“Run!” I say, looking at my friends as I begin to run off.
I’m Tech Reel, and..well, this is what I do with my friends.
Octavia is close behind me, carrying a borrowed juke box. Her musical composition is blasting through Ponyville. “Waiffor meh!” She attempts to say, mouth still gripping the handle.
That’s Octavia, my musical buddeh. Since you can’t see her, story and all, she’s grey with a black mane and tail. Wearing a pink bowtie, and donning a G-clef cutie mark.
“DELETE DELETE! Come back here!” Lyra says in a robotic voice. She’s running right behind us, wearing aluminum foil on her head.
And this is Lyra. My other..very interesting friend, who’s minty green in color, with a white and light blue mane, a lyre cutie mark..and apparently aluminium foil. You see, we’re doing what all grown ponies do with their time, play pretend right in the middle of Ponyville.
I hold up a stick and point it at Lyra. “Stop! One move and I explode the whole ship.”
“You wouldn’t!” Lyra says, continuing her robotic facade. “That would require risking yourself, and your companion.”
“Occupational hazard.” I say, growing angry. Octavia watches from the side, holding back giggles.
“Fine, but don’t think you’ve won this battle. I’ll be back soon, our legion is building, we will destroy you, Doctor! WOOOOOSHH!” Lyra makes a whoosh noise and runs off behind a tree.
Octavia turns off the music and runs over to me. “You did it, Doctor! You stopped them!” Octavia hugs me.
“Yeah..for now at least,” I begin to walk. “Now, let’s go back to the TARDIS.” Lyra comes out from the tree and we all start laughing at the performance we just did. “Okay, why don’t all teenagers play pretend all of the time?!” I ask, still giggling.
“Because they aren’t as cool as we are,” Lyra chimes in. “Or because they haven’t found the ultimate story to follow like we have!”
The story she’s mentioning is that of The Doctor. A few weeks ago we stumbled upon a little book. We didn’t think much of it at first, but then we actually began to read it. It contains tons of stories from a man named The Doctor, an alien protecting a world of humans. Humans that Octavia and I have learned about from Lyra's obsession with them. We've been spending all of our time reading about the Doctor's adventures. Octavia likes the skill and grace the Doctor has, Lyra likes..well, anything with humans really, and I like reading about someone I can relate to.
Octavia looks up with a look of realization. “Oh! Speaking of, whose house are we reading at tonight?”
Hmm, whose night was it? Lyra’s? No wait, that was last night. “I think it’s my house this time,” I say with a hint of doubt. Wait, is it my night? UGH, stupid brain, why don’t you remember things?..
“That’s right! You’re house then, Tech. Eight o’clock as usual?” Octavia asks.
I nod. “Of course!” Ooh! I can’t wait! I really hope I can resist peeking at the next page.
“Awesome!” Lyra’s excitement diminishes. “Well, I have to go to work. The shop has been BUSY lately, me and Bon Bon have been swamped!"
"Aaaww!" I look to the ground. Aw man, I completely forgot she's working today. Well at least I can hang out with Octavia.
Octavia looks at me sympathetically. "I have to go too, I have some things that have to be done."
"AAAAWWWW!" Both. Both of them busy today. Now what am I supposed to do 'til eight? "Oh well, I'll see you two tonight.." I say disappointedly. They both say their goodbyes and walk off. Whelp, I'm alone now....aaaaaannnd I'm bored. What is a Tech Reel to do in the meantime? I wonder what Twilight’s up to. I write a letter to Spike saying:
I’m bored.
What’s Twilight up to?
-Tech Reel
P.S. - I’m BORED
This..this letter is perfection. After marvelling over my letter, I use the spell Twilight taught me to send it to Spike. Well I guess I need to wait now….waiting……...waaaaiiiiitiiiinnnng….UUGHHH! I start banging my head on a nearby table, then suddenly a letter appears from a green wisp. Ooh! Took long enough. I open the letter to see:
Hey Tech!
Twilight is not to be disturbed today, she needs all the rest she can get.
Sorry.
-Spike
AAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWGHHHHHHHHHH! NOW WHAT!? Then, out of literally nowhere, Pinkie shows up and grabs me.
“TEEEEEEEEEEECH REEL! I NEED HELP! IT’S AN EMEEEEERGENCYYYY!” Pinkie is bouncing all around me frantically.
I manage to catch Pinkie. “Pinkie, calm down!!” Jeez, what’s into her today?
Pinkie stops everything, sits down, and smiles innocently. “Okay.”
“Alright, now what’s the problem?” Knowing Pinkie, this is gonna be interesting.
“I need to send Twilight some things! She’s been in Canterlot for TWO WHOLE DAYS doing princessy stuff. I want her to know her friends miss her with a ‘Musical Miss You’ package!” She held out a box full of candies, as well as a C-D labeled: ‘Musical Miss You! Volume 17’. “I know she taught you how to send things to Spike, so could you do this for me? Pretty please?!”
Aw, that’s so nice of her to do..a bit much considering Twilight’s coming back tomorrow, but still really sweet! Wait..17? Huh…. “I would, but I don’t think it’s the best idea. For one, Spike already wrote to me saying she’s busy and needs her rest. And two, I do have the spell, but a box this big might injure Spike’s jaw on the entry.” I shudder at the thought of what the result of that would be.
Pinkie’s smile drops, becoming a huge frown. “Aaawwww….oh well, no biggie!” Her smile is back and she’s starting to bounce away.
I just stand there, blinking. I..uuhhh...but it was an emer-...Okay then.. “Wait! Pinkie!” I run after her, trying to keep up, then slamming into her as she stops. Ow! Didn’t really think she would stop.
