An ominous mist rolled onward, filling the air with an ethereal sense that the world was gone. The world nearly agreed. The ground was scorched and razed, with the grass dead and no sign of life for miles.
The Doctor had not thought he would find himself here. After his recent run-in with the Sontarans, he and his companions used a transmat beam to escape. However, he now found himself knee-deep in a hellhole of a different sort.
Needless to say, he was very upset with whoever had done this to him.
"Welcome, Doctor."
The scarf-wearing Time Lord turned around to see another stallion standing in the mist. This stallion wore a dark cloak and a large headdress.
"A Chronological Intervention Agency member. You damned fool, do you know about the dangers of trying to intecept a transmat beam?" he asked.
The other Time Lord chuckled. "Doctor, you and I both know that Gallopfrey perfected and transcended transmat technology since the universe was less than half its current size."
"Whatever, I'm done," The Doctor spat. "Upon my victory over Omega, I received a full pardon from the CIA. My banishment is over, and I am no longer your lapdog."
"We have granted you your freedom, Doctor, but we need you. Time Lords do not interfere in the affairs of the universe."
"Except for me," The Doctor corrected.
"Exactly my point. We can use you as our proxy in such matters so we may go outside our laws of non-interference."
The Doctor scoffed at this. "I have no reason to work with the CIA." He turned around and began to walk away. "You have nothing to offer me, and nothing you could say could convince me to help you."
"This involves the Daleks."
The Doctor stopped dead in his tracks. "Tell me more."
*Theme Music*
Tom Baker
Tara Strong
Peter New
DOCTOR WHOOVES
Genesis of the Daleks
Based on a Story by Terry Nation
"The High Council has looked to the future," the agent explained. "We forsee a time when the Daleks will have suceeded in their goal, and all other forms of life will have been destroyed."
"Bleak, but possible," The Doctor said.
"We intend to have you go to Skaro, prior to the Daleks' evolution."
"You want me to prevent their birth," The Doctor translated.
"Or keep them from becoming agressive. Alternatively, find some sort of inherent genetic weakness."
Suddenly The Doctor realized the truth. "You don't want to protect the universe. The High Council is just protecting themselves."
"Perhaps," he replied. "But will you help us?"
The Doctor sighed. "One last time," he muttered. "Just give me the coodinates."
"No need. You're already here."
The Doctor looked around, and inhaled the atmosphere. It really was Skaro! He grit his teeth. "So I never really had a choice in the matter."
The CIA agent smirked, and pulled out a golden hoof-band. "When your mission is complete, use this Time Ring to return to your TARDIS."
The Doctor placed the ring upon his front right hoof. The other stallion walked away into the mist.
"Wait! What about Twilight?! What about Dr. Stable?!" The Doctor yelled.
"What about us?"
The Doctor turned to see his companions right behind him.
"Doctor, where are we?" Twilight asked.
"It seems there's been a slight change in our itinerary," he replied. "We're on Skaro."
As if to punctuate The Doctor's statement, a massive explosion went off none too far from them. The tell-tale sounds of gunfire broke the silence of the ethereal mist.
The Doctor took notice of a nearby foxhole. "Get down!" he cried, and the three ponies rushed for the shelter, lest they become a fixture of the scorched earth around them.
Within the foxhole, they could remain somewhat safe. However, the image of a young pony's bloodied corpse inside it certainly did nothing to alleviate their stress.
"Sweet merciful Celestia," Stable swore, "he's barely a schoolcolt."
Twilight was in shock. War wasn't common in Equestria, as they were a fairly peaceful culture and world. They had a formal military mind you, they would be fools not to. Furthermore, her brother was part of the Royal Guard, she had long since come to grips with the idea of death by combat. But never on somepony who was even younger than she was.
The Doctor, however, jumped instead to an inconsistency about the body. "Look at this. Wielding an advanced laser rifle, but also wearing a jacket of synthetic fibers, topped off with a gas mask."
"So you're upset that this poor guy is a fashion victim?" Twilight spat.
"No," The Doctor countered, "well somewhat, but the issue is that these things just don't go together. It would be like going to the stone age and finding a transistor radio."
"Playing rock music?" Dr. Stable joked.
"Possibly. So this is the end result of a thousand-year war. You run out of your technological marvels and are forced to fall back on primitive supplies. A true war of attrition."
