Torchwood: Equestria

Chapter 3

Two Captains

Galaxy O, Sector 5

46th Ceentury

Nothing calmed Ruby more than the pure quiet of space. She still loved planting her hooves on solid ground time and again, but jumped at every opportunity to get in a spaceship and fly. It was because of this that she joined the Equestrian Space Academy, became an officer, and now served as a captain on board her small, but beautiful ship.

The Wanderer cruised through the blackness at a leisurely pace. In a couple hours, engines would be recharged and ready for the jump to their next planet stop. Ruby, as she always did, awoke a couple hours before the rest of the crew to come sit on the bridge with a cup of coffee. Just sitting alone, drinking coffee, and staring out at distant stars in the early morning always made her day better.

Communication clicked on and surprised Ruby for a moment. "Rufus here," her chief engineer said. "I don't mean to disturb your morning routine, just want to let you know I'm up and in the engine room. Things look good, all should be up and running on time."

"No problem on the interruption, good to hear your voice." Ruby held down the com button with her magic to reply. "If the engine looks alright then just take it easy for now. Go get some breakfast, I'm sure Luke is cooking something up as we speak."

"Luke here, sure am! Plenty for you too, Captain." A third voice joined the com.

"Copy that Luke, I'll be down in a little while," Ruby said.

The red unicorn continued to sip on her coffee for a few more minutes and enjoy the view. Her magic pulled some of her black mane in front of her face as she searched for any grey hairs. Making captain didn't come without a lot of experience, and Ruby knew the day would come that her mane wouldn't keep its jet black luster.

That didn't mean, however, that she couldn't keep her main and tail looking perfect for as long as possible. She sifted through the hairs she draped over her eyes, and flinched whenever she used her magic to pluck a discovered grey one. She stood up from her chair, then turned to look behind her, gazing past her cutie mark of a star, the star in her home solar system, and repeated the process with her tail. Finally, the mare took all the plucked strands and sent them down a disposal hatch, then brought up the brush she kept on the bridge, using the faint reflection of herself in the window to put everything back in order. She smiled at her reflection, then turned to join her crew.

()

Daniel smiled and stood up quickly when Ruby entered the kitchen and dining area. "Captain on deck!" He said with a giggle.

"Oh, cut that out," Ruby replied, glaring at Daniel before laughing with him. "There's a whopping five of us on this ship, the only time you all stand for me is if we're on a ship with other ponies." She sat down at the dining table, the smell of fresh fruit and something fried filling her nostrils. "However, giving your captain some food is an acceptable way to show respect."

"Coming right up," Luke called out from the kitchen, bringing out a plate.

Nicole, the other female crew member of the five on board, turned to Ruby. "Captain, I got down here first, I'm all done with breakfast," she said. "Want me to head up to the bridge and prepare us for the jump?"

"Sounds good, thank you," Ruby replied. "Rufus, mind taking the rest of your biscuit to engineering, then? Maybe we can get this jump out of the way and arrive ahead of schedule."

"Shmmmf." Rufus tried responding with his mouth full, then paused for a moment and swallowed. "Sure thing, ma'am." He grabbed his biscuit with his teeth and followed Nicole out of the room.

"Well, now just me and my favorite two stallions." Ruby grinned and started eating the food Luke gave her.

Luke finally sat down now that everypony had food. "Just us and our favorite captain," he joked back.

The three conversed for a while, until Nicole announced that the ship was ready to jump. Daniel left to go check on supplies in the medical bay, Luke proceeded downward in the ship to assist Rufus, and Ruby made her way for the bridge.

Ruby walked at a leisurely pace through the narrow corridors of her ship, everything going ahead of schedule. Her hoof steps echoed softly, and she hummed a tune to herself as she thought over everything she needed to take care of at their destination. She needed to attend a couple meetings with other captains in the area and one admiral who would be visiting, order supplies for whoever on her ship needed them, and during her free time, try and find some unique food on the planet, a tradition she started the moment she arrived at her first planet away from home.

