His Mistake

Star had felt dread in the pit of her stomach while in the middle of being reacquainted with her lost parents. She looked back towards the door. She could feel her heart racing but didn't know why. That is, until some time had passed and there was no sign of the Doctor or the TARDIS for that matter. He left me. Disappointment spread all over her face, she didn't understand why he would just up and disappear on her like that when she was experiencing her happiest moment.

Even during the celebrations at Sugar Cube Corner, insisted upon by Pinkie Pie, she could not bring herself to smile. When she said her goodbyes to all the ponies who had supported her during the trial, her smile did not reach her eyes, even as she hugged her mother and father and saw them off, she couldn't help but feel... disconnected? No. Heart-broken.

She kept a cheery smile, all to the end, and even as she listened to Pinkie Pie go on and on about all the things she had missed and things they would have to do now that she was back with them.

Pinkie eventually rambled herself to sleep.

Star looked over when she noticed Pinkie no longer talking and sighed. I can't believe he just... left me. That jerk! She was furious now. I swear if I see him again I'm going to pop him one! Right in that stupid face of his.

The Doctor had paced the TARDIS floor for a few hours, wandering the TARDIS, until he found himself in the room she had taken up. He walked up to the bed and placed a hoof against the mattress. His hearts sank as he slowly brought the sheets up to his face and took in the scent that clung to them. What am I doing? We're not even the same species. Well neither was Rose but that wasn't stopping me then was it? He shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh.

He could feel that she was upset. I promised her a dance, I'm a great big idiot now aren't I? How can I go promising her those things and not follow-up on 'em? He smacked a hoof along his face. Would she even want to see me again after this? I wouldn't want to see me after that. He gave a hopeless sigh and found himself taking in the scent of the sheet.

He went off to his own room, not realizing he had dragged the sheet off with him. When he got into bed and started snuggling into sheets, he noticed he had brought hers in with him. He looked frustrated with himself as he held it in his arms, against his chest. He shook off the feelings budding in him and tried hard not to think on the alicorn mare he left behind. Was he developing feelings for her? Well that was more of a reason to keep his distance. He was trouble. And Star now had a loving family, he didn't need to be getting involved in it.

With his face nestled into the sheets, he found himself falling asleep, only to dream restlessly of her.

In the middle of the night, the Doctor felt a warm weight against him. He opened his eyes, only to see a soft blue mane flood his vision. He blinked and leaned away, his eyes widened in shock at the sight of her in his arms.

The movement had caused her to wake and she smiled up at him. "Good morning Doctor... did you sleep well?" She asked softly, sleepily as she rocked herself into him slightly.

He shuddered at the feel of her moving against him and couldn't help the hormonal need to pull her closer. "Star..." He buried his face into her mane and took in the soft sugary scent of a mare who spent way too much time making sweets. "You're a sight." He mumbled against her.

"I am?" She asked as she cocked her head to the side, a quizzical expression on her face as she peered up at him.

"More than you could ever imagine." He leaned in and licked her muzzle before kissing her deeply, his hooves on either side of her head, keeping her in place. The moan that escaped her mid-kiss stirred more emotions in him. He pulled away and stared down at the sweet alicorn, snuggled flush against his body.

"Doctor... we can't." She mewled softly as he showered her neck in soft licks.

But he hadn't stopped, he couldn't miss out on this opportunity to show her what she was making him feel. He pressed into her more, a hoof trailed down to her waist and pulled her into him. He was hot all over, his hearts were pounding in his chest, there was no stopping him now, his body and it's needs had taken over his mind. There was no other thought for him at the moment aside from the mare who he had now rolled beneath him.

She stared up at him. "Doctor please."

He kissed her again as he prepared to mount, running on this shape's instincts.

"You can't." She repeated again.

He looked up at her, hesitating.

Her mouth opened to speak, but no words came out, instead, his ears were filled with the sound of a metallic hiss.

"What?" The hiss became louder, followed by distressed beeps. He shook his head as he fell off the bed, wrapped entirely in the sheets. When he opened his eyes and sat up, he found he had been licking and making out with his pillow in his sleep. The noise had been coming from the TARDIS, he was crashing.

