Lost in Time

“Ah, we’re landed.” Says the Doctor as he wipes his forehead with his hoof. Fluttershy smiles and looks toward the door

“Doctor, Where are we?” she asks, almost too impatient to find out. the Doctor laughs, amused by Fluttershy’s lack of patience “Well why don’t you go out there and see?” he says.

Fluttershy trots up to the TARDIS door, but before she can open it, the door opens itself, but Fluttershy isn’t paying attention to the door moving on its own,

“Oh My!” Fluttershy exclaims, what used the middle of the Everfree Forest is now . . . Ponyville in early years!

“Take a look!” calls the Doctor from inside the TARDIS.

Fluttershy slowly walks out the doors of the TARDIS. The noise of all the hustle going on around the town fills Fluttershy’s ears. Suddenly she jumps out of the way to dodge a galloping colt. Everypony is wearing ruffled clothing and big feathered hats. What will Everypony think? I’m not wearing any ruffles or anything, But when Fluttershy looks down at herself and sees that she had somehow got a ruffled dress on!

“B-but how did this get here?!” she exclaims. Fluttershy feels the top of her head and finds an oversized feathered hat atop her head, and she laughs.

The Doctor comes out wearing a checkered suit with  on the top of his head a silk top hat, “Good day malady, may we take a walk together?” he asks in a gentleman like voice. Fluttershy giggles

“Good day to you too, good sir, and yes, a walk would be lovely,” she says, blushing as the Doctor grabs her hoof.

“Well then,” he says, holding his own hoof out to the side “Shall we?” he says, Fluttershy nods and starts walking with the Doctor down the dirt path.

~~~~~~

After about an hour of walking and window shopping, the Doctor and Fluttershy walks into a coffee shop, and an old bell chimes as they open the door and walk in.

“Hello! Welcome to Ponyville Summers coffee shop, Please take a seat and I’ll serve you shortly,” says a chipper waitress behind the counter making a pot coffee, so the Doctor and Fluttershy find an open table and sit down on both sides.

“Get anything you want. My treat.” Says the Doctor, tipping the brim of his hat down with his hoof

The waitress walks up to their table, she’s a young violet colored Pegasus Mare with a sky blue mane and powdery purple eyes, “Okay, what can I get for you?” she asks the Doctor and Fluttershy.

The Doctor laughs a comforting laugh. “Thank you Miss, I think it’ll be hot chocolates for the both of us,” he says, looking at Fluttershy giving her that ‘Is that good for you?’ look.

Fluttershy nods and smiles at the waitress. The waitress nods as she writes down the short order. “Okay then, it’ll only take a minute.” She smiles at them and walks away.

The Doctor unfolds his napkin to reveal a knife, a fork and a spoon, and the Doctor starts setting the table. “So, Fluttershy, what’s your story? I mean, you came to my TARDIS cold and tired and scared, I gave you a place to sleep, and I have brought you to Ponyvilles early years. So what was Fluttershy before she met me?” he asks. Fluttershy laughs, thinking, This pony has brought me hundreds of years into the past and HE wants to know about ME?

“Well, I grew up in Ponyville, and I work with animals a lot, hence my cutie mark. Um, there’s not much to me except my friends: Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and –as you must know her- Princess Twilight Sparkle. But Princess Twilight’s the special one, not me, I’m just some shy pegasus that likes to helps animals, You though, Your somepony special . . . Ponies only wish to be like you.” She takes a deep breath in and the exhales.

The Doctor sits for a minute in silence, and Fluttershy looks down at the old fashioned place mat. “You are not nothing, you are far from nothing,” Fluttershy looks up at the Doctor, and he continues. “You get up every morning to help animals and help you friends and be their friend. No one could ask for a better friend than you,” he says. Fluttershy feels her cheeks starting to burn. Fluttershy and the Doctor get up from the chairs and Fluttershy pulls The Doctor into a hug,

“Thank you,” she says, squeezing him  tight, she looks at the Doctor and sees his tough eyes fighting back tears. Is he . . . Crying? “What is it?” she asks the Doctor, who gives her a faint smile.

“I can barely remember the last time I was this happy,” he says. After a moment Fluttershy pulls away and sniffs, giving a faint laugh as she rubs her eye

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to cry or anything,” Fluttershy says.

The Doctor looks directly at her .“Fluttershy, it should never be an embarrassment or a disgrace to cry when you're sad or happy or angry, so do not apologize.” He tells her, and Fluttershy feels her blood rushing to her cheek. The Doctor and Fluttershy sit back down; Fluttershy can tell that the Doctor is staring at her. She doesn't want to show the Doctor her bright red eyes and cheeks, but she can’t help it; She looks up to see the Doctor looking at her as if he can see through her skin and to her heart.

After a moment of silence, the Doctor just breaks out in uncontrollable laughter. For a moment Fluttershy just looks at the Doctor, confused, but she can’t help it; She breaks in a giddy laughter. The both of them just keep laughing, ignoring the customers all around them starting to stare, just laughing without a care in the world. They keep laughing until the waitress breaks the laughter by bringing their hot chocolate. She sets them down, one by the Doctor and one by Fluttershy. “That’ll be four bits, please,” she tells them.

The Doctor reaches into his suit pocket and pulls out a small sack of money with a lot more than four bits, and slips the pouch into the waitress apron and leans close to her. “Keep the change,” he whispers to her.

The waitresses eyes widen “Thank you, Thank you very much, kind sir!” she exclaims.

“HEY! CAN I GET MY COFFEE ALREADY?!” some angry stallion shouts at the waitress. The waitress jumps and  she hurries back to the counter to finish the pony’s coffee.

Fluttershy looks at the Doctor in awe. The Doctor looks puzzled “What? Haven’t you tipped a waiter or a marketer before?” he asks her. Fluttershy nods.

“Yes of course I have. It’s just that you travel in time for a living an-”

“Time and space,” the Doctor cuts in. Fluttershy rolls her eyes in sarcasm and carries on.

“You travel in time and space for a living, with no real job or employment . . . yet, you’re still able to just give away bits just like that . . . Where do you get all that money?” Fluttershy looks at the Doctor, longing for an answer; the Doctor gets up from his chair, walks over to Fluttershy and leans close to her ear.

“Some things are better left a mystery,” he says. A chill goes down Fluttershy’s spine. The Doctor leans back from her ear, “We should go, C’mon.” he says. Fluttershy scoots back her chair and gets up and follows the Doctor out of the coffee shop.