The Living Darkness

Part One: An Unearthly Stallion

The Doctor reached out, straining to stretch his arm, his long fingers close enough to touch her, yet she might as well have been leagues away. She and her husband knelt before the Angel, defenseless. All they had to do was blink and it would be over. The Doctor couldn't run; he was rooted to the spot, the soil of the graveyard engulfing his feet, pulling him down into the earth.

'No!' he cried, abandoning his efforts to reach them for clawing at the soil to free his feet. 'I'm coming for you! Just keep your eyes on it!'

'Doctor, I can't!' he boy said, terrified. 'I have to blink. I...have...to...'

The dirt sucked the Doctor deeper. 'No!' he yelled. 'You both have to look!'

'Doctor,' the girl responded, 'I –'

Her voice cut off with a faint whoosh. With great anguish, the Doctor forced himself to look up even though he knew what he would see. The Angel peered back at him, not weeping or snarling, but smirking in triumph. It had no need for him; it had eaten its fill. It would leave the Doctor to his fate. The devouring earth had sucked him down to his chest. Soon it would be up to his neck. There was no time to reflect on his failures. He had to escape.

A pair of brown trouser-clad legs wearing trainers trod into his field of vision. The Doctor blinked and looked to find a brown pinstripe suit attached to the trousers, a Duster coat worn over that, and the man wearing it all a pale-skinned fellow with spiky dark brown hair and hard, merciless eyes.

'You!' the Doctor whispered, shocked. 'What are you...?'

The man's eyes burned with contempt. 'How many more before you learn?' he seethed. 'How many more have to be lost?'

'I couldn't possibly have foreseen this!' the Doctor protested. 'If I'd read ahead –'

'You did read ahead,' the man pointed out. 'Just enough to give you a clue. That's beside the point though. You could have said "good-bye" to them any time. After Christmas or after saving their marriage! But no, you had to keep pushing it, having too much fun to see that you were putting them in danger!'

'I needed them!' the Doctor insisted, sinking further into the ground. 'I need companions! You know that I need – we need – friends!'

'Friends?' The man curled his lips in disgust. 'If they were your friends you'd make more of an effort!'

Taking a step forward, the man planted his foot on the Doctor's head, pressing down hard. The Doctor cried out, the pressure grinding into his skull. 'What are you doing?' he demanded, swiping at the leg to no avail.

'If you're not going to take better care of your friends,' the man uttered darkly, his eyes glinting with iron intent, 'then you don't deserve to call yourself the Doctor.'

Protesting, the Doctor was forced under the earth, sinking into a smothering grave. The solid-packed dirt solidified around his limbs, freezing him in place. He couldn't breathe, dirt flooding his mouth and nose. Tears seeping from his eyes, running through his mind over and over was a single thought: Please, I'm sorry...

An explosion. The world rocked, and a shower of sparks rained overhead. The Doctor pried his eyes open and blinked groggily. Unconscious of it, he was gulping down greedy helpings of oxygen. His hands gripped the console so tightly that they had gone numb.

'...What...?' he asked aloud, blinking his dream away. As though answering his question, the TARDIS shook again, and something exploded. He was surrounded by flames and the console was screaming with alarm. The room was dark, the only illumination coming from the console itself.

There would be time to brood over the loss of his companions later. The Doctor leaped into action, taking hold of the controls, only to find that they had been locked in place and smashed. Alarmed, he ran to the opposite side to check his coordinates. The screen bounced around, cracked and barely attached to the console any more. Catching it in a single hand, the Doctor held it steady as he examined it. He blinked and checked again, thinking he had made a mistake, but no, the coordinates displayed were totally unfamiliar. Was he even in the Universe any more?

Another explosion rocked the TARDIS, knocking him from the console and into the railing surrounding it. He took tight hold of the railing and pushed himself back to the console, looking for anything, anything at all, to rectify his situation. He had to stop the TARDIS or else it was going to teat itself apart.

