Author's Notes:

Honestly, the only reason I took this choice was because the other option would've turned their relationship into a childish, tripe, schoolyard romance. Beside how stupid that kind of genre is, it had also been done to death around this site. Not to mention it would ultimately be insulting and pathetic to subject the Doctor to something of the like, as well as multiple different shades of retarded to subject Ditzy to it.

(*) It could go either way. Between all the rehashes I did in this story, I don't even care anymore. Either Ditzy hospitalized Twilight, or she didn't. However, I wanted to make the point that this wasn't the base dimension. As you might've noticed, this version of the mailmare has a lot of further depth and baggage than a background character would ever have any right to have, let alone one from a frilly frou frou world like Equestria. There's also the matter of her having a specific reason for her eye problem, unlike how it's up to interpretation for the original background character.

The only reason I turned Equestria into Feyraltia, however, was because this wasn't exactly the same Equestria as the original. This was the version where the Doctor landed. It's like I said in the description. I made this tale as an intersection of two worlds, to that end I took the liberty of making it a little more war and death-filled, like the Doctor's universe. All for the sake of settling the Time Lord in a setting where we could explore him properly. If you wanted a silly little adventure where he saved the planet of Equus, look for any other tale in the Doctor Whooves section. My gimmick, however, is not stupid adventures. It's inner conflict. I wanted to make this story to explore both the ancient Time Lord, and the world of Fairy Tale.

(**) Yes, the same weeds that Discord planted a thousand years ago, with the intention of destroying the Tree of Harmony. Said tree managed to hold its own ever since, but I like to believe that some of the seeds actually had the presence of mind to give up after, say, a hundred years? And go eat something else. If you don't like this idea, then just imagine it's some other deadly plant that resides in the Everfree. There are plenty of wood and rock based creatures there anyway. Might as well have a Venus Fly Trap that's actually deadly.
I'm thinking something which was still part of the Venus Weed genus.

Next day. Ditzy woke up early in the morning, with a splitting headache and feeling like a backed up toiled. She took a while to notice a hoof over her, and the Doctor under her head. She took a while to figure out what was happening. Why was he in her bed?

She looked at him as incredulously as she could in her groggy state. He didn't as much as shift his gaze when he greeted her. "Morning, dear."

She was dumbstruck. "We didn't..." her memories of last night coming back to her.

"We did." he retorted, still staring at the ceiling, face riddled with worry.

She laid her head back against him and started to study the ceiling as well. "So..." she interrupted the silence. "Now what?"

"Now, we wash. Then we're having breakfast."

Apparently she hadn't really drunk enough to black out, otherwise that would've been incredibly irresponsible of her. What happened last night? Well, all in all, it was all very clumsy. She didn't jump him, nor did he take advantage of her. They just...

They returned from the party, happy as can be. She was laughing liberally, her alcohol level allowing her to be a bit brazen.

"So, did you have fun tonight?" the Doctor asked her.

Next thing he knew, he was with his back against the wall beside the entrance to her home, with Ditzy all over him French style. His eyes opened wide, apparently not really having any trouble with the alcohol he'd had. Either he took it easy, or he'd just now broken down the alcohol in his blood out of shock and desire to figure out what was going on.

She broke away, slowly, looking him in the eye. She had no trouble focusing on him, she was calm and focused. She wasn't that drunk at all. She knew what she was doing. The Doctor returned an uncertain look, one which she was expecting. She sighed and asked him, "Tell me, Doctor. How long has it been since you've been with a woman?"

The look in his eye only continued to draw her back in. She wondered what was going on inside his head. He looked tired and alone, like he'd been running from something he couldn't even remember anymore, for longer than he could remember. Like he was dragging along the world on his shoulders. And she saw, he really wanted to love her back, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

She reached back in, and this time he didn't hold back.

She went second. When she got out of the shower, the Doctor had finished making breakfast.

Seasoned omelets with cheese, buttered toast, and oatcakes for desert. Plenty of freshly squeezed orange juice aside. As soon as she noticed the latter, she laid waste to it. The shower helped, but she still had to filter the alcohol out of her system. Coffee would've been good too.

