My little Background Characters

      The Doctor kept staring at the mare in awe. How did he get here? All he remembered was entering an unexplored region of the universe, then the TARDIS went out of control. He remembered being hurtled towards the door and then…darkness. Wait. Soon as he recalled what happened, pain ripped through his body. He cringed and stifled a yelp.

        That's when he heard something open. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small, purple mass retrieve a jug of milk from what looked like a fridge. As the Doctor focused his vision on the thing, he realized it was an equine of a sort. He watched as she crawled atop a counter and take a box of cereal, a bowl, and a spoon. The creature poured the cereal into the bowl, and the next strange thing happened. The being used a natural energy beam to lift the milk and pour it into the bowl.

          The Doctor cleared his throat. " Err…hello?"

          The equine turned around to face Doctor. Her wide eyes lit up at the sight of him, but the excitement within her died with a deep breath.

          He gazed at the equine's youthful appearance. The filly had a blonde mane, and a small horn stood in the center of her forehead. She seemed completely nonchalant over the alien sitting not fifteen feet away.

         "Well, perhaps you can tell me what happened while I was out?" he tried hard not to stare. This was a talking unicorn standing in front of him. The Doctor had seen a lot in his life, but nothing as fanciful as this.

        The filly shrugged. " You'll have to ask my mommy. Because as a famous mare would say, "Spoilers"." she kept pouring, completely oblivious to the milk beginning to spill on the floor.

         It was at that point Dinky realized how much milk she spilt. She put the jug away and wiped the remainder off the floor. "I hate it when this happens. Believe it or not, this happens more than you think."

  "Hm. Look at you. There's a creature you've never even heard of before, and you're acting like this is a daily occurrence."

Dinky winked. "Maybe you should take a good, long look at yourself, Doctor."

    " Why?" he asked.

"Because in my eyes, you're something quite familiar. You and I, are quite similar."

    "I think your quite mistaken, little filly. There's no possible way I could be a-gah!" pain ripped through the Doctor's head once more. He reached up to rub the small lump on the side of his head, that's when it happened.

      A hoof. In place of the Doctor's hand, there was a round, chestnut-colored, hoof. The doctor threw off the blanket. " Checking a mirror, now!" as soon as he hit the floor, he yipped in pain as he noticed his mangled hoof. Dinky giggled.

"Maybe I should've warned you about the hoof." The doctor now both admired and disliked this filly.

"Okay, limping to a mirror."

It didn't take long for the Doctor to locate the bathroom, surprise ran through him as he gazed at his reflection. " Okay, how did I regenerate? I sustained injuries, but none were fatal or even serious…" He glanced at himself and fiddled with his hooves. " Okay, chestnut coat. And um…cobalt eyes looks like." He blew a strand of hair out of his face. " Still not ginger, Blast! Wait," he turned around to see Dinky. The small filly watched him, amused, as he fiddled with himself. " You mentioned a mother…"

"Uh, yeah. I can't live here without a registered guardian. Which Sparkler and Carrot Top are not."

The Doctor raised his brow. "You said she knew what happened? Well, I'd like to meet her!" He trotted back to the den.

        As the gallifreyan looked closely at the young mare, he felt….odd. Not ten seconds went by when the mare opened her eyes and fluttered the sleep out of them. The doctor gazed into the mare's distorted, amber eyes.

She screamed, scaring the stallion half to death. "AH, I HAD A BAD DREAM!"

She acknowledged the Doctor. "AH, YOU WERE THERE!"

The Doctor stared as the mare placed both hooves on the sides of her head. "AH, THE DREAM WAS REAL!"

Derpy's lopsided eyes turned to the clock. "AH, I'M LATE!"

She bolted around the house, grabbing the scroll, kissing Dinky on the forehead, and running out the door with a "DON'TBURNTHEHOUSEDOWNORI'LLKILLYOULOVEYOUBYE!"