Whipping out his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor waved it over the console, trying to access the machinery from within. The console responded by blowing up entirely, flinging the Doctor over the railing to slam into a wall with bone-crunching force. Slumping to the floor, his senses scattered, the Doctor could only watch through his fading vision as his sonic screwdriver rolled away. Reaching feebly for it, the Doctor collapsed forward in a stupor, at the mercy of his runaway TARDIS.

Queen Zima gazed out the window as she sat on her expansive bed, watching the snowflakes drift lazily down from black clouds blanketing the sky, carved and delivered by the Pegasi with love and care. The frail young Unicorn filly's bright blue eyes were wide and puffy, unable to shed any more tears. Siting beside her, Clearwin nuzzled the Queen's glorious mane, a thick rainbow of blue, purple, magenta and white that hadn't been touched by a pair of scissors since the day she had been born.

'Why did they have to die?' Zima asked, her voice heavy and miserable. 'Why, Clearwin?'

'I don't rightly know, Your Highness,' Clearwin admitted.

'No!' Zima scooted away as though stung, her glare as harsh as a slap to Clearwin's face. 'Please, Clearwin! I'm not "You're Highness"! I don't want to be Queen!'

Clearwin shook her head. 'I wish your parents were still here too,' she said, tears forming in her eyes. She hadn't been especially close to the former Queen and her husband, but they had been very kind to her and had ruled Ice Draught with wisdom and kindness. Everypony was mourning their passing. Seeing Zima's grief was forcing Clearwin's own sadness to the surface.

Zima regarded her for a moment, then scooted back to Clearwin's side again. 'I'm sorry,' she told her, resting her head against Clearwin's soft brown fur. The young governess smiled and ran her hoof through Zima's white coat.

'It's OK.'

The new Winter Queen's eyes turned to the snow again, her face deadly serious. 'We're just like the snowflakes, aren't we?' she asked. 'We drift about for a bit on the wind then melt away, sooner or later.'

'I should hope there's more to it than that!' Clearwin said. 'That would be so sad!'

'But it's true,' Zima responded. 'My parents weren't ready to die. Maybe I'll die tomorrow, crushed under an avalanche like they were. We can never know.'

Clearwin was taken aback by her charge's pessimism. 'No! You mustn't think like that! It's no good going through life thinking it's no use because you're just gonna die!'

Hopping off the bed, Clearwin trotted to the window and pushed it open. Her horn lit up with amber magic, and gusts of wind blew the snow in tight, intricate swirls around her. She gave a cheeky smile to Zima as the snow danced around the room.

'Life is beautiful,' Clearwin said, turning in slow circles in time to her wind tricks. 'I'll always be here for you, Zima. Even as you learn to be the next Winter Queen, I'll always be your friend.'

A faint smile graced Zima's muzzle. 'You promise?'

'I do, my Queen.' Clearwin bent her knees to bow before Zima. The filly began to giggle.

'Well then,' said Zima, putting on a mock-regal tone, 'my first act as Queen is to have you accompany me to the gardens tomorrow so that we may construct the biggest snow pony in Equestria for Hearth's Warming Eve!'

Clearwin smiled. 'It shall be done!'

Zima's bright blue magic pulled the window closed and pulled the heavy comforter over her small body. 'Good night, Clearwin,' she said as she snuggled into the warm sheets. 'I'll see you in the morning.'

Clearwin trotted out the door. 'Good night, Zima,' she responded, and closed the door quietly behind her.

Relaxing beside a crackling fire and enjoying a cup of peppermint tea, Clearwin made herself comfortable on the sofa and opened a book. The royal library of Ice Draught was her favourite room in the castle to relax in, a place to catch up on stories and to chat with friends.

'Enjoying another night of reading?'

Clearwin looked up to see Grand Vizier Darkheart and her two younger sisters take a seat in the sofa parallel from her, plopping herself down in that lethargic yet sensual way that Darkheart had down to a science while her sisters sat straighter. She was easily the most gorgeous Unicorn mare Clearwin knew; a flawless smoky-grey coat that was always brushed, a silky midnight-black mane that fell like a ebony waterfall across her back, her tail just as black and silky, smouldering violet eyes, a long and graceful muzzle, slender build and a mysterious-looking black heart symbol for a cutie mark. She wore a heavy black overcoat with thick, furry collars the same colour as her mane. She was friendly enough, but Clearwin had never spoken to her at length.

