The Short Road
////
The Short Road
////
Alex pressed his face into his pillow. For some reason, his head was killing him…
What had caused this ungodly headache?
Was it something he had done last night?
Thinking for a moment, Alex realized something odd. He couldn’t remember what had happened last night… The last thing he could remember was dropping Dash off at home, and then starting to feel that energy within him… It must have been related to that.
He hadn’t used it in a spell last night… So it was obviously a bad thing when he did that.
“Alex!” Twilight bellowed from just outside his room. “You need to come out here!”
“It’s time to face the music!” A voice said.
Alex sat up. Who was that?
“Who’s there?” Alex asked the empty room.
After a moment of silence, Alex started to hear laughter.
He was rather used to this, as Discord loved to talk to him whenever he felt like it. But, this laugh was different. It sounded like it was coming from somepony younger. Somepony that kinda sounded like…
“Alex, hurry!” Twilight shouted.
“Uh, yeah!” Alex said, getting out of bed, and approaching the door.
Opening his door, Alex walked out into the main section of the library, and was shocked to see the library in complete disarray.
“What happened?!” Alex asked in shock. “You just finished organizing this!”
“Huh?” Twilight said from the level above, scanning the floor below her. “Oh yeah, I saw that earlier.”
“Wait, you’re not upset?” Alex asked, surprised.
“Well, I think you should see this first.” Twilight said, gesturing to the door behind her.
Walking to the top of the stairs, Alex was confused when her bedroom door opened, and a purple and green pony stepped out.
“Woah, look at Twilight!” The voice said to Alex, “Bringing home guys! Nice!”
Alex ignored the voice. He was sure that it was some trick of Discords.
“Who is that…?” Alex asked.
“It’s Spike.” Twilight said.
“Pardon?” Alex asked, somewhat lost.
“It’s me.” Spike said. “I was transformed into a pony.”
Alex was silent for a moment, unsure of what to say. “Is… This a normal thing around here…?”
“Not this.” Twilight said.
“Oh snap!” The voice said again. “The purple bastard is a pony!”
“Shut up!” Alex shouted again, earning odd looks from both Twilight and Spike.
“Me?” Twilight asked.
“N-Not you… Just- Nevermind.” Alex said, stumbling over an explanation before giving up. “What even happened?”
“Uh… Well, somepony actually did this to me…” Spike said.
“Spike,” Twilight whispered to him. “Are you sure…?”
“Yeah, I don’t mind telling him.” Spike said to her before turning back to Alex. “It was actually Rarity that made it happen.”
“Rarity?” Alex asked, “How… Or, why did she do it?”
Spike puffed out his chest and smiled. “With a wish, because she likes me!”
“…Really?” Alex and the voce in his head said simultaneously.
////
After several minutes, Twilight and Spike got Alex up to speed on the situation Spike was now in. The voice in his head had even shut up long enough for it all to make sense to him.
“How many times did you kiss her?” Alex asked, feeling proud of his little buddy.
“Two times!” Spike smiled.
“Nice!” Alex said, giving Spike a high-five… Or high-one. “So, do you have a cutie mark?”
“Nope,” Spike said, showing Alex his blank flank. “We’re in the same boat.”
“We’ll work on that together then!” Alex said, smiling.
“Sure!” Spike said, happy that Alex was being so cool about this.
“Does everypony in town know about Spike?” Alex asked Twilight.
“Well, after I found out he was like this, I didn’t really have much time to explain it to everypony,” Twilight said, “So, for now, I think that we’re going to just say that he’s a friend that’s visiting.”
“Makes sense,” Alex said, “With winter set-up starting today, you probably don’t want to waste all of your time explaining his transformation to everypony you come across.”
“Exactly,” Twilight agreed. “Once winter is ready, we’ll tell everypony.”
////
A Few Days Later
////
Alex could feel his heart trying to beat its way out of his chest.
Tonight was the night. He and Dash were finally going to have their first night out together.
The sun had just started to set, and he knew that Dash would be waiting for him at the library. So, he hurried along, not wanting to keep her waiting.
