Doctor Whooves: New Settings; Story 2: Voyage Towards Extiction

Chapters

Part 1: Splendid Surroundings
Part 2: Cruise Corrupted
Part 3: Change of Command
Part 4: Eclipse of Ruta 3
Part 5:Nova Do That Again!

Part 1: Splendid Surroundings

Doctor Whooves: New Settings
STORY 2: Voyage Towards Extinction

Part 1: Splendid Surroundings

The beach was alive with activity. Equinoid life forms of all sorts were laughing and playing happily in the light of the sun. The pony-like life forms all had unique attributes that defined their groups. Some were larger than most; some were as small as foals; some had wings like insects; and some looked like ordinary equestrians. The groups would freely interact and play together in harmony.

On the beach sat a metal tower. Inside, a blue, pony-like creature with a curving horn-crest over her brow and a mark on her hip of a field of stars, watched over the playing beach-goers. Over her shoulder was a sash that read, “Lifeguard”. She had a soft smile on her face as she watched the beach-goers having fun. She reached her right fore hoof up and, from above, she pulled down a circular device, which was attached to the ceiling by a wire.

She spoke into it. “All guests are reminded that night-cycle is to start in exactly 3 hours. Thank you.” As she spoke, her words were amplified and sent over the crowd.

She hung up the device. She noticed a filly (or what she assumed was a filly given the species present) waving up at her. She smiled and waved back, watching as the little one returned to her activities. The lifeguard sighed contently. Rarely were her services actually needed, but she loved watching the beach-goers playing.

In her reverie, she failed to notice the sound of steps behind her. What she didn't fail to notice was the sharp electric shock that ran through her. She collapsed to the floor, unconscious. From the shadows, something grabbed her unconscious form and dragged her into the dark.

Outside, the filly that had waved before looked up again into the lifeguard station. She frowned when she noticed that the lifeguard was gone. She shrugged and returned to her games.

Beyond the beaches were metal buildings connected a massive glass sphere that encompassed the entire beach and the waters it lead to. This sphere was connected to a massive, arrow-shaped metal machine with a second sphere, made of metal, connecting to it. From the metal sphere protruded three fins, all at a right angle to each other, with the tip of the center fin mounted with an ovangular structure that was brightly lit. Behind all of this, a bright light seemed to push it all forward. The machine soared through the wide expanse of space.

(Doctor Who Theme)

At the farthest edge of the beach, where the metal structures began, there were very few creatures present. The structures closest to the beach were small and had colorful, inviting signs; “Arduvian delicacies”, “Calian Fruit Drinks”, “Recycled Food”. Behind a stand for “Betelgeuseian Hard Drinks” there came an inexplicable sound. The whirring noise preceded a soft blue glow, which gave way to a familiar blue box with the words “Police Public Call Box” marking the top. The door opened inward and a brown coated pony in a brown vest with an hourglass mark.

“Well, ladies,” he said with a flourish. “We’re here!”

The brown stallion stepped aside, allowing more ponies to step out. The first was a grey Pegasus with a yellow mane, joined by a similar looking unicorn filly. They were followed by a white unicorn with blue hair and a grey Earth Pony with raven hair, wearing a grey vest and beret. They all looked about with great interest, taking in the environment.

The first to speak was Octavia, the raven haired pony. “A beach, Doctor?” she said towards the male. “Rather pedestrian, don’t you think, given the option of the whole universe?”

“Ah, you underestimate me, my dear Lieutenant,” The Doctor replied. “I know better than to start off slow.”

“Yeah, Octavia,” Vinyl Scratch said, the blue haired unicorn tapping the earth pony on the shoulder. “I’ll bet this is some alien beach on a planet trillions of miles away, with oceans made of lemon soda and beaches of sugar.”

The Doctor gave the blue haired unicorn a bemused look. “Close,” he replied. “But not quite. And before you ask, Miss. Scratch, it’s too late to make requests.”

“So, where are we?” chimed Dinky, the little filly.

The Doctor smiled and tilted his head. “I’ll show you.”

He lead them towards a strange silver monolith, only a foot or so taller than them, with a bright glass screen that displayed a map of the area.

As they approached, the Doctor spoke. “Information.”

“Online.” replied a feminine voice from the monolith.

“Display full map, please,” The Doctor said.

The device beeped, the map expanding out into a bizarre shape. The arrow-like shape with two spheres rotated to give a three dimensional display. The four mares looked at the image, wide-eyed, as they realized what it was.

“We’re on a spaceship,” Derpy, the Pegasus, stated in amazement.

“Aaaaawesome!” Vinyl said, her voice dripping with excitement.

The Doctor turned dramatically and motioned to the screen with his hoof. “Ladies, I give you -- pause for dramatic effect -- The Splendor! The single most luxurious, fun, glorious and largely affordable cruise ship in the universe.”

“Okay, now I’m impressed,” Octavia commented with a smile. However, she then gave the Doctor a rather skeptical look. “I’m guessing that, despite being ‘largely affordable’, we don’t have tickets?”

“I won’t tell if you won’t,” the Doctor replied slyly.

“Awfully rude to board a ship without paying, isn't it?” She chided.

“Do you have 100,000 galactic standard credits in that fancy hat of yours, by chance?” He replied. “I know I don’t. Fun comes with frugality in my case, Lieutenant.”

Octavia rolled her eyes. “Point taken,” she said. “But if we get thrown in the brig or something, I reserve the right to smack you upside your head.”

“Fair enough,” the Doctor said with a coy smile.

“So, there’s a beach in a spaceship?” Derpy asked.

“Yep,” the Doctor said. “But that’s not even the most amazing thing. You want to know the amazing thing?”

“What’s more amazing than a spaceship with a beach in it?” Vinyl asked.

“This isn’t just a spaceship,” The Doctor replied. “It’s a Star Ship!”

They all gave him a confused look.

“Doctor,” Derpy said, “isn’t starship just a different word for spaceship?”

“No, no, no,” The Doctor said, shaking his head. “Not a starship; a Star ship!” He emphasized the word star as he turned to the panel again. “Information.”

“Online.”

“Display engine room.”

The image focused in on the second sphere. Inside was a glowing ball of light.

“See?” The Doctor said. “This is a Star Ship. As in, a ship powered by a star. Micro-star to be precise. The ship takes everything; the light, the heat; the gravitational force; and uses it to propel this entire ship through the galaxy at speeds unparalleled by any other system. One of the greatest feats of engineering in the universe.”

The others didn’t look quite as enthused as he was.

“So… it’s solar powered. Literally,” Vinyl commented unenthusiastically, but trying to smile and sound interested. “That’s… interesting.”

“What?!” The Doctor said, slightly annoyed. “Is no one impressed by this? Do you know how hard it is to build a mechanism that uses gravitational force while also not succumbing to it? This is amazing!”

“Doctor,” Octavia chimed in. “We live on a world where our rulers move celestial bodies at will. Not exactly shocking to us that somepony would use a star for power.”

“Without magic?!” The Doctor replied.

“Hey! Don’t underestimate non-magical ponies,” she replied, somewhat humorously.

The Doctor sighed in frustration and bowed his head.

Derpy walked up and patted his shoulder supportively. “So, who built it?” she asked.

The Doctor shot up, apparently over his frustration. “The Nauta,” he said. “They’re not too different from you lot, just more technologically advanced. Ooh, and three really curvy horns on their heads that make a fancy crest. I like a fancy crest.”

“So, they run the ship then?” Octavia asked.

“Of course,” The Doctor replied. “Wouldn’t do to make a ship and not run it yourself. No one knows how to run a ship better than the one who made it.”

“Goes a long way to explaining your driving then,” Octavia rebutted.

“WHAT?!” The Doctor said indignantly.

Vinyl laughed out loud, clutching her sides. “Ooh! Burn!” she said, holding up a hoof, which Octavia hoof-bumped.

Even Derpy and Dinky chuckled at Octavia’s clever jab. The Doctor maintained his displeased look for a few seconds, but soon, even he broke down and chuckled with them.

“Well,” The Doctor continued. “If we’re done criticizing my driving, what do we want to do first?”

“Definitely want to hit the surf,” Vinyl said energetically. “I’ve always wanted to ride the waves. They do have waves here, right?”

“Artificially generated for perfection,” the Doctor replied.

“I think Dinky and I will just explore the beach,” Derpy said. “Maybe meet some of the other passengers.”

“I want to build a sandcastle!” Dinky said, bouncing excitedly.

“And you, Lieutenant?” the Doctor asked.

“Oh, I’m sure I’ll think of something,” Octavia said, looking about. Her eyes fell on the sign of the booth that they parked the TARDIS by. “Betelgeuseian Hard Drinks”. She smiled wickedly and turned towards it. “First thing I’m doing for sure is enjoying a good drink.”

“Really?” Vinyl asked, a little surprised at how eager she was. “Never would’ve taken you for the drinking type.”

“Only when off duty, Scratch,” Octavia replied. “Helps me loosen up. Besides, no harm in a quick sip before exploring this place.”

Derpy shook her head disapprovingly. “I see no reason to use drinks to loosen up. I’m sure we’ll have just as much fun sober.”

“Jeeze, don’t be such a PSA, Derpy,” Vinyl chided.

“PSA?” The Doctor asked.

“Pony Safety Advocate,” Vinyl said. “Somepony who buts her nose into other ponies’ business, pretending to be the moral authority.”

“I’m not a PSA!” Derpy retaliated. “I’m just thinking of Dinky. I don’t want her being negatively influenced.”

“PSA,” Vinyl said, her voice in a mocking sing-song tone.

Derpy grumbled while Vinyl snickered.

“Relax Derpy,” Octavia said. “I’m not going to get knackered. I’m just trying the local services.”

With that, Octavia gracefully trotted off to the booth. Once there, she reared up on her hind legs and put her forelegs on the bar, supporting herself in an upright position.

“Excuse me,” she said politely, trying to get the attention of the bartender, who was facing away from her. “Can I get some service, please?”

Octavia nearly jumped backwards from shock when the bartender turned. She struggled to regain balance from the shock of what she saw; namely, that the bartender had two heads. He’d had them down before, cleaning dishes by the look of the rag and glass in his mouths. Octavia quickly reminded herself that she was in space now and tried to push past the fact that this creature had two heads to the side. Aside from the heads, the bartender looked like a normal pony. He had a red coat and green manes, the colors reminding Octavia a bit of Heath’s Warming. His mark was a strange shape resembling the unique appendage which she usually associated with minotaurs. What was it called…? A hand! Yes, a hand. It was a hand with four of its sub-appendages-- she couldn’t be bothered to remember what to call them-- curled up and its largest appendage pointing towards his front.

The Barkeep put down his rag and glass and smiled with both faces at the pony. “’Ello Miss,” he said from his left face. “How may I help you?” he continued from the right.

“Er, yes…” Octavia replied hesitantly, trying her best to smile politely. “I was just… that is… I was wondering what the special was?”

“Oh,” said the alien from both heads. It continued from the right head, “Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, of course.” Then the left chimed in, “Most popular drink in our system.”

“Sounds… intriguing,” Octavia said uneasily. “I’ll take one, please.”

The two heads, in an anatomical marvel, actually turned to each other in surprise, just clearing each other’s noses. Then they laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Octavia asked, her eyes darting between the two heads in confusion.