'For a bit,' Clearwin answered. 'I've got to check on my brother tonight. He lives on the outskirts of the city. I'm just bringing him some goodies.'

Darkheart raised a sympathetic eyebrow. 'That's so far out, and on such a cold night! What would your brother be doing out there?'

Grimacing, Clearwin leaned forward conspiratorially. 'He's an...Earth Pony,' she whispered, hesitating to mention Plough Drag's kind. She hated having to treat Plough's existence like a dirty secret, but Ice Draught was founded by Unicorns for Unicorns, ones that looked down on the other kinds of ponies.

Darkheart's eyes widened just a bit, and she gave a nod. 'Ah.'

The younger two Heart Sisters glanced at each other before turning to look at Clearwin. 'That poor fellow,' Minister of Magic Coldheart said. She was a petite light blue Unicorn with a mane and tail as white as fresh snow, her mane fluffed out in a wild tangle, like a blizzard. A shiny, icy blue heart decorated her flanks. She looked more like a large filly than a small mare, her large blue eyes bright and curious.

'Does the Queen, know about your brother?' Minister of War Stormheart asked, her voice low and flat. She was easily the largest mare Clearwin had ever seen, almost Plough's size. Compared to slender Darkheart and tiny Coldheart, Stormheart was solid and muscular, her face long and humourless. Like Coldheart she had a long, wild mane, this one iron grey and streaked with white. Her coat was an angry deep purple, her cutie mark a grey heart with arcs of lightning surrounding it.

Clearwin wasn't sure that she liked their scrutiny. 'As a matter of fact, she does,' she tossed off, trying to not to sound too defensive. 'Our new Winter Queen doesn't have any problem with Earth Ponies and Pegasi living in Ice Draught.'

Darkheart smiled and leaned closer. 'Don't get us wrong, Clearwin. We fully support the rights of all ponykind. It's the stale aristocracy you have to worry about.'

'I'd be careful if I were you,' said Stormheart to Clearwin. 'The nobles are delighted that we now have such a young, helpless Queen. They'll want to keep her weak and under their influence. Beware if any approach you.'

'They'll bleed us dry,' Coldheart said darkly, then giggled, holding her hooves over her mouth. Although she was pretty and cute, Clearwin had always found Coldheart creepy. Maybe dealing with experimental magics had done something to her brain. Or did it take somepony creepy to go into that line of work in the first place?

'Thanks for the advice,' Clearwin said.

'Don't mention it,' said Darkheart in an airy tone. 'The four of us will be invaluable to our new Queen in these coming years, us teaching her to be a good Queen and you teaching her to be a good pony.'

'And you'll be running things for her in the meantime,' Clearwin said. She finished her tea and slid her book into her saddlebag. 'So, Heart Sisters, it's been fun, but I really ought to go. I need to catch my brother before he goes to bed. Try to keep Ice Draught in good shape for Zima, right?'

'Likewise,' Stormheart replied.

'Just be careful out there,' Darkheart told her.

'What?' Clearwin asked as she got up. 'Why?'

'That lieutenant of Discord,' Coldheart said, stifling her giggles behind her hooves. 'When Discord fell an associate named Sombra ran off in our direction! They say he's lurking in the shadows somewhere out there, looking to pick up where his master left off! I tell you, he's after my discovery! I found a new source of magic, one that will make Ice Draught dominant over all Equestria!'

Darkheart raised a quizzical eyebrow. 'A bit premature to say that, isn't it?' she asked. 'Nevertheless, a fascinating find we have.'

'Well if this Sombra needs a governess then I'll be in trouble. Otherwise I'm sure I'll be all right.' Clearwin trotted to the exit. 'Good night to you ladies.'

The Heart Sisters watched silently as she left, an amused smile on Darkheart's lips.

'I like her,' Coldheart said. 'Can we keep her?'

'I would prefer to,' Darkheart said as she examined her flawless hooficure. 'It would satisfy our little Queen if her best friend were to join our cause.'

'At last, I'm free to buff up our armies,' Stormheart sighed. 'I pray I'm not too late.'

