The early morning sun rose above the skyline of Canterlot City, as its rays shone through the window of a certain red and yellow haired teen, as she slowly came back to the land of the waking world, her eyes fluttering slowly open. With a drawn out yawn and a tired groan, she sat up in bed, and stretched her arms above her head, arching her back to get rid of any kinks, before rubbing her eyes with her fists. She climbed out of bed, and slowly made her way down the stairs of her loft bedroom, heading into her tiny kitchen area to grab a bite to eat, before heading into her bathroom to wash up and brush her teeth.
When she came out again, she walked past her couch… before stopping in her tracks, and looking down at the couch, or rather, who was lying on it. For a moment, she felt like she was about to panic at the sight of the strange, red haired man lying there, who looked like he was in a very deep, peaceful sleep, before her sleep-addled mind finally switched into a higher gear, and she remembered the bizarre events of the previous night.
“Oh, yeah,” She muttered under breath, sagging her shoulders slightly, “Weird blue box landed on top of my car, then this weirdo popped out, before he collapsed, leaving me to literally drag him in here just so he can crash on my coach.” She rolled her eyes as she then said, “I know this world has magic now, but I could just have one day off without something weird happening?”
She walked closer to the couch, and looked down upon her unexpected guest with a deep frown. “Hey. You. Wake up. You owe me an explanation, among other things,” she said with a no-nonsense tone.
The man didn't respond at all, as he continued his seemingly peaceful sleep. “Hey, come on,” Sunset tried again more forcefully, “I’m not having you lounging on my couch all day.” Still, the man didn’t respond, his eyelids didn’t even twitch. Sunset huffed with annoyance. “Ok, come on.” She then leaned in closer to his face. “Would you wake up already?”
She waited a moment, before leaning in even closer to his face… before she jolted backwards, as the man’s eyes snapped open, wide and wild, and he sat up right like a shot, and let out a loud, wild scream, making Sunset scream in shock as well. She shook herself to regain her senses, with a hand over her heart, as the strange man stared at her with his wide eyes, and his mouth hanging open.
“Hey, what’s wrong with you?!” she shouted in annoyance. The man didn’t answer. He just continued to stare blankly at her. “Hello, I’m talking to you?” Sunset spoke again. The man then muttered something so quietly, that she almost couldn't hear it. “What?” The man muttered again, before Sunset moved closer to hear him. “Say that again?”
“I need.. I need…” The man whispered quietly.
“You need what?” Sunset asked, actually starting to feel a little concerned for him. “Are you alright?”
“I need..” He paused before a desperate, hungry look crossed his face, and he shouted at the top of his lungs, “FOOD!!” He then jumped up off the sofa, and began dashing this way and that, from one end of the apartment to the other, as Sunset could only stare, utterly gobsmacked at the weird man's sudden manic antics. Had she brought a complete madman into her home? The man continued to run rings around the apartment, stopping here and there to examine Sunset’s belongings, all while constantly muttering to himself about who knew what. He then finally stopped as he came to her small kitchen area, lunged for her mini fridge, yanked it open, and began rooting through it frantically.
Sunset, needless to say, was far from pleased. “Hey!” She shouted angrily, and ran towards him. “Stay out of there!” She knelt down behind him and grabbed him by the shoulders. “You wrecked my car, you're not having any of my food!” She tried to hall him away from the fridge, but he was either very stubborn or stronger than he looked, because she simply couldn't get him away from the fridge. All the while, the man kept on rummaging, ripping open wrappers and containers, before seemingly chowing down on whatever he got his hands on.
This went on and on, until finally, with an extra hard tug, Sunset fell flat on her back, taking the man with her. They lay there in a heap for a moment, the man breathing deeply like he had just run a marathon, before he sat up, and then got back to his feet. He then turned and looked down at Sunset with a wide grin. “Well, that was a slap up meal,” He said in an almost overly happy tone. “I must say, I must thank you for your show of hospitality.”
“Hospi-...hospitality?!” Sunset spluttered incredulously, as she pulled herself back to her feet, and stared at the strange red headed man with disbelief and annoyance. “That's what you call me letting you scare me half to death, and then running around my apartment like a chicken with it’s head cut off, before you raid my fridge and eat-” She paused and starred in wide eyed shock, as she looked past to see what had become of…”All of my food?!” Indeed, the strange man had eaten everything in her fridge. All that was left was, well, a mess. Sunset turned back to the man and glared at him in anger and astonishment. “Wha… but… no one can eat that fast! What are… who are you?!” she stuttered in frustration.
