FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Zed let out a heavy sigh as he walked through the main hall of Celestia's castle, lifting up his glasses to rub the remaining sleep from his eyes. The night before, he had only been able to catch a few hours of sleep, which is to be expected from an insomniac such as him. No one knew for sure why he never cared to sleep. Normally when questioned about it, he would brush it off and insist that he preferred the night over the day. However true this may be, it was not the complete reason. He has been known to drift into deep states of melancholia, and some have wondered if this was the cause of his sleepless nights. Of course, there was not much of a reason for him to be depressed. After all, he was the only bipedal humanoid in Equestria, who just so happened to be adopted by Celestia and Luna into the Royal Family. Since then, he came a long way since the day he flew past the moon and crash-landed in the Everfree, his wings being ripped from his back in the process. The surprise and disbelief on the princesses' faces when he told them that he was an angel banished from the Ethereal Dimension still burned brightly in his mind. It still made him chuckle even to this day.

He approached the throne room where both Celestia and Luna sat, watching him with the same warm smiles that greeted him every day. To his surprise, he also found Twilight there, along with all of her friends. His heart sank.

Crap, is this another intervention? He thought with a frown. No doubt, his sleepless nights had caused a great deal of concern among his friends... and he would have to stammer his way through another one of those dreaded 'family talks'.

"Good morning, Princess Celestia. Good morning, Princess Luna." He said. Technically, Celestia was his mother, considering the adoptive relationship, but he rarely used the term. "I gotta say, you woke me up at an ungodly hour. What's going on? Is everything okay?"

Celestia chuckled a bit, a musical sound that was always pleasant to the ears. "'Ungodly hour', you say that as if you sleep so soundly." Celestia was the first one who noticed his sleep disorders, and has even had to coax him in the middle of the night to get some rest. Usually the offer of a cupcake and warm tea would work for the most part. "Anyway, I have a job for you, dear."

Of course she did... Zed was known to most as the Angel of Equestria, a title given to him by the locals. Basically, he would be sent on missions by either Luna or Celestia, and he would always get those jobs done. No matter how big or small, there was almost nothing that an angel such as him could not accomplish. As flattering as the title was, it was dangerous work. Even though he would be reborn within a day, dying was never fun.

Celestia cleared her throat and continued. "We have received reports of ponies being kidnapped with... no trace whatsoever."

"I've heard about this. I've looked into it multiple times, but I haven't had any luck." He said.

"But it seems we have a lead." Luna shot out, stepping forward. Her horn suddenly lit up, and a picture floated in front of him, obscuring his vision for a moment.

Zed grabbed the picture and examined it for a moment. He immediately noticed the shape of a pony standing in a rather casual manner near a dark, ominous-looking cave overlooking a large cliff. The pony in the picture was a bit blurred, but he made out his cutie mark fairly easily. Upon further study, he found the mark to be of a rather peculiar-looking hourglass. This intrigued the boy greatly, and he wondered just what it meant.

"We figured out where the cave is, and we think he might be hiding there." Twilight piped up. "If he's not, then there may be some clues as to his whereabouts."

"Now, I have no doubt that Twilight and her friends can handle this," Celestia said, looking firmly at him. "But I think it would be a good idea if you accompanied them. You are, after all, one of the most powerful beings in all of Equestria. I'm sure that with your help, this would be a piece of cake."

"Fair enough." Zed replied, neatly folding up the picture and putting it in his pocket. "We can set out now. There isn't really much I have to do. I just took my medicine about an hour ago, so I should be good until tonight." Of course, he could pack a sword or to, but... he enjoyed the challenge of having nothing but his fists and alien strength, along with his rather amazing skills in unarmed combat.

"All righty, then!" Applejack said, patting the boy on the back... and getting a few coughs in response. She was not as strong as Zed, but it seemed she could knock anyone through a wall just by giving them a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Good ta have ya back with us!"

"Oh boy!!!" Pinkie Pie squealed, then sucked in a big breath. "Zachery's coming with us!" As usual, she began hopping up and down excitedly. Pinkie sure had a way of proving herself as a walking epitome of a caffeine overdose... and being a natural airhead.

Zed grunted with displeasure as his first name was mentioned, but he paid it no mind for the moment. There was no point in getting angry over such a stupid reason, especially when they had an important mission ahead of them. "Let's just go." He said, his voice just as monotonous as always.

As expected, it did not take long at all for them to find the cave from the picture after Celestia gave them the exact location. Who would have known that it would be just outside Ponyville near the Everfree? As they approached, Zed froze in his tracks in front of it, staring deeply into the abyss-like darkness. He did not mind darkness much, but when it came to venturing into dark holes that could contain god-knows-what... it made him much more than a little nervous.

"Whatcha shiverin' fer, sugarcube?" Applejack said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Scared o' the dark?"

"Hell no..." Zed quickly replied, biting his lip a bit. "Let's get this over with." With that, he cautiously approached the mouth of the cave, Twilight and her friends close behind.

Well, all except for one.

"Um... You guys should go ahead..." Fluttershy said softly, backing away from the cave entrance. "I'm just going to wait... back here..."

"Oh, no you don't!" Rainbow Dash said, prancing toward her and grabbing the yellow pony's tail with her teeth and proceeding to drag her along. "Come on, Fluttershy, you faced a dragon before! Where's your spirit?"

"I left it back at home..." Fluttershy responded in her usual small and timid voice. "Let me just go back and get it!" She tried breaking out of Rainbow Dash's grasp, once again heading toward the outside of the cave.

"Nope!" Rainbow Dash said, easily catching up to her.

Zed did whatever he could to ignore the commotion behind him, but it was becoming extremely difficult. "If you two are finished acting out your favorite mare flick, we have a job to do." He said, glaring at them.

"Oh... sorry..." Fluttershy said softly, looking down a bit.

