Doctor Whooves: Only My Willby LightOfTriumphChaptersThe Last LynchpinSix SegmentsCalling All CrusadersWhere You Go, I FollowPast, Present, and FutureWhat Comes Next?It's All the Doctor.Spike, Take a LetterFinal Author's NoteCalling BluffsThe Last LynchpinTime. Time was amorphous. Time was bendable. Time was wobbly. Time shifted. Constantly. The Doctor dealt in time. Around his TARDIS console lay meters and scales and readouts. All telling him where he was and how things shifted in time. Time surrounded him, and he moved through it like a fish through water. In his breast pocket was a gold pocketwatch. It really wasn't much use, but it was a gift. He had repaired it for an acquaintance of his back before he was the Doctor. He went by "Time Turner" back then. It took a visitor from another reality to make him finally realize who he was. He kept the watch to remind himself of who he was. Turner was a good stallion. The Doctor liked to think that Time Turner was the best part of the Doctor. The... other Doctor just gave him the necessary parts. He stared at the watch. He gave a sad sigh. He'd have to give it back soon. Rarity had given it to him. But whether she gave it to the Doctor or Time Turner..... His time was coming to an end. Applejack entered the TARDIS control room. She was nervous. Everypony was nervous. With the news they had just received how could they not be? The Master had their friends and one of the most powerful artifacts in the universe. The Cutie Mark Crusaders paced around the room, putting on a brave face. It was the Doctor who finally broke the silence. "After this," the Doctor sighed. "You four are going home." "What?!" asked Apple Bloom. "Why?" "You don't like us anymore?" asked Sweetie Belle. "We promise we won't get in the way...," Scootaloo said quietly. "It's not that," the Doctor smiled. "Simply put, if Applejack was with the rest of her friends, I don't think the Master would have gotten this far. I've seen the evils you've stopped without me here and I'm sure you could have dealt with the Master on your own. Besides..." The Doctor closed his watch and put it back in his pocket. "At the end of this, I'm not sure you'll like me anymore. I'm not even sure they'll be a me to like." "Waht're you talkin' about?" Apple Bloom asked. The Doctor smiled. "Oh, my guess is that you'll see in good time." There was an awkward silence that was broken by Applejack. "Why does this thing take us forever to get anywhere?" she asked. "This thing travels in time and space instantaneously. We should be there by now..." The Doctor laid back. "Oh no one appreciates the long commute anymore," the Doctor laughed. "Everything has to be 'now now now.' No one ever takes their time with anything. I like long travel. It gives me time to think. Besides however long we take we'll still get their at the same time! Also..." The Doctor looked down at the ground. "There are some things I don't want to rush to." Applejack seemed like she was about to protest for a moment, but decided not to. "What is it?" "What's what?" the Doctor asked. "That key thing the Black Guardian was talkin' about." "Ah," the Doctor stood up. "The Key to Time is the thing that keeps the universe in balance. A perfect cube of cosmic energy that's split up into six segments and then usually scattered around the timestream. According to the White Guardian however, this key kept coming back together no matter how much he tried to separate them. So eventually he just gave up. Moved on. Kept the key together. The problem with that is that now it's all in one place for any disreputable character to come along and snatch it up. Hence the fix we're in now. "What does it do?" Applejack asked. "What question are you asking?" the Doctor asked. "What is it supposed to do? The answer to that is simple. Put the universe it's in back in order when it goes out of sync. Every once and a long while, the White Guardian must get her hands on it and use it to put the universe back together. Usually she sends a mortal to do it for her. That's how we first met by the way! She, well, alright, 'he' at the time, sent me across my other universe to collect the segments and put them back together. And oh my, did I run into some trouble along the way..." "So it's kinda like the Elements of Harmony?" Sweetie Belle asked. "In a way," the Doctor shrugged. "But again, that's only what it's supposed to do. What can it do?" The Doctor looked straight at Applejack. "Anything. The Key to Time does anything. In the wrong hands it can mean the destruction of this and indeed all universes. And the Master's hands... er.... hooves are certainly the wrong ones." "And this 'Key to Time,'" Applejack started. "That's the last Lynchpin?" The Doctor nodded. "I should have known the moment the Guardians got involved. They exist outside of all universes, you see. And it always comes back to the Key." "Alright," Scootaloo seemed determined. "What are we looking for? What do these 'segments' look like?" "Ah," the Doctor said. "That's the tricky bit. You see-" WHOOM! The TARDIS violently lurched to the side laying the Crusaders prone. The Doctor looked at the monitors and frowned. "Oh goody" "Lemme guess," Applejack said dryly. "We're here?" "Oh, not just us!" the Doctor said cheerfully. "Everyone. All of the enemies have arrived to welcome us home! Daleks, Cybermen, I think I even see a Nestine ship! How kind of them to welcome us home, don't you think? Their all scanning the planet, looking for something." "What?" Sweetie Belle asked. "My guess? Us," the Doctor answered. "I'll try to find us a safe place to land and regroup. We need to figure out how things got this bad..." "Sweet Apple Acres!" Applejack said brightly. "If anyplace is safe..." "Back to the farm it is!" The Doctor flipped a lever and they began to materialize. Then he looked at the monitor. His jaw dropped. "Oh no...," the Doctor started. "I... I can't..." The Doctor took a moment to compose himself. "We should go, maybe the Crystal Tree is safe..." "Doctor?" Applejack asked. "The controls are locked." The Doctor pounded the console. "Blast it, I can't move!" "Doctor..." The Doctor took out the Sonic Screwdriver. "I'm sure I can get something working if I just had the time. I need to bypass this-" "DOCTOR!" Applejack shrieked. The Doctor looked in her eyes. Tears were welling up inside them. She new the answer to the question she was about to ask. "What's happened to the farm?" The Doctor closed his eyes and moved away from the monitor to let Applejack see. She looked and her heart and mind instantly broke. How could they not? The Doctor had seen something like this before. This was worse though. This wasn't AJ's fault. Every tree in the orchard, all three thousand of them on all 40 acres of land, was burning. The farmhouse had already turned to ashes. There was a dark figure standing in front of the blaze. His burning red eyes glowed with a sick delight. "Doctor!" the Master said cheerfully. "Come out! We have much to discuss!" Author's Note Boom! First chapter and I set Sweet Apple Acres on FIRE! Who's raisin' some stakes NOW bitches?! Ha ha... I've had no sleep... Please rate and comment! Six Segments"Spike?" came the distant voice of Apple Bloom. "You think he's okay?" said Sweetie Belle, a little bit clearer. "WAKE UP!!!"shouted Scootaloo. Spike finally came to on the floor of the TARDIS control room. He saw the faces of the Cutie Mark Crusaders first. As he sat up he saw the Doctor and Applejack around the console. "Ugh...," he said, his body still racked with pain. "Where... Where am I? "Hello!" the Doctor smiled. "I'm the Doctor, and you're in my time machine! I know that seems a little out of the ordinary maybe a little impossible..." "After what I've seen?" asked Spike. "No it doesn't." "Yeah," the Doctor shrugged. "I suppose it wouldn't... Anyway! I'm a friend of Applejack's, a space alien, an extradimensional entity, a Lynchpin of the Multiverse, you have no idea what that is... I'm also the last hope for this planet, a position I hate being in." "Why do I instantly believe you?" asked Spike. "Anyway," the Doctor said. "I'm also sort of the root cause of all this, so if you want to slug me you can go ahead and do it. I can say with all certainty that this would not have happened if I wasn't here. So go ahead and smack me on the jaw." Spike thought for a bit and then looked up at the Doctor. "Why?" he asked. "That would be pretty stupid, wouldn't it? You're not the Master after all. And you seem to want to help us. Why would I be mad at you?" The Doctor thought for a moment. "You know," he said thoughtfully. "I'm not sure." Applejack rushed over to Spike and gave him a massive bear hug. "You little scamp!" Applejack said tearfully. "You had to be so brave and not tell the Master nothin'! Gettin' yourself all beat up! You're just a baby after all, you don't deserve to get hurt!" The Cutie Mark Crusaders joined in the hug. "We're sorry we weren't here to help!" Sweetie Belle cried. "I would have socked the Master right in his stupid jaw if I knew what he was doing to you!" Scootaloo shouted "We love you!" Apple Bloom said. Spike's eyes were bulging out of his head. "It still hurts...," he wheezed. "Guys, seriously. The everything still hurts." The girls released him from the embrace, allowing the baby dragon to breathe. "Okay, listen," the Doctor said. "I need quite a lot of information and not much time in which to gather it. First things first. Who are you and how do you know Applejack and her friends?" "I'm Spike," Spike said proudly. "Royal scribe and messenger to Princess Twilight Sparkle." "Back when Twi first moved to Ponyville, before she had ascended into bein' a princess and all, she was given an assignment," Applejack explained. "Every time she, and eventually any of us, learned somethin' new about friendship we had to write about it to Princess Celestia. Spike is the one who'd write all those letters down and send them off." "Every time you learn something new, you send it off in a letter to somepony?" the Doctor smiled. "I quite like that. You wouldn't want to do it for me at some point would you?" "I think it's the least I can do," Spike laughed. "Right!" the Doctor whipped around. "Next question! How long has it been since the Master took control of Ponyville?" "Only three days," Spike groaned. "Three of the worst days of my life." "It took him only three days?" asked Sweetie Belle. "To do all of this?" "I'm surprised it took him that long," the Doctor sighed. "Daleks, Cybermen, Angels and Autons at his back... Question three! The Master mentioned of a resistance movement?" "Heh, 'Resistance'," Spike laughed. "If you mean me, Granny Smith and Big Mac hiding in the Everfree forest trying to ride this out, hoping to find a solution somewhere..." "Granny Smith and Big Mac are alright?" the Apple sisters asked in excited unison. "They're fine," Spike reassured them. The Apple sisters locked Spike in another tight embrace. "Rib cage...," Spike said in a strained voice. "In pain..." "Final question!" the Doctor shouted. "Why hasn't the Master killed Twilight and the others yet?" Applejack punched the Doctor in the foreleg. "Doctor," she said through gritted teeth. "There's a phrase you should learn about lookin' a gift horse in the mouth!" "This is important though!" the Doctor protested, rubbing his arm. "If he was just telling me that they were still alive to bait a trap it would make sense. But that isn't what's happening. Spike was probably taken to the same place they were so the Master must need them. But for what?" "I don't know," Spike answered honestly. "One of those Dalezoid things said that they should be Exterminated. The Master said that if they died it would ruin everything. They'd be setting themselves backwards, somehow..." The Doctor nodded. "That's what I thought. "What?" Applejack asked. "Time to answer a very good question you had earlier," the Doctor smiled. "What do the segments of the Key to Time look like? That's the thing. they can be anything. If the segment is 'disguising' itself as a shard of Jethrik crystal, or the great seal of Diplos, or even Princess Astra of Atrios that's what it is until it is put together. The Key to Time can be anything, any one, or indeed anypony it wants to be." The Doctor looked straight into AJ's eyes. Applejack's jaw dropped at what the Doctor was implying. "Six segments," the Doctor smiled. "And I have one..." Twilight watched as the Cybermen continued to wheel statues in. One by one. Pegasi with their faces buried in their hooves. There were about twenty of them outside the cells. She and her friends watched in horror. She saw these things before. "Girls," Twilight said sternly. "Whatever you do, don't look away. Don't even blink if you can avoid it." She took a little comfort knowing that inside the cages, the Angels couldn't get to them. They were captive, but safe. A song had been playing since the Weeping Angels had been brought in. It would almost seem very upbeat if Twilight hadn't been listening to the lyrics. This song was about murder, or at least contemplating it, set to almost circus like music. It fit the Master perfectly, she thought. And then the Music got louder as the Master sauntered into the room. He stepped directly in front of the cages and began to sing along with the music. "Oh I could throw you in the lake, or feed you poisoned birthday cake, I won't deny, I'm gonna miss you when your gone... "Oh I could bury you alive, But you might crawl out with a knife and kill me when I'm sleeping, That's why..." On the word "Why" the cell doors vanished into nothingness. They still couldn't get out. But the Angels could get in. "I can't decide, Whether you should live or die, Oh you'll probably go to heaven, Please don't hang your head and cry, No wonder why, My heart feels dead inside, Cold and hard and petrified, Lock the doors and close the blinds, we're goin' for a ride!" "You're free to leave!" the Master called as he exited the room. "If you think you can make it." Author's Note Scissor Sisters FTW. Please rate and comment! Calling All CrusadersThe six mares remained fixated on the Angels, their gaze unbreaking, all the time taking care not to blink. Letting nothing distract their attention. And then something did. In the middle of the crowd of Angels there was a large flash. All of a sudden, standing in the middle of the room, was a stallion. Young, a dark gray coat, green mane that moved into orange as it got to the tip. He wore a blue watch that looked like it did more then tell time. On that same leg there was a tattoo of a snake that seemed to be... moving. The young unicorn stumbled sideways into one of the Angels, knocking it over. "I'm alright!" he said, immediately straightening himself up. "I'm okay! Doctor listen, I need your-..." The young stallion suddenly took notice of his surroundings. "This isn't the TARDIS," he said dryly. "If it is the TARDIS something has gone horribly wrong." "You know the Doctor?" Twilight asked, being careful not to lose sight of the Angels. "Not yet," the unicorn explained. "But I will sssssss-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" The unicorn doubled over in pain. The snake tattoo on his leg seemed to tighten it's grip. His eyes, usually a bright sky blue, were now a deep blood red. "This endeavor is futile!" a voice that didn't belong to him hissed angrily out of his mouth. "You. Will. SUMBIT!!!" He craned his neck and all of a sudden he was back to normal. "Will you shut up? I'm trying to hold a conversation!" "Are you alright?" asked Fluttershy. "For now, but not much longer," the stallion said through gritted teeth. "I'm not supposed to be here. I sort of overshot my mark. In the state I'm in I can't get you guys out of here, but I can keep you in so you can give your eyes a rest. " "You're going to relock the cage doors?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Forgive me if I don't leap for joy..." "Better then the Angels getting in," answered Rarity. "Fair point." "So we're agreed?" the Unicorn panted. Twilight thought that whatever entity was trying to seize control of him was making another move. "Excellent! One, two three!" A flash of magic came from his horn and magical gates replaced the missing cell doors. "Amicable Gates!" Twilight said, her inner student bursting. "The only people who can be let in are people we WANT to come in! Oh this is great! My brother knows this spell." "I know. I sssss AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHH!!!!!" The tattoo tightened and his eyes changed color once again. "Idiot boy! You waste your time with these ephemeral-" The unicorn craned his neck again. "I thought. I told you. Before. SHUT UP." "Is the Master doing this to you?" Twilight asked. 'What? No...," the Stallion explained. "The snake tattoo, the blood red eyes, the hissing voice that doesn't belong to me. It's a whole thing. It's kind of complicated." He touched his watch again, and in a flash, he was gone. "I...," Applejack was stunned. "I'm the last piece." "You and your friends are the six most powerful things in this universe," the Doctor smiled. "You six are the key to time. Think about it. Think of all the trials you've been through. Nightmare Moon, Discord, Sombra, Tirek. The one strategy that came close to working was separating you. Apart you're formidable, but together you are unstoppable." "I'm..." A tear trickled down AJ's cheek. "I'm not even a real pony?" "No...," the Doctor gave Applejack a comforting hug. "That's not it. You are real and ten thousand times more than that. You will always be equine. Nothing will ever change that. You are just one of the six strongest and most unique ponies in this Timestream. And that has nothing to do with the Key to Time, trust me." Applejack smiled at the Doctor. "So!" she sniffed. "How do we go about gettin' them back?" "Aha!" The Doctor began to move around the console. "That there is the difficult bit! Spike, you said that the Master has made his base in Twilight's Palace, and that's where he's keeping the girls, right?" "The Crystal Tree, yeah," Spike answered. "Well," said the Doctor. "As of right now it is surrounded by Dalek warships. Many, many, Dalek warships. Uncomfortable amounts of Dalek warships." "So what do we do?