DOCTOR WHOOF: EPISODE 9

EPISODE 9: EVENT ULTIMATUM

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. Even so, there was still one who knew of the fate that was about to befall the care free ponies of Ponyville. Deep in the Everfree Forest she did reside, conjuring up potions of herbs and remedies. It was all by mistake, of course, but she mixed several remedies together. That experiment resulted in temporary foresight, and what she found at the end of this image of the future was madness. This lone zebra, far from her homeland, was seeing the end of all things. A great swarm approached Ponyville, a swarm that did not even compare to the Parasprites.
Images filled her head of destruction, chaos, and death. The images of death shocked her greatly, for she could feel the pain of those yet to die, the anguish of those yet to feel it. She did the only thing she could do in a time like this, and that was to flee. Her heart ached at the thought of leaving the now accepting ponies in Ponyville, but she could not control herself, knowing that even if she did warn them they would not be safe. Even so, before she left, she would have to warn the only pony worth warning. There was a great warrior, she knew, a great and ancient warrior who has fought for countless civilizations. He was courageous, fearless, and soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies…

The Doctor had no expectations for the day at all. He had locked up his TARDIS and decided to take a nice leisurely stroll down to Whitetail Wood, where he had often found himself on many a different occasion. He went there to think when everything was at peace. Despite the Doctor's optimism, however, he was troubled by how three certain ponies felt about him. It bothered him that in all of his travels he's always picked up someone who grew attached to him. He needed a companion, not a lover. He wanted someone to surprise and amaze, someone that he could share all of his knowledge with without a single care in the universe. He sighed at the thought of all his former companions, and let the ache of memories long forgotten slip away.
He was just about to reach Whitetail Wood when a hurried figure bumped into him. Upon touching the Doctor the figure wrapped its arms around him and looked at him from behind a brown hood. The figure pulled its shroud up, and revealed that it was not only a she, but a familiar she. It was Zecora, the only known zebra in Ponyville.
"Ah, Zecora, is it?" The Doctor smiled. "What can I do for you?" As soon as the Doctor noticed who she was he noticed the bewildered look in her eyes. It was the look of someone who was hiding a great burden.
"It is the Doctor that shall see," Zecora chanted, "When the end, it shall be."
"Well, I suppose I can go with that," The Doctor smiled nervously. Her grip grew tighter as she looked deeper into his eyes.
"Do not treat this as a playful matter," She screamed at him, "This is your only chance to know of great disaster! For the hour of destruction is near at hand, and you, Doctor are the final piece of a greater plan!" Zecora let go and ran off into Whitetail Wood. The Doctor looked at her, still not knowing how to respond to her desperate prophecy. Before she disappeared completely from his sight, she called out to him, saying, "You are the only one who can stop the swarm; you, the Doctor, the oncoming storm." And with that she disappeared. The Doctor stood there for a moment, allowing the message to sink into his mind. He knew something was going to happen, but his exact thoughts were muddled with emotions. He had to talk to someone; someone close to him and deeply trusted. He turned around and took off towards Susan's house, in desperate need to find answers.

It was close to midday when the Doctor reached Susan's house. She had prepared tea for the both of them, and as the Doctor sat down and stared blankly at the floor. Susan took a sip out of her cup.
"Grandfather," Susan broke the silence, "Your tea is getting cold. You should really have some before I have to pour you a fresh cup." Still, silence.
"Remember all those years on Gallifrey, Susan?" The Doctor finally muttered. "I remember those days far too well. It pains me to even remember it, but I do remember because… I want to remember. I want recall the times when I was a child, so care free and full of wonder. It hurts deep inside me, because I yearn for those care free days. I wish they had never ended."
"Grandfather, why are you telling me all this?" Silence once again.
"Susan," The Doctor managed to answer, "I was told a prophecy today."
"What was it?"
