DOCTOR WHOOF: EPISODE 10: PT 1

EPISODE 10: VALE UNDECIM: PART 1

For the longest time, for what seemed like a tense eternity for most, there was a great calm that fell over Ponyville. Nothing happened, and no pony seemed to care. It was during this time that even the Doctor and his companions fell into a false sense of security. No ponies disappeared, no Cyberships appeared in the skies; everything was at peace. It was this false sense of security that allowed the Daleks to infiltrate Ponyville. Their ships had been hiding in the shadows of the moon above the planet, and now they were prepared for their full scale invasion of Equestria. As Applejack and Pinkie Pie watched in fear as the ships flew overhead the Doctor's hate flooded into his eyes as he stared down his mortal enemy; the Dalek race.
"HAVE YOU NOTHING TO SAY, DOCTOR?" The Dalek taunted. "THIS WORLD THAT YOU HAVE DEEMED SO PRECIOUS IS ABOUT TO BE DECIMATED, TO MAKE WAY FOR A NEW DALEK PARADIGM!"
"Well, there are many things I could say at a time like this," The Doctor sneered, "problem is your thick little mucus membranes wouldn't be able to comprehend the concept that I would want to convey!"
"KEEP YOUR INSULTS WITHIN YOUR MIND, DOCTOR," The Dalek ordered, "WE WILL NOT TOLERATE YOU ANY LONGER." The metal creature aimed its weapon at the Doctor, but he was not even fazed by the motion.
"Are you sure about that? What are you going to do about it?" The Dalek backed up slightly. "What can you, the same Daleks I have defeated time and time again, do about it?"
"THE DOCTOR DOES NOT SCARE US," The Dalek screamed, "EXTERMINATE, EXTERMINATE, EXTERMINATE!" The Dalek opened fire as the Docor ducked out of the way. Applejack and Pinkie had already taken off running back into the conversion facility as the Doctor followed them.
"Blimey, this isn't what I expected!" The Doctor huffed as he heard the shrill cries of the Dalek following them. The creature opened fire incessantly, blasting apart the already obliterated conversion facility with each miss. Pinkie Pie screamed, almost like a child in a funhouse, as she heard the blasts hit the metal panels at every single turn. Applejack's heart was racing so fast she couldn't even think what would happen if she stopped running. Instead she fought harder for air, intent on escaping with her life. What seemed like an eternity of fleeing ended as the Doctor and his companions exited the facility and ran into the forest for cover. The Dalek ships had already begun their slow scan of the planet, and as the Doctor watched he calculated in his head that they would be approaching Equestria in roughly five hours. The Doctor had to find the TARDIS, and Susan, fast. If he didn't, not just Equestria would be in danger, but the whole of reality itself.

