The TARDIS crew did not know what they expected to see once they got inside this giant floating pyramid in the sky that is the size of an entire city, and that is precisely what they got.

To their great alarm, Margret seemingly drives the floating disk thing they are standing on directly at one of the walls of the pyramid. She does not even slow down at all. Derpy, Stern, and even Daring Do keep silently glancing at Margret in alarm as they close in the wall, each wondering if it's possible that the green mare is actually overlooking a significant and seemingly very important detail, but nope! She ends up crashing the disk right up to the wall. The TARDIS crew barely have time to open their mouths to scream when they suddenly get surrounded by a flash of white.

Next thing they know, they are somewhere new. This location has a very open floor design. It even shows the sky above. It is nothing like they have ever seen before. Exotic is the most apt description, but perhaps “temple” also comes the closest. There are a lot of columns, hallways, and open rooms within the buildings around them that have no doors. Green grass in the open courtyard that is basking under the sun. A fountain at the center of that which is surrounded by several streams and bridges arcing over them.

Everywhere they look, this new area is busy with abundant activity and a lot of other ponies.

The very instant they appear here, the TARDIS crew each freeze in startled fear because they feel like they should be dead right now. Their nerves need a moment to calm down accordingly.

Margret, however, just immediately takes off the very instant they appear here. At first she does not even notice she isn't being followed until she's a few paces ahead of the rest.

Even then, it is another azure blue unicorn stallion wearing a tall blue hat who happens to be passing by, notices the TARDIS crew just freezing where they have appeared, then alerts Margret to this. It is only then that she turns around and notices she isn't being followed. During that moment, the blue unicorn asks her something which wins him a quick glance and a nod from her.

Observing this, Feather Wind quickly realizes that Margret Wessle is so accustomed to this place that it didn't even occur to her that it would be strange to her guests. In other words, this extraordinary place is ordinary to her. That makes him wonder how she would react to other times and places which typically seem far more mundane on average. Would that prospect excite her, he wondered? Or would it quickly bore her?

“I'm sorry I didn't warn you,” Margret apologizes as she returns a few paces closer in order to make it easier for her to be heard. “I figured you all would be used to places like this. After all, you all travel in a TARDIS! You must have seen many other more extraordinary times and worlds!”

Feather grins in amusement since Margret's words just directly contradicts his thoughts a few seconds ago. He then looks at Derpy when she speaks up.

“Actually, no. Most of us only recently traveled with the Doctor.” Derpy gestures to herself with a gray wing. “I've been with him the longest and even I-”

Daring Do cuts Derpy off by raising a beige wing in front of the gray pegasus's face. Daring actually wins the attention of the whole group because of that. Since Derpy gets silenced successfully, Daring refolds her wing to her side then addresses Margret by saying, “Actually, although we did confirm that we are time travelers, we never mentioned that we travel in the TARDIS.”

Margret's eyes suddenly grow wide with an “Oh shoot!” expression on her face then screws her eyes shut as she face-hooves herself for her blunder.

“Maybe there is more for you to explain to us,” Daring Do suggests to Margret in a slightly tight and insistent voice.

“I agree,” Margret verifies as she lowers her hoof back to the ground and opens her eyes to look back at the TARDIS crew and Daring in particular. “But not here. Mayhap you'll follow me to a more private location?” she asks with rising hope while gesturing with a forehoof back in the direction she was originally trotting.

Daring quickly flashes the rest of her crew a questioning glance with her reddish/purple eyes to see if everyone else here agrees with Margret's recent proposal. Getting a nod from each in turn, she eventually looks back at Margret and gives her own confirming nod. After that, they all proceed to follow the green mare.

As the TARDIS crew resumes their journey with Margret, their eyes keep wandering about and notice many fantastical wonders such as a group of foals playing with a hovering ball. They pass it back and forth among each other. None of them are able to touch the ball, though. It flies away from them as soon as it nears within a few inches of any parts of their body. The ball also issues a pleasant and playful humming sound and flashes a whole bunch of colors, particularly any area of the sphere that nearly collided with a living being.

Feather, Stern and Doctor Kelly also spot a lone teal unicorn stallion sitting on a bench near the water fountain. In his forehooves he is cradling a dark, shiny sphere that is open at one end which reveals something akin to a crystal geode inside the sphere. As he holds it, he rubs his left hoof in slow, rotating circles. For some reason doing that is causing humming music to emanate from the sphere, thus marking it as an exotic musical instrument. In addition, Feather and especially Doctor Kelly can detect soothing waves of magical energy being projected from the shiny black sphere.

Derpy is delighted to see another group of foals galloping about in what she, at first, assumes is a random pattern but they are all looking down. Derpy does not know why they are doing that at first until she gets closer. Only then does she notice there are moving geometric patterns on the ground and each of them in various different colors. The foals are either running from the patterns or chasing after them, and the colors of the patterns seem to be key to their game. Eventually one of them applies a hoof on one of the patterns which freezes under the hoof. Then the foal lifts her hoof up and the pattern that was flat on the ground becomes a holographic, 3-D laser outline of a geometric pattern.