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Frankly a ridiculous number of Dalek-" "We get it!" said the Crusaders in unison. "Right!" The Doctor picked up a microphone from the console. "My plan involves this! This is a universal communicator. It can broadcast to anything with a speaker grill. Radios. PA systems. Anything. All I need to do is make a call and people around Equestria will make distraction and hopefully the Daleks will be sent out to deal with it. Drawing their forces away from the Crystal Tree. There's a problem with that plan however...." "What's that?" asked Scootaloo. "I have no one I can call," the Doctor smiled. "No one who's qualified, anyway. I haven't made enough friends across Equestria to start a ruckus on that scale. Therein lies the problem." The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at each other devilishly. "So what you're sayin' is," Apple Bloom started. "You need a group of ponies who can get themselves organized but also be a royal pain in somepony's plot?" "Yeah, that's about right...," the Doctor sighed. "This is a job for the CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS! YAY!" Apple Bloom started. The rest finished. The Doctor laughed. "While your abilities of causing trouble are indeed legendary," he smiled. "We'll need more then the three of you." "Who said it'd just be the three of us?" Apple Bloom bounced up and grabbed the microphone out of the Doctors hand. "Calling all Crusaders! Calling all Crusaders! This is Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, organization founders! We have a mission for all Crusaders!" "I know it looks bleak now," Scootaloo said. "But we have a plan to fix all of this! We have a guy who calls himself the Doctor, here. He's dealt with all of these things before! He can help us beat them! But he needs your help!" "I know it may be scary," Sweetie Belle said. "But you have to fight! Do whatever you can to disrupt order! Call as much attention to yourselves as you can! Whatever the biggest prank you ever pulled was, pull it again, ten times bigger!" "And more important then anythin'" Apple Bloom started. "Don't die. That means you gotta stay alive and you gotta pull this off! 'Cause everypony's dead if you don't do both! But I know you will! Look at your flanks. As long as they're still blank our time ain't up! We're not gonna let a bunch of ugly space aliens keep us from our Cutie Marks!" There was a long silence. "Come on guys," Apple Bloom said. "Don't let us down..." Then the communicator hissed. "Hey guys!" came a bright voice. "This is Sky Blue, chapter president CMC Cloudsdale! We're ready and willing!" "This is Babs Seed, CMC Manehattan!" came a thuggish voice. "You don't have to tell me twice, Cousin!" "Beach Bum, like, CMC Las Pegasus," came a spaced out voice. "We're, like, ready when you are!" "Cheese Stake, CMC Fillydelphia," came a working class voice. "We can keep these jagoffs occupied for 'bout an 'our!" "Precious Gem, CMC Canterlot!" came a high class voice. "And who couldn't pay attention to us?" "Button Mash, CMC Ponyville branch chapter!" came a hyperactive voice. "I'll tear'em to shreds! WOLVERIIIIIIIiiiiinneee....." "This is Rumble, CMC Ponyville branch chapter," came an exasperated little voice. "I'll keep Button from getting himself killed out there." The founding Cutie Mark Crusaders beamed at the Doctor, who's jaw was on the floor. "They're...," the Doctor stammered. "They're DOING it! Three warships have broken from the main perimeter and are heading toward the sources of the trouble. We have a way in! How could they have attracted that much attention that quickly?!" "You wanna cause trouble in a hurry?" Scootaloo said smugly. "Leave it to little kids." "Right!" the Doctor said happily. "Now phase two! Crashing through the roof!" "WHAT?!" said everypony else in the TARDIS. "AJ," the Doctor said with a mad grin on his face. "When the time comes, it's the lever I've got my hoof on! Pull that and we're set to get out of here, and that's where it really gets fun!" "Wait!" Applejack said frantically. "What's the rest of the plan?!" Too late. The TARDIS was soaring to the roof of the Crystal Tree. "That should be the right angle...," the Doctor smiled. "For WHAT?!" Applejack screamed. "AVANTIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Author's Note Huh, I wonder who that stallion at the beginning of the chapter was. This chapter is dedicated to Sky Blue CMC, who allowed me to use his OC during the call of the Crusaders. Please rate and comment! Where You Go, I FollowThe roof of the Crystal Tree imploded. The Master caught sight of the Doctor's TARDIS sailing through the throne room, its engine roaring. The doors burst open and a Chestnut colored stallion dodge rolled out of the craft and stopped right in front of the Master. The TARDIS disappeared further into the tree. The Doctor stared directly into the Master's eyes. The intensity between them was electrifying. Cybermen, Daleks, and Autons surrounded the room. Then the room fell into a silence. "Oh my..." the Doctor smiled. "Those rolls aren't as easy as you see in films. Sweet Celestia my shoulders are in pain." The five mares watch as the TARDIS roared through the room, knocking over the Angels as it went. The ship skidded to a halt about a foot in front of the cage. The doors opened. “WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T BLINK!!!" the five screamed in unison. Scootaloo looked out of the TARDIS, eyes wide. "Why?" she asked nervously. "Scoot?!" Rainbow Dash asked frantically. "What in sweet Celestia's Equestria are you doing here?!" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle appeared behind their friend. "What else?" Scootaloo grinned. "We're here to save you guys!" "Without an adult?!" Twilight said. "The Doctor sent you here unattended?!" "They ain't unattended!" came a drawl from the back of the ship. "I'm a-comin'!!" A dazed Applejack blundered out of the TARDIS. "DON'T MOVE!!!" screamed the girls. "What?" asked Applejack. "Why?" "Those statues around you aren't real statues!" squeaked Fluttershy. "You have to keep looking at them!" Rarity said nervously. "Otherwise these horrid things start moving." "And if they catch you, they warp you back in time and eat your future!!" screamed Pinkie Pie. "Or maybe just break your neck! I'm actually not sure what they prefer doing to you the lore is really unclear. But it's bad! Really, really bad!" Applejack looked around her. She saw the angels that were laid prone by the TARDIS's unusual entrance into the room. And then she blinked. It looked like all of the Angels were frozen in the middle of righting themselves. Several of them were reaching out for Applejack. One was uncomfortably close to her face. Applejack backed off quickly. "Alright!" Applejack swallowed hard. "I got no plan for this one!" "I do!" Apple Bloom jumped on top of Applejack's back and used her to springboard up to the top of Twilight's cage. "Alright! I can see 'em all from up here. Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo! Front and center!" The other crusaders followed suit. "We'll keep watch on those things from up here!" Apple Bloom said proudly. "You get the girls out!" Applejack nodded. "Now how do I open the cages?" "They'll open for you!" Twilight explained. "It's a long story. Hurry!" Applejack touched Twilight's cell door and it disappeared. She hugged her friend, and repeated the process with the rest of the girls. One by one, they filed into the TARDIS. The Angels didn't move an inch. "Alright!" Applejack turned to the incredibly self-satisfied ponies. "You three get down here and we'll go!" There was an awkward pause. "Apple Bloom?" asked Scootaloo. "Yeah?" "How are we gonna get back to the TARDIS without all of the Angels jumping us at once?" Another long pause. "Gimme a minute," said Apple Bloom. "Honestly," said the Doctor, rubbing his shoulder. "I think I may have dislocated something..." "Shut. Up," spat the Master. "Right," the Doctor said. "Serious discussion now, ice pack on the shoulder later..." "Why are you here?" the Master asked through gritted teeth. "Well," the Doctor said quietly. "I thought you'd be able to guess that." "You know what I mean!" the Master shouted. "Here! Earth! Galifrey! Logopolis! Castrovalva! Why are you always... ALWAYS there! Why must you always be underfoot?! Why must you always be in my way?! Why must I keep hearing your voice? I think it's becoming more constant than the drums at this point!" He clicked his hoof on the marble floor of the palace. Tap tap tap tap "Doctor who?!" Tap tap tap tap. "Doctor who?!" Tap tap tap tap. "DOCTOR WHO?!" The Master's horn began to glow as if it was heating up. "Go away! Just. Go. AWAY." The Doctor thought about that for a while. "You know?" the Doctor said quietly. "I've thought about that for a while. Why do we keep running into each other like this? After all of this time, I think I've come up with the answer..." "I'm at the edge of my seat..." the Master growled. "I used to think it was just coincidence," the Doctor smiled. "But coincidences don't happen that often. No. No we're destined to do this. Possibly forever, and definitely everywhere. The third and fourth Lynchpins of the Multiverse. What gets me about that is that you're the third. You came first. I came directly after. Like reality took one look at you and immediately devised a counter measure. I was created to stop you. And I always will. "Where you go," smiled the Doctor. "I follow." The Master let out a chuckle. "Eloquent!" he said cheerfully. "And well-reasoned. It has served us well so far. But all good things must come to an end. I need to ask you, Doctor. You are surrounded by your greatest enemies. Daleks. Cybermen. Autons. I've even got some Angeles in the back room looking after the girls. You're surrounded. I have the keys to the cell. How do you expect to get out of this alive?" "What question are you asking?" the Doctor asked. "How am I expecting to get out of this castle alive? It's simple. I made a big ruckus coming in so that most of your forces were focused on me and you let the TARDIS fly into the room where you were keeping the girls. AJ was waiting inside to free them. I didn't take the Angels into account. But if I'm right about AJ being as smart as she is, and I am, the TARDIS should be drawn back to the TARDIS key, which is around my neck and appear behind me!" The Master's jaw dropped as the TARDIS materialized behind the Doctor. The doors opened to reveal a charred and smoking Sweetie Belle. "Today I learned to teleport!" she said before collapsing. The Doctor stepped into the TARDIS doors. "If you're asking how I'm getting out of this meeting with you alive? "Again simple," the Doctor gave a sad smile. "I'm not." Past, Present, and Future"EXTERMINATE!!!" called several Daleks as the TARDIS dematerialized. Several blasts went off to no avail. The Doctor was gone. "The Doctor has escaped with the Key to Time!" shouted the Cyberleader. "The Master has failed!" "You promised us the Doctor would die here!" bellowed the Dalek Supreme. "You have lost the Key to Time! Your plans have been for naught! You shall not leave this place alive!" "Send him away...," whispered the Nestine consciousness. "His plan has failed..." Two great stone hooves landed hard on the Master's shoulder. He looked next to him to see two Weeping Angels glaring at him with contempt and hate in their eyes. He was mildly amused by the sight. He was greatly amused be the sight of the army he had massed together all pointing their weapons at him. He let out a small laugh. "Does your impending demise amuse you?" the Dalek Supreme asked. "No, no," the Master laughed. "It's not that. It's just I don't understand why you are so upset. Especially when things are going so well." There was a confused pause. "Explain!" the Dalek Supreme demanded. "Explaiiin!" "My dear Dalek Supreme," the Master said patronizingly. "At long last, the six segments of the Key to Time are gathered. The Key to Time will soon be completed, and thus, victory is ours." "But the Key is not in our possession!" the Supreme shouted. "Really?" the Master turned on the supreme angrily. "Because I was under the impression that this entire timestream was under our possession. Pardon me, not ours. Not yours. Not even mine. The Black Guardian's. Never forget who we all struck this bargain with. I am merely his voice in this little shamble of a committee. He is in charge and he has told me that this is the best way to continue his work. So maybe before you go around calling my plans failures you should shut up until they are finished! My patience with you is running thin Dalek. I will not have you attempt this again." This made one thing abundantly clear amongst the ranks. There were thousands of him. Millions. He was a Lynchpin of the Multiverse. There fore there couldn't be a "where" without him. But in this room, at this time. There was only one Master. "Now," said the Master, calming himself. "I'm afraid this is where I must leave you. I can make the assurance that the Doctor will be dead by the time I return, and the Key to Time shall be in the capable hooves of our benefactor. I trust that you are satisfied? If you're not, you're welcome to bugger off." With that, there was a flash of light, and the Master disappeared. Spike and the Crusaders had been sent to the back room. The Doctor wanted to talk to the six mares alone. First, however, he needed time to think. He stared at the Pocketwatch Rarity had given him. He smiled. He remembered when Sweetie Belle first brought it into his shop. They were so afraid that he was going to overcharge them for it, but there would be no point. It was hardly broken, and easily fixed. The Doctor's reminiscing left the six Mares to roam freely around the TARDIS. Twilight was reading the TARDIS data logs front to back, a delighted smile on her face. Applejack was desperately trying to keep Pinkie Pie from pushing buttons on the TARDIS console. Fluttershy was whispering intensely to Rainbow Dash in the corner of the console room. The Doctor became nervous when he realized that he had lost track of Rarity. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" came a high pitched shriek from the back of the TARDIS. They found Rarity in the enormous walk in closet, backing away from an outfit that was preferred by the Doctor's sixth incarnation as if it was going to attack her. "Keep it away!" she screamed. "I have now seen the face of pure evil! Don't let it touch you! Kill it! Kill it with fire!!!!" There was a collective smack of hooves to faces. "Well," sighed the Doctor. "I think now is as good a time as any for our little get together..." The Doctor explained the Key to a Time to the rest of Applejack's friends, and their significance. They took it rather well, all things considered. "So what you're telling me," said Rainbow Dash said. "Is that we're not just awesome, we're cosmically awesome?" The Doctor shrugged. "One way of looking at it," he said. "This is wonderful news," Twilight said brightly. "If we're the Key to Time, we can just not help the Master." "Not that simple," the Doctor sighed. "When you're here, like this, you have free will. You can make your own decisions. As soon as you take the shape of the Key to Time you'll enter a dream state. You'll be aware of what you're being used for, but you'll be unable to control it. If the Master gets his hands on you in that state it's over." "Then we won't get into that state," Rarity said frankly. "This whole Key to Time malarkey seems far too dangerous." "Dangerous," the Doctor agreed. "But necessary. Everything breaks down into chaos in a closed system. The White Guardian needs the Key to Time to bring order to the universe every once in a while, and we've reached that point. You need to take the form of the Key, otherwise the Black Guardian will win. How do you think your universe got in such a state? He left it too long. The Black guardian made sure that the other Lynchpins appeared all at once to keep his eye off of this one. To keep him occupied. In the end it was always about the Key." "So just give us to this White Guardian guy!" said Pinkie Pie brightly. "Again, not that simple," the Doctor said. "Like I said, the White Guardian left it for too long. He's weak. Close to dying. The only way to win is to use the Key to revive him. Or at least get him to a state where he can use it himself. That means gathering it together and using a massive amount of cosmic energy from it to fix pretty much everything that's gone wrong with the planet in the last month. And me doing that..." Fluttershy put two and two together. "Can you survive it?" "Survive?" the Doctor said brightly. "Absolutely, but not unscathed." Applejack looked directly into the Doctor's soul. "You're going to regenerate." The Doctor simply smiled. "You saw this comin'...," Applejack said awestruck. "You saw this comin' the whole time... Why didn't you tell me?" "Because someone told me, and it rather put me off," the Doctor laughed. "I didn't want to do the same to you." He took out a folded up peice o paper from his waistcoat pocket. "Here. Read this." Applejack read the note carefully Doctor, It seems I overshot it again. This time, right place, wrong time. This thing is making it hard for me to concentrate, but I'll get it right next time. You asked me to do this later, but I'm here. So I may as well do it now. Where you're headed right now is going to be a change for you. Yes, in a big way. In the big way. I'm sorry Doctor, but long story short, you aren't the Doctor I know. Sorry. Don't panic! You told me to tell you not to Panic. It's going to be fine. In fact, after this is when it really picks up. At the end of this, we'll need to have a talk. I need your help, Doctor. For me, this isn't the first time. You've met before. It's come back for you. ~B "Who's B?" asked Applejack. "I don't know," the Doctor shrugged. "That last line is a bit cryptic isn't it? I wonder what godawful thing that I once ran into is back to haunt me again..." "This changes everythin'" Applejack said firmly. "We can't leave you alone when you're gonna have to find out who you are again. We ain't gonna do it!" "Yes you are," the Doctor said firmly. "If I hadn't taken you from Ponyville, the six of you could have been rid of this problem by now. I've made that mistake, AJ, and I intend to rectify it. The end of this is where we part ways, in more ways than one." Applejack stared at the TARDIS