The sounds of heavy artillery faded, and The Doctor gestured to the others to get moving. Upon leaving the foxhole, they set out to find any form of civilization they could. After all, it was highly unlikely that the Daleks were born on the fields of war in a literal sense.
"Be very careful. There's probably traps around this area or-"
"Doctor?" Dr. Stable asked. "Why did you stop talking?"
"Because I'm standing on a land mine."
The two unicorns looked to The Doctor's hooves, and sure enough, there was a round metal object beneath them.
"What should we do?" Dr. Stable asked.
"Can't you use the sonic screwdriver?" Twilight offered.
"The sonic detonates landmines. Not exactly what I'm hoping for at the moment," The Doctor snarked. "What I need is to be able to keep the same amount of pressure on the mine, even while I'm stepping off of it. Can either of you use your magic to do that, or maybe insulate the explosion?"
"I can try," Twilight replied. Her horn lit up with her violet magic aura as Dr. Stable looked on with concern. Granted, Twilight was more skilled in magic then he was, he had only learned the standard fare and a few medical examination spells, but she was still a student.
The mine began to glow with the same violet light. Twilight was clearly over-exerting herself from the concentration, but she resisted the urge to shut her eyes from the pain. If she did, it was entirely possible that she would make a mistake.
The Doctor cautiously lifted his hoof off of the mine. Thankfully, it did not explode. The Time Lord then proceeded to remove himself from the land mine completely.
Twilight, realizing that though The Doctor was safe her work was not quite done, lifted the land mine as high into the air as she conceivably could. The Doctor gestured to the two unicorns to get as far away as possible. Once they had gotten a safe distance away, they hit the dirt as Twilight released the mine from her control. The explosion went off, but they had gotten away safely.
As they looked past the mist, The Doctor could make out the image of barbed wire. "Do you see that?"
Twilight nodded. "Yeah, and I think I see some kind of dome further back."
"An entire domed city?" The Doctor wondered.
"If they can build a giant domed city, why even bother with the barbed wire and land mines? They're pretty old-fashioned, even by Equestrian standards," Stable commented.
The trio made their way over the barbed wire, and found themselves in the middle of the trenches. The ponies there were dead. The whole lot of them. Perched across the trenches to give the illusion of a large force lying in wait. The gruesome display put the three off, but it wasn't like they could really do anything about it.
"Doctor," Stable pointed out, "these ponies are wearing different uniforms than the other corpse we saw."
"We must have crossed the lines along the way," The Doctor figured.
"Doctors!" Twilight shouted.
The two stallions ran over to their female compatriot and found what appeared to be a trap door.
"Probably a service tunnel," Stable said. "Likely leads right into the dome."
The Doctor pulled out the sonic screwdriver, but the buzzing noise it gave off seemed to indicate failure. "Wood," he muttered.
Twilight pulled on it with her telekinesis. "And it's locked tight," she said in defeat.
"Well, I guess we search the trenches," Stable offered.
A whistling noise sounded through the air, and by the time the living ponies in the trench turned to look, they saw a round metallic object land. The object then let loose a stream of yellow-colored gas.
Acting on instinct, The Doctor and company grabbed the gas masks that the dead soldiers were wearing and slipped them over their own faces.
From the trap door, a unicorn soldier emerged and blasted the three with a burst of magical energy. The Time Lord and his allies collapsed as the soldier turned back down to the tunnel. "Three intruders sir. Two male, one female. Don't look like Thals," he reported.
"Bring the stallions, the mare's of no use to us."
The unicorn replied and brought the two stallions into the tunnel with him, leaving Twilight alone and unconscious on an unfamiliar and war-torn world.
Meanwhile in the Storeroom...
The Doctor and Stable were barely starting to regain consciousness. The Doctor found himself drifting in and out of the conversation.
"Rumors...Thal Robots...General Ravenwind...Clean Weapons..."
He noticed that he and Stable were inside what appeared to be a mining cart, and heard an electrical charge start up. The cart was pulled past like a trolley along the tracks.
When the cart slowed to a stop, he was greeted by a group of ponies who all seemed around Twilight's age. They were led by a pegasus with a tornado cutie mark. His coat was obsidian black, and his mane and tail a shock of orange. The room had computers and maps strewn about it, with a table in the center. On the table was a model of the battlefield, with domed cities on each side, and a mountain range through it. Small markers to indicate settlements, battalions, and theorized traps littered the model.
The pegasus leader stepped forward. "Who are these supposed to be?"
