Much to his surprise, The Doctor was able to pretty much breeze through the first three rounds. As little hand-to-hand combat experience as he had, it seemed to translate into hoof-to-hoof combat as though it were second-nature.
In simpler terms, it was as though he were born to fight as a pony.
Following the completion of the third round, The Doctor took a quick glance at the tournament ladder to see who his next opponent would be. While searching for where he was, he noticed that Derpy and some of her friends were also in the running and seeming to be faring quite well. Of course, this meant he was more likely to have to face one of them later in the tournament, but for now, he would just have to worry about his next opponent and nopony else. When he finally found who he was facing, he could have sworn he knew the stallion from somewhere, but couldn’t quite place his hoof on it. “Right, then,” The Doctor said to himself, “let’s get this overwith.” He then made his way to the stage.
When he got to where Stage 4 was being held, he noticed that the room he was in was incredibly familiar to him. Almost everywhere he looked, there were many computers, but no one operating them. To his right were a pair of glass chambers, in front of him was a large gate-like structure, and above him was a glass dome rather than a roof. If it weren’t for all the cameras around the room broadcasting the fight to Canterlot, The Doctor would have been sure that he was in the wrong place. “I remember this place,” The Doctor said to himself.
“I would hope you do,” a familiar yet unknown voice said from behind The Doctor. “After all, this is where our paths crossed for the final time.”
The Doctor inhaled to reply, but never turned around. “It doesn’t matter how many voices you have, but they always have the same tone behind them... Master.” The Doctor quickly whirled around to face his old foe. Except he didn’t look like the Master that the Doctor remembered. (Partially because The Master was a pony like The Doctor.) He had a blue coat, a tidy yellow mane, a red bow tie, and like The Doctor, his cutie mark was an hourglass. The only other thing that reminded The Doctor of The Master was that same dark expression he always wore. “I thought you had died getting rid of Rassilon last year in this very room.”
“Oh, of course I died, Doctor,” The Master replied with a laugh. “But you died later that day, didn’t you?” The Doctor’s expression remained unamused. “At least, you were supposed to die, weren’t you? But like me, you didn’t want to go. You still had a long life ahead of you, didn’t you?”
“Enough talk, Master. Tell me why you’re here.”
“Oh, I’d love to do that for you, old friend, but I’m afraid that’s a surprise, and not a very pleasant one, mind you.”
“Tell me what it is, or else.”
“Okay, I’ll tell you... if you can beat me in this stage. After all, you’ll have to advance a little further into this Equestria Battle Tournament if you want to have any hope of stopping it.”
“Well then get ready to start talking, Master, because I’ve proven to be pretty adaptive through the first part of this tournament.”
“Heh. And how do you think I got here? A TARDIS of my own?”
“Fighters, take your positions,” Princess Celestia announced. “Round 1, fight!”
The Master quickly decided to take the pre-emptive strike and began galloping right at The Doctor to attack with a mid-level punch. However, The Doctor saw this attack coming and sidestepped to dodge it. He then quickly turned and bucked The Master hard, sending him flying into one of the nearby computers. “Don’t tell me you’re done already,” The Doctor taunted.
“You never were one for taunting,” The Master said, quickly getting back to his hooves. “Why start now of all times?” The Master then began galloping at The Doctor once again. The Doctor tried to dodge with a sidestep, but The Master saw this coming and quickly turned to throw a powerful kick that The Doctor barely had enough time to even block. However, the bad angle The Master had with his kick did leave him off-balance for a second, and The Doctor wasn’t about to let a single opportunity like this go to waste, especially against The Master. The Doctor threw a high-level punch, hitting The Master square in the stomach. However, much to the surprise of The Doctor and everypony watching from the audience, The Master grabbed The Doctor’s hoof and brought him to the ground. Both landed hard, but neither one was even getting started.
As the fight progressed, both combatants became fairly battered and bruised, but neither one was willing to accept that the other was superior. “30 seconds remaining,” Princess Celestia called.
“Time for your defeat, Doctor,” The Master said. He then rushed in and tried to start a combo with a low-level punch. However, The Doctor grabbed The Master’s hoof and flipped him onto his side, causing him to hit the ground hard. “Not... bad...” The Master then let his head drop into his hoof as he lay on the floor, utterly defeated.