He sighed heavily, taking off his reading glasses and putting them in his pocket, before rubbing his eyes. In all honesty, he could not stay annoyed at any of them. After all, he knew them all so well, and has grown extremely attached to them all... Even Pinkie, as crazy as it may seem. The fact that they all warmed up to him so quickly when he first worked with them filled him with joy. He remembered how accepting they were towards him, and how tolerant he tried to be in return.

Once again, the young man's thoughts were interrupted when he suddenly heard what sounded like something dry and rough dragging heavily across the stone cave floor. He cocked his head toward the sound, obviously wondering what the source of it could be. "You hear that?" He said softly, and watched as all of their ears twitched at the sound once again, before simultaneously nodding in response.

Normally, Zed would be the type to wait something like this out... but not with Pinkie Pie around. "HELLOOOoooo?!" She called out, her usual high-pitched boisterous voice echoing throughout the cave walls. "Ooo! This place is spooky!" She giggled, bouncing around.

Zed clenched his fists in frustration as Pinkie's well-crafted echo died off in the distance, signaling that the ominous cave was much deeper than they had first expected. About thirty seconds passed by, seeming like an eternity. Zed let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, don't ever--"

Before he could say anything more, a piercing and thunderous sound shook the entire cave. Zed stumbled as the powerful roar shook his entire body, and his hand found the hard, damp cave wall. What... The hell... was that...?

In the little bit of light that streamed in through the entrance of the cave, he could see the faint outline of what looked like a dragon muzzle... Usually, one would not just jump to conclusions, but in Zed's experience, usually such assumptions were spot-on. Of course, it was when a second head appeared out of the thick darkness that Zed realized just what type of dragon they were dealing with.

"HYDRA!!" Twilight screamed. Almost as if on cue, they all scattered out of the cave...With Zed following closely behind.

As the six ponies split up and darted off around each side of the cave, Zed in his adrenaline-rushed state, screeched to a stop near the end of the large cliff overlooking the entrance of the Everfree. He gulped and glanced back, finding much to his utter dismay that the Hydra had all eight of its eyes on him, its four heads baring their razor sharp teeth fearsomely at him.

Quite the predicament..._He thought, freezing a bit in fear. _Fall and possibly die, or get eaten...?

It did not take him very long before the decision was made for him. As soon as the Hydra was close enough for him to feel the earth-shattering vibrations from its weight, it seemed as if the ground beneath him suddenly collapsed, and he was sent tumbling over the edge.

The first thing Zed felt when he hit the steep slope was excruciating pain exploding throughout his left arm, before the entire world around him began spinning faster than he could ever keep up. He tried grasping at the ground to stop himself, but only succeeded in knocking even more rocks loose. As he continued to roll, he caught a faint glimpse of something green jutting out from the ground... and his entire body cringing in even more pain as he knocked whatever it was loose from the ground... judging by the needle like spines still pierced into his skin, he could only guess that it was a cactus he fell into... How fun.

He reached the ground after what seemed like an eternity of endless flailing and tumbling, his lower half exploding in agony as he landed heavily in a sitting position. He groaned loudly in pain, before making sure that he still had each of his limbs... and that they were all not broken. As painful as they all felt, he could still move them, which was a good start.

"'Hey, Zed!'" He said, using the best imitation of Celestia's voice he could muster. "'Yes, Celestia?' 'Why don't you help out the girls on this mission?' 'Oh, sure mom! What's the worst that could happen?'"

He blinked as he heard heavy hoofsteps approaching from either side of him, before Twilight, along with the rest of them, suddenly came into view. Well... at least they were able to escape. Seeing him, she sprinted in his direction. "Zed!" She called, the concern and worry. "Zed, are you all right?"

"I've got a rock up my butt..." The boy groaned, grimacing in pain.

Applejack came forward, grasping his arm. "All right, fella. Up ya go." She said, before suddenly lifting him to his feet with her alien strength.

Zed groaned again in pain as he stood weakly to his feet, his knees trembling a bit beneath him. Pinkie Pie bounded up and studied him all around, before smiling. "Good news! You don't have a rock up your butt!" She said.

"I was speaking hypothetically." Zed almost growled, leaning a bit against Applejack to keep from falling over again.

"Hypo-_what-_ically?" Pinkie said, a look of pure confusion on her face.

Thankfully, Twilight said something before Zed did... which was probably for the better. "Never mind, Pinkie..." She said, putting her hoof to her face and shaking her head.

Rarity suddenly piped up... which was strange, because Zed had not heard her speak throughout the duration of the mission. She sprinted forward and immediately began using her hoof to brush the dirt from Zed's black leather jacket. "Oh, you poor thing!" She cooed like an overly protective mother, proceeding to dust him off and even try to straighten his hair a bit. "Just look at you! Are you all right? Are you hurt?"

_Yes. Very much._Zed thought, but he refrained from saying anything.

"As soon as we get to Ponyville, I'm going to sew a brand new jacket for you and I'll style your hair... a full makeover!" Rarity continued to brush the dirt from his jacket.

Zed rolled his eyes and looked away. At least Rarity cared. Of course, he had no doubt in his mind that they all cared deeply for him, but it just seemed that Rarity showed it more than anyone else, even if she did act a bit dramatic at times... which can prove to be quite a nuisance sometimes.

He stopped when something through the bushes suddenly caught his eye. Upon a few more moments of inspection, it looked to him as if the sun was shining off of what looked like a glassy surface. Ignoring Rarity's complaints, he cautiously approached, his right leg sending jolts of pain whenever he put his weight on it. Holding his breath, he shoved the thick bushes aside and froze at the sight, blinking in confusion. "What... is that?" He said.

"It looks like a phone booth!" Pinkie said, bouncing around it a few times, staring at it in curiosity.

"I know that," Zed sighed, rubbing his eyes. "What's it doing here?"

