Silence.

After the angels’ assault, after the loud noise, the shouting, and the screaming of the Smooze’s horrible million voices, all was silence. My new friends all looked to each other in wonder. It was all over, almost as quickly as it had begun. In this fleeting moment of solace and retrospection, it felt all so unreal.

I licked my lips, gulped, and looked away from the group, to where the TARDIS had been. I wondered, exactly how—why—did the Doctor simply leave us when the going got tough? I thought I knew him so well, always lifting me up when I was falling. I pressed a hoof to my face as I thought of him, and in surprise I drew it away. It was damp with tears.

I heard a thump behind me and turned. Cadance had fallen over. The shock of our final act against the Smooze must have been too much for her poor, battered body to handle at this point. Over the shouts of surprise, I called Cadance’s name. Shining Armor cradled her as best he could, and looked from her to me with vulnerable eyes.

I dropped to my knees next to Cadance and looked her over. I began breathing harder. She smiled weakly. “Shining Armor,” she said in a thin, strained voice, “Shining Armor… my love… where are you?”

“I’m right here,” he choked. She looked up to where she heard his voice. And her smile became wider.

This was it. This was the end for Cadance. The disease that had eaten her away, the machine that drained her magic, the Windigus Prime, the “Love Beam”… all of it had finally caught up with her. The PVCC all gathered around her, wearing somber faces and bearing somber hearts.

“For nearly a millennium, I waited,” Cadance said.

“Don’t talk,” Shining Armor warned.

“A thousand years. A thousand years without you.” Cadance breathed harder as she fought to raise a thin, fragile hoof to her husband’s face. He took it and pressed it against his cheek. The tears that rolled from his eyes drew more out of mine. “A thousand years, I waited. I waited patiently for my death. So that I might join you in the hereafter.”

I heard a silent shriek in the distance. It was quiet. Far away. But in reality, it was actually right behind me, since the TARDIS had only just reappeared. I felt somepony push me from behind. “Looks like I’m just in time,” said the Doctor as he made his way through the crowd. “I knew I’d at least be a few minutes off.”

Shining Armor and I looked up to the Doctor as he sat next to Cadance. He pulled out, from a pocket in his tweed jacket, a green plant that I’d never seen before. He put it close to Cadance’s mouth. “I need you to eat this.”

“Have you no respect?!” Magneighto roared.

The Doctor hushed him. “Hold yourself, everypony!” He returned his attention to Cadance. “Listen, I need you to eat this. It’s the cure to your ailment.” The Doctor then pressed the vegetable to her lips.

“I’m so close to my end,” she said. “I… I won’t make it either way…”

“It isn’t over yet,” the Doctor chided her. He took out what looked like a pepper grinder and got to work mashing the vegetable into a state she could chew. Apparently, he’d neglected the fact that Cadance was in no shape to be doing much. “It’s not over,” he repeated. “You and your husband are going to live a long and happy life together.”

He flicked his eyes up to Shining Armor’s. “And that means no more booze. You’re rather mean when you’re drunk.” Shining Armor grunted and looked back to his wife.

The Doctor finished grinding the vegetable, and took the bottom portion of the grinder off the rest of the device. It was like a little bowl where the green shavings were stored. “It’s not going to taste very good,” he said as he offered it once again to her trembling lips. “But it took me almost five years to find a garden where these things could grow. So you’ll eat it and you’ll like it.”

Shining Armor quickly seized the ground-up vegetable with his telekinesis and put it in Cadance’s mouth. As she chewed feebly, everypony watched in anticipation. She swallowed. The Doctor held out the bowl again. “She’ll need more. At least the whole bowl.”

And so it went, that early morning: feeding Cadance the curing vegetable. It seemed to be extremely effective, too. Color had already returned to her cheeks. She seemed more alert now. She and Shining Armor once again locked eyes. The smile they shared was radiant.

When they passionately kissed, there was a collective sigh of relief. The Doctor stood back up. “Well,” he said as he put the pepper grinder thing away, “that was a close one.” He looked more at my brother and sister-in-law as they continued to kiss. He smirked. “She’s in no shape for something that strenuous yet,” he joked. “She’ll need to get healthier before that happens.”