"…I was told that soon there will be a series of events; tragic events that fate has already planned out for all of us. Something's coming for us, Susan; something sinister." Susan simply looked at the Doctor with worry. She knew that her grandfather was not one to joke with these kinds of things, and that if he of all people was worried, then something truly dark was lying in wait for all of them.
"Is there anything we can do?"
"The others will want a warning… problem is I don't know any more than they do."
"Grandfather…" Susan tried to think of something to say, but the words died upon her lips. There was nothing to be said. She was about to make another attempt when she noticed that the Doctor's teacup began rattling on the table. Both the Doctor and Susan looked at each other, wide eyed. He got up and ran outside as fast as he could, and to his shock and surprise he saw something moving across the sky. Every other pony in Ponyville saw it too; a massive grey ship that seemed to rotate as it moved across the sky. Two smaller and faster vessels were at each side of this colossal machine as they moved across Ponyville and away from Equestria.
"Cyberships," The Doctor muttered, "just what I needed right now."
"They're not on route to attack, grandfather, where could they be heading?"
"I haven't a clue," he responded, "but I aim to find out." The Doctor grabbed hold of Susan's hoof and headed toward the Town Square, where he parked the TARDIS.
"Doctor, what's goin' on? where you headin?" Applejack had managed to spot the Doctor in all the commotion, and was already approaching him.
"Ah, Applejack, how glad I am to see you. I need you to get to the TARDIS; I need to find out where that Cybership is headed." Applejack nodded and followed the Doctor to the Town Square. When they reached the blue box the Doctor searched his pockets for the keys. He looked at Applejack and Susan, dumbfounded as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver.
"Where are my keys?" The Doctor mumbled. The Doors to the TARDIS swung open, smacking the Doctor once again across the muzzle.
"Here they are!" Pinkie Pie grinned as she held the keys in her teeth.
"Would you please stop doing that," The Doctor yelled, "why do you have my TARDIS keys, Pinkie Pie?"
"You left them in the lock," She giggled, "I was standing guard here until you got back, and I think I waited at least half an hour, did you know that your TARDIS had a kitchen, because I didn't know that so I went in there and made a few cupcakes for all of you!"
"Good, good, that's good," The Doctor rushed, "now everyone get inside and enjoy the fairy cakes, I need to follow that ship!" The Doctor jumped, shoving Pinkie Pie back in, and the others followed after him.
The Doctor immediately began working at the console, plugging in all sorts of different machinery and wiring from the bottom of the pedestal into the monitor. The stress on his face tightened as he raced against time to extrapolate the coordinates.
"These cupcakes are good, Pinkie!" Susan chuckled as she took another bite out of one of the fresh cakes. "What did you put in them that make them so good?"
"Usually a good serving of love does the trick!" Pinkie Pie giggled and danced about in her usual, interesting way.
"No time to be sharing cooking recipes," The Doctor yelled, "I need your magic, Susan; now!"  Susan sighed and focused her magic on the central control panel.
"You are no fun at all, grandfather," Susan smirked. The Doctor paid no attention to her humor, and instead threw the landing brake down, sending a rumble throughout the TARDIS. Pinkie Pie had set the cupcakes upon the catwalk above the controls, and they almost fell off if it were not for her quick thinking. The rumbling continued for a moment until the time capsule came to a stop. The Doctor ran over to the door, but before he could open it he stopped himself and turned to face the other ponies. He clapped once and pointed to the monitor on the central controls.
"Environment checks; need to run those more often," he ran back to the monitor and tapped a few keys. Several different readings, all in Gallifreyan, popped up on the screen. The Doctor looked in shock as he realized just exactly where he had landed the TARDIS.
"Doc, what's wrong?" Applejack whispered.
"…Do you remember when you were a little filly, and your parents used to say 'everything is going to be fine,' but you didn't believe them and thought they were just saying it to make you feel better?"
"Yea?"
"Everything's going to be fine." Suddenly a shockwave hit the TARDIS, and everything inside started to shudder. The Doctor tried to tap at the keys again, but his hooves didn't allow him to do it fast enough.