Daring Do spots what seems to be a classroom in one of the open rooms along the hallway outside of the courtyard. Within, she spots a line of students apparently drawing something and they keep glancing up at some woven tapestry on the wall which depicts two marble columns woven with green flowers and vines. The scenery continues further into the background as a path leads to somewhere out into the horizon. In the distance is a line of wavy hills. Up above the tapestry shows the image that it is night time in this scenery. It takes Daring a moment to realize that there is some animation to this woven tapestry. Specifically in two places. One, the roses on the vines are each giving a pulsing glow. Two, the stars in the tapestry are twinkling.

While all of that is fascinating, there are many other things to see. Daring's attention almost moves on until she sees movement from the teacher in the lead. The gray elderly mare says something to the students then approaches the tapestry and presses a hoof to it. Amazingly her hoof passes right through the tapestry as if it is a portal. She then trots on through into it. When she arrives on the other side, she is an animated image of herself that also appears to be woven of silken cloth. From the other side, she ventures further on the path that is between the two white columns. As that happens, Daring can't help but wonder if that elderly mare is seeing the whole world within the tapestry as if it is made of woven cloth.

Stern Wing and Derpy both spot another wondrous sight. At the other end of the courtyard part of the stream flowing out of the center fountain is traveling up in direct defiance of normal gravity. Some foals and even a few adults leap into this upward streaming column of water and flow up with it. Up above, the column of water spirals then eventually arcs over this whole courtyard then proceeds somewhere out of sight from this angle.

Feather Wind spots a scholastic-looking young purple stallion who sits down on another bench and opens a book. For a brief moment Feather thinks he is looking at the first almost mundane sight here but then images pop above the book as if it is a holographic pop-up book. The scholar carefully examines a geometric pattern on one side of the book then reads text floating on the other side. The book also projects magical pulses which Feather soon recognizes as Magic Tongue language spoken by the Magi. Whatever that text and magic pulses say to him causes the scholastic stallion to examine the geometric patterns more carefully but with greater understanding this time. Concentrating, his horn glows blue as dots and blue lines start lighting up within the pattern he's staring at. It seems to be some kind of puzzle he needs to solve. Perhaps it is also a homework assignment.

Derpy gets very delighted and chirps with glee when she spots another group of foals playing with and blowing bubbles, but the magical twist here (which seems to be a common theme to everything here) is that there are animated images within each of the bubbles and they are different for each. Some have shapes, some have faces, some show a sun and another shows the spiral of a whole galaxy. Another shows the head of a clown pony who keeps looking across each of the foals around him, particularly any that pay attention to him. He keeps making silly and innocently playful faces at them in various different ways, including some ways that are impossible for a mundane pony such as ears expanding like a balloon or sucking in his mouth to an absurd degree like he tasted something overwhelmingly sour.

“I want one!” Derpy cries out excitedly as she continues to behold the foals playfully frolicking and prancing among the floating bubbles but they momentarily stop and gaze back at Derpy when she cries out aloud. If any of the bubbles have a face of some kind, some of them even look back at Derpy as well. “I WANT ONE!” Derpy cries out more insistently and excitedly.

With a light shrug, a mint green unicorn filly uses her magic to toss one of the bottles of magical soap closer to Derpy but the arc doesn't quite make it. A blue pegasus colt ends up kicking it in mid air just as it starts to curve down in the throwing arc. That ends up renewing its momentum and this time it is enough to deliver the bottle all the way to Derpy who catches it with both forehooves with glee. Since she catches it that way, though, she also ends up stumbling backwards then almost collapses to the ground but Stern Wing ends up saving her from that fall by extending a wing under Derpy. Feather then uses his magic to pull Derpy back to a more stable stance. To help her hold it, Derpy ends up transferring the soap bottle from her forehooves to her wings so that her hooves end up free and she can once again use them to stabilize her balance.

“Careful,” Stern Wing cautions.

“YAY!” Derpy cries out in glee as she rubs the soap bottle against her face. She's so ecstatic that she has her eyes closed during this process. Seeing that, the other foals who were/are playing with the bubbles glance at each other and give an innocent shrug since they have no idea why an adult mare would find their toy so interesting.

As their journey continues, the group continue to see many marvelous sights like this which seem perfectly ordinary to the natives here. The atmosphere is generally relaxed but also festive. Feather and Doctor Kelly cannot help but make comparisons to this and Doctor Kelly's native world. Both have extraordinary magic, but these ponies are way more social with each other. Even the few who are by themselves are doing whatever they are doing while being surrounded by a crowd and that doesn't seem to bother them. In fact that seems to be the overall purpose of this area they find themselves in.

“Please wait here,” Margret requests when they all arrive in a white room with sparse furniture and decorations. The only thing that seems to be in there is a few benches facing towards each other and a bookshelf full of books in the back corner. “There's somepony I need to fetch and report to while you all wait here, and if you need anything . . .” she trails off for a moment as she presses a hoof to a wall. Blue laser-like lines glow from the wall which has the pattern of a triangle within a circle and a bunch of runic symbols spiraling on the outside of that circle and another circle around them. Three chirping beeps accompanies the arrival of this image. “Ask this thing any questions you want or call somepony. This should be able to tide you over till I get back.”

“Thank you. I think we got it,” Doctor Kelly assures Margret confidently.