Pinkie pie shrugged. "Don't ask me, I didn't put it here." She examined the door for a few seconds, before reaching for the handle. "Hey! Let's see what's inside!"

"Um... Excuse me..." A rather smooth voice sounded behind them, seeming thick with confusion. Luckily, Pinkie Pie froze where she was before actually touching the door handle.

Zed flinched a bit and whirled around to find the source of the voice, spotting a rather... peculiar-looking brown colored pony. Just by his voice and attire, Zed could tell from experience that he strange pony was either extremely intelligent or extremely important... or maybe even both. Zed's first reaction was to sigh... He always felt nervous around others whose intelligence dwarfed his own. He didn't know why, but the rather neat hair and green tie that threw the young man's first assumption together.

Zed was about to apologize, but stopped mid-word as soon as he noticed the brown pony's cutie mark.

"Oh! You must be the Mane Six!" The stranger continued, smiling politely. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you all!" He looked toward Zed "And you must be..."

"Uh... Give me a sec..." He interrupted, reaching into his pocket and fumbled around for a bit until he pulled out the neatly folded picture that Luna had given him. Within no time at all, he had the photo unfolded, staring intently at the cutie mark of the pony within it. His expression suddenly changed, and he looked up from the picture. "It's him!"

"What?" The brown pony said, cocking his head in confusion.

Before anything else could be said, Twilight and the others suddenly charged and pounced on him, ignoring his cries of protest. Within no time at all, Applejack had him secured tightly with a rope... which Zed could have sworn she did not have with her at the start of the mission.

"Where did you...?" He asked, staring curiously at the bound pony.

"Pumpkin, I always come prepared." Applejack replied with a wink.

Yeah... Like Pinkie and her party cannon. Zed thought, before lifting the brown pony onto his feet. "Twilight. Teleport. Now." He said, rubbing his eyes a bit.

"On it!" She said, her horn glowing. Before he knew it, the scene in front of them disappeared.

"But I wanted to see what was in the weird box-thingy!" Pinkie complained.

"Phone booth." The mysterious pony piped up.

As a new setting materialized around them, the first thing that Zed noticed was the smell of fried food... And his stomach rumbled immediately in response. It was then that he remembered that he never even had breakfast before they set off. But still, it was not the best time.

"Twilight..." He said.

"Yeah yeah, I know." She said with a sigh. Her horn immediately started glowing once again, and the scene dissipated.

-About three more tries later-

The familiar sight of the castle's main hall materialized around them, only it took Zed a moment to realize considering he had his face hidden in his hands in embarrassment. He sighed and looked at Twilight, who was panting heavily and sweating bullets due to how much energy she had exerted. Zed sighed and patted her on the shoulder. "You'll get it next time." He said.

"Yeah, thanks." Twilight replied, a fairly livid look on her face.

Without Zed having to command them, guards immediately began to swarm the tied up pony, carrying him toward the dungeon.

"Wait! Isn't anyone going to tell me what's going on?!" The pony demanded, but his yells died off in the distance.

"Well, that's that." Zed said, and winced a bit as he remembered the spines still suck in his skin from the dreaded cactus he fell into.

"Hold still, sugarcube." Applejack said, as she grasped another splinter with her teeth, before roughly yanking it out.

"Nggh!" Zed groaned in pain, the nerves in his left shoulder going crazy. "Could you at least be a little more- Ow!" He yelped as Applejack suddenly yanked out another splinter, this one being on the back of his neck.

"Calm down, I'm almost done." She said, before she suddenly gasped. "Oh no..."

"What? What's wrong?" Zed asked, glancing back at her. Just by the sound of her voice, he could tell that it was nothing good...

"Um, sugar..." She said gently. "There's one right between yer shoulder blades... And it's in pretty deep."

Zed froze in fear, before letting out another moan of displeasure. A cactus spine between his shoulder blades meant that it was between the scars where his wings used to be... And usually anything that made contact with that area would send pure agony washing through his entire body.

"All right. This might..." She quickly grasped the splinter between her teeth and yanked it out, not even taking care to be gentle.

Zed cried out and clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, the young man's vision blurring with tears. His entire body tensed so much that he seemed frozen in place as the excruciating pain spread like wild fire across his back.

"Hurt..." Applejack finished, spitting the splinter out and gently patting him on the shoulder. "You all right there?"

It took a moment for Zed to respond, the intense pain causing his voice to catch in his throat. After a few agonizing seconds, the pain slowly began to fade, leaving only a bit of a burning sensation along the two scars. "Y-yeah... I'm fine... Thank you." He replied, his voice hoarse. He grunted a bit as he pulled his shirt back on, along with his leather jacket.

"You go and talk t' the princess. I'll clean up here." She said, earning a nod in response from Zed.

The young man left the room and made his way back to the main hall, eventually approaching Celestia and Luna's thrones once again, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I take it your mission went well, young one?" Luna asked.

"Mm... For the most part, yes." The boy replied, gently pulling up the collar of his black leather jacket to cover up some of the scratches on his neck. The princesses had a habit of overreacting whenever Zed acquired an injury during a mission, which was something he really did not need at the moment.

"Well, that's good..." Celestia said, giving him a bit of a stern look when she saw him pull up his collar. However, she did not say anything. "The prisoner is a bit more... difficult than we thought."

"How do you mean?" He asked.

"He rambles on about being something called a 'Time Lord', and he is feigning ignorance regarding the kidnappings." Celestia replied, letting out a sigh. "Truth be told, I think you should speak with him. Perhaps you may be able to get something out of him?"

Zed sighed, but made no move to argue. First a rock up the ass, and now interrogating a pony who might be insane. "All right, I'll see what I can do."

With that, he made his way in the direction of the dungeon... which seemed as if it were miles underground, given how long he had to descend the dark and ominous looking stairway. Luckily, his stamina was above average, so he was not as exhausted as most would be once he reached the bottom. The first thing that greeted him was the sound of horrified screaming, and an irritable guard standing not too far away. Zed flinched a bit as the screaming became louder as he approached the guard. "Dear god, he's loud." He said, covering his ears a bit.