"Prisoners sir," a soldier explained.
"For interrogation, then? Good. I love interrogation." He smirked.
"Yes, you seem like the type," The Doctor muttered.
"You have no place to talk, you insolent muto," the leader barked.
"Sir," the soldier continued, "my section was able to protect the area from Thal attackers, but our ammo supplies are running low."
"Conserve them. Ammunition is a valuable resource and we cannot afford to run out, lest we be forced down to nothing but spears and rocks."
"Yes sir." The soldier saluted.
"For example," the leader said, "these two prisoners will be hung once we're done with them. No weapons, no muss, no fuss. Dismissed."
The group of soldiers left. Now the only ponies in the room were the young general, Dr. Stable, a guard, and The Doctor.
"So the Thals have been reduced to recruiting mutos, eh? Empty your pockets!"
The Doctor gladly stood up and began to rifle through his pockets. Amongst the items he found were his sonic screwdriver, a bag of jelly fillies, a magnifying glass, a yo-yo, a monocle, tickets for The Wiz, a college textbook on quantum mechanics (which he referred to as 'light reading'), a small number of bits, and a library card. "This may take a while," he joked.
The general groaned.
The Doctor turned his attention to the table. "If I may say, that's a nice model you have there, mister..."
"Ravenwind," the pegasus replied, "General Ravenwind. And in a few weeks that map will be changed forever. We'll wipe the Thals right off the face of Skaro!"
"If I had a bit for every time I heard that," The Doctor muttered.
"What are you trying to say, mister...?"
"Doctor. Just The Doctor. And I can't help but wonder how you intend to win this war when you're running out of weapons and your soldiers, and your generals for that matter, are barely old enough to go on a date, much less enter harsh combat," The Doctor replied.
"Make your jokes now, Doctor," Ravenwind asserted, "but your insolence will change nothing about our glorious victory. We will wipe out every last trace of the Thals. We will build a monument to the sacrifice of every Kaled who fell to those wretched fools. We will be the ultimate soldiers of justice and vengeance! Our battle cry will be 'Total Extermination of the Thals!'"
The Doctor shuddered. The poor boy was sounding more and more like a... well, you can probably guess. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Stable had started to wake up. The time to hatch an escape plan was now. "So you intend to sweep across the battlefield completely?"
He then proceeded to wave his hoof to emphasize his point. In doing so, he smacked Ravenwind across the face. As Ravenwind stumbled, The Doctor snuck his keys away from him. Sensing the plan immediately, Dr. Stable used his magic to take the guard's handcuffs away, and clasped them onto the guard. The Doctor then grabbed his sonic screwdriver, and shorted out the various computers in the room.
Ravenwind was still able to get his footing back. "You two will never be able to get out of here alive."
"So you say," The Doctor replied. "Kaleds, eh? K-A-L-E-D. My, how creative."
"Even you mutos should be able to tell Kaleds from Thals," Ravenwind said.
"Maybe, but we're not mutos, whatever those are," Stable said, getting up from the cart.
"Either way, General, you are going to lead us out of here," The Doctor asserted.
"Why should I?"
Dr. Stable grabbed the yo-yo with his telekinesis and decided to take a gamble. "If you don't, we'll set off this bomb."
Ravenwind grit his teeth. "Where do you want to go?"
Stable, happy his plan worked, returned the yo-yo to The Doctor as he collected his other items. "Just back outside would be fine," The Doctor replied.
"Feel free, but you won't get much further," Ravenwind said. The stallions then left the room.
Meanwhile in the Trenches...
As Twilight stirred awake, she found herself alone. She couldn't help but be worried. While other ponies her age would point out how she spent most of her time alone, they didn't realize just how inaccurate that statement was. She had Spike for a study buddy, or Princess Celestia to teach her, or her parents or somepony in the next room, at least.
But here, with neither Dr. Stable or The Doctor anywhere in sight, she was alone. Well and truly alone.
She sighed beneath her gas mask, and made her way out of the trench. There wasn't anything she could do there, so she figured that her only chance to find either of them was to go looking for them.
How wrong she was.
Meanwhile in a Corridor...
General Ravenwind kept up his pace, leading the two off-worlders through the bunker's various halls.
"Where are we? We told you to bring us up to the surface," Stable asserted.
"I know, I know," Ravenwind retorted, "there's an elevator at the end. You must have seen it, mutos."
