Time slipped from Twilight's grasp, one second wasting away after another. The sun moved across the sky mechanically, an unnerving reminder of the task at hand.

“Clock is ticking, Twilight. Clock, is, ticking!” the unicorn said to herself. Twilight's attempts to save herself from the loneliness she had once experienced when she was a filly had proved fruitless up to that point. None of Twilight's friends required her help, and they certainly didn't care enough to help her out. They didn't understand how important it was, but Twilight knew better.

She paced around her room, trying not to think of being torn away from her friends. “Keep it together.” No, that wouldn't happen, she wasn't going back to Magic Kindergarten. An idea blossomed in her mind, as a smile did the same upon her face.

“If I can't find a friendship problem...” Twilight Sparkle stroked her mane, magically opening a cyan chest. Her smile widened as a ragged doll floated in her grasp, yet she couldn't help but feel empty at the thought of letting it go.

“I'll make a friendship problem!”

---

It wasn't something that Twilight wanted to think about. Now though, these memories lingered in her mind as she trotted across Sweet Apple Acres and made her way to the barn. A few seconds after she knocked on the door, it creaked open.

Applejack stood on the other side, tipping her Stetson as she spoke. “Howdy Twilight!”

“Hi Applejack, is your brother here?” Twilight asked.

“Big Macintosh? Think he's buckin' the last few apples we got this season. Why?” Nopony often came to Sweet Apple Acres to see Big Macintosh. He was relatively quiet, a shadow in Ponyville's society.

Twilight looked to her side, avoiding Applejack's gaze. “It's... Do you remember what happened a week ago?”

Applejack sighed. “Listen Twilight, you didn't do nothin' wrong. We should'a listened to you from the start.”

“Thanks Applejack. I appreciate your empathy.” Twilight said, looking back to Applejack's eyes. “It's not about that though. I just need to get Smarty Pants back from Big Macintosh.”

The farmer pony tilted her head. “Smarty Pants? What's that?”

“The doll I uh... She's the doll I cast that spell on, causing the riot in Ponyville.” Twilight's began to shy away upon speaking of the occasion again. “I-I think I saw Big Macintosh taking the doll after Princess Celestia came and dispelled it.

Applejack's looked like she wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words for it. She stared blankly at the lavender pony for a moment. She grinned, and then started to laugh. “Whew! Good one Twilight! Big Mac takin' that doll for himself!”

Twilight decided to play along, giggling nervously. “Alright then, I guess I'll ask him if Smarty Pants did all her homework. Bye Applejack.”

Applejack laughed even harder, closing her eyes as she leaned onto the bottom-half of the stable door to support herself. Twilight gave a her warm smile as she backed away from the barn.

Sweet Apple Acres was vast, but Twilight could easily tell where to find Big Macintosh, as there were only a few trees which still held apples. Twilight walked towards the bulky pony, the sound of heavy hooves connecting with bark grew louder as she approached. “Hi Big Macintosh.” she said.

He gave out a nod, before moving on to the next tree. “Howdy Miss.”

“Uh, could we talk about something?” Twilight asked.

“Eeyup.” Big Mac said.

“It's about that doll. Everything that happened last week,” she mentioned.

“Eeyup.” He repeated, bucking the tree behind him, not paying much attention to the conversation.

“I was wondering where it went, and I think you took it.” Twilight saw Big Macintosh's eyes widen.

“How... How did you find out? D-Don't tell nopony 'bout it, please!” He looked around sharply, hoping that there wasn't anypony else nearby. It wasn't likely, but he would prefer that the secret stayed only with Twilight.

Twilight gave out a light giggle. “Don't worry, your secret's safe with me! I just need to take Smarty Pants back, if you wouldn't mind.”

“I'm sorry Twilight. I uh... Ah got a little embarrassed playing with it for so long.” He looked down, acting quite shy for a stallion of his build. “It was mighty hard to hide it from Applejack, so yesterday, I gave it to Apple Bloom as a gift.”

“I see.” Twilight said. “So you don't have Smarty Pants?'

Big Mac shook his head. “Eenope. Mah lil' sis' does. Applejack's should be goin' to the schoolhouse t' pick Apple Bloom up by now. Think I see her right there,” he pointed.

“Thank you, Big Macintosh. I'll see you later.” Twilight said.

“Twilight,” she could hear Big Mac's voice from behind her. “Don't tell Applejack, please?”

Twilight smiled at him before turning to catch up with Applejack. She broke into a gallop to reach her faster, hooves beating against grass, and then against the dirt road by Applejack. “Applejack, wait!” she called out.

“Hey Twilight, what's goin' on?” The orange mare stopped to wait for Twilight.

“Hi Applejack, mind if I come with you to Ponyville Elementary?” she asked.

“Not at all!” Applejack said. “I'm taking Apple Bloom to Sugarcube Corner when I get there, wanna' come?”

“Of course. Actually, I've been meaning to talk to Apple Bloom. Big Macintosh told me she has Smarty Pants,” said Twilight.

“Wait a moment.” Applejack turned her head to Twilight. “I thought you were jokin' 'bout Big Mac and that doll.”

Twilight bit her lip. “I uh... Yes, I was. He just told me that...” There was a pause, she couldn't word her way out of this one.

“That yer' not a good liar?” Applejack grinned, she was the Element of Honesty, after all. She snickered. “You know, I thought it was a mite funny when you said he took that doll. Didn't think he'd start playing with those again.”

“A-Again? Well, don't tell him that I gave him away.” Twilight stammered.

The farmer pony nodded her head. “I won't.”

“Do you swear?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, I swear.” Applejack said.

“Pinkie Pie swear?” she added.

Applejack stopped so she could motion with her forelegs. “Cross my heart an' hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my-- Woah nelly!” she hit eye with her hoof, laughing when she got her hooves back on the ground, rather than on her face.

Twilight couldn't help but chortle as well, the innocence reminded her a bit about childhood. Perhaps not her childhood though, she spent most of her time as a filly studying. Endless piles of books surrounded her, but nopony to talk to. As a filly in Canterlot, she didn't have anypony to call her friend, nor did she want one. One fateful day however, and she was a bit closer.

Entranced in thought, she remembered her attempt to spread the joys she appreciated so much to other fillies. She shuddered upon remembering how helpless she was.

---

Popping out of a bush, Twilight laughed intensely. Her plan would work out just fine, or so she thought. The mare was overjoyed, too satisfied with her idea to notice the bird's nest on her head.

Three fillies played out in the grass, passing a ball to one-another. It stretched, inflated, and finally, it popped to reveal Twilight. “Hi girls!” she said, donning the most convincing smile she could think of.

The yellow one spoke, Twilight was sure she'd love Smarty Pants. “Oh, hi Twilight. How's it goi-”

“Great! Just great! You three look like you're doing great too! Looks like three good friends who obviously don't need the help of another good friend!” Twilight smiled as she stroked her violet mane. A worn, gray doll floated next to her as she spoke. “This is Smarty Pants. She was mine when I was your age, and now I want to give her to you!” she winced, reluctant to give the doll away. It had to be done though. It was this, or Magic Kindergarten.

“Uh... she's... great.” The pegasus which slightly resembled a chicken said.

“Yeah... great.” Applejack's sister added.

It seemed as if Sweetie Belle really liked Smarty Pants' mane.

Twilight was very pleased with the enthusiasm of the fillies. “She even comes with her own notebook and quill, for when you want to pretend she's doing her homework!

Scootaloo spoke first again. “That's um... Great.”

“Yeah... great...” Apple Bloom repeated.

It now appeared to be very likely that Sweetie Belle liked her mane.

Twilight Sparkle looked away from them, seeming as innocent as she possibly could. “I just hope that the fact that there are three of you and only one of her doesn't become a problem. I'd hate to cause a rift between such good friends!” she pushed the doll towards the three fillies. “So, who wants to play with her first?”

The mare could hear them arguing amongst each other, but it was too quiet for her to word it out. “I gotta' think of something! Think, think, think, Twilight, think!” she gasped when an idea popped into her head, one that would seal her place as a resident of Ponyville, and more importantly, as a good friend. “That's it!”

Her horn started to glow as her smile widened. “You're going to like Smarty Pants, and you're going to like her, more than anything!

---

The sound of a ringing school bell threw Twilight back into reality. She wasn't sure how long it took them to get to Ponyville Elementary, or if she and Applejack had even spoken while she was thinking so deeply. “Applejack, what time is it?”

Applejack narrowed her eyes. “Twilight, you've asked me that three times already. You sure there ain't nothin' wrong?”

“Yes. Yes, I'm sure.” Twilight said.

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Well, whatever it is, doesn't seem like you wanna' talk about it.”

Foals burst out of the school doors, greeting their parents or older siblings who came to pick them up. Amongst the swirling mass of overly-excited fillies and colts, the Cutie Mark Crusaders trotted alongside each other.

“Apple Bloom!” Applejack waved to make her presence known. Applejack said something to her two friends, and they trotted off in another direction. Sweetie Belle attempted to wave while trotting, but ended up stumbling slightly and picking herself back up.

Applejack galloped towards her sister. “Hey sis'! What are you doin' here?”

“I'm pickin' you up, that's what.” Applejack replied, ruffling her sister's mane. “After that, we're goin' to Sugarcube Corner, grab ourselves a bite to eat.”

“Sis', ah don't need to be picked up. I'm old enough by now. This doesn't happen to Scootaloo or Sweetie Belle!” Apple Bloom pouted, leering at the ground.

“Of course it doesn't.” Applejack wasn't really paying attention. “Right, and Twilight here wanted a word with ya'.”

The small, yellow filly looked back up. “Oh, hey Twilight. What do you need?”

“Hi Apple Bloom. About that doll your brother gave you... Could I have it back?” Subtlety was not one of her strong points.

“Ah'm sorry Twilight. I-I can't give it to you.”

“Apple Bloom!” Applejack called out. “You gotta' share your toys, even if Twilight's too old to play with them.”

“Said I'm sorry! I don't have it!” Apple Bloom retorted, looking away from her sister. “Ah went with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to give it to Zecora yesterday!”

“Zecora?” Applejack asked. “She's in the Everfree Forest! You didn't plan on telling me this?”

“N-No ma'am.” Apple Bloom stammered.

“You could'a gotten yourselves hurt, or worse in there! What do you have to say for yourself?” Applejack asked.

“I-I'm sorry.” she shrunk into a tiny yellow ball with a red ribbon.

The orange mare sighed. “Apple Bloom, you gotta' to tell me this stuff. I'm not doin' this to take your fun away, it's for yer' safety.”

