Twilight, Pinkamena, and their new acquaintance Doctor Whooves left the bloodstained room a few minutes after the Doctor told them his name. Both the Doctor and Pinkamena had to convince Twilight to leave the book called Newt behind.

“It’s evil,” the Doctor said sternly, “if you mean to burn it then by all means take it, but otherwise leave it behind.”

“I’m not leaving it!” Twilight stomped a hoof defiantly, “That book has magic that I, the princess of MAGIC, have never seen before. It should be studied so that we can harness its power.”

“Do you think that you’re the first one to think that?” the Doctor asked, “Countless ponies have dedicated their LIVES to studying that bloody book. Look around you! Do you think that this mess was an accident? Studying that book will only bring misfortune, to you and those around you.”

Twilight resisted the urge to hit the Doctor, “The fact that causes so much misfortune only makes it more important to study! What if there are more books like it somewhere? If we can understand one book, then maybe we’ll know what to do if we encounter another.”

‘And besides,’ Twilight thought to herself, ‘that book may be the only way I’ll ever hear my children’s’ voices again.’

“There is no other book like that,” the Doctor said, “and even if there was it still wouldn’t be a good idea to go sticking your nose in it.”

Twilight was about to make a retort when Pinkamena butted in, “I’m sorry, Twilight, but the Doctor has a point.”

Twilight snorted, “What point? You mean his notion that we should abandon all academic inquiry on the off chance that we might harm ourselves in such endeavors?”

Pinkamena stared at Twilight for half a moment then shook her head, “I’m not even going to try to translate that.” Pinkamena placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, “You didn’t see what that book did to you, Twi. When you were reading it, it did something to you. You were mumbling in this weird language and laughing. It was like you were a completely different pony.”

‘You’re one to talk,’ Twilight thought bitterly to herself.

Pinkamena continued, “I’m not sure about what the Doctor is saying about the book causing all this,” Pinkamena gestured to a body, “but I am sure that if the Doctor hadn’t stopped you when he did, you would’ve never looked away from that book.”

Twilight looked toward the floor and kicked at it. Why couldn’t they see how much the book meant to her? Didn’t they know about her kids? Did they just want her to forget them again?

‘You don’t even know if you have kids,’ a voice in Twilight’s head told her, ‘the only evidence suggesting that you do is a dream you had several nights ago, and the giggles that came from that book. Not exactly enough evidence to start calling yourself a mother.’

‘That’s true,’ Twilight thought, ‘but it just feels like it’s true. And the way that book made me feel, how could it be bad?’

‘Opium can make you feel much better than that book ever could,’ the voice said, ‘but that doesn’t mean that it’s good for you.’

“Alright, fine. I’ll leave the book behind,” Twilight said, regretting her decision almost immediately after.

“Great!” The Doctor said brightly, “Now if you’ll just follow me, I think I know a way to fix ALL of this mess.”

The Doctor led them to a door (a different one than the door they came in) that was partially hidden behind a body that was hung by its own esophagus. The Doctor went through first (stopping for a moment to move the body) followed shortly by Pinkamena. Twilight, who was carrying Fluttershy, had to walk slowly and was the last to leave the room. She took one last look at that marvelous book called Newt, and regretfully turned away from it.

The four ponies traveled together for what felt like hours. Most of their time together was spent in silence, broken only when either Pinkamena or the Doctor made an attempt. Twilight kept silent; both because she was still upset about having to leave the book behind, and so that she could focus on supporting Fluttershy’s weight.

The Doctor led Twilight and Pinkamena through a series of corridors that twisted, turned, and doubled back on themselves. Twice the four ponies went down a flight of stairs and up another, only to find themselves in a hall that looked suspiciously similar to one that they had crossed fifteen minutes ago. Twilight tried to keep a mental map of where they had been (in the hopes that she might be able to retrieve the book) but she quickly found this to be an impossible task.

Finally, after they entered a hall for what felt like the fifth time, Twilight had had enough.

“Stop,” she said loudly, “I need a break.”