“We do?” Stern Wing asks with strong uncertainty and passes the doctor an “Are you sure about that?” kind of look. Doctor Kelly replies to that question with a confident nod.

“Great!” Margret cheers. “Then I'll see you all soon. Bye!”

Margret then steps back and the sliding door shuts itself soon after her abrupt departure.

“You seem quite familiar with this technology,” Daring Do announces to Doctor Kelly observantly. “I take it you had something like this back in your homeworld and time?”

“I do,” Doctor Kelly confirms. “In fact, I would call this eerily similar. They even speak Magic Tongue around here. That can't be a coincidence.”

“They do speak that language here?” Derpy asks as she presses her right hoof to her right cheek and tilts her head questioningly. “Funny. I didn't notice. Even if it's true, wasn't the TARDIS telepathic thingamabob supposed to help us translate unknown languages?”

Doctor Kelly shakes her head slightly as she says, “This isn't a spoken language, Derpy. It's entirely magic based. A pony needs the ability to sense it and project very specific magic signatures to even be capable of this language.”

“Doctor Kelly did mention something like this before shortly after we were dropped off at this time,” Daring confirms as she looks at Derpy.

Derpy returns her hoof from her cheek to the floor as she says in embarrassment, “Oops. I guess I goofed again. Derpy's feather brain strikes again,” she concludes with a sad sigh.

“You'll get it, Derpy. Don't worry,” Feather Wind assures Derpy kindly.

“Thanks,” she says as she smiles back at Feather a bit. “That's kind of you to say.”

“So you do think this society is somehow based off of yours?” Daring checks as she returns her attention to Doctor Kelly.

“Not everything is exactly the same. I've spotted plenty of differences too, including sociological ones,” Doctor Kelly informs Daring and the group at large. “But too much is similar to dismiss that theory either.”

“I remember you telling us that your species used to be conquered by the Time Lords,” Feather Wind reminds Doctor Kelly, but this is news to Daring. “Back then, the Time Lords were using you Maji to help them with the Time War until the Doctor saved you all somehow.”

“And Margret was familiar with the concept of time travelers,” Stern Wing chimes in with interest. “Moreover, she has also heard of the TARDIS.”

“Perhaps a TARDIS but not thee TARDIS,” Doctor Kelly counters. “The Time Lords once had more than one. It isn't just the Doctor's TARDIS that is out there until he, perhaps, became the last of the Time Lords.

“Here, however, the extinction of the rest of his race might not have occurred yet.”

“But that's odd though, isn't it?” Derpy objects questioningly. “Didn't you see the rest of those ponies out there? Did any of them seem oppressed to you?”

“That's a good point, and one I was about to make as well,” Doctor Kelly agrees. “I saw no signs of major psychological stress in any of those ponies out there. Not more than I would consider a normal baseline for a relaxed society.” She looks at one of the walls. “Plus there is the rest of this environment to consider. The magic of Harmony is unusually strong here. So strong that its chaos creatures, like the one we fought, that feels like the odd one out here.” She looks back at them. “It's as if they are the exception rather than the rule.”

“I read up on a lot of history in my time but your timeline is ahead of all the rest of us,” Feather reminds Doctor Kelly. “As such, you'd be the only pony here that has any idea what happened to your species during the time they were conquered by the other Time Lords.” He squints one eye at her. “So how detailed is the knowledge you have of that time?”

“Sketchy, I'll admit,” Doctor Kelly replies honestly. “And that's because those events occurred before my fellow ponies kept accurate records. The Time Lords had records of their own, but it was recorded in their own language and we weren't privy to them. That's why it took so long for us to reverse engineer their technology after we were freed.” She shrugs. “Maybe the Doctor himself has and will give us a few pointers, but it still took us a long time.” She shakes her head. “We don't even know how long it took.”

“Fair enough,” Daring accepts. “Be that as it may, we can't afford to ignore the possibility that there is some connection between your tribe,” she nods to indicate Doctor Kelly, “and these ponies here.”

“I concur,” Doctor Kelly agrees. “We might not know those details yet and perhaps not even these ponies do, but I'd stake both of my hind legs that there is some connection.”

Daring Do looks forward as she gives a sigh then gives a more focused look back and forth between Feather Wind and Doctor Kelly as she says, “There's another subject I wanted to bring up while we have this moment alone together.”

“Kind of,” Stern Wing says cautiously. “None of the natives seem to be here but it wouldn't surprise me if they were observing or even recording us while we wait. That might even be the point why Margret left us alone here for now then suspiciously rushed off.”

“Then let's not announce anything too sensitive,” Doctor Kelly suggests to Stern Wing then looks at and announces to Daring Do, “Now then. You were wondering why Feather and I were giving meaningful looks to each other while we rode on the red disk?”

Daring Do flashes Doctor Kelly a proud grin for reaching that accurate deductive reasoning before nodding in confirmation.

“Oh my Celestia, gals. That one was big news,” Feather Wind says excitedly. “While we rode on that floating disk, the spirit who dwells in this Crystal,” he gestures to the Tri-Tipped Red Crystal which is hanging on a chain on his neck, “partially manifested himself and made himself known to whomever is attuned to this Crystal. Initially he spoke only to me but it turns out Doctor Kelly could see and hear him too.”

