The TARDIS doors burst open as the Doctor and Cadance rushed out into a clearing. They darted through the trees running the short distance to the edge of the plain that contained the Rebel Base.
“Things are moving much faster than I want it to,” said the Doctor. “Discord’s playing his hand and we haven’t even drawn our cards yet. We have to get to the base while there’s still something left to... save”
He came to a halt ahead of Cadance, looking down from atop a hill at the field below. The base entrance had been blown apart. Pieces of rubble were strewn around the plain. Fire burned in three out of the four sentry posts and a dim orange glow from the entry tunnel told of more below.
The Doctor stood, taking in the scene. Then, gathering himself, he strode purposefully down underground, Cadance following behind. Neither of them spoke. Their hoofsteps echoed loudly in a hallway that was silent but for the sound of crackling flames. Shredded cords sputtered sparks from sockets that once held lamps. Doors lay broken on the floor, their doorways dark portals filled with foreboding.
As it grew darker, Cadance illuminated her horn to light the way. Whenever they came to a doorway, they peered inside, Cadance’s mind conjuring up new horrors that might await in each room. But in each room they came to, they found nothing. No survivors, no injured, not even any corpses. The entire base was deserted.
“Where is everypony?” Cadance asked. “Discord- He didn’t send them all to Earth, did he?””
The Doctor shook his head. “The TARDIS’s sensors would have picked up an energy spike that massive. Ten or twenty could slip under the radar, but not a few hundred. They’re still somewhere in this local universe.”
“That narrows it down,” Cadance quipped.
They moved on, going from level to level, looking for any sign of life or movement. Eventually they reached the lower levels and rooms that looked decidedly less comfortable. Holding cells, Cadance imagined. Cadance popped her head into one and saw the form of a pony lying on the ground.
“Doctor!” she cried and dashed into the room. She illuminated the unconscious form. It was the Master. The Doctor bolted to him and immediately began checking his pulse. He sighed in relief.
“He’s alive,” assured the Doctor. Next, he checked the Master’s breathing, eyes and finally he put his ear right next to the Master’s head. Cadance wasn’t sure what that was supposed to do, but the Doctor’s eyes widened in surprise. The Master’s own eyes opened.
“Bah!” he cried, backing away from the extreme close-up of the Doctor. “Doctor!” he said. “What are you doing?”
“Just checking to see if you were alive,” The Doctor replied calmly. “What happened here?”
“Discord,” spat the Master. “He attacked us and made my soldiers disappear, as well as the two you had with you.”
“Why didn’t he take you as well?” asked the Doctor piercingly.
The Master shrugged. “Search me. One minute he had me by the throat, the next I was flying through a doorway into unconsciousness. That’s not important now. Do you have the Elements?”
“Yes,” affirmed the Doctor, holding up the large sack he’d brought with him. “All we need now are some new Bearers.”
“Perfect,” the Master grinned.
“Where did he take the others?” asked Cadance urgently.
“I don’t know. If I had to guess, I’d most likely say his tower a couple miles from here. That’s the logical guess. Then again, nothing that freak of nature does is logical.”
“It’s the best place to start though,” mused the Doctor. He stood completely still, staring at the Master.
The Master stood completely still, staring back. “Yes,” he asked. “What is it?”
The Doctor shook himself. “What?... Oh! Sorry. It’s nothing. If you have anything you want to get before we leave, you should get it. We probably won’t come back here, whatever we find. The Master nodded and left the room.
As soon as he left, the Doctor fell to having a furious conversation with himself. “No, it’s not! and besides, do you have a better one?” The Doctor snapped, apparently replying to someone. He paused. “It doesn’t work like that, we need to do it this way.” He paused again. “Look, I’ve trusted you plenty of times, now it’s your turn to trust me.” There was a short pause. “Good,” he said.
The Master re-entered the room. He tossed a gem gun each to the Doctor and Cadance. “Here, yours are probably nearly dead,” he said. Cadance put hers on. So did the Doctor, though he didn’t bother to power his up. Their business finished, the three ponies trooped back to the Tardis. As they entered, a wide grin spread over the Master’s face.
“Don’t get any ideas,” the Doctor warned.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” said the Master, grinning. The Doctor punched the coordinates for Discord’s tower into the TARDIS computer and they rattled away.
