As I groaned in frustration at my utter stupidity, I heard the sound of hooves trotting up to me.
"Now why are you lying on the ground, mister?" A feminine voice said from behind me.
"Because I'm an idiot," I said, not bothering to look around.
"Huh?"
"I've utterly failed at trying to convince the other ponies that I really am from another dimension and I need their help getting back there. And now I probably sound crazy to you, too." I groaned again. I'd been doing a lot of groaning lately.
"Ooh, you're from another dimension?," the voice said. "Okie doke!"
"Wait...you seriously believe me already?!"
"Yep! Why shouldn't I?"
I smiled slightly. "Nevermind. Anyway, my name's Paradox. What's yours?" I stood up and turned around to face the voice.
The source of the voice was a grey pegasus mare with a blond mane, and, oddly enough, yellow eyes that faced in completely different directions.
"I'm Derpy Hooves!" She said, grinning.
Tearing my gaze away from her eyes, I smiled at her. "That's a nice name."
"Thanks! Most ponies think it's a kinda stupid name, but I like it."
"So do you live here in Ponyville?"
"Yeppers, I live with Dinky and Timey in Ponyville!"
"Dinky and Timey?"
"Dinky is my little filly, and Timey is my coltfriend!"
"Oh, how nice."
"Yep! So, where do you live, Mister Paradox?"
"Just Paradox is fine. I don't really live anywhere, I only recently found myself in this dimension."
"Ooh, why don't you stay at my house for now? Timey will love meeting you, Just Paradox!"
"Uh," I said, trying to think how to explain that my name was just Paradox, not Just Paradox. I gave up and instead said, "Thanks, that would be really nice of you."
"No problemo!," said Derpy, turning and walking towards the center of town and motioning with her wing for me to follow.
I smiled slightly as I followed her. She was a bit...odd, but she was certainly a very nice pony.
************************************
Doctor Whooves sat in a chair in Derpy's house, reading a book. Dinky sat by him on the floor, coloring a picture of her and her mom, or rather, stick figures that were colored like her and her mom.
*knock, knock*
Doctor Whooves barely looked up. "Can you get that, Dinky dear?" He asked, still absorbed in his book.
"Sure!" Dinky cried, scrambling up to go answer the door.
She opened it to find her mom and a strange blue stallion standing there.
"Mommy!" She cried, delighted, as she nearly knocked Derpy over with a hug.
"Hello, Muffin!" Derpy said, smiling as she ruffled her daughter's blonde hair.
"How are you, mommy?" Dinky asked, detaching herself from her mom's embrace and grinning at her.
"Glad to see my little muffin, that's how I am!" Derpy said in return as she and Paradox walked inside the house.
"Who's this, dear?" Doctor Whooves said, finally looking up from his book and setting it down on a table.
"I'm Paradox," said Paradox, who had been busy marveling at how adorable Dinky was.
"Unusual name for a pony. Anyway, what brings you here?" Whooves said in a pleasant tone.
"Oh, he's from another dimension but he doesn't have any place to stay the night so I invited him to stay here!," Derpy said. "Ooh, I forgot to make introductions! Dinky, Paradox. Paradox, Dinky. Timey, Paradox. Paradox, Timey," she told them, pointing to each of the other three ponies in turn.
"Nice to meet you, Mister Paradox!" Dinky chimed in, then returned to her coloring.
Doctor Whooves rubbed his chin with a hoof, "So you're from another dimension? Hmm, interesting."
"Yeah. By the way, is your name really Timey?," Paradox asked him.
"No, my name is simply, 'The Doctor,' though I go by 'Doctor Whooves,' 'Time Turner,' and, according to Derpy, 'Timey.' "
"Oh, I see," Paradox chuckled.
"So, what dimension are you from, Paradox?"
"It's called Miasma."
"Oh, Miasma. Yes, I remember that place. But how, exactly, did you end up here?"
"Well, long story short, I'm the Miasmian care-taker of Equis, Discord brought me here so he could take control of Equis without my intervention, and he also somehow made it so I lost my connection to the Miasma."
"Discord...but I thought he was reformed?"
"Some creatures never truly reform, Doctor."
"Good point. I suppose poor FlutterShy would be devastated to hear of this, since she was the one who 'reformed' him."
"Yes, she was..."
"Hmm?"
And so, Paradox related his tale(s).
*************************************
(Meanwhile, in the Library.)
Twilight stood near the center of the library's main room as her friends sat down in various places. Clearing her throat, she began talking.
"Rarity, A.J., Dash, Pinkie, And Flutters. You're probably wondering why I called you here..."
"Lemme guess, y'all wanted ta talk to us 'bout that Paradox pony?,"a southern drawl broke in.
"Uh...how did you know?" Twilight said in a confused tone.
"Well, AppleBloom keeps goin' on and on about a strange pony without a cutie mark, an' I figure that since its mighty unusual for a full-grown pony ta be a blank-flank, y'all must'a been curious an' talked ta him, and sumthin odd must'a happened so now yer callin' this here meetin' ta talk ta us 'bout yer suspicions."
"Uh....you're actually right. How did you?"
"Ah'm smarter than y'all think, ya know."
"Well, maybe it would be easier to tell that if you didn't insist on speaking in that dreadful accent, dear," Rarity said.
"Now what the hay does that mean?!"
"Simply put, you talk like a hick, darling."
"Why ah oughta..." AppleJack snarled.
"I'm only telling the truth, AppleJack," Rarity sneered.
"Rarity, shut your boiler! You always think you're so high and mighty, you selfish prick!" Rainbow Dash broke in.
Rarity glared at Rainbow Dash, as Twilight nervously said, "Uh...girls?"
The three quarreling ponies looked at her. "What?!" They cried out in unison.
"Could you stop fighting, please?," Twilight said, sounding almost as timid as FlutterShy.
"Oooh, look, Miss bossy-pants here is tryin' ta tell us what ta do-agin!," AppleJack growled.
Pinkie Pie started to glare, "Yeah, you dooo boss me around a lot, Twily."
"They have a...uh...point...," FlutterShy broke in.
Twilight glowered at the others as the room erupted in shouts.
**********************************
Far away, in the section of the Canterlot Palace that had been assigned to him after his 'reformation', Discord chuckled. Everything was going perfectly.