“What spirit?” Daring asks Feather cautiously.

“He calls himself Crystal Sage,” Feather announces to Daring. “But his original name was Sombra. Not King Sombra, though. That was a corrupted copy of himself.”

“King Sombra?!” Daring asks in alarm as she raises an eyebrow at Feather questioningly.

“It's a long story,” Feather announces as he shrinks a little bit. His body language reveals he feels uncomfortable continuing this conversation now, especially the part where he's related to that family and perhaps Doctor Kelly is as well.

Daring Do notices his sudden discomfort and decides not to press it yet even though she grew very curious and concerned.

“Well, anyway,” Feather continues as he relaxes a bit again, “the important thing to mention here is-”

“Actually, you'd better wait on that,” Doctor Kelly interrupts as she lifts a hoof in objection. “Stern Wing just mentioned that we might be monitored here and that announcement could be considered sensitive information. Save the rest of the explanation for later when we get back to the TARDIS.”

Feather Wind looks around sheepishly then lowers his head in a bit of shame. He almost rushed into a full explanation in excitement without really thinking of the consequences.

“Fine,” Daring accepts again while passing a shrewd look back and forth between Feather and Doctor Kelly. “You can leave the rest of us in the dark about that issue for now, but if you make any plans based around it you might want to give the rest of us a subtle message about it.”

After Daring says that, she flashes a wink at Feather Wind with a, “You know what I mean,” kind of look. Seeing that, Feather privately considers what she meant by that for a moment then recalls his ability to silently convey messages to others through the wind. When he makes that connection, he winks back at her to signify he understood her message.

Just then the door opens with suspicious timing. Just when the group decides to be more quiet about sensitive information, a newcomer shows up. This individual is a dark gray stallion who shares an uncanny resemblance to Crystal Sage. He even has the same kind of sideburns.

There are obvious differences too, though. For one thing, this newcomer is an earth pony and notably the first one that the group has spotted since coming here. He is pretty sizable for an earth pony too though still only three quarters the size of Stern Wing. He privately reminds Derpy of Big Macantosh in terms of height, girth, and overall body shape.

One of the biggest things to stand out about this pony, though, is the fact he's obviously a cyborg. About a quarter of his torso is replaced with synthetic prosthetics. So is the left side of his face which includes his left eye which is white yet has a pearl-like prismatic shine to it. His left leg is entirely cybernetic and a little thicker than the rest of his limbs. It glows ominously red on some parts and seems like it might be a dangerous weapon in addition to being a limb. Lastly, and most curiously, is a synthetic horn on his head that looks obviously unnatural.

Beyond all of that, he has a powerful and cowing presence to him. He's obviously a leader and a rather militant and intimidating one at that. He is also, by far, the most battle-worn pony this group has ever seen among the natives here.

“Greetings to you all,” he greets while still standing beyond the threshold of the still open door. He speaks with a synthetic sounding voice box as if he’s speaking through a metallic tube. “My name is Commander Viraxis. May I join you all this evening?”

Despite the fact that his words are polite, they also felt cold and authoritative. The TARDIS crew gain the impression that he won't really take no for an answer.

“Please do come in,” Daring Do invites with a polite nod to him. “I assume you are the pony Margret mentioned she needed to report to.”

“Indeed,” Commander Viraxis says simply as he steps into the room. The door soon shuts behind them which leaves them all alone with this intimidating newcomer. “That report was . . . more delayed than I preferred but I understand there were some extenuating circumstances. I was hoping you'd help me verify some of the reports I received from her. For instance, the fact you faced off and held your own against a class four chaos creature? Not only that, you actually met Trouble and interacted with her?”

“More like she engaged us,” Stern Wing corrects with a cheeky frown since she did not forget how the chaos spirit flirted with her coltfriend a little. “Uninvited, I might add.”

“That sounds concise with what I heard, read, and observed about the creature,” the Commander says stiffly then cracks his neck from side to side. “Authority of any kind seems to annoy the creature so she loves to stick her nose up at it. That much I can tolerate. On the other hoof, her creating deadly monstrosities and sending them after those that I guard I cannot abide by.”

“Nor should you,” Stern Wing agrees sternly. “Bullies are my biggest pet peeve and what I cannot stand the most.”

Commander Viraxis’s one organic eye looks at Stern Wing in respect and says, “Then you and I see eye to eye on that one, Miss. For that, you have earned some respect from me.”

“Right back at'cha,” Stern Wing replies with a proud grin for a second but it drops a moment later as she continues, “Though I got to say, you're very different from the other ponies I have observed along our way here. You're not even close to them. I could almost mistake you for a member of a different species.”

“Indeed,” the Commander replies with a chilling cold voice. “You'll find I'm a lot more militant and pragmatic with my approach to solving problems.” He grunts in anger. “And, annoyingly, not many others share my sentiment in this society. You'll find a vast majority are like the others you saw instead.”

“You're in charge of the military up here?” Daring Do checks with the Commander.

“The only military up here,” the Commander confirms in a more specific way. “Recently formed, too, and still budding. Far too few in numbers and resources for my taste, but I can't seem to get most of the others behind my cause despite the recent threats and uprisings over the years.”