*****************************************************
Groggily, Spike awoke, his head filled with both noise and pain, pounding at the sides of his skull. The noise was coming from the room around him, the pain from inside. He opened his eyes a crack and then snapped them wide open once he saw the source of the noise.
He was in a cavernous room, filled with thousands upon thousands of other ponies. Not just ponies, too. He saw griffins and minotaurs, changelings and crystal ponies, all gathered together. They stood motionless, their eyes blank, all chanting in unison. The volume was deafening, but Spike could make out what they were saying.
“To write the countless wrongs of our day
We shine this light of true redemption
That our world may become as chaos
What a wonderful world such would be.”
He gritted his teeth in pain. A pounding force in his head was driving him to join the throng, repeating the meaningless phrase endlessly, until the end of time if need be. His tongue was unconsciously forming the words. He scowled with determination. He would not give in. He shook his head and the pounding shook also, tuning out like a fuzzy radio. The pounding lessened. He had to find Shining Armor and get out of here.
He pressed through the mass, searching face after face, looking for the one he recognized. He found Shining Armor near the edge of the throng, eyes blank, mindlessly repeating the empty chant. Spike rolled his eyes. They seriously needed to do something about this. Set up a spell, or get Shining some mind training, or get him a tinfoil hat at least.
He grabbed one of his friends’ hooves and pulled him towards the edge of the mob, Shining Armor following obediently. They reached the edge of the crowd and found the way blocked by a typical jail door, all bars and gaps. Spike supposed that there really didn’t need to be all that much security. The door could have been gone and still no one would have escaped, except for him.
He approached the bars, the pounding in his head protesting against his every step. He grabbed a panel of bars and engulfed it in flame. It glowed a dull red for a few short moments. Spike sighed. It was going to be a long day.
*****************************************************
Once the TARDIS had stopped, the three gathered by its door. They looked at one another solemnly, nodded and pushed open the door.
Their first glimpse of Discord’s tower was not what they expected at all. A plain black spire met their eyes, squat and unassuming. It was barely even foreboding. It stood 50 feet tall and narrowed down to a single room level at the top.
Cadance looked at it, confused. “Somehow, I expected something a bit more... grandiose.”
The Master shrugged. “I wouldn’t let your guard down just yet.” As they made to enter the tower, he turned back to the Doctor. “Aren’t you going to hide the TARDIS?”
The Doctor shook his head. “No need. Discord’s already been in there once and learned all he could from it. There really isn’t anything in there that could give him more than what he already has.” Turning back to the door, a plain black rectangle set in the stone, he pushed it open.
Inside was a grand hallway, patterned with grey and black tiles whose borders seemed to undulate and shift, mixing with one another. The ceiling of this one entryway alone stretched at least a hundred feet above their heads. Suits of armor decorated the wide hall, each one radically different. One was bright pink. One was a suit of armor for a bunny. Three were playing poker on a table in the corner. All the while, a low murmuring sound filled the room.
The Master looked at Cadance smugly. “How did you know it would be like this on the inside?” she asked.
“Simple,” the Master scoffed. “Chaos is all about betraying a person’s expectations.”
Suddenly Cadance fell to the ground, clutching her head which was throbbing in agony. The ever present murmuring sound seemed to swell louder and resonate with the pounding in her head. She cried out in pain and the Doctor ran over. He swore under his breath and rummaged through the bag on his back. He withdrew the golden tiara bearing the Element of Magic and placed it on Cadance’s head. Immediately the throbbing stopped and the volume of the murmuring returned to normal.
“What was that?” gasped Cadance.
“I’m betting it was an attack by Discord,” replied the Doctor, studying Cadance’s eyes closely. “What did it feel like? Tell me everything.”
“It felt like another mind was trying to override my own,” Cadance responded. “It was trying to wipe out all my thoughts. Why did it stop though? Was it the Element?”
The Doctor nodded. “The Elements of Harmony protect against almost all other forms of magic. Discord’s magic is no exception.”
“Why are you immune to it then?” asked Cadance.
“Timelord brain,” said the Doctor, tapping his head. “It works on a different frequency. It won’t keep us safe forever, but it should keep us safe for long enough.”
