"But Mom, I really want him to come!" Derpy Hooves begged, on her knees, her voice ringing across the small house.
"I'm sorry, but it's not happening, and that's final! I know it's your birthday, but that doesn't just mean that everything is of your choice. And besides, that sweet little filly Pinkie is throwing your party. Isn't that enough?" her mother said, strain in her voice from saying the exact same thing a million times to her daughter. It was her birthday tomorrow, but Derpy wasn't satisfied, since her best (if not only) friend wouldn't be coming. She pouted, slowly going to her room, her argument lost. It wasn't fair, not at all. She got up into her bed and sat there, daydreaming. Her mother had sounded pretty serious, but she could always get her father to change her mind.
She jumped off, and trotted out the door to where her father currently was, at the store. As she entered, she heard someone snicker quietly. She looked behind herself to see a young Pegasus pointing her out to his friends, laughing at what they saw.
"Ha! Look at the freak's eyes!"
Derpy quickly went into the store, hiding her eyes from anypony. She kept going, not paying attention to where she was, until she bumped into an old mare, who yelled out as her cane slipped from her grasp. She fell onto a pyramid of towels, all of which collapsed. "Oh... I'm so, so, so sorry!" She slowly backed away from the scene as the store manager ran out to help. Her cheeks went red as she slowly walked away. She sighed. "Why am I such a screw up..."
She sneaked back to the front of the store, acting as if none of the accident had just happened. It was then that she took in the details of the market. The floors were shining, and the shelves held numerous items, such as foods, goods, and other ingredients. Above all else, Derpy peered at the very top of first aisle's shelf. She licked her lips, forgetting about what happened earlier, thinking of how good it would taste, how delicious, scrumptious, flavorful, rich, and savory they would be. She stared at it's bronze surface, and the sparkling stars of blue that were embedded into the top. "Muffins!" she squealed, immediately staring at them, her mouth watering. Droplets of reflective saliva dropped from her mouth, reproducing an image of the treats above her head. She immediately started working her tiny wings, her hooves slowly raising above the floor. She kept staring at it, going faster, coming closer, and closer, and closer, until...
Bonk!
She crashed into a brown wall, spinning back towards the ground. The brown wall retracted, and Derpy followed its path to a brown stallion, going miles a minute saying
apologies.
"Oh, jeese, are you hurt? Are you okay? How many muffins am I holding up?" He held up two muffins, waving them across her eyes. Derpy immediately jumped up and chomped on one, taking a large bite out of it's glistening top.
"Mmm! Thank you, Mister!" she stated, getting back up. Her legs wobbled a bit, but the stranger laid a hoof on her, steadying her. She inspected him more thoroughly now. He had a chocolate colored mane, with a lighter colored fur. His cutie mark resembled an hour glass, and he wore a green tie. Being shy, she immediately started to trot off to find her father. Then, a light bulb came on in her head. She turned around and jumped at the kind stranger. "Oh, oh! Do you want to come to my birthday party?"
"Why, when is it?" he replied, smiling at Derpy.
"Tomorrow!"
"I'll gladly come!" He paused for a moment because she stared at him for a moment, or at least it seemed so with her eyes.
"Well?" she asked after the moment of stasis. "You aren't gonna just walk away or make fun of me?"
The stranger looked at her, puzzled. "Why would I do that?" Derpy opened her mouth, but decided against saying something.
"What's your name, Mister? Mine is Derpy!" She asked, bouncing around him.
"I'm the Doctor," he said with an air of confidence. Derpy stopped for a moment, waiting for him to finish.
"The doctor of what?"
"No, I'm the Doctor."
"Of what?"
"No, I'm the Doctor," he repeated, putting more emphasis on the. Now it was Derpy's turn to look puzzled.
"I'm just gonna call you Doctor!" she said. "You wanna come home with me?" She had completely forgotten of her father, and she really didn't need his opinion since Derpy had someone to replace the open slot of her birthday party.
"Sure, I really was just browsing," he responded, walking with her. He almost had to run to keep up with the excited little pony ahead of him. The afternoon sun slowly retracted as the day went on. The Doctor and Derpy continued on to her home.
* * *
"So, now that you know, let's play a game of Chess," the Doctor said, reconstructing the brown-and-black board's pieces. The sun was going down, making the sky a hue of orange. The two ponies were in Derpy's room. A muffin-shaped clock sat above them on a beige wall, outlined with dark wood. Derpy was sprawled across her bed, a small mattress atop a polished wooden frame with teal blankets and white, fluffy pillows. The Doctor sat down on one of the pillows at the end of the bed, the board between them. Behind him was a long table, on top of which were some of Derpy's belongings and pictures. The Doctor was trying to explain how to play Chess, but Derpy didn't grasp the rules. He finished arranging the pieces. "You go first, Derpy."