floor. "That is the plan," the Doctor said to the room. The six mares looked at him sadly. "An we need to implement it now. I'm leaving this up to you, however. When you're ready, put your hooves together, and take the shape of the Key. Remind yourselves what your doing this for." There was a pause before Applejack put her hoof in the middle of the circle. "I'm doin' this for Granny Smith, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom," she said firmly. "And I'm gonna get the Master to pay for the Damages he made to my farm. In cash." Pinkie Pie threw her hoof in. "For Pound and Pumpkin!" she said brightly. "I wanna see them grow up! If the universe isn't there they can't do that and that would be a major bummer!" Fluttershy nervously put her hoof in. "For Angel Bunny," she said softly. "And all of the Animals back at the cottage." "For my dear little sister!" said Rarity, throwing her hoof in. "I need to design her prom dress, and therefore there must be a prom!" "For Scoots," smiled Rainbow Dash. "I'm still teaching the Squirt how to fly, and I don't like to leave things half finished." Twilight was the last to throw her hoof in. "For Luna, Celestia, Cadence, Shining Armor," she listed. "And all of my friends here and away. We're at your disposal Doctor." The Doctor threw his hoof on top of the circle. There was a bright light and suddenly he was alone, holding a perfect cube around the size of a softball. They had done it. They had become the Key to Time. And that's when the TARDIS jerked to a violent stop. The Doctor looked around the console, trying to figure out what happened. Where he was. But the TARDIS was registering nothing. No space, no time. He was in the void. He was nowhere. "And now that you are nowhere...," came a Voice from the back of the TARDIS. And then he stepped out. "We can talk about you handing that over," said the Master Author's Note Wow. This chapter is really long. Rate and comment please! What Comes Next?The Doctor knew what he had to do. He had to keep the Master talking. He had to keep him occupied until he came up with a plan. That shouldn't be hard, the Master liked to gloat. "So...," the Doctor started. WHAM! The Doctor's head was slammed violently to the TARDIS console. When he could see straight again he saw the Master levitating the Key to Time over to him. "Sorry, Doctor," the Master sighed. "We can chitchat in a moment. In the meantime there's someone I need to speak to." And then he appeared. The Black Guardian. The entire room became heavier on his arrival. As if the evil he brought with him carried extra weight. "Well done, Master," he said smugly. "Vengeance is sweet, and needed. Now... Relinquish the Key to Time..." The Master stared at the perfect cube in his hoof. "Why?" The Black Guardian didn't even bat an eye. Merely stared at his partner in crime with the same smug smile of victory. He knew it, and the Doctor knew it too. This was the Master's plan. Once he had the Key to Time there was no way his ego would have him turn it over to the Black Guardian. This is where the Black Guardian's plan unraveled. So why? Why was he so calm... "Because...," the Black Guardian said calmly. "If you do not hand it over to me, I will have to take it after you both lie dead. You don't know how to use it, Master. I do. Have no delusions of being anything other then a pawn in my game. I'm warning you once, Master. You can enjoy the victory if you let it be mine." "Was that a threat?" the Master laughed. "I'd have thought we were beyond threats, now that I have this. The game between you and the White Guardian is over. I've won. Enjoy what time the two of you have left. Use it to rest. Because after I'm done with him I'm coming for you. So the two of you had better start running." "It wasn't a threat," the Black Guardian smiled. "I won't have to do anything. The Key to Time will eat you both alive. So if you insist, I will leave. Let you have your fun with the Doctor. When this entire plan has backfired on you, I'll step in once again." The Master smiled. "I insist." The Black Guardian chuckled and left the TARDIS. "Now!" the master said, spinning around to face the TARDIS console. "First things first, getting back to our own universe so we can use this thing! Oh... Ah! It appears the Black Guardian has taken care of that for us. Grouchy as he is, I can't say he's a sore loser..." "What are you going to do?" wheezed the Doctor from the floor. The Master looked up. "That's a good question." The Master's horn glowed bright red and a searing pain ran through the Doctor's body. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaahhhh!!!!" "What am I going to do?" asked the Master brightly. "What comes next?" "NNNGHHHAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaahhh!" "What to do with the planet...," the Master continued. "What to do with the Key to Time...." "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgghhh!!" "What to do with the screaming nuisance in my control room...," the Master laughed. "All good questions. And you'll be happy to know I have answers for most of them." The Master picked up the Doctor by the throat and slammed his head into the console. "As for the planet," he continued. "It simply has to go. It's got a hell of an infestation. These ponies... They're a bit like cockroaches. Disgusting. Everywhere. And damn near impossible to kill." WHAM! "As for the screaming nuisance...," the Master smiled. "That was you by the way. You're not screaming now, but that's only because you can barely breathe. Anyway... I've given a great deal of thought as to what to do with you..." WHAM! "Good news!" the Master smiled. "I'm not going to kill you! Oh, it was tempting. Believe me. But I've thought of a better course of action. Your going to come with me!" WHAM "You're going to watch me take this timeline and indeed all others for myself!" WHAM! "You're going to watch as I use the Key to Time to bend reality to my whim!" WHAM! "You're going to watch every single thing you have ever tried to protect CONVULSE. AND. DIE! The whole time knowing you were powerless to stop it. Maybe... Just maybe. After a while you'll start to enjoy it. After a while living with nothing but the sound of screaming and you're own heartbeat, you'll start to hear the drums. I'd like that Doctor..." The Doctor caught sight of an angry green eye in the back of the TARDIS. And that gave him cause to smile. "Because until you become what I am, Doctor," the Master growled. "You shall be always and forever alone." "No...," the Doctor wheezed. "No I won't." And that's when it happened. Spike ran out from the back of the TARDIS leaping over the console and slashed at the Master's face with his claws. He grabbed onto the Master's ears and blew searing flame right in his eyes. The Master grabbed Spike with his magic and tried to rip him off. He may have managed it if it weren't for Scootaloo buzzing out and tackling him broadside into the console. Before he knew it, Apple Bloom was on his back with his wing in her teeth. She was pulling as hard as she could. This left ample time for Sweetie Belle to grab the Key to Time, and pass it to the Doctor. The Master managed to come out on top in the struggle, and grabbed all four children by the throats, levitating them into the air. His eyes burning with rage. "Insignificant... Little...." "Put. Them. Down." The Doctor was on his feet now. And he was holding the Key to Time out in front of him. The Master stared at him slack jawed and bug eyed. He couldn't believe it. He immediately dropped Spike and the Crusaders. "'Alone,'" the Doctor scoffed. "'Insignificant'. Please. These 'insignificant' little creatures just cost you an entire universe. You know something? You've taken the time to insult all of the people I like. All the people I call friends. I'm tired of it. They say the Key to Time can do anything. So I'm going to have you meet some people. See if they can make you understand..." The Doctor closed his eyes, and the Key to Time began to glow. And then someone entered the room. She wasn't equine like everypony else, but she looked human. She was young, had black hair that she wore bunched up. She wore a wool sweater with the sleeves rolled up, and white pants. She walked in, and sat on the TARDIS console. "Really," the girl sighed. "I think the hopes of him getting it are long gone... "Grandfather," smiled Susan Foreman Author's Note Aaaaaaaaand you're confused. Oh, and the first person who asks "Who's Susan Foreman and why did she call the Doctor 'Grandfather'?" is going to get a stern talking to. Please rate and comment! It's All the Doctor.The Doctor looked at his granddaughter and smiled. She may not have been strictly "his", but she was family none the less. A tear rolled down his cheek. After all these years, it was good to see her. And she didn't come alone. The Doctor looked around and he could see all of them. Or at least most. The friends who had helped him on his way here. All of them smiling. All of them happy to see him. All of them ready to give the Master hell. And by the look on the Master's face, the Key to Time was doing it's work. He could see them too. "What?" the Master stammered. "How.... How are you here?" "I'm not," Susan smiled. "This is just the Key to Time sifting through the Doctor's memories. He's allowing us to say our piece. And I think we all have something to say." "Oh we do," said Jamie MacRimmon, entering and standing cross-armed next to the Doctor. "We are all sick of you. You call us useless. Insignificant. Weak." "Nothing next to the Doctor," said Victoria, suddenly standing next to Susan. "That's what you never got. In a way..." "We are the Doctor!" said Jo Grant brightly from behind the Master. "We shaped him." The Master whirled around to see two young women. Jo Grant and... "We helped him find out who he is," said Sarah Jane Smith. "Each and every time that changed." "And because of that," smiled the Doctor. "I never became you." "He's been many things," said Leela, crouching on top of the console. "He's been a sorcerer." "A Time Lord," said the First Romana, standing in front of the door. "A big brother," smiled the Second Romana, standing next to the first. "A friend to a planet," said Nyssa, appearing next to the Master. "And we bring out the best in him," sneered Adric, leaning on the wall. "Just like he brought out the best in us!" shouted Turlough from behind the Doctor. "How?" The Master was starting to look afraid. "How are you all here?!" "They're here," the Doctor began. "To tell you who I am now." "He's the sort of bloke who will give you a lift to the airport!" called the thick Australian accent of Tegan Jovanka. "At times he can be a bit unpredictable," said Peri Brown, rubbing her neck before smiling. "But he comes around eventually to the right decision." "He can be a bit bombastic," squeaked Melanie Bush. "But that's part of his charm." "And he may look a fuddy duddy old sod,"said Dorothy "Ace" McShane, shouldering a silver baseball bat. "But when the Professor acts like that, you know he's got something wicked up his sleeves." "And he can seem a little strange," smiled Grace Halloway. "But he's actually okay once he's himself again." "This is nonsense," the Master growled. "I thought you were talking about who you are now and the significance of these primitive idiots. You're simply talking about all your previous personae!" "How thick can one time lord get!" laughed Rose Tyler. "After a millennium of knowing him I thought you'd guess! It's all the Doctor! His face, his voice, wven his brain may change..." "But he's still as clever as they come," said Martha Jones. "Still will sacrifice anything to do the right thing, or to save a life." "Still a flighty crafty old Spaceman," smiled Donna Noble. "Bit of a dork, most of the time," shrugged Amy Pond. "No," scoffed Rory Williams. "He's not a dork..." "Yeah he is." "...Yeah he is..." "And above all," said Clara Oswald. "He gets by only with a little help from his friends." "So in a way Master," the Doctor smiled. "I didn't defeat you all of the times we met..." "We did," said the Companions in unison. The Master's eyes darted around the room. All of the Doctors friends glared back at him. The Doctor was meeting his eyes without flinching. The Doctor was never more confident then he was right now. He had won. And the Master was furious. "Know something now, Doctor," the Master said calmly. "No matter how many of these proles you put around you, it won't change one thing. The differences between you and me are slim. Little. And it's only a matter of time before you take that final step over the line." "Oh no," smiled the Doctor. "Because if that comes close to happening, all I need to do is look back into my past." Behind the Doctor appeared thirteen men. Some young. Most old. All smiling. "I suppose you thought I would eventually give in, hmm?" said the First Doctor, gripping his lapels. "Well," scoffed the Second Doctor, pocketing his recorder. "Wasn't that thoroughly stupid of you?" "I'll never lose," said the Third Doctor straightening his cuffs. "Not as long as I have these people around me in my hearts and in my head." "And it's good that I have them in my hearts," smiled the Fourth Doctor as he threw his scarf over his shoulder. "My head gets so jumbled I can hardly remember.where I put them. I could louse them in there." "I can vouch for that," said the Fifth Doctor, replacing his hat. "I've done things that have made the universe a better place," said the Sixth Doctor. "I've done things that have changed the course if reality," said the Seventh Doctor, twirling an umbrella. "I've done things that I'm proud of," said the Eighth Doctor. "And things that I'm not," said the War Doctor, with a sad look in his eyes. "But through all o' that," said the Ninth doctor. "One thing remains entirely constant." "Old or young," smiled the Tenth. "Short or tall. Calm or manic. Humanoid or equine. Round things on his TARDIS or not." "It's all the Doctor," smiled the Eleventh Doctor. The Master was beginning to back away now. "What... What does this mean?!" "That's not the question," said the Twelfth Doctor. "The question is, what are you going to do next?" "My guess?" said the Doctor, a look of pure fury in his eyes. "Scream. All right girls!" The Key to Time levitated out of his hoof and began to glow. "Get him the hell off of my ship!" An Orange hoof landed on the Key to Time. "Whoo doggies!" said Applejack. "You don't have to tell me twice." "This is," said Rainbow Dash, putting her hoof on Applejack's. "So. Awesome." "Now girls," scoffed Rarity, daintily putting her hoof on the pile. "Just because we are going to be doing an ugly job, doesn't mean we can't look good doing it. Honestly, even in the realm of imagination you still have no sense of coordination!" "Really?" asked Twilight, one hoof on the pile and one hoof in her face. "We're talking about fashion now?" "Um...," started Fluttershy. "I'm not sure what exactly is going on..." "Easy!" squeaked Pinkie Pie. "The Doctor used the Key to Time to make a projection of his memories to all come out and talk to the Master. Lecturing him about both the value of human and/or pony life, and about how amazing he is. He's kind of vain like that. And now the segments of the Key to Time (that's us), are going to blast him out of the TARDIS as far away as we can send him (into the void is a good option) and save the world!" The Doctor and the other five stared at Pinkie blankly. "What?" Pinkie asked. "I know the writer! Grrr!" The Key to Time spun rapidly and fired an energy wave straight at the Master. I wasn't long until he was enveloped by the energy. "This isn't the end!" called the Master from the center of the beam. "You should remember, whenever it looks like I'm dead, I'm not!" The Master's mad cackling faded away as the light died down. Once again. The Doctor was alone. The Crusaders and Spike were both unconscious from the Master's attack. He had won. He nearly collapsed. Only a guardian should wield the Key to Time like he just did. Using that much cosmic force had caused an energy backlash. He was weak. A voice soon told him what he already knew. "You are dying, Doctor," came a cruel voice. The shape the Black Guardian liked to take was soon in the middle of his TARDIS. "I told him," he said smugly. "I told him his little coup attempt would fail. I didn't have to do a thing. And thanks to your use of the Key to Time, and the Master's beating... You're close to Regeneration! But don't worry." His horn glowed a sickly red. "I'll spare you the tingling. "No!" came a Regal voice. The form of Princess Celestia stood in front of the Doctor. This wasn't the real Celestia, merely the preferred form of the White Guardian. "It's over, Black!" she said firmly. "I am revived, and I have the Key to Time. You've lost." The Black Guardian's eyes widened in disbelief. Soon a quiet rage filled him and he closed his eyes. "Doctor," he said through gritted teeth. "You will die for this..." "Yeah, yeah," the Doctor wheezed. "I've heard it before." The Black guardian soon left the Doctor alone with the White Guardian. The White guardian shot the Doctor a sad look. "I'm sorry it had to come to this." "Oh I'm not!" The Doctor looked at his hoof and smiled. His skin began to shimmer a dim orange. "I'm excited! Big changes ahead." Author's Note I would be utterly shocked if the Majority of you knew FOUR of the companions I named before I got to rose. One more chapter, then I'mma talk to you guys Please rate and comment! Spike, Take a Letter"If you like," said the White Guardian softly. "I can stop this... This doesn't have to happen now." "Nah," said the Doctor, waving his hoof dismissively. "It has to happen eventually. Why not now? Anyways. Like I said, I'm excited! A whole new me, a whole new start. Only bit I'm not looking forward to is the tingling... It tingles. Like when your foot falls asleep but far far worse." "If you're sure," said the White Guardian. "I am," the Doctor smiled. The tingling came on in force and he grimaced. "Although... Could you give me another hour? There are some ponies I have to talk to. You for a start." "Done," smiled the White Guardian. "What do you want to speak to me about?" The Doctor felt his regeneration slow. He straightened up. "Yes, well," the Doctor coughed. He lifted up the Key to Time. "As to what you do with this..." "All