Things over at the TARDIS itself seemed to be at a standstill. Susan and Twilight had managed to stabilize the time machine's engines, and it was already in the process of repairing itself. Susan took a nap with everyone else as Twilight Sparkle focused all of her magic into the TARDIS. As she desperately tended to the Doctor's machine she could feel hot tears stream down her face. She didn't care about them, not about her image, not about anything. She only cared about the Doctor.
"Please, Doctor," She sobbed, "please be alive. We need you… I need you." Her focus wavered for a moment, but then she strained herself to regain her strength. While she did this she pictured the Doctor and all the adventures they had together. All of the wonderful times she had with her wonderful, brilliant Doctor came rushing back. She remembered his smile when they had first met, his sadness when they had first talked, his anger when they had first won. The memories stung in her heart, and as she pressured as much magic as she possibly could into the TARDIS she screamed. All the ponies that had been asleep were now awake, watching as Twilight's magic field grew and grew.
"Twilight," Susan yelled, "you can't do that; you're going to kill yourself using that much magic!"
"I don't care," She wailed, "I don't care about myself anymore! I only want the Doctor to be proud, to be proud of me!" The hole in the side of the TARDIS was now completely mended, and as it finalized its repairs the machine groaned once, and the familiar landing thud could be heard. Twilight released her grip on the machine and fell to the ground, whimpering.
"Twilight," Fluttershy whispered, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine… I don't need your help." Twilight Sparkle continued to shed tears.
"The TARDIS is fixed," Susan smiled, "You did well, Twilight. Now we can go and find the Doctor."
"No need to!" The Doctor shouted from afar. Everyone turned around to face the Doctor, who appeared to have seen better days. His coat was torn and covered with random twigs and leaves, and following close behind were Applejack, who were in just as dire a state as the Doctor, and Pinkie Pie, who seemed no different from her usual self.
"Doctor!" Twilight jumped up and hugged him, still sobbing.
"Twilight, it's okay, I'm fine! See?" The Doctor pushed Twilight away from him a little, showing her that he was alright.
"I'm glad," She coughed, "I'm glad that you're fine, Doctor…" The Doctor looked up to see that Rainbow Dash had been looking at them, and when he noticed she avoided his gaze, blushing as she did so. The Doctor smirked, and patted Twilight Sparkle on her head. That was when he noticed that the TARDIS was a brighter blue than he was accustomed to. He slowly slipped out of Twilight's grip and looked in awe at his time machine.
"Did something happen to the TARDIS while I was gone?" The Doctor mumbled.
"Grandfather," Susan stuttered, "I-I-I'm so sorry, I was flying the TARDIS back, just as you had asked, but then the Daleks showed up and shot at us a-a-and I didn't know what to do and we tried to fix her up but-"
"Is she completely fixed?"
"Y-Yes, she's ready to fly again."
"Good," The Doctor smiled, "a resilient old piece of work she is. Let's see what you've got for me this time, old girl." The Doctor walked over to the TARDIS and threw the doors open. A bright orange light flashed over him as he stared in utter amazement at the interior of his old but new time machine. The control room was certainly much bigger than it had been before, and the central controls were lifted up above a little pulpit that ran wires from the primary console all the way down to the TARDIS's core. Glass separated these two areas, and all about there were lights and polished panels. The entrance to the interior of the machine was also visible; complete with a glass staircase to reach it, and it was all finished off with a remarkable amber color.
"Look at you," The Doctor gasped, "Oh look at you… oh you sexy thing." Susan chuckled as she nudged the Doctor into the control room.
"I threw in some of the old equipment you had lying around to make sure the TARDIS was ready for anything. This includes proper shielding, a reworked cloaking device, and a waypoint marker. Will that do, grandfather?"
"Don't get to happy," The Doctor muttered, "you still crashed the TARDIS."
"Oh, come on!" Susan complained. The Doctor motioned for everyone to come aboard.
"You are not going to be disappointed by this," He grinned.

"Oh my gosh!" Rainbow Dash squealed, "This is just incredible! I mean, your TARDIS before was awesome, but this is just beyond awesome!"
"She has a way of doing that every now and then," The Doctor smiled, and punched in a few keys at the keyboard. The fact that the monitor was suspended in the air would take some getting used to, but he paid no mind to that fact now. He pulled the monitor down so it was at eye level, and chuckled to himself.
"Alright Susan, Rarity, Fluttershy, Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Twilight… get ready for a most monumental occasion; we're going to fly the regenerated TARDIS for the first time!" The Doctor threw the switch back, and immediately the familiar turbulence struck the time machine. The Doctor laughed as the same, memorable grinding sound filled the air.