It was a hard slog through the snow-covered fields, but Clearwin soon saw the two-storey cottage Plough owned just outside his grove. It was sad that he had to live so far outside the city, but the discrimination had been too much for him to bear. It angered Clearwin that he had to live like that, and hoped Zima would change things around as she got into her new role.

'Plough!' she called, taking her saddlebags off and tangling them in the air with her magic. 'It's your baby sister! I brought you money and snacks!'

There was no answer from the cottage. Clearwin walked closer, her hooves crunching the crisp snow. The aroma of burning wood met her nose, and a homey yellow light illuminated the interior, so Plough had to be awake. She passed his little shed, the area essentially a one-pony farm where he grew his own food, selling his surplus off to make money. Even so, Clearwin had to donate to him.

'Hello? Plough?' Clearwin peered through the windows. A fire burned in the mantle, but Plough was nowhere to be seen. Where had that pony gone? He couldn't possibly be farming, and why would he be in the grove? He would freeze.

Clearwin frowned. What if something had happened to Plough and he needed aid? She pushed the door open and trotted inside. 'Plough?'

Everything looked as it should. A little messy, but that was just who Plough was. He was a practical stallion who cares more about results than aesthetics. A bare dining table by the fire and a sparse kitchen were all he really needed on the ground floor. Shaking snow from her mane, Clearwin sat in front of the fire, pondering if she should leave her goodies for Plough and be on her way. If she couldn't find him at home she would have to leave.

The back door creaked, starling her. 'Plough!' she cried in delight, hopping to her hooves to greet him. He stood in the kitchen, a great brown stallion with a messy long mane, simple and earthy. He blinked his large brown eyes, clearly startled by her presence.

'Clearwin?' he whispered, his face growing terrified.

Clearwin stopped in her tracks, disturbed by his reaction. 'Is something –'

'Get out!' he urged, still whispering, peering over his shoulder. 'Please, get out before –'

Somepony else stepped in through the back, bringing an icy chill into the cottage. A grey stallion with thick, wavy black hair with burning scarlet eyes. A dark red cape covered his back and flank. His most striking feature though was his horn, as smooth and curved as a scythe and as red as blood. His predatory eyes fell on Clearwin, and the blood froze in her veins. She couldn't move at all as the stallion approached, a feral grin breaking across his muzzle.

'Do you know this mare?' the stallion asked, his voice a deep, throaty growl.

'This is my younger sister,' Plough explained, shivering. 'She's no threat to us, my lord.'

'Why is she here?'

'She delivers food and money,' said Plough. 'I need her support to live out here.'

Clearwin's heart raced. She watched silently as the fearsome stallion stalked about the room like a shadow, inspecting her with suspicion. What was Plough doing in his company, addressing him as 'lord'?

'She is a witness,' the stallion growled. 'I cannot allow anypony to warm Ice Draught to my presence.'

Clearwin's eyes widened. This couldn't be happening. Would he really kill her, right in front of Plough?

'Lord Sombra, please!' Plough pleaded. 'She can help us! She's the Queen's governess! We can use her to kill the Queen!'

That did it. Forgetting about the evil stallion looming over her, Clearwin whirled upon her brother, her fury and horror fighting for dominance. 'Plough!' she hissed, hardly believing what she just heard from her hard-working, gentle older brother. 'How could you? Zima's just a filly!'

Plough's fear turned to anger, his face twisting with rage. 'She's the Queen of a land that hates me for what I am!' he shouted, teeth bared. 'Because I lost the high-stakes genetic lottery, I'm an outcast in my own homeland! Being an Earth Pony condemns me to second-class status! If you expect me to put up with that for one more day...'

He paused, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. Sombra tittered in the background, enjoying their fight. Clearwin didn't care.

'Zima knows about you,' she said sternly. 'She wants to change things. Now that she's Queen she can make life better for Earth Ponies and Pegasi!'

'Nothing will change as long as the nobles remain in power!' he retorted. 'There's only one cure for their kind: burn them and their rotten institutions to the ground! Wipe the slate clean and begin again!'

