“This is impossible, completely impossible. How could he be here!? He can’t, he shouldn’t, he..can’t again….HOW!?” I say as I rapidly pace around the room.

Octavia pins me to the wall. “Tech, CALM DOWN!..and help me with Lyra.” I look over to see Lyra rolling around on the floor, hugging the book.

We run over and manage to grab her, after a few tries. “Lyra? Are you okay? Say words.” I say as I shake her. Lyra just giggles and mumbles gibberish. “And this is why fandoms are dangerous..”

Octavia smirks. “Yeah, and that’s what we need to remember, this is just part of a story. It isn’t actually real.”

Lyra pops up, snapped out of her trance. “It’s not just a story! It was never just a story!”

“Lyra..you’re kidding, right?” Octavia puts her hoof on Lyra’s shoulder, looking incredibly worried.

Lyra rolled her eyes and pushed Octavia’s hoof away. “Come on, Tavi. There’s way too much detail in these stories for them to be fake. Nobody can make an environment that specific!”

I sneak over, in between the two. “What about Harry Trotter?”

“Ooh! That was a good-” Lyra shakes her head. “No no no no no..it’s not like that! Harry Trotter, obvious fiction. Like, wizards? Psch! Nope.”

Octavia and I exchange a deadpan look. “Wizards, no. But humans and time lords, of course!” I say sarcastically.

Lyra gains a sly smirk. “Well ya know what, Tech, let me ask you this. If this was written by someone in Ponyville, and the whole thing is fiction, then why would they make humans and that version of Earth so unbelievably detailed just for the main character to be from a completely separate world that is also super detailed?” She crosses her arms.

My eyebrows raise. “Ah..uh…That’s…actually..a good point. I mean, it is..right?” I look over to Octavia.

“Um..” Octavia rubs her head. “It still could be possible, if a writer is that devoted.”

“Though why would we take breaks in a human setting after alien things, when to us it’s ALL alien things? Why not go to ponies? And why are horses such a different thing?!” I start pacing around the room. “A completely different dimension, written in the first person, a person from another new world. It’d have to be a really devoted writer to get THAT into a world. Not impossible, but it’s still very improbable.”

Octavia looks to me. “Okay, so now what?”

“Hmm..I wonder,” I mumble, looking back at the book. “Lyra, keep reading.”

Lyra looks confused. “Wha- why?”

“Just keep on reading the page we were on. I have a bit of a hunch, and I’d like to investigate.” I sit down on the rug.

“Aren’t you going to tell us what it is?” Octavia asks as she sits next to me.

I smirk. “Oh, where would be the fun in that?”

“All right. Mystery hunch, let’s do this!” Lyra shouts, flipping through the pages of the book. “Here we go. “I could only stare at her for what felt like a long time, probably too rude a time. I mean I’ve seen stranger, much much stranger, but this just through me for a loop. To be fair, I had just found that I’m a horse, so I was still trying to put everything together in my mind. And it wasn’t getting any easier, because the yellow horse began talking. She seemed so scared, asking why I was staring in through her window. Valid question. She let me in her home. It was very nice. She gave me a little tour, where I saw her many animals..” ”

“Come on..come on….” I whisper to myself. “Where is it?”

Octavia looks curious. “Where’s what?”

“He might not mention, but if he does..” I continue.

“Never mind, keep going, Lyra. Hopefully we’ll find out soon.” Octavia says, trying to think of what I could be so focused on.

Lyra looks back to the book. “Okay. *ahem* “What stood out to me was her pet rabbit. He didn’t seem too friendly. He kept yelling at her in his little rabbit-y voice. Odd how an animal’s speech can sound so human in this place. Well, not human, I guess horse now. Actually the yellow one, whose name is apparently ‘Fluttershy’, told me that we’re all ponies. Strange name, Fluttershy. Anyway, she brought me around, showed me some of her trinkets. Photos of places in the town nearby, and even one of her with every one of her animals. Needless to say it’s a large photo, the size of the Mona Lisa I’d say..” ”

I shoot up onto my hooves. “AHA!!”

Octavia shoots up as well. “What!? What is it?”

“That picture he mentioned, with Flutters and all her animals, that was recent! Very recent actually. Abooouut..a week ago I believe. Maybe two,” I say, as Lyra and Octavia stare in shock.