The door slammed shut, leaving Dinky and the Doctor alone.

"Is she always like this?' He asked the filly.

"With all that's been happening, she gets a free pass for this."

   Dinky yawned, bored. "So, wanna see some spells my teacher has been having me work on?"

"Spells?'

"I am a *coughallpoweredcough* unicorn. I know a lot of magic, but even I need to do some homework."

   The doctor stifled a giggle. " Magic? magic isn't real! It's just a shoddy excuse for the unexplained." The filly simply stared.

" Shun the unbeliever!" She cried, hissing at him like a changeling.

He paused.

"Okaaaay..."

As Derpy down through the gate, she blindly crashed into something. Stars crossed her eyes as the world turned black. Seconds later, she heard an exclamation, some very mean words between to voices, and an "Oh dear, are you alright!?" the concerned words were soon followed by " Quick Tavi, hide the body!" more mean words between the voices, and Derpy then felt a hoof grasp hers.

       Vision returned to her, and she found herself staring at beige mare's concerned eyes. Just beyond her, a white, unicorn mare with a crazy mane shot a mean glare at the beige one. "Oh sure, help the complete stranger and not your friend!" The mare shouted angrily.

       The mare helped Derpy up before turning to the white mare. " You bite your tongue Vinyl!"

        As the two argued, Derpy realized she's seen these mares before. She looked at the name on her letter before turning to the arguing ponies. " Are you Octavia?" The two mares paused.

      Octavia cleared her throat and straightened her bowtie. " Yes I am. What might I do for, Ms?"

" Er…Hooves." Octavia shook Derpy's hoof. Vinyl cleared her throat noisily.

Octavia let out an annoyed grunt. "Okay, you know what? My roommate saw the blue box in the sky and how it fell in your yard. She just really wanted to know what it's all about."

     Derpy paused to try to come up with an answer. " Uhhhh, know what? Not even I can explain that… Anyway, I am apparently the pony who's checking the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. You're on my list as a musician."

" Of course miss Hooves. I assumed that I'd be meeting with Celestia's student, though."

"Plans change, apparently.''

"Very well, I have the honor of backing up such a momentous occasion, along with Lyra heartstrings." She seemed to be thinking. " She would make much better company if she hadn't taken up her silly obsession. Anyway, I can take you to where me and my associate are working if you'd like."

" Oh, that would be lovely." Derpy smiled. Octavia began to lead her away.

" She cracked my shades…" Vinyl mumbled behind them.

       Meanwhile, the Doctor boredly sat on the couch. Dinky trotted up to him, book in her mouth. She spat it out on his lap. " You can read this mister. It's a big book, and adults like big books, right?" The Doctor took it. After trying several times to pick up the book, he simply adjusted himself so he could read it while lying down. The book was leather bound, old, and dusty. As he opened it up, he realized it was a photo book. The first page was entitled " best day ever" A young looking mare in a white dress and a veil. She clung to a blue, unicorn stallion with a wavy mane and a black tuxedo. Both had unbelievably large smiles. " Dinky?"

"Yes?"

"Who's this?"

Dinky gazed at the photo and shrugged. " That mare looks like my mom in her earlier years. No idea who the stallion is…" Suddenly, a pink aura closed the book and levitated it upward. A pink mare with a short mane and angry eyes took the book. " Where did you get this?" she angrily asked.

Dinky fiddled with her hooves before answering sheepishly. "Mommy's closet," she looked down, away from the mare.

The mare gazed at her in a disappointed way. " RRRRR! You know you're not allowed in Mom's closet! She made that rule for a reason, you know!" She transferred her glare to the doctor. He knew why Dinky was acting squeamish under her. Her gaze even made him uncomfortable. " And you! My night was bad enough with Button refusing to take a bath. Then I come home to a steaming crater and some random stallion on the couch. Now," She levitated a baseball bat to herself. " I'm going to go hit a tree," she trotted outside.