Stifling its laughter, the left head stuttered out, “That’s a good one miss. I’ll have ONE! HA HA HA! Classic!”

“Is there something wrong with only having one?” Octavia asked.

“Of course not,” said the other. “It’s funny to imagine anyone taking More than one! Like it needs to be said, ‘I’ll have one’! Hilarious!”

Octavia still felt confused as the two heads settled down from their laughter and began mixing her drink. She didn’t know what to make of the mixing either. It started normally, as they mixed two liquids with some rather odd looking ice. But then they attached a hose which pumped some foul smelling gas through the substance. Next they added a spoonful of something else, followed by… was that a tooth?! It was followed by the sprinkling of another substance that smelled of lemons and the addition of an olive. They poured the drink, olive and all, into a martini glass and presented it to Octavia. The substance fizzed incessantly in the glass, vapors coming off of it.

Octavia eyed it suspiciously while her friends walked up beside her, the Doctor, Derpy and Dinky on her right and Vinyl on her left.

“Dang!” Vinyl commented. “I’ve seen some funky drinks in my day, but that’s just weird!”

“Not exactly tops on my preferred liquors either,” the Doctor added.

Octavia shrugged. “Oh well,” she said. “When in Space…” With that, she picked up the glass in her hoof and made to gulp it.

“NO WAIT!” said the Doctor and the two-headed bartender in tandem.

Too late.

A split second after in taking the drink, Octavia’s head shot to the side; a thwacking sound coming from nowhere at the same time. She fell to the ground, eyes wide and swirling. The three fillies left the stand and circled her in concern while the Doctor rubbed his temple with his hoof and the bartender shook his heads.

“Tourists,” the bartender said from his right head.

“Tell me about it,” the Doctor replied. “Jinninton’k please.”

“Would you like that with or without the leech?” asked the left head.

“No, that’s Djinn’n Tawnix,” the Doctor replied crossly. “I want a Jinninton’k.”

“Is that the one with the ‘c-k’ at the end or the ’apostrophe k’?”

“Apostrophe K,” the Doctor replied.

“On it!” said both heads, setting to work.

The Doctor ignored the two-headed bartender doing Celestia knows what, noting the pained groan of Octavia. He turned to see that she was coming too and rubbing her forehead with both hooves.

“You okay, Octy?” Vinyl asked.

Octavia managed to pry open one eye and glare disdainfully at Vinyl. “Octy?” she muttered, wincing in pain afterwards.

“Uh, sorry,” Vinyl said, blushing in embarrassment.

Octavia forced herself into a seated position, still wracked with pain that she hadn’t experienced since her college years. She struggled against the pain as she went through a list of important items she wanted to be sure she remembered. Name? Octavia. Check! Age? 23. …ish. Check! The Prelude to Buch’s Cello Piece #1? Umm… well, that would probably come back to her if she heard it again.

“I’m impressed,” came the Doctor’s voice through the throbbing of her temples. “Not many life forms can get up right after gulping a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster. I half expected you to be in a coma for a week. I’m genuinely impressed, Lieutenant.”

“Gee, thanks for your approval,” Octavia replied, contemptuously.

“Oy, don’t get angry at me,” The Doctor replied. “I tried to warn you!”

“Ah! Not so loud!” she said, grabbing her head in pain. “Heavens! I feel like… like…”

“…Like your brain’s been smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped around a large gold brick,” the Doctor said evenly.

Octavia stared at him in utter shock. “Yes! I think that’s exactly it!”

“Next time, try the Jinninton’k,” he said, ironically as said drink was placed beside him. “Far less nerve damaging.”

Derpy looked towards her daughter and said, “And that, Muffin, is why you don’t ever want to start drinking.”

Dinky giggled while Vinyl helped Octavia to her hooves.

“Well, I certainly hit my limit early,” Octavia said as she struggled to remain upright. “Miss. Scratch, please escort me to a beach chair. I believe I’ll be spending the next hour or so recovering.”

“Right,” Vinyl replied. “Where do we get chairs Doctor?”

The Doctor, finishing his drink rather quickly, pointed towards a round, metal platform just past the information panel. “Trans-mat pads. Just step on and say where you’d like to go.”

“What is it?” Vinyl asked. “A hover board?”

“Teleport,” the Doctor replied. “Like that trick you pulled on the Cyberponies.”

“Sweet,” Vinyl said excitedly. “No magical burnouts on this Vay-kay! Why can’t we have this kind of stuff on our planet?”

“Just drag me towards it so we can get going, Vinyl,” Octavia said impatiently. “I need a good lay-down.”

“Heh, right,” Vinyl replied. She lead them both to the metal pad.

Once atop the machine, a synthetic voice sounded out. “Please state desired destination.”

Vinyl pondered for a moment what exactly they were looking for. Once she had a good idea, she said, “Uh, beach supplies?”

With that, the two mares vanished in a flash of light.

Dinky ran up to the pad with a fascinated smile on her face. “Neat!” she said. “I’ve never been able to do that spell. I bet if I could study this thing, I’d be the best teleporter ever.”

The Doctor walked up beside the little filly, a bemused smile on his face. “I’m not sure trans-mats work the same way as pony magic. But please, don’t let that stop you.”

“Maybe the Doctor can show you how they work, later,” Derpy interjected. “I’m certain that the Nautas wouldn’t want us taking apart their machines.”

“Quite right,” the Doctor said. “Besides, we need to find our own fun. Everyone on board.”

The Doctor, Derpy and Dinky all stood on the pad. “Please state desired destination.”

“To the beach, if you please,” the Doctor said.

In another flash, the group was gone.

The Betelgeuseian bartender shook his heads at the odd group and returned to his task of polishing glasses. As he worked, neither of his heads was aware of something else approaching the stand. In fact, both heads were so engrossed in their work that the only thing they noticed was a sudden jolt of electricity before being knocked unconscious.

As the bartender lay unconscious at his station, a pair of strange, semi-circular shadows appeared from the window.

“What was that all about?!” said the owner of one shadow to the other.

“Our mission is to disable the security personnel,” replied the other in a matter-of-factly tone.

“You dimwit!” said the first. “He’s not a security man. He’s a bartender.”

“My scanners detected a weapon at his station,” said the other.

“Of course he has a weapon,” replied the first. “Bartenders always have weapons.”

“Well, what do you propose we do about it? We can’t just leave him here.”

“Obviously not. We’ll have to take him with us.”

“What will we tell the general?”

The first voice paused, obviously thinking. “Ah! We’ll say he initiated hostilities and we captured him as a prisoner of war.”

“What if he doesn’t buy it?”

“Then we’ll say we captured him to prepare refreshments for the general. I hear he likes Betalgeuseian drinks.”

“Makes sense to me,” replied the other voice. “Let’s get moving, the main operation will be starting soon.”

The Shadows disappeared from the window. The door on the side of the booth then opened, and the body of the bartender was dragged out under muttered protests of how heavy he is.

To be continued...

Author's Note

AN. Yes, this chapter is Rife with Hitchhiker's Guide references. I couldn't help it.

Part 2: Cruise Corrupted

Doctor Whooves: New Settings
STORY 2: Voyage Towards Extinction

Part 2: Cruise Corrupted

Vinyl’s eyes were wide beneath her signature shades. She’d never seen such amazing looking surfboards. To be fair, she hadn’t seen many surfboards, period. Surfing wasn’t a big thing in Manehatten. That was more of a Jockey Shore thing. Still she was sure no-one in New Jockey ever saw boards like these. They were stream-lined silver chrome, like large kitchen knives, though rounded on the edges. They all shined magnificently, with unique decals of flames and flowers and other symbols, giving each a distinct style.

Octavia was less concerned with the boards than she was finding something comfortable to lie down on. The two mares wandered the small shop they’d been teleported into. Vinyl spent the whole time marveling at the glittering boards, while Octavia simply observed the beach chairs, which were all similar in design, each coming with a comfortable cushion and a built in umbrella. They were simple fold-out chairs, not as overly extravagant as the boards, meaning Octavia made her decision first, one with a blue cushion and red and white umbrella.

As Octavia took the chair she’d picked up to what she presumed was a check-out counter, this one run by a more normal looking pony creature. The clerk was a sea-green coated, blue-haired pony-like creature with the unique three-horned crest that the Doctor had described, leading Octavia to assume that the clerk was a Nauta. If anatomy held true, the clerk was male.

“Is that all?” The clerk asked.

“Not quite,” Octavia said. She turned to her counterpart and called out, “Vinyl! Hurry up!”

“Just a sec!” Vinyl replied. “I can’t decide between the white lilies or the crimson flames! Which one do you think is more me?”

“Is there one with blue lightning?” Octavia asked.

“I don’t… oh wait! Yeah!” Vinyl said, spotting the board Octavia suggested.

“Take that one,” Octavia said in a commanding tone.

Vinyl grabbed the board, a broad smile on her face. “Great pick, Octy,” Vinyl said. “It’s so totally me!”

“Of course,” Octavia replied. “Never let it be said I have no sense of… did you just call me Octy again?”

Vinyl’s checks flushed again. “Oh, sorry,” She said, embarrassed. “Not the best nickname, huh?”

“Not my favorite, no,” Octavia replied.

“How ‘bout Tavi then?”

“I’d prefer it if you just called me Octavia,” she said.

Vinyl sighed in defeat. “Nevermind,” she said, turning to the clerk. “How much?”

Octavia’s eyes widened in realization. She turned to Vinyl and said, in a hushed voice, “Vinyl, we don’t have their money. The Doctor forgot to tell us how currency works for them.”

“oh, crud!” Vinyl exclaimed. When she noticed the surprised look on the Clerk’s face, she chuckled nervously. “Heh, heh, heh, I don’t suppose I can put this on a tab or something, could I?”

The Clerk smiled. “Oh, don’t worry,” he said. “Cost of rental is part of your ticket price. Didn’t you know that?”

“Oh,” Octavia replied. “No, I didn’t. Our… uh… friend, yes… our friend purchased them for us. It was a big surprise. Didn’t know about it until the last minute and we’ve never been on a cruise before, so we aren’t sure how everything works.”

“Oh…” replied the clerk, a thoughtful look on his face.

Both Vinyl and Octavia chuckled nervously.

The clerk then smiled. “Ah, I understand!” he said cheerfully. “Well, I won’t keep you two. Just let me scan the items and you can be on your way.”

The two looked at each other in confusion before presenting the items to the clerk. He pulled out some sort of gun-like device from behind the counter and ran it over each item, letting out a high beeping sound.

“All set,” the clerk said, still grinning like the cat that caught the canary.

Vinyl and Octavia picked up their items, said thanks and headed for the door to the shop.

“Oh, and congratulations on the nuptials,” the clerk shouted just as they left.

“What?!” they both replied, but the door was already closed.

They both looked back at the closed door, and then at each other. They quickly turned away, their faces red with embarrassment.

“L-lets just head to the beach,” Octavia said with a stutter.

“Y-yeah, lets,” Vinyl replied.

The two wandered away from the shop, not noticing the two strange figures running past behind them.

Derpy sighed, her wings fanned out, her head resting on her hoofs, the light of the star engine on her back. She’d never felt so relaxed, laying in the sand. She peeled one eye open enough to look off to her left. She could see the Doctor helping Dinky build her sand castle, though she couldn’t make out what they were saying. She smiled as she closed her eye, happy that her daughter was enjoying herself, and happy that the Doctor was there to help.

