Finding Fluttershy

by SamFaith

January 6th

I never would have expected Fluttershy to enjoy video games, let alone anything like the Legend of Zelda. Yet there she was watching me run through Windwaker, and enjoying herself every step of the way. For a moment I was afraid that I may be corrupting the poor pegasus, but that thought was easily dismissed.

For Christmas Skye had got me the complete Legend of Zelda TV series on DVD, all thirteen episodes. They were simpler and more absurd than I remember, but it was still nostalgic. I wasted no time in watching the DVD, and to my surprise Fluttershy joined in. I think what interested her the most was Ganon's evil jar. Instead of simply vanishing or … dying, the enemies were sent back to the evil jar from which they were summoned. Even Ganon found himself trapped inside the jar in one episode.

It wasn't long after watching the series that Fluttershy noticed the collection of Zelda games sitting on the shelf near my television. She wanted to see more of Link, Zelda, and Ganon. So I pulled out Windwaker, and showed her what it was like. At first she was a little disappointed that these characters seemed to be different than the ones in the show, but she followed along anyway. In spite of this, she held onto the idea that the enemies I was defeating would be sent back to Ganon's evil jar, none the worse for wear, and I was not about to take that away from her.

It soon became a part of our weekend ritual. Saturday afternoons would see the two of us on the couch, playing Legend of Zelda. Fluttershy never showed an interest in actually controlling Link, and even politely refused every time I offered to get a controller she could use. Instead, I would operate the controller, and she would suggest a course of action, which I would do my best to follow. Between us we ended up making two halves of a decent gamer. If Fluttershy said "Run", I would run, if she said "Fight", I would send the baddies back to the jar. The puzzles were all her, and she even directed me to secrets I never knew about. It was like seeing the game for the first time through fresh eyes.

We had gone through a good deal of the storyline, and even reformed the triforce of courage for Link. To delay reaching the end of the game I suggested we do some more sidequests. This day we were working on the trading quest of the game, which meant a lot of travelling across the seemingly endless oceans. We had traded for the first couple of flowers and were looking for the merchant whom held the next trade when Fluttershy spoke up.

"Um... I have a question."

"What kind of question?" I asked.

"Oh, well... If Link is supposed to represent courage..."

Fluttershy trailed off. I should have been able to guess what she was getting at, but I did not. Instead I gave her a friendly verbal nudge.

"What about it?" I asked.

"Um, well... A lot of the scary things in this game... Well, they scare him, too."

I still didn't quite get it. Somehow, I kept missing the point Fluttershy was trying to make. I asked again.

"What's wrong, Flutter?"

"How can courage be scared?"

Finally it clicked in my mind. I wanted to laugh, but knew how much of a mistake that would have been. Instead I offered the poor pegasus a simple smile.

"Courage is not the same as fearlessness," I said.

Surprise echoed in her voice as she asked, "It's not?"

"Courage is about being afraid, and doing what's right anyway."

There was a brief pause. I don't think Fluttershy had considered such an idea before. After a moment I continued.

"That being said, I think poor, timid Fluttershy is the most courageous pony. "

She smiled and blushed. I knew she did not believe me, and I could care less. Instead, I choose to derail the conversation.

Pausing the game, I said, "I'm hungry, are you hungry? "

Fluttershy stared straight at me, a strange combination of upset and shock on her face. She knew I was trying to change the subject, but after a moment gave up and let me get away with it. She smiled and nodded. I saved the game, turned off the console, and led the way into the kitchen.

We were in the middle of making a broccoli and noodle casserole when I heard a strange wheezing, grinding sound. It came from the front yard, but I knew that just could not be. I had recognized the sound of the universe, but could not recognize the truth.

I set the timer on the oven as I asked, "Hey, Flutter, did you leave the computer on again?"

She shook her head, "No, I never touched it today. Did you?"

We were both startled by the ringing of the doorbell. Fluttershy vanished in an instant, leaving me to recover on my own. The bell rang again, and I crossed the kitchen to reach the foyer.