"He's just been sitting there in his cell screaming bloody murder at his food. I have absolutely no idea what's wrong with him." The guard said, and Zed could almost see the steam pouring out of his ears.

"All right, you're relieved of your duties for now. I'll take it from here." He said, and the guard immediately made his way back up the stairs.

Zed glanced into the cell, seeing the brown pony curled up on a corner and... Just like the guard said... Screaming at the plate of food. He took a deep breath and unlocked the cell door, before walking in and picking up the plate, stepping back out immediately afterwards.

The brown pony sighed with apparent relief as soon as he did this. "Thank you." He said.

"What in the world were you so scared of?" Zed asked, setting the plate aside.

"The pear." He replied simply.

"The... pear?" Zed replied, blinking in confusion. He glanced at the plate of food, which indeed had a pear on it. He looked back to the pony. "You... Are you insane?" He asked.

"Only possibly." The pony replied simply, straightening the green tie around his neck.

"Uh huh..." Zed said, rubbing his eyes. "Anyway, I'm here to ask you a few questions."

"Allons-y. Ask way."

"All right..." Again, he sighed. "First question: Who the hell are you?"

"I am the Doctor. I'm a nine hundred and three year-old Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey in the Constellation of Kasterborous."

Zed blinked. All right, I guess that was to be expected... "Okay, moving on... You're accused of being the cause of disappearances around Canterlot. Tell me, do you know anything about this?"

"Not at all."

"And... You're quite sure about this?"

"Indeed."

"Huh..." Zed let out a heavy sigh and rubbed his temples. "Well, you're still being accused of it nevertheless... unless you have evidence to back your claim."

"Well, I don't have evidence to prove that I'm not involved in these... kidnappings. But I do have evidence to prove everything else." The brown pony said.

"You do? Well... I guess I have nothing to lose."

The pony suddenly reached into his collar, and pulled out a rather odd-looking object that looked as if it could be in a science fiction movie. At the sight of it, Zed clenched his fists and his entire body tensed up, his senses on high alert.

Seeing this, the pony hesitated. "Don't worry! It's only a screwdriver." He said, holding it out for the boy to see.

"A... screwdriver?" Zed tilted his head a bit in confusion. "That... doesn't look like a screwdriver. Not like any screwdriver I've seen, at least."

"It's a sonic screwdriver!" The pony said. "See? Now watch..."

The strange device suddenly began to emit a buzzing sound and the end began to glow a light blue hue, a strange whirring sound in the background. Suddenly, before anything else could happen, the cell door opened.

Zed darted forward as fast as he could before the door could open even half way, slamming it shut again. He panted heavily, suddenly growing increasingly nervous. "Yeah... I'm going to have to take that..."

"Wait! Just a moment..." The pony said, holding up a hoof.

The whirring sound proceeded to grow louder with every passing second, and Zed slowly turned around, his entire body tensing up. What he saw made him flinch a bit, and back up a bit against the bars of the cell door. The pulsating light that had been behind him slowly became brighter, and the boy averted his eyes for a moment, before glancing back just in time to see something beginning to materialize out of thin air. As it continued, it took on the shape of what looked like a phone booth, and that's when it snapped in Zed's mind.

The exact same phone booth he found at the base of the cliff.

"W-what... the hell...?" Zed stuttered.

"I get that a lot." The pony said, returning the "screwdriver" back into his collar.

"Okay... Mister Time Lord..."

"Um, I prefer Doctor, if you please. Doctor Whooves"

"Doctor..." Zed bit his lip nervously and turned to face the brown pony. "Let's say for a second that I... partially believe you, now..." He paused, rubbing his temples.

"Take your time. I know it's a lot to take in." The Doctor said, running a hoof through his neatly combed brown hair.

The boy took a deep breath. "If you're telling the truth, then how do I make the others believe it?"

"I believe him!" Pinkie Pie's high pitched voice called from up the stairs.

"Quiet, you!" Zed shouted back, before turning back to the Doctor, leaning heavily against the bars.

"Is that Pinkie Pie?" The Doctor asked, glancing in the direction of the stairs.

"The one and only... Thank god." Zed replied.

"Keep her away from me."

"No promises."

"No... Please do..."

Again, Zed sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Fine, I'll see what I can do."

The throne room erupted in thunderous laughter... Even Celestia cracked a smile for a second, before her firm expression returned. Everyone but Pinkie continued laughing, and it took quite a bit of time before they calmed down again and everything went quiet. Pinkie sat and looked on quietly, confused.

"So... yeah... That's pretty much it." Zed said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Applejack trotted up and put an arm heavily around his shoulders. "So, ya mean to tell us that this criminal is actually a so-called 'Time Lord', who can make phone booth's appear outta nowhere an' jump through dimensions an' such?"

Zed gasped a bit as her foreleg came close to his scars, but luckily, the sensitive spot remained untouched. "I... just explained everything that happened, so yes. I do believe that's what I'm saying." He said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh, goodness... You're serious." Celestia said with a sigh. "Zed, you do know how that sounds, right? He is a criminal, after all. He might just be using magic to do all of those things."

"First of all, yes. I'm fully aware of how stupid it sounds." Zed replied, his own expression turning stern. "Second of all, there was absolutely no magic involved. That gentle colt in there has neither a horn on his head nor wings on his back. So, I'm pretty sure that makes him an Earth Pony. Lastly, there is absolutely no proof that he is a criminal. The only evidence we have is a picture of him by the cave."

There was a soft knock at the large double doors a bit down the hallway. "May I come in, now?" The Doctor called from behind them.

Luna gasped and glared at Zed. "You let him out?!" She whispered, staring at the boy in an expression that could only resemble disbelief.

