Return of the Master

“Okay, Doctor... Where are you?” The Master said as he bashed open the Library door and entered the burning tree. He looked around, trying to judge where he should go, and what place would be best to duck for cover if the Library fell in on itself. He decided to try the left and go down the stairs, but chose not to fly. If he did, his wings would more than likely be burnt.

He ran past patches of fire and ducked under debris as he made his way to the stairs. He jumped over a fallen branch, and made it to top of the stairs. “Now then...”

The Doctor grabbed Twilight and Spike, and put them both on his back. Strangely, he hadn't regenerated, but instead, the glow had healed him. Mending his bones and currently fighting the damage from the smoke. His legs were still weak, but he could carry his friends to safety if he ignored the burning pain throughout his body. “Argh! Come on, Twilight... and I've gotta make sure Spike doesn't fall off...” He took his first few steps, and nearly fell over, but he kept going. His friends needed him.

He slowly made his way to the bottom of the stairs, as a loud moan echoed through the Library. It was ready to fall. “I’ve got to hurry...!” He encouraged himself to move forward. As he slowly climbed the stairs, he made sure to not let Spike or Twilight fall. Twilight had fainted sometime before the Doctor had found her.

“Well, well well... Hello, Doctor...”

The Doctor looked up to see a grey Pegasus standing above him. “What? Who are you- Oh, no...”

“Yes. You know me.”

“Master...”

“Yes, Doctor... And now, I will be the one to finish you... Forever.”

Derpy had not listened to the Master. She had wandered through the bunker for hours, exploring. If the Master was really going to kill her, she knew, without a doubt, that the Doctor would save her before the Master got a chance. And that there was no way for the Master to harm her if he was not here.

During her exploration, she had found various rooms that held different things. She found fossils, plants, fossils of plants. She even found weapons, but they looked damaged and worn from age so she left them where they were. One room contained various works of visual art. There were sculptures, paintings, drawings and photographs. Many of the paintings were of famous ponies, such as Star-Swirl the Bearded, Celestia and Luna themselves. Yet curiously, there was also a painting for Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor, and nothing in the room had dust on it.

“If this place had been abandoned over 800 years ago... How are they here?” Derpy asked herself.

She startled when she heard a grunt come from behind her, and when she turned to look at the door she saw a Pegasus pushing the door open. He was carrying a large painting balanced on his back, using his wings to hold it still, and failed to notice the stunned Derpy as he entered the room. He set down the painting and looked at it for a moment before stopping. He turned around and saw the grey Pegasus staring at him.

“Well hello there.”

The Doctor adjusted his posture, and prevented Twilight or Spike from falling off his back.

“You caused all this.” He growled.

The Master chuckled. “Why yes, yes I did.”

“You murdered countless ponies! Innocent ponies! *Cough*... And you expect to get away with it?”

“Oh, Doctor... Always missing the obvious. I did all of this to lure you out. But, you seem to not want to cooperate... So I’m just going to have to drag you out and kill you myself.”

“But why? What do you gain from this?!”

“Nothing. It’s just fun.”

With that, the Master lifted his Laser Screwdriver with his hoof, and pointed it at the Doctor.

“Any last words?”

“Just two.”

“And what would they be?”

“Sonic. Screwdriver.” The Doctor pulled out his own Screwdriver, and pointed it at a branch. He activated his screwdriver and caused the branch to snap off, landing in between the two Time Lords. The Doctor took the opportunity to take cover.

“Ah! Doctor! Get back here!!” The Master roared as he flew over the barrier and rushed after the Doctor.

But the Doctor was quick on his feet, and made it back down towards the basement.

“Now... There’s got to be a window, or another staircase...” He said as he frantically looked around the room. “Nothing... Oi....” The Doctor turned around to see the Master fly down the stairs and land in front of him.

“Kill me if you like, Master. Just leave my friends alone.”

“Now, why would I do that, Doctor?”

“Because if you don’t-”

“What would you do? Come back from the dead and kill me?”

“Yes, I would!”

“You would kill me?”

The Doctor hesitated, then took a step back. “Let me pass.”

The Master flew up, and grabbed the Doctor by his tie as he struggled to keep Twilight and Spike on his back. “If I let you pass, you’ll run. You’ll run back into your TARDIS and escape into it’s endless rooms. It’ll be a never-ending game of cat and mouse.”

“If it means protecting my friends-”

“And you failed that, too!” The Master shouted, throwing the Doctor to the ground. As the Doctor hit the ground, he moved so that his passengers were not harmed. “You left her, Doctor. You left Derpy. I took her, and I’ll kill her.”

“Ditzy...”

“Is the little Doctor worried about his friend?" the Master teased. "Admit it, Doctor, no matter how hard you try, every time you run, someone gets hurt. And all the time, it’s the ones you love.”

“I-if you lay a hoof on her...”

“Look at you! Using pony language!” The Master shot at the Doctor with his Laser Screwdriver, but missed, and opened up a hole in the wall. It opened to dirt, yes, but if the Doctor could get him to aim at that spot again...

The Doctor moved in front the hole again, carefully balancing the bodies on his back, and stuck his tongue out at the Master.

“Can’t touch me!”

The Master fired again, but the Doctor stepped out of the way. The impact of the laser created a small hole to the surface of Ponyville to be revealed.

The Doctor smiled. "Well," he began, "we'll be off, Master. I've got friends to tend to."

The Doctor jumped through the hole, careful to keep his friends on his back. He climbed out and into the remains of Ponyville, leaving the Master to be buried in the collapsing library.

"The Master's not dead... He's survived worse... Why am I talking to myself?" The Doctor questioned himself as he turned to view the wreckage of the library. "Ow. He may not be dead, but he's gonna have a hell of a time sleeping that off."

The Doctor turned his head to his back as best he could. Twilight and Spike were still on his back. "Good... Let's get you two into the TARDIS..." He walked over to the blue machine, pushed the door open, and sighed. Still dead. The TARDIS was dead and nothing could change that.

He laid his two friends near the controls in the console room. He walked outside again and closed the TARDIS behind him. The remains of Ponyville weren't as bad as he expected, but they were still pretty bad. Ponies were buried under rubble, and several others lay dead on the ground, though most who were alive had fled. Some buildings were still burning and illuminated the town so the Doctor could see.

The Doctor growled. He didn't want to have to kill the Master, but if it came down to it he would.

A pony walked up to the Doctor. It was Colgate, the pony from before. "You have to help!" She said. Tears were slowly inching their way out of her eyes. "Ponies are dead! We need to get them out of the way!"

"Relax, Colgate." The Doctor then put a hoof up to his mouth, and made a "Shhhh...." Sound, and Colgate quieted down. "Now, then, dead ponies? We should go move their bodies."

Colgate looked at the Doctor with a look of confusion. "How did you do that?" She asked. "You- you just raised a hoof and-"

The Doctor repeated his previous action. "Shhhh...."

Colgate looked to the Doctor yet again, but didn't say anything.

"Let's go move a few ponies, but I will have to go soon."