"Why do you keep calling us mutos? We don't even know what mutos are!"
"Mutos are the things that live in the wastelands," the pegasus explained, "If your friend is out there, she won't last much longer."
"Why not?" The Doctor asked.
"Because it will be dark soon. The mutos really start moving at night."
As they kept moving, the tell-tale sound of another set of hooves echoed through the corridors. Dr. Stable whispered to Ravenwind, "Don't forget we still have that bomb."
The other pony was a royal purple stallion with a blonde mane. His mane was short and combed to each side. His piercing green eyes were framed with highly stylized glasses. Lastly, his cutie mark was a knight's helmet. This earth pony was truly the no-nonsense type.
"General Ravenwind," he said.
"Security Commander Right Hoof," Ravenwind replied.
"I was going to ask you come to my office, but I see you've come to the decision that entertaining civilians is more important," Right criticized.
"We'll not be staying long Commander," The Doctor said, "don't let us stop you."
"I'm not too worried about that," Right Hoof claimed. He pressed a button on the side of the wall, and a P.A. system sprung to life. "This is Commander Right Hoof, two Thal intruders have made their way into the bunker. Take them down, and bring them in for questioning."
The Doctor and Stable traded glances, and quickly made their way away from the Kaled stallions.
Right Hoof kept his focus on Ravenwind. "You damned fool. What kind of so-called General is overpowered by a couple of Thals that easily?"
"I've seen their eyes, Commander," Ravenwind asserted, "they aren't Thals, and they claim not to know what mutos are, so I doubt that they're either type."
"Well they aren't Kaleds," Right Hoof replied, matter-of-factly. "We'll just have to wait for the autopsy, then." Right Hoof pressed the P.A. button again. "Be on the lookout for intruders in the area of lift platform seven."
Meanwhile on the surface of Skaro...
The Doctor and Dr. Stable had been able to escape using one of the elevators, and had begun to run.
"Doctor, what was the plan?!" Dr. Stable asked.
"Keep running!"
"And after that?"
"Run some more!"
Once he finished sharing what was essentially his life philosophy with the medical officer, he noticed that Stable was about to run into a tripwire. "Look out!"
But he was too late, and the trap went off. The two were trapped in an energy net. A group of Kaled soldiers approached them.
A Bit Later in the Strategy Room...
After yet another extended bit where The Doctor started to empty his pockets (at which point Right Hoof simply requested he remove his jacket) the Security Commander looked to a strange device he didn't recognize. "What is the function of this device?"
"It's an etheric beam locator," The Doctor explained, "it detects ion charged emissions. And it's made from a very firm material."
"Yes," Right Hoof muttered. "I've never seen anything like this from Kaleds or Thals."
"Well my friends and I are not from Skaro."
"Aliens?" Right Hoof questioned.
"We're from a place called Equestria," Dr. Stable explained. "Well, I am, at least. I don't know about The Doctor."
"There is no such thing as life on other planets," Right Hoof asserted. "Davros has determined this to be an irrevocable scientific fact. As such, either he is wrong or you are lying."
"We're not lying," The Doctor said.
"And Davros is never wrong," Right Hoof countered. "We seem to have reached an impasse."
"I'd very much like to meet this Davros," The Doctor mused. "Even I'm wrong, sometimes. Who is he?"
"Davros is our greatest scientific mind," Right Hoof exposited. "He's in charge of all the research at this bunker."
Ravenwind offered his own theory. "Is it possible that they're some sort of intelligent form of muto, capable of developing advanced technology?"
"What are mutos, anway?" Dr. Stable asked. He had frankly grown sick of being called something he didn't understand.
"Mutos are relics of our former selves," Right Hoof replied. "They are monsters born of the nuclear weapons used in the first century of war. They were banished to the wastelands, and left to scavenge for themselves."
"The genetically wounded," The Doctor translated.
"Kaleds must be kept genetically pure," Right Hoof asserted. "Anything that is not perfect, is to be rejected.
"Harsh," The Doctor commented.
"I would've said horrible," Dr. Stable offered.
"We don't care what your views are." Right Hoof turned to Ravenwind. "I'll take these two back for interrogation."
"They're prisoners of war," Ravenwind countered.
"Then use your authority to release them to me. My unit will get more out of them than you ever could."
Ravenwind grumbled. Right Hoof was correct, but he didn't exactly need to hear that. "If you insist."