The man, who seemed completely nonplussed about the girl's current fowl mood toward him, simply smiled. “Thought you would never ask,” he said jovially, “well, after that slap up meal, I seem to have regained quite a few of my memories, including who I am.” He then held out his for Sunset to shake. “Lovely to meet you my pastel coloured friend. I’m The Doctor.”
Sunset just stared at him with utter confusion and bewilderment. “The...Doctor?” She asked slowly. “Doctor Who?”
“Exactly,” The Doctor said with a cheeky smile and a mysterious gleam in his eyes, which he hoped came across as disarming, but it only made the fiery haired girl even more annoyed.
“OK, I’ve had just about enough of this,” Sunset said with a firm voice and crossing her arms. “I want some real answers out of you.”
“Well, before we get to all that,” The Doctor went on, “I’ve got a few itty bitty questions for you. For starters, what planet am I on?”
“Uhh...What?” Sunset asked in utter confusion, staring at The Doctor like he had sprouted two heads. “You're on… Earth?”
“Ohh, lovely,” The Doctor smiled happily, “I love Earth! It’s like a second home to me. Well, it basically is a second home. So where on Earth am I? Judging from your accent I’m going to guess… Canada? Oh I hope it’s Canada. Can’t remember the last time I went to Canada.”
“Er… actually it’s America,” Sunset said, wondering when this became 20 questions. She thought that maybe he had come from Equestria, but now she was wondering if that was the case.
“Oh, really?” The Doctor asked with a disappointed frown. “Haven’t I been to America enough times in the last few centuries? Well, I suppose it could be worse.” He then gave a slight shudder as his fast twisted into a distasteful scowl. “I could have ended up somewhere really boring like… Ugh… Sheffield! How dull would that have been? Nothing ever happens in Sheffield!”
Sunset was now at a total loss. The whole situation was just too weird, even in her experience. At first, she suspected that this was going to be something like all the strange incidents that she and her friends had faced, but it was starting to seem like it may not be the case. He knew things that most creatures from Equestria would not know, like names of places on earth. She opened her mouth to speak, but she was interrupted as the strange man kept talking.
“Well, anyway, next question,” He said, shaking his head dismissively, before asking quite bluntly, “Why are you so brightly coloured?”
“Uhh, what?” Sunset said in utter bewilderment.
“On that point,” The Doctor said contemplatively, running his hands up and down his sides, before bringing them close to his face and examining them intently. “Why am I so brightly coloured? I’ve always known you can get some very strange results with regeneration, but seriously. Also, something about this…” He paused, gazing around the small living space with curious eyes. “Something about this room is...off? Like there is something not quite right about it…” He then turned his eyes back toward Sunset, leaning in closely to her face, causing her to blanch. “Or you, for that matter,” He finished, before his face split into a wide, excited smile. “How fascinating. Now, where is my…” He said, patting himself with his hands and plunging them into his pockets. “Oh, come on, I know it’s here somewhere. Where is it?” He then paused again, before letting out a groan. “Oh right, I must have left my Sonic Screwdriver in the TARDIS. Just when I had a nice juicy mystery to solve.” His smile then returned. “Well, anyway, let’s carry on with this nice little chat shall we? For starters…” He then began asking question after question at a quick pace.
By now, Sunset was dumbfounded and fast becoming more and more annoyed with the quirky man. She shook herself, before taking a deep breath, and shouted loudly, “Alright, alright, that’s enough! Will you just be quiet for a minute so I can think?!”
The Doctor halted from his rambling, and just looked down at her incredulously. “Alright, no need to shout,” he said placatingly, giving his hands a short wave. “No one likes a rude host.”
“What?!” Sunset snapped, fast losing patience with her ‘houseguest.’ “You have the nerve to say that to me after how rude you’ve been toward me and all the damages you cost me?!”
“Oh, come on, that’s a bit harsh don’t you think?” The Doctor said with a shrug.
“You dropped a blue box on my car last night!” Sunset ranted on, stepping forward and prodding him hard in the chest with her finger. “Totally ruining it! And then, when you wake up this morning, you scare me half to death, right before running around my apartment like a chicken with its head cut off, and, on top of all that, you raid my fridge and stuff yourself with all of my food! All of it! And, like all that wasn’t enough, you bombard me with ridiculous questions and rambling nonsense!” She then leaned in closer, fixing the Doctor with a fiery glare. “And you have the nerve to say that I’ve been a bad host, while you have been such a terrible houseguest?” She finished, in a low, firm voice.