The Doctor opened a door on the side of the hallway and the murmuring grew significantly louder. “This way,” he beckoned. The doorway led to a descending spiral staircase, which they quickly traversed. The deeper into the tower they went, the louder the murmuring became until it reached a roar of united voices. Eventually they had to shout to hear each other above it.
They came out of the staircase and into a massive dungeon. An enormous throng of creatures met their gaze, confined behind a giant jail cell door. The cacophonous din came from the crowd and the three ponies had to concentrate hard to think through it. Eventually they were able to pick out the words of the chant.
“True redemption? What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Cadance.
“Some gibberish Discord came up with, no doubt,” replied the Master.
The Doctor was busy scanning the crowd. “Over there!” he shouted, pointing to a figure at the far end of the cell, puffing spouts of fire furiously over an ever reddening panel of bars. They dashed over to where Spike stood, the cherry red bars beginning to melt.
“Spike!” Cadance cried. She attempted to hug him through the bars, but stopped, realizing their temperature.
Spike grinned. “Glad to see you’re safe. I thought Discord would’ve gotten you too.”
“Not in a million years,” Cadance boasted. “What happened to Shining Armor?”
Spike rolled his eyes. “He got caught by Discord’s spell.”
“We really need to do something about that,” said Cadance.
“No kidding,” Spike replied. “But we can’t worry about that write- I mean, right now. We have to break the curse and get Shining out of here.”
Cadance shook her head. “We need to get you safe before Discord’s curse starts affecting you too.”
Spike’s smile was a little bitter. “I’m afraid it’s true- I mean, too late for that. It’s already activated. I can hold out though. It’s harder to brainwash a dragon than Discord might light- like! Argh!” One of Spike’s knees buckled and he slumped, clutching his head, shivering.
“Spike’s right,” said the Doctor, already rummaging in his bag. He drew out a golden necklace with a ruby red lightning bolt on it. “Here,” he said, handing it to Spike through the bars. “Put this on Shining.”
“Loyalty. Figures,” muttered Spike, fastening the necklace. Shining stopped his chanting, but his eyes remained glazed and unfocused.
“That should stop the spell from re-establishing itself. Now we just need to break the curse,” began the Doctor.
“Allow me,” said Cadance, stepping forward. She approached Shining Armor, horn glowing, and touched her horn to his, deploying the memory spell. The air around Shining Armor shook, but the look in his eyes didn’t change. Grimacing, Cadance closed her eyes and hearts from her love magic joined the aura of energy surrounding Shining Armor. The hearts sank into him and his eyes snapped into focus.
“What!?” he cried, looking around him wildly. “What happened?” He looked at Cadance, who was smiling uncontrollably and giggling under her breath. He groaned.
“Don’t tell me I didn’t?”
“You did,” she said, trying hard not to laugh.
“Can we please pretend this never happened?” he begged.
“You’re going to have to face this problem sometime,” she replied, smiling. Shining Armor ignored her. He picked the weakened, shivering Spike up and placed him on his back, put a forcefield around them and walked through the melting molten bars.
The Doctor went up to them and pulled a necklace out of his bag. “Put this on,” he said to Spike. “It’ll counteract the spell.”
Spike looked at the necklace and shook his head. “An Element of Harmony? I tried using that before when Discord first appeared. It didn’t work. It didn’t even light up, then turn off, like the others’ did. It just did nothing.”
“So I’d heard,” nodded the Doctor. “But that wasn’t because the Elements won’t work for you, you were just wearing the wrong Element.” He reached up and fastened the necklace around Spike’s neck.
Instantly, Spike’s shivering stopped and he sat up straight. “The Element of Laughter?” he questioned, looking down at the blue balloon around his neck. “That doesn’t even make any sense. I’m not a jokester like Pinkie Pie.”
“All will be revealed in due time,” replied the Doctor. “I’ll have to go through the explanation later anyway and I prefer not to repeat myself.”
“Alright then” said Spike, rubbing his hands together. “Now it’s time for us to decide what to do next.”
“That all depends on Discord’s plan,” The Master stated. “Until we know what it is, we can’t act.”
“I know what it is,” piped in Shining Armor unexpectedly. The others looked at him. “Well, when I was, um, out of commission, that was all that was on my mind. Basically, his plan is to brainwash every sentient creature in Equestria, bring them to Earth, not as humans but in regular pony form, release them from his control and just watch everything run amok. Total chaos. Then, when everything is beginning to settle down, he’ll do the same thing to Earth and move on to another universe.”