Right Hoof smirked. "I do." He gave a notepad to the General. "Furthermore, I need the following items sent to the bunker immediately."
"I can't spare this much equipment!" Ravenwind exclaimed. "These spare parts would near-completely drain our supply!"
"This supply order came directly from Davros. If you'd like to take it up with him..."
"Never mind," Ravenwind grunted. "I'll get you the equipment. I suppose having the tools to win was too much to ask of me."
"Believe me, Ravenwind," Right Hoof said, "by the time Davros is done, winning won't be a problem."
Meanwhile in a Series of Ruins...
Twilight's journey across the battlefield had led to little to no forward progress, but she was hopeful that some analysis of this destroyed area might offer some helpful information.
"Sir, we're ready."
Twilight hid cautiously behind a column. As she looked past the area she saw two ponies, but one of them clearly wasn't your average pony. The stallion was clearly an earth pony, but it was hard to tell anything else about him. He was sitting in what appeared to be some sort of invalid carriage. His left foreleg dangled at his side, and the right foreleg was hovering slightly above a console attached to the carriage. His face was withered and old. The most terrifying physical aspect of this stallion were his eyes. The skin over his eye sockets was so wrinkled and decrepit, it was hard to tell if he simply never opened his eyes, or he never had any eyes to begin with. In place of traditional eyes, he had an artificial robot eye lodged into his forhead. Wires and nodes were buried into his torso, making him seem more machine than pony.
"Observe this test closely," the decrepit pony said to the other. "This is the beginning of a new era."
A strange, mechanical being moved nearby the two ponies. To the uneducated, they would claim it resembled a pepper shaker. A plunger and a small blaster extended from the center of the metallic being, and an eyestalk protruded from the top.
Twilight could recognize it in an instant. "A Dalek!" she thought.
"Halt. Turn right. Halt," the elderly stallion barked.
At the shriveled pony's commands, the Dalek moved as requested.
"Now," he demanded, "exterminate!"
The Dalek fired a blast at one of the nearby columns, destroying it easily.
The wrinkled stallion chuckled. "Perfect. Now, we can really get started."
Author's Note
Fun fact: I went back and forth on what show the tickets were for.
This is it. The big one. However, I don't really want to send this to EQD, not until I do a historical, since those will be the most original.
Twilight's an alicorn on the show now. She isn't here. She never will be in Doctor Whooves Classic. Though I am incredibly amused that her alicorn self has her own character tag.
And before anyone asks, yes. The Doctor does know she will be a princess someday. Has knowing someone's future ever completely stopped him?
Enjoy, tell your friends!
Twilight looked on in fear at the sight of the operational Dalek. She had only ever dealt with them once before, but she had long since decided that once was enough.
"Come, Iron Plate," the wrinkled stallion said to the other pony. "We have a lot more work ahead of us."
The two ponies left the ruins, with the Dalek following close behind.
Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't have to worry about that Dalek.
However, as she turned around, she saw a group of shambling, sickly pony-like creatures in cloaks.
That, she needed to worry about.
Meanwhile in the Bunker...
An armed pegasus guard by the name of Lock n' Key waited in the security area. His was an important job, but it didn't tend to see much action. As such, seeing Right Hoof arrive with two strange-looking ponies in tow was a sight for bored eyes.
"Lock," Right Hoof proclaimed, "I want these two screened an passed on to Inquiring Mind for proper interrogation."
"Yes, sir."
Right Hoof held up a box that contained the sonic screwdriver, the etheric beam locator, and other paraphenalia of The Doctor's. "These are the prisoners' belongings."
Lock n' Key nodded, and had another guard take hold of the box. Right Hoof saluted and left.
"Now that he's gone, could we have some tea?" The Doctor asked.
"Excuse me?" Lock countered.
"Well, I'm not one for coffee, but my friend and I are quite parched," The Doctor explained. "Aren't we parched, Dr. Stable?"
"Very parched, Doctor," Stable reassured.
Lock gestured to a nearby arch. "Step into this security scanner."
"That's a no on the tea, then?"
"Allow me to remind you that you have no rights here," Lock said, "It is completely within my authority to torture and kill you if you do not comply with my orders. This will be your first and only warning!"
"No tea. Got it." The Doctor sighed.
Stable followed his instructions and stepped through the arch. It hummed to life with energy in response.
"Next," Lock shouted.
The Doctor also made his way through the arch, but as he walked through, an alarm rang out.
