Henry's life had been spiralling out of control. His wife had left him, he'd lost his job, and he was just days away from eviction. He walked down the empty street in a daze. As the sun disappeared behind his apartment building, the winter chill stung his ears.
The noxious smell of cigarette smoke assaulted his nostrils. The walls of the alley were smeared with various fluids, the origins of which he dreaded to contemplate, and litter was strewn about haphazardly.
Weary, he approached his building and stumbled up the stairs to the fourth floor. His eyes rolled when he saw Mrs Folwin, a squat, elderly woman hobbling his way. Henry liked her well enough, but he wasn't in the mood for another 'grandson' story. He gave her a curt nod before hastily unlocking his door and disappearing into his dark, cold apartment. He promised himself he would apologize to her tomorrow.
Inside, he sighed heavily as he surveyed his sparse surroundings. The meagre amount of food he could afford was spread out over the kitchen counter: noodles with nothing to flavour them, a tin of baked beans, and a couple of chocolate bars.
"This won't even last the evening," he mused.
He picked up a chocolate bar and began to chew on it listlessly. He strode over to a lone chair in the middle of the room and slumped into it. Not bothering to turn on the TV - the power had been cut days ago - he picked up a book and tried to read by the light of a small candle.
However, he couldn't concentrate; his mind kept wandering. He wondered if he could have done better, been better. More and more, he believed his current predicament was his own doing. It had been easier to blame everyone else, but deep down, he knew the truth: all of this was the result of his own poor decisions.
"Maybe the world would be better off without me."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than his television flickered to life, filling the room with a blinding light. Henry shielded his eyes and dropped his chocolate bar. As his eyes adjusted to the light, a low, monotone voice echoed through the room.
"Is that your answer?"
The voice seemed to be coming from the television set. In shock, Henry couldn't respond. After a few seconds of silence, the voice repeated its question.
"Is that your answer?"
Henry's mind raced. He knew what the voice was referring to. He hesitated, but eventually, he found his voice. "Yes."
"Then come."
The light intensified, and an arm, seemingly composed of static, emerged from the screen, holding out a hand for him to take. Henry hesitated. He didn't know who the voice belonged to or what they might want. He didn't know what he wanted.
But he did know there was nothing left for him here. Soon, he would be homeless, and he didn't think he could survive. He was at the end of his rope. Weighing his options, he decided to take a chance.
Reaching out, he cautiously took the offered hand. Immediately, he felt a vice-like grip that yanked him so hard he thought his arm might be ripped off. He screamed as pain seared through him, feeling like he was being torn apart. Even his scream was eventually silenced by the overwhelming pain. He vaguely heard the sound of an elderly woman screaming before his consciousness faded into nothing…
**********
Pinkie waited restlessly in the Carousel Boutique's waiting room. Rarity and The Doctor had locked themselves in the backroom yesterday and hadn't been out since. Pinkie had finished her goodbyes, dropped her suitcases off at the Castle of Friendship, and arrived early, just as Sweetie Belle was heading off to school. Sweetie Belle had let Pinkie in, mentioning that Rarity and The Doctor had been talking all night and that Rarity had been sewing since one o'clock this morning. The boutique was even closed for the day.
Pinkie knew Rarity was a perfectionist, but an entire night seemed excessive even for her. Pinkie guessed that the opportunity to design for a whole new creature probably had Rarity's excitement at an all-time high.
While Pinkie understood the feeling, she had been waiting there for three hours and was running out of crossword puzzles. She was just about to leave and come back later when the door opened. Rarity emerged, looking exhausted but wearing an ear-to-ear smile.
"Where's The Doctor?" Pinkie zipped over to her.
Rarity jumped back, startled. "Wha-oh Pinkie, it's you." Rarity returned her smile. "Pinkie, I can't wait for you to see what we've put together. It's some of my best work if I do say so myself."
Rarity didn't answer the question, but Pinkie inferred that The Doctor was probably getting changed.
About ten minutes later, the door opened again, and The Doctor strolled in, strutting as if on a runway. He was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt with poofy cuffs jutting out from under a black blazer. His legs were covered by long black trousers that hung down to his ankles, and he wore a short black cape that reached his waist with red velvet on the inside. A bowler hat sat atop his now neatly combed brown hair.
"So," he gave a twirl, "What do you think?"
Pinkie pondered for a second. "Lose the hat and you're fine."
The Doctor and Rarity let out simultaneous scoffs of indignation. "And what's wrong with the hat?" they asked in unison.