Everything went on without incident. Dotes didn't seem to give her much thought. Which wasn't reassuring her all that much.

They talked about last night. How it was, whether they had fun. Whether Dinky behaved. Dotes remained home to foalsit, so she wouldn't know what the party was like. So she was happy to find out about how the two of them got along so well.

Wait.

"...Could you repeat that, Dosey?"

Her sister smiled at her. "I said that I'm glad to learn that you're happy together. Even if I might not completely agree with your choice, I suppose you could've picked a lot worse."

"...So, you're not mad at us any more?"

"Of course I'm still mad!" holding down a traitorous smile. "You did keep a secret from me... And I'm still expecting you to find a job, mister!" Dinky was giggling at her aunt's pretending to scold the other two. "And you're not going to finish up in time at that rate, missy!"

"Sorry, aunt Dosey." the child rang, faking a pout.

She gave her niece a quick muzzle before getting up to wash her own plate. "And you two still need to learn to keep it down." as she passed the other two.

"Maybe you should stop being such a light sleeper!" Ditzy retorted blushingly.

She was answered with a wink and a tongue out.

Ditzy didn't know if she was relieved that she didn't have to deal with her sister, or if she preferred a fight rather than deal with this now. She realized, the only reason why Dotes wasn't upset was because... well, she trusted her. She trusted her judgment, and saw that if she really loved him that much, then she needed to respect her decision.

Once they were alone again, there was an awkward silence. Ditzy sighed. "So... about this morning."

"Yeah, about that..." he stalled, gathering his thoughts. He wasn't managing very well. "Do you remember what I told you the night before? About becoming a couple not being a good idea?"

Her ears drooped. "Yes, I remember. Time Lord longevity, right? I can't exactly stick around as long as you can. So... what now?"

He looked away, finding the clock on the wall. "I think you should go to work. We can figure this out later."

He got up and walked out the door. Leaving her alone and confused. That was what he did best, after all. Cause a mess then run away.

In the afternoon. Ditzy was hard at work.

"Well?" Raindrops asked her eventually.

"Well what?" Ditzy asked back coldly, picking up a cardboard box from the pile.

"Are you going to tell me how it went last night?" the sunny mare asked as she picked up her own box.

The wally-eyed mare didn't appear in a gossiping mood. Her sunny friend decided she'd try to cheer her up. "It went... better than I'd hoped. We're going to talk about it later in the day."

They reached the air truck and unloaded their boxes on it, then Drops started again. "Seriously? What's holding you two back?"

"Nothing much. He's just afraid of becoming a widow again."

Now would be a good time to remind you that Ditzy is a little brash in her honesty. Suppose at least this way she makes sure there's no room for misinterpretation.

Raindrops missed a wingbeat registering what her friend just said. She stared at her, mouth opening and closing as she wanted to say a few things, but then thought better.

They both carried another pair of boxes to the moving truck, then looked back down to see the forestallion waving them over, aside from their other coworkers. It seemed that they were loading the couch next.

On their way down, Drops finally spoke. "You sure you're going to be okay?"

"I'm fine. Let's just focus on the job for now, okay? I could use a distraction."

The couch was reasonably heavy, but they all pulled their share. It certainly wasn't as heavy as the cart, though. Why did they need all of this transported through air truck, anyway? Were they really in that much of a hurry to recover their potted plants? Hopefully the pegasi on pulling duty would be able to keep the craft steady, though that wasn't Ditzy's worry. She noticed her eye was wandering off again.(*)

Elsewhere, shortly after his little banter with Ditzy this morning, the Doctor went on a short stride into the largely potentially dangerous Everfree Forest. He didn't know what he was doing. He just started to run as soon as he'd went through the doorway, straight for the thicket, with only a vague idea as to what he was planning.

He'd had enough. Enough waiting, enough pretending like he was normal, enough trying to ignore the shadows dancing around his peripherals. He was taking back the offensive.

He knew he was being watched. All this time he could sense a eyes on him, shying away just as he turned his gaze upon their owners. When the town was empty, he turned the corner. When he first went to visit Zecora, he was hiding in the bushes and behind tree trunks. When he was working in the apple orchard, this Hooded Pony was staring at him from the shadows of the Everfree.

