I paced around the room, thinking over every implication of the short message.

China.

CHINA.

I couldn't go to China. Not now. After weeks and weeks of effort and hunting, I finally had a job, and a decent one too. And even then, what about Mits? She would only get out of the vet hospital tomorrow, and I couldn't bear to leave her here with a pet sitter while I was gone for who knows how long. That and there wasn't a sitter within a hundred miles that would watch her.

I stopped my pacing by the window and turned to look back at Fluttershy, sitting on the sofa and re-re-rereading the message, trying to make sense of it. She looked apprehensive and worried, but I guess she had a right to be. The assistant had said they would have to run tests on her. That was terrifying in itself, but then also mentioning that time might be running out to get her back?

I sighed. That was another point. I didn't know this professor, or his assistant. I'd never heard of them before Steven had shown me that theoretic paper, or this place they apparently worked at. I didn't know if they were who they said they were, or if they could find a way to get Fluttershy home. Hell, I didn't know if I could trust them.

But…. it was the only viable way I'd found so far that had a chance of getting Fluttershy home to her friends, her animals, her LIFE.

I sighed again, and tugged my hair in frustration. A sniffle bought my attention back to the sofa. It was Fluttershy, looking at her hands, clenching them into fists over and over.

I walked over and knelt in front of her. "Shy? Are you alright?"

She looked up. She was teary eyed, but not properly crying. "H-he said we don't have m-m-much time. W-w-w-what if I can't get home?" She whispered.

That settled it. I took her hand and held it reassuringly, fighting the urge to pull her into a hug. I spoke quietly. "Hey, hey, don't say that. There's still time. We can do it, I'm sure."

Resisting hugging her became a pointless endeavour as soon as she decided to hug me, though. I mentally sighed and returned it, rubbing her back gently to calm her. Having a crush on the girl I was trying to help didn't help in the least, either.

After a few moments I pulled my arms back, and Fluttershy did the same, leaning back and blushing softly.

"Hey, Shy, why don't you go get something to drink while I look at this plan thing?" I asked softly. She nodded eagerly, getting to her feet and walking quickly into the kitchen. I watched her go, then sat up on the sofa and turned my attention to the laptop again. I double clicked the little attached file, and it popped up after a few seconds of loading.

Listed on the document were several things, all written in very formal English: The first of which was a small introduction, highlighting what was on the document, then after that was the plan to get to China.

For as much as I could be wary of them, these people were good thinkers. A train ride from Lincoln straight to London, from there a tube train to Heathrow airport. After a straight trip to Beijing, we'd catch a connecting flight to 'Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport', where there would be transport waiting for us. There were backups for each one accounting for lateness or missed flights and trains, and below all this was a timetable. Apparently our trip would begin Friday. The day after tomorrow.

Finally, at the bottom, was a short message detailing a package for us in the main post office in Lincoln. That peaked my interest more than anything else, and I decided to get it straight away, especially given how little time we had.

Still, if I was going to go, there was the issue with my new job, and Mits. I could ask Mr Thompson for a bit of leave before I began proper. He'd probably be a bit peeved, but he seemed like a nice guy, so I hoped he'd allow me to. And I supposed Mits could stay in a kennel for the duration of my trip, as much as it hurt not to see her. It was probably for the best, I told myself. Make sure she was completely recovered and all.

Fluttershy came back out holding what looked like a cup of tea and sat on the sofa while I mulled this over. I stood up, settling on the plan in my head.

"Fluttershy, I'm just going to the post office to grab something the professor sent us. I shouldn't be too long. Will you be okay here?" I asked. The short trip would only take about ten minutes, granting the post office wasn't too busy.

She nodded slowly, taking a small sip of tea. "Um, okay."

I smiled at her, grabbing my jacket and messenger bag by the door. "Thanks. I'll be back in a second." I assured her, pulling my jacket on and leaving, shutting the door quickly behind me.

I hurried up the stairs of my flat, the parcel in my bag banging against my side. It was light, mostly flat, and had a Do Not Bend sticker which all only made me more curious about the contents.

I opened the door of my flat and stepped in quickly, happily sniffling in the warm air. Fluttershy peeked out of the kitchen at my arrival, and I noticed the familiar smell of cooking. She smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, hello Jamie. I was just making some soup for lunch." She held up a wooden spoon, and I laughed.

"That's fine, Shy, that's fine. Smells delicious." I complimented, hanging up my jacket.

