TARDIS Interior, Status: Planning

[multaekappae]

Previously

Scribble, who was very much awake now, finally found his center of balance and got up from the bed. He reached for his scroll bag that was sitting on a nearby counter. "Okay, I woke up in a hospital room, more than likely on the TARDIS. I... I passed out, probably because of that pen. At least it's not..." Scribble froze. Feeling around in his bag had produced said writing tool. He stared at it in shock, slowly placing it back into the bag without another word.

"...I'll figure out what to do with you later. Doctor? Ako?" Ready, Scribble set out through the medical bay, looking out for any familiar face. "Cain-9? Riptide? Where is everypony?" He stopped, smelling the air, "And why do I smell seawater?"

The earth pony kept going, looking for anything that might explain what was going on. He was even in relatively high spirits, until he came across something that stopped all that. Laying on a bed in front of him was Primeval, the proto-pony still unconscious from the transformation she went through. Blood still trailed out from the cracks in her armor though not nearly as much as before.

Scribble just stood there, looking down at his friend and the damage that he had caused. From what Scribble had figured out, it was only the word "painless" that had kept things from being much worse than they already were.

"I... I'm so sorry..." Scribble whispered, taking a seat for the moment beside the bed. "You said that you didn't really like the wings, a-and I just wanted to help....." he hung his head in shame, unable to look at her. "If... If I could just fix it I would... But... what if I just make it worse? I should have asked if it was alright with you...."

No reply. At the very least her relaxed breathing was a good sign to the writer. "I don't know where anypony is, or what's going on, but I'm not going to leave you here alone. You'll probably need something when you wake up. " He said to basically himself, a promise to redeem himself in a way. The earth pony sat down on the bed next to hers and waited for the inevitable disaster that was likely to reunite him with the others. Until then, he started rehearsing his apologies.
 

---

The Inspector gave the Doctor a questioning look upon hearing that he planned to bring two other companions with him. "Well, seeing as Scribble and Primeval are currently healing up, and assuming that you'll be accompanying Miss Riptide, what will the other two offer out there? I mean, all it'll do is leave Scribble and Primeval alone in the TARDIS, and surely you wouldn't want them to be so vulnerable during their healing periods?"

     The Doctor paused, tapping his hoof as he counted the list of occupants again. "There are seven-

     "Eight." Isop snapped.

     "...eight of us. If Riptide takes four people with her, that leaves someone here to look after the two of them. Although, honestly, Scribble should be up and around soon..." the time pony grinned in a not entirely kind manner, "His accursed little device doesn't rewire his brain every time it's used."

     The brown stallion frowned, "sorry, let's wait to discuss that until later. If you think that's not enough backup here, we can leave two folk behind... I'm sure Riptide would be fine with two people and Isop."

     "Hey, I just noticed, why don't I get a choice about where I go?"

     "Oh, did you want to stay behind?" the Doctor asked, voice dangerously mild.

     "Well, no, but why don't I even get the option?"

     "Because I don't trust you. Her," the Doctor stabbed a hoof toward the kelpie. "I trust. Not. You."
 

Riptide stretched her wings and tail in preparation. Aside from her adventure in the river near Ponyville, she really hadn't done much swimming. Not too mention unlike that river, where she was the most dangerous being in it...with the exception of Stephen, if they really were in the Abyss there are creatures in the depths that could easily over power her and the group.

Done stretching she turned to the group. "Ok, Cain and Isop are going. Who's the last one going?"

The Inspector scowled deeply at the Doctor's comment, but chose to let it go for the sake of productivity. "Alrighty then, seeing as my anatomy is probably just going to slow the group down, perhaps it'd be better if I stayed behind. Same goes for Ako, given that she agrees with my line of reasoning." Tapping his chin in thought, a sudden thought popped into his head; a horrifying, dreadful thought. "Do any of you know where the All-Seer went?!" he asked in a panicked voice. "I'm not sure if Ako brought it with her from the other TARDIS we were traveling in!"

Next

TARDIS Interior, Status: Uknown

[multaekappae]

 Previously

The Inspector thought through the situation, not bothering to move Ako's paw from his mouth. Alrighty, we're underwater, apparently four thousand fathoms deep, and even if we don't drown when the TARDIS opens, then we'll be crushed to death by the pressure... Oh joy. He shook off the griffon's paw and gave her an annoyed glance before turning to the kelpie. "Just out of curiosity, what exactly is the battle plan if that as-of-yet undetermined thing that you say is going to kill us just so happens to be outside?" he asked, a drop of irony mingling with his genuine question.

