A/N: This is going to be Doctor-free for the next couple of chapters, just so you all know lol. But I think Arnie is a good replacement. That would be good actually, if the Doctor regenerated into a horse... or a beaver. LOL a little beaver with spiky hair and glasses and a little brown trench coat. Now that would be frigging awesome xD

Chapter Six

Stranded

Ashley stood in the middle of the street, the cobbles now gleaming ice beneath her feet. She had her hands clamped under her chin, staring up at the sky where the dragon had finally disappeared from sight. She always whined telling the Doctor to be careful, or not to do this or that in case he was hurt, but now she realised that she had never expected him to get hurt. The thought of something bad happening to him just seemed so unlikely – like it was the last thing that would happen... which in a way she supposed it would be. She hadn't prepared herself for what she would do if something did happen to him. It had never occurred to her. Actually the only time it had occurred to her was when she had first started travelling with him and she was worried about being stranded on a distant planet, but then that just got forgotten about…

She never expected it to actually happen.

She was stuck on a planet with no way of getting back home.

Ashley felt the panic rising up her spine like a chill. She shuddered and then closed her eyes tightly, willing herself to stay calm. But it was hard. It was very hard.

'Oh crap!' she cried, putting her hands on her head. 'Oh crap!'

Arnie the horse trotted up beside her, warily watching his hooves on the ice. 'Well… He should be happy to have such an exciting way to go,' he said, looking up at the sky. 'Some people just end up getting hit by a speeding carriage, or eat a poisoned apple by mistake.'

Ashley turned to him with wide eyes. She opened her mouth as if she was going to speak, but didn't. Arnie watched her as she whirled around and ran towards the TARDIS, slipping and sliding all over the ice.

'Careful!' he called to her. 'Last thing you need is to fall over and snap your leg! Well… at least you won't get turned into glue or something…'

Ashley skidded right into the TARDIS, slamming into it. She grunted, and then ran her hands over the icy exterior and pushed hard on the door. It wouldn't budge. It probably wouldn't have budged even if it hadn't been frozen as it was still locked, but she was too panicked to think of that at first. After a moment of fruitless pounding, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the TARDIS key.

'Look, lady,' Arnie sighed, watching her as she impatiently pulled off her mittens with her teeth to get a better grip on the key. 'He's gone, right? You saw him – he was completely frozen solid. You might as well just pick up those bricks you crapped and jump on the next ship home before that thing comes back and does the same to you. At least you can get away from here. I would have to wait three weeks for clearance because apparently horses are never in a hurry to get anywhere.'

Ashley tried to force the key in the lock but it was completely iced over. Little shards of ice broke off, but she was no closer to getting the key in. She cursed, panic taking over.

Arnie cocked an eyebrow. 'Well can we at least get off the street? Your more obvious than an elephant hiding behind a toothpick with that hair of yours. If you're going to have a panic attack or something I'd rather be where it's warm and dragon-free…'

Ashley whirled around, hands up on either side of her head. Her cheeks were flushed with colour and her eyes were huge. 'Shut up!' she cried. 'For God's sake shut the hell up before I turn you into Pedigree Chum!'

Arnie stared at her incredulously for a moment, and then moved his head back with a grimace. 'Well I don't think I've ever been spoken to like that before in my life.' He breathed.

Ashley stared at him for a moment longer, and then turned back to the TARDIS, struggling with the lock. Arnie snorted in disgust and shook his mane.

'Well I'm not staying where I'm not wanted.' He huffed, turning away. 'Stay here and get frozen, see what I care. Bloody ungrateful that is. I agree to help you and all I get is abuse…'

Ashley let out a cry of frustration and threw the key down on the ground. It bounced about a meter away and just lay there. Ashley banged her head twice against the doors of the TARDIS, before turning and sliding down into a sitting position, where she buried her face in her hands. Arnie stopped and watched her for a moment, and then sighed.

'If you want I can take you to the port.' He replied. 'It'll probably be packed out but I'm sure you can get on a flight at some point today-'

'You don't get it!' Ashley cried, looking up at him with teary eyes. 'I'm not from here! I can't just jump on a space ship that'll take me home! This thing-' She banged her hand on the TARDIS, causing small shards of ice to sprinkle over her. 'This is the only thing that can take me home, and even if I do get inside of it, I can't fly it! Don't you understand? Without the Doctor I'm stranded!'

Arnie looked at her for a moment, and then looked at the TARDIS. Then he looked back at he and lowered his head slightly. 'I hate to break it to you… but that's a box. I suppose you could stick some cardboard wings on the sides and paint on some racing stripes...'

Ashley glared at him. Then tears began to roll down her cheeks. 'And he's gone! The Doctor is gone…. He's probably dead! No one could survive being frozen like that.' She blinked as if what had happened had only just settled in. 'Oh my god… he's dead.' She covered her mouth with both hands. 'The Doctor's dead!'

Arnie didn't understand why she looked so horrified. Of course if a loved one is killed you're going to be upset, but this girl looked genuinely devastated, and not just for herself. He trotted a little closer and offered her a smile. 'It'll be okay,' he told her. 'You'll get back home eventually and you'll be upset for a while but one day you'll-'

'You don't know the Doctor,' Ashley replied, tears now coursing down her cheeks. 'He's… He's the best person in the universe, and I know that first hand! He's just… he's brave and clever and fun and…' She wiped her face impatiently. 'And he would do anything for anyone. He saved my life! And I don't mean by stopping that Crowe guy from stealing by brain or when I got trapped in the hall of mirrors or anything like that…'

Arnie looked at her in bewilderment, not for the first time wondering if she was a bit crazy. He said nothing and listened as she continued.