The group sat there for a moment, pondering the ramifications. “Well, I think we can all agree that’s sufficiently diabolical,” said Spike, breaking the silence.
“Indeed, we need to stop Discord while we can. Let’s go.” He turned to leave.
“Woah, woah. What!?” cried Spike. “In case you haven’t noticed, we only have five ponies here.” He lowered his voice. “And I’m not sure if all of us can use an Element of Harmony anyway.” He avoided looking at the Master, who was scowling intensely at him.
“Hey!” snapped David. “I’m still in here too, you know.”
“Yes,” replied Spike. “But you’re stuck inside the Doctor and I don’t think the Elements will work unless you’re physically here.”
“Not so, actually,” the Doctor objected. He reached into his bag and withdrew another Element. “Together, the Elements are powerful enough to do just about anything, but alone they are pretty powerful too.” The Element of Generosity in his hand shimmered and wavered and disappeared. The blurry, indistinct outline of a pony appeared beside them. Spike could make out a coat of light blue fur and a bright red mane. The pony’s cutie mark was too indistinct to make out, but it resembled a clock of some sort. The pony soon solidified, halfway between indistinct and defined, with a face that was clearly and unmistakably David’s.
“Did ya miss me?” he said, grinning.
“Awesome!” cried Spike.
“I know,” The Doctor beamed proudly. “We made him tangible again.” Spike reached out to high five David, but the claw passed through his hoof.
“Well, mostly tangible,” the Doctor amended.
“That’s all well and good,” began Cadance, smiling at David. “But we still have the problem of, to put it bluntly, I don’t think that the Master could use one of the Elements of Harmony. From what I know of him, he doesn’t seem to fit any of them.” The Master scoffed, but didn’t disagree.
“I know,” sighed the Doctor. “But we have to work with what we’ve got. We don’t have time to spend on this issue. Discord could launch his plan at any second, so we’ll just have to make do.” He retrieved the two Elements from his bag. He looked at the Element of Kindness, looked back at the Master, and placed the Element of Honesty on him instead.
The Master shot him a withering glare. “I appreciate your faith in me,” he said sarcastically.
The Doctor shrugged. “Nothing personal.”
“We could always try freeing another pony,” Shining Armor suggested.
Cadance shook her head. “I could only free you by using my love spell and the memory spell at the same time and in order to perform the memory spell, you have to have significant personal knowledge of the pony you’re performing it on.” She looked around at the million other ponies in the room. “I don’t recognise any of them right now, and it would take too long to find one that I do know.”
“I guess you’re stuck with me then,” growled the Master.
“Stop taking everything so seriously,” said the Doctor, rolling his eyes.
“Let’s go.” said the Master, turning and heading up the spiral staircase. The Doctor made to leave, but David’s hoof on his shoulder stopped. David said nothing, only looked into the Doctor’s eyes, a serious question in his own.
The Doctor nodded. “I know what I’m doing,” he assured. Somehow, those words sent shivers up the spines of the other ponies.
The group ran up the stairs and back into the main hallway. They spotted another spiral staircase across the hallway, this one going upwards. They ran up it, higher and higher, going up floor after floor.
“How come we haven’t encountered any resistance?” panted Shining Armor. “Shouldn’t this place be guarded?”
“Does Discord even know we’re here?” theorized Cadance. “For all he knows, every pony but three is under his control. Why should he need security?”
“Discord knows we’re here,” the Doctor affirmed. “He’s not oblivious enough to miss what’s going on in his own tower. Besides, we broke his spell over Shining Armor. He’s bound to have felt that. As to why we’ve met no resistance, well, that’s just another thing we’ll have to ask him.”
The group reached the top of the tower and came to a stop in front of a massive set of iron double doors. The Doctor approached them slowly.
“This is it everypony,” he said. “The end game.” He opened the doors and they rushed inside.
The throne room was large and cavernous, completely empty, except for two large disembodied light sources which covered the room in a dim yellow light and a throne placed dead center in the chamber, upon which sat the draconequus master of Chaos.
