"Did you expect that kiss, Rainbow?" Soren asked after gathering himself. He began walking past Rainbow Dash, flipping his tail at her chin as he passed. She rolled her eyes with a smile.
"Can't say I did. You actually surprised me that time. I thought you would need more time before coming up with an answer."
"I thought so too, but I realized something: Losing Luna would have affected me for a long time. It's time I moved on. Heh, ironically enough, Cain was the one who showed me that."
"Are you going to be alright," Soren?" Twilight Sparkle asked, concerned about her friend's sadness.
"Why wouldn't I be alright? I may be doing this too soon, but I need to move on. I just want a normal life." The words from the Doctor echoed in Twilight's mind at that instant:
Soren has been through too much over the past few weeks. He needs a break...from everything.
"A break from everything..." she muttered quietly to herself.
"Twilight!" The unicorn shook her head and looked at Soren.
"Huh? What did you say?"
"Pinkie Pie wanted to know if you want to go to Sugarcube Corner with us. Are you alright?"
"Yeah, my mind wandered for a bit. Sorry about that. I would love to go."
Pinkie Pie's plan was for all of them to go to Sugarcube Corner to celebrate. What they were celebrating exactly didn't matter, as long as they were together. On their way to the sweet shop, the seven friends ran into the Doctor and Derpy. Both of them trotted over to the group and joined them on their walk.
"So where are all of you going today?" the Doctor asked while walking beside Twilight.
"Pinkie Pie wanted us to go to Sugarcube Corner," Twilight answered. "How are you feeling, Doctor? I see you and Derpy have become friends again."
"I'm perfectly fine. Why do you ask?"
"Loverboy here said your conscience was all messed up," Applejack explained, motioning to Soren. "Soren said that he, Rainbow, and Twilight fixed it."
"My conscience, eh? Do I have a sinister conscience or something? Someone is going to have to explain all of this to me."
"We will, don't worry," Soren said. "Doctor, can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Your conscience showed me your past. All of it. Your heartaches, your troubles, your enemies, but one thing peaked my interest. What were you before you were a pony? I've had dreams about those kind of creatures before. What are they called?"
"Wait a tic, he ain't a pony?" Applejack asked.
"Different story, different time, my dear Applejack. Anyway, if you are talking about my previous regenerations then I believe the name you are looking for is human. I used to be what's called a human. And you say you've seen them before? What were they doing and who were they?" All of them arrived at Sugarcube Corner and walked inside. Pinkie Pie rounded a few tables together for everypony so they could all sit next to each other.
"To answer your question, Doctor," Soren began as he sat down with all of his friends, "I have no idea what they were doing. It looked like some other human was in a coma. I had those dreams weeks ago though. I think the last dream was before Luna and I left for Canterlot to investigate Octavia's family. After that, the dreams stopped."
"I see. I'm terribly sorry about what happened to Princess Luna by the way."
"It wasn't your fault. I moved on in any case."
"Good for you! Now there are other matters that I would like to discuss if you all would allow me. Twilight, Derpy and I came looking for you so I could ask a favor."
"What is it?" she replied.
"I wanted to ask if you wouldn't mind if Derpy and I traveled together for a bit."
"I don't mind at all. From what I can gather, it has been a pretty long time since you two traveled the universe together. Go ahead and have fun. I'm not going anywhere."
"Thank you, Twilight. Derpy, do you want to head out now?"
"Sure. Let me just tell Pendant that I'll be gone for awhile."
"Lead the way." The Doctor and Derpy stood up and began walking out of the building. As the two walked outside, Soren stared at them. Rarity happened to notice that Soren's eyes portrayed a certain emotion.
"Soren dear," she called to him. Soren looked at her. "You seem...sad. Are you sure you are alright?"
"Maybe," he answered truthfully. "Do you girls see how everything is back to normal?"
"I guess," Rainbow said.
"What are you talking about, Soren?" Twilight Sparkle asked him.
"I've noticed that nothing stays normal around here for very long. Something happens, things go back to normal, then something happens soon after."
"And you think something bad is about to happen?" Fluttershy asked.
"I don't want to be right, I truly don't, but if the pattern stays the same, it's inevitable. The question is: when is something going to happen?"
----------------
A few days later
----------------
Dear Princess Celestia,
Soren has been acting strange lately. I believe he's thinking about everything too much. On the day he woke up from his coma, Soren claimed that something bad was bound to happen since everything was normal once again. After that, he continued to look for signs of trouble, as if he wanted to be prepared for once.
He still spends time with all of us around Ponyville or in the library with me, but he just isn't the same since the Battle of the Nyrs. I think that was when something changed for him. Was it him losing Princess Luna? Nyra's death? Cain's reappearance? I'm not sure. I ask for your opinion on the matter as soon as you are able. This isn't an immediate situation that needs to be dealt with...but I hope that it won't turn into one.
Your Faithful Student
Twilight Sparkle
Twilight set the paper and quill down onto her desk. She looked at Spike, who was giving her a worried look. Twilight gave a reassuring smile at him before looking at the nearby grandfather clock. Midnight. 'Time for bed,' Twilight thought as Spike sent the letter to Celestia. 'Hopefully the princess sends a letter by tomorrow morning. I need somepony's advice on Soren.'
Walking into her room, the unicorn looked through her window. She stared at the darkened Ponyville as she considered Soren's words from a few days ago. ...Nothing stays normal around here for very long. Something happens, things go back to normal, then something happens soon after.
"Maybe he's right," she whispered to herself. "Even the Doctor claimed that heroes are dragged into every mess. Good and evil must always fight, I suppose." Not wanting to think about the subject anymore, Twilight Sparkle got into bed and began to drift off to sleep.