Lyra’s jaw hangs open. “A WEEK AGO!? So does that mean he’s real?”

“Wha-..” Octavia looks at Lyra curiously. “What happened to ‘This was never just a story’ and ‘It can’t be fake’?”

Lyra shrugs. “I just really get into stories, I wasn’t actually being serious. I’m not THAT crazy!”

Octavia and I both stare at Lyra with the same look of doubt. “Anyways,” I continue. “No, it doesn’t mean it’s definitely real. The writer could just be a friend of Flutters and visit her often, explaining the knowledge of her house and the involvement in the book. BUT, it does mean we can go over to her cottage and ask her. Since it’s so recent, she should recall and have the information we need.”

“Awesome!! Let’s go!” Lyra speeds off towards the door.

“Lyra, wait!” Octavia catches up with her. “It’s late. We can’t just go bother her now.”

I run past them both and out the door. “Never let time interfere with investigation! Rule 32!”

Lyra smirks. “You just made that up, didn’t you?”

“Oh yes!” I grin big. One of my finest and most Doctor-y rules, if I may say so myself. “So, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

“YEAH!” Lyra runs right past me, rushing towards Fluttershy’s cottage.

I get ready to run as well when Octavia walks up to me, smiling. “Nice job..Doctor.” She nudges me, then runs off.

I smile, then look to the ground. My smile fades. “Heh, Doctor..yeah…”

“Coming, Tech!?” Lyra shouts from a distance.

I snap out of my thoughts. “Oh, um. Yeah! Let’s do this!” I run to catch up with the two. We make our way over to Fluttershy’s, hoping to shed some light on the situation. When we get there we notice all the lights in her cottage are off. It’s totally dark in and around her home.

Octavia looks to me. “What was that about time not interfering?”

I walk past her. “It’s not, just watch me.” I peek in through a window, seeing an extremely dark living room. Looking around, I spot Fluttershy asleep on her couch.

Octavia and Lyra sneak up beside me. “We can’t just wake her up,” Octavia says.

Lyra nods. “Yeah, it’s a pretty rude move, Tech.”

“Yeah, she does look pretty peaceful..” I say, then notice that Fluttershy is moving around. “Or at least she did.”

Lyra ducks under the window. “Is she waking up?!”

“I don’t think so..it looks like she’s reacting to a dream.” I watch as Fluttershy’s expression changes from relaxed to scared.

“Doesn’t look like a good dream.” Octavia says.

“N..no, Angel. Don’t….eat..me..” Fluttershy mumbles, starting to shake.

“Nope, definitely a nightmare.” I say as Fluttershy’s eyes burst open as she’s frightened awake. “GET DOWN!” Octavia and I hide with Lyra beneath the window, hoping we weren’t seen.

“Do you think she..” Lyra begins to ask.

I shake my head. “No, I’m pretty sure we’d hear her reaction if she did.” I look over to the door. “Anyway, now that she’s awake..” I crawl away from the window, up to the door, and ring the doorbell. I hear a small shriek, followed by hoofsteps coming towards the door.

The door slowly opens, Fluttershy peeks outside, still looking very jumpy. “Hello?..”

I smirk. “Don’t worry, Flutters, just me!”

“Techy!” She wraps her hooves around me. “What are you doing here? Especially at this time.”

Lyra and Octavia walk up. “With us too!” Lyra says.

“Hey girls! Is there some sort of special occasion I’m forgetting?” Fluttershy asks.

“Not quite,” I begin. “We’re conducting a sort of investigation, that seems to lead here, in your house.”

Fluttershy raises an eyebrow. “Investigation? What are you investigating?”

“Something that happened here, within the last week or so. Tell me, Flutters, what do you know about a man named..The Doctor?” I ask.

“Um..I.” Fluttershy’s eyes grow wide, shifting around. “I don’t know.”

I give a stern look. “The look on your face says otherwise.”

“I..I can’t say...that I remember anything….” Fluttershy runs in her house, I follow.

“Flutters, what’s wrong? Why can’t you tell me what happened? Also where did you go? You have no lights on..” I look around, but can’t find her.

Octavia peeks into the house. “Tech, we should just let her be. She’s obviously not comfortable with this.”