'This is all very interesting,' Sombra stated, 'but it's beside the point. I'm only interested in your puny little kingdom for the vast power it hides. Once I have it I'll raze Ice Draught, and Plough Drag may do with the ashes as he wishes. It's but a stepping stone for my conquest of the Crystal Empire.'

Clearwin recalled the strange rant from Coldheart. So she really was onto something? She had to warn them, but what could she do in her current position? Her chances for escape looked especially remote.

'Our agents are in place and need only my signal,' Sombra said. 'We don't need this one. Plough Drag, I command you to kill her.'

Clearwin and Plough alike gasped. There was a pause, both freezing, then looking at each other, expecting the other to make the first move. Plough swallowed nervously, his eyes darting about in search of an excuse. Clearwin eyed the doors, wondering if she could make a break for the front. Plough would catch her in a moment though, being so much bigger and stronger, and experienced in moving through snow. A harsh scraping sound caught her attention, and she found Plough approaching her, a scythe gripped between his teeth. The blade dragged on the floor, raking a groove in the rough wooden floor.

'I'm sorry, Clearwin,' he mumbled, his eyes watery. He raised the scythe and slowly approached. Horrified, Clearwin backed away. This really was it, she was going to die.

'Please, Plough,' she sobbed, looking for time, 'kill me if you must, but let Zima go. She doesn't deserve to die.'

'It's already started,' Plough said. 'There's no stopping our revolution.'

Defeated, Clearwin sank to the floor. She squeezed her eyes shut, burying her face in her hooves. Celestia save me! Save Zima! Save Ice Draught!

A wheezing, groaning sound filled the air, roaring in her ears. Was that the sound of dying? She felt no pain. She had heard that adrenalin could cancel out pain; perhaps she hadn't even noticed the killing blow and she was lying in two on the floor.

'What is this?' Sombra demanded.

Something heavy fell to the floor. 'Clearwin?' Plough asked, his mouth free.

Opening her eyes, Clearwin saw the room fading away, wavering with a dark brown room appearing around her, a wall blocking her from Plough and Sombra. The coral-like wall sloped and was covered in bulbous lamps. Hesitantly, she touched the wall, feeling the smooth hardness. Had Celestia really heard her plea and spirited her off to Canterlot? She had expected Canterlot to look prettier though.

Something exploded behind her, starling her out of her thoughts. Whirling around, Clearwin found herself facing a raised glass platform with a short staircase leading up to it. It was utter chaos; cables hung from the ceiling, smoking machinery littered the floor and a hexagonal metal object atop the platform lay in ruins. A shattered glass pillar rose from the centre of the hexagon. Sparks rained from the ceiling and small fires licked from the hexagon. Deep shadows clung to the room, hiding the rest from her.

Moving carefully among the ruins, Clearwin took it all in, trying to make sense of what she was looking at. The burnt smell that filled the room made her eyes water. Maybe she had died after all and ended up in Tartarus. She wasn't sure what she did to deserve such a fate though.

She approached the platform, stepping gingerly around the debris, so intent on it that the sudden groan to her right startled a scream from her. Looking down, she spotted a pair of tan legs sticking from around a corner, barely viable in the dim light. Walking around the corner, she found a slim Earth Pony stallion on his back, his eyes closed and blood matting in his dark brown mane. His face was quite soft and boyish, really rather pretty. Around his throatlatch was a small burgundy bow tie.

"Hello?' she asked. 'Are you all right?' She hoped he wasn't also a revolutionary, but she couldn't leave him no matter who he was.

He groaned again, his eyes fluttering open. They were large and green, pretty much like the rest of him. 'Would you look at that,' he slurred with a goofy smile. 'A Unicorn! I haven't seen one in ages!'

He must have come from some Earth Pony colony. 'Sir, your head appears to be injured,' she told him. 'Are you all right?'

He sat up, looking around. 'Fine, fine,' he dismissed, 'except my head hurts and my TARDIS is a smouldering wreck, so actually no, I'm not fine!'

He turned to her, his eyes narrowing. 'Wait, how did you get in here, anyhow?' he asked, his voice a deadly whisper. 'Transmat?'