“You see, Dinky,” the Doctor said as he shifted some sand with his hooves. “The trick to the perfect sandcastle is to get the granular particulates to align in a symmetrical pattern. Obviously this is nearly impossible since… well, they’re so darn small.”

“Uh, huh?” Dinky muttered, not sure exactly what the Doctor just said.

“Luckily,” the Doctor continued, pulling out his sonic screwdriver, “size is irrelevant.”

He buzzed the sonic over the pile of sand in his hooves. Dinky’s eyes widened as the pile seemed to spill upwards and form into a perfect bucket-shape, as if somepony had filled a bucket with sand and dumped it, upside-down, in front of the Doctor.

“Wow!” she said.

“Now, what’s say we get piling?” The Doctor said, scooping up more sand.

“Yeah!” Dinky said, excitedly. She turned and began kicking up dirt like a diamond-dog looking for rare gems.

Shrugging, the Doctor turned and followed her method.

Far away, inside the very tip of the thin metal structure surrounding the beach and the engine, there is the bridge of the Splendor. The bridge is a massive command area, supervised by hundreds of Nauta staff stationed at various control stations across the chamber. These equids were all occupied with the operation and maintenance of the ship and the wellbeing of the hundreds of thousands of guests riding aboard her.

In the center of the chamber was a control station monitored by a single Nauta in a large chair. This Nauta was female, with soft redish-pink fur and a red mane. She wore a golden medallion around her neck, marked with the same field of stars mark that adorned her flank. She had a very stern look on her face.

Before her, on screens of the command console, reports were displayed. Each report said pretty much the same thing; a member of the security staff was missing. One member for each report. The number of reports indicated that almost all of the security staff in the beach were missing, including all of the lifeguards. There were no clues as to who was responsible for the disappearances. The only unusual factor was that, aside from the staff, the only other person missing was a bartender native to a small planet somewhere near Betelgeuse. She had met him once. Nice fellows; served a good Jinninton’k.

One of the bridge security staff, a dark blue Nauta armed with a blaster on his right fore-hoof, crossed to this area on a metal platform. He walked up to the Naura at the chair.

“Any news?” she said.

“No Captain,” said the crewman. “Still no sign of the missing crewmen.”

“Have the passengers caught on yet?” she asked.

“Not yet,” he replied. “Our bridge crew are maintaining the guard-droids while we look for the lifeguards. So far no-one has noticed.”

“Well, that won’t last long,” the Captain said. “Soon there’ll be an incident (there always is) and they’ll wonder why it’s taking so long for our staff to respond. We need answers.”

Suddenly, another crewman, this one at one of the control stations along the wall, called out, “Captain! I think I have something.”

The Captain and security officer walked up to the consol. “What is it crewman?” She asked.

“I’ve been running ID checks on the passengers,” the crewman replied. “I figured there might be saboteurs on board and wanted to run their IDs through the Galactic Database.”

“Any matches?” asked the security officer.

“No,” replied the crewman. “But I did find something else.”

The crewman pressed several keys on the panel. The monitors displayed five images, each of a different Equinoid. These were images of the Doctor and his companions.

“These five appeared on the ship about an hour ago,” the crewman continued. “They aren’t registered as guests and they don’t match any Galactic Data Files. That’s what first drew my attention to them.”

“Appeared?” the Captain replied. “What do you mean? Did they trans-mat in?”

The crewman shook his head. “I don’t think that’s possible. We would have detected a ship if it got close enough to trans-mat.”

“They must have stowed away somehow,” the security officer said. “They must be responsible for the missing crew.”

The captain nodded. “Send whatever security officers we can spare to the beach and apprehend those stowaways. I have questions for them.”

Derpy moaned softly as she returned to consciousness. She yawned and stretched her legs and wings. When she opened her eyes, they both focused together in surprise. Before her sat a huge sandcastle. Huge, of course, relative to a normal child’s sandcastle. This sandcastle wasn’t much bigger than a tool shed, but it was definitely impressive. The walls were detailed to look as though they were made of stone. It had windows, a big door and a brown flag on top flying on a stick. Derpy quickly realized the flag was the Doctor’s vest.

Speaking of, the Doctor stepped out with the Sonic Screwdriver in his mouth. Hr hsd s big grin on his face as he trotted up to Derpy. “So,” he said, “what do you think?”

Derpy, eyes unfocused, gave the Doctor her best impersonation of Octavia’s skeptical look. “It’s not bigger on the inside, is it?” she asked.

The Doctor chuckled. “Sorry, but no. It’s just an oversized sandcastle.”

Derpy smiled. “It’s lovely.” She looked about. “Where’s Dinky?”

“Here I am!” came the cheerful voice of the filly as she popped her head out of the window. “Isn’t it awesome mom?!” She exclaimed. “I wish I had a camera! Scoots and the others won’t believe me when I tell them.”

Derpy walked up and nuzzled her daughter. “It’s wonderful sweetie,” she said as her daughter climbed out the window and slid down her neck and onto her back. “You and the Doctor did a wonderful job.”

“Yeah!” Dinky said. “He’s the best ever!”

The two walked up to the Doctor, but the moment was broken up by a loud cry:

“LOOK OUT!!!”

To their shock, Octavia shot past them. Though it was fast, they could barely make out the shape of what she was riding; a beach chair with a built-in umbrella. Apparently, the chairs rented on the ship came with hover-movers for convenience. Also, apparently, Octavia hadn’t realized that and had somehow set it off without knowing how to stop it.

She made another pass. “DOCTOR!” She cried out. “HELP!”

The chair began to circle around them. The Doctor pointed his Sonic Screwdriver forward and buzzed it in time with the chair passing in front of him. After a few seconds, the chair stopped in place, launching Octavia forward. The mare screamed as she flew through the air and landed, face-first in the sand. The others ran up to her as she lifted her head up and spit sand out of her mouth.

“Octavia!” Derpy exclaimed. “Are you okay?”

Octavia stood up and began brushing off the sand. “Oh, yes,” she said calmly. “I’m completely fine. I just got LAUNCHED OUT OF A FLIPPING BEACH CHAIR FLYING AT A HUNDRED MILES AN HOUR!”

“Oh, don’t be overly dramatic Lieutenant,” the Doctor replied. “70 miles per hour at-best given the hang-time.”

Octavia glared at the Doctor with a look that made both his hearts skip a beat in fear. The Doctor had scared down many scary things, but Octavia was knocking down most of the top ten at the moment.

“Sorry,” the Doctor muttered. “Rude comments ceasing.”

Octavia sighed in frustration. “Now I have a hangover AND sand in my hair,” she said. “I’m not enjoying myself Doctor.”

“Hey,” Derpy said, looking about, “where’s Vinyl?”

“YIPPEE-KI-YAY LITTLE PONIES!!!”

It was then that the whole group turned towards the water. Approaching fast on a massive wave was Vinyl Scratch, Hanging Fore (standing on your fore-hooves on the front of the surfboard with your hind legs are up in the air) and racing towards them. The board hit the beach, but didn’t stop. It glided along a few inches from the ground towards the group. Vinyl flipped off, landing in front of her friends, using her hind right hoof to kick-flip the board, launching it into the air and planting it point-first in the sand.

“S’up everypony?” She said, leaning against the board cross-hoofed.

They stared at her for a few seconds, stunned, before the Doctor and Derpy sat and applauded her. The DJ bowed, a huge grin on her face. Then she turned to Octavia, who still looked stunned. She noticed the copious amounts of sand in her hair and remembered what lead her here.

She walked up to her. “You okay Octy?” she asked. “You didn’t get hurt or anything?”

Octavia shook herself from her surprise. “N-no. No,” she said quickly. “I’m fine. It’s only sand. I’m sure it’ll wash… are you going to stop that, or is that just what you think of me as?”

Vinyl knew what she meant. She just shrugged. “At this point, I’d just get used to it.”

Octavia sighed and smiled. “Anyhoof, you were magnificent just now,” she said. “I thought you never surfed before.”

Vinyl shrugged again. “Never fought aliens before either, but I’m good at that. Sometimes, I’m so awesome I amaze even me.”

“Say Vinyl,” the Doctor muttered nervously, his eyes darting about.

“Yeah?” she said, turning to him.

“You know that alien fighting thing?” he continued.

“Yeah?” she replied.

“I’d hold off on it right now.”

Suddenly, the group realized what the Doctor noticed first; they were surrounded. A dozen Nauta guards covered them on all sides. They all had a hoof mounted laser pistol pointed at them. While the ponies had no concept of what a pistol was, they didn’t imagine the group of pony-like guards standing around them with menacing looks on their faces with cans of silly string.

“Oh, lovely,” Octavia muttered.

A few minutes later, the group found themselves in a cramped little holding cell with a force field keeping them in. Every few seconds, a pair of security drones would fly past, which was the only thing breaking the monotony at the moment. Octavia was seated by one wall. She looked even angrier than before, leading the Doctor to look for weak panels (that he could access to find a means to break out) on the wall opposite of her. Vinyl laid on the ground, looking calm and natural; as though this wasn’t a new experience for her. Derpy and Dinky sat huddled together in the corner closest to the Doctor.

“This is the single worst vacation I have ever been on,” Octavia muttered. “Hangover, mad beach chair and now, prison. Yes, this is definitely the worst vacation I’ve ever been on.”

“I’m still calling Canterlot Natural History Museum, 4th grade Summer vay-kay the worst,” Vinyl interjected. “But this is coming in around fourth.”

“First weekend at Skaro,” The Doctor replied. “Worst three days of my life. Pray I never have to explain why.” He said the last sentence as a command.

The Doctor suddenly felt a chill. Looking back, he could see both Octavia and Vinyl giving him looks. Octavia… what more needs to be said; she was coming up on autons. Vinyl simply pulled her glasses down to reveal her red eyes and give him an incredulous stare.

“Oh,” the Doctor said. “I see. I thought this was ‘share your worst trips with the class’ banter; but it’s really ‘you’re a total putz, Doctor; why did we go with you?’ banter.”

“Got it in one,” Octavia said. “I told you something like this would happen. I don’t know how you talk me into following you when all common sense tells me not to, but now I’m finally paying for it!”

“Now, be fair,” The Doctor interrupted. “Parts one and two of your complaint aren’t necessarily my fault.”

“Don’t try to salvage yourself Doctor,” Vinyl said, her glasses back up and her head resting on her forelegs, “you’re only sinking deeper.”

“NOT YOUR FAULT!?” Octavia shouted, standing and glaring angrilly. “Everything is your fault! I’m in a cold cell in the middle of a cruise ship because of YOU!”

“STOP IT!” Derpy shouted, standing between Octavia and the Doctor. “Stop blaming the Doctor for this! All he did was try to help us have some fun! He wanted to bring some excitement into our lives! We made the choice to go with him! Don’t act like he’s to blame when you really blame yourself!”

Octavia fell back on her haunches. She was stunned speechless. Vinyl shot up, her glasses slipping down her nose and her eyes filled with surprise. The Doctor paused his knocking, which he hadn’t stopped until then.