"Scanner indicates a power source wrapped around your foreleg," Lock pointed out.
The Doctor looked to the Time Ring he was still wearing. "The bracelet? It has no use as a weapon."
"Don't make a fuss, Doctor," Stable said as Lock confiscated the ring.
The Doctor whispered to Stable, "That ring is our only hope of getting back to the TARDIS. Getting it back is our number one priority."
"Yes, but we can't let them know that," Stable countered.
"Take them to Inquiring Mind."
Meanwhile in the Ruins...
The hideous-looking creatures loomed toward her as Twilight found herself in an anxious sweat. "What are you going to do to me?" she asked in horror.
"You are beautiful," one of them observed, "you have no deformity or imperfection."
Twilight blushed. She never really thought of herself that way.
Another one spoke up. "She is a norm. All norms are the enemy! We must kill her now for what she has done to our kind."
Twilight traded her blush for that anxious sweat she had going earlier.
"No," the first one said. "Why must we destroy beauty? Why kill other creatures solely because they are not in our own image?"
"It is our law! The norms must die! They are our enemies!"
Before he could continue his rant, a shot rang out. As this creature fell over dead, Twilight could see its deformed face. However, he focus turned to the soldiers approaching towards the makeshift group. These ponies could be easily identified by the fact that their eyelids were naturally blue. These were the other natives of Skaro, the Thals.
"A muto?" their leader said. "Feh, what a waste of ammunition."
"Look at these other ones, sir," a soldier pointed out. "They don't seem too badly mutated. The purple one is almost normal."
The Thal leader pondered this. "Very well. Take them back to the base. We could use the extra labor."
Much to her's and the mutos' chagrin, Twilight complied. It was better than dying alone in the wastelands.
Meanwhile in the Laboratory...
Amongst the various technicians operating on mysterious items likely meant for war, the one that held The Doctor's attention was the one sitting directly in front of him.
The Doctor and Stable had been brought before Inquiring Mind, a science-minded unicorn stallion. His coat was pale and his mane was gray, with a cutie mark of a brain with an orange question mark over it.
Mind looked to the box of The Doctor's items with a confused look on his face. "Where did you get these things?" he asked.
"Oh, here and there," The Doctor replied evasively.
"I've never seen anything like them. If I didn't know better I'd say these were made on another planet," Mind explained. "Of course that would be impossible."
"Impossible?" The Doctor scoffed.
"Davros long sinced proved that Skaro is the only planet in seven systems capable of supporting intelligent life," Mind said.
The Doctor kept up his smug smile. "Yes, but it is also been long-since proven that there are more than seven systems."
Mind chuckled. "Very true." He levitated a file folder with his telekinesis. "However, these are the results of both of your bioscans." He opened the folder, unable to see The Doctor and Stable turn to each other, stifling laughter. "And they will plainly prove that you two are perfectly norm..."
Inquiring Mind trailed off at that last bit as he saw the bioscans. Neither of these two stallions' internal organ structure even remotely resembled that of a being from Skaro. Even more baffling was that one of them had two hearts.
Stable smiled. "It's funny when it's not me."
"Th-th-this is impossible," Mind stuttered out. "Other than your external appearances, you're nothing like a Kaled or a Thal."
"Never judge a book by its cover," The Doctor reminded him.
Inquiring Mind looked to the two aliens in front of him in awe. "What are you?"
"Kind of a long story," Stable replied.
"I have time," Mind reasurred.
The Doctor leaned forward. "Do you have even the most remote understanding of the theory of space dimension correlated to relative time?"
Before the science officer could answer (it would have been 'no') an alarm went off.
"We'll have to wait," Mind explained. "Davros wishes to speak with us all."
"The chief scientist?" The Doctor clarified.
"Our supreme commander. When he calls a full meeting, he clearly has something important to tell us."
Stable turned to The Doctor. "Maybe we can finally get some answers."
The various ponies in the room turned to the door, and in walked Davros.
Well, not 'walked', per se. Davros rolled into the room with his bionic chair. This was the same wrinkled stallion that Twilight had seen in the ruins. Right Hoof stood at his side.
"If I may have your attention," Davros said, "As you are aware, I have spent much time experimenting with the Mark III Travel Machines. I arrive before you today to show you that I have gained some remarkable results."
The Kaleds in the room stomped their hooves in applause for their commander.
"As such," he continued, "I have arranged a small demonstration."
