//------------------------------// // A Rhythm of Four // Story: The Creation of Harmony // by Time Ponies are cool //------------------------------// Chapter VI: A Rhythm of Four Nine-hundred years ago, on the planet, Gallopfrey... "Why do you want everypony to call you 'Doctor?'" "I don't like my old name. It's rubbish. I want my name to tell a lot about me." Two foals, one an earth foal with an hourglass cutie mark, the other a pegasus with a blank flank, sat beneath a silver-leaved tree atop a hill on a vast pasture of red grass. They faced North as they watched the second sun set. "But your new cutie mark is an hourglass. It's not anything doctory." the pegasus foal said. "I don't mean it like-" "It's stupid. If you're going to be a doctor, you should've gotten a stethoscope or a syringe for a cutie mark. I doubt you've ever even used a stethoscope." "Yes I have! I know what our heartbeat sounds like! It goes 'dun-dun-dun-dun, dun-dun-dun-dun, dun-dun-dun-dun, dun-dun-dun-dun." "Well, duh. How bloody daft are you? Everypony knows what the heartbeat of a Time Stallion sounds like." The earth foal could not find a good retort and he fell silent. After a moment, he spoke. "I like the name 'Doctor' and you have to deal with it. 'Doctor' doesn't always have to mean somepony who works in a hospital." The foal turned and faced his friend. "What about you? If you'd want to change your name, what would you change it to? The pegasus looked curiously at his friend for a few seconds and laughed. "Look at you! You're all different now that you've seen the Untempered Schism and got your cutie mark. All your silly talk about changing names." "I'm the one who got his cutie mark first! I'd say it's you who's being silly. I wouldn't be surprised if you never get your cutie mark. You're always misbehaving." The pegasus looked shockingly at the earth filly with his jaw dropped and furious eyes. He could not believe that his friend would stoop so low as to insult him for having a blank flank. He turned and faced away from his friend. 'Sorry. I'm sorry." the earth foal said, "I guess I was being a bit arrogant." The pegasus did not reply. The earth foal tried again, "Come on, I said sorry." Still, his friend wouldn't turn around. The two foals sat quietly until the sun had set and the other sun neared the Northeastern horizon. The earth foal broke the silence. "Oi! I think we should be getting back. It's getting pretty late. The dorm supervisor will be looking for us soon." "Yeah, let's head back." "And it smells like they'll be serving sausages and scones for supper. Fantastic." "Hahaha! That ridiculous nose of yours never fails to amaze." "I'll sneak a cup of tea into your room after supper if you like." "Why would I need tea?" "You'll need some to calm yourself so that you can sleep well tonight. Tomorrow's the big day. Your initiation! Mom always told me that I'd need a good night's rest before seeing the Schism, and she was right." "Idiot! I had almost forgotten to worry about the ceremony. Now you've reminded me of it!" "Oops... sorry." ~~~~~ "Nurse! What is the matter with my student? He's shivering and mumbling nonsense! What's wrong with him?" "I don't know, professor. They sent him in a few hours after his initiation ceremony. They said he was starting to go mad." The pegasus foal lied on a convalescence chamber in the infirmary. From head to tail, he shook like a leaf in a hurricane. His eyes shot back and forth, looking all around the room. He was drenched in sweat and his mane was a tangled mess. He cringed every time the nurse approached him. "It won't stop. It just won't stop. It never stops. It never stops." The foal mumbled, "It doesn't stop. It's getting closer, and closer. It's coming closer. Oh, make it stop..." "Professor," the nurse said, "due to a condition as serious as this, I don't think the infir-" Suddenly she was interrupted by the foal's screaming. "MAKE IT STOP! AGH! PLEASE! Make it stop! Make it stop! Please, make it stop!" He flailed his legs in despair and fell off of the chamber. The professor and the nurse ran to his side and helped him sit up. "Make what stop?" the professor asked, "What's the matter? Come on, tell me. I can help you." "The drums," the foal answered, "the never-ending drums. They won't stop and they keep coming closer. Oh, please professor. Make it stop." "Shh, shh, shh. Stay calm. Everything will be alright. We'll take care of it. Now why don't you get back in bed and get some sleep." "But the drumming, sir. It's pounding in my head and it won't stop. It keeps on going. The never-ending drums. Coming closer and closer and closer! One-two-three-four! One-two-three-four! One-two-three-four! One-two-three-four!" The foal continually repeated "One-two-three-four!" as