"Grandfather, what's going on?!"
"Well, you might just be a bit cross with me, but I think, well I don't think, I'm sure that we just landed in the middle of a Cyberpony encampment."
"You did what?!"
"Oh, typical, focus on the bad part of the situation!" The Doctor yelled. Another shockwave hit the TARDIS. Sparks flew from the center dais, and wires started coming undone above their heads.
"Doctor, what are we going to do?!" Pinkie Pie screamed.
"Just hang on!" The Doctor punched a button and lifted the brakes again. The TARDIS took off as a thundering crack could be heard through the air, and after a moment of chaotic shouts and screams the machine finally landed. There was a deep, almost awkward silence as the TARDIS and its passengers just sat there. The Doctor was the first one to move; he had to make sure that the TARDIS didn't take too much damage. He ran over to the doors and walked outside. Slowly the others collected their senses and followed the Doctor. They found him on the left side of the blue box, stroking a series of scorch marks with his hoof.
"Oh you poor thing," The Doctor mumbled, "What did those evil little Cyberponies try to do to you? Tried to rip a hole in your side, that's what they tried to do!" The Doctor stopped what he was doing and turned to face his companions, who were curious about his next course of action. "Well, we're in a bit of rut. The TARDIS can't take off in her present condition."
"Doctor, where exactly did you take us? Where is this place?"
"Just outside of scanning distance of the Cyberpony encampment," The Doctor stated, "and we'll have to act fast to pacify their attack. When I scanned the area I managed to catch a brainwave count… a count of at least fifty Cyberponies. That's more than enough to level down Ponyville and use it as a staging area for a full scale invasion. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, I'll need you both again to help me infiltrate the facility. Susan, can you find your way back to Ponyville? It isn't too far from here if you use your vortex manipulator."
"I thought you weren't done fixing it."
"I finished fixing it long ago; I just didn't want to give it back just yet." The Doctor smiled. "Go into my study, it's sitting up on top of my desk. You do know where my study is, right? It hasn't changed spots since last time we met."
"I remember, grandfather," Susan replied, "But why is it that you want me to go back to Ponyville?"
"I need you to hook up the vortex manipulator to the TARDIS and take her back to get Rainbow Dash, Twilight and the others to fly the TARDIS here. I would have you use your vortex manipulator to transport them all over here, but I haven't fixed the built in navigation on the manipulator. Not even the previous location feature works right just yet."
"But I thought you said the TARDIS can't fly yet!"
"Not on her own she can't," The Doctor grinned, "tell Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle to initiate plan twenty. They'll know what I'm talking about." The Doctor looked over at Pinkie Pie, who was still holding her cupcakes. The keys to the TARDIS sat atop one of them.
"Pinkie Pie, the TARDIS keys, please."
"Okee dokee, lokee!" She yanked the keys off of the cupcake and tossed it to the Doctor, who in turn gave the keys to Susan.
"I'm trusting you with her now," The Doctor muttered, "No harm better come to her, do you understand?"
"I understand, grandfather."
"Good. Now go, the TARDIS is waiting for you." Susan nodded and jumped into the time machine, already headed for the Doctor's study.
"Well, now that that's taken care of, why don't we go and see what the Cyberponies have in store for us, shall we?"

The Forest below was dense and relatively dark. No pony has ever gone out this far; in all the records that the Doctor has examined no single report detailed anything about this strange new land. Even Applejack and Pinkie Pie were mystified by the new sounds and smells of this previously undiscovered forest.
"Doc," Applejack muttered, "how far are we from Ponyville?"
"We're a pretty good distance away," The Doctor whispered, "This place has never been explored by anypony before. We might even be what some ponies refer to as 'the middle of nowhere.'"
"But we're somewhere, aren't we?" Pinkie Pie joined in on the conversation.
"Yes," The Doctor chortled, "yes, Pinkie Pie, we are indeed somewhere. All the way out here, in nature's unbridled majesty." The Doctor heard a repressed explosion coming from behind him. He paid no mind to it, but the others jumped at the sound.