The Doctor and Pinkamena did as they were told. The Doctor turned around and asked, “What’s wrong.”

Twilight carefully slid Fluttershy off of her back and sighed with relief, “Fluttershy was getting a bit too heavy. Give me a second and I’ll be fine.”

“Now that you mention if, why does that mare (Fluttershy was it?) look so… miss matched?”

Pinkamena shifted uncomfortably. Seeing this, Twilight shook her head and answered, “We don’t know.”

The Doctor walked over to Fluttershy and examined her stitches.

“Well it looks like her wounds are healing up nicely…”

“Wait, what?” Twilight interrupted. She quickly looked over the lines that crossed Fluttershy’s skin. Doctor Whooves wasn’t wrong. Where before the stitches were so poorly done that merely moving Fluttershy risked undoing them, now they were well knitted and tight, as if some pony else had redone them without Twilight’s notice.

“But… but…” Twilight said stupidly.

“Still, it looks like she might get an infection,” the Doctor said, “when we get back to my ship I’ll try and sterilize her wounds.”

“Alright,” Twilight said, her mind still trying to process how Fluttershy could’ve healed so quickly, “I don’t think it’ll take much. Just some soap and water… Did you just say your ship?”

The Doctor had already turned away from Twilight and was at least nine meters ahead of her. Not wanting to get left behind, Twilight quickly loaded Fluttershy onto her back and trotted after him.

“We’re almost there now, I can smell it!” The Doctor shouted excitedly.

“Almost where?” Twilight shouted back, “You still haven’t told us anything!”

“Why are we running?” Pinkamena shouted from somewhere behind Twilight.

The Doctor made a right where four hallways intersected each other. A sign that hung from the ceiling (and the only one that Twilight had seen since fleeing the hospital) stated that the only things in this direction were ‘Mess Hall 14A’, ‘Abnormal Containment Zone Entrance 4 (Authorized Personnel Only) ’, ‘Storage Room 34-R’, and ‘Elevators’. Twilight stopped for a moment and wondered what could’ve made this containment zone ‘abnormal’ before her fear of being lost in this labyrinth of corridors pushed her to continue following the Doctor.

She needn’t have bothered. The Doctor had stopped in front of door with the words ‘Storage Room 34-R’ printed on it in blue.

“Almost there,” the Doctor muttered to himself, “she is somewhere beyond this door.”

“What’s beyond this door?” Twilight asked, panting slightly.

“The exact opposite of that book,” The Doctor said. He turned to Twilight and smiled widely.

Pinkamena came running down the hallway a second later.

“Why did you two run off like that?” she asked.

“Sorry about that,” the Doctor said, “I didn’t mean leave you behind. It’s just that…”

“Save it,” Pinkamena interrupted, “let’s just get Fluttershy somewhere safe.”

“Right. GERONIMO!” The Doctor shouted for no apparent reason.

The Doctor opened the door and the three ponies stepped into a dimly lit room full of wooden crates of, dust, and cobwebs. The Doctor began rummaging through the various crates, occasionally throwing their contents at a nearby wall.

“What exactly are you looking for?” Twilight asked.

The Doctor answered, “I’m not looking for anything. I know exactly where it is, I just need to find it. And let me tell you, once I get this baby started, everything will be fixed.”

“Okay, how?”

The Doctor chuckled, “Well, you see I am what you call a Time Pony. I can travel through time and interact will both the past and the future. With that, I’m perfectly capable of finding the moment when everything went wrong, and stopping it. ”

Twilight, who had never in all her years of study heard of a ‘Time Pony’, asked, “Do you mean you can cast time spells? Because they’re not difficult to figure out, any pony can cast them.” Then, realizing something that should’ve been obvious, added, “Besides, you’re not a unicorn. How are you going to use magic?”

The Doctor actually laughed at this, “Silly filly, there’s no such thing as ‘magic’! That’s just a fairy tale parents tell their foals to kick start their imagination. Why on earth would you believe in something like that?”

Twilight looked at Pinkamena, who seemed just as confused as she was.