We all laughed at his dumb joke. It wasn’t that he was being all that funny—it was the kind of laugh you make when you’re just showered with relief. It was a laugh you make because you’re glad you’re alive. The laugh you make when everything turns out OK.

The Doctor produced more of the vegetable from his coat and looked to Shining Armor as he pulled away from Cadance. “You’ll be needing more of these,” he said as he set them before Shining Armor. “Once every week for the next ten or so. It should repair her to the point where she can walk again.”

“Thank you,” Shining Armor said after a pause.

The Doctor blushed and looked aside. “Well, it’s like Twilight told you before. If she was going to be your sister no matter what, then…” He looked to the Alterna-Doctor, then back to Shining Armor. “…Well, I’m going to be your best friend, no matter what.”

Shining Armor drew the Doctor in for a hug. Cadance mustered up her strength and gave him one, too.

The Alterna-Doctor knocked on the Doctor’s shoulder. “You silly man,” he said. “I had my doubts about me, but I really DID pull through. I’m a fine fellow.”

The Doctor shook his hoof. “Thank me for saying so. I’ve always been so polite when it comes to my choice of words.”

“Now I know I’m lying!” laughed the Alterna-Doctor.

I rolled my eyes. “Knock it off, you two. You're being creepy and weird.”

The Doctor looked at me with a twinkle of triumph in his eyes, like he expected some form of congratulation out of me. I returned it with the grumpiest frown I could manage. “What?” I asked.

“Well?”

“Well, what?”

“You beat the Smooze, I saved your sister-in-law’s life. I think that's a fair trade, Twilight.”

I scoffed. “I don’t recall making such a deal, Doctor.”

“Twily,” Shining Armor said. His tone was the kind he’d use when he felt I said something out of bounds. It was a very commanding, almost parental tone, and just like back in my own world, it made me flinch, then hunker down.

“All right, all right,” I said, “Thank you, Doctor. I’m glad you made it back in time.” I pulled him in for a hug. “But next time you’re gonna pull something like that, at least tell me first,” I hissed in his ear.

We pulled away. After sharing a smile with me, he spoke up. “Well, I think it’s time we leave, Twilight.” He cocked his head to the TARDIS. “We have a ride home now.” He then looked as if he had just gotten an idea. He turned to the Alterna-Doctor.

“Your TARDIS got destroyed, right? Maybe we can share mine.”

The Alterna-Doctor smiled and waved his hoof dismissively. “No need, no need.”

The Doctor was taken aback. “No need?” he asked. The way he said it made him sound betrayed. “No need? No need for time travel? No need for adventures? No need for running? Lots and lots of running? Seriously, we do lots of running.”

The Alterna-Doctor gave his double a tired sigh and an equally tired smile. “I understand that adventure’s in our blood. But I think, finally, I found something far greater than a silly romp through time that ends up with millions hurt.”

He waved a hoof out to CWCville. “I have a city to help rebuild. I have people to help lead. But most importantly, I’ve found a reason to stop running.” His hoof descended to the PVCC. “I have a family now.” He let the words hang in the air for a few seconds before he continued. “I wouldn’t trade them for anything. They’re an adventure all in themselves.”

The Alterna-Doctor found himself swept into another group hug as his family expressed their mutual feeling. Ben licked him playfully, accepting him the same way he accepted Fluttershy. I watched the Doctor merely smile sadly as he went back to the TARDIS. He walked by me without a word.

“What’s wrong?” I asked him as he went into the TARDIS.

“Nothing,” he said. “Knock on the door once you’re ready to go.” He closed the door behind him.

I turned to see the PVCC all smiling to me. I returned it, and breathed deep. It was time to say goodbye. I walked toward their closest member, Spike. The Picklemech he was riding fell to one knee—almost like a knight before his princess—and the small cockpit opened. Spike hobbled out and we held each other.

“Spike, you’re a very brave boy. Someday, you’re going to grow up into a very brave dragon. Between then and now, I want you to take care of your family. Put them first in everything you do—just like the Spike who lives with me.” I gave him another hug, this time longer-lasting. “I love you, Spike.” I planted a kiss on his head.

