//------------------------------// // The Ultimate Foe // Story: A Storm of Chaos: A Doctor Whooves Adventure // by Shotoman //------------------------------// Part 15 The Ultimate Foe The Doctor allowed himself to be led through the place by Dawn Riser. He'd attempted to start a conversation with her a couple of times, but each time she shut him down with a terse reply. Very unlike the just-opinionated-enough-to-be-interesting Dawn Riser he knew. So the Doctor contented himself with studying the place as they climbed the ornate stairway. It was no important Canterlot landmark, the place the Master was holed up, no. Probably just some noble's guest home or some such rubbish. Which still made the place an absolute palace compared to anything in Ponyville, Manehattan, Las Pegasus, or any number of places. The Doctor shook his head with a sigh. For all the love and enthusiasm he had for Equestrian ponies, the upper crust atmosphere of Canterlot tended to breed the few he genuinely disliked--the few that actually saw themselves above the rest on account of some accident of birth. True, the Doctor himself tended to look down on other ponies--just a bit--but that was on account of his own hard earned brilliance. These ponies, however... Wait a tic, where were the other ponies? Obviously, the Master would not have tolerated much in the way of company, especially when expecting a visit from such an 'old friend', but a place like this would have required at least some staff, and the Master was never one to shy away from comforts. The sheer emptiness of the place made the Doctor somewhat uneasy. Dawn Riser stopped at the top of the stairs and opened a door, waiting silently. The Doctor looked into her clouded eyes and could swear that he could see her consciousness behind them, struggling to break free. "Oh, Riser," he murmured. "I am so sorry." "He's waiting for you," Dawn Riser tersely replied. "Right, right," the Doctor sighed as he stepped through the door, pausing briefly when he heard the distinct pop of unicorn teleportation as Dawn Riser vanished. I don't much like the sound of that, he thought to himself. He was now standing in a ballroom. It was smaller than what most would think of when using the word--probably used for more intimate family gatherings than anything--but a ballroom nonetheless. All furniture was cleared out except the fully stocked bar on the far side, where the Master sat. "Doctor!" he bellowed happily. "So good of you to come. It's been far too long since we met face to face like this. Not since our little get together in San Prancesisco." The mad Time Charger gave the Doctor a wide smile as he gestured the various bottles. "Offer you a drink?" The Doctor kept his face impassive. "Well, out with it." "Out with it?" the Master asked, mock confusion etched on his face. "Out with what?" "Don't give me that. We had a deal. I believe it was something along the lines of 'face me charger to charger and I'll tell you my plans.'" The Master sighed before taking one last swig from his glass. "It's always the same with you, Doctor. You want to skip the foreplay and get right to it." A thoughtful look crossed his face. "How about this, then? You tell me yours and I'll tell you mine." The Doctor cocked his head in confusion. "What?" "Don't you give me that, Doctor. I know you. You weren't just on one of your little jaunts that happen to end in disaster when you were on Anthrax. You were looking for something." The Master shot the Doctor a superior smirk. "Just because I was a different pony back then doesn't mean I don't remember. So, you tell me yours and I'll tell you mine." The Doctor matched the Master's smirk. "You first." "Oh are you seriously going to be that way about it?" "I am." The Master tsk'ed as he stepped down from the bar and started pacing in a clockwise circle, matched by the Doctor doing the same. "I'm going to overthrow Celestia. There, that's it." The Doctor cast him a dubious look. "What?" "Putting aside for a moment that Celestia literally raises the sun every day..." "What, you actually believe that superstitious rubbish?" "Trying to disprove that 'superstitious rubbish' was a pastime of mine for about three centuries. But putting that aside, what do you get out of that?" "Power, control, domination. What else do I need?" "Don't try and fool me with your lies and half-truths. We've been through too much for me to fall for them. You're the Master. 