Pretty much," Captain Celaeno said with her friends, Gabby and Pharynx, beside her. None of them had smiles. Instead, they just had glares and snarls. It was like they didn't want to be here. Not in the same room or building with those who contributed to their world's destruction.

And the elimination of their entire races save for what few remained.

"Yeah, something about a dark god that was processing your bitch of a sister and manipulated you ponies into destroying our planet, coming here to do the same thing, and now that he's exposed, he brought two deadly aliens to help wipe us all out. Now you need us to help you save your equine asses along with the humans who you tried to genocide," Pharnex said harshly before hissing. "Like you did to us."

Luna said nothing and closed the doors with her magic. "Alight. Let's get it over with. You clearly have something you wish to say to me. And I can't blame you, considering all we've done. So, for the sake of moving on? Let it out. All of it."

"... You're murderers," Celaeno growled. "Maybe not all of you, but the blood is on your kind's hooves. For all your talk of friendship and tolerance, you are the biggest hypocrites of it all. How many non-ponies had to struggle and strive to be treated with even the slightest bit of equality in your kingdom before all this? And I get it. All of our nations attacked yours multiple times at one point or another, but those were hundreds of years ago. All that did was make you think you were better than the other races back home. You showed yourselves to be selfish, intolerant, speciest, and downright self-righteous monsters who wanted everyone to be just like you. To give up our cultures, our faiths, our way of life and follow your rules because we were not "filled with the light of friendship and harmony." You thought you were better than all of us..."

"Maybe our races made mistakes and caused issues, but we still had pride. We still had good things in our lives. We had friends and loved ones and more," Gabby whimpered. "The only reason we couldn't do anything was because you controlled the sun and moon. The things we needed to survive, but instead of sharing that power you horded it. You made yourselves the top nation, and the rest of us had to bend to you, and what did we get in return? Nothing. We had to just let you boss us around, and if someone challenged you, they were seen as the villains."

"And now, thanks to you, we've all lost everything. I lost everything. My family. My friends. My entire species," Pharynx growled as a tear dropped from his eye. "You took everything from me. From us. The only reason I'm still alive and have not ended it all is that I have a new family in those who understand what I've been going through. Do you even understand what it is like for us? All of those we loved and treasured are dead because of you fucking bitches. I can understand hating us for what we did. We were enemies. But to completely destroy everything? That was too far. And even if we did deserve it, did the rest of the world deserve to freeze or burn to oblivion because of you ponies. You destroyed everything...and maybe the Black Guardian is ultimately to blame; maybe you were ignorant of it all, but we don't care. I hate you. We hate you. And we will NEVER forgive you."

There was a long moment of silence as the three stood there with rage, pain, and hatred in their eyes. And Princess Luna could do nothing but take it.

Looking down, Princess Luna sighed. "I'm not going to apologize because no apology can make up for what has happened or heal your hearts. Nor give an excuse because there is not one big enough to pardon us. I don't even think it's possible to fix this or be forgiven. You are right in all these accusations. Equestria played with fire, and in return, not only did we burn, but we burned everyone with us. Even before all this, your statements are right. We just wanted to be safe from a world of predators who could easily tear us apart...and in turn, we became what we feared."

She stood up straight and took a deep breath. "But now? The truth is that we face annihilation. All of us. I am not asking you to work for us for Equestria's sake. I am asking us to work together to survive. And for the sake of the humans who took you in. The ones who saved you and sheltered you when we tried to kill you. All of you who escaped Equestria represent the last of your races. All that they are, good and bad, lies within you. If you fall now, they are gone for good. For their legacy to live on, you must fight with us. And considering the Black Guardian was the one who manipulated us all into the situation we are now in...this is our chance to avenge them all."

She leaned forward. "You didn't survive our actions just to die now. So, are you willing to work with us or not?"

The three looked at each other before Captain Celaeno sighed.

"What's the plan?"

+}{+

When Discord learned that the Doctor needed him for whatever plan he had to deal with the Daleks, he was all for it. He wanted the chance to do whatever it took to make those bastards pay. For his parents. For his people. For all the lives that had been lost because of them. He knew this was only one small part of the most evil race the galaxy had ever seen, but it might as well have been a championship match for him.