of your... acquaintances," the White Guardian said tactfully. "Have been sent back where they came. The planet is safe." "One more thing," said the Doctor. "Applejack's orchard." The White Guardian raised a single eyebrow. "Now Doctor...," she frowned. "I can't fix everything. It would be an abuse of my power. The beings I protect must learn to pass through the hardships themselves." "Applejack has done that with every hardship thrown at her!" snapped the Doctor. "I owe her more then a few favors. And since this is the second time I've collected this blasted thing for you, I figure you owe me one." The White Guardian paused for a moment. Then nodded. "So I do," she Smiled. "Consider it done. Anything else." "Uh... Sod off!" said the Doctor cheerfully. "And split the Key back apart and wake them all up in about... oh... fifteen minutes? There's something I want to do first." The White Guardian laughed quietly to herself. "So be it." She turned to leave. "Goodbye, Doctor," she said sadly. "Not goodbye!" said the Doctor cheerfully. "See you next time!" The Doctor shot the White Guardian a wink. The White Guardian smiled, and once again the Doctor was alone with his thoughts. Looking around him, he could see Applejack, the Crusaders, Spike, and the others all unconscious on the floor. He flipped a switch on the console and started recording. "Hello Doctor!" he said brightly. "A little bit of advice from a younger you..." Applejack started to come to slowly. Everything seemed quieter now. She could hear a voice say "Keep that in mind, and you should be alright." The dog cleared from her eyes to see the speaker. "Doctor?" "Oh! Gotta go!" the Doctor smiled. "So long, Doctor!" He flipped a switch on the console. "Congratulations!" he smiled at Applejack. "We beat'em! All of'em! The world is saved thanks to the Doctor and the Key to Time! Not bad for one day's work!" Applejack looked around her and saw her friends slowly rising. All of them looked out of it. She looked back at the Doctor. "Who were you talkin' to?" "Oh," the Doctor smiled. "Just some old fool... How are you feeling?" "Like I've been hit by a train," Applejack laughed. "What about you? Are you alright?" "Will be in a couple of minutes," the Doctor smiled. "Well... Not quite. It may take me a bit to stop being silly. Or perhaps I'll stay a bit silly! I've been silly before. Not a bad thing to be silly." "What're you...," Applejack started. But she was interrupted by Rarity. "Well!" she said, trying to act dignified, but stumbling on the way to the Doctor. She brushed it off as if nothing had happened. "I can assume the day is ours?" "You can indeed," the Doctor said brightly. "Oh, and before I forget..." The Doctor took out his gold pocket watch from his breast pocket. "Here you are. All fixed. Just like I promised!" "What...?" Rarity was puzzled. "But Doctor... I gave this to you..." "Because you thought it would go with the outfit, yes," the Doctor smiled. "I'm afraid however, that after today my fashion sense might change... Along with almost everything else." Applejack finally put two and two together. "No..." Applejack said. "Not now..." "Soon," the Doctor nodded. He slowly removed the blue ascot around his neck. "I don't suppose I'll like these anymore... Pity. Wholly underrated garment, the ascot...." "What's he talking about?" asked Rainbow Dash. Applejack was about to answer when the Cutie Mark Crusaders burst into the room. "It's all right!" Apple Bloom cried. "All the other crusaders are alright and..." Apple Bloom stopped. "Doctor? Why is you're hoof glowing?" "I recognize that...," said Scootaloo. "Oh no..." Sweetie Belle was starting to tear up. "That's right!" the Doctor smacked his head. "You three have already seen a regeneration, haven't you! The death of Time Turner, and the Birth of the Doctor! Well... It will be a bit different this time." "'Regeneration'?" asked Pinkie Pie. "It means..." Applejack was choking back tears. "It means I'm going to change," the Doctor said frankly. "I'm going to look a bit different. Act a bit different. Think a bit different. This is what Time Lords do instead of die. Change up our face. Mind you, the first time I got to pick and choose. This time..." "Can we stop it,?!" asked Twilight frantically. "I don't want to," the Doctor smiled. "Not this time." "Aren't you scared?" asked Fluttershy. The Doctor thought for a moment. "No," he said, a tone of surprise in his voice. "It's funny. Usually I am. If not outwardly... I'm afraid of who I'll become. Bits of me get shuffled around. It's only a matter of time before the worst of me comes to the front. But I'm confident that won't happen this time. I can even tell you why.... No, better idea. Spike!" The dragon child looked up. "Take a letter." Spike took out a quill and parchment, and the Doctor began to dictate. "Dear Princess Celestia," the Doctor began. "Everyone goes through changes. We all are unrecognizable to our past selves. We look different, we act different, we may even think differently. That's fine. Change is a part of life. You just have to make sure that those changes aren't for the worse. You can't do that on your own. You need the help of good friends who remember who you were to shape who you'll become. "I am about to undergo a change. That is normally a frightening prospect. "But I look around this room, and I'm not afraid. My friends won't let me be a bad person." Everyone else in the room gave the Doctor a soft smile. "Wishing you the best. Ever your servant," the Doctor wrapped up. "The first horse Doctor." Spike sent the letter off, and the glow around the Doctor's hoof intensified. "Well," the Doctor strained. "That's it for the First Equestrian Doctor..." The glow started to overtake the Time Lord. "Let's meet the second, eh?" The regeneration took hold. The orange light surrounded the Doctor and blinded the TARDIS other passengers. When Applejack was able to see again, she took a look at the Doctor... He was older now. Old enough to be AJ's father. He had bags under his wild eyes. He was also a little shorter. He had an eggshell coat and a red mane and tail. "Ginger!" he said looking at his tail. "At bloody last!" He stared at his tail for a moment. "I don't like it..." Then many things happened at once. The first thing that happened was a bright flash. After that a stallion was in the middle of the room. He had a gray coat, green mane, and poor taste in body art. "Doctor!" He called out. "Hey!" smiled Pinkie Pie. "You helped us out of the cages by locking us in them!" Pinkie looked confused for a moment. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!" "Hi!" said the stallion. "My name issssss---- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" The Stallion craned his neck and his eyes turned blood red. "Meaningless!" hissed another voice from the stallion's mouth. "Send for your Time Lord! You cannot--" The stallion craned his neck again. "Will you shut up?! Good GRANNY, all you do is talk! Shut up!" The Doctor seemed to just take notice of the stallion that had just ported into his TARDIS."Oh, hello!" said the new Doctor. "You must be 'B'... You need my help with something?" "My name is Blue!" The stallion held out his foreleg to show the Doctor the snake tattoo on it. "Please tell me you recognize this..." The Doctor looked it over. "Mandy!" the Doctor said proudly. "Mindy? Mary?.... Marcus?.... Mara! That's it! Mara... Oh. Oh my dear boy, you've got a condition." "How did you get here?!" said Rainbow Dash. "Honestly?" The stallion glared at his watch. "Trial and error..." "No time for that!" the new Doctor wobbled around the TARDIS. "We're about to make landfall!" "Landfall?!" asked Applejack frantically. "Where are we landin'?!" "Applejack!" the new Doctor poot his hooves on AJ's shoulders. "That's the best part..." "I have no idea!" Author's Note Aww... You thought that because this was the end of a storyline it wouldn't end on a massive Cliffhanger. *pats head* Wasn't that special... Join me in the Final Author's Note. I have somethings to announce, and things to say. Please rate and comment, and as always, thank you for reading! Final Author's NoteHey guys! Wow... I started this little project four months ago with a fic called Birth of the Doctor. Along the way I met some great friends, and I even gained fans. That has never happened before. I'm not the kind of guy who has "fans." I would like to thank all of the people who stuck by me through the whole quintet. I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope this was a satisfying conclusion. I would like to thank my friend and editor, Ephraim Blue, a person you should all be following. And giving snuggles. He's feeling ill at the moment. Probably due to my hideous grammar, and me CONSTANTLY FORGETTING TO PUT THE GODDAMN EDITED CHAPTERS UP. I would like to thank my family. They've read every single chapter of this little nod to Doctor Who. My mom doesn't get most of it, but she's trying. That's the important thing. Finally, I would like to thank William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, John Hurt, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith, and Peter Capaldi. Like I said, all thirteen of you changed someone's life. Every one of you is someone's favorite Doctor. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this institution that has lasted over fifty years. Here's to the next fifty, and the great actors who will carry on the tradition. Now... Onto what you're all interested in. Firstly.... MONTH OFF WRITING This is going to need to happen. This project has been fun, but also stressful. So I'm going to take a month to unkink my spine before starting the next series. I may publish some things in the meantime. I definitely want to get back to my very first fic, The Alicorn King's Glare. Which you should all check out at some point. I'll also use that time for publishing a few one shots, and also... BIRTH OF THE DOCTOR AUDIO ADVENTURE I still really want this to happen. The unforeseen problem is casting. It turns out this thing is going to have a mostly female cast. I can fake a few British accents for each of the Doctors, but I need a GIRL to play Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. So if you are interested in applying or those two roles, and ONLY those two roles, please contact me at SuperDeAndreaBrothers@gmail.com. Send a voice recording with your audition and then I can FINALLY get this off the ground. I would really like to avoid cancelling it if I could. But your not interested in that. You all want to know about... DOCTOR WHOOVES: THE SERPENT SAGA It's a working title. Well, at the end of this fic a few things happened, didn't they? The Doctor regenerated. A mysterious stallion (more specifically my editors OC) popped out of no where, and the Doctor mentioned something called "Mara" A few classic fans may already know what I'm doing. But I bet a lot of you don't. Needless to say the Mara was a classic enemy and I'm going to leave it at that for now. As I stated a few times in the fic, Applejack and the crusaders will be leaving the TARDIS next fic. There will be new companions. Blue, the stallion you met at the end of this story. And two more... familliar faces. I've been waiting for this for a whiiiiiiiile! Oh, and making something clear about the next Doctor. Don't try to match him to being another Doctor from the series. If I'm doing my job right that shouldn't be possible. While the original was sort of based off of Tennant (though my brother said he acted like Pertwee, I'd like your thoughts on this) this Doctor is going to be a whole new Doctor. The Doctor I would write if I ran the show. Which I totally should, by the way... It will be another Quintet! There'll be romance (not OctaScratch)! Adventure! Excitement! Thrills! A great big extradimensional snake demon! The Equestria Girls universe! A Brand new Doctor! I hope you check it out. And like I said. Thank you all so much for reading. You're what makes life worth living guys. The last thing I'm going to leave you with is this... Stay tuned for Doctor Whooves: Mark of the Mara Calling BluffsApplejack made a break for the door. "AJ!" the Doctor held her back. "Let me go...," Applejack said through gritted teeth. "LET ME GO!!!" "I understand!" the Doctor said desperately. "I know you're angry! But think! He has the entire planet under his control, we can't just rush out there. We need a plan." "We took too long to plan!" Applejack screamed. "I was with you for too long! I was away from home! I could have... I could have...." Applejack melted into silent tears. "i coulda stopped this." The Doctor put a hoof on her shoulder. "i promise you," he said angrily. "I'm going to stop this. We're going to stop this. The Master has crossed a line he's never crossed before, he is now not only ready, but able to make a planet burn. I am not going to let him do that and I'm going to need your help. The first thing I'm going to need you to do is keep calm. Can you do that for me?" Applejack looked straight into the Doctor's soul, and then wiped her eyes. "You better be tellin' me the truth, Doctor," she managed a soft laugh. "Nopony holds me back from nothin'" The Doctor smiled. "Good!" he said brightly rushing back to the console. "Now that we are all a bit calm, we can remember that no matter what the situation is, no matter how dark, we can make it funny! Avanti!" The Master was met by the Doctor as he stepped out of the TARDIS. "Doctor!" the Master smiled as he stood in front of the blazing orchard. "It's good to see you again! I want to tell you a story. A story about, appropriately enough, friendship." The Master used his magic to levitate the twitching form of a small twitching purple dragon and lay it at his hooves. "This," the Master started. "This is Spike. Spike is a friend of a friend of yours. Applejack, if I've got the name right. What I've learned from being here is that the concept of 'Friendship' is very important to these creatures. They've built a civilization around it. They risk their lives for it. Take Spike here. Spike is such a good friend he wouldn't tell me where his little Resistance was hiding. Where those who would stand against me were burying themselves like the cowardly rats they were. And I put him through hell. I put him through pain that not many beings can experience without dying or losing their minds. But his will to protect his friends remained unbroken." The Master kicked Spike, who groaned in pain. "Look at all the good it did him," the Master smiled. The Doctor watched all of this with a quiet rage, but he did his best to hide it. "How did you get here?" the Doctor smiled. "The Black Guardian porting you about time and space is dangerous, Master. You know that." "The Black Guardian gave me my freedom," the Master smiled. "A way out of the rut I was in. Free reign across the timestream. Something you have Doctor. Why do you deserve it and I don't." "Well," the Doctor shrugged. "I would say because I don't abuse it, but I suppose we're both guilty of that. So that's all that's in it for you? A bit of travel? I mean I can understand the impulse but it doesn't seem like enough. All that power the Black Guardian is asking you to obtain for him and you want all you want to do is muck about time and space like I do? That's out of character for you, isn't it? I mean with the Key to Time..." As the Doctor came to a realization, the Master burst out in a grin. "Oh, I see," the Doctor smiled. "That's your angle, eh? You realize he can probably see this coming, right? You may be a tosser, but he is the ALPHA tosser. The king of the tossers. The undisputed, omnipotent, God of all Tossers. He knows another tosser when he sees one, he probably has a back up plan for you." "Honestly, Doctor," the Master smiled innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about!" The Doctor couldn't help but laugh at that. "There was another caveat to the deal," said the Master. "You." "Yes, me," the Doctor smiled. "That's another good point. Why am I here? I mean I can sort of get wanting me to see the destruction of everything I hold dear, but you could have simply used the Key to Time to rip me out from my travel, away from my TARDIS, and make me watch. But you didn't. The Black Guardian came as close as he ever will to asking politely. Why? Why any of this? Why the careful chess game when you've brought a machine gun to the table? Unless... Unless the Machine gun isn't loaded." The Master gritted his teeth. "And here was me thinking it was hopeless!" the Doctor smiled. "You don't have all the pieces, do you? The only reason you brought me here is because..." The Doctor broke out into a huge grin. "Oh brilliant! One out of six is infinitely better then how I thought I was doing! Ha ha! Who would have thought, I have the last piece of the Key to Time!" "Not. Quite. Doctor," the Master growled. "I'm afraid it ends here. You are going to let me into your TARDIS and I am going to collect the last segment. Otherwise I am going to take my time with this... child." He spat at Spike. "And I am going to make you watch as I do so! Your TARDIS is locked, Doctor! You have nowhere to run!" "Actually," the Doctor smiled. "Now I do." "What?" asked the Master. "You've been talking to a hologram this whole time," the Doctor smiled. "I've been inside working around what you did to my TARDIS. It took me a while. Luckily it isn't hard to keep you talking. And thank you for bringing spike here! You see, you talked about some form of resistance being made against you, and he know how to find them and what their planning. Also, he's been tortured by you, so he probably knows where you're keeping Applejack's friends!" The Master's jaw dropped. "Oh, that face...," the Holo-Doctor smiled. "And AJ said I couldn't make this funny." The Hologram disappeared as the real Doctor poked his head out the door. "Spike? Not sure how long he's going to stay flabbergasted, so I'd hurry!" Spike sprung to his feet and ran inside the TARDIS. "KILL THEM!" the Master shouted. Several Daleks came out of the burning orchard and fired in vain at the dematerializing TARDIS. The Master took a moment to seethe before his face split in a mad grin. "All right, Doctor," he hissed. "If this is how you want to play it.... "Let the games begin." Author's Note Yes the TARDIS can TOO make Holograms! Look it up! Please rate and comment!
