Thunder boomed as a heavy rainstorm was beating against the walls of every building in Ponyville. Massive dark clouds gathered by the town's own pegasi had plunged the settlement into almost complete darkness. Ever since a strange and recent outbreak of a flu virus among the pegasi took its toll, the town's weather team had been running immensely behind schedule for the past few weeks. A heavy storm like this was the only solution for returning to regular weather patterns. Everyone would have to stay indoors until the strong winds died down. However just outside within the barely lit streets, a certain pony was daring to brave this treacherous weather...
Trotting a few meters ahead, this mysterious pony soon spotted one of the still illuminated buildings in Ponyville, Golden Oaks Library. Since the building, technically a large hollowed-out tree, used magically-infused glass windows instead of the traditional wooden shutters, it was quite logical for it to be acting as a light within the darkness, a lighthouse or beacon of sorts. The pony walked forward, fighting against whirlwinds coming from all directions as he stretched out his foreleg for the door handle. Once he acquired a firm grip with his hoof, he pulled. The door wouldn't open.
"Locked? Strange... Well if that won't work..."
The library's front door soon burst open with powerful force. The impact against the wall instantly crushed the bell meant for signaling visitors. It did not take long for an intruding gust to scoop dozens of loose papers into the air and create a tornado within the center of the room.
"Woah! What the hay!?"
The librarian's assistant, Spike, had immediately come downstairs having heard the loud noises. A very unusual sight for anyone around Ponyville or anywhere in Equestria, Spike was a purple, green-scaled dragon who lived among the general populace. Though commonly referred to as a "baby dragon", he was much more juvenile in terms of maturity.
As Spike ran under the doorway, a poster immediately crashed into his face. Unable to remove the image of armored unicorn from his eyes, the dragon soon tumbled down the staircase, hitting the floor with a loud thud.
“Ow! When did we ever get posters?”
Soon realizing the ongoing chaos, Spike reached out to grab the papers swerving around him at incredible velocities. Danger of paper cuts was nonexistent thanks to his scaly body, but his desperate action proved too much to handle as he eventually tripped over knocking over a nearby pile of books with his head.
"Spike? What was that noi-? Oh my goodness!"
Ponyville's librarian, Twilight Sparkle, had opened the door from the library's basement to find her home and workplace helter-skelter. Twilight was a purple, unicorn with violet and pink streaks in her indigo mane. Unlike Spike, she took a moment to analyze the room. She then found the culprit pony struggling to shut the front door with his whole body. Closing her eyes, Twilight concentrated her innate magic as her horn began glowing with a brilliant raspberry aura. Once her spell was charged, she levitated the new pony away from the door, dropping him right next to a bookshelf. She then focused all of her remaining energy on the door and pulled it shut. In an instant, the wind died down and order was finally restored.
"Phew..." the unicorn said while wiping her forehead. "That was a doozy... Spike?" Twilight scoured the room to see the floor littered with books, documents, and other texts. Ignoring this for now, she frantically began searching for her dear friend. It took a few seconds, but she soon heard the dragon's muffled voice coming from a nearby pile of books. She tossed each piece aside until she found Spike's tail and quickly pulled him out. "Spike! Are you all right?"
"Yeah..." Spike said rubbing his head. He was positive at least three hard-covered encyclopedias had fallen on top of his head. Trying to ignore the pain, the dragon picked himself up and started to clean the mess around him. "What the hay just happened?"
Twilight turned and walked towards the pony she just rescued. "Somepony tried to break in..."
"Who is it?"
"Who indeed?" the pony asked back as he rose to his hooves.
The stranger was a brown earth pony stallion. He had a dark brown mane and spoke in a strange accent, not one Twilight or Spike had heard before even when living among Canterlot's upper class and nobility. As for the stallion's appearance, the storm left him completely drenched. His mane was now sagged and drooped over his eyes, and his long green tie and white collar were utterly soaked. There was not a single part of him that was not dripping water.
Despite his present condition, the stallion simply smiled at Twilight as he began trotting around the library and browsing its selection, leaving behind a large trail.
"W-Wait!" Twilight exclaimed. "What in Equestria are you doing!?"
The stallion stared at mare confused. "Well this is a library, correct?"
"Y-Yes...? But you're dripping water everywhere!"
The stallion looked down at himself as if he did not even notice. "Oh? So I am... Hm... Do you have anything that I may use to dry myself? Some rags, a towel, or maybe-"
"Just stay put. I'll go get-"
"Oh! You have a pet dragon, I see!" The stallion quickly approached Spike and gazed at him with an astonished expression. He lowered his head, carefully examining every detail on the dragon's body. "Very well then! Go on! Bask me in that magnificent flame of yours!"