In rolled another figure. This one was a bit more familiar to The Doctor.
"A Dalek," he whispered.
"A what?" Mind whispered back.
"Very primitive, mind you, but a Dalek all the same."
Davros resumed his speech. "The new device is equipped with a weapon for self defense, and a probe to manipulate its environment. The shell is impervious to damage, and runs on a self-generating energy source. I shall now activate the self-control function. The creature will now be able to act independently."
The lights on either side of the Dalek's head flared to life. It moved closer to Stable and The Doctor.
"YOU ARE A-LI-EN LIFE-FORMS! YOU MUST BE EX-TER-MI-NA-TED!" it announced.
"Again, if I had a bit..." The Doctor muttered.
"Aren't you all amazed?" Davros asked. "It was able to detect the non-conformity."
"Davros, shut it off!" Inquiring Mind shouted.
"Why? My creature has shown its prowess. Let it continue in the process. Let it show its ultimate supremacy!" Davros countered.
"Maybe so, but these two could offer new information. At least the scarved one is intelligent-"
"Hey!" Stable interjected.
"And could offer new advances in scientific research," Mind offered.
Davros pondered this. He used his one good hoof to flick a switch, shutting the Dalek off. "Very well," he surrendered. "But you will later be punished for your insubordination."
Davros and Right Hoof left the room. While the majority of the scientists began to examine the Dalek, Inquiring Mind was dragged into another conversation with The Doctor.
"Thank you. I owe you one," The Doctor said.
"I merely did my duty as a scientist," Mind retorted. "You two are to be taken to the cells, and know this. When I am done, I will be more than happy to let Davros sic his new plaything on you."
The Doctor smirked. He had won an ally.
Meanwhile in the Thal Dome...
The room that Twilight and the mutos had been led to was surrounded by guards on all sides. The Thals looked at their prisoners with disgust. The sort of look you might give to a group of slobs playing in a sewage plant.
Twilight turned to the muto who had spoken in her defense. "So what do you think they're going to do to us?"
The muto responded, "Usually Thals kill on sight. They probably need some sort of labor force."
"He's right." Twilight and the muto turned to the voice. It was another young colt in a Kaled uniform. "The Thals have developed a new superweapon to achieve victory in one swift blow. If it works, my entire civilization crumbles in an instant. Doesn't matter though. I'm dead just from working on the damn thing."
"Why?" Twilight asked.
"The weapon is made from distronic explosives," the Kaled explained, "And we have to put it together. Due to the supply shortage, they're not wasting metal on protective shielding so we're all gonna get distronic toxemia."
Twilight gulped. "Alright then. We just need to figure a way out of here."
An alarm went off.
"Back to work!" a guard barked.
Meanwhile in a Detention Cell...
The Doctor was shoved into the cell as the door shut behind him. The only reprise from the gunmetal gray room was Stable, sitting on one of the bunks. "You alright?" he asked.
"I might be. I fed them as much nonsensical scientific gobbledygook I could think of," The Doctor said, "By the end of it, even I didn't know what I was saying."
Stable smirked. "Should keep their science division distracted."
"And I got to learn a thing or two," The Doctor asserted. "Years ago the Kaled government formed a sort of think tank and hid them in this underground bunker. Within that time they've grown in power to the point where they've completely overshadowed the actual governing bodies."
"And Davros?" Stable wondered.
"From what I can tell, as supreme scientist, he's essentially a dictator."
There was a knock at the door. "Maybe that's our tea," Stable joked.
While Inquiring Mind was a reassuring sight, he sadly did not bring tea to this visit. He entered the room.
"I'm sorry if the guards were rough with you," he said, "I sadly have no place to interfere."
"I'm still thankful I didn't have to be the first victim of a Dalek," The Doctor replied.
Mind nodded. "Yes. That word, 'Dalek'. At first I assumed it was gibberish, but just moments ago, Davros announced that from this point forward we are to refer to those within the Mark III Travel Machines as 'Daleks'. But you couldn't have know that ahead of time."
"I have a bit of a timing advantage," The Doctor explained. "My friends and I have arrived here out of concern of the future development of these Daleks. And I'm under the assumption that you're a mite concerned as well."
Inquiring Mind looked outside to make sure nopony was listening. Once his fears were assuaged, he began to whisper. "I'm not the only one. Davros has mutated the Dalek creatures to create something completely amoral. All they know is prejudice and xenophobia. Now, we knew mutation was going to occur, once we started our experimentation with nuclear and chemical warfare."