“Yeeeess?” She looks at me curiously.
I rub my aching face and continue. “I am SUPER BORED. Do you want to do...um...something? Like a not boring thing. I have, like, eight hours before I have activities.”
“OOH! We could go to Sugarcube Corner! Or to a restaraunt! Or a store! WE COULD GET A SOFA! Or some quills! Or maybe we-” Pinkie rapidly fires suggestions at me without a pause.
I giggle. At least there are plenty of options here. And a willing participant!
“-Or the park! Or the playground! Or the fountain! Or-” Pinkie just continues effortlessly.
I can only stare at Pinkie, dumbfounded. Wha..she’s STILL GOING! By the time we actually DO something it’ll be NINE! “Pinkie, Pinkie, Pinkie..ssshhhh. Let’s just start at Sugarcube Corner and work our way from there.”
Pinkie grins. “Okay! Let’s go!” She pulls me along as if there isn’t a second to waste.
We head over to Sugarcube Corner and get a bunch of cupcakes and muffins. We sit around for a while, snacking and talking. Then Pinkie suggests some more activities, and we head out to do some. I can safely say we did about one third of her original suggestion list, which surprised me. Unfortunately, all of a sudden Mr. and Mrs. Cake come up to us frantically, saying they need Pinkie back at the shop. Some special pastries were dropped and ruined, and they need to recreate all of them as quick as possible. “Aww. Sorry Tech, I’ll see you later!” Pinkie says, running off with the Cakes.
“Okay, bye!” I say, doubting she heard. And I find myself alone once again. Wonder what time it is.. I walk towards a shop and look through the front window. Clock..clock...where are you clock? THERE! Seven...fifty three. Alright! Just enough time to get home. I run through town and arrive at my house to see Octavia and Lyra walking up. “Hey girls!”
Lyra hops up and down in excitement. “I’m SOO excited! What’s gonna happen?!” She hops inside.
“She is absolutely thrilled,” Octavia whispers to me. “I’m surprised she didn’t break in and steal the book hours ago.” We both snicker and walk inside to a rug surrounded by a few cushioned chairs. As usual, Lyra settles down on the rug. Octavia and I join her as she’s already flipping through the book to find where we left off. “Wheeerrrreee is it? Ah, got it!”
Octavia scooches up. “The Doctor just saved his companions and saw Rose, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right. And he’s about to regenerate! Ooh, I wonder what he’ll be like this time!!” I say, rolling around in excitement.
Lyra nods. “Only one way to find out. “I stumbled back to the TARDIS, weakly. As I entered, I knew that I’d regenerate any second. My hands-” Hehehe..hands...ahem, anyways, “My hands began to glow brightly and expel wisps of regeneration energy. Then all of a sudden, everything began to rumble. The entire TARDIS is rocking back and forth, and I hit the console, flipping levers and hitting buttons. All I can exclaim during this is ‘What? Wh- WHAT? OH NO!’ Everything is spinning, and suddenly, I’m regenerating. Energy bursting from my body. Then..blackness. I fall to the floor, losing consciousness. I can’t feel my hands, feet, even my face is numb..and I don’t know where I’ve ended up.” Wow..I wonder if he’ll be alright!”
Octavia and I glare at her. Please..please tell me she’s joking. Though, I did have the same thought for a second..A SPLIT SECOND! “Of course he’s alright, or else he couldn’t have written about it. Come on, Lyra, use your brain” Octavia says jokingly.
“Heh heh he..I knew that, I was testing you,” Lyra said hastily. “...anyways, um, “I wake up and find that I have some trouble standing. Walking becomes a task rather than basic function. I don’t know why, but it feels so strange. Though at the time I was too disoriented to realize why. I exit Se- I mean the TARDIS and I’m in some sort of forest. Not a jungle. Not a rainforest either. All I can tell is it’s extremely dark. I hear some animals around me, hoping they keep their distance. I began walking through and find a patch of weird flowers. They’re completely blue, petals, stems, and all. Strange. Are they man made? I still need to ask someone about that once I’m done with this entry. I decided to avoid it and moved on. Finally I’m out of the forest, and I realize that I need to find a mirror, I still don’t know what I look like yet. I see a little house of sorts, and walk up to it. I look at the window and see a horse, which scares me to the floor.” ”
“I always feel weird when he uses the word ‘Horse’. Horses are so different in that world than here. It almost doesn’t feel right calling them the same thing,” Octavia looks weirded out. I see what she means. It’s like if in that world, ‘Chairs’ were called ‘Benches’..two similar yet different things.
Lyra nodded and continued. “ “I got back up to look again, and noticed this was no normal horse. The proportions were very strange. Very big eyes, oddly shaped head, and very rounded features. Though, the strangest thing by far was that it copied my every move. I’ve encountered a similar parasite before, learning what humans do then syncing up with a person of their choice. But this was different. It wasn’t only mimicking my words, but every solitary movement I made. Why? How could it be so perfectly in sync, I’ve only been near it for seconds, and I haven’t even gone inside with it. But then I notice..it’s two dimensional….and slightly transparent. It’s..a reflection. It’s a reflection of me. I’m a HORSE! And as I made this realization, another equine walks up to the window in shock. She’s yellow..with pink hair. Or a mane I guess. And oddly enough, as strange as it sounds, butterfly tattoos on her..rear.” Wh- does he mean?..” Lyra freezes in shock.
Octavia looks to me. “No..that’s impossible, he couldn’t mean….”
I shoot up onto my hooves. “HE’S HERE?”
“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