When they arrived at sea using the TARDIS, the Doctor requested that he suck up the magical energies of the barrier and send them into a special made containing system he had connected to the TARDIS from the inside. With a snap of his fingers, one giant vacuum cleaner was summoned, and he got to work while dressed as a maid. He had made five trips with full bags before the Doctor told him this was enough. Once inside the TARDIS, The Doctor started using his console to work on the energy being kept in a giant tank somewhere else in the TARDIS.

Resting on the nearby comfy chair, Discord summoned some chocolate milk and snickerdoodles. After a bit of a bite and sip, he asked, "So, is it true?"

"What is?" The Doctor asked as he typed into the console.

"That you are the only thing that they fear?" Discord said with a smirk. "Ka Faraq Gatri. The Destroyer of Worlds."

The Doctor paused and sighed. "Yes, our little...war has gone on for a long time, since the very start of their existence. Ever since I met them, we've clashed over and over again. Every single incarnation of me has had to deal with them, and they've tried to kill me more than once. Out of all the evil beings in the universe, they are the ones I hold nothing but utter contempt for. I've seen them do countless acts of evil and do all I could to ensure the galaxy never falls to them. I've tried to eliminate them multiple times, but either my nerves failed me, or they slipped away."

He turned to Discord and sighed. "I even managed to get more lives past a normal Time Lord because of them. Sometimes, I think it's never going to end. But honestly, the idea of losing is too terrible to think about. Because I can't let them win. To let them win would see the entire galaxy cleansed in death. And I refuse to let that happen."

"...How do you do it?" Discord asked him with a shake of his head. "How do you keep fighting all this evil? This darkness. You've done it for so long...how do you keep going?"

"...When I left my home world...One of the first things I did was go to the very end...the real end..." The Doctor said as he took a deep breath and stared into the Tardis's crystal center. "I saw the end of time. The Universe. Everything. It was so quiet. So peaceful. And yet...it felt so empty. So...nothing."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "And then I went to the beginning. To where it all started. One simple series of events birthed reality, life, time, space, and everything inbetween. And I thought to myself...what was the point? If it was all going to meet an end...the very same end...regardless of the choices...what was the point?"

He walked towards the doors of the TARDIS and opened them to view the sea and sky. "Then, as I traveled from world to world...past to present to future...I realized something...there was no point...so people make a point."

"Make a point?" Discord asked in confusion.

"Yes," The Doctor said as he turned around. "People make life what it is by their actions and choices. To bring peace or war. Love or hate. Creation or destruction. Discovery, invention, adventure, and experience. They create meanings and purposes for the galaxy and collide in a giant boiling pot. A near endless sea of purposes and life given to a galaxy that has none."

He smiled warmly. "It's that which gives the universe meaning. And there are always new ones every second being made. It's for that reason that I keep going. Seeing more, discovering more, and ensuring they live long enough to become a reality. The universe has a purpose. All you need to do is find one and add it to the collection."

"...I think the universe...any universe...is lucky to have a guy like you," Discord said with a warm smile.

"Well, someone has to make it interesting," The Doctor said with a smirk before heading to the console. "Now, let's get back. We still have a lot of work to do."

+}{+

Applejack knew she had to take part in preparing for everything, but there was one thing she only wanted to do. More importantly, she had one person she wanted to see. The moment she and Big Macintosh saw each other, they hugged and sobbed, not just in the relief that they were okay but also at the fact that everything they had back home was gone. From what she learned, Ponyville was abandoned. Those who saw the chaos in Canterlot had fled, and some of them managed to make it all the way to the Macintosh Mountains despite the distance. Fear can make a pony do many crazy things.

Regarding Sweet Apple Acres...well...that was also gone. Not just because there was nopony there anymore but also because Twilight decided to nationalize it when Applejack was placed in a cell. The farm, legally, was now the Crown's, and they had already started tearing it apart for mass production to feed the war effort. Only it was all pointless, with everything being what it was all. So it was all for nothing.

Applejack would have shown her no mercy if Twilight was here right now.

The two watched the ruins from atop a building in Geneva with a bottle of a drink called Jack Daniels between them. It wasn't half bad in Applejack's mind, but no Sweet Apple Acres hard cider. Taking a shot, Big Macintosh sighed. "Maybe it's for the best."

"What are you talkin' about?" Applejack asked her brother.

"Sis, we spent our backbreaking hides working and feeding an army that was trying to genocide a race that did nothing wrong to us because our Princess was being controlled by a space demon god," Big Macintosh muttered as he took another shot. "If Pa, Ma, and Granny Smith were alive, they'd be disgusted by us. Ah, don't think Ah could walk around our farm and buck a tree again there if Ah went back."