"And you already held prejudice and hatred for the so-called 'mutos'," Stable said with disdain.
Mind looked away in shame. "Yes." He turned back with a pleading look in his eye. "But Davros saw a different solution. He decided to use the mutations to our advantage, create a being that was even beyond the superiority of the Kaleds. He took living cells, and he has produced what he calls 'the ultimate life-form'." He checked the hallway again. "Come with me."
Mind led The Doctor and Stable down the corridor to a strange door with steam coming out from the bottom of the door. Mind opened it to reveal a nauseating sight. Inside were strange sorts of cephalopod-like creatures. They were as if the average brain had sprouted a series of tentacles and a single eye directly were the crown of the head would be located.
"That is the future of the Kaleds," Mind explained.
The Doctor kept up a stony visage.
Meanwhile in the Thal Dome...
Twilight and the other workers staggered back into the detention room. They had been granted a 10-minute break before they had to work another hour on the missile. As you might expect, this was designed to leave the prisoners too exhausted to fight back, but strong enough to keep up the good work.
Twilight had caught on to this scheme. "We need to do soemthing now. If we work another shift, we'll never have the strength to escape."
"Escape is impossible," her muto friend replied. "The only exit in the rocket room leads straight through a security checkpoint packed with troopers."
"Not quite," Twilight said. "There's one other option."
"What?" the muto asked.
"The rocket they're building has a tall scaffolding next to it so they can work on the warhead," she reminded him, "and there's an opening in the dome so the rocket will be able to be launched."
"Go up?" the Kaled prisoner asked. "Are you insane?!"
"I've seen the dome from the outside," Twilight replied. "If we get to the roof, it's a gentle angle back down."
"We don't have any other choice," the muto pointed out.
The Kaled pondered this for a moment, and begrudgingly agreed. "Beats dying of distronic toxemia."
"Let's spread the word," Twilight said.
Meanwhile in the Detention Cell...
Mind had brought Stable and The Doctor back to the cell, in the hopes of concealing their brief release.
"Upon discovering our supposed ultimate form," Mind continued, "Davros developed a travel machine so that it could move. The combination of the two being this 'Dalek' of his."
"And he's making it into his newest weapon," The Doctor surmised.
"He already has," Mind corrected. "The Dalek has no empathy whatsoever."
"And you want to stop this?" Stable asked.
"Somepony has to," Mind replied. "A few members of Kaled government still hold some semblance of power over Davros. And if they knew the truth, they would near-instantly shut him down."
"Then go to them," The Doctor said.
"I can't. I'm not allowed to enter the city. But you two can get there for me," Mind offered. "There's a series of ventilation ducts that lead to a cave at the edge of the wastelands. It's a treacherous journey, and a few of Davros' earlier experiments are there. They are utter abominations."
"I've dealt with worse," The Doctor boasted.
Meanwhile in the Thal Dome...
After nine minutes had passed, it was just about time for the group to begin their escape attempt.
Twilight carefully lit her horn, and the Thal guards noticed that their weapons began to melt right before their eyes. As the guard by the door opened it in the hopes of retrieving more, Twilight telekinetically slammed him against the wall as the prisoners made their getaway.
Meanwhile in a Kaled Corridor...
Using his own telekinesis, Dr. Stable removed the grill from the ventilation duct, and made his way up.
Inquiring Mind gave The Doctor a slip of paper. "These are the ponies you should get in touch with."
"Thank you," he replied. The two extraterrestrials made their way into the vents, and Mind politely decided to turn a blind eye to their escape.
Meanwhile in the Rocket Silo...
Twilight and the slave workers made their way to the scaffolding next to the rocket. The room was at least twenty stories high, and the scaffolding was a bright orange. The interlocking support frames of the scaffolding were their only chance for escape.
Twilight and her newfound allies began to climb the web-like tower. Their teeth grinded painfully against the metal and their hooves could barely grip it. How they could grip it at all is a good question, but I'm running with it.
An alarm went off to alert the other guards of the jailbreak. As the guards rushed in, a single shot rang out, and one of the prisoners dropped to their death.
"Come on, we're almost there!" a muto shouted.
Twilight lifted her hoof up to the next beam.
She slipped.
Author's Note
I am so sorry that this took so long. I just had midterms, and I had to focus.
In the meantime, enjoy. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long.