'I don't rightly know,' Clearwin admitted. 'I just appeared in here.'

'There was no-one here when I found the console ruined,' he said. 'I wake up and everything's destroyed! That normally doesn't happen!'

'Well don't blame me,' Clearwin huffed. 'I don't know who you are or what this is. My own brother was about to kill me, and then I'm in here. You're not with him or Sombra, are you?'

'Never heard that name in my life,' the stallion said, looking around. 'I feel a bit odd. Why can't I feel my fing –'

He raised his forelegs up and his eyes bugged from his head, gasping like a fish. 'My hands!' he screamed. 'Someone chopped off my hands!'

'"Hands"...?' Clearwin cocked her head, blinking in confusion. The stallion stared at his hooves in utter horror.

'No!' he gasped. 'No, my hands weren't chopped off! They've gone all...hoofy-woofy!'

His gaze followed down his forelegs, running his hooves through his coat, goggling like he had never seen himself before. Finally he touched his face, exploring his muzzle. 'Blimey, the process really went wrong this time. Except other than physiological differences I feel the same, so I don't think I died.'

'Looks like were in the same boat then,' Clearwin sighed. 'Is this where ponies go if they narrowly escape death?'

'I'm not a pony though!' the stallion insisted. 'I've no idea why I am one all of a sudden!'

Clearwin shook her head. The stallion was clearly mad. He must have taken an especially hard bump on the head. 'It does me no good to stay inside,' she said. 'I have to get to Ice Draught and warn everypony about Sombra's revolution. They're going to kill everypony there, including the Queen even though she's just a filly!'

'If my TARDIS were working I could take you there in an instant,' the stallion said as he inspected a chunk of broken machinery. 'Alas, we're not going anywhere until I can repair it, and without hands, that time may never come!'

Clearwin sagged, feeling like a huge weight was pressing down upon her. So she had been rescued only to be trapped with a mad pony, unable to ever reach Ice Draught. She sobbed quietly in a corner, wondering what would happen to her homeland. She could see all too clearly Zima awakening as her doors crash open, angry Pegasi and Earth Ponies storming in and beating her to death. It was all her fault for freezing up and not attempting an escape. She wondered if the Heart Sisters would die too. They were awfully cunning though. Perhaps they could escape to the neighbouring Crystal Empire and raise an alarm. Hopefully there would still be some of Ice Draught left to rescue. Maybe not all the nobles would be dead by then...

A loud banging echoed through the room. Clearwin sniffled and raised her head. The stallion was looking grimly at the hexagon. 'So not only were the controls somehow locked but they were deliberately broken so I couldn't change the last course programmed in,' he said. 'Someone was in here while I was asleep, someone who wanted me in this exact spot...'

Falling silent, he cast a narrow eye at her. Instead of saying any more he went back to his work.

Clenching her teeth, Clearwin wiped her tears away. If that lunatic thought she was responsible for the damage to his machine then he might become violent. If worst came to worse she could clobber him with one of the machine bits.

'Why is it so dark in here?' the stallion asked, moving from the shadows. 'It shouldn't be this dark!'

Clearwin stared at him with glassy eyes, taking in his darkened surroundings. The darkness was quite oppressive. Had it been like that before, the shadows so deep and black? Shouldn't the fires on the hexagon keep the shadows away?

Instead, they seemed to creep closer to the stallion, hovering over him like a huge bat. The light of the fires faded into the dark, shrouding the area. The only light coming from the hexagon any more was a small, bright purple spark on the surface, standing out from the blackness like a beacon.

'Does that light mean anything?' she asked, trying not to let her frustration and sorrow show.

'What light?'

Clearwin grunted and approached the hexagon. 'This light,' she said. 'It doesn't mean we're going to explode, is it?'

The spark flared up suddenly, and a sharp tingle ran through her horn. Wincing, she stepped away. 'What was that?'

The stallion raised his head, his eyes growing wide with alarm. 'Wait, did you see the shadows –'

Something grasped Clearwin by her head and crest, something cold and very strong. With a strangled cry she was wrenched forward, the stallion shouting in protest. The tingling in her horn grew to a splitting headache, her magic exploding from it in chaotic arcs the nearer she reached the shattered hexagon. The spark bloomed into a burning purple flame, reaching for her horn. She screamed, trying to turn her head away, but a tremendous force kept her straight on the course.