"Your family seems to have a lot of anger issues."

"Feh."

Dinky retrieved another large book. She sat next to the Doctor and handed the book to him. " Don't worry about Sparkler, mommy says every pony goes through what she calls "puberty". Sparky's pretty nice on good days. Anyway, will you read me something?"

" So she's Sparkler. Sister?"

" Bingo!" the doctor shrugged and took a look at the book. Mare's tales to tell your foals. He skimmed through the contents. He soon realized the stories were similar to earth fairy tails. Little Red Hood, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Hansel and Gretel. The off thing about the stories was the fact that the characters, save the animals, were all ponies. It didn't feel right. He put down the book. " Well how about we just talk. Sooo, how old are you?"

"I am six years old! You?"

" I don't know how to answer that." He quickly changed the subject. " So you're in, I want to say, First Grade?" Dinky nodded before gaining a serious look.

"You really don't believe in magic, do you?"

" Oh Dinky, when you're young, you believe in a lot of things. Magic is one of those things. As you grow you'll-"

"But you're wrong. Here? Magic makes this world alive. We use magic to shift seasons. To move the sun and moon. Spell books are in every library. Someone has to be two things to not think magic is real. One: they're not a unicorn. Two: They have to have lived under a rock for half their lives."

The Doctor changed the subject again. " Why was Ditzy in such a hurry this morning?" Dinky sighed.

"She was appointed by Princess Celestia to make sure the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration go as planned. It's got to be really special, this is the first time it's being held in Ponyville."

The Doctor wondered himself if Ditzy had a right to be paranoid. " So, you're country is ruled by a monarchy. So is there a king or queen?"

" No, just the Princess. But she's ruled Equestria for over a thousand years! Celestia has made Equestria an egalitarian society." Dinky proudly spouted.

"You seem like quite a smart little one. Your mother must be a good teacher!" He smiled, and the filly followed.

"Oh, you know, you're like the exact opposite of Miss Cheerilee in some ways. She says a filly like me should slow down sometimes. but why should I? I mean, I could earn scholarships with my grades. Mom taught me the basics when I was young, so I focus on the advanced stuff now. Heck, I know most average spells, and am working on intermediate magic. And I'm six!" The Doctor swore he saw the filly glowing from her happiness. That was when she looked down, away from him. "Maybe that's why I don't have any  friends…Or a cutiemark..." She said, contemplative.

The Doctor sighed. He patted her shoulder gently. " You know what, why is a cute-mark so important anyway? Besides, I've known a lot of bad creatures in my time, and they always get karma thrown right back at them. What is a cute-mark anyway?" Dinky rolled her eyes.

"Cutiemark. Not Cute-mark. Anyway, should you know this. It's a mark on your flank that shows what you were meant to do with your life. Your Talent. Yours is an hourglass." Dinky asked. The Doctor glanced at his flank, and sure enough, there was an hourglass.

" Well look at that! How peculiar. My "talent" has to do with time. But in a way you wouldn't believe. You remember my box?" Dinky nodded. " Okay, I'll need some help, but would you like to see it?"

Dinky teared up , like a repressed child filled with anger. "Yes! But it's just that I..." she sighed, pressing her hooves against her head.

"I wouldn't hurt anyone as innocent as you. I can prove it right now, if you-"

She wiped away a tear. "I can't do it anymore."

The foal smiled. "You don't need to prove yourself to me, Doctor. You don't need to hide."

He froze.

"Ah, you get it, now. You never told me you were called the Doctor. I know who you are. You're 903. Much younger than our princess, but an elder of the universe no less. You're from Gallifrey, and you are the tenth regeneration of yourself."

The doctor was stunned. This filly knew much more about him than he expected. "You sacrificed your race to stop the time war, and thusly saved the universe. Now, you're alone, relying on strangers to keep you company, if only for a little while."

"How do you know any of this?"

She giggled. "You're not the only one who's gallivanted around in time. I just..." She shuddered, "Would rather not do it again."