“You keep talking about how this is the worst vacation you’ve ever had,” Derpy said. “Well I’ve never had a better one. You know why? Because I’ve never had a vacation my entire life!” She started to sob a bit. “When I was little, my family was always too poor to ever go anywhere. Even if we had money, we knew that I’d never be happy with ponies gawking at my eyes. Now, as an adult, I still can’t take a vacation because I have to support my daughter. I’ve worked every day of my adult life and the last few years of my teen life because I love my daughter. And now, for the first time, not only did I get to have fun and relax, but my little girl got to play on a beach for the first time in her life. She got to build a massive sandcastle, encounter alien technology and have fun. I may never look back on this day as a great day, much less the best, but I’ll always be grateful for it!”

Octavia had tears in her eyes now, as did Vinyl. They both walked up to Derpy, who was severely tearing up and embraced her. Dinky ran around and got into the hug too. The Doctor abstained, not feeling right jumping in at that moment.

As they broke off, Octavia cleared her throat and said, “I- ahem, I’m sorry Derpy. I guess I am being a bit overdramatic.”

“I agree,” Vinyl said, with a cocky smile. “You’re definitely overdramatic.”

Octavia cocked an eye at her, but knew she was just trying to lighten the mood. “I suppose its good you and Dinky had some fun.”

“Thanks,” Derpy said.

“Yeah!” Vinyl said. “Besides, we’re only stowaways. They must get hundreds each cruise. What‘s the worst that can happen.”

“Quite right,” The Doctor interjected. “The Nauta are fairly lenient with stowaways. We’d stop at the next port; they’d let us off with all our things, including the TARDIS; we’d get fined a not too unreasonable sum (which I’m sure I’d deal with sooner or later) and that would be the end of it. Honestly, we’d have it really easy as stowaways.”

They all turned to him. He continued his knocking.

“Doctor,” Octavia said. “Why did you just say that like a hypothetical?”

“Because I seriously doubt we’re here for being stowaways.”

“Quite right.”

They all turned to the door. There stood the Captain, flanked by two actual Nauta guards.

“You lot are being held for sabotage, conspiracy and kidnapping; possibly piracy also,” she said.

“Really?” the Doctor said, almost cheerfully. “Don’t think I’ve been held for piracy before. I don’t know. I‘d have to think on that.”

“Why am I not surprised that this sort of thing has happened to you before?” Octavia chided.

“I have some questions for you lot,” The Captain continued. “Starting with…”

“…Where your missing security crew are?” the Doctor interrupted.

The Captain stared at him, shocked at his response. “You confess so quickly? I’m surprised.”

“Confess?” the Doctor said, annoyance in his tone. “Confess what? What did I confess to?”

“To kidnapping my crew,” she said. “How else…?”

“…Could I know they were missing?” he interrupted again. “Oh, my dear Captain… you are captain right?”

She nodded. “I am. Captain Alhab, at your service.”

“Nice to meet you ma’am,” the Doctor said with a bow. “I’m the Doctor. There. Formalities out of the way. No need to be a rude prisoner. Anyhoof… my dear Captain, you underestimate me. It wasn’t hard to deduce why we were here.”

“Really,” she said, eyeing him skeptically. “How so?”

“You sent about a dozen security officers to pick us up,” he began. “If you merely saw us as stowaways, one or two would’ve surely been enough. Obviously something was wrong; and, seeing as we were the only ones not on the guest list, we got scapegoated.”

“But how…” the Captain began.

“…Did I know what exactly it was?” The Doctor continued. “The Security droids. I know the basic rules of how you run the ship. You have the latest in security devices all over to keep the passengers safe. But you don’t like to use them. Nauta are the sailors of the cosmos. Your world is covered in a vast ocean. You survived the seas by working together and watching each other’s back. Its in your nature to look out for each other, including those in your care; even your prisoners.”

The Captain looked at him, slightly taken aback at how well he comprehended Nauta philosophy.

“But you left us under the watch of droids,” he said. “Bloody droids. Why? Because you can’t spare the horsepower. Your people are disappearing from under your nose and that terrifies you, because you’re the captain and they’re your family.”

“You know our people very well, Mr. Doctor,” the Captain said.

“Let’s just say I’m a kindred spirit,” he said with a pleasant grin.

“But that doesn’t mean you aren’t connected,” she continued, “You speak well, Doctor, but a sharp wit won’t help you.”

“Of course,” The Doctor said. “Only the truth can do that. And the truth is, we’re not responsible for your people vanishing. Yes, we’re stowaways. Yes, we deserve to be locked up here. But someone else is doing this, and you’re not going to find them waiting here.”

“But then who else could it be?” she said. “You’re the only ones on this ship who don’t belong.”

“Have you detected any foreign trans-mat signals?” the Doctor asked.

“We haven’t detected any ships in range of…”

“That’s not what I asked!” The Doctor said. “Did you actually check to see if any foreign trans-mat signatures were detected?”

The Captain’s brow furrowed. “Bridge!” She said loudly.

“Yes Ma’am?” came a reply on the intercom.

“Did anyone actually check to be sure if there weren’t any foreign Trans-mat signals?” she asked.

“But, we didn’t detect any ships,” the crewman on the comm replied.

“That’s not what I asked!” The Captain said. “Check for any signals not matching our own.”

There was a brief pause.

“Uuuh… Ma’am,” came a nervous voice on the Comm. “There’s been… I can’t count how many there are.”

“So there have been incursions,” The Captain said. “But how? There aren’t any ships in range.”

“Are you positive of that?” The Doctor asked. “Perhaps they’re hiding in plain sight.”

“We can detect cloaked ships, Doctor,” The captain said.

“What if they’re hiding within your sensor range, too close to the ship to be detected?”

“Someone would have seen them,” The Captain argued.

“Not if they’re in your blind-spot.”

The Captain’s eyes widened. “Bridge! Activate nightshift!”

“But that’s still an hour off.”

“Don’t argue with me! Just do it! Project camera 14X5 at my location and aim it at the dome!”

A blue tinted hologram appeared in front of the cell. It was a two dimensional image showing the beach. Everyone watched as the dome above the beach seemed to rotate, though in reality it was the beach itself rotating, switching from day to night with mechanical proficiency. As the dark settled in, they immediately noticed the strange shapes over the Dome. The shapes were spherical in shape and numerous.

“I thought so,” The Doctor said, an unpleasant grimace on his face.

“What are they, Doctor?” Derpy asked, a frightened tremble in her voice.

He looked at her. The deep concern on his face filled everyone with dread.

“Hmm, it would seem we’ve been caught Commander.”

The words came from a blue colored, bipedal creature which looked to be made of metal. It stood no taller than the average Pony, with a wide, stocky build and a dome shaped head with two black eye slits. It was joined by several other identical figures. All of them stood inside one of the numerous spherical vessels surrounding the splendor. They were looking through a view screen at the frightened faces of the vacationers below.

“I agree, General,” the creature to the right of the first speaker said. “It seems these Nauta aren’t as incompetent as we were lead to believe.”

“How wonderful,” The first creature said cheerfully. “I was beginning to fear we weren’t going to get a challenge today. This whole operation would be far less glorious if we didn’t get some fight from these lesser forms.”

The two turned to the other creatures, who all stood at attention.

“My brothers,” said the General. “Today, we finally put an end to this endless conflict. Today, we wipe our enemy from the face of the cosmos. Today, fight for the glory of the Sontaran Empire!”

All the creatures began pumping their fists into the air, in time with a powerful chant;

“SONTAR, HA! SONTAR, HA! SONTAR, HA! SONTAR, HA! SONTAR, HA! SONTAR, HA! SONTAR, HA! SONTAR, HA! SONTAR, HA!”

To Be Continued…

Part 3: Change of Command

Doctor Whooves: New Settings
STORY 2: Voyage Towards Extinction

Part 3: Change of Command

In an instant, the Sontarans invaded the ship. In each of the lifeguard stations, a platoon of Sontarans appeared via trans-mat. They poured out, ordering the passengers to get down on the ground with laser fire serving as a warning. Every creature within range of the lifeguard stations immediately did so. The Sontarans spread across the beach dome quickly and efficiently, causing all the passengers to panic.

The bridge, too, found itself occupied by Sontaran troops. They wasted no time stunning the remaining guards and subduing the crew. They took position at the ships controls and immediately began taking command.

Everyone in the brig was shocked as Sontaran troops appeared on both sides of the Captain and her security detail.

“Attack!” the Captain ordered.

Alas, the two Nauta guards were quickly shot down by the Sontaran soldiers before they could even get a bead on them. The Captain reached for a one of their guns, but a voice stopped her;

“I wouldn’t do that Captain,” said the Sontaran standing at the front of the left-side troops. “We’d only have to kill you.”

“Guard-droids!” the Captain commanded. There was no response. The Robots remained in their repair stations.

The Sontaran laughed. “I’m afraid my forces have already taken command of your computers. While we were disabling your security personnel, we also took the liberty of installing a virus into your systems which allows us to bypass your security measures. This ship is now property of the Sontaran Empire. Surrender, Captain. You have no other options.”

The Captain glared at him in anger. “You…” She wanted to call him something very unpleasant at that moment.

“Come, come, Captain,” The Sontaran chided. “If you don’t surrender, I’m going to have to order my troops to start killing the passengers.”

The Captain’s expression changed from anger to dread. She bowed her head in defeat.

The Sontaran laughed. “Such pathetic creatures,” he said. “So easily overcome by something as simple as compassion.”

“Coward!”

The Sontarans turned to the cell. There they saw the Doctor, standing and glaring at the lead Sontaran, and barely acknowledged the presence of his companions. The Captain also looked, dreading the thought of what would happen if this Doctor provoked them.

“You craven Coward!” The Doctor continued. “You’re a disgrace to your brood, using such tactics! Have you no honor?”

The lead Sontarans body language spoke of his recognition of the creature speaking to him. He chuckled with bemusement as he walked up to the cell. “Well, well, well,” He said. “We meet again Doctor.”

“So we do,” he said contemptuously. “Sorry if I don’t remember you. Sontarans all tend to look alike to… well, pretty much everyone.”

The Sontaran laughed. “Still ever the witty one, eh Doctor?” he replied. “Perhaps I should remind you. It has been some time since I faced a creature worthy of confronting open skinned.”

As he spoke, he reached and adjusted his blue dome-head. There was a pressurized hiss as the dome pulled free, revealing the true face underneath. Everyone in the cell was taken aback by what they saw. Everyone, but the Doctor. Under the helm was a grotesque visage, almost as dome-shaped as the helmet but more deformed, with light brown skin and facial features such as eyes and a mouth. Its most distinguishing feature was a large scar crossing down his face, over his right eye.

“Ringing any bells now Doctor?” the Sontaran taunted.

“It’s a potato,” Vinyl said, wide eyed in shock; so much so that her eyes were visible behind her shades.

“Linx,” the Doctor replied, ignoring Vinyl and not at all shaken by the revelation. “Of course it’s you. Who else would it be?”

“That’s General Linx,” The Sontaran corrected. “General of the 21st Sontaran Battlefleet. Linx, the Time Stopper.”

“My, my, haven’t we come up in the world,” The Doctor said with mock fascination. “’Linx the Time Stopper,’ you say? That wouldn’t be a reference to me, would it?”

“Who else?” Linx said. “After all, I alone, of all Sontarans, have been able to thwart and outwit the infamous Doctor.”

