Part 23
All the Strange, Strange Creatures.
When the light of regeneration died down and the Doctor lowered his foreleg, he sighed and turned to Derpy. "It's going to be one of those days, isn't it?"
"Looks like it," Derpy responded cheerfully.
The Master rolled his eyes. "Of course..."
Borusa opened his eyes. He felt... good. Powerful. Tall? He glanced around. He was indeed several hooves taller than before. He took a deep breath. Younger too. Younger than he'd been in centuries. He closed his good eye, and grinned as he could see clearly out the other one, especially as a strand of golden hair drifted past his field of view. He ran a hoof through his now full mane and laughed. Time to take a look over himself. His new size meant that he ripped his way out of his robes, leaving his sundial cutie mark plenty visible. And... were those... wings?
He spread the wings and gave them a few experimental flaps. "Well, this is new," he muttered.
Borusa took a look at his reflection in a particularly polished piece of equipment. His horn was in fact still there, and had gained several inches in length, and he now had a long, gold mane and tail to go with his white coat. He laughed. "I can't believe it. An alicorn." He turned to his captives triumphantly. "Not even Rasstallion himself could claim that."
The Doctor was rather unimpressed. "Yes, yes. Very impressive. Though, I should mention I take tea with a natural born alicorn goddess, and she's considerably more impressive. So, now what?"
"Pardon?" Borusa asked.
"It's just that, you've finally won. You've gotten what you wanted and cheated your way into immortality. Congratulations on that--even I'll admit that was actually rather clever--and you've got the two of us right where you want us. So, now what? What comes next?"
Borusa looked at the Doctor with confusion in his eyes. "Next...?"
The Doctor's expression was a small smirk that still managed to convey almost obscene arrogance as he casually twirled his screwdriver around his hoof. "What is it, Borusa? So focused on the goal you don't know what to do once you've attained it?"
The arrogance in Borusa's expression was colder, almost terrifying. "No, it's just that I thought it was blindingly obvious. Now we get to undo your grand failure, Doctor."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Now we get to bring the Time Chargers back."
The Doctor dropped his sonic screwdriver and his eyes widened. "No," he said. It wasn't a quiet no, or terribly desperate. Just a simple, to the point, no. But both the Master and Borusa blinked in surprise at the intensity behind it.
"I'm sorry, what?" Borusa repeated in confusion.
"I believe I said 'no.'" the Doctor replied, that icy tone still in his voice.
"I don't understand," Borusa confessed. "Don't you want to undo your greatest mistake?"
The Doctor began to laugh. It was a hollow, humorless laugh that caused both Derpy and the Master to take a step away. "My mistake? My mistake? Tell me Borusa, what do you know of the Time War?"
"I know enough."
"No! No you don't. Because you ran. Both of you did. But I stayed on the front lines 'till the end. I was there when the Nightmare Child destroyed Davros's flagship. I was there as the dead were returned to life again and again and again, stretching the fabric of space-time to the breaking point. I was there when Rasstallion ordered..." The Doctor sighed here. "Think for a second. You know me. In the years since the Time War, I've lost days of sleep at a time because of the guilt. I've found myself devising plans to bring them back several times. Plans that could work. Plans I could make work. But I can never put then into practice. Do you know why?"
Borusa snorted. "I assume it's because you're a coward."
"Hey!" Derpy shouted indignantly, as she glared at Borusa.
The Doctor held up a hoof to silence her. "Granted," he conceded. "But have you ever known me to accept a horrific draw like that, let alone cause it? The war reached the point that neither side could win, or else everything would suffer. Useless though I'm sure it is, I implore you to just believe me. The Time Chargers can not come back."
Borusa kept his gaze locked with the Doctor's for a moment before turning his attention to the Master. "And do you follow his reasoning?"
The Master shrugged his forelegs. "What do I care? They never did anything for me. I came here for answers."
Borusa grinned. "Ah, yes. The truth about your 'drums,' was it? Yes, it's something we had been looking into at the Counsel for centuries. I mean, what was it that caused one of our most brilliant members to go mad? And the answer is simple. You're just mad, plain and simple."
Derpy could almost swear that she literally felt the temperature drop a few degrees at that statement. "You're lying. Or wrong," the Master said, dangerously calm.
Borusa shrugged with a neutral expression on his face. "I seriously doubt it. Tell me, when did you first start hearing these supposed drums? According to all our research it started when you looked into the Time Vortex as a child, yes?" The Master's silent glare was all the answer he needed. "You know our history as well as anyone, Ko--ahem--Master. That ceremony has long been a turning point in every Time Charger's life. It's how we receive our cutie marks, after all. Even the Doctor's maverick tendencies can be traced back to it." The Doctor harrumphed. "It's very clear that you are one of the very few who simply went mad."
Even as the the Master's scowl deepened, the Doctor's settled into understated smugness. Derpy, catching the sudden change in his demeanor, quickly picked up and hoofed him his sonic screwdriver, a large smile forming on her face. This was going to be good.