“But, you two had an argument over a magic book not too long ago,” Pinkamena pointed out.

“That book? Did I say that was magic?” The Doctor asked, sounding genuinely confused.

“I think so,” Pinkamena answered, “but I don’t really remember.”

“Well, what I meant was that the book produces a hypersonic frequency that speeds up neutrons and can cause RNA to dilute into its basic elemental compounds which then discharge into body’s cell structure, causing inflammation in brain cells.”

Twilight, who actually understood how science works, rolled her eyes, “Yeah, when you put it THAT way magic sounds SO implausible.”

“That’s because magic is impossible; once you get an understanding of science, foolish ideas such as magic seem to be just that, foolish.

The Doctor went back to rummaging around the crates and disappeared. A moment later, Twilight heard the Doctor laughing triumphantly.

“AHA! FOUND IT!” he screamed.

Twilight and Pinkamena went to investigate what exactly ‘it’ was. They found the Doctor kneeling before a tall, thin crate that some pony had decided to paint blue.

“Oh sexy, I found you!” The Doctor cried out as he went to hug the wooden box.

“Um…” Pinkamena said, “What are you doing?”

The Doctor turned his head to look at them; both his smile and eyes were wide.

“Oh sorry, I forgot to introduce you,” the Doctor said. He began caress the blue box like it was his lover, “this is my TARDIS. She’s a time machine. I love her… I missed her so much.”

“Okay…” Twilight said awkwardly, “It looks like an ordinary box to me.”

“Really?” The Doctor asked incredulously, “How? Wait; you haven’t seen the inside yet, have you?”

“No.” Pinkamena answered.

“Well then,” the Doctor said, his eyes twinkling slightly, “I suppose I’ll have to show you.”

The Doctor placed a hoof on the side of the crate. Without thinking about it, Twilight held her breath. The Doctor slipped the edge of his hoof between the crate’s front and side. He pulled at the crate’s front so that it swung out on small iron hinges, revealing the inside of the blue box.

It was completely empty. The blue crate was just an ordinary crate that some pony decided to paint blue. Twilight exhaled the air she had been holding.

“What’s so special about this box?” Pinkamena asked in a confused tone.

Doctor Whooves looked at her like she had made the baby eating joke again. “What’s so special? What do you mean what’s so special? Don’t you see it?”

Pinkamena looked at Twilight, who could only shrug.

The Doctor scowled, “You two must be really dense. But maybe if I show you, you’ll understand.”

The Doctor stepped into the blue crate and began jumping up and down.

“You see, it’s bigger on the inside!” The Doctor shouted excitedly.

Twilight and Pinkamena looked at each other again. Twilight gestured towards the door and Pinkamena nodded. Together the two backtracked through the storage room and into the corridor. Twilight took one last look to where the Doctor was playing in his blue box. Silently, she cursed the idiot for leading them through Luna knows how many corridors, for wasting their time, and for stealing her away from the book. With one last snort in the Doctor’s general direction, Twilight slammed the door shut.

“Well, that was a waste of time.” Twilight said, “Wish I had known that he was one of the crazies earlier.”

“Think we should’ve killed him?” Pinkamena asked, a little too casually.

Twilight shook her head, “No, he’s harmless. I don’t want him tagging along with us, but I don’t want to watch his head roll either.”

“Gotcha, but now what are we gonna do now?”

“I guess we’ll find somewhere to rest for a while, and then try to find Dread and Dr. Layne.” Twilight answered, “Shouldn’t be hard, this place can’t be that big.”

“Might be some food in the Mess Hall,” Pinkamena said.

Twilight nodded, “Yeah, we can rest there for right now.”

The two of them crossed the hall to where a door marked ‘Mess Hall 14A’. Pinkamena opened the door and they stepped inside.

The room was more of a large snack room than a mess hall. There were only three tables; one pushed against a wall and two that stood at the room’s center. Next to the tables was a counter with eight drawers and had a mini-fridge, a microwave, and coffee maker sitting on top of it. Beside the counter was a vending machine with words ‘Koka Kool’ written on it. At the far end of the room was a small television that was set on an old chair. Facing it was an ugly green futon.