He knew all along. He just wasn't as motivated as he was now to do something about it. Even if what he was doing was arguably one of the most stupid things he'd ever done in his entire life. Say, top 30 at least.

This Hooded Pony was directly involved with his arrival here. It worked from the shadows, watching him. It wanted something from him. But more than that, there was something else the Doctor deduced.

The only reason this stranger... let's call him Hoodie for now. The only reason Hoodie would've ever wanted to stop Ditzy from hospitalizing him was because it would hurt the timeline. The effects were only secondary, the fact that ponies would risk more than they gained was manageable in the long run! They could even continue to use his blood until they figured out the next remedy after the next remedy. The real thing at risk was that time tends to snap back around to its previous default state either one way or another. Ponies would die in order to maintain that balance, and a few other families would just have a few extra children to compensate and fill up the void. There would, however, be a backlash...

Yeah, long story short. Changing the timeline, bad. Very, very bad. Extremely so. That's item one. Item two is, that the Doctor was already destined to bring about whatever calamity in the near future. "To be chained and broken; and the Doctor forgotten." He'd need to be alive to allow for the timeline to do its thing, otherwise the repercussions would just keep on escalating indefinitely, potentially shattering time in the long run!

...So he's going to need to survive. And Hoodie will most likely want to make sure of that, as he already did that first night. Therefore, the Doctor's plan was to try and get himself killed...

Okay, maybe not 30. Top 40? 50? No? Yes? Maybe?

It had been far too long since the last time he had a good run. The sound of his twin hearts beating in his chest like drums, the pleasant high of adrenaline, the sweat on his back...
Okay, the sweaty fur was not that fun. He just bathed this morning.

Oh well. That should be the least of his worries for now.

'Let's see... timberwolves? Nah, too unpredictable. Ursa Major? Not entirely certain where its den is. Plunderweed?(**) Hmm...'

He knew about most of the local dangers from his studies, which gave him room to make backup plans in case Hoodie didn't show up. The Doctor did still consider the possibility of maybe forgetting some detail in his theory. With Plunderweed, he had more than enough leeway to run away should things go south. A close second was the Ursa Major, which he'd hoped he could evade, then the Gravel Python. What he didn't want to come across were timberwolves, any ambush spiders, or any cockatrices.

Unfortunately, however, that was exactly what he tripped over when he tried to vault over a larger tree root.

He was fairly certain that he saw what appeared to be a large serpent, as well as a white-feathered body of what he assumed to be a chicken head. He didn't take long to regain his footing, but he most certainly didn't have a second glance to check.

Honestly. He did not find the concept of being turned to stone very exciting.

Soon enough he started hearing some rather ominous beastial cry. The sound of a chicken clucking slowed down to an unearthly growling. Beside it sounding like your worst nightmare, it also sounded angry. Luckily, it didn't take much effort to outrun the slow fiend. Still, better safe than sorry. Let's just cover a little more ground before taking any chances and checking to see if he lost it.

He covered what seemed like the length of three football fields (soccer for those itching for a fight) before he slowed down. Then he laid down aside from a tree to rest and waited intently, listening carefully.

No clucking, no slithering. Good.

He looked himself over. Mud stains all over his legs and lower barrel, suppose the rainwater hadn't dried up entirely from a couple nights before. There were also a few places where he noticed his coat got ruffled and cut, but nothing outstanding. He's surprised to notice how well protected he is. A few thorns would've gone straight through his humanoid skin, but currently his coat kept most of it out, and his underlying skin was too think for anything to as much as scratch him.

As he studied himself, however, he noticed something else. A few golden markings appeared along his right foreleg. "Oh, right. I wasn't supposed to leave town..." was what he said, right before the markings started glowing bright and he heard a moderately peeved female voice ring in his head.

"Indeed, you were not."

"...Celestia?"

"I've interrupted a meeting to ask you why you're running through the Everfree Forest. I hope you have a good reason for it."

"Of course I do! I was running from a cockatrice!"

She chuckled. "You know what I mean."

"Alright alright... would you believe me if I said that I just wanted to go pay Zecora a visit?"

"Would it be true?"