'Let her go!' the stallion yelled. He rushed to her side, but something flung him away, a long black...arm? Clearwin could only see from the corner of her eye, but the purple light consumed her vision the next moment. Her magic ignited and spewed in a great fountain from her horn, spiralling into the toxic light. Screaming, her skull felt like a rail road spike was being driven through it. She nearly passed out. The pain was so intense that she was nauseous.

The light faded and the connection severed, leaving Clearwin to drop to her hooves, on the verge of vomiting. She gasped for breath, slumping against the hexagon. It whirred as the purple glow spread across it and that wheezing, groaning whoosh returned.

The stallion came galloping beside her, peering at the hexagon in befuddlement. 'The TARDIS is moving again!' he gasped. 'You somehow jump-started it!'

She collapsed against the hexagon and squeezed her eyes shut. 'Can we go to Ice Draught?' she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

'I can't control where we go now!' the stallion said, his excitement turning to alarm. 'We could end up anywhere in time and space!' He banged on something with his hooves, and a new light turned out.

'Oh, here we go!' he laughed. 'We're moving a thousand years into the future, but not moving from this spot!'

Clearwin blinked, trying to make sense of what the stallion just said, but the room lurched to the side, spilling her over.

'Whoa!' The stallion tumbled over with her as a terrible grinding noise filled her ears. Everything rattled, every bolt and screw shaking.

'She's screaming,' the stallion said grimly upon the floor. 'Oh, she's in such terrible pain!'

Clearwin had had enough. 'What's happening!?' she screamed, covering her head and sobbing again.

Everything went black.

Something hard tapped. Hooves on metal? Her head felt like it was stomped upon. She wished the noise would go away.

Her eyes peeled open. The stallion was pacing with nervous excitement, a worried look on his face. He noticed her, and trotted over, smiling.

'Oi, you're awake! Good!'

'Damn it,' she muttered. 'I was hoping it was all a dream.' Her mouth was dry and her coat felt tacky from all the smoke and grime. Shaking, she stood up, wincing at the pain in her horn. Her barrel heaved, and she had to choke back her vomit.

'Well, I'm going to assume that you're being here is an accident and that shadow is the reason I'm stranded,' the stallion said. He peered over his shoulder. Clearwin followed his gaze and saw that the shadows had vanished.

'They've been gone since we arrived,' he explained. 'I haven't seen them since.'

'Can we leave now?' Clearwin asked.

'Well, you see...' the stallion coughed. '...Yes, we can leave, but I knew nothing of the time we just came from, and neither of us would know about this one.'

'What are you talking about?' Clearwin trotted to the door and pushed it open with a loud creak. She peered out, and her jaw dropped. She thought she couldn't be surprised any more than she already had been, but what she saw made her legs buckle.

Black, pregnant clouds hung low, churning and blotting any hint of the sky out. Jagged black rocks covered in snow jutted from the shattered landscape like crooked fangs. What lay in the snow was what drew Clearwin's attention though. Lying in twisted heaps were countless pony skeletons. Earth Pony, Pegasus and Unicorn alike had died together, their bones clean and yellow.

Clearwin gaped at the macabre vision, her mind boggling at the sheer scale of death laid out before her.

'What is this?' she choked out. 'Where are we?'

'We didn't move anywhere,' the stallion said. He stepped up beside her, his face grim. 'When we are though is more than a thousand years into your future.'

'...A thousand years...into my...future...?' she wondered, trying to wrap her head around the concept.

'Clearly,' he said, 'something terrible happened in your absence, and as long as we're here, I'm going to find out what that was.'

Author's note: My first true story with the Doctor in it, and I found that I really like writing the Eleventh Doctor. It celebrates 50 years of adventures with the Doctor along with four seasons of Friendship is Magic and the Christmas season. So, everyone, please enjoy the new story, the new Doctor Who special and of course the new season of Friendship is Magic.