The Last LynchpinTime. Time was amorphous. Time was bendable. Time was wobbly. Time shifted. Constantly. The Doctor dealt in time. Around his TARDIS console lay meters and scales and readouts. All telling him where he was and how things shifted in time. Time surrounded him, and he moved through it like a fish through water. In his breast pocket was a gold pocketwatch. It really wasn't much use, but it was a gift. He had repaired it for an acquaintance of his back before he was the Doctor. He went by "Time Turner" back then. It took a visitor from another reality to make him finally realize who he was. He kept the watch to remind himself of who he was. Turner was a good stallion. The Doctor liked to think that Time Turner was the best part of the Doctor. The... other Doctor just gave him the necessary parts. He stared at the watch. He gave a sad sigh. He'd have to give it back soon. Rarity had given it to him. But whether she gave it to the Doctor or Time Turner..... His time was coming to an end. Applejack entered the TARDIS control room. She was nervous. Everypony was nervous. With the news they had just received how could they not be? The Master had their friends and one of the most powerful artifacts in the universe. The Cutie Mark Crusaders paced around the room, putting on a brave face. It was the Doctor who finally broke the silence. "After this," the Doctor sighed. "You four are going home." "What?!" asked Apple Bloom. "Why?" "You don't like us anymore?" asked Sweetie Belle. "We promise we won't get in the way...," Scootaloo said quietly. "It's not that," the Doctor smiled. "Simply put, if Applejack was with the rest of her friends, I don't think the Master would have gotten this far. I've seen the evils you've stopped without me here and I'm sure you could have dealt with the Master on your own. Besides..." The Doctor closed his watch and put it back in his pocket. "At the end of this, I'm not sure you'll like me anymore. I'm not even sure they'll be a me to like." "Waht're you talkin' about?" Apple Bloom asked. The Doctor smiled. "Oh, my guess is that you'll see in good time." There was an awkward silence that was broken by Applejack. "Why does this thing take us forever to get anywhere?" she asked. "This thing travels in time and space instantaneously. We should be there by now..." The Doctor laid back. "Oh no one appreciates the long commute anymore," the Doctor laughed. "Everything has to be 'now now now.' No one ever takes their time with anything. I like long travel. It gives me time to think. Besides however long we take we'll still get their at the same time! Also..." The Doctor looked down at the ground. "There are some things I don't want to rush to." Applejack seemed like she was about to protest for a moment, but decided not to. "What is it?" "What's what?" the Doctor asked. "That key thing the Black Guardian was talkin' about." "Ah," the Doctor stood up. "The Key to Time is the thing that keeps the universe in balance. A perfect cube of cosmic energy that's split up into six segments and then usually scattered around the timestream. According to the White Guardian however, this key kept coming back together no matter how much he tried to separate them. So eventually he just gave up. Moved on. Kept the key together. The problem with that is that now it's all in one place for any disreputable character to come along and snatch it up. Hence the fix we're in now. "What does it do?" Applejack asked. "What question are you asking?" the Doctor asked. "What is it supposed to do? The answer to that is simple. Put the universe it's in back in order when it goes out of sync. Every once and a long while, the White Guardian must get her hands on it and use it to put the universe back together. Usually she sends a mortal to do it for her. That's how we first met by the way! She, well, alright, 'he' at the time, sent me across my other universe to collect the segments and put them back together. And oh my, did I run into some trouble along the way..." "So it's kinda like the Elements of Harmony?" Sweetie Belle asked. "In a way," the Doctor shrugged. "But again, that's only what it's supposed to do. What can it do?" The Doctor looked straight at Applejack. "Anything. The Key to Time does anything. In the wrong hands it can mean the destruction of this and indeed all universes. And the Master's hands... er.... hooves are certainly the wrong ones." "And this 'Key to Time,'" Applejack started. "That's the last Lynchpin?" The Doctor nodded. "I should have known the moment the Guardians got involved. They exist outside of all universes, you see. And it always comes back to the Key." "Alright," Scootaloo seemed determined. "What are we looking for? What do these 'segments' look like?" "Ah," the Doctor said. "That's the tricky bit. You see-" WHOOM! The TARDIS violently lurched to the side laying the Crusaders prone. The Doctor looked at the monitors and frowned. "Oh goody" "Lemme guess," Applejack said dryly. "We're here?" "Oh, not just us!" the Doctor said cheerfully. "Everyone. All of the enemies have arrived to welcome us home! Daleks, Cybermen, I think I even see a Nestine ship! How kind of them to welcome us home, don't you think? Their all scanning the planet, looking for something." "What?" Sweetie Belle asked. "My guess? Us," the Doctor answered. "I'll try to find us a safe place to land and regroup. We need to figure out how things got this bad..." "Sweet Apple Acres!" Applejack said brightly. "If anyplace is safe..." "Back to the farm it is!" The Doctor flipped a lever and they began to materialize. Then he looked at the monitor. His jaw dropped. "Oh no...," the Doctor started. "I... I can't..." The Doctor took a moment to compose himself. "We should go, maybe the Crystal Tree is safe..." "Doctor?" Applejack asked. "The controls are locked." The Doctor pounded the console. "Blast it, I can't move!" "Doctor..." The Doctor took out the Sonic Screwdriver. "I'm sure I can get something working if I just had the time. I need to bypass this-" "DOCTOR!" Applejack shrieked. The Doctor looked in her eyes. Tears were welling up inside them. She new the answer to the question she was about to ask. "What's happened to the farm?" The Doctor closed his eyes and moved away from the monitor to let Applejack see. She looked and her heart and mind instantly broke. How could they not? The Doctor had seen something like this before. This was worse though. This wasn't AJ's fault. Every tree in the orchard, all three thousand of them on all 40 acres of land, was burning. The farmhouse had already turned to ashes. There was a dark figure standing in front of the blaze. His burning red eyes glowed with a sick delight. "Doctor!" the Master said cheerfully. "Come out! We have much to discuss!" Author's Note Boom! First chapter and I set Sweet Apple Acres on FIRE! Who's raisin' some stakes NOW bitches?! Ha ha... I've had no sleep... Please rate and comment!
Six Segments"Spike?" came the distant voice of Apple Bloom. "You think he's okay?" said Sweetie Belle, a little bit clearer. "WAKE UP!!!"shouted Scootaloo. Spike finally came to on the floor of the TARDIS control room. He saw the faces of the Cutie Mark Crusaders first. As he sat up he saw the Doctor and Applejack around the console. "Ugh...," he said, his body still racked with pain. "Where... Where am I? "Hello!" the Doctor smiled. "I'm the Doctor, and you're in my time machine! I know that seems a little out of the ordinary maybe a little impossible..." "After what I've seen?" asked Spike. "No it doesn't." "Yeah," the Doctor shrugged. "I suppose it wouldn't... Anyway! I'm a friend of Applejack's, a space alien, an extradimensional entity, a Lynchpin of the Multiverse, you have no idea what that is... I'm also the last hope for this planet, a position I hate being in." "Why do I instantly believe you?" asked Spike. "Anyway," the Doctor said. "I'm also sort of the root cause of all this, so if you want to slug me you can go ahead and do it. I can say with all certainty that this would not have happened if I wasn't here. So go ahead and smack me on the jaw." Spike thought for a bit and then looked up at the Doctor. "Why?" he asked. "That would be pretty stupid, wouldn't it? You're not the Master after all. And you seem to want to help us. Why would I be mad at you?" The Doctor thought for a moment. "You know," he said thoughtfully. "I'm not sure." Applejack rushed over to Spike and gave him a massive bear hug. "You little scamp!" Applejack said tearfully. "You had to be so brave and not tell the Master nothin'! Gettin' yourself all beat up! You're just a baby after all, you don't deserve to get hurt!" The Cutie Mark Crusaders joined in the hug. "We're sorry we weren't here to help!" Sweetie Belle cried. "I would have socked the Master right in his stupid jaw if I knew what he was doing to you!" Scootaloo shouted "We love you!" Apple Bloom said. Spike's eyes were bulging out of his head. "It still hurts...," he wheezed. "Guys, seriously. The everything still hurts." The girls released him from the embrace, allowing the baby dragon to breathe. "Okay, listen," the Doctor said. "I need quite a lot of information and not much time in which to gather it. First things first. Who are you and how do you know Applejack and her friends?" "I'm Spike," Spike said proudly. "Royal scribe and messenger to Princess Twilight Sparkle." "Back when Twi first moved to Ponyville, before she had ascended into bein' a princess and all, she was given an assignment," Applejack explained. "Every time she, and eventually any of us, learned somethin' new about friendship we had to write about it to Princess Celestia. Spike is the one who'd write all those letters down and send them off." "Every time you learn something new, you send it off in a letter to somepony?" the Doctor smiled. "I quite like that. You wouldn't want to do it for me at some point would you?" "I think it's the least I can do," Spike laughed. "Right!" the Doctor whipped around. "Next question! How long has it been since the Master took control of Ponyville?" "Only three days," Spike groaned. "Three of the worst days of my life." "It took him only three days?" asked Sweetie Belle. "To do all of this?" "I'm surprised it took him that long," the Doctor sighed. "Daleks, Cybermen, Angels and Autons at his back... Question three! The Master mentioned of a resistance movement?" "Heh, 'Resistance'," Spike laughed. "If you mean me, Granny Smith and Big Mac hiding in the Everfree forest trying to ride this out, hoping to find a solution somewhere..." "Granny Smith and Big Mac are alright?" the Apple sisters asked in excited unison. "They're fine," Spike reassured them. The Apple sisters locked Spike in another tight embrace. "Rib cage...," Spike said in a strained voice. "In pain..." "Final question!" the Doctor shouted. "Why hasn't the Master killed Twilight and the others yet?" Applejack punched the Doctor in the foreleg. "Doctor," she said through gritted teeth. "There's a phrase you should learn about lookin' a gift horse in the mouth!" "This is important though!" the Doctor protested, rubbing his arm. "If he was just telling me that they were still alive to bait a trap it would make sense. But that isn't what's happening. Spike was probably taken to the same place they were so the Master must need them. But for what?" "I don't know," Spike answered honestly. "One of those Dalezoid things said that they should be Exterminated. The Master said that if they died it would ruin everything. They'd be setting themselves backwards, somehow..." The Doctor nodded. "That's what I thought. "What?" Applejack asked. "Time to answer a very good question you had earlier," the Doctor smiled. "What do the segments of the Key to Time look like? That's the thing. they can be anything. If the segment is 'disguising' itself as a shard of Jethrik crystal, or the great seal of Diplos, or even Princess Astra of Atrios that's what it is until it is put together. The Key to Time can be anything, any one, or indeed anypony it wants to be." The Doctor looked straight into AJ's eyes. Applejack's jaw dropped at what the Doctor was implying. "Six segments," the Doctor smiled. "And I have one..." Twilight watched as the Cybermen continued to wheel statues in. One by one. Pegasi with their faces buried in their hooves. There were about twenty of them outside the cells. She and her friends watched in horror. She saw these things before. "Girls," Twilight said sternly. "Whatever you do, don't look away. Don't even blink if you can avoid it." She took a little comfort knowing that inside the cages, the Angels couldn't get to them. They were captive, but safe. A song had been playing since the Weeping Angels had been brought in. It would almost seem very upbeat if Twilight hadn't been listening to the lyrics. This song was about murder, or at least contemplating it, set to almost circus like music. It fit the Master perfectly, she thought. And then the Music got louder as the Master sauntered into the room. He stepped directly in front of the cages and began to sing along with the music. "Oh I could throw you in the lake, or feed you poisoned birthday cake, I won't deny, I'm gonna miss you when your gone... "Oh I could bury you alive, But you might crawl out with a knife and kill me when I'm sleeping, That's why..." On the word "Why" the cell doors vanished into nothingness. They still couldn't get out. But the Angels could get in. "I can't decide, Whether you should live or die, Oh you'll probably go to heaven, Please don't hang your head and cry, No wonder why, My heart feels dead inside, Cold and hard and petrified, Lock the doors and close the blinds, we're goin' for a ride!" "You're free to leave!" the Master called as he exited the room. "If you think you can make it." Author's Note Scissor Sisters FTW. Please rate and comment!