“Yeah, ‘Techy’, just give it up.” Lyra says.

I pace around the living room, thinking out loud. “Why can’t she tell me? Why is she hiding? What happened here? I’m missing something..” I mumble to myself. “Wait, you can’t say you remember anything...does that mean?..Aha!” A small shriek comes from behind a chair. I run over to find Fluttershy tearing up. “Oh gosh, Flutters..” I sit beside her.

Fluttershy looks at me, sniffling. “I’m..sorry, Techy..I..I….”

“You can’t tell me, can you? You were told not to.” I say quietly. Fluttershy nods. “I see. Well, we can still make this work. I’ll ask you if something happened, and you just tell me if I’m right or not. That way you’re technically not breaking your promise and I still find out what I need to.”

Fluttershy wipes her tears. “That can work.”

“Alrighty then! Let’s get started.” I bring Fluttershy over to a couch, we both sit and prepare for the interrogation. Well, this is it. Time to find out what’s going on here. My god, I am SO EXCITED!! Ok, gotta stay calm, and look cool. “So, you encountered someone in the last week or so. A strange man, correct?”

Fluttershy nods. “Yes.”

“And was it a man you were familiar with?” I add.

Fluttershy shakes her head. “No.”

I nod. Time for specifics. “Ok..Was this stallion brown with darker brown hair?”

“Wha-..How do you know that?!” Fluttershy gasped, then covered her mouth.

“I’ll take that as a ‘Yes’.” I smirk. Fluttershy nods in return.

“Who is he? A friend of yours?” Fluttershy asks.

I chuckle. “I wish. Didn’t he tell you who he is?”

“No. He just stumbled over to my window. He seemed very frightened, so I let him come in. He didn’t stay too long, he said he just needed to rest a little.” Fluttershy’s expression saddens. He told me his name was the Doctor, and he was in a lot of trouble...he said ‘this might be it’.”

“‘It’? That can’t be good. ‘It’ is just never good..He’s in danger. When he left, did he say where he was going?” I ask. What could be going on? Whatever it is, it must be really bad. What does he mean ‘this might be it’?

“He didn’t say specifically, but he did seem very interested in Celestia and Luna’s old castle.” Fluttershy smirked. “He said I was brilliant for mentioning it.”

I grin. “And you’re just as brilliant now for remembering.” I look to the front door. “Octavia! Lyra! We’re headed to the old castle!”

Fluttershy looks at me nervously. “You’re going to go find him? He said he’s in trouble, it could be dangerous!”

“I need to, Flutters.” I put my hoof on her shoulder. “I know that stallion. Not personally, from a far..from a book. If he’s actually real, which it would now seem is the case, I can't just let him do this alone. He needs someone, and the world needs him..as do I…”

“Wh-why do you need him?” Fluttershy looks curious.

“..I..uh..” I begin. Another time, another place. Not now. “It’s..not important. What is important is getting to that castle. So, would you like to come along?”

“What? You want me to come? Why?” Fluttershy asks in shock.

I chuckle. Three questions right off the bat. Oh, Flutters. “Well you can be a big help. You’re clever, and we’re going through Everfree, so we could use protection from the oodles of horrifying creatures.”

Fluttershy looks confused. “I’m..protection?”

“Yes! Well, sort of. You’re the best pony around with the whole animal deal, so you’re the best protection we can get. And besides all that, it’ll just be a fun time.” I say, grinning big.

“Fun? This is super dangerous! We have no idea what’s going on or what we’re getting into. And you think this is gonna be fun!?” Fluttershy shouts.

“Oh yes!” I reply, still grinning.

Fluttershy giggles. “Techy, you’re absolutely insane.”

I nudge her. “Is that a yeesss?”

“I don’t know..” Fluttershy looks down in thought.

“Don’t worry. You’ll be safe, I promise.” I smile.

Fluttershy nods. “Alright, I trust you. I'll come.” She smiles.

I jump up. “YES! Alright then, let’s get going!”

“Aw, can’t it wait until morning?” Fluttershy asks. “It’s late and I’m really tired. The Doctor even said he was gonna hide out a week or so before making any moves, we have some time to spare.”

“He..he said...huh. Ok then, I guess that’ll work.” I say. Huh, could’ve told me that earlier, but then again I never asked anything that specific. Heck, we may even be there before him.

