In his rush leaving Lyra and Bon-bon's home, Matt Nabal was suddenly halted while passing the Doctor's blue box as it's doors sprang open.
"Nabal! Where are you headed off to?" the Doctor asked.
"I've got some wrongs to set right. I'm heading back to the library." Matt replied.
"Ah, yes, finally..." the Doctor said. "Before you go, take a look at this."
The Doctor beckoned Matt inside and presented him what had seemed like a map, though all it showed was an ocean.
"Hmm... I see...?" Matt said in question.
"Actually, the problem is that you don't see. Neither do I." the Doctor replied cryptically. "The Island we just spent nearly two days on? Gone." he added. "It doesn't exist. Apparently it never has."
"But that's impossible, we were just there."
"I know. The other problem is that I cannot locate when exactly we were. You noticed the changes overnight, yes?"
"I did. It was like we traveled to when the place was nearly dead, yet the wildlife only started appearing then as well."
"Amazing, isn't it? Well, I'm probably going to stay put here in this time for a bit trying to figure this out. Be sure to drop in, we could go jousting. It's really a different experience without any riders."
"I'll keep it in mind. Farewell, Doctor." Matt said, leaving the TARDIS once again.
...
At the same time, across the small, snow covered town, Twilight was still at the Carousal Boutique.
"Maybe it's better this way..." she said sadly.
Rarity took a moment before responding to pick her words carefully. "Oh, Twilight my dear..." she placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "I know the subject of romance can be very confusing, but something I learned over time is that it never hurts to try. Now, I know Matt is definitely the quiet type, and maybe that's why he has trouble understanding other pony's feelings. If you still want to try and make it work with him, you must know how he feels on the matter."
Twilight seemed to perk up a bit. "... You're right, Rarity. When I find him, I'll make sure he knows exactly how I feel and ask him how he does!" she returned to her sad tone quickly. "Although, finding him is still an issue..." she said, recalling his ten day absence.
"I'm sure he'll be back soon. If I know Matthew Nabal at all, I know he is a refined stallion, or rather, human. He's not the sort to abandon someone, as Rainbow Dash told me."
"She said that? Did something happen?" Twilight asked, clearly concerned.
"Did I forget to mention? On that peculiar day nearly two weeks ago, with the massive, unscheduled blizzard? Matt and some other ponies saved Rainbow and stopped whatever made the weather that horrid. Or, so she says."
Twilight felt relief that Matt hadn't just wandered off aimlessly, but heavily concerned that he was involved with what must have been an incredibly dangerous task during the worst weather she'd seen in years.
"Did she say where she saw him last?" Twilight asked.
"I believe she said that when she awoke she was on a bench nearby Sweetie Drop's Sweet Shop." Rarity answered.
"I hope he's doing okay, wherever he is... I'm off to look around a bit more, thank you for the advice, Rarity!" Twilight said as she exited the Boutique.
"Good luck!" Rarity shouted back, hoping all would end well between Twilight and their human friend.
...
Matt casually strolled the snow-covered streets of Ponyville, determined to set things right with Twilight Sparkle. It was already dark out, so he was hoping she hadn't decided to turn in early. As snow crunched underfoot, he was formulating a way of explaining himself to her. No matter how many times he ran through it in his head, he just wasn't satisfied and decided to let his heart do that talking when the time came.
As he rounded a corner, he spotted her. She was walking away from him, several meters ahead of him. He was at first taken aback by seeing her. For a moment, his mouth opened to call out but all that emerged was a whisper.
"Twilight.".
There was no way she could have heard him, but she stopped in her tracks. She just stood there for what felt like hours. She slowly turned to face in his direction and the two locked eyes.
She looked somewhat surprised to see him, and quickly began to close the distance between them. He began to do the same. The two stopped nearly a meter apart and just looked at the other. Matt could feel some part of him begin to move and before he knew it, he had crouched down and held her in an embrace.
"I'm sorry." he spoke.
She returned the hug. Naturally she hadn't expected such an action from the normally stoic human, and heat began to rise in her face. "M-me too."
"You shouldn't be." he replied. "I know I have a tendency speak freely, and I... I was out of line."