"...Yes."

"Doctor, don't lie to me."

"Wait... is there a lie detector on this thing?"

"You might recall me mentioning at Fortune Holds how I've known you for a while now. Of course there's a lie detector."

"Fair enough..." He scratched the back of his head. "...Would it be enough if I just said I only wanted to clear my head and figure a few things out? A lot has happened lately and I just needed to get it all into perspective..."

"...From within a dangerous forest where one wrong step and you might find yourself in a manticore's den?"

"Hey! I haven't had a good workout since I've arrived here! I'm counting on stepping into a manticore's den!"

"I'm certain you could just as easily jog through town."

"You know what I mean." he repeated her, chidingly.

She sighed. "You do realize how much you're worrying me now, aren't you?"

'Not really. I can't see your face.' "It's not like you'd lose that much, though." He got up and started trotting through the brushes. "I die here, what's the worst thing that could happen?" He didn't expect her to know anyway. After all, time was his thing.

She sighed and relented. "I have every faith in you being able to get out of there should things go south..."

"Then what is it?"

"You just seem a bit distraught is all."

"Distraught? Me? Nah."

"You just said a lot of things happened lately. Perhaps you'd like to talk about them?"

"Oh, you don't need to worry about me." as he slid down a bit of ground. "I've just been feeling a bit cooped up, that's all."

"Doctor..."

"Alright alright, so that was a lie. Look, I don't want to talk about it, okay? I'm not even sure how I'm feeling about it myself..."

"Very well then. Just remember that you can talk to me if there's anything ailing you."

"...I can?" He asked surprised.

She chuckled again. "In mail. I've sent Twilight a letter explaining that you may ask Spike to send me messages should anything bother you, even if it's not anything life threatening."

He stopped for a moment. "That's pretty thoughtful of you."

"It really is no issue. After all, what are friends for?"

"I'm not sure. You're certain you're not going to start hating my guts eventually? Cause I seem to have an amazing knack for inspiring homicidal desires in royalty... or romantic desires. Or romantic desires soon followed by homicidal ones."

"I'm certain. Be careful out there." as the glowing finally faded.

'Okay, maaaaybe she isn't as bad as I suspected her to be...'

He might've had great senses, but he could still get lost in the ever-changing tide of plantlife just as easily as anyone else. He considered climbing a tree, but the trunks were too wide to brace around. Not that he'd be able to climb either way. He'd need some leverage of some sort.

He considered turning back. He was not entirely certain if he was still being watched by his would-be stalker or some hungry predators at this point. Not like he was explicitly expecting anything to appear just a few feet further into the thicket, besides maybe a pitfall or some giant spider nest. Or a giant spider nest at the bottom of a pitfall...

He decided to be more careful where he placed his steps, but turned left instead of furthering deeper into the forest. No sense in getting too far away from civilization.

Half an hour later, he came across a few vines. He figured he might as well take a small break and fashion a rope to climb one of the trees. He pulled the vine, which pulled back, then snapped back into the thicket. Before long, a couple of massive plants slithered back out and regarded him in a predatory manner. They were vaguely reminiscent of the Venus Fly Trap, only black, a lot bigger, moving with a lot more initiative, with clouds of powder emanating from their mouths, and shrieking something terrible. Yep, these most likely were the plants he'd been looking for.

"Only two of you?" he asked the plants in an almost disappointed tone.

Then a dozen more appeared, surrounding him.

"...Ambush tactics? Seems you're more intelligent than I thought. This should be interesting..."

There it is. Nothing quite like the sense of dread for life to get the blood flowing. He'd missed this.

Of course, this might just be where he died. Meh, they were just plants. They couldn't be that hard to handle, could they?

'Why did I think this was a good idea?' he asked himself as he was dangling from a canopy, bound tightly by one of the plants.

They gave up on trying to poison him with their powders a while ago, when they noticed that he could hold his breath for the last ten minutes without showing any issue. Time Lords could actually hold their breath for a lot longer than that, and this particular one had learned a technique a while back from some monks on an alien planet in the Perdallion district. He could save his breath for days if he had to, so long as he focused and stood still.