The Doctor just met her with a shocked expression, before it changed to a humbled, deflated one. “Well...when you put it like that,” He said slowly and hesitantly. “Look, I’m very sorry for any… inconvenience I caused you.” He paused for a moment, before continuing in a more subdued tone. “It’s just that...well, let's say I’ve recently gone through some...rather big changes, and, I’m just trying to figure myself out, in a sense.”
Sunset let out a heavy sigh. His apology seemed sincere enough. “Ugh, OK,” she said with a groan. “I can see you’re sorry.” She then fixed him with a stern look. “But that doesn't mean you’re off the hook. You still owe me for my car and all my food.”
The Doctor nodded uncomfortably. “Uh, yes, I understand,” he said, before his smile returned. “Now, putting that unpleasant business behind us, can I get to my questions?”
“Whoa, hold it right there,” Sunset said with a wave of her hand. “Before you get into all that again, I want some questions of my own answered.”
“Oh, yes, of course,” The Doctor said with a big smile. “Please, ask away.”
“Well, for starters,” Sunset began, gesturing to her apartment door. “Why did you drop a blue box on my car? I don’t think my insurance is gonna cover having a crazy lunatic dropping a blue box on it.”
“Oh!” The Doctor exclaimed. “I nearly forgot!” He then turned and quickly rushed to the door, only to halt as Sunset lept in front of him and held out her arms.
“Whoa! Whoa! Hold it! Where do you think you're going?” She asked as she stared him down
“To check on my blue box,” The Doctor said, like it was obvious, before trying to push past her. “I just hope your car hasn't banged her up too much.”
“Wh-wh-what?!” Stuttered Sunset incredulously, before The Doctor darted around her, and dashed out the door before she could stop him. “Hey!” She called after him, before giving chase. “Get back here!” She turned and dashed after him out of the door.
Running out into the street, Sunset dashed past The Doctor and stood in front of him once more. “There’s no way I’m letting you get away now,” She stated firmly.
“Alright, alright,” The Doctor said disarmingly, “I’m not going anywhere, at least not yet.” He then looked past her toward the road, where the wreck of the irate girl’s car still sat, with the large blue box still perched innocently on top. “Well, that’s irresponsible, who parked their car under my TARDIS?”
“Your what?” Sunset asked in utter confusion.
“The blue box,” The Doctor said, stepping forward, and looking over the box very closely.
“Wait, what?!” Sunset shouted with a scowl. “Did you forget the part where it was you who dropped this thing on top of my car?!”
“Hmm, well, she looks alright,” The Doctor observed thoughtfully, completely ignoring her. “But that’s just the exterior shell. Let’s see how she’s doing on the inside.” He reached for the handle on the door, having to stand on tip toe to reach it properly. He pushed on the door, but it didn’t budge. He tried again. It still didn’t budge. He grunted in annoyance. “Oh, come on, Old Girl, it’s me. Open up,” he said to the box in a pleading tone. He then slapped his forehead. “Oh, of course, how I could forget!” He then started rummaging through his pockets. “Ah ha!” He said triumphantly, as he pulled out a small, silver key, on a long chain. He reached up, pushed the key into the door’s lock, and tried to turn it… only for nothing to happen, the key remaining firmly in place. He looked up at the box in disapproval, before sighing heavily in disappointment. “Ohh, wonderful. I should have known this would happen, what with the state she was in.” He pulled the key out of the lock and slipped back into his pocket. He then gave the box door an oddly affectionate pat. “It’s alright Old Girl,” He said in an understanding tone, like he was talking to an old friend. “You take your time, and get the rest you need.”
During all this, a weirded out Sunset had just stood and watched, as this frustratingly strange man spoke to his box like it was a person. “OK, this guy is clearly completely bonkers,” she muttered, running her fingers down her face. “What am I going to do with this nut case?”
Having finished talking to his box, The Doctor then turned back to face the mentally exhausted girl. “Well, it looks like I’m stuck here for a while anyway,” he said casually. “So, what were we talking about again?”
“Seriously?” Sunset said in disbelief. “Did you seriously forget what we talked about before you rushed out to check on your stupid box?”
“Oi,” The Doctor said with a frown. “Don’t say anything like that in front of her. The Old Girl’s sensitive.”
