The Pegasus Paradox

The Doctor stumbled out from the TARDIS upon reaching the Ponyville library. The sun was setting as twilight cast its shadows across the town's landscape. He couldn't help, but chuckle at the irony of the thought.

Up ahead, in his blurring vision he could see a violet ball of light bouncing up and down in the air as it headed towards him as it was accompanied by a feminine voice.

"Are you alright?" she called out to him. "Do you need medical attention?"

"No." he replied weakly. "I'll be fine...I just need to speak to...Princess Twilight Sparkle."

"That's me...I guess." she replied, somewhat dismally.

Even in his weary state, the thought occurred to him that seeing an injured stallion practically fall out of Police Call Box-which didn't exist in this world, as far as he could tell-was probably very strange for the poor mare.

The jelly-like feeling in his legs made it quite difficult to stand, let alone maintain his balance, yet somehow he persevered.

Trying to gather his bearings, a strange thought had entered his head; Rainbow Dash.

He wasn't entirely sure who or what a Rainbow Dash was, but perhaps Discord had used some kind of magical perception filter on him before he left?

Or had he used it on himself again and completely forgot about it?

He shook his head. Whatever it was seemed important. After all there was no harm in asking, was there?

"My associates refer to me as 'The Doctor', I realize that you are probably very busy with your new royal duties, but it is of utmost importance that I am allowed to speak with Rainbow Dash."

He paused. Why did he say that? Did he even know a Rainbow Dash?

"Yeah...that's going to be a problem."

Twilight cantered over to his side before leaning over. "Here, let me help you." she offered as he draped a foreleg over her shoulder as she led him towards what appeared to be a large tree with windows and a red door with the image of a candle carved into it.

"Is there anyway for you to contact Rainbow Dash?" asked The Doctor, once they were inside the library.

His vision was still a little blurry. He must have lost more blood than he thought, going through those spikes. Even through his vision's haze, he could the look on the librarian's face was one of concern.

"Are you sure you don't need any help?" she asked, almost as if she were reading his mind.

"Actually, I think I've changed my mind...I'd hate to be a bother, but do you think you could try patching me up a bit?"

"I-I'll give it a try." she replied, uneasily.

It wasn't long until her horn lit up once more as a warm sensation engulfed The Doctor's entire body as the cuts sealed themselves shut, his vision returned to normal, and the strain on his muscles seemed to melt away. And for the first time, he saw the inside of the library in great detail once his eyes returned to their original focus. What was so fascinating about it was the fact that the tree itself was the library and quite a bit larger on the inside than the mass on the outside would have led one to believe.

'Almost like the TARDIS' he mused to himself.

"Why do you need Rainbow Dash?" asked Twilight.

"I don't know." he admitted. "It's like there's been a subconcious message implanted in my head, but it feels very old-something about this whole situation must have triggered it."

"Well, I'm sorry but, I'm not sure if Rainbow will help-even if I ask for it."

"Why not?" he asked. "Isn't she your friend? Your...uh, lady friend?"

"She was." Twilight replied sadly. "I'm not so sure now, though. We had a big fight earlier and she took off somewhere-probably back to her home in Cloudsdale so she could blow off some steam."

"I still don't think there's any harm in asking." he replied. "Why don't you fly up to Cloudsdale and have a talk with her?"

"All right..." she sighed. "Will you be alright alone here for a while with Spike?"

"Who?" he asked, confused.

"Spike, he's a baby dragon and my assitant-he's a pretty heavy sleeper." she explained. "But, I thought you should know on the off chance that he wakes up before I get back."

Twilight was heading towards the door before she stopped and slapped a hoof over her forehead.

"What's wrong?" asked the concered Doctor.

"I don't need to fly!" she exclaimed, excitedly. "Now that I have wings, I can transport myself to Cloudsdale without casting a Cloud-Walking spell! Isn't that great!?"

Before the Doctor could respond, her horn briefly illuminated a split-second before she teleported herself away.

Twilight reappeared at the front door of Rainbow Dash's large cloud home. 'But, is it actually a house?' She thought. 'Because since it seems like more of a mansion. But, then how could she possibly afford something like this? Perhaps it was a perk given to her for being Cloudsdale's weather manager? Or maybe her parents had given it to her as a sort of gift?'