"Depends on what it is," said the kelpie in answer to the inspector's question.

 

"If that something is anything like an abyssal wraith, then simply shining light at it will make it leave. The downside is doing anything that involves light down here is going to alert the local community of our presence. And there are some beings down here that we don't want to know we're here." Riptide gestured towards the TARDIS.

"Crabs the size of a wagon with armor stronger than steel and claws that can cut through metal and black-squids who's mere touch is poisonous are the least of your worries if we're where I think we are."

Seeing uneasy looks among the group, the sea pony did her best to assuage any fears "But it's not all bad! I know the ocean quite well and at this depth we might well run into my people! But if you hear anything that sounds like a a great host of foals laughing and playing, get in the TARDIS and stay here!"
 

Letting the Inspector out of her grasp easily - she hadn't been holding on that hard, just enough to stop his snarky response to Riptide - Ako groaned and put a clawed hand to her head as she thought once again of the crushing pressure around them.Underwater?! I can't even go swimming without getting bogged down by all that excess weight!

The fact she was already soaking wet didn't help matters. Maybe it was pieces of her feline and avian natures but if there was one thing that annoyed the swordsbird to no end, it was getting wet. That, and the three towels over her back and wings were making fur and feathers stick up awkwardly. Ako wanted a minute to deal with the problem where she wasn't going to be laughed at by everyone present. Her mood was already sour, no need to make it worse on purpose.

"I'll go check on them... Prim and Scribble I mean." She quickly volunteered, hoping she didn't sound too eager to not have to back into the water just yet.
 

The Doctor nodded, "Thank you, Miss Swiftwing, that would ease a few worries."

     He turned to the others. "Right, so I'm going to level with you. We crashed, and are probably only a few years after, err ... that last fiasco. The good news is that since this ... well, we're saying that this isn't my TARDIS." He grumbled slightly, but shook it off. "Which means the, ah, the 'proper owner' should come looking for it, hopefully in ... 'my' TARDIS. The good news is that means all we have to do is stay here and he should be able to find us."

     "...and the bad news is the gaggle of goblins Riptide just told us about." Sharp Wit concluded, groaning, "Along with all the things she undoubtedly hasn't mentioned."

     "So, plan consists of remaining inside, unnoticed and safe, yes?" The diamond dog asked, hopeful.

     "Sorry, no, we need to know where we are, and what's around us. I'm not terribly familiar with undersea politics, but ... this is, I believe, a rather turbulent period in their history." The time pony looked at Riptide, his face carefully expressionless.

     "I'm afraid we're going to have to send out a search party to see what's going on. Obviously Riptide will be in charge, but I think it would be wise to send two or three others with her." The Doctor's eyes widened, then he sighed and put a hoof over his eyes, "...make that two or three, and Isop."

     The creature perked up at mention of his name, "Does that mean I get to talk during meetings now?"

     "No." came the time pony's unequivocal answer.

     Cain raised a paw, "The Doctor only mentioned two diving suits. Why suggest three additional explorers if there is insufficient equipment?"

     The Gallopfreyan grinned, "Because, my furry friend, I know that vest of yours is a class three eva rig, and I can adjust the environmental field to resist crushing rather than provide vacuum protection."

     "Cain was afraid something similar was intended." the technician groaned.

Next

Episode 7, A Light in the Darkness

[multaekappae]

 Previously

     An hour later several bedraggled and mostly dry creatures huddled under towels and blankets in a space that would have been cavernous and agoraphobic feeling if it wasn't so crowded with large crates that it felt cramped and claustrophobic. Really, the only two things it had going were the portable heater Sharp Wit had stumbled across and the auxilary TARDIS console which was why the Doctor had dragged them here in the first place.

     Fur bristled with drying salt crystals and snuffling could be heard from several sources.

     Ako concentrated on keeping calm, taking several breaths before she spoke again. "Doctor, that didn't make any sense, so I'm going to ask again: why can't we find any of our rooms?"

     The time pony sighed, finally turning around from the console that stubbornly kept telling him things he didn't want to know. "Because they don't exist. At least... not yet."

