Screech... Screech...

The Doctor awoke with a start. He looked around and guided his ear towards the door. Silence. He sighed and lay back on the pile of hay. TARDIS... He thought. I so hoped it would be you...

The night was by no means pleasant. It was one of those nights when you try to sleep and actually want to sleep but simply can't. A cascade of thoughts occupies your head and, as soon as your mind castle is sieged, you surrender and just lie, looking at the ceiling. Your head hurts, your face is bland and pleading - but the relief never comes. It is like a fortuitous migraine - but there is no cure.

The Doctor envied those soldiers. Clover Leaf sleeped silently, with a blissful expression on his face. The Time Lord could have delved into the green pony's dreams but he didn't feel like reading thoughts that night. Silver Shield slept heavily, snorting and breathing heavily. White Feather smiled in his sleep, trying to hug some invisible pony in front of him. Dreams of his mother, I presume, the brown pony said to himself. Fire Coat didn't move in his sleep, his breath flowed normally. A dreamless sleep, the healthiest type, The Doctor cocluded.

Screech... Screech...

The Doctor jumped up and quickly looked around, trying to see whether he had woken up anypony. Fortunately, the four soldiers remained asleep. The Time Lord stepped carefully, silently moving to the door, opened it and stepped outside.

The first thing that met him was a gust of vernal wind - something he never expected to feel in the middle of a desert. One could call it a soft breeze, though to The Doctor it seemed like a heavy stream of cool air, healing his hurting head and soothing his mental wounds. He closed his eyes, bathing in the wind. It was like a sudden shower in the middle of a hot summer afternoon - unexpected, yet desired.

Screech... Screech...

TARDIS! A thought struck The Doctor's brain, and he opened his eyes, trying to locate the source of the sound.

Screech... Screech...

The brown pony stopped in his tracks. It seemed as though the source of the sound was moving - no, not only moving but getting closer! The Doctor tried to strain his eyes to the limit but still couldn't see a thing. The sands looked cold and dead - the symbol of the lost generation. An everchanging grave, where the ancestors and the descendants shared their last bed. A field of buried tears and drops of blood, of shattered hopes and broken dreams.

Screech... Screech...

The sound made The Doctor snap out of his philosophical speculations, only to see a shadow slowly moving up to him from the horizon. The Time Lord decided to take a mild defensive stance, not waking the sleeping warriors but not approaching the strange figure either.

Screech... Screech...

The tension was building slowly but steadily.

Screech... Screech...

After The Doctor screwed up his eyes, he could see the figure resembled a pony. However, he decided to keep in his place.

Screech... Screech...

The pony was a unicorn - it could be clearly seen from the distance that kept shortening with each passing second.

Screech... Screech...

Now The Doctor could see exactly what was making that noice: a machine that resembled a gun was attached to the pony's shoulder, lifelessly hanging and scratching the sand with its steely muzzle.

Screech...

The sound stopped, as now the unicorn was standing before the Time Lord. In the moonlight, The Doctor managed to see the stanger fairly well. His coat was dark red, and his mane purple. His lavender eyes were dull and exhausted. The brown pony could read so much pain in them, but there was also a grain of natural wit and wisdow, though the pony seemed relatively young.

Anypony is young, compared to me, The Doctor bitterly thought, before looking at the unicorn's cutie mark, only to gasp in surprise.

On the stranger's flank sat a crossed sword and quill. The words from a book the Time Lord remembered very well appeared in his mind: The dualism of the Revolution is the dualism of equine nature. [...] We destroy our enemies with might, and deal with our allies with wisdom. The Doctor held his breath. Could it be... Sword and quill... Might and wisdom... Red coat... Purple mane... A unicorn... Corl Marex... Corl Marex himself is standing before my eyes! The brown pony's eyes lit with passion. He had so much to ask - he finally had the chance to get the answers from the father of the Great Equestrian Revolution in person!

Suddenly, the brown pony noticed the unicorn's lips were moving. They were dry, and the sound was very, very quiet. The Doctor took a step forth to hear better.

"Water... Please..." The father of the Great Equestrian Revolution said before collapsing on the warm sand.

***

"So you're telling me you're a volunteer? Volunteer Corl Marex? From the Lunar Republic?" The Captain asked the unicorn, rubbing his chin with a hoof. Despite it being early in the morning, all the soldiers and The Doctor formed a circle around the newcomer, who had recently come to his senses and now was sitting, not satisfied, but not uncomfortable, with all the attention he was getting.

"Yes, for the tenth time, yes!" The unicorn exclaimed impatiently. "There were five of us, the Republic sent us to aid the group of Someone Shield - now I understand it's you-" he addressed the Captain, who nodded, a hint of suspicion still not leaving his eyes. "-and then the griffins attacked. I'm the only survivor, thanks to this horn of mine." He touched his horn, stroking it gently. Fire Coat knitted his brow. "And then I had been walking for hours till I met The Doctor," Marex smiled, grateful to the Time Lord. "And now you're telling me you believe that The Doctor is an alien Time Lord and don't believe me? No offence, Doctor, I believe you... Don't know how, but somehow I trust you," he smiled again, looking at his saviour.