“I see you’ve come to attend my going away party,” quipped Discord, unfazed at their presence. “But I’m afraid you’ve gotten turned around. The main party’s going on downstairs. Are you sure you wouldn’t like me to redirect you?”
“Pretty sure,” the Doctor bantered back. “Nice place you have here. A bit empty though, isn’t it?”
“Oh, when you travel as much as I do, what’s the point in decorating a waystation such as this?” dismissed Discord, waving a claw.
“The security’s rather scanty as well,” remarked the Doctor. “One would almost think you wanted us here.”
Discord roared with laughter. “My dear Doctor, whyever should I keep you out? You’re giving me everything I want, The Elements of Harmony, the last sentient ponies on the planet and sweet,sweet revenge all on a silver platter served directly to my door. What more could I want?”
“Enough laughing, Discord.” growled David.
Discord raised his hand to his ear and cocked it in David’s direction. “I’m afraid you’ll have to speak up, sonny, it appears you’re just a Shade too quiet.” Discord cackled at his pun. His face snapped back to solemn again. “You’re quite right though. I’m afraid our little game of cat-and-mouse is done. I’ve got places to go and Chaos to wreak.”
“You’re not getting away this time,” said the Doctor. “We’ve brought our secret weapon.”
Discord scoffed. “What, you mean the Elements of Harmony?”
“No,” replied the Master. “Me.” Lightning shot from the end of his horn and struck Discord full in the chest. He howled and dropped to the ground, writhing under the constant stream of lightning.
“Now!” cried the Master.
The Elements glowed softly as the Doctor began to speak. “The Elements have been gathered here by these six Bearers. Cadance, who links her friends together, bound by magic and her care and compassion for them, represents the Element of Magic.” Cadance’s tiara blazed with light and a bright purple glow lit the room.
“Do we have to have these didactic little speeches!?” growled the Master through gritted teeth, as Discord’s screams continued to fill the air.
“Yes,” snapped the Doctor. “It’s part of the magic. The Elements need to recognize their bearers. Now don’t interrupt.”
He turned back to the group. “The Element of Laughter is more than just the physical action of laughing. It represents hope, joy and the ability to continue in the face of absolute despair. Spike, who kept us all moving when we’d hit our lowest points, who continued to push this group on when no hope was left, represents the Element of Laughter!” Spike’s necklace lit up with a light blue glow that beamed cheerily next to the purple that filled the room.
Discord growled, looking up at his impending doom. He tried to summon his magic, generate anything that could break the monologue, but the electricity coursing through his body paralyzed his muscles and he couldn’t snap any of his five sets of digits.
“David, who gave up his chance at a normal life to pursue just for a cause that wasn’t his represents the Element of Generosity.” A soft, dark blue glow emanated from David’s necklace, almost engulfed in the other colors, but still faintly present underneath it.
“Yes, yes. And for showing loyalty to his friends, Shining Armor is the Element of Loyalty.” Grunted the Master as sweat poured down his face. “Can we get on with it?” A blazing red light suddenly sprang from around Shining’s neck, mingling with the blues and purple. The Doctor frowned at him disapprovingly.
David picked up the thread. “For his mercy, hatred of death and appreciation for all life, the Doctor represents the Element of Kindness.” A blinding pink glow burst from the butterfly necklace at the Doctor’s own neck, shining along with the other colors.
“And the Master...” began David, before stopping uncertainly. “...represents the Element of Honesty.” he finished. A single orange spark shot from the charm fixed to the Master. He shot David a withering glare.
“Hey, don’t look at me,” protested David. “It’s not my fault you don’t represent the Element of Honesty.”
“Whatever,” snarled the Master. “Just fire already.” The Element bearers were lifted up, gathering together in a circular formation, engulfed in the magic of their respective elements, their colors mingling together and turning white. The Master managed a low hover.
There was a loud boom and an immense, five-color rainbow arced upwards in the air and slammed down with tremendous force onto Discord, who screamed in terror. The room filled with a brilliant white light, engulfing everything.
The six ponies lay sprawled on the floor. So did Discord. Their breathing was quick and heavy. So was Discord’s. Their breathing strengthened and they sat up. Discord didn’t.
The Doctor looked around. Everyone else was sitting on the floor, blinking owlishly, trying to regain their senses. The Doctor looked over and saw Discord lying on the ground, barely moving, looking at the group with weary, hate filled eyes. The ponies got to their hooves.