Calling All CrusadersThe six mares remained fixated on the Angels, their gaze unbreaking, all the time taking care not to blink. Letting nothing distract their attention. And then something did. In the middle of the crowd of Angels there was a large flash. All of a sudden, standing in the middle of the room, was a stallion. Young, a dark gray coat, green mane that moved into orange as it got to the tip. He wore a blue watch that looked like it did more then tell time. On that same leg there was a tattoo of a snake that seemed to be... moving. The young unicorn stumbled sideways into one of the Angels, knocking it over. "I'm alright!" he said, immediately straightening himself up. "I'm okay! Doctor listen, I need your-..." The young stallion suddenly took notice of his surroundings. "This isn't the TARDIS," he said dryly. "If it is the TARDIS something has gone horribly wrong." "You know the Doctor?" Twilight asked, being careful not to lose sight of the Angels. "Not yet," the unicorn explained. "But I will sssssss-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" The unicorn doubled over in pain. The snake tattoo on his leg seemed to tighten it's grip. His eyes, usually a bright sky blue, were now a deep blood red. "This endeavor is futile!" a voice that didn't belong to him hissed angrily out of his mouth. "You. Will. SUMBIT!!!" He craned his neck and all of a sudden he was back to normal. "Will you shut up? I'm trying to hold a conversation!" "Are you alright?" asked Fluttershy. "For now, but not much longer," the stallion said through gritted teeth. "I'm not supposed to be here. I sort of overshot my mark. In the state I'm in I can't get you guys out of here, but I can keep you in so you can give your eyes a rest. " "You're going to relock the cage doors?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Forgive me if I don't leap for joy..." "Better then the Angels getting in," answered Rarity. "Fair point." "So we're agreed?" the Unicorn panted. Twilight thought that whatever entity was trying to seize control of him was making another move. "Excellent! One, two three!" A flash of magic came from his horn and magical gates replaced the missing cell doors. "Amicable Gates!" Twilight said, her inner student bursting. "The only people who can be let in are people we WANT to come in! Oh this is great! My brother knows this spell." "I know. I sssss AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHH!!!!!" The tattoo tightened and his eyes changed color once again. "Idiot boy! You waste your time with these ephemeral-" The unicorn craned his neck again. "I thought. I told you. Before. SHUT UP." "Is the Master doing this to you?" Twilight asked. 'What? No...," the Stallion explained. "The snake tattoo, the blood red eyes, the hissing voice that doesn't belong to me. It's a whole thing. It's kind of complicated." He touched his watch again, and in a flash, he was gone. "I...," Applejack was stunned. "I'm the last piece." "You and your friends are the six most powerful things in this universe," the Doctor smiled. "You six are the key to time. Think about it. Think of all the trials you've been through. Nightmare Moon, Discord, Sombra, Tirek. The one strategy that came close to working was separating you. Apart you're formidable, but together you are unstoppable." "I'm..." A tear trickled down AJ's cheek. "I'm not even a real pony?" "No...," the Doctor gave Applejack a comforting hug. "That's not it. You are real and ten thousand times more than that. You will always be equine. Nothing will ever change that. You are just one of the six strongest and most unique ponies in this Timestream. And that has nothing to do with the Key to Time, trust me." Applejack smiled at the Doctor. "So!" she sniffed. "How do we go about gettin' them back?" "Aha!" The Doctor began to move around the console. "That there is the difficult bit! Spike, you said that the Master has made his base in Twilight's Palace, and that's where he's keeping the girls, right?" "The Crystal Tree, yeah," Spike answered. "Well," said the Doctor. "As of right now it is surrounded by Dalek warships. Many, many, Dalek warships. Uncomfortable amounts of Dalek warships." "So what do we do?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Frankly a ridiculous number of Dalek-" "We get it!" said the Crusaders in unison. "Right!" The Doctor picked up a microphone from the console. "My plan involves this! This is a universal communicator. It can broadcast to anything with a speaker grill. Radios. PA systems. Anything. All I need to do is make a call and people around Equestria will make distraction and hopefully the Daleks will be sent out to deal with it. Drawing their forces away from the Crystal Tree. There's a problem with that plan however...." "What's that?" asked Scootaloo. "I have no one I can call," the Doctor smiled. "No one who's qualified, anyway. I haven't made enough friends across Equestria to start a ruckus on that scale. Therein lies the problem." The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at each other devilishly. "So what you're sayin' is," Apple Bloom started. "You need a group of ponies who can get themselves organized but also be a royal pain in somepony's plot?" "Yeah, that's about right...," the Doctor sighed. "This is a job for the CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS! YAY!" Apple Bloom started. The rest finished. The Doctor laughed. "While your abilities of causing trouble are indeed legendary," he smiled. "We'll need more then the three of you." "Who said it'd just be the three of us?" Apple Bloom bounced up and grabbed the microphone out of the Doctors hand. "Calling all Crusaders! Calling all Crusaders! This is Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, organization founders! We have a mission for all Crusaders!" "I know it looks bleak now," Scootaloo said. "But we have a plan to fix all of this! We have a guy who calls himself the Doctor, here. He's dealt with all of these things before! He can help us beat them! But he needs your help!" "I know it may be scary," Sweetie Belle said. "But you have to fight! Do whatever you can to disrupt order! Call as much attention to yourselves as you can! Whatever the biggest prank you ever pulled was, pull it again, ten times bigger!" "And more important then anythin'" Apple Bloom started. "Don't die. That means you gotta stay alive and you gotta pull this off! 'Cause everypony's dead if you don't do both! But I know you will! Look at your flanks. As long as they're still blank our time ain't up! We're not gonna let a bunch of ugly space aliens keep us from our Cutie Marks!" There was a long silence. "Come on guys," Apple Bloom said. "Don't let us down..." Then the communicator hissed. "Hey guys!" came a bright voice. "This is Sky Blue, chapter president CMC Cloudsdale! We're ready and willing!" "This is Babs Seed, CMC Manehattan!" came a thuggish voice. "You don't have to tell me twice, Cousin!" "Beach Bum, like, CMC Las Pegasus," came a spaced out voice. "We're, like, ready when you are!" "Cheese Stake, CMC Fillydelphia," came a working class voice. "We can keep these jagoffs occupied for 'bout an 'our!" "Precious Gem, CMC Canterlot!" came a high class voice. "And who couldn't pay attention to us?" "Button Mash, CMC Ponyville branch chapter!" came a hyperactive voice. "I'll tear'em to shreds! WOLVERIIIIIIIiiiiinneee....." "This is Rumble, CMC Ponyville branch chapter," came an exasperated little voice. "I'll keep Button from getting himself killed out there." The founding Cutie Mark Crusaders beamed at the Doctor, who's jaw was on the floor. "They're...," the Doctor stammered. "They're DOING it! Three warships have broken from the main perimeter and are heading toward the sources of the trouble. We have a way in! How could they have attracted that much attention that quickly?!" "You wanna cause trouble in a hurry?" Scootaloo said smugly. "Leave it to little kids." "Right!" the Doctor said happily. "Now phase two! Crashing through the roof!" "WHAT?!" said everypony else in the TARDIS. "AJ," the Doctor said with a mad grin on his face. "When the time comes, it's the lever I've got my hoof on! Pull that and we're set to get out of here, and that's where it really gets fun!" "Wait!" Applejack said frantically. "What's the rest of the plan?!" Too late. The TARDIS was soaring to the roof of the Crystal Tree. "That should be the right angle...," the Doctor smiled. "For WHAT?!" Applejack screamed. "AVANTIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Author's Note Huh, I wonder who that stallion at the beginning of the chapter was. This chapter is dedicated to Sky Blue CMC, who allowed me to use his OC during the call of the Crusaders. Please rate and comment!
Where You Go, I FollowThe roof of the Crystal Tree imploded. The Master caught sight of the Doctor's TARDIS sailing through the throne room, its engine roaring. The doors burst open and a Chestnut colored stallion dodge rolled out of the craft and stopped right in front of the Master. The TARDIS disappeared further into the tree. The Doctor stared directly into the Master's eyes. The intensity between them was electrifying. Cybermen, Daleks, and Autons surrounded the room. Then the room fell into a silence. "Oh my..." the Doctor smiled. "Those rolls aren't as easy as you see in films. Sweet Celestia my shoulders are in pain." The five mares watch as the TARDIS roared through the room, knocking over the Angels as it went. The ship skidded to a halt about a foot in front of the cage. The doors opened. “WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T BLINK!!!" the five screamed in unison. Scootaloo looked out of the TARDIS, eyes wide. "Why?" she asked nervously. "Scoot?!" Rainbow Dash asked frantically. "What in sweet Celestia's Equestria are you doing here?!" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle appeared behind their friend. "What else?" Scootaloo grinned. "We're here to save you guys!" "Without an adult?!" Twilight said. "The Doctor sent you here unattended?!" "They ain't unattended!" came a drawl from the back of the ship. "I'm a-comin'!!" A dazed Applejack blundered out of the TARDIS. "DON'T MOVE!!!" screamed the girls. "What?" asked Applejack. "Why?" "Those statues around you aren't real statues!" squeaked Fluttershy. "You have to keep looking at them!" Rarity said nervously. "Otherwise these horrid things start moving." "And if they catch you, they warp you back in time and eat your future!!" screamed Pinkie Pie. "Or maybe just break your neck! I'm actually not sure what they prefer doing to you the lore is really unclear. But it's bad! Really, really bad!" Applejack looked around her. She saw the angels that were laid prone by the TARDIS's unusual entrance into the room. And then she blinked. It looked like all of the Angels were frozen in the middle of righting themselves. Several of them were reaching out for Applejack. One was uncomfortably close to her face. Applejack backed off quickly. "Alright!" Applejack swallowed hard. "I got no plan for this one!" "I do!" Apple Bloom jumped on top of Applejack's back and used her to springboard up to the top of Twilight's cage. "Alright! I can see 'em all from up here. Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo! Front and center!" The other crusaders followed suit. "We'll keep watch on those things from up here!" Apple Bloom said proudly. "You get the girls out!" Applejack nodded. "Now how do I open the cages?" "They'll open for you!" Twilight explained. "It's a long story. Hurry!" Applejack touched Twilight's cell door and it disappeared. She hugged her friend, and repeated the process with the rest of the girls. One by one, they filed into the TARDIS. The Angels didn't move an inch. "Alright!" Applejack turned to the incredibly self-satisfied ponies. "You three get down here and we'll go!" There was an awkward pause. "Apple Bloom?" asked Scootaloo. "Yeah?" "How are we gonna get back to the TARDIS without all of the Angels jumping us at once?" Another long pause. "Gimme a minute," said Apple Bloom. "Honestly," said the Doctor, rubbing his shoulder. "I think I may have dislocated something..." "Shut. Up," spat the Master. "Right," the Doctor said. "Serious discussion now, ice pack on the shoulder later..." "Why are you here?" the Master asked through gritted teeth. "Well," the Doctor said quietly. "I thought you'd be able to guess that." "You know what I mean!" the Master shouted. "Here! Earth! Galifrey! Logopolis! Castrovalva! Why are you always... ALWAYS there! Why must you always be underfoot?! Why must you always be in my way?! Why must I keep hearing your voice? I think it's becoming more constant than the drums at this point!" He clicked his hoof on the marble floor of the palace. Tap tap tap tap "Doctor who?!" Tap tap tap tap. "Doctor who?!" Tap tap tap tap. "DOCTOR WHO?!" The Master's horn began to glow as if it was heating up. "Go away! Just. Go. AWAY." The Doctor thought about that for a while. "You know?" the Doctor said quietly. "I've thought about that for a while. Why do we keep running into each other like this? After all of this time, I think I've come up with the answer..." "I'm at the edge of my seat..." the Master growled. "I used to think it was just coincidence," the Doctor smiled. "But coincidences don't happen that often. No. No we're destined to do this. Possibly forever, and definitely everywhere. The third and fourth Lynchpins of the Multiverse. What gets me about that is that you're the third. You came first. I came directly after. Like reality took one look at you and immediately devised a counter measure. I was created to stop you. And I always will. "Where you go," smiled the Doctor. "I follow." The Master let out a chuckle. "Eloquent!" he said cheerfully. "And well-reasoned. It has served us well so far. But all good things must come to an end. I need to ask you, Doctor. You are surrounded by your greatest enemies. Daleks. Cybermen. Autons. I've even got some Angeles in the back room looking after the girls. You're surrounded. I have the keys to the cell. How do you expect to get out of this alive?" "What question are you asking?" the Doctor asked. "How am I expecting to get out of this castle alive? It's simple. I made a big ruckus coming in so that most of your forces were focused on me and you let the TARDIS fly into the room where you were keeping the girls. AJ was waiting inside to free them. I didn't take the Angels into account. But if I'm right about AJ being as smart as she is, and I am, the TARDIS should be drawn back to the TARDIS key, which is around my neck and appear behind me!" The Master's jaw dropped as the TARDIS materialized behind the Doctor. The doors opened to reveal a charred and smoking Sweetie Belle. "Today I learned to teleport!" she said before collapsing. The Doctor stepped into the TARDIS doors. "If you're asking how I'm getting out of this meeting with you alive? "Again simple," the Doctor gave a sad smile. "I'm not."
Past, Present, and Future"EXTERMINATE!!!" called several Daleks as the TARDIS dematerialized. Several blasts went off to no avail. The Doctor was gone. "The Doctor has escaped with the Key to Time!" shouted the Cyberleader. "The Master has failed!" "You promised us the Doctor would die here!" bellowed the Dalek Supreme. "You have lost the Key to Time! Your plans have been for naught! You shall not leave this place alive!" "Send him away...," whispered the Nestine consciousness. "His plan has failed..." Two great stone hooves landed hard on the Master's shoulder. He looked next to him to see two Weeping Angels glaring at him with contempt and hate in their eyes. He was mildly amused by the sight. He was greatly amused be the sight of the army he had massed together all pointing their weapons at him. He let out a small laugh. "Does your impending demise amuse you?" the Dalek Supreme asked. "No, no," the Master laughed. "It's not that. It's just I don't understand why you are so upset. Especially when things are going so well." There was a confused pause. "Explain!" the Dalek Supreme demanded. "Explaiiin!" "My dear Dalek Supreme," the Master said patronizingly. "At long last, the six segments of the Key to Time are gathered. The Key to Time will soon be completed, and thus, victory is ours." "But the Key is not in our possession!" the Supreme shouted. "Really?" the Master turned on the supreme angrily. "Because I was under the impression that this entire timestream was under our possession. Pardon me, not ours. Not yours. Not even mine. The Black Guardian's. Never forget who we all struck this bargain with. I am merely his voice in this little shamble of a committee. He is in charge and he has told me that this is the best way to continue his work. So maybe before you go around calling my plans failures you should shut up until they are finished! My patience with you is running thin Dalek. I will not have you attempt this again." This made one thing abundantly clear amongst the ranks. There were thousands of him. Millions. He was a Lynchpin of the Multiverse. There fore there couldn't be a "where" without him. But in this room, at this time. There was only one Master. "Now," said the Master, calming himself. "I'm afraid this is where I must leave you. I can make the assurance that the Doctor will be dead by the time I return, and the Key to Time shall be in the capable hooves of our benefactor. I trust that you are satisfied? If you're not, you're welcome to bugger off." With that, there was a flash of light, and the Master disappeared. Spike and the Crusaders had been sent to the back room. The Doctor wanted to talk to the six mares alone. First, however, he needed time to think. He stared at the Pocketwatch Rarity had given him. He smiled. He remembered when Sweetie Belle first brought it into his shop. They were so afraid that he was going to overcharge them for it, but there would be no point. It was hardly broken, and easily fixed. The Doctor's reminiscing left the six Mares to roam freely around the TARDIS. Twilight was reading the TARDIS data logs front to back, a delighted smile on her face. Applejack was desperately trying to keep Pinkie Pie from pushing buttons on the TARDIS console. Fluttershy was whispering intensely to Rainbow Dash in the corner of the console room. The Doctor became nervous when he realized that he had lost track of Rarity. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" came a high pitched shriek from the back of the TARDIS. They found Rarity in the enormous walk in closet, backing away from an outfit that was preferred by the Doctor's sixth incarnation as if it was going to attack her. "Keep it away!" she screamed. "I have now seen the face of pure evil! Don't let it touch you! Kill it! Kill it with fire!!!!" There was a collective smack of hooves to faces. "Well," sighed the Doctor. "I think now is as good a time as any for our little get together..." The Doctor explained the Key to a Time to the rest of Applejack's friends, and their significance. They took it rather well, all things considered. "So what you're telling me," said Rainbow Dash said. "Is that we're not just awesome, we're cosmically awesome?" The Doctor shrugged. "One way of looking at it," he said. "This is wonderful news," Twilight said brightly. "If we're the Key to Time, we can just not help the Master." "Not that simple," the Doctor sighed. "When you're here, like this, you have free will. You can make your own decisions. As soon as you take the shape of the Key to Time you'll enter a dream state. You'll be aware of what you're being used for, but you'll be unable to control it. If the Master gets his hands on you in that state it's over." "Then we won't get into that state," Rarity said frankly. "This whole Key to Time malarkey seems far too dangerous." "Dangerous," the Doctor agreed. "But necessary. Everything breaks down into chaos in a closed system. The White Guardian needs the Key to Time to bring order to the universe every once in a while, and we've reached that point. You need to take the form of the Key, otherwise the Black Guardian will win. How do you think your universe got in such a state? He left it too long. The Black guardian made sure that the other Lynchpins appeared all at once to keep his eye off of this one. To keep him occupied. In the end it was always about the Key." "So just give us to this White Guardian guy!" said Pinkie Pie brightly. "Again, not that simple," the Doctor said. "Like I said, the White Guardian left it for too long. He's weak. Close to dying. The only way to win is to use the Key to revive him. Or at least get him to a state where he can use it himself. That means gathering it together and using a massive amount of cosmic energy from it to fix pretty much everything that's gone wrong with the planet in the last month. And me doing that..." Fluttershy put two and two together. "Can you survive it?" "Survive?" the Doctor said brightly. "Absolutely, but not unscathed." Applejack looked directly into the Doctor's soul. "You're going to regenerate." The Doctor simply smiled. "You saw this comin'...," Applejack said awestruck. "You saw this comin' the whole time... Why didn't you tell me?" "Because someone told me, and it rather put me off," the Doctor laughed. "I didn't want to do the same to you." He took out a folded up peice o paper from his waistcoat pocket. "Here. Read this." Applejack read the note carefully Doctor, It seems I overshot it again. This time, right place, wrong time. This thing is making it hard for me to concentrate, but I'll get it right next time. You asked me to do this later, but I'm here. So I may as well do it now. Where you're headed right now is going to be a change for you. Yes, in a big way. In the big way. I'm sorry Doctor, but long story short, you aren't the Doctor I know. Sorry. Don't panic! You told me to tell you not to Panic. It's going to be fine. In fact, after this is when it really picks up. At the end of this, we'll need to have a talk. I need your help, Doctor. For me, this isn't the first time. You've met before. It's come back for you. ~B "Who's B?" asked Applejack. "I don't know," the Doctor shrugged. "That last line is a bit cryptic isn't it? I wonder what godawful thing that I once ran into is back to haunt me again..." "This changes everythin'" Applejack said firmly. "We can't leave you alone when you're gonna have to find out who you are again. We ain't gonna do it!" "Yes you are," the Doctor said firmly. "If I hadn't taken you from Ponyville, the six of you could have been rid of this problem by now. I've made that mistake, AJ, and I intend to rectify it. The end of this is where we part ways, in more ways than one." Applejack stared at the TARDIS floor. "That is the plan," the Doctor said to the room. The six mares looked at him sadly. "An we need to implement it now. I'm leaving this up to you, however. When you're ready, put your hooves together, and take the shape of the Key. Remind yourselves what your doing this for." There was a pause before Applejack put her hoof in the middle of the circle. "I'm doin' this for Granny Smith, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom," she said firmly. "And I'm gonna get the Master to pay for the Damages he made to my farm. In cash." Pinkie Pie threw her hoof in. "For Pound and Pumpkin!" she said brightly. "I wanna see them grow up! If the universe isn't there they can't do that and that would be a major bummer!" Fluttershy nervously put her hoof in. "For Angel Bunny," she said softly. "And all of the Animals back at the cottage." "For my dear little sister!" said Rarity, throwing her hoof in. "I need to design her prom dress, and therefore there must be a prom!" "For Scoots," smiled Rainbow Dash. "I'm still teaching the Squirt how to fly, and I don't like to leave things half finished." Twilight was the last to throw her hoof in. "For Luna, Celestia, Cadence, Shining Armor," she listed. "And all of my friends here and away. We're at your disposal Doctor." The Doctor threw his hoof on top of the circle. There was a bright light and suddenly he was alone, holding a perfect cube around the size of a softball. They had done it. They had become the Key to Time. And that's when the TARDIS jerked to a violent stop. The Doctor looked around the console, trying to figure out what happened. Where he was. But the TARDIS was registering nothing. No space, no time. He was in the void. He was nowhere. "And now that you are nowhere...," came a Voice from the back of the TARDIS. And then he stepped out. "We can talk about you handing that over," said the Master Author's Note Wow. This chapter is really long. Rate and comment please!