“Thwart?” The Doctor replied, indignantly. “Thwart? If anyone is doing the thwarting in this relationship, its me. Unless Sontarans define ‘thwarting’ as ‘managing to come out of an encounter with me with fewer than 99% casualties,’ then I could see that being called thwarted, and frankly I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case.”

Linx glared at him. “Your clever tongue might get you far elsewhere Doctor,” he said. “But it won’t avail you here. I’ve waited a very long time to finally avaenge my fallen comrades against you Doctor, and now your propensity for getting into mischief has granted me the most perfect opportunity.” He turned to the Captain. “I really must thank you for making our task so much easier. I can only imagine how the Doctor might have tried to stop us.”

“Oh, I will stop you,” The Doctor stated.

“I’m looking forward to your attempt,” Linx said with a hideous grin. He turned to the Nauta Captain. “Lock her up with them. I want her to be a part of this.”

A pair of Sontaran soldiers walked up to the Captain and lifted her by the fore-legs. A third walked up to the cell door and used the control pad to briefly deactivate the field. Before anypony could get up to take advantage of it, the soldiers tosed the captain in. Vinyl and Octavia caught her, being knocked back in the process. The doorway was re-sealed and the six occupants left inside.

“You two,” Linx said, pointing to two of the soldiers. “Stand guard here. Make sure nothing comes through the door. The rest of you; To the Bridge!”

At that, the Sontarans, in steady formation, marched away, following the lead of General Linx. Only two were left behind to guard the Doctor and his friends.

As they got up, Vinyl and Octavia supported the Captain, who had gone slightly limp with the weight of the situation.

“Are you alright Captain?” Octavia asked, lightly shaking her to evoke a response.

“Those monsters,” the Captain muttered angrily. “They’ll pay for this.”

“Don’t let it get to you, Captain,” The Doctor said, back again to his knocking on the wall. “Focus on escape.”

“But, those Sontarans,” The Captain said. “Surely they’ll kill everyone aboard.”

“Maybe, but not any time soon,” The Doctor replied. “If they wanted us dead, they would have just blown us out of the stars. Instead, they’ve kept us alive to be made part of whatever Linx has planned. Given how well I know Linx, what he has planned may be far worse. But the fact that we’re alive means there’s a hope we can stop it.”

The Captain, taking in the Doctor’s words, nods in agreement, her face now stoically determined.

“Ah, s’cuse me,” Vinyl interjected, raising a fore hoof as if she were in school. “But am I the only one weirded-out by the fact that we’ve been invaded by walking Space Potatoes.”

“Space Po…” the Doctor started, confusedly. Then he broke out into a laugh. “Space Potatoes! Oy, I hadn’t thought of that! Good one, Miss Scratch!”

“Vinyl! Doctor!” Octavia hissed. “I don’t think we should be mocking the hostile Alien force when they’re in hearing range.”

“Ah, they don’t care,” The Doctor said, leaning to the one on his side of the Door. “Oy, Potato head! You don’t care that I call you that, ey’ spuddy?”

The Sontarans didn’t reply.

“See?” He said. “They’re just grunts, they probably don’t understand anything that isn’t phrased as a command.”

Indeed, the Sontarans were virtual statues outside the cell. Since the others left, they’d simply stood there with their backs to them.

Octavia just looked at them disbelievingly for a second before remembering where she was relative to home right then and deciding to just roll with it.

Vinyl, meanwhile, had a mischievous grin on her face as she walked up to the force field and began making faces a the guards. Octavia rolled her eyes at her friend’s antics, but decided to let it go for the moment. Derpy and Dinky moved forward to join the rest of the group, Dinky even joining Vinyl in mocking their guards. Derpy wanted to protest, but decided it wasn’t worth it. Better Dinky make light of the situation than wallow in fear.

“What can we do now Doctor?” Derpy asked.

“I’m not sure yet,” he replied. “Tapping doesn’t seem to do much good.” He looked over at the Captain. “Oy, Captain Alhab. Any chance you know a weak point in these walls?”

“The entire structure of this place is built of Soltanium, Doctor,” She replied. “It’s meant to withstand the gravity of stars. You aren’t going to dent it with your hoof.”

The Doctor sighed in annoyance. “Ah well,” he said. “That was one idea.”

“Maybe I can port us out of here,” Vinyl suggested, charging her magic.

“I wouldn…” The Doctor began, too late.

Vinyl collapsed into a ball of light, which bounced off the force field and the walls, causing the occupants to dance about frantically to avoid getting hit. Finally, the ball expanded, releasing Vinyl. Unfortunately, it released in the air over Octavia. The result was certainly humorous, though not to the ones involved.

Octavia tapped her hoof on the floor, pinned under Vinyl’s weight and unable to fo much else. “Any more bright ideas, Scratch?”

“Ahhh,” Vinyl moaned, dizzy from the failure of her spell.

“I tried to warn you, Miss Scratch,” The Doctor said. “The force field is designed to hold back just about anything. There are entities on these trips capable of generating more energy than you on your best day and its always a good idea to have somewhere safe to put them after a bender.”

“Thanks for the heads up,” Vinyl said, dizzily.

“Is there no way out of here, Captain?” Derpy asked.

Alhab shook her head. “The only way to open the door is from outside. We never imagined we’d be over-run like this.”

“I thought as much,” The Doctor replied.

“Couldn’t you use the Sonic Screwdriver?” Derpy asked.

“I could if I hadn’t dropped it in the struggle,” He replied. “I really need to keep more than one of those things.”

“So, we’re screwed?” Vinyl asked.

“Never say never, Miss Scratch,” The Doctor replied. “There’s always a chance.”

Then, a stomping noise came from down the hall.

“I wouldn’t be so certain,” Octavia said as she observed a Sontaran marching down the corridor.

The soldier marched until he reached the cell and turned to face them. “General Linx demands the Doctor’s presence on the bridge.”

“What about the other prisoners?” the guard on the left asked.

“Leave them,” the soldier replied. “The General only wants the Doctor.”

The two nodded and turned to the cell. The guard on the right entered the command and opened the cell. The two pointed their guns inside. The group all flinched; all save the Doctor, who seemed to have a knowing glint in his eye.

Before they could say or do anything, the two guards found themselves grabbed by the third at the probic vents on the base of their necks. They each gave a loud cry as their bodies sparked with flashes of green energy. They fell to the floor in a clump.

The Sontaran sighed. “It really is amazing how easy they make it,” it said in a shockingly feminine voice.

“What’s going on here?” Octavia demanded.

“About damn time,” The Doctor said, ignoring his friend’s comment. “I was wondering if you lot were coming or not.”

“You should know, Doctor,” The sontaran said as its body began to glow green. “The Rutan Host never lets its guard down when the Sontarans are involved.”

The green glow grew until it subsumed the entire form of the Sontaran. When the glow faded, something new stood in its place. It was like a green jellyfish, floating in midair and only a bit larger than the average pony. All the equines stared at it in shock.

“I do hate taking a Sontaran form,” The creature said. “But when I realized you had been put in the brig, I knew I had to free you, Doctor.”

“What is it?” Derpy asked in surprise.

“I am Ghala,” she said. “A Rutan spy.”

“Rutan?” Octavia inquired.

“The enemies of the Sontarans,” The Doctor answered. “The Rutan Host and the Sontaran Empire have been at war for millennia.”

“Millennia?” Dinky chimed in. “Wha’s a millennia?”

“It’s how old the Princesses are, Muffin,” Derpy replied.

“Oh,” Dinky replied. “That’s a looooong time!”

“A bit too long for my taste,” The Doctor replied, a rather stern look on his face.

“Oh, none of your moralizing, Doctor,” Ghala said. “We have to make haste. The Sontarans have already set their plan in motion.”

“What plan?” Vinyl asked. “What do they want with a cruise ship that has to do with a war?”

“I assume You’ve worked it out by now, Doctor,” Ghala said.

The Doctor nodded. “Indeed, I have. And you’re right, we do have to make haste.” He turned to Captain Alhab. “Captain, lead us to the bridge. Try to get us the most out of the way route. We need the element of surprise.”

The Captain nodded. “Follow me,” she said, as she began down the hall.

The others began to follow her. Before leaving, the Doctor cut off the Rutan.

“I sincerely hope I won’t have to moralize to you later, Ghala,” he said.

Ghala let out a sound akin to a “Humph” and floated past him. The Doctor, unsatisfied, but preoccupied with his duty, proceeded to join the others.

To be continued.

Author's Note

This was actually meant to only be the first part of the next chapter. But its running so long, I decided to cut the intro and make it the next chapter and pst the rest as part four. Trust me, a lot is coming in Part 4.

Part 4: Eclipse of Ruta 3

Doctor Whooves: New Settings
Story 2: Voyage Towards Extiction

Part 4: Eclipse of Ruta 3

Alhab lead the small band through a secret shaft. It was one of many service shafts known only to the crew of the ship. She hoped that, with the security crippled and herself and the Doctor’s crew believed to be imprisoned, the Sontarans wouldn’t think to patrol them. The corridors were narrow, meaning they had to walk in pairs. Alhad lead the pack on her own; Vinyl and Octavia followed next; The Doctor walked with Derpy, Dinky riding on her back; and Ghala took the rear guard.

As they walked, Vinyl whispered to Octavia, “You know how we were talking ‘worst vacations’ earlier.”

“Yes?” Octavia replied.

“Is it weird that I’m enjoying myself more?” She asked with a sly grin.

Octavia actually chuckled at that. “As much as I wish it was,” she said, “I think I’m feeling that too.”

Vinyl chuckled softly. “I guess we’re both thrill junkies at heart.”

Octavia smiled. “Maybe. Though if that fact leaves this corridor, you’ll wish it hadn’t.”

The two chuckled to themselves.

As the unicorn and Earth pony chatted, the Doctor turned back to the Rutan. “How long have the Sontarans been planning this?” He asked.

“Months; maybe years,” She replied. “Perhaps since the day the Splendor set sail. You know the Sontarans, Doctor; always strategizing.”

“What strategy?” Vinyl asked in a plaintive voice. “Doctor, what are they doing? Tell us!”

“I agree,” Octavia added. “We need to know the Sontaran’s stratagem if we’re to overcome it.”

The Doctor sighed. “Okay! You know how this thing is run by a star, yeah?” They all nodded. “Now, you lot just think of stars as tiny little lights; think they can be flung about by magic. Why not? That’s how it works for you.” They all nodded again. “Truth is, though, your star is not even remotely standard. Real stars are massive balls of gas. They are nature’s fusion engines. They burn with an intensity that cannot be matched and have gravity that, when they finally burn out, lingers in the form of black holes. These things are more powerful than any magic as you understand it. They are the driving creative force of the universe. With me so far?”

They all nodded again, enraptured by the Doctor’s passionate speech.

“Good,” he said. “Now. Ask yourselves; what would happen if you dropped something like that on a planet?”

Their eyes all went wide in horror.

“Would they do that?” Derpy asked.

“That’s what they are doing,” The Doctor said. “I can feel it. This ship is hurtling through space towards Ruta 3, the Rutan homeworld. They’re going to crash this ship right into the planet. When that happens, the star-drive will be cracked open, unleashing the star. Its gravitational field will draw in Ruta 3 and collapse everything into itself. Nothing will be able to escape the sudden gravitational rebound. Instant apocalypse.”