"What was that?" Pinkie Pie whispered.
"That was the TARDIS taking off for Ponyville," The Doctor muttered, "I hope that the others will be here soon." The rest of the journey into the woods was spent in silence. Applejack tried to think of something, but the mere presence of the Doctor choked her up. She not only couldn't think of anything to say, but she could barely focus on walking. That, and the fact that Pinkie Pie was carelessly hopping ruined the mood. She sighed and continued to walk beside the Doctor, only left to wonder what exactly the Doctor thought about her.
The Doctor was starting to question himself if he really did park the TARDIS close enough to the Cyberpony encampment when he heard something explode in front of them. This wasn't the same sound as before, but an entirely new, entirely dangerous sound.
"Was that the TARDIS as well?" Applejack asked.
"No," The Doctor replied, "That was something else. Something up ahead just blew up, and I think it blew up right where we are headed. Something's going on at the Cyberpony camp, and I do not like the sound of it." The Doctor picked up the pace, running forward as fast as he possibly could. "Come on, you two, we've got to get up there!" Applejack and Pinkie Pie both picked up the pace, still confused as to what might have happened just up ahead.

Back in Ponyville Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy had just returned from a meeting with the Mayor. They were all on their way home when they heard the TARDIS. All at once they tried to follow the sound, breaking out into a gallop as they neared the familiar wooden blue box. Twilight Sparkle was the first to reach the door, and as soon as she did she started knocking.
"Doctor?! Doctor, are you there?! We need your help, there was this ship in the sky and we were wondering if you could tell us-"
"He already knows," Susan coughed from inside. She threw the doors open and collapsed as smoke billowed out from the time machine. "You have no idea how tough that was to get her here," Susan went on, "I had to rewire everything while I was still in the time vortex… That didn't work, so I had to force her to land normally. I don't think she liked that."
"Susan," Rarity responded, "Where is the Doctor?"
"Following the ship you mentioned earlier. He said he needed all of you to get into the TARDIS and initiate a… plan twenty."
"Plan twenty? Wasn't that the one with pouring tea on his head?" Rainbow Dash mumbled. Twilight Sparkle groaned, realizing what the Doctor wanted them to do.
"Plan twenty, Dash, not plan fifteen; he wants us to fly the TARDIS." Rainbow Dash looked at her with surprise in her eyes. The surprise soon dissolved into one of daring.
"You guys just get inside," Rainbow Dash grinned, "I'll get the harness prepped and ready to go. Things are about to get real messy!"

By the time the Doctor, Applejack and Pinkie Pie reached the Cyberpony encampment they did not need any further help at guessing what had happened. They smelled the smoke long before they saw the fire, but when they finally got close enough they saw that the Cyberpony ship was the thing that exploded. Several Cyberponies lay inactive on the ground as the flames consumed the large twisted wreck that had once been a transport.
"What happened?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"This ship was ambushed," The Doctor muttered, "Someone or something was hiding, and waiting for the right moment to strike, and when it found its opening it destroyed the Cybership. Only question is what did it?"
"Any ideas, Doc?" Applejack inquired.
"There are many things that can cause that kind of damage in this universe. Problem is without having been here to witness the attack first hand I can't determine exactly what caused it. Still, we should proceed with caution just in case-" A plasma bolt hit the tree nearest to the Doctor's head. All three of them ran for cover just as two more plasma bolts missed their marks. "I figured that was going to happen sooner or later."
"Hostile elements will be deleted!" A malfunctioning mechanical voice announced.
"Oh great, some of the Cyberponies aren't dead yet… Well, not to say they weren't dead already, but… you know what I mean." Three more plasma bolts hit the tree the Doctor used as cover. "Anyway, I saw the entrance to the base not too far from the wreckage. If we can speed past those Cyberponies we can use the wreck as a shield while I pry the door open with my screwdriver."