"Pet?" Spike repeated in an annoyed tone. Spike strongly exhaled from his nostrils causing small green embers to burst forth. "Don't worry, Twilight! I'll roast him!"
Knowing what would happen next, Twilight immediately used magic to teleport herself in front of the stallion.
"Ooo... Teleportation." the stallion said although no one had heard him.
"Spike! No! You'd probably end up sending him to Princess Celestia anyway..."
"You know the Princess?" the stallion asked enthusiastically. "I must say, you are just getting more and more interesting by the second! Tell me. Is it true she solves all her problems by sending them to the moon?"
"What? The Princess doesn't-!"
"Hey, weren't you fetching me a towel or something?"
"This guy's almost as random as Pinkie..." Spike remarked.
"Ah, yes! Pinkamena! You're acquainted with her as well? She's such a joy to be around, but even she tires me out easily! I mean, just last Tuesday she-!"
"Enough!" Twilight exclaimed as she faced the stallion. "Whoever who are, keep quiet and stay put! Spike, watch him and make sure he doesn't do anything funny."
Twilight headed upstairs leaving her assistant and their strange guest alone. The two stared at each other, one angrily and one happily, as they each waited for the other to speak.
"So..." the stallion muttered, "dragon, huh?"
Spike did not respond as he blew a quick, small stream of his fire that dissipated just in front of the stallion's face. The leftover embers burned a few hairs on the very tip of his snout.
"Fascinating..."
Spike was about blow a fireball to further "impress" the stallion but stopped when he heard Twilight's hooves coming down the stairs. Levitating beside the mare and cloaked within her magic aura was a stack of fresh green towels. Almost immediately, she tossed them at the stallion and covered him from head to hoof, leaving him to dry himself.
"No more random nonsense." she said sternly. "Who are you?"
"I'm the Doctor."
"Doctor…?"
"Yes?"
"Huh?"
"You called me?"
"Huh? N-No! What's you name!"
"I told you. I'm the Doctor."
"Doctor who?"
"Just the Doctor."
"Wha-...? What kind of name is that!?"
"My name."
"That's not what I meant!"
"I don't think you're gonna get any further than that, Twilight." Spike whispered.
"...Ugh! Fine!" Twilight groaned. "Then why are you here?"
"I told you already." the Doctor replied. "This is a library. I was merely fulfilling its purpose. Are you new at this whole librarian thing?"
"What? No! Why in Equestria are coming here in the middle of a storm?"
"Oh, it's not that bad. A light drizzle is all it is."
Twilight pointed her hoof upward, indicating the sound of heavy rain and occasional strike on the building's lightning rod. "Does that sound like a 'light drizzle' to you?"
"Well, I'm not sure what a roof has to do with the sound of rain... Hey, is that an owl flying up there?"
"No-...! Ugh..." Twilight rubbed her hoof down her face. She then pointed towards the broken bell. "Could a light wind do that?"
"Well, I did ram the door with quite some force since it simply refused to open."
"It was locked!"
"A public facility not open during common business hours? What madness is this?"
"Ugh!"
"Might I suggest some aspirin? You look absolutely stressed."
"Be-...! Because of you! You're not making any sense!"
"A pony is trying to use the library." the Doctor said plainly, emphasizing every other word.
"Just give it up, Twilight." Spike told her.
"...Ugh! Whatever!" Twilight took a deep breath as she headed back to the basement door. "Okay, 'Doctor', just dry yourself off and do as you please. If you need to check something out, talk to me or Spike, preferably the latter... Sigh, I need to lie down..."
Hours had passed as things returned to normal in the library. The Doctor had left his soaked towels rags in a small hamper Spike retrieved for him. Now mostly dry, his hair returned to its natural, spiky, slicked-back appearance although a few hairs were sticking out. The stallion had also removed his tie and collar and left them hanging on a coat rack to air dry.
The Doctor mainly spent his time at a small table reading a wide selection of books ranging from a variety of subjects. Spike had observed the stallion venture to almost every shelf in the library though he seemed to particularly prefer taking books from the more historical and scientific sections. Occasionally the Doctor would stop reading but only to stretch his legs or to retrieve another book. Never once did he seem to grow tired or weary.