'He showed me things I would never ever see,' she went on, more to herself than to Arnie. 'I used to work in a bar… I used to go to the bar and then go home and drink wine and then get up and go to the shop and buy more wine and then go out and drink more wine and watch crap TV and… And I can't imagine myself doing that anymore. It seems like it was all just a dream. My life before meeting the Doctor was just one long waiting period – like I was actually waiting for him to arrive. And then he did and…' She stopped herself and wiped her nose. 'And now he's gone. Just like that. Taken away by a bloody… a bloody dragon of all things.' She sighed and buried her face in her hands. 'Oh god I miss him already…'

Arnie looked at her for a moment, and then glanced up and down the street. He sighed, regretting what he was about to tell her. 'Well… you know… he might be still alive.'

Ashley looked up at him sharply. 'What? How?'

Arnie blinked. 'Well I'm just saying. I've seen that dragon freeze other people and, well… it just left them behind. It actually made the effort to carry him off somewhere, so either its just going to thaw him out and chuck him in the microwave for later or it… I don't know… wants him for something.'

Ashley stared at the horse for a long moment. Arnie became slightly restless under her gaze and shuffled from hoof to hoof.

'It's just a thought, you know…' he muttered.

'He's still alive.' Ashley said suddenly. 'Of course he is. He's the Doctor. He's not going to get killed by a dragon. That's just stupid.' She got to her feet quickly, making Arnie move back a couple of steps in alarm. 'He's probably somewhere right now, trapped and needing my help.' Her eyes were wide. 'I need to find him. Right now.'

Arnie winced. 'Well… how're you going to do that?'

Ashley thought for a moment. An idea struck her and she turned back to the TARDIS. 'It's ice…' she said in wonderment.

Arnie backed away another two steps, becoming increasingly wary of her and deciding that she was mental. 'Well aren't you the master of observation?'

Ashley placed her palms on the TARDIS and closed her eyes. Arnie watched, planning on just turning and running away while she wasn't watching him, but then something happened that made her stay. He didn't notice for a moment, but then he noticed the pool of water forming at her feet. He trotted towards her, still keeping a wide berth, and peered around to see her face. Her eyes were closed and she was frowning. He looked at her hands and frowned as he saw that the ice around them was melting – quite rapidly. He took another couple of steps back and watched as eventually all the ice on the TARDIS melted away, until only the back of it and the top was still icy. Finally, Ashley snapped her hands back and opened her eyes. Then she grinned.

'Oh if he'd seen me do that…' She trailed off and looked around frantically. 'The key! Where did the key go?'

Arnie looked down and lifted his hoof, seeing the key below it. She saw it immediately and swooped down to grab it, before quickly using it to unlock the TARDIS.

'I don't see why you're so keen to get in there.' He told her worriedly. 'You said you couldn't fly it.'

'I need some things.' She told him. 'If we're going to be walking for a while then I'll need some supplies.'

'We?' Arnie replied.

Ashley disappeared inside without answering him. Arnie hesitated, and then tentatively approached the door. He peered in, and then entered. His jaw dropped at the sight ahead of him. His hooves clunked on the metal grating. He stopped half in and half out, and stared. Ashley ran across the floor of the control room and through another door. After the initial shock passed, Arnie nodded appreciatively.

'I could do with a stable like this.' He mumbled.

Ashley returned a moment later with a new scarf and a backpack. She snatched something up from beside the control panel and then herded Arnie back outside. She closed the door behind her, locked it, and then turned back to the dumbfounded horse.

'Okay,' she said, eyes wide with excitement. 'You lead.'

Arnie blinked at her. 'You what?'

'To the castle,' Ashley replied. 'You said you'd take us.'

'Yeah,' Arnie snorted. 'That was before your boyfriend got carried off by a dragon. I'm not going anywhere near that bloody place. This is all too dodgy for me. I'm going to take my chances by dressing up as a person and trying to get on the next flight out, which is exactly what you should be doing.' He paused. 'Not the dressing up part obviously, you look fine. Well when I say fine…'

Ashley took a step forward. 'The Doctor will stop all of this.' She told him. 'We need to find him and get him out of wherever he's being held and then he'll get rid of that dragon, help everyone else and return Fanallasoratia back to normal.'

Arnie stared at her unblinkingly. Ashley frowned slightly.

'Did I just say that?' she winced. 'Christ I sound like I'm in a Disney movie.'

Arnie continued to look at her warily. She returned her sights on him and pointed a finger.

'I'm going to find him whether you help me or not,' she told him. 'But I can tell you know that we'll get everything done a lot quicker as a pair. You're a prince's horse. Now act like one.'

Arnie frowned slightly and opened his mouth to object, and then gave up. He sighed and drooped his head. 'Fine. Whatever. What's the bloody point in fighting it anymore?' He breathed out sharply through his nostrils and then nodded forward. 'Well this way. Hope you packed you hiking boots because you're not getting on my back.'

Ashley smiled. 'Thank you.'

Arnie grimaced as he trotted past her. 'Yeah yeah.' He grumbled.

Ashley looked back at the TARDIS once, pushed aside any doubts that rose about the Doctor's well being, and followed the horse.