“Your sister's right, Apple Bloom. The Everfree Forest is a dangerous place, you don't know what could happen to you there.” Twilight said, vaguely remembering her encounter with a seemingly harmless cockatrice.

“Sorry, I won't do it again.” the filly spoke at a nearly inaudible level.

“Great, then let's get goin' to Sugarcube Corner!” Applejack said.

Apple Bloom nudged her sister's foreleg. “Sis', I told my friends that that I'd meet them at Rarity's.”

“Darn it Apple Bloom, I came up here just to spend some time with you.” Applejack rolled her eyes.

“Applejack, I promised them I'd be there. I promised!” she repeated, as if it were to make a difference.

Applejack looked into her quivering eyes, they seemed coy enough. “Alright Apple Bloom,” she sighed. “Go an' play with your friends.”

“Thanks a heap sis'! Bye Applejack, bye Twilight!” she half galloped, half scrambled in the direction of Carousel Boutique.

“Bye Apple Bloom.” Twilight waved with her foreleg.

“Looks like it's just you and I again.” Applejack sighed.

Twilight lifted an eyebrow. “What do you mean by that?”

The orange mare chuckled, before her neutral expression returned. “Nothing, just wanted to spend some more time with my sis', you know?”

“Oh, sorry, I just thought you didn't want me around.” Twilight said.

“Well, where'd you get that idea from? 'Course I want you around.” Applejack paused. “Twilight, you've been acting a mite off today, mind telling me that thing that's been botherin' you?”

The unicorn gave out a fake smile. “Oh, that's alright Applejack, I'd just look silly trying to explain it.”

“Twilight, I'm your friend, I'll take you as seriously as I can.” Applejack said.

“Alright.” Twilight inhaled deeply. “I've been thinking about that riot I caused last week, and there's just so much regret. Smarty Pants too, I can't stop thinking about her. I need to get her back.

Applejack tilted her head. “You mean the doll? Maybe you should just leave it with Zecora. It's just a doll, ain't it?”

Twilight Sparkle sighed. “I told you I'd sou-”

“No, no, I'm sorry.” Applejacked interrupted, feeling slightly guilty. “So you're plannin' to go into the Everfree Forest to get that doll back?”

“Y-Yes, I am actually.” Twilight nodded.

Applejack grinned. “Kind of ironic ain't it? How we just told my sis' it was dangerous to go in there?”

“Oh please Applejack, I'm a grown mare. I can handle myself.” Twilight said.

“Well, not alone you can't. I'm comin' with you.” Applejack placed a hoof on her companion's shoulder. “Ah just need a bite at Sugarcube Corner first.” she chuckled.

---

It was a highly decorated building. Sweets of all kinds lined the counters, their smells taunted Twilight's nostrils as she walked past them.

“You need anything?” Applejack asked.

Twilight shook her head. “No thanks.” Her stomach quietly growled in revulsion. “On second thought, I'd like red velvet cupcake.”

A cyan earth pony at the counter spoke to them. “Why, hello dearies. What will you be having today?”

“I'll take a large apple crisp, and a red velvet cupcake.” Applejack said.

“Wonderful, that'll be three bits.” Mrs. Cake smiled.

“Uh... Right. Just need to find me three bits.” Applejack brought her hoof to her chin. “Hang on a second.”

“I'm sorry dear, but I can't just give these sweets out for free.” Mrs. Cake frowned.

“Darn it! Never knew I could be so careless, didn't even think of bringin' any bits.” It was a very embarrassing moment for Applejack.

Twilight averted her gaze from Mrs. Cake to her friend. “Um, Applejack. That's alright, you don't ne-”

“I-It's okay.” A soft voice interrupted. “I can pay for it.”

“Well, that is a very nice thing you're doing for your friends, Fluttershy.” The mare at the counter said.

“Thanks Fluttershy. That's mighty kind of you.” Applejack sighed.

Fluttershy pulled a small purse from under her wings, and gently moved three bits over to Mrs. Cake. “Oh... It's nothing. Why don't you girls sit with Pinkie and I?”

“Thank you Fluttershy, that would be great.” Twilight smiled.

A freckled stallion arrived shortly, carrying the food Applejack and Twilight ordered. He gave a meek nod before leaving. The three ponies walked towards a table where Pinkie Pie was sitting. “Hi girls, I'm on a break! The Cakes gave me another one because I made a big, tasty mess in the kitchen!”

“Hello Pinkie.” Twilight took a bite out of her magically floating cupcake. “So they didn't make you clean the mess up yourself?”

“Nope!” Pinkie smiled, throwing her face into a large chocolate cake reserved for herself.

Fluttershy took a bite out of her half-eaten blueberry muffin, setting it next to a gift basket with some cookies in it.

“Fluttershy, are you gonna' eat all them cookies?” Applejack asked, ignoring the fact that Pinkie Pie was eating an entire cake.

“No, silly! That's a gift basket, a basket which you give as a gift to somepony!” Pinkie Pie mentioned, her face smeared in chocolate. “Hence the 'gift' and the 'basket', in 'gift basket'!”

“Oh... Right.” Applejack shrunk away.

“Yes, I'm going to give these to Zecora. One of my squirrels got sick, and then... The rest of them did as well. When Zecora came by yesterday, she gave me some herbs, they all got better in a day.”

“Zecora?” Twilight asked. “Applejack and I are going to see her too, we'll go with you.”

“O-Okay. That'd be nice,” Fluttershy said, finishing her muffin.

Applejack placed both of her forelegs on the table, as if only to make a noise. “Great! So that's three of us, how 'bout you Pinkie?”

“I'm in, we'll go together so those scary Everfree Monsters don't gobble us up!” Pinkie Pie said.

“Pinkie Pie, aren't you on your break?” Twilight commented, subtly pointing a hoof at Mr. Carrot Cake who glared at the pink pony.

“Oh, that's right... Sorry girls, I've gotta' get back to work!” she dashed back into the kitchen. As the door shut behind her, the sound crashing bakeware emanated from the room.

“Darn, that's a shame.” Applejack commented. “Well, Fluttershy, we still got you and that stare o' yours. How does it even work?”

Fluttershy nervously giggled. “I really don't know. It just happens by itself. Sometimes when I'm nervous, or... Or when I'm angry...”

Twilight wasn't actually conscious to witness being saved from the cockatrice. She'd only heard of it. She was fully awake however, as her body was being petrified by it. The creature had started from the horn, down to her hooves, as if to block out her magic.

It wasn't completely necessary, as the magic of unicorns was limited in the depths of the Everfree. It was almost as if the magic of the forest itself was interfering with the unicorn's power. Twilight, as powerful of a magic user as she was, could only teleport short distances, and perform simple magical actions. She believed that the cockatrice just wanted to be on the safe side.

Applejack chuckled. “Fluttershy being angry, now that's a good one!” Twilight decided to stifle her own laughter.

Fluttershy then started to laugh herself. “Oh girls. You remember how I acted at the Gala, don't you?”

A welcome silence overtook the two other ponies.

---

Twilight Sparkle never felt comfortable in the Everfree Forest, even when she had her friends by her side. The suppression of her magic was intimidating. Earth ponies like Applejack or Pinkie Pie didn't have flight, or magic, but they seemed used to it. Twilight's inequine magical strength had her rely on her horn much more often than her hooves.

As the trio walked along the road, even Applejack seemed a bit disheartened. She was a strong pony, yes, but the beasts of the Everfree were strong as well, sometimes much stronger. Only Fluttershy really seemed to hold any modicum of comfort amongst this sea of unpredictable danger. Of all ponies, it was Fluttershy to hold the least fear in such a place.

None of the three felt like making much noise until they reached Zecora's hut. It felt warm, despite the coldness of the forest. The zebra inside moved from her cauldron to greet her guests. “Applejack, Fluttershy, and even Twilight! To what luck, do I owe this delight?”

“H-Hi Zecora. Thank you for giving me those herbs yesterday. These are for you.” Fluttershy set the basket of cookies down on a thin wooden table.

Zecora smiled widely. She didn't often get gifts from ponies, let alone even talk with them. “No please, the pleasure was all mine. Your kindness however, is simply divine.”

“Oh... It was no problem.” Fluttershy blushed.

“Um, Zecora. I don't mean to impose, but did Apple Bloom happen to give you a doll? I've had it since I was a filly, and I would really like it back.” Twilight said.

“Yes, a doll from the filly did I receive, and yet my care with it was so naive.” Zecora frowned as she continued. “Had I the doll, I would gladly give it back. Alas, your desire is something I lack.”

A small bead of sweat dripped down Twilight's face. “You don't have it, what happened to Smarty Pants?”

“You're gettin' a bit worked up here Twilight.” Applejack wiped the bead from Twilight's face.

“I was out in the forest gathering herbs, dropping the doll when I felt disturbed.” Zecora said. “Wild creatures, their emotions? Devoid. These fearful beasts I wished to avoid. In a wave of panic I dropped your token. The monster I was sure, had been awoken. To let go of that gift, it was such a shame. For that Twilight, you have me to blame.”

“I-It's okay Zecora, I'm fine with it.” Twilight said. “Alright girls, let's go home.”

“Hold on Twilight.” Applejack held a hoof out in front of her friend. “Zecora, you remember where you left that doll?”

The zebra nodded, closing her eyes. “Amidst the chaos I never forgot. Back from the road along which you would trot. A peaceful grove is what you seek, but the fauna there is not so meek. I advise you to stay far from such a place, lest you be taken by death's cold embrace.”

“I'm sure we'll be fine, my friends aren't gettin' hurt while I'm around.” Applejack said.

Zecora sighed. “To find a place so vacant and hollow, the “Acanti” plant, you will have to follow.

Twilight started to smile. “Thank you Zecora, but what do these plants look like?”

“They are beautiful flowers, with petals so orange...” Zecora trailed off. There was a pause, and then seconds passed. An awkward silence filled the room, and then incomprehensible utterances escaped her mouth. The three ponies exchanged glances before looking back to the zebra, who smiled nervously. She spoke, her accentuation sounding like that of a question's.

“Doorhinge?”

The Everfree Forest was a strange place. The sky almost seemed darker, a purple hue amongst the clouds. The three ponies walked along the road from Zecora's house, Twilight being the most worried of them all. The sound of soft hoofsteps did nothing to drown out the odd noises of the forest.

Twilight closed her eyes, trying to get her mind off her fears. “Thank you both for coming out here with me. I don't think I'd do this alone.”

“It's not a problem Twilight. You're our friend.” Fluttershy said.