Star had woke the next morning, expecting herself to be in the TARDIS, but she wasn't. She was in her room at Sugar Cube Corner, Pinkie Pie had already gone off and she was completely alone. She closed her eyes, the gentle hum of the TARDIS core that often lulled her to sleep was still faint in her ears.

Her stomach churned then. Something was wrong but she couldn't place her hoof on it. Probably nothing. She reassured herself. I likely ate too many sweets last night. She reasoned as she got out of bed to prepare for the day. She expected that she would be working the bakery with the Cakes and Pinkie, but when she got downstairs, she was greeted by Thunder Bolt.

She raised a brow at the sight of him. "Thunder? What are you doing here?"

"I came to take you to the plantation."

"Oh... right Jet and Rain's home." She had to get used to calling them her parents, the whole thing felt so surreal.

He grinned at her. "Come on." He trotted excitedly in circles, flapping his wings.

"Ok, let me just tell Pinkie and The Cakes..." She made a move towards the kitchens, but he stopped her.

"There's no need, I told them already." He kept the grin on his face. "Let's go!" He bolted out the door, expecting her to follow.

She blinked and looked back towards the kitchens before following him. Well if he told them already, no use in me telling them again I suppose. She left the bakery and looked around, only to find him in the sky.

"What are you waiting for? You've got wings, let's use 'em."

"Ah no... well I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?" He landed and looked at her.

"My wings are damaged."

"Oh. Is that why they're all tied up?"

"Yeah. They look pretty bad and I don't want any pony freaking out over them."

He looked disappointed. "Ok then. Let's go on foot."

She nodded. He's certainly energetic. It reminded her of the Doctor. She winced inwardly but shook it off as she followed after him. As they went on, she noticed they were heading towards Sweet Apple Acres. "Wait, this is the way to Applejack's... where are we going Thunder?"

"The Home Sweet Home Plantation is just passed here."

"Home... sweet home." She often heard that saying, but she never once thought of her home as sweet.

"Yep, we grow peaches and herbs. Even though mom's a brilliant flier, she's got quite a green hoof."

"How long have they had the place? I mean, shouldn't they have had a house in Cloudsdale?"

"They had it since the beginning. Mom and Dad have pretty bad blood with some of the ponies in Cloudsdale, so they hardly ever go. It's a long story and I don't know all of it."

"Does it have to do with that mare Snow Drifter?"

"Oh yeah. It has everything to do with her. Theirs is quite a romance."

She cocked her head to the side as she caught up to him. "Can you tell me? I... I want to know as much about them as I can."

He stopped then and turned to her. "Mom's family owns the rainbow factory and back then the rich ponies were nothing short of elitist, well a good amount of them still are I guess." He sat down on the path as he tried to remember the details. "Dad was just a poor pony with a big dream, and Mom was a secluded little princess dying to get out into the world. But Snow Drifter was adamant about keeping her locked away. She dictated everything that happened in her life, from her friends and the things she did. As you can imagine, Mom didn't like that life."

She nodded as she sat down to listen.

"So she begged granddad to let her get a place of her own out in the clouds somewhere so she could experience living alone. She said it was to help prepare her for when she took over the factory, but really it was just her looking for escape."

"Then she met Jet right?"

"Yep. He was practicing flying all sorts of tricks when he caught a glimpse of her doing the same. They hit it off real well. They struggled big time when Snow Drifter found out about it and forced her back home. Then the two ran away together to Ponyville. Snow Drifter was such a snob that she never ever set foot on the ground. She thought it below her."

"So they were safe then?"

"For the most part. Granddad helped them out in secret and the Apples helped them build the plantation while they were living in their barn."

"Wow." Star couldn't help the warm feeling she got from hearing what he knew. "And then they made the Wonderbolts?"

He nodded. "Yep." He grinned and got up. "With the money they made from shows they built up a little empire for themselves." He started walking again and Star followed suit. Curiosity was eating away at him. "So Star... what... what were they like?"

"What were who like?"

"Petal Dancer and Dusty Flint."