“How long has this been going on?” Daring Do probes further.

“About six decades,” the Commander answers. “Most of the attacks by the chaos creatures struck the Earthbound Below. We, who call ourselves Those Above, largely remain indifferent to the plights that the Earthbound are suffering despite the fact that our ancestors promised to watch after Those Below and protect them from external interference.”

Feather Wind, Stern Wing, Derpy and Doctor Kelly all pass each other a shocked look of recognition after the Commander mentioned that the duty of Those Above is to protect Those Below from external interference. Once again this bears an eerie resemblance to the sworn duty of the Maji to the earth ponies on Water World.

Daring Do notices her companions' apparent recognition with something the Commander said but, since she is not working with all of their information, she vows to privately ask them about it later.

Returning her attention to the commander, Daring asks him, “How long has this relationship been going on? This division you have with the Earthbound Below.”

“Ages,” the Commander replies. “Ages beyond counting, but that's not important right now.” He grunts again in frustration which still sounds a little weird with his synthetic voice box. “That's easy to say when nothing did interfere with the development of the society below, but now that something has and an actual sacrifice is required for us to fulfill our sacred duty, Those Above have been lax about it. 'Why should we care what happens to them?' seems to be the general attitude of most around here. In fact, watching the Earthbound Below struggle against the chaos creatures has devolved into a source of entertainment for some of Those Above.”

“Are you serious?” Stern Wing asks in a tone of disgust.

“Believe me, I wish I wasn't,” the Commander returns in equal measure. “As things stand, things are progressing slowly in terms of my forces accumulating the personnel and resources we need to combat this threat despite the fact that a few of these creatures have attacked us as well.”

“You lack the resources you need?” Stern Wing asks skeptically. “Margret easily hoofled the monster we faced and she was just one pony.”

“One civilian pony,” the Commander corrects. “She wasn't supposed to engage that creature at all. Her only true purpose there was to scout out the territory.

“That said, I'm well aware that the only reason she engaged this creature was because you all had already engaged it and seemed to have some trouble.”

“I hope you didn't discipline her too much for that,” Stern Wing requests. “She did it to save our lives. She should get a medal for her brave and heroic act.”

“I'm well aware of the circumstances involved here,” the Commander replies. “You aren't. There are reasons why I don't normally send untrained civilians to engage these creatures. It is because the forms and abilities of these creatures can vary greatly. She hoofled it well enough this time but, in my eyes, she simply got lucky.

“I'll give you an example. One of the few members of this species who successfully did some damage to Those Above had a very, very precise form of teleportation. It was good enough to teleport right through our force fields. None of that matters if it can skip the space in between. It also had great range and speed with this ability. At its fastest, it could rapidly blink back and forth between various spots ten times per second. We could barely even look at the creature let alone do anything else to fight it.

“But that was not its most frightening ability. That creature could also teleport others it touched too, and it had the ability to be very precise with that. Imagine it touching your head and teleport away with it, thus leaving the rest of your now essentially decapitated and temporarily spasmodically wiggling body to collapse on the floor and quickly spread a pool of blood. I even saw this creature able to teleport individual molecules of a person's body and scatter them at random. One second it touches a pony and the next the pony vanishes and a giant ball of blood appears in his or her place. Blood which promptly splashes gruesomely on the ground a second later. It took us years to figure out a way to even capture this creature.”

“Are you serious?” Feather Wind asks the commander in disbelief.

“Trust me, those were not battles any pony who witnessed it soon forgot,” the Commander assures confidently and grimly.

Feather Wind winces as he looks away. That is very strange information to him. Sure, the chaos creature they fought also seemed to play for keeps, but instant death moves like that seems way out of character for Trouble herself based on what little he's seen of her. She even warned Daring Do of the last creature's acidic ability even though it was kind of phrased like a taunt. She seems to be motivated primarily for entertainment so she'd want a potential conflict to last. She only augmented the last creature because Daring ended the fight too quickly and did it alone. Why would Trouble also make other creatures that are deadly enough to do instant kill moves? It doesn't add up to him.

“Given those facts, I can now understand your reluctance to allow her to engage such creatures without proper training,” Stern Wing admits. “But still . . . she saved our lives this time. Please go easy on her.”

“And if the form and abilities of these creatures are different each time, there's no telling what kind of preparation is required for each one,” Doctor Kelly realizes aloud. “That's quite the conundrum.” She focuses on the commander. “Has any efforts been made to contain Trouble herself? After all, until you contain her, she can just keep on making more of these things.”

“Believe me, we tried,” the Commander announces in frustration. “She has slipped our grasp in more ways than I can count and in a vast variety of ways. She's even managed to temporarily turn my own personnel against each other.

“The problem with her is she seems to primarily exist in some higher dimension and, from that vantage point, is able to more easily manipulate the dimension below her. We can't deal with her until we find a way to properly contain a higher dimensional being. We've done some R-D development on that front and we are making some progress but with the limited resources allocated to me, it's taking too long.

“And that's where you all come in.”

“Us?!” Daring asks sharply, taken aback.