The Doctor then smiled smugly. "Plus, look what I can do." He slipped the hat off, let it roll down his arm to his hand, and smoothly brought it back to his head. After striking a pose, he looked at her in expectation.
Pinkie laughed and clapped her hooves. "Okay. That was impressive. The hat can stay."
Rarity nodded in satisfaction. She ignited her horn, and a couple of bags floated in from the back into the main waiting area. "Here are the others, colour-coded, of course, for every occasion."
The Doctor graciously accepted the bags and bowed his head in thanks to Rarity. He then turned to Pinkie with a flourish of his cape. "Well, Miss Pie, are you ready to go?"
"You know it."
The Doctor turned to Rarity and bid her goodbye before Pinkie and he left the boutique.
**********
Twilight was waiting for them in the entrance hall. Pinkie saw her suitcases had been stacked into a neat pile next to the TARDIS. Twilight sighed as Pinkie walked through the door.
“Pinkie. I appreciate you’re excited, but could you please not leave your cases strewn about the place? At least organise them.”
Pinkie smiled sheepishly. “Sorry.”
Twilight smiled. “Don’t worry about it.” She then looked at the stack and frowned. “Though this is an awful lot of cases, do you need help getting it in there?”
“Thanks but no thanks.” Pinkie then had a thought. “I’ve been meaning to ask Doctor but…won’t we be all squashed in there.”
The Doctor smirked. “Somehow I doubt that,” he laughed.
Pinkie had no idea what he was talking about but she just shrugged. “If you say so.”
The Doctor looked around. “I would’ve thought the princesses would be here to see us off.”
It was Twilight’s turn to smirk. “You seem to have a high opinion of yourself.” She stared him down for a few seconds before they both laughed. “They’ve been dealing with Blueblood. Apparently, he’s been locked in his room since yesterday.”
“Ah well. Can’t be helped I guess.” He slipped his bags so that they hung off of one arm and reached into his pocket. From it, he produced the same key Pinkie had seen the day before. He stuck it into the TARDIS and unlocked it. He turned to Twilight. “I’d say goodbye but…I can’t stand goodbyes.” He slipped into the TARDIS. “Are you coming Pinkie,” he called out from the box.
Twilight rolled her eyes and chuckled. “I expected that. It’s a common thing in the books about him.”
Pinkie gave her an apologetic smile, but Twilight just smiled back. “Don’t worry about that, go and enjoy yourself.”
Pinkie hugged Twilight and turned to enter the TARDIS, The Doctor stuck his head out and chucked something round and small to Twilight with a “Catch.” Twilight caught it in her magic and gave The Doctor a quizzical look. “Use that if you ever need to contact me. Just twist the dial in the centre clockwise once. Only use it in an emergency.” He popped his head back into the TARDIS without waiting for a response.
Pinkie shrugged and grinned, lifting her luggage onto her back. “See you later Twilight.” Twilight waved back, and she stepped into the TARDIS and closed the door.
Her first thought when she turned from the door expecting to see The Doctor cramped against the wall was, ‘Wow.’
The Doctor had clearly picked up on her awe because he was beaming ear to ear. He threw out his hands in a very showpony-like way. “Welcome to the TARDIS Pinkie, my home, and for the foreseeable future, yours as well.”
Pinkie’s eyes sparkled as she took in her surroundings. The walls glimmered a fine silver, and the sealing reached up to a point. Around the wall, various staircases lead even further into the interior of the TARDIS. At the centre of the room was a large console, decorated with various knobs, levers and buttons. With the occasional light blinking here and there. The console was the same colour as the walls around the room. Not far from the console was a spiral staircase that stretched up into an opening in the ceiling.
“Coooool.” Pinkie immediately felt the urge to explore each and every part of her new environment. She zipped this way and that, evidently startling The Doctor.
Then, surprisingly, she felt herself halted with a tug on her tail. She looked back in bewilderment. The Doctor stood holding her tail to keep her in place. “How about we do the tour later? I wanna show you the really neat part.”
He released her tail and began to operate the console, he danced around the console, a smile on his face and evidently in his element as the TARDIS began making that wheezing sound. He turned a knob here, pushed a button there, and finished it off with a hefty yank on a lever on the side of the console.
Pinkie heard a dull thud as if signifying something. The Doctor grinned. “We’ve arrived. Through those doors is a different planet. Earth, London, around 2022.” He gestured with a hand and Pinkie excitedly zipped round to rush out the door, but The Doctor grasped her tail again. “Where do you think you’re going?”