Octavia comes in from outside. “Is everything alright? You’ve been in here a while. And what was that about the castle?”

I walk over to her. “Yeah, all is great! There’s a lot of details to get through, so get Lyra in here and we’ll construct our plan.”

“Ok..” Octavia says, still wondering what’s happening.

I explain to Octavia and Lyra what they missed, and explain to Fluttershy what we three know about The Doctor. All of us sit around wondering if this can all be real. We continue to discuss the possibilities. “It could still be an author,” Octavia proposes. “He could have just wrote The Doctor to look like him when he became a pony.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Hmm..could be possible. Fluttershy, did the stallion you meet say anything about writing a story?”

Fluttershy shakes her head. “No, he never mentioned a story. He said that HE was The Doctor. I was confused, but he told me that was his name. Nothing else, just The Doctor.”

“Maybe he’s a method actor. Pretending to be him so he could write as best he can.” Lyra says, as she looks through the pages of the book. “So, what do we do when we get to the castle?”

I think for a minute, then look to Lyra. “Well..first we look around to see if The Doctor shows up. If not, we’ll look around to see if there’s anything suspicious in the area. If nothing at all happens, then the book is most likely just fiction.”

Octavia looks to Lyra. “Hey, go back to where we were in the book. Maybe The Doctor wrote something about what’s going on.”

“I doubt it.” I say as I walk over to see the book. “The day Fluttershy met the stallion and the date we found the book are very close. I imagine the writing ends soon, if not on the next page.”

“Tech’s right,” Lyra says, showing the last page of text. “There is one last bit though.”

“What does it say?” Fluttershy asks.

“Let’s see, *ahem*, “I explained to her that I had to go. Although, she did help me out a bit before I left. She mentioned a castle of sorts, and if it’s as important as she said, it may be where I’m headed next. The moment I returned to the TARDIS, I got a signal from a potential threat. Something hiding above this planet. It may seek whatever power resides in the castle. Looks like there’s work to be done in this world as well. One of these days I’ll take a real vacation, with actual rest. Though, where would be the fun in that?”” Lyra looks up from the book. “That’s it."

“Well, at least we know for sure he’s headed there. So tomorrow, we’ll all meet back here and head through the forest, to the castle! For now, I believe it’s time to head home.” I begin walking towards the front door.

Fluttershy runs up in front of me. “Wait! If we’re going to adventure together tomorrow, and you’re all already here, we might as well make this a sleepover.” Fluttershy looks a tad embarrassed. “Well, I don’t want to force you. If you want to.”

I smile. “I’m up for it. Lyra? Tavi?”

“Sure..Techy….” Octavia snickers. Oh great, this is going to be a thing now. Who knows though, maybe it’s just a one time tease.

Lyra nudges Octavia. “Cute little Flutters and Techy.” Lyra and Octavia burst out in giggles. This isn’t a one time tease…

Fluttershy blushes. “Oh, stop it girls.”

Octavia grins big. “It’s so cute though! With your nicknames, and now a sleepover!”

“It’s not like that, Octavia. Right..Te-” Fluttershy looks around, noticing I’m gone. “Where’d he go?”

“I’m in here! You should join, it’s a lot less awkward!” I shout from another room.

After that awkwardness, and some more teasing, Fluttershy sets up some blankets and pillows on her couches. Octavia, Lyra, and I get settled in for the evening. We all know the big day we have tomorrow. A day either packed to the brim with excitement, or a complete let down of expectations. No matter what, questions will be answered, and perhaps more will be asked. I lay on my designated couch. Everyone else is seemingly asleep, even Fluttershy’s many animals. I can’t sleep. How do..the sleep? It’s not happening. My eyes refuse to just close and rest. YEAH I’M TALKING TO YOU EYES! *sigh* I have to get up and do something, walk maybe. I walk to the door and try to open it as slowly and quietly as possible. I exit the cottage and close the door in the same quiet manner. Wow, it’s like a ghost town around here. Makes sense, it’s like..uh, something….o’clock. What time even is it? Clocks, clocks, where are the clocks? Ah, there!..five o’clock. WHAT!? Geez! I’ve been zoned out thinking all night! How am I not tired? Then suddenly, I bump into somepony.