'Master of Time,' 'Master of All,' 'Master of'... whatever. You have access to all time and space. What care do you have for a single little planet? Care enough to destroy that which gave you access to all of time and space. You wouldn't sacrifice so much for so little. Ruling Equestria is not the endgame here. It's just a step in the process." The Master practically cackled with glee. "This is what I've missed about our games. You being just barely behind me. Just close enough to make everything a challenge." "As I recall, I'm the one who's won all our previous battles," the Doctor reminded him. "Hmm. Depends on what you consider 'winning.' I did cost you your taste in Jelly Fillies and absurd scarves. But you're right, of course. Taking over the country is far from my end goal. I may not even run for president when this is all over. Oh, who am I kidding, of course I will, but only for a term or two, just enough to pass the laws I want passed. The important part is getting rid of the Princess." "But why?" "Why? Well now, let's have a look at Equestria's history. You do so love history, don't you? In approximately six hundred years Celestia's precious little sister Luna is going to return from her thousand year banishment in the moon, set to destroy Equestria by plunging it into eternal night. A year later, the feared draconequus Discord breaks free from his own stone prison to wreck havoc on all and sundry. In both instances, the threat was defeated by the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, led by one Twilight Sparkle, personal student to the great and powerful Princess Celestia. Now, what do you suppose will happen when there is no all powerful goddess princess to take her under her wing? When Equestria is being ruled by a group of well-meaning but very mortal ponies, who won't even know the stories behind either threat to their world?" The Doctor's eyes went wide as the pupils dilated. "But... but both of those events are..." "Fixed." The Master's eyes were wide and wild. "Yes. The very foundations of the universe. And two of them so close together. The odds of that are... well beyond astronomical. If the failure of one to occur doesn't kill time dead, the subsequent failure of the second surely will." The Doctor stopped the pacing and met his opponent's gaze. "What's the matter with you? Why would you actively work to destroy everything? You, who's survived death itself more times than any opponent I've ever faced, save perhaps Davros and his abominations. Why would you wish to destroy everything, yourself included?" The Master laughed bitterly. "What, you don't know?" After a moment of eye contact, his face fell. "You... you don't, do you? You can't hear them, can you?" he asked, a tone of horrid revelation in his voice. The Doctor remained confused. "Hear what?" "The drums!" exploded from the Master's mouth. "The Rasstallion damned drums! All day every day, ever since the Elders forced me to look into the Vortex and this mark appeared on my rump! Constantly there. Constantly beating!" Now his left forehoof was beating out a repeated set of four. "Do you want to know why I clung to life so desperately? Why I'd prefer existence as a rotting corpse over death? Because death was not enough to silence the drums! Perhaps taking everything with me will do the trick." The Doctor was completely aghast at what he'd heard. "You do realize you're mad, don't you?" "Oh, like you're not." The Master exhaled a deep breath, and seemed to calm down. "So, I've told you mine, so tell me yours." The Doctor seemed to consider for a moment before shrugging. "Sorry. I can't do it. It's all very Double Oh Seven. Very hush-hush. You understand." A wry grin spread on the Master's face. "Why you cheeky little..." He stopped mid sentence and brought a forehoof to his wincing face. An angry gleam was in his eye when it popped open and without another word he ran to the window. After a moment, in a calm, deadly voice he asked. "Where is it?" A golden halo actually appeared above the Doctor's head. "I'm sorry. Where is what?" The Master rounded on his old foe, his face contorted in rage. "Your TARDIS! Your damned blue box! WHERE IS IT!?" "Oh, that," the Doctor responded, the faux innocent look still on his face. "You really should have known better than to mutilate a TARDIS when I'm involved." His smile turned sly. "It's made the missus ever so cross." ~DrW~ Derpy panted heavily as she ran from one esoteric switch to another, the image of the next appearing in her mind almost faster than she could keep up. The TARDIS's trademarked screeching was even louder now than usual, the shaking worse than any time the Doctor piloted the thing. You've got to be kidding me, she thought as an image of three switches on either end of the console appeared in her mind. She barely made it work by wrapping her tail around a leaver, kicking another with her left hind hoof, and pounding the whack-a-mole with her right forehoof. And the image of the next step was in her mind before she finished. After several minutes of this, the shaking and the noise finally stopped and Derpy dropped to the floor, exhausted. "I'm... about... to barf," she complained. She stopped and cast an annoyed glare at the spire jutting from the console. "Of course I won't puke on you. Even if it is your fault." After taking a few moments to collect herself, Derpy got up to her shaky hooves. "So, is the other TARDIS out there?" A grim acknowledgment formed in the back of her mind. Derpy's face became softer. "And there's no way to save her?" The grim feeling became replaced by mourning. Derpy sighed. "Fine, then. Let's just get this over with." With determination in her steps, Derpy marched over to the double doors and pulled one open. She was met with the mildly surprised gaze of Dawn Riser, who was surrounded by an entourage of at least ten changelings. Derpy flashed them all a wide smile, a nervous little squeak escaping her lips, before calmly closing the door again.