Her reddened face grew even redder. "L-listen, I overreacted. I know it was foalish to get jealous over you and Rainbow spending so much time together, but I couldn't help myself..."
"That's another thing." he said, finally letting her go. He crossed his arms and turned away from her. "Hmm... how do I put this?" he once again faced toward her, arms still crossed. "I... apologize for not recognizing your feelings. And also... I accept the way you feel." he said. Before she could respond, he continued. "I would also like to, uh... reciprocate these feelings, if you'll have me."
Twilight Sparkle's eyes lit up like the very sky the pair stood under.
"Really? Y-you're sure about that...?" she stammered in response.
"I am. Though to be honest, I don't know the first thing about romantic interaction. You'll have to guide me."
She giggled at that. She thought it made perfect sense. "I think I can do that. I'm pretty new to this, too. We'll learn together." She smiled warmly at him, which he responded in kind. "Oh! But we should get inside, it's freezing out here!"
"Yes, let's."
...
As they arrived home, Matt sighed in relief of being back.
"I guess Spike went to bed already." Twilight said. "He'll be glad to see you, too. Oh and I've been meaning to ask you; what are you wearing?"
Matt took a look at himself and remembered he was still wearing the Doctor's slacks and shirt, suspenders dangling from loops in the slacks. He also noticed that his bow-tie and perception filter had gone missing, probably from the crash back on the island.
"I borrowed these from a friend. I must've left my other clothes at their place." Matt replied.
"Oh, so you were staying with someone? I'm glad... I thought you were out there all on your own."
"I ran into Lyra and Bon-bon again. They were kind enough to take me in during the storm. The Doctor was there, too."
"The Doctor? Isn't he that sort-of-strange stallion with the bow-tie?"
"The very same! He's a pretty interesting guy when you talk to him. As for strange, well... That's a long story." Matt replied.
Twilight wondered what he meant by that, but decided to ask a more important question. "You were with them for all ten days? That was generous of them."
"Ten days?" Matt asked. He knew it couldn't have been more than five days since he'd left. He then of course realized the only way it could've made sense. "The Doctor must have missed his timing a bit..."
"What do you mean by that?" Twilight asked, finally taking a seat.
"Oh, it'd take too much time to explain..." he said, sitting next to her. "So, uh,... What do we do now?" he asked, changing the subject.
Twilight turned to look at him, somewhat surprised he had sat next to her. "Oh, um..." she said, somewhat embarrassed by their sudden closeness. "Oh! That's why I have this!" she exclaimed, levitating a small red book from her usual spot.
As she brought the book closer to them and magically opened it, Matt looked down and noticed the book's title. "'Object of Your Affections'?" he said, in question.
Twilight blushed as she flipped to find a specific page. "It's a book that Rarity found one day here in the library. I've been using it as a... coach... to try and communicate my feelings to you."
Matt brought a a hand to his chin. "I see... that was a pretty good idea. Maybe it can help us now." he wondered aloud.
"I had the same idea!" Twilight replied happily. She finally stopped on the page she was looking for. "Here we go, 'Starting a New Relationship'." she began reading the passage. "While the prospect of finally starting a relationship with the special somepony you hopefully used this book to woo, if either of you are inexperienced in romance, there's no shame in taking things slow!"
"... Inexperienced?" Matt asked.
"W-we're inexperienced, aren't we?"
"Very much so, I'd imagine."
Twilight turned to another page. "Yeah, you're right. I've only ever had a crush on somepony before."
The two of them quickly read through the page as they continued talking.
"I was... 'involved' with someone before." Matt admitted somewhat shyly.
Twilight seemed a bit disheartened with this information. "Really...? I guess you have some experience, then. Was it, you know... serious?"
Matt sighed as Twilight once again flipped the page. "No. At least, not for me. She and I knew each other since we were young. I didn't exactly treat her as well as I should have, but she insisted on hanging around."
Twilight recalled a girl being mentioned a few times in Matt's journal and was almost sure that he was talking about her. Matt leaned back into his seat and let his arms rest at his side.
"Twilight..." he said softly.
"Yes?" she replied, setting the book down to pay attention to him.