Alex had been working his tail off trying to get his mundane job of spreading snow completed. And, he had finally done it all. He had finished his assigned area, and was free to go, and have the night of his life.
Alex had the entire night planned out. The plan was for a romantic dinner, then a walk to Sugercube Corner for dessert. After they picked something up, he’d take her back to the hill where they first made up. The sun would be long set at that point, but the moon was full tonight, and he knew that the view would be breathtaking.
Even the smart-ass voice in the back of his head hadn’t said a word since they started setting up winter.
Unfortunately, there was just one problem. Alex could feel that energy coming back to him. Just after he finished his job in the set-up, he started to feel it build up again.
There was no way Alex could think of, to properly dispose of the magic. He was afraid that whatever he did would be super-powerful, and would damage Ponyville, just as it had before, with the checkerboard ground.
After much consideration, Alex decided to go ask Twilight for help. He really should have brought this up earlier… But, either way, they would find a solution, and he and Dash would be on their way.
Alex was just outside of the library, when he started to feel some kind of warmth enveloping him.
Looking at his body, Alex could see a bright light working its way up toward him. It almost felt like a teleportation spell.
Alex didn’t really have time to panic, as the light quickly enveloped him.
When the light faded, Alex found that he was in a completely new place.
He was in some kind of spherical room, filled with pillars, a series of control panels in the center, along with what looked like some kind of engine.
Examining the contraption in front of him, Alex was baffled. There was a large series of tubes that were moving up and down within each other, while making some kind of groaning noise. It almost sounded like a car’s engine revving, but backwards.
“Hello, Alex.” Somepony said from behind the engine.
Alex quickly focused on the figure that emerged from behind the control panels.
“My name is The Doctor.” He said, taking a few steps toward Alex. “And I’m very sorry.”
“It’s no problem…” Alex said slowly, “You can just let me out here… I kinda have plans for tonight.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that…” The Doctor said, pressing a few controls on the panel next to him.
Hearing a door creak open, Alex turned around, and was absolutely astounded.
He was in Space! The area outside of the ship was completely filled with stars. He had never seen anything so gorgeous. One thing looked rather peculiar however. There seemed to be some kind of bright line running through the empty space just in front of them. It almost looked like a crack.
“It’s a beautiful sight, isn’t it?” The Doctor asked, taking a few steps forward. “Don’t worry about breathing, there’s a force field keeping all the air in.”
“Why did you bring me here?” Alex asked.
The Doctor sighed. Alex deserved to know what had happened, and how he planned to fix it.
“You weren’t supposed to come to Equestria, Alex.” The Doctor said, walking past Alex, and looking out the door into the open space. “Something brought you here, and it made everything go wrong.”
“What does that mean?” Alex asked, starting to get angry. “How could you possibly know something like that?”
“I came from the future, in this ship.” The Doctor explained, “Just about a year and a half from now…”
“The future?” Alex asked disbelievingly, “That sounds like a load of crap.”
“Yeah?” The Doctor asked, “I’d say that it’s just about as much crap as a human in Equestria.”
Alex had to give him that one. If he could visit magical-pony-land, then time travel could definitely be possible.
“So…” Alex said, deciding to listen to what he had to say. “What happened to your future, then?”
“Where I came from, everything was perfect...” The Doctor explained, “The world existed as if you had never been there.”
Alex held his breath. He didn’t like the sound of that.
“Discord had come back about a year before, but was stopped by the Elements of Harmony.” The Doctor explained. “But, something changed history, and made Discord the ruler of Equestria… I’m only here because I was in this time machine when it happened. If I had been outside, I would have been affected too.”
“What then?” Alex asked, “Do you want my help to defeat Discord?”
He Doctor wanted nothing more than to say yes, but it wasn’t an option. He could fix everything right here and now.
Walking past Alex, The Doctor returned to the control panel, and then turned back to Alex.
“This will go much easier for you if you relax…” The Doctor said.
“What do you mean?!” Alex asked, starting to panic.
“That crack outside will… Erase you from history.” The Doctor explained, “Everything will return to normal, and Equestria will be safe.”
“That’s not fair!” Alex said angrily, “How do you know that I’m the only thing that changed history? Couldn’t something else have happened, besides me coming here?”