I jumped back in shock as Fluttershy disappeared and Steven took her place. "Hey Jamie!"

"Steven?!" I sighed. "Was there any need to scare me like that? And how the heck did you get in?" I asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Fluttershy let me in." he waved his hand at her as she stirred the soup. She looked apologetic and mouthed 'sorry' at me. I waved her off and smiled, showing I didn't mind, and turned back to Steven, now sitting at the table.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, taking the place across from him.

He grinned and wagged a finger in my direction. "You're not the only one who got an email from the professor."

"Er's assistant." I added.

He waved it off. "Whatever. Point is, I came over to see how things are going." He winked, as though this was supposed to have more than one meaning. Realising what he meant, I kicked him under the table, frowning. He laughed, and Fluttershy looked confused as she walked over with three steaming bowls of soup. She set them down and took a seat next to me.

"Anyway, I got another email from the assistant. He thanked me for 'making them aware of an inter-dimensional traveller', or something like that, and said they would take it from there. Clearly they have."

"Won't you be coming with us?" Fluttershy asked, looking up with a surprised look on her face.

Steven shook his head. "Guess not. It'll be just you and Jamie, off to explore to the great East in search of a way to another dimension." He traced his hand through the air, taking a sip of soup. "How romantic." He smirked.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Fluttershy blushing, and knew I would be too. I fought the urge to kick him again.

As Steven laughed quietly, Fluttershy looked up from her soup, remembering something, and no doubt trying to change the subject. "Did you get what the professor sent, Jamie?"

I nodded, glad for the topic change. "Oh, yeah. Take a look at this." I reached into my bag and pulled it out, setting it down in the middle of the table.

"So, what is it?" Fluttershy asked.

I shrugged. "Let's see."

I reached forward and carefully ripped open one end, and tipped it up. A small wad of various papers slid out. I sifted through it. Train tickets, first class plane tickets, a map of the London Underground, even spare cash for catching taxis. And underneath it all was a small passport. Opening it showed Fluttershy's face, or more specifically Florence Goodwin's. Every detail was filled out meticulously.

Something struck me. It was the photo I had taken, just a few days ago, photo shopped perfectly to white out the area around Fluttershy's head, and painting her normally pink hair a more normal brunette, the same as her wig.

"So that's why…" I muttered. Fluttershy picked the passport up and looked at it curiously, and Steven whistled as he looked at the tickets.

"They really forked out a lot of cash for this, huh?" He asked.

I nodded. "Indeed. This is a fake passport."

Steven nodded slowly. "I'm no expert, but a good one is probably worth thousands. According to movies." He shrugged. "They've really spared no expense to get you to China Fluttershy." He noted.

Again, I got that wary thought about whether we could trust these people. Still, I thought, they could hardly have any bad intentions of they were willing to spend this much to get her there.

Soon after, we finished off the delicious lunch served by Fluttershy, and Steven bid his farewells as we stood by the front door.

"Well Jamie, Fluttershy, I probably won't see you again before you go, so good luck with your trip to China. And, if whatever they do works, I won't be seeing you again Fluttershy." He turned and looked her up and down, then held out his hand for her. She took it and he shook gently. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Fluttershy." He nodded slowly, smiling.

She smiled back. "It was a pleasure to meet you, too, Steven. Thank you for your help."

"It was a pleasure. Have fun in China. It's a wonderful country." He grinned and held up his hand in goodbye, heading out the door.

Fluttershy turned to me as the door clicked shut, smiling. "He's so kind."

I chuckled. "To you, yeah. Anyway, he's right. We're leaving the day after tomorrow. We need to start packing."

The travel day turned up faster than I realised, but I'd packed, with help from Fluttershy, everything we might need for the trip the day before, as well as a couple of books she had picked out for the journey. I'd called the gallery, and Mr Thompson had been very understanding about the situation. Well, I'd told a little white lie and said it was important family issues, but I suppose as Shy would be travelling under the alias of one of my relatives that was technically true.

And I'd been sure to warn her about the trip. I'd explained it would take a long time, and that we'd be going through some crowded places. When we did leave, she was wary of getting in the taxi that I'd hired to take us to the station, but I was able to calm her down without too much trouble.

After that was the train. I knew she was used to travelling with steam engines, but I wasn't sure how she'd react to the comparatively high speed electric ones in our world. When we got to the station, though, she seemed excited to go on the train. Maybe it was the idea of doing something she had done in her world. Something similar, to relate to. She spent almost the entire ride gazing out the window at the scenery and blur of towns, which gave me time to think.