Night was just about to approach Canterlot when the Doctor and his companions arrived. The TARDIS landed in Princess Celestia's personal quarters, and she immediately stood up as the time machine materialized before her eyes. The time machine landed with a thud, and Princess Celestia was just about to knock when the worn out Doctor threw the doors open and fell flat on his face at her highness's feet.
"Doctor," she exclaimed, "To what honor do I owe seeing you here?"
"Princess… your highness," The Doctor huffed, "I'm afraid you're going to have to assemble the royal guard again. Equestria is in grave danger." The Princess looked at the Doctor in pure astonishment.
"What's happened?"
"An old enemy of mine has come to claim your lands, your highness. They are nothing like the Sontarans we had faced before; they are a threat not only to you and your people, but to the entire universe itself." As the Doctor finished speaking two armored guards rushed in to apprehend him. They were about to arrest him when Princess Celestia held up a hoof. The guards ceased their advance.
"Captain," Princess Celestia muttered, "rally the troops together for a code red."
"A code red?!" The captain gasped. "But that means that-"
"Yes," Princess Celestia replied without emotion. "This is a call to war." The captain nodded without another word and proceeded back out the door as the other guard followed him. The Doctor remained silent for a moment as the Princess sighed.
"Princess Celestia," The Doctor managed to speak, "what time is it?"
"It's exactly six minutes to seven."
"Then we don't have much time. According to what I was able to gather the Daleks will be within range in two hours. Once the troops are gathered I'll need to brief them on the situation. If we can give them the proper knowledge in time I can help you all hold back the invasion. "The Doctor bowed and back inside the TARDIS. Before Princess Celestia could respond the Doctor poked his head out from behind one of the doors. "How long do you expect it will take them to gather up everyone?"
"At least six minutes."
"That's more than plenty; tell them to meet me in the main chamber at seven."
"Doctor?"
"Yes your highness?"
"What's going to happen now?"
"… I honestly don't know." The Doctor went back inside the TARDIS, and within seconds the big blue wooden box began dematerializing once again. Princess Celestia could only watch helplessly as the Doctor helped her people prepare for what she thought could be an unwinnable war.

The moment the hand of the clock struck seven the same groan of the Doctor's time machine filled the main chamber. A whole squad of troops was waiting as the TARDIS rematerialized into view, and the Doctor, along with his companions, stepped out of the wooden box one by one. The Doctor's tired eyes moved over the rows upon rows of soldiers, frowning for a moment as he tried to think of the best way to word his next directive. He stood there for five seconds before he finally spoke to them.
"All of you," he began, "are about to face the biggest battle you will ever face in your lives. I cannot guarantee its ultimate success, but I will say that if you do not fight there will be no victory or defeat; only extermination." The Doctor eyed the two separate divisions, one for air combat the other for ground. Pegasus and unicorn ponies stood side by side, ready to fight. The Doctor cleared his throat and continued. "Ground forces should be at an advantage with magic, since Dalek shields are vulnerable in this dimension. However, polycarbide is still near impossible to penetrate, so you will have to aim for their most vulnerable spots. The eyestalks and midsections are the thinnest, aim for those first. You'll know what I'm talking about when you see them." The Doctor faced the leader of the Pegasus ponies.
"General, do you have any explosives available?"
"We do have some small charges designed for mining operations," the General answered, "But they've got a blast strong enough to level a mountain if used properly."
"Good, we'll need those," The Doctor faced the colts and resumed his orders; "You'll need to take those explosive charges and drop them onto the Dalek ships. If you can disable their engines that's all we'll need. They'll still be afloat even without engines, but it will keep them from advancing to Ponyville and eventually Canterlot. While you're all fighting the Daleks the way you can I will fly the TARDIS over to the command ship and find out what caused the dimensional rip that brought me and the Daleks here. Using that information I can send them all back…" The Doctor turned around and faced his companions. "Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Twilight, I will need you three to come with me. Susan, take Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie back to the Master's den, the one I told you about. In there should be a relay that is still hooked up to transmit a message to the satellites in orbit. Reroute the power, overwrite the data packet and transmit a code to disable the Dalek's ability to move."
"What's the code?" Susan whispered.
"I haven't figured that out yet, I'll transmit it to you once I have it."
"Oh, that's reassuring," Susan sighed sarcastically.
"Now then," The Doctor announced, "We all have a job to do. Let's get to it!"