His plan was to play possum and wait for his stalker to make a move. Unfortunately, Cloakie didn't come out yet. Maybe he was waiting for the plants to finally get hungry enough to chow down. A concept which didn't bode well with the Doctor.

He had studied on their behavior. Apparently they didn't like to eat their prey fresh. They'd rather coat it in a powder which preserved it, both inside and out, for later preparation. Which meant covering it in the stuff and making sure it got in the inside. Somehow. The Doctor didn't really learn how they got it on the inside. He just assumed they would first want to pacifying him with the paralytic gas they've been currently using, and then he'd find out in an immobile state.

He was not paralyzed, but that didn't mean they were willing to wait for him to fall asleep either.

Soon enough another vine appeared. This one had a long, sharp syringe-like thorn at its tip. He saw enough.

He took a very fervent bite out of the vine holding him in place, stronger than his chompers would've agreed to in his current panicked state. That act not only loosened his captor's grasp, but it started to fling him around trying to get him off. At the current force, he reconsidered letting go, but he didn't really have much choice.

He got slammed against a large tree trunk. He could swear he heard the sound of cracking wood upon his impact, before he fell in the thicket below. He shook his head. As he came to, he noticed the Plunderweeds approaching him with what could be recognized as anger in their motions.

As they charged him, he decided he didn't really want to have anything to do with them any more..

Dodged the first two who slammed right into the bark where he was only a split second ago, expecting him to stick around and take their wrath. Took a roll and jumped a couple feet away. Headed for another hedge, but he knew they were working to intercept. He maintained his trajectory for precisely two more seconds before he made a sharp turn right. A moment later, he heard them smash into the ground where he would've been earlier. He estimated their primitive reaction time well. A few strides later and he got out of their range.
Lucky they're rooted.

Welp, that plan was a bust. Still, it was definitely fun. If not for the ribs he could've broken... oh wait. Earth pony magic. No wonder he only felt slightly bruised.

He continued at a slow trot for a few more feet, considering how he just missed his chance to find out where he is. Oh well, he probably would've just slipped on the rotting bark and sprayed his ankle anyway. No use berating himself over what could've been.

He didn't know why the locals were so afraid of approaching the forest. So far all he needed to do was be careful.

Half an hour later he could hear the sound of flowing water. As he followed the sound he reached a stream.
"Thank the heavens. I'm parched."

He contemplated how much of a bad habit it is to talk to himself as he took a few generous gulps, before he splashed his face.

It was near noon now, according to the sun barely visible through the canopy there. He was only slightly tired.

After he washed some of the dirt and poisonous powders off, he was troubled to notice a rather large cut under his right eye. Suppose earth pony magic can do wonders, but not miracles.

He recounts the map he read the first day he arrived. From what he can recall, and he can recall it perfectly, there is only one river running closest to Ponyville, added from the tributaries filtered from Froggy Bottom Bog. The other closest river would be a few miles off to the south, and he hasn't been running that far away.

Now he knows where to go. Up the stream, up to the swamp, then south-east. It shouldn't take him too long to find his way back to the path to Ponyville. This entire trip has proven to be a bust. Best to just cut his losses.

On his way, he encountered a certain sea serpent.

He was sort of surprised, but then he recalled Twilight telling him about the river guardian she and her friends helped during their little escapade to save Equestria from eternal night...

Not only would it be Feyraltia, not Equestria, but it would also be saving all life from a rather harsh diet of mushrooms, moss and night thistles, among other things. It would've been extremely harsh on most ponies, but he's rather confident that it wouldn't actually provoke the planet to freeze over...

Oh, he's getting sidetracked. The serpent was sporting a mullet, and a massive moustache fading into purple on one side. He was just idly swimming by the river in a serpentine, if not maybe flamboyant fashion, singing some tune to himself. He noticed him, and waved him heartily hello.

"Why hello there! It's not often that I come across ponies running around the forest. What brings you here?"

He cultivated a big, honest grin, with some rather impressive fangs. Wouldn't want to get on his bad side now...

"Oh, nothing much. Just got bored and went for a stroll was all. Change of scenery and all that..."