“He isn’t turned to stone,” said Cadance quietly. “He’s still here.”
“He’s weak,” noted Shining Armor.
“Yes,” hissed the Master. “Weak enough.” He looked at the Doctor. “Now’s your chance. You have a gem gun. You have to kill him.”
The Doctor’s eyes hardened and he opened his mouth to protest, but the Master cut him off. “Yes, I know. You never take a life if you can help it. But this time, there is no other way. Discord may be injured now, but he will recover quickly. We don’t have time to waste and we can’t trap him in stone. You need to do it.”
The Doctor looked uncertain. Eventually, he sighed and walked slowly up to Discord, assessing the draconequus.
Discord looked back at him, unremorseful. “I’d do it all again,” he hissed, his voice filled with malice. “In a heartbeat. As long as I live, you and your friends are never safe.”
The Doctor looked at Discord and his eyes hardened. He turned his gem gun on and set it to kill. He charged his gun and pointed it at Discord, right between his eyes. The Doctor whirled around and fired directly behind himself. His blast met the Master’s in midair. Both exploded, doing nothing.
The Master chuckled, but when he spoke, his voice was no longer his own. “Very astute,” Discord said, standing up on his back hooves, his front hooves crossed over his black jacket. “Still, I suppose I should have known you’d see through this disguise. Tell me though, how long did you know I was in this body?”
“Since the very beginning,” replied the Doctor, his eyes cold.
“Aw, really?” said Discord, disappointed. He levitated himself into the air, hovering above the four ponies and a dragon, a good twenty feet high. “I was hoping I could have fooled you longer than that. I guess it was a bit of a silly plan. But when I came across this little guy in that little rebel base, I just couldn’t resist the opportunity. What gave me away?”
“The drums,” answered the Doctor. “When I last met the Master, when I was very close to him, I could hear the drums pounding in his head. I couldn’t hear anything in yours.”
Discord laughed. “So that’s why you were listening to my head. I wondered what you expected to hear.”
“Your convenient knowledge of your own tower was also a dead giveaway. As well as the fact that the Master had recently begun to develop a sort of nervous tic. Whenever he was agitated, he began tapping out the drumbeat on things around him. It was a tic you failed to imitate.”
Discord eyed the Doctor slyly. “Well then, seeing as you knew I was there, don’t you think it was quite a big risk to let me go with you undiscovered?”
“It was a bit risky, true,” the Doctor acknowledged, glancing at David, who was giving him a steady look. “But I feel it was worth it in order to have you right where I want you.”
“Right where you want me?” Discord snorted with incredulity. “I fail to see this perfect scenario.”
The Doctor grew cold and his voice was filled with anger. “I don’t see how you could miss it. We have the Elements of Harmony and we are going to turn you to stone.”
Discord looked at him with scorn. “Did those Elements addle your head? Last I checked, there were only five of you. I have your friend's body now. I’ve crushed his mind. There’s nothing left. He barely put up a fight. And besides, even if he were here, what’s he going to do? He was black to the core. Some fifteen years of self-imposed community service isn’t going to make a big enough difference.”
“I don’t care what you think,” the Doctor said flatly. “We have enough ponies, we have enough Elements and we’re going to turn you to stone.”
“What, no room for mercy?” mocked Discord. “No second chances? Aren’t you going to give me a chance to reform and to see the error of my ways?” he cackled with laughter.
The Doctor’s rage boiled over. He set his gun to capture and fired a lasso of pure energy up to the laughing pony, grabbing him and slamming him into the ground twenty feet below. The Doctor held out his hoof and an Element appeared in it. David’s form wavered and disappeared. The Doctor strode over to Discord, who had struggled to his back hooves. The Doctor came to halt in front of Discord and back-hoofed him across the face.
Stunned by the blow, Discord didn’t react as the Doctor ripped the Element from his neck and replaced it with a different one. This one felt unnaturally cold, as though he were caught around the neck by an iron band.
“Not so high and mighty now, are you?” hissed the Doctor in his ear. “You’ve bound yourself to a pony form. Your strength is limited.” He stepped back and looked at Discord. “You used your second chances long ago. You squandered them on deceit and lies.” The Doctor’s face was filled with disgust. He was weary. His face seemed to show every bit of his over one thousand years, a tiredness and sorrow only one other person could know.