Applejack didn't say anything because, deep down, she was thinking the same thing. She took a good, long look at all the actions she had taken since they came to this world and slowly put her hat down. "What did we become?"

"Ah, don't know," Big Macintosh sighed as he handed her the bottle, and she took a big gulp. "But we can't change what happened. All we can do is change ourselves and be better."

"How can we be better after all the manure we've done to everyone? Not just to the humans, but to the other creatures back home and the ones who survived? Not to mention what we did to ourselves?" Applejack closed her eyes and shed a few tears. "Maybe we deserve to be wiped out..."

"... Ya really want to say that when yer sister and mah wife are still out there? Tryin' to come home?" Big Macintosh whispered as she wiped her eyes. "What did Pa always say when ya make a mistake?"

"Buckle up and own up to it."

"It's time we did that," Big Macintosh said as he put a hoof on her shoulder. "Maybe we'll never find true peace, but I'd rather fight trying to make up for something than do nothing and let it ruin me. We can't let this...Black Guardian son of a bitch wins. For everyone's sake... let's do the right thing for once...Yer the still the Element of Honesty. Yer are still a hero who saved us from many evils. And yer an Apple. Ya never walk away from what's right."

Applejack was quiet for a moment before she took another swing of the bottle, tossed it away, and grabbed her hat before putting it on. "Come on. We have work to do to get ready for the attack. And Ah'm not one for waitin' around."

Big Macintosh grinned before getting up himself. "Eeyup."

+}{+

The stars were bright tonight. Seeing stars from a planet was still beautiful, even if it was a different reality. The only thing more pretty was seeing Earth from the moon, which the Doctor showed her. Lyra sighed as she looked outside the window of her hotel room. Tomorrow was going to be the assault on the moon base. Major-General Highmore had gathered his forces, and Princess Luna was waiting for pick up tomorrow with her own.

The Doctor was still working on the unique weapon to deal with the Daleks, but he promised it would be done by dawn. As for the Cyberponies, golden weapons were gathered from any place possible, from spears to swords to arrows. The U.N. War Machine even made golden bullets for guns, though it wasn't enough for every soldier, so they had to carefully plan what to do. It was amazing how fast humans could make something when their survival was at stake. Thankfully, they remembered that the Cyberponies own weapons could be used against them, so it was a matter of grabbing those when possible.

Lyra closed her eyes and wondered if her life would have been any different if nothing had happened. Would she still be in Ponyville with Bon-Bon? Would she have grown closer to her and...loved her? The words of her former best friend echoed in her mind as she felt a tear drop. I'm sorry, Bonnie. I just hope you're at peace.

A knock on the door woke her up from her daydreaming, and she turned around to see Flash Sentry open her door and walk inside. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just...kinda getting ready, you know? Mentally," Lyra said as she got up and walked over. "Hard to believe that it ends tomorrow. All of this?"

She giggled. "You know? I didn't think this would end with fighting a dark god that represents all evil in the universe, cyborg ponies, and Nazi pepper-potted aliens. I just thought this ended with us helping humans win the war and seeing the Princesses put on trial for everything? Funny how things go, huh?"

"Sounds like one of those sci-fi novels you read," Flash chuckled.

"... We're going to win. We got The Doctor. He's the one who made all this happen..." Lyra whispered.

"It's not just him," Flash said as he walked over and smiled warmly at her. "You were the first real pony to stick up for humanity. You were the one who voiced what should have been said from the start. I think, honestly, many of us owe it to you for being brave enough to stand up for what was right."

"T-Thanks," Lyra blushed as she clopped the ground a bit.

The two stared at each other briefly before Flash coughed into his hoof. "Um, well. I better get back to bed. Big day tomorrow."

He was about to leave when Lyra dragged him back with his magic.

"...Tonight might be our last night alive..." Lyra whispered as she brought him close. "I...I don't want to spend it alone...do you?"

He blinked before sighing as he hugged her close to his chest. "No. I don't."

His lips met hers, and the rest of the night was pure passion.

Author's Note

The calm before the storm before everyone gets ready for the final battle. Only about 4 or 5 chapters left to go.

As always, please help out at the TV Tropes Pages for the Negations-Verse, including the entries for Regeneration: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/TheNegotiationsVerse