“Let me get straight to the point,” Commander Viraxis announces bluntly. “I know you all are members of the Knights of the Hourglass and I know you at least distantly work for the only known remaining Time Lord, the Doctor.” He grunts in a little bit of disapproval as he adds, “He and I don't see eye to eye on many things, but I have to admit he can get the job done via unconventional means and those he recruits tend to have similar talent. I would very much appreciate it if you can devote some of that talent to me with a certain mission.”

Daring looks across her companions to gauge their reaction. What she finds is they are surprised, alarmed, and intrigued. She then looks back at the Commander and says, “We'll hear you out before we agree to anything. What mission did you have in mind for us, exactly?”

“Is it to fight more of those chaos creatures?” Stern guesses.

“No,” the Commander immediately answers Stern. “Not unless you have to. Not unless one engages you. Trouble seems interested in you all, and I mean that in every sense of the word, but the Knights tend to get results too and I'll not ignore a potential resource when I see one.”

“Again, what do you have in mind?” Daring reminds more insistently.

“My ability to recruit Those Above have been frustratingly slow,” Commander Viraxis announces. “And I can see why. These creatures are very little threat to them and they are largely, but not entirely, indifferent to the plights of Those Below. In all this time, though, I know another group of ponies who at least should be very interested in our assistance and therefore might be more receptive to my offer.”

“Those Below,” Feather Wind reasons aloud. “The Earthbound.” He lifts an eyebrow at the Commander. “But you said they should be interested. Why aren't they?”

“I don't know,” the Commander admits. “And that's where you all come in. I want you to find out why they've been reluctant to accept our assistance and convince them that it is in their best interests if we join forces. After all, if I can't convince my fellow Those Above to defend these ponies, or to even care about their plight in some cases, then I wish to defer to, fortify, and train Those Below so at least they can defend themselves.”

“But isn't that interfering with their culture?” Derpy wonders aloud. “I thought you said your ancestors considered that taboo.”

“Yes, but they are already being meddled with anyway,” Commander Viraxis argues. “I'm just trying to even the odds a little.”

“What sort of reception have you gotten recently from Those Below?” Doctor Kelly probes. “Also is it different from what you used to receive from them?”

“Both accounts are noteworthy,” the Commander announces. “The Earthbound used to revere us. They looked upon us as something akin to gods. We did nothing specific to encourage or discourage this perspective. The way we saw it, it was up to them to judge us for themselves and that was the path they used to take.

“Strangely, though, that attitude changed about two centuries ago and, around that same time, they became more independent and resourceful than they originally were. Previously they used to be nothing more than cave dwellers and primitive hunter/gatherers, but now some of them can use strange magic we can't identify. That includes some of their earth ponies, by the way, which accounts for the vast majority of their population. Pegasi account for roughly twenty percent and only two percent of their population are unicorns. Of them, we know for a fact that that genetic line started from us. A few of Those Above assimilated into their culture and now their current unicorn population is what has been passed on from generation to generation. Over time they are slowly thinning out and it's believed they'll eventually fade away because all of the unicorns down there have little other choice but to mate with non-unicorns. When that keeps happening from generation to generation then that genetic path line is expected to fade out at some point.

“So, while their current breed of unicorns originally came from us, their current numbers are almost entirely native tribe members now. They were born and raised there, so they are now native Earthbound.

“With all that said, their diminishing population of unicorns often take up some mystical role among their tribe such as shamans and the like.”

“That makes sense,” Daring says with a nod. “So . . . somewhere along the way they became more independent and mystical. At that point their relationship with Those Above evolved to . . .” She trails off as an invitation for the commander to finish.

“Slowly their reverence for our society faded,” the Commander announces. “Once it was reverence. Then it became more like distant respect. Then it became something akin to indifference, but now . . . it is almost like disgust. Weirdly they are almost snooty and dismissive of us now. They keep accusing us of not knowing, 'The Way' or some crap like that. They act like we are the little foals who didn't grow up and are too stubborn to do so, so they are dismissive instead and even a bit aggressive if we insist on dialog.”

“But we aren't native to Those Above,” Daring realizes. “I think I can see where this is going now.”

“All of you are an unexpected opportunity for me,” the Commander admits. “And things are not tenable as they are. Something has to change and all of you might be my best chance to get them to see reason. Develop a rapport with them and find out why they've been so reluctant to work with us now even during their dire need, and if there is one thing those trained by the Doctor are famous and infamous for, it is a talent for diplomacy.” He waves a hoof. “Those Below are not our enemy and, frankly, we do share a common one, so why do they stubbornly refuse to work with us? We need to pool our resources if we're ever to stand a good chance to beat these things.”

There is a moment of silence between them all and broken again by the commander as he asks, “So how about it? Will you help me to help them?”

Daring gives another assessing sweeping gaze among her companions before looking back at the commander and requesting, “Could you give us some time to discuss this in privacy, please? Twenty minutes ought to do it. Perhaps even ten.”

“I'll be back in ten, then,” the commander decides then turns to depart. The door seemingly opens on its own then shuts behind them, leaving them again in possible privacy.

“What do you all think?” Daring asks her companions. “I want all of your honest input, no matter how slight. After all, whatever we do, we'll do it together.”