Meanwhile, Twilight and Spike returned to their regular duties. Since the mess created from the storm was now cleaned, Spike had decided to take a long-deserved nap. He could not even recall the last time he had free time with his duties recently piling up. Once Twilight finished reorganizing the files in the basement, she returned to her private studies in her bedroom on the second floor. Like the Doctor, she would also occasionally stop to stretch, but she took this time to check on the stallion. The mare still found him suspicious after all.
Twilight would usually walk down enough steps until the Doctor was within her sight. She always found him either reading or browsing for another book. Also every time she came down, the Doctor, somehow always aware of her presence, would smile and wave to her before returning to what he was originally doing. Twilight was a little disturbed by this supposed foresight, but at the same time it made the stallion seem much more…"sane". Ignoring the awkward and crazy introductions, he started to seem like a normal, friendly pony...or a pony putting up an act, whichever came first.
"Miss Twilight?" the Doctor called out from downstairs.
Back in her bedroom, Twilight lowered her textbook onto her pillow and headed down. "Yes, Doctor?"
"I was trying to find the book, Advanced Spellcasting for Unicorns, but I cannot seem to find it. The directory said it should be somewhere in this bookcase, but..."
"Let me see..." Twilight quickly glanced at the directory. "It should on the top shelf." She used magic to pull a ladder towards her and began climbing. Technically she could have used magic to retrieve the book, but she wanted to stall for time to ask a certain question on her mind. "Why do you want a book intended for unicorns? You're an earth pony."
"Well..." The Doctor looked away seeming nervous at first, but he soon chuckled and seemed eager to answer. "Oh, you may find it hard to believe, but I do happen to tutor unicorns in magic. Yes, I know all school teachers are required to have knowledge on how to perform simple tasks for kindergarten and such, but sometimes I even tutor on the intermediate level! I'm looking to see if I can expand my limit."
Twilight gave a skeptical glare. "Really?"
"If you want me to prove it," he said with a smug look, "perhaps I could assist you sometime? Or maybe instruct you on some magic not part of your studies? What do you like? Levitation? Transmutation? Elemental spells? Oh, yes!" His voice was getting progressively louder with each word. "Those are my favorites! I simply love the idea of raining down massive lightning bolts on my enemies or freezing them within giant glaciers of ice! 'Ha! Take that!' Ah...sometimes I envy you unicorns..."
"Uh...thanks?" Twilight was a little disturbed by the Doctor's manic expression just before his last sentence. "Anyway, I guess levitation and teleportation are my forte since I’ve used them quite a lot, especially around Ponyville. The Princess also assigned me some spells for this month too but...there are certain subjects I'm interested in that are not part of my curriculum."
"Such as?"
"Well, I do want to learn some more healing spells. I'm starting to feel kind of guilty that I'm always letting Fluttershy or Applejack treat injuries. Even Rarity knows some complicated spells that I never even heard of before, probably because Sweetie Belle gets into all sorts of...misadventures with Applebloom and Scootaloo..."
"...Who?"
"Oh, they're just friends of mine. Anyway, enough about that. Let's see... That book should be right here..." Twilight scanned through the row of books before her. "Oh! Here it-!"
A sudden thunder surge interrupted the mare and resonated throughout the library. The Doctor jumped and tripped to his side, accidentally knocking over the ladder. As it toppled over, Twilight immediately lost her balance and fell back. She quickly shut her eyes and hoped for the best. Perhaps landing on hard wood flooring would not be as painful as she expected. Fortunately, the Doctor managed to quickly roll under the mare and catch her.
"Hahaha! That was quite a fall. You all right?"
Twilight opened her eyes to see the Doctor's azure eyes gazing at her, his face barely a centimeter away. The tips of their noses were practically touching. Twilight could only stare back, blushing from being in such close proximity to the stallion.
"You got the book?" the Doctor asked in a normal tone as if he did not notice her face turning red.
Twilight nervously turned her head, poorly trying hiding her embarrassment. She noticed the Doctor's requested book had fallen right next to her and hesitantly grabbed it.
"Y-Yeah." she muttered. "This is it. And, um... Thanks for catching me..."
"Not a problem, Miss Twilight! I must say, I apologize for that...moment of weakness... I guess everypony gets frightened now and then! Hahaha!"
"So are you two gonna kiss now or what?" a voice asked.
Twilight and the Doctor looked towards the staircase to see Spike walking down as he rubbed his right eye in a drowsy manner.
"Spike!" Twilight exclaimed. "Uh... You're awake!"
"Thunder woke me up. So, uh... I take a nap with you two barely talking to each other and wake up to find you ponies almost making out."