“Yeesh!” Vinyl said. “I thought the Cyberponies were hardcore evil.”

“It’s just… monstrous,” Octavia added.

“Can you stop it Doctor?” Derpy asked.

He nodded. “If we can take the bridge back, we can stop the ship before we get to the Ruta system and remove the Sontarans’ virus.”

“Then let’s hasten,” The Captain said. “We’re not far from the bridge, now.”

After another minute of walking, Derpy turned to Ghala. “So, Ghala,” she said. “Have you met The Doctor before?”

“Unfortunately no,” She replied. “This is the first time I’ve met him. But, I’ve heard stories about him since I was a hatchling. He’s garnered quite the mythology. His exploits reach back to the earliest days of this war. You know what most races call him?”

“Uh, ‘The Doctor’?” Derpy replied, innocently.

“‘The Oncoming Storm’.”

Derpy’s eyes widened and both focused on the pony beside her. He didn’t react to the conversation, but she knew he was listening. She couldn’t quite believe that the Doctor, the nicest Pony she’d ever known, could have such an intimidating title. Though, as she considered it, The Doctor was also very intimidating and confident when it came to dealing with his enemies.

“Don’t mistake me,” Ghala said. “Most see it as a title of endearment. The Doctor is the storm that drives away death and brings new life.”

“If it’s all the same,” The Doctor finally replied, “I think, ‘The Doctor’, is a trifle more endearing than that horrid title.”

“I think it’s kinda kickass!” Vinyl chimed in. “‘The Oncoming Storm’! Sounds like an Awesome band name!”

“Miss, Scratch,” Said the Doctor. “The only ones I want to think of me as the Oncoming Storm are my enemies.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Linx stood in the center of the control room. He watched stars fly past on the view monitor while his men held their guns to the heads of the crew, forcing them to hold the course. A twisted grin crossed his face.

“How long before we reach the Ruta system?” he asked.

“Twenty minutes, Sir,” replied one of his men.

“Excellent,” Linx replied. “Finally, we’re going to end this war in one stroke.”

His second in command walked up. “General, I see you enter battle open skinned,” he said. “May I join that honor?”

“Permission granted,” Linx replied.

The soldier removed his helmet. He looked nearly identical to Linx, minus the scar.

“This will be a great moment for the Empire,” The Second-in-Command said.

“Yes,” said Linx. “Today, we bring the Rutan filth to their… whatever they have instead of knees. Finally, I will be given the respect I deserve.”

The Second turned to his leader with a confused expression. “Sir?” He said.

“Return to your post, Commander,” Linx said. “Today, we bring honor to Sontar.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

After a time, the group came to a grate that lead to the main corridors. Outside they could just make an entrance to the bridge, only a few feet beyond on the opposite wall. They also noticed two Sontarans patrolling the entrance. Ghala compressed herself down and slid along the ceiling, over the equines, and reached her tendrils out through the grate. The tendrils slid into the vents on the Sontarans’ necks while their backs were turned. Unlike before, they simply fell limp. The tendrils supported the Sontaran bodies, ensuring they wouldn’t slam against the ground and draw unwanted attention. She placed them gently against the far walls and retracted her tendrils.

“We’re clear,” she said in a hushed voice.

“Nice move,” Vinyl whispered. “What did you do?”

“The probic vent on their necks is their weak-point,” Ghala replied. “They always face forward in battle and never retreat.”

“I think we can get around that,” Vinyl said with a sly grin.

“Let’s be smart about this,” Octavia said. “There’s more of them than us. We need a distraction.”

“Got it covered,” Vinyl said.

With that, Vinyl’s horn glowed brightly. In a flash of light she vanished.

“Vinyl!” Octavia said, trying her hardest not to shout, despite her surprise.

“Where’d she go?” Derpy asked.

Suddenly, a loud clambering noise came from down the hallway.

“I have a suspicion,” The Doctor replied.

“Oh, Celestia!” Octavia declared. “She’ll get herself killed!”

“I’m sure she can take care of herself,” Ghala said. “More importantly, look.”

They could see the Sontarans in the control room turn to one of the far exits. The one in the center, probably Linx, motioned to the door and several of the Sontaran soldiers ran to it.

“This is our chance,” Ghala said as she slipped her tendrils through the grate and morphed them into tiny screwdrivers. She unscrewed the grate and quietly moved it aside.

The instant the door opened, Octavia charged down the hallway, towards where they heard the sound.

“Where are you going?” Ghala demanded as she and the others moved out of the grate.

“Vinyl needs me!” She replied, stopping to reply.

“She can take care of herself,” Ghala said, angrily. “We need you.”

“Just go, Lieutenant,” The Doctor interjected.

“What!?” Ghala replied.

Octavia shot the Doctor a grateful look. She continued running off, the Doctor smiling proudly in her wake.

“What are you doing?” Ghala asked him. “She’s a soldier. We could have used her combat expertise.”

“We don’t have time to argue,” The Doctor said. “By my calculations, we’re almost at the Ruta system now. Your planet--your people--are at risk here, Ghala. It looks like there are only a few left. The four of us can take them.”

Ghala grumbled. “Very well. Winged one,” she said to Derpy. “You and I shall handle the remaining troops. Are you up to it?”

Derpy nodded confidently. She then let Dinky off her back. “Stay in the vent, Dinky,” she said. “We’ll come get you when it’s safe.”

Dinky nodded. “Okay, Mommy.”

“Good on ya, Derpy,” The Doctor said. He turned to the Captain. “Captain, you’re with me. I need you to take back the controls.”

“Very well,” Captain Alhab replied. “But what about the General?”

The Doctor turned to the entrance of the control room. “He’s mine.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Hey!” Vinyl shouted, bucking against the walls of the ship. “Potato-heads! Come and get me you losers!”

Vinyl continued to buck the walls, until she heard the tell-tale sounds of marching Sontarans. She stood at the center of the hallway, at the ready.

“Okay, Scratch,” she said to herself. “Time to see how those brawls in Manehatten compare to a brawl with Space Potatoes.”

Then Sontarans then rounded the corner and spotted her.

“There,” said one. “It’s one of the Doctor’s companions.”

“Get it!”

They all ran at Vinyl, just as her horn started to glow. By the time they reached her, there was a flash of light before they found themselves grabbing at empty air.

“Where did it go?” Asked one of the group.

Another flash behind the group was followed by the sounds of impacts and thudding bodies. The group turned to see two of their number felled and the white pony standing with her hind to them with a smirk on her face.

“There it is!” said another Sontaran.

He tried to grab her, but she vanished again, reappearing to kick two more in the back of the neck. Most of the group turned to face her as she teleported again. However, one on the far end reached for his stun baton. As she reappeared on the other side, he thrust his baton into her side. Vinyl had no chance to react. Her strategy had only been good for four hits.

“Crap…” she mumbled as she fell, limp.

“Nice try, beast,” The Sontaran said. “But such a simplistic strategy is of no use against true warriors.” He grabbed the pony by her mane. “But, a fighter capable of disabling four Sontarans in only a few seconds has earned the chance at a final word. What say you beast?”

Vinyl spat in his faceplate.

The Sontaran laughed. “This beast has spirit. Still, if it managed to escape it’s too much of a threat to our plan to let live.” He pulled out his gun. “You fought with valor, beast. Now die likewise.”

“Get your grubby mits off of her, you MONSTER!”

They all turned to the end of the hall. There stood Octavia, the glare to end all death glares plastered across her face.

“Tavi…” Vinyl managed to squeak out.

The Sontaran leveled its weapon as Octavia charged at him, screaming at the top of her lungs.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

“What in the name of Sontar is going on?!” Linx demanded, referring to the loud racket in the halls.

“General!” his Second said in a panic. “I just checked the monitors in the cells. The Doctor and his companions have escaped!”

“What?!” Linx replied, angrily. “Find them! Inform the men investigating that racket! It’s probably The Doctor, plotting something.”

“Wrong-o, Linx Ol’boy!”

Linx turned to the entrance on his left. There stood the Doctor, joined by the Captain.

“Sorry for dropping in unannounced,” the Doctor continued. “But I do believe you’re about to crash something that doesn’t belong to you.”

“DOCTOR!!!” Linx Shouted. “Kill Him!”

His Second drew a bead on them, but was knocked down by a blast of green energy. Linx turned to the source and saw Derpy and the Rutan, Ghala, entering from the forward entrance. The few remaining soldiers ran at them. Ghala blasted those coming from her direction with energy blasts from her tentacles. Meanwhile, Derpy flew over the heads of her opponents and back-kicked them in the vent.

The Doctor ran up and bucked Linx away from the controls while Alhab began working them. Linx regained his footing as he and the Doctor stared each other down.

“This ends now, Linx,” The Doctor said.

Linx laughed at his words. “Amusing Doctor. Is the pacifist finally going to fight me?”

“I may be a pacifist,” The Doctor replied as he reared up on his hind legs, “but I know how to fight.” He assumed the combat pose. “I trust you’re familiar with Venusian Aikido?”

“Of course,” Linx replied, assuming a similar stance.

“Good, then I shan’t feel bad about kicking your butt with it.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Octavia panted heavily. At her feet was the entire Sontaran platoon. She’d out-fought them all. It had taken every ounce of her EQUIT combat training, but she had won. Before her sat Vinyl Scratch, still somewhat shaken from the blow she’d taken.

“Thanks… Tavi…” Vinyl managed to say between painful pants.

Octavia growled angrily before shouting, “What were you thinking?! You could’ve gotten yourself killed!”

“Ah, I had it all in hoof,” Vinyl said casually. “Besides, I figured someone would come and save me if I was in trouble.”

“Don’t say that!”

Vinyl looked at Octavia, wide eyed, as the dark mare’s expression shifted from angry to tearful.

“Don’t ever put yourself at risk like that,” she said. “If something happened to you, I’d… I’d…” She couldn’t finish, bowing her head as tears seeped down her face.

Vinyl, smiling warmly, removed her glasses and cupped Octavia’s cheek with her hoof. “Hey,” she said. “I’m okay. As long as you’re with me, I’m always okay.”

Octavia looked up and into Vinyl’s beautiful scarlet eyes; eye beaming with love. A second later, she shot forward, connecting her lips with Vinyl’s. The white and blue mare was a bit shocked at first, but, being Vinyl, decided to go with the flow, returning the kiss in kind.

When she broke away, Octavia smiled nervously. “I… I think I love you, Vinyl Scratch.”

“I don’t have to think,” Vinyl replied. “I knew I loved you the second I saw you.”

The two embraced happily, wrapped up in their emotional bliss. So wrapped up that they remained completely unaware of the amazing fight going on on the other side of this story.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Speaking of…
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Doctor managed to block every blow that Linx sent at him. The Doctor was able to throw some pretty good blows himself, but the Sontaran proved just as capable a hand-to-hoof fighter. Derpy and Ghala watched in amazement, having pretty much finished off the rest of Linx’s men.

“I never knew the Doctor could fight like that,” Derpy stated.

“I didn’t know the Doctor could fight either,” Ghala admitted. “He usually outwits his opponents as opposed to physical force. It’s actually quite astonishing.”

“I feel like I’m watching a Spruce Tree movie,” Derpy commented.

The Doctor ducked under one of Linx’s punches, only to buck him in the face. The Sontaran staggered as the Doctor circled him.

