Rarity was doing work, as per usual. Everything in her boutique was nice and ordered, as it should be. Her equipment was laid before her as she analyzed the contents of vials and the results of various tools of measurement. Something handed her a syringe.

"Thank you, Sweetie Belle," she said absent-mindedly. The figure gave a low grunt as Rarity began to put the finishing touches on a dress she was designing, right down to the molecule. Everything had to be perfect

Her current client, an Abzorbalovian from the planet Clom, was strapped to a table and screaming, no doubt impatient due to how long the dress the client had commissioned was taking. "Now, settle down, Darling," Rarity assured her test subject, "I'm just about done." She took the dress she had and gathered it up in a syringe, ready to have the client wear it. "Now hold still, or else the dress won't fit properly and I'll have to start all over. Isn't that right, Sweetie Belle?"

The figure in question gave out a bat-like screech, which Rarity took as approval. The client whimpered as the dress was injected into her bloodstream. Once she was fully dressed, the Abzorbalovian began screaming again as she began to melt into the floor. Rarity had expected this result until she saw, when she suddenly realized what she was even doing. She screamed as her former client's own screams turned to gurgling. She stepped backwards, only to realize she was walking upright rather than all fours, tripping herself in the process.

"SWEETIE BELLE, GO GET TWILIGHT! SOMETHING'S GONE HORRIBLY WRO-" She stopped when she turned to look at "Sweetie Belle," which in actually seemed to be a horrific cross between bat and an ape if it were bitten by a zombie. Rarity screamed again, and suddenly everything was gone. She was back in her own body, still screaming, albeit now without any sound. She suddenly realized where she was again, within the confines of her own mind.

Well, not her own mind...

A door appeared before Rarity. Muffled screams, inequine screeches, gurgling, weapon fire, and much in the way of yelling
could be heard from it. Rarity stared at it for a while, then tried to walk in any other direction. However, whereever she went the blasted door was soon to follow. Soon it became apparent she had nowhere else to go. So she took a deep breath...

And opened the door.

It wasn't long before Applejack, Rainbow and the Rani were face to face with the Cheetah People. The group was made up of several different species, some of which the two non-Time Lords couldn't identify. All, however, had the shared trait of yellow fur with black spots, feline faces, and paws where hooves would be for the species that should have them. The Rani recognized what appeared to be their commander as a minotaur-esque version of an Abzorbalovian, with clawed hands and paws at the end of its legs, as well as a few more feline faces on its large stomach. They gave a horrific roar, signaling the rest of the coalition to charge.

Applejack and Rainbow immediately attempted to go into the fray, only to feel their tails being stopped by magic.

"Hey," shouted Rainbow, "what's the big idea? We're trying to fight back here!"

Rarity practically growled her reply. "Don't fight them, you idiots! You'll become one!"

Applejack grunted. "One what? Yer gonna have ta be more specific, sugarcube."

Rainbow quickly broke free of the Rani's magical grip. "Well, AJ and I aren't cowards, so run all you want!" With that, she entered the fray.

"NO," the Rani yelped, "DON'T RUN EITHER! STAY STILL!"

Applejack quickly broke free as well. "Sorry, Ms. Rani, but ah have ta stick with Da-"

Before she could move, the Rani covered Applejack head to hoof with her magical aura. "STAY STILL! WILL YOU BLOODY STAY STILL? YOU IDIOTS! I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I HAVE TO TELL YOU NOT TO MOVE!"

As Applejack struggled, both mares were caught in a net by two cheetah/pegasi hybrids, and were quickly lifted into the air and out of the fight.

"GIRLS!" Rainbow tried to fly towards the others, but was stopped by the clawed hand of a Diamond Dog-Cheetah hybrid.

"DASH!" Applejack struggled, but couldn't even break free of the net or the Rani's magical grip.

The Rani gritted her teeth. "Stop struggling for your own safety!"

Applejack huffed. "Ah need to help her! Y'all just wan' 'er to give up?"

"YES! Walking back at an even pace to my TARDIS isn't an option, so just stay still!"

The absorbaloff leader walked towards the captured mares. "Well, well, well, it seems we have a couple pacifists here."

The Rani stared the Cheetah-fied commander up and down. "You look too far along for language even as eloquent as that."

The leader laughed. "Well, then you haven't met Klunjundamandaloff. You'll find I'm far more elocl- Ellocl-" They closed their eyes for a moment before continuing. "More verbose than my kin."

The Rani squinted. "Still somewhat effected, I see."

"Ah'm sorry," Applejack said, "what did y'all say yer name was?"

"I'm Klunjundamandaloff."

"... Y'all got a nickname or somethin'?"

"My people simply call me Klun."

"Klun, got it. No offense Klun, yer a bit freaky lookin'."

"He's an Abzorbalovian from the sister planet of Raxacoricofallapatorius. Outside of the feline features his kind normally looks like that, so be civil"

"Ah'd, uh, hate ta hear what his planet's name is, then, if the sister to it has such a long name."

"Oh, that planet is just named Clom."

"... 'Clom?'"

"Clom."

"Look, whatever it is, it just ain't right ta attack us like that! You tell yer kittens ta stand down or else!"