Once again, I remember being really confused. I opened the door to a man that should not have been standing there. From his faux-hawk to his pinstripe suit covered by his long, brown coat every detail was perfect, or very nearly perfect. His face appeared exaggerated: taller, thinner, and more angular. Then I saw them; his eyes, those ancient eyes that beheld the turn of the universe. At that moment I knew that this could be no actor, no impersonator, not even a really good cosplayer, this was The Doctor.

"Oh! 'Ello," he said in his cheery tone, "So, this must be your home?"

"Y-yes, um... I'm Robert," I managed, offering a hand in greeting.

"Hello, Robert," He said, taking my hand, "I'm-"

"The Doctor," I interrupted.

His cheer faded, replaced by a much more serious demeanor. The look on his face as he stared into my soul gave me chills. Slowly he opened his mouth to present his next query.

"You know who I am?" he asked quietly.

I wanted to deny it. I wanted to slam the door in his face. I wanted to tell him to climb back into that box of his and fly into the nearest black hole.

I opened my mouth and the word "Yes," escaped.

His stern expression did not change, as he said, "Then you know why I'm here."

"No, but... you're just a television character! You can't be real!"

"What about her?" He asked, "Is she not real?"

I paused, for he caught me. He knew that I was trying to hide Fluttershy from him, knew that I wouldn't have reacted that way if she wasn't here. Perhaps, I thought, he had seen this all before.

"Must you take her away?"

His expression changed, his face softened and I could see his sadness. A sadness that was tempered by centuries of loss and loneliness. He knew what it was like to lose a dear friend, and showed me that he knew the pain I felt, or would feel.

"Yes, I must."

Quiet invaded the room. Neither of us wanted to speak, maybe none could. I know that I couldn't find any words. A small eternity passed us by as we sat there, frozen in thought. Finally the oven timer shattered the silence.

"Well," I sighed in defeat, "There's dinner."

"Oh, I'm sorry," said The Doctor, "Don't let me keep you. Go on, then."

I wasted no time turning my back to him, walking straight for the kitchen. I had pulled the casserole out of the oven and placed it on a rack to cool before I went back to the foyer.

"Won't you join us?"

"I thought you would never ask," The Doctor answered.

"Flutter?" I called, as I led him in, "Fluttershy, it's okay, he's..."

I paused, trying to think of an appropriate word; one word to describe The Doctor, to sum up what he and his presence ment in this context.

"He... he knows."

Cautiously she came around the corner and looked at the man in the long, brown coat. I took the opportunity to try to introduce them.

"Doctor, you've met Fluttershy, haven't you? Flutter, this would be-"

"Time turner," the Doctor said offering a friendly hand, "I'm not sure we were ever formally introduced."

I was surprised by the Doctor's interruption, and by his alias. However, what surprised me the most was the look of realization on Fluttershy's face. She knew 'Time Turner', or at least she knew of the pony by that name.

"T-Time Turner? How can you ... you're not a-"

"Not a pony, I know," the Doctor's response was flat, as he withdrew his hand, "The princess... she did it. I had fallen through time and space to land in your dimension... on your world. Such peace and beauty I had only seen ... once before."

"Celestia?" Fluttershy asked.

The Doctor nodded, "I was so tired of running, I just wanted to stop. I wanted to find a place again, a place where I could belong, and Celestia offered that to me, she disguised me as a pony, a brown earth pony; on one condition: That if she ever needed me for any reason that I would be there."

"Were you happy?" Fluttershy asked.

He smiled at her, "Yeah, I was, well for a little while. I got bored, and started roaming around your universe, seeing all the strange, strange creatures. There is so much to be seen! Oh, you should have seen it! ... But then, you vanished."

"Weeping angel," I said.

"That's right... a weeping angel, the only predator in the universe kind enough to let you live to death. They become a stone statue when seen. Normally they send their victims through time, so they can feed on all the things that person, or pony never did. But this one! It sent you into a different universe. Celestia called upon me to return you home."

Fluttershy asked, "How could she know?"

"I'd like to ask her the same thing," The Doctor mused, "Her missive reached me seconds after you vanished."

"And the statue?" I asked.

"Oh, I delivered it to an uninhabited planet... with a little help."

Both Fluttershy and I noticed that he looked lonely when he mentioned of his help. I knew The Doctor did not usually travel for long without picking up a companion. Perhaps, I thought, he had found an Equestrian companion.