“You know,” The Doctor said. “You astound me, Linx. Here we are, again, for what? The twelfth time? How many times must I outwit you before you just give up?”

“A Sontaran never gives in,” he replied. “I have to finish you. My pride rides on this mission.”

The Doctor’s eyes widened, before narrowing as he grinned, slyly. “Ah, now I get it,” he said. “General Linx doesn’t get the kind of respect he thinks he deserves. I suppose the Sontaran War Counsel isn’t too pleased with your service record; despite our many encounters apparently ranking you up to General.”

Linx growled angrily. “Many of the Generals feel that my survival is because of your mercy or my own cowardice. My honor has been tainted by the vary thing which gives me glory. This is my chance to prove my valor. This is my chance to prove my worth as a leader.”

“With a suicide mission?” The Doctor asked. “Because that’s what this is. Impacting a planet isn’t going to crack the Star-drive. The Soltanium is meant to hold back the force of a star. You have to remain to the last second to unlock the drive and unleash the full force of the star.”

“Exactly,” Linx said with a manic grin. “I shall be immortalized. My genes will be the basis of a new Sontaran elite corps. My victory will reshape the empire in My Image!”

The Doctor simply shook his head. “That Davros complex is going to be the death of you.”

They clashed again. The Doctor held his own, scoring some good strikes on Linx. However, Linx had two distinct advantages; he was naturally two-legged and he had hands. The Doctor constantly had to struggle to remain on two legs and could not grapple. Linx pressed this advantage, managing to grab one of the Doctor’s legs and toss him against the side of the Captain’s chair.

The Doctor struggled to regain his form, but Linx grabbed him around the throat.

“DOCTOR!” Derpy shouted, flying up to try and help.

“This is the end, Doctor,” Linx said with a manic grin. “Finally, your endless interference in my stratagems ends.”

“For once,” The Doctor managed to gasp out, “I think we’re in agreement.”

Linx’s eyes went wide at the sound of tearing metal. Blood seeped from his mouth. His grip slackened. Behind him stood Alhab, her front horn impaling his probic vent.

“That’s for my crewmen, you monster,” She said as she withdrew her horn.

Linx fell limp to the floor. Shockingly, he actually managed to cough up a chuckle. He slowly raised his arm into the air.

“Son… tar… ha…”

The arm fell.

The Doctor panted, rubbing his neck. “Nice work, Captain,” he said, his voice devoid of emotion.

“My pleasure, Doctor,” she replied. “I managed to stop the ship.”

“Good,” he said. “Now we just need to get security back online.”

“Doctor!”

The Doctor turned in time to see Derpy fly towards him. She landed and wrapped him up in a hug.

“Oh, gosh,” She said. “I was so worried. Are you okay.”

“Well… Ah!” the Doctor said, wincing in pain. “I’d be better once you’ve let go of my neck.”

“Oh!” Derpy replied, letting go. “I’m sorry.”

“No worries, Miss. Hooves,” he replied with a comforting grin. “Just need a moment to recover.”

With that, the Doctor moved to the control panel and began working. Derpy stood beside him as Ghala floated over to them. Ghala floated near the corpse of Linx.

“Impressive,” she said.

“Quiet please,” The Doctor said. “I need to focus. This is a lot harder without my sonic screwdriver.”

“Oh!” Alhab replied. “Hold on a moment,” she said as she ran to another area in the bridge.

After she left the central area, Vinyl and Octavia walked in, walking very closely to each other. They both saw the felled Sontaran. Octavia flinched, while Vinyl simply pulled down her glasses in surprise.

“Man,” Vinyl said. “And I thought Tavi went hardcore on our side.”

“I guess it’s all over now,” Octavia added, leaning against Vinyl to steady herself.

“Not quite,” the Doctor replied. “I need to get the security drones back online before the other Sontarans get here. By now they’ve caught on and are headed this way.”

“Can you do it, Doctor?” Derpy asked.

The Doctor growled in frustration. “The virus is clever, it’s outmaneuvering me. I need…”

“This?”

The Doctor turned to see the Captain standing beside him, the Sonic Screwdriver in her hoof.

The Doctor’s face exploded into a massive grin. “HA HA!” He exclaimed. “My Sonic!”

“My men picked it up when they arrested you,” she said as he took the Sonic from her. “We thought it might be important.”

“Captain, you’re beautiful,” The Doctor said. He whirred the Sonic over the panel. “I’m back in business.”

The Sonic beeped an uneven pattern at him, not unlike it had in Ponyville.

“Yes, I noticed,” The Doctor replied. “It seems somepony is projecting huge waves of positive energy.” He looked back at Vinyl and Octavia, grinning slyly. “I don’t suppose you two have something to do with that?”

The two mares blushed, though they didn’t separate.

“J-just focus on stopping the virus,” Octavia stuttered.

“Oh, quite right,” the Doctor replied, returning focus to the controls. “Let’s see. Where are you my little… Aha!”

The screen flashed. A sparking sound emanated from inside the machine.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Across the ship, the various Sontaran soldiers were all uneasy. It hadn’t taken them long to notice that the ship was slowing down instead of speeding up. It hadn’t taken them long to realize that The Doctor had done something. It also didn’t take long for them to notice the hundreds of security droids flying through the Dome.

“Attacking Force.” Declared the Drones. “Cease and Desist. Resistance will be met with Force.”

It didn’t take them long to Answer.

“SONTAR HA!”

It didn’t take long for the drones to immobilize the hoard with their stun rays. One or two were taken down by the return fire, but it really was simple to overcome them.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

In the control room, The Doctor sighed with relief.

“So, now it’s all over?” Vinyl asked.

“Oh, yes,” the Doctor replied. “The problem has been resolved. Our pesky viral friend has been isolated from the databanks. Now the ship is back in our control with no chance of Sontaran interference.”

“Are you sure?” asked Ghala.

“Of course I’m sure,” The Doctor replied. “We’re completely out of danger.”

“Good.”

Ghala’s tendrils shot out, rapidly entangling themselves around the Doctor, Derpy, Vinyl, Octavia and the Captain. She lifted them into the air as she herself floatd towards the consol.

“Ghala, what are you doing?!” Derpy shouted.

“What I was sent here to do,” the Rutan replied as she began working the controls.

“Ghala!” the Doctor called out. “You don’t have to do this! Ruta 3 is safe! It’s over!”

“Oh, no, Doctor,” Ghala replied. “It’s not over. But it soon will be. The Sontarans really did create the perfect plan to end this war. And now, I will end it!”

To Be Concluded…

Part 5:Nova Do That Again!

Doctor Whooves: New Settings
STORY 2: Voyage Towards Extinction

Part 5: Nova Do That Again!

He’d known that this would probably happen. If he hadn’t been so rushed, he’d have done more to prevent it. As it was--the Doctor and his companions trapped in Ghala’s tendrils while she redirected the Splendor on a course towards Sontar--he was less worried about what he didn’t do and more what he could do. At this point, he could only think of one thing he could do. His old stand by.

Talking.

“Ghala, this is insane,” He said. “You’re better than this. You won’t condemn us all to death for your war.”

“Oh, don’t insult me, Doctor,” she said. “Sontarans may be suicidal, but I’m not. I intend to disengage the star drive from the main vessel. I don’t need to wipe the whole planet out, I just want to destroy it.”

The Doctor’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh,” he said in surprise. “Damn, that was my best argument.”

“Ghala, please,” Derpy chimed in. “You don’t have to do this. We beat them. We won. Let‘s just go home.”

“Oh, you poor pathetic thing,” Ghala replied. “You don’t get it, do you? You’ve never fought a war before, have you? Well, I have. Every. Second. Of. My. Life. Forgive me if I am a bit hesitant to pass up on an opportunity to end it.”

“This isn’t right Ghala,” Octavia called out. “We may not have them often, but wars do happen in Equestria. And when they do there are strict rules of combat. Surely this violates…”

“This war has gone on for eons!” Ghala said angrily. “Don’t compare your petty squabbles to this! If you had war like ours, you’d know that true war has no rules. It’s only limited by what you’re willing to do.”

“So, you’re willing to be as big a monster as Linx?” Vinyl asked.

“Yes.”
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Dinky had laid curled up in the vent since her mother and her friends left. She was genuinely terrified. The little filly, despite the fact that she was growing used to the strange and bizarre world she’d stumbled into, was still frightened of the monsters in that world. But, she was also excited. The Doctor had a way of making everything an adventure, and this had proven to be no exception.

After a while, she noticed the sounds of fighting outside the vent had stopped. Though her mother had told her to remain in the vent, she was too curious and too anxious to wait any longer. She made her way out of the vent and into the hall.

She peeked into the control room. Her little eyes widened in shock as she saw her friends pinned to the walls by the green creature, the one who’d saved them. She could hear them talking and realized that she must’ve double-crossed them. Dinky ducked back behind the door and tried to think of what to do.

“Come on Ghala!” came the voice of the Doctor. “Do you really think the Sontarans aren’t ready for retaliation. They’ve probably got a whole fleet of ships Shielding their planet.”

Dinky’s ears perked. There was something odd about the way the Doctor had said “Shielding”, with an added emphasis.

“It doesn’t matter,” Ghala replied. “I doubt anything will be able to stop the engine once it’s at full speed.”

“Maybe,” The Doctor continued. “But you have no way of knowing that. For all you know, the Sontarans have a way to Repel the ship should it be used against them. You know them, always Sneaking and coming up with Surprises.”

“Repel.” “Sneak.” “Surprise.”

The Doctor’s words were beginning to sink in. Suddenly, Dinky knew what to do. It would take all the stealth she’d developed in years of sneaking cookies after bedtime, but she knew what to do. Dinky got low and crawled along the floor, into the control room.

“Why in the fangs of Rutas are you talking like that?” Ghala asked.

“Like what?” The Doctor replied innocently.

“With that strange emphasis on certain words,” she said. “What are you up to?”

“Nothing,” the Doctor said. “I just sometimes Emphasize different Words when I’m Nervous! Genocide does that to me.”

“I don’t believe you,” Ghala replied. “You’re up to something! What is it?”

“Oh, not much,” The Doctor said with a sly little grin. “Just trying whatever it takes to get you Away From That Consol!”

Before Ghala could react, a bubble of energy shot from the consol, pushing away her tendrils from the controls and knocking her back with its force. She struck the captain’s char and fell limp, her tendrils doing likewise. As they began to once again fall under the influence of the ship’s artificial gravity, Derpy quickly grabbed the Doctor and floated him down while Vinyl transported Octavia and Alhab to the ground safely.

Ghala shook her body as she came to. “W-what?” she stuttered as she floated out of the chair. She noticed the bubble of energy surrounding the consol and the little filly inside. “What is that?”

“That,” the Doctor called out, “is my adorable little trump card. Bet you forgot all about Dinky. Well, I didn’t.”

“Did you really plan this?” Derpy asked.

“No, of course not. Don’t be silly,” the Doctor said. “But I did catch sight of the little marvel by the door and thought I’d throw her a hint.”

Ghala growled angrily as she charged an energy pulse in her tendrils.

“I wouldn’t bother,” the Doctor said. “That force-field can hold back a continuous Cyberpony assault, I doubt your bio-blasts will break through.”

Ghala ignored him and fired a burst of energy at the dome. The Energy dissipated against the shield, Dinky barely flinched at the impact. Ghala tried again, but got the same results.