As the hour came close to the imminent attack the troops stood valiantly just outside of the Equestrian border, ready to face anything that came their way. The Doctor was in the TARDIS with Twilight Sparkle and Applejack; Rainbow Dash was harnessed outside.
"Are you sure this is safe, Doctor?" Twilight inquired.
"This is perfectly safe, and a lot different from last time to be sure," The Doctor smiled enthusiastically, "With better shielding the Daleks won't be able to lay a finger on her… or a manipulator arm… or a gun stick." The Doctor twirled around and tapped a few keys. "Now, when the fighting starts we're going to fly right through the battle and initiate a manual landing inside the command ship. I'll need you, Twilight, to not worry about charging the TARDIS's fuel and instead focus on taking down the command ship's shields instead."
"What if the TARDIS starts losin' power?" Applejack asked.
"She shouldn't, since Twilight over here overcharged her so much she had to convert five rooms into battery compartments! Might I say, Twilight, good show!" Twilight Sparkle blushed at this comment and had to avert her gaze from the Doctor. "Now, all we have to do is wait." The Doctor placed a hoof on the brakes and stood their silently, listening for anything that might signal them to begin the operation.

Susan had just exited the time vortex when she remembered just how much she hated using the thing; there was no capsule, so she was exposed directly to the time vortex's sheer violence and energy. Rarity and Fluttershy had already collapsed from the exposure, and Pinkie Pie was feeling incredibly sore.
"My gosh!" Pinkie Pie grumbled, "I feel terrible!"
"I know," Susan painfully responded, "I forgot how much I hated time travel without a capsule." She stood on her hind legs and stretched. Several of her joints popped as she leaned back, and as they did she let out a sigh of relief. Susan did not hear any sound coming from Ponyville's direction, so she assumed that the battle had not begun just yet. However, just as the Doctor had specified via the coordinates, she had been teleported right to the entrance of the Master's cave. "Well then," Susan muttered, "Best we get Fluttershy and Rarity up off the ground and into the cave." Pinkie Pie nodded and slowly dragged Rarity up onto her back. Susan did the same for Fluttershy, and as soon as they were sure that everything was prepared they walked into the darkness of the cave that was their only chance to help the Doctor.

At the front line the troops saw something moving across the tress. At first it looked like a swarm of insects, but upon closer inspection they could see the little blue lights all glowing at once on the end of their eyestalks. The Daleks had arrived, but they were not alone; as soon as the first wave of metal creatures came into view the soldiers saw something flat and circular moving directly behind them. It was the first Dalek attack saucer coming to engage Equestria.
"Begin the defense, colts!" the general shouted, and all of his troops began to move forward. They started at a light march and then broke into a full gallop as the swarm of Daleks came to meet them.
"FIRE AT WILL," one of the Daleks bellowed, "LEAVE NO SURVIVORS! EXTERMINATE, EXTERMINATE, EXTERMINATE!" The swarm broke off into smaller parts as the Equestrians charged at their attackers. Blasts of electrical magic hit their Dalek targets, and concentrated bolts of plasma fire rocketed down to the surface. Within the first second of combat casualties started mounting as Daleks and ponies were hit; polycarbide shells tumbled down to the surface in flames as ponies collapsed without life. The first shots had been fired; the war had officially begun.

