//------------------------------// // The Drums of War // Story: A Storm of Chaos: A Doctor Whooves Adventure // by Shotoman //------------------------------// Part 11 The Drums of War.         “Wait, what?” Derpy asked, confused. “One of Celestia's personal students... something she only even accepts, what? Every century or two? Is a bad guy?”         “It's not entirely without precedent,” the Doctor said, completely oblivious to the hurt filled glare Celestia shot him for so casually bringing those memories to the surface. “But I certainly wouldn't have thought it of Dawn Riser, and not just by her history. I've met her a time or two, you know, and I've always found her to be quite brilliant. One of the few ponies apart from myself willing to tell you, Little Tia, exactly what she thought of your ideas without instinctually flinching away at the mere thought of it. And yet, when push comes to shove, I can think of only a pony or two in the world who's ever loved you as much as she does.”         “That is what I believed as well,” Celestia agreed. “At least until recent events.”         “So what's that mean, then?” Derpy asked. “Mind control? Hypnotism?”         The Doctor began to pace, and both pegasus and Princess watched in interest. “Well, that is certainly a possibility. The Master does have a certain hypnotic quality about him, for a given value of hypnotic. But to enthrall a pony with a will like Dawn Riser's? No, no. That's not something he could do on his own. But! But, he's certainly genius enough to create something to enhance those abilities. But could he create something like that in eight months, on Equestria, at its current technological level, having just the clothes on his back and the TARDIS he rode in on?” The Doctor stopped his rambling and ran through all the possible variations of such a device in his mind. “Not likely. I mean, we can do quite a lot with quite little, but a kettle and a piece of string can only go so far. Not unless he... but no. No! Not even the Master would... what am I saying, of course the Master would. However, I'm going to need to get back to the TARDIS for some tools to make sure.” He suddenly stopped pacing and made for the exit. “Come along, Derpy. We now have an inkling of a lead. Let's see what we can get by poking it. Sorry we can't stay, Little Tia, things to do, power mad conspirators to stop. But don't worry, we'll have your student back to you before you can say...”         The sound of an explosion over the skies of Canterlot interrupted the next words out the Doctor's mouth, and all three ponies jumped in surprise. With a quick glance at each other, they dashed to the nearest windows just as the fireworks display reached its end. After a brief moment of silence, the sky lit up with a hundred hoof tall projected image of the Master, a smarmy grin stretched across his smug face. “Good eeeeevening, Canterlot!” he bellowed across the city.         “Oi,” the Doctor muttered in disgust. “Do I get that smarmy when I think I'm holding all the cards?”         “Yes,” Derpy and Celestia replied in unison, smirking a bit at his scowl.         “You all know me by now," the Master continued. "I've been holding rallies, sending out posters and fliers, everything short of preaching on the street.” He paused for a moment and looked off to his left, listening to somepony out of broadcasting range for a moment before addressing his audience again. “Oh, right. I've done some of that, too. For months I've been working to show you good gentleponies the decadence and complacency you've let yourselves be led to under the rule of your 'lovely' Princess Celestia. For months I have been striving to get you up off of your flanks to do something about it. I have been...”         “Blah, blah, blah blah blah!” Derpy muttered in disgust. “Does he ever shut up?”         “Not in the many centuries I've known him,” the Doctor replied as he aimed his sonic screwdriver at the projection. He dropped it instantly and quickly blew on the burn it had left on his hoof, Celestia and Derpy looking on in confusion.         “Gah that stings! And here I thought I finally had the sonic calibrated to safely pick up scans on magic—bloody physics defying mumbo jumbo jiggerypokery. Back to the drawing board again I suppose, but that's not important now. That, that is magic power on a scale I'd reserve for, maybe, five ponies in history, both forward and backward, not including you and your sister. A student of yours you won't meet for a few centuries so, you know, spoilers, Starswirl the Bearded, Captain Greymane the Brutal, Aura of Equus II, and...”         “Dawn Riser,” Celestia confirmed.         “In that order, which at least means we're only facing the fifth most powerful unicorn in history, rather than the first or second, but all in all, that's not exactly a comforting thought.”         Derpy shushed the Doctor. “I think he's finally getting to the important part.”         “And now that I've given you all time to prepare, to choose sides, it's time to get right to the root of the problem and cut it out. After all, what this country needs, what it really needs...” And here the Master's grin grew particularly smarmy, like he was sharing a private joke. “... is a doctor.”         The Doctor's eyes grew wide and the pupils shrank upon hearing that last line, even as the Master's image disappeared from the sky to be replaced by dozens of multicolored specks off in the distance. “Oooooh no. No no no no no!” he muttered as he desperately dug through his pockets before pulling out old Greymane's telescope and looking out the window. “Pegasi,” he reported. “Coming in fast from the looks of it.” The Doctor started as seemingly hundreds of white streaks launched themselves from the castle turrets, as Celestia's pegasus soldiers flew in to intercept. “Looks like your soldiers came to the same conclusion,” the Doctor said as he put his telescope away. “This is bad. Really, really bad. The Master's declared war.”         “Yes, I think I got that,” Celestia responded dryly.         “No! Not against Equestria! Well, yes, against Equestria, but it's so much worse than that. He's declared war on me.”         “How is that so bad?” Derpy asked.         “Have you ever seen Time Chargers at war?” The Doctor asked with venom in his voice. “We nearly ended the universe that way, remember? Just two of us really going at it could destroy the planet at least. And where d' you think you're going, little missy?” he asked, spinning to face Celestia.         The Sun Princess had her wings spread and she was tensed to leap out the window. “To join the battle of course,” she replied irritably. “My soldiers need me.”         “Oh, no. What you're going to do is sit your pretty little bum down, stay here, and trust your soldiers to do their jobs. I'll go out there and end this.” At Celestia's stern look he quickly added, “And don't try the indignant royalty act on me, we don't have the time and frankly it doesn't suit you.”         Celestia's eyes narrowed dangerously, and Derpy could swear they seemed just a tad brighter than they were a moment ago. “No, Doctor. I'm not going to just blindly follow your orders when my little ponies are out there fighting each other. You have thirty seconds to explain why I shouldn't go out there and lessen the loss of life.”         The Doctor once again scratched his hooves through his mane in frustration. “Why must you ponies always make everything so difficult? If you go out there, yes you'll win the battle, but you'll give the Master everything he needs to win the war.”         Celestia's expression softened just a bit and her muscles relaxed. “What do you mean by that, Doctor?”         The Doctor sighed. “Look, how long has it been since your subjects saw you use your sizable power in battle, eh? Not since you took on ol' Godrick a century ago, I'd wager. And how long was it before even your most trusted advisers even dared look you in the eye afterward?” Celestia's face fell at the less than pleasant memories, and the Doctor pressed on. “You go out there now, and use your power against ponies, against Equestrians, what do you think is going to happen? You'll have planted a nice ripe little seed of fear in everyone's hearts. Now, normally no big deal. You deal with the enemy now, then deal with the repercussions afterward. You've gotten really good at that. But this is the Master we're talking about. A war with him isn't about force—he thinks like I do. He'd be able to take that fear, nourish it, help it grow, and before you know it, you've got a bloody coup on your hooves.”         “Language, Doctor,” Derpy reminded him.         “Seriously, Derpy, not the time,” the Doctor grumbled. He turned his attention back to Celestia. “Trust me, I can end this.”         Celestia sighed and reluctantly sat down. “I do so hate it when you're right,” she muttered.         The Doctor grinned smugly. “Then you must hate almost all of time. Onwards and upwards, Derpy!”         Derpy and Celestia both gasped as the Doctor flung himself out the window. The young pegasus dove out the window after him, crying out his name, and Celestia watched as the two of them rose up past the window again a moment later, the Doctor dangling in the grip of Derpy's forelegs. “So,” a teasing voice floated back through the window as the two began to fly toward the battle. “Her 'pretty little bum,' huh?”         “Oh, shut up,” the Doctor muttered, and Celestia chuckled as could almost perfectly imagine the blush that had to be forming on his face.         Her mirth disappeared as the two companions flew off toward the horizon. She had known the Doctor a great many years. Most of her life in fact, since that day she got lost in Everfree as a filly. She had traveled the stars with him, laughed as he kept searching for some 'scientific' explanation for her ability to move the heavens, and served as a point of comfort when his long life grew a bit too heavy. In turn, he had a knack for showing up just when she needed him. Though some Law of Time mumbo jumbo kept him from stopping it from happening, he did show up during the blackest night of her life four centuries past and used his TARDIS to definitively prove to her that things would someday be okay. The Doctor knew her like few other ponies, and Celestia liked to think that she knew the Doctor as well.         She was used to his many faces and many moods, and saw a certain intensity to this one that had more to do with personal experience than whatever it was that changed his appearance. Have you ever seen Time Chargers at war, he'd said. Celestia saw the brief, haunted, fear that flickered in his eyes as he said it. The young pegasus mare, Derpy, helped with his pain, helped him live in the present rather than the past. But there was still a hurt to the Doctor that wasn't seen before. “Stay safe, friend,” she whispered to the air, as battle raged over the skies of Canterlot. ~DrW~         In the center of the maze that made up the Royal Canterlot Gardens, lay a special place. A place doted with statuary that told of the history of the land, from the first Hearth's Warming Eve to present. Nestled off on one corner, rarely visited, often reviled by critics and casual visitors alike, was displayed the statue of the vile draconequus Discord. Far from the terror the statue would display in the future, here it was reared back, one arm thrust out, a wide grin spread on its mismatched face, which only added to its unreal nature.         For just the briefest of moments, unseen by anypony, a red glow flickered to life on the statue's chest before going out like a candle.