The Creation of Harmony

by Time Ponies are cool

Tympanus

Chapter IV: Tympanus

The voice came from a pegasus above them, who flew down and gently landed in front of the Doctor. The pegasus was as tall as the Doctor, but the Doctor looked at him with a panicked face, eyes wide, teeth clenched and breathing heavy. He had a cream-colored coat, a brown mane, wide wings and a fog watch for a cutie mark. His brown eyes and pearly white teeth gave him a charming face, but at the same time he appeared sinister. He faced the Doctor with a mischievous look and spoke.

"Hello. Did you miss me?"

"What are you doing here?" The Doctor replied.

"Oh, why are you always so rude? Normally, one returns the 'hello.'"

Rainbow Dash jumped in front of the Doctor and stood on her hind hooves with a loose flexible fighting stance, threatening the stranger with her front hooves.

"Hey! Where'd you put the TARDIS?" She said, "Who do you think you are?"

The pegasus scoffed and flew over Rainbow Dash as he spoke, "I don't answer to tomcolts like you. I can tell you the usual lie though: that my name is Tympanus." He then landed and looked the Doctor in the eyes and continued, "But I'm sure the Doctor has all the true answers. Why don't you tell them who I am? Say my name."

The Doctor paused as everypony looked to him. He took a deep breath through his nostrils and said, "Master."

"Thank you, Doctor. It's ever so nice to hear you say my name. Now let's see..."

"What are you doing here, Master?"

"Oh, don't interrupt me like that."

"How are you here?! You died! You died in my hooves, refusing to regenerate, and I burned your body. How are you here?" The Doctor stamped his hoof as he demanded answers. The Master walked about the courtyard and the Doctor followed closely behind, listening to hsi adversary's answer.

"Amazing beasts, those zebra shamans. They seem to have potions, brews and concoctions for everything. Did you honestly think I had no back up plans? Did you really think you could beat me that easily? I always thought you not quite that stupid. All I needed was one loyal zebra who's a master at potions and here I am. Although, I am surprised they brought me back in such good condition out of my remains. Oh and it came back as well. The drums. The never-ending drums. I heard them once again, throbbing in my head. One-two-three-four! One-two-three-four! One-two-three-four! One-two-three-four! I'm not sure if I missed them or I was glad to be rid of them, but it is nice to have everything back. Anyway, where was I? Oh right! I’ve effectively disarmed you. Hah! No TARDIS, and no screwdriver. They're all mine." The Master hopped into the air and smacked the Doctor across the face. "And now there's nothing you can do!"

The Doctor turned his face back at the Master and looked at him as he demanded, "What's the plan then? Go to the future and take Equestria? Because you have no chance against the Princesses!"

"Oh, no, no, no. I've got something much better. Listen closely: I'm going to become an alicorn!"

"An alicorn?" Rarity said, "How can the likes of you become an alicorn? It's impossible!"

The Master snickered as he turned and flew towards Rarity. "Oh, don't worry your pretty face about that. The magic this little rock in space holds no bounds," he said as he stroked Rarity's face with a feather. "And once this whole world is mine, I'll be needing somepony by my side."

Rarity slapped the Master's wing away and glared at him viciously. "Don't touch me, you scoundrel!'

The Master looked at her with a mocking jaw-drop and shocked face. "My, my, aren't you a violent one. I can't have a violent partner. No, no." He then gave a mischievous laugh and flew back up above the courtyard, looking down at everypony. "And besides, you're hardly the most beautiful pony I've set my eyes on. But, she certainly makes a good candidate." He looked straight at Fluttershy and winked.

"Well, it was nice meeting everypony. I'd love to stay for some tea, but I've got a terribly busy schedule today. And don't you worry, Doctor. I'll be creating what I'm sure you'd be glad to see: a new Time Stallion empire. I will burn this world and turn it into Gallopfrey reborn! Now, if you don't mind, I'll be off, following the drumbeat. Buh-bye!"

The Master flew away at full speed to the West, where the Kingdom of Hoofrica was. Rainbow Dash flew up and began chasing after him, leaving a trail of rainbow behind her. "Hey! Get back here, you! Give us back the TARDIS!"

Rainbow Dash was stopped short, however, as Twilight pulled her back by the tail using her magic. "Don't, Rainbow! You can't go after him on your own!" Twilight shouted as she struggled to pull the stubborn pegasus back to the ground, "If we're to beat him, we have to beat him together!"

Once Rainbow Dash felt the marble floor of the courtyard under her hooves, she gave up and dropped down. Twilight's face then lit up with excitement as she gave a squee.

"And that was the Tympanus! Oh my gosh! I can't believe I just met Tympanus from the Legend of the Blue Box! Of all the characters in the epic, he was the one that stood out the most and, well, frankly, the only one besides Starswirl and the Doctor that I can remember! Oh, this is simply the best day ever!"