Pinkie turned to him with confusion. “But you said-“
“You can’t go out looking like that, you’ll cause a riot.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, that’s twenty-first-century Earth out there, they can barely get along with members of their own species. How do you think they’d react to you.”
Pinkie thought about that, it made sense, but it made her sad to hear how these ponie-people lived. She couldn’t imagine being weary of her neighbour. She nodded but added, “Well, what should I do?”
“Hang on a minute.” He retreated up the spiral staircase. After a couple of minutes, he returned with a box. He set it down and began emptying its contents. “Let’s see here…..Dalek gun, Carrionites….ah.” From the box, he produced a golden bracelet. “Hold out your hoof.”
Pinkie obliged and The Doctor slipped it onto her hoof. Her vision was filled with white for a few seconds. When her vision returned, she found herself at eye level with The Doctor, she blinked. She felt strange, she was no longer standing on four legs, but two. She looked down and held out her forelegs. Hands. She had hands, she flexed the fingers and caught sight of a golden ring wrapped snuggly on her left index finger.
“Don’t worry, the process is reversible, just remove the ring. This way you can walk among the humans without raising alarm.” Pinkie took an unsteady step toward one of her cases, stumbling a bit.
She reached into the top suitcase and took out a mirror. She examined herself, her hair was still its usual pink colour, and just as fluffy as it had been. Her skin had a slight pink tint to it, all in all, all that had changed was her shape, she was still recognizable as Pinkie Pie. She wore a white top with a heart on it, covered by a short blue jacket. Her cutie mark was displayed on a pink skirt.
She gave The Doctor a genuinely thankful smile, “Thanks Doctor, for looking out for me.” She began to slowly make her way to The Doctor.
He gave a small salute. “I did promise didn’t I.” She stumbled as she reached him, but he caught her with an “easy there.” He helped her back to her feet. “We’ll have to work on your coordination, but you’ll get the hang of it. Now then.” He twisted a knob on the console and the doors opened. He gestured to the now open doors. “Shall we?”
Pinkie steadied herself on her feet and, only stumbling once, took her first step onto an alien world.
**********
The first thing Pinkie noticed, as she steadied herself on the TARDIS doorframe, was the cold. The Doctor took a step out and breathed deeply. "Ah, smell that good old British air."
Pinkie sniffed and scrunched up her nose as a particularly pungent smell burned her nostrils. "Smells like Berry Punch's house. I love it," she beamed.
They stepped out of the alley onto the main street. It was midday, and it was packed. People of all different backgrounds were walking this way and that. The smell of food hit Pinkie’s nostrils, reminding her that she hadn't actually eaten since the night before.
Hearing the sound of Pinkie’s stomach, The Doctor looked over at her with an amused smirk. "I was going to ask what you wanted to do first, but I guess there's no need." Pinkie blushed sheepishly as The Doctor let out a hearty laugh. "I know just the place."
The Doctor took Pinkie’s hand and led her through the bustling street.
**********
They had been walking for around 15 minutes when The Doctor led her into a cosy little café on a street corner. Inside, an old couple eyeballed Pinkie with surprise. Pinkie figured she must have looked pretty strange. After all, she had not seen a human with pink hair in the last 15 minutes. She smiled at them, and they looked back down awkwardly. Pinkie frowned but didn't say anything.
They approached the glass counter, with shelves adorned with all sorts of pastries. She could see some that had meat on them, but she didn't mind; she had looked after the carnivores Fluttershy kept before. A little girl, around ten or eleven years old, though Pinkie was only guessing, sat behind the counter, scribbling in a sketchbook. She looked at them and yelled into the back, "DAD! CUSTOMERS!"
"COMING, COMING," a shout came from the back. A short, plump man with a receding hairline came scurrying out. He had to stand on a stool to peek over the counter. "Ah. What can I do for you?"
"Mr Jones, you may not recognize me, but it's The Doctor."
Mr Jones pulled a pair of glasses from his breast pocket and squinted. "Blimey, you've cut your hair." Pinkie saw the girl smirk at that comment.
The Doctor winked at Pinkie and grinned at the man. "That I did. What do you think?" He took off his hat and, with a flourish of his cape, bowed.
"Not bad, not bad." He chuckled, "I'm guessing you'll be wanting your usual. Two chocolate croissants and a tea with extra sugar?"
"Oh, you know me too well."
"And what will it be for the lady?" Mr Jones turned his attention to Pinkie.
Pinkie put a finger to her lips as she examined the display, there were cakes, cookies, pies, and all sorts of pastries. "I think I'll go for that delicious-looking éclair, ooh ooh, or that pizza, and maybe that Danish, and and-"
"Ahem." The Doctor cleared his throat and looked at Pinkie with an amused smirk.