“First of all, I'd like to express my appreciation for you including us in this decision,” Stern Wing says to the adventurer in approval. “Not long ago it seems you were determined to do everything on your own.”

Daring gives a shy blush as she admits, “For various reasons that I don't really want to get into at this time, I haven't had much practice with teamwork but I'm willing to give it a shot now.”

Stern Wing nods then says, “Secondly, wasn't our main objective is to secure the Blue Ice Lilly? We have a sample of that now so game over. We won.”

“That's not like you, Stern, to suggest moving on and ignoring those in need,” Feather Wind notes with surprise.

“I haven't really expressed my true opinion yet,” Stern replies. “I'm just outlining what our situation has been so far.”

“Then what is your true opinion?” Daring presses to Stern. “What do you want to do?”

“Me?” Stern reflects back to Daring then stands up straight and proud. “I am a guardian. My purpose is to protect those in need. To protect the weak.” She looks across them all. “That includes you all, by the way, though I hardly consider you weak. I have to consider your safety too so I'll ultimately defer to the judgment of the majority. With all that said,” she focuses back on Daring, “my personal vote is to stay and help these ponies, especially the Earthbound. Based on what the commander told us, they are the real victims here and if even Those Above, along with all their technology, occasionally struggle with the chaos creatures then the Earthbound might be in even greater trouble.

“Plus, I'm also interested in the Earthbound's side of the story. Why did their attitude to Those Above change? Maybe they know something important that we don't know. For now, I choose to withhold my full judgment over this situation until I gather all of the facts.”

“Thank you for sharing your opinion,” Daring expresses to Stern. “Anything further?”

Stern shakes her head and says, “I said my piece for now.”

Daring gives an accepting nod then looks at Doctor Kelly for her opinion. Upon doing so, the others regard her too.

“Speaking for myself, I love a good mystery,” Doctor Kelly announces. “But one thing I cannot stand, which is something that really bothers me, is discovering a mystery then doing nothing about it. Not even attempt to solve it.” She lifts a hoof. “I can tell you this so far, though. Commander Viraxis was not entirely forthcoming to us. With regards to what he has said, I deduce it as being sincere to a point but there is something more. A larger agenda behind everything that he has said.”

“Do you trust him?” Daring checks with the doctor who then shakes her head.

“Right now? No, but we haven't gathered all the facts yet either, just as Stern Wing pointed out. If you were to ask me now about my opinion about Those Below at this point then I can't say I trust them all that much either. I have missing information on my hooves right now and that bothers me. I will defer to the decision of the majority here and especially to you, Daring Do,” the doctor says with the nod to Daring. “I say that because the Doctor put you in charge of this mission and he must have a reason.”

“So you want to press on for the sake of scientific curiosity?” Daring figures.

“That and ponitarian reasons,” Doctor Kelly adds. “After all, I am not just a scientist, I am also a healer. My mission is to heal the sick and injured so if we're talking about my personal motivations alone, that is where I stand. I want to solve a good mystery and I want to help wherever and whenever I am needed.”

“Okay then,” Daring says with an accepting nod. “Thank you for your input.” She then looks at Derpy. “Derpy?”

“Me?” Derpy reflects. “I want to help!” she says simply. “Wherever I am and whatever I do, I follow my heart. My head is mostly air space anyway so my heart naturally speaks louder.”

Hearing Derpy put down her intelligence again causes a frown on Feather's face but he holds his silence this time.

“Alright then. Let me ask you this.” Daring lifts up a wing. “When you say, 'I want to help', what does that mean in this case? Because we came here on a mission, or at least I did. I came here to secure the Blue Ice Lilly in order to help other ponies in our time using a cure that is extinct where we came from. We have a preserved sample of that flower right now.”

“We do?!” Derpy asks with a gasp. “Since when?”

“Oh yeah!” Feather exclaims in a tone of realization. “When we got that flower before, Derpy was unconscious back then and we haven't mentioned it since.”

“That's an important detail too,” Stern says with a frown. “Shame on us for not bringing it up earlier.”

“Apparently it is a gift from the kirin,” Daring explains to Derpy. “It is even frosted with magic crystals to help preserve it. Perhaps they offered it in gratitude for you dancing and singing with them.”

“Aww!” Derpy says with a happy blush. “That's so sweet of them!” But then she grows confused. “But how would they even know we sought after it in the first place?”

“We were climbing that mountain for weeks and we mentioned, more than once, why we were doing it,” Stern mentions with a shrug. “Perhaps that's the reason.”

“I think we're overthinking it,” Feather proposes. “At least when it comes to them and their motivations. The kirin didn't seem to think at all, or if they did, they did so on a whole different level. They danced and sung in perfect sync with each other and, while you joined them, you did likewise.” He focuses his yellow eyes on Derpy. “You bonded with them on a whole new level, Derpy. One so overwhelmingly amazing that it's too much for a mortal mind to comprehend so you forgot it. Your brain is blocking it out almost like a defense mechanism. Sometimes an experience too positive can be a detriment too without something there to safeguard our sanity.” He shrugs. “For now, I say we just call it instinct. Compassionate and otherworldly intense instinct on their part.”