"Are you sure about this?" Applejack whispered.
"We can do it, Doctor!" Pinkie Pie replied, "C'mon, Applejack, It's just like racing!"
"Alright, on my signal," The Doctor whispered back, "1…2…3!" The Doctor ran out from behind his tree, followed by Applejack and Pinkie Pie. There were only two Cyberponies still active. They had been torn essentially to shreds, but their brains still functioned, and that allowed them to operate. The three ponies ran desperately across the burning shrapnel, ducking and avoiding the attacks of the Cyberponies. Just as they had reached safety the Cyberpony closest to them fired, and hit Applejacks tail. It sizzled harmlessly through her golden colored tail, and left a small, uneven spot where it had landed.
"Whew, now that was a close one," She sighed. The Doctor had his sonic screwdriver out and was already working on getting the doors open. When he finally managed to get them open he smelt something in the air. It was the smell of cooking meat.
"That smells mighty fine there, Doc," Applejack remarked, "You reckon them Cyberponies really need to barbeque?"
"That's not a barbeque," The Doctor muttered, "This encampment is a conversion facility. A fire has more than likely broken out inside as well, and what you smell is the smell of roasting meat… pony meat." Applejacks expression went from being mildly amused to utterly disgusted in a matter of seconds.
"Oh now that is just wrong," Applejack gagged.
"Trust me, I've been through worse," The Doctor nodded grimly. The Doctor motioned for the three ponies to follow him inside, and without any further words they did so.

Twilight Sparkle was still at the controls, pouring her magic into the TARDIS as Susan tried to keep the crippled machine aloft. Rainbow Dash was dragging the box across the sky as Rarity kept watch over the ground below.
"Are you sure this is the right way?!" Rainbow Dash called to Susan over the sound of the wind in her ears.
"The TARDIS's navigation system is leading me to its previous location; I am more than certain this is the correct path!" Susan moved around the console, activating all kinds of switches and knobs, even throwing the brake on and off to adjust the level of the type forty time machine. "Come on, old girl, we need to get to the Doctor!"
"How much longer do I need to keep this up?!" Twilight Sparkle asked as the energy surrounding her horn began to slowly spark out and fade.
"Just a bit longer, Twilight," Susan replied, "We're almost there. Just remember that the Doctor needs us. He can't do this alone." Twilight Sparkle nodded, and focused harder on keeping the TARDIS charged.
"Girls, I think we have got bigger problems!" Rarity stood at the doors, mouth agape at something directly in front of them. Susan left her post at the controls to see what it was, and immediately she knew that something was about to go disastrously wrong.
At first she couldn't tell what it was that was shimmering in the sky; it wasn't until the object completely dropped its cloaking field that she saw the ship taking form. It was massive, somewhere between sixty to seventy feet in diameter. The ship itself sported several small half spheres on its bottom and top, and at its center axis was a glowing light that seemed to be keeping the vessel upright. But what troubled Susan was not the fact that the vessel was of such gargantuan proportions, or the fact that it was armed and ready to fire, but the fact that it was the near exact shape of a dinner plate; a saucer.
"Rainbow Dash, turn us around!"
"You don't need to tell me twice!" Rainbow Dash jerked to the left, causing the TARDIS to buck and follow in the same direction. Rarity tumbled back into the control room and right on top of Fluttershy, who had been holding onto the railing the whole time. Susan grunted as she slammed into the controls, and Twilight Sparkle gripped onto the grated floor, desperately trying to control the Doctor's machine.
"I don't know if I can keep this up!" Twilight Sparkle yelled.
"You have to! That ship isn't just an ordinary ship; no race in the universe has ever had a ship like that! That ship is a-" Before Susan could finish her sentence a massive blast hit the right side of the TARDIS, blowing open a hole the size of a pony. The shrapnel from the explosion flew out of the gaping wound, but some of the pieces embedded themselves into Susan's back. She screamed in agony as she let go of the controls and tumbled backwards into the left wall. Rainbow Dash couldn't keep the box steady after that, and when the rope snapped she could only watch in horror as the TARDIS rolled through the air. Inside the time machine it was nothing but pure chaos. The Doctor's blue box seemed to groan in pain as it fell into the forest, crashing hard into the ground.