Fluttershy looked worriedly at the Master as he flew further and further away. She shuddered at the thought of whatever he would have wanted out of maker her his "partner." She walked up to the Doctor and tapped his shoulder. "Does this mean we can't go home? Because I think we should really just go home. I can't stay here. What about Angel? And the squirrels and ducks and possums and robins and mice and sparrows and chickens and-"

"Now, now. Calm down, sugar cube." Applejack interrupted, "I'm sure there's another way to get at that Master."

The Doctor stared anxiously at the sky, and then at the spot where he had parked the TARDIS. "No TARDIS, no screwdriver..." He sat down on the fountain and skimmed his hoof on the water. "Well, I certainly feel helpless, especially with no technology whatsoever around. I'm going to have to improvise with archaic tools and magic. That should be a new experience. Not quite sure how well that'll work, but I'm sure I'll figure something out sooner or later, hopefully sooner. I wonder if there are any materials around the castle that I can use... I should ask Starswirl."

"You'll find out something soon, Doctor," Derpy encouraged him, patting his head, "you always do! Like when you stopped the Jixen from burning down the Everfree Forest with a kettle and a bit of string."

"Oh, I had a bit more than kettle and string," the Doctor modestly replied, "Although, I do have to say, that was one of my more... well... my more magnificent moments."

"Well, before we do anything," Rarity said, "would you care to tell us who that arrogant colt was?"

"Yeah!" Pinkie shouted, "He seems like a fun pony! Maybe we can play the drums together!"

The Doctor's face immediately became solemn as he recalled memories of his and the Master's past. Everypony gathered around him as he looked up reminiscently at the sky. They sat by the fountain, underneath the gaze of the statues surrounding them. Once he had everypony's attention, the Doctor cleared his throat and began.

"Well... the Master and I. We grew up in Gallopfrey, the lost planet of the Time Stallions, the oldest and mightiest race in the Universe. Ponies who were always watching over space and time, sworn never to interfere, only to watch, like ancient sentinels keeping an eye on everything, and ensuring the laws of time were followed and protected. If you look up, Gallopfrey was once right around two-hundred fifty million light-years in that direction." The Doctor pointed at the sky to the North just a few degrees above the horizon.

He sighed longingly and gave a smile that was happy, but at the same time agonized. "Oh, you should've seen that old lovely planet. Our home was in the great citadel of the Time Stallions, encased in a great dome of glass. That beautiful city in the continent of Wild Endeavor, between the mountains of Solace and Solitude. The second sun would rise gracefully from the South and make the mountains shine, and the trees with leaves of silver would sparkle. Oh, how I miss that sky, the lush grass of my father's estate... We, the children of Gallopfrey, at the age of eight, we were taken from our families and brought into the Academy. And they say that's where the Master began... as a child, when he saw Eternity. As part of the initiation into the Academy, he was taken to look into the Untempered Schism, a gap in the fabric of reality. He looked into the whole of time and space, in all its raw power, magnificence and terror. Eight years old... Some would be inspired. Some would run away... And some would go mad."

"Gosh," Applejack said, "That's mighty tragic. But how'd he end up in these parts? Don't you Time Stallions keep a hold on mad ponies like him?"

"Well, it's because they're gone... they're all gone. The Time Stallions are all gone, forever." The Doctor explained. He looked down dejected and stared at his reflection on the water. "There was a war. The Last Great Time War. The Time Stallions fought a species called the Daleks for the sake of all Creation. And we lost. Everypony lost. And Gallopfrey was destroyed, forever cast into oblivion. My family, my friends, my colleagues. They're all gone now. The Master and I are the only survivors. I once thought only I escaped but he somehow survived as well. During my travels I encountered him here on Earth. He tried to take over this world. He nearly succeeded but I stopped him. I undid everything he did, and for everypony it was as if nothing ever happened. But his wife killed him, and the Master died in my hooves. I took his body and burned it. Once again, I was the last of the Time Stallions."

"But then he had zebras bring him back?" Rarity said. "Why would anypony do such a thing for such a mad pony?"

"The Master has a way with words. His charisma is almost hypnotic." The Doctor said as he stood up. He walked some distance away from the fountain and looked to the West. "He can charm his way into anything, and he's sure to have followers that would do anything for him. Given the chance, he could rally an entire kingdom against its rulers and lead the citizens to their own demise. He's the terror of Starswirl's nightmares. He's the threat we need to stop."

Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie gave each other anxious glances. Rarity looked to Twilight and broke the silence.

"What do we do, Twilight?"

" I… I don’t know. But whatever we do, so long as we stick together, nopony can stop us. Remember, even if we don’t have the Elements themselves, we still have their spirits… I just hope we can use them…"

The eight ponies retreated to the shade of the castle as the late morning sun beat down on them from a cloud-free sky.