The Doctor ignored him, and turned around to his control panel. He would need a minute to disable to the safety. It wasn’t every day you wanted something sucked out from the inside.
“S-Stop!” Alex shouted, running forward in an attempt to stop The Doctor. Unfortunately a barrier had been place between the two of them.
Suddenly, Alex realized something. He was still overflowing with that strange power. He could try to use it to get past the shield. Closing his eyes, Alex tried to shoot a bolt of energy into the barrier. But, he found himself unable to cast it.
“You can’t cast any kind of your magic in here,” The Doctor explained, “So don’t try.”
“Look…” Alex said starting to feel light headed, “There must be another way!”
The Doctor kept his back to Alex, knowing that he would probably crumble if he saw the pleading pony.
Alex couldn’t believe how fast everything was happening. One moment, everything was perfect. The next, he was in mortal danger.
Again, Alex focused on casting a spell, but he just couldn’t do it. Closing his eyes, he fought to open them again. He was so tired all of the sudden.
“I… I…” Alex said, as he lost consciousness. “I… Don’t…”
The Doctor was confused when Alex didn’t continue speaking. It wasn’t as if he had cut off the air, or removed the barrier between him and open space. Still, this was a blessing. It would be easier to do this if he was silent.
Lifting his hoof to press the final button, The Doctor was stopped when he heard Alex suddenly speak.
“I… Don’t want to hurt you.”
Alex looked up from the floor, with a wicked grin on his face.
“I’m only thinking of your safety, Doctor.” Alex said darkly.
Turning around, The Doctor was shocked to see Alex enveloped in a black aura of magic. But… It wasn’t Alex. It was something controlling his body.
“I can’t have you hurting my lesser half,” Alex said, lifting The Doctor off the ground by his neck, in a very Darth Vader kind of way. “I need that goody-two shoes alive.”
“Who are you?” The Doctor choked, “Where did you come from?”
“You can call me… Dax.” Dax said, liking the sound of his new name. “And I came from Alex.”
“D-Did Discord do this?” The Doctor asked, wheezing for breath.
“Well, he helped by supplying the chaotic magic,” Dax said, “But I don’t think he knows I exist.”
That’s why he could cast spells in here. The Doctor wasn’t able to prevent Discords form of magic from being used in here.
“So, I’m going to have to ask you nicely, that you take me, and my bumbling split-personality, home now.” Dax said, releasing The Doctor from his magic, dropping him on the ground.
“And what if I don’t?” The Doctor asked.
“Then I’ll be forced to start using my magic on this machines engine, to try and get us home.” Dax smiled. “Your choice.”
The Doctor knew that any kind of tampering with the TARDIS could potentially have catastrophic results. So it appeared that he had no choice.
Standing up, The Doctor started the necessary procedure to send them back to Equestria… Turning some nobs, pressing a few buttons, and then pulling a lever, The Doctor finally had them on their way back home.
“Good pony,” Dax said, lifting the Doctor off the ground and throwing him against a wall. “Sleep tight.”
The Doctor landed on the floor, quickly losing consciousness… Even though his plan had completely failed, he couldn’t help but be happy that he hadn’t killed Alex. He was a good pony, that deserved the same chance as everypony else. But… This Dax character… That might be a problem. He would have to deal with it when he woke up.
After a few seconds, Dax heard the engines of the ship start to slow down, and eventually stop.
Walking forward and opening the door, Dax put a hoof over his eyes to block out the sunlight. The time machine must have taken him a bit further ahead than he would have liked.
Taking a step out, he immediately started to feel weak. It looked like he was losing control.
“You’d better thank me…” Dax said to himself as he collapsed into the snow outside of the TARDIS. He was only able to take control when Alex was full of chaotic energy, but he had used it all up. So, for now, Alex would be taking the wheel again.
Dax was happy that the two of them were safe. He couldn’t have Alex dying. He needed him here.
For now at least.
////
Alex slowly opened his eyes. Why was he so cold? Is this was erasure from the universe felt like?
Sitting up, Alex quickly understood that the coldness had come from. His face had been buried in a pile of snow.