“I have no more words to say to you now,” he whispered “I’m done with you.” He turned back towards the others.
Discord, recovered from the blow, snarled with rage. “We’re not done yet!” he growled. He snapped his hoof out to hit the Doctor. His hoof moved itself back. “What!?” he stared at his own hoof in confusion. He lashed his leg out. His leg moved itself back. “What are you doing?” he called after the Doctor, who had moved back to join the other ponies.
True to his word, the Doctor said nothing more to Discord. Instead, he held the Element of Honesty up in the air, “Honesty is about more than just the truth,” he said. “It’s about trust. This Element goes to the one pony who I can trust with my own life.” The Element shimmered and disappeared. David shimmered back into existence, fully solidified and completely tangible, a solemn look on his face and the Element of Honesty around his neck glowing with a bright orange light.
The other Elements responded too, each glowing out with their own colored light. All except for the Element around Discord’s neck, which sat pulsing, waiting. Discord tried to reach out with his hoof and rip it off of his neck, but every time he tried, his hoof moved itself away, going back to his side.
“What did you do to me?” Discord snarled. “Why can’t I move?!”
“He didn’t do that to you,” said a voice in his head. “You did that to yourself. It seems you picked the wrong pony to possess. What a shame”
Discord’s eyes widened as he recognized the presence. “You!” he thought “I crushed you like a bug! You shouldn’t exist anymore!”
The Master roared with laughter. “Oh, I’d forgotten what’s it’s like to go up against people who weren’t the Doctor. You’re delightfully dim-witted, aren’t you? Extinct is not that same thing as dormant. Honestly, I’m surprised you can tell up from down with your level of intelligence. And now, it’s time to end this.”
“What are you talking about!?” growled Discord angrily.
“Well, someone’s going to have to stay in here with you to make sure you can’t escape,” said the Master smugly. “And since we aren’t planning to let you out anytime soon, that means staying here with you for eternity. I’d say that’s a pretty generous move on my part, wouldn’t you?”
The Element of Generosity shone like the sun, its blue light bursting forth and mingling with the other colors to make a spectrum that left the viewer awestruck.
“You knew this would happen, didn’t you?” realized Discord. “From the moment I possessed you, you and the Doctor planned this all out!”
“Of course I did!” The Master cackled. “I’ve just been biding my time, waiting for this. I’ve even taken the time to compose a little poem, just for you. I’ve heard from numerous sources that you like poems. Let me know if this sounds familiar:
Five Score,Plus forever more
Your body a stone,Your rule overthrown
Cast off to a land where the sun never rises
To torture no more with your cruel surprises
My vengeance enacted, your torment to be
A presence to haunt you through eternity
A battle of minds, one which neither can win
I’m along for the ride though, so shall we begin?”
The Elements gathered in a circle around the Master, their eyes glowing white. A high pitched noise began to fill the room, growing slowly louder, like a jet plane revving up.
The Doctor looked at the Master, his eyes sad, filled with pain. “I’m so, so sorry.” he sighed.
The Master took back control of his mouth. “Do it.” he ordered.
“No!” cried Discord, comprehending his situation. “Why are you doing this? Why are you sacrificing yourself for these ponies!? They’ve given you nothing! Why give them anything back?”
“You’re wrong there,” said the Master softly. “I’ve gotten several things on this planet. I’ve gotten old. I’ve gotten tired, tired of running and tired of losing. And most of all, I’ve got something to die for.”
The Element of Generosity blazed with light. A pillar of dark blue light shot into the air. Beams of light shot from the other elements in an arc and converged on the blue pillar, creating a rainbow spiral that surged down the blue pillar and directly into the pony at its base.
The Master stood, his four hooves planted firmly on the ground, his head defiant, staring determinately into his fate. The stone shot up from around his hooves, quickly encasing them. As it climbed up his body, he did not flinch. No sound escaped his mouth as it too was frozen and he closed his eyes as the rest of his body was instantly entombed. The room around the Elements faded to white.
Spike awoke slowly. He felt different. He decided to take inventory of the things that were different. For starters, there was a fiery feeling in his gut. That was different. For another, he felt grass underneath him. That was definitely strange. And finally, he felt sunlight on himself. Not the harsh sunlight of an angry sun, but warm, nice, relaxing. He opened his eyelids and the relaxing sunlight poked him in the eye.