"I have to say, Borusa, I'm not sure if it's the regeneration trauma, old age, of if you really are that thick, but that was incredibly stupid." At the blank look on his opponent's face, he laughed. "I mean, stop and think for a minute. I came here to recover Derpy, and here she is at my side. Right where she belongs. Isn't that right, you?"
Derpy's smile widened. "Exactly!" she responded.
"And the Master," continued the Doctor, "he came here looking for answers. Which you gave, such as they were. D'you realize what that means?" His face twisted into a sneer. "You've got nothing to hold over us." He turned to the Master. "Care to continue our truce just a little bit longer?"
A small grin formed on the Master's face. "Oh, that goes without saying."
The Doctor nodded in satisfaction as he began fiddling with the sonic. "Now, I am under no illusions that you haven't taken the sonic into account when you built this little force field cage of yours, but I wonder... did you take into account my current model? How long ago did you last see me use one, exactly? I mean, you know both me and the Master very well, but your knowledge is more than a little... outdated."
With a grin he turned to the Master. "Did you know he framed you with the Tissue Compression Eliminator?"
The Master had to chuckle. "What, that old thing?"
Turning his attention back to Borusa, who was watching the entire exchange silently, the Doctor continued. "Now me, I'd actually stopped using the sonic for quite some time when we last met. I was in the early years of my hoof-free period at the time. Still, I'd bet you'd plan for the possibility that I'd go back to it eventually--probably even took into account that I'd do some tinkering on it. But, seriously, do you even know which model I'm on by this point? Doubtful. Even I stopped keeping track. There's no way you could know about the power and features I've added over the years. And this one," he held up the sonic. "This one is a gift from my Old Girl. Even I don't know all it can do. Shall we test it?"
With quite possibly his most insufferable smirk yet, the Doctor pointed his sonic straight up and, with a quick press of a button, the force field turned off. Instantly, the three that were holed up in it scattered, leaving a confused Borusa in their wake. "What...?" he asked.
From behind a console the Doctor laughed. "You really are thick, aren't you? I told you exactly what was going to happen, and you just let it." He pried the covering from the back of the console and began fiddling. He smirked to himself as he heard the an automatic sentry gun fire and the distinct sound of a defensive shield blocking the shots. Good job, Master, he thought to himself. Let's see if I can do the same.
Borusa shut off his protective shield and fired a blast at the turret, destroying it. No sooner had done so than the air was almost literally sucked from his lungs. With a desperate gasp he leaped backward, the air returning as he did so. Even as he did, he used his magic to shut the offending valve in the ceiling. "That is enough!" he shouted as his horn lit up, and both the Doctor and the Master were pulled out from their hiding places. "Did you really think I couldn't find you? That I wouldn't have memorized all the systems and devices of this room?"
"Well, given your track record..." the Master began before he and the Doctor were thrown against the far wall.
"SILENCE!" Borusa bellowed.
"Take note," the Doctor muttered as he painfully got to his hooves. "This regeneration has a bit of a temper."
"Noted," the Master replied.
"Do you really think you can afford to be so flippant with me?" Borusa asked.
"Honestly, yes," the Doctor replied. "I've faced a great many gods in my time. Good gods, bad gods, wibbly gods--y'know, I think I gave this speech before. Only proves my point, though. And you aren't even the most noteworthy. Don't even rank top five to be honest."
The Doctor didn't even flinch as Borusa picked him up with his magic. "Would you care to elaborate?" the larger pony asked, a faux calmness to his voice.
"Oh, well, if you insist. Just remember you asked," the Doctor agreed amicably. "Are you aware of just how many planets are inhabited by equine races? Billions upon billions. And over ninety nine percent of them include alicorns somewhere in their creation stories--whether factual or allegorical being beside the point, especially since a surprising number of them actually have more than just a kernel of truth to them. Not to mention, most planets have something resembling equality in numbers between the three races. Oh, some discrepancy usually exists, surely, but usually nothing terribly extreme. But us? The Time Chargers? Ninety five point three percent earth pony, and we're lucky if we regenerate into another race once in twelve tries. And Rasstallion and Omega were unicorns. Until now, there has never been an alicorn Time Charger. Have you ever considered that? Of course not, you're a perfect representation of the old ways that made me run in the first place. It's never occurred to you just how magically weak we are. How utterly dependent upon our so-called 'advanced ways' we've become. So you're the first Time Charger alicorn? Good job on that. But let me tell you something. Miss Twilight Sparkle of Ponyville Equestria, though still just a unicorn--and a young and inexperienced one at that--is more powerful than you."
The Doctor smirked as one of Borusa's eyes twitched at the allegation. "You dare...? You compare me to a simple, primitive, planet-locked unicorn?"
The Doctor chuckled. "Compare you? To Twilight Sparkle? Oh, my dear Borusa. I wouldn't dream of it. I respect Miss Sparkle far to much to insult her like that. So go ahead. Do your worst."
The intensified glow of his horn and the look in his eye indicated that Borusa was prepared to do just that.