Chapter 2

The sounds and smells of 1887 Paris wafted through the air. The Eiffel towers silhouette dominated the horizon in front of a fading orange sky. It was late evening and derpy and the doctor were sitting on a hill in a public park. The Eiffel tower had just been built and shone brightly in the remainder of the day’s sunlight. They had decided to go there for derpys birthday. Or rather, the doctor had decided to stop here as a surprise.

He had come a few minutes earlier to set up a picnic then returned to pick her up. Thanks to the miracles of time travel she didn’t have to wait that long. They had a wonderful time talking and eating and laughing. As the sun completely disappeared the doctor grinned, his next surprise was about to begin.

Just as the last rays of light started to vanish below the horizon fireworks blasted across the sky, illuminating them both in bright shades of blue, red, green, and yellow.

Derpy yelped in surprise and jumped onto the doctor, knocking him over. They rolled down the hill and came to a stop in some bushes. Derpys eyes were closed tight and she was holding him tightly.

“Well well well” he chuckled, “this seems familiar now doesn’t it?”

Derpy opened her eyes and blushed. She began to climb off of him but he stopped her.

“No” he whispered, “stay.” He wrapped his forelegs around her in a warm embrace and nuzzled her neck. They found themselves once again looking into each others eyes. Her golden iris’s reflecting the colors in the sky above them.

Slowly, ever so slowly, they leaned in closer to each other, never breaking eye contact. Their lips met and they finally closed their eyes. The finale of fireworks erupted around the Eiffel tower then ended, accenting the kiss in an almost surreal way. Finally they broke apart and smiled at each other. This was the happiest either of them had ever felt.

“I have something for you” the doctor said softly, smiling uncontrollably.

“Really?!” derpy perked up, she loved surprises.

“It’s in the tardis” he said as she jumped off him excitedly. She ran into the blue police box and returned with a small package wrapped in muffin wrapping paper. She trotted up and set it down in front of him.

“Is this it?” she asked.

“Yes, go on, open it”

She wasted no time tearing the paper from the little box and pulling the lid off of it. She sat down and brought a hoof to her mouth. She wiped a happy tear from her eye and choked up a little. Inside the box sat a little red bowl, its colors faded and worn. a small bottle with a picture of bubbles on it, a little pink wand, and a muffin. A purple muffin.

“Where did you get these?” she asked, carefully taking the old bowl out of the box.

“On the other side of a mountain near ponyville, they were just sitting there, as if someone had just left them.”

She looked up at him with teary eyes. “Thank you” she whispered, and nearly tackled him with a hug.

“Well? What are you waiting for?” he asked, nodding towards the rest of the contents of the box. Derpy set the bowl down and emptied the bottle into it. She took the bubble wand into her teeth and dipped it into the bowl. She shook her head, surrounding them both in a cloud of bubbles.

She stared at them, mesmerized. The tiny rainbow globes floating around them delicately. She tentatively poked one with a hoof and popped it.

“There’s one more thing” the doctor said, nodding towards the box again. Derpy turned and picked up the muffin. It was purple, purple muffins were her favorite. She was about to take a bite of it when she noticed one last thing in the box. It had been hidden under the muffin. A little piece of paper. A photograph. It was a trio of ponies. One was a big grey stallion with a yellow mane and tail. The other was an all yellow mare. In between them sat a little grey filly her little hooves clutching a doll and her crossed eyes curiously staring at the camera.

Derpy picked up the picture and broke into tears again. She hardly ever cried. But this was something she had been longing to see for a long time. The doctor put a comforting hoof on her shoulder but kept quiet. After she had cried herself out she clutched the picture to her chest and kissed him on the cheek.

“This is – the best birthday I ever had” she smiled.

“I’m glad you like it” the doctor replied. They sat there on that hill for quite a while, just quietly enjoying each other’s company, the only light shining from the top of the tardis. Eventually they got up, packed their things, and got aboard the tardis. They set a course for ponyville. Five minutes after they had left a year ago.