Nicole still busily worked controls and buttons as Ruby stepped on to the bridge. "Everything's ready, Captain," she told her.

Ruby turned on communication ship wide. "Alright, everypony, hold on tight, we are jumping in ten seconds."

Modern space travel meant short distances were taken care of in a matter of seconds with hyperspace jumps. Different methods were still used for long distance journeys, but a high energy jump followed by an engine recharge proved to be the most efficient way to get to things nearby. The jump took mere seconds, and while one got thrown forward a bit when exiting the jump, no discomfort ever ailed a passenger on a jumping ship. Nicole entered the proper coordinates, and engaged the jump.

Light began brightening outside the cockpit window. Nicole and Ruby shielded their eyes as the sound of the engines building up power grew louder. Several seconds later, the sound suddenly quieted, and Ruby felt her body lurch forward for a moment.

Nicole lowered her hoof and returned to controls. "Jump complete, beginning standard orbit around… hold on…" Nicole double checked her readings, to be sure she wasn't mistaken. "We're at the wrong planet."

"What?" Ruby looked down at the screens, then out the window. Something was wrong. She'd never seen this planet before, but felt strange when she looked at it. Anxiety filled her, and she couldn't think of why. Something she couldn't explain or describe felt familiar, and this unknown familiarity scared her.

She shook her head after staring at the planet for several seconds, turning her attention back to the issue. "Are you sure you entered the proper coordinates?"

"I double checked before launching," Nicole replied. "There's no way they were wrong. I'm running a diagnostic to try and find the problem."

Ruby turned on the com again, speaking to engineering. "Rufus," she began. "Did anything strange happen down in engineering during the jump?"

"No, Captain, everything is fine down here. Something wrong?" the stallion replied.

"We're trying to find out," Ruby said, then closed the com.

"After scanning for errors, apparently the system was hacked to bring us here," Nicole explained. "But there's no way any computer on the planet could've hacked us before the jump, we were way too far out. That means…"

Ruby's eyes widened. "We were hacked by somepony inside the ship."

"Sensor history shows no ships were in range of us before the jump, that's the only other possibility."

"Scan for life signs on board. Now." Ruby rushed to the other side of the cockpit and pulled open a drawer. Using her magic, she lifted a laser pistol out, checking that it was in good condition and switching the device to fire mode.

"There's one more living thing on board than there should be. Sensors picking up a pony in our second cargo bay."

"Watch every sensor you can, don't let this crazy pony hack anything else on our ship." Nicole nodded in response, and Ruby rushed down the hall, her magic holding the pistol in front of her.

()

The red unicorn slowed and quieted her steps the closer she came to the large cargo bay doors. She took a deep breath, then raised a hoof and pushed the button to allow entry. These automatic doors never opened quietly. Whoever hid in this room would know somepony was after them.

Because of this, Ruby kept herself completely alert. Her laser pistol followed her eyes; wherever she looked, it pointed, ready to let loose at any moment.

"Welcome," a voice called out. Ruby turned in a flash, but saw nothing, only crates. The voice belonged to a male, and sounded a bit deeper and throaty than most stallions. The one word he spoke flowed slowly and smoothly off his tongue, like he was pleased.

"What the hell are you doing on my ship?" Ruby called out. Boxes and crates were stacked everywhere in the cargo bay, providing many places to hide. She moved around one step at a time, checking every angle from which this pony could attack her before taking a step forward.

"Why, I had to bring you here," the male pony replied. "To remind you of what you dream about. To remind you of how things should be."

"That only vaguely answers my question," Ruby said, grinding her teeth. "Let's skip playing the pronoun game, shall we?"

"When you looked at the planet out there, did you feel something strange?" the mysterious pony asked. Ruby remained silent, but grew nervous, remembering the feeling she got when the jump brought them to the wrong location. "I'm sure you've dreamt about it, you just don't remember. Because everything is wrong. The planet outside is supposed to be frozen."