"Doctor," Rainbow Dash screamed, "they've opened fire! We've got to move, now!" The Doctor nodded and signaled everyone to their places. Rainbow Dash took off immediately, jerking the TARDIS backward. The inside of the machine shook, but the Doctor, Twilight, and Applejack maintained their positions. Within ten seconds the blue box had traveled from her landing pad in Caterlot to the battlefield down below. Rainbow Dash looked out into the far distance and saw that the battle was not as similar as she had conceived; bodies of ponies littered the ground along with bits of Dalek shells. Three attack saucers had already made it to the battlefield, but one of them was damaged severely.
"Alright Rainbow Dash," The Doctor called out to her, "the shields are up! Get us up to the command ship!"
"What does it look like?!"
"It's a lot bigger than the others; you'll know it when you see it!" The Dalek saucer that had been damaged previously was now falling from the sky. The stabilizers were torn to shreds, and as the saucer hit the ground Rainbow Dash flew right beside it. Even as the ship fell its occupants still opened fire, sending bolts of plasma right at the TARDIS. Just as the Doctor had said, the shields absorbed the plasma fire, allowing them safe passage.
"Good stuff, Doc!" Rainbow Dash cheered.
"Do you see the command ship out there yet, Dash?!" Applejack shouted.
"Is it the one with the big metal bits sticking out of the top and bottom?"
"Yes, that's the one!" The Doctor affirmed, "Take us to it, Dashie!"
"I'm right on it, Doc!" Rainbow Dash swerved as more bolts of plasma fire raced passed her. More Dalek saucers had entered the fray, and quite a few of them were being bombarded by Pegasus ponies. Just as Rainbow Dash was about to pass beneath a saucer it was critically hit. The crippled vessel slowly fell, and was about to crush her and the TARDIS.
"Hang on to your tails!" Rainbow Dash managed to pull an evasive maneuver, positioning the wooden box sideways to avoid the falling Dalek ship. The smell of smoke and scorched plastic filled her nostrils as she scrambled through the air. Rainbow Dash escaped just in the nick of time. She watched over her shoulder as the massive ship hit the ground and exploded in a massive fireworks display of an explosion. Some of the shrapnel scattered through the air, hitting several Daleks and even hitting a unicorn pony who couldn't fly out of the way.
"Holy cow that was a close call," Rainbow Dash huffed. She repositioned the TARDIS back to its upright position by way of specific shifts of her wings and proceeded to the command ship as the Daleks and Equestrians continued their struggle for survival.

Back in the Master's den Susan and the others could hear the explosions and screams echoing into the back of the rock caves.
"I can hear the fighting," Fluttershy murmured half asleep, "I don't even what to imagine what could be going on out there."
"I don't blame you," Susan muttered in response, "Regardless, we don't have much time. If the battle's started we need to get going. Pinkie Pie, the power cables are over there on the far wall; disconnect those and plug them into the auxiliary jack. Remember, each wire goes in order from left to right, red, blue, orange, yellow."
"Okay!" Pinkie Pie nodded and trotted over to the cables. She was about to yank them all out when something caused the caves to shake.
"What in all of Equestria was that?!" Rarity yelped.
"Slip space rupture," Susan growled, "more Daleks are on their way… Pinkie Pie, hurry up with the wires!"
"I'm trying!" Pinkie Pie disconnected the cables and ran over to the auxiliary jack. Susan went over to the relay and pried open one of the panels with Gallifreyan decorations. Her hunch was right; the primary computer with the previous data pack encoded within had been completely fried. Good thing her vortex manipulator doubled as a transmitter, she though. Susan ripped out the computer piece by piece, not even concerning herself with the burnt circuitry. She was plenty familiar with repairing all kinds of tech, and a simple transmitter reconfiguration was simple no matter what type of equipment was involved.
"I'll have this ready in a few minutes," Susan grunted as she yanked the burnt wiring from out of the open panel, "Come on grandfather, I need those codes!"