"If he wanted to try and kill me or escape, he would have done it already. Trust me; I gave him plenty of chances. In fact..." He glanced back at the door. "Yes, Doc. You can come in, now."

The doors opened, and out walked the Doctor, as calm as can be. "Ah, thank you." He said, standing next to Zed. "I trust that everything has been cleared up?"

"Not exactly... I need you to show them what you showed me." Zed replied.

"All right..." The Doctor said, casting a rather nervous glance in Pinkie Pie's direction. Luckily, Pinkie did not see this...

Again, the Doctor reached into his collar and pulled out the Sonic Screwdriver. At the sight of it, everyone but Zed gasped and backed up a bit.

"Wait." Zed said. "Just watch."

Once again, the soft whirring sound could be heard, steadily growing louder as each second passed by. Zed watched the awe on each of their faces, feeling rather smug as the phone booth appeared in front of them.

"So... Do you believe me now? I mean, you all know how terrible I am at lying." Zed said, picking a bit of dirt from underneath his fingernails.

"This doesn't prove anything." Luna replied. "True, there isn't any solid evidence that he's the one responsible, but there isn't any to prove otherwise either."

"Actually, there is!" The Doctor said. "Zed, may I see that photo?"

Zed reached into his pocket and pulled out the folded up picture, handing it to him.

"Now, I'm going to go into the TARDIS and enhance this photo. Be right back!" He said, disappearing through the door of the phone booth.

"The... what?" Twilight chimed in, blinking in confusion.

"He calls it the TARDIS." Zed replied.

"It means Time and Relative Dimensions In Space!" The Doctor yelled from within the phone booth. Moments later, the TARDIS began to glow, and a projection appeared overhead. This enhanced picture surprised Zed, considering the pony in it seemed much... different aside from the cutie mark.

"Is that enough proof for you?" Zed stated, almost growling the words in annoyance.

"All right, fine." Celestia said, rubbing her temples with her hooves. "But if it wasn't him, then who is the pony in the photo?"

The Doctor walked back out of the TARDIS, glancing at the picture overhead. "Oh, dear. I think I might know." The brown pony sighed. "There can be two different Doctors in the same dimension. This one has been returning for several months now, sometimes even with multiple ponies with him. I know because I've seen him a time or two. Every doctor knows every doctor."

"See? Dimensions. Remember? I was in a different one before I came here." Zed explained, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his black leather jacket. "But there's still a problem. We need to find that Doctor, before more ponies go missing. And something tells me that this Doctor may the only one able to do that."

"And what a better companion to have than you, Zed?" The Doctor said suddenly, laying a foreleg around the boy's neck.

"Wait, what? Hold on, I barely know you." Zed replied, glancing at him.

"Oh, come on! It'll be fun!" The Doctor said, shaking him a bit.

"I'm probably going to die."

"No, you won't! What do you all think?" He said, glancing back at everyone else.

"He does have a point." Applejack said.

"True, you are the only other being in this land that has experience with dimensions." Celestia stated.

"You're not helping... Like, at all." Zed replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Now, at the first sight of danger, we run." The Doctor said, completely ignoring Zed's rebuttal. "I mean, that's what I always do."

Zed sighed heavily. "Yeah, but I don't run from danger."

"Ya ran like hell from the Hydra." Applejack said, chuckling.

"Oh, there will be much more dangerous things than the Hydra, dear friend." The Doctor replied.

"Yeah, which is _exactly_why I'm not going with you." Zed replied firmly, gently removing the Doctor's foreleg from around his neck. "Sorry, Doc. You're going to have to find someone else."

"Zed, look at me." The Doctor said, sighing a bit when the boy complied. "If I were to take anyone else, I can guarantee you that they would not survive. And plus, they're needed here. They are the Elements of Harmony, after all."

"But seriously, why me? I'm not really that special." Zed said, shrugging his shoulders.

"I've met many Companions, most of them bipedal humanoids just like you. None of them have failed me."

"Yeah, I'm humanoid. That doesn't make me special."

"Oh, but you are. You are the one who will be able to track this Doctor. You've tracked me easily, now help me track him."

Zed groaned and rubbed his eyes. He was right, after all. And none of the Mane Six could accompany him, considering that they had to keep the Elements of Harmony together. Even so, travelling dimensions again made the young man's skin crawl... especially since he became stuck in the one he was in now. "You... are really hard to get rid of."

"Aw, don't be like that! Just stick with me, and no harm will befall upon you." The Doctor said with a smile.

Zed rubbed the back of his neck, before sighing heavily. "Fine... Yeah, I'll go."

"Good! Come now, new Companion. Adventure awaits! Allons-y!" The Doctor said as he bounded off toward the TARDIS, gesturing for the boy to follow.

"Wait! Can't I come too? I like fun and adventure!" Pinkie Pie yelled, bouncing around the two.

"No!" The Doctor said quickly. "You're an Element of Harmony, you stay here. Zed! Come quickly! Now!"

"But... But... Awww...." Pinkie said, pouting a bit.

"Zed! TARDIS! Now!" The Doctor shouted from within the phone booth. It was clear that he wanted to avoid Pinkie Pie at all costs...

Rolled down a cliff, ran into a cactus, ass landed on a rock, and now my dear adopted mother is sending me off with a strange pony I don't even know to travel through dimensions! Interesting day indeed... I must be high on something. Zed stood just outside the door, sending one last glance at everyone and heaving a heavy sigh. "Well... I guess I'll see you all later." He said.

"Good luck, darling. Be careful." Celestia said, smiling at him

"I will- Hey!" Zed was cut off when the Doctor suddenly reached out and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, yanking him into the phone booth.