Ruby blinked a few times, then shut her eyes, shaking her head. Images flashed in her head for a split second, then left again. This planet. Something strange about it. A member of her crew dead. Her ship exploding. Somepony… who was that brown stallion? She felt as if something was throwing photos in front of her face, and before she could get a good look at the photo, it landed in a fire, never to be seen again. These flashes, these strange feelings. Some part of them was familiar.

"You're probably feeling very confused right about now," the male said. "But don't worry, captain. When everything is put back to the way it should be, you'll remember."

Ruby kept her steps quiet but hurried her pace, weaving through the cargo bay in search of this pony. At last, she came around a corner, and discovered a pony sitting on the ground, messing with something on his hoof. The stallion was cloaked, and with his back turned to her, she failed to make out any of his features. However, she knew the device on his hoof had something to do with teleportation. He was about to escape.

"This was just a little preview," the stallion called out, not knowing Ruby stood directly behind him now, just fifty feet or so away. "I couldn't resist, but it's time to get out of here and get some of the real work done."

"No you don't!"

Ruby pushed off with her hind legs, bolting down the cargo bay while the stallion set in coordinates. She leaped out to tackle him, but did so just barely too late. The stallion teleported, and due to how close she was, so did Ruby.

()

Earth

Canterlot

Late 21st Century

Both Ruby and the stallion collapsed to the ground after teleporting. Both their bodies met the harsh embrace of pavement, and neither moved for a few moments. Ruby groaned and rolled over, searching for her laser pistol and levitating it when she saw the device a few feet away from her.

It was then that Ruby discovered she teleported to somewhere else. A planet's atmosphere and night sky replaced the metal walls of her space ship. She brought herself to her hooves, taking in her surroundings, no clues as to where they were presenting themselves. A short distance away she spotted a large cluster of buildings, though their structure appeared rather old. She moved her eyes upward, and failed to recognize the configuration of the stars. She was somewhere new.

Ruby's searching suddenly paused when she felt searing pain on the side of her face. She cried out and collapsed to the ground, grinding her teeth as she felt her coat burn. She shot her head to the right and saw the stallion who'd been on her ship, his horn glowing. Clearly the stallion held magic far beyond her capability to be able to fire a painful blast like that. She knew that taking down this stallion alone would be impossible.

"I got where I wanted to be," the stallion spoke from under his hood, his tone growing angry. "But I didn't plan on you coming with me. You will die by my horn."

Ruby whipped her gun around and fired off a shot in less than a second, but the laser blast deflected off a just as quickly raised magical shield. Ruby took the opportunity of the distraction, and ran for the city, needing a place to escape and hide.

The stallion gave chase soon after, and Ruby saw a sparkling, orange bolt of magic whizz past her head. She turned the pistol around and blindly fired two shots, hearing one of them reflect off of something, likely a magical shield again.

She reached the edge of the city and darted around a corner. The chasing stallion changed his type of magical blast, this time releasing a bright flash of white light that extended quite a ways out. Ruby found herself blinded for a few moments, and tripped over a stray can. She worked to stand up and keep running before her sight even returned to her, and darted around another corner, running past some sort of hotel. When she heard the stallion make the same turn, she turned her pistol back and fired two more shots.

()

Jack needed to know who this mare was and where she got a laser pistol like that. Lives could be at stake if that technology was stolen from the future or if alien tech could be found on the planet. He quickly turned back to the bed and shook it a bit to wake up Wing.

Wing slept a few moments longer before the shaking woke him. He came to slowly, and rubbed his eyes, a smile appearing on his face. "Morning already?" he mumbled. "That was an amazing night…"

"No, it's still night Wing, but wake up," Jack said.

Wing came to a little more and noticed the urgency in Jack's voice. He quickly sat up in bed, replacing his smile with a look of concern. "Jack, what's going on?" he asked.

"I just saw some mare outside getting chased by somepony, she's in big trouble," Jack said. "I don't know how to explain why, but I need to try and help her. You don't have to come with me, but I didn't want you to think I was skipping out on you."

"You… you didn't want me to think that?" Wing replied, a bit off excitement returning to his voice. "So… you'd like to go out again?"