The Doctor, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie were exploring the Cyberpony conversion facility. What they found inside, however, was more shocking than it was revealing. The conversion rooms were completely blasted to bits; random fires lit the darkened halls, and bits of shrapnel littered the entrance. The same stench of roasting meat filled the air, intermingling with the smell of burnt rubber and steel.
"This wasn't a simple attack, this was a full scale bombardment," The Doctor coughed, "We'll take the longer route through the Cyberpony storage rooms. Get ready to fight off any Cyberponies if they're awake."
"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," Applejack mumbled. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and tried to get the storage room door open, but it wouldn't budge.
"Applejack, this door is dead, do you mind finding another way in so we can-" Applejack ignored the rest of his question and simply kicked the door in. The metal panels dented, but did not open all the way. Applejack kicked them again and again, until finally the metal panels flew out onto the catwalk in front of them.
"Always a pleasure to help, Doctor," She smiled.
"…Remind me never to ask for that sort of help again," The Doctor mumbled. As they stepped into the storage room they saw that the Cyberponies were still in their cryopods, but they haven't budged even after the temperature had risen beyond thawing point. Walking further into the room they noticed one of the Cyberponies had attempted to escape. The glass that had covered its cryopod was smashed, but the Cyberpony lay limp, halfway out of the pod.
"What's happened to them?" Pinkie Pie whispered as she hopped behind Applejack.
"They're decommissioned," The Doctor said blandly, "permanently. When the encampment was attacked I think the culprits used an EMP blast to strategically disable the attack force, which left them with a perfect invasion opening. Looks like we're dealing with some military geniuses here, girls; mighty brilliant ones, too.
"Could it be the Sontarans again?"
"No, not the Sontarans; The Sontarans don't have the kind of technology to sneak an EMP beneath Cyberman radar. Besides, if the Sontarans did attack they would simply face their enemy in combat rather than execute what they consider to be a 'cowardice tactic.'"
The Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to open the door to the other storage room, only to come face to face with a Cyberpony. Applejack jumped back in fear as Pinkie Pie stared in wonder, but the Doctor looked at the figure quizzically and knocked on its head several times. The Cyberpony fell backwards, stiff as a board. "This one's dead as well," The Doctor coughed, "I'm willing to wager that the body's circuitry is decimated and that the brain inside has been turned to mush… Anyhow, onward we go."

Deep in the Forest Twilight Sparkle awoke to find that she was still alive. She sat up and noticed that everyone else had survived as well. Rainbow Dash was asleep next to a tree, and Rarity, Fluttershy, and Susan were. Susan was alright despite her injuries, which were bandaged up. Behind her she could hear a faint hissing, and when she turned around she saw that the TARDIS was in the worst state she had ever seen it in. The hole in the side seemed to be slowly mending, but the interior was completely blocked out by the smoke. Twilight Sparkle tried to stand up, but there was far too much pain in her side. She limped over to Susan and nudged her a little.
"Susan… Susan, wake up!"
"Huh… what?" Susan mumbled as she slowly woke up, "Is the TARDIS okay?" Susan looked behind Twilight, and in a flash her eyelids flew open. "Oh no… oh no, no, no…" Susan picked herself up off the ground and dragged herself to the time machine. She ran a hoof slowly over the surface of the blue wooden box. "Grandfather's going to kill me when he finds out what I did to the TARDIS… Oh I'm so sorry, you poor thing…"
"What are we going to do?"
"There's nothing much we can do now, except watch over the TARDIS," Susan sighed, "She's taken far too much damage, and I'm afraid if she runs out of power while repairing she'll cause a universal implosion." That was when a deep, menacing bell sounded. Susan dragged herself to the doors, threw them open, and flung herself inside.