My thoughts, though, were for the most part stuck on what Steven had said yesterday, about Fluttershy. 'If whatever they do works, I won't be seeing you again'. That went for me, as well. Fluttershy would be going back to her world. Equestria. Where would that leave me? As much as I hated to admit it, she had been the centre of my life for the last week.

It had felt much longer than a week.

And there was the whole crush business, too. As much as I'd tried to avoid it. I felt that need to help her, more than the compassion I'd first taken it to be, and the warm feelings I felt when I saw her smile. That was a full blown crush, maybe more…

No. I wouldn't let myself think that. It would hurt enough as it was to never see a friend again; especially one I'd grown so close to…

It was just before noon by the time we got on the underground train, so it was thankfully mostly empty. Heathrow was another matter, though. It was an international airport, it would never calm down. Fluttershy stuck to my side like glue, and I didn't feel circulation in my arm until we reached customs and she had to have her passport checked. I was stressing out over the false passport the professor had given us. What if they saw through it? An illegal passport, they'd lock us up and throw away the key. And god knows how many questions it would raise. Fluttershy had no details, no birth certificate, no records. It would-

The man on the booth waved her through, and she joined my side again. I sighed in relief, and we took our bags from the conveyor belt.

After a snack from one of the cafés and a short wait in the lounge looking over the vast tarmac of the airport, we were sat side by side in the first class part of the plane, waiting for take-off. Fluttershy looked to be enjoying the features and comfortable seats, and I'd given her the window spot so she could enjoy the view. I thought she would enjoy the sights, being a pegasus and all.

"You okay Shy?" I asked, smiling at her as the pilot said the plane would be taking off shortly.

She turned to me and nodded, smiling in a tight-lipped kind of way. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You seem kinda nervous. You sure you're okay?"

She looked down and sighed, the smile fading. "I am a little nervous." She admitted. "It feels like my first day at flight school. It's all new, and kind of scary."

I rubbed her arm and smiled. "I'm glad you're taking it so well. Most people get pretty nervous their first time flying."

She smiled back and nodded, but as soon as the engines whirred louder and the plane started to roll forwards she 'eeped' in an adorable way and crushed my hand, pressing back into her seat.

I let it be until we had taken off, then reached across and tapped her arm. "Shy? We've taken off now."

She sighed slowly, and visibly relaxed, nodding. "Thank you Jamie."

"It's no problem. But uh, could I have my hand back now?" I asked.

She looked down at the arm rest and realised what she had been crushing. "Oh, sorry." She let go and I flexed my hand, wincing. She had a vicious grip.

"It's okay." I chuckled and held her hand loosely to assure her. After a second she turned her hand the other way up and held it back. I looked up into her eyes for a second, and I briefly heard her thank me once again. I shook myself from the gaze and looked away. Every damn time…

"It's no problem. Anything for y- for a friend." I looked back, smiling in a vain attempt to cover my odd behaviour. She nodded, the smile absent from her face. Good. Now I was freaking her out.

"Um, how long until we get there?" She asked, managing to throw me off my train of thought enough to make me laugh.

"We've only just taken off Shy. It's a ten hour flight. Just sit back and relax, it'll be fine. Let me know if you get hungry, I'll call a steward over."

"Oh, okay." She sat back in her seat and giggled. "These chairs are comfy."

I nodded, wiggling back into it, smiling. "That they are. First class is top." I agreed. "Especially for ten hours."

Twelve hours later and we were getting off the final plane. It was 11am when we left Heathrow, so by our body clocks it was almost midnight, but the time difference had it at 7am. Fluttershy had at least managed to sleep the last few hours of the first flight, and the entirety of the last one, but I was awake through the miracle of caffeine and determination to get to the university. Though as we trudged through the airport, I couldn't help but wonder whether that extra sleep Fluttershy had gotten was helping or just messing her up more.

Luckily though I caught glimpse of the standard greeting card meant for us: GOODWIN scrawled across it in block capitals, clearly calling to us. I nudged Fluttershy, who once again had her arm hooked through mine, and led her over to the sign. There was a man there, but instead of talking he simply handed over a letter, took our bags and started walking to the door, nodding with his head to get us to follow.

I was wary about it, but did so none-the-less. It occurred to me that now I had started on the path to the professor, there was no going back. I was in a strange country, I didn't know the language, I had no local money, and even then it probably wouldn't be enough to get home. That one line from Alice In Wonderland came to me. Something about tumbling down the rabbit hole. Yeah, that fit. I was too tired to be bothered to remember.