I then moved on to Derpy and Magneighto. “You two. I don’t understand everything about you, but the one thing I DO understand is that what you have is something strong. Unshakable. You don’t just fight for the entertainment value, you fight because you have something you know you can believe in. Hope. Dreams. Love. Innocence. Determination. So long as you two share these things, you can’t ever really be hurt.” I hugged them both. "I'm proud to know both of you."

To the Alterna-Doctor. "You... are a strange pony. No matter how many of your... selves I meet, you all share one thing in common." I gave him a hug. "The only thing bigger than your demented brain is your heart. Take care of my brother and his wife, won't you?"

He drew away from my hug, his chocolate-brown eyes shimmering with barely-held tears. "For what it's worth, you have my word, as a time traveling freak with a demented brain, that I will. Doctor's promise."

Then to Featherweight. “I know you’ve been through a lot. Far more than anypony your age should have ever suffered. But you need to know that life is too short to waste on blaming yourself. It’s too short to waste hurting yourself. It’s not going to be easy, but with your family behind you, you can clean the blood off your hooves. You can become whole again if you just learn to put faith in your family, and let them help you put yourself back together.”

We shared a pause. “If Bon-Bon was willing to die as herself,” he whispered to me, “then I’m willing to live as myself.” His mask that he’d removed before was taken by the wind, and carried away. He breathed what must have been a sigh of relief. “No more masks,” he declared, watching his mask flutter away into the distance. “No more Spider-Colt.” We shared a hug.

To Fluttershy. We held each other’s gaze for a few seconds before I nodded. “None of what happened before was your fault, Fluttershy. Never was. You’re a good pony, and you’re with other good ponies now. Just care for them the same way they care for you. Give to them the joy you gave to us, and keep our memory in your heart. Always.” Her eyes swam with tears as we embraced.

I looked up to Ben. “Take good care of Fluttershy for me,” I told him. “I’m depending on you.” It’s amazing how well an animal can understand pony language, as Ben nodded as if comprehending the gravity of my every word.

Finally, I stood before my brother and sister-in-law. I almost laugh. “Do I really need to explain how I feel about you two? You’re two of the most amazing ponies in my life—in a life full of amazing ponies. Every day you wake up, I want you two to fall in love with each other. Again and again and again. It’s your love for each other that will keep you alive... that will keep this world alive.”

I hugged Shining Armor as his liquid pride drenched either side of his face. “I love you,” I told him. I knelt down to hold Cadance. “And I love you,” I told her. “I’m never going to forget either of you.”

I let go of them and backed away. “And take good care of Apple Bloom, like Big Macintosh asked. Raise her like she was your own daughter. ”

Shining Armor nodded. “I will.”

“And seriously—stop the drinking.”

“I will. And Twily?”

I paused and turned my head before I approached the TARDIS. “Yeah?”

All the PVCC came forward and hugged me at once. “We love you too. Don’t forget.”

“If I can get wind back in my lungs, I promise I won’t,” I joked as they let go. We shared one final small chortle as I hopped back to the TARDIS. I knocked, like the Doctor asked. It opened and I went in, the PVCC waving me off and telling me goodbye.

I waved to them before I closed the door. The moment it was shut, everything returned to quiet. I turned around to see the Doctor at his control panel, fiddling with various… things.

“Doctor?” I asked after a pause. He greeted me with an indifferent snort. “Doctor, what was that out there? You didn’t even tell anypony goodbye.”

It was a few seconds before the Doctor sadly looked up to me. “Twilight. We just created a new world. Or rather, Chris did. And he created a world where I ended up settling down. Maybe for good. He invented a selfish world for himself, and oddly…” He swallowed. “And oddly, he created a world where I finally became happy.”

I thought this over a moment. “Doctor, I don’t think he made a world where you’re happy.”

“Well, he didn’t mean to, of course, but—”

I pressed a hoof against his lips to silence him. “No, Doctor. Chris didn’t make a world where you’re happy, he made a world where you’re satisfied. Where you are content. Where you finally stopped running.” I gave him a hug. “You can be happy, no matter what happens. Even if you keep running, or even if you’re standing still.” I pulled away.

“It’s like my friend Pinkie Pie says… You just gotta keep smiling.”