“Well, looks like we know where we’re sleeping.” Pinkamena said, gesturing to the futon.

“Uh, right;” Twilight said stupidly. She began to search wildly for something else to sleep on. Friend or not, Twilight didn’t relish the thought of sharing a bed with a cannibal. Unable to find anywhere else to sleep, Twilight resigned herself to the sleeping conditions and tried her best to not think about them.

Twilight carefully laid Fluttershy on one of the tables (the one pushed against a wall) and began looking for something to rest her head on. She found a cardboard box that was tucked away between the microwave and the wall. Written on it was the word ‘Napkins’. Twilight pulled the box out and piled the napkins under Fluttershy’s head to make a makeshift pillow. After that, Twilight poured the rest of the napkins over Fluttershy’s body to keep her warm.

Pinkamena opened one of the counter’s drawers and began inspecting its contents.

“It looks like we’ll be okay on food for a little bit.” Pinkamena said happily, “In this drawer alone, we’ve got crackers, chips, peanuts, and-ooo honey buns!” Pinkamena said the last part with a small hop.

“Any water?” Twilight asked.

Pinkamena began looking through the other drawers, “Yeah, there are a couple bottles of water. We should be good for a few days.”

“Okay, adding in the possibility that the vending machine is loaded,” Twilight said, mostly to herself, “and that there might be a bathroom with running water. We might be able to stay in here until Fluttershy wakes up. If she wakes up.” Twilight whispered this last bit beneath her breath.

“Do you want anything to eat?” Pinkamena asked.

Twilight shook her head, “I’m still full from our last meal with Dread, and that room did nothing to help my appetite. I’ll just unfold the futon and try to get some sleep. You go ahead and eat if you want to.”

Pinkamena shrugged, and then popped a honey bun into her mouth. Twilight was reminded of a crocodile biting down on an unfortunate animal. Probably because of Pinkamena’s teeth.

Twilight unfolded the futon, which proved difficult as it wasn’t designed to by unfolded by some pony’s mouth. After climbing in and making herself comfortable, Twilight tried to get herself to fall asleep.

This was interrupted a few minutes later when Pinkamena asked, “Twilight, you know how we left the Doctor alone in the storage room?”

Twilight opened an eye and did her best not to glare at Pinkamena, “What about him?”

“It’s just… I don’t know. I guess I feel guilty for just leaving him there.”

Twilight snorted, “He was insane. You heard him rambling, didn’t you? He would’ve just gotten in our way.”

Pinkamena sighed, “I know, but…”

“Didn’t you ask if we should kill him?”

Pinkamena took a step back, “Yeah, but I meant something quick, like snapping his neck or something. We left him to fend for himself; he’s probably gonna starve.”

Twilight thought about this for a moment then said, “He was doing just fine before he met us, he’ll do fine now that we’ve parted ways.”

Pinkamena’s ears fell flat on her head, “I guess… It’s just that this feels; I don’t know… mean?”

Twilight had to stifle a laugh. The pony who delighted in torture and cannibalism, one who had admitted that she ate her own friend, was worried about being mean to some mad stallion that she had only known for a few hours.

At the same time though, Twilight understood where Pinkamena was coming from. The Doctor hadn’t done them any harm aside from leading them on a wild goose chase. He didn’t really deserve to be abandoned.

‘He took me from that book!’ a thought shouted in Twilight’s head, ‘He took me away from my family! He can rot in that blue box for all I care.’

Twilight said, “Look, let’s just get some sleep. If we run into Doctor Whooves tomorrow, we’ll take him with us. Okay?”

This seemed to brighten Pinkamena’s mood because she smiled and said, “Okie doki loki.”

Twilight sighed and tried once again to put herself to sleep. While she lay there on the futon, Twilight made a mental note to avoid the storage room tomorrow.

Author's Notes:

In case I don't get the next chapter out by the 31st (I need to improve my writing speed) Happy Halloween!