'Exactly.” Applejack nudged Twilight with her elbow. “Nothin' in this forest's gonna' change that.”

The unicorn smiled upon hearing such words from her friends. “Alright, I'm just worried about what Zecora said. She knew that whatever was in that area must have been hostile.”

“Relax Twi'. There's three of us, that's more than enough ponies to keep ourselves safe.” Applejack comforted.

The trio continued to follow the orange Acanti flowers. The slender plants lined the road, eventually leading to a narrow clearing in the forest. Twilight hesitantly lead the group away from the road, and into an even more unpredictable area. Twilight shuddered at her lack of safety, this place was nothing like Ponyville.

Applejack started to hum a tune to pass some time. Eventually, the small pathway they were on revealed a grove. “Hey, is this where Zecora was talkin' about?”

“I would believe so.” Twilight snooped around, looking for any trace of the doll.

Fluttershy smelled some of the flowers. They looked beautiful, contrasting against the scary image that was the Everfree Forest. It was a calm place, despite what Zecora had told her.

“Uh Twilight...” Applejack spoke.

The unicorn turned her attention from the ground to her friend. “Yes?”

Applejack stuttered, hesitant to ask, “D-Do you think that perhaps one of them creatures took it?” Twilight paused, silence overtook her. She breathed a heavy sigh and sat herself on the ground, looking at nothing in particular. Applejack moved over to her and put a hoof to her friend's shoulder. “I'm sorry sugarcube, wish I could do more to help.”

Fluttershy turned to see a rather concerned Twilight, being comforted by Applejack. She fluttered softly to her friends and put her own hoof on Twilight. “I-I'm sorry, it must have meant a lot to you.”

The unicorn waited for a bit, just sitting in the grove while her friends were so close to her, materially and emotionally. “That's alright girls, I'm fine,” she stated, not sure if she herself was telling the truth or not. She rose up to her hooves and started to walk away. Her two friends waited for a bit, to which Twilight turned around and asked, “Are you coming?”

Fluttershy and Applejack nodded in unison, trotting next to Twilight as they turned their backs to the grove. A loud, disconcerting noise could be heard, and then a crash. All three ponies spun around to see a tall blue box which wasn't there before. They all exchanged glances for a while, and then walked towards it. The box's doors swung open, and a grayish amber-coated pony with a darker brown mane slowly peeked out of it.

Twilight stepped forward, and offered a very confused look. “Uh, hello?”

“Hi, anypony know where we are?” he asked, seemingly unaware of how awkward the situation was.

“This... This is the Everfree Forest.” Fluttershy responded. “H-How did you do that?”

“Oh, I didn't do any of that. My friend here did.” He tapped his hoof against the tall blue door on the box next to him. “Want to come in?”

Applejack brought her hoof up to her chin. “I uh... I don't think that box could fit four ponies in it.”

“Of course it can, there's plenty of room. You see, it's bigger on the inside, than it is on the outside!” he said, spreading his forelegs in the air like Pinkie Pie would.

“That's nonsense.” Twilight rolled her eyes.

“You're welcome to prove me wrong,” the stallion motioned with his hoof, walking back into his box.

“I think I will then.” Twilight trotted across the grove and towards the amber pony. “It's impossible for-” Twilight's quickly stopped speaking when she entered. It was much larger than it appeared on the outside. “How?” she asked.

“It was uh... That's how it was grown.” He quickly changed the subject after receiving odd glances from Twilight, and her two friends which entered as well. “So what are your names?”

“I'm Twilight Sparkle. That's Applejack and Fluttershy.” Twilight pointed as she spoke.

“Great, you can call me Doctor Whooves,” he paused. “But I'm not that kind of doctor. Anyway, what in Equestria were you girls doing in the Everfree Forest?”

Fluttershy slowly walked around the interior of whatever it was that she was in, examining what appeared to be some sort of console. “We're searching for Twilight's doll.”

“A doll?” The doctor trotted next to Fluttershy, giving the console a quick glance. “I think I saw some lion-scorpion thing playing with it near a river, two hours from now.” There was no response, only an awkward silence. “It travels through time and space, you know. The whole reason I'm here was because of a little... accident. I could show you all right now.”

Twilight struggled to comprehend the fact that she'd just entered a room larger on the inside than on the outside, but couldn't pass the opportunity to observe what Doctor Whooves was offering. “Please do.”

“Alright then, here we go.” He turned back to the console and raised his forelegs before operating it. Fluttershy fearfully flew to her friends, unaware of what was going to happen. A grinding, heaving noise could be heard, but not from any particular direction. The doctor turned and smiled, as the loud noises were replaced with the sound of a bell's chime. “15 years ago,” he spoke. “Take a look outside.”

Twilight magically opened the doors and stepped outside. Doctor Whooves hadn't lied. The three other ponies stepped outside as well as Twilight observed the area around her. To her right was a red wall of some sort of building, the rest of had small picket fences and a large expanse of freshly cut grass. The doctor moved past the large red wall, revealing a bunch of foals gathering around a miniature stage. None of the fillies or colts seemed to notice them peeking out.

A tiny azure unicorn stood on the appropriately sized stage. She had light gray hair, despite the fact that she was only a filly. “Now watch in awe, as the gweat and powerful Twixie does the biggest, best magic in all Equestria!” Her horn let out a small spark as the filly struggled with her magic. A small, artificial pyrotechnic display formed in the air. She quickly threw her forelegs in the air as the crowd started cheering, her starred cape gently moving along with her.

“Hey, ain't that the showmare that came down to Ponyville a while ago?” Applejack asked.

“Yes, I think so.” Twilight called out. “She was doing this since her fillyhood?”

Fluttershy spoke up. “She doesn't have her cutie mark yet.”

“Perhaps she just doesn't realize that this was what she was meant to do, how does that sound?” Twilight put a hoof to her chin.

“Sounds right to me.” Applejack said.

“Quiet, I'm watching this.” Doctor Whooves shushed.

“And so when the evil Canis Major came to us, my mummy used her powerful magic to banish it back to the Everfwee Forest!” Trixie wildly motioned with her forelegs, eventually stumbling and landing on her face. Laughing could be heard amongst the audience, and Trixie picked herself back up. “T-That hurt, well... Let's see you ponies do better!”

“Sure, I'll do it.” An orange pegasus flew up to the stage, planting his hooves straight in front of Trixie. “Watch this everypony!” he said, flapping his wings until he rose eight feet above the stage. The colt started to move in a circular motion above Trixie. A small cyclone formed around her, comically spinning the filly until she fell to the ground once again, dazed. The colt landed back down on the stage, bowing as the other foals applauded.

“The gweat and powerful Twixie can top that!” she grunted, getting back to her hooves.

“Oh yeah? Do it.” The colt next to her grinned.

“You'll see.” Trixie harnessed her magic and pushed the air around the pegasus. The wind around him whistled, his image distorting in the eyes of the crowd. Trixie grinned, even as she struggled to keep it up. The crowd “Ooh'd” in recognition, only making the filly happier.

The colt pushed his wings out, attempting to stabilize himself, but then stumbled to his side. He laid there for a few seconds, before sighing and getting back to his hooves. “Fine, a draw I guess.”

“Twixie accepts your terms.” She said. “Anypony else think they best her?”

“I do! Here, I do!” A rather enthusiastic filly shot her hoof up. Trixie nodded in response, to which the earth-pony ran over to a nearby tree and picked up a fallen branch with her mouth. It looked large, but she managed to heave it all the way to the stage. It was quite impressive, for a filly of her size. “Bet you can't lift that!”

Trixie looked around nervously, but then closed her eyes, seeming to regain her composure. “Just watch.” The azure unicorn put her mouth to the branch, tensing her muscles to lift it. The branch stayed on the ground despite the unnecessary amount of squeaky grunting and flexing. Her horn suddenly glowed, and the snatch completed itself almost effortlessly.

“Hey, you can't use your magic! That's cheating!” The earth pony spat. The crowd booed at Trixie. “So that means I win, I win, and win in a winning competition against you!” she turned and walked off the stage.

Trixie looked at the ground, defeated. It was a stupid mistake to assist her power snatch with magic. Now everypony must have thought she was a cheater. No, that wasn't going to happen. Determination filled her, she had to win the hearts of her crowd.

She raised her head back high and spoke loudly. “Alright, Twixie admits defeat. But she'll make up for it with something even better! Behold everypony, the brightest, bestest py- pywo- p- pywotechnichs show in Equestria!” She lowered her head, ready to pour all of her magic into the most amazing fireworks she could image. Her eyes closed, and a spark lit out of her horn.

The sound of foals snickering could be heard, and thus she opened her eyes. When she looked up, there was only a small glimmer of red light in the air. The showmare looked back at the crowd, and the laughing continued. “Wait! Wait everypony, there's more!” she insisted, lowering her horn to try once more. She struggled, but nothing was happening.

Another wave of laughter from the crowd, and another wave of disappointment in Trixie. She wasn't going to give up though. She tensed again, letting the magic flow through her horn, almost tearing up at her failure. She was so determined just a while ago, and now it was all falling apart. Trixie attempted to utilize the last bit of magic that she had left for the day in a ditch attempt to save her reputation. She closed her eyes once more, both to cope with the magical stress, and to not let any tears escape.

A large explosion resonated through the air. Trixie assumed this was her “gweat and powerful pywotechnic magic” at work. The foals murmurred amongst each other, before breaking out into wild applause. A pegasus mare, most likely a teacher, burst out of the schoolhouse to join the crowd.

“A... A sonic rainboom!” Fluttershy softly exclaimed.

“Fifteen years ago...” Twilight put her hoof up to her chin, as the giant prismatic halo expanded from the sky. “Would that be Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom?”

“I think so, looks amazing!” Applejack remarked.

Trixie's eyes remained closed as the gusts blew her hair forward. She did her best to hold in her excitement as the crowd cheered for her display. The luminous ring dissipated into the air, and it was over. The intense winds stopped as well. Finally, Trixie opened her eyes, finished performing her pyrotechnic show.

“That was amazing Trixie!” A high-pitched voice called out from the crowd.

“Yeah! Do it again! Again!” The earth-pony who bested Trixie earlier shouted.

Suddenly, the sound of bell could be heard, mercilessly ringing in the ears of the four ponies who were unfortunate enough to stand next to it.

“Well, I guess Trixie could do it again, after class. Great job Trixie!” The pegasus teacher fluttered towards the filly and patted her head. “Say... What's that on your flank?” she grinned.

Trixie bent her head to the side to look, and saw a marking. It was a magic wand waving pixie dust, and it was her cutie mark, a sign of her true talent. The crowd cheered once more for the great and powerful filly.