The group is silent for a moment until Daring shakes her head then goes on to say, “In any case, we have a sample of the lilly now. The longer we stay, the greater our chances of losing that which we already gained, so I ask you again . . . what do you personally mean by helping?”

“Well, um . . .” Derpy trails off for a moment as she shyly regards the rest of her group watching her. She swallows a lump in her throat then her face firms up as she announces, “Both. I say we do both. We help those in need here and then take the flower back to help those in our time.”

“That's your decision?” Daring double checks with Derpy.

“Yes,” Derpy confirms firmly.

“Okay then,” Daring replies with an accepting nod then simply looks at Feather to announce it is now his turn to announce his opinion and intent. She figures he's smart and perceptive enough to pick up on the subtle cues she's offering without the need to speak a word, and he did not disappoint.

“I agree that the Commander is not telling us the whole story,” Feather announces then winces. “Several things he says did not add up.” He lifts a hoof. “Just in case we are being observed right now, I'd prefer I keep the details to myself for now but consider this; what is Trouble's angle in all of this as well? It seems simple and straight forward at first glance but I think there is something more to this.”

“That chaos creature showed up just when she announced its arrival,” Stern Wing says bitterly. “Later on she also augmented it just because she was bored. Every version of these chaos beasts plaguing this world and time also presented themselves with random forms and abilities. Isn't that what a so-called Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony would do? These creatures just show up and they do so violently. That's antithetical to harmony; ergo, disharmony.”

“I know,” Feather agrees. “But there's something more to all of this. Something more . . . elusive.”

“Please be more specific,” Daring requests of Feather.

Feather Wind frowns as he gazes suspiciously at the walls surrounding them. He sighs then looks back at Daring as he says, “Not once did Trouble ever say something like, 'Behold my creation. It shall lead to your extinction.' Instead, she was willing to brag about its abilities but, in a way, it also served as a warning what it could do.” He shakes his head. “But she never took credit for creating it in the first place. Instead, she was willing to pretend that she did.”

“Her primary motivation is entertainment,” Doctor Kelly announces. “She announced that up front right away and I don't think she was lying about that. In her eyes, entertainment translates to, 'Causing a challenge for others to face. To present a game that has rules.' She may be a Spirit of Chaos, but she plays by the rules . . . at least the ones that she sets. Overall her objective is to extend the game so creatures with instant death moves really are out of character for her.” She regards Feather with respect. “Not that I didn't foresee this coming from you, Feather Wind, but well done in picking up on those subtle clues.”

“So you're saying Trouble is actually innocent?” Derpy checks with Feather curiously. “Maybe likes to pretend to be guilty, but she didn't actually create those creatures in the first place?”

“Just augment them?” Stern reminds the group bitterly.

“And warns us what they can do,” Feather adds poignantly to the group. “Not to mention warn us of its arrival in the first place. Even if she did create them, she didn't have to warn us of it's coming.”

“Anything to extend the length of the game,” Doctor Kelly puts in emphatically.

“If it turns out Trouble didn't create those creatures but they are designed as if she did, then somepony else is guilty,” Daring realizes. “Somepony else with a deeper agenda?” She then glances at Doctor Kelly as she recalls what the doctor said not long ago.

“Commander Viraxis probably spoke the truth about the Earthbound's plight,” announces Doctor Kelly. “I think we can all agree that the next set of the puzzle pieces is located there.”

Derpy gasps in realization then announces, “Maybe they know who really created the chaos creatures!”

“Which could also serve to explain why their attitude about Those Above have changed,” Feather adds. “Maybe they see their former guardians have changed into oppressors.”

“Probably not all of Those Above,” Daring theorizes. “Another thing that Viraxis said, which I believe, is that the population here is largely indifferent. It sickens me to think any of them find entertainment in the Earthbound's plight but it is possible. Nevertheless, I think the vast majority of those up here aren't even aware of the plight in the first place. They just frolic and play and do whatever they want to do.”

“Which is a lot like my culture,” Doctor Kelly mentions. “Except these ponies seem to be more social with each other and a lot less reliant on A.I. to fill in the gap. These ponies actually enjoy hanging out with each other and they do it in person instead of through a holographic window or through a full-body holographic avatar. These ponies really are together physically.”

“Which is an improvement if you ask me,” Feather mentions. “Once again, they are all similar yet different from your native world, including their relationship with Those Below.”

“Which all cycles back to the unsolved mystery I've been talking about,” Doctor Kelly reminds. “There is more going on here. Something important. Something we're missing.”

“I don't wish to face the Doctor again while knowing we didn't do everything in our power to help,” Stern Wing says to everyone here and Daring in particular. “What about you?” Stern Wing reflects. “Do you feel any different?”

Daring Do pauses for a moment as she considers that answer. During that time she pulls her hat down lower over her face as if hiding her eyes in the hat's shadow helps her to think better when it's really important. She holds that pose for fifteen seconds before she spreads a daring grin then lifts the edge of her hat back up again as she announces, “Another Day, Another Dungeon. This adventure is not over, my new friends, and we must see this story to the end.” Her grin deepens. “Let's do this!”

Author's Note

Here is a song that got stuck in my head even before I wrote this chapter. It mainly applies to the earlier part of this chapter where it describes the society and activity of Those Above.