"Come on, old girl; just hold on a little longer!" The Doctor moved himself from one part of the console to the next as he scrambled to keep the TARDIS afloat. The battle all around them escalated as more Daleks appeared from out of the fray.
"Doc," Rainbow Dash shouted over the shouts and sounds of disarray, "We're just about in range of the command ship!"
"Good! Twilight, there's your opening to lower the shields; hit it with everything you got!" Twilight Sparkle clung to the door of the time machine as she focused her magic. In her head she reminded herself that the fate of everything, and she knew it was everything, rested on her shoulders. The pressure only made it easier to summon the strength to collect a blast strong enough to shatter the world, and as she felt she was ready Twilight Sparkle released the magic she had contained within. A bolt of brilliant purple thundered across the sky, striking the command ship with such a peal that the area between the Dalek command ship and the TARDIS went utterly silent. The shields of the command vessel literally tore open, and before long the energy shielding faded into the air.
"Yea! Way to go, sugarcube!" Applejack cheered. The celebration, however, as to be short lived; as soon as the shields went down they were back up again. The Doctor looked at the command ship and roared stressfully.
"Doctor, I hit the ship, but what's happening to the shields?"
"The shields overheated momentarily, but the energy that you launched at it was absorbed all the same. We'll have to rethink our strategy." It was at that precise moment that a low beeping came from the TARDIS's console.
"What's that there, Doc?" Applejack asked.
"Someone's trying to send a transmission through. It might be Susan; I'll patch the transmission through." The Doctor punched in a few keys and tuned one of the knobs on the small monitor. Immediately an image flickered into view on the larger screen on the far wall. The image, however, was not of Susan, but a bright red and gold Dalek.
"DOCTOR," The Dalek screeched, "THE LAST OF THE TIME LORDS. NOT EVEN YOUR KIND COULD HOPE TO OUTSMART THE DALEKS."
"How did you escape the Time War," The Doctor shouted at the creature, "how did you bypass the time lock?! How; tell me!"
"OUR TIME TRAVEL MAY NOT RIVAL YOURS, DOCTOR, BUT WE ARE MORE CAPABLE THAN YOU CAN HOPE TO UNDERSTAND. THE SAME TEMPORAL SHIFT TECHNOLOGY WAS INTERGRATED INTO OUR SHIPS, SENDING US ALL TO A SPECIFIED LOCATION IN TIME."
"That only accounts for your time travel," The Doctor bellowed impatiently, "How did you end up in this dimension?"
"THE TIME VORTEX EMPTIED US OUT INTO A GAP IN THE UNIVERSE; A DIMENSION THAT HAS NEVER BEEN EXPLORED BY TIME LORD NOR DALEK. BUT NO MORE; WE HAVE COME TO ISSUE AN ERA OF DALEK SUPREMACY!"
"What have you got in mind?"
"THE DIMENSION VAULT STOLEN FROM US HAS BEEN RETURNED, AND WE SHALL USE IT TO OPEN THE GAP. THE DALEKS SHALL RETURN TO THE UNIVERSE, AND EXTERMINATE THE UNWORTHY!"
"But you can't do that," The Doctor warned, "Even if I can't stop you, you literally can't do that! Do you understand what you are about to cause?!"
"BUT WE CAN, DOCTOR! WE CAN AND WE WILL!" The transmission cut out, and as soon as it did Applejack turned to look at the Doctor, a look of complete and utter horror was plastered across her face.
"Doc, why… why can't they do that?"
"The Daleks are going to use the dimension vault, and it's going to rip the gap wide open; we could be facing a fatal time rupture!"
"Doctor, look!" Twilight Sparkle pointed at the Dalek command ship. The center of the vessel had already started to glow as millions of tiny prongs emerged from the towers. As the Doctor and his companions looked on helplessly bright beams of light shot out from each of the individual towers; reaching high into the sky. The Doctor yanked on the rope that secured Rainbow Dash.
"Get inside, Dash!" She immediately sped into the TARDIS as the Doctor rushed over to the doors and slammed them shut. He locked the doors from the inside and turned to look at his frightened companions.
"Doc, what are we going to do now?" Rainbow Dash begged. The Doctor said nothing.
"Come on, Doctor, you can't do this to us," Twilight Sparkle pleaded, "what are we going to do?! Doctor!
"…I'm sorry," The Doctor sighed, "I'm so sorry. But you're going to have to trust me..."

Susan looked up as she heard an explosion that drowned out everything else.
"What's going on now?!" Rarity cried in surprise.
"I don't know," Susan muttered, "let's go and investigate." Susan disconnected the vortex manipulator, just in case she would need it. The four ponies rushed outside, only to be met with a sight never meant to be seen. A great pillar of light was reaching into the sky, and all around it the universe seemed to rip. Susan watched as the rip grew and grew; her worst fears had been realized.
"Susan," Fluttershy whimpered, "what's happening?!"
"That's the start of a dimensional portal," Susan gasped, "but it's far too big! If it keeps going on like that they won't be able to sustain the gap, and it's going to snap back into place."
"What happens when it snaps back?"
"A time rupture," Susan answered, "It's going to cause the very fabric of the universe to ripple, and the consequences will be severe." Susan punched in a few keys on her vortex manipulator and grabbed hold of Pinkie Pie and Rarity. "Fluttershy, I need you to grab hold of my tail. We're going to have to do something." Fluttershy did as she was told.
"What are we going to do, Susan?" Rarity mumbled.
"Something I will regret for a long time." She pressed the last button with her muzzle and the four of them disappeared.