“Recess is over foals. Back to class, everypony.” The mare said.

“Aww, class isn't fun!” A voice cried out.

“Fun? We'll be learning about astronomy today! There's more in space than just the sun and moon. Doesn't that sound fun?” she asked.

“I think our recess is over as well. We've seen enough.” Doctor Whooves started walking back to his large blue box, ignoring the sounds of a certain filly screaming in excitement. Fluttershy and Applejack followed him.

“Are you coming?” The doctor asked.

Twilight didn't bother to look back at the doctor, her gaze was fixed on the foals following their teacher. “I... I want to learn about astronomy too...”

Applejack nervously chuckled at the stallion behind her. “Heh, she's just... She's just had one a' Pinkie Pie's 'special' cupcakes. Come on Twi'.” She bit down on Twilight's tail, dragging her across the ground into the doctor's blue box.

Doctor Whooves turned around to look at the three mares behind him. “So, how'd you all like looking into the past?”

“It was nice.” Fluttershy said.

“Could we see more?” Twilight asked.

“More?” Doctor Whooves put a hoof to his chin. “I guess so, I have the time to spare. Not to say that I ever don't have the time to spare. Yes, of course.” he stepped back to his console. “How does a year ahead of our time sound?”

“Sounds good to me.” Applejack commented.

The doctor turned back to the control panel, operating it as he spoke. “Alright then, a year ahead it is! Oh, and please try not to cause much commotion while we're there.” The box started to shake again, accompanied by the loud, obtrusive noise from all around them. Like before, the sound of a bell chime brought it all to a halt. “So, meet back here in let's say, half an hour?”

“A-Alright.” Twilight replied.

The doors opened as Doctor Whooves stepped outside of the box. They were in the slums of Ponyville, it seemed. “Well?” he asked. “Don't be shy! Being in the future's not going to tear the ponyverse apart!” He paused for a moment. “Or will it?” His eyes widened dramatically. “Maybe, but I've done this before many times. It's all good.”

Applejack was the first to step outside of the box, and the two other mares soon followed. The gentle flapping of wings caught everypony's attention, as a gray-coated pegasus fluttered next to the doctor. “Hi muffin!” she said, pulling him into a hug with her foreleg. She was carrying a brown courier bag, she would wear it even when she wasn't on her job. “Hi girls.” she looked at the three, revealing her crossed eyes.

“H-Hi Ditzy Doo.” Fluttershy spoke quietly. “I didn't know you two were together...”

“A year ahead and all, Ditzy knows about what I do.” The doctor clarified.

Applejack tipped her hat. “Well, that's real sweet. I never would'a expected this to happen.”

“That's alright. We're sort of in the background, if you'd understand.” Doctor Whooves and his new, or possibly old marefriend laughed. The other three shook their heads, unable to figure out what the doctor meant.

“So, you're okay with what the Doctor does?” Twilight asked. “You don't find it odd or anything?”

“Oh. It's alright... Some ponies think that I'm odd, I don't mind.” The pegasus stated calmly. Fluttershy cringed, she and Ditzy got picked on in Flight School, both of them receiving hurtful nicknames.

Doctor Whooves nodded. “Anyway, I figure you all have something to about the future you want to know. I'll spend my time with Ditzy here. See you all in a while.”

“Bye.” The wall-eyed mare waved to the three ponies. It wasn't often that she spoke with them, but she was still a very nice pony to be around.

“Oh, I can't wait to look at how all my pets are doing. I'm so happy, I... I could squeal!” Fluttershy softly spoke, following with a quiet but high pitched noise. At least it could be called a squeal.

“Slow down there, think yer gettin' a bit too excited.” Applejack said. “So I'm comin' with you, apple-buckin' season's over this time of the year anyway. How about you, Twilight?”

“Sorry girls. I'll check on how the library's doing.” Twilight shied away. “I'll try to catch up with you later.”

'Well, alright.” Applejack shrugged. “Let's go Fluttershy.” She trotted away as Fluttershy glided next to her, too excited to stay grounded like she usually would.

Twilight walked the other direction towards the library, which was also her home. She wanted to see how much it changed, even though libraries wouldn't change that much over the course of a year. A strong fascination of literature, it was something she regretted in the back of her mind, but this regret had never truly been displayed in her conscious thoughts. All she was thinking about at the time, was what new books the library had received.

---

Finally arriving at the library, Twilight stepped through the door. For the most part, it was the same, but a bit more organized than it already was. Spike was nowhere to be found, nor was another copy of herself. She trotted around the room, pulling books out at random and reading the titles, only a few of them were new.

A wooden door opened, and Spike walked out of it, not having grown at all. When he looked at Twilight, he tilted his head, almost unsure of whether or not what he was seeing is real.

“Hi Spike.” Twilight said, only making Spike seem more confused. “Spike, is something wrong?”

The baby dragon put a claw up to his head. “Twilight? I thought you were at Canterlot, the Princess requested your audience, didn't she?”

“Uh oh. This is bad.” Twilight thought. She shook her head and looked back at her assistant. “Am I now?”

“Uh yeah.” Spike said. “You left an hour ago, what's happening?”

Twilight looked away from Spike and paused. “Well, ask me once I come back. I'm sure a year is enough time for me to come up with an adequate excuse.”

“Wait, what?”

“Nothing.” Twilight grinned as her inner genius came into play. “Oh, and Rarity told me she wanted to see you at Carousel Boutique. She'd be really happy if you were available.” Spike's attention seemed to avert itself from Twilight's situation.

“Really? I've got to get there now! Bye Twilight!” he frantically sprinted out of the library as Twilight magically shut the door behind him. Problem solved.

Twilight continued to look through the new additions of the library, leaving a nice mess for Spike to clean up when he got back. Twilight moved on to the next room in the library, and found a brown coated unicorn sitting at a table which had a hefty pile of books on it. It wasn't very often that anypony came to the library, let alone to actually read something.

“Oh, hi.” Twilight spoke. The filly looked up, but didn't answer. “I don't think I've seen you in Ponyville before, what's your name?”

“I-I'm Chestnut Swirl.” Twilight quickly recognized that his swirly mane correlated with his name. “My mom and I are from Fillydelphia, she took me here to visit for a day.”

“You know, there's a bookshelf dedicated to foal-books in the other room.” Twilight said.

“I know,” the colt mentioned as he got back to reading.

Twilight Sparkle didn't say anything for a while. She glanced at the title of the hardcover book. “'Algebra and Trigonometry 3rd Edition'? Wouldn't you find that a bit, 'boring' or something?”

“I study when there's nothing else to do.” Chestnut Swirl said.

Twilight bit her lip. “Oh, studying's nice. So I guess you'd rather be playing with your friends back home at Fillydelphia?”

“No. I don't have any friends,” he mentioned.

Ouch. To think that Twilight was the same way, and perhaps would stay like that were it not for Princess Celestia's guidance... “Well, when you get back home, why don't you try and talk to somepony? I'm sure they'll be your friend.”

“How would you know?” He asked.

Twilight sighed. “Experience. Your studies and education are very important things, but friendship is too. I never really took my parents' advice on that, but perhaps you'll take mine.”

“Um.. Maybe.” Chestnut replied.

“You might learn a thing or two, also.” she added.

The colt seemed relatively interested. “Really?”

Twilight looked at a small locket the colt was carrying. Probably from his parents. “Yes, I myself did, many times. Just stay out of drama, and your friends will make Magic Kindergarden roll so much smoother.” She eyed the brass locket again. “I-I think I'll just leave you alone now.”

“Goodbye, Miss.” he said.

“Bye, don't forget what I told you.” Twilight quickly said, shutting the wooden door. Talking with her spitting-image brought back some unpleasant memories, but it needed to be done for the colt's sake anyway.

Hopefully, he was actually listening to what Twilight said. Hopefully, he wouldn't stress himself out the way Twilight always would. It never did anything good for her, her obsessive compulsive behavior only slowed the mare down, something she realized, but never conquered.

Guiding oneself with balanced emotions trumps being driven by fear and discontent.

---

Twilight nervously trotted back and forth on the grass, unable to think coherently amongst the chaos. “Oh, what have I done?” she asked herself aloud, accepting defeat.

First it was just the three fillies fighting over Smarty Pants, then Big Macintosh. Mayor Mare had to come in too, and now, nearly all of Ponyville had come to check what all the commotion was about, only to be dragged into the issue themselves.

Everypony formed a large mound on top of each other, fighting tooth and hoof for the doll. In an extreme feat of strength, Big Macintosh pushed away most of the ponies on top of him, holding Smarty Pants in his mouth. “Mmnope!” he said, before galloping away.

Five ponies came into Twilight's view. They were her friends. “No... Not them too!” Twilight thought to herself.

“Y'all hear that?” Applejack asked. “What in the name of all things oats 'n apples is goin' on here?”

Rainbow Dash turned to the doll, now on the ground. Twilight quickly moved towards her and averted her eyes. “Don't look at it!” she panted.

“Don't look at what?” Rarity tilted her head.

Twilight inhaled deeply and quickly explained the situation to her friends. Hopefully they'd understand her. Not that she deserved their understanding, this was her own fault, or so she thought. None of the six ponies said anything for some time, only hearing their own thoughts, as well as the sound of rioting ponies.

Lightning shot through the skies, and the majestic figure of Princess Celestia could be seen sitting on a cloud. Ponies looked at each other in disbelief. The local mailmare and the mayor took their hooves of of one-another, exchanging confused glances.

“Twilight Sparkle!” Celestia called out.

“Woah, nelly.” Applejack quietly said to herself. Twilight could briefly see Applejack's brother taking the doll. Not that it really mattered. She wouldn't see Big Macintosh again anyway, or Applejack, or any of her friends for the matter.

“Meet me in the library.” she said firmly, gliding away. It sounded more like a command, one that Twilight would definitely obey. She couldn't afford to disappoint her Princess anymore. She'd already done enough in the past hour.

Twilight rose back to her hooves, not brave enough to face her friends, and certainly not proud enough to hope for any other fate. “Goodbye girls.”

“Looks like Twi' missed out on a lot, didn't she?” Applejack nudged Fluttershy with her elbow.

“Oh, yes. I wish she could have come with us.” Fluttershy responded as she trotted alongside Applejack towards the library. “She told us she'd catch up, I wonder why she didn't.”

Applejack chuckled. “Probably readin' all those new books she's got this year.”

“That's a shame... It's what she likes though, I would have stayed at the cottage forever if you didn't remind me we had to be back so early.” Fluttershy blushed.