A pause. Then a smile. The Doctor nodded. “I hate to change the topic so suddenly, Twilight, but I think we’ll leave THAT version of Chris outside to deal with the consequence of his actions.” He pointed towards the door.

I’d been so wrapped up in my goodbyes I’d even forgotten the stranger was still out there, out cold. I looked back to the Doctor. “Think they’ll be fair?”

“More fair than he was to them, certainly,” he said as he returned to dabbling with the device… control… thingy. “They’ll probably not give him the death penalty due to the value of wanting him to suffer for his actions, though.”

I snickered. “That’s mean.”

“But you can’t argue that it’s unfair.”

“That’s true.” I clicked my tongue pensively. “So. Where are we going now?”

The Doctor thought it over. “Well, I thought about simply going back to the point in which Chris appears in your original dimension and preventing him from ever showing up, but that might cause this dimension—plus all our memory of it—to disappear.” He looked to the door again. Probably thinking about what the Alterna-Doctor said. “I don’t want that to happen.”

“Well then, what are we going to do?”

He looked to me with this wicked glint in his eye. He smiled. “Twilight, I think you know.”

I thought about it. Then it clicked. “My hilariously overcomplicated plan to get him into the TARDIS so we can ship him back home?”

He nodded. “The very same. I think you’ve figured out by now how best to deal with a sot like our boy Chris.”

I raised a hoof like I meant it as a threat. “The Hoof of Justice,” I said, christening it.

The Doctor nodded again and snickered. “I hope your hoof is hungry for Chris’ face. We’re going back to where he is just about to enter the TARDIS. Hang onto something, might get bumpy.”

With that, he entered the final combinations and off we went. When the sound died down, the Doctor got up and led me out. The doors opened with a hiss. We left the TARDIS almost gingerly, cautious of every sound.

I looked around. “Was Ponyville always this… quiet? And futuristic-looking?” I asked.

Indeed, there were machines of many kinds around, giant ones that might have been buildings. It all seemed vaguely familiar. Perhaps the most interesting note was that there was nopony around. Such a huge, futuristic metropolis should have had at least somewhere in the hundred-thousands in population, yet it all felt ghostly and silent.

We explored the area a little, our hooves clanking on the metal floor. “Hm,” the Doctor mused. “I could have sworn I set the dials all correctly. Maybe one or two weren’t oiled well enough. We should go back into the TARDIS and check.”

That was when we heard a rumble, like something huge stampeding toward us from miles away. My eyes widened as we both looked toward where a thin white line grew wider and wider. Suddenly, a familiar squeal roared as a large, hideous creature rampaged through, the white light closing behind him.

The Doctor quickly jumped towards me, knocking me out of the way of the wailing, rampaging giant as it stomped through the metropolis, clumsily knocking things over, shoving things toward where it came from. I looked where the giant was going to step: right on top of the TARDIS. Before I could say anything, the giant tripped and fell over, crushing the TARDIS with its titanic girth.

It seemed like all life and time stopped right at that moment. Our only way home. Smashed by a clumsy, rage-fueled giant.

When I looked up to the giant, I noticed something I hadn’t before. It wore an ugly one-piece dress. Its mane was disheveled and filthy. It produced a stink that was like rotting watermelons. It had one eye that was greener than the other.

It was the stranger!

“How did—?!”

But before I could finish my thought, a banging at the front door (for that’s what it was) brought me out of it. “Chris, open this door!”

I recognized that voice as the original Doctor. Before Dr. Chuckles shot him and he became the other Doctor. For sake of clarity, let’s call him the Original Doctor.

The stranger got back up and dusted himself off, swiping away at the pieces of the TARDIS still stuck to his bottom. They might have made a tinkling sound if we were still the stranger’s size, but to us the remains of the TARDIS landed on the ground with the ferocity of falling meteorites.

The Doctor looked over the damage. There was a look in his eye that was even emptier than when the stranger had destroyed his screwdriver; looking more like a heartbroken little colt. He stomped the ground and cursed.

I looked around more as the reality of the situation began to dawn on me. We weren’t in a different world, we weren’t in the future. We were inside the TARDIS when the stranger originally began his expedition through time.

What’s more, the Doctor and I were only two inches tall.

If I screamed in frustration, I doubt the stranger heard it.