Zed froze once his mind processed where he was, and his jaw even dropped a bit in surprise. It definitely was not what he expected... The entrance to the phone booth lead into a small stairway in a large room full of advanced technology he had never seen before... at least, not that he could remember. He froze where he was as he took in the rather futuristic sight, but his eyes mainly focused on the large hexagonal desk top in the middle of the room... which to him only seemed to be a large cluster of colorful buttons, levers, and switches. Zed's mind could only concur that it was a control consol of some sort.

"Wow..." He said, stepping in a bit further, glancing around the large room and even noticing other doorways... which he figured could possibly lead into other massive rooms.

"Is there anything else you would like to say besides... 'Wow'?" The Doctor asked, leading the stunned boy towards the control consol.

"This is... definitely not what I expected." Zed replied, his curious eyes still glancing all over the room.

"And... Just what were you not expecting?" The Doctor prodded in a sort of singsong tone.

"It's... bigger on the inside."

"There it is!" The Doctor said with a smile. "I just love hearing that." He stood in front of the control consol, allowing the boy to take in the sight of the different buttons and mashes.

Zed glanced up, taking note of the curious symbols imprinted on metal disks, rotating above the control consol. "And that is...?"

"Time Lord Language, dear friend." The Doctor replied, catching the young man's gaze. "Now, I'll be right back. Do not touch anything on the consol. At all, understand?"

"Yeah, no problem." Zed replied with a shrug.

"And whatever you do, do not touch the green wiggly lever." The Doctor added, pointing to a green lever on the consol. "The green wiggly lever. Do not touch the green wiggly lever."

"All right, I get it! I'm not a curious child that likes to mash buttons, so you have nothing to worry about." Zed replied with a sigh, crossing his arms over his chest.

"All right, then." With that, the brown pony disappeared into one of the other rooms, leaving Zed completely alone.

On the outside of the TARDIS, everyone sat staring in awe... except for Pinkie Pie, who was still sulking. Suddenly, she gasped and perked up. "Wait! I forgot to give him a goodbye hug!" She squealed, charging at the blue police box.

"Wait, Pinkie!" Twilight called.

But it was too late. Before anyone could stop her she stood in front of the TARDIS, pounding loudly on the door. "Zachery!" She shouted. "Wait! Don't leave yet! You still need a hug!" The throne room echoed with the sound of her hoof knocking on the door.

Zed yelped as the loud knocking sounded off, shaking the large room. In his surprise, he flung himself backward.

Right onto the consol.

Zed gasped as he scrambled away from the desk top, backing away in panic as he began to hear the familiar whirring sound steadily growing louder. "Shit..." He cursed, trying to keep his balance as the room began to violently shake.

"Zed! What happened?" The Doctor called from the other room.

"Pinkie Pie happened!" Zed yelled back, grabbing onto a railing to keep himself from falling over.

The Doctor ran back into the control room, frantically examining the controls. "Did you touch anything?" He demanded.

"No! Well... maybe..." Zed replied, flinching a bit as the violent shaking threw his balance off for a moment.

The Doctor glanced down and noticed the "wiggly lever" was pushed completely in the "on" position. "Oh, dear..." He sent a worried glance at Zed. "Hold onto something!" He frantically began dashing around the control panel, pressing different buttons and switches.

"Like what?" Zed yelled.

"I don't know! Hold yourself... that usually works!" The brown pony continued mashing buttons and pulling levers in an attempt to find out just where they were going...

The whirring sound proceeded to grow louder, and the room continued shaking so violently that Zed was ripped away from the railing, and he fell backwards, his head landing heavily on the floor with a loud thud. He gasped as pain exploded through the back of his head, and he even felt his fingers tingling a bit. He groaned loudly in pain and grasped his head in his hands, his eyes darting around in a bit of a daze. With another groan, he attempted to stand up, but another violent tremble from the TARDIS jarred him, and he was again thrown off of balance. Only this time, he was thrown down a small flight of stairs. He cried out as the room began spinning around him and agony erupted throughout the rest of his body... including his scarred shoulder blades. He winced as his head once again banged against the floor, and his vision slowly blurred before fading to black.

Zed's eyes snapped open as he felt cool liquid stimulating his face and chest, his vision still a bit blurry. His head pounded with every heartbeat, and he let out a small groan.

"Zed? Zed!" The Doctor's voice echoed around the room, and the boy felt himself being picked up and shaken violently. "Zed, are you all right?"

Having his shoulders shaken with his head being thrown back and forth did not add well to the relief of the boy's throbbing headache, and he groaned in response. He grabbed the Doctor's forelegs to stop him. "You're not helping." He said groggily. He clenched his fists tightly and moved to stand up, but the Doctor stopped him by planting a hoof firmly on his chest.

"No no! Stay down. Don't get up just yet." He said. "That was... quite a nasty fall you had."

"I'm fine," Zed reassured. "It's just a bump on the head, it's not that big a deal."

The Doctor reached into his collar and once again pulled out his sonic screwdriver. There was a buzzing sound as the Doctor pointed it at him, scanning his body from head to toe. "Just as I thought, you have a concussion." He said, putting the device back into his collar.

"Well, damn." Zed mumbled, gently rubbing the back of his head. "Why am I not surprised? Where are we?"

The Doctor quickly ran up the stairs and back to the control consol, glancing at the small screens on the desk. "It looks like we're in Appleloosa."

Zed groaned as soon as he heard the name. Appleloosa, the breeding ground of Applejack's race. Zed mainly had no problem with Applejack, aside from her alien strength and constant teasing. But being in a town filled to the brim of people like her could give him a massive headache without the help of the Doctor. He slowly stood up and half walked, half limped up the stairs, making his way to the controls and gently leaning against the railing. "So... what do we do from here?"

The Doctor spun around and glared at him. "Why are you not lying down?" He demanded.

"Shit, I don't know. It might be because the floor isn't really as comfortable as it looks." Zed snapped.

The Doctor sighed and held a hoof to his forehead. "All right, then. Let's at least get you some ice while you're up. Come with me." He said, leading him to one of the other large doors.