"Alright, then" He reached for his Sonic Screwdriver. " See this?" Dinky nodded. " You can't get this anywhere in Eques-"

"I know what it is."

Dinky took the machine into her aura, and aimed the screwdriver at various machines. The Refrigerator opened and closed, the television suddenly turned on, lights flickered on and off, the radio blared, and a little toy robot scuttled across the floor. The doctor was impressed.

" That robot doesn't even have batteries!" She pointed out.. "Wanna show Carrot Top the TARDIS?" Dinky trotted upstairs. A couple moments later, A yellow mare followed by Dinky came down. " There better be a good reason you're telling this fi- what!?" Carrot gazed at the flickering machines.

" Um yes, I'll need a little help to get to my TARDIS." He said from the couch.

Carrot kept staring.  " Glad to see your up. Could you tone it down on the unholy alien tech?" The Doctor made the screwdriver revert the machines back to their normal state.

      Several minutes later, Doctor Green had come in just as carrot Top started helping him up. After an introduction (and several attempts to get the crutches on), Green left with a couple bits of advice. The trio made their way to the crater. Inside, a blue box. " Oh, you sexy thing…" The Doctor mumbled as he made his way down to the box. Carrot and Dinky followed suit.

" How does something like this create such a large crater?" Carrot asked herself.

" How does something like that even end up in the sky?" Dinky replied sarcastically.

The Doctor slowly opened the TARDIS door. Dinky squeaked in glee, and Carrot top fainted. " Hold on," Dinky trotted back into the house and came back with icy cold water. She proceeded to dump the bucket onto the mare.

Ditzy trotted alongside Octavia as she saw it. BonBon's Sweet Shoppe. Derpy  glanced at her list. BonBon was on her list as a food provider. She trotted in to see two mares A mint green unicorn gathering ribbons and placing them in a bag. Then there was a creamy colored  mare cooking sweets. They both greeted Derpy kindly. She shrugged off the kind words.

Octavia led the young pegasus to the Unicorn. "Hey, Tavi. How's practice going?" she asked.

" Just swell, Lyra. Anyway, this is Ditzy. She's  to make sure everything is prepared." Derpy shook Lyra's hoof.

  Lyra levitated a cello and a lyre out of a closet. " Let's show her our symphony." Sweet, happy music emitted from the two instruments.  Derpy recognized the song when it turned sad for an instant. The song that played when she first him. " Okay, that's a lovely song, you two! Let me just check on the food.." She shyly trotted to Bonbon, pretending not to notice the confused glances between Lyra and Octavia.

   " My Name is Bonbon. As you may know, I have been entrusted with honorable task of making the food for the Summer Sun Celebration." She smiled and curtsied politely.

   "Er, nice to meet you." Derpy plastered a fake smile on her face. She hoped to speed this up a little more. She stepped up to the counter, which was covered with hundreds of treats. " Try anything you want." Bonbon beamed. Derpy plopped a taffy in her mouth. Flavor exploded in her mouth. She couldn't help but sigh in delight. " Every sweet is made without a recipe. And no batch is exactly the same. Try another."

     Derpy reached  for a fancy chocolate. She let it melt on her tongue as a sweet flavor coated her tastebuds. " These are the greatest sweets I've ever tasted!" she shouted. Bonbon smiled at the compliment. She let Derpy take a few sweets for home. Swiftly, Derpy checked off music and food. Sparkler said she'd handle the decor, so I'm done. She opened the door to leave, when the mares told her something that irked her.

" We hope to see you again! Maybe next time we can get together as friends!" Bonbon beamed.

"And whenever you need something, call us. We owe you," Vinyl  said.

The mare bit her lip in discomfort in the fashion she did whenever she was faced with the word "friend".

"You don't owe me a thing. Don't worry." She gulped and forced a smile onto her face.

She ran for the door, bad memories coursing through her head.