"No offence taken," the Time Lord replied with a smile of his own. They managed to share only a short conversation, most of which was consumed by explaining and re-explaining who was who. However, The Doctor expected to dive in the deep sea of political discussions later.

The Captain frowned. "Still, I'm not sure... What if you're a spy of the Republic? Working for LR-6, huh?" He asked, moving his face closer to Marex, looking in the unicorn's eyes. He still gave credit to Marex for meeting his gaze with a fearless and self-assured smile.

"I believe him," White Feather whispered, looking at his hooves. The poor colt still hadn't recovered from the events of the previous day.

"I do as well," The Doctor said, standing erect.

Silver Shield raised a brow.

"I saw his past and future and I can assure you, Captain, that in none of all the parallel Universes is he a spy." The Doctor's voice was firm and confident, making all the ponies in the room believe him at once.

"If you say so, Doctor..." Silver Shield mumbled.

"Then welcome to Hell, unicorn," Fire Coat said, grinning at Marex.

"This war is Hell indeed, Fire Coat." The red unicorn didn't seem to have noticed the mockery. "But is it the worst of hells? Maybe the struggle between ponies... and races..." At this point, the black fire-maned pony sat up, noticing the strange emphasis that mystically resembled his own ideas. "...is worse than war between different countries? Isn't any war a crime, in fact?" Corl Marex asked nopony in particular but Fire Coat somehow felt the question was directed to him.

"True..." the black earth pony whispered so silently that nopony could hear him except The Doctor and the red pony, who continued his tirade nevertheless.

"But what is a crime? How can we determine the meaning of 'crime' when our law isn't flawless? I'm talking both about the Empire and the Republic, Captain," he said, sending a look to Silver Shield. "Nullum crimen sine lege!" He chuckled, lowering his head in misery.

"Ubi culpa est, ibi poena subesse debet. And the requital will come, Corl Marex," Fire Coat said, looking straight into the purple-maned unicorn's lavender eyes, calling him by the name for the first time.

"You speak Latin?" Marex asked, raising a brow. "I thought I was the only one who did... I mean, at these dark times... Where did you learn it, if I may ask?"

"Ex libris, Corl Marex. Ex libris," the black stallion replied, smiling. Now the smile didn't carry disdain or fastidiousness. It was a friendly and warm smile, addressed only to the red unicorn.

Marex nodded in understanding.

"I guess it's good to have a chatter and all, but we have work to do!" Silver Shield barked. "You're lucky I'm too liberal to voluntary miss what you say about our rulers..." He grumbled as he left the barrack to get some water.

As soon as the grey stallion left, the discussion continued. In fact, to The Doctor, it seemed more of a monologue from Corl Marex, sometimes interrupted with questions. The red unicorn's eyes lit with passion and inspiration, his hoof was making assuring gestures as he spoke firmly, confidently, with a self-dependant, but by no means arrogant, smile. The Doctor felt lost in the stream of words, words of truth mixed with almost invisible seeds of mild propaganda - the main weapon of any good orator.

"...And thus we see that both parties are fighting for oil, not for their 'homeland', as they pose it. And what profit does it bring us, common ponies? None, I say! The oligarchy is abusing the working class simply because they have power. But we have more power! What can even the strongest unicorn magic do against millions of angry armed earth ponies? Nothing, I say!" Marex's lavender eyes were shining with flames of justice as he continued his speech.

Hm... He is involved in the discussion but never lets himself get too uncontrollable... The Doctor thought, mentally nodding to himself.

"But sir..." A soft whisper came from the corner of the room. White Feather looked embarassed but continued nevertheless. "But sir... Aren't you yourself... a unicorn?" He asked, rasing his voice a little, but still looking at his hooves.

"Yeah, mister. Ain't you one of them unicorns you're telling us to fight against?" Clover Leaf asked with a slight grin.

Fire Coat silently raised a brow, curious as to how the orator would answer such a tricky question.

Corl Marex simply chuckled, seeming not to have been confused at all.

"I may be a unicorn but I have never been an adherent of oligarchy. You are confusing the race and the class system here, my young friend," he addressed White Feather, not noticing (or not wanting to notice - T.L.) the green soldier's remark.

"Huh?" The white pony asked in lack of understanding.

"You see, there are three races - unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies. Throughout the whole history of Equestria..." Marex began his explanation.

At this point, the Time Lord decided to take a nap, pretending to be listening. He had heard that lecture before - no, he had read it. Right in the book Marex had written - no, would write!

Sweet miriads of soothing thoughts occupied The Doctor's head, and he gave himself up to the much needed sleep that he managed to miss the night before.

***

Author's note.

As I'm getting lazier, the chapters are getting shorter... Nah, just my imagination.

Peace.