“That’s what I thought,” The Doctor commented. “The Bio-energy of your attacks compliments the psycho-kinetic energy of Dinky’s shield. Unlike the Cyberponies, all you can do is tickle the barrier.” He turned to Vinyl. “Vinyl, can you teleport into the bubble?”

Vinyl nodded.

“Good,” The Doctor said. “Port Alhab in there and help Dinky with the shield.”

“On it!” Vinyl exclaimed as she wrapped a fore-leg over Alhab’s shoulders. In a flash of magical light, they vanished from their position and re-appeared inside Dinky’s shield.

Alhab quickly went to work taking control of the ship again and bringing it to a stop. Meanwhile, Vinyl’s horn glowed in conjunction with Dinky’s, making the magical bubble bigger. Ghala cried out in anger as she kept trying to break through the barrier, even whiping it with her tendrils.

“It’s over Ghala,” the Doctor said. “I win.”

“Curse you Doctor!” She said. “You condemn us to eons more conflict!”

“No,” he said. “I condemn you to choose a better path.”

Ghala growled angrily and flew out of the room and into the hall.

“Where’s she going?” Asked Derpy.

“Her ship,” he replied. “She probably has one in storage somewhere. A small escape ship hidden away incase she needs a quick escape; if only from her conscience.”

“How horrible,” interjected Octavia. “I pray we never have to know war so horrid in Equestria.”

“As do I,” The Doctor replied. “I really, really do.”

Vinyl and Dinky’s shield dissipated.

“Is it over?” Vinyl asked.

The Doctor looked upward in a very thoughtful manner. “I… guess it is,” He said. “Well, alls well that…”

The Doctor didn’t finish his sentence, as the entire ship shook violently, knocking them all off their feet.

“Darn, jinxed it!” He said, trying to pick himself up as more shocks rocked the ship.

“What’s happening?!” Octavia called out.

Alhab, still at her station, brought up the external sensors of the ship. Her eyes widened in fear. “Doctor!!!”
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Outside the ship, a fleet of Sontaran warships orbited around the stellar resort. They fired upon the ship. Most of their arsenal was bouncing off the shields, but some was breaking through; more with each shot.

“How many?” The Doctor asked Alhab.

“Four warships,” she replied. “The Sontarans must have called for them when their plan fell apart. They’re breaking down our shields slowly.”

“Let’s get out of here!” Vinyl said. “This thing is supposed to be fast, right?”

“We can’t,” Alhab said. “The ship’s shields would collapse under the strain. They’ll get a clear shot at us.”

“What do we do, Doctor?” Derpy asked, as she held onto Dinky for safety.

“I don’t know!” he said. “I need to think.”

The ship shook from another blast.

“Which is really hard to do with all that noise,” He continued.

Vinyl kicked the consol angrily. “Darn it!” she exclaimed. “All this star-power and it’s useless.”

The Doctor’s eyes widened. “That’s it!” he exclaimed. “Scratch, you’re brilliant.”

Vinyl gave him a confused look. “What? Again?!”

The Doctor ran up to the consol, Sonic Screwdriver in mouth. He began working the controls and using the Sonic. The screens opened program windows in rapid succession.

“What are you doing?” Asked Alhab.

“Reversing the polarity of the Graviton flow!” The Doctor replied.

“What?” she said in confusion.

“The ship uses Gravitons as a fuel source, correct?” He stated. “Well, I’m reversing the flow of gravitons to create a buffer within the engine chamber.”

“That’s crazy,” Alhab replied. “That will cause a massive fusion jump in the star. It will expand into a regular sized star. The Soltanium won’t be able to hold it back.”

“It will,” the Doctor said, “because we’re going to use the expansion to propel us out of here!”

Alhab’s eyes widened in shock. “You’re not…”

“Oh, yes!” The Doctor exclaimed. “Once the star is at the right mass, I’m gonna open up the drive and use the reversal of the gravitons like a hover-board and surf the solar wave.”

“And the Sontarans get swallowed up by the new star,” Vinyl added. “Man, I Am a genius.”

“You’re absolutely insane,” Alhab uttered in total shock.

“Welcome to my life,” Octavia replied, deadpan.

“Just give it a minute,” The Doctor said. “Once it’s reached the appropriate potential mass…”

The ship shook violently. Sparks shot from the consol and the panels flashed red.

“NO NO NO NO NO!”
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Outside, an attack from a Sontaran ship cut a major gash in the hull of the Splendor.

“What happened?” Derpy cried out.

“The Sontarans cut the controls’ hard connection,” The Doctor replied. “I can’t contact engineering.”

“That’s bad, right?” Vinyl asked, knowing the answer.
“Very bad,” said the Doctor. “Unless we can break free, the star will super-nova and take us with it.”

“What are our options?” Octavia asked in a relatively calm manner.

“Argh!” The Doctor growled in frustration. “Someone has to go down and manually unlock the drive.”

“Impossible,” Alhab said. “The hatch is inside the engine. At the rate of its expansion, whoever went in would be left outside the ship. None of our solar suits could survive that.”

“Then what do we do?” Octavia said.

“I DON’T KNOW!” the Doctor exclaimed in frustration.

“But I do.”

The group turned to the command consol. A familiar voice came through the speaker.

“Ghala?” Derpy said in confusion.
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Deep inside the ship, the Rutan known as Ghala pulled a solar suit from a locker meant for the engineering crew. She flowed into it like a liquid and morphed into a Nauta female.

“Ghala,” came the voice of the Doctor over the intercom. “What are you doing?”

“I can alter my physiology to better withstand the radiation,” she said. “I stand the best chance of making your plan work.”

“What?!” The Doctor’s voice exclaimed. “How did you?”

“When the attacks started, I hacked the com to find out what was going on. Now I‘m going to finish my mission; and use this thing to strike a blow against the Sontaran Empire.”
____________________________________________________________________________________________

“You don’t have to do this Ghala,” The Doctor said, the comforting hoof of Derpy on his shoulder doing little to ease his anxiety. “You won’t survive it! You can’t adapt to this! You don’t have to do it.”

“Yes, I do,” came the reply. “If I don’t, you and everyone else will die.”

“But You don’t Have to die!”

“Maybe. But I choose to take the better path.”
____________________________________________________________________________________________

The equinoid Ghala stepped before the chamber that lead into the engine room. She opened the inner door, and stepped in. After closing the door behind her, a hard hiss was emitted as the chamber depressurized. Beyond the outer door she could see the bright light of the star. Almost no creature ever came so close.

“It’s beautiful, Doctor,” she said as a green tear ran down her cheek. “So beautiful.”

“Ghala, Don’t!”

Ghala pressed a switch on the wall. An alarm sounded as the second chamber door opened. As the light poured in, flames ignited on the suit. These did not deter the occupant, as she stepped forward into the light.
____________________________________________________________________________________________

“GHALA!!!”

The Doctor collapsed. He growled angrily.

Derpy leaned down and embraced The Doctor. “I’m so sorry, Doctor,” she whispered, comfortingly.

“The oncoming storm,” he muttered, “whose one constant companion is death.”

“That’s not true,” she whispered. “Listen.”

All about them, the monitors showed the same thing; an image of the rear section opening up.

“Information: Solar drive opening. Prepare for emergency procedure Alpha red.”
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Outside, the drive section opened up like a flower. The sphere budded open, revealing the brilliant star within, Almost immediately, the star started to expand. The Sontaran ships tried to break away, but the gravitational whiplash dragged them in. As they were consumed by the star, the Splendor was launched forward. It was driven forward at amazing speeds. When the star ceased expanding, the ship was still flying off into space, propelled by the gravitons.
____________________________________________________________________________________________

“I don’t believe it,” Alhab said. “It actually worked.”

Dinky, Vinyl and Octavia all began cheering victoriously. The little filly danced about the deck while Vinyl got up on her hind legs and raised up her fore-legs victoriously. Octavia also reared up on her hind legs. However, this was so she could plant a standing kiss on Vinyl Scratch. The two fillies kissed passionately while sounds of celebration echoed through the whole ship.

The Splendor’s passengers were all ecstatic over their survival. The terror that had been gripping them until this point was finally abating. The vacationers began planning amongst themselves a massive party; one that would only be dwarfed by a certain unending Flying Party.

Back in the control room, Vinyl and Octavia had sat down and were hugging each other happily. The Doctor and Derpy sat together, the Doctor still sullen over the fate of the Rutan, Ghala. Dinky walked up and leaned against the Doctor’s side, trying to help comfort him. The Doctor looked down at the filly and smiled. He wrapped a fore-leg around her, returning the affection.

Seeing this, Derpy smiled warmly. She too leaned against him, the three finally able to relax after a very stressful day.
____________________________________________________________________________________________

The Tardis still stood in the midst of the various stands, undisturbed. Nearby, the trans-mat pads glowed as the four ponies and one Time Pony reappeared there. The group walked towards the Tardis, as the sounds of revelry came from the distance.

“Sounds like a heck of a party,” Vinyl said, enviously. “Bet they could use a good DJ.”

“Now, now, Miss Scratch,” The Doctor said. “We’ve already outstayed our welcome. Besides, the last thing we need is to get lost in that crowd when the rescue ships come and trans-mat everyone out.”

“I, for one, agree,” Octavia said. “I think I’ve had enough vacation for one day.”

The group walked up to the Tardis as the Doctor sat down and clapped his hooves together, causing the doors to open. Vinyl and Octavia went in first, followed by Dinky, who skipped happily into the impossible ship. Derpy lingered outside with the Doctor as they both looked back. The Dome was still in the night-shift formation and the stars shone brightly through the clear dome.

Derpy looked at the Doctor. “Are you okay?” She asked.

“Yeah,” he replied, though unenergetically.

“You still thinking about Ghala?”

He nodded. “I think about all of them. Every creature, every life I fail to save. I never forget them.”

“It’s not your fault,” Derpy said.

“Isn’t it?” The Doctor replied. “Ghala was right. I’ve allowed this war to go on. This isn’t the first time one of the races, either Rutan of Sontaran, had the chance to destroy their enemies and end this war. But I always stop it.”

“But isn’t that good?” Derpy asked. “You don’t want them to destroy each other. You want them to make peace.”

He nodded. “I have to believe it’s possible,” he said. “I have to believe that, for all the death and suffering that it causes, something good can come of it.”

Derpy smiled. “I think you’re right,” she said. “And I’m sure, some day, you’ll be proven right.”

The Doctor chuckled and turned to his companion. “Thank you, Derpy,” He said, warmly. “What would I do without you?”

“Mom!” came the voice of Dinky from inside the Tardis. “Vinyl and Octavia are making out again!”

“Shut Up, you little tattle-tail!” Came Vinyl’s voice.

The Doctor and Derpy laughed at that. Derpy walked into the Tardis. The Doctor followed, but, as he entered the door, he looked back.

“Thank you, Ghala,” he said quietly.

He stepped fully inside, the door closing behind him. The familiar sound of the Tardis’ engines flared up as the blue box became consumed in an ethereal glow and the lamp atop the box flashed softly. In a few seconds, the ship was gone into the time vortex, on to the next adventure.

The End

Author's Note

AN. Finally Done! Apologies for how long it took, everyone. Here’s hoping you all enjoy.