“AAH!” The pony shrieks, falling to the ground.

I fall as well, landing on my head. I can’t move a muscle. The world is spinning and my vision is going black.

The pony gets up and runs to me. “Oh my gosh! Darling, are you alright?”

“Wh-I’m..sor-...” I manage to say before going unconscious. Uuuugh, what the heck happened? I feel so out of it. Wait, where am I? Not outside I can tell that much. How’d I get here? What even hap-..Okay, let’s just calm it down, Techy, you can do this. As I lie down in an unknown location, I begin to piece together what happened. Where was I last? Outside, walking. I was thinking and then BAM! I hit something. No, wait, somepony. I heard a shriek, and I remember seeing white and purple for a second before falling. It was definitely a mare by her voice, and she exclaimed, “Darling, are you alright?” White, purple, “darling”. Alright, I know the ‘who’ now..what else? My back feels pretty irritated, scraped even. And I’m pretty sure this is a bed I’m lying on, not a hospital bed, much too comfortable for that...hmm…...GOT IT! I pop up energetically, making the pony in the room jump. I decide it’s time to state my findings. “RARITY! I bumped into Rarity outside, while walking. She dragged me all the way to her house, the Carousel Boutique, up to her room..where I now reside.” I blurt out.

The pony, turning out to be Rarity, looks at me surprised. “Y-yes. Exactly..how did you..?”

“Basic deductive reasoning, Rari. Not even half of what I can do.” I smirk, then get up and walk over to her. “How’s it going? It’s been a bit since we’ve hung out.”

“Oh, same old same old. Except I got my very own boutique in Canterlot!!” Rarity grins big, hopping a bit.

I join the excitement. “I heard from the others. That’s SO COOL! Congrats!” I begin hopping as well. Wait a minute, there’s no time to hop now! Or wait, is there? What time is it now? Gosh, I really need to invest in a watch.. “Oh, by the way, what time is it?”

Rarity looks around for her clock. “Um, it is..seven o’two. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, hopefully the girls aren’t up yet. They’ll freak out if they see I’ve just up and disappeared.” I start pacing, slightly panicked. “Still early though, I should have time.”

“Ooohh! The girls? Is that why you’ve been so busy lately?” Rarity giggles.

“No. What? No no. Not like that. More like a book club of sorts. Well, the best book club EVER!” Wow, don’t I sound boring. I do like books though. Oh gosh, AM I BORING??

“Aww,” Rarity looks to the ground, seemingly disappointed. “I am waiting for the day you have a special somepony. I have a great idea for a little outfit you can wear on dates.”

I chuckle lightly. “You’ll have to wait a long time before that miracle happens.”

“Don’t talk like that. So..” Rarity nudges me. “Do you fancy anypony?” She winks.

Yeah, not telling. This is not the time, too many other things on my mind right now. Doctor-y stuff..and this is just embarrassing to talk about. “Uh..um, heh nope. This is not a thing that’s happening. Fancy? Somepony? Nope.” Yeeeaaah….that was SO convincing..Maybe she bought it though.

“You definitely do!” She, um..she didn’t buy it at all. “Who is it?! Do I know her? Oh come on, you can trust me!” Rarity is shaking me around.

“Rarity, stop! I’m not talking about this right now. I have to get ready. We’ll talk about this later..” I begin walking to the door. “..or not at all..” I mutter under my breath.

Rarity raises an eyebrow. “What are you getting ready for?”

Should I? No..no need to drag her into it as well. “It’s..a book club thing. Long story. No pun intended.” Rarity follows me outside and closes the door behind her. “Oh! I almost forgot, I’m so sorry for bumping into you earlier,” I say, feeling guilty.

“It’s quite alright. I feel I should apologize to you, you did get the rough end of it,” Rarity says, leading us both to giggle. Her look then changes to concern. “Are you sure you’re alright? I’ve never seen you lose consciousness before.”

“Yeah, I should b- Woah WOAH!” I trip and fall backwards.

Rarity looks incredibly worried. “Oh my!” She crouches down to me.

I sit up slowly. “Don’t worry, this is normal for me.” Rarity helps me get back on my hooves.

Author's Note

WARNING! THIS CHAPTER IS UNFINISHED. So don't judge the length yet ya silly sock diddlers XD