"Okay!" She grabbed the horse piece, and ran it around the board, crashing into all the other pieces! Every single piece was in utter disarray when she was done. "Did I win?" she asked, beaming.
"Er... Not exactly." A knock sounded on their door, and Derpy's mother put her head in the door.
"Sweetums? I believe it's time to go to bed now."
"Okay, Mom! Bye, Doctor!" She hopped to the head of the bed and slid under the covers.
"Good bye, Derpy," he said, walking out the door. He passed Derpy's mother, and walked out into the street, and then disappeared.
"Good night, Derpy," the mother whispered, closing the door and turning off the light. Derpy was encompassed in blackness. Everything was silent, and she slowly fell asleep.
"Derpy... Wake up, Derpy..."
She shifted in her sleep, woke up, and saw her mother's face looking down at her. A white smile was on her face, and next to that smile was another, which belonged to her father. It wasn't white, with the red and purple jam stains and what-not, but it was still a great sight to wake up to.
"Happy Birthday!" they declared in unison, their smiles infectious as Derpy's mouth twisted into one.
"It's my birthday!" she squeaked, immediately awake and jumping around the room. She bounced off the walls in euphoria before getting tuckered out. She stared out the window and saw one of the greatest things she's ever seen. Tables formed a rectangle outside, each one with a muffin-pattern cloth. They held gifts, food, and more. Some of her mother's friends were there, as well as their kids. But above all else, the Doctor stood in the middle, holding his present rather than putting it on a table. Farther on was Pinkie Pie, with a large audience watching her juggle ten party hats, throwing them out to ponies as she went. Her hair was a bright pink mess, and she wore a party hat saying Happy Birthday, Derpy! Over her head were steel poles soaring upwards, with strings connected them, having bright flags on them. Even further were their neighbors' homes, the town hall, Sugar Cube Corner, more houses, and the mountains that were far, far away.
"We hope we did enough, sweet heart!" the father said, giving Derpy a ride on his back. He trotted out the door, down the stairs, and outside, her mother following. "Here she is everyone! The birthday girl has arrived!"
Everyone glanced up, feigned a smile, then went back to talking amidst each other, not giving the slightest care in the world, since they were only here from Derpy's mother's request. Derpy really didn't know anypony there, but there was one stallion that she did, and he was right in front of her. Derpy jumped off her father's back, flew into the air, and glided towards Doctor Whooves, who greeted her with open arms.
"I'm so glad you came!" she exclaimed, a muffin already in her hand.
"Don't talk to me just yet. Pinkie's approaching," he replied, shushing her for Pinkie's upcoming song.
Pinkie Pie approached them, juggling muffins now and running on a beach ball, spinning it to move. She opened her mouth into a great, big, beaming smile and started singing in a fast pace.
"Hey, guess who's birthday it is today?
It's your own, and no happiness will be put at bay!
Today is your day, and you can do what ever you like,
Because anyone saying otherwise can just go take a hike!
But what is your name, what is your name?
Parties with names are never the same!
If you tell me, you'll get an icee or a slurpee!
Oh, what's that? Your name is DERPY!"
Confetti exploded around her, and she danced around Derpy, throwing muffins into the air so that Derpy could fly and get them. The happiness on her face was more than Pinkie's. Once she finished off the muffins, the Doctor walked up.
"Here, this is something that I thought you'd like." He put the present on the ground. Derpy stared at it before putting her hooves on it and tearing it apart. Inside the paper was a box. She opened it, and was blinded by the light from inside for a moment. Her eyes adjusted, and she shifted the box so the sun didn't glare off the object inside. She dumped it onto her hoof to see a small key that read T.A.R.D.I.S.
"Um, what is it?" she asked, confused.
"Here, follow me," he responded, walking behind their house. Her dad was busy doing something, and her mother was in the middle of a conversation with another mare, who was mocking Derpy's eyes before a harsh slap was delivered to her by the mother. "I am going to show you the most amazing thing you'll ever see." He covered her eyes, and walked her over. "Tada!" he exclaimed, removing his hooves.
Derpy was confused once again, because what stood in front of her was a blue box with white windows around it, and the top of it said POLICE PONY BOX. "I still don't get it," she said, one eye drooping down.
"Ah, but that's because you haven't seen the inside. I'll only show you a peek." He opened the door of the blue box just a crack, and Derpy gasped in amazement to see a huge room with technology everywhere. "This is the TARDIS, which is partially my home. You may enter it when ever you like with that key. But not today. After all, you still have a lot of partying to do, don't you?" He flashed her a smile.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she screamed out, flying circles around him. They both walked back to the front, and kept partying. Derpy never mentioned to her parents of the box, but after that day, she did go inside it, and it turned out that it was a time traveling device. They traveled far and wide for the years that came, solving problems and learning lessons.