"It's not what it looks like! I was only-!"
"I simply requested Ms Twilight to retrieve a book for me." the Doctor explained. "The thunder gave me quite a fright. Embarrassingly I tripped, accidentally knocking over the ladder Ms Twilight was standing on. She then fell off having lost her balance, and I caught her so no major injury could come to her. Finally you came along just seconds afterward."
"Y-Yeah!" she said nodding her head. "That was...pretty calm and thorough of him...”
"Uhuh..." Spike muttered. "Anyway, Twilight, I'm getting some warm milk and hittin' the hay. Still tired from that all-nighter you made me pull."
"Oh...alright. Goodnight, Spike."
"So how long do you want me to hold you up?" the Doctor asked her. "No offense, but my hooves are getting tired and I'm not exactly the strongest pony in Equestria."
"Oh! Sorry!" Twilight stood and stepped back, hoofing the book to the Doctor once he got up as well.
"Thank you. I think I'll check this one out. I need to be getting home soon."
"In this weather?"
"It's perfectly tolerable!"
"Oh no. Not this again…"
"But-"
Twilight silenced him with a hoof over his mouth. "Nope! You staying here till this storm blows over whether you like it or not!"
He sighed. "...I'm not gonna win, am I?"
"'Afraid not. Now move it!"
Twilight escorted the Doctor to her bedroom where she pulled out her spare bed. The Doctor looked out the nearby window as Twilight readied the bed sheets. The storm was not as rough as before, but it was still dangerous to be outside with possible blunt objects flying around to knock someone unconscious.
"So what's keeping this tree from swaying with the breeze?"
"My magic." she replied casually. "It lasts as long as I need it to be."
"Impressive. Ever think about using your magic on the entirety of Ponyville?"
"Heh... I don't think I could manage that."
"Ah! But you are only a student! Who's to say this could become a measly task as a master?"
"Trust me. I'm still long way from the same level as the Princess... Although maybe with my Element of Harmony..."
"Magic, if I am not mistaken?"
"...Yes, but how did you-?"
"I've been doing my research, remember? And I'm guessing Miss Pinkamena is Laughter?"
"Yes. Care to name the others?"
"Well I've only been in Ponyville for so long so I don't know everypony by name yet. Though that Rainbow Dash character I met recently is quite the show stopper. Loyalty?"
"Three out of six. Not bad. Is that why you came here?"
"Pardon?"
"To research the elements starting with me?"
"Huh? Oh, absolutely not. I just happened to stumble upon one of those old tomes in your history section and I found it quite intriguing. I simply put three and three together."
"Uh, 'two and two'." Twilight corrected him.
"But there are six of you."
"No, I-... Sigh, nevermind... Maybe I'll introduce you to the others if you want?"
He smiled. "I'd like that."
"That's it? No random, nonsensical tidbit from his mouth? ... Anyway, here's your bed. It may feel a little uncomfortable since two of my friends were having a fight last time I used it, but I think it should be fixed. Hopefully you sleep well tonight."
The Doctor didn't respond. He was shifting his head from Twilight's bed to his own repeatedly.
"Is something wrong?"
"I'm not sure how I feel about sleeping with a girl..."
"Trust me," Spike called out half-asleep from his own little “basket bed” beside Twilight's, "you get used to it..."
"...He doesn't snore, does he?"
"Hehe! Don't worry." Twilight assured him. "And I don't snore either. Anyway goodnight, Doctor."
"Sweet dreams..."
The Doctor took another glance around Twilight's room. It was practically a miniature version of library, if not just an extension.
"Uh, I think I'll go to bed in a bit. Is this your private collection?"
"Most of them. The others are either books being reserved by other ponies, extra copies, or just here for storage since we're running out of room in the basement."
"May I...have a look?"
"Of course. Just please put any books back where you found them."
Twilight put away her textbook and got into bed. She pulled the blanket over herself and soon drifted off to sleep. The Doctor waited for a few minutes pretending to read the book titles while making sure if Twilight and Spike had truly fallen asleep. True to Twilight's word, Spike did not snore, but the Doctor could clearly hear him mumbling in his sleep. Whatever the dragon was dreaming about, it had to do with the 'Rarity' girl Twilight had mentioned earlier. As for the mare herself, the Doctor watched her peacefully breathing. She turned to her other side at one moment, but there was no indication of her waking up.
Seizing this opportunity, the Doctor tiphoofed to the door as quietly as he could manage. The wooden floorboards creaked, but none of the sounds seemed loud enough to wake an average individual. Gripping the handle, the Doctor pushed the door to find it would not move.