he lied on the floor and curled himself up. The professor and the nurse picked him up, laid him back on the chamber and tucked him in under a blanket. They walked across the room and stood by a medicine dispenser. "I don't know what's wrong with him, professor." the nurse said, "I've never seen anything like this." "I think I might have an idea of what it is." the professor said, "He seems to have a rhythm of four drumming in his head." "Well, what does that mean?" "A rhythm of four: the heartbeat of a Time Stallion. Some ancient records say that the drumming is a warrior's mark, but some dismiss it as a symptom of insanity." "Is there anything we can do about it?" The professor paused for a minute. He looked worriedly at the filly. He feared for the young Time Stallion's health, but at the same time, he feared what he might grow up to become. He sighed and scratched his head. "There's nothing we can do. There aren't really any recorded cases of this. Just legends and old fairytales. As far as I know, he'll have that drumming in his head for the rest of his life. Whether it will turn him into a great warrior or drive him insane... only time will tell." The professor left the infirmary and the nurse returned to tending to the foal. He seemed to be asleep when she checked on him, but he was still whispering, "One-two-three-four," repeatedly. She checked his temperature and found that he was burning up. She injected body-cooler fluid into his shoulder to try to put his temperature under control. The temperature immediately returned to normal levels and the foal began to calm down, the whispers slowly becoming fainter. Though the foal had calmed down, he could still hear the drumming. Through the whole night and into the morning, he continued whispering, "One-two-three-four." After two days, he seemed to be back to normal, and he was released from the infirmary. ~~~~~ "Hey! What happened? You've been gone for three days." The earth foal with the hourglass cutie mark said as he entered the pegasus' dormitory. The pegasus sat at his desk reading a text from his computer, and he tapped a rhythm of four on the floor with his right rear hoof as he read. On the pegasus' flank was a new cutie mark: a fob watch. "Morning, Doctor." The earth foal gave a delighted gasp at hearing the pegasus' greeting. "You called me, 'Doctor'!" "Well, it is your new name." The pegasus said as he turned to face his friend. "Hahaha. So, how did the initiation go? Why were you gone for so long? Ooh! You got your cutie mark! A fob watch? Fantastic!" "Yeah... about the initiation... umm.... I really just don't want to talk about it." "What's the matter? I can help. Trust me." The pegasus did not speak. He simply looked at the Doctor with eyes that suffered from days of anxiety. Everyone he had told about the drumming in his head called him insane. The doctors and nurses only let him out of the infirmary when he stopped complaining about the drumming. After a few minutes he finally spoke. "Remember the afternoon before my initiation, when you asked me what I'd want to change my name into? I think I've got one... My name is the Master." "Fantastic! And what's the meaning behind the name?" The Master took a moment to think before responding, "My father said I have a talent for politics. I was always able to tell who gets any open seats in the High Council, or who would win the big debates. He told me that one day, I might be a member of the Council, or even better, I might become Lord President of Gallopfrey. The successor to Rassilon. I'll be the supreme ruler of the Time Stallions. And with that kind of power, I can finally end this bloody war, destroy the Daleks, and own all of time and space! I will be the master of the Universe!" "That's... pretty ambitious, Master." "And you, Doctor. You could be my right hand pony. We could be a pair to bring the Time Stallions to ever greater glory! We'll be the new Rassilon and Omega! "Master, calm down. I think you're taking this a bit too-" "Because it's calling me to do this! Can't you hear it, Doctor?! The drumming! It's calling me! Calling me to become the master of time and space! And it keeps getting closer and closer and closer! One-two-three-four! One-two-three-four! One-two-three-four! One-two-three-four!" "What drumming? There is no drumming." "It's everywhere and it won't stop! The never-ending drums! I hear it every waking moment! One-two-three-four! Can't you hear it?! One-two-three-four!" "What's the matter with you?! Stop it! Just stop it! You've gone mad!" The Master stopped and fell silent. Now even his closest friend has dismissed him as insane. There was nopony left for him anymore. He was alone. He turned around, facing away from the Doctor and said, "Get out."