"How could a weeping angel appear in Equestria?"

"I got careless," he said, "My travelling attracted it. You see: The TARDIS punches a hole in the universe to reach the time vortex, and a door once opened may be stepped through in either direction."

"Now," he said, "The task at hand?"

"Why now?"

Her question caught me off-guard, because I was thinking the same thing. Fluttershy beat me to the question I wanted to ask. I focused on The Doctor, listening for the answer.

"Doctor?" I asked, hearing no answer, "You could have arrived two months ago, or two months later... so why now?"

"I don't always arrive when and where I want to, but I always arrive when and where I should."

I had heard this explanation before. I didn't want to hear it, but I could not help but understand. Fluttershy also did not approve of such an answer, but also accepted it. I could see she did not understand why, but maybe when she saw that I understood, that was enough for her.

Over dinner we told The Doctor our story of those first days. Together we explained our mutual apprehension and how simple kindness was able to win the day.

"Hang on; you said 'Thursday'?"

"That's right," I answered The Doctor.

"November 9th?"

I nodded again.

"Thursday, November 9th, 2011?"

"Yeah, what about it?" I asked.

I knew enough about The Doctor to be getting a little worried about his interest in the date. Those worries, however, were gradually pushed aside as we continued our story. Once again The Doctor interrupted when we told him about the television show.

"Cross-dimensional cognition," The Doctor mused, "Ideas don't have mass, and thus can easily cross the dimensional barriers ready to find people who are particularly sensitive to them, or are predisposed to think similarly. I can be real in one universe, and a work of fiction in the next."

This explanation appeared to sit well with Fluttershy. It was similar to the one I had tried to give her during the incident, but somehow, coming from The Doctor it seemed to carry much more weight.

We continued our story, on through Thanksgiving. We told The Doctor about Fluttershy's job, and despite my insistence, she still wouldn't tell me how Sky arranged it, only that she had promised not to tell. Christmas sparked the discussion about Fluttershy's custom keyboard, to which The Doctor said he would have liked something similar in his TARDIS when exploring Equestria.

"I'm sure you could use it now," Fluttershy offered.

She was interrupted by The Doctor, who sadly said, "I'm not going back... Well, not to stay."

Fluttershy gasped, "You're not coming back? But what about your friends?"

"I'm so sorry. I can't, taking you home will be my last equestrian journey."

"Then...," I began.

"No, I'm sorry," he said, anticipating my question, "You no more belong in her world than she in yours. Think about it: Where would your family be, your friends? I wouldn't be there, either. I have to close the door, to save equestria."

Again there was silence as The Doctor's words sunk in. I could feel the sadness coming from Fluttershy, because it was in me too. Even though I had only just met The Doctor, the thought of all three of us going our separate ways hurt.

"Beyond that... do you remember when Thanksgiving was?"

I was stunned. At first I wanted to ask The Doctor what relevance it had with anything, but as I thought about it I realized he was right. I could not wrap my head around which day of the month Thanksgiving had taken place.

"Your world is in trouble, time is... wrong here. November 9th wasn't supposed to be a Thursday."

I watched from the porch as the blue box vanished making its awful grinding noise. I understood why The Doctor had to take her, but it still hurt. He explained that her presence is what affected time, and as soon as Fluttershy was home everything would get back on track. Still, I swore that I would only know that noise as the sound of my little sister leaving. As soon as the displaced air settled down I turned my back, and returned to the office where I pulled out a green notebook. Without thinking I opened it and started writing.

I wrote down everything, every last detail I could remember. I didn't know if I would keep the memories or not, but I hoped that even if the memories would fade, that a simple notebook could contain them. I would give the notebook to Alexis, I thought. Maybe, as a writer, she could preserve the story, turn it into an idea, and keep it, even if I could not.

Comments

[Poyoarya]

No comment...
...s
Wow, featured and no comments on a chapter?

I feel that the Doctor would be a little more concerned about Robert knowing of him. Of course, the idea theory but he would be a LITTLE skeptical.

[Cephalopirate]

This was my first fanfic, of anything ever. It's a little bittersweet to see it end.
Great job! Loved it!