"Huh? Maybe it was pull..."
The Doctor tried the other way, but it was still no use. Looking down, he found a note pinned to the floor.
I knew you'd try it. The lock's been imbued by my magic. It won't open until I remove it. Told you that you wouldn't win~
The Doctor lowered his head and shut one eye as he stared into the lock. The keyhole was giving off a faint glow of Twilight's magic aura. The Doctor slowly placed the edge of his hoof inside to confirm if this was the spell he was thinking of. As he touched the aura, a flurry of electric sparks burst forth. The Doctor immediately released his hoof and fell back trying to avoid having his hoof scorched. After he landed on his flank, he quickly turned his head to check if he had woken the others. Fortunately for him, Spike was still sleep-talking and now mumbling about the Grand Galloping Gala soon to be held in the royal capital city of Canterlot. Twilight was now facing away from the Doctor and towards the window. The stallion was sure she was still asleep, but swore he had heard a quick, silent laugh from her.
"Must've imagined it. Sigh, this girl plans everything..."
Facing defeat the Doctor grabbed a random novel from a still unsorted book pile and got into the spare bed, pulling the blanket up to his chest. Opening to the first page, he began reading until he eyes felt heavy and eventually fell asleep with an open book on his head.
Twilight slowly opened her eyes to bright sunshine glaring in her face. The mare groaned and quickly hid under her covers as she shut the curtains with her magic. Her body attempted to resist movement desiring more sleep, but Twilight fought back. It was morning, and she had to open the library soon as per her duties.
"Spike? Wake up. It's time to open."
There was no response. Assuming Spike was still sleeping and having another fantasy about him and Rarity, Twilight leaned over the side to forcefully wake him. She removed a large clump of blankets only to find the bed completely empty.
"Spike? Where are you? Doctor, have you seen-?"
Twilight sat up and saw the Doctor's bed empty as well. Trying to come up with a possible explanation for this, the mare looked towards the only exit. The door was left wide open, the lock manually removed and now lying on the floor.
"He didn't..."
Twilight quickly jumped out of her bed and dashed through the doorway. As she approached the staircase, she could hear voices, one of them definitely belonging to the Doctor.
"There you are!" Twilight exclaimed as she was halfway down.
"Oh! Hello, Miss Twilight!" the Doctor greeted her with a happy attitude. "Sleep well?"
"How...did you...get out?" she asked panting.
"Oh, I could've gotten out whenever I wanted! I thought about it and...you were right. Perhaps going out into the rain really was a bad idea! Hahaha!"
"I said... How. Did. You. Get. Out?"
"Spike took care of that. Quite the resourceful assistant dragon, isn't he?"
"Spike?"
"Uh, am I interrupting something?" another voice asked.
Twilight turned her head to see another pony standing a few inches from her. She was a mint-green unicorn mare with a golden lyre for a cutie mark. Twilight vaguely remembered seeing this pony numerous times around Ponyville, but never actually spoke to her that much. Apparently, Twilight had suddenly appeared during her conversation with the Doctor.
"Sorry, Lyra." the Doctor apologized. "I neglected to awaken Ms Twilight when I left. Anyway, I'll take care of the rest. Tell Bon Bon and Carrot Top I said 'Hello'!"
"Will do!" Lyra exclaimed as she happily trotted out the front door.
"What was that about?" Twilight asked.
"Lyra? Good friend of mine. She was just returning a book she borrowed from here. Looks like she's been looking into that topic again... I swear that girl just won't quit...though I'd really love to show her if circumstances allowed it...”
"Wait. Back up. 'Returning'? The library shouldn't be open till seven."
"Seven? But it's almost noon!" He pointed to himself. "I, of all the ponies in this town, should know, Miss Twilight."
"Huh...? Noon? That means I... Gasp! I overslept!" Twilight eyes widened as she began frantically walking in circles, quickly mumbling incoherently about all the consequences for oversleeping when she had an important occupation to maintain. Her pacing came to a halt when she heard the Doctor continue to laugh. "This isn't funny! This has never happened before! Oh, what's the mayor going to think! If the Princess finds out about this, she'll-!"
"Hahaha! Relax, Ms Twilight!"
"Relax? How can I relax when-!"
"I took over for you."
"Yes, when you took over for-...! What?"
"I assumed it must be tiring being the only worker here, sans Spike of course. So I decided to let you sleep in and get some well deserved rest for a change."
