I sighed, letting myself sink into the gentle cloud. It was just big enough to fit two, and the second was supposed to arrive any minute.
Yes, the one-and-only Rainbow Dash, the mare who was never allowed to show any feminine feelings, was dating. A colt.
Soarin, Co-captain of the Wonderbolts, was due to arrive any moment. It was our first date together, and I could feel the coil of excitement in my chest. It tightened when I spotted the little blue dot on the horizon.
I sat up a little straighter, watching as the dot grew closer, with... alarming speed.
Suddenly, the dot split into two, each a slightly different shade. The lighter one flew expertly, the darker one tumbled through the sky like a dying animal or something.
Soarin put on a burst of speed, and I shouted his name when he was within range.
He yelled something back breathlessly, and I stood, preparing to take off.
The other dot was gaining on him, though I could tell now that it was more of a box than a dot. It was a little bigger than Soarin, probably just big enough to fit one pony inside.
"GET DOWN FROM THERE!" Soarin screamed at me, diving toward the ground. I jumped off the cloud, taking the same route and landing beside Soarin. He sat down hard, panting, as he watched the box hurtle past us.
"What in the hoof was that?" I asked him.
"I have no idea..." he told me, "But I think we should go somewhere else."
I helped him to his hooves, brushing the dirt off his chest. "Sounds good to me."
"Rainbow?" called a familiar, yet confused, voice, "You're dating Soarin?"
I whirled about. Twilight and Pinkie Pie were trotting toward me, followed by a host of other ponies I didn't recognize.
I slapped my forehead with my hoof. "Can't I get even a little private time?"
The small crowd parted, and there stood another stallion. He was chestnut brown, with a dark, scraggly mane. He did a double take when he saw me, though I didn't recognize him in the least.
"You!" He shouted, "But-- it can't be you!" He had an accent, something like Trottingham.
"W-what?" I was backing up slowly. The stallion was a complete stranger, and yet he acted like I was an old friend. Well, to be technical, more like an old enemy. I was kind of scared of him.
He cleared his throat, "I-I mean... I know you... from, er..."
"The Best Young Fliers Competition?" I prompted.
"Yes! That's it." He backed up a bit, looking the tiniest bit ashamed. Now that I thought about it, he did seem familiar, but he couldn't have seen it live. He was an earth pony.
"Alright..." I dismissed his odd behavior. "Twi, what the hoof is going on?"
"Uh..." She looked over at a cream-colored earth pony mare, who shrugged in response. "We don't really know. But you're the 'one with the prismatic mane,' and Soarin is probably the 'masculinity' guy--"
"English, Twi! You're not making any sense!" Now I was just frustrated. Couldn't anypony just be nice and dumb it down or something?
"I'll field this," muttered the stallion, pushing his way forward again.
"Oh, great. It's ultimate crazy. Go on, give it to me."
"You were mentioned in a prophecy. The prophecy was buried in layers of code in a clip of white noise. You, as well as your-erm-coltfriend, are destined to come with me," he explained.
"And... what exactly made you decide to decode white noise?" I asked him.
"It's what I do." He sighed, preparing to explain a lot, it seemed. "I'm an alien. I'm from a planet called Gallifrey. Not only that, but something... happened to me. I don't normally look like this. I'm usually... a human."
"I KNEW IT!" Shouted the mint unicorn, grinning widely.
The stallion shushed her, continuing, "I received a message, embedded in layers of code, that claimed to be able to turn me back. I'm not usually one to believe these sorts of things, but it was my only hope of getting back. You see, I was in the middle of looking for someone. Her name was... well, that isn't important, but I need to find her. You six are going to help me get back, but we have something we need to do first." He turned, heading for a point we couldn't see. "You coming?"
I sighed. "I guess."
"Why not?" Soarin agreed.
"Because it's going to be incredibly dangerous, and possibly fatal." The pony said.
Silence.
"I don't even know your name!" I realized.
"It's the Doctor. Just the Doctor."