“Ack!” he said, sitting up. He opened his eyes fully. He was perched on a hill, overlooking a wide valley. The entire expanse was an inviting green, and a forest of trees waved lazily in the distance. The bright blue sky stretched overhead and the sun shined in it. Down in the valley, a million creatures lay, unconscious and resting, sleeping off as much of twenty five years of living in hell as sleep can take away.
Next to him on the hill lay Doctor Whooves, Shining Armor, Princess Cadance and a fully human and clothed David. The statue of the Master stood not far away. The others began to stir. Shining Armor looked around.
“We did it,” he said disbelievingly.
“We did it?” asked Cadance. They looked at each other.
“We did it!” they cried, holding each other and dancing around the hilltop.
“You sure did,” said the Doctor, smiling. His smile faded slightly as he looked at the statue of the Master. The Element of Generosity gleamed golden against the stone statue. The Doctor removed the necklace and placed it on the ground.
Spike looked at the statue. “So... what do we do with him now?”
“I know of several caves beneath Equestria,” replied the Doctor. “Where no one can or will ever find this statue again. It will never see the light of day.”
“Is the curse permanent?” asked Spike.
The Doctor nodded. “The Master was an Element bearer, if only for about five seconds and his sacrifice has made the seal unbreakable. No matter how many times the Elements change hooves, those two will never escape.” He sighed. “It almost makes me feel sorry for Discord. Almost.”
Spike whistled. “Those Elements sure are powerful.”
“They are indeed,” said the Doctor. “The Elements of Harmony can fix all problems.” He looked at Spike. “All of them.”
“What do you mean?” asked Spike.
“I imagine you’ve come back with a little something extra, some kind of magic. Try concentrating on it,” instructed the Doctor
Spike did so, focusing on the new fiery feeling in his stomach. A purple fire engulfed him and traveled up his body. Everywhere the fire burned, his body changed. Skin replaced scales, hair replaced spines and his tail disappeared. Within seconds, he stood, fully human and, to his relief, fully clothed. He focused again and changed back into his dragon form.
The Doctor smiled, satisfied. “The Elements of Harmony are meant to restore balance. Discord created an imbalance, gave you two lives to live and a body that would only let you live in one. The Elements fixed that. I imagine these powers also came with a way for you to get to and from Equestria, without my TARDIS having to ferry you around each time.”
Spike was stunned. When he recovered he spoke again. “But how do you know all this? How did you know this was here?”
The Doctor smiled. “When you know the Elements of Harmony as well as I do, you tend to learn how they work.”
Spike turned to David. “Do you have a pony form too?” he asked.
David shook his head. “No. I think I’ve had enough of being a pony for one lifetime. I’m fine with just being me and living a normal life on Earth. I don’t have a life here in Equestria.” He smiled a clever smile. “I am still a Timelord though, so I can find a way to pop on back here, for visits.”
“Visits?” asked Spike “What do you mean?” He looked at Shining Armor and Cadance. “Are you... not coming back with me?”
Shining Armor sighed. “Probably not.” He looked out over the valley of a million ponies. “We have a lot of work to do here first. When these ponies wake up, they’ll need someone to lead them. Twenty five years of torture and misery don’t just go away overnight. Most ponies will probably follow us, because we’re a remnant of the old days, a promise that life will return to normal. But there will still be complications. Wounds to heal, towns to rebuild.”
“But you have lives at home, too!” Spike protested. “Families that love you.”
“And I’m sure we can visit them,” assured Cadance. “We have magic and we have my mirror, if I can ever figure out how that thing works. We’ll probably have to explain the situation to them, but we can still see them from time to time. But it won’t be for a few years at least. There’s too much to do here.”
“But then... what will I do?” asked Spike.
Cadance smiled. “Find the others, of course. Discord may be gone, but there are still plenty of ponies on Earth who have no idea what’s going on. You can find them and help them cope with their situation.”
Spike smiled. “Of course!” he said. He thought of the TARDIS, of a computer sitting in its depths and of four words. Twilight Sparkle - Location: KNOWN. He would find her, find all of his friends and bring them back to the world he had helped save.
The End