“It’s just a wooden box!” Sunset yelled, losing patience once more. “Stop referring to it like it’s a person!” She marched forwards, and jabbed The Doctor in the chest with her finger once again. “Now, no more delays! I want answers out of you, and I want them now!”
“Hey, hey, take it easy,” The Doctor said, trying to calm her down. “Look, all of this is just one big…” he suddenly trailed off, as he gazed off to the side. “Has someone gone missing?” He suddenly asked.
Sunset was about to berate him one more time, only to pause as she saw the suddenly curious, yet serious look on his face. “Uhh...what?” She asked, following his line of sight. He was looking at a nearby lamppost. Or, rather, what was on it. Tapped to the side of it, was a poster, with a picture of a young, geeky looking teenage boy, wearing quite thick glasses, and smiling at the camera. She realised that she knew this boy, as he went to her school. She remembered that she had confronted him once about her not being mean, a memory she was not proud of. Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen the boy at the school for at least a few days, now. She and The Doctor walked over to the poster to look closer. “Actually, yeah, I know him. He goes to my school. Didn’t know he was missing until now,” she explained.
“Hmm...interesting,” The Doctor hummed thoughtfully as peered closely at the poster. “Have there been any other disappearances?”
“Uhhh, I don't know,” Sunset said, rubbing her chin in recollection, trying to remember if there were any other faces she knew who were suddenly absent. There may have been one or two she knew who were not present at the school yesterday, but there could be any number of perfectly innocent reasons why they were not there, or rather she was simply too busy herself to notice whether they were there or not. She then gave herself a shake to bring her mind back to the matter at hand, before turning to look at The Doctor with a frown. “Hey, listen mister, is this really the time to be caught in something that’s none of our business?” she asked rhetorically. “You and I have other things to talk about.”
“Do we?” The Doctor said innocently.
“Yes, obviously,” Sunset said in an annoyed tone. This weirdo was really trying her patience. “Now, getting back to more important business, can please answer my questions now?”
“What?” The Doctor said as he looked at her. “Oh right, yes, my apologies. I just had to cheek on the Old Girl. She’s not at her best right now. So, what did you want to ask me?”
“Alright, finally,” Sunset said in an exhausted voice, “Now, I’ll ask you one more time. Why did you drop your box on top of my car?”
“That’s a really hard one to explain and I really don’t think you’ll believe me,” The Doctor said, scratching the back of his head.
“Well, here’s a better question then,” Sunset went on, “where did you and the box even come from?”
“Again, that’s hard to explain, too,” The Doctor said hesitantly.
“Well, try me,” Sunset said firmly.
“Alright,” The Doctor said with a sigh, “Well…” Before he could say anymore, they both turned with alarm as they heard the sound of someone screaming. “Tell you, later,” he said hurriedly, before dashing away down the street in the direction of the scream.
“Hey!” Sunset shouted after him. “Get back here!” She was about to run after him, but then she paused, and looked down at herself, seeing she was still in her pyjamas. She groaned in frustration. “Just great!” She turned and rushed back into her apartment to get dressed.
Back with The Doctor, he came running into a nearby ally, where he juddered to a halt, and stared, as he saw a very strange sight. Standing in the middle of the alley was a stature. A stature of a person. He very cautiously approached the statue. Looking very closely at the face, he noted how incredibly detailed it was, like an actual human being had been completely covered in a layer of stone which had perfectly moulded to the person's body. He also noted how the face was frozen in a look of absolute terror, and looked like it was in the middle of screaming. The Doctor began to have a foreboding feeling that this may just be the case.
As he was examining the eerily lifelike statue, Sunset, now fully dressed, came running down the street, pausing to look down the alley, spotting The Doctor, and then marching down the alley toward him with an irritated look on her face. “Alright, there you are,” She said. “Now, I believe we were in the middle of something, and… what is that?” She stopped next to him, and stared in bewilderment at the statue. “Like things were not weird enough already, now someone has just dumped a statue in this place?” She looked closely at the stone figure. “A very well detailed stature,” She said, before her eyes widened in recognition. “Hey, wait a minute, this looks just like Trixie.”
“Hmm?” The Doctor hummed, looking up from the statue, and turning his attention to Sunset. “You know this person?”
“Yeah, she’s a friend of mine from school,” Sunset said as she continued to examine the statue. “I gotta say, whoever made this sure did a good job. The amount of detail is uncanny. But why is she screaming? And why would they make it so up to date? They got everything right, right down to the bandage she got...yesterday...from the baseball accident…” She trailed off as a look of apprehension and disbelief crossed her face.