“K.O.” Princess Celestia called. “The winner of round 1 is Doctor Whooves.” The audience burst into loud cheering as Princess Celestia made the announcement.
As the crowd cheered like crazy, The Doctor trotted over to where The Master lay and offered a hoof to help him up. “You fought a good round,” The Doctor said.
“The next one will be different,” The Master replied, swatting The Doctor’s hoof away and getting up on his own, despite his injuries. “Just you watch.” Princess Celestia then healed both combatants’ injuries and restored their stamina. The Master then returned to his corner of the arena and stood waiting for round 2 to start.
“Well so much for trying to revive an old friendship,” The Doctor said to himself while returning to his corner.
“Fighters, are you ready?” Princess Celestia announced. “Round 2, begin!”
“It’s customary for the winner of the previous round to make the first move,” The Master said.
“You asked for it, Master,” The Doctor said, charging forward. The Master simply stood his ground and waited for The Doctor’s attack. When The Doctor got to The Master and tried to give him a mid-level punch, however, The Master blocked the attack and grabbed The Doctor’s hoof.
“Oh, Doctor,” The Master said, “will you ever stop being so gullible?” The Master then spun The Doctor around by the hoof about twice all the way around before throwing him into another one of the computers. The Doctor quickly recovered, however, and began charging back at The Master. However, instead of punching The Master, The Doctor slid low and gave The Master a sweep kick followed by a strong uppercut.
“Oh, Master,” The Doctor said teasingly, “will you ever stop being so pretentious?” Seeing that The Master had been knocked off balance, The Doctor felt this was the perfect opportunity to wrap the round up with a combo. The Doctor started with a low-level punch, the followed up with a high-level punch, a spin kick, an uppercut, and finally, a strong two-legged buck. The Master was knocked back several feet and now covered in bruises. His stamina was also pretty low. In contrast, The Doctor looked like he could go quite a while longer.
“20 seconds remaining,” Princess Celestia announced.
“20 seconds?” The Master asked, getting up onto shaky legs. “That sounds like plenty of time to finish this.”
“How are you going to finish this?” The Doctor asked. “The round’s pretty much over.”
A wicked smile crept across The Master’s face as he raised his hoof in front of him. “Nothing’s over until I say it’s over, Doctor.” The Master then cast his hoof forward towards The Doctor, unleashing a beam of electricity that hit The Doctor square in the chest. The blast lasted a few seconds and The Doctor tried to endure it until the attack was finished. When The Master finally let up, it was The Doctor’s turn to be standing on shaky legs. He was breathing heavily and looking down at his own legs.
“I knew you were holding back, old friend,” The Doctor said before falling to the ground, completely drained of stamina.
“K.O.” Princess Celestia announced. “The winner of round 2 is The Master.” The audience erupted in a mixture of cheers, groans, and horrified gasps when Celestia made this announcement.
During the intermission between the rounds, The Master trotted over to The Doctor. “Do you surrender, Doctor?” The Master asked.
“You unleashed an attack that took me down despite the fact that you had almost no stamina left and I had very much of it,” The Doctor replied. He then got back onto his hooves. “If you unleashed that attack at full strength, you could take me down in one shot. Still, you know me well enough to know that something like that isn’t nearly enough to discourage me, don’t you?”
“Of course I know that, Doctor. I was simply hoping you’ve gotten soft since you' last regeneration.” Right as The Master said that, both Time Lords felt their wounds being healed and their stamina being restored by Princess Celestia. “Well, best of luck to you, Doctor. I promise I’ll at least give you a false sense of hope before I destroy you.”
“Thanks, Master,” The Doctor replied sarcastically. “That makes me feel so much better.”
“Good. I got that part out of the way rather fast.”
“Fighters, are you ready?” Princess Celestia announced. “Final round, fight!”
I’m gonna have to really think this round through, The Doctor thought to himself. With that attack, The Master could easily take me down in one shot. There’s gotta be some sort of flaw I can exploit.
“Are you just going to stand there, Doctor?” The Master asked. “Because if you are, I’ll be happy to make the first move!” The Master then galloped at top speed toward The Doctor.