With a soft hissing sound, the metal door slid open, immediately revealing a large kitchen that seemed almost endless. Of course, Zed was in a state where he refused to allow himself to be surprised, even though he was a little impressed deep in the solitude of his own mind. The Doctor led him to what Zed could only theorize was a large freezer, and opened it up. The thick fog and exceedingly cool air that poured out of the large metal box confirmed the boy's suspicions, and he waited patiently as the Doctor rummaged through it.

"Oh, dear." He said, sighing and stepping back from the freezer. "We don't have any ice." He closed the door and ran his hoof through his neatly combed hair. "That means we have to go into town and look for some."

Zed groaned and rubbed his eyes, shaking his head a bit. "You mean out there? With them?"

"What's wrong with them?" The Doctor asked, looking at him in confusion.

Zed sighed, his head hanging low. "Nothing..." He said softly, reaching into his pocket and fumbling for his glasses. He pulled them out and groaned again at the sight of the condition they were in. The frame was completely bent beyond repair, and each of the lenses were badly cracked. "Damn it..."

"Oh..." The Doctor said, a look of concern on his face. "I take it those were important?"

"Yes... they were..." He said, biting the inside of his cheek. "I can see well without them, but it's still a little difficult. Mainly I just use them for reading." He shook his head and set the damaged instrument aside. "No use in keeping them now. I might as well try and find a new pair."

"Well, I believe I can fix them." The Doctor said, smiling as he saw Zed's eyes light up.

"Seriously?" He asked. "Because that would really help. A lot."

"Of course, I've never actually done it before, but I can give it a try." The Doctor replied. "May I see them?"

Zed eagerly picked the damaged glasses back up and handed them to the brown pony, who pulled out his sonic screwdriver. The strange buzzing sound that had grown increasingly familiar echoed through the room. With a single curious glance, he saw the frame almost instantly bent straight again, and the cracks webbed out through the glass surface of the lenses melding back together. By the time the Doctor was finished, he handed them back to the boy.

"Wow..." He said, examining them closely. They seemed almost brand new, with not a single scratch or dent to be found. "Thanks for that."

"You're welcome, Zed." The Doctor replied with a smile. "Now, let's go get some ice for that headache."

Taking a deep breath, Zed put the glasses on, blinking a bit as his eyes adjusted to the sudden clear vision before following the Doctor back out through the entrance. He flinched a bit as the humid air suddenly enveloped him, and he sighed as he heard banjo music playing. With a small groan, the boy unzipped his leather jacket and proceeded to follow the Doctor toward the small town.

"I really hate this place..." Zed mumbled, wiping the droplets of sweat that had formed on his brow over the five minutes they had been there. All ready, multiple of the town's inhabitants had recognized him and either waved, or shouted a rather elaborate greeting.

"Is that really him?" One pony whispered.

"Hey there, Zachery! How come you don' visit anymore?" Yelled another one.

"Zed! Zed! I just wrote a new banjo solo! Ya wanna hear it?" Another pony called. Luckily he seemed far away enough for Zed to act as if he did not hear.

Zed groaned and quickly took off his jacket, throwing it over his shoulder. "Out of all the places we could have landed... we just had to land here."

"All the people seem to be friendly enough." The Doctor replied, looking carefully through the town. "You must be really famous. Everyone seems to know you."

"That's the problem." Zed replied, glancing nervously around. He sighed. "It's not the people themselves I don't like. In fact... I really care about them. It's just their lifestyles. It's... not something I can get used to."

"Hmph. Try going through time and dimensions. Different planets even." The Doctor said with a scoff. "You'll really start to appreciate the nice ones." He continued looking around the buildings, reading each sign. "Now, we'll need to find a restaurant or tavern. They should have some ice somewhere..."

Just then, a red colored pony dawning an unnecessarily large cowboy hat bounded up to them in the corniest happy-go-lucky manner that Zed had ever seen. And the nightmare continues... Allons-y.

"Howdy, folks! Welcome to Appleloosa!" He said, smiling widely at the two of them.

Zed groaned, rubbing his eyes.

The pony looked at him curiously, before turning to the Doctor. "Is he all right?"

"He's fine." The Doctor replied, patting the boy softly on the back. "He just has a bit of a headache."

"A headache, ya say?" The pony's face lit up. "Well, the saloon can fix that right up!"

"Excellent!" The Doctor said. "And where may we find this saloon?"

The red pony pointed behind them. "Right there!"

They turned around and sure enough, there was a large structure with the word "saloon" plastered over the entrance in large glowing letters.

Zed blinked dumbly. "How did we not see that?"

"I'm... not sure." The Doctor replied, staring curiously. "We've been looking around for hours... Bah, never mind it. Let's just go inside and see if they have any ice." He nodded politely at the red pony before walking into the saloon, gesturing for Zed to follow.

Zed sighed with relief as he walked into the bar and the cool air washed over him, and the scent of beer, mead, and alcohol reached his nose. The atmosphere was thick with hearty laughter and shouts, some of them being greetings directed at Zed, to which the boy replied with a half-hearted smile or wave. He followed the Doctor up to the bar and sat down at a stool, resting his elbow on the counter.

"Hello, sir. May we just have a glass of ice and a rag?" The Doctor asked the bartender, a rather large, burly, yellow pony. After giving them a strange look, the bartender disappeared to another end of the bar, before returning with their requested items. The Doctor quickly poured a few of the ice cubes into the rag, before carefully wrapping them up and handing it to Zed. "There we are, put this against your head."

"Thanks." Zed replied, gently pressing the ice rag against the back of his head, wincing a bit as it throbbed from the pressure.

"Yer gonna have to buy drinks with that." The bartender said with a bit of a sultry look. "I can't give ya ice without any booze ta go with it."

Zed sighed and shook his head. "That is arguably the dumbest rule I've ever heard." He replied.