She hated it when her thoughts wandered like this, it only happen when she was under an unbelievable amount of stress. It felt strange, trying to gather the words to make up with Rainbow Dash after they had their first real fight during their time spent as a couple a mere hour ago. The whole fight still made her feel guilty with the way she had rejected Dash's request-she really did understand her friends anger and felt that it was totally justified.

Maybe if she caved and decided to write the stupid letter, Rainbow would forgive her and she could possibly salvage their relationship. But, was it worth compromising her beliefs simply to do her marefriend a favor? And even if she sent the letter, what would happen then? Would she leave Ponyville, Scootaloo, and herself behind to tour with the Wonderbolts?

Twilight took a deep breath before knocking on Rainbow Dash's door and it wasn't long before the Pegasus herself answered the door.

"Twilight!?" she exclaimed, upon seeing her Alicorn marefriend standing there before her. "What do you want?" she asked, her voice sounding more tired than agitated.

"Rainbow Dash...I know that this is going to sound strange, but there's a stallion that showed up at the library...he looked like he was hurt pretty bad and he said that he needed to speak with you..."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait." Dash held up a hoof, stopping her. "Where is this guy now?"

"He's...still at the library."

"YOU LET A STRANGE STALLION INTO THE LIBRARY AND LEFT HIM THERE COMPLETELY UNGUARDED!?" Dash shouted.

"Spike is there..." Twilight replied, defensively.

"YOU LEFT SPIKE ALONE WITH A STALLION THAT'S A COMPLETE STRANGER WHO MIGHT BE DANGEROUS!?" she shouted, even louder this time.

"Well...he is a little strange." Twilight conceded. "But, he's not dangerous...at least, I don't think he is."

"Twi..." she sighed, massaging the area between her eyes with a hoof. "I'll go with you...but, I don't want to leave Scootaloo behind in case anything happens."

And Twilight always accused her of being the reckless one.

Dash then gestured for Twilight to follow her inside, the further they got, the more certain she became that Rainbow Dash's house actually was a mansion and briefly wondered how much a place like this had cost. But, with the artistic style of the homes design it was definitely expensive. Did being the weather manager really pay that much? That would explain how she was able to get her hooves on tickets to the Wonderbolts shows just about every month.

The home's interior actually felt quite soothing, which made sense in a way since it was literally like living in a cloud. But, it looked surprisingly like an Earth Pony or Unicorn home with carpet, walls, photos of friends and a rainbow-maned stallion with golden eyes, who Twilight could only assume was Rainbow's father. And of course, being Rainbow Dash's house there were multiple Wonderbolt posters of their leader; Spitfire, the second in command; Soarin...and while neither of them had ever seriously commented on it, Rainbow Dash had told her that she and many other fans were certain that the two had a thing. And of course, there was the less popular; Fleetfoot.

She remembered how Rainbow Dash had given her an entire lecture on how Fleetfoot was considered the underdog of the group, since she had started off doing hoof races with others as she was a late flier because her wings didn't develop properly after she was born and her smaller stature gave her less wind resistance while galloping or flying. Spectators (especially those who had bet money) on Wonderbolt races were always shocked (and slightly irritated) but, to her it had made perfect sense. For someone that so often made fun of her for being an 'egghead'-Dash had an impressive amount of insight into Pegasi anatomy and the scientific when it came to athletics.

Twilight followed her up a staircase to Scootaloo's bedroom. Inside, there were posters of Rainbow Dash and a pictures of Scootaloo with the Cutie Mark Crusaders at Sweet Apple Acres and in costume at the school talent show. There was also a photo of Rainbow Dash holding Scootaloo in a headlock, while playfully giving her a noogie as she smiled at the camera with one eye squeezed shut from the pressure of Dash's hoof in her mane.

The heartwarming nature of the photo had helped relieve some of the stress Twilight was feeling. As tough as Dash seemed on the outside, she still always cared about her friends. Besides, she was the Element of Loyalty and seemed more than willing to help out with...whatever was going on.

Scootaloo's bed was identical to Rainbow Dash's albeit, slightly smaller. The blanket was a sky blue with an image resembling her idol's Cutie Mark; a cloud emitting a lightning bolt made up entirely of primary colors. Beneath it, the filly was sleeping peacefully.

Rainbow Dash gently shook her awake with a hoof before she wearily opened her eyes and sat up, rubbing some grit out of her eye.