She winced at their names. "To Selle ponies they were nice and worked hard at their jobs, but when it came to me well... they just didn't like me."

He stopped again and looked at her. "I'm sorry Star. I'm sorry for the mess you were in. But now the truth is out there." He looked at the ground. "I've known for a long time that Rain and Jet weren't my parents thanks to Snow Drifter... but you had to live all this time thinking your parents hated you." He couldn't help but feel guilty, like he had stolen the life she would have had from her. "Can you forgive me?"

"Forgive you? But you didn't do anything Thunder, you're as much of a victim as was."

"Was I? I grew up along side two awesome ponies who did a lot for the community and opened them to the idea of flight being more than just getting you from one place to another. You on the other hand had to live mistreated."

"I'm not angry with you Thunder, we were foals. There's nothing to fault you for."

"You're really kind you know that?"

"Am I?"

"I don't think any other pony in this situation would still be as kind as you."

"I learned that not every pony will be nice to you, but that doesn't mean you have to be that way too. If I let them corrupt me like that, remaining angry at the whole of the world I would have never been able to find ponies who I could call real friends."

He nodded and mussed his own blue mane. "We're almost there."

"Ok." She smiled. She rather liked Thunder, she was glad that he ended up where he had, if he had started out with the right parents he may have been just as bigoted at them.

In no time, they found themselves reaching a grand plantation home. The two-story home was anything but modest with long white columns that held up the structure in the front connected together by white fences. The windows were tall from top to bottom with pretty mint colored shutters that contrasted beautifully against the white finish of the house. From a far it looked like the perfect storybook home, and even more so from up close. Rose vines were grown purposely along the sides of the house and up the columns half way, with a marble fountain in the middle of the courtyard that lead to the house. The home was surrounded by flowers and peach trees which had been planted and grown by Rain and Jet. The smell of mint came to her nose and she felt herself at ease, as if all her troubles never existed. "It's beautiful."

"Welcome home Star." Thunder grinned. "You're gonna love Mom's cooking. She makes the best zap apple tarts and really good peach mint tea."

"Sounds yummy!" Star was filled with excitement as they got closer to the brick laid porch, regardless of her stomach churning with nervousness every step she took.

Smoke rose up just on the outskirts of the Everfree forest. In the clearing was a smoking blue box that had been turned on her side. The door was forced open as the Doctor climbed out of it. Luckily he had sustained no injuries, although the same could not be said for the blue box. He stood up and surveyed the damage. "Oh just wonderful!" Sarcasm dripped off his tongue as he sat down on the grass defeated. "Why did you do this?" He asked the inanimate box.

A hiss and a pop was his only response.

"Ok, so you're mad at me then?"

Another hiss.

"I can't fix this if you don't tell me."

A crack this time.

"Does this have to do with me leaving Star?" He looked down at the grass. "I had a feeling you liked her."

The door slammed shut, leaving him locked out of the box.

"Oh no, no no no no no!" He stood up and jumped on the box, trying to get the door back open. "Oh no don't do this to me!" He yelled, stirring some bats from their trees into flight. He struggled with the door, only to fall backwards and onto the grass. "Ok! If I find her and apologize will you let me back in at least?"

Smoke blew into his face.

"Great two females angry with me now." He pouted and looked around. "But... how to get out of here is the problem for the moment." He looked back at the TARDIS and started reaching for his sonic, to find that he was quite without it. "Damn, at least let me have my sonic!"

The door opened and the screwdriver flew out, landing in front of him.

"Wonderful." He jumped forward to try and get in before the door slammed shut again, but was a half second too late. His face smashed into the now closed door. He rolled onto the grass and rubbed a hoof against his bruising muzzle. "Fine! Stubborn." He grasped at the sonic and gave a look at his surroundings before pointing the screwdriver out in front of him. "Now to navigate out of this forest." He rolled his eyes, "of all places to land, it had to be here."

Eventually the Doctor managed to get out of the place, only to find himself in front of a grand plantation full of peach trees. The scents lured him closer to the house. He took in the surroundings before the sound of laughter reached his ears. He snuck to the window and peaked in to the room from which the sound was coming from. The room itself was beautifully decorated and looked like some sort of living room. When he looked inside, his hearts fluttered at the sight of Starstrike, surrounded by her parents and adopted brother. They were laughing and seemingly having a good time as Jet enthusiastically told Star stories of his grand ventures as a Wonderbolt.

