>You are Doctor Anonymous. >And right now, you are falling. >There is no air here to rush past you. >No gravity. >There is only the sense, deep in your gut, telling you. >You are falling. >Tears trail above you as you plummet, your chest heaving with every aching sob. >You are falling. >No. >You try to speak it, but the word doesn't come. >No. >Again, you try. Even through your painful convulsions, you scream out into the deafening silence, no more loud than the piercing quiet. >But glowing with defiance. >NO. >You scream out again, not expecting a response, knowing no one will hear you. >NO. >You reach out, as you try to scream again. >NO. >They say that attempting the same action over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of madness. >NO. >Being a scientist, you have a slightly different, more rigorous definition of madness. >NO! >But then, again... >NO! >Some people HAVE referred to you as a 'mad scientist.' >NO! >NO! "NO!" >Your reaching hand finds something. >And you pull.   >No! >No no, no no no, no no nononono! >You are Pinka-... Pinkie Pie. >And right now, you just... >You don't understand! "No, no, no, no, no!" >You frantically search around the now empty wheelchair. >Where did he go? >Why did he call you Pinkie?! >Why the buck until he wait until now?! >WHY THE BUCK DO YOU STILL CARE?! >You check behind the chair. >In front. >The sides. >He can't be gone. "No, no, no, nononono!" >You circle the chair once more, before standing on your back hooves, placing your forelegs onto the chair, looking helplessly, desperately for where he could have gone. >You look around you. >The girls are still confused, dumbfounded even. >And Albert? >He's gone too. >Then... >Then... >Then they really... ... >You can't finish that thought. >You kneel down into the chair, where he was sitting just a minute ago. >And cry. >You feel a hoof find its way to your shoulder. >A comforting, caring hoof. >You push it away. "No! No, no, no, no, no!" >It's all you can say. >No. >Wait, what? >Your ears perk up. >NO. >What was... >NO! >Okay, what the buck?! >"NO!" >You feel something grab your hoof. >And it pulls. >You are falling.   >You are Doctor Anonymous. >And right now, you are no longer falling. >Your back hurts. >Every part of you hurts. >It seems like hours before you stir. >But you prop yourself up. >And with trepidation... you open your eyes. >You never thought you would be so unhappy. >So unhappy to see home. >You're back in your lab. >Just like you left it. >Just like you thought you wanted. >With difficulty, you stand up. >Well, more like throw yourself up, and then onto a counter. >You don't have the strength. >You don't want the strength. >All you want to do is to go back. >But you don't know if you can. >You >Don't >Know >If... ... >Damnit. >Damnit. >DAMNIT. >DAMN IT. >You slam your hands down onto the counter, as hard as you can. >The metal bends and twists before your augmented strength. >Before your sorrow, and rage. >Pain shoots through your arms, but you don't care. >You don't want this. >You don't want any of this! >This isn't home anymore! >You drive your fist through a nearby machine. >The metal shatters, tearing into your skin. >But you. >Don't. >Care. >You slump down, and the tears return. >All you care about. >Is her. >Seeing her again. >Hugging her again. >Telling her how sorry you are. >How much she means to you. >But you can't. >You'll never. >See her. >Again. >The tears stop. >You don't have anymore. >Anymore tears. >Anymore strength. >Your body goes limp, and you slide unceremoniously to the floor. >"Doctor?"   >You look up, your heart skips at what you see. >There is a pony. >There is a pony in your lab. >There is a pony in your lab, and she has long, flowing pink hair. >With newfound vigor, you spring up into a dash and throw yourself into the tightest, warmest hug around her you can possibly muster. "Pinkie! Pinkie, I'm so sorry, I'm so-" >"Oh.. oh my." >Wait. >You look down. >You're hugging... >Fluttershy?! >She looks up at you with a terrified expression. >"Hello." >You drop Fluttershy, and whirl around. "...hello." >Your eyes narrow at what you see. >"Who are you?" >He's as ready for a fight as you are. >"What are you doing in my lab?" >Your doppelganger. >"Why do you look exactly like me?" >You've been prepared for this moment. >"And why were you hugging my marefriend?" >Wait, what? "Marefriend?" >The fiend who looks exactly like you spring as the opening in your defense.   >You are Doctor Anonymous. >And right now, you have your doppelganger where you want him. >You always knew he'd come for you, try to destroy your work and steal your identity. >But you never knew he'd follow you to Ponyville. >It doesn't matter though, he's pinned, and you're about to drive the life right out of him. >"W-wait!" He chokes out from under your grip. >"C-... code 83-B-27-5-6-6-5!" >...what. >How could he know- >He takes advantage of your surprise, getting you into a grip of his own. >You manage to weasel your way out of it, however, and after a short tussle, you both end up with your hands around eachother's throats. >You look into his eyes, and he into yours. >"...on three." "...fine." >"One..." "Two..." >"Three..." >You both call it out at the same time. >"INTELLIGENT DESIGN IS AN EQUALLY VIABLE EXPLANATION FOR THE ORIGIN OF MAN AS EVOLUTIONARY THEORY!" >You both collapse onto each other, gasping for air as you try to recover from the stupidity you just uttered. >Shit. >He's not a doppelganger. >"Uhm... doctor?" >...what. >"Doctors?" >You look over. Is that...? >"What the hell was that?" "ALBERT?!"   >You are Albert. >And right now, you are so confused. >You were falling. >And then you were home. >But Fluttershy is here. >And so is Anonymous. >But there are two of him?! "What in science's name is going on-" >One of them springs up, crying you name and rushing over to you. >He... hugs you. >He's never hugged you. "D..doctor?" >"Albert.. how did you.. I thought I'd.... okay, what's going on?" "Was... that...?" >The other Anonymous stands up, brushing some dirt off his coat. >"Yes. A method of identifying ourselves. A phrase so utterly incorrect, no intelligent human being would ever utter it unless they were insane, horribly maleducated, or..." "...you?" >"...well, when you put it that way, I-" "Okay, hold on, this is all really confusing, why are there two of you?" >"Isn't it obvious, Albert?" >The Doctor who DIDN'T hug you walks over to a window port, and opens it up. >"We're not home." >Your optics struggle to process what they're looking at. >"We're in Ponyville." >He pauses. >"Well, a different Ponyville."   >You are Doctor Anonymous 1. >And right now, you can't believe you're being so stubborn. >Well, YOU'RE not. Doctor Anonymous 2 is. >"And why the hell should -I- be number 2?! You're in -my- Ponyville!" "Well, that makes me a guest, and you should respect your guests! Therefore, Doctor 1." >Albert sighs. "What are you talking about. -Your- Ponyville?" "Yes! The sudden change in Pinka-.. Pinkie's emotional state disrupted the reaction! It didn't send us home, it sent us to an alternate Ponyville!" >"An alternate Ponyville?" >"Yes." Doctor 2 continues. "Multiverse theory, Albert." "Infinite universes, every universe a slight deviation from another, maybe even a single point of departure from the last." >"Which results in there being a universe for every single possibility, infinite places where anything that was possible, has happened, somewhere." >"That's very obtuse." "Yes, well, why do you think I didn't accept it? We're in a parallel Equestria, Albert. Where a parallel Doctor Anonymous was sent to. The point of departure seems to have resulted in me, or rather, Doctor Anonymous 2, ending up with Fluttershy instead of Pinkie." >"I told you, -I'm- Doctor Anonymo- wait, you ended up with Pinkamina?" >You sigh. "Listen, I'll be Doctor Anonymous 1..." >The alternate you glares. "And you can be Doctor Anonymous A." ... >"...that's acceptable." "Anyway, we need to hurry." >"Hurry? What for?" "Because I don't think I came here alone. And I don't mean Albert."   >You're Pinkie Pie! >And right now, you are looooving this cake. >It smells so good! >You might eat it all yourself if you weren't already enjoying a lollipop. >You hum merrily to yourself as you work, dancing about the kitchen in a blur of flour, sugar and pink fun. >You hear the bell signal someone entering Sugarcube Corner. "Hi there! I'll be right out~!" >You call out to the incoming customer. >There's no response. But you hear something. >Are they... crying? >Oh, you can't have that! "I'll have you know, the Sugarcube Corner has a very strict no-sadness policy!" >You giggle, making sure it's clear that you're joking. >"W-what?" >You trot up to the counter, throwing off your messy apron to get a good look at the customer. "That's right! Now, what can Pinkie do to make you..." >You freeze. >Standing in the room, staring wide-eyed at you, is... >You. >But it can't be you. "..you... smile..." >There's a horrible silence. "Ch...ch.." >You know just what's going on. >The fake Pinkie's eyes widen. >She didn't even get your hair right. "CH.." >"N..no.. please, I-I'm not-" "CHANGELING!"