Looking around, Alex saw that the sun had come out. This meant that, he must have been dropped off by The Doctor, and left there for the night.
“I hope Dash isn’t too disappointed that I missed our date…” Alex said out loud.
Alex righted himself, then started heading for the Library. He needed to talk to Twilight about what happened.
As he approached the front door, he heard the unmistakable sound of singing, coming from behind him.
Deciding to take a look, Alex walked away from the library, and headed toward the center of town. He wondered what they could possibly be singing about… The beginning of winter maybe?
As he closed the distance to the singing ponies, Alex found it easier to make out the words that were being sung.
“Winter…” Alex said, perking his ears up as much as possible. “Winter… Wrap up?”
“Wrap up?” Alex said to himself, “I thought we just finished setting winter up last night!”
Walking between two buildings, Alex came to an ally where he had a view of all the ponies singing. And in the middle of the group, stood Twilight Sparkle.
“’Cause tomorrow Spring is here, ‘Cause tomorrow Spring is here!”
Twilight finished off the song by holding the last ‘here’ for a few moments.
Alex was surprised that Twilight was such a good singer. He had never really heard her before.
Naturally, as soon as she finished singing, and everypony got in their final pose, Alex walked out from the ally cheering, resisting the urge to clap and fall flat on his face.
“What that a rehearsal for when winter ends, or something?” Alex asked.
Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Spike, And Pinkie Pie all stared at Alex in complete disbelief.
“What?” Alex asked, “Is there something on my face? Because I was asleep in the snow!”
“You’re back!” Twilight shouted, running over to Alex, quickly followed by all of her friends.
“I… Guess?” Alex said, before being bombarded by the group of girls, hugging him, telling them how much he was missed. And asking him where had had been.
“Okay… Everypony needs to slow down!” Alex said, completely baffled, “Just what do you think happened to me?”
“We thought you were dead!” Spike said, rather dramatically.
“Wha--?” Alex said, “Dead?”
“Of course, Darling!” Rarity said, “You have been gone for over three months! What were we supposed to think?”
“What!?” Alex shouted, “B-but… I’ve only been gone for one night!”
“What?” Twilight asked. “It’s obviously been more than one night!”
“But… I was only on that ship with that Doctor guy for…” Alex said, stopping when he realized what kind of ship he had been on.
A time machine.
“I was in a time machine…” Alex said quietly, “I… I can’t believe it.”
“Are you serious?” Twilight asked, “Because if you are, then we have to—“
“Where’s Colors?” Alex asked suddenly, not caring about priorities. “Is she not with you guys? I… I need to talk to her!”
The girls looked nervously at each other, before Twilight spoke up.
“Um, About that…”
////
Don't worry, there will be many chapters of flashbacks through the skipped time. The Progression of Spike and Rarity, and what happened with Dash.
So, there might be a few chapters before i get on to the next actual episode chapter.
And yes, i realize that this might seem strange. But stick with me here. I have a plan
Stats
Page generated in 0.042 seconds
Total duration
994 users online
1,482,895 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Uh-Oh -- I feel very afraid for colors.
Colors better not be dating someone else, that would be really messed up for the Element of Loyalty to give up without some form of proof after only 3 months.
Actually what is funny is this could be a tie-in to austraeoh at this point -- where rainbow dash flies east....
Where's colors?
well, about that...
S'good
I feel very sorry for Alex right now, Dash is going to be livid.
How long was he gone?
1357615
Help...me.... I'm dying of.......laughter
Idk if I like this dax stuff, But I'm pretty curious about the story at the moment.
... Me thinks Spike might need to be the new Rainbow Dash.
HEY if i don't read Chasing the Rainbow will it ruin my reading experience?
3409517 yes it really will
oh boy date with dash........oh shit
1360510 3 months
So, not only do Alex have a chaotic being that Discord accidentally created inside him, but he had been time traveled 3 months in the future. I have a feeling Dash left because of Alex's 'death'.
Yeah, priorities...
After reading this chapter. I'm not sure if I like the Doctor anymore?
9996702
I redeem him pretty well I think. Don't worry!