Pinkie grinned with a blush of embarrassment.
Mr Jones adjusted his glasses and let out a laugh. "I must say, Doctor, this girl is certainly a lively one."
Pinkie had decided she liked this man. Mr Jones took their order, and The Doctor pulled out a small plastic card which he placed against a contraption she'd never seen before. It beeped, and The Doctor placed the card back into his inside pocket.
They walked to a table by the window and sat down. "Hey, Doctor." The Doctor nodded, signalling her to continue. "What was that card thing?"
"Oh, this?" He produced the card again, "It’s similar to a debit card, they let you make purchases without physical cash. This one is special, unlimited money. Bit naughty, so don't tell anyone."
Pinkie chuckled but said no more.
"So. You've done it again." A youthful voice sounded. The girl that was behind the counter had pulled a chair up to the table.
The Doctor smiled, "Yep. What do you think, Serena?"
"What's with the hat?"
"Don’t knock the hat. It's the height of fashion in some points of history." The Doctor straightened in his chair and fixed his bowler hat indignantly.
"Not this point."
"Oy!"
The little girl, Serena, laughed, brushing her red hair out of her face. "In all seriousness though, I liked the one with that long scarf."
"A lot of people did."
"This one's not too bad though?"
"I'm trying not to be offended here," The Doctor retorted, but his joking smile showed he wasn’t serious. "Anyway, Serena, how long has it been?"
"About a year." Serena shrugged. She then turned to Pinkie. "You look funny," she stated without a hint of malice.
Just then, Mr Jones came walking up with two trays of pastries. "Now, Serena, what have we talked about?"
Serena rolled her eyes but smiled. She waved goodbye before returning behind the counter.
"I'm sorry about that," apologized Mr Jones, "she just speaks her mind. It's gotten her into a lot of trouble."
Pinkie smiled, "I don’t mind."
Mr Jones gave a grateful smile before setting down the trays.
**********
The Doctor and Pinkie finished their visit and bid farewell to Mr Jones and Serena. They strolled from store to store, the bustle of the city all around them. Pinkie was amazed; even Manehattan wasn't this busy.
Using his card, the Doctor purchased anything Pinkie picked out. Her choices were mostly souvenirs for her friends: a human history book for Twilight, a fancy brooch for Rarity, a book on something called "NASCAR" for Rainbow Dash, a model tractor for Applejack, a National Geographic book for Fluttershy, and a figurine of a character dressed as a bat for Spike.
As the sun began to set, the Doctor turned to Pinkie. "Well, Pinkie, how about we return to the TARDIS?"
Balancing bags precariously, with one gripped in her mouth, Pinkie nodded and muffled a, "Hmm."
**********
Mr Jones wiped the sweat from his brow as he finished closing up. He pulled the shutters down and headed upstairs.
Serena, his daughter, was already supposed to be asleep. From her bedroom door, she watched as her father picked up a photo of her mother, looked at it, and broke down.
Quietly, she closed her door to give him space. Serena had never really known her mother, who had passed away when she was very young, leaving her with no memories. However, it tore her up inside to see that even after ten years, the loss still devastated her father.
In public, he played the jovial baker, but only she knew just how broken he was.
She lowered herself into bed and realized she was crying. "I thought I was okay with this," she whispered to herself.
'I have to be strong for Dad. It'll only make him feel worse if he sees me crying. I can't let him see me cry,' she thought, her mind racing. 'I wish Mum was still alive.'
Suddenly, her TV switched itself on, flooding the room with a blinding light. Serena shot up in fright. She reached for the remote and tried to turn the TV off, but nothing happened.
"Poor Serena," a monotone voice echoed in her head. "Such a strong girl. Forcing yourself to grow up quickly to save your father. But why deny yourself a childhood?"
"W-what...who is this? Who's speaking?" she screamed, hoping her father had heard.
"A friend," it responded matter-of-factly. "My masters wish to help. We can fix your family. Would you like that? A chance to have a proper childhood. All you need do is say yes."
She heard her father fumbling with the doorknob, her mind was racing. Without thinking, she screamed, "YES!"
Just then, her father threw open her door, relief crossing his face for a moment, but it was short-lived as he looked at the screen. "SERENA!"
The light grew brighter as two arms, composed of static, emerged from the screen. One grabbed her father, and the other grasped her. An intense pain shot through her, she thought she heard her father say something, but she couldn't focus on his words.
As quickly as it started, the pain stopped, and she lost consciousness.
To be continued...