Klun just laughed. "Oh, you have no idea where you are, do you?" He shouted at the Cheetah-Pegasi. "You two! Take these two to the base and throw them in the dungeon!" The two pegasi roared in response, to which Klun roared in kind.

The Rani scoffed. "Oh, the lack of eloquence you display, Klunjundamandaloff."

Klun growled. "I have plenty of elokl- Elocla- GAH!"

As the Rani chuckled at that, Applejack turn to the battle Rainbow was in. She yelled at Rainbow Dash one last time. "DON'T WORRY, DASH! WE'LL COME AN' HELP YA FASTER THAN Y'ALL CAN SAY 'NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK' FIVE TIMES!"

She received no response, as Rainbow was too busy fending off the cheetah people. However, while her eyes may have just been playing tricks on her... She did think she saw Rainbow with canine teeth.

Applejack turned to the Rani with an angry glare. "Way to go, Ms. Rani, ya got us into a whole heap of trouble. Hope yer proud."

The Rani glared in return. "First of all, my name is the Rani. It's a title, you illiterate oaf. Secondly, I just saved your life, so I believe you should be more grateful than that."

Applejack gritted her teeth. "GRATEFUL? We coulda gotten killed from just standin' around like that!"

"Do you want to be a cat?"

Applejack was taken aback by the question. "Beg pardon?"

The Rani rolled her eyes. "Do. You. Want. To. Be. A. Rassilon-damned. Cat?"

Applejack just stared. "Uh, nope."

"Then be grateful. I could have let you join your little friend in becoming a mindless animal."

Applejack frowned. "Just because we're fightin' back?"

"Precisely, yes. You could have gotten infected."

Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Infected? What in the hay are you talkin' about?"

The Rani sighed. "Do you think that a planet with a variety of different creatures that ALL just so happen to have the same characteristics just happens by accident?"

Applejack thought it for a moment, glancing at the two Cheetah-Pegasi carrying their net. "Now that ya mention it, that mighty strange. So they're sick? Then why not run?"

Rarity sighed. "Excess physical activity is what allows it to take root, particularly primitive actions such as the instinct of 'fight or flight.' Being far away from the infected does little, as this entire planet emits an energy that's responsible for the existence of the condition. Physical symptoms include growing cheetah-like fur patterns and feline characteristics, such as a cat nose and mouth, and it turns one into an omnivore favoring meat if they aren't already a carnivore. Psychological symptoms include increased aggression and exhibit more primitive behavior."

"Primitive?"

"Perhaps it's better if I show you." The Rani turned to their captors. "Quick question for the both of you, what is 2 plus 2?"

Both cheetahs growled in response. "Shut up, not-cat," said one. "Cats have no need for counts."

The Rani turned back to AJ, pointing toward a mark on the side of the one who spoke. "You can see this one had her 'Cutie Mark' converted into black fur, but you can still make out the shape of it. This one used to be an accountant." The spot in question was shaped like an analog calculator. "The other seems to have been a businessmare of some sort." That one's spot was shaped similarly to a briefcase. "To prove my point, it would appear our accountant has forgotten the word for 'math.'"

Applejack's eyes widened. "RAINBOW! She's in a whole heap of trouble now!"

"Indeed," the Rani agreed, "and by the time we see her again she'll be in a much later stage and will have possibly been integrated into their ranks. It will likely take days for that to occur, but who knows when we'll see her again?"

"Can't ya cure her or somethin'?"

"Would you like the bad news or the good news first?"

"... Bad news. Makes the good news that much better."

"Right. The bad news is that there's no known cure-"

"WHAT?"

"As of yet. The good news is that I am well versed all matters of biology, including medicine. I can create a cure. The reason I haven't before we arrived her was simply because I had no reason to. Aside from that, there was not even a suitable subject to use as an avenue towards a cure. I would need someone infected in the final stages, yet still managing to uphold resistance to some of the effects, if not something immune to the effects outright."

"An' let me guess, that's the Absorbawhatchamacallit?"

"Well," said the Rani, grinning, "you're smarter than I first assumed, though granted I assumed very little of you. Yes, Klun would be our being, though it's clear this has had some affect on his psychology still. He seems to think of the Cheetahs as his kind. Considering how nationalistic Abzorbalovians can be, that is quite the achievement. I just need to use my syringe on him for a DNA sample..."

"NOT-CATS CAN SHUT UP NOW," yelled the former accountant. "We here."

The base was nothing much. It was primarily made up of dirt huts, although there was the eye-catching giant hole. There seemed to be multiple holes in the surrounding area with metal bars as some sort of rudimentary prison, with guards in the form of various Cheetah-People pacing in front of them. There weren't any prisoners there yet, but once AJ and the Rani were tossed into one of them, there were at least two. With the gate slamming shut, Applejack looked to the Rani.

"It ain't a good idea tah try and bang on the gate, is it?"

"Not unless you want a taste for fish."

Applejack grumbled. "Dangnabbit..."

Author's Note

Shorter chapter today, sorry about that. We'll try and give you guys something bigger in the next week or two.

Thanks for reading our fic! That's the end of this installment, so we're taking a little break, but stay tuned!
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