“And I guess we should be lucky that Apple-buckin' season's over.” Applejack added.

The two continued to canter along the road. Unsurprisingly, nothing big happened over the course of the year. The same pegasi on the weather team, the same ponies, the same turquoise unicorn sitting on the same park bench, in the same odd way she usually did. Ponyville's library came into view, and the two mares approached it quickly at their pace. Applejack opened the thick wooden door, and saw Twilight inside.

“Howdy Twilight.” Applejack entered the library. There was no response. Twilight Sparkle sat on her haunches, staring at a bookshelf.

Fluttershy walked behind Applejack, asking, “I-Is she alright?”

The earth-pony trotted over to Twilight. “Not sure.” She gently prodded Twilight's shoulder with her hoof. “Hey Twilight, is everything fine?”

A small bead of drool slipped from the unicorn's mouth. Applejack quickly wiped it away for her. Eww, gross.

“Twilight?” Fluttershy slowly walked towards her. “Applejack, what's happening?”

Applejack didn't answer right away, inhaling deeply. “Equestria to Twilight!” she shouted at the top of her lungs. Fluttershy quickly scampered away from the loud noise. Twilight's eye's widened, as she seemingly brought herself back to the plane of reality. “I'm a genius, ain't I?”

“Oh, uh... Sorry girls.” Twilight said. “Hey, how long were you two here?”

“We just came in, what's wrong Twi'?” Applejack asked.

“I really don't want to talk about it, if that's okay.” Twilight looked away, only to see Fluttershy curled up into a ball under the table. “What happened to her?”

Applejack's nervously chuckled. “That was my fault, sorry Fluttershy.”

The pegasus slowly started to unfurl herself, accidentally bumping her head against the bottom of the table as she rose back to her hooves. “I'm okay. Twilight, do you want to see the animals? Angel's gotten a lot bigger this year!” she excitedly said.

“Don't think we got the time for that.” Applejack stated. “We've kept the doctor waitin' long enough.”

“Ugh, alright. What an enjoyable trip to the future this was for me!” Twilight rolled her eyes.

Applejack put a hoof around Twilight's shoulder. “Well don't you worry none sugarcube, you'll get to see the rest of this year sometime.”

“Oh really?” Twilight asked. “When?”

“In a year.” Applejack grinned.

---

Twilight lead the two other mares back to mysterious blue box, conveniently located in an alleyway. Opening the door, they all entered the large room, ignoring the confusion brought by the fact that it was larger on the inside than it was on the outside.

“Is this how time normally passes?” Doctor Whooves asked. “Really slowly, and in the right order...”

“Sorry we're late.” Twilight said. “I got a bit caught up.”

“Well, that's alright. I guess time-travel isn't easy to get used to.” The doctor responded. “You want to go back to your time?”

Fluttershy meekly nodded. “Yes, please.”

“So, UR-3, Hooftember the 17th?” he asked.

“That's right.” Applejack said.

“Great, here we go.” The doctor started operating the console in the center of the room. The odd noises didn't seem to unnerve any of the three mares, this being the third time they've heard it.

After the wild shaking stopped, Applejack turned to open the door. There were only trees, and in the distance, just more trees. “Any real reason why we're down here?”

“Yeah, sorry about that. The machine's been acting up on me lately. It's the same reason you three saw me in the forest.” He kicked the console with his rear leg, the creaking of metal emanated from it.

“W-was that sound bad?” Fluttershy asked.

“It could be, sometimes it's good.” The doctor said. “It's usually bad though. Anyway, I'll show you all the way. I've been through these forests plenty of times.” He stepped out of the box, trotting aimlessly into the forest as the girls followed him.

A few minutes passed, with nothing but darkness and plants, like the rest of the forest. “You sure you know where your goin'?” Applejack asked.

Doctor Whooves stopped to bring a hoof to his chin. “I think I do.”

Applejack was not amused. “You think, you do?”

“Oh, cheer up.” The doctor said, slowly navigating around another one of the many trees in the forest.

“Doctor, don't you think you should be a bit more concerned?” Twilight asked.

Fluttershy nodded. “You should be... We're in the Everfree Forest.”

“I know where we are,” he chuckled, trotting on top of loose twigs as if he only did so to hear the noises they made. “You just need to make light out of every situation given to you.” The stallion said, purposely stepping over another pile of loose twigs.

Applejack bit her lip before speaking. “Not easy to make light out of getting eaten by one a' them manticores.”

“If we keep going in this direction, good things will happen. I would know.” He continued to trot. It wasn't very long until he spotted a grove in the distance. “You see? The doctor was right all along, like always.”

“Yeah, yer' always right.” Applejack rolled her eyes.

“Hey, is that Zecora?” Twilight focused her eyes on the figure moving amongst the flowers.

“I think it is. What's she doing in this place again?” Fluttershy quickened her pace as the rest followed suit.

Applejack nodded as she trotted. “Yeah. Thought she said this place was dangerous?”

The four ponies hid in the trees, watching Zecora as she hummed melodically amongst the grove. She bent down and picked up a few of the Acanti flowers, abundant in this area of the forest. Moving past the small patch of flowers, she picked up different herbs, almost completely unaware of her surroundings.

“She shouldn't be here...” Twilight whispered.

Doctor Whooves spoke quietly. “She shouldn't?”

“No... She said it was dangerous.” Fluttershy said.

Zecora didn't notice anything. Not the ponies hidden in the trees, and not the odd chirping of foreign birds. She approached a group of leafy green plants, placing some in her rough, gray saddlebag. She spoke after spitting some of the plant into her bag, “Tonight, I reach the state of nirvana, as now I have all this marij...” the rest, the ponies couldn't hear, as the zebra practically laughed out her words. Zecora turned, and as she did, a doll seemed to hang slightly outside of the bag.

“Hey, isn't that Smarty Pants?” Twilight asked nopony in particular.

“Looks that way.” Applejack whispered.

“I thought she said she lost it.” Fluttershy said.

“Maybe she's a liar. Liar's aren't good.” Doctor Whooves sighed. He watched Zecora gather some more herbs in the grove, she was easily visible from the mysterious glow emanating from the flowers. After deeply inhaling, the doctor let out a mighty, “Oogity-boogity-boo!”

Zecora let out a startled yelp, and quickly ran away from the grove. A doll just barely fell out of her saddlebag as the zebra took to her hooves as if she were being chased by the Royal Guard for possession of something that the Princesses didn't like.

“Doctor?” Twilight asked. “Why would you do that? She's been scared out of her mind!”

He shrugged. “You said she shouldn't be here, and now she isn't.”

Twilight groaned, throwing a hoof against her face. “That's not what I meant.”

“Hey.” Applejack called out, after flipping the doll over. “Ah think this doll is yours Twi'.”

“Oh, thanks a lot Applejack.” Twilight cheerfully brought the doll onto her back with her magic. “I guess that's all we need now.”

“Twilight?” Fluttershy quietly spoke. “What if we were just watching Zecora drop the doll yesterday?”

Applejack brought two hooves to her head, trying to 'fix' it in some way, if that were possible. “Well that just don't make no sense, the doctor brought us to today, not yesterday.”

“You never know, the TARDIS has been acting up on me and all,” the doctor reasoned.

“Still though.” Twilight said. “Zecora dropped the doll because she ran from the sound of a monster yesterday. She didn't have the doll with her today, and thus we went to the grove, finding you, doctor. After that, we went back to today and...” Twilight didn't continue, only offering a frustrated groan.

“Exactly.” The doctor smiled. “Your zebra friend panicked today, making it so that you girls came with me tomorrow so we could make her panic today. This would make it so that you girls would come with me tomorrow, so we could make her panic today. This would make it so that you-”

“That's more than enough, yer' startin' to get on my nerves.” Applejack said. “All this fancy mathematics is muddyin' the issue.”

“Chronology, actually.” Twilight offered, inciting a nod of approval from the doctor.

The farmer pony rolled her eyes, exhaling in distress as she did so. “Well, alright.. We got the doll though, let's get back to Ponyville.”

The doctor shook his head. “You can't do that, we're a day behind, if you remember. Looks like you'll have to stick around with me for a bit longer.”

It was going to be a long day for Applejack.

---

The endless expanse of trees greeted the four ponies again. Fluttershy could hear the sound of birds in the distance, she wanted to see them. She wanted to speak to them, but it wouldn't be a good idea. Not with all the other menacing creatures in the forest. Applejack and Twilight shared the same type of fear, but not the doctor. He trotted onwards without a care in Equestria, devoid of trepidation, and possibly common sense.

“Doctor?” Twilight asked, he looked back in return, nearly bumping into a tree in the process. “How can you be so... comfortable, in this place?”

“Yes, it's d-dangerous here.” Fluttershy added.

“It is dangerous, but it'll all be fine. Trust the doctor.” He proudly spoke.

Applejack sighed. “I'm havin' a hard time believin' that all that's happened so far is real.”

“I'm sorry, but how do you know that we'll be fine?” Twilight asked.

“I've seen myself, well, all of us in the future.” Doctor Whooves noted. “Surely that means there's nothing to worry about.” A silence sank in for a while as Fluttershy and Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. “I've been through worse before, in the past and the future. Besides, you have what you came for, right?”

“Yes, I do. Thank you for taking us here,” she replied.

“It's not a problem.” The doctor said. “May I ask why you wanted that doll so much?”

“Oh, it's really nothing. It was given to me by my parents when I was a filly, and a lot happened since then. I just didn't want to lose that memory of...” her mouth barely continued moving, but not a word came out.

“Them?” The doctor asked, stopping in his tracks. His question invoked the surprised looks of the three mares, especially Twilight.

“Hey!” Applejack pressed her face against his. “Don't be speakin' like that to Twilight.”

Doctor Whooves remained unfazed, or perhaps he just didn't show it. “It was only a question.”

Applejack didn't move, remaining uncomfortably close to the stallion in front of her. “Some questions are better left to yourself.”

“And I decided that this wasn't one of them.” He briefly withdrew, exhaling loudly. The sounds of his unjustly heavy hoofsteps only seemed to further irritate the mare.

“Maybe you'd think differently if ya'd take the time to consider somepony's feelings before you speak!”

“This is getting ridiculous,” the doctor stated. “What, are you her guardian or something?”

Twilight decided to distance herself away from the rest of the group, quietly moving away for whatever reason. Some things, she didn't want to deal with. No matter how fruitless and easy to deal with as it was. She slipped away behind a few trees, losing awareness in favor of temporary peace.

“No, just better company than you'll ever be.” Applejack retorted.