Come on, Doctor, think! Before The Doctor could come up with anything, The Master threw a mid-level punch. The Doctor barely had enough time to block the attack before The Master followed up with a swift high-level kick. The Doctor managed to duck and avoid this attack, allowing him to knock The Master back with an uppercut. This caused The Doctor to look up and notice the glass roof. Hm... If I use my Sonic Screwdriver on that roof... I’ve got it!
“What are you doing, Doctor?” The Master asked impatiently.
“What does it look like?” The Doctor asked. “I’m waiting for you to fight back.”
“Oh, I’ll do better than that.” The Master then raised his hoof as he did in the previous round. “DIE, DOCTOR!” The Master then cast his hoof out, sending a beam of lightning towards The Doctor.
“Now’s my chance!” The Doctor said out loud, quickly drawing his Sonic Screwdriver. He then powered on his Sonic Screwdriver, somehow stopping The Master’s attack right in its tracks.
“How is this possible!?” The Master shouted.
“It’s simple,” The Doctor replied, evidently struggling to keep The Master’s attack back. “My Sonic Screwdriver is able to manipulate all types of technology, as well as electricity in general. And do you know what that means? It means I get to do THIS!” The Doctor then quickly angled his Sonic Screwdriver upwards, redirecting the lightning beam upwards into the glass roof immediately above The Master. The impact shattered the glass, causing many glass shards to fall right on The Master.
“Gnah!” The Master shouted as glass rained down upon him, greatly injuring him and dealing a powerful blow to his stamina.
“Alright, that worked,” The Doctor said to himself as The Master fell to the ground.
“K.O.” Princess Celestia announced. “The winner of round 3 and Stage 4 is Doctor Whooves!” The crowd instantly erupted in cheers and applause at this amazing and dramatic victory.
Amid the cheering, The Doctor trotted over to where The Master lay, careful to not step on the broken shards of glass laying all over the ground. “You alright, Master?” The Doctor asked.
“Am I alright?” The Master asked in reply. “You just dropped a glass roof on me and you’re asking if I’m alright?” The Master then looked up, the usual contempt in his eye. He then did something that The Doctor actually didn’t find all that weird. The Master began chuckling to himself. “You’ve foiled my plans enough times to know the answer to that.” As Princess Celestia healed his wounds and restored his stamina, The Master got to his hooves and dusted himself off. “As usual, it’s been a pleasure doing combat with you, even though this has been the first time we’ve done any physical combat. Once again, I do wish you would drop by to see me more often. You’ve been the only worthy opponent I’ve had in my entire life, therefore the closest thing I’ve had to a friend. If you ever wish to come by and just have a cup of tea like a couple of civilized people, I’m kind of living here in Canterlot since Rassilon is trying to hunt me down.”
“Rassilon survived?” The Doctor asked.
“Of course he did, Doctor. You and I both know that he’s a true villain and that he’ll always find a way to rise from the ashes.”
“I suppose that makes sense.”
“Anyway, I look forward to seeing you after the tournament, and I’d better see you as a champion. If you lose, I’ll have no choice but to destroy you on the spot for making me look like a foal.” With that, The Master gave a quick wink and turned to leave.
“Hold on a second!” The Doctor called, galloping after The Master. “Before we began our fight, you said that you were here for a reason, and that said reason was an ‘unpleasant surprise’. You also told me that you’d tell me what it was if I beat you in this stage, so now it’s time to talk.”
“Ah, I did say I’d tell you, didn’t I?” The Master said as he turned to face The Doctor. “Well, as much as this shouldn’t surprise you, I’d get in serious trouble if I told you outright, so I’m going to leave it to a brain teaser: Don’t settle for silver, go for gold.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” The Doctor angrily asked.
The Master simply chuckled and turned to leave. “Come now, Doctor, you’re smarter than that. Now you’d better get going. You shouldn’t keep your next opponent waiting.” And with that, The Master was gone.
”Don’t settle for silver, go for gold.” What does that even mean? The Doctor thought to himself. Ah, The Master’s right. I shouldn’t keep my next opponent waiting. Maybe something will come to me in the next round. With that, The Doctor left the room to make his way to Stage 5.