"But everyone you served this morning will know I wasn't doing my job and letting some random stranger run the place! Mayor Mare will surely bring this up at the next meeting about how irresponsible this is!"
"Oh, quit your worrying, Miss Twilight! I work for the Mayor! She'll be completely understanding if it's my name rather than some 'random stranger'."
"But-!"
"Ahp!" he exclaimed while placing a hoof over her mouth. "No more! Leave everything to me! Anyway, I did prepare a breakfast for you, but seeing how late it is, the food is probably cold by now. Go ask Spike to heat it up. He should still be in the kitchen last time I checked. He took quite a liking to my dishes, believe it or not!"
Twilight tried to speak up, but the Doctor quickly silenced her once more and pushed her towards the kitchen.
"Oh no. I'm calling the shots this time. Now go! And you should fix your hair while you're in there. It's a mess."
The Doctor continued pushing Twilight forward until she passed under the kitchen doorway. Inside, Spike was sitting at the table reading one of his comic books, or 'graphic novels' as Twilight preferred to call them so they sounded more educational than they actually were.
"Spike." the Doctor said. "Heat up that platter, would you? Miss Sleepyhead's finally awake."
"Yeah, yeah. In a minute. I think this guy's going to... Aw dang it! Cliffhanger..." Spike closed his comic and tossed it onto the table. "Well, here's to another week of waiting to find out if he lives or not..."
"Spike," Twilight said, "have you been down here this whole time?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Why didn't you wake me up?"
"Well the Doc said not to and-"
"Wait, wait... 'Doc'? You're already calling him by a nickname?"
"He's actually pretty cool...once you get past all the weird stuff he does."
"He offered to do your job too, didn't he?" she asked plainly.
Spike struggled to find an answer and nervously shrugged. "Hehe...guilty?"
"Oh, come now." the Doctor told her. "Let the lad have his fun. He's still a child after all. No need to put him through all that stress we adults go through!."
"Since when did you become in charge of everything?" Twilight angrily asked.
"When I-" The Doctor was interrupted by a strange yet familiar sound with an electric quality. A voice was soon calling out for the stallion. "Oh! That must be her! Be right back...! Oh, and I fixed the bell for you! Added my own personal flair to it!"
Twilight watched the Doctor quickly trot out the doorway. She then faced Spike who was already heating up her breakfast platter. The mare processed this with a look of disbelief.
"This is a dream. I'm dreaming, right?"
"No, no. Keep your eyes open. That's the goal of this exercise."
The Doctor was currently overseeing Twilight's progress as she attempted to lift an entire bookcase with magic. After breakfast and some 'awkward' conversations, Twilight had decided to take up the Doctor's earlier offer of tutoring her in magic lessons. Technically she agreed out of skepticism that an earth pony could tutor a unicorn in higher level magic. Twilight did not request any particular subject so the Doctor decided on lifting heavy objects.
"Wh-Why?" Twilight muttered as she struggled to open even one eyelid.
Eventually the unicorn's magic dissipated. The bookcase came crashing onto the floor as the mare dropped to the floor panting. The Doctor showed no reaction. He merely approached the mare and assisted her in getting up.
"You all right?"
"Just tired... But why keep my eyes open? All of my instructors and even Princess Celestia said magic works best when the user imagines what's happening. Technically it's not required for light or medium objects, but heavy ones?"
He nodded. "That is true, yes. Once you learn to keep your eyes open, it will a true testament of your mastery in levitation. But the real goal is test your willpower, not how well you can utilize your magic."
"I'm not following..."
"Well, you never know when there will be a situation where you find yourself being forced to use magic against your own will. Maybe you're in a magic duel against another unicorn and your spells are colliding with each other. Or perhaps you've been affected by a hallucination spell. Willpower is just as important as concentration in gaining the advantage here. Obviously I'm an earth pony so we have to use something else as a replacement for another party's magic."
Twilight remained silent as she pondered the stallion's explanation. "Alright, I think I get it. The weight of the bookcase is supposed to simulate the strain on my body while keeping my eyes open is so that I can be fully aware of my surroundings and be able to formulate a plan."
He grinned. "Smart girl! But not just that! This exercise also sees if you're capable of surpassing yourself."
"Surpassing myself?"
"We say everypony has a limit. That is true, but who says that we know exactly what that limit is? We only have these—How should I describe them...? Ah! We have these 'sub-limits' because our bodies believe that's all we can do. The only way to break these 'barriers' is to will it...or put you into a life-threatening situation, but I would never consider that."