Jack nodded, and returned the grin. "Yeah, if you're up for it, tonight was fun." Despite his confidence that always stayed true when he got together with someone, a light blush escaped his cheeks.

"Well, that's great! I'd love to!"

"Perfect. Let me know your schedule and I'll… wait, post first date talk later, that mare's in trouble."

"Oh. Right." Wing shook his head. "Well hey, I'm new to the royal guard, but my job is to protect the castle and Canterlot's citizens," he continued. "And I guess since you're a captain somewhere you feel the same responsibility."

"Exactly," Jack said. He'd explain the truth later, when there was more time.

"I'm not sure how much help I'll be though, I only finished training a little while ago…"

"Don't worry, you're great," Jack replied, remembering Wing from the time that was. "Just follow my lead."

()

The two stallions rushed out of the hotel and out onto the streets, running in the direction that Jack last saw the mare and her chaser. It was around 3:30 in the morning, so even the late night partiers were done, and the only Jack and Wing's quick hoof steps made any noise in the still night. Jack kept his eyes and ears open, watching and listening for more hooves, spells, or laser blasts.

"What did these ponies look like?" Wing asked, flying alongside Jack while the dark blue stallion ran.

"The mare is a red unicorn, and the one chasing her had a cloak, I couldn't see who it was," Jack replied. A light or two turned on in high up windows as light sleepers awoke to the echoing hoof steps of Jack's sprint. He kept his eyes peeled and ears open, until off to the left he heard what sounded like a magical blast, followed by laser fire.

"There!" Jack shouted, switching his direction.

"I heard it too!" Wing took to the sky, getting a view that Jack could not. He moved a short distance ahead of Jack, and his heart began pounding in his chest. Nothing exciting had occurred yet during his duties on the royal guard. It felt like any other job at the moment, just a lot of standing and walking. But now, a citizen of Equestria was in danger, and he found himself alongside another stallion to try and protect her. He couldn't let the mare down, or let Jack down, but he felt unprepared for the task.

Wing caught site of two ponies running, and shouted down to Jack, pointing him in the right direction. He soared through the air, quickly gaining on the two of them, and keeping a close eye, waiting for the right time to swoop in.

()

Ruby promised herself to never skip a workout again. She'd kept her muscles strong, but her cardio lacked a bit from being cooped up on a small ship and making excuses for not going to the treadmill. She gradually ran out of breath, second by second, and needed to escape this unicorn fast.

Running out of street corners to turn to, she only saw one other option. A little ways down, on the side of a taller building, a fire escape lined the brick wall. She bolted for it, reaching the stairs and starting her climb, hoping the roof of the building would bring a new solution.

The cloaked stallion chased after her, clearly determined to rid of this witness to his actions. Ruby was at least able to relax slightly on the climb up, for the stairs provided no clear shot for the male unicorn to shoot more magic at her.

Gasping for air, Ruby reached the top, however, before she could look around, she heard no more hooves banging on the metal stairway. Quickly turning, behind her stood the unicorn, and Ruby knew if she made a move, it would likely be her end.

The cloaked pony slowly walked forward, and Ruby slowly walked back. She kept her laser pistol raised, desperately hoping she could catch the stallion distracted. She knew no spells to protect herself from the level of magic he produced, and after a few moments more, stopped moving when she felt the edge of the building against the bottom of her hoof.

The two stared at each other for several moments, both of them unaware that hoof steps were being taken slowly and quietly up the fire escape by a third pony. The stallion kept his head low, ensuring that Ruby could gain no information on his appearance.

"Seems you're out of places to run," the stallion said triumphantly, a grin hid beneath his hood. His horn began to glow, until a grey pegasus swooped down from the sky, pummeling into his side and knocking him to the ground.

Both the unicorn and the pegasus skidded across the roof. Ruby's eyes widened in surprise and amazement. To her further surprise, another stallion, this one an earth pony, appeared at the top of the stairs, looking at her and nodding.