What Comes Next?The Doctor knew what he had to do. He had to keep the Master talking. He had to keep him occupied until he came up with a plan. That shouldn't be hard, the Master liked to gloat. "So...," the Doctor started. WHAM! The Doctor's head was slammed violently to the TARDIS console. When he could see straight again he saw the Master levitating the Key to Time over to him. "Sorry, Doctor," the Master sighed. "We can chitchat in a moment. In the meantime there's someone I need to speak to." And then he appeared. The Black Guardian. The entire room became heavier on his arrival. As if the evil he brought with him carried extra weight. "Well done, Master," he said smugly. "Vengeance is sweet, and needed. Now... Relinquish the Key to Time..." The Master stared at the perfect cube in his hoof. "Why?" The Black Guardian didn't even bat an eye. Merely stared at his partner in crime with the same smug smile of victory. He knew it, and the Doctor knew it too. This was the Master's plan. Once he had the Key to Time there was no way his ego would have him turn it over to the Black Guardian. This is where the Black Guardian's plan unraveled. So why? Why was he so calm... "Because...," the Black Guardian said calmly. "If you do not hand it over to me, I will have to take it after you both lie dead. You don't know how to use it, Master. I do. Have no delusions of being anything other then a pawn in my game. I'm warning you once, Master. You can enjoy the victory if you let it be mine." "Was that a threat?" the Master laughed. "I'd have thought we were beyond threats, now that I have this. The game between you and the White Guardian is over. I've won. Enjoy what time the two of you have left. Use it to rest. Because after I'm done with him I'm coming for you. So the two of you had better start running." "It wasn't a threat," the Black Guardian smiled. "I won't have to do anything. The Key to Time will eat you both alive. So if you insist, I will leave. Let you have your fun with the Doctor. When this entire plan has backfired on you, I'll step in once again." The Master smiled. "I insist." The Black Guardian chuckled and left the TARDIS. "Now!" the master said, spinning around to face the TARDIS console. "First things first, getting back to our own universe so we can use this thing! Oh... Ah! It appears the Black Guardian has taken care of that for us. Grouchy as he is, I can't say he's a sore loser..." "What are you going to do?" wheezed the Doctor from the floor. The Master looked up. "That's a good question." The Master's horn glowed bright red and a searing pain ran through the Doctor's body. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaahhhh!!!!" "What am I going to do?" asked the Master brightly. "What comes next?" "NNNGHHHAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaahhh!" "What to do with the planet...," the Master continued. "What to do with the Key to Time...." "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgghhh!!" "What to do with the screaming nuisance in my control room...," the Master laughed. "All good questions. And you'll be happy to know I have answers for most of them." The Master picked up the Doctor by the throat and slammed his head into the console. "As for the planet," he continued. "It simply has to go. It's got a hell of an infestation. These ponies... They're a bit like cockroaches. Disgusting. Everywhere. And damn near impossible to kill." WHAM! "As for the screaming nuisance...," the Master smiled. "That was you by the way. You're not screaming now, but that's only because you can barely breathe. Anyway... I've given a great deal of thought as to what to do with you..." WHAM! "Good news!" the Master smiled. "I'm not going to kill you! Oh, it was tempting. Believe me. But I've thought of a better course of action. Your going to come with me!" WHAM "You're going to watch me take this timeline and indeed all others for myself!" WHAM! "You're going to watch as I use the Key to Time to bend reality to my whim!" WHAM! "You're going to watch every single thing you have ever tried to protect CONVULSE. AND. DIE! The whole time knowing you were powerless to stop it. Maybe... Just maybe. After a while you'll start to enjoy it. After a while living with nothing but the sound of screaming and you're own heartbeat, you'll start to hear the drums. I'd like that Doctor..." The Doctor caught sight of an angry green eye in the back of the TARDIS. And that gave him cause to smile. "Because until you become what I am, Doctor," the Master growled. "You shall be always and forever alone." "No...," the Doctor wheezed. "No I won't." And that's when it happened. Spike ran out from the back of the TARDIS leaping over the console and slashed at the Master's face with his claws. He grabbed onto the Master's ears and blew searing flame right in his eyes. The Master grabbed Spike with his magic and tried to rip him off. He may have managed it if it weren't for Scootaloo buzzing out and tackling him broadside into the console. Before he knew it, Apple Bloom was on his back with his wing in her teeth. She was pulling as hard as she could. This left ample time for Sweetie Belle to grab the Key to Time, and pass it to the Doctor. The Master managed to come out on top in the struggle, and grabbed all four children by the throats, levitating them into the air. His eyes burning with rage. "Insignificant... Little...." "Put. Them. Down." The Doctor was on his feet now. And he was holding the Key to Time out in front of him. The Master stared at him slack jawed and bug eyed. He couldn't believe it. He immediately dropped Spike and the Crusaders. "'Alone,'" the Doctor scoffed. "'Insignificant'. Please. These 'insignificant' little creatures just cost you an entire universe. You know something? You've taken the time to insult all of the people I like. All the people I call friends. I'm tired of it. They say the Key to Time can do anything. So I'm going to have you meet some people. See if they can make you understand..." The Doctor closed his eyes, and the Key to Time began to glow. And then someone entered the room. She wasn't equine like everypony else, but she looked human. She was young, had black hair that she wore bunched up. She wore a wool sweater with the sleeves rolled up, and white pants. She walked in, and sat on the TARDIS console. "Really," the girl sighed. "I think the hopes of him getting it are long gone... "Grandfather," smiled Susan Foreman Author's Note Aaaaaaaaand you're confused. Oh, and the first person who asks "Who's Susan Foreman and why did she call the Doctor 'Grandfather'?" is going to get a stern talking to. Please rate and comment!
It's All the Doctor.The Doctor looked at his granddaughter and smiled. She may not have been strictly "his", but she was family none the less. A tear rolled down his cheek. After all these years, it was good to see her. And she didn't come alone. The Doctor looked around and he could see all of them. Or at least most. The friends who had helped him on his way here. All of them smiling. All of them happy to see him. All of them ready to give the Master hell. And by the look on the Master's face, the Key to Time was doing it's work. He could see them too. "What?" the Master stammered. "How.... How are you here?" "I'm not," Susan smiled. "This is just the Key to Time sifting through the Doctor's memories. He's allowing us to say our piece. And I think we all have something to say." "Oh we do," said Jamie MacRimmon, entering and standing cross-armed next to the Doctor. "We are all sick of you. You call us useless. Insignificant. Weak." "Nothing next to the Doctor," said Victoria, suddenly standing next to Susan. "That's what you never got. In a way..." "We are the Doctor!" said Jo Grant brightly from behind the Master. "We shaped him." The Master whirled around to see two young women. Jo Grant and... "We helped him find out who he is," said Sarah Jane Smith. "Each and every time that changed." "And because of that," smiled the Doctor. "I never became you." "He's been many things," said Leela, crouching on top of the console. "He's been a sorcerer." "A Time Lord," said the First Romana, standing in front of the door. "A big brother," smiled the Second Romana, standing next to the first. "A friend to a planet," said Nyssa, appearing next to the Master. "And we bring out the best in him," sneered Adric, leaning on the wall. "Just like he brought out the best in us!" shouted Turlough from behind the Doctor. "How?" The Master was starting to look afraid. "How are you all here?!" "They're here," the Doctor began. "To tell you who I am now." "He's the sort of bloke who will give you a lift to the airport!" called the thick Australian accent of Tegan Jovanka. "At times he can be a bit unpredictable," said Peri Brown, rubbing her neck before smiling. "But he comes around eventually to the right decision." "He can be a bit bombastic," squeaked Melanie Bush. "But that's part of his charm." "And he may look a fuddy duddy old sod,"said Dorothy "Ace" McShane, shouldering a silver baseball bat. "But when the Professor acts like that, you know he's got something wicked up his sleeves." "And he can seem a little strange," smiled Grace Halloway. "But he's actually okay once he's himself again." "This is nonsense," the Master growled. "I thought you were talking about who you are now and the significance of these primitive idiots. You're simply talking about all your previous personae!" "How thick can one time lord get!" laughed Rose Tyler. "After a millennium of knowing him I thought you'd guess! It's all the Doctor! His face, his voice, wven his brain may change..." "But he's still as clever as they come," said Martha Jones. "Still will sacrifice anything to do the right thing, or to save a life." "Still a flighty crafty old Spaceman," smiled Donna Noble. "Bit of a dork, most of the time," shrugged Amy Pond. "No," scoffed Rory Williams. "He's not a dork..." "Yeah he is." "...Yeah he is..." "And above all," said Clara Oswald. "He gets by only with a little help from his friends." "So in a way Master," the Doctor smiled. "I didn't defeat you all of the times we met..." "We did," said the Companions in unison. The Master's eyes darted around the room. All of the Doctors friends glared back at him. The Doctor was meeting his eyes without flinching. The Doctor was never more confident then he was right now. He had won. And the Master was furious. "Know something now, Doctor," the Master said calmly. "No matter how many of these proles you put around you, it won't change one thing. The differences between you and me are slim. Little. And it's only a matter of time before you take that final step over the line." "Oh no," smiled the Doctor. "Because if that comes close to happening, all I need to do is look back into my past." Behind the Doctor appeared thirteen men. Some young. Most old. All smiling. "I suppose you thought I would eventually give in, hmm?" said the First Doctor, gripping his lapels. "Well," scoffed the Second Doctor, pocketing his recorder. "Wasn't that thoroughly stupid of you?" "I'll never lose," said the Third Doctor straightening his cuffs. "Not as long as I have these people around me in my hearts and in my head." "And it's good that I have them in my hearts," smiled the Fourth Doctor as he threw his scarf over his shoulder. "My head gets so jumbled I can hardly remember.where I put them. I could louse them in there." "I can vouch for that," said the Fifth Doctor, replacing his hat. "I've done things that have made the universe a better place," said the Sixth Doctor. "I've done things that have changed the course if reality," said the Seventh Doctor, twirling an umbrella. "I've done things that I'm proud of," said the Eighth Doctor. "And things that I'm not," said the War Doctor, with a sad look in his eyes. "But through all o' that," said the Ninth doctor. "One thing remains entirely constant." "Old or young," smiled the Tenth. "Short or tall. Calm or manic. Humanoid or equine. Round things on his TARDIS or not." "It's all the Doctor," smiled the Eleventh Doctor. The Master was beginning to back away now. "What... What does this mean?!" "That's not the question," said the Twelfth Doctor. "The question is, what are you going to do next?" "My guess?" said the Doctor, a look of pure fury in his eyes. "Scream. All right girls!" The Key to Time levitated out of his hoof and began to glow. "Get him the hell off of my ship!" An Orange hoof landed on the Key to Time. "Whoo doggies!" said Applejack. "You don't have to tell me twice." "This is," said Rainbow Dash, putting her hoof on Applejack's. "So. Awesome." "Now girls," scoffed Rarity, daintily putting her hoof on the pile. "Just because we are going to be doing an ugly job, doesn't mean we can't look good doing it. Honestly, even in the realm of imagination you still have no sense of coordination!" "Really?" asked Twilight, one hoof on the pile and one hoof in her face. "We're talking about fashion now?" "Um...," started Fluttershy. "I'm not sure what exactly is going on..." "Easy!" squeaked Pinkie Pie. "The Doctor used the Key to Time to make a projection of his memories to all come out and talk to the Master. Lecturing him about both the value of human and/or pony life, and about how amazing he is. He's kind of vain like that. And now the segments of the Key to Time (that's us), are going to blast him out of the TARDIS as far away as we can send him (into the void is a good option) and save the world!" The Doctor and the other five stared at Pinkie blankly. "What?" Pinkie asked. "I know the writer! Grrr!" The Key to Time spun rapidly and fired an energy wave straight at the Master. I wasn't long until he was enveloped by the energy. "This isn't the end!" called the Master from the center of the beam. "You should remember, whenever it looks like I'm dead, I'm not!" The Master's mad cackling faded away as the light died down. Once again. The Doctor was alone. The Crusaders and Spike were both unconscious from the Master's attack. He had won. He nearly collapsed. Only a guardian should wield the Key to Time like he just did. Using that much cosmic force had caused an energy backlash. He was weak. A voice soon told him what he already knew. "You are dying, Doctor," came a cruel voice. The shape the Black Guardian liked to take was soon in the middle of his TARDIS. "I told him," he said smugly. "I told him his little coup attempt would fail. I didn't have to do a thing. And thanks to your use of the Key to Time, and the Master's beating... You're close to Regeneration! But don't worry." His horn glowed a sickly red. "I'll spare you the tingling. "No!" came a Regal voice. The form of Princess Celestia stood in front of the Doctor. This wasn't the real Celestia, merely the preferred form of the White Guardian. "It's over, Black!" she said firmly. "I am revived, and I have the Key to Time. You've lost." The Black Guardian's eyes widened in disbelief. Soon a quiet rage filled him and he closed his eyes. "Doctor," he said through gritted teeth. "You will die for this..." "Yeah, yeah," the Doctor wheezed. "I've heard it before." The Black guardian soon left the Doctor alone with the White Guardian. The White guardian shot the Doctor a sad look. "I'm sorry it had to come to this." "Oh I'm not!" The Doctor looked at his hoof and smiled. His skin began to shimmer a dim orange. "I'm excited! Big changes ahead." Author's Note I would be utterly shocked if the Majority of you knew FOUR of the companions I named before I got to rose. One more chapter, then I'mma talk to you guys Please rate and comment!