"Well, if there's goin' ta be a problem..." The bartender started, squinting at them suspiciously.

"No no! There's no problem at all, sir." The Doctor interrupted, glaring at Zed. "Bourbon whiskey for me, please."

"But we don't..." Zed started, but was interrupted by another threatening glare from the Doctor. The boy sighed and shook his head. "Vodka." He grunted, rolling his eyes. One would think that the bartender would at least make an acception for the Angel of Equestria...

As the glass cups slid down the counter towards them, Zed grasped his tightly in his hand and let out a small sigh.

"Zed... we bought it, just drink it." The Doctor said, shaking his head and taking a sip from his own glass.

The boy shook his head and took a sip from the glass, his eyes watering a bit as the strong alcohol burned its way past his throat and down to his stomach. He normally was not much of a drinker, but considering the complete and utterly crappy day he had endured, a nice drink or two sounded amazing to him.

Within the next two minutes, they both finished their glasses and Zed sighed heavily, shaking his head. "I guess a few more wouldn't really hurt, to be honest. It's been a pretty bad day."

"I don't blame you, friend." The Doctor said, waving the bartender down. "Another round, please."

Once again, the bartender filled up both of their glasses. Only this time, he left the bottles on the counter for them. "Once ya have one, ya always want another." He mumbled, before proceeding to wipe the counter down.

"Well, then..." Zed said with a shrug, before picking his glass back up. "I guess that's about right." He took another sip, before setting the wet ice rag back down on the table. He set a few more ice cubes in the cloth, before returning the pressure to the back of his head. With another few sips, he finished his second drink and set it aside.

Within one sip, the Doctor finished his drink before quickly refilling his glass. "Go on, have another one if you're still thirsty." He said, once again taking another sip.

Zed hesitated for a moment, staring at the bottle. In all reality, they should not be sitting and drinking at all. They should be back in the TARDIS, looking for this suspect and putting an end to the kidnapping of multiple ponies. That, and drinking with a concussion might not be the best idea. However, it had been a while since Zed had a drink. Another one shouldn't hurt...

Zed sighed and nervously bit his lip, staring at the pyramid of glasses he and the Doctor had built. Why they did that in the first place, he could not remember, but it did seem rather entertaining. He yawned and rubbed the back of his neck. Although his head was spinning crazily, neither his face nor his body language would show it. At least it felt better, though, and the cup of ice had long since melted, with the cloth lying next to it.

"Shall we get going?" The Doctor asked, laying a few bits on the table.

"One more, maybe?" Zed said, a rather hopeful look on his face.

"You're drunk." The Doctor replied.

Zed blinked, his vision wavering a bit. "No I'm not..." He said, giving the brown pony a confused look. But in his mind, he was more or less thinking: How does he know...?

"All right, then..." The Doctor studied one of the glasses for a moment, before giving the boy a rather thoughtful look. "Stand up."

"What?" Zed blinked again, staring at the ground. A moment of hesitation grasped his foggy mind for a moment, before the drunken stubbornness settled back in. "All right." He said with a simple shrug. All he had to do was stand. He knew how to do that. Just hop off of the bar stool and plant both feet on the floor, simple as that...

There was a loud thud as, for the third time that day, his head collided with the floor. He groaned loudly in pain, grasping the side of his head.

"Exactly." The Doctor said with a sigh, shaking his head.

Zed groaned again in pain, completely ignoring the Doctor's comment. "Doc..." He said, his voice hoarse and thick with distress. "I... I think my headache is back..."

"We'll fix it when we get back to the TARDIS. Come now, on your feet." The Doctor replied, hopping down from the large bar stool and ignoring the loud and obnoxious comments coming from the other inhabitants of the saloon.

"Yeah, about that..." Zed replied, sitting up. "I... might need a little help."

"How do you mean?" The Doctor asked, tilting his head.

"I don't think I can walk on my own..."

"Oh... All right, then. Can you hop on my back? Or at least try to?" The Doctor asked.

"I'll try..." Zed replied, slowly moving up to his feet. At one point, he nearly scared the Doctor to death when he almost fell over again, but luckily the boy was able to use the counter to support himself. After a few tries, he draped himself limply over the Doctor's back, sighing with exhaustion. "All right..." He said.

The Doctor sighed carefully began to move toward the door, stopping for a moment when it felt as if the boy were about to fall off. Ignoring the drunken laughter from the other inhabitants, he quickly trotted out of the bar and back through the town. After a few minutes of walking, he finally made it back to the TARDIS doors.

After they were inside, Zed carefully climbed off of the Doctor's back, using the railings to hold himself up. "Thanks for that." The boy said, paying no mind to how much the room was spinning.

"Don't mention it. Here, come sit down." The Doctor replied, leading him to one of the seats next to the consol... which Zed could have sworn was never there before. Nevertheless, he sat down heavily on the seats, letting out a sigh.

"Don't worry about me, let's just get going." The boy said, sinking into the seat.

"All right, then." The Doctor said, sounding more than a little skeptical. He glanced back at him once more, before proceeding to mash the buttons on the consol.

Within a few moments, Zed could hear the strange whirring sound growing louder and louder. While this was going on, the TARDIS began shaking violently, and the boy tried as best as he could to stay in his seat. As the shaking became more violent, it began jarring his head a bit, and he groaned in pain. Suddenly, there was a crack of what sounded like thunder and before Zed could react, he was sent spiraling across the room like a lifeless ragdoll. The only thing his clouded mind could process was that the room was spinning... and not because of the effects of the alcohol in his system. His shoulders exploded with intense pain as he was thrown against the control consol, and for a split second, he saw the TARDIS doors... and the horrified look plastered upon the Doctor's face as he tried to grab for him.

But it was too late.

As the TARDIS jerked violently once again, the young man was thrown from the control consol... and out of the open TARDIS door. The last thing his mind processed was the Doctor calling out his name in a terrified tone.