"There is something else I want to share with you." he said somberly.
"Well, listening to your partner is one of the essential steps to any successful relationship. Go ahead." she said, smiling.
Matt weakly returned her smile. "Are you sure you want to do this? This whole... relationship thing?"
"Sure I'm sure. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Because I know me, and I know I still have some... 'baggage' left to unload. A lot of things that have happened recently have taken my mind off of it, but I still can't stop thinking about it. But I want to stop thinking about it." he said sadly.
Twilight gave careful consideration to what her response should be.
"Well... If you want... we can talk about it." she gently put a hoof on his shoulder. "I'm here for you."
Matt closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Five months ago, my mother, father and I... had an accident. I'm the only one who walked away from it alive and unharmed. Well, not unharmed." he held up his right arm and rolled up his shirt sleeve to reveal his long scar. "This is all that happened to me. Physically, at least. For the next several days, I blocked out the world and blamed myself for surviving. I don't feel that way now, but... for some reason it still haunts me."
Twilight had already read these events in Matt's journal, but still had no idea how to approach the situation. "Oh, dear... Matt, I'm so, so sorry. I can't even begin to imagine what that feels like..."
"I didn't expect you to. But I do appreciate you listening. I do feel a bit better after talking about it."
"There's another thing I need to apologize for..."
...
In Twilight's room, Twilight levitated a grey book from her bedside to the waiting arms of her human friend.
"I read the entire thing, I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you sooner, but I just... I was... I wanted to know more about you, so..." she was deep red and fidgeting nervously.
Matt flipped through the book, which he recognized as his journal. He stopped on the last entry and read it.
"Growing up, I was always told that I was destined for greatness. I never really understood it back then, but as the years went on it became fairly obvious. I was a prodigy. Everything I tried to do, I was good at. Because of that I was spoiled and exploited at the same time. I wish I would have realized it back then. Maybe I would've stopped and things would've happened differently. But I didn't. I didn't stop my childish addiction to praise. I didn't stop myself from letting my ego swell and engulf me. I didn't stop myself from caring.
If I had realized it sooner I could have avoided this pain. I wouldn't have cared, and moving on would be simple. My heart is heavy with regret and sadness. I've no one to confide in here. I am alone, the way the rest of the world has left me. In a way, it's like I died, too. Perhaps this is also my fault. It's been five months, and no one's come by since the end of July. I probably drove them away. No family, no friends.
Not that it matters now, anyway. My entire life up until this point has virtually been worthless. It's like I never even existed. Maybe that's for the best. I don't feel like living anymore.
I need to sleep."
He closed the book silently. "Well then... I guess this saves us some time." he said.
"What?" Twilight replied. "You aren't upset?"
"No, I'm not. If anything, this helps me explain what I was talking about. The man in this journal... this is who I was. Who I don't want to be anymore. And now you understand me better, right?"
"I-I'd like to think so." she said in relief.
"Great." he responded somewhat loudly, causing the nearby snoozing Spike to toss a little in his sleep. He quieted back down to continue. "I'm feeling quite confident, now. Let's give it a shot, Twilight. You and me."
"You and me..." Twilight said with starry eyes. "You mean it? No more self doubts?"
"No more. I'm done being the sad person in these entries. Now I'm Matthew Nabal, citizen of Equestria, partner of Princess Twilight Sparkle."
"Ooh, partner, I like the sound of that. At least while we're taking it slow." Twilight responded. "Until we're ready, we probably shouldn't tell the girls. Things might get... chaotic."
"Agreed. Rarity'd probably start planning a wedding..." Matt replied.
They both laughed softly as to not wake up the sleeping dragon in the room. Twilight let out a long yawn.
"I guess it's pretty late... we should go to bed." she said.
Matt also let out a yawn while nodding in agreement. "Be ready for tomorrow." he said.
"Tomorrow?" Twilight asked curiously.
"All we've really done is talk about me, tomorrow I want to know all about you." he said.
"I'm looking forward to it. Goodnight." she responded.
Matt bid her adieu and returned to his guest room and somewhat small bed. He was still holding his now-returned journal.
He opened to a fresh page and dipped a quill in ink, and began writing.