The cloaked stallion yelled in anger, and seeing the number of ponies now around him, began entering data into the device on his front hoof. The pegasus was still dazed, laying right next to him, but Ruby and the earth pony knew exactly what was happening, and bolted for the unicorn.

Both dove, the unicorn hit the final control, and four ponies disappeared from the Canterlot night.

()

Jack opened his eyes to sunlight. He did not feel a hard building roof beneath him, but instead grass. He stood up and looked around, not seeing any of Canterlot. A small town rested a short distance away, and to his surprise, another castle he'd never seen showed itself, this one very purple.

Wing, Jack, and Ruby all got to their senses, and when they all looked at each other, they simultaneously realized no one had eyes on the mysterious stallion. When they turned, they discovered him messing with his device again, but this time, he teleported away without any uninvited guests.

Now the three stood together, Ruby no longer being chased, and the two stallions no longer having a pony to save.

Among the three, Wing was the only one who had no experience of teleportation. He frantically looked around, his eyes widening. "Wah… what just…"

"Wing, calm down," Jack said, putting a hoof on his shoulder. "Breath, slowly, I'll explain later, for now don't worry, we're fine."

"Fine?" Wing replied, taken aback. "We're in a different place! How is this possible?"

"Wing," Jack wrapped his foreleg tighter around Wing and used his remaining front hoof to cover Wing's mouth. "Ponies are starting to stare. I told you, we're fine, this is a bit awkward to explain. Right now, let's focus on the mare."

Wing took several more seconds to calm down, but slowed his breathing, noticing that other ponies were indeed staring at the group. Luckily, none had noticed that these three ponies appeared out of thin air just seconds ago. He relaxed, and Jack let go of him.

Ruby brushed off some dirt on her leg, the hit to her cheek stinging more than ever. "Well, I wish we could've caught the guy, but you two saved me, thanks," she said. "So he doesn't get it, and these buildings look impossibly old. Am I understanding this that the device that pony had took us back in time?" she asked Jack.

"Correct, but I'm not from the future like you, I'm from a parallel universe," Jack replied. To these two comments, Wing began to flip out again, and Jack grabbed a hold of him, blocking his mouth in the same way. "I said I'll explain, I'm sorry, I didn't expect all this to happen," he assured Wing. "Please calm down."

Wing calmed himself, then was set free again. He panted for breath, just staring at Jack. "It's just… my friend was right… you're literally the only thing that could be better than a member of the royal guard…"

Jack ignored that comment after a moment's pause, confused, and turned back to Ruby. "I'm Captain Jack Harkness, pleasure to meet you," he said, holding out a hoof.

Ruby shook it. "And I'm Captain Ruby," she replied. "So what are you a captain of?"

Jack stood dumbfounded for a moment. Not even the slightest of blushes from Ruby after he said hello, just an attack. "Excuse me?"

"Well, I'm captain of an Equestrian Union space vessel," Ruby continued. "Do they have those in your universe?"

"We have space ships, but I'm just a military captain," Jack said.

Ruby shrugged. "Hmm, well, not bad," she said, smirking.

"Hey, I saved you," Jack shot back.

"Actually, your pegasus friend did."

"Oh, come on."

"Can we get to the part where things get explained to me?" Wing chimed in, causing the smirking mare and the fuming stallion to both look in his direction. "So are we in the past, or in some alternate dimension? And what's with the giant spider like thing over there?"

At first Jack planned to answer the question about their location, when the second question caught Ruby's and his attention. They turned to see a huge, eight legged creature crawling along the top of one of the buildings in town. Farther down, a giant fly landed on another roof top, nearly as big as the spider.

"I actually don't know what that is," Jack said.

"Me neither," Ruby added. "We should probably get rid of it before it harms anypony."

Wing shook his head, fear, anxiety, curiosity, and adrenaline all pumping through him, and only getting a couple hours of sleep before running through Canterlot's streets and teleporting didn't help either. "Alright, fine, I've helped save somepony once already in the past few minutes, explanation later then. But since both of you are captains, who's in charge of the plan?"

"I am," Jack and Ruby said at the same time, before turning and looking at each other.