     The Inspector frowned, "Wait, are you saying that there can be time travel inside the TARDIS?"

     The Doctor giggled, "Don't be silly, that'd be impossible. It's a four-dimensional construct. Everything that ever has or will happen inside the TARDIS exists within the same matrix."

     The kelpie, lone individual who wasn't feeling miserable from seawater, although the densely packed boxes weren't helping her mood, perked up, "Wait... is this your TARDIS?"

     The brown stallion stated, opened his mouth, closed it, drew in a breath, quirked an eyebrow, and exhaled noisily. "Err, let's go with 'not yet'." He noticed the frowns and groans that answer elicited. "OK, ok, we can say 'no it isn't mine', but I'm telling you that's not the whole truth". he huffed.

     Sharp snorted, "The whole truth is that you hit us with a wall of seawater and now you're telling us that none of our belongings are even here, so anything we weren't carrying is gone. The rest can be puzzled out later, but the practical part is of more pressing concern, don't you think?"

     The Gallopfreyan held a hoof over the bridge of his muzzle. "Of course... sorry. Yeah, the wardrobe is still there. But ..." he trailed off, trying to figure out how to phrase the next part, "You may find the clothing somewhat, errr, dated."

     Cain chuckled, "All pony fashion seems dated to th- to me."

     The time pony let out a bark of laughter, "Remind me to never introduce you to Glitz."

     The technician tilted his head, "Who?"

     "Precisely." the Doctor chuckled.

     Riptide had waited as long as her patience would allow, "Doctor, when are we going to find out where we are?"

     "We're underwater, I thought that would be obvious." the pegasus snapped.

     "Are you really that dense? What if I said 'oh we're above water, who cares what dirt looks like'?"

     Ako placed a paw over the charcoal gray pony's muzzle, nodding at the kelpie. "OK, if we..." She shuddered, thinking about the thousands of gallons of water between them and air, "If you figure out where we are, how can we use that to our advantage?"

     The seapony stretched her back plates, "If I know where we are, I can figure out what's going to try to kill us."

     The diamond dog frowned, "Why–

     "Because everywhere he," Riptide stabbed a hoof at the time pony, "takes us something ends up trying to kill us. And I'd like to know if it's going to be a volcano, a kraken, or a blue hole that does it."

     The Doctor chewed on his lip for a moment. "Well, that's certainly a good point. Mmmh... first thing, somepony ... sorry someone should go check on Scribble and Prim. I haven't heard any medical alarms, so I think they should be about as recovered as they're going to be any time soon."

     Taking one last glance at the controls, he turned back to the group, "If my measurements are at all accurate we're about four thousand fathoms below sea-level... assuming we're still on Equestria."

     "It feels like the oceans I remember. Did you say four thousand?"

     "I'll take your word for it. Yeah, pretty bloody deep, almost pitch black, except a single point of light."

     The kelpie's ears perched forward, "Really? C'mon, I want to go see what that is."

     "Err... Riptide, I'd rather you didn't go off on your own." The Doctor said, knowing he had no way of stopping her if she decided to leave anyway.

     The carnivorous seapony groaned, "Look, that spell has a very limited range. I can't be shoaling all of you in a magic bubble. Not to mention, this." She tapped her horn. "Is still pretty new to me, so I'm not sure how long I could keep the magic going."

     The time pony chuckled, "Oh, we're not that helpless. I'm sure I've still got a couple of diving suits, and I bet I can rig Cain's eva rig to work as a pressure shield. And... I can improvise the rest."

     Several scowling faces offered opinions of the Doctor's improvisational skills.
 

Next

Episode VII: A Light in the Darkness

[multaekappae]

 Previously

Riptide had gotten used to weird things occurring around the Doctor and especially whenever he used his magic time box thing in the time that she had been with the group, but the last thing she had been expecting was the sudden wall of sea water to come bursting through the doors.

One moment the machine was making these awful mechanical grinding noises and the next a wave of ice-cold seawater over took the group. As the water rushed around her, the kelpie pushed off from the deck and followed the water's pull. As she passed, she couldn't help but notice that already several doors of the TARDIS had sealed themselves automatically to prevent the flood from spreading. As she went with the flow, Riptide found herself idly wondering about that. The Doctor had referred to the box as a "time ship" on a few occasions but she had never once seen the vessel in the water. And now the one time it was, it was doing a fantastic job of flooding.