"Really? Well, I suppose I can understand you wanting to change the scenery, but I wouldn't exactly say that deciding to running alone through the Everfree would be the best of ideas..." the serpent looked concernedly at him.

"Yeah, well, nothing like a little danger looming in the shadows to get the blood flowing, I always say. I actually ran into a few of the less hospitable denizens earlier, but I honestly didn't have that much trouble getting away from them... Anyway, I was on my way back to town right now. Could you tell me how much further away it is?"

"Well, if you went straight at a constant trot, you could possibly manage it in, say, an hour? Maybe less if you hurry. But I would never suggest as much. Unless, of course, you knew the layout of the forest as well as Zecora does."

"You know Zecora?"

"Oh yes! She stops by daily to chat. Such a dear, and she always speaks in rhymes! How lovely is that? We just had tea not too long ago."

"I'm glad to hear you two get along. I was honestly worrying about her not having anyone else to talk to."

"I honestly don't know why she can't get along with the other locals. It's just such a terrible shame that she needs to live all alone in the middle of the woods like that..."

"Yeah, living on your own certainly isn't something to take lightly. What about you?"

"Me? Well, I really don't have that problem. Us river guardians keep in touch."

"You do?"

The serpent then demonstrated what he meant. He shook his tail a few times under the water, then a wave of foam went down the river.
"We have a kind of a messaging system. Of course, it takes a while to have an entire conversation, but we really don't have all that much else to do all day. The younger ones like to call them phoam messages, with a ph, for whatever reason..."
Bloody hipsters.

About half a minute had passed and another wave arrived back, stopping at the serpent's base. He chortled to himself. "Clarice says hi, by the way."

"Fascinating..."

"Zecora found it impressive as well. She might still be at the camp... Come on now!" as he grabbed him and placed him at the back of his head. "We might still find her."

They sped up the river quite quickly. A lot faster than he'd take on hoof, but not enough for him to worry about falling off.

"You were quite quick to offer this ride. Thank you earnestly, but I can't help but wonder if there weren't any strings attached..."

"<le gasp>What ever do you mean?" the guardian asked in badly faked shock.

"It just seemed as though you were looking forward to having me have a talk to her is all. A little too forward, maybe."

The serpent finally gave in, and offered with a blemish, "Well, I'd be lying if I said I was also a bit concerned regarding how lonely she might get... As you've also mentioned yourself..."

"Ah ha..." in a deadpan tone.

They were still a while away. The serpent thought he could still convince him.
"I'm most certainly not expecting you to go out of your way or anything. Just, you know... ride the wave for a while. See where it goes before you dismiss it!"

"I'll take your advice to heart." the Doctor placated, although certainly in no hurry to actually humor him.

Trying to get back on course was what he's been trying to do ever since he arrived on this bloody planet. He's most definitely not looking forward to getting pulled further at sea.

Eventually they reached the campfire. A rudimentary rock circle, close to a large, flat rock to act as a table. The fire was still running, but Zecora wasn't anywhere to be found. Suppose she had other things to do than stick around on her lonesome in the middle of the woods for too long a period.

"Which way to her hut?" the Doctor asked.

"Over there." the serpent pointed towards what appeared to be a slightly beaten patch of dirt. "I assume she wouldn't make her home too far away from the river without a reason, but if you'll go, I'll wait here in case she comes by."

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

"Don't worry about it. Just consider what I've told you, would you please? If not for Zecora's sake, then at least for yours."

"... I beg your pardon?"

The serpent gave a knowing smile, and converted from his so far carefree joy to something... unexpected. Something wise.

"I might not get many visitors, but I don't really need company as much as a pony might. River guardians don't need friends. However, I know when I see someone longing for something they can't bring themselves to reach out for. Zecora would be one. She came to these lands and denied herself a part of herself. She longs for home, that much is plain to see even by me. But you... you're on quite a different spectrum.
She talked about you lately. Someone even she does not envy. I see in your eyes what she was talking about."

The Doctor didn't have a response to that. He just stared, reeling back from comprehension.

Eventually he finally turned to leave. There were no words he could find fitting for a farewell at the moment. He couldn't face the serpent. He would've wanted to finally ask for its name, but right now... he didn't really want to know any more.