Chapter 13

As the duo of Rainbow and Twilight went about their search they had passed right by the infamous blue box, the Doctor was inside and using the TARDIS scanner to get a basic reading of the raw power that the pulse had

It was enough to fully charge the TARDIS engines in three seconds, that was more power than a dimensional rift

The Doctor began to hit switches and pull levers, but before he could release the handbrake he could hear a knock at the door

'Oh dear' he thought to himself

Well there was always the option to not open it for them, but he forgot to lock the doors on his way back in. They could always open it and if he tried to lock it they would be able to see it on their end

He opened the doors and saw the pair he was expecting to see, Twilight and Rainbowdash

'Well this is just perfect.' The Doctor thought annoyed

"What's with the box?" Twilight asked

"It's my transport." The Doctor said simply, "Look, if it's not terribly important I've got an evil force to stop from taking over all of Equestria and most likely burning it in the fires of the Void."

The silence that followed contained of Rainbowdash trying to figure out what he just said, but Twilight was busy trying to peek over his shoulder, what she saw made her head hurt

"What do you know of the pulse?" Rainbowdash demanded

"It's from Canterlot, now if you'll excuse me…" the Doctor attempted to close the doors

Twilight stuck her hoof in the way, an unamused expression on her face

'This is not going to end well' the Doctor thought to himself

"You think you're just going to go and save Equestria and all will be fine?" Rainbowdash asked

"Nothing ever is that simple" the Doctor said, "Listen, the longer you stall me the later this problem will get solved."

"Then let's take a look inside the box" Twilight said, in truth she just wanted to investigate what she expected to be an optical illusion

"I really haven't got the ti-" the Doctor was cut off by Twilight teleporting behind him

In the moment the Doctor had used to turn around Rainbowdash dashed past him, and the pair were now inside

Twilight marveled at the strange machinery, but Rainbowdash was silent

The Doctor knew what was going on, she was fitting pieces of the puzzle together. This wouldn't be a good situation, especially considering how delicate it was

Twilight looked at her friend, then at the Doctor

"What is this thing?"

"It's called the TARDIS" Rainbowdash said

"You mean the one from…" Twilight looked at the Doctor for confirmation

"I'd assume she has a dream journal, I didn't have the time for a full wipe." He answered

"In the journal" Twilight looked at the controls, "It said this thing can travel."

"I could get us to Canterlot in less than a second, or five minutes ago." The Doctor said, "But I think you two should take the long route."

"Can't we come with you?" Rainbowdash asked

"I've had so many faces, so many friends." The Doctor looked away, "I've lost all of them; I don't want to risk that happening again."

The TARDIS lurched to the side, knocking the three ponies to the ground

The Doctor scrambled to his hooves, and checked the scanner, the TARDIS was being picked up by some force pulling them to Canterlot

"Looks like we're moving anyway!" the Doctor grabbed a hunk of metal and tech he had stashed under the floor panels, "This extrapolator should give us a small boost!"

Once he hit it with a mallet the TARDIS bumped, moving over

Then the console room went silent, only the quiet thrumming of the TARDIS was audible

"Whatever cause the pulse dragged the TARDIS to Canterlot" the Doctor said, "I'm guessing through the engines, which is how it got powered up so quickly."

"So what's out there?" Rainbowdash asked

"That boost I gave us must've moved us about a block or two away from the source, I'd say we're not far off from a Canterlot park." The Doctor answered

"It'd take Applejack and the others a day to get here on the train." Twilight said, "Can't we wait for them?"

"By then the whole universe will have burned." The Doctor said, "The Void, why does that pop up around the Shadow so often…?"

"What is the Shadow anyway?" Twilight questioned

"Something that wants the Doctor dead" Rainbowdash answered, "It's been trying for a long time now."

"Still hasn't gotten me" the Doctor grinned, "And it won't get Equestria if I can help it."

"Why would it suddenly change from targeting you to Equestria anyway?" Twilight asked, "It just doesn't make sense."

"Fair point" the Doctor thought about it, "Well, the longer we stay in here the more time we waste. Adelante!"

[…]

The sunlight cascaded across the grass and buildings of the city, the air was fresh with a slight chill as autumn approached

The Doctor stepped out and looked around, ponies were looking slightly panicked and in a small amount of disarray, the pulse had just passed

"We bumped slightly into the past" the Doctor said, "Let's get to the castle then."

"Princess Celestia wouldn't have made a pulse like that on purpose" Twilight reasoned as they walked

"That's exactly what I'm worried about."

Rainbowdash was sure there was something that she was missing, but every time she looked at the Doctor he looked so… freshly burned. Like something had happened to him just recently

"Why are we going straight there anyway?" Rainbow asked, "That's not your usual style"

"I've been running all my life" the Doctor said simply, "I'm tired of running."

He said it with a finality that sent a shiver down Rainbow's back, almost as if he had no intent of coming back

The castle appeared before them, a sense of danger and evil seemed to be exuding from it. Not a single castle guard was in sight

"Stay alert, and don't knock anything over." The Doctor warned

The timelord was almost certain bringing Twilight and Rainbowdash in was a bad idea, but they were certainly not going to sit back when he'd go in on his own

[…]

Everything had fallen into place, the Shadow now had a body, and the elements had been separated and therefore useless, and the Doctor was on his way

'All the little things have come together' the Shadow thought malevolently

Those guards had made a nice little cure for how peckish she had become, a whole battalion had to do, but a quick snack was all she needed at the time

They were close, two of the elements and the timelord, and one of them was his former companion! Oh this victory would be sweet!