---------------
THUD!
Twilight Sparkle opened her eyes. Propping herself up, she looked around her room. She knew she heard something; what was it? Twilight got out of bed and walked over to her open bedroom window. Before she could even reach said window, Twilight heard moaning. She looked outside and saw a pegasus colt laying the ground. Realizing that this pony was hurt, the unicorn quickly ran out of her house and up to the fallen pegasus.
"Are you ok?" she asked him. "It's a little late to be flying isn't it? How did you fall?"
"Haha, why do you ask so many questions, Twilight?" the pegasus groaned.
"Soren?" The white alicorn sat up and began rubbing his wing. "Is anything broken?" she asked him.
"No, I'm fine. It was just a nasty fall is all."
"Why were you flying this late at night anyway?"
"I must have been sleepwalking, or in this case, sleepflying. I fell asleep, and the next thing I knew I slammed against solid ground."
"Were you dreaming about something?" He nodded.
"It didn't seem like anything. Just some random pony, whom I didn't recognize, making threats. He was saying that if I keep hiding, he will hurt my friends."
"And that doesn't cause you to worry, especially considering the types of dreams you have?" Soren shook his head. "Ok then. How about this: Why don't you spend the night here tonight? That way I can hopefully keep an eye on you so you don't crash through some pony's window."
"Alright, I get it," Soren said while rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "Hopefully these dreams aren't going to be common."
-------------
Soren slept normally without another incident. He woke up and got off of the library's couch he was sleeping on. As he stretched his body to limber up, Soren smelled a delicious aroma inside the library. Deciding to investigate the cause of said smell, Soren found himself walking into the next room, which housed the kitchen. It was there that he saw Spike working on breakfast.
"So what's for breakfast today, Spike?" Soren asked. Surprised, the dragon stopped what he was doing and looked at Soren.
"You spent the night here? When did this happen?"
"I'll tell you while we eat. Is Twilight up yet?"
"Nope, but she should be soon. Breakfast is usually ready by the time she wakes up."
Soren and Spike were silent as the assistant finished cooking. A few minutes after Spike set the table, Twilight Sparkle emerged from her bedroom and joined the boys downstairs. Sitting with her friends, Twilight spoke to Soren.
"I take it you slept fine? I didn't hear any crashing last night."
"Are you still bugging me about that? I was sleepflying; give me a break."
"This isn't normal for you Soren. Something is..." Twilight trailed off as she realized what she was about to say.
"Something is wrong?" Soren offered. He sighed. "I told you that something bad always has to happen."
"It probably isn't that bad." Everyone started to eat their breakfast by now. Whenever they stopped chewing their food, someone would speak. "You said you saw a pony you didn't know," Twilight evaluated. "We should ask the Doctor for help. He has met a lot of ponies during his travels. Maybe if you describe the pony you saw to him, he can help."
"Sounds good to me, but don't you think we depend on him too much?" Soren asked after swallowing a chunk of pancakes. Twilight shrugged as she continued chewing. The trio decided to finish eating before continuing their conversation. After all the food was gone, Soren proceeded to explain to Spike why he had to spend the night at the library.
"So you fell out of the sky without breaking anything?" Spike asked Soren.
"If Rainbow Dash can crash into the side of a building without breaking anything, I think falling out of the sky would be more believable," Soren retorted.
Twilight, Spike, and Soren walked into the library lobby as they continued to converse. The multiple, deep BONGs of the clock reverberated across the room; it was noon. The three of them gathered around the center table. Spike sat on top of the table while Soren and Twilight stood next to it.
"Noon already?" Twilight said. "Today is going to be a short day." Just then, a whirring sound was heard in the library.
"I think this day just got a lot longer," Soren commented. The TARDIS appeared along the wall of the lobby. The Doctor and Derpy soon exited the blue box.
"There we go, Ms. Hooves!" The Doctor exclaimed as he stepped through the door. "A few days after we left. Sadly, it was the best the TARDIS could do since we traveled through that rift. That thing nearly stranded us!"
"I know, Doctor, but we're fine," Derpy Hooves replied. "We made back safely. Oh, hi, Twilight! Hi, Soren! Hi, Spike!"
"Hello, Doctor. Hello, Derpy," Soren greeted. "Great timing as always." The Doctor looked at Soren strangely. Soren saw that tinge of sadness appear in the stallion's eyes. "Is something wrong? Didn't you two have fun on your trip?"
"Yes we did, actually," the Time Lord answered. "Funny enough, you were there, Soren."
"Really? I assume you can't tell me what happened or when it happened, correct?" The Doctor nodded, still betraying sadness for some unknown reason.
"Doctor, something peculiar happened to Soren while you were gone," Twilight interjected. "I found him outside my home after he crash landed from an episode of sleepflying. When I asked him what happened, he said he was dreaming about some pony threatening him and his friends."
"It sounds worse when you describe it like that," Soren admitted.
"What did this pony look like?" the Doctor asked.
"Hard to remember exactly. All I can remember is that he had a blue coat and a short, yellow mane." Twilight saw the Doctor flinch slightly.
"...And what exactly did he say to you?"
"'If you keep hiding from me, I'll have to hurt your friends.'" Now the Doctor became worried.
"Doctor, does that pony sound familiar?" Twilight asked him. Nodding, the Doctor looked at Twilight.
"He sounds like an old foe of mine. I've met him on more than one occasion since we've found ourselves in this universe, even while I was discorded, so I wouldn't doubt that he is looking for me. Soren, I hope you're ready to meet the Master."