Ditzy walked into the bland guest room, checking to see if Harmony was awake yet. Harmony, now sitting up in bed, nodded to her. "Hallo, Ditzy."
The grey mare nodded back. "Hey, I'm glad to see that you're awake. The Doctor was starting to get a little worried." She trotted over to sit next to the head of the bed as she spoke.
"Why," Harmony queried, "How long was I out?"
"Um... That's the thing, you see." Ditzy scratched the back of her neck nervously. "You've... You've been unconscious for a little over a month now."
"A... A month?! I... Did neither of you even try to wake me?!"
"I wanted to, but the Doctor said that the TARDIS was trying to form a psychical bond with you or something like that, and that if you woke up too soon you could be mentally disabled or something, and that you needed to wake up on your own..."
"I had the strangest dream..." Harmony proceeded to tell Ditzy about her dream, only to be interrupted by the Doctor, wondering what was taking so long.
"Ditzy, you didn't tell me that she had woken up," he said in a slightly annoyed voice. "I need to run some tests to make sure that the link is stable..."
Harmony cleared her throat, coughing lightly into her hoof. "Now, as I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted..." She continued her story, the Doctor stopping in his tracks when she mentioned the silver watch. She finished her story, explaining how she had left it at home in the library.
"We maaaaay make a quick stop there, then," he said, ignoring Harmony's shocked expression. "I want to take a look at that watch."
The heart monitor raced, and Harmony cried out, "NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO!!! I can't go back there, she'll think I'm staying, and it would break my heart to leave her again!" She leapt out of bed. "If I'm going back, I have to stay, and I'm not ready yet." Another thought occurred to her. "This is a time machine, correct?" The two older ponies nodded. "Then we'll need to go back in time a few weeks so that I can let her know where I am, even if I have to lie."
Ditzy nodded in agreement, but the Doctor shook his head. "Not yet. You're the first person -er, pony, in a long time that's had the TARDIS' full psychic weight crashing down on you, only to bond with is shortly thereafter. THEREFORE," he continued, taking a breath, "You need plenty of rest and recuperation before any adventuring or apologizing is to be done," he finished with a cheerful smile.
Harmony groaned, while Ditzy giggled, the tips of her ears turning the slightest shade of pink.
The Doctor left the room, calling out behind him, "Now get back in bed!" As soon as he closed the door, however, his face quickly developed into a frown. A silver fob watch... There was no way that it was possible.
Harmony groaned with boredom, Ditzy chuckling at her distress. Deciding to take advantage of the Doctor's absence, Harmony asked, "So, you really like him, don't you?"
Ditzy flinched, her eyes going straight for a moment. "N-no," she stuttered, her face and ears bright red. "W-what would make you say that?"
"You're too obvious," Harmony giggled. "Your ears always turn pink when he's around, and I can see you restraining your wings. You should be glad that he's completely oblivious to it."
The grey mare sighed. "Yeah, I know. He's just so... So... Oh, I can't think of how to describe it!"
"Perfect? Too good to be true?"
"Yeah, that," Ditzy said, nodding vigorously. "Sometimes I wish he would notice me, but then I think of how embarrassing that would be..."
Looking around the drab white room, Harmony was struck with some inspiration. "How about we give him a little surprise?" She grinned mischievously at a now excited (but a little nervous) Ditzy.
"Like...?"
Walking back to the guest room, he heard laughter and talking. He smiled a bit, still troubled by the watch, but he let it rest, instead opening the door to see why they were laughing.
He did not expect to see a completely redecorated room.
Harmony and Ditzy grinned as he took in the room with a bewildered look, as he had every right to.
The room was now a light blue, with a grey stripe around it. There were what looked like glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling, and the bed had lime green blankets on it. There were two wooden nightstands at either side of the bed, and one of them had a lamp on it that looked like a mini-TARDIS. On the wall to his left, there was some silver wall art, the swirls indicating an inspiration from henna.
He looked back at the girls. "Well, this is certainly... Different," he said, and as they looked a little crestfallen, he hastily continued, "But different is good! This room was boring anyway." He inwardly let out a little relieved sigh at the bullet he dodged. No one could make you feel guilt or fear like a woman.
Harmony smiled a big, cheesy grin, stating, "I was bored, and Ditzy was being nice enough to keep me company, but I thought that we could give you a little surprise and see your reaction as you came in. I had to use some magic that I hadn't practiced in a while, but after a few tries, it was as easy as cake!"
The Doctor rolled his eyes at their laughter, although he was glad that Ditzy had a friend. "I just processed the data from your medical record here," he said. "It turns out that you could potentially go to the library and get the watch, but only if you don't see any of the occupants."
Harmony nodded slightly. "I would like to go as soon as possible, please. I can write a letter, telling her that I'm in Trottingham or something, and that I'm in good hooves," she said. "My room is at a window, so I can easily get in and take the watch without Twilight knowing."
Ditzy watched the planning with some interest, head going back and forth between them as the spoke. "... Let's go then!" Ditzy shook herself out of her loving gaze, not realizing that she had drifted.
The three ponies made their way to the TARDIS controls, and the Doctor entered the coordinates of their destination.
-WREEOP-WREEOP-
It was the middle of the night, Luna's moon lighting the clearing around the library. Harmony slinking across the ground. Upon reaching the library under her window, she shot up as fast as she could, making up for the loss of cover with her speed.
She peered into the window, confirming that it was, indeed, her room. She cast a silencing spell on the window hinges, then opening the window and slipping in. Laying the letter on her pillow, she began the search for the watch. Now, of course, Twilight knew the sound of her magic, so she had to search by hoof.
Struggling to remember, she realized that it was in her drawer marked 'clutter,' meaning stuff that she didn't need but never got rid of. She went to the drawer, wincing as it creaked open loudly. She reached in, searching by touch. An agonizingly slow few minuted later, she found her target. Lifting it out and placing it in her saddlebag, she closed the drawer, the sound muffling the hoofsteps outside the door.
Hearing the door creak open, Harmony frantically began building up for a teleport. She turned, and saw an aghast Twilight Sparkle in the doorway,