The doctor chuckled. “Really, really easy to believe. I decide to show you all a spectacle which very few ponies will be able to witness twice, and this is how you react to it. Yes, offering this hospitality makes me horrible to be around.”

“It ain't hospitality. Hospitality's 'bout treating a pony nice. Letting 'em feel a-”

“Isn't that exactly what I'm doing? Tell me. Just tell me what I'm doing wrong!” He gritted his teeth. For the first time, Applejack could see he was showing genuine anger. Something which could be found in all ponies, but something one wouldn't expect from him.

“C-Calm down everypony.” Fluttershy whispered. The sound barely reached the other three ponies.

Applejack glanced at Fluttershy, and brought her gaze back to the doctor. He could see Twilight with her doll, not sure if she was really paying attention to anything around her, despite the commotion. Most of her figure was obscured by the tree she rested against, was she dreaming? Perhaps he could be the same way at times. “Pretty odd, isn't it?” he sighed.

“What?” The farmer pony asked. “What's odd?”

“The fact that we're arguing over this stuff in the first place.” The doctor quickly regained his composure.

Applejack lifted an eyebrow, before glancing away. “Guess yer' right. I'm sorry 'bout losin' myself like that. Listen, just try not to speak about it to Twilight.”

“Y-Yes.” Fluttershy nodded. “It was a really bad time for her...”

“Shouldn't it always be?” he asked. “I truly understand that, but don't you thi-” Applejack quickly put a hoof over his shoulder.

Bringing her mouth to the doctor's ear, she whispered, “She didn't have that many friends back then. Not sure if she even had one.” Applejack pulled herself away from the doctor, but still maintained a low voice. “None of her blood to take care a' her either, you understand, don't you?”

“I could relate, but...” The doctor looked around in particular direction, momentarily losing focus of that around him. “I'm not going to claim that I understand.”

Silence fell upon them in abundance. All three exchanged a few glances, not knowing what to say. Fluttershy set herself to her haunches, almost resting in the silence which she could find serene. The doctor pondered how she could find herself so comfortable in such a place. She wasn't like him, not even close.

“I suppose we should get going then...” The doctor said, facing the ground beneath him. The two other mares nodded. Fluttershy gently glided off towards Twilight, getting her attention in the calmest way possible. Applejack was just glad to know that this discomfort would soon be forgotten.

---

“Alright, back in the malfunctioning box!” The doctor pulled the doors open, holding them open for the three mares. “So, anything else you want to see?”

“Hmm...” Applejack put a hoof to her chin. “Nah.”

“No, I think we've seen enough.” Twilight said. Fluttershy meekly nodded.

The doctor sighed. “Very well then, maybe we'll meet some other time.” He approached the console and gave it a light kick with his foreleg. “Ugh, says we're still in Hooftember 17th. Guess I'll just set it for the 18th. Dumb digital calender.” He started operating it, speaking as he pushed various buttons. “Well, goodbye. It's a shame I don't show anypony else this more often.”

The machine started shaking erratically, perhaps more than it usually did. The ominous whirring was not only louder, but lasted even longer. Fluttershy held onto Twilight for support, hiding her face in the unicorn's mane. The doctor looked towards the console and then to Applejack, looking just as confused as she did. Finally, it stopped, and everypony breathed a sigh of relief.

Twilight turned to approach the door, not noticing Fluttershy fall off of her as she did so. Opening it with her magic, she could see a marble floor, and some wrecked ivory pillars. Windows were shattered, and chunks of stone littered their crumbling surroundings. “I-I think everypony should see this.”

Applejack immediately galloped out of the door, followed by Fluttershy and the Doctor. Their mouths stood agape. The doctor was the first to realize, “This is the Royal Canterlot Palace. This must be from a time before the castle was rebuilt after Nightmare Moon's rampage.”

“We're here?” I thought you said you were takin' us back!” Applejack's eyes widened.

“I did!” The doctor tried to explain. “At least, I tried to. I'm really not sure what's happening ri-” His speech was soon interrupted by the wild, booming cackling which filled their ears.

The four ponies rushed to the noise, reaching the end of the balcony they were on. The voice must have come from below.

“P-Princess!” Twilight attempted to shout, but it sounded more like a whimper. The four ponies saw a white-coated alicorn, lying battered on the ground. Her hair was a solid pink, like the Doctor had seen a few times before. It was dull though, more lifeless than he'd ever witnessed. Her coat was bruised, a few smudges of red amongst it.

“Princess Celestia, sister.” A dark figure trotted around the castle grounds aimlessly, breaking eye contact with her victim. “Sister,” she repeated. “It pains me to call you that, even moreso now.”

“I'm not mad at you,” the princess choked out.

“Lies, each one more twisted than the next! Is there no end to your irreverence?”

“Nightmare... Moon. I-It's her.” Fluttershy whispered from atop the balcony.

“That can't be right.” Applejack spoke the same way, as to not reveal their position. “You sayin' we're a thousand years behind?”

“Yes, I think we are.” The doctor said. “We're obviously in the wrong place, let's go.”

“No!” Twilight harshly grated. “We can't just leave her like this.”

Applejack nodded, “She's got a point.”

“Alright, we'll stay, but you've got to start planning something then.”

“- Thinking that you were ever fit to be a ruler.” Nightmare Moon continued, black wings, flapping themselves in excitement. “Think not of yourself as a ruler anymore, but as a pony as lowly as you've thought of us. You will be even lesser soon, a bitter memory to join all the others in our mind.”

Princess Celestia closed her eyes, deeply inhaling. “Not once, have I ever proclaimed myself superior to anypony. You're deluding yourself, sister.”

“Dead words recit'd from the deceitful tongue! A delusion, as if our judgment was not of any significance. Defend yourself. Perhaps your lack of respect for us has been averted to what's left of your blind egotism.”

The princess didn't speak, she only struggled to use what was left of her magic, gathering necklaces with unique emblems. “Those are the Elements of Harmony.” the doctor noted. “I don't think anypony embodied them at the time.”

“Great. That's just the way she defeated Nightmare Moon.” Applejack smiled. Fluttershy and Twilight followed suit, feeling a sense of relief wash over them.

“Oh, you amuse me so, sister. Who knows, perhaps it will work!” Nightmare Moon mocked maliciously. Celestia gathered now had three elements in her side, curling up against her heavily breathing body. Honesty, Loyalty, and Kindness. She pulled in the element of Laughter, now glowing as it lifelessly dragged itself across the floor.

“Some ponies almost proclaimed you a tyrant. The hoof of a princess, with the mind of a troll. They would prefer my place in the throne.” The armored alicorn spat, receiving no answer. “Do you not speak anymore? Hast thine mouth been sewn shut?” She paused, trotting closer to Celestia, who was now pulling in the element of Generosity, the glow on her horn barely visible. “Then ignore us, like you always would.”

“Your reign is over, sister.” Before the princess could grasp the final element she needed, Nightmare Moon stomped her hoof on the ground. “Praise be to the night!” Her horn glowed for a brief amount of time before a flash of light engulfed them, accompanied by a large crash. The princess didn't scream, grunt, or anything. She just stayed there.

More chunks of stone fell from the shattered walls, yet the Elements of Harmony stayed in place. Smarty Pants fell off of Twilight's back where it rested, and onto the ground beneath them as various pieces of royal furniture whipped around the room. Twilght's mind was not on the doll though, there were more important things to think about.

Celestia turned her eyes towards the balcony, smiling, if only for a second. She spotted four ponies, one stallion, and three mares. She was glad to see some living ponies. Her fate didn't matter.

Nightmare Moon asked, “To what do you pay your gaze?” She received no answer as she telekinetically grasped the element of magic. “The Elements of Harmony. Hope not for them to save you.” She flung it upwards in no particular direction. “Because you never held hope to save us.”

It happened to land directly in front of the doctor, who readied himself as he picked up the element with his mouth. The three mares around him watched as he prepared to prove himself as Equestria's time-traveling savior.

“Again I ask, What is it you stare at?” The mare of the night asked, looking behind her, but not spotting the four ponies for whatever reason.

Doctor Whooves nearly threw himself off the balcony, as he hurled the necklace towards the princess. Through either unimaginable luck, or stringent marksmanship, it happened to land right next to the princess. The elements glowed, lifting the alicorn into the air. She seemed to get an even clearer view of the four ponies, giving a slight nod in her ascent. The doctor slightly winced upon seeing that.

“Wait, no! No!” Nightmare Moon attempted to pry the elements from her, but they wouldn't move. A rainbow formed, and shot itself up into the air, crashing down on Celestia's enemy who helplessly protested her own demise.

“I-I think she saw us.” The doctor noted. “Let's get out, before it's too late.”

“We don't even get to watch the end of it?” Applejack asked, following the doctor as he trotted back into the TARDIS.

Twilight watched the Princess regain her features as she stood in front of her sister on the castle grounds. She quickly left when Fluttershy tapped her shoulder. She followed the pegasus back into the large blue box, where the Doctor was speaking to Applejack.

“Alright, this really isn't good. I think she saw us. The princess.”

“What are you talkin' bout? How can it be bad that she saw us? That just mean's you're a hero, but a thousand years ago!” Applejack ruffled the doctor's hair.

“I could care less about being recognized for that, I've done this stuff plenty of times,” said he. “She's a princess though, and this is a machine that travels through space and time. What's she going to do when she finds us out?”

“Excuse me, doctor?” Fluttershy asked, as Twilight closed the door behind her. “If she knew about it... Wouldn't she have done something already?”

The doctor thought for a moment, and then sighed in relief. “I guess you're right... I have nothing to worry about.” He moved back to the console. “Anyway. I guess I should be taking you girls back home.” He started to operate it, but it only produced a few beeping noises. “Oh, man. This really isn't good.”

“What's wrong?” Twilight asked, but she didn't receive an answer.

“Bad TARDIS! Bad! Bad!” He kicked the console with each word. “Why, won't, you, work?”

She moved closer to the doctor, but not close enough to accidentally get kicked herself. “Are we stuck here?”

“Nope. I hope not.” He brought his forelegs down on the machine, half attempting to operating it, and half smashing it in frustration. It looked different though. There were no lights coming out from it. He pressed a few buttons, but it just stayed that way.

“Doctor?” Fluttershy asked. “The lights are off. Are we going to be stuck here... I-In this time?”

The doctor shrugged. “Again, I'm not that sure. Anything could happen with this thing.” Sure enough, something did happen. That same, mysterious noise reverberated through the room.

“You think hittin' it might have not been that good an idea?” Applejack rolled her eyes.