"It's the Cloister Bell!" She shouted, "I need you here, too Twilight, we need to keep the power levels steady!" Twilight Sparkle ran into the TARDIS, not expecting to see that the damage was oh so familiar. The grated floor of the machine had been ripped up, as though something had exploded underneath. The central controls were bent slightly askew, and the glass tubing in the middle had been shattered. She began to cry as she saw all of this. Memories of her experience with the Mara flooded back, and she remembered what had happened to the Doctor in that alternate TARDIS.
"Twilight, what's wrong?" Susan called to her as she focused her magic to power the machine's fuel cells. Twilight Sparkle didn't respond; instead she started focusing her magic into the TARDIS as fast as she could generate it.
"Please doctor," She wept, "Please be safe."

The Doctor and his companions had passed through all of the storage chambers and were about to exit the facility using the back entrance. Applejack had to smash the door open again, but what lay outside surprised the Doctor.
"I don't believe it…" Right in front of the Doctor was a massive clearing where the dirt and grass gave way to metal. Where this circular, metal spot was inlayed into the soil three prongs stood in even spacing around the edges. They were quite thick, and looked as though they were intended to boost a signal or beam of some kind. At the center of these metal spikes there was a device that seemed out of place. It was bronze in color, with a single, spear-like device sitting in the middle of it.
"Doctor, what's all this here?" Applejack pointed to the device.
"That's a dimension vault," The Doctor responded, "and it definitely does not belong here. Dimension vaults are not of Cyberman origin, they're-" A light thud was heard as a Cyberpony stepped out from behind one of the metal prongs.
"Delete," The Cyberpony droned, "Delete."
"I thought you said all them Cyberponies are dead, Doc!"
"Well technically this one is dead, the brain inside is reduced to mush and the gun attachments are broken, but it can still operate and find a new brain to replace the old one." The Doctor moved out of the way of the Cyberpony as it tried to grab hold of him in a fashion similar to a zombie grabbing its next victim.  "Applejack, I could use a little help here!" Applejack did a somersault, rolling over to where the Cyberpony stood, and she kicked it in the side as hard as she could. The metal chassis buckled, and the robotic creature groaned and fell to the ground, completely inactive.
"Don't leave a Time Lord to do a pony's job," Applejack huffed. While she was distracted she did not notice that another Cyberpony was right behind her, ready to fire with its still functional gun attachments.
"Applejack, get out of the way!" The Doctor cried. Applejack looked behind her just in time, only to hear a loud buzzing noise. A bright beam of light shot through the air and it hit the Cyberpony from behind. Where it was hit the metal exploded, sending bits of metal flying out at Applejack. She jumped out of the way of the blast just as quickly as she had turned around, and it proved to be effective. She was not hit by a single piece of metal. As the Cyberpony slowly collapsed into a useless heap of metal the Doctor and his friends saw the thing that had saved them. The Doctor's eyes flared with anger, and as Applejack and Pinkie Pie looked on in awe the metal alien approached them.
"After all this time, after everything I've sacrificed, your kind still exists to sit there and laugh in my face…"
"What's happening," Applejack trembled, "W-Who are they?"
"THE FEMALE EQUESTRIAN KNOWS ITS QUESTIONS WELL," The metal beast spoke in a shrill, almost screaming voice, "ARE YOU GOING TO ANSWER HER QUESTIONS, DOCTOR?" The Doctor and his companions noticed something flickering in the sky, and so they lifted their heads to see what was happening. Just above them several ships were coming into view. As these ships appeared so did hundreds upon thousands of metal creatures, similar to the one that had appeared before them. Their numbers blocked out the very sun, and the Doctor, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie felt the deepest feeling of dread rise within.
"MARK OUR WORDS, DOCTOR," The creature continued, "FOR THIS MOMENT SHALL BE MARKED AS A VICTORY; A VICTORY FOR THE DALEKS!"



TO. BE. CONCLUDED.