"That...sounds dangerous to be honest. Purposely straining yourself just to reveal your hidden potential? That’s kind of like forcing your cutie mark to appear through excruciating methods. What if you're permanently injured as a result?"
"Oh, don't worry about that. I telling you this because you're under the tutelage of Princess Celestia! That would surely mean you have astronomical potential! But even so, some of the greatest unicorns in history started out small, enfeebled even. In fact as fillies and colts, some of them were considered 'unable to control his own magic', 'lacking in self-confidence', and 'barely able to utilize his abilities'."
Twilight stood paralyzed as she listened to the Doctor unknowingly quote the comments on her entrance examination for her school. Of course, they were crossed out after she made a surprising turnaround, but they still brought back some unpleasant memories.
"H-How did you...?"
"But that didn't matter." the Doctor continued. "The fact they proved everypony wrong is a prime example of you being able to overcome your supposed limit."
"I... I..."
"Alright, another go! Any slight bit of success and we'll be finished!"
Twilight was mute. Seeing the Doctor patiently waiting, she took a deep breath and tried lifting the bookcase once again. This time, she concentrated on keeping her eyes open, repeated saying the word "open" in her mind. The bookcase rose a few inches, but the surrounding aura rapidly grew unsteady once the object was a few feet in the air. Twilight could barely keep eyes open now. After a few more seconds, she quickly set the bookcase down.
"Was that...okay?" she asked heavily panting.
"Well...you were squinting towards the end..." There was a tone of disappointment in his voice, but that quickly disappeared as he smiled. "But still, squinting is still open! Just work on this a little bit at a time and I'm postive you'll get the hang of it!"
"Thanks, Doctor."
"Now what distracted you?" The tone of his voice suddenly changed from happy to annoyed once again, this time within a split second.
"Huh?"
His eyelids were now half-closed. "You were obviously distracted by something. Otherwise, that performance would have been much better."
"What you quoted earlier. It was my..."
"Was what?"
"Almost word for word on my entrance exam..."
"Well then that's good!” the Doctor said perked up again. “You can literally follow my example!"
"What is with this stallion's mood swings?" Twilight said in her mind. "Not even Pinkie Pie can be that contrasting..."
The Doctor was an unusual pony, a silly yet extremely observant and insightful fellow who could surprise anyone.
"You sure know how to be positive about anything, don't you?"
"You could consider it my talent," he said proudly, "though my cutie mark would beg to differ."
Twilight glanced at the stallion's flank to see his hourglass cutie mark. "What is your talent anyway?"
"My talent?" The Doctor paused this time, actually unsure of what to say. "Hm... I don't really share that information with anypony..."
"Are you serious?" she angrily asked. "Here you are, lecturing me about the importance of surpassing myself, and you won't even tell me what your cutie mark stands for?"
"It's a really important secret. I've only told four ponies...or was it five?"
"What's so bad about it? It's an hourglass. I’ve seen plenty of ponies with one. C'mon, it's nothing to be embarrassed about!"
"Well... Okay... If you insist..." The Doctor took two deep breaths. "I manage clocks!" he quickly exclaimed.
"...That's it? You're embarrassed about that?"
"It's extremely misleading!" He pointed at his cutie mark. "Who in the right mind uses an hourglass anymore?! If anything, my mark should at least be a grandfather clock or something..."
"Okay, now you're just being ridiculous."
"Says the pony living inside a tree with a pet dragon!"
"Says the pony who goes to libraries in the middle of a storm!"
"...Touché..."
"Any more insults, smart guy?"
".....You're amazing."
"What?"
"Oh, nothing!"
"Sigh... I swear... Everypony in this town is crazy!"
"Well, I don't know about 'crazy'. Personally I like to think 'ticking time bomb waiting to happen'!"
"See what I mean?"
"Oh, but that's what I love about this town! There's so much excitement happening on a daily basis that 'weird' has an entirely new definition! Not quite the same experience you get in Fillydelphia, Manehattan, or even Los Pegasus!"
"Hm... I never really thought about that. Come to think of it, Canterlot was never this...'enthusiastic' compared to what I've experienced in Ponyville."
"See what I mean~?"
"Just stop before I throw you out..."
"Throw me out? But I'm the one in charge!"
"Quit it..."
"Oh, where did I leave my attire?"
It was now evening with the sun just halfway past the horizon. The Doctor began packing up his belongings into a green saddlebag he had borrowed from Twilight. The stallion agreed to return it next week as he was planning a "business trip" to a town known as Hollow Shades.