“Everypony does things that aren't good ideas.” Doctor Whooves said. “Just, stay calm everpony, we'll see where this thing takes us.” The omnipresent whirring grew even louder, it almost hurt to be in the room. Everypony covered their ears, hoping for the best, but fearing the worst.

An amber-coated stallion woke up. His body felt cold against the smooth, linoleum floor. Opening his eyes, he found himself in a spacious room. White walls, with the dim lights refracting from them directly into his eyes.

“Hello? Is anypony here?” he asked, rising to his hooves. “Where am I?” He continued to look around, there were desks, boarded up doors, and in the center of the room, what appeared to be some sort of console. He slowly walked towards it, reading the red text that appeared on its display.

You're awake, that's good. I thought I was going to be trapped here for much longer.

“What is this?” the doctor asked himself, not expecting an answer. To his surprise, the text changed in accordance with his question.

This is a console. Right now, you're what I call the “TARDIS”. Time and Relative Dimension in Space. It's a time machine, you see.

Doctor Whooves raised an eyebrow upon reading the new text. “I don't believe that,” he said. “Where are you? Who are you?”

I'm would believe I'm right here. Not really though. I can see and hear you, but not much else. As for who I am, I'm Dr. David Tennant Whooves.

The doctor shook his head. “No, that can't be true. I am that pony you're talking about. I'll ask again, who are you?” He eagerly leaned against the console.

Alright, perhaps I'm not you, but I'm quite close. I'm your “Time Lord” mentality, if you'd call it that. Tell me, what's the date today?

He scratched his head. “Uh... Hearthfall the 6th, CR-986?”

Wrong, leave through the door to your right. Take a look around, and come back in.

“Umm... Alright, then,” Doctor Whooves trotted to the door, head full of confusion, mouth full of questions. As he left the “time machine”, he looked outside. The weather didn't seem to be the same way he last saw it. He was in an alleyway. After cantering around for a while, he found out that he was in Ponyville. That was a relief.

He looked back, and didn't see a building. Just a box. It was much smaller than the room he'd just been in though. How was that possible? The doctor hesitantly approached it, opening the door, only to find out it led exactly to that same room. He hastily galloped towards the console, stumbling on the way there.

Yes, I know you have a lot of questions. Well, what I'm thinking is that you've lost your memory, or at least your memory as a Time Lord, something like that. Time-traveling's some pretty heavy stuff.

The text disappeared, new text replacing it. This one was a slightly darker shade of red. The light's in the room dimmed. “Was was that?” the doctor asked.

This thing doesn't have much energy left. Needs repairs and all that. Anyway, it's UR-3, Hooftember the 17th. At least it was before I got trapped in here.

The stallion put a hoof to his head, as if it were to help him understand what was going on. It didn't. A new line of text appeared, breaking him out of his trance.

BTW, UR-3 stands for the third year of “United Reign”. BTW, Nightmare Moon came back and was banished to the moon once again, Princess Luna's sane again. BTW, BTW stands for, “By the way”.

“So you're telling me that Equestria uses a different calender, I'm in the future, and Princess Luna's returned after a thousand years?” the doctor asked, failing to comprehend all of these changes.

Precisely. It's cool though, she came to Ponyville last year. Very entertaining. Back on topic though, it's going to be your job to fix this machine. Last I know, we've sold our home to live here. It's got a lot of rooms you know, but the TARDIS can't contain them in this state. Not right now.”

“No deal. There's no way I'm going to dive into something more confusing than this,” he shook his head.

Now now, don't say that. I'm going to be trapped here forever, I think. Doesn't sound pretty. You'll be homeless, memorylesslessless for like, the past 17 years. Seriously, we've done some pretty cool things with the TARDIS.

The doctor rose to his hind legs, placing both hooves against his head. “I-I don't want to. What am I going to do?”

Well, I would believe actually doing something about it would be a good course of action. If you don't, I suffer, you suffer, and three young mares who came with me, are probably going to be lost for eternity and the like. Surely you wouldn't want that weighing on your conscience?

“Nopony should be subject to that fate...” Doctor Whooves sighed.

Great, that's what I wanted to hear. After you moved into this place, you've kept all your possessions in that desk, should be right behind you against the wall. There's a lamp for when this thing inevitably runs out of power, some other stuff, and most importantly, a manual. It's around 247 pages, but I'm sure there's a page related to this situation. You only need to read that. Once you get our memories back, I assure you that everything's going to be fine.

“Sounds like a lot of hard work,” he said. “I-I'll do it though. I have to, don't I?”

You do. Don't be afraid to look to others for help, just try not to attract too much attention, alright? I'm not sure about the state of time right now, but things could have gotten really messed up.

“If I can travel through time... Couldn't another incarnation of myself from the future arrive in this period of time to help me?” He watched as the lights dulled, squinting to read the text.

Face it, if you from the future wanted to come back to help you out, or was able to do so at all, he would have done so by now. The only doctor I'm seeing right now is you, so either I hate myself, or time's just in a really bad mood right now. Anyway, I don't have much time left. Not enough power. Start hunting for those memories. Good luck, doctor.

The lights in the room dimmed once more, it was much harder to see. The text faded, and the display on the console completely shut off. “I guess it's just me, then...” Doctor Whooves sighed. He slowly walked towards the desk and used his mouth to turn the lamp on. Pulling open the desk drawer, the stallion found a red book entitled, “TIME-TRAVEL FOR FOALS”

---

Was Applejack alive? By the way she was feeling, she really couldn't tell. She opened her eyes, and found that she was already standing, but on a cloud. Looking around, she found herself surrounded by other pegasi, almost all of them being foals.

“Look, Fluttershy, you're bein' all weird,” she could hear a squeaky, but raspy voice. She turned around, now facing a small cyan filly. “Why don't you hang out with somepony else? You're acting like I'm your only friend or something.”

“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack called out. “What's goin' on?” she didn't receive a response. The filly didn't even look at her.

“I-I'm sorry Rainbow Dash.” Applejack turned to see what appeared to be Fluttershy as a filly. “You see, I've been meani-”

“Why don't you go hang out with Derpy or somepony else?”

“I don't... I don't know...” Fluttershy shrunk into a ball.

“Fluttershy?” Applejack sighed. “Please, somepony tell me what's happenin'...”

The rainbow-maned filly shook her head and sighed. “Fluttershy, I don't want to deal with any of your issues, okay?”

“I'm sorry.”

“Just give me some time to myself,” she glared, before taking to her wings.

“Rainbow! Why you actin' that way?” Applejack called out. Once again, she received no acknowledgement. “Fluttershy?”

The filly laid on the cloud, hiding behind her mane. Applejack brought herself closer to Fluttershy, and further inspection revealed that she was tearing up. “Ah, come on now Fluttershy. You're stronger than that!” the mare looked down, bringing a hoof to the pegasus. There was no contact, her hoof phased right through her.

“Am I... dead?” she sat herself onto a cloud, looking up towards the sun, which she was now closer to than ever before. “Doctor Whooves, Fluttershy, Twi'... are they dead too?” She could recall the images of Celestia laying battered across the palace floor, the odd but incredibly handy personality of that amber stallion, and the two friends she'd ventured into the Everfree Forest with. Did they die because of that mistake? Should they have listened to Zecora's warnings? The last thing she remembered before losing consciousness was the big blue box shaking, everything seeming to warp around them, time and space being played by the click of a few buttons, and then... nothing.

“Is something wrong, Fluttershy?”

“No, Ditzy. I-I'm fine,” she choked out.

A gray pegasus filly walked up to her. She already had her cutie mark, a few bubbles, whatever that was supposed to mean. “What's wrong?”

Fluttershy hid her face behind her mane. “I don't think Rainbow Dash wants to be my friend.”

“Maybe not right now, I'm sure she still wants to be your buddy.” Ditzy offered. “And if she doesn't, than maybe it's just her loss.” Applejack could have sworn she'd never seen the mailmare she knew offer advice like that.

“B-But, who else is going to be my friend?”

“I can be your friend...”

“Check it out guys, Klutzershy and Derpy Hooves!” A dark-brown pegasus said, followed by two other colts.

“Yeah! Cat uh... Klutzershy!” another colt shouted, eyes covered by his brown mane.

“Leave us alone,” Ditsy protested.

“Yeah sure,” one of them said. “Why doesn't Derpy stop leaving her eyes... uh... leaving her eyes alone?”

“Good stuff, Quarterback!” The dark-brown colt brohoofed him.

Applejack trotted in front of the three colts, angrily glaring at them all. “Think you boys should stop this, say this stuff to some colt your own size.” Once again, she received no response.

“D-Don't call her Derpy. That's not her... name,” Fluttershy barely squeaked out that last word, now shaking with fear.

“Woah, woah. You're real tough, you know that?” Dumb-Bell joked. “Somepony save me, this klutz is gonna' break me!” The two colts next to him laughed.

“Tell you what Fluttershy,” he continued. “I bring my hoof to your face once, and I'll have you crawling. How's that sound?”

“Fluttershy could beat you, any day!” Ditzy Doo barked.

Applejack turned to her side, noticing that one of the cloud buildings seemed to be... bending. She knew Cloudsdale wasn't the place she'd be accustomed to, but that was just weird. Nopony else seemed to pay attention the warping of somepony's house.

“Jeez, you're annoying. Alright, you first.” Dumb-Bell charged in Ditzy's direction, being intercepted by a lightning-fast tackle, followed by a rainbow trail.

“Hey, let's do this!” Hoops grinned as he and Quarterback rushed into the swirling ball of foal-violence Rainbow Dash had created. It kind of resembled the cloud of dust that always appeared when ponies would fight in the comics she was supposed to read as a kid. She remembered stumbling upon this one “comic book” that Big Macintosh kept under his bed. All she understood at that age was that those “pretty lookin'” mares seemed quite comfortable with their rumps being held so far out.

The ghostly mare couldn't do anything to break the fight up, she had no wings. She didn't want to do anything about it anyway, as long as Rainbow Dash was going to win. Fluttershy and Ditzy watched in suspense as Rainbow took on three of their most feared bullies.

An amber pegasus flew by, observing the fight. He looked similar, so much like... so much like somepony she knew. She glanced at his cutie mark, and she understood who this was in an instant. “Doctor!” she shouted. Much to Applejack's surprise he turned around, fading away as she drew closer.

Applejack found herself falling. Had she galloped off a cloud, or did she simply phase through it? Either way, the blur of clouds and ponies whirred past her as she made her descent towards the ground.