Star's face, lit with a smile, brought warmth to him. He couldn't possibly confront her now. He would have to find another way. He'd stay away from the TARDIS for awhile, then come back and tell her he saw her, apologized and that it was all ok. Everything in him was telling him to lie, pretend that he had been with the mare, to tell the TARDIS that she pushed him away. And hopefully go on his merry way. But a voice in his head told him that he would regret that.

Thunder glanced towards the window and caught a glimpse of him as he ducked down and out of sight. He raised a brow and excused himself quietly before leaving the room.

The Doctor sighed, hoping he wasn't spotted. "This is stupid, so so stupid." He had been so busy chastising himself that he had not noticed Thunder.

By the time Thunder went outside there was no sign of the other stallion. He looked around suspiciously before turning back and heading into the house.

"What happened Thunder?" Star asked when he returned.

"Oh... it's nothing. Just thought I saw some pony out there."

She sat straighter. "Some pony?" She turned her head to the window.

"Yeah, some brown stallion, but I must have been imagining."

She stood up abruptly and ran outside. She looked around the area, panting as her heart raced. Seeing nothing she slumped and bowed her head. She had gotten excited for nothing. She sighed and headed back in.

The Doctor poked his head out of his hiding spot and watched her go into the house upset. He frowned. What am I doing? I should see her. No, I'm bad news for her. She's got a life, a family, ponies who love her. He needed to get back to the TARDIS unseen.

The days had passed by, Star was back in the routine of working in the shop and seeing her parents on occasions. She got stronger by the day, but there was no sign of recovery in her wings. But it seemed her wings weren't the only thing that had been damaged, her heart too suffered thanks to the Doctor's disappearance. She should hate him, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. No matter how many stallions came into the shop and flirted with the mare, she had taken no notice to them other than to serve them up sweet treats. Many had come in hopeful to get the mare's attentions only to leave with just a bag of sweets.

Every now and then Star would catch a glimpse of some pony in the window, staring at her, but the moment she turned to look, they disappeared, leaving her to think that she was imagining things again.

One night Star decided to take a walk, the night was crisp, but not too cold, perfect for a moonlit stroll. It was there in the square that she saw him, a big disheveled mess. She stood there and stared at him before making her way towards him.

He was laying across a bench, with his front leg over his face, his hair was a mess and he looked quite unkempt. Any passerby would mistake him for a homeless drunk.

Before he could make a dash for it, Star was hovering over him, staring down at the stallion. "Doctor."

He bolted upright at the sound of his name and looked towards her voice, he looked quite miserable, empty, soulless.

She should be angry at him, ready to sock him as she had promised herself, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. "You big idiot."

He just looked at her with the saddest expression he could ever muster, it was essentially quite pathetic.

But it hurt her to see him this way. "Where's the TARDIS?"

He sighed. "Crashed in the Everfree forest."

"It what?"

"Crashed." He repeated dejectedly.

She sighed. "Ok, you're coming with me then. We'll get you cleaned up, fed and rested and in the morning we'll look for the TARDIS."

"No."

"No?"

"No."

"No...?"

"She kicked me out."

"The TARDIS kicked you out."

"Well, more like threw me out, while she lay on her side."

Star's concern grew more. "Ok, that's it, we're going tonight then. Surely there's a reason why she did it."

Because of you... He wanted to say but shook it off.

She started to walk away from him.

"Wait where are you going?"

"I'm going to find the TARDIS. You can stay and rot there if you like."

He watched her go in shock before he got up and quickly tailed her. "Star wait."

She ignored him and continued on the path to the Everfree forest.

Falling for hard headed stubborn women, why do I do that again? This was the second female to have been in his life that could make him feel this way.

She gave pause, there was tiredness in her eyes. She was worried, but didn't turn back, although she was afraid he wasn't going to follow. She shook it off and continued on.

He sighed and resigned himself to following her.