Return of the Master

The Master slowly became aware of his surroundings. He was still in the library, as he was sure he hadn't moved. He was also in pain. The library must have collapsed, with him still inside. He had no feeling in his right foreleg, so he assumed it was broken. He opened his eyes to see nothing but dying fire and pieces of wood.

He laughed.

The Doctor had bested him again.

But, he would not give up. No, he would try again, and this time, he won't hesitate to kill the Doctor.

"Yes you will. You know that as long as I'm here, I'm not gonna let you kill him."

"Quiet, Doctor."

The Master strained to move his arm towards his Laser Screwdriver, and grab it. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." He fired the laser at the nearest thing he saw, and the resulting explosion knocked some more debris onto himself.

He heard laughing in his head.

"Shut up, Doctor!"

The Doctor stared at Jack, who did the same. "Doctor...."

"'Ello, Jack."

Colgate stepped beside the Doctor, and looked at him with a confused expression. "Doctor, who In the name if Celestia is this stallion?!"

The Doctor smiled. "Colgate, meet Captain Jack Harkness, leader of Torchwood Three. He's from my universe." The Doctor walked towards Jack and scanned him with his Screwdriver. "And has been here for a few hours. Strange.... Usually whenever he dies, he gets revived a few seconds... In fact... I would say he was one of the first ponies dead..."

Jack let out a small worried chuckle. "So, what? I can actually die now?"

The Doctor stayed silent.

"Oh...."

"Just be careful, Jack. Now, both of you, follow me. I'm pretty sure Twilight's awake by now."

"Twilight?" Jack asked curiously.

"Yes, Twilight Sparkle, Unicorn, Ponyville Librarian and student of Princess Celestia.

"But, she's in the TARDIS; we've better go get her. Come along, friends!"

When Twilight awoke, she kept her eyes closed. She could feel something soft underneath her and thought it was her bed. She laid there for a moment and hoped that the last few days had simply been a bad dream. That she was waking up on her soft bed, and all was well.

She slowly opened her eyes only to have her hope dashed away when she saw the TARDIS's console. She tried to sit up to look around, but was stopped by an incredible pain that swept through her body whenever she moved.

From her restricted, laying position, Twilight could see a magenta glow and realized what that was. When she saw Spike, it only confirmed that what she had been through had not been a dream.

She wanted to just lay there and weep silently; hoping that it would go away and everything would fix itself. But she decided that it wouldn't be the right thing to do right now. Spike was dead, yes, and she was hurt beyond recognition. But she had to be strong, and make The Master pay.

She slowly rolled off the couch trying to stand, much to her body's agony. When her hooves touched the cold metal of the TARDIS, a shiver coursed through her spine. She took a quivering breath, and lit up the dark room with a spark of her horn. She slowly looked around, and limped towards the door, willing it open with her magic.

"Oh? The door's opening. Twilight must be awake." The Doctor’s voice should have soothed Twilight but only made her feel worse. Had they stopped the Master? Is the Library okay? What happened to Ponyville? Would they now be able to save Spike? These questions and more rushed through her mind. Twilight backed away from the door as the Doctor pulled it open and stepped in. “Now, Jack, the TARDIS looks... a lot different from when you last saw it. When I regenerated, it kinda... blew up the TARDIS...”

Jack? Who’s Jack?

“And... Colgate.... Prepare for one hell of a ride.” At these words, Twilight's horn stopped glowing and she backed away from the door. She hobbled back to the couch and struggled to climb back on. Once she finally did, she tried to pretend she was asleep, but her erratic breathing prevented that.

"Welcome, my friends," The Doctor began. "To my TARDIS."

The doors creaked open even more, and hoof steps echoed throughout the dead machine. Twilight covered herself with the blanket. Something was wrong.

She heard a gasp come from the door. Colgate had just entered the TARDIS for the first time. She went back out the door and circled the TARDIS. Simply staring at it with eyes wide.

"Impossible!"

After running around it several times, and tapping on it repeatedly, she stepped back into the TARDIS.

"It's....! It's.... Bigger.... On the inside?!?"

The Doctor laughed. "Never gets old! I swear! Ah ha.... Anyway! Twilight? You up yet? The door was open..."

The Doctor stepped into the TARDIS even further, past a still bewildered Colgate as she turned back to circle the TARDIS again. "She's probably on the couch. Have a look around, Jack. It's home, for now."

The Doctor walked over to the controls. "It's dead, though. The Master did something to it when his new body formed... But what he did exactly, I have no idea." The Doctor sighed.

"You failed again, Doctor."

"No. Not right now..."

A burning yet cold sensation developed in the Doctor's hind legs, and progressively inched its way up his back, eventually filling his entire body. "I'm... Not... Like.... You..."

"Aren't you? You murdered the Time Lords. Lead the assault on Demon's Run, and killed countless, innocent, people. How aren't we similar?"

"I don't get.... *Ack!* A sick kick out of it..."

"Don't you? The Doctor, The Oncoming Storm. Just face it. You live the feeling of power when a life hangs in your control. You love it when you make someone pay for their sins."

The pain dissapeared just as quick as it came. The Doctor stumbled away from the controls, and a different voice rang through his head.

I've seen you in great dispare, Doctor. I've seen you in happiness and love. Pain and regret...

The voice seemed familiar, like an old friend.

Then it hit him.

The TARDIS was alive in his head.

"Welcome back, Sexy."