The car he led us to was a simple four dour, but looked pretty luxurious given some of the other vehicles around it. The man put our bags in the boot and I took the initiative to sit in the back with Fluttershy. She yawned as I helped her get the seatbelt done up, and after buckling in myself I gave the letter a once-over. It was addressed to me, if the JAMIE GOODWIN on the front was any indication. It was just folded paper, so luckily there was no need to try and tear it open in my tired state. Written in just-readable English was a message:

Hello Jamie. If you are reading this, then you have taken my advice and offer of help, and I thank you. This is the last leg of the journey, and when you get to the University I have had a meal and some rooms prepared for you and Fluttershy. I have no doubt you are feeling tired after the extreme change in time. The driver is a man I have known for many years, he is reliable, and does not speak a word of English, so you can both relax from your hidden identities for now. The drive will be just over an hour, so feel free to sleep on the way. I eagerly await your arrival. -Professor Shang Kai Hong

Ah, a message from the professor himself, at long last. Wait, I was supposed to be travelling under secret identity too? Damn. Oh well, too late now. I looked at the rear mirror over the dashboard. "We're going to Lanzhou?" I asked.

He looked up in the mirror and grinned, giving a thumb up. "Lanzhou!" He agreed.

I nodded and shrugged to myself, failing to see the point of me asking him. I turned to Fluttershy to let her know she could let her hair down – literally, in her case – but she was already asleep, slumped in her seat. It made me smile.

Hell, what about her didn't?

I didn't even realise I'd fallen asleep until the driver was looking back through the seats, shaking my shoulder.

"Jamie Goodwin! Jamie Goodwin! Lanzhou!"

When I was sufficiently awake, he pointed out the side window. The University, or at least what I presumed it to be, was looming next to us. A mix between the more traditional oriental design, and modern glass and steel, there was nothing to really show it off as a place of learning. In the other direction, though, the view was spectacular, looking down into a valley with a sprawling city, which I guessed to be Lanzhou. I never knew the University was up on a small mountain.

It took a minute to wake Fluttershy up while the driver took our bags in.

"Shy? Wake up, we're here."

She mumbled something in her sleep, sleepily opening her eyes. "We… we are?" She yawned.

I nodded, smiling drowsily. "That took forever, huh? Come on, I'm excited to finally see the professor now." I urged, trying to get her awake.

It worked, slightly, and she nodded, undoing the seatbelt with some help, and I led her through the main door of the University. It was pretty sparsely decorated, but went far enough to have a simple but peaceful fountain behind a secretary's desk. We walked up and she smiled, pointing down a hall to the right. "Ah yes, Goodwin. Just go down corridor, last door. He is expecting you."

I nodded slowly, and Fluttershy smiled at her as we walked past.

I'll be honest here. I was pretty worked up after all this, and I could tell Shy was as well. We had just spent about 18 hours travelling, if not more, gone to a different country, and all on the word of one mysterious professor with a crazy idea about alternate dimensions. And it wasn't even him who had said so. It was his assistant.

I stopped in front of the wooden double doors, turning to girl next to me.

"Well… this is it Shy. Ready?"

She nodded, beaming, but still clearly tired and a little nervous. "Yes. Thank you Jamie. For everything you've helped me with. I appreciate it."

I smiled back, and took a step toward the doors. I laid my hand on the centre, then thought better of it and pulled it back, then knocked.

"Come in, please." A quiet voice came from inside.

I took a breath, and pushed gently against the wood. Both doors swung inwardly slowly, revealing a large, round room, two stories tall. Bookshelves lined the walls, a balcony ran around the edge of the second level, and a large table sat in the centre of the room. Two things caught my eye: First, was a surprisingly young man standing off to the side, writing an equation on a white board. He must have been the assistant. He was too young to be the actual professor. There was another, older man, with large glasses and a wispy white beard, sitting on a large chair off to the side, taking notes and looking up into the air. The professor, then.

The other thing: Another person, their back to us, looking in the same direction as the professor, as maybe two dozen books spun around the room slowly, surrounded by a purple tingling haze. The person had dark hair, with a pink and a purple stripe I recognised. The purple one was glowing with the same purple surrounding the books. When that person turned around, it turned out to be a girl, with dark purple eyes. Eyes that twinkled when they noticed us. The girl beamed. Then she spoke with a voice I also recognised.

"Fluttershy! You're here!"