Within a nanosecond of Susan and the others disappearing, Just as Susan and the Doctor had foreseen, the Dalek command ship's power cut out for a moment, but that moment was all that the gap needed. The hole in the universe snapped back into place, causing a massive time rupture. The explosion blasted everything around it, affecting not only all of Equestria, but it the entire planet, and the entire dimension. Within seconds the rupture blasted through to other dimensions, rippling all the way into every single crevice of the universe itself. Time everywhere was damaged, and the time vortex fluctuated in return. Unable to repair itself the vortex began to collapse. Time lost cohesion, and eventually everything else followed. The prophecy was fulfilled; the end of all things had arrived…

Twilight Sparkle woke up in the middle of the night, as she always did. The sun had not even started its ascent to the morning sky, and as she did she grumbled and turned over in her bed. She remembered that tomorrow would be a special day for her, the day of her entrance exam. She tried to put out the nervous tension she felt, but that was until she faced the mirror in the far corner of her room. She forcefully gulped as she saw the figure standing in the frame. It was a pony with no face, seemingly looking straight at her. For many a night she recalled seeing this ghostly pale pony; it always stared at her while she slept, and even continued to do so when she discovered it. She could feel her fear rising as the pony stroked the glass with its hoof.
"Mommy, Daddy!" Twilight Sparkle screamed when she saw him. She could hear her parents rushing down the hall just as the figure slowly turned away and vanished from her view.
"What is it, darling?" Twilight Sparkle's mother asked, "Did you see the faceless pony again?" Twilight nodded. Her mother sighed and caressed her daughter's mane gently.
"You're just having a bad dream," her father assured, "The shadows are just playing tricks on your eyes."
"But daddy, I saw it! I saw him standing there!"
"No buts, Twilight. Tomorrow's a big day, remember. Please, try and get some sleep." He leaned down and kissed his daughter on the head. "Goodnight, Twilight Sparkle," her father smiled, "we love you."
"I love you too, dad, mom." The two ponies smiled and walked out of her room, gently closing the door. The room was silent once again. Twilight Sparkle laid her head upon her pillow and shut her eyes. The night was as peaceful as ever. The only sound that could be heard was the gentle tapping in the distance. Twilight's eyes flew open immediately; there was never a tapping sound on other nights. The sound progressively got louder as she slowly lifted her head up towards the mirror. The faceless pony was there again. This was the first night that he had been there two times in a row, and now Twilight was frightened. The faceless pony stopped tapping at the glass, and instead reached out toward the mirror. The hoof pressed lightly against the glass for a moment. Then, without warning the hoof plunged out of the mirror. The glass didn't break; instead it rippled like water. Twilight Sparkle watched, rooted in terror as the figure climbed out of the mirror clumsily and slowly. The mirror seemed to hold the pony back in the area where its face should have been, and as it struggled to free its face from the mirror the facial features slowly began to form. First one eye, then another, and finally as the nostrils and mouth appeared the figure stumbled out of the mirror and fell flat on its face.
"Well, this is most certainly a strange predicament," The strange pony mumbled, "I've never been pulled out of the fabric of space and time quite like that..." The pony looked over at Twilight Sparkle, who now was more curious than afraid. "…before." The pony resumed. "Oh dear, I hope I'm not too late for the party."
"Party?" Twilight looked at this pony quizzically.
"Quite right, well not an actual party per say, but a party of the spacey… sorts." The pony looked about and dusted its coat, coughing once as the dust puffed out from it.
"How did you get in here?"
"I'm sorry if I'm coming off as rude, but I really haven't got much time. Time is broken, and everything is leaking out of the break. Whatever happens now will be entirely up to chance; nothing you do or say or hear or see will ever be permanent. Everything is at stake now, but you've got to trust me," The pony straightened its bowtie," Trust me. I'm the Doctor."