Spike, Take a Letter"If you like," said the White Guardian softly. "I can stop this... This doesn't have to happen now." "Nah," said the Doctor, waving his hoof dismissively. "It has to happen eventually. Why not now? Anyways. Like I said, I'm excited! A whole new me, a whole new start. Only bit I'm not looking forward to is the tingling... It tingles. Like when your foot falls asleep but far far worse." "If you're sure," said the White Guardian. "I am," the Doctor smiled. The tingling came on in force and he grimaced. "Although... Could you give me another hour? There are some ponies I have to talk to. You for a start." "Done," smiled the White Guardian. "What do you want to speak to me about?" The Doctor felt his regeneration slow. He straightened up. "Yes, well," the Doctor coughed. He lifted up the Key to Time. "As to what you do with this..." "All of your... acquaintances," the White Guardian said tactfully. "Have been sent back where they came. The planet is safe." "One more thing," said the Doctor. "Applejack's orchard." The White Guardian raised a single eyebrow. "Now Doctor...," she frowned. "I can't fix everything. It would be an abuse of my power. The beings I protect must learn to pass through the hardships themselves." "Applejack has done that with every hardship thrown at her!" snapped the Doctor. "I owe her more then a few favors. And since this is the second time I've collected this blasted thing for you, I figure you owe me one." The White Guardian paused for a moment. Then nodded. "So I do," she Smiled. "Consider it done. Anything else." "Uh... Sod off!" said the Doctor cheerfully. "And split the Key back apart and wake them all up in about... oh... fifteen minutes? There's something I want to do first." The White Guardian laughed quietly to herself. "So be it." She turned to leave. "Goodbye, Doctor," she said sadly. "Not goodbye!" said the Doctor cheerfully. "See you next time!" The Doctor shot the White Guardian a wink. The White Guardian smiled, and once again the Doctor was alone with his thoughts. Looking around him, he could see Applejack, the Crusaders, Spike, and the others all unconscious on the floor. He flipped a switch on the console and started recording. "Hello Doctor!" he said brightly. "A little bit of advice from a younger you..." Applejack started to come to slowly. Everything seemed quieter now. She could hear a voice say "Keep that in mind, and you should be alright." The dog cleared from her eyes to see the speaker. "Doctor?" "Oh! Gotta go!" the Doctor smiled. "So long, Doctor!" He flipped a switch on the console. "Congratulations!" he smiled at Applejack. "We beat'em! All of'em! The world is saved thanks to the Doctor and the Key to Time! Not bad for one day's work!" Applejack looked around her and saw her friends slowly rising. All of them looked out of it. She looked back at the Doctor. "Who were you talkin' to?" "Oh," the Doctor smiled. "Just some old fool... How are you feeling?" "Like I've been hit by a train," Applejack laughed. "What about you? Are you alright?" "Will be in a couple of minutes," the Doctor smiled. "Well... Not quite. It may take me a bit to stop being silly. Or perhaps I'll stay a bit silly! I've been silly before. Not a bad thing to be silly." "What're you...," Applejack started. But she was interrupted by Rarity. "Well!" she said, trying to act dignified, but stumbling on the way to the Doctor. She brushed it off as if nothing had happened. "I can assume the day is ours?" "You can indeed," the Doctor said brightly. "Oh, and before I forget..." The Doctor took out his gold pocket watch from his breast pocket. "Here you are. All fixed. Just like I promised!" "What...?" Rarity was puzzled. "But Doctor... I gave this to you..." "Because you thought it would go with the outfit, yes," the Doctor smiled. "I'm afraid however, that after today my fashion sense might change... Along with almost everything else." Applejack finally put two and two together. "No..." Applejack said. "Not now..." "Soon," the Doctor nodded. He slowly removed the blue ascot around his neck. "I don't suppose I'll like these anymore... Pity. Wholly underrated garment, the ascot...." "What's he talking about?" asked Rainbow Dash. Applejack was about to answer when the Cutie Mark Crusaders burst into the room. "It's all right!" Apple Bloom cried. "All the other crusaders are alright and..." Apple Bloom stopped. "Doctor? Why is you're hoof glowing?" "I recognize that...," said Scootaloo. "Oh no..." Sweetie Belle was starting to tear up. "That's right!" the Doctor smacked his head. "You three have already seen a regeneration, haven't you! The death of Time Turner, and the Birth of the Doctor! Well... It will be a bit different this time." "'Regeneration'?" asked Pinkie Pie. "It means..." Applejack was choking back tears. "It means I'm going to change," the Doctor said frankly. "I'm going to look a bit different. Act a bit different. Think a bit different. This is what Time Lords do instead of die. Change up our face. Mind you, the first time I got to pick and choose. This time..." "Can we stop it,?!" asked Twilight frantically. "I don't want to," the Doctor smiled. "Not this time." "Aren't you scared?" asked Fluttershy. The Doctor thought for a moment. "No," he said, a tone of surprise in his voice. "It's funny. Usually I am. If not outwardly... I'm afraid of who I'll become. Bits of me get shuffled around. It's only a matter of time before the worst of me comes to the front. But I'm confident that won't happen this time. I can even tell you why.... No, better idea. Spike!" The dragon child looked up. "Take a letter." Spike took out a quill and parchment, and the Doctor began to dictate. "Dear Princess Celestia," the Doctor began. "Everyone goes through changes. We all are unrecognizable to our past selves. We look different, we act different, we may even think differently. That's fine. Change is a part of life. You just have to make sure that those changes aren't for the worse. You can't do that on your own. You need the help of good friends who remember who you were to shape who you'll become. "I am about to undergo a change. That is normally a frightening prospect. "But I look around this room, and I'm not afraid. My friends won't let me be a bad person." Everyone else in the room gave the Doctor a soft smile. "Wishing you the best. Ever your servant," the Doctor wrapped up. "The first horse Doctor." Spike sent the letter off, and the glow around the Doctor's hoof intensified. "Well," the Doctor strained. "That's it for the First Equestrian Doctor..." The glow started to overtake the Time Lord. "Let's meet the second, eh?" The regeneration took hold. The orange light surrounded the Doctor and blinded the TARDIS other passengers. When Applejack was able to see again, she took a look at the Doctor... He was older now. Old enough to be AJ's father. He had bags under his wild eyes. He was also a little shorter. He had an eggshell coat and a red mane and tail. "Ginger!" he said looking at his tail. "At bloody last!" He stared at his tail for a moment. "I don't like it..." Then many things happened at once. The first thing that happened was a bright flash. After that a stallion was in the middle of the room. He had a gray coat, green mane, and poor taste in body art. "Doctor!" He called out. "Hey!" smiled Pinkie Pie. "You helped us out of the cages by locking us in them!" Pinkie looked confused for a moment. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!" "Hi!" said the stallion. "My name issssss---- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" The Stallion craned his neck and his eyes turned blood red. "Meaningless!" hissed another voice from the stallion's mouth. "Send for your Time Lord! You cannot--" The stallion craned his neck again. "Will you shut up?! Good GRANNY, all you do is talk! Shut up!" The Doctor seemed to just take notice of the stallion that had just ported into his TARDIS."Oh, hello!" said the new Doctor. "You must be 'B'... You need my help with something?" "My name is Blue!" The stallion held out his foreleg to show the Doctor the snake tattoo on it. "Please tell me you recognize this..." The Doctor looked it over. "Mandy!" the Doctor said proudly. "Mindy? Mary?.... Marcus?.... Mara! That's it! Mara... Oh. Oh my dear boy, you've got a condition." "How did you get here?!" said Rainbow Dash. "Honestly?" The stallion glared at his watch. "Trial and error..." "No time for that!" the new Doctor wobbled around the TARDIS. "We're about to make landfall!" "Landfall?!" asked Applejack frantically. "Where are we landin'?!" "Applejack!" the new Doctor poot his hooves on AJ's shoulders. "That's the best part..." "I have no idea!" Author's Note Aww... You thought that because this was the end of a storyline it wouldn't end on a massive Cliffhanger. *pats head* Wasn't that special... Join me in the Final Author's Note. I have somethings to announce, and things to say. Please rate and comment, and as always, thank you for reading!
Final Author's NoteHey guys! Wow... I started this little project four months ago with a fic called Birth of the Doctor. Along the way I met some great friends, and I even gained fans. That has never happened before. I'm not the kind of guy who has "fans." I would like to thank all of the people who stuck by me through the whole quintet. I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope this was a satisfying conclusion. I would like to thank my friend and editor, Ephraim Blue, a person you should all be following. And giving snuggles. He's feeling ill at the moment. Probably due to my hideous grammar, and me CONSTANTLY FORGETTING TO PUT THE GODDAMN EDITED CHAPTERS UP. I would like to thank my family. They've read every single chapter of this little nod to Doctor Who. My mom doesn't get most of it, but she's trying. That's the important thing. Finally, I would like to thank William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, John Hurt, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith, and Peter Capaldi. Like I said, all thirteen of you changed someone's life. Every one of you is someone's favorite Doctor. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this institution that has lasted over fifty years. Here's to the next fifty, and the great actors who will carry on the tradition. Now... Onto what you're all interested in. Firstly.... MONTH OFF WRITING This is going to need to happen. This project has been fun, but also stressful. So I'm going to take a month to unkink my spine before starting the next series. I may publish some things in the meantime. I definitely want to get back to my very first fic, The Alicorn King's Glare. Which you should all check out at some point. I'll also use that time for publishing a few one shots, and also... BIRTH OF THE DOCTOR AUDIO ADVENTURE I still really want this to happen. The unforeseen problem is casting. It turns out this thing is going to have a mostly female cast. I can fake a few British accents for each of the Doctors, but I need a GIRL to play Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. So if you are interested in applying or those two roles, and ONLY those two roles, please contact me at SuperDeAndreaBrothers@gmail.com. Send a voice recording with your audition and then I can FINALLY get this off the ground. I would really like to avoid cancelling it if I could. But your not interested in that. You all want to know about... DOCTOR WHOOVES: THE SERPENT SAGA It's a working title. Well, at the end of this fic a few things happened, didn't they? The Doctor regenerated. A mysterious stallion (more specifically my editors OC) popped out of no where, and the Doctor mentioned something called "Mara" A few classic fans may already know what I'm doing. But I bet a lot of you don't. Needless to say the Mara was a classic enemy and I'm going to leave it at that for now. As I stated a few times in the fic, Applejack and the crusaders will be leaving the TARDIS next fic. There will be new companions. Blue, the stallion you met at the end of this story. And two more... familliar faces. I've been waiting for this for a whiiiiiiiile! Oh, and making something clear about the next Doctor. Don't try to match him to being another Doctor from the series. If I'm doing my job right that shouldn't be possible. While the original was sort of based off of Tennant (though my brother said he acted like Pertwee, I'd like your thoughts on this) this Doctor is going to be a whole new Doctor. The Doctor I would write if I ran the show. Which I totally should, by the way... It will be another Quintet! There'll be romance (not OctaScratch)! Adventure! Excitement! Thrills! A great big extradimensional snake demon! The Equestria Girls universe! A Brand new Doctor! I hope you check it out. And like I said. Thank you all so much for reading. You're what makes life worth living guys. The last thing I'm going to leave you with is this... Stay tuned for Doctor Whooves: Mark of the Mara
Calling BluffsApplejack made a break for the door. "AJ!" the Doctor held her back. "Let me go...," Applejack said through gritted teeth. "LET ME GO!!!" "I understand!" the Doctor said desperately. "I know you're angry! But think! He has the entire planet under his control, we can't just rush out there. We need a plan." "We took too long to plan!" Applejack screamed. "I was with you for too long! I was away from home! I could have... I could have...." Applejack melted into silent tears. "i coulda stopped this." The Doctor put a hoof on her shoulder. "i promise you," he said angrily. "I'm going to stop this. We're going to stop this. The Master has crossed a line he's never crossed before, he is now not only ready, but able to make a planet burn. I am not going to let him do that and I'm going to need your help. The first thing I'm going to need you to do is keep calm. Can you do that for me?" Applejack looked straight into the Doctor's soul, and then wiped her eyes. "You better be tellin' me the truth, Doctor," she managed a soft laugh. "Nopony holds me back from nothin'" The Doctor smiled. "Good!" he said brightly rushing back to the console. "Now that we are all a bit calm, we can remember that no matter what the situation is, no matter how dark, we can make it funny! Avanti!" The Master was met by the Doctor as he stepped out of the TARDIS. "Doctor!" the Master smiled as he stood in front of the blazing orchard. "It's good to see you again! I want to tell you a story. A story about, appropriately enough, friendship." The Master used his magic to levitate the twitching form of a small twitching purple dragon and lay it at his hooves. "This," the Master started. "This is Spike. Spike is a friend of a friend of yours. Applejack, if I've got the name right. What I've learned from being here is that the concept of 'Friendship' is very important to these creatures. They've built a civilization around it. They risk their lives for it. Take Spike here. Spike is such a good friend he wouldn't tell me where his little Resistance was hiding. Where those who would stand against me were burying themselves like the cowardly rats they were. And I put him through hell. I put him through pain that not many beings can experience without dying or losing their minds. But his will to protect his friends remained unbroken." The Master kicked Spike, who groaned in pain. "Look at all the good it did him," the Master smiled. The Doctor watched all of this with a quiet rage, but he did his best to hide it. "How did you get here?" the Doctor smiled. "The Black Guardian porting you about time and space is dangerous, Master. You know that." "The Black Guardian gave me my freedom," the Master smiled. "A way out of the rut I was in. Free reign across the timestream. Something you have Doctor. Why do you deserve it and I don't." "Well," the Doctor shrugged. "I would say because I don't abuse it, but I suppose we're both guilty of that. So that's all that's in it for you? A bit of travel? I mean I can understand the impulse but it doesn't seem like enough. All that power the Black Guardian is asking you to obtain for him and you want all you want to do is muck about time and space like I do? That's out of character for you, isn't it? I mean with the Key to Time..." As the Doctor came to a realization, the Master burst out in a grin. "Oh, I see," the Doctor smiled. "That's your angle, eh? You realize he can probably see this coming, right? You may be a tosser, but he is the ALPHA tosser. The king of the tossers. The undisputed, omnipotent, God of all Tossers. He knows another tosser when he sees one, he probably has a back up plan for you." "Honestly, Doctor," the Master smiled innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about!" The Doctor couldn't help but laugh at that. "There was another caveat to the deal," said the Master. "You." "Yes, me," the Doctor smiled. "That's another good point. Why am I here? I mean I can sort of get wanting me to see the destruction of everything I hold dear, but you could have simply used the Key to Time to rip me out from my travel, away from my TARDIS, and make me watch. But you didn't. The Black Guardian came as close as he ever will to asking politely. Why? Why any of this? Why the careful chess game when you've brought a machine gun to the table? Unless... Unless the Machine gun isn't loaded." The Master gritted his teeth. "And here was me thinking it was hopeless!" the Doctor smiled. "You don't have all the pieces, do you? The only reason you brought me here is because..." The Doctor broke out into a huge grin. "Oh brilliant! One out of six is infinitely better then how I thought I was doing! Ha ha! Who would have thought, I have the last piece of the Key to Time!" "Not. Quite. Doctor," the Master growled. "I'm afraid it ends here. You are going to let me into your TARDIS and I am going to collect the last segment. Otherwise I am going to take my time with this... child." He spat at Spike. "And I am going to make you watch as I do so! Your TARDIS is locked, Doctor! You have nowhere to run!" "Actually," the Doctor smiled. "Now I do." "What?" asked the Master. "You've been talking to a hologram this whole time," the Doctor smiled. "I've been inside working around what you did to my TARDIS. It took me a while. Luckily it isn't hard to keep you talking. And thank you for bringing spike here! You see, you talked about some form of resistance being made against you, and he know how to find them and what their planning. Also, he's been tortured by you, so he probably knows where you're keeping Applejack's friends!" The Master's jaw dropped. "Oh, that face...," the Holo-Doctor smiled. "And AJ said I couldn't make this funny." The Hologram disappeared as the real Doctor poked his head out the door. "Spike? Not sure how long he's going to stay flabbergasted, so I'd hurry!" Spike sprung to his feet and ran inside the TARDIS. "KILL THEM!" the Master shouted. Several Daleks came out of the burning orchard and fired in vain at the dematerializing TARDIS. The Master took a moment to seethe before his face split in a mad grin. "All right, Doctor," he hissed. "If this is how you want to play it.... "Let the games begin." Author's Note Yes the TARDIS can TOO make Holograms! Look it up! Please rate and comment!
