DEATH TO THE DOCTOR: CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 4 – THE COLD FLAMES

Several thousands of light-years away the TARDIS rematerialized on a planet called The Devil's Cauldron. The Doctor had taken Applejack here once to visit the sights. The planet was in its earlier stages of life, still a volcanic ball floating in space. What made the planet so remarkable to the colonists that discovered it was that its heat is so intense that the majority of its surface area was covered in oceans of molten rock. The Doctor only came once to see the volcanoes erupting; he didn't expect to come back to fight a battle. The time machine swung violently as it appeared in the sulfur rich atmosphere of The Devil's Cauldron. The doors flew open, and out popped the Doctor's head, lightly battered and hanging on for life as the colt tried to force him out to the lava ocean below.
"What's a matter, Doctor," The unknown colt roared, "can't take the heat?"
"Get away from me," The Doctor choked.
"Oh, really threatening," The colt cried out sarcastically, "I suppose you want me to beg for mercy? Oh please, Doctor! Please have pity on me!" He kicked at the Doctor, laughing as he tried to make him let go of the doors of the TARDIS. The Doctor returned the kick, forcing himself back into the TARDIS and tossing the imposter aside. The colt yelped as he knocked his head on the side of the railing near the doors. The Doctor picked up the colt for another hit, only to be grabbed by the neck and forced onto his knees.
"What do you want?!" The Doctor gurgled.
"Oh, still the reasonable negotiator, are we? I want only one thing, Doctor," the colt hissed through gritted teeth as he tightened his grip, "and that's to watch you die!"
"That's not going to happen!" The Doctor jumped up and kicked the colt right in the chest. The pony gasped as the air was knocked out of its lungs. While the colt was still reeling from the attack the Doctor brought a hoof down on his head. The colt groaned as it hit the floor of the capsule. "Not today!"
"Look at you, Doctor," the colt huffed, "look at what you've become. This is what the Time War has done to you. Doctor, once a word for healer and wise man; look how twisted that word has become as your name!" The colt grunted as he lifted his hind hooves off the floor and mule kicked the Doctor square on the chin. He staggered as he held on to his aching muzzle, just in time to see a kick knock him across the forehead. He rolled on his side out the door, managing to grab the edge of the TARDIS just in time. Dangling from the bottom of the blue box he pulled out his sonic screwdriver and held it between his teeth. The colt roared with laughter as he tried to knock the Doctor off the edge. The Doctor groaned as he felt the pain in his hooves and the heat from outside. "This is it, Doctor," The colt huffed, "this is where I win!"
"You really think so?" The Doctor activated the sonic screwdriver, activating a lever on the control panel of the TARDIS and causing the whole time machine to tip onto its side. The colt cried out in surprise as he and the Doctor fell back into the capsule. As soon as they were both in the ship began to dematerialize, taking them back to where the fight had all began.

The Doctor's machine had rematerialized near one of the frozen poles beyond Equestria's boundaries. The capsule spun around for a moment, desperately trying to right itself, and then collided into the snow below. The big blue box rolled over the snow covered surface, causing the doors to swing open and expelling the Doctor. He landed in the cold white ground, breathing heavily as he felt the bruising and bashing take its toll. The Doctor lifted his head to the TARDIS, which was lying on its side with the doors still open. He coughed as he slowly crawled back into the TARDIS. The colt had vanished, but he could still hear it speaking.
"That's right, Doctor," he heard him say, "Crawl back into your shell where you belong. This universe doesn't need Time Lords anymore. You're a legacy that should have burnt with the rest of them." The Doctor reached the doors, slowly pulling himself inside. As soon as the Doctor was within the warm comfort of the time machine he slammed the doors shut and used his sonic screwdriver to bolt the door shut. His breathing began to correct itself, and despite the beating he took he was still as alive as ever. There was no need to regenerate; he was alright. "Do you see now," the voice of the colt echoed inside of the TARDIS, "do you see how foolish you have been? I cannot be defeated, Doctor. You've been fooled, and this will be the last time that you shall ever have the pleasure of being fooled." The Doctor smirked, and then started chuckling to himself. "What's so funny," the colt asked. The Doctor's chuckling then broke into all out laughter. The sound was disturbing to the colt, no matter how hard it tried not to think about it. "What are you laughing about?!"
"I thought it would be impossible to sneak things past myself," the Doctor chuckled, "but it seems that even I can really be thick sometimes."
"Explain yourself, Doctor!"
"While you were busy trying to respond to my cheap hits I was collecting data on you. I can read the information directly from my sonic screwdriver. It was one thing that I was able to retrieve your signal and block the TARDIS from responding to it. It was a totally different thing to find the source of that signal. I know where you are, you impossible thing, and I am going to make sure you get exactly what's coming to you."
"You're bluffing! You can't possibly have-"
"Oh, but I do have the codes," The Doctor sneered, "and you've just run out of time." The Doctor activated his sonic screwdriver, silencing the voice of the colt. He walked along the walls, trying his best not to step on any of the light fixtures. Upon reaching the railing of the command area he jumped up, grabbing onto the railing. He activated his sonic screwdriver a second time, allowing the TARDIS to quickly dematerialize and rematerialize upright. When he was able to stand on his own four feet again the Doctor threw the hand brake up and the TARDIS began its journey. "I may have silenced your voice," The Doctor muttered, "but I know you can still hear me. And I know, more than anything else, that you know what I'm going to say next. I am the Doctor, and I care for my friends more than you can imagine. Your tampering has made me very angry, and to bring about the fury of a Time Lord is most unwise." The TARDIS landed with a thud, and the Doctor trotted over to the doors. "I may not have any guns, I may not carry weapons, and I may not even have an army." The Doctor twirled his sonic screwdriver around on his hoof. "However, I have lived for nine hundred years, and I have seen and done more than you can even hope to remember. You best start praying to whatever God or deity that you have, because you have made me mad, and I am coming for you. Mark my words, whatever you are. I am the Doctor of Gallifrey, and I am coming for you!"