---

“Alicorn blood. No... No! How am I supposed to get that?” the doctor screamed aloud. Rushing towards the console in the center of the room, he struggled to control his breathing. “Turn on, please. Please, please, please,” he pressed the buttons in no particular order. “I don't want to be homeless, help me. Help me!”

“Is everything alright?”

“Hmm?” Doctor Whooves turned around to face a gray pegasus standing in front of the doorway, now casually slouching against the console. “Oh, y-yes. Everything's fine. Nothing to see here. No rampant clopping to ethically questionable material here. Nope, not at all.”

“I heard screaming,” she entered, taking a look at her surroundings.

The doctor nervously scratched his head. “That? That was uh... It's nothing. I just got a little confused.”

“Woah.” The mare ignored his words. “This place is really cool! What do you do here?”

“From what I've been told, it's some sort of time machine.” He shrugged. “A “TARDIS”, I think. Pretty easy to believe when you're in a room larger on the inside than the outside.”

“A time machine? What does that do?”

“What do you think?” The doctor raised an eyebrow, not receiving a response. “It travels through time. Time and space, or so I've been told.”

The gray mare lit up. “Wow, that's really nice! Can you show me?”

He shook his head. “Nope. I've got to fix this thing.”

“Do you know what you're doing?”

“No, I really don't know, okay?” Doctor Whooves sighed. “I don't want to explain a lot, and there's much work to be done.”

“Well, maybe you should try and figure it out,” she offered.

“Yeah, maybe I should. Now you, what should you be doing right now?”

The pegasus took a moment to think, and then lowered her head. “Do you want me to leave?”

“Yes, please.” The doctor nodded. He could see the mare turn around, heading for the door in a slow walk. He glanced back at the console, he couldn't ignore his own advice, could he? Besides, the look on her face was becoming too much to handle. “On second thought, why don't you stay here?” he sighed. Before she opened the door, he spoke again. “You could help me! I wouldn't mind, not at all.” The mare turned around, giving him another look. “Please?”

---

Fluttershy trotted amongst the trees, searching for any clue as to what was going on. “Is anypony here?” Sighing from the lack of a response, she continued to explore the area. The redwood trees basked in the bright rays of the sun, complemented by a carpet of lush grass. “What happened?” she asked herself. The box shook, and the world around everypony twisted uncontrollably. What was to come after that?

Minutes passed as Fluttershy aimlessly wandered the forest. There was searching, and then searching, and more searching. The scene seemed the same for the most part, perhaps it actually was the same. The pegasus was sure she that she would have found some sort of landmark by now, but the expanse of trees was the only gift she received. Nopony in sight, no cute animals, and not even a sense of direction.

One redwood tree to Fluttershy's side sank slightly into the ground. Fluttershy questioned how sane she was after the events she'd been through today. Hopefully, she was just dreaming. Hopefully. The sky seemed to burn red, clouds jutting out like knives. She wouldn't be flying that high anytime soon. Picking up her pace, she continued onwards in the direction she'd chosen. She'd find a way back home, and she'd find her friends too. What if she didn't though?

To get the best of her fear, Fluttershy had laid herself on the soft ground against a hued tree. It towered over her, blocking the harsh sun from her view. Resting her head against the aged bark, she closed her eyes and let her concerns drift away. Blackness overtook her mind, replaced by a fresh sea of the sentiments hidden in the deepest corners of her mind.

She didn't know how much time had passed in her sleep, but the pegasus slowly rose back to her hooves to continue her search. She could get back home, yet Fluttershy still held doubt for her the safety of her friends. Placing one hoof in front of the other, she took notice that this place was one of comfort. She'd certainly come back if there were some animals here, which there should have been, considering the area was perfect for the wildlife.

The sound of a hoof knocking against wood alerted Fluttershy. The pegasus turned around, bursting with joy at the sight. “A white-tailed deer!” she softly exclaimed. The deer sharply motioned with its head, turning around. As Fluttershy started to speak again, it darted out into the depth of trees. “Wait, come back!” she pleaded, taking to her wings to chase after it.

The deer was fast, all deers were, but pegasi were also supposed to be fast. Fluttershy wasn't the most fit of pegasi, nor was she the most agile. Navigating amongst the tall trees and the maze of branches and leaves, the pegasus struggled not to crash into anything. “Please, please stop!” she panted, as her wings quickly beat to keep up. The animal was still in her sights, and while Fluttershy didn't exactly want to disturb it, this deer was probably the only help Fluttershy would get, provided it was willing to communicate with her.

Her heart flared like she'd flown a hundred miles as she attempted to regain some control over her breathing. “I-I need you to help me,” she barely choked out, now opening her eyes as she saw what appeared to be a branch shooting outwards from a cypress tree. Fluttershy attempted to bring herself to a halt, but she was far too late for that. It broke easily under her weight, but Fluttershy quickly lost control of her flight, flying into a few more rough branches, flipping and twirling in the air before another tree halted her flight.

Crashing down against the earth, pain seared through her body. She'd lost control at flight school plenty of times, but those were always in controlled environments. Soft obstacles, and even softer clouds to fall on. The only real pain she'd fought was embarrassment, and the constant disappointment brought to her close friend, Rainbow Dash. This pain, was purely on a physical level. She didn't feel like moving her legs, even then, she wasn't even sure if they were broken. She curled on the ground being greeted by a surge of pain in her back from when she crashed into the large redwood tree.

Looking up, she saw the white-tailed deer staring straight back at her. “I-I'm sorry,” Fluttershy said. The deer turned around, leaving the pegasus to herself. As it walked, she noticed something different on it's rump. A cutie mark of some sort, an hourglass?

---

Taking heed to her surroundings, Twilight found herself in Ponyville. She rolled around, only to hit the pavement. Groaning, she put one hoof to her head, using the other to strike the bench she just fell from. Picking herself up, she searched around. Ponies of all sorts roamed around the streets, but she barely knew any of them. A small filly briefly reminded Twilight of that mare who grew vegetables in her backyard.

Twilight Sparkle walked aimlessly, hoping that everything was fine. She hoped that the box had sent them back home, and that whatever it was that the doctor did, it didn't break the universe.

“Hello there, friend of my mind. Goes the day for you nicely?” a young amber stallion approached Twilight, who yelped as she turned around.

“Oh...” she scratched the back of her neck. “Hi?”

“Yes, greetings!” he smiled, offering his hoof. “Greetings to you softly!”

Twilight reluctantly shook it, blushing as she did. “Yes, hello... Who are you?”

“Back from the light and into the lands of the insane, I believe! Have you no sense?” he impatiently glared.

“I-I'm sorry. I just didn't know who you we- wait,” Twilight said. “You, Doctor! What are you doing here?”

“A doctor, am I?” he brought a hoof to his chin. “Last heard of I, not a doctor to be.”

Twilight circled around him, now finding that his flank lacked the hourglass that the doctor had. Oddly enough, he didn't have a cutie mark at all. “Oh, I'm sorry. You just looked a lot like... somepony I know.”

“Great blight, speak not of the only way to rip from sight but a misunderstanding!” he chuckled. “Seeing you now, I know fully of what you speak! Apologies made and sent, you have no need to do so to I.”

Twilight looked down at the ground, trying to comprehend whatever it was he was saying. She gave him a look of confusion, and he simply stared back with a playful grin on his face. “I-I...” He continued to stare at Twilight, not breaking his gaze for the longest seconds Twilight ever lasted through. Running a hoof against the ground, a bead of sweat ran down her neck.

The doctor burst out into a fit of laughter, “That was pretty cool, actually! Anyway, I'm here to help.” He put a hoof to his chin. “Wow, I my voice must have been so much higher at this time.”

“Doctor?” Twilight gasped.

“Yes, that's me!” he motioned with his hoof. “Now, I don't have much time, because things are just messed up like that. I could lose access to this place any second now.”

“Who are all these ponies?” Twilight asked. “What are you talking about?”

“You must be somewhere back in time, CR-986. I talked to myself about it for a while.”

“Wait, what?”

The doctor sighed. “Things are really messed up, in case you didn't know. I've got myself in the present trying to fix things, but I honestly doubt he'd be worth anything without the experience I've accumulated over the years. Hope he actually took my advice.”

Twilight glared at him. “Doctor, help me. Tell me what to do, I'll fix whatever it is you've messed up!”

“Wow, good job pointing the blame at me,” the doctor recoiled. “Take my feelings into consideration and all.” He received another angry look from Twilight, clearing his throat. “Of course, my apologies. I believe that right now, we're in another plane of existence. Lots of things are changing, and reality's being warped. All I know is, I'm going to be really confused when I find out that I need alicorn blood to fix the machine.”

“Alicorn blood? What are you talking about?” Twilight tilted her head.

Doctor Whooves shrugged. “It's a really odd machine. Not even sure how it got built in the first place. All I can say is, try and alert the princess in someway, that's what you can do. If you happen to find the TARDIS somewhere here, then please don't be afraid to enter and solve this problem from there. You certainly can't break the universe when it's already broken.”

“Ugh, fine. I'll see through to that.” Twilight bit her lip. “One question though. Where are my friends?”

“I really don't know. You'll find them though, I'm sure of it. The machine works in odd ways, you see,” the doctor trotted around. “Anyway, be sure to act with haste, we don't want any permanent effects to befall the real Equestria.”

“Well, that's just great.” Twilight huffed. Equestria could quite possibly in total chaos from what the doctor described. “Doctor, what else can you tell me?”

“Tell you not what should be known to nopony,” he replied. “Speak to you, I may! What asks from the lavender lips hold not a reference of which is known to me.”

Twilight sighed. “Please doctor, stop this.”

“Does not what holds not the seeds appreciative for this. I halt by the request.”

Fortunately, yet surprisingly, he stopped talking after that. “Good riddance,” Twilight thought to herself, walking away.

“A farewell to that of you!” Doctor Whooves waved.

“Yeah, bye,” Twilight quickly galloped in the direction of the library. She had a princess to alert, and some friends to gather. She nearly fell over when she looked up to see a few clouds disappearing from her view. Whatever was to be done, she'd have to do it quickly, lest an unsuspecting pegasus falls to the ground in their sleep and breaks something.

The speed in her gallop increased along with the length of her stride. Running wasn't something that Twilight took much pride in. It was a miracle that her wobbly “nerd legs” actually got her 6th place in the Running of the Leaves, only with the help of good pacing. Wobbly nerd legs aside, she was determined to put things back where they were supposed to be. It could be seen as her fault in the first, place, going into the Everfree Forest for that doll, so she would work even harder to make things right.

The library was in her sight now, and the unicorn grinned as she readied herself to write another letter to the princess. It'd all be fine, wouldn't it?