"Here they are."
Twilight hoofed the Doctor his tie and collar. They were a little wrinkled given that they were not properly cleaned though the Doctor simply placed them into the saddlebag and strapped around his neck.
"I think everything's in order. Take care, Miss Twilight. It's been a...pleasurable time together that I hope we can share again."
"It's Twilight Sparkle, though just Twilight is fine. And please no, I don't want any chaos like that again."
"Alrighty, I'll be sure to come by when I'm actually presentable! See you next Tuesday, Miss Sparkle!"
Twilight watched as the Doctor trotted off. She was tempted to throw the nearby rock at his head but put that thought aside when she heard the stallion calling her name again.
"Oh right! I just remembered you really wanted a proper name. Mayor Mare calls me Time Turner! Makes more sense to put that on official documents and the like!
Twilight stood wide-eyed, surprised the Doctor even bothered to remember that detail. She then grinned and waved back.
"Alrighty, Doctor!"
The Doctor laughed as he turned around, soon disappearing behind one of the nearby buildings. Closing the front door, Twilight simply stood in place thinking of what to do next. It was almost closing time and everything was back in order aside from the bookcase used during the practice session.
"Spike!"
"Yeah, Twilight?" the dragon asked as he exited the kitchen. He had practically spent the entire day reading in there.
"Could you leave for a minute?" she asked while staring into space. "I need to write a private letter..."
"Friendship report? Is it really that personal?"
"Something like that..."
Spike shrugged as he grabbed a comic book and exited the library. He sat on a marble bench just beneath one of the windows. Before he could begin reading, another voice was calling his name.
"Hey, Spike!" a gray pegasus mare greeted him.
She had a blonde mane and bubbles for a cutie mark. A strange characteristic was her eyes. They were unaligned, each eye pointing in different directions no matter where she looked.
"Oh hey, Derpy." Spike said.
"So how did it go?” she quickly asked, practically shaking him for an answer. “Did it work?"
"I think… I don't know. One minute they're arguing, the next minute they're friends again."
"Sounds like it worked!"
"I really don't get you guys... But seriously, you're actually best friends with that weirdo?"
"I'll admit, the Doc can be...weird things at times, but he's perfectly normal...in his own way! Hehe!"
"Yeah. I know what you mean. I swear Twilight was gonna catch on fire again!"
"Yeah, the Doc's...not the best at showing when he's...interested in somepony. He'll start talking about random stuff since he's so nervous at first. And he's really good at pretending things are perfectly normal around him. I really don't know how he keeps a straight face sometimes. Hay, he could be claiming to be Princess Celestia herself in disguise and it'd look like he was telling the truth!"
"Hehe! He definitely would've fooled me!"
Dear Princess Celestia,
Today I learned that even the craziest pony out there can have something important to teach you. And no, I do not mean Pinkie Pie. Sure they can drive you insane, but if you manage to get past that obstacle (or in my case, fall off a ladder) you may just find something else behind that weird exterior. He could be smarter (and saner) than you originally thought. What's important is to never judge somepony too soon, no matter how much of a bad start you run into."
P.S. I hope you don't mind, but I decided to undergo some tutelage by this pony without your permission. I assure you it was not anything controversial. If anything, I truly believe you'll be amazed by the time you see me at our next session!
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
"Hey, Doc! How's it hangin'?"
Rainbow Dash, a blue pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane, was passing by Ponyville's fountain plaza when she happened to spot the Doctor coming from the opposite direction.
"Oh, Rainbow Dash! Doing well, thank you!"
"So how did it go? I know I was a little late last night because I was... Hehe... Y'know..."
"I noticed. I simply improvised. But I do commend your coincidental timing. I believe getting 'frightened' by your thunder and 'accidentally' knocking over the ladder was what sealed the deal. Much better than what I originally planned!"
"Honestly, Doc, you could've just done what a normal pony would do. You know, just say hi and talk?"
"Oh, but where's the fun in that? I live for elaborate and complicated schemes, a sense of adventure!"
"Well, okay... As long as you're getting Twilight to finally get out for a change, go nuts!"
"Or maybe you're telling me to be dull and boring like an...'egghead'?" the Doctor continued. "Perhaps I should tell him about this...?"
"H-Hey! I kept quiet about you! Now you keep quiet about me!"
"Hahaha! So how did your end go?"
"Great! But, uh...how did you make it so he was the one leading the pegasi?"
"Oh, I have my connections. You'd be surprised how many important ponies owe me favors! Right, Princess?"