“Baseball accident?” The Doctor asked, giving Sunset a wary look, like he suspected he wouldn't like the answer.
“Uhh...yeah,” Sunset went on slowly. “The school baseball team was having a game yesterday, and one of the batters hit a home run, but the ball flew into the stands and…” she grimaced slightly, before saying, “hit Trixie in the face and broke her nose.”
“Ouch,” The Doctor said sympathetically and wincing. “You say this happened yesterday?”
“Uhh, yeah,” Sunset said uncomfortably, as she continued to look at the fully detailed effigy of her friend. “Who would go to the trouble of making a statue of her that is accurate to the day. Something like this would take weeks, if not months to complete.” She then looked at The Doctor with an obviously forced smile. “I mean, it’s not like this is actually Trixie turned into stone. Right?”
The Doctor just looked at her with a solemn expression, and saddened eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said simply with the slightest shake of his head.
“Sorry for what?” Sunset asked, shaking her head in denial, before taking another look at the statue, realisation sinking in that all evidence pointed to one, terrible fact. “No,” She whispered, her facing going from disbelief, to shock, to wide eyed horror. “No! Trixie! Can you hear me?! Trixie?!” She began to hit and slap the statue, desperately trying to get some kind of response, but of course, her petrified friend didn’t respond at all. Tears began to fill the corner of her eyes, before she turned to look at The Doctor, who continued to look at her with the same sorrowful, apologetic expression, as if to say that he was sorry for not being able to save her friend. Her horror then quickly turned to anger as she suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders, and began shaking him vigorously. “What happened?! Did you do this?!” She demanded in anger and accusation. “Bring her back?!”
The Doctor just continued to look at her with that same sorrowful look in his eyes, and calmly just shook her head. “I’m sorry,” he said with the same saddened tone. He let her take a moment to let out her frustration, as she continued to shake him, and occasionally hit him half-heartedly in the chest.
Slowly, she calmed down, before looking up at him a slightly embarrassed frown. Here she was, letting out her frustration on this stranger, after her sadness and anger made her jump to conclusions. Of course he didn’t do this to Trixie. He had been just as surprised by the scream they heard, which she now knew must have been Trixie’s, as she was, and the look of sorrow, and, for some reason, guilt in his eyes, was far too genuine to be faked. She stepped back, and looked up at him awkwardly. “Umm…” She said slowly, “sorry about that.”
“No, no, It’s alright,” The Doctor said with a suddenly heavy, and tired sounding voice, like it carried the weight of many years of wisdom and loss, despite how young he looked. “Believe me. I understand what it’s like to lose someone,” he let a sigh as he then said wistfully, “Oh yes, I understand all too well.”
Sunset could only stare at the scruffy, young longing, yet somehow old sounding man before her, now with a sense of empathy for him. “Oh,” She said quietly, “right. Uh, well, anyway…” she paused as she looked back at the petrified form of Trixie. “If you didn’t do this...then what did? Is...is Trixie still alive like this? Can this be reversed?”
“I don’t know,” The Doctor said, walking up to the statue and examining it closely again. “But whatever did this must have had some real power behind them. It’s perfect petrification. Any number of species from all across the universe have abilities that could have an effect like this.”
“Uhh,” Sunset said, looking at him strangely. “Did you just say...all across the universe?”
“Why yes,” The Doctor said with a sudden grin. “Glad you're paying attention.” He then took on a very serious look as he said, “Now, you listen to me. I don’t know what’s done with this, but I promise you, I can help you get your friend back.”
“What?!” Sunset said in shock and sudden anger again, her voice still laced with suspicion. “How can you help me get her back? Why should I even trust you? I don’t even know you!” She then turned on her heel and headed out of the alley at a run. “But I know who can help me!” She shouted over her shoulder as she dashed round the corner and out of site.
“Oh come on,” The Doctor muttered as he rolled his eyes. “Why do they always have to do things the hard way? Oi!” He shouted as he gave chase after the fiery haired girl. “Come back here! Whatever did this to your friend could still be out there and do this to you too!”
After he left the alley, what he didn’t notice was another statue that was not there before, standing beside the one of Trixie. A statue of an Angel. It had its hands outstretched like claws, and it’s face was twisted into a ferocious scream, it’s mouth full of bared, pointed fangs.
To Be Continued...