Chapter 6

The TARDIS shook as they landed rather roughly

"Whoa! Why was it that rough?" Rainbowdash asked

"We may or may not have been knocked off course." The Doctor said slowly, assessing the situation

"So you have no idea where we are?" Rainbow rolled her eyes

"Either way, it's still an adventure, just an untold one." The Doctor turned to the door, "Adelante."

[…]

They were on the hatched straw roofs, watching as the two ponies exited the mysterious box, the leader had a glint in her ruby red eyes that signaled new prey, and they began to follow, one slowly licked its sharp fangs

One of the two, the teal one, stopped to take a deep sniff of the air, and his suddenly began to smell of adrenaline

They would have to be wary of this one

[…]

The Doctor smelled them the moment he exited the TARDIS, something was watching them, just to be sure he took a better smell, and his suspicions grew

"What's wrong Doctor?" Rainbowdash asked

"Nothing, let's keep going." The Doctor fiddled with the sonic in his pocket

It would be foolish to talk about it here, especially because he could tell they were being watched

Rainbowdash seemed to pick up on the Doctor's nervous sonic fiddling, as she was tense as they exited the alleyway

They finally got a better view of the area, the houses were stone and wood and straw, similar to the homes in Ponyville, except a bit less advanced

Several ponies milled about, they wore raggedy garments and took little note of the two

One pony suddenly sprang to life, splashing the two head to hoof in water

"Hey! What was that for?" Rainbowdash spluttered

"You came out of the shadows!" the stallion said in a hoarse voice, "Be safe! Be careful! They wait for us all in the shadows!"

The Doctor shook himself off, taking amusement out of Rainbow's annoyance

"So we met a crazy pony, and got soaked." Rainbowdash smiled wryly, "I forgot that your navigation's not the best, you should fix that."

"And lose the adventure?" the Doctor rebutted, "Not even close to happening."

Rainbowdash shook her head slowly

"Let's take a look around, we're before your era so we should be in a place with superstitions." The Doctor thought aloud, "I think that one pony splashed us with holy water."

"But that's ridiculous" Rainbowdash said, "It's not as if there are things like wereponies or anything."

The Doctor looked around, not saying anything

"Is there?" Rainbowdash pressed, "Doctor, are we safe?"

"Around me nobody's been safe" the Doctor muttered, "I think we should think a bit more rationally, talk to some of the locals before jumping to any conclusions."

Rainbowdash nodded, this shouldn't be too hard

Right?

[…]

They watched the two get soaked, they watched and they listened, they knew the teal one was clever, and the multicolored one was brave, these two may cause trouble, they had decided, they must be removed before dawn the next day when they would be safe

It was decided, yes they had chosen to target the brave one, she would be valuable they reasoned, she would be easy to take, they would take her they planned

Yes, as it was decided

[…]

The Doctor had gone off and bought a few trinkets, including a hat from some strange looking vendor, everypony was grimy so it was hard to tell their colors

The Doctor gave Rainbowdash a necklace, "Apparently this keeps dark powers at bay."

Rainbowdash rolled her eyes, "As if, magic may exist but mythical creatures? That's ridiculous!"

The Doctor shrugged, "It's entirely possible, and the universe is a big place."

"Ah! This fellow looks interesting!" the Doctor went off before Rainbow could respond

"Hello! We're doing a survey, is there anything of note that you'd like to talk about?" the Doctor questioned

The stallion looked at the Doctor with dejected eyes, "A royal man? What are you doing in the cursed lands?"

"Just answer his question" Rainbowdash said

"Well, the ones in the shadows…" he then looked alarmed, "I mean nothing! There's nothing!"

"Tell me about the shadows" the Doctor said, the usual wonder out of his voice, "Tell me about the things inside the shadows."

"They wait for you, yes they have you marked!" The stallion's eyes suddenly became crazed, "They wait for you in the shadows, they always catch their prey, both of you will die!"

"I'm not so sure about that" the Doctor said, "We should be able to make it just fine."

"They will catch you! And now they've marked me as well!" the stallion then fled the conversation

"Plenty of interesting ponies we're meeting huh?" Rainbowdash smirked

"Something isn't right" the Doctor said, "There's something more than the things he mentioned."

"What do you mean?"

"Have you noticed everyone is gone?" the Doctor questioned

Rainbowdash looked around, they were the only two ponies on the entire block

"Locked up inside for the night" the Doctor said, "When the shadows grow to engulf the light."

"Doctor…?" Rainbowdash pointed behind him, "What's that?"

The Doctor spun around, he saw the shadows extending towards them, and quite a few pairs of eyes in those shadows, and the faint outline of ponies was visible as their smiled emerged, fanged and jagged

"Rainbowdash…" the Doctor took a few steps backwards, "Run!"

The two ponies turned tail and fled, right as the screeches of the creatures behind them let loose, piercing the air

As they fled down the block the Doctor was assessing the best place to run to, there was a strange looking tower on the end of their path

"Quickly!" the Doctor shouted, "In there!"

They reached the door, which was locked, the Doctor took out the sonic screwdriver and began to work on the metal door

[…]

They were getting closer, their prey was in their sights, the prey had gotten themselves cornered, as it was useless to resist them, they would catch them, the door was locked, they grabbed at the multicolor

Something on the multicolor burned them, they fell backwards and screeched in pain, the door opened and the prey escaped into the home

[…]

The Doctor was breathing heavily, as was Rainbowdash

"What…was…that?" the Doctor asked

"I think…it was…the necklace…" Rainbowdash caught her breath

"I told you didn't I?" the Doctor said, "That necklace was a great idea!"

Suddenly a cold splash of water from above soaked them, the Doctor seemed unfazed and Rainbowdash only braced from the cold

"You two are real lucky" a voice said from above, "And I mean real lucky, nobody's survived that sort of thing."

[…]

They had failed, she wouldn't be pleased with this, it was a first, but there may be more, she was very angry with those who failed, her ruby eyes showed her disdain, they would be punished

They had to get the smart one, the brave one was protected, the smart one was their only option, as they had to take them

Then victory would be sure, they knew it, it was decided, it was foreseen