Spying her targets, the kelpie's tentacles lashed out, grabbing her companions as they floated along. With the others secured, the sea pony turned into the flow of the flood and headed back into the foyer. Finding the lever that closed it after a few false starts, Riptide pulled it down, closing the doors and cutting the water off at the source.

It was at this point she remembered something rather important: Her companions needed air to breath. Recalling the spell taught to her so long ago, she cast it. Seeing the bluish flash, the Doctor looked around. Apparently nothing had changed.

"You can talk and breath now," Riptide advised, "But don't swim too far from me, the spell only works as long as you're near me."

Next

Episode VII: A Light in the Darkness

[multaekappae]

 Previously

Scribble opened his eyes to an endless void. Murky, twisting and never-ending, there didn't seem to be anything except the writer for miles around. It was quite a change of pace from what was just happening. But...

"Wha... where am... wait." he frowned, rubbing his brow with a foreleg. Standing there, the pony stared blankly into the back, wondering just what was going on. His eyes widened as he finally remembered, "Discord! Doctor! Primeval! Celestia, where am I?! Where are they?! What's going on?!"

"Will you stop shouting? Honestly, you're starting to get on my nerves. and that's saying something."

Scribble gasped. Floating in the air in front of him was the words that he had argued with earlier, only.... he could also hear them. "It's... it's you. But how...?"

"You're unconscious, you dense writer. You're currently inside a personification-a ponyfication of your subconscious because you decided to be an idiot and use the pen without any knowledge of it."

Scribble really didn't need this right now. "I was only trying to help! And it doesn't matter. Not like I'm going to use it ever again..."

"Chickening out so soon? Why am I not surprised? But you shouldn't though, that pen is the key, you see. That pen can give you everything you ever wanted!

"But..." Scribble was lost. "It's evil. Did you see what it did to Primeval?"

"Only because you're inexperienced, you twit. You're being narrow minded. We both know that you want to achieve more than you are, and that pen can help you. Trust me, learn how to use it properly. It's really useful."

"...And you would know this..." Scribble raised an eyebrow at the paragraph, still untrusting. "Because?"

"Because I'm in your head your idiot. Geez, just wake up already and save us both the grief. Don't want your marefriend to die without you being there, do you?"

Before he could pry further a blinding light was unleashed on the unsuspecting earth pony. The whole world flipped out from under him and he began to fall....

"NO!" Scribble jerked awake, limbs flailing around in a panic until he was right-side up. Panting and severely disheveled, his eyes darted wildly, scanning for any Draconequus or evil deer. Noting with surprise, he was onboard the TARDIS, laying on a bed in what looked to be a medical room. "...Hello?"
 

Next

Episode VII: A Light in the Darkness

[multaekappae]

One brown pony ran as hard as he could, striving to go ever faster, his eyes locked on the box that meant salvation, driving across the bedlam trying to outrun a beam of li–

A paw grabbed the racing stallion, pulling him into a blue box. The paw's owner grinned, "Perhaps the Doctor has become confused in haste? We are to leave this place with all haste, yes?"

The time pony frowned at Cain, but there was no time for riddles just yet, his eyes turned toward the console where Riptide stood. "Pull the blue lever!" She stared at him, a tentacle gesturing at the device in question. "Yes, that one, do it NOW!"

The box rocked sideways a moment before the lever was pulled, the doors rattling on their hinges, flexing in the middle as blinding light shone from all the edges. Riptide pulled the lever as hard as she could. The vworp sounded, more tortured than usual, a sort of circular grinding whine added to the mix.

"No, that's not right!" The Doctor shouted, stumbling toward the console.

"I did what you told me to, why did you tell me to do that if it was wrong!?" Riptide snapped back.

The time pony waved the reply off, "The dial above it, what's the number? It should be above three."

"Uhh, seven?" the kelpie read, causing the Doctor to sigh in relief – "wait, no... zero point seven."

"Oh bloody h–

Everyone's ears popped as the TARDIS's doors burst inward, a wall of dark green water racing into the foyer to envelop four travelers and one time pony.

 

Episode VI: A Light in the Darkness

"Doctor Who Theme Tune 2005-2007 By Murray Gold" (Watch on YouTube)

 

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