"Mmh...Rainbow Dash, what's going on?" she asked. "It's still night time."

"We're going on a litte trip, okay Squirt?" she asked rhetorically as she picked the filly up as she wrapped her arms around Rainbow Dash's neck for support.

"I can take all of us back to the library with a teleportation spell." Twilight explained. "I think that will be easier than flying all of the way down to Ponyville with a passenger in tow."

"Yeah," Dash agreed. "And if this guy really is some kind of lunatic and tries something...we'll want to be at the top of our game."

"Okay...everypony ready?" she asked, the tip of her horn lighting up. Rainbow Dash nodded. While, Scootaloo seemed to have fallen back to sleep.

A split-second later they were standing in the center of the library, where The Doctor appeared to be sitting in the exact same spot Twilight had left him.

"She can have my bed, upstairs."

"Thanks, Twi."

Twilight followed Rainbow Dash up the staircase, when they reached Spike and Twilight's room. The baby dragon was sleeping in a basket at the foot of Twilight's bed, snoring loudly. Rainbow Dash put Scootaloo down to rest before pulling the celestial patterned sheets over the young filly.

"I'm not sure about this guy." Dash whispered to Twilight. "But, it wouldn't feel right to leave Scoot home alone..."

Twilight nodded in understanding as the two mares headed back downstairs to speak with the mysterious stallion.

"I'm sorry that took so long, Doctor." apologized Twilight.

"Oh, that's quite alright." he replied, brushing it off. "And I see you've brought Rainbow Dash with you as well...good."

"So are you gonna tell us what's going on?" Dash challenged, hovering in the air with her arms crossed.

"In time." he replied "But, first we need to reach Princess Celestia in Canterlot and I promise to explain everything there."

"Alright." Twilight conceded. "Just give us a second to let Spike and Scootaloo know what's going on, so they don't panic if we're not back by morning."

"Oh, I doubt that will be a problem." the stallion replied confidently.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dash demanded.

"Follow me," he instructed as head stood up and headed towards the library door.

The mares behind him exchanged glances before reluctantly complying with his request.

"I don't like this." Dash whispered to her marefriend. "We know nothing about this guy and he's already telling us what to do...he might be leading us into some kind of trap."

"That's definitely a possibility." agreed Twilight. "But, we don't know that yet for sure...besides, aren't you the least bit curious who he is or where he came from?"

"Yeah." She admitted. "But, I'd rather not take any chances..."

Their conversation was cut short as The Doctor came to an abrupt halt before what appeared to be a wooden blue box. Despite the shroud of darkness that had enveloped them in the starless night, they could still make out the words; 'POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX'. Rainbow Dash gave Twilight a look that was a non-verbal way of asking what in Tartarus that was. The Alicorn could only shrug in response.

The Doctor pulled out a silver key with his mouth before inserting it into the lock and turning it (with some difficulty) and pushing the door open slightly with his head.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I'm just not used to this new form, quite yet."

Twilight was about to ask what he meant by that before the thought was cut short by Rainbow Dash.

"So this is what you wanted to show us?" she demanded, irritation growing. "A blue outhouse with random words painted on it?"

Instead of responding with anger like Twilight expected, he merely chuckled and gestured for the couple to follow him inside. Rainbow Dash became even more skeptical of an odd stallion luring two mares into a secluded area, alone, in the middle of the night. While, Twilight was more focused on trying to figure out how three grown ponies would fit into a wooden box of moderate proportions.

Once stepping inside, Rainbow Dash was immediately reminded of the device Flim and Flam had used to make their cider with a large glass tube in the center of a large room with turqouise energy coursing through it.

Twilight, on the other hand. Was amazed by how large and complex the interior was in stark contrast to it's simplistic outward appearance. Even with all of her intelligence and nights of endless study, she still found the dimensions of this...thing difficult to comprehend.

"It's bigger in here..." She commented dumbly.

Around the glass cylindrical tube was what appeared to be a control panel filled with various buttons, levers, knobs, and switches. The room around theme seemed to be built from some kind of chrome decorated in a bronze color and the ceiling appeared to be far taller than the maximum height of the blue box they had entered through. It also felt like they were standing on some kind of steel grate.

"Doctor..." Twilight began, finally getting her bearings. "What exactly is this?"