The doors to the throne room burst open, and there stood her adversary for such a long time

The Doctor had arrived

[…]

The Doctor was clearly able to see that Princess Celestia had lost her form to the devious Shadow

"It's so good to see you face to face Doctor" the Shadow said, "This time you won't get away from me."

"Whatever it is you're planning you can bet I'm going to stop it." The Doctor said, "There has been too many deaths by your hand."

"Yeah! You're going down!" Rainbowdash pumped a hoof in the air

"Oh, I don't believe I'm the one who is 'going down'." The Shadow smiled, "But it is rather an ally that is going up."

"Oh… I get it now." The Doctor began to piece it together, "A revenge quest, but what did I ever do? I killed the Univore; that's what I did!"

The Shadow nodded slowly

"What is that thing inside of the princess?" Twilight asked

"Some people call it the Howling, this world calls it the Shadow, my people called it the Void, and some people call it Hell." The Doctor said

"Ooh you clever boy" The Shadow sneered, "But all too late."

"But the Void is inactive on its own" the Doctor's eyes lit up, "So the intelligence, OF COURSE!"

"What, what is it?" Rainbowdash prodded her ear after that outburst

"The King of Shadow! King Sombra! He wasn't killed he was launched into the Void!" the Doctor spoke quickly and excitedly, "The Void took it over, and manifested into this!"

"Now to feed and watch your precious worlds burn." The Shadow grinned with malice

"You and the Univore had a deal, it would feed and you'd get some more leg room!" the Doctor frowned, "Billions of lives lost, for food!"

"Billions" Twilight repeated, "Is that what it's going to do to us?"

"Where did the guards go?" Rainbowdash asked suddenly, "All those families lost a member, and will never know."

"That's what this thing does!" the Doctor's voice raised, "It eats and eats, not caring for life lost. It chooses who lives and who dies."

"I transcend your parameters of time and space" the Shadow frowned, "You are nothing, bugs to be squashed."

"Then what needs to be done is simple." The Doctor said, "Very simple."

"What's your plan then Doctor?" The entity from the Void questioned, "No plan, no way of stopping me."

"I am going to stop you" the timelord from Gallifrey vowed, "Just you watch."

The Shadow began to form a portal, "I'll see you at the Empire, where this all began."

Rainbowdash jumped after her, Twilight attempted to stop her but was dragged through as well

The Doctor rushed outside and back to the TARDIS, "I've got a plan, oh you wouldn't believe the kind of plan I've got."

[…]

The skies over the Crystal Empire began to darken, Twilight and Rainbowdash found themselves right by the town square, likely left to watch the fireworks

"What do you think the Doctor's going to do?" Twilight asked

"He'd sooner die than let Equestria get destroyed" Rainbowdash answered, "Which is exactly what I'm afraid of."

Cadence had rushed down to find them, and now they stood on the balcony as they watched a large dark cloud approach seemingly from nowhere

Twilight knew better, the forces were coming from outside the universe. Not a single doubt about it, it was time.

The clouds were not 100 feet away when there was a small blue box flying straight on

"What is he doing?" Shining Armor asked incredulously

"Not running." Twilight answered, finally getting it

The Doctor was rushing around the console, flipping switches and banging levers, it was finally time he stopped sitting on his flank and did something about this Shadow issue

"Adelante" the Doctor said, flipping the handbrake

[…]

Rainbowdash could see it clearly, the TARDIS was slamming face-first into the head of the black cloud, forcing it back

It was simple from there, the inertia had smacked the intelligence from the Shadow, dropping Celestia down in a field at the edge of the Empire, and the little blue box was nowhere to be found

"He died in the name of Equestria" Shining Armor said, "We should all be so lucky."

"As little as I knew of him" Twilight had said, "He was a good stallion, Equestria has lost him."

Rainbowdash had almost been too choked with tears to speak, but she went up and spoke anyway

"The Doctor was a wonderful stallion, one who would go to the edges of the universe to protect those he cares about." She said sadly, "But now he died doing what he does best, and we may see him again. But he won't see us."

[…]

The silent thrum of the TARDIS was strong, and the timelord sat up, keenly remembering what had happened

The Doctor quickly stood up, needing to regain his balance by flailing his arms

Wait…Arms…?

He did a quick bodily check, he had legs and arms, toes and his bowtie and fedora

"Fascinating, my coat appears to have crossed as well." The Doctor checked himself, and saw that he was wearing a blue-green trench coat, a dark brown two piece suit underneath

He checked his pocket and found his sonic screwdriver, safe and sound

Then he went to the scanner, he could see the endless possibilities of the Void stretching before him, all of time and space in any reality, where to start?

A/N: Well this one's done, and about time too. I can't say this was a chore but it lost its joy for me about halfway through, closer to the end. Thank you for all the support that was given to me and maybe I'll make another